Archive for July, 2009

Cash For Clunkers

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Norwalk residents with old gas-guzzling vehicles, please trade your cars at a local auto dealer with a modern gas-conservative vehicle. There are numerous car dealers within Norwalk and cities neighboring Norwalk. Norwalk Toyota and the Ford dealer comes to mind. As you probably have heard or read, the Obama administration began a program called “Cash For Clunckers” in which anyone can trade in their old vehicles for a new one with a $4,500 rebate generally paid by the government. The only requirement is that your old trade-in must get less than 18 gallons per mile city and highway combined. The program received an enormous interests in the nation as the reserved government funding was used up within one week! So the Congress and Obama administration officials are working on extending the funding to meet the demands.

For those now looking to trade in their old clunkers, Cerritos auto square is the largest auto center in the United States and you will find most car brand there within walking distances. I highly recommend Hyundai and GM for their affordable new cars.

Requirements for your trade-in vehicles are:

  • have been manufactured less than 25 years before the date you trade it in and, in the case of a category 3 vehicle, must also have been manufactured not later than model year 2001
  • have a “new” combined city/highway fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon or less
  • be in drivable condition
  • be continuously insured and registered to the same owner for the full year preceding the trade-in
  • Please refer to cars.gov for full information.

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Norwalk Sheriff Department

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Don’t you feel more secure when you see sheriff vehicles roaming around your neighborhood throughout the day and especially during the night? I do. Norwalk is in the County of Los Angeles and not City of Los Angeles so Norwalk is part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Norwalk City has its own Sheriff Department located at 12335 Civic Center Drive, Norwalk, CA 90650 (across the street from the AMC Theatres Norwalk 20).

In addition to the Norwalk Sheriffs, the city also has a Public Safety department that consists of numerous services available to the Norwalk residents. Here are some of the services provided by the Norwalk Public Safety:

  • Community Resource Liason
  • Community Service Work Program
  • Safe Housing and Property Enhancement
  • District Attorney Services
  • Family Intervention Team
  • Neighborhood Police Service Centers
  • Motorcycle Patrol
  • Curfew / Daytime Truancy Enforcement
  • And more

Last night when I was returning home, there were literally ten Norwalk Sheriff vehicles parked in the street in an undercover mode. Their lights and engine were shut off and patiently waiting in their car for a reason. I wasn’t sure of the situation and hurriedly went inside my house. It was a bit unnerving to witness so many sheriff vehicles right in front of your street because anyone can assume that they were not there to patrol the streets of Norwalk, they were there to either capture, search, and/or arrest someone. I can tell you I did not feel very confident with the city especially when you have monthly helicopter runs, reckless drivers, unknown vehicles parked in your neighborhood streets, and people vandalizing your private properties (front lawn, puncturing your tires!).

Don’t get me wrong, there are some good sides to living in Norwalk. Retail stores within driving distances (Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, Starbucks, etc.), public services (LA County Recorders Office, numerous public departments), recreation centers, and great selection of restaurants and fast food joints. But if you happen to compare Norwalk neighborhoods to other nicer neighborhoods, “you get what you pay for.”

SIDE NOTE: On a Saturday night, house parties pop up here and there in Norwalk and depending how close you live near the hosts, your pet(s) will be parking all night and the bass from the music will keep you awake. If you are cool with the loud party and can easily fall asleep no problem with a weekend party, but for those that have a schedule on a Sunday morning, you really need those hours of sleep. If the party happens to go beyond 12AM (there really is not party curfew, you could call earlier), you can call the Norwalk Sheriff Department and make a noise complaint and request service. The operator will jot down the proximity of the party and send an enforcement officer. Within half an hour, the loud music should disappear by then.

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Residential Parking Problems

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

I have received two emails so far from norwalkcity.com visitors complaining about residential parking, and I too am experiencing issues with neighbors taking up so much street parking spaces. Times like this I envy my colleagues that live in nice neighborhood areas in Cerritos and Downey.

An email from a Norwalk resident wrote that a neighbor living six houses from her always park their vehicles right in front of her house. Thank you for writing.

My neighbor thats about 6 doors down parks his car infront of my house and doesn’t move it the whole week. We have our own cars that we like to park infront of our house and he has plenty of parking infront of his.

One day of parking or two would be fine but wouldn’t it bother you if you see another vehicle parked right in front of your house only because that household has more than three vehicles parked on the street and not their own driveway? Two neighbors from my house comes to mind right away. They are notorious on our street for having more than five (yes, 5!) vehicles for one house. I found out that in one of those household, they are renting out the rooms to two young renters. It is an annoyance when their modded Chrysler 300 with an obnoxious engine intake and exhaust system blasts your window late at night.

The other household living two house apart from mine is a bit on the overboard. Less than 2,000 square foot house, more than 12 people including the children lives in the house. And what boggles my mind is that they are one family living with their relatives (cousins and what not) and renting the house. If you walk by the house, it is easy to tell that over a dozen people live in there by the number of cars parked on the streets, the driveway (three including a boat attached to one), and a dead lawn. Yikes!

These parking issues has been going on for more than two years and if the matter gets worse for me, I will need to contact the City and find a solution to remedy the problem. There must be a city ordinance where it prohibits such parking issue or a state law that limits the number of people/children living in a one place.

If you are also experiencing problems with your neighbors taking up too many spots on the street parking, comment here.

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