Dead Leopard Sharks Found

August 4th, 2009

LA Times reported today that two dead leopard sharks were found dumped in a residential trash bin. The dead carcasses are been examined in Downey for the cause and to obtain any information.

Dead leopard sharks found in trash can

Animal control officers are trying to figure out how two adult leopard sharks ended up in a trash can outside a Norwalk home.

A woman said she smelled a foul odor coming from a garbage can outside her house Monday and when she peeked inside found the two dead 4-foot sharks staring up at her, said Aaron Reyes, director of operations in the area for the L.A. County animal control authority.

“Stuffed in there, just sort of curled in and, you know, thrown on top of each other,” Reyes said.

Read more at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/leopard-sharks.html

Cash For Clunkers

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.

Norwalk Sheriff Department

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.

Residential Parking Problems

July 14th, 2009

I received two e-mails so far from norwalkcity.com visitors complaining about residential parking and I am also experiencing issues with neighbors taking up so much street parking spaces. Common reason is that those homeowners are renting out their homes and the additional vehicles are occupying the neighbor’s space.

An email from a Norwalk resident:

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

Wouldn’t it bother you if you were in the same situation? Two residents near my house comes to mind. They are notorious on our street for having more than five (yes, 5!) vehicles in one household.  One of them are renting out the rooms to two unrelated renters.  It gets annoying when their modded Chrysler 300 with an obnoxious exhaust system blasts your window late at night.

The other household is a bit on the overboard. Less than 2,000 square foot house, more than 12 people lives under the same roof. The household is renting the entire house (property owner lives off-state) and their relatives are all living together. It’s rather easy to spot the house based on the number of cars parked on the streets and on their driveway. They even have a motor boat parked on their dead lawn.

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

In-N-Out or Five Guys Burgers?

June 27th, 2009

City of Norwalk is very fortunate to be a very popular hamburger chain known as “In-N-Out” and the In-N-Out restaurant is also fortunate to be able to have its location down in Norwalk too because of its excellent location on a busy boulevard. The sales figure in this location alone should be above satisfactory to the corporate office because there is not a single moment when the In-N0-Out does not have a customer.

14330 Pioneer Blvd. Norwalk, California 90650
Sunday through Thursday
10:30 a.m.-1:00 a.m.
Friday and Saturday 10:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m.

If you live in Norwalk and have never tried an In-N-Out burger, fries, and a thick milk shake, you better drive out there and try it. But I can’t imagine anyone living in Southern California or Las Vegas that have not tried their burgers yet.
I recently visited Cerritos and went to one of the open air shopping centers and a particular restaurant caught my eyes. With a similar interior layout and colors, a burger chain called “Five Guys” seemed like a copycat of the In-N-Out restaurant. We ended up eating someplace else as I thought Five Guys was just one of those hamburger chains like Fat Burgers, good but not as great as the In-n-Out. Well, the following week, I saw a Nightline Special, where President Obama took a lunch break to a burger chain in Washington D.C., have you guess where? Yes, he went to Five Guys and ordered bags full of burgers for his team members.

Five Guys burger chain started in the East Coast and started expanding new franchises over in the West Coast. Five Guys’ menu are similar to In-N-Out with a bit more selection and options. Five Guys have great ratings on Yelp.com so I will check it out myself.

Cerritos Promenade Mall
11461 South St

Cerritos, CA 90703
11AM-10PM