The Whittier City Council called an emergency meeting on Monday, January 6, after a 22-year-old woman was found dead of an apparent overdose at Parnell Park on New Year’s morning and a gunman attacked the encampment just days later. In the end, the Council voted to give a 10-day warning to the residents of the Parnell Park encampment before a temporary park closure.

The driver parked and entered the encampment, screaming “get out of my park, get out of my city, get out of my country”. The driver was described by multiple eyewitnesses as Latino and visibly inebriated. He was not known to any member of the encampment.

In late November, State Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon made a surprise announcement that he would not seek re-election for AD 57 in 2020. While Assembly candidates typically spend upwards of two years preparing their campaign, this left the field open to candidates willing to pursue a fast-and-furious three-month campaign leading up to the March 3rd primary.

Voting in the upcoming March 3rd election will be very different for Whittier and L.A. County voters. Many old polling places are gone. In their place are vote centers. Residents can vote at any Voting Center for up to 10 days before Election Day. The goal of this article is to clear up any questions and misconceptions about the new voting system.

“Unless we are actually actively going out of our way to house these individuals, the state of emergency doesn’t mean anything,” Councilmember Josue Alvarado said.