Hawthorne group loses fight for park

A Hawthorne community group lost its yearslong battle to convert a blighted, vacant lot into a park this week when the City Council voted not to support the effort.

[ninerfan211]

Tough loss.

[Jerry Orlemann]

Don't know the details, but sounds like the city had nothing to lose by letting them try to make a park work.

[Win Win]

If the business owner just wants the land for a tax write-off. Why doesn't he buy the land and let them build the park also. He could even name it after himself. I don't get it...

[Bad Idea]

Win Win wrote:

If the business owner just wants the land for a tax write-off. Why doesn't he buy the land and let them build the park also. He could even name it after himself. I don't get it...

When I read the first article I thought the same as you until I drove by the property. I don't know who in their right mind would put a park at that location, no offense to the folks that live there but I would not let my kids hang out there anyway. For those that don't know where the lot is it is over on Doty and 118th St. and you have to enter off of Imperial. Just an observation.

[Hawthorne Curiosity]

Why is Danny Juarez voting on this? Didn't he once say publicly that the young lady making the request from the city was his adopted daughter? Is it really his adopted daughter?

[Always Amazed]

I never cease to be amazed by the amount of times Larry Guidi's name is mentioned in connection with votes and actions that are connected with people who give him money. Also it is amazing how many of these people seem to be on the shady side. If I remember correctly, and I could be wrong, but I think Larry G. and Louis Velez sold motorcycles for a while on the repo lot mentioned in the article. I hope that Hawthorne School District is crossing its T's and dotting its I's when the mayor contracts with vendors for school business.

[power to the people]

It was a sad sight to see - to see Guidi get the issue wrong over and over again. But I think the group said they needed a letter from the City to maintain the property longterm in the future so that they could request funding from the conservancy.
So if the City did not agree to longterm maintanance, they couldn't request for funds.
Parsons kept explaning that to Guidi like a little kid, but he did not understand the issue.
Guidi said let me get a letter from them saying they are going to purchase and then we'll support. It was sad.

[No Name Please]

They never had a chance ...
Read the article:

"On Tuesday night, the plan failed to get three votes needed for passage, leaving the door open for a business owner and longtime campaign contributor of Mayor Larry Guidi and his allies to buy the lot."

Like Guido would NOT let that happen.

[BDD]

What else is NEW!!!!

[Torrance Mom]

Just another incident to prove that Guidi looks out for his own interests (and his cronies) NOT the interests of the people of Hawthorne...the community needs that park...they have come up with a way to pay for it...let them have it!

[Danny]

First and foremost Danny Juarez's connection to Ms. Franco is a friendship and his supporting an idea that would improve the quality of life in this city, cannot be compared to the financial relationship between the Mayor and a major campaign supporter. I believe it would have been in the Mayors best interest to remove himself from voting on the issue since he does have political and financial ties to the other party who was desirous of obtaining the property. Not only does The mayor have campaign ties to Reposes auto sales I seem to remember L. Velez driving the Mayor around in A Lincoln Navigator a few years ago that had "Reposes Auto Sales" paper Plates during the construction of the Kornblum Elementary School project. This whole thing stinks, Our Mayor continually is coming into question about his connections with Developers and Major Business owners and I wonder who will take the fall this time for the connection.

Hawthorne Residents open your eyes it is time to seriously rethink that we want at the helm of our city. VOTE in 2009

And to "Bad Idea" just keeping taking your kids to Manhattan beach to the park and keep complaining and yet do nothing about doing your part to help fix to problems.

[David]

Go Guidi!!!!

[Frankie]

Conflict of interest and corruption plain and simple. Guidi has no interest in bettering Hawthorne, just lining his pockets and keeping his campaign war chest full. Ginnie Lambert isn't off the hook either, she's just as shady as Guidi. Don't trust her little old lady act, she'll stab you in the back when you aren't looking.

[Pay to Play Guidi]

It is now clear why Guidi and Gudi Team Member Ginny Lambert did not want to support a nonprofit being given a change to buy the excess CalTrans property and make it into a local park – MONEY and lots of it from Ali Awad, owner of Repossess Auto Sales, 11604 Prairie Ave Hawthorne. How long will it take before LA County Public Integrity Division DA Max Huntsman takes Guidi and Lambert down? Shouldn’t Hawthorne City Attorney Glen Shishido be advising Guidi to not comment let alone vote on anything where he may have had a past financial interest/business (selling motorcycles)? Guidi’s days are numbered…. the public has awakened….GO VIVIANA!

[Buy a GPS]

Dear Bad Ideas, go out and buy yourself a GPS to find the proper entrance to the proposed park off of 120th St. Just down the street from the Beach Boys Monument.

[Citizen C]

All hail Mayor Greedy!!!

[Rich]

It' too bad Hawthorne as a caring city, FAILS.

time to vote these clowns out of office.

And the auto Repossesor sounds like a real civic minded kind of guy.

Citizens of Hawthorne take a note: time to clean up more than that lot.

Good Luck.

[Price and Ridley]

So are we assume Assemblymember Price, Senator Ridley Thomas, and all these politicos who take pictures and pose with Guidi stand by his actions and political behavior - like his involvement in conflict of interest deals, behind closed door deals,links to gambling rings, and saying no to parks to say to his personal pockets?
those politicians might want to plan for their political futures a little better - they too might be linked to such actions.

[David]

This is clearly another example how the mayor of this city is focused only on money and big business. It shows a complete disregard for progressive thinking and moving Hawthorne in a positive direction. This is yet another in a long line of decisions made by the mayor's office that will bury this city. Young families and those with money, beware, buy and settle somewhere else. Decisions like this show a disregard for you.

[Stephan - looking to buy]

I have been looking to buy a home and can't afford beach areas. It is city governments like this that help me in my decision. Scratch Hawthorne from my list. Good luck to those already there, get these folks out of office!