Mayor's corner: Arc Walk is a community favorite

Hi Downey Family and Friends,I hope this finds you well...Our City is doing some amazing things and I am happy to be able to share with you just a few of our upcoming events. As many of you already know, tomorrow Saturday, March 23rd is the annual Arc Walk event at Stonewood Mall. I invite you all to come out and join us in walking for this great cause, which helps to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This event is definitely a community favorite and I hope you can all join us. I spent time there last week with Downey Rotary and I always leave Arc with a big smile. It is a special place with a special calling. Great way to continue on our path to a Healthy Downey too. The Downey Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the annual State of the City event on April 24th at the Rio Hondo Event Center. I will be giving a special presentation on the great things that our City is working on and challenges that lie ahead. It's an opportunity for me to give an update on the City's current and future development projects, City's financial standing, Healthy Downey initiative, and much more. The event is free and open to the public, although there is a charge for lunch. Please contact the Chamber for tickets. The Healthy Downey initiative keeps going strong and I am proud that we have so many great Healthy Partners on board. From Kaiser, to Downey YMCA, DUSD, Coke, Applecare Medical, U.S. Army, FHCCGLA, Rancho Los Amigos, and L.A. County Public Health, we all continue to work together to promote active and healthy lifestyles. Exciting plans will be announced in the near future. As a matter a fact, next month on April 13, we will be having the first ever Healthy Downey/TLC 5K. The event will take place at Rancho Los Amigos Rehabilitation Center, with proceeds benefiting the Downey Unified School District's TLC Center. Health and wellness information booths, music, and food will be available throughout the event. For pre-registration and more information, please visit dusd.net/tlc or contact our City's Parks & Recreation Department at (562) 904-7238. I continue to have my Mayor's Walking Wednesdays at the Downey High track every 2nd and 4th Wednesday. Last week, we had folks from AppleCare Medical stop by to film a special segment on what Healthy Downey is all about. I am always excited to meet new residents and get the opportunity to chat with them. It's a fun way to get some exercise and also meet my fellow Downey neighbors. Please join me for this special Walking Wednesday series. We get outside, we walk, we talk about our great community and we even have Downey info and trivia at the end with prizes. Fun way to make us healthier...I weighed in last council meeting at 277 pounds. I started when I was sworn in as your Mayor in early December at 324 pounds. I have now lost 47 pounds and I am feeling fantastic. While I have another upcoming eye surgery on April 15th, all else is great. Next Saturday, on March 30th, we will be having another Emergency Water Barrel giveaway event at Stonewood Mall. This is a great way for us to be prepared when a real emergency occurs. We sometimes don't realize how important it is to have an ample supply of water when an emergency strikes. If you do not have a water barrel yet, this is your chance! This will be a drive-thru event and will begin at 8 am. Thank you to Coke and our Emergency Preparedness Committee and CERT. Over 6,000 have already been given out. In an effort to reduce the number of traffic-related fatalities and injuries caused by drunk drivers and unlicensed drivers, the Downey Police Department held a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Driver's License (CDL) checkpoint last Friday, March 15. Approximately 1,200 cars were screened resulting in 2 drunk driving arrests, 1 narcotics arrest, 1 warrant arrest, 61 citations issued to unlicensed drivers, and 16 vehicles being impounded for various offenses. This checkpoint was funded through grant monies obtained from the California Office of Traffic Safety. Thank you to our fine Downey Police Department for all they do in keeping our City safe along with our Downey Fire Department. Public safety and having our own Police and Fire Departments are part of the reason Downey is special. I promise I will do everything I can to make sure we keep them both local. Our citizens and community deserve the best and we have the best. I continue to present the Mayor's Diakonia Award at every Council meeting and encourage you to nominate someone who you think deserves to be recognized for going out of their way to perform an act of kindness. I started this award in 2009 to be able to recognize some of our amazing residents for all they do. The word Diakonia means "service" in Greek and the award will be presented throughout the year to those who perform random acts of kindness and who go out of their way to make a difference in the community. Please contact the City Council office at (562) 904-7274 for more information or call me on my cell at (562) 706-4114. All m y best, God bless. Dn. Mario A. Guerra Mayor of Downey

********** Published: March 21, 2013 - Volume 11 - Issue 49