Mayor's Corner: breaking ground on the Promenade

Dear Downey Friends and Family:Happy Thanksgiving! Here in the City of Downey, we have much to be thankful for this year. We're blessed to have a great school district, our own police and fire departments, our own city library and even our own water system with clean, pure, fresh Downey water. We're grateful for leadership from our city manager, Gilbert Livas, and the amazing, dedicated staff who serve the City day in and day out, on nights and weekends, and generally without having their contributions acknowledged publicly. Thanks to Keep Downey Beautiful and our Public Works staff, we have clean, attractive streets. Thanks to our Neighborhood Watch and our Police Department, we have safe, comfortable neighborhoods. Thanks to our Emergency Preparedness Program and our Fire Department, we are trained and prepared in case of emergency. Thanks to our city team, we've earned more than $4 million in grants, completely redeveloped Treasure Island Park and we're looking forward to the refurbishment of Brookshire Park. Thanks to our Finance and IT departments, we have an efficient, up-to-date, fiscally sound City that recently received AAA ratings from Moody's and Standard and Poor. Thanks to our Community Development Department, we have many great new businesses in town and a thriving local economy. We're thankful for the many new businesses that have opened this year, including All Saints Café, Rapid-O Printing, Shear Vanity, The Joint, My Teeth Dental Group, Corleone Restaurant, Dave's Barber Shop, Gallatin Dental, Starfish Sushi, Pacific Fish Grill, Noodle World, Lynx Grills and many more that there is not enough room to mention. Just last week I visited, along with our fine staff, two businesses that continue to enhance our community. As part of our Red Team we visited International Paper and our newest Downey family member, Lynx Grills (they employ over 250 and growing). They are great community partners and we thank them for being part of our City. We discussed things that we can do for them and what their plans are in our City. I, along with Councilman Alex Saab, recently took a ride on a bus that is entirely electric. EBUS is located right here in Downey and they do an amazing job of transforming buses to lower our carbon footprint. We continue to have jobs that change the world right here in Downey. I also enjoyed lunch last week with Ms. Jenny Craig. Yes, that Jenny Craig. Many people do not know that she started her empire right here in Downey. We're excited for all of the new developments to come next year, especially at The Promenade! We look forward to the completion of new condominiums at Gallatin and Lakewood, and at Downey and Second Streets, and to welcoming new Downey residents into their homes. I'm thankful our Downtown Plan is working and thriving. I'm grateful for our Turkey Bike Ride coming up this Saturday. As a fellow Downey resident, I'm grateful for the selfless Downey residents who volunteer with dozens of service organizations and are involved in the more than 92 houses of worship. I'm thankful for the many community groups who enrich the lives of our children through sports, scouting and other activities. I'm particularly thankful for those who have been involved with Healthy Downey as we work to educate ourselves and our children on what it means to live a healthy, active lifestyle. In this holiday season, as the weather cools and we break out our sweaters and coats, I am personally thankful for a loving family and a warm, safe home. I am also thankful for the loving actions of so many who reach out to those less fortunate, helping to provide food, shelter and medical assistance to our homeless neighbors. I hope that you and your family have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and that you are able to take time out to count the many blessings we all share. Feel free to call me anytime at (562) 706-4114 or at City Hall at (562) 904-7274. With a thankful heart, I wish you all my best. God bless. Mario A. Guerra Mayor City of Downey

********** Published: Nov. 28, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 33