El Monte

A battle is already brewing over El Monte's effort to tax all sugary beverages sold within the city, as the City Council faced criticism from residents and business groups at its meeting Tuesday. The proposal, which is one of the first of its kind in California, would add a 1-cent tax to every ounce of "sugar sweetened" drinks sold within the city. El Monte's council members voted unanimously to place the measure on the November ballot, saying that it would provide much-needed revenue for the city government and combat the health problems caused by sodas and other sweet beverages.

Faced with a crippling combination of low revenues, high labor costs and decreasing funding from the state, El Monte is moving to declare a fiscal emergency and seek a tax on sugary beverages sold within the city. The moves come as the city attempts to stave off the financial problems facing a number of cities across California. So far this summer, three cities - Stockton, San Bernardino and Mammoth Lakes - have moved to seek bankruptcy protection, and Compton officials announced the city could run out of cash in a matter of months.

In Mexico, the media called her la bonita ("the pretty one") or la chula ( "the beautiful one") or la reina del crimen ("the queen of Mexican crime"). Mexican authorities have long alleged that Anel Violeta Noriega Rios, 27, was a top operative in the La Familia drug cartel working out of the United States. They said that she helped smuggle drugs from Mexico into the United States, once using a gardening company to move drugs brought by sea into Long Beach. But when authorities arrested Noriega Rios at a modest El Monte apartment last week on immigration charges, there were no indications the woman had a 5-million peso reward on her head.

Adali Gutierrez rarely mentioned his scarred and disfigured chin. He kept quiet about the mangled lower lip that twisted when he talked. A 21-year-old raising four orphaned siblings had bigger worries. Today, however, he speaks without hesitation. A plastic surgeon has fashioned him a new lip and smoothed over the divots in his skin. Faded are the lesions that reminded him constantly of the night his parents were gunned down in Mexico. It was January 2010. Maria and Guillermo Sr. had arrived at a police station to bail out Adali, who had been stopped for drunk driving.

The mean streets of South El Monte aren't so mean any more as they are tired and sometimes desperate. The tiny bedroom community, which sprouts from the junction of the Pomona and San Gabriel River freeways, was once plagued by crime and gang activity. Now many of its residents are more troubled by poverty and unemployment. "The last three years have been hard, you know what I mean?" sighs Joseph Diaz, an out-of-work truck driver married to a secretary who also lost her full-time job. "Things can't get any worse.

Mark Walter lives in Chicago. Stan Kasten spent most of his adult life in Atlanta. Peter Guber is an L.A. guy. So, when Guber pitched a nostalgic idea on behalf of L.A. fans, his partners in the new Dodgers ownership group listened. "Curly Coo," Guber told Kasten. "There is nothing like a Curly Coo. " Google that, and you get a bar in Scotland. Kasten had no idea what the heck Guber was talking about. Millions of Dodgers fans could have explained, the ones who cheered on Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey, the ones who rooted for Valenzuela, Hershiser and Piazza, all with ice cream dripping down the sides of their faces.

In the black before dawn, Adali Gutierrez has no trouble waking. He's used to rising before the alarm has a chance to buzz. It's Friday, which means he'll be supervising a crew sentenced to community cleanup. He doesn't mind the three-day weekend shift if it means $10 an hour - - better pay than at his other job emptying recycling bins. Photos:  Taking on a leading role Yasmin is up too, taking advantage of a rare empty bathroom. She's 17 and doesn't like to be hurried when straightening her hair before school.

It started when an El Monte woman called to report an unusual pest: tiny mosquitoes that she said were biting her in the middle of the day. The complaint last week raised red flags for technicians at the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District, who know that common mosquitoes typically attack during morning and evening hours. When a worker arrived at Dodson Street, one of the insects landed on his partner, so he trapped it in a plastic jar. "He took a close look at it, and he realized we might have a problem," said Kelly Middleton, a district spokeswoman.

A 35-year-old parolee has filed a claim against the city of El Monte and its Police Department alleging that he lost much of his eyesight after he was beaten by officers. Cornelio David Chavez, 35, was involved in a violent altercation June 24 with several El Monte police officers who were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant, police said. Brad Gage, Chavez's attorney, alleged in a claim against the city that Chavez was handcuffed and beaten by officers. A claim is typically a precursor to a lawsuit.

Robbers broke through the roof of a South El Monte company, slipped down a rope, blindfolded and tied up employees and stole perhaps more than $1 million that had been destined for ATMs throughout the Los Angeles region, investigators said Friday. "This is one of the biggest robberies we've seen this year, even compared to the jewelry heists," said Lt. Kent Wegener of the County Sheriff's Major Crimes Bureau. "It appears it has all the hallmarks of a well-planned robbery at this point," he said.