Citizen About Town

By Nancy C Arcuri, Editor and Publisher

Email: nancyarcuri@thecitizensvoice.net

Here we are in the month of June and most Americans are still in lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 so most of us only venture out of our homes to buy food, visit our banks, buy gas or other necessary items for our well being.

Some Americans are working from home; other Americans are going to work at jobs that our elected officials have deemed are necessary to keep our country surviving.

We Americans have been ordered to be “Safer at Home” since March to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19.

Now many Americans have lost their jobs, used up their savings, filed for unemployment and received their stimulus checks.

They need to return to work to support their families and help improve our failing economy.

Our United States has been under attacked by the COVID-19 virus which has costs us over 1 Million American lives.

Some scientists have stated there will be a second upsurge of this virus in the near future.

Many elected officials are slow to open their cities, counties and states because of the unknown future of this illness.

So we Americans asking to make our own decisions on the risks of being out in public to work, shop, dine and enjoy our lives.

We want to return to our past lives and not participate on some elected officials new future for all of us.

Many Monterey Park residents are very angry that Los Angeles County signed contracts with Lincoln Plaza and Garvey Inn hotels to open up temporary homeless shelter for homeless people 65 and over that could catch the virus. They named their project “Project Roomkey”.

The California taxpayers are paying for their lodging and three meals a day to help curve this virus.

The County contracts for our two hotels are set to expire in the end of June or early July.

The County and their business partners have not declared how they intend to move all of these homeless people to other housing.

Many Monterey Park residents don’t trust the Board of Supervisors or the State government to honor these contracts and move these people out of our hotels.

At the May 20th and June 3rd Council Meetings angry residents demand to know what our County and State officials are planning to do with all of these homeless people living in nice hotel rooms with three meals a day and other perks.

These homeless people are 65 years and over so they may not be able to work. Some of them may be getting pensions, Social Security or VA pensions.

Many Monterey Park seniors are living on their pensions, Social Security or VA pensions and their investments.

Many young Monterey Park families have been affected by job losses, collecting unemployment benefits, using up their savings and using their stimulus checks just to survive this economic downturn.

Now many Monterey Park residents don’t trust the County or State elected officials from placing homeless shelters in their neighborhoods that will destroy their greatest financial investment, the value of their homes.

These residents are very angry that these elected officials are placing their families, their businesses and their city in danger.

Maybe some homeless people are not a danger to the public and themselves.

Many newspapers and new reports have told stories of homeless people killing each other, killing bystanders at bus stops or train stops, breaking into homes and stores to rob them, using the public streets and sidewalks for their own toilets and dropping their drug needles on the public streets and sidewalks.

No wonder many residents and many business owners don’t want homeless shelters in their hometown.

Police Chief Kelly Gordon has stressed that it takes police officers between six or seven visits with some homeless people before the homeless people trust them.

She said that the homeless have been promised services time and time again but they were failed by the system. Now with “Project Roomkey” the services are brought to them.

City Attorney Karl Berger has cautioned the City Councilmembers that the State will prosecute any city that does not conform to “Project Roomkey”.

Now some Monterey Park residents have stated that they don’t trust our City Councilmembers any more. They also don’t trust the Board of Supervisors and the elected members of our State government.

I find it very interesting that Governor Newsom and other elected officials have passed laws that prevent the residents of California from attending their churches or their temples, their schools, shopping in department stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, bookstores and eating in restaurants until the curve is flatting and less people develop COVID-19.

When George Floyd was arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died during his arrest it was suddenly OK for people to be in public protests where some protestors not wearing masks and not keeping the six feet apart rule as the law biding citizens are required to do.

What happen to the laws that have forced us to be kept “Safer at Home”?

Many US citizens are angry at the elected officials that say to them “Do as I say, not as I do, meaning, “don’t imitate my behavior but obey my instructions.”

Not only are these protestors spreading the virus to each other and members of law enforcement. They re not flattening the so-called curve so don’t be surprised if more young people die from the virus.

If you watch TV or read the newspaper you will see that violent extremists are instigating many of the protesters to loot businesses, burn them down, attack the police officers and people who don’t agree with their political issues.

I attended a class at Catholic University in Washington, DC in 1965 that was taught by a Professor who grew up in Europe during World War II.

He warned us to be careful if we join in any protests because there are violent extremists who are paid to disrupt the protests and cause riots.

They flee as the police arrive on the scene. They have done their jobs to cause panic, violence and social unrest.

I wonder who is paying this batch of violent extremists to destroy our United States of America?

All of these protestors should study World History and our United States History to learn that at some time in history people of any race, or of any religion or of any culture have been subject to persecution, forced into segregation or forced into slavery by people who had money and might on their side.

These protestors would learn that people of African heritage are not the only people who have suffered at the hands of other people in our world.

Religious people believe that everyone is a child of God regardless of their race, their religion, their culture or their political opinions.

We need to realize that we should meet people of different cultures and learn from them as well as teach them about our culture.

The United States of America has residents from all parts of our world so we have a very good chance to visit with our fellow Americans and share our history with each other.

Our 2020 Presidential Election is scheduled to be held on November 3rd.

I hope and pray that our American citizens can read between the extremists’ lies and work together to keep our country the “Land of the free and the home of the brave”.