Residents Use Scare Tactics: Numbers Refute Resident Claims Concerning Cerritos Library Cards

Picture courtesy Babble.com

BY BRIAN HEWS

A group of angry Cerritos residents, who have been using several anonymous Facebook pages to advance outright lies, are now circulating false messages on social media in an attempt to mislead residents after the Cerritos City Council, on a 4-1 vote, allowed Bellflower Unified students to have free Cerritos Library cards.

An annual card from the library cost $100.

The residents argued that the initial 4-1 vote was illegal and then used blatant scare tactics saying that “all 12,000 Bellflower Unified students will sign up for free cards and cost the City $1.2 million.”

Their first argument, that the Council vote was illegal, was refuted by City Attorney Mark Steres, who indicated at a Council meeting that the vote was completely above-board.

Defeated, the residents then took to social media in several questionable posts writing that “all 12,000 Bellflower students would sign up for free cards and cost the City $1.2 million.”

In a typical social media post fashion, no back-up was provided, another clear move by the residents to discredit the four who voted for the cards and advance their own political agenda, which is decidedly Republican.

Mayor Mark Pulido, and Council persons Frank Yokoyama and Grace Hu voted for the free cards; Mayor pro tem Naresh Solanki, a registered Republican surprised many by voting for the cards; Jim Edwards a former teacher and a product of Bellflower Unified, voted no.

Surprisingly, even Cerritos resident Elaine Shiohama wrote falsehoods.

Shiohama was found by HMG-LCCN in 2014 – along with other Cerritos Fine Art and Historical Commission members – spending thousands flying across the country staying in hotels and eating fine meals just to choose artwork for the City.

Cerritos Commissioners Attend Lavish Miami ‘Sculpture Symposium’

Shiohama wrote on Facebook, “This is essentially a gift of $1.2 million to the BUSD district from the city. It is not fiscally responsible to give a gift of this size especially since not long ago the residents were threatened with budget cuts that would have restricted library access.”

But a simple examination by HMG-LCCN of the individual categories for Cerritos library card holders show that the resident’s claims of “costing millions” is patently false.

Cerritos allows residents and certain other categories to obtain free cards, even allowing people who stay at the Sheraton Cerritos to have a free card.

Property owners, employees of the City, Cerritos Colleges employees and students, people who work in Cerritos, ABCUSD employees, resident and non-resident students, and active duty military personnel who are permanent or temporary residents of California can get a library card without charge as well.

The residents never complained about these groups receiving free access until the council voted to give Bellflower students access;and they failed to look at the numbers behind the cards.

The library card numbers from the City show that out of the 19,640 library card holders, 16,454, or 83% are Cerritos residents.

There are almost 50,000 residents in Cerritos meaning that over 33,000 residents, or 66%, do not take advantage of one of the most prestigious libraries in the nation that is right in their backyard.

And in another scratch-your-head type number, nearly 12,000 out of the 19,640, or 61%, card holders are over 18.

But in what will be a surprise to many, including the angry residents, of the 19,640 library cards only 295, or 1.5%, are actually paid, meaning 98.5% of the library cards are free.

That is $1.9 million in free cards.

Delving deeper into the numbers show that the policy to give Bellflower students cards will not affect the library, a fact that the residents could have found with a little research.

Of the 295 paid cards (1.5% of the total), only eight, or 2.7%, are classified as child or young adults; that is 2.7% of 1.5%

Given those numbers, only five additional children from Bellflower would sign up for free library cards.

Finally the residents’ claims of “the library will be overcrowded if we allow Bellflower students into our library” are once again refuted by the students who attend ABC schools but are not residents of Cerritos.

The numbers show that only 532 non-resident students in the ABC system have free library cards: 312 from 18 different ABC elementary schools; 58 from the middle schools; and 101 from high schools obtained a free card.

Cerritos Library cardholder number from the city of Cerritos.

eos Shea Better Body Lotion- Vanilla Cashmere, 24-Hour Moisture Skin Care, Lightweight & Non-Greasy, Made with Natural Shea, Vegan, 16 fl oz

(39425)

$9.97 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Amazon Basics Neoprene Dumbbell Hand Weights

(112612)

$21.99 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD (newest model), free and live TV, Alexa Voice Remote, smart home controls, HD streaming

(17074)

$19.99 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes, Daily Facial Cleanser Towelettes, Gently Cleanse and Remove Oil & Makeup, Alcohol-Free Makeup Wipes, 2 x 25 ct

(109946)

$9.97 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Rain-X 810165 Latitude 2-In-1 Water Repellent Wiper Blades, 22 Inch Windshield Wipers (Pack Of 2), Automotive Replacement Windshield Wiper Blades With Patented Rain-X Water Repellency Formula

(113140)

$36.18 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Stanley IceFlow Flip Straw Tumbler with Handle 30 oz | Twist On Lid and Flip Up Straw | Leak Resistant Water Bottle | Insulated Stainless Steel |BPA-Free | Lilac

(28614)

$35.00 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Anker Laptop Charger, 140W MAX USB C Charger, 4-Port Multi-Device Fast Charging, Advanced GaN Power Adapter, Intuitive Touch Controls, for MacBook, iPhone 16 Series, Samsung Galaxy, Pixel, and More

(478)

$99.99 (as of May 20, 2025 17:27 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Callaway Golf Supersoft Golf Balls

(11758)

$24.97 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Drift Car Air Freshener - Wood Air Freshener - Car Odor Eliminator - Teak Scent Starter Kit

(9690)

$12.95 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy Full Synthetic Motor Oil 0W-20, 5 Quart

(45797)

$24.97 (as of May 21, 2025 06:36 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)