We went from using our own trash cans for everything, then came the three-cart system for separating yard waste, trash and recyclables.

Now we’ve advanced to the next chapter of trash.

As of July 1, we are required by law to separate our organic refuse. It is the result of Senate Bill 1383, the residential organic waste recycling law to keep useable waste out of the landfills, and help improve the environment. It was signed into law in September 2024. It is now in effect.

Brea residents have been alerted about it through mailings, online, City Council meetings and in the Brea Line newsletter. Still, several people I’ve spoken with didn’t recall hearing about it or forgot about it starting July 1.

Many of us received the Residential Service Guide by mail on June 29 or 30 and others still haven’t received it, or thought it was junk mail and tossed it out.  It has good information that tells exactly what goes into our yard waste, trash and recycling carts. Too bad it wasn’t sent a week earlier, and reminders posted on social media, the city TV channel and on the electronic message boards around town.

Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale starts July 12. I can’t count all the pre-sale email promos I’ve received more than two weeks prior to that date. Maybe the city and Republic Services should follow Nordstrom’s example on getting the word out.

But the time is now. Are you tossing your food scrapes, pizza boxes and used paper plates and napkins in your yard waste bin? I surveyed 25 Breans and got varied responses. Most said they would adhere to the program. Some said they are already bagging food scraps, freezing them and then putting them in the yard waste cart on trash day, something recommended in the guide.

Others said their freezers are full, so freezing food scraps was not an option. Even more people said they probably would keep putting food scraps in their black trash cart. That can cause contamination.

The new law requires contamination monitoring. If a contamination inspector sees you threw last night’s leftovers in the trash cart instead of the yard waste/organics cart, a courtesy notice may be left on the cart. If it happens again, you may be fined.

One person I surveyed said he would put vegetable waste in a countertop container and empty it into the brown cart, but not meat waste, which he will continue to put in the trash cart.

One couple said they are redoing their yard, the cart is always full, and they don’t want to throw food waste in it. Think it is gross.

Several people are concerned about smells, flies and critters, so they do not want to put food waste into the brown cart. Francesca Vivanti, Brea’s recycling pro, suggests layering organics with the yard waste to keep smells down and the lid closed to keep rodents away.

At the recycling info booth at Brea’s July 4 Country Fair, Vivanti told me that eventually we will get new refuse carts and the old ones will be recycled. I learned that shredded paper is not recyclable and goes into the trash cart.

She also suggests putting cardboard in the bottom of a paper bag to catch drips from collected food scraps. When full, toss the bag in the yard/organics cart.

Other people are composting their food waste, something I may do. We don’t like change, but in time, this system will be no big deal.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

I was a copywriter for a major retailer, writing print ads and press releases, along with Tom, the other copywriter.

Tom and I had the same education, responsibilities and experience. Then one day I discovered that although our jobs were equal, Tom was paid more than me. I asked our boss why. His response: “Oh, Terri honey, you are single and live at home. Tom is married and has a baby.”

Terri Honey soon found another copywriting job where I earned more money and was treated as an equal staff member.

Unfortunately, stories like mine are still happening today. That’s why women entering or trying to advance in the business world can learn a lot through the Women’s Rising Leadership Academy, offered through the Brea Chamber of Commerce, of which I am a member.

According to Brea Chamber President and CEO Lacy Schoen, it all started at Cal State Fullerton in 2015 in its College of Business and Economics, where the CSUF Women’s Leadership Program began. Schoen was invited to sit on the university’s programs board and later became a paid consultant for the program.

Schoen proposed refinements to the program for working women that would center on workshops on overcoming barriers. It would be offered through the Brea chamber.

The Women Rising Leadership Academy was approved by the chamber’s board of directors and in 2022, in partnership with CSUF, was launched.

WRLA consists of eight intensive 3-hour workshops, including women’s workplace issues, executive women’s insights on overcoming obstacles to leadership, developing executive presence, salary negotiations, increasing your influence, communicating with men, the unwritten rules of workplace success and learning lessons from academy grads. The instructors are women executives dedicated to helping other women succeed in business, said Schoen.

In addition, participants have access to five one-on-one coaching sessions, a follow-up support group of WRLA grads and access to local professional job opportunities. So far, there are 250 WRLA grads.

Participants must be able to attend at least seven sessions, be able to make a commitment to their personal growth, and be able to apply what they learn.

The number of participants varies; the last session had 130 per workshop. The academy is open to women of all ages.

“Most women are in their mid-careers, so 35 to 55,” said Schoen, “however we have participants each year as young as 20 and as mature as 67.”

The next session begins in September. The last day to apply is Aug. 15.

A $50 deposit is required when applying, but returned if you are not accepted.

OK, the important part – the cost. Tuition is $1,000, but the first 80 applicants each receive a  $703 WRLA Scholarship provided by the program sponsors. Those 80 women, if accepted for the program, will pay their $50 deposit plus $31 per month for 8 months.

Women applying after the 80 scholarships are awarded have to pay the $1,000 fee. If you are really interested in being in the program, apply now. Go to womenrisingleadershipacademy.com for the application link. Brea chamber membership is not required.

The program has 18 sponsors, including the County of Orange, John Wayne Airport, Chapman University’s Argyros College of Business & Economics, Chevron, the Orange Chamber of Commerce and Amazon, to name a few.

The WRLA graduates I’ve spoken with said they are more confident in their ability to compete and rise in the business world.

“The opportunity to engage with accomplished facilitators and network with a community of inspiring, ambitious women was truly invaluable,” said graduate Lea Veakrakmann.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

Main Event Entertainment, a family friendly entertainment venue owned by Dave and Buster’s, is taking over the former Regal Edwards Theatre in Brea Downtown, currently the home of The Father’s House OC church.

The church had occupied that spot for a few years, but their lease ends in August, said Mayor Blair Stewart.  So they are now searching for a new home. We hope they find it soon.

At the May 13 Brea Planning Commission meeting, Main Event Entertainment was granted a conditional use permit, or CUP, to be allowed to serve beer, wine and distilled spirits in their restaurant, establish a sign program and make other improvements to transform the property into an entertainment center.

It will feature bowling, laser tag, an arcade, billiards, virtual reality, escapes rooms, gravity ropes and lots more, plus a restaurant.

It should be a great spot for kids’ birthday parties and, according to their website, also school parties and corporate team-building events.

Main Event Entertainment has 58 locations in 20 states, and the coming Brea location will be the fifth for California.

Sounds like an exciting addition to Brea Downtown, and they expect to open sometime next year.

Across town, Sky Zone Trampoline Park is planning on jumping into the former Von’s Market site at Brea Boulevard and Central Avenue. While it is not yet official, it should be soon, according to Mike Revak, Sky Zone’s chief operating officer. He also noted that they have 35 trampoline parks in California and over 265 in North America.

“We are currently in the design phase,” said Revak, “Permit applications and other actions will begin soon.”

Sky Zone will make tremendous changes to the Von’s site, but may disappoint people living nearby who were hoping for another market.  The property owners, however, made the decision to go with an entertainment venue instead of a market. That center’s current zoning allows a venue like Sky Zone to move in.

Maybe Sky Zone’s popularity will bring more people to the center who will also patronize the center’s other businesses.

So what will Sky Zone offer? A lot. The 23,000-square-foot location will feature plenty of action-packed fun with trapeze swings, a zip line, free-style jumps, ultimate dodge ball, something called the Drop Zone, a Sky Slam and other challenging, fun feats. Lots of foam blocks mean safe, soft landings from those sky jumps, swings and romping around.

It will be a great place for birthday parties and special events that Revak says will be filled with action-packed adventures.

Sky Zone’s main appeal is for families with kids 2 to 12 years old, but older siblings are also welcome. A lot of the high swings and zip lines and sky jumps will surely appeal to teens.

They will also have special activities for tots, or Little Leapers as they call them. Toned down activities designed for youngsters with special needs are also offered during sensory hours.

One rule everyone must follow at Sky Zone is that you must wear socks. No shoes or bare feet allowed. They don’t want all the soft blocks and cushy surfaces torn by shoes. Wear your own socks or buy their Sky Zone socks.

The same socks-only rule applies at Little Elephant, the indoor spongy play place for babies and tots, located by Embassy Suites.

So it looks like there are a lot of fun places coming to Brea, including a 15,620-square-foot Barnes & Noble bookstore, opening Oct. 29 in the Brea Plaza, according to Waad Nadhir of BOSC Realty Advisors, owners of Brea Plaza. Maybe it too will mean less time spent with noses in phones for kids.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at daxoncomm@gmail.com.

But in July 2022, it shut the doors of the center for good. Since then, the three-story, 637,503-square-foot building has sat empty, along with the on-site parking lot plus an additional one on Surveyor Avenue.

It is vacant now, but perhaps not for long.

Amazon hopes to open a parcel delivery facility at the Valencia Avenue property. It means tearing down the three-story building to make way for the much smaller Amazon warehouse facility.

Amazon’s proposal is to construct a single-story, 181,500-square-foot facility, consisting of a 163,350-square-foot warehouse, 18,150-square-foot office space, plus two 49,000-square-foot attached canopies for additional van loading.

The one-story facility would employ 231 employees, plus have 345 delivery service partner drivers and 97 Amazon Flex private carriers. That’s a long way from 3,000 employees.

At the May 13 Brea Planning Commission meeting, there was a public hearing on Amazon’s project, which is considered a “last-mile facility.”

As a last-mile facility, large trucks would deliver parcels for loading onto vans for delivery to our homes and offices. The facility would operate 24/7, with up to 31 line-haul trucks coming and going from the site daily, including 22 line-haul trucks arriving between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., limiting daytime impact.

According to Assistant City Manager Jason Killebrew, Amazon’s line-haul trucks would take Imperial Highway to Valencia, go left on Nasa and enter the property at Surveyor Lane. The plan is for the empty trucks to exit the same way they came in.

That way, the trucks are traveling only a short distance on Valencia, only between La Floresta Drive and La Cresenta Drive.

The prospect of big trucks traveling any distance on Valencia all night got La Floresta residents whose properties back up to the road quite concerned. They already have the trash trucks on Valencia heading to the landfill during the day and aren’t looking forward to more big trucks on Valencia all night.

“Amazon has met with residents of the La Floresta community several times since the project was first proposed,” said Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly, “We also work hard to be a good neighbor … and have already made changes to our plans in Brea.”

He added that as the process continues, they will work with local officials, residents and stakeholders and answer their questions about Amazon’s operations.

Twenty-four people spoke about the project during the public comment time, and they were evenly divided between those for the project and those against it.

In the end, the commissioners voted 5-0 for the project. Within days it was appealed, and will be presented at a future City Council meeting.

So far, there is no date set for the hearing.

What there is a date for is the annual Health & Wellness Expo presented by Brea Fitness, which will be 9 a.m. to noon on May 31 at the Brea Community Center, on Madison Street, across from Brea Mall.

There will be free health screenings by Providence St. Jude Medical Center, fitness demonstrations, other exhibits, lots to see and learn about, raffle prizes, too.

If it is time to get in shape for summer. Learn how to at the Health & Wellness Expo.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

High school graduations, summer camp and vacation plans. It is also time to prepare for wildfires. Wildfire season is year-round, so preparation should be taken very seriously.

One way to learn how to do that is to attend the Wildfire Preparedness Workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 29 at the Brea Community Center.

Brea Fire Marshal Nicole Pesqueria said the workshop is open to all Brea residents, and there will be speakers from the fire, police and public works departments.

“We have a special guest speaker,” said Pesqueria, “Retired Fire Captain/Fire Marshal Rich Snyder, who will be talking about how his home survived the fire in Altadena.”

That should be very interesting to learn how his Altadena home survived while others, like my friend Julie’s, burned to the ground.

Persqueria also noted that the workshop will include vendors with information on home-hardening products. Home hardening is using fire-resistant building materials and vegetation management, such as planting succulents, to reduce fire risks.

Attendees will also learn about emergency preparedness and evacuation planning, including where to go if you must evacuate.  This is all good information for preparedness for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Attendees will also learn about Class A roofs, and if your home has one. Important to know. I remember years ago when my family moved to Brea our house had a cedar shake roof, like all the other houses in our neighborhood. It was replaced with concrete tile quite a while ago. And cedar shake roofs are banned in California. Good news.

If you don’t know if your home is in the wildfire zone, there will be a large map at the workshop and you can see if it is. Some people think if they don’t live in the canyon then they must be safe. Not true. Check the map.

Be sure to put the Wildness Preparedness Workshop on your calendar. No RSVPs needed, but come early. Persqueria is expecting around 200 to 250 attendees.

“The more the merrier of course,” she said. “Just not over capacity because the fire marshal frowns upon that.”

I bet she does.

After you get informed about wildfire safety, make plans to come to Brea Bonanza Days Country Music Festival in Brea Downtown, May 16 to 18. Great country music, line dancing lessons and lots of boot-kickin’ fun.

Free general admission, plus VIP seating. More info at BreaDowntown.com.

And for more music, dancing and family fun, it’s the annual Summerfest at St. Angela Merici School, May 30 to June 1. There will be lots of games, carnival-type rides, food booths, awesome entertainment and free admission.

Net proceeds from the sales of food, drinks and ride and game tickets benefit the school at 585 S. Walnut St.

And it is not too early to make plans for Brea’s July 4 Country Fair at City Hall Park by the Brea Museum. Soroptimist of Brea/La Habra, of which I am a member, is hosting, for the second year, the Most Patriotic Baby Contest.

There will be three categories: Birth to 6 months, 7 to 12 months and 13 to 18 months. Last year, a couple of us had to walk around the park inviting people to enter their babies in the contest. So plan to enter your little one in their cutest red, white and blue outfit.

I know July 4 is several weeks away, but we want lots of entries this year and for babies’ parents and grandparents to make plans to get the little ones in the contest and to enjoy the fair’s events that day. Put it in your calendar now.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

Sound familiar? Not for the culinary arts students at Brea Olinda High School.

Approximately 180 students are enrolled in the two-year culinary arts program, Culinary 1 and Culinary 2, where they do everything from peel potatoes or make pasta noodles from scratch to creating sumptuous entrees and beautifully decorated cakes.

The culinary arts program is led by Janet Steinmetz, who has been a family and consumer science teacher at Brea Olinda for 37 years. Cooking methods and equipment have had many changes in that time, and the equipment in the program has also changed.

“We currently have a 40-quart Hobart mixer,” said Steinmetz, “an industrial dough sheeter-laminator, three-compartment sinks, and a variety of other small kitchen equipment.”

There are seven mini-kitchens in the Kitchen Room, six for the student groups of four, and one for teacher prep, demonstrations and storage. Each kitchen has a six-burner stove, sinks, prep counters and other equipment to help the students develop and improve their kitchen skills and sanitation practices.

Principal Joey Davis said last year the former sewing classroom became part of the culinary program, so now the students have two large rooms for culinary instruction and experience.

The new room is mainly used for lectures, demonstrations, book work and tests, explained Steinmetz. Eventually that room will be used for the advanced Culinary 3 program featuring baking and pastry.

The students work in teams with an executive chef, chef, sous chef, dish washer and a dish dryer who make sure all equipment used is clean, dry and ready for use by the next class. Sanitation is emphasized for all the students.

The students also learn proper knife skills, the importance of measuring correctly and all the steps in recipe and menu preparation and presentation. They prepare an entire meal for Thanksgiving and other cultural holidays.

The day I visited the class, all six kitchens were each preparing a different kind of rice that they all would sample. Sushi rice was one of the six. Steinmetz noted they would be making sushi rolls the next week.

A popular culinary event is the annual cake baking and decorating competition for which all the school’s students and staff vote on their favorites. From the photos I saw, it is hard to choose the winners.

The students can also earn their Food Handlers Certification required for California food service workers. It is part of the curriculum in Culinary 1.

“The students then study for and take the test at school,” said Steinmetz. The exam is paid for by a Perkins grant.

The students, through workplace learning, can also earn college credits for Cypress College’s culinary program.

And if you aren’t a BOHS student, check out what will soon be cooking in Brea Down.

The Kitchen Classroom, a cooking school for kids and adults, will open in June on Birch Street in the downtown. It will offer classes, workshops and summer camps for individuals and groups. Future chefs and home cooks will learn to cook, bake and decorate, all from scratch.

Groups of Scouts, home schoolers, even little ones age 3 and up, get to cook.

“The little ones get hands-on experience by mixing, scooping, sprinkling and tons of fun,” said Chef Sarita of The Kitchen Classroom in Diamond Bar and soon Brea.

Food prepared is enjoyed on-site or taken home to share with their family. I bet not much makes it home.

Something very special at the Brea location will be workshops for kids and adults with special needs, including sensory-friendly environments and flexible pacing.

“These sessions are thoughtfully scheduled during quieter times to make them as welcoming as possible,” said Chef Sarita.

Ready to improve your cooking skills? Check out Thekitchenclassroomdb.com.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

It didn’t end until nearly midnight. Both projects were approved 4-0.

Councilmember Steven Vargas had to recuse himself from the public hearing and the vote for both projects because his home is 653-feet from the proposed location. According to the rules, if one’s residence is within 500 to 1,000 feet of a proposed project they must sit out the discussion.

There’s been a lot of attention to both the 120 Brea Plaza Living Apartments, to be constructed above a two-story parking structure in the Brea Plaza Center, and the Village at Greenbriar project next door to it. That project would transform the former Mercury Insurance building and parking structure into 178 for-sale attached homes, plus one detached home. The project’s access is Greenbriar Lane, across the street from Glenbrook homes.

At previous City Council and Planning Commission meetings, mainly Glenbrook residents have expressed concerns about cut-through traffic using their neighborhoods and the new residents, with only one- and two-car garages, parking extra vehicles on their streets.

It seems with every housing project that comes into town, traffic is the No. 1 concern for most Breans, but often in vain.

Remember when the Brea Community Hospital and several doctor offices at Central and Tamarack avenues were demolished to make way for the Central Park Village with apartments, condominiums and commercial spaces? People raised fits over all the traffic they thought those projects would create.

Guess what? There is less traffic now than before, no sirens, and good ingress and egress for the entire development.

“Site Drive continues from Central Avenue through the development to provide access to Central Avenue and Tamarak Avenue,” said Jason Killebrew, assistance city manager. He added that there is also a driveway that connects Central Avenue to Ellis Drive. No backed-up traffic from that development.

I think the Brea Plaza Apartments project is fine and would fill in the area where the theatre once was, wrapping around the west side of the shopping center, behind Buca di Beppo.

It would be walking distance to Mother’s Market, several restaurants and a ton of shops and services in the shopping center. Plus resurfacing the parking areas will add more parking spaces, according to BOSC the center’s owners.

The Greenbrier project has other challenges, mainly with parking. The 179 homes would have only one and two-car garages. There are no driveways and you’ll be required to park your vehicles inside the garage. That means no turning the garage into a home gym, office, man cave or fill it up with all the stuff you should have tossed out or donated years ago.

There will be guest parking. But will it be enough? Greenbriar Lane residents fear it will not.

I have several neighbors with two or three-car garages who park no cars in them, but have ample driveway space for their vehicles.

Killebrew noted that this “for sale” residential development would have an HOA with Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) that will explain the restrictions on garage use and be enforced by the HOA. Potential buyers will be fully informed of the strict garage rules.

“Those CC&Rs would be recorded on title and presented and agreed to by every potential homeowner during the escrow process,” he said.

Surprisingly, at the April 1 City Council meeting, the majority of the speakers at the public hearing were in favor of the projects, but some folks emailed the city their opposition.

Both projects were set to be on the City Council’s April 15 agenda for a second reading. Usually, the second reading is included in the Consent Items near the end of the meeting and voted on with a single vote, unless one or more council members wants to have further discussion about it.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

The rest of the sculpture is now secured at the city’s public works yard.

Over the past four months, two more Brea public art pieces have been stolen or disappeared: “Vicky” at Puente Street and Whittier Boulevard and “Porpoise at Play,” at East Palm and Moonstone streets.

According to Brea Police Lt. Tony Barbosa, of the Investigation Division, offivers were able to recover “Vicky.” Well, sort of.

“Unfortunately, the statue had been cut up for recycling, and as a result, was no longer intact to be returned as an art piece,” said Barbosa. What a shame.

He added that very often, stolen artwork is targeted for scrap recycling, not for reselling as art.

The Brea Police Department works closely with law enforcement partners in our neighboring cities to track down metal thefts, exchange suspect information and share intelligence, Barbosa said.

“This collaboration,” he said, “includes using nationwide databases that monitor modus operandi, suspect descriptions and the types of metal being stolen.”

Jennifer Colacion, Brea’s community services manager, said that since the Art in Public Places program was founded in 1975, it has grown to include 192 art works, but 11 of those pieces have been stolen.

Maybe it is time for artists to work in other mediums that aren’t worth much or anything for recycling. How about clay, tin, steel or wood?

Brea is one of just a few SoCal cities with a public art program. It is also one of the first in California to have a private art development program, requiring new developments to include an art sculpture under certain criteria.

An art sculpture is required of developments of $1.5 million or more, and the cost of the sculpture must be equal to 1% of the project’s total building valuation.

The artwork must be a permanent outdoor sculpture that is placed in public view, owned and maintained by the property owner and lit at night. At present, security cameras aren’t required, but many of us think they should be.  Maybe they also need to be surrounded by barbed wire.

And just any ole sculpture won’t due. No scooping out yard sales for one. The developer must commission an artist and have the proposed piece formally reviewed by the Art in Public Places Committee and the Cultural Arts Committee before being accepted for the development.

There are, however, some development projects exempt from the public art requirement. Those include houses of worship and residential developments with less than four dwelling units. Also exempt are public facilities constructed by nonprofits. Affordable housing projects are issued case-by-case exemptions, said Colacian.

When a property is sold, the public art piece remains with the property and becomes the responsibility of the new owner to maintain it.

The proposed Village at Greenbriar project is a good example of that. According to Colacian, that project will get credit for the sculpture currently on the site, “The Road Ahead,” which was originally installed by Mercury Savings. She did note that the project may require an additional art installation. That is something that would be confirmed if and when the project is submitted for plan check.

We should all be proud of Brea’s Art in Public Places program, and if you see something or someone suspicious by an art piece, let the police know.

“See something, say something” could save one of our city’s public art pieces.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

At the March 11 Brea Planning Commission meeting, two proposed housing projects were presented in a public hearing.

First was BOSC’s Brea Plaza Living, proposing 120 apartments, including six affordable units, built above a two-story parking structure at the Brea Plaza Center at Imperial Highway and Associated Road.

What raised red flags with the commissioners and some Brea Glenbrook residents who live near the shopping center was that the parking structure would only have 95 parking spaces.

But according to City Planner Joanne Hwang, “The surface parking area  will be reconfigured as part of the project, and would include 53 spaces.”

She added that the entire shopping center would have a total of 789 spaces.

I was surprised that more Glenbrook residents were not present at the Planning Commission meeting. Many of them were strongly opposed to a previous housing, mixed-use project for Brea Plaza, mainly for potential traffic and lack of parking that they assumed would cause apartment dwellers to park in their neighborhood. They wanted it put on the ballot and let the people decide. Instead, BOSC rescinded the project.

This project is smaller with additional parking. Will it be enough?

The second project was Village at Greenbriar. It would be at 1698-1700 Greenbriar Lane, where the vacant former Mercury Savings building and a three-story parking structure now stand.

The 164,908-square-foot former office building and three-story parking structure would be demolished to make way for the Village at Greenbriar with 179 for-sale, housing units, plus a private park and other amenities. Included would be some three-story units with rooftop decks.

Slides of the project shown at the Planning Commission meeting looked like a very attractive development.

The legal owner of the property is Greenbriar Lane, LLC, and Dwight Manley is the agent of record, according to Jason Killebrew, assistant city manager. Manley’s property at Mercury Lane and Berry Street would house the 85 affordable units required by law for the Greenbriar project.

The main concern of Greenbriar Lane resident Carolyn Dail, who spoke at the meeting, is the prospect of Village residents parking in front of the neighbors’ houses and traffic, especially cut-through traffic.

The project’s attached one- and two-car garages have no driveways for extra vehicles or space to park parallel behind the garages.

Commissioner Tom Donini voted to abstain on the Brea Plaza project, and Commissioner  Ted Gribble was advised by the city attorney to recuse himself from that project’s discussion and vote due to his involvement in the group that strongly opposed the previously rescinded Brea Gateway project.

Donini rescued himself to the Village at Greenbriar discussion and vote due to taking a campaign donation from one of the project’s principals.

In the end, both projects were recommended to the City Council. A public hearing on both is expected at the council’s April 1 meeting. If you have questions, issues or compliments about either project that’s the time to speak up.

This is also the time to save $10 per ticket for the Brea Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Brea from 5 to 9 p.m. on May 22 in Brea Downtown. March 31 is the last day to save. Go to Tasteofbrea.com to buy your tickets.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.

Griffith has served as interim manager since December, when longtime City Manager Bill Gallardo retired.

As city manager, Griffith is the city’s chief administrative officer and is accountable to the City Council. The city manager also advises the council on policy items that affect the city organization and the community. She will also appoint the executive directors and ensures city services meet the highest standards, as determined by council policies.

Being a city manager is a huge responsibility, especially since the exec is responsible for the implementation of the city budget and assures it supports the council’s goals.

Griffith brings a ton of municipal financial experience with her.

“I am truly honored to be entrusted with the opportunity to lead such an exceptional community and organization,” Griffith said. “Serving as city manager is a tremendous responsibility, and I am committed to working closely with the City Council and the entire Brea community to ensure a thriving and prosperous future.”

In addition, Griffith is a member of the Orange County City Managers Association and the Integrated Law and Justice Agency of Orange County. She serves as treasurer for both organizations.

This appointment makes Griffith the first woman to serve as a Brea city manager in more than 100 years. She is also the 10th female now serving as a city manager in 10 of Orange County’s 34 incorporated cities. What about statewide?

Said Ken Pulskamp, executive director of the California City Management Foundation, “We did a survey of the city managers in the state and learned 24% are female, so it is not unusual at all.”

Something else not unusual is the success of another Brea 8K Classic presented by Brea Mall. Now in its 32nd year, the race was again a huge success.

“We had 2,288 registered for the 8K this year, and this compares to 1,862 last year,” a big increase, said Brea 8K Director Elizabeth Fuchs,

Besides the racers, Fuchs said they had 350 volunteers. Kim Beckley and I, representing Soroptimist of Brea/La Habra, were among those volunteers and spent a good part of the Saturday prior to the race registering the participants.

The annual race is a USATF sanctioned event and net profits from it benefit Brea Olinda High School’s band, choir and color guard. The Brea 8K is a major fundraiser for the three groups.

According to Fuchs approximately $50,000 was raised. She added that an annual budget of approximately $150,000 is needed to support the band, color guard and choir programs.

So who won the 5-mile race up and around Brea?

First over the finish line was Ryan Thompson of Corona. Next in was Alexandro Vielma of La Habra, and third to cross the finish line was Jose Murillo, also from La Habra.

Mayor Blair Stewart officially opened the race and was also a participant in it. The awards were presented by BOUSD Superintendent Brinda Leon and board members Joseph Covey, Deana Miller and Carrie Flanders.

It was another successful Brea event. Maybe you’ll run or walk it next year, right?

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.