Deputies were summoned at about 8 p.m. on Thursday to a store in the Lake Elsinore area from which more than $2,000 in merchandise had been stolen earlier in the day, according to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Jarrod Meissen.

A store employee told deputies that the same suspects were back and were seen concealing items, Meissen said.

The woman and two juveniles were detained, he said.

“During the investigation, deputies recovered over $10,000 in stolen merchandise from numerous retail stores within the County of Riverside,” Meissen said. “It is believed the suspects were part of an organized retail theft ring operating in the Inland Empire.”

The woman was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and organized retail theft, he said. She was released on bail Friday morning, according to sheriff’s inmate records.

The juveniles were released to a parent or guardian with charges pending, Meissen said.

It is hard for time to fly when it often takes you two signals to cross State College Boulevard at Lambert Road due to the endless stream of vehicles turning left onto Lambert to access the freeway.

According to Sheliah Fortenberry, Caltrans’ information officer, completion of the project is expected by the end of this year. The construction began in 2019, then the coronavirus pandemic shutdown came and the project was put on hold, plus other construction delays along the way.

At this time, there is some more bridgework to be completed, along with repaving the freeway ramps and Lambert Road in that area, plus their punch list items, said Fortenberry.

Michael Ho, Brea’s public works director, said the bridgework includes the digging up and lowering of Lambert Road beneath the bridge to accommodate the new higher height limits for trucks.

“It is going on right now,” said Ho, “Starting with the center median island and then the road itself.”

Of course, that means more lane closures during the street-lowering project.

When it is completed, however, we’ll have three lanes in each direction in that area of Lambert Road, plus three for the southbound on ramp and two for the northbound on ramp. Hopefully that will help move traffic along much faster than it is right now.

So what is it all costing? Ho said the original bid award was $47.5 million. Four years later, the project’s cost is $57 million to $58 million, said Fortenberry. Funding is coming from a variety of sources including federal, state, county and local dollars.

The plans for this project have been around since 2011, when a traffic study showed the need for improved circulation of the 57/Lambert interchange, including both northbound and southbound on ramps.

Liz Pharis, Brea’s public information officer, said the city partnered with the Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans to acquire grant funds, and was awarded approximately $75 million from state and federal sources. The city committed more than $12 million for the project from its local mitigation funds, and was awarded more than $12 million from OCTA Measure M2 funds, for property acquisition and construction. She added that approximately 88% of the project funding came from grants.

Remember when a car wash was just east of the Lambert Road off ramp? That area is now part of the huge cloverleaf to the northbound 57 Freeway.

So, by Dec. 31, will we no longer have to deal with freeway construction in Brea? Well, don’t get too comfy.

According to Pharis, the city is now working with Caltrans on improvements to Imperial Highway and the 57 Freeway southbound on ramp. That project was also noted in the 2011 traffic study. Pharis noted that the project is currently budgeted in the city’s 2024 Capital Improvement Program.

Someone coming into town before the freeway project is done is Santa Claus!

Santa visits at the Brea Mall start on Nov. 9. Seems early, but why wait? Check the mall’s website for reservations for Santa photos.

Santa is also looking forward to seeing kids and families on Birch Street in Brea Downtown. Santa will be there the first three weekends in December, then he has to head back to the North Pole. Glad he doesn’t have to take the freeway.

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.

Around 4:39 p.m., police responded to a report of a BMW sedan that slammed into Tobacco Buzz at 860 W. Imperial Highway.

Security footage shared by freelance videographer OnScene TV shows at least three people inside the store, including a customer who walked in seconds before the woman drove through the front entrance, with the car stopping well inside the shop.

In an interview with OnScene TV, store employee Ansh Seth said he was behind the register when he heard glass cracking and, at a moment’s notice, felt a pile of items fall on top of him.

“I didn’t realize I was hurt until the adrenal went down,” Seth said.

He said a friend of his, who was helping fix a light at the store entrance, received a leg injury and was hospitalized.

There was no word on whether the driver, a Brea resident, was injured.

Enjoy them now, because most of these league rivalries are very unlikely to be around next season.

They could continue as nonleague games, but it’s more fun when a playoff berth or a league championship is at stake.

Orange County high schools agreed this past spring to reassemble its football leagues and conferences after this season. With the exception of the Trinity League teams, all of the Orange County 11-player football teams will placed into one basket. CalPreps’ ratings will be used to place teams into leagues. This is a football-only plan. League and conference memberships will be different for other sports.

If the 2023 football season was over, what would the leagues look like in 2024?

Let’s do this … but first a couple of items to know …

Again, the Trinity League is excluded. The four football teams with the top ratings by CalPreps will be in one league, then there will be 10 six-team leagues, and the bottom five teams in one league.

The league names have not been finalized, so the working titles are Orange County Football Conference A (OCFC A) and Orange County Football Conference B (OCFC B),etc. For this exercise, we’re going with “leagues.”

The previous two years of ratings will be used to place teams into leagues, weighted at 65 percent for the 2023 season and 35 percent weighted for the 2022 season.

Going into this week’s games, with rounded-off ratings totals, here are what the leagues would look like in 2024 (league members listed in alphabetical order):

League A: Edison, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, San Clemente.

League B: Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor, San Juan Hills, Tesoro, Villa Park, Yorba Linda.

League C: Capistrano Valley, Cypress, El Modena, Trabuco Hills, Tustin, Western.

League D: El Dorado, Foothill, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills.

League E: Crean Lutheran, Dana Hills, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Northwood, Orange.

League F: Aliso Niguel, Canyon, El Toro, Santa Ana, St. Margaret’s, Troy.

League G: Brea Olinda, Esperanza, Kennedy, Segerstrom, Sonora, Sunny Hills.

League H: Beckman, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Marina, Valencia, Westminster.

League I: Buena Park, Calvary Chapel, Pacifica, Portola, University, Woodbridge.

League J: Estancia; Katella, Los Amigos, Ocean View, Rancho Alamitos, Santa Ana Valley.

League K: Anaheim, Bolsa Grande, Costa Mesa, La Quinta, Loara, Santiago.

League L: Century, Godinez Magnolia, Saddleback, Savanna.

The margins could be tight when teams are placed into football leagues for the 2024 season. Through eight games of this season, using the Calpreps ratings, Irvine’s rating is 4.79 and Aliso Niguel’s is 4.78. So if the 2023 season was over now, Irvine would be the bottom team in League E and Aliso Niguel would be the top team in League F.

NOTES

CIF-SS football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. The 8-man football playoff brackets will be released Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. …

Yes, Orange County has 8-man football. Sage Hill, in Newport Beach, is in the Prep League and is 4-2 overall and 0-1 in league and averages 48 points a game. Vista Meridian, in Santa Ana, plays a freelance schedule and is 1-4. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 football championship game will be played at the Coliseum on Nov. 24. The first CIF championship football game played at the Coliseum was in 1923 when Long Beach Poly defeated Glendale 15-8. The most recent CIF final at the Coliseum was in 1997 when Long Beach Poly beat Mater Dei 28-25. …

It looks like the Pacific Coast Conference schools will present a proposal at Monday’s releaguing meeting that would exclude Rosary from its group. This past spring Orange County schools included Rosary in the Pacific Coast group in the approved releaguing plan for all sports outside of football. The Freeway League, which would be broken up in the passed proposal, has indicated that it would present a proposal that would keep its membership intact. …

Holly Barker of Trabuco Hills and Evan Noonan of Dana Hills, so far, are making it easy to select the Orange County boys and girls cross country athletes of the year by winning or finishing high in just about every race they enter. Barker won last weekend’s Orange County Championships and earlier finished first in the Central Park Invitational. Noonan finished first in the Orange County Championships, the Woodbridge Classic and was third in the Clovis Invitational. …

The CIF-SS Division 1 girls volleyball playoffs started Wednesday. Mater Dei swept Palos Verdes in three sets (the first was a tough one, 27-25), Los Alamitos lost to Mira Costa in three sets and Huntington Beach swept Alemany (and another tough first set there, with the Oilers winning 28-26). Division 1 pool play resumes Tuesday with Los Alamitos at Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach beat Los Alamitos in their two Surf League matches. …

Newport Harbor’s girls flag football team had its closest win of the season Wednesday, a 14-12 victory over Edison. Newport Harbor is 21-1, with the loss to Woodbridge, which Newport Harbor defeated a couple of weeks later.

Fortunately, all Brea Olinda Unified School District students, from preschool through high school can receive free breakfast and lunch every day for the 2023-24 school year.

“Under the Universal Meal Program public school districts are required to provide two meals at no-charge (breakfast and lunch) during each school day,” Assistant Superintendent Rick Champion said.

The Universal Meal Program is a statewide program benefiting all California public schools.

At present, about 1,800 free breakfasts and 3,000 free lunches are served at the district’s schools. It doesn’t seem that as many students as could are taking advantage of the program since there are 5,866 K-12 students in the district.

Remember bringing milk money to school to purchase a carton of milk to go with your sack lunch? My brother often lost his money. Well, today that’s not a problem because milk is no longer sold at Brea’s schools. If kids bring their lunches and want milk, they get it free, along with a piece of fruit and a vegetable.

What if a child only wants the milk? They have to take all three items and either eat them, trade with another student or drop them into the “share box,” where students deposit the food they don’t want. That way, a student who wants another apple, for example, can see if there are any in the share box.

And the leftover items in the share box are donated to Abound Food Care, an Orange County nonprofit corporation that collects excess editable food from schools, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores and growers and works with food banks, pantries and other nonprofits who prepare and distribute meals to those in need. So much better than being tossed in the trash can.

Champion explained that while parents are not required to submit a meal application in order for their students to receive the free meals, they are encouraged to do so to take advantage of the additional benefits of the program, depending on the family’s income. Some of those benefits include discounted AP exam fees, athletic fee waivers, discounted bus passes and Internet service.  Families can apply at family.titank12.com.

Another reason to fill out the application is that the school district gets additional reimbursements from the feds and the state for eligible families. It takes just a few minutes to fill out the form, and is so beneficial for many families. Champion noted that only about 19% of the district’s enrollment has completed the application for this school year. Why wait, folks?

Something kids and a lot of adults are waiting for is Halloween. Some Brea churches are having Trunk or Treat events on Halloween or in the days before.  Kids can go trick or treating from car trunk to car trunk in the church’s parking lot and a lot of people decorate their trunks and truck beds for fun.

And, on Halloween from 5 to 7 p.m., Treat on the Street takes place for the fifth year in Brea Downtown. It is always fun to take the kids trick or treating at all the restaurants and shops on both Birch Street and Brea Boulevard.

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.

An expert coin collector and former sports agent who represented NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman, Manley could be counted on to bet big. And on one particularly ugly afternoon at an MGM Grand Resort and Casino blackjack table, he took a multimillion-dollar hit that he blames on a drink spiked with a tranquilizer used on animals.

Manley, 57, of Brea has filed a federal lawsuit against MGM Resorts International for consumer fraud and negligence, claiming the casino kept extending his credit millions of dollars even though his behavior had become visibly erratic after someone allegedly put ketamine in his old-fashioned cocktail. On Thursday, Oct. 12, his representatives announced a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who drugged him.

Meanwhile, Manley lost $2 million in markers to MGM, which wants another $440,000, according to his lawsuit, which was filed in November 2022 and amended in July.

“Mr. Manley feels that a serious criminal act was directed at him which potentially put his life in danger,” said one of Manley’s attorneys, Richard K. Howell, on Friday, Oct. 13. “He is determined to do all that he can to track down and hold accountable those responsible.”

Howell would not comment further. Lawrence J. Semenza, the attorney for MGM Resorts International, declined comment.

30-year relationship with casino

According to court documents, Manley had a 30-year relationship with the MGM Grand, where he was treated like a VIP and offered free lodging, food, drink and access to a high-limit salon, where he played alone at the blackjack table. He also was allowed credit advances while gambling by signing “markers.”

On his most recent trip, Manley and his entourage left Orange County on Dec. 10, 2020, on a private plane provided by the casino, said the lawsuit. He was given a villa at the MGM “Mansion,” a luxury property on the grounds of the resort.

His accommodations were handled by a casino host, whom Manley had been working with for the past five years. Manley’s plan that weekend was to gamble and then play in a poker tournament at the casino.

Drink tasted ‘bitter’

He didn’t even make it through the first day. Within a half-hour of arriving, Manley was at a blackjack table, ordering his first old-fashioned from the bar in the high-stakes salon. He remarked that the drink tasted “bitter” and “dirty” and later asked when he ordered a second drink that it not be made the same way, the suit said.

After drinking that first cocktail, Manley said he felt disoriented and, while gambling, broke a glass ashtray, cutting his hand. MGM staff noticed him bleeding on the felt table and moved him to another blackjack station, so he could continue gambling, the suit said.

The casino did not seek medical aid for Manley, but gave his friend some Band-Aids to patch his hand in the restroom, the suit said.

Manley was given application after application to increase his maximum credit limit even after his casino host told Manley’s friends that pit staff had noticed he was acting erratically. In all, Manley’s credit limit was raised three times.

“MGM did nothing to stop (Manley) from further gaming play or to otherwise check on his well-being despite its casino host expressly commenting upon his ‘erratic’ behavior,” the suit said.

Left $500,000 on table

After staying three hours in the high-limit area, Manley and his friends left to go to the Venetian, without realizing he had left $500,000 in chips on the table.

Manley never made it to the Venetian. Friends quickly recognized something was wrong with him. He couldn’t stand or walk on his own and fell repeatedly on the way back to his villa, the suit said.

Shortly after being helped into bed, he collapsed for the night at about 5:15 p.m. He awoke the next morning feeling nauseous and groggy, complaining to hotel staff that he believed he had been drugged.

After his immediate return to California, Manley sought medical treatment and submitted his hair follicles for drug testing. According to the lawsuit, the tests were positive for ketamine, an anesthetic that can cause hallucinations. Manley had never intentionally ingested ketamine, said the suit.

Disavowed markers

He filed a police report in Nevada and a complaint with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Manley also disavowed the markers taken after he was allegedly drugged.

Manley “lacked capacity to enter into any requests for additional credit advances or credit instruments,” the suit said.

Anyone with information on the alleged drugging is asked to call 800-608-6155. Information also can be submitted by email to info@debeckerinvestigations.com. Terms and conditions of the reward offer can be found at www.Reward4InfoCasinoDrugging.com.

Several new tenants will join a sprawling outdoor retail area, approved by the city last December.

With no timeline announced, property owner Simon said it’s bringing to the mall the high-end fitness gym operator Life Time, Zara, Pacific Catch, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Philz Coffee and The Melt.

Also see: Philz, Snooze, Sender One among new shops coming to Bella Terra

Din Tai Fung first opened in Orange County in 2014, drawing big lines at South Coast Plaza as diners waited to enjoy Shanghai-style soup dumplings. The family-owned restaurant chain has locations in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Korea. It’s been expanding across Southern California ever since.

By demolishing the former Sears store and its auto store and building on 7 acres of parking lot space, Simon will have room to add an outdoor retail setting featuring a plaza, greenery and an array of shops entered from the street.

The mall operator also is adding a seven-story apartment complex with several hundred units.

You can check out more of Simon’s plans for the mall at simon.com/breamallmakeover

Pasea Hotel launches restaurant renovations

Tanner’s Restaurant at Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach is closing Monday, Oct. 30 as the hotel embarks on a $5 million renovation of its dining venues.

A new food and beverage program is planned for spring 2024.

The hotel, which debuted at the beach in 2016, hired Vincent Savignano as its director of food and beverage to lead the renovations. He previously was in charge of food and beverage operations at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa after a three-year stint as that hotel’s executive chef.

Amid the renovations, Pasea will open a pop-up concept called The Study Kitchen + Bar. It will have an indoor dining room, bar and ocean-view veranda and dining options in the hotel’s private cabanas.

Treehouse Lounge, the rooftop bar at the hotel, will remain open during most of the renovation period.

Editor’s note: Operators of Paséa Hotel on Tuesday said that Tanner’s closing date has moved to Oct. 30 instead of Oct. 29. 

Goodwill replacing shuttered Big Lots in Orange

Orange residents may have noticed there is new life coming to a vacant Big Lots in the same shopping center as Home Depot.

A temporary Goodwill poster hangs from the building at 1821 N Tustin St., where workers were seen moving in and out of the retail space.

Goodwill confirmed the store will open by December, marking the second retail shop for the nonprofit in the city.

The organization told the Register in September that it is on a 10-year expansion plan to double its footprint locally. It recently opened another new store in at 790 N. Brookhurst St. in Anaheim.

CEO Nicole Suydam said in a Sept. 1 story that Goodwill OC has a “bold goal” of growing to about 50 stores by the next decade.

The nonprofit operates 23 secondhand retail shops in the county, including five OC Goodwill Boutiques and its e-commerce platform ShopGoodwill.com.

AlzOC gala is Nov. 11 in Irvine

Alzheimer’s Orange County will host its annual gala fundraiser Nov. 11 in Irvine with the theme “A Night to Remember.”

The event will feature Grammy award-winning singer Steve Tyrell. Festivities include a cocktail reception, dinner and concert with Tyrell, followed by a dessert and dancing.

The AlzOC gala also will have a live auction and a virtual silent auction.

To learn more about the event and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.alzoc.org/gala.

Art collection at JWA

The Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach’s art collection is now on display at three terminals at John Wayne Airport.

The exhibit is available through Nov. 1 and features nearly 90 artworks by 60 artists selected from the Festival’s Permanent Art Collection.

On the move

Elizabeth Andrade has been named executive director for 2-1-1 Orange County, a free service that connects residents to housing, food assistance, utilities, transportation and other resources offered by local nonprofits and government agencies.

Appointments

Orange County resident Stephen Hicklin has been appointed as a judge in the Orange County Superior Court. Hicklin, who has been a sole practitioner since 2018 and of counsel at Bonial & Associates PC since 2020, fills the vacancy created by James L. Crandall, who retired. Hicklin is a Democrat.

Aliso Viejo resident Christina Petteruto has been appointed to the advisory council on Improving Interactions between People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Law Enforcement. Petteruto has been general counsel at the Regional Center of Orange County since 2017. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Petteruto is a Republican.

Good works

As part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, community volunteers and staff at the Be Well campus in Orange painted Green Bench OC’s newest bench installation. The movement aims to improve community understanding and acceptance of mental health and wellness. By painting benches lime green, community organizations reduce stigma and create safe spaces for mental health conversations.

Higher Ground Youth & Family Services in Anaheim raised $565,000 at their annual fundraising gala on Sept. 30 at its Decade of Impact Gala. The event raised money to help underserved youth and families. For more information or to donate, visit Highergroundoc.Org.

San Clemente’s Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens raised over $240,000 at the Toast to the Casa gala. The money will go toward Casa Romantica’s rebuilding efforts.

Friendly Center raised $145,000 at its One Heart Gala held Sept. 30 at The Ranch Events Center in Anaheim. The money will go toward providing stability, opportunity and hope to Orange County children and families in crisis.

Status Update is compiled from press releases by contributing writer Karen Levin and edited by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos to sgowen@scng.com. Allow at least one week for publication. Items are edited for length and clarity.

It is interesting how it all came about.

According former Brea city manger and mayor, Wayne Wedin, via email, “We did know the civic cultural center components would have the ability to draw people from a greater distance to shop at the Brea Mall.”

He added that there were many discussions and information gathered from around the country regarding what to include in the new civic and cultural center and how it could support the success of the new mall. And promote the arts.

The mall continues to thrive and is growing, and so is the popularity of Brea’s performing arts theater, the gallery’s popular exhibits and the beautifully renovated Orange County branch library. Now it is time to prepare for Brea’s future of the arts with a new Cultural Arts Master Plan.

Wedin was also instrumental in getting Brea’s Art in Public Places started in 1978, after seeing public art displayed across cities in Europe and the United States. It is a Brea requirement that when a large development is constructed, a work of art must be included. I think all the art pieces, even the few I don’t care for, add to Brea’s culture.

And what about the future? I recently took part in an Art & Culture Visioning session at Brea’s Civic and Cultural Center. It was an informal brainstorming session on what we want, art and cultural wise, in Brea’s future.

It was the first of three approximately 2-hour sessions held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26, 27 and 28. The session I attended was presented in English. The Wednesday session was in English and Korean and the Thursday session in English and Spanish, enabling more Breans to participate. If you missed them, more sessions are expected.

There were 10 attendees at the visioning session I attended, and they included city residents or folks who worked or lived near Brea and have interest in Brea’s art and cultural offerings. Rounding out the session were a few city employees, but they mainly observed.

The session was lead by Rick Stein, president and CEO of Arts Orange County, a nonprofit independent arts council and Orange County’s official local arts agency that promotes the arts and provides art education.

Carrie Hernandez, Brea’s community services manager, brought in Orange County Arts to be instrumental in developing Brea’s Cultural Arts Master Plan.

A steering committee for the project was formed in May, and the plan is expected to be presented to the City Council in December.

We were told the purpose of the visioning sessions was to get input from the residents and other attendees that will be used to create the master plan. We were queried about our interest in art, some people told of memorable experiences they had from an art piece or exhibition, and what art opportunities they would like to see in Brea.

Some of those opportunities included a location for youth and adult artists to create and display their artwork. Also how an event like a tamale festival can include art.  The idea is to have a Cultural Arts Master Plan that the people want and will enjoy for years to come.

We were told at the visioning session that we could take the art and culture survey on the city’s home page. I was able to, but then it was removed due to a glitch, but was expected to be back up soon. And it probably is by now.

It is available in English, Korean and Spanish.

Do take the time to fill out the survey and let Brea know what you think should be a part the city’s art and culture future.

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.

From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the center will host Brea’s annual Health Fair & Flu Clinic. This is the health fair’s 24th year, and some 400 to 500 people are expected to attend.

“To get a free flu shot, individuals only need to show their insurance cards,” said Rebecca Matta, program manager with the Community Services Department/Brea Senior Center. “No proof of age is needed.”

The health fair has come a long way since the early days, when it was just a flu shot clinic, according Matta. Shingles and pneumonia vaccines will also be offered.

While the health fair is not just for seniors, many of the health screenings and vendors’ services and products are geared toward older residents.

Something always very popular is a free year’s supply of Omega-3 Fish Oil supplements. Andrew Kim, owner of Spoonful Corporation, donates them for the health fair every year.

Besides health screenings, attendees can receive a lot of health and welfare information and even free samples and goodies from many of the 53 vendors with booths at the health fair.

Booths will be located in both senior center buildings and on the covered patio between them. I can’t list them all of them, but some of the vendors include HICAP, St. Jude Wellness Center, Braille Institute, the Orange County Council on Aging, local dentists, senior home care providers, various health plan representatives, Medicare information, spine specialists, eye care providers, senior living facilities, restaurants that feature healthy meals, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute located at Cal State University Fullerton and even places to tone you up, including Nifty After Fifty and the new UFC GYM Brea, plus many other businesses catering to seniors.

The Brea Health Fair is definitely the place to get those fall vaccinations and lots of information on staying healthy.

Another way the Brea Senior Center promotes healthy living is with its Senior Grocery Program. The center partners with Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, which delivers a large truckload of fresh, frozen, packaged and canned foods, even milk and eggs, to the senior center the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, serving approximately 175 households.

I stopped by last visit to see how the program worked. I learned it works quite smoothly, thanks to the efforts of the Brea Senior Center personnel and several volunteers, including VIPS or Volunteers in Police Service, members. Those volunteers were busy filling tables around the main room of the senior center with all the food for folks to take.

Matta said the food is not just for seniors, but you must be an Orange County resident. She also noted that Second Harvest supplies groceries for all of the senior centers in the county. Usually attendees are limited to filling one grocery bag, but on the day I visited, there was enough food that they could fill another bag or two.

Everyone brings their own bags or small, wheeled grocery carts. Only one person per family can shop and that person is given a number between 1 and 10. The numbers are called in random order, and 10 people with the same number make their way around the tables, collecting what they want. What a great, budget-saving program for our seniors. The next grocery giveaway day is Sept. 26.

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 robbery occurred around 7:54 p.m. at 405 West Imperial Highway, near Brea Boulevard. Two men and one woman entered the store, filling multiple trash bags with vitamins and medicine, including GNC supplements, said Brea Police Sgt. Richard Wildman.

Police said the thieves reportedly cleared an aisle full of merchandise.

No injuries were reported. The robbers fled in a white Jeep Cherokee with a getaway driver, said Wildman.

Details on the total value of the items stolen were not immediately available.

Flash mob summer: How can retail theft stampedes be stopped?