The Downey Patriot

11/22/2025

11/20/2025

DOWNEY — The Downey High School Drama Department is presenting Obie winner Qui Nugyen’s play “She Killed Monsters” (2011). Final performances are Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 pm and Friday, Nov. 21, at 7 pm. This is something not to be missed. The New York Times referred to it as a “deceptively ...

11/15/2025

Your morning catch-up: Downey hopes to finish Space Center expansion before Olympics, the atmospheric river storm hitting California and more big stories.

11/14/2025

11/13/2025

Downey Unified School District’s two comprehensive high schools have been recognized by the California Student Aid Commission for achieving some of the highest financial aid application completion rates in the state.

Downey High School and Warren High School were honored for their performance in the 2025 Race to Submit campaign, a statewide initiative encouraging seniors to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA). The program is sponsored by the Student Aid Commission in partnership with Ed Trust West.

According to certified data from the California Department of Education, Warren High reached an 87.19% FAFSA/CADAA completion rate, while Downey High reported 84.78%. Both schools rank among the top-performing campuses statewide.

“Your schools exemplify the incredible results we can achieve when we work together to support California’s high school seniors,” the commission said in its award notification.

11/11/2025

Rep. Linda Sánchez has announced her candidacy for the newly drawn 41st Congressional District, which now includes the city of Downey.

In addition to Downey, the new congressional district contains the communities of Whittier and South Whittier, Norwalk, Bell Gardens, Lakewood, La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs along with La Habra in Orange County.

Sánchez, 56, previously worked as a labor lawyer. She graduated from UC Berkeley and earned a law degree from UCLA, according to her campaign website.

Read more at thedowneypatriot.com.

11/10/2025

The City of Downey will mark Veterans Day with a public ceremony Tuesday at 10 am at the Columbia Memorial Space Center.

City Hall will be closed tomorrow. Street sweeping and trash collection will continue as scheduled.

11/07/2025

A Pennsylvania man is facing charges after allegedly threatening a local U.S. congressman with death, and arrested trying to enter a federal building.

The threats were aimed at Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, by 43-year- old Richard Griffin, who U.S. Capitol police say has "a history of emailing a Congressional office, as well as various government officials and law enforcement agencies."

Garcia represents the 42nd District, which includes Downey.

A statement issued by Garcia's office said the suspect allegedly sent a message to his congressional office, "stating that he was going to travel to Washington, D.C. to kill him."

Griffin was spotted by a USCP Rapid Response Team around 12:30 p.m. that day -- Election Day -- and "was stopped before he could attempt to go through security screening at the Delaware Avenue Door of the Russell Senate Office Building," according to a news release.

Garcia was in California at the time.

11/06/2025

The City of Downey has been awarded $5.4 million from Los Angeles County’s Safe, Clean Water Program for a stormwater capture and infiltration project at Furman Park.

Announced by Supervisor Janice Hahn, the funding is part of $24 million in Measure W grants awarded to six cities in her district, including Long Beach, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount, and Signal Hill.

Downey’s project will build an underground stormwater storage and treatment facility designed to collect and clean runoff before recharging the Central Basin aquifer. It will also upgrade Furman Park’s baseball fields, add new exercise equipment, connect irrigation to recycled water, and create a bird and butterfly garden.

The total project cost is $14.3 million, with the city contributing $2 million. The project builds on previous park improvements funded through Measure S, including new turf, playground upgrades, and bioswale installations.

11/04/2025

Downey residents will have the opportunity to learn hands-only CPR, practice extinguishing fires, and fill sandbags at an emergency preparedness fair Saturday, Dec. 6, from 11 am to 2 pm at Golden Park.

The fair is designed to help families prepare for emergencies such as earthquakes, fires, and power outages. Giveaways will also be available while supplies last.

For more information, call (562) 904-7346 or email [email protected]

10/31/2025

The Downey Unified School District has appointed Joseph Manacmul to fill a vacancy on its Board of Education, following the death of longtime trustee Barbara R. Samperi earlier this year.

According to a notice issued by the district, Manacmul was provisionally appointed on Oct. 28 to represent Trustee Area 7. The seat became vacant after Samperi, who had served on the board for more than 20 years, died Sept. 5.

Manacmul’s appointment will become permanent unless a petition calling for a special election—signed by the required number of registered voters—is filed with the Los Angeles County Office of Education within 30 days of the appointment.

Manacmul is former director of operations at Stay Arts. He also co-owned Pita GR restaurant until 2023.

10/23/2025

DOWNEY – Downey High School will host its Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in the Downey High Theater, honoring six alumni whose achievements span space diplomacy and national security, pediatric genomics and gene editing, public safety leadership, AI in media, ...