Whittier – The Generation X-Files

Enjoy It While It Lasts: Gas Prices Have Already Bottomed

12May

By X ManNo Comments

News, Views

Enjoy It While It Lasts: Gas Prices Have Already Bottomed

On New Year's Day, gas prices in California averaged about $3.59 a gallon. Through January and February, prices drifted down a little. But during the week of March 10th, the world started to change. Panic over the COVID-19 pandemic set in. On March 19th, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide "Stay at Home" order to all 40 million California residents. From this point on through May 8th, only essential businesses such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations remained open. Everything else closed. Professional sports were canceled. The people of California, the world's fifth largest economy, almost completely stopped driving for nearly two months. Demand for gasoline sunk and this set in motion a subsequent drop in gas prices. (adsbygoogle = windo...

Southern Californians: Visit Historic Whittier

Located near the geographic center of Southern California, Whittier is accessible to 19 million potential visitors. Founded in 1887, Ye Friendly Towne offers several historic places worth seeing. In 1850, California became the thirty-first state. That same year, the last governor of Mexican California purchased the Rancho Paso de Bartolo. That former governor's name was Pio Pico. The Rancho included areas of the cities of Whittier and Pico Rivera, hence the origin of the name Pico. The ranch also included much of unincorporated Whittier. In 1853, Don Pico built his mansion and lived there until 1892. In 1887, members of the Society of Friends, led by Aquila Pickering and Jonathan Bailey, purchased a separate ranch of 1,259 acres from John M. Thomas. This ranch was adjacent t...

It’s Obvious: The Time is Now

Last year, a homeless encampment went up at Parnell Park. This year, a second homeless encampment appeared on the Whittier Boulevard Greenbelt. To help prevent new encampments from going up, the Council must act on affordable housing. Homelessness in Whittier In my May 29th, 2018 post, I argued there's no shortage of market rate housing, only a shortage of affordable housing in Southern California. [1] Nearly one year later, this fact remains true. If one has cash or credit, he or she can purchase a home. On the contrary, affordable housing is still in short supply. Those who need it are forced to wait months or even years before a unit or even a shelter bed becomes available. Whittier First Day operates a shelter with forty-five beds but it has a three to four month wa...