Whittier Informed

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08/26/2026

A recording has surfaced from a private meeting of Whittier's city manager, and it's raising new questions about who's shaping the city's tree policy.

On Aug. 17, Conal McNamara told a room of business leaders that the entire fight over Whittier's trees comes down to one word: "healthy."

Here's the conflict: the Conservancy can sue over any "healthy" tree the city wants to call hazardous. Redefine that one word, McNamara says, and the lawsuit threats go away.

This was a foundational meeting for a new tree plan, called the Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP), being written by the city's consultants.

The consultants' contract says community survey questions will be "carefully framed" around "public safety, risk management, and the necessity of tree removal rather than aesthetics or personal preferences."

Given the recording, we asked the city manager whether the outcome is already predetermined, despite planned community outreach. He didn't respond.

The city is spending over $800k to create the UFMP.

The city already has community meetings scheduled, with first one only 3 weeks away, with no sign of promotion so far:

District 4: Sept. 17, 6 p.m., Ocean View Elementary
District 1: Sept. 29, 6 p.m., Evergreen Elementary
District 3: Sept. 30, 6 p.m., Whittwood Branch Library
District 2: Oct. 1, 6 p.m., Palm Park

Full story in comments.

08/23/2026

Whittier native Jared Jones took the mound against the Dodgers Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.

The Pirates pitcher threw four innings, struck out five, and gave up two runs on three hits. Pittsburgh led 3-0 early, but the Dodgers came back to win 4-3.

Jones made his MLB debut in 2024. Before the majors, he played at La Mirada High School.

Three Whittier residents are tired of walking past empty storefronts in Uptown, so they started doing something about it...
08/21/2026

Three Whittier residents are tired of walking past empty storefronts in Uptown, so they started doing something about it.

They call their project WAWUT, short for "Why Aren't We Using This." They built an online map marking Uptown's vacant storefronts and lots, then created a survey asking residents and visitors what should go there instead.

They've already taken their findings to a Whittier City Council meeting. They want to turn what they learn into real proposals for the city.

There are limits to what a city can tell a private property owner to do with their space.

But other cities have found ways to hold owners accountable for how long a property sits empty, through a vacancy tax, a public registry, or other fees. Whittier doesn't.

We reached out to the city to ask if a vacancy tax, registry, or other accountability measures have ever been discussed.
No response yet.

Full story 👇

State law requires the Whittier Police Department to make its military equipment inventory public and hold a meeting whe...
08/04/2026

State law requires the Whittier Police Department to make its military equipment inventory public and hold a meeting where residents can view it and ask questions.

Alongside that requirement, WPD released a report on July 17 detailing exactly how it used this equipment in 2025.

Here's some of what's in it:

Drones flew 233 times last year. Top reasons:
-burglaries and alarms (39)
-trespassing and roof checks (29)
-observing protests (20)

The armored vehicle rolled out 19 times, 7 for SWAT warrant services alongside a breaching tool and a flashbang device, every single time.

Keeping maintenence on all this equipment costs about $62,000 a year, not counting what it cost to buy.

If supplies run low on anything, from rifle rounds to tear gas, WPD can reorder up to half its stock in a year.

The department has 64,000 rounds of rifle ammunition on hand. But rifles, tear gas, and less-lethal shotguns weren't used once in 2025, aside from training.

Full report and public meeting: Wednesday, August 5, 4–7pm at the WPD Community Meeting Room.

Full story below 👇

Whittier is getting a new armored vehicle called the BATT-X, costing $428,033.It replaces an older vehicle that's been i...
07/27/2026

Whittier is getting a new armored vehicle called the BATT-X, costing $428,033.

It replaces an older vehicle that's been in service since 1979, starting with the U.S. Air Force before landing in Whittier sometime in the late '90s or early 2000s.

Chief Aviv Bar said the vehicle protects officers from gunfire in situations regular patrol cars can't handle. It gets used for search warrants on people known to carry weapons, armed standoffs, and active shooting scenes where officers need cover.

Bar clarified this isn't an armed vehicle. He said the armor itself is rated to stop rounds up to .50 caliber, one of the largest rounds available to the public, before getting into military-grade ammunitions.

City council approved the purchase 5-0.

Full story below 👇

Whittier police drones are about to get a lot faster, arriving to scenes in less than 90 seconds. The new Drone First Re...
07/24/2026

Whittier police drones are about to get a lot faster, arriving to scenes in less than 90 seconds. The new Drone First Responder system will use docking stations placed around the city. We don't know exactly where yet.

The city council approved the program July 14 in a 4-1 vote. The drones themselves cost about $1.05 million, part of a larger five-year technology deal with Axon Enterprise now totaling $3.44 million.

Once the new system is running, residents will have access to a website and be able to look up every drone flight, including the date, time, location, and reason.

Chief Aviv Bar said drones have helped find missing people, respond to armed standoffs, and even catch illegal fireworks.

They gave out 41 citations this last Fourth of July with the help of drone surveillance.

Full story below 👇

07/21/2026

Whittier seniors say swimming used to just come with their YMCA membership. Now that a new company, Premier Aquatics, is running the pools at both the East Whittier and Uptown Whittier YMCA locations, they're being asked to pay extra just to get in the water.

A group of members, including several who swim because a doctor told them to for therapy, stood up during public comment at a recent Whittier City Council meeting to share what's changed and how it's hitting them.

One senior acknowledged the city council has no authority over the YMCA, since it's an independent nonprofit, but said they came anyway to ask council members for help getting the YMCA to listen, since members say the YMCA won't respond to them.

We reached out to YMCA of Greater Whittier for comment. No response.

The proposed five-story, 998-unit public storage project would replace the longtime M&S Auto Salvage yard next to Rodeo ...
07/13/2026

The proposed five-story, 998-unit public storage project would replace the longtime M&S Auto Salvage yard next to Rodeo 72.

To build it as proposed, the developer is asking the city to transfer ownership of a neighboring piece of city-owned land so the two properties can be combined into one development.

In return, the project would add 42 public parking spaces for visitors to The Groves and Heritage Court. City staff have already warned that parking could reach maximum capacity if the CAPO Public House expands and a Korean BBQ restaurant is added.

But that parking comes with some big tradeoffs. The city would still have to approve:

• Transferring ownership of city-owned land to the developer
• Rezoning the land to allow self-storage (currently not allowed)
• Removing 50+ mature trees
• The environmental cleanup plan for the former auto-salvage yard

The Planning Commission will hold its first public hearing on Monday, July 20.

More than 2,500 pages of reports have been released so far. We sorted through them to highlight what rises to the top and what you should know before the public hearing.

Read the full story 👇

07/06/2026

A Whittier resident witnessed ICE agents arresting a man outside her home this morning, around 8:45 a.m., on Washington Avenue.

This video she shared shows the man in handcuffs, and a confrontation between agents and neighbors.

South Coast Air Quality Management District - South Coast AQMD clocked our air quality at 304 by 11 PM last night after ...
07/05/2026

South Coast Air Quality Management District - South Coast AQMD clocked our air quality at 304 by 11 PM last night after the 4th of July fireworks. They consider this "Hazardous," breaking into the worst category.

But it's clearing fast. This morning we're already down to Orange, and it should keep improving through the day, heading back toward the Green we usually sit at.

Download the South Coast AQMD app or check their site. It's useful if you or someone in your house has asthma or another breathing condition, and it also comes in handy when there's a brush fire or building fire nearby.

Update: now in Yellow category

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