Dear Downey Family,I hope you are all enjoying your summer and that you are staying cool during the hot weather. The summer nights have been perfect for Concerts in the Park. If you haven't had a chance to attend one yet, we still have a few more weeks so come out and enjoy great music along with family and friends. I have to say this concert series is one of my favorite City events and I encourage you all to join us on Wednesday nights. Concerts are held at Furman Park beginning at 7 pm. Hope to see you there next Wednesday! Another great event coming up is the annual Taste of Downey, which is scheduled for Thursday, September 20th. Mark your calendars as this year we are adding an "Arts & Wine" theme to the event. You can purchase your tickets now at the Downey Theatre for a discounted price of $20 for 10 tastes. If you purchase tickets before July 31st, you automatically get entered into a drawing to win two show tickets for the 2012-2013 season at the Downey Civic Theatre. Hurry and buy your tickets now at the Downey Theatre box office, online at www.downeytheatre.com or by phone at 562-904-7230. Don't miss out on this great community event! I also want to remind you all that effective Saturday, August 4th, the Downey Farmers' Market will be moving to Downey Avenue, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. We hope that this will not only help enhance our Downtown area, but also benefit the businesses on Downey Avenue by attracting more business. The Farmers' Market offers a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, gourmet breads and cheeses, fresh flowers and more. Please continue to support our market every Saturday from 9 am-1pm. This past Tuesday, my fellow Council colleagues and I had the opportunity of attending a special groundbreaking event over at Treasure Island Park. Our City was fortunate to have received a $400,000 Prop 84 grant to help make improvements at this park. Thanks to this grant, the following improvements will be made possible: installation of a new decomposed granite walking path, new drought-tolerant turf and native landscaping, irrigation system improvements, lighting improvements, new picnic tables and benches, nature interpretive signs, and new playground equipment. Construction is set to begin early next month and be completed by April 2013. A special thank you to the neighborhood group Unity in the Community for working with us in helping to improve this park and for being so active in their community. Our Space Shuttle Mock-Up has finally come out of hiding! On July 12th, we successfully relocated the Shuttle Mock-up to the Downey Studios parking lot, where it will be temporarily stored until we are able to build a permanent facility for it. We are currently working on a plan to schedule tours for the public to view the Shuttle inside the temporary tent. More details on this will become available soon. Our goal is to eventually construct a building for the Shuttle next to the Columbia Memorial Space Center and for this we will need help from the community to help fundraise for the construction of a facility. We want to be able to keep our Shuttle, and we hope that with everyone's support we are able to collect enough donations to help build a permanent home for it. If you would like more information on how you can help support us in reaching our goal, please call the Columbia Memorial Space Center at 562-231-1200. The City is also holding a Shuttle naming contest to help find a name for our very own Shuttle. Downey residents, students, business owners, former site workers, and people that work in Downey can submit entries for the naming contest. Log on to our City website to download an application or email your request to shuttle@downeyca.org. Be part of Downey's history by helping to name this historic shuttle. The deadline for entries is August 31, 2012. Last, but not least, stop by West Middle School tomorrow Saturday, July 28th from 8 am-11 am and receive a free emergency water barrel. We all have to remember that storing an ample supply of water is one of the most important steps that we can take in preparing for a real emergency. I cannot emphasize enough how important is it for all of us to have enough water stored when an emergency strikes, as there is almost always a shortage of water supply after disasters. Thank you to Coca Cola for donating the water barrels for this event. Sincerely, Mayor Roger C. Brossmer

********** Published: July 26, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 15