LIVING

La Mirada~Since our inception in 1998, and really well before that, the La Mirada Blog and The Tony Aiello Show have advocated endlessly to have La Mirada residents shop and spend their money in La Mirada.

What do we mean by that? Well, obviously there are some stores in which you have to go out of the city limits. And obviously you will be out of town from time to time. But whenever possible, you should be making your purchases in La Mirada, especially for everyday goods and services such as gas, groceries, restaurants, etc. The city gets back approximately $1 per $100 spent from sales tax. This may not seem like a lot, but it adds up when you multiply it by thousands of residents.

For example, as we have been touting for years, let's say you spend $200 a month on gas and $500 a month on groceries.  That is $7 a month that goes back directly to the city, or $84 dollars a year. Multiply that by 500 residents and, you get the picture. Obviously some people buy more or less a month, so you do the math.

Purchasing everyday goods and services does not mean you have to be limited. For instance, the sales tax is already in the price we pay at the pump for gasoline. So, with that in mind, we always try to purchase our gas in La Mirada.

In trying  to help the local economy and save money simultaneously, we always try to purchase our gasoline at the Mobil Station on Santa Gertrudes &  Imperial. Excluding Arco, they consistently seem to have the lowest price when you compare with Chevron & Union 76-also in La Mirada. This is just one example, but still, the bottom line is: wherever we purchase our gas, we make sure it is in La Mirada.

When purchasing groceries, you have an excellent choice. We have Albertsons (Rosecrans & La Mirada), Fresh and Easy (Imperial & Santa Gertrudes), Stater Bros. (Imperial & La Mirada), and Vons (Imperial & Valley View). The Vons on Imperial & Beach is in La Habra, NOT La Mirada. There are several other smaller specialty markets in town to choose from.

These are just a couple of examples of how you can contribute to the local economy just by planning the purchases you already make.

Recently, many Orange County cities have implemented "resident-incentive" programs to get residents to realize the importance of purchasing in their community.

The La Mirada Blog publishes information for many businesses in La Mirada, and our goal someday is to include ALL businesses in La Mirada in our Internet Newspaper. If you would like to have your business listed you may email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Many months ago, the La Mirada Blog suggested to the City of La Mirada to initiate a similar program to entice residents to shop in town.

We are very pleased and excited that the city has launched its new "Shop La Mirada" program.

From now until August 31, 2009-for every $300 spent in La Mirada-residents will receive a $5 voucher valid toward the purchase of single day Splash! tickets, general admission La Mirada Theatre tickets or city recreation classes. To participate, residents simply have to turn in their receipts from a La Mirada-based store to the business license counter at City Hall. There will be a maximum of $25 in vouchers provided.

Although, this is a step in the right direction, the program seems to fall short in providing incentive to residents who don't necessarily have a desire to swim, go to the theatre or take a class. An improvement might include incentives that provide people with vouchers for help with food, shelter, or clothing.

The vouchers are good until December 31, 2009.

So remember, just about every time you make a purchase in La Mirada, a portion of that money goes into the city's coffers and back into the community-so Shop La Mirada!