The Brief

At a candlelight vigil at Monterey Park City Hall, loved ones of those slain in an attack a year ago on a local dance hall shared remembrances before a hushed crowd.

The somber mood all but dissipated when survivors then decided to mark the date in the most fitting fashion they could think of: joining a dance party.

Many drove just a little over a mile from the vigil to the World Seafood Restaurant to waltz and tango to live renditions of songs like “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” in between dining on roast duck.

One particularly striking moment was when Cindy Lao, one of the survivors of the mass shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, guided a formation of line dancers to a Chinese pop hit called 'The Small Droplets of Rain in March" — the same song they danced to the night of the shooting.

Another survivor and the party’s organizer, Lloyd Gock surveyed the boisterous scene with a look of satisfaction.

“Look how happy everybody is,” Gock said. “This is the proof that we are still here, right?"

The party capped off a day of events to mark the deadliest shooting in Los Angeles County history.

On Jan. 21, 2023, a 72-year-old gunman fired upon the Star dance studio in Monterey Park, killing 11 people and injuring nine. Huu Can Tran next tried to attack the Lai Lai ballroom in Alhambra but his gun was wrested away by Brandon Tsay, whose family owns the dance hall. Tran fled the scene and was found dead later of a self-inflicted gun wound. Police have not provided a motive.

Eric Chen, a pastor who's been assisting survivors, leads the attendees of the dance party in a moment of prayer and reflection for those lost.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

On Sunday afternoon, more than 20 community leaders and state, county and local politicians met at a roundtable held at the Bruggemeyer Library to discuss the policy improvements in gun control and mental health care that have come about in the aftermath of the shooting – and what other work remains to be done.

Law enforcement was roundly praised during the roundtable for their response to the shooting. But Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, said she hoped in a future emergency that first responder organizations would reach out more quickly to community groups, who have the cultural competency to work with Monterey Park's Asian-majority population.

“I reflect back on so many missed opportunities in those first critical 48, 72 hours where we were not in close contact between the nonprofits and those first responder organizations,” Joe said. "Include us as real partners in your effort to reach the community."

Congress member Judy Chu, who represents Monterey Park, spoke at a roundtable also attended (from l. to r.) U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez; Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Wong and council member Vinh T. Ngo.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

A new law is expected to improve communication between first responders and the community.

Sponsored by Assembly member Mike Fong, who represents Monterey Park, the law require in-language emergency updates from public agencies that serve populations where 5 percent or more speak a language other than English.

After the roundtable, politicians joined local residents outside City Hall for a vigil where people held LED-lit candles.

Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez leads the candelight vigil at City Hall.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

At the vigil, the owner of the Star dance studio, Maria Liang took the stage.

“I’m so sorry for what happened last year at my studio,” said Liang, who was not present the night of the shooting. “It was a very tragic night. I lost eleven friends and because of that the studio is closed.”

Liang said she thought that life had mostly returned to normal in the community but she feared that for the victims’ families and survivors, “the emotional wound may not be healed.”

A candlelight vigil was held outside Monterey Park City Hall to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting on a local dance hall.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

She described herself as still a bit “traumatized and nervous.” But she said she was hopeful that another tragedy could be averted through community engagement with gun control efforts.

The stage was adorned by paper lanterns decorated by community members as part of a project of the MPK Hope Resiliency Center which was opened last year to assist survivors.

In a sign of how much Monterey Park has changed and adapted, crisis counselors, many from the resiliency center, were on hand during Sunday’s vigil to speak with anyone struggling.

Counselors with the MPK Hope Resiliency Center were on hand to help anyone struggling at the vigil.

(

Josie Huang

/

LAist

)

Kristenne Reidy, the daughter of one of the victims, Valentino Alvero, shared with the crowd how difficult it was to go any event with dancing or singing without feeling a "tremor of sorrow and fear."

But she said she recently attended a dancing event for survivors and brought her three young daughters who danced so enthusiastically that "I could almost see my dad saying, 'See Kristenne, it runs in the family.'"

After the vigil, Reidy was part of the group that went to the dance party at World Seafood, where she smiled at her daughters as they loped across the dance floor.

A slow leak from a chemical tank smeared an orange cloud across the sky of a Southern California neighborhood on Tuesday, but authorities said they quickly got it under control.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Aaron Katon said authorities responded to a business that makes cleaning products after receiving a call shortly before noon about the cloud. Police evacuated a nearby middle school as a precaution, Katon said.

They do not yet know what the chemical was, but all shelter-in-place orders have been lifted, he said. The regional air quality management district has deployed staff to the area to investigate, said Connie Villanueva, a spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The company, Shepard Bros., could not immediately be reached for comment.

Three company employees reported minor respiratory irritation and declined further treatment, Katon said.

The leak occurred in the city of La Habra near a mix of residential neighborhoods and industrial warehouses about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Anaheim.

Keary Godinez, who works in a nearby restaurant, said she saw what appeared to be a dark yellow cloud spread across the sky. The 20-year-old said she watched students across the street board buses to evacuate, but police told her the eatery could remain open.

“It looked like pollen dust,” Godinez said, adding she didn’t detect a smell from the cloud. “It just kind of smeared in the sky and started going away.”

La Habra Mayor Jose Medrano had urged residents to shelter in place and said some streets were being evacuated.

Luis Gomez, who manages a nearby pickleball program, said earlier Tuesday he saw the cloud, called police and was told anyone within a mile radius of the location was under an evacuation order.

The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of former coach Phil Jackson outside their downtown arena next year.

The Lakers announced the plan Tuesday to honor Jackson, who led the Lakers to five championships and seven NBA Finals appearances during two stints totaling 11 seasons as their head coach.

The statue will be unveiled April 9 before the Lakers’ home game against Minnesota.

After his famed tenure leading Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to six championships, Jackson joined the Lakers in 1999 and immediately began another era of major success for the 17-time NBA champion franchise.

His first three teams in Los Angeles won championships behind the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and the Lakers added two more titles in 2009 and 2010 led by Bryant and Pau Gasol. His Lakers also made the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2008.

Jackson set the Lakers franchise record for coaches with 610 victories while leading his teams to the playoffs in every year of his tenure, which ended in 2011.

“Phil Jackson defines championship basketball for a reason,” Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His masterful approach to coaching brought out the best in some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. After he accepted my dad’s invitation to join the Lakers, Phil’s unmatched creativity and commitment to excellence restored our championship legacy, bringing five titles and setting a standard of excellence for generations to come. It is a great joy to be able to mark that achievement with the statue he so richly deserves.”

Jackson will be the ninth person associated with the Lakers to be honored with a statue in Star Plaza outside their arena. He joins Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bryant, O’Neal, broadcaster Chick Hearn and former coach Pat Riley, whose statue was unveiled earlier this year.

Jackson’s 11 championships as a head coach are the most in NBA history. The North Dakota native and former New York Knicks forward is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.