And help pay for Florentino Rivera’s funeral

Today on your lunch hour, think about getting your car washed at West Summit Street and Santa Fe Avenue.

That’s where relatives of the late Florentino Rivera, 16–fatally shot Sunday near 15th Street and Cedar Avenue in what police say may be a gang-related shooting–will be hosting a car wash at 12 p.m. to raise funds for his funeral.

We know what you’re thinking–just another car wash–but no, it’s not. Neither was another recent car wash that helped pay for the funerals of three Aviles family members, who died following a fire Dec. 14 in their illegally-converted garage apartment.

Members of the Rivera family visited Long Beach City Council last night, to invite folks to the car wash, and to ask what’s being done about Florentino’s death–and I can’t remember a more heart-rending moment at a city council meeting.

And I mean ever; I’ll throw in the years I spent in the mid-’90s covering Downey and South Gate city councils too. I’ve never had a bigger lump in my throat than I did last night.

Florentino’s brother Juan, 12, spoke to the Council during the public comment portion of the meeting–and burst into tears as he talked.

“My brother Florentino died in the shooting . . . and I am very sad,” Juan Rivera said, before he was overcome by emotion. He pulled himself together and finished what he had to say: “I hope you can find who did this.”

Relatives comforted Rivera at the podium, and later in the meeting, Police Chief Anthony Batts and other police officers walked over to the slight pre-teen and knelt to speak to him and his family.

The Press-Telegram’s Paul Eakins wrote about last night’s City Council meeting, too; his account of it is here.

Tags: California, car wash, Florentino Rivera, gang-related shooting, Juan Rivera, Long Beach, Long Beach City Council, Long Beach Police Chief Anthony Batts, Paul Eakins, press telegram, Southern California, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas