Sheriff Lee Baca (left), Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, and Mayor Joseph Esquivel officially break ground for the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station expansion and modernization project. The $18-million, county-funded project is expected to be completed in 2007. A celebratory audience of more than 180 guests joined Lakewood and county officials in launching the sheriff’s station construction project. In the background is an artist’s rendering of the new station addition. Supervisor Don Knabe noted Lakewood’s long tradition of public safety. He said that the renovated station, which serves Lakewood and four other cities, will help protect the lives of more than 260,000 area residents. Sheriff Lee Baca underscored his department’s long history in Lakewood as the city’s provider of law enforcement services. He thanked the city council for their efforts to make the station expansion possible. Mayor Joseph Esquivel focused on the station’s “21st century possibilities” in his remarks at the station groundbreaking. He added that the station’s renovation carried on the city’s future-oriented traditions. Congresswoman Linda Sánchez thanked Supervisor Knabe and Sheriff Baca for their support of public safety and reminded the audience that federal funding will augment the station’s technological improvements. 02.22.06