Briefly in the news

Sierra’s Light Foundation, a Costa Mesa group formed by parents of two

children killed last year, has received a $35,000 grant from the Orange

County Children and Families Commission.

Group founder Cindy Soto said she is “very happy and excited.” Her

daughter Sierra, 4, and Brandon Wiener, 3, were killed in May 1999, when

Steven Allen Abrams plowed through their schoolyard. Brandon’s mother,

Pamela Wiener, is also an active member of Sierra’s Light.

The group is dedicated to making day-care centers safer for young

children. The new grant, the largest donation the group has received so

far, will be used to assess current safety mechanisms and requirements of

preschools and day-care centers in Orange County, Soto said.

“We would like to create a database of that information,” she said.

“That way, we can start working on how we can provide help to those who

need it the most.”

Abrams was convicted of murder and was sentenced Monday to serve life

in prison.

Soto, who did not take the opportunity during the sentencing to

express her feelings, said she had better things to do that day.

“I had to do a rehearsal for a show with my students,” said Soto, who

runs a dance school in Costa Mesa. “I was giving a check to a day-care

center in Fullerton so they can build a block wall and make their school

safer.”

She doesn’t care about Abrams anymore, she said.

“I didn’t want to be there that day,” Soto said. “I had nothing to say

to him. At this point, it didn’t really matter.”