Local News in Brief : Costa Mesa : Officials Pleased With Job Center’s Opening

More than two dozen day laborers looking for work showed up Tuesday at the Costa Mesa job center on its first day of business.

Cheryl Friedling, a spokesperson for the city, said the 25 men who came into the center between 6 and 10 a.m. had proper documentation and no one was turned away. She said contractors hired five of them.

“We were pretty pleased as far as first days go,” she said. “We hope to improve as there is more confidence on the part of the job seekers and the employers.”

Friedling said that one of the five workers hired Tuesday was promised a permanent job if he works to the employer’s satisfaction.

“Everyone who came in was cooperative and delightful. We are very optimistic,” she said.

The hiring hall, which will be open from 6 to 10 each morning, was inaugurated Monday in an abandoned gas station at Placentia Avenue and 17th Street. The city set up the facility in an attempt to rid streets and parks of day laborers seeking work.