Motel Rooms Offered to Quake Victims

Motel owners in South Gate are making more than 100 rooms available free of charge to families left homeless by the earthquake.

The rooms will be available to families for up to a week, said Sam Patidar, treasurer of the South Gate Motel Owners Assn.

The group took the action after City Councilman Albert Robles got the idea.

“If motel owners throughout the city can donate vacant rooms . . . it could go a long way toward solving the housing problems from the earthquake,” Robles said. “We need to work together to get people out of their cars and parks and into some shelter.”