But Baldwin Park officials don’t think such businesses are helpful and are taking steps they hope will drive payday lending and check-cashing businesses away. Baldwin Park was the latest city to target businesses that conduct payday lending and check cashing; others include San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, Oceanside, Pico Rivera and Montebello. And last year, the Marine Corps and the Navy successfully lobbied the California Legislature to pass a law dramatically reducing the amount payday lending businesses — common near military bases — can charge service members. The Marines and the Navy started their own quick no-interest loan programs to counter the payday lenders — which, for the most part, have stopped lending to troops, said Marine Maj. On a recent afternoon, Olivia Lobato, 31, walked out of a Baldwin Park payday advance store with $255. Read More