~ Now there are three places in Monrovia to ditch your old batteries. Mayor Mary Ann Lutz reports the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments has begun a battery recycling program, which includes these collection points in Monrovia:1. Digitech Camera Repair, 447 W. Foothill Blvd
2. Dollmakers' Kattywompus, 412 S. Myrtle Ave.
3. Army/Navy Surplus, 626 S. Myrtle Ave.Details: http://goo.gl/1mFCa ~ Monrovia's AeroVironment has made an $11.5 million sale of tiny airplanes to Army's Special Operations Command. http://goo.gl/b38zt - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia STAAR Surgical Results / Gardening Workshop
~ STAAR Surgical of Monrovia has announced that it will release financial results for the first quarter on Tuesday, May 3. http://goo.gl/NsKwZ ~ Free Monrovia Smart Gardening Workshop, hosted by city. Learn about composting, water and fire-wise gardening, grasscycling, how to beautify your home and garden. Saturday, April 30, 2011 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. http://goo.gl/8lXlQ - Brad Haugaard
Serve on a Monrovia Board / Round One Goes to PetSmart
~ If you are interested in serving on a Monrovia board or commission, applications are due May 12, so don't dilly-dally. Here is the application: http://goo.gl/Tbs6k ~ PetSmart, which would like to move to town, won a first round at the Monrovia City Council meeting over opposition by local veterinarians. But before the store comes to town, the city will study how much noise it'll make. http://goo.gl/jNFY0 - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Man Electrocuted
A Monrovia man was electrocuted while trimming a tree. http://goo.gl/W0rSn - Brad Haugaard
What School Will Monrovia's Nick Bueno Pick? / Horse Trainer Dies / Read to a Dog
~ Where will Monrovia quarterback Nick Bueno go to college? Cal Lutheran? http://goo.gl/ki8vd ~ Monrovia horse trainer Lou Carno has died at the age of 90. http://goo.gl/bFjrB ~ Read to a dog at Monrovia Library. http://goo.gl/JPKnh - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Wildcat Car Wash / Editor to Speak
~ The Monrovia High Marching Wildcats Band is having a car wash April 23, from 10 to 2 p.m. at Pep Boys. http://goo.gl/VoFfQ ~ Local Patch Editor, Nathan McIntire, and some of his fellow editors, will speak on "Net Neutrality" to the membership of the Foothill Community Democrats. http://goo.gl/m9Or2 - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Seafood - Big Shrimps
Monrovia FD Clearing Brush
The Monrovia Fire Department is clearing brush near some hillside neighborhoods and has contracted with "noted local biologist, Daniel S. Cooper, to survey brush-thinning project areas ... to avoid disturbing nesting birds and other environmental values, such as endangered plant species."
The California Fire Safe Council insists on the survey, and since it is paying for the one-time clearance, it gets its way.
Monrovia MAP Clones
The Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) program is getting wide notice, according to City Manager Scott Ochoa's weekly report.
MAP staff have met with community groups interested in duplicating the program in Lennox and parts of Huntington Beach.
Source: http://goo.gl/il9dX
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia City Council to Consider PetSmart
Monrovia City staff is recommending that the City Council approve a proposed PetSmart store at its Tuesday meeting. The store - which would be located at at 745 W. Huntington Drive - was challenged at a Planning Commission meeting by local vets.
City Manager Scott Ochoa writes: "At the Planning Commission, testimony was received from local veterinarians regarding the impact that these ancillary services would have on their businesses. Still, the use is allowed on the property and the City is precluded from unjustifiably denying such a seemingly consistent and compliant application."
Assuming it is approved, "the proposed PetSmart will assume the entire 25,000-square-foot retail store, and will also include pet boarding and veterinary services. These ancillary uses, contained within the PetSmart, are allowed by the zoning through a conditional use permit."
Source: http://goo.gl/il9dX
- Brad Haugaard
Get Out of Paying Monrovia Taxes / Painted Bear / Leven Oaks History
~ If you are a low-income Monrovia resident, you can apply to be exempted from the city tax for the Wilderness Preserve and Library. http://goo.gl/eLCVm ~ One of the painted bears makes an appearance in town. http://goo.gl/Vmrj9 ~ The history of Monrovia's oldest hotel, Leven Oaks. http://goo.gl/GPriC - Brad Haugaard
Adoptable Pets
Bella, the Labrador Retriever, is waiting at the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society, in San Gabriel, for a new home. http://goo.gl/LGcwg
Monrovia actually uses the Inland Valley Humane Society in Pomona, so you might want to look there, too, if you need a pet.
Cats: http://goo.gl/tdJ5K
Dogs: http://goo.gl/H3Iey
- Brad Haugaard
Rattlesnake Above Monrovia
Monrovia School Agenda: Budget, Progress Tracking, Etc.
At the 7:30 p.m. April 20 meeting of the Monrovia School Board ( http://goo.gl/xlYk6 ) the board will:
~ Receive a preliminary budget which says that Monrovia schools are going to have about $2.8 million less money to work with in the 2011-12 year as compared to the 2010-11 year. That's about a 7.7 percent decrease and is based on the Governor's January Budget Proposal, and assumes the proposed tax extension does not pass. According to David Conway, director of Fiscal Services, in light of the breakdown in budget discussions in Sacramento, this is a "best-case" scenario. Lots more painful data here: http://goo.gl/jj8M6
~ Hear a report on district plans to move more from tracking aggregate student progress to tracking individual progress. http://goo.gl/m1fuF
~ Hear a report on the Canyon Early Learning Center Program. http://goo.gl/DSOBi
~ Deal with several items regarding construction at Monrovia High.
~ Consider laying off two part-time PE attendants and a full-time painter. http://goo.gl/19NDG
~ Consider spending $390,000 for new English textbooks. As I commented before, this seems insanely expensive to me. http://goo.gl/42nc5
- Brad Haugaard
Mikomi Japanese Restaurant for Lunch
- Brad Haugaard
Santa Anita Family Service Has New President, Expanded Board
Santa Anita Family Service, with offices in Monrovia, has a new president and several new board members, as the organization continues to grow and expand its services throughout the San Gabriel Valley.
Barbara Veenstra, a resident of Temple City and a vice president of Citizens Business Bank, has been elected to head the organization's Board of Directors. She succeeds Dick Singer of Monrovia, who had served as President of the Board since 1997.
The Board of Directors itself has expanded recently, adding several new members, including Barbara Cavalier, Gloria Crudgington and Traci French of Monrovia, Jay Coleman and Chris Mead of Arcadia, Alexis Newell of Pasadena and Mike Thompson of Redondo Beach.
Santa Anita Family Service celebrates its 60th Anniversary this year, serving communities in the San Gabriel Valley since 1951 with a wide range of mental health and social services, including senior assistance and case management, family preservation programs, drug and alcohol treatment, domestic violence intervention and child abuse therapy.
Each year, the organization’s offices in Monrovia, San Gabriel, Covina and Pomona provide low-cost service to thousands of individuals and families from communities throughout the region.
Additionally, through its affiliations with colleges and universities, Santa Anita Family Service is a training ground for graduate students in psychology and counseling disciplines, and has helped educate hundreds of this region’s mental health and social service professionals.
For more information on Santa Anita Family Service and its programs, call (626) 358-1185 or check online at www.santaanitafamilyservice.org.
- Brad Haugaard (from press release)
Monrovia Has a Distillery / Y Needs Games, DVDs, Etc.
~ Monrovia has its own distillery. Who knew? http://goo.gl/gbgm2 ~ If you have board games, G-rated DVDs, art supplies and puzzles that are just lying around and need a good home, the Santa Anita Family YMCA would be happy to put them to good use. Contact karenmacnair@ymcala.org http://goo.gl/5rGA4 - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Council: Rename Olive Ave. Park? / Buy Myrtle-Duarte Property? / Fireworks / Etc.
Here are a few items that the Monrovia City Council will discuss at its 7 p.m. April 19 meeting. http://goo.gl/zDnIs ~ The Council will consider whether to rename Olive Avenue Park to "Lucinda Garcia Park." Who was she? The city report says: "Mrs. Garcia was a matriarch of the Mexican-American community in Monrovia for decades. Yet it was her efforts to achieve racial equality in Monrovia – in a period well before the American Civil Rights Movement – that made Mrs. Garcia's contributions truly extraordinary and positive." ~ The Council (aka Redevelopment Agency) will consider whether to authorize negotiations to buy the property at the south-east corner of Myrtle Avenue and Duarte Road so Lowe Enterprises Development Group (which appears to be this company: http://goo.gl/1lD6G ) can develop a retail center there. ~ The Council will consider awarding a $20,500 contract to Pyro Spectaculars for this year's Fourth of July Fireworks Show. (If you didn't see the whiz-bang show last year, by the way, it was truly awesome! You gotta go.) ~ A pilot project with the Monrovia School District to open Monroe Elementary School grounds as a weekend park was a success, and city staff is recommending the Council extend the program to all five elementary schools. ~ In closed session the Council will chat about the lawsuit filed against the city by the owner of the property that could be used for a Gold Line maintenance yard. - Brad Haugaard
Railroad Gives Up Right-of-Way for Metro Lines
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway signed an agreement today to abandon its rights to use the corridor between (roughly) the future Arcadia and Irwindale Stations along the planned Gold Line Extension from Pasadena to Azusa. That is according to the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority.Basically, if I understand this, it means Metro trains won't have to share with freight trains. - Brad Haugaard
Huff Says Governor and Republicans 'Were Close'
State Senator Bob Huff, who represents Monrovia in Sacramento, said that before Governor Jerry Brown broke off budget negotiations with the Republicans - "We were close." http://goo.gl/ZM3GO - Brad Haugaard
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