Monrovia Pastor Admits to Crack-Like Addiction ;-)

Pastor Albert Tate, of Fellowship Monrovia, writes on Facebook that, "It's like crack! And I have a problem! There I said it." His addiction appears to be a Pizookie cookie, from BJ's Restaurant (there's one on Huntington in Arcadia). And, yes, there is an addictive quality to them. http://goo.gl/ryQNlH

- Brad Haugaard

MonroviaNow Offering Advertising

MonroviaNow.com is experimentally offering ad space to local advertisers. It is the space on the left of the web page where the vertical advertisement is now. It is a monthly build-it-yourself text ad (available for October) with a limited selection of backgrounds, fonts, font sizes and colors. The ad appears on the web page, not in any MonroviaNow email.

MonroviaNow.com has had an average of 9,443 page views per month for the last three complete months (June-August). For October the ad will cost $25, or best offer. Interested? Send me a note at brad@bradhaugaard.com

- Brad Haugaard

Flag Football and Cheer | Flu Shots | Halloween

~ Flag football and cheer programs available for elementary students. Wednesdays beginning October 2.

~ Over-50 flu clinics will be held on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of each month beginning in October through December, from 9 to 10 a.m. Questions? Contact Monrovia Walgreens at 408-6590.

~ Halloween Hikes (you gotta reserve a spot) and Halloween in Library Park.

Details on all these events: http://goo.gl/83NYx1

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Over San Dimas :-)

Monrovia defeats San Dimas 26-13 in football. http://goo.gl/X7bI95

- Brad Haugaard

School Board: Monrovia High SkillsUSA Does Well in Competition | Ratify Contracts with Unions

At its Sept. 25 meeting (agenda: http://goo.gl/uZVoM0 ), the Board of Education will ...

~ Congratulate the Monrovia High SkillsUSA TV/Video Production team of Jalen Mason and Scott Card for earning a Gold Medal in the State SkillsUSA competition and for finishing in the top ten in the National SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City. Also, it will commend the team's adviser, Tom Reale, for his professional guidance and support.

~ Consider ratifying contract agreements with the district's employee unions.

- Brad Haugaard

Lunch at King Hao Chinese Restaurant

Lunch at King Hao Chinese Restaurant, at the corner of Foothill and May, three blocks east of Myrtle.  Formerly Shanghai Dumpling House. Got the orange chicken ($6.79, or $8 with tax) and a water (no iced tea available). It comes with rice and soup; I got the hot and sour. And a fortune cookie. Good food and a very generous amount. I figure there was about enough for three meals. I even like the fortune cookie fortune: "As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point your way." Great deal!

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Ranger Bikes

I saw one of the rangers at Monrovia Canyon Park zip up a steep hill with one of their new electric-assist bikes, shown here. The motor kicks in as you pedal. Looks great for patrolling the trails.

 

- Brad Haugaard

National Recreation Area Behind Monrovia? | Monrovian Faces Charges in Nebraska | Same Sex Sermon

~ An essay on Representative Judy Chu's proposal to make the San Gabriel Mountains - including the part behind Monrovia - part of a national recreation area ( http://goo.gl/kEWibf ). Chu represents the north sliver of Monrovia, roughly from Hillcrest/Grand/E. Greystone north.

~ Monrovian pleads no-contest in Nebraska on charges of transporting liquid methamphetamine. http://goo.gl/S2qjmb

~ Christopher Yuan ( http://goo.gl/EesoCE ) will speak this weekend at all four services of Monrovia's Hope Unlimited Church ( http://goo.gl/cwMmCr - on Peck near Longden) on "a Christian response to same sex attraction."

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Police: Pedestrian Hurt as Two Cars Run a Red; Smashing a Meth Pipe; Phone Threat Arrest; Etc.

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for Sept. 16-18. - Brad Haugaard]

 

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 427 service events, resulting in 69 investigations.

 

Grand Theft Auto

September 16 at 3:47 p.m., a vehicle was reported stolen from the 200 block of North Mountain.  The vehicle, a 1971 Austin Mini Cooper, was parked in front of the victim's home.  All keys are accounted for and no one had permission to use or take the vehicle.  The investigation is continuing.

 

Suspect in San Gabriel Valley Schools, Mall, & Hospital Threats Arrested by Five-Agency Team

On September 17, the collaborative efforts of the Arcadia, Covina, and Monrovia Police Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department resulted in the identification, location and capture of the suspect who phoned in criminal threats to school campuses and hospitals in the San Gabriel Valley this past week. 

 

Driving Under the Influence / Possession of Drug Paraphernalia / Destroying Evidence – Suspect Arrested

September 18 at 1:02 a.m., an officer on patrol in the area of Shamrock and Huntington observed a driver throw a can of beer out the window of his vehicle.  The officer stopped the vehicle and an assisting officer on the passenger side of the vehicle saw the female passenger attempt to hide a methamphetamine pipe in her hand.  When the officer attempted to take the glass pipe, she threw it on the ground and broke it.  Through investigation, the driver was determined to be under the influence and was arrested.  The female passenger was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia, destroying evidence and resisting arrest.

 

False Personation / Possession of Drug Paraphernalia / Possession of Stolen Property / Warrants – Suspect Arrested

September 18 at 8:07 a.m., police responded to at hotel in the 900 block of South Fifth Avenue regarding a subject who had checked in using fictitious identification.  The clerk recognized the subject as a patron they had problems with in the past.  A check of the payment method revealed the subject's reservation had a stop payment on the account and the clerk wanted the subject removed.  Officers noticed the identification presented by the patron appeared altered.  

 

Officers contacted the subject in his room.  The subject gave the officers a different name then the one on the identification he presented to the clerk.  The officers located drug paraphernalia and stolen mail in the subject's room.  A computer check of the suspect revealed he also had two outstanding warrants for his arrest; he was arrested and taken into custody.   

 

During the booking process, the suspect was recognized by a detective as the suspect in two cases he was in the process of filing with the District Attorney's office for warrants.  All of the charges will be added together and presented to the District Attorney for filing.

 

Injury Traffic Collision

September 18 at 9:33 a.m., a traffic collision with injuries involved was reported on Huntington Drive at Magnolia.  A driver heading east on Huntington ran a red light at Magnolia.  The vehicle struck a pedestrian and a vehicle traveling north on Magnolia.  Another driver traveling east on Huntington failed to stop for the same red light and drove into the crashed vehicles.  Three people were taken to area hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries.

Monrovia vs. San Dimas This Friday | LifeChurch Celebration | Monrovia Stats

~ Tomorrow, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., Monrovia plays San Dimas at Monrovia High in football.

~ LifeChurch of Monrovia, which meets in the Mary Wilcox Center, is sponsoring a Safe and Healthy Community Celebration Sept. 21 at Pamela Park at 2236 Goodall Ave., in Duarte: lunch activities for children, live entertainment, giveaways, etc.

~ Stats from the census on Monrovia. http://goo.gl/NxB6kk

- Brad Haugaard

Mayflower Closing for Railroad Construction

Mayflower Avenue will be closed between Evergreen Avenue and Duarte Road from Sept. 26 through early December while crews build grade crossing improvements for the Gold Line.

  

There will be a detour route and a free pedestrian shuttle service during daytime hours. Shuttle stops will be on either side of the tracks and signage will be posted with the hours of operation.

 

All businesses will remain open and accessible during construction.

 

Construction schedules are subject to change.

 

Source: press release

 

- Brad Haugaard

Assemblymember Chris Holden to Give State of the State Talk

Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represents Monrovia, will present his "State of the State" address to the Sierra Madre City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 6:30 pm.

He will review the state budget, prison overcrowding, affordable healthcare, education, and his bills promoting job growth.

Source: Holden press release

- Brad Haugaard

Pedestrian Goes Through Windshield of Car

Details on today's accident at Huntington and Magnolia. Three people injured and taken to the hospital. A pedestrian went throught the windshield of a car. http://goo.gl/dLVrfM

- Brad Haugaard

Suspect in Phone Threats Convicted Earlier of Bomb Threats

The man arrested on suspicion of making threatening calls to local schools (including Monrovia's Santa Fe Middle School) is the same man convicted of making bomb threats in Pasadena last year. http://goo.gl/VH7zir

- Brad Haugaard

Popeyes Chicken Remodeling

Popeyes Chicken, at the corner of Magnolia and Huntington, is being remodeled.

- Brad Haugaard

AeroVironment Competitor Goes Bankrupt

One of the competitors to Monrovia's AeroVironment, Ecotality, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It also made electric car chargers. http://goo.gl/3TWB2i

- Brad Haugaard

Injury Accident at Huntington and Magnolia

Monrovia Police report a "bad traffic accident with injuries" at Magnolia and Huntington. Use another route.

- Brad Haugaard

CIBA to Build Industrial Condos on Magnolia

The Successor Agency to the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency (the City Council wearing a different hat) agreed tonight to let CIBA Real Estate build 10 industrial condos compromising roughly 16,000 square feet and 40 parking spaces at 820 South Magnolia Ave., a few blocks north of Huntington.

- Brad Haugaard

Looking for Missing Man, Former Monrovian

A group called 'Team Robert' is searching for the whereabouts of a Placentia man, Robert Harrod, who used to live in Monrovia. He has been missing since 2009, when he was 81 years old. Placentia Police suspect foul play. If you have any information, call Det. David Radomski, Placentia Police, 714 993-8176. CBS report: http://goo.gl/KPJ8Ev . Search web page: http://goo.gl/SNNdrw

- Brad Haugaard

Parry Suggests Lockers for Homeless | Monrovia Allows Electronic Price Signs for Service Stations

At tonight's Monovia City Council meeting ...

~ Former City Council candidate Robert Parry suggested a tough love approach to homeless people in Library and Recreation Parks. The tough part would be legal injunctions requiring those who commit crimes to stay away. The love part would be for the city to work with churches and civic organizations to provide lockers (like school lockers) for homeless people to keep their stuff in. One homeless man, Parry said, told him that he had to watch all his possessions constantly just to prevent them from being stolen. Comment: Lockers ... hmm. Interesting, affordable and simple idea. Worth considering.

~ The council ammended the city code to allow service stations to have electronic fuel price signs.

- Brad Haugaard