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Santa Paws at Wonder Dog Ranch Today

Santa Paws will be at Wonder Dog Ranch (220 Taylor Street, Monrovia) today Dec. 3, 2014 for photos with your dog from 4-8 p.m. Free event, but contributions to the Pet Food Bank of the Foothill Unity Center welcome - unopened dog or cat food, or cash. You'll get one digital copy of a great picture of your dog with Santa. Please bring dogs on a short leash.

- Brad Haugaard

Seidner’s Collision Centers Presents Cars to Veterans

Seidner’s Collision Centers along with the Auto Club of Southern California and California Casualty presented two vehicles to local military veterans enrolled in Citrus College Veterans Success Program through the National Auto Body Council, Recycled Rides program. Citrus serves the Monrovia area.

Veteran Ashley Bozeman, U.S. Navy, got a a 2013 Kia Rio donated by the Auto Club, and Allan Weaver, U.S. Army, got a 2010 Toyota Camry, donated by California Casualty.

Ashley served in the Navy from 2007-2011 aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. In Japan she was exposed to radiation and has suffered many illnesses related to the exposure. Later she was sent to the Persian Gulf during the Iraq invasion where she again was injured. Ashley is taking courses at Citrus College towards her AS degree and holds a 3.7 GPA. She also volunteers with many non-profits in the area and helps tutor veterans.

Allan served in the Army for over 7 years, joining right after 9-11. During his deployment in Iraq, Allan was injured. After returning home in 2008, he struggled to find a job and eventually became homeless. Six years later Allan remarried, has a 2 year old son and is pursuing a degree in business at Citrus College. Allan lends a hand to the elderly or disabled with home and car repairs.

- Brad Haugaard

Santa Story Time at Monrovia Library

Children's story time with Santa at the Monrovia Public Library on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. Stories, film, snacks, crafts and Santa. http://goo.gl/M22b6r

- Brad Haugaard

Stock in Monrovia's AeroVironment Tumbles


The stock of Monrovia's drone maker, AeroVironment, has been having a rough time since it released disappointing financial results for its second quarter. The stock is down from about $30.65 on Nov. 25 to $26.32 today. http://goo.gl/OsBJj4

- Brad Haugaard

A Hansel and Gretel Not for Young Children

Hansel and Gretel by Opera Animata, Dec. 12, 13, 8 p.m. at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 122 N. California Ave. An interactive operatic version of Hansel and Gretel. Audiences will travel along with the lost children as they wander the enchanted forest and encounter the gingerbread house of the evil witch! (Not for very young children.) $20, students/seniors $16, children $10. Tickets at OperaAnimata.TicketLeap.com or at the door.

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Police: SUV vs Utility Pole; Skillet vs Husband; Vehicle Burglaries; Etc.

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for November 24-30. - Brad Haugaard]

Following are the weekend’s highlighted issues and events.

Traffic Collision
On November 25 at 1:31 p.m., police received a call reporting a possible rollover traffic collision which impacted a utility pole in the 800 block of East Huntington. Officers arrived and found the female driver of an SUV still in the vehicle and she appeared injured. She was treated by Monrovia Fire Department paramedics and Southern California Edison was called out to attend to the damaged utility pole. Wires from the pole struck a parked vehicle and caused minor damage. The driver was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation. The officer completed a DMV driver reevaluation form.

Vehicle Burglary
On November 26 at 10:06 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 1000 block of Royal Oaks on the report of a vehicle burglary. Unknown suspect(s) smashed the window of a vehicle parked inside an apartment complex sometime overnight. The suspect(s) stole a backpack containing a laptop computer. The investigation is continuing.

Domestic Violence – Suspect Arrested
On November 26 at 12:30 p.m., an officer responded to a residence in the 1100 block of Royal Oaks on a domestic violence incident. A married couple was involved in a heated argument that escalated. The wife struck her husband on the head with a cast iron skillet and threw a flashlight at his face, causing lacerations. The husband was treated at the scene by Monrovia paramedics, but he declined to be taken to a hospital. The wife was arrested for spousal abuse.

Felony Vandalism
On November 27 at 7:59 a.m., a vehicle was reported vandalized in the area of Canyon and Colorado. The victim said his vehicle was parked on the street and unknown suspect(s) broke out his rear window and driver's side window. The investigation is continuing.

Vehicle Burglary
On November 27 at 8:14 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 600 block of West Foothill regarding a vehicle burglary. The victim parked and locked his vehicle in the rear carport of his complex. Overnight, unknown suspect(s) smashed the driver's side rear window to gain entry. The suspect(s) stole an iPod from the center console cup holder and ransacked the vehicle. The investigation is continuing.

Vehicle Burglary
On November 27 at 11:38 a.m., an officer responded to the 200 block of South Violet regarding a vehicle burglary. The victim parked and locked their vehicle in the rear carport. The suspect(s) smashed the driver's side rear door window to gain entry and took a backpack that was left in the vehicle. The investigation is continuing.

Stolen Vehicle
On November 28 at 11:32 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the area of Bella Vista and Alta Vista regarding a stolen vehicle. The victim parked his vehicle at the location around midnight. When he returned to the vehicle the next day, he discovered the vehicle missing and reported it stolen to police. The vehicle is a 1989 Toyota Camry. The investigation is continuing.

Outstanding Warrants – Suspect Arrested
On November 28 at 1:00 p.m., an officer was on patrol in the 100 block of West Lemon when he saw a known subject walking in the area. The officer had prior knowledge that the subject had outstanding warrants for his arrest. The officer contacted the subject and confirmed the warrants. He then arrested the subject and took him into custody, where he remained pending his court appearance date.

Possession of a Controlled Substance / Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Suspect Arrested
On November 28 at 3:37 p.m., Special Enforcement Team officers were on patrol in the area of Fifth and Huntington, when they stopped a motorist for a vehicle code violation. Upon contacting the driver, they discovered she had two outstanding no-bail warrants for her arrest. The driver gave verbal consent for the officers to search her vehicle. The officers located heroin and drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle. The driver was arrested and taken into custody. The driver was also found to have methamphetamine concealed in her clothing.

Monrovia High Robotics Team Blood Drive


The City of Hope and Monrovia High Robotics are out for your blood.

This coming Saturday, December 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Kings And Queens robotics team of Monrovia High will be hosting a blood collection drive for the City of Hope at Monrovia High. The COH Bloodmobile will be located in the main MHS parking lot off Madison Ave, outside the Event Center. This blood drive is being held in conjunction with the county-wide First Tech Challenge robotics competition taking place at the High School on Saturday and Sunday.

City of Hope is critically short of blood for surgery patients. During the holiday season we give gifts to express our love to those closest to us. This year why not also give the most important gift of all to someone you don't even know, the gift of life.

If you would like to reserve your VIP time slot, visit the scheduling site at http://www.idonateblood4hope.org and enter event code MORT. Reservation is not required.

Source: press release

- Brad Haugaard

Flash Flood Watch for Monrovia

Flash flood watch for burn areas in LA County. That's us. Monrovia has a burn area from the Madison Fire. http://goo.gl/QlY7Jv

- Brad Haugaard

Gravel Bags Available for Monrovians Below Madison Fire Burn Area

Residents are encouraged to pick-up gravel bags at the Public Works Office at 600 S. Mountain Avenue, Monday - Thursday 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. or at the Monrovia Fire Station, 101 at 141 E. Lime Ave., Monday - Thursday and after hours including Friday-Saturday-Sunday. Gravel to fill the bags is available at 443 Highland Place and 839 Crescent Drive in Monrovia. Residents will need eye protection, gloves and a shovel to scoop gravel into the bags. Source: City of Monrovia press release

Informational Meeting for Those Wanting to Run for Monrovia Municipal Offices

If you are interested in running for public office in Monrovia, for the April 14, 2015 election, there will be a "pre-nomination candidate informational meeting" at 6 p.m., Dec. 22 at the Monrovia Community Center. Nomination papers must be filed between Dec. 22, 2014 and Jan. 16, 2015. Contact City Clerk Alice Atkins for further information: 932-5505 or aatkins@ci.monrovia.ca.us.

"I began this candidate information meeting several years ago in an effort to raise awareness about what it means to be a candidate so that people weren’t blind-sided when they came to pull nomination papers," said City Clerk Alice Atkins.  "Hopefully this meeting demystifies the process a bit."

Positions open for the upcoming Monrovia General Municipal Election are: Mayor (2 years), and two Council Member seats (4 years). The meeting is open to anyone interested in running for local government in any city or those who simply want to learn more about the election process.

Source: Monrovia press release

- Brad Haugaard

'Significant Rain' for Monrovia Area? Possible 2-3 Inches

A Pacific storm system may bring "significant rain" Tuesday and Wednesday, with maybe some sprinkles as early as tonight and Sunday. Two to 3 inches possible in the foothills and mountains. http://goo.gl/yKR1II

- Brad Haugaard

Opinion: Why Cloverleaf Is Vital for the Monrovia Hillside Wilderness Preserve

In a previous post ( http://goo.gl/sX3x5z ) I gave my thoughts on the gate that accesses the Monrovia Hillside Wilderness Preserve from Ridgeside Drive, and a reader asked for an update on the Cloverleaf entrance to the area. I want to answer that question and two more questions that haven't been asked, so ...

1. What is happening with the Cloverleaf entry point?
2. What am I missing back in those hills?
3. Why is the Cloverleaf entry point so important?

What is happening with the Cloverleaf entry point?

The Cloverleaf entry point is not open because it needs a right-of-way from private property owners. On October 27 of this year ( http://goo.gl/ctqLh2 ) I was told that the city had completed its appraisal and was ready to meet with the property owners.

A few days ago (Nov. 25) I got an update from Director of Community Services Tina Cherry, who wrote:
"We have contact[ed] one of the property owners to discuss our next step; however, they will not be available to discuss until the first of the year. We will continue to do our best to reach out to the second owner and move this forward."
I believe Cherry is trying to get this done, but I am disappointed that this discussion will not begin until the first of next year.

What am I missing back in those hills?

Well, the other day I took these pictures on the road going down toward the Cloverleaf exit. A very pretty area and I am anxious to for others to enjoy it as well.


The problem is that at the bottom of the road you encounter this patriotic but very locked gate, and are faced with the dilemma of violating someone's property rights or going all the way back the way you came.



Why is the Cloverleaf entry point so important?



The Hillside Wilderness Preserve cannot really be enjoyed by most people unless Cloverleaf is opened. Consider this map (and please forgive my poor graphics skills).

Suppose you began a hike or bike ride at the corner of Myrtle and Hillcrest, at the big blue dot. Following the blue line I've marked out, you walk up Hillcrest, onto Canyon, then Ridgecrest, then take what looks like a driveway to get to the Wilderness Preserve gate (the red bar), which you climb over and continue up, up, up to a point just before it says "New Trail." Congrats! You've made it to the top, and from your starting point you have climbed about 710 vertical feet (if my map reading is correct), plus a few miles horizontally.

Now you head down, taking the zig-zag New Trail to avoid crossing private property. Down, down, down, down. About 600 vertical feet down to the Cloverleaf gate. Plus some more mileage.

Whew! You are almost back at your starting point. You've had a great hike today and are glad you are almost done.

But no!

The Cloverleaf gate (the other red bar) is closed, locked, and you will either violate private property if you climb it or squeeze through, or you will have to keep following the blue line and climb all the way back up and circle back the way you came.

It would be so much easier if you could just continue on the purple line to get back to your starting point.

Hopefully sometime very soon.

- Brad Haugaard

Lunch at the Taqueria el Diablo


Lunch at the new Taqueria el Diablo at the corner of Myrtle and Olive. Got two chorizo tacos at $1.50 each and a medium horchata for $2.75. I wasn't brave enough to try the beef cheek, beef tongue, snouts, or intestines, but the chorizo tacos were excellent. 
  
- Brad Haugaard

Opinion: Monrovia, Please Reopen the Gate to the Hillside Preserve!

The public access gate off of Ridgeside Drive to Monrovia's Hillside Wilderness Preserve (map: http://goo.gl/PNzQYT ), which has been open most of this year, has now been locked tight, but is still officially open - Hikers can climb over the gate and bicyclists can lift their bikes over the gate or lay them down and shove them under the gate.

I asked Director of Community Services Tina Cherry why the Ridgeside gate has been locked. She responded:
"A few of the residents near Ridgeside voiced their concerns about seeing motor bikes in the Hillside. As you know unauthorized motor vehicles of any kind are not allowed and our Park Rangers patrol the Hillside twice a day, every day. The area is still open and accessible. Until the new gate can be installed, we wanted to give the area residents peace of mind that no unauthorized vehicles will be accessing the area.

"As for the new gate," she added, "we want the location to be reviewed and approved by adjacent property owners. We hope to reach an agreement in the coming weeks and install the gate, shortly thereafter."
And in response to a later question she added this:
"The thought was that pedal-power bikes can be lifted over the gate or slid under the gate; whereas someone may have more difficulty with a motorized bike. The future gate will have a separate pedestrian access, where if someone wanted to walk a bike through they could. Keeping out all unauthorized vehicles is a challenge and we are trying our best to find a balance between allowing approved access and restricting unapproved access."
It seemed that if the city wanted to exclude motorized bikes, there should be a sign at the gate prohibiting them. I looked and didn't see one, so I asked if it wouldn't be a good idea to just post a notice that motorized vehicles are not allowed.

Cherry said there is a sign. She wrote:
"Our hope would be that the signs are enough to eliminate any unlawful activity; however, that has not been the case. The attached picture shows a sign at Ridgeside where we have referenced no unauthorized vehicles, including the Municipal Code. I can see how additional clarification regarding motorized vehicles could be helpful. We will take time to review this a bit more."
Here is the picture:

I have blown up the part of the picture that shows the prohibition against unauthorized vehicles.

Yes, I completely agree that this sign could use additional clarification. I imagine one reason the sign hasn't eliminated unlawful activity is because it is unclear. I find it difficult to imagine why someone riding a little electric- or gas-assist bike would suppose this rule - illustrated by what is clearly an automobile - referred to him or her.

I'm glad that, as Cherry says, this decision will be reviewed, because I think the gate should be reopened even while the city is planning a new gate. To lock a gate to an area the public should have easy access to because someone - who may have had no clue he or she was violating the law - rode a motor-assisted bicycle up the trail seems very unfair. I think that once the prohibition is clearly posted, then the solution should be to give warnings or tickets to those who violate the law, which should not be hard since, as she mentioned, the Park Rangers "patrol the Hillside twice a day, every day."

To most people a locked gate means "keep out" or "closed," and that is the wrong message to send to people who are approaching an area that is in fact open, and which they are entitled to enter, and which they have been waiting something like 15 years for reasonable access to, and which they have been paying for through their taxes for year after year.

I don't want to be overly critical because I know the city has made some effort to open this area, but I think closing this gate was the wrong move.

- - -

Some history: Monrovians approved a bond measure something like 15 years ago to purchase this area as an open-to-the-public preserve, but both ends of this trail have been locked shut until January of this year, at which time a new gate was installed at the Ridgeside entrance and the old gate behind it was left open ( http://goo.gl/K5IGAk ). Then, recently, the new gate was removed but the old gate remained open enough so hikers and bicyclists, but not cars, could still walk or ride through ( http://goo.gl/zeccIn ). Now both ends of the trail are again locked shut. The gate at the other end of the trail, at the end of Cloverleaf Drive, has never been opened.

- Brad Haugaard






Rain Coming? | AeroVironment Stock Takes Hit | Monrovia's First Fire Engine

~ Chance of rain starting at 20% Sunday, 10% Monday, then 90% on Tuesday and 60% Wednesday. http://goo.gl/y4VXa7

~ The stock of Monrovia's AeroVironment has taken a tumble following a poor second-quarter earnings report. From a recent high on Nov. 25 of $30.69 down to $27.56 early today (Nov. 28). http://goo.gl/ZX2slF

~ Pictures and story about the restoration of Monrovia's first fire engine, a 1917 Seagrave. http://goo.gl/38FiSu

- Brad Haugaard

Special Development Zone Proposed for Monrovia's Aztec Hotel

Monrovia's historic Aztec Hotel - between Magnolia and Melrose avenues on Foothill - needs the city to cut it some slack if it is going to succeed (rough paraphrase of the city report), so city staff is recommending the City Council "create a Planed Development Area and Zone" for the property, which will give the owners a bit more flexibility than is current allowed under existing zoning, but also lets the city veto stuff it doesn't like. (Details: http://goo.gl/mzDzrZ ). The council will consider the proposal at its Dec. 2 meeting (full agenda: http://goo.gl/3XL1CQ ).

- Brad Haugaard

First Test Gold Line Train Coming to Monrovia in December

The Gold Line is planning to run its first test train into Monrovia in early December. Here's a picture of a crew installing overhead cable: http://goo.gl/XkmjUR

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Woman's Death Being Investigated | Swap Christmas Lights for LEDs

~ Thirty-one-year-old Monrovia woman dead. Sheriff's Department investigating. http://goo.gl/oS3zsh

~ Swap your incandescent Christmas lights for energy-efficient LED lights from 6-8 p.m. at the Dec. 12 Friday Night Family Festival. http://goo.gl/h1AL3A

AeroVironment Has Second Quarter Loss | Holden Named Majority Floor Leader

~ Monrovia's AeroVironment announced a $2.9 million loss for its second quarter, compared with a $1.7 million profit for the second quarter of last year. http://goo.gl/2SX0S2

~ California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announced that Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represents Monrovia, has been appointed Majority Floor Leader. The Majority Floor Leader represents the Speaker on the Assembly Floor and expedites Floor proceedings. Source: Holden press release

- Brad Haugaard

Stop Hunger Now Event in Monrovia

Video: KGEM host Ralph Walker visits the Stop Hunger Now event hosted by Monrovia Rotary Club and Monrovia High School Interact Club. http://goo.gl/iC7L0G

- Brad Haugaard