On March 15, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will be hosting the annual FuzzFest in Old Town Monrovia during the Friday Night Street Fair to find cures for childhood cancers. Over the last 3 years raised almost $94,000. Get your head sheared or donate, or both. https://is.gd/oGjEhN
- Brad Haugaard
Winds Tonight Through 9 p.m. Tuesday
UPDATE 2: Now extended to 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Winds from 9 p.m. today through
"Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result." The 210 may have strong cross winds.
- Brad Haugaard
School Board to Consider Renaming Bradoaks Elementary School
~ Renaming Bradoaks Elementary School to Bradoaks Elementary Science Academy.
~ Approving $83,898.60 to install a drain and artificial turf in the foul area of the MHS baseball field. To Biltright Construction, $68,520.28; and to purchase materials, $15,378.34 to Artificial Grass Liquidators, Inc. https://is.gd/L9AjrV
- Brad Haugaard
Dinner at 38 Degrees
Dinner at 38 Degrees, on the south side of Colorado about a half block east of Myrtle. Got the Pastrami with sides of kimchi and “beans and greens” for $17 and a beer for $7. Really excellent!- Brad Haugaard
City Plans Mural to Accompany Japanese Neighborhood Treasure Plaque
The art should convey the story of Japanese Americans in Monrovia, reflecting their history and their impact they had on the formation of the City.
For more information contact Kerri Zessau, in the Monrovia Community Development Department at kzessau@ci.monrovia.ca.us, or by phone at 932-5564.
- Brad Haugaard
Power Outages this Sunday - Midnight to Noon
Approximate areas affected.
The outage will allow SCE to upgrade infrastructure, make improvements, and other repairs. For questions call Southern California Edison's outage phone number at (800) 759-6056, or Monrovia's Department of Public Works at 932-5575.
- Brad Haugaard
Robotics Adviser, Students, Discuss Trip to Spain
Listen to the discussion on School News Radio, here: https://is.gd/sCXV2L
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Police: Thieves Go After Catalytic Converters; Thieves Grab Louis Vuitton Bag and Wallet; Washing Machine Quarters Burglary; Pedestrian Hit By Vehicle; Etc.
During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 406 service events, resulting in 73 investigations.
Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
January 30 at 1:39 a.m., a resident in the 100 block of W. Olive called police to report someone was attempting to open her front door. Officers arrived and found an extremely intoxicated male standing near the front door. It was learned that the male subject used to live at the location and was only rattling the door knob. Monrovia Fire responded to the scene, but the subject refused to go to the hospital. The subject was too intoxicated to care for himself and was arrested for public intoxication. He was held for a sobering period.
Burglary
January 30 at 8:38 a.m., a burglary was reported at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of E. Royal Oaks. The suspect cut a hole in the window screen and entered an unlocked window. The suspect drilled the locks on the washing machines and took a small dollar amount of quarters from the machines. Investigation continuing.
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Suspect Arrested
January 30 at 8:39 p.m., a male subject called police to report that another male subject threw a stick at his vehicle while he was at a business in the 200 block of E. Huntington. Officers arrived and located a subject who matched the description provided. A consent search of the subject revealed he had a glass pipe in his possession which is used to smoke methamphetamine. There was no damage to the reporting person’s vehicle. The male subject was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and issued a citation to appear in court on the charges.
Warrants – Suspect Arrested
January 31 at 9:20 a.m., a resident in the 500 block of N. Alta Vista called police to report a suspicious vehicle in the area, possibly casing homes in the neighborhood. Officers arrived and located the vehicle. A computer check revealed one of the occupants had outstanding warrants for his arrest. He was arrested and taken into custody.
Attempt Grand Theft
January 31 at 10:14 a.m., an employee from a business in the 1600 block of S. Magnolia called police to report someone had attempted to remove two catalytic converters sometime during the night from vehicles parked in their lot. They did not get the catalytic converters off, but the vehicles sustained a significant amount of damage. The investigation is continuing.
Grand Theft
January 31 at 1:56 p.m., a grand theft incident was reported in the 500 block of W. Huntington. While the victim was eating at a restaurant, someone stole the full-sized tire that was attached to the rear of her vehicle, along with the tire cover. Investigation continuing.
Injury Traffic Collision
January 31 at 4:31 p.m., a motorist was traveling east on Foothill, waiting to make a left turn onto Canyon. Once traffic was clear, the motorist proceeded to make a left turn, but did not see a pedestrian who was crossing in the crosswalk. The pedestrian was struck by the vehicle at approximately 5 miles per hour. The pedestrian complained of pain and had minor visible injuries.
Residential Burglary
January 31 at 6:49 p.m., a residential burglary was reported in the 1600 block of Venice. The resident left the house at around 2:15 p.m. When she returned home at approximately 6:45 p.m., she discovered the rear door to her home had been forced open. Officers arrived and searched inside the home. While searching the residence, officers could see the residence had been ransacked. Investigation continuing.
Grand Theft
January 31 at 10:27 p.m., a caller reported a grand theft that occurred in the 100 block of W. Foothill. The victim was sitting at a table outside a business, when three suspects ran up and took his Louis Vuitton handbag and wallet, and then fled the area. He provided the officer with a description. An area check was conducted, but no suspects were located. Investigation continuing.
Vehicle Burglary
February 1 at 12:31 a.m., an officer responded to the report of a vehicle burglary in the 700 block of W. Duarte. The victim parked his vehicle on the street at 7:45 p.m. When he returned to his vehicle at 12:30 a.m., he noticed the rear passenger window was completely smashed. The suspect took two tool bags containing miscellaneous tools and one duffle bag containing clothes. The investigation is continuing.
Warrant – Suspect Arrested
February 1 at 7:40 p.m., an officer was patrolling the area of Myrtle and Foothill when he saw a motorist commit a traffic violation. A traffic stop was conducted by the officer and the driver was contacted. A computer check revealed the driver had two outstanding warrants for his arrest. He was arrested for the warrants and taken into custody.
Driving Under the Influence – Suspect Arrested
February 2 at 1:58 a.m., an officer was patrolling the 2000 block of S. Myrtle when he saw a motorist commit a traffic violation. A traffic stop was made and the driver was contacted. The driver displayed symptoms of being under the influence of alcohol. A DUI investigation was conducted and it was determined that the driver was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and held for a sobering period.
Grand Theft Auto
February 2 at 6:51 a.m., a vehicle was reported stolen from the 900 block of S. Fifth Avenue. The victim reported he was staying at a hotel and sometime during the night his vehicle was taken without his permission. The vehicle was entered into the stolen vehicle system. Investigation continuing.
Shoplifting – Suspect Cited
February 2 at 8:21 a.m., an employee from a business in the 1600 block of S. Mountain called police to report a male subject entered the business and concealed merchandise on his person. He then exited the store without paying for the items. He was detained by lost prevention employees. An officer arrived and conducted an investigation. The stolen items were recovered and returned to the store. The subject was arrested and issued a citation to appear in court on the charge.
Grand Theft Auto – Suspects Arrested
February 2 at 5:57 p.m., an officer was on patrol in the area of Myrtle and Chestnut when he received notification of a stolen vehicle in the area. The officer located the vehicle and attempted a high risk traffic stop. The driver stopped and a female passenger ran from the vehicle. The driver then drove away in an attempt to evade officers and crashed into a building in the 200 block of W. Foothill. The driver fled on foot, but the Foothill Air Support Team helicopter was able to locate him and he was taken into custody. The female passenger was also located and taken into custody a short time later. The female was found to be wanted for another grand theft auto incident out of Covina. Both suspects were arrested.
Commercial Burglary
February 3 at 8:12 a.m., the owner of a business in the 200 block of W. Maple arrived to work and discovered the building had been burglarized sometime over the weekend. Officers responded to investigate and found the suspects had broken a window to gain entry. They took merchandise from the business and fled the building. The same type of burglary occurred at this business previously on December 21. This investigation is continuing.
Attempt Grand Theft
February 3 at 2:03 p.m., the manager of a truck dealership in the 1600 block of S. Magnolia reported that someone had attempted to take the catalytic converter off one of the trucks. The suspect cut half way through the converter, but wasn't successful in removing it. The attempt theft was discovered when the manager started the truck.
Annoying and Threatening Telephone Call
February 3 at 5:36 p.m., a female subject at a retirement home in the 300 block of Norumbega called police to report a threatening phone call. A male subject called the home and threatened to kill her. The victim did not recognize the voice and does not know who the caller is. The victim said the home has never received a call like this before, and it is possible it was a wrong number. This investigation is continuing.
Grand Theft
February 4 at 8:11 a.m., a resident in the 100 block of W. Central walked outside his home and discovered someone had stolen the catalytic converter off his truck sometime during the night. He called police to report the incident. This investigation is continuing.
Violation of Parole / Parole Hold – Suspect Arrested
February 4 at 11:20 a.m., while officers were handling a family argument in the 800 block of W. Walnut, a parole officer arrived to check on a parolee. She found the parolee to be in violation of parole and a parole hold was issued. Monrovia officers arrested the subject for the violation.
Residential Burglary – Suspect Arrested
February 5 at 8:31 a.m., a resident in the 1800 block of S. Peck called police to report she had just arrived home and heard noises in her backyard. She said it sounded like someone was breaking into her storage shed. Officers arrived and saw the suspect jump the backyard fence and run onto another property. He opened the front door to a neighbor's house and was confronted by the homeowner inside the house. He ran and was eventually apprehended by police. He was found to be in possession of items stolen from the shed. He had concealed other items near the shed so he could return and collect them later, including a rifle. He was arrested and the stolen property was returned to the owner.
Grand Theft
February 5 at 2:01 p.m., the owner of a business in the 100 block of E. Chestnut called police to report a grand theft. The catalytic converter was stolen off of his company’s truck a week prior. Initially, he did not report it until he discovered the cost. This investigation is continuing.
Monrovia Mayoral Candidate Forum Focuses on Housing, Environment
The Monrovia mayoral candidates, from the left: challenger Stephen Grollnek, incumbent Tom Adams, challenger Melissa Taylor.
At the mayoral candidate forum, the topics were mostly housing and the environment.
Melissa Taylor focused on housing for the homeless. She has an urban regional planning background and said she would work for "bold change" and a "more inclusive community." She said she'd like to bring back trolleys to transport people from Station Square to Old Town. Also, she said the city is not representative of the population. For example, the city does not celebrate Cesar Chavez Day.
Stephen Grollnik said he does not expect to win, and said he and Adams are the old generation and Taylor is the new.
Tom Adams focused on his record. He said that when took over as mayor the city had 180 water leaks a year, but that problem is being fixed by "the largest public works project in Monrovia history." He added that the city has raised its bond rating to AA, second best, and asked voters to make a choice between "a steady hand on the wheel" and inexperience.
Housing
Adams said the price of housing is a result of supply and demand, and we need more supply. To minimize traffic congestion, he said, the new housing is being built near the train station. He added that the city has provided housing for 23 homeless individuals, and "everyone has been offered" housing. The problem, Adams said, is that housing facilities have rules and some homeless people don't want to accept the rules.
Grollnik said we should keep Monrovia a small community. The Asian population moving in has raised prices, and thus raised property tax. Regarding a question about providing low income housing, he said, "I don't believe in giving anything free to anyone." He said traffic is bad and he doesn't want Monrovia to be like "Temple City or Arcadia," and "I'm not a bigot," he added. Regarding providing homes for the homeless, he said, the city should get three trailers with beds and showers and park them in front of the police station.
Grollnik said we should keep Monrovia a small community. The Asian population moving in has raised prices, and thus raised property tax. Regarding a question about providing low income housing, he said, "I don't believe in giving anything free to anyone." He said traffic is bad and he doesn't want Monrovia to be like "Temple City or Arcadia," and "I'm not a bigot," he added. Regarding providing homes for the homeless, he said, the city should get three trailers with beds and showers and park them in front of the police station.
Taylor said the city should focus on affordable housing and needs to reexamine its zoning to provide that housing. The city needs to add housing and needs more than 10 percent of it to be affordable. Monrovia needs to think strategically and have a traffic plan and battle gentrification. Everybody, she said deserves housing, that it is a human right.
Does the candidate favor low income housing, and would he or she commit to at least 10 percent low income housing?
Grollnek: "No and no."
Adams: If you want low income housing, the trade-off is more units per acre.
Taylor: She would commit to 20 percent low-income housing, not just 10 percent.
What about mansionization?
Taylor: Maintaining historic housing comes down to affordable housing.
Taylor: Maintaining historic housing comes down to affordable housing.
Grollnek: "Keep the city the way it is."
Adams said he called for a moratorium on tearing down old houses until new rules were put in place.
Environment
Do you take climate change into consideration in every decision?
Grollnek: "I don't believe in climate change."
Adams: Not when he puts on his shoes, but he wants to switch the city to electric vehicles where possible.
Taylor: The city should be out front in taking climate change into consideration, just as it was in banning plastic bags.
How can the city be more green?
Adams: "Being green is great as long as it is economically viable."
Grollnek: "I don't care. The plastic bag ban was the dumbest thing I ever heard."
Grollnek: "I don't care. The plastic bag ban was the dumbest thing I ever heard."
Taylor: Being green is a "huge" issue and the city needs to focus on it.
Vision for Old Town
Taylor: A lot of business are moving out and the city should be recruiting new businesses.
Adams: The city does recruit, but some landlords have "reached too high on rent." He said there are a couple owners who are adamant about what they want to charge and the city "can't force them to rent cheaper." Also, online retail is a big factor.
Grollnek: Chinese buying properties is having an effect.
Gun Violence and Lighting
Grollnek: Monrovia is doing "pretty good." There has been gang violence in south Monrovia, but the police have done a good job with that.
Taylor: The city should work on this. She knows of a woman who was hit crossing the street near Kohl's, and suicide by firearms is a serious problem.
Adams: Some residents don't want street lights. They have been offered them and have declined in order to keep their streets feeling more rural.
Candidates' Major Donors
Taylor: Herself, husband, family, friends, various Monrovians.
Adams: Sergio Jimenez, who gave $1,000.
Grollnek: "Nobody. I haven't asked. People wouldn't give to me anyway."
Watch the whole thing here:
Watch the whole thing here:
- Brad Haugaard
Frost Warning Tonight
Bring your sensitive plants - and of course, your pets - inside tonight. National Weather Service frost warning for 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday for San Gabriel Valley. Temperatures as low as 33 expected. - Brad Haugaard
Hattie - Pet for Instant Purring
When Hattie was found as a stray, she had an injury to her chest and needed surgery. Now, the only evidence that was ever hurt is her shaved patch of fur and her fashionable cone. But this gorgeous kitty hasn’t let her injury hold her back from craving petting and affection! This ten-year-old sweetie loves being petted on her head and will start purring immediately. If you stop petting her, she’ll gently rub a tooth on your hand to let you know that you must have accidentally stopped petting her. Also, her fur is really, really soft, so why would you ever stop?The adoption fee for cats is $90. All cats are spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated before being adopted.
New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCA Animal Hospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for your pet.
View photos of adoptable pets at pasadenahumane.org. Adoption hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone calls or email.
- Brad Haugaard
Bartlett Memorial Fixed; Will Be Reinstalled This Month
The Mayor Bob Bartlett Mosaic at Station Square was damaged a few months ago, but has now been restored and will be reinstalled this month. - Brad Haugaard
Black History Month Luncheon Feb. 15
The Annual Black History Month Luncheon, sponsored by the Monrovia Duarte Black Alumni Association will be held Feb. 15, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Monrovia Community Center, 119 W. Palm. Speakers are Eugene Washington and Martin A. Gordon with a performance by The Church Boys. https://is.gd/f7IZBw
- Brad Haugaard
- Brad Haugaard
Community Services Director Explains Why Empty Shelves at Library
"Yes, we have some empty shelves right now. These are due to several processes happening at once. We are currently weeding the collection of damaged, out of date, and inaccurate materials which has freed up some shelf space. This has allowed us to shift the various collections to create a more user-friendly experience.
"For example, we have moved the Adult Spanish collection to the front shelves next to fiction so it’s easier to find, moved the Large Print collection so the books are shelved on waist-level and higher shelves that don’t require squatting to find books, and moved the entire Adult nonfiction collection forward so it can fit on one side of the Adult Services Area.
"We have about 95,000 books so as you can imagine, shifting and moving collections takes time. We do have signs posted on some of the empty shelves explaining that collections are being moved. We’re hoping that by making collections easier to find, our circulation will continue to grow."
- Brad Haugaard
Ideas on Improving Monrovia Education? Here's Your Opportunity to Share
- Brad Haugaard
January Update from Monrovia School Superintendent
It has been a very productive start to the new year, and it was a delight to witness our students return to school after the holiday break, eager to get back to learning.We started the month celebrating Monrovia High School’s academic pathways and campus life during the annual Open House Showcase. Our high school students shared their excitement about their classes and activities while our future Wildcats and parents learned all about what Monrovia High has to offer.
During the showcase, club life, elective classes, student leadership, and extracurricular activities were well represented, and our students and faculty did a wonderful job detailing a diverse array of campus aspects.
At the middle school level, our Clifton Middle School Hippie Bots robotics team jumped into the spotlight after it was asked to compete in a robotics competition in Vic, Spain. The Hippie Bots will be the sole representative of the U.S. in next month’s contest. It is truly impressive to see the Hippie Bots advance to this level and we wish them luck in the competition, which includes some high school teams.
At Santa Fe Computer Science Magnet School, the District’s college-going culture is being emphasized with the opening of a Paxton Patterson Lab, which will offer our students a hands-on instruction connected with career technical education (CTE) pathways. The lab will help students build skills in problem solving, teamwork, creativity, and responsibility.
At Bradoaks Elementary School, students are diving into a strong science curriculum. On Jan. 24, the school hosted its first-ever Science Day. Parents were invited to take part in science-related activities with their children and learn more about the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.
On Jan. 28, Monrovia Unified celebrated 100 days of school. At Monroe Elementary, students, teachers, and staff dressed up as if they were 100 years old and our students’ grandparents were invited to visit classrooms and participate in a special 100 days of learning activity.
Monroe Elementary students enjoyed stashing away mementos into a time capsule that will be placed in the library until it is opened in 2030.
Sincerely,
Dr. Katherine Thorossian, Superintendent
Learn Basics of Drawing, Feb. 15 at Library
- Brad Haugaard
Mayoral and City Council Candidate Forums This Week and Next
City Council Candidate Forum, Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. in the Monrovia City Hall Council Chambers. https://is.gd/MkrObe
Both forums are sponsored by the Monrovia Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters.
For questions call 358-1159.
To submit a question for the candidates, call 932-5550.
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Library - Not So Many Books :-(
Kind of sad to see the library with so many empty shelves. Even when they’re not totally empty (above), they’re pretty thin (below). But I guess the world is going electronic. And I guess it’s as much my fault as anyone else’s.
- Brad Haugaard
Learn Bead Fusion at the Library, Feb. 13
- Brad Haugaard
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