Police Activity - Sept 23-29

[Taken from the weekly Neighborhood Watch Report from the Monrovia Police Department - Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven day period, the Police Department handled 526 service events, resulting in 123 investigations. Following are the last week's highlighted issues and events:

Robbery

September 23 at 6:27 a.m., an officer responded to Duarte and Myrtle regarding a robbery that had just occurred. A female victim reported that a male subject in his early 20's, thin build, buzzed haircut, no facial hair, and wearing a baggie gray sweatshirt exited a vehicle and punched her. The suspect grabbed her purse and got back into a black, four-door vehicle, possibly a Nissan Maxima, and fled southbound on Myrtle. The victim sustained a cut above her right eye. Investigation continuing.

Grand Theft

September 23 at 12:54 p.m., an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 700 block of West Duarte regarding a theft. The victim parked his motorized bicycle in front of his door in the evening, but failed to secure it. The next day, he went outside to go to work and found his bicycle was missing. He did not hear anything suspicious during the night.

Possession of a Controlled Substance - Suspects Arrested

September 24 at 2:18 a.m., an officer observed a suspicious vehicle near a business in the 3000 block of Peck Road. As the officer approached the vehicle, the female passenger tossed a folded one dollar bill out the window. The officer retrieved the bill and found cocaine inside. Both female subjects were taken into custody, one for an outstanding warrant and the other for the possession of a controlled substance.

Assault

September 24 at 2:41 p.m., an officer met with the victim of an assault who had come to the police station to file a report. The victim was in a wheelchair and was accompanied by a friend. The victim reported that he had been at a bar in 300 block of West Huntington on Friday, September 17. He said he had been drinking and that two subjects had assaulted him. He was driven to a hospital and admitted for injuries. The victim did not have much information to provide about the incident. Investigation continuing.

Residential Burglary

On September 24 at 10:41 p.m., an officer responded to the 500 block of East Foothill regarding a residential burglary. Unknown suspects had entered the victim's residence and the victim's rear house through open bathroom windows. Once inside, the locations the suspects stole a television and power tools. The investigation is continuing.

Driving Under the Influence - Suspect Arrested

September 25 at 2:34 a.m., an officer stopped a motorist at Evergreen and Mayflower for an unsafe turning movement. A subsequent investigation revealed the driver was intoxicated. The driver was arrested for driving under the influence.

Grand Theft

September 25 at 10:41 a.m., an officer responded to the parking lot of a business in the 100 block of West Foothill regarding a theft. The female victim had pushed her shopping cart to her vehicle. As she opened the door of her car, a vehicle pulled up next to the shopping cart and a subject grabbed her purse from the cart and they fled in the vehicle. Investigation continuing.

Burglary

September 25 at 3:56 p.m., a business in the 500 block of West Huntington reported a theft. An officer responded and determined a subject had walked into the store, grabbed a mesh shopping bag, selected three men's electric shavers and exited the store without paying. As the loss prevention officers exited the store, they saw the suspect getting into a burgundy Toyota Camry that fled the scene. Investigation continuing.

Possession of a Controlled Substance - Suspect Arrested

September 26 at 3:55 a.m., an officer was on patrol and saw a suspicious vehicle parked on Ivy, south of Huntington. As he made contact with the occupant, he noticed the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. The suspect admitted to having marijuana and ecstasy pills in his vehicle and consented to a search of the vehicle. The officer located a small amount of marijuana and 16 tablets of Ecstasy that were concealed in the door panel of the vehicle. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody.

Grand Theft Auto Recovery / Mental Evaluation

September 27 at 8:52 p.m., dispatch received a call reporting that a mentally unstable, male subject had left a facility in Pasadena and was possibly in the Monrovia area, as his mother lives in Monrovia. He had gone to his grandparent's home in Arcadia, where he stole his grandfather's truck. His grandfather reported the truck stolen with Arcadia Police Department. Officers located the subject and detained him. They confirmed he had taken the truck without permission. He stated voices in his head told him to take the truck. The subject was taken to a hospital and held for mental evaluation. The truck was recovered and returned to the grandparents.

What's Voting All About?

The Library - with the League of Women Voters - is sponsoring a workshop to help people understand basic voting procedures and what is on the November ballot. At the Library Community Room on Wednesday, October 6, 6 pm.

Details here: http://bit.ly/cSM5CZ

City Hits at Property Tax Repeal Measure

The City of Monrovia has released a press release saying that a measure to repeal a 60-year-old property tax used to pay pensions "may be viewed as unconstitutional and counterproductive" and would, according to Mayor Mary Ann Lutz, "cut another $4.2 million from the budget or [force the city to] look for alternative funding sources."

When city officials talk about the measure being unconstitutional, they seem to mean that it would be unconstitutional for the city to arbitrarily quit paying the contractually-binding pensions that the city owes. And since the pensions legally need to be paid in full, if you cut the tax used to pay the pensions then the money to pay them would have to come from cutting something else.

Mayor Lutz suggested that this could mean "closing the new Monrovia Public Library or contracting with Los Angeles County for police and/or fire services."

Full press release here: http://bit.ly/998KpN

- Brad Haugaard

City vs. Property Tax Repeal

Will the City of Monrovia use a court challenge to try to keep a property tax repeal effort off the municipal ballot?

http://tinyurl.com/2cofswg

- Brad Haugaard

Aztec Stories Tonight

6:30 – 8 p.m. in the Library's Storytime Room. Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month through stories, song, and crafts honoring the Aztec Indians. Free.

http://tinyurl.com/2astzax

- Brad Haugaard

Mountain Lion Alert

The City of Monrovia reports that "a mountain lion has been sighted during the evening hours in the mountainous area from Gold Hills to Norumbega Avenue. California Fish and Game has been advised and is monitoring the situation. Residents in the area are encouraged to be alert to their surroundings and use appropriate precautions with their children and pets."

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monrovia-CA/City-of-Monrovia/330697204437

- Brad Haugaard

Birthday Party at the Library

Starting October, children 3-10 can hold a birthday party at the Library, which can provide such themes as princesses, pirates, and dinosaurs. Call Youth Services at (626) 256-8274 for fees and details.

http://www.ci.monrovia.ca.us/from-the-city-managers-desk

- Brad Haugaard

New Stop Signs

The Monrovia City Council approved the installation of stop signs at Mayflower and Court, and at Canyon and Lemon.

http://www.ci.monrovia.ca.us/from-the-city-managers-desk

SHOP in Monrovia Showcase

Monrovia Chamber of Commerce
Presents SHOP in Monrovia Showcase
On Friday, October 8, 2010 in the 700 block of Myrtle Ave., at the Friday Night Family Festival 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The SHOP in Monrovia Program, a partnership between the City of Monrovia, Old Town Merchants and the Monrovia Chamber premiered at the Neighborhood Conference in April, since that time, the program has kept up momentum encouraging locals to do their shopping in Monrovia to keep the tax dollars local to support local services.

The next step for the SHOP in Monrovia Program is taking to the street to showcase the many fantastic businesses and services available right here in town.  Learn more about the program at www.SHOPinMonrovia.com or on facebook www.facebook.com/SHOPinMonrovia and sign up to receive email updates and specials by clicking on "Join my list" at the top of the page.

The entire community is invited to attend.

On Friday, October 8, 2010 in the 700 block of Myrtle Ave., at the Friday Night Family Festival 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.

- From Karin Crehan, Monrovia Chamber of Commerce

Senior Volunteer Dies

Raymond V. McCarville, former Monrovia Senior Volunteer of the Year, died at age 85.

http://tinyurl.com/27b94wx

- Brad Haugaard

Sustainability Fair Pix

Some pictures of the Sustainability Fair, including a picture of the planned train station.

- Brad Haugaard

End Monrovia Property Tax?

A petition to end Monrovia's property tax has been filed with the city. The measure will apparently be on next April's municipal ballot.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_16163636

- Brad Haugaard

Football: San Dimas 35, Wildcats 34 :-(

So close.

http://tinyurl.com/2ecuw8v

- Brad Haugaard

Mars Scientists To Monrovia

Wired Magazine reports that hundreds of space scientists will come to Monrovia next week to decide where the next Mars rover should land.

http://tinyurl.com/36qwhzo

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Finalist in Community Policing Competition

The International Association of Chiefs of Police has made Monrovia's Community Activist Policing program a finalist for its Community Policing Award.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_16154361

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's Amazing Continuation High School

Teacher/administrator John Russell and Principal Flint Fertig.

Continuation high schools don't send their graduates to four-year colleges. Just doesn't happen.
Except that it does - big time - in Monrovia, and maybe only in Monrovia.

Flint Fertig, principal of Monrovia's Canyon Oaks High School (a continuation school, though Fertig prefers calling it "alternative" because of the negative associations of "continuation"), said he was at a Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) meeting and heard someone say that he had heard from someone that there was a continuation student somewhere who had been accepted at a four-year school, but then again... he wasn't sure.

So, apparently the percentage of contiunation high school students who go to four-year colleges is essentially zero, except for Monrovia's program, which this year has had an astonishing 32 percent of its 2009-10 grads (27 students total) accepted to four-year schools.
Thirty two percent!?

Yup. Fertig said that for forty years Monrovia's continuation program matched the lousy record of other continuation schools in sending zero grads to four-year schools. None in 40 years! Then, for the 2007-08 school year, one student went to Cal State LA and in 2008-09 two students went to four-year schools, and now, in 2009-10, 27 students were accepted at four-year schools.

Incredible for a continuation school! How does it compare - on average - to regular high schools?

Fertig said, "I don't think anywhere near 32 percent of regular high school students go on to four year schools."

His students have been accepted to such schools as UC Irvine, Cal State LA, and Cal Poly Pomona. "They're not," Fertig admitted, "going to Stanford or Harvard ... yet."

And in case you were wondering, the Monrovia continuation program does not have some unusual set of students. The demographics are like those of any other continuation school. Single parent homes, or zero-parent homes, students in trouble at school and with the law (Fertig guesstimates maybe 60 percent are on probation.) And some of them, administrator/teacher John Russell adds, are from "horrific backgrounds."

Okay, so what I really want to know is: How do you bottle this?

So, with that in mind, let me highlight some principles that seemed to emerge as I listended to Fertig and Russell talk about their school.

Accreditation and State Standards
Fertig said his first goal on joining the Monrovia School District in 2007 (from West Covina High) was to get the district's continuation program accredited by WASC, and to do that meant aligning the school's curriculum with state requirements.

So, I ask, You mean continuation schools are generally NOT accredited and their curriculums are generally NOT aligned with state requirements?

Fertig and Russell said they frequently are not.

Sigh.

Russell said that in aligning with the state requirements the teaching staff "stripped out the minutia" and focused on the core elements of each state requirement and so impressed the accreditation team that the school got a three-year initial accreditation instead of the standard one-year initial accreditation.
Accreditation, by the way, means coursework counts for colleges. If you take a math class from an accredited school then the college agrees that you have really taken the math class. Also, students from accredited schools can get financial aid, which is a pretty big deal.

A Good Environment
Fertig and Russell describe a school environment that is loving (I get the feeling that staff almost consider themselves surrogate parents) and strict. And this seems to have instilled a sense of school pride among the students.

Fertig - who looks like he could handle himself if push came, literally, to shove - tells of starting his job by facing off tough guys and checking students as they arrived at school to make sure they were dressed according to the school's code. If not, he called a parent to pick up the student or bring a change of clothes. "We have a dress code and rules, and we're very, very strict. The kids hated me for a while," he said, "but hugged me on the graduation podium."

"The kids are so proud of this school," he said. "It's spotless! And these were taggers! In other schools," he said, reaching around to a computer keyboard in the library, "the keys have been pulled out of the keyboards. But here they sense that the teachers care about them."

I had to agree. The library was beautiful and the grounds were in good repair and untagged. The janitor there has it easy.

Fertig said it is a safe place for students who have had it rough. "We almost never have fights," he said. "We've had two fights in four years."

The students, he said, even took it upon themselves - and without the knowledge of the staff - to have a "Nerd Day," in which the whole school dressed up as nerds. Fertig said that in a regular high school you might have 10 percent participation, but here, he said, virtually the whole school participated.

Superstar Teachers
Key to the school's success are the teachers, and both Fertig and Russell call them "superstars."
They try to be a bit delicate about it, but clearly neither Fertig or Russell (who was about to quit when Fertig arrived) were thrilled about the situation when Fertig first came to the school.

"A good principal," Fertig said, "can change the teachers, who in turn can change the test scores."
He said it takes a unique person to teach at Canyon Oaks, and you "help the others find something else." Some teachers, he said, decided that "this is not the place for me to work."

Since he had built a following at Covina High School, he brought some teachers from there as openings occurred. He said it is rare for a tenured teacher to leave, so when they do, "you have to replace them with superstars."

And by "superstars," they mean teachers who have taught AP and honors students. Russell adds that they should be flexible. And Fertig says, "I look for passion."

Fertig is flexible himself. Russell said Fertig steps in and teaches, taking the most difficult students off the hands of the teaching staff, actually making the students open their books and do work. He's not babysitting.

Persistence also seems to be important. Russell said that "some kids are hard to reach for a long time, but if you keep working with them then something eventurally flips."

But how do you attract superstar teachers - who could presumably be teaching in La Canada or San Marino to advanced students - to a continuation school in Monrovia?

"There is always some hesitance," Fertig said. "They need to know the school is well run, safe, and has the resources. We've created that environment. The best and brightest want to be here."

Data-Driven Innovation
Another key to success is using data to modify teaching techniques.

Russell said the teachers examine the test scores to see what they have done that works and what they have done that didn't work, then adjust their teaching.

And, because the same technique may not work with each student, they can select the best technique for different students.

For example, if a student is disruptive, maybe he will be assigned to do his work alone at a computer. And because Fertig is in charge of all the district's alternative programs, he is well positioned to find a program or technique that fits the student.

Other Factors
Another big factor for success is money. Much of it - in these days of limited educational budgets - comes from grants. And, of course, support from the district office is critical.  Fertig said the district has been very supportive of their "crazy" efforts.

So, with all its success, you'd think the educational establishment would be beating a path to Canyon Oaks' door to find out how to emulate its success, and, well, Fertig says maybe the establishment would beat a path to the door if its success was better known. "Education would be turned on its ear if they walked in here," he said.

I walk away sort of wishing I'd gone to Canyon Oaks High School, even though as a kid I didn't get in much trouble ... although there was that incident of the - oh, never mind. Anyway, if you know students who might benefit from it, Fertig says the school can even accept students from other districts.

- Brad Haugaard

Shoo Big Kitty! ... and Other Police Activities

[From Monrovia Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for Sept. 16-22. - Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven day period, the Police Department handled 549 service events, resulting in 116 investigations.  Following are the last week's highlighted issues and events:

Residential Burglary

September 17 at 1:39 p.m., an officer went to a residence in the 400 block of Park Rose regarding a burglary.  The victim told the officer he had filing boxes with old checks, receipts and documents from an old business that no longer exits.  The boxes were kept near his front door, which is kept open a lot.  Someone apparently entered the residence and took the boxes.  Nothing else was taken.

Residential Burglary

September 17 at 3:10 p.m., a resident in the 500 block of West Foothill reported she had just returned home from work and someone had broken into her home.  An officer responded and cleared the location.  Entry was made through a side door.  Some jewelry and old checks were taken, but the victim was unsure if anything else was taken.  Investigation continuing.

Commercial Burglary - Suspects Arrested

September 17 at 3:51 p.m., officers responded to a business in the 500 block of West Huntington regarding a male and a female in custody for shoplifting.  The officer determined the subjects had committed burglary; both were arrested and taken into custody.

Driving Under the Influence - Suspect Arrested

September 18 at 1:08 a.m., an officer noticed a vehicle traveling south on Myrtle that was following another vehicle too closely.  He noticed the driver was also swerving on the roadway.  He stopped the driver and during the investigation, determined the driver was under the influence.  The driver was arrested.

Domestic Violence / Battery on a Peace Officer

September 19 at 2:28 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 00 block of Hidden Valley regarding a domestic violence incident in progress.  When they arrived, the husband was attempting to restrain his wife, who was intoxicated and violent.  As an officer entered the location, he was pushed by the wife.  The officers were able to restrain the wife and she was taken into custody without further incident.  The husband was bleeding and had sustained visible injuries.  He did not desire medical treatment.  The wife was not injured.

Recovered Stolen Vehicle - Suspects Arrested

September 19 at 7:20 p.m., an officer on patrol located a stolen vehicle in the area of California, near Duarte.  He followed the vehicle into a parking lot in Duarte.  Additional Monrovia officers were requested to assist in a high-risk traffic stop.  Two suspects were arrested and later interviewed.  After investigation, the female driver was charged with grand theft auto and receiving stolen property.  The male passenger was released, pending further investigation.

Mountain Lion Sighting

September 20 at 10:20 p.m., police received the report of a mountain lion sighted in a backyard in the 700 block of Oakglade.  Officers were able to direct it back into the hills.

Airport Plaque

Councilman Tom Adams said there is a plaque on the front of Albertsons about the old Monrovia Airport. Yup. That I didn't know that shows I don't do much shopping for my family I guess.

- Brad Haugaard

Three Non-Fiction Books for Three Dollars

You can get three hardback or trade-paperback non-fiction books for $3 at the Friends of the Monrovia Public Library bookstore through September 25 (i.e. Saturday). To get to the bookstore, walk in first set of doors at Monrovia Public Library. It is immediately on the left.

- Brad Haugaard

Lutz is Citizen of the Year

Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz will be honored by the Luck Baldwin District Boy Scouts as "2010 Citizen of the Year."

http://tinyurl.com/25c6dow

- Brad Haugaard