- Brad Haugaard
Schamadan: Hold off on Christmas!
Monrovia columnist Charlotte Schamadan cheers Nordstrom (in the Star-News' Weekly Star) for committing to NOT putting up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. To which I add, Amen! I think early decorations ignore Thanksgiving and, ironically, minimize Christmas - If it is always Christmas season, it's never Christmas season.
'Crush' at Monrovia Canyon Park | Bradoaks Food | Prolacta Gets Funding | MHS Successes
~ Pictures of the movie Crush (a teen horror flick) being filmed in Monrovia Canyon Park. http://goo.gl/bv3Eb
~ Introducing the USDA's food diagram (gone is the pyramid) at Monrovia's Bradoaks School. http://goo.gl/rgQLs
~ Monrovia's Prolacta Bioscience, which provides human breast milk for critically ill, premature infants, has secured funding from Health Evolution Partners, which invests in rapidly growing companies in the healthcare industry. http://goo.gl/ni8r5
~ Monrovia High reports that: 14 Wildcat cross-country racers either broke or set personal records; water polo, volleyball, and tennis teams are wrapping up successful seasons; the robotics team hosted 12 other teams at the First Halloween Robotics Scrimmige this last weekend, winning two awards.
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia's Distillery
A feature story about Monrovia's artisan distillery, GreenBar Collective. http://goo.gl/hV3BU - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Painting Exhibit | Search for New City Manager
Arroyo Bridge
~ Solo Show of work by artist Cynthia Britain at Segil Fine Art (110 W. Lime), Nov. 5-26. Artist’s Reception, Saturday, Nov. 5, 5-7 p.m. Her work: http://goo.gl/N0az2
~ The search for a new Monrovia city manager is on. http://goo.gl/TffCb
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Football | Search for Shooter
~ Video discussion of Monrovia and Mid-Valley Division football. (I tried to get it to work. Kept saying to come back later. Hope it works for you.) http://goo.gl/7akkA
~ Sheriff's deputies search for man who shot boy in leg. http://goo.gl/EVD4S
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia City Manager Moving to Glendale
At tonight’s Monrovia City Council meeting, City Manager Scott Ochoa tendered his letter of resignation, effective January 2, 2012. This move came after the members of the Glendale City Council had, at their afternoon City Council meeting, appointed him as Glendale’s next City Manager. Ochoa’s tenure in Glendale will begin on January 3, 2012.
Ochoa has held the City Manager position in Monrovia since March 2004.
He began working for the City of Monrovia as an intern in 1993, while in his senior year at Claremont McKenna College. After graduating from Claremont McKenna with a Bachelor of Arts in Government in 1993, Ochoa earned a fulltime position with the City. While working in Monrovia, Ochoa obtained a Master’s Degree at the USC School of Public Administration with an emphasis in public sector entrepreneurship. Prior to his appointment as Monrovia’s City Manager, Scott held various management positions in the City Manager’s office, including Assistant City Manager and Assistant Executive Director of the Redevelopment Agency.
As the City Manager of Monrovia, under the general direction of the City Council, Ochoa managed an aggressive economic development program, worked to balance quality of life issues with fiscal constraints and development pressure, and restructured the organization to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing business environment. His management philosophy was predicated on values-based management, exceptional customer service, and precision execution.
“My colleagues and I will miss Scott Ochoa, his leadership and professionalism are unparalleled – Glendale is getting a great City Manager” said Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz.
Ochoa is currently very active in economic development activities in the San Gabriel Valley, serving on the Board of Directors of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, and as the Chair of the Gold Line Foothill Extension Technical Advisory Committee. He is also Past-President of the San Gabriel Valley City Managers’ Association, Past-President of the Monrovia Kiwanis Club, and is an active member of the Boys & Girls of the Foothills Board of Directors.
“I could not be prouder or more appreciative of my time in Monrovia,” wrote Ochoa in letter of resignation. “City Councils have worked in partnership with community leaders and staff to accomplish amazing feats – from attracting new development, to reimagining entire sections of town, to surviving and even thriving through the Great Recession, to building a new public library. Monrovia taught me about who I am, and what a motivated and focused group of people are able to accomplish when they work together.”
Ochoa will succeed Glendale City Manager Jim Starbird, who will be retiring in December after 14 years of service to the City of Glendale. Starbird is himself a former Monrovia City Manager, having worked in Monrovia during the 1970’s and 1980’s.
"Glendale is a wonderful community – diverse, well-managed and progressive. I hope to add the benefit of my experiences to this dynamic organization and validate the City Council's trust and confidence in me” said Ochoa. “Following a manager of Jim Starbird's caliber is no easy task; however, with a high-performance management team, dedicated employees, and clearly defined and ambitious expectations from the Council, I look forward to the challenge. I can't wait to begin serving Glendale."
- Brad Haugaard (from City of Monrovia press release)
DA Says: No Problem with How Monrovia City Council Handled Vacant Seat
District Attorney says Monrovia City Council did not violate Brown Act in how it handled Councilman Clarence Shaw's seat open (it left the seat open) when he was called up by the Army Reserve. http://goo.gl/eIaEU
- Brad Haugaared
Candy Buy-Back at Monrovia Schools | More Abuse Complaints | School Newsletter
~ YMCA volunteers at Monrovia Elementary Schools are buying back Halloween candy and passing out raffle tickets to win a bicycle. http://goo.gl/le2KZ
~ Three women add to complaints of what they considered abuse at a Pasadena 'boot camp' run by a Monrovia resident. http://goo.gl/ksVp5
~ The Fall Monrovia Schools newsletter is out ( http://goo.gl/5vmIT ). Highlights:
> The grand opening for the Louise K. Taylor Performing Arts Center at Monrovia High is set for Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. You are welcome to attend.
> Plymouth Elementary is a Los Angeles Regional Award Winner in the 2011 Governor’s Challenge Competition for its work in physical fitness.
> Plus stories on Bradoaks and Wildrose schools, and Bradoaks employee Ross October.
- Brad Haugaard
Aarg! A Halloween Pirate Ship
This Halloween pirate ship, complete with music, mist and pirates, is just west of McKinley on Hillcrest.
- Brad Haugaard
Video Interviews With Monrovia School Board Candidates
If these written interviews ( http://goo.gl/Bez0h ) with Monrovia School Board members were not enough for you to make up your mind who to vote for, here are a set of video interviews from Ralph Walker at KGEM:
Janeane Lechuga Covarrubias http://goo.gl/DsyLa
David Dale Crabtree http://goo.gl/6kjz8
Ed Gililland http://goo.gl/h8Zr4
Rob Hammond http://goo.gl/RsDVu
Ed McCarthy http://goo.gl/EJq6z
Terrence G. Williams http://goo.gl/VTZrs
Bryan J. Wong http://goo.gl/fnXvq
- Brad Haugaard
Place a Hold Online on a Monrovia Library Book
Here's a new video on how to place a hold on a Monrovia Library book online. http://goo.gl/bTY61
And here is the actual library catalog if you want to give it a try: http://goo.gl/4uedC
- Brad Haugaard
Gun Group to Challenge Portantino's Open-Carry Law
A gun-rights group is planning to challenge the No-Open-Carry law authored by one of Monrovia's assemblymen, Anthony Portantino. http://goo.gl/PlL8P
- Brad Haugaard
Partial Freeway Closures Ahead
Partial closures of 210 eastbound from Halloween night through the evening of Nov. 11. Closures will start no earlier than 10 p.m. and end by 1 p.m. the following day. No full-freeway closures are anticipated. The construction crew is working on either end of the bridge, where it is anchored to the ground. The abutments.
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia School Board Candidates
Here are all the Monrovia School Board candidate interviews (alphabetical by last name) from Patch. You can open them all side-by-side in tabs using my little tool, OpenUpper.com, and clicking "Open checked," or you can open them one by one here:
Janeane Covarrubias http://goo.gl/FdJ4k
David Crabtree http://goo.gl/hY0Uu
Ed Gililland http://goo.gl/EkCiY
Rob Hammond http://goo.gl/V0fbl
Ed McCarthy http://goo.gl/4J6Yz
Terrence Williams http://goo.gl/N1Pqa
Bryan Wong http://goo.gl/llWwB
- Brad Haugaard
Janeane Covarrubias http://goo.gl/FdJ4k
David Crabtree http://goo.gl/hY0Uu
Ed Gililland http://goo.gl/EkCiY
Rob Hammond http://goo.gl/V0fbl
Ed McCarthy http://goo.gl/4J6Yz
Terrence Williams http://goo.gl/N1Pqa
Bryan Wong http://goo.gl/llWwB
- Brad Haugaard
Halloween Ship
- Brad Haugaard
Man Shoots Himself on Myrtle
Man reportedly shoots himself on Myrtle near Library Park. http://goo.gl/EhqqB and http://goo.gl/lf0hS
- Brad HaugaardMonrovia's McCarthy in Sports Illustrated
Monrovia's Ellis McCarthy makes Sports Illustrated Player of the Week. http://goo.gl/Vc4xk - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Dia de los Muertos | Home Depot Helps
~ Dia de los Muertos at Live Oaks Park in Monrovia Wednesday. http://goo.gl/mQT6v
~ Home Depot helps out VFW http://goo.gl/939Oq
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia Over San Marino in Football :-)
Monrovia beats San Marino 43-7. With a score like that I cringe and feel a bit embarrassed for the losing team. But San Marino didn't give up and scored its 7 points in the fourth quarter. Good for them.
Full story: http://goo.gl/Oi1Xw
- Brad Haugaard
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