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Monrovia Office Building Being Sold for $18 Million


The Huntington Oaks Office Center, at 1333 S. Mayflower Ave., is being sold for $18.5 million. https://goo.gl/DnSBo9

- Brad Haugaard

Bouncing Dog Looking for New Best Friend


Rexi (A468001) is a 4-year-old puppy who perks up as soon as you walk up to her kennel and will bounce up and down in excitement. She takes treats very gently from your hand and likes to be petted. Belly rubs are her favorite! She tends to lean into your arms for hugs and will lick your face to show how grateful she is to be around you. Rexi is looking for a new best friend today.

The adoption fee for dogs is $130. All dogs are spayed or neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated before going to their new home.

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

Monrovia Police: Bomb Extortion Threat; Customer Stabs Bar Counter; Spilled Drink Leads to Fight; Etc.

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for Highlighted Activity for December 13 – December 19. - Brad Haugaard]

Attempt Extortion
December 13, at 11:42 a.m., an employee who works at a business in the 200 block of E. Huntington called to report that he received a threatening email which stated an explosive device would detonate if a ransom was not received. Officers responded and evacuated the building. A search for any suspicious devices were conducted and no suspicious devices were located. It was determined that similar emails were sent nationwide and the FBI and LASD Bomb Squad were aware of the threats.

Violation of Court Order – Suspect Arrested
December 13, at 4:12 p.m., officers made contact with a subject in the 600 block of S. Canyon who was in violation of an active restraining order. The subject also had multiple warrants for his arrest. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Domestic Battery
December 13, at 11:35 p.m., a domestic violence incident was reported in the 100 block of Montana. The caller reported she went to her ex-boyfriend's house to pick up personal property. The caller stated that ex-boyfriend battered her but did not cause any injuries. The caller refused to prosecute him for the battery. This investigation is continuing.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol - Suspect Arrested
December 14, at 1:51 a.m., an officer was patrolling the 100 block of W. Foothill when he saw a motorist commit a driving violation. He stopped the vehicle and found the driver to be intoxicated. After field sobriety tests were conducted, the driver was arrested for Driving Under the Influence.

Vehicle Burglary
December 14, at 6:22 a.m., a victim called to report his truck was broken into while it was parked at a business in the 1600 block of S. Mountain. An iPhone and $3,000 worth of construction equipment was stolen. The investigation is continuing.

Grand Theft Auto
December 14, at 11:28 a.m., an employee from a business in the 3300 block of S. Peck called to report a stolen vehicle. The employee reported a red 1996 BMW they just received from a tow yard in Van Nuys was a reported stolen vehicle. The victim was contacted and the vehicle was recovered. The investigation is continuing.

Vehicle Burglary
December 14, at 11:44 a.m., an officer responded to the report of a vehicle burglary in the 1800 block of Tenth. The victim called to report his vehicle’s driver side window had been smashed and his iPod was missing. The investigation is continuing.

Petty Theft – Suspect Arrested
December 14, at 4:54 p.m., an employee from a business in the 500 block of W. Huntington called to report a theft. A male adult concealed merchandise on his person and left without paying. Officers arrived and located the subject a short distance away. The merchandise was recovered and the subject was arrested.

Battery / Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
December 14, at 9:05 p.m., a resident in the 600 block of E. Lemon called to report a disturbance. The resident reported two male subjects in front of her house were yelling at one another. Officers arrived and found two brothers on the street had sustained injuries from hitting one another. Both lived in the neighborhood. One of the brothers was too intoxicated to care for his own safety and due to his injuries he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and sobering. Both refused to prosecute one another.

Park After Hours - Subjects Cited
December 15, at 12:02 a.m., an officer was patrolling in the 300 block of S. Primrose when he saw five subjects in the Library Park after the park had closed. The officer stopped the subjects and issued citations for the violation.

Commercial Burglary
December 15, at 12:19 a.m., officers responded to a burglary call in the 100 block of S. Myrtle. An employee of a business arrived to work and discovered someone entered through the rear door of the business and cut the cash box drawer from the register. The cash box drawer did not contain any money. The alarm activated and the suspect fled. The investigation is continuing.

Injury Traffic Collison
December 15, at 8:12 a.m., a caller reported a traffic collision occurred in the 1300 block of S. Primrose. The collision was between a vehicle and motorcyclist. The motorcyclist was transported to a local hospital for treatment of road rash and complaint of pain. Investigation continuing.

Injury Traffic Collison
December 15, at 8:43 a.m., a caller reported a motorist collided into a wall of a business in the 200 block of W. Huntington. The driver was elderly and suffered from unknown medical conditions. The driver was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. The investigation is continuing.

Injury Traffic Collison
December 15, at 12:54 p.m., a caller reported a traffic collision occurred in the 600 block of E. Evergreen. A vehicle failed to yield to oncoming traffic and collided into an approaching vehicle. One of the passengers was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Investigation Continuing.

Public Intoxication / Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Suspect Arrested
December 15, at 8:05 p.m., an employee of a restaurant in the 1100 block of E. Huntington reported a male subject inside their bar was heavily intoxicated and stabbing the bar counter with a pocket knife. Officers arrived and contacted the subject. He was too intoxicated to care for his own safety and was taken into custody. He was found to be in possession of a pipe used to smoke methamphetamine.

Shoplifting - Suspect Arrested
December 15, at 8:33 p.m., security for a store in the 500 block of W. Huntington reported a female subject had just left their store with merchandise she did not pay for. Officers responded and located the subject in the store's parking lot. The stolen property was recovered and the subject was taken into custody.

Trespassing / Petty Theft - Suspect Arrested
December 15, at 8:58 p.m., officers responded to a burglary alarm at a business in the 3300 block of S. Peck. When officers arrived they located a male subject inside the gated yard of the business throwing car parts over the fence. The subject was taken into custody for trespassing and theft.

Trespassing
December 15, at 10:33 p.m., an employee of a business in the 400 block of E. Duarte reported a male subject sleeping inside of one of the company's unlocked trailers in the parking lot. Officers arrived and contacted the subject. The business refused to prosecute the subject for trespassing or tampering with their vehicle. The subject left the area.

Hit & Run Traffic Collision
December 15, at 10:59 p.m., a resident in the 500 block of Shady Oaks reported a motorist had just collided into a tree near her home. Officers responded to the scene but the driver had fled the area leaving the car behind. The vehicle had major damage, it was stored per the California Vehicle Code. This investigation is continuing.

Fight in Public
December 16, at 12:15 a.m., an employee of a bar establishment in the 400 block of S. Myrtle reported two female subjects were fist fighting in the bar. When officers arrived the fight had ended and both subjects refused to prosecute one another for battery. The subjects did not need medical attention. The fight started over one subject spilling the other's drink.

Fight in Public
December 16, at 12:24 a.m., an employee of a fast food restaurant in the 100 block of W. Huntington reported 20 to 30 subjects fist fighting in their parking lot. When officers arrived the fight had ended and all subjects were disbursing the area. Victims of battery could not be located. The subjects officers spoke with advised that none of the involved persons were from Monrovia.

Grand Theft
December 16, at 1:40 p.m., an employee of a business in the 600 block of W. Huntington reported that a male subject entered the business and used a sledge hammer to break a display case and remove cell phones from it. The suspect fled on foot prior to officers arriving. The investigation is continuing.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
December 16, at 2:35 p.m., a caller reported a male adult was walking into traffic and appeared to be intoxicated. Officers arrived and located the subject who was too intoxicated to care for his own safety. The subject was arrested and taken into custody.

Domestic Violence
December 16, at 5:20 p.m., a victim came into the lobby to report a domestic violence incident that had just occurred at her residence in the 200 block of W. Cypress. The victim said her boyfriend and her got into an argument that escalated to a physical altercation. The investigation is continuing.

Vehicle Burglary
December 17, at 2:00 p.m., a victim called to report he parked his vehicle near Canyon Park and went on a hike. When he returned to his vehicle he found the front passenger’s window was smashed and a lunch box was taken. The investigation is continuing.

Petty Theft
December 17, at 5:04 p.m., a resident in the 1500 block of S. Primrose called to report a theft. The resident reported she left her laptop inside her parked, unlocked vehicle and it was taken. The investigation is continuing.

Under the Influence – Suspect Arrested
December 17, at 7:22 p.m., officers responded to a disturbance call from a business in the 700 block of W. Huntington. Officers arrived and contacted the subject. The subject displayed symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance. He was evaluated and officers determined the subject was under the influence of a controlled substance. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Injury Traffic Collision
December 18, at 4:40 p.m., a caller reported a traffic collision in the 400 block of W. Foothill. A vehicle traveling east struck multiple vehicles and a building. The driver may have been experiencing a medical emergency while driving. The driver was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. The investigation is continuing.

Driving Under the Influence - Suspect Arrested
December 19, at 6:17 p.m., an officer was patrolling the 100 block of E. Huntington when he saw a motorist commit a driving violation. He stopped the vehicle and found the driver to be intoxicated. After field sobriety tests were conducted, the driver was arrested and taken into custody.

Cat Rescued from Car Engine Compartment

Monrovia car wash employee rescues a cat that hid out in a car's engine compartment. https://goo.gl/Cpo9nn

- Brad Haugaard

Santa Is Out and About


Santa tours north Monrovia. 

- Brad Haugaard 

New Year's Eve on Myrtle

New Year's Eve on Myrtle Avenue, from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Child Care services from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. for a fee of $20 at the Monrovia Community Center.

- Brad Haugaard

Santa's Touring Monrovia This Week

If you missed it the first time, here is Santa's schedule for touring Monrovia: https://goo.gl/KNrBzs

- Brad Haugaard

Noon Year's Eve Fun Family Program

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Company Creates Computer Eye On a Chip


SiLC Technologies, Inc., a Monrovia company (423 E. Huntington, just east of California), has come up with an improved computer vision device, and put it on a chip.

The system uses LiDAR, which Wikipedia defines as "a surveying method that measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor." Like radar with lasers.

The company says existing LiDAR systems suffer from range limitation due to eye safety concerns (you don't want to shoot eye-blasting lasers every which way), "multi-user cross-talk" (I think that means the possibility of the sensors picking up reflections from someone else's LiDAR system and getting confused), and cost.

The company says its new LiDAR-on-a-chip system addresses all these concerns and could be valuable in the potentially huge markets of self-driving vehicles, facial recognition systems, robotics and artificial intelligence systems. https://goo.gl/PD3PLg

- Brad Haugaard

Eclipse the Kitty Looking for Invitation to Your House


Eclipse (A468903) is an 8-month-old kitty looking for a home for the holidays. She was surrendered to the Pasadena Humane Society a month ago and is in need of a new friend and home. When you visit her in the Cat Communal Room she is the first to approach you. She loves ear scratches and full body pets and will head bump for more. She enjoys playing, cuddling, and napping and is looking for that special someone to make her part of the family this holiday season.

The adoption fee for cats is $75. 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

Elf Movie This Monday Night at the Library


For Monday Movie Night Elf, Monday Dec. 17, from 6-8 p.m. in the library Community Room. Dress in your pajamas, bring your blanket, pillow and your favorite stuffed friend. Enjoy freshly popped popcorn. Sponsored by Friends of the Monrovia Public Library. https://goo.gl/NGq9nf

- Brad Haugaard

GoMonrovia Prices May Go Up (With Exceptions) Again; Rules for Sidewalk Vendors

Growth of Lyft rides in Monrovia.

At its next meeting (agenda: https://goo.gl/Y5V6Gs)the Monrovia City Council will consider ...

 ~ A price increase and other modifications for GoMonrovia. Why? Because the insanely successful Lyft partnership that gives residents cheap rides around town is flat running out of money.

The city wants to maintain $.50 shared rides to or from Old Town and to and from the Gold Line Station, but other shared rides would increase from 50 cents to a dollar, and solo rides would increase from $3 to $3.50.

Also, the city will seek to be completely reimbursed by LA County and Bradbury for their participation in the program, or seek to scale back services to them. And, it will restructure the Dial-A-Ride program so it is ONLY for handicapped riders.

The problem is the program's estimated annual cost is $2.7 million and the city only has $1.2 million per year to spend on it. These changes, the staff report says, "are estimated to improve the GoMonrovia financial position by around $1.5 million, which would still leave an annualized funding gap of around $600,000."

Since that's still short, the city will monitor the program, reevaluate after this coming June, and possibly make additional adjustments.

Details: https://goo.gl/XLQjtC

~ What to do in response to California's Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, which allows sidewalk vendors (we're not talking food trucks here), whether cities like it or not.

To address this Monrovia has come up with these proposed regulations:

  • Restrict vending near farmers' market, special events, or schools during school hours.
  • No vending in Canyon Park, the Hillside Wilderness Preserve, and city parking lots.
  • No stationary sidewalk vendors in areas zoned exclusively residential.
  • Restrict operation to to normal business hours for the area.
  • Require proper trash disposal.
  • Require sidewalk vendors meet accessibility requirements.
  • Require vendors have a County Department of Health permit (for food vendors), have a California seller's permit, liability insurance, and a city business license.


- Brad Haugaard

A Christmas Service for the Hurting

Not everybody is happy during the Christmas season, so Monrovia's Hope Unlimited Church is holding a "Blue Christmas" service, "a gentle, contemplative service for those who are carrying pain or loss." Tuesday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m. The church is at 1900 Walker Ave, Monrovia. Walker is a block south of Duarte Road on the east side of Myrtle.

Oh! Another one. On Dec. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Library Park, the Longest Night Service, a free "service designed to honor those loses and give us a place to grieve what might have been." Sponsored by the city, Monrovia Healing Connections, Monrovia Ministerial Association, and Douglass & Zook.

- Brad Haugaard

Study the Night Sky in Library Park Tonight

Tonight the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will be at the southeast corner of Library Park, at Myrtle and Lime for about two hours after sunset. If you'd like a glimpse through a telescope there should be at least three of them out.

- Brad Haugaard

Breakfast at Jake’s Road House


As you can see, I got a bit eager and ate half my eggs before remembering to take a picture. Anyway, had breakfast at Jake’s Road House, on the east side of Myrtle just north of Olive. Got the sausage and eggs plate for $9.95 and a coffee for $2.95. Nice, filling meal, good service. 

- Brad Haugaard