Sweet, shy Delilah looking for a quiet home

Beautiful Delilah is a 3-year-old Malinois mix who is looking for a calm, loving home where she can feel safe and cherished. This sweet girl is a little on the shy side at first, but once she gets to know you, she’s a bundle of love and affection.  

Delilah enjoys her walks, especially when she gets the chance to sniff around and explore. She recently went on a field trip with a volunteer and loved splashing around in a creek while on a hike. 

Delilah is a very well-behaved girl and knows all her training cues. She’s a big fan of pets and treats, especially hot dogs, and she’ll happily return to you for some love after a good game of ball. While she’s a bit nervous around new environments or busy places, she’s always gentle and polite, sitting patiently at crosswalks and enjoying a leisurely stroll when the coast is clear.

This wallflower will thrive in a quieter, low-traffic home, ideally as the only pet. She’s looking for a family who can give her the space and calm she needs to blossom into her confident, loving self. If you’re looking for a sweet and devoted companion to share your quiet moments with, Delilah is waiting to meet you!

Delilah and all other dogs over 40 pounds old have their adoption fees waived from December 19 – 31 during the Roses & Wet Noses adoption promotion at Pasadena Humane.

The normal adoption fee for dogs is $150. All dog adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, and age-appropriate vaccines.

Walk-in adoptions are available every day from 2:00 – 5:00. For those who prefer, adoption appointments are available daily from 10:30 – 1:30 and can be scheduled online. View photos of adoptable pets at pasadenahumane.org.

- Brad Haugaard 

A Moment in Monrovia History: A 1910 view of Library Park

Panorama of Library Park from 1910, Looking north on Myrtle from Lime. From left are the Carnegie Library and Library Park, homes on Palm, Granite and the Woman's Club on the east side of Myrtle. From the Myron Hotchkiss collection. See full details here.

For more historic photos and papers, see the Monrovia Historical Society’s complete Legacy Project collection here. Learn more about the Monrovia Historical Society here.

- Brad Haugaard

Mystery object spotted over Monrovia

Unidentified drones, or some other type of flying objects, have been spotted mostly over New Jersey but also other places around the country, and have created a flurry of postings on social media and have even generating comments by members of Congress and the military. Now there is a video of such an object flying over or near Monrovia. Comments on this Facebook post by Shane Nichols suggest that the light could be anything from the planet Venus, to an airplane, a helicopter, hobby drones, military drones to - of course - aliens.

- Brad Haugaard

Stay and Play at Library Tomorrow, Dec. 17

Stay and Play at the Library Tuesday, Dec. 17. Program offers a drop-in play session with educational toys for children 0-5 and their caregivers. Session runs from 10 to 11 a.m.

- Brad Haugaard

Children Read to a Furry Friend at Library Dec. 17

Barks and Books at the Library allows children aged 6-11 to read to therapy dogs, boosting reading confidence. Tuesday, Dec. 17. Sessions are 10 minutes long, from 4 to 5 p.m. Register here. 

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia School District will close one middle school and cut staff

Monrovia School District plans to close one of its two middle schools in the 2026-27 fiscal year and cut staff (27 teachers and two administrators by July 1, and more later) to bring its expenses in line with its income. Here is the district's statement:

The district is right-sizing its certificated teaching staff and administration to match the decline of students. As of July 1, 2025, twenty-seven (27) teaching FTE, primarily at the secondary level (15), will be attrited or terminated, along with two administrators. In 2026-27, the district will consolidate middle school to one campus, with a potential savings of $750K. Other reductions to personnel will be due to the continued decline in student enrollment. The loss of FTE from 2025-26 to 2026-27, will be approximately 4 additional teaching staff, 2 additional administrators, and 5 classified. The ongoing effect of the 2025-26 action is a reduction of approximately $4M, and the 2026-27 action is approximately $1.2M, totalling a reduction of $6.2M of ongoing reductions over the two years.

Details. 

- Brad Haugaard

Toy and canned food drive to benefit Foothill Unity Center

The city of Monrovia's 5th Annual Toy and Canned Food Drive will be held Saturday, Dec. 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1311 S Shamrock Ave. Toys donated will be given to Foothill Unity Center for distribution. Drive is sponsored by Detail Union & Monrovia Police Officers Association.

If you would like to donate directly to the Center, here's an Amazon list of what's needed. You can drop off donations at the Center's office at 790 W. Chestnut Ave. from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Also, donations to Foothill Unity Center will be matched until the center's $25,000 goal is reached. Details. 

And cats and dogs get hungry, too, so the Center will also accept monetary donations to buy pet food. Details. 

- Brad Haugaard

Santa on the move in Monrovia

Santa, with full police entourage, is busy touring Monrovia. See here for his schedule.

- Brad Haugaard 

Don't Trash Your Broken Christmas Tree Lights - Mail Them

Have some dead Christmas tree lights you need to get rid of? Well you’re not supposed to put them in the garbage, and, no, you’re not supposed to put them in the recycle bin (Athens doesn’t like them because they can damage recycling equipment). And, by the way, don’t take them to the recycle center at the City Yard either. So what do you do with them? Well, the city suggests you pack them up and mail them to a recycle center. Here are two: Holiday LEDs and Green Citizen. For details, contact Public Works at 932-5575.

Opinion: Frankly, it seems expensive, wasteful of packaging material, and inconvenient to use the US Postal Service to haul trash. How about placing a disposal bin at the City Yard after Christmas. Then people could take broken Christmas lights there and Athens could ship them in one big batch to a recycle center.

- Brad Haugaard

Free COVID Kits and Masks

Free COVID test kits and N95 masks are available at the Community Center, 119 W. Palm Ave., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. One test kit and a pack of five masks per household. While supplies last. Proof of residency required. Call 256-8234 for availability.

- Brad Haugaard 

Council to Consider Hiring Company to Fix Flood Channel; Change Date of Elections

At its next meeting (agenda here) the Monrovia City Council will consider ...

~ Hiring Pokrajac Corporation to fix a broken flood control channel near 346 Genoa Street (see above) for up to $65,801 (and a contingency fee of $6,580. Details.

~ Changing the date of municipal elections to the date of the statewide general election in November of even numbered years, starting in 2026. Details.

- Brad Haugaard

Lyft Rides May Go Up to $6

To make sure it continues to be affordable, at its next meeting (agenda here) the Monrovia City Council will consider raising the fare for Lyft rides from $3 to $6 per trip and limit the hours of subsidized rides to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Details. 

- Brad Haugaard

How Monrovia Plans to Spend Measure K Sales Tax Money

Monrovia has $22.8 million in the Measure K sales tax kitty, and now has plans to spend $16 million of it. The biggest projects are the Library Enhancement project ($6 million), resurfacing Peck and Myrtle south of Duarte Road ($2.78 million), and adding signals and road resurfacing on Mountain Avenue between Huntington and Foothill ($2.5 million).

Smaller projects are Community Center Design and Engineering ($1.4 million), Satoru Tsuneishi Park construction ($1.6 million),  buying land for affordable housing ($1.53 million), and Senior Program enhancements ($200,000). Details.

- Brad Haugaard

City Council to Discuss Inclusionary Housing

The Monrovia City Council will discuss potential inclusionary housing programs at a study session this coming Tuesday (agenda here). The proposed ordinance would require new residential developments to set aside a percentage of units for low- and moderate-income families. Results from a 2022 survey show that 73% of respondents support the adoption of an inclusionary housing program, with most in favor of setting aside 20-25% of units for affordable housing.

The ordinance also recommends that the policy apply to residential projects with five or more units, though some petitioners have requested a threshold of 10 units. Developers could comply by including affordable units in their projects, or perhaps by building off-site units, or paying an in-lieu fee. The fee would vary based on unit or square footage, with specific amounts proposed for ownership and rental developments​.

Exemptions are also under consideration for certain types of housing, including accessory dwelling units, emergency shelters, and assisted living facilities. 

- Brad Haugaard (with help from AI)

Christmas Lights Are Up in Monrovia

Christmas lights are up all over Monrovia. These are all on Valmont Drive. Virtually every house on the street participates and it’s quite a grand show. Drive north on Norumbega from Foothill and just keep going. You will see Valmont on the left. If you cross the bridge you went too far.

- Brad Haugaard