Sena Restaurant / Old Myrtle / More on Upton Sinclair House

~ A new restaurant called Sena is opening this summer in Monrovia. http://goo.gl/A06Kx

~ There's a neat old 1949 picture of Myrtle Avenue here. (Scroll down a bit). http://goo.gl/bLqmJ

~ A bit more on the Upton Sinclair House, for sale in North Monrovia. Oddly, the article doesn't say where the house is. It is way up Myrtle, on the east side of the street just before you go up into Gold Hills. http://goo.gl/2Al4N

- Brad Haugaard

Sinclair House for Sale / Murder Sentence / Rotary / Delay for Gold Line?

~ Monrovia's Upton Sinclair house is for sale for $1.5 million. http://goo.gl/WDNeC

~ Monrovian sentenced to 35 years for killing. http://goo.gl/SScHt

~ Monrovia Rotary Club will be sending 6 female and 6 male attendees from Monrovia High School to the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards on March 4-6 in Idyllwild, a three-day seminar with nearly 200 students from Southern California and Nevada. They are Giselle Moreau, Jamie Truong, Stephanie Garcia, Dushani DeSilva, Amanda Aquilar, Corrine Marino, Kevin Romero, Levi Helm, Christopher Rosedale, Saul Denova, Diego Nieves, Michael Arevelos. http://goo.gl/dt15b

~ A Monrovia property owner is suing to prevent his property from being taken for Gold Line Extension. http://goo.gl/dH8FE

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Candidate Forum, Thursday, March 3

The Monrovia Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a City Council Candidate Forum the evening of Thursday, March 3, 2011; the League of Women Voters will assist in facilitating the meeting.

 

The Forum will take place in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 415 S. Ivy Ave., Monrovia and will be aired live by Community Media of the Foothills (KGEM) from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

 

The community is welcome to attend and be part of the audience in the Council Chambers and submit written questions to candidates.  There will also be open phones line over which viewers at home may submit questions for the candidates.  Questions will be sorted by a panel and read by a moderator.  The forum will be taped for repeated viewing until the April 12, 2011 election.

- Karin Crehan, Monrovia Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday Monrovia School Board Meeting

Also on the agenda (http://goo.gl/VnZhT) for the Monrovia Board of Education's meeting on Wednesday, February 23, at 7:30 p.m.:
~ A report on the Elementary School Counseling Program. http://goo.gl/TYt8k
~ A report on English language and math progress. http://goo.gl/dS1gG
~ The no-bullying policy updated. http://goo.gl/oFjZO
~ The School Board's to-do list: http://goo.gl/A1u2W
- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia High Construction Agenda

Report on when construction is going to be completed at Monrovia High School. Marked items in red are not finished yet. This is on the school board agenda for the Wednesday (Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m.) meeting. http://goo.gl/3x8Dr

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia School Enrollment Down

Enrollment continues to slip at Monrovia schools.

Source: http://goo.gl/MumjU

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Schools: Broke in 2012?

The Monrovia Unified School District will run out of money by May, 2012.

Connie Wu, Monrovia School District's Chief Business Officer, projects - even assuming Governor Brown's optimistic assumption that a tax extension will be approved by the voters - that the district will face a cash deficit of $1 million by May of 2012 and $3 million by June 2012. And if the voters reject the tax extension? Probably a $5 million deficit by June 2012.
Why? Because the irresponsible State of California has refused to cut its own expenditures, and so, to compensate for its spendthrift ways, is looting local school districts. (That's my own opinion, if you didn't guess.)
Obviously, to avoid a deficit, some serious cuts could be in store.
Lots more detail, including spreadsheets, here: http://goo.gl/jDNot
- Brad Haugaard

Monrovian Assaulted / Judge: City Didn't Violate Law

~ Monrovia man assaulted with cutting tool in Irwindale. http://goo.gl/rhNsl

~ Judge says Monrovia didn't violate open meeting laws. http://goo.gl/nyLq0

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's Newts - Dangerous

With the recent rains the newts are out in the hills above Monrovia. Cute though they are, a ranger told me they are deadly poisonous.

He said a couple was once found dead. It turned out they had scooped water from a stream, boiled it for coffee and drank it. They scooped up and boiled a newt by accident.

They are rusty brown on top and orange on the bottom Don't even touch.

- Brad Haugaard

AeroVironment Files Suit / Help Unity Center

In lawsuit, Monrovia's AeroVironment accuses competitor of stealing schematics to its electric-car battery testing systems. http://goo.gl/isYGp

Quick, Free Ways to Help Unity Center

Help Foothill Unity Center win $5K by going to guidestar.org and greatnonprofits.org and dashing off a quick review. The organization that gets the most reviews before Feb. 28 will receive $5,000 from nonprofit marketing company KIMBIA. http://goo.gl/Md0MP (Also, and even easier, MonroviaNow [http://monrovianow.com] is paying Foothill Unity Center a dollar for each new email subscription it gets this month. Just add your email address on our home page.)

- Brad Haugaard

Snow Over Monrovia

A beautiful dusting of snow over Monrovia this morning.

- Brad Haugaard

MHS Band Perform at Carnegie Hall?

MHS Symphonic Band may play at Carnegie Hall if it can raise enough money. http://goo.gl/AnB4V

- Brad Haugaard

Black History Month in Monrovia / Marijuana Arrest / Basketball Pix

~ Story about Black History month in Monrovia. http://goo.gl/uTLge

 

~ Monrovia liquor store worker arrested for allegedly selling pot. http://goo.gl/kMOCR

 

~ Pix of Monrovia vs. La Mirada Boys Basketball game. http://goo.gl/867nR

 

- Brad Haugaard

Lunch at Monrovia's Market Grill

The Dirty Dog at The Market Grill. A chili dog with New England style homemade bun, grilled on the outsides like a grilled cheese sandwich. Different and delicious. Wife loved her burger as well. 525 S. Shamrock Avenue. The place was packed.

- Brad Haugaard

Girls Basketball :-) / Black History Pix / Blues / Seafood

~ Girls Basketball CIF playoffs - Monrovia 55, La Mirada 32 :-) . Two stories: http://goo.gl/Kce86 and http://goo.gl/Aw3AA . Plus, some slides: http://goo.gl/b5wVO

~ Slide show of upcoming Monrovia Black History exhibit: http://goo.gl/uVsmA

~ LA Blues Society jam session at T. Phillips on Sunday, 2-7 p.m. http://goo.gl/N0jsb

~ A new seafood restaurant is opening in Monrovia soon (don't have the exact date). It is called Big Shrimps Fish Grill, and it will be at 123 E. Colorado Boulevard in Old Monrovia.

- Brad Haugaard