Monrovia Giving Its Part of Mountain Road to County

City Manager Scott Ochoa reports that Monrovia - along with Arcadia and Sierra Madre - will turn over ownership and maintenance of Chantry Flats Road to Los Angeles County after damage from a 2004-05 rainstorm is repaired. The repairs, he said, are being made with federal funds, not city money. http://goo.gl/2ePc5 

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Church Raises Money for Japan

First Presbyterian Church of Monrovia raised $786 for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief with an impromptu special offering Sunday. The money will be sent through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to work with mission partners in country. Source: http://goo.gl/t8Ea2 

 

- Brad Haugaard

Multi-Sign Shevlin

I don't believe I've ever seen a local candidate with so many DIFFERENT designs of yard-signs. (This is not an endorsement. If I want to endorse I won't be coy about it. UPDATE: Nor - I should add - am I implying any criticism.)

UPDATE: Becky Shevlin responds:

"There is even yet another version as well which has a sentence down at the bottom about help me make Monrovia a great place to live work and play.  Actually, when I ran two years ago, I did not want to use the same traditional signs and I experimented a bit with color and size – as well did the local sign maker Signs by Steve ‘n Sons. I have recycled the old signs and added a few new yellow ones.

"Regardless, I obviously got you to take notice and now you have posted same providing even more exposure so I guess you would have to say they have done their job. This time around I would also like to bring attention to the fact that we are holding an election and encourage people to be engaged in the process and to get out and vote.  On the other hand, I guess it all boils down to the eyes and minds of the beholders as to whether they see the different signs as a positive or a negative. I guess I will see what happens on April 12th! Please remember to vote!"

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Has Top Website / Fall from the Falls

~ Monrovia's city website scores an A grade in the Star-News' survey of transparency on local city websites. (I agree. It is good! ) http://goo.gl/f5dZ6

~ 61-year-old injured from a fall at the falls in Monrovia Canyon Park. http://goo.gl/0QV9I

- Brad Haugaard

Gospel Expo to Monrovia

Gospel Expo coming to Monrovia on March 27. City Council member Clarence Shaw hopes it will become an annual event. Proceeds to fight diabetes. Details: http://goo.gl/Nk2M4

 

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Candidate Forum / Library Fundraiser

~ There will be another Monrovia City Council candidates forum from 7 to 8:30 p.m., March 28 at Open Door Church of God In Christ, 522 E. Cypress Ave. http://goo.gl/96aPF

~ If you would like to support the Literacy Services program at the Monrovia Library, there will be a fundraiser called "Alice's Afternoon Tea," with tea, pasteries, sandwiches and desserts for $25 a head on Saturday, March 19, from 1-3 p.m. in the Library Community Room. For information, call (626) 256-8272.

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's World Vision Active in Japan Relief / Youth State-of-City Speech

~ Monrovia's World Vision joins disaster-relief work in Japan. http://goo.gl/sFKrQ

~ Monrovia youth invited to a the State of the City - Youth Edition speech. See here for details: http://goo.gl/78v29

- Brad Haugaard

Lunch at T-Burger

I got a fish taco. Cod with tartar sauce. Good, but next time I'll get two.

- Brad Haugaard

State of City Speech / Schamadan: Monrovia, Dog Town

~ If you'd like to read the full text of Mayor Mary Ann Lutz's State of the City speech, or watch it, you can read here ( http://goo.gl/hXr5p ) and watch here ( http://goo.gl/uB364 ).

~ Charlotte Schamadan's column - Monrovia, a dog-lover's town. http://goo.gl/IT0Vm

- Brad Haugaard

Old Town Trolleys May Go Away :-(

Monrovia's two Old Town Trolley buses are at the end of their useful life and are in constant need of repair. What to do?

 

Well, refurbishing them costs $100,000 per trolley. New ones run $250,000 each. The city can retire them or retain the trolley service and perhaps serve a larger portion of the city. City staff is recommending retiring the trolleys and using the left-over Prop A money (which is funding them) to do some tie-in with the Gold Line when it arrives.

 

The City Council will decide the question at its March 15 meeting. Agenda: http://goo.gl/Ty7qs

 

Source: http://goo.gl/nGFYZ

 

- Brad Haugaard

Ford Commercial in Monrovia

A film crew was shooting a commercial for Ford this morning at Monrovia Canyon Park. Ironically the only Fords were the one being featured and an old Parks Department truck. The crew was driving Chevys, Chryslers, Lexus, Honda and everything but Fords. This Ford looks nice, though.

- Brad Haugaard

Ex-Monrovia Police Chief on Glendora Council / STAAR Surgical

~ Former Monrovia Police Chief Joe Santoro wins a spot on Glendora City Council. http://goo.gl/BHl24

~ STAAR Surgical, of Monrovia, has given Ellex Australia exclusive distribution rights for its intraocular lenses in Australia. http://goo.gl/c97hv

- Brad Haugaard

Be In the Monrovia Day Parade

If you'd like to be in the Monrovia Day Parade on May 12, (celebrating Monrovia's 125th Anniversary and featuring a return of Samson the Hot Tub Bear), then click this link ( http://goo.gl/vm6qy ) for a parade entry application. If you are interested in driving a dignitary in the parade? Please call 626.256.8246.

Source: http://goo.gl/Oa01A

- Brad Haugaard

Gold Line Videos Released

The Gold Line Construction Authority has released a couple videos of the Metro Gold Line extension:

http://goo.gl/Hzpvj

http://goo.gl/X6Bpf

Let me try to be nice at first. These are very professionally done videos.

But having said that, the videos bother me a lot because I think the taxpayers probably want the government to spend the rail-line money on building a rail line! not on making what appear to be expensive videos whose main purpose seems to be to give local politicians a chance to pat themselves on the back for a job that is not even close to done.

Yes, there is some information in the videos, and yes, it is important to communicate with the public, but these videos seem an extremely unnecessary expense since the information in the videos is already available right here: http://www.foothillextension.org/

If this is supposed to be PR, it utterly failed with me. In a day when governments - local, state and national - are in deep financial straits, to see this kind of waste just infuriates me. 

- Brad Haugaard

Xencor's Successful Studies / Monrovia Baseball :-(

Monrovia's Xencor, Inc. announced positive results in studies of XmAb5871, a product which may be useful for treating autoimmune diseases. http://goo.gl/pjFOQ

~ Monrovia High Baseball. San Dimas 3, Monrovia 2 :-(. http://goo.gl/0XlLK

- Brad Haugaard

AeroVironment Jumps / Census / Unity Center / New Sermons

~ The stock of Monrovia's AeroVironment jumped 13 percent in after-hours trading after it reported that it had a better  quarter than Wall Street expected. http://goo.gl/07adT

 

~ Census data released today show the black population in Monrovia has slipped while the Asian population has increased. http://goo.gl/8dEjh

 

~ If you know a local person whose efforts have made an exceptional difference in the lives of others, Foothill Unity Center wants to know about it. Nomination forms may be downloaded at http://www.foothillunitycenter.org or picked up at the distribution site at 415 West Chestnut. Submission deadline is 5 p.m., April 15. Executive Director Joan Whitenack said the nominee's activities do not need to be associated with Foothill Unity Center, and they may have been done on a volunteer basis or in connection with regular work.

 

~ Monrovia Presbyterian Church begins a new series this Sunday: The Gospel In Life, Grace Changes Everything. http://goo.gl/2iim9

 

- Brad Haugaard

Talk to Staff of Monrovia's State Senator

If you'd like to talk with a staff member of Monrovia's state senator, Bob Huff, you can do that at a "Mobile District Office" on March 24, 10-11 a.m. at the Westfield Santa Anita Shopping Mall in Arcadia. http://goo.gl/0eT3o

- Brad Haugaard

Business Gift Cards that Support Monrovia Schools

I mentioned that you can support the School District by buying gift cards from the district offices. Well, I just got a list of all the businesses involved. They are all national chains, but there are lots of them in our area: Starbucks, Best Buy, Home Depot, Chili's, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, CVS, Olive Garden, Pinkberry, and scads more. See the attachment to this post for the whole list. (Thanks to School Board President Ed Gililland for that.)

- Brad Haugaard

Invading Bug Threatens Monrovia Oaks

The Monrovia Fire Department is asking residents to be careful about bringing oak firewood into town as it may be infested with the Gold Spotted Oak Borer, which very much likes to munch on coastal live oak,
 black 
oak and
 canyon
 live 
oak 
trees.

 

The department recommends that you do not use oak for firewood at all unless you know that it is not infested. Firewood from San Diego County, Arizona, and Mexico is particularly at risk for spreading this pest.

 

Here's a San Diego notice about the bug: http://goo.gl/hXQWj

 

Source: http://goo.gl/jFELb

 

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's Sales Tax Revenue Looking Up

City Manager Scott Ochoa writes:

 

"This week, we received our 3rd quarter sales tax report (July-September 2010). I am pleased to report that the positive trajectory in our sales tax trend line is continuing. We are doing better than we were a year ago in the same quarter, and we are marching confidently toward our sales tax revenue goals for FY 2010-11. Auto dealers and new soft goods retailers (Kohl's and Living Spaces) are bolstering our numbers. All in all, we are gaining momentum - here's hoping we can pull ourselves out of the doldrums and to up toward a better economy."

 

Source: 

http://goo.gl/jFELb

 

- Brad Haugaard