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Monrovia Winter Events


Old Town Holiday Events:

  • Black Friday, November 23
    • Santa will arrive in Old Town at 10 a.m., so bring your family and friends and shop small this Black Friday!
  • Small Business Saturday, November 24 
    • Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses across the country every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. There will be drawings, music, and in-store specials all day long!
  • Days of Giving: Toy Drive on Myrtle Ave
    • Spread the joy this holiday season by participating in the Toy Drive on Myrtle Avenue!
    • Starting at 10 a.m. on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, members of Monrovia's Fire and Rescue will be out on Myrtle Avenue to collect your toys, so stop on by and make a child happy today!
Holiday Sing Along in Old Town
  • We will be holding a Holiday Sing Along for carolers young and old, musically gifted and tone-deaf! All are welcome! Come for the tunes, and stroll along Myrtle afterwards for shopping and dessert!
  • The sing along will be taking place on the 400 block of Myrtle Avenue.
  • Friday, December 14, 8:15 p.m. 
Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides in Old Town on Thursdays & Sundays
  • Thursdays, December 13 & 20, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
  • Sundays, December 2, 9, & 16, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. 
Free Kids' Crafts on Myrtle Avenue
  • Saturdays, December 15 & 22, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
  • Location: Old Town Monrovia on 400 block of Myrtle Avenue  
Breakfasts with Santa in Old Town Monrovia – Every Saturday in December!
  • December 1
    • 8:00 a.m. - Peach Café
  • December 8
    • 8:00 a.m. - Jake's Roadhouse
    • 10:00 a.m. - Monrovian Restaurant
    • 11:00 a.m. - Oh Mulberry Bush
  • December 15
    • 8:00 a.m. - Peach Café
  • December 22
    • 8:00 a.m. – Jake’s Roadhouse
    • 10:00 a.m. - Oh Mulberry Bush
    • 11:00 a.m. – Rudy’s Mexican Restaurant 
Holiday Events at the Monrovia Public Library
  • Holiday Sounds - Library Lobby (All Ages)
    • Saturday, December 1, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
  • Santa Storytime - Library Community Room (All Ages)
    • Monday, December 3, 10:30 a.m.
    • Tuesday, December 4, 6:30 p.m.
  • Gingerbread House Decorating - Library Community Room (All Ages)
    • Saturday, December 15, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
  • Monday Movie Night – Library Community Room (All Ages)
    • Monday, December 17, 6:00 p.m.
  • Holiday Dessert Decorating Challenge - Library Community Room (Grades 6-12)
    • Wednesday, December 19, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. 

Wheelhouse Ceramic Sale

Monrovia Adult Education's The Wheelhouse is having its holiday ceramic sale, at its facility at 1833 Santa Fe Place, behind Troy's Donuts and Burgers on Myrtle.

- Brad Haugaard

New Signs Go Up at Theater

New signs are up at Studio Movie Grill. https://goo.gl/Ro2Hcz

- Brad Haugaard 

City Council: Partnering with Church to Create Community Garden; Sell Cell Tower Leases for More Than a $1 Million

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

~  Consider an agreement with Mountainside Communion Church (corner of Magnolia and Colorado) for up to $30,000 to have the church develop a Monrovia Community Garden Pilot Program on the church's property. https://goo.gl/LKmzgz

~ Consider selling the city's interest in three wireless cell tower sites to TowerPoint Capital, LLC, for $1,075,000. https://goo.gl/8Y4Adn

~ Hold a study session at 6 p.m. to review state and local zoning and permitting regulations for sidewalk vending, micro-Enterprises, and standards for mobile vending  and signage. https://goo.gl/ErnvnS

- Brad Haugaard

A Video Tour of Old Monrovia

Monrovia Boy Scout Marcus Chamberlain has completed a video walking tour of six Monrovia buildings, with narration by Monrovia Historic Preservation Group board members. It's one of the requirements to earn his Eagle Scout award. View the videos here: https://goo.gl/pVw4Ga

- Brad Haugaard

Dinner at Cafe Mundial

Dinner at Cafe Mundial, on the east side of Myrtle about a half block north of Colorado. Got the seared Ahi for $24 and a beer for $7. That was a big Ahi steak!, and nicely cooked. Tasty. Very nice service as well. 

- Brad Haugaard 

Monrovia Police: Car Kills Deer; $5,000 of Cologne Stolen; Drunk Tries Getting in Wrong Car; Police Officer Punched; Etc.

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for Highlighted Activity for November 8-14. - Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 388 service events, resulting in 83 investigations.

Shoplifting/Warrant – Suspect Arrested
November 8 at 2:14 p.m., an employee of a store in the 500 block of W. Huntington reported a male subject was shoplifting from their store. Officers responded and apprehended the subject outside the store holding the stolen merchandise. The property was returned to the store and the subject was arrested. A computer check revealed he also had a warrant for his arrest.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
November 9 at 2:22 a.m., an officer was patrolling the 400 block of W. Foothill when he saw a vehicle parked behind a business occupied by a male subject. He contacted the subject and found him to be heavily intoxicated and unable to care for his own safety. The subject was arrested and taken into custody.

Grand Theft
November 9 at 7:38 a.m., a resident in the 200 block of N. Ivy walked outside his home to go to work and discovered someone had stolen the tailgate off his Toyota truck sometime during the night. At 10:55 a.m., another resident in the 300 block of N. Alta Vista discovered his Toyota truck tailgate had also been stolen. These investigations are continuing.

Injury Traffic Collision
November 9 at 12:50 p.m., a caller reported two motorists had collided into one another in the parking lot of a business in the 100 block of W. Foothill. Officers arrived and contacted the drivers. One of the drivers complained of feeling pain, but did not have visible injuries.

Vandalism
November 9 at 7:59 p.m., a resident in the 300 block of W. Palm was inside her house when she heard glass breaking outside. She walked outside and discovered someone had thrown a rock through her car window. This investigation is continuing.

Possession of Methamphetamine – Suspect Arrested
November 9 at 10:58 p.m., an officer was patrolling the 3300 block of S. Peck when he saw a male subject loitering around a closed business. He contacted the subject and found him to be in possession of methamphetamine and a pipe that had been used to smoke the substance. The subject was arrested and taken into custody.

Petty Theft
November 10 at 1:22 a.m., a resident in the 700 block of W. Duarte left their leaf blower on their front lawn while they took other tools to their backyard. When they returned to the front yard, the leaf blower was gone. This investigation is continuing.

Traffic Collision
November 10 at 8:30 a.m., a motorist reported she had just collided with a small deer in the 200 block of W. Hillcrest after it ran in front of her car, unexpectedly. Officers responded, along with the Pasadena Humane Society. The Humane Society was not able to save the deer.

Petty Theft/Fraud
November 10 at 10:33 a.m., a customer of a grocery store in the 600 block of W. Huntington was finished shopping and discovered someone had stolen her wallet from her purse while it was in the shopping cart. She went home, unable to pay for her groceries, and was notified by her credit card company that someone had fraudulently used her card at a nearby store. This investigation is continuing.

Petty Theft
November 10 at 6:51 p.m., a resident in the 200 block of W. Lime walked outside her home and noticed someone had taken her vehicle license plate. The plate was reported as stolen to the DMV. This investigation is continuing.

Violation of Restraining Order – Suspect Arrested
November 10 at 9:32 p.m., a resident in the 200 block of E. Lime reported there was a male subject in her front yard who had a restraining order against him to stay away from the house. Officers arrived and located the male, who was immediately arrested and taken into custody.

Public Intoxication/Warrant – Suspect Arrested
November 11 at 12:51 a.m., a resident in the 800 block of S. Magnolia reported a female subject attempted to enter his parked vehicle. Officers arrived and located the subject. She was found to be heavily intoxicated, did not know where she was and was unable to care for her own safety. A computer check revealed she also had a warrant for her arrest, so she was taken into custody.

Driving Under the Influence – Suspect Arrested
November 11 at 1:43 a.m., an officer was patrolling the 300 block of W. Huntington when he saw a motorist in front of him swerving. The vehicle hit the center divider several times, so the officer stopped the vehicle. The driver was found to be heavily intoxicated. After field sobriety tests were conducted, the driver was arrested for DUI.

Attempt Commercial Burglary
November 11 at 2:57 p.m., the owner of a business in the 2600 block of California reported a female subject attempting to break into a neighboring business. As officers were responding, the caller attempted to detain the subject, but she broke away and ran. The caller saw a second suspect in a vehicle, which quickly drove away. Officers searched for the subjects, but were unable to locate them. This investigation is continuing.

Family Disturbance/Driving Under the Influence – Suspect Arrested
November 11 at 5:00 p.m., a resident in the 300 block of S. Fifth called for police assistance due to a family disturbance in his house. When officers arrived, one of the subjects, the caller’s wife, had already left the house. While the officers were speaking with the caller, the wife returned home in her car. Officers contacted her and found she was heavily intoxicated. After field sobriety tests were conducted, she was arrested for DUI.

Commercial Burglary
November 12 at 9:15 a.m., an employee of a preschool in the 1200 block of S. Magnolia arrived at work and discovered someone had burglarized the school sometime over the weekend. A laptop and a box containing cash were taken. This investigation is continuing.

Shoplifting/Battering a Police Officer – Suspect Arrested
November 12 at 10:08 a.m., security for a store in the 1600 block of S. Mountain reported a male and female subject left their store without paying for merchandise they had taken. Officers responded and apprehended the male subject near the store still holding the stolen property. The female subject was stopped by store security and an officer, but she refused to cooperate. She punched at the police officer before being handcuffed. Both subjects were taken into custody and the stolen property was returned to the store.

Possession of Methamphetamine – Suspect Arrested
November 12 at 11:48 p.m., an officer was patrolling the 500 block of W. Huntington when he saw a motorist commit a driving violation. The officer stopped the driver and found him to be in possession of methamphetamine, so he was arrested and taken into custody.

Shoplifting
November 13 at 8:20 a.m., security for a store in the 1600 block of S. Mountain reported a male subject had just left with a power tool he did not pay for. As officers responded, the suspect entered a vehicle and drove away. Officers searched for the suspect, but could not locate him. This investigation is continuing.

Commercial Burglary
November 13 at 12:45 p.m., security for a store in the 700 block of E. Huntington reported they had just discovered that three male subjects had entered their store three days prior and had stolen $5,000 worth of men’s cologne. This investigation is continuing.

Trespassing – Suspect Arrested
November 13 at 2:19 p.m., a resident in the 1200 block of Sherman reported their daughter was on the property after having been warned several times to stay off the property. Officers responded and located the subject. She was taken into custody for trespassing.

Shoplifting – Suspect Arrested
November 13 at 4:19 p.m., security for a store in the 1600 block of S. Mountain reported a male subject had exited the store without paying for merchandise he had taken. Officers responded and located the subject outside the store holding the property. He was taken into custody and the property was returned to the store.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
November 14 at 2:30 a.m., a resident in the 700 block of E. Lime reported a male subject who was not wearing any pants was knocking on his front door. When officers arrived, they located the subject in the front yard of the home. The subject was intoxicated and unable to care for his own safety, so he was arrested and taken into custody.

Traffic Collision
November 14 at 7:42 a.m., a caller reported a solo motorist collided into four mailboxes while reversing in the 100 block of Hidden Valley. There was damage to the vehicle and the mailboxes. A citation was issued for the driving violation.

Petty Theft
November 14 at 4:39 p.m., a resident in the 200 block of E. Colorado discovered a package that had just been delivered was stolen from her front porch. This investigation is continuing.

Petty Theft
November 14 at 5:36 p.m., an employee of a restaurant in the 400 block of W. Huntington reported someone had stolen his bicycle from outside the business sometime during the day while he was inside working. This investigation is continuing.

Attempt Residential Burglary
November 14 at 6:49 p.m., a resident in the 200 block of S. Shamrock reported someone was attempting to break into their home through a bedroom window, which activated the house alarm. Officers arrived and found the bedroom window was forced open, however the suspect did not gain entry. Officers searched the area for the suspect, but could not locate him. This investigation is continuing.

Free Compost and Mulch This Saturday

- Brad Haugaard

Water and Sewer Rates Going Up; Police vs. Fire for Charity; Monrovia Finalist as 'Business Friendly' City; Etc.

Festival of Trees will benefit Boys and Girls Club of the Foothills.

In his latest report (https://goo.gl/aOqX7O) City Manager Oliver Chi reports:

~  Monrovia Police Department and Fire Department will face off in a charity basketball game to benefit the American Cancer Society. The game is on Friday, Nov. 30, at 6:30 p.m., at the Monrovia High School Basketball Gym. Tickets are $5 (children 12 and under free) and can be purchased at the Police and Fire Departments. Also, there will be grand prize drawing for a 65-inch TV.

~ Water and sewer rates are going up. If you have a typical single-family house your water rate will increase by $7.57 a month, to $65.28 a month, from $57.71 now. And, your sewer rate will increase by $0.24 a month, to $9.29 a month. from $9.05.

~  While the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation named our neighbor, Azusa as the Most Business Friendly City with a population under 50,000 (congrats, Azusa!), Monrovia was named - for the second year in a row - as one of five finalists.

~  Youth Services has set up a Letter Writing Station at the Library for boys and girls write a letter to Santa, a U.S. soldier, or a favorite book character. If the child includes a return address, Santa - or the book character - will write back (thanks to the postal and Youth Services staff). Letters to soldiers will be included in care packages to them. Letter supplies are at the Youth Reference Desk. For questions, call 256-8274. Letters must be completed and in the mailbox (on the Youth Reference Desk) by Saturday, Dec. 8.

~ During the next few months trees in city parkways north of Foothill will be trimmed, going from west to east. Questions? Call Public Works Division at 932-5575.

~  The Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Holiday Parade will take place Thursday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. with the Tree Lighting Ceremony in Library Park, followed by the Holiday Parade at 7 p.m. It will travel north on Myrtle from Chestnut to Palm.

~  The eighth Annual Festival of Trees event, to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of the Foothills, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 6 to 10 p.m. Details: http://foothillsfestivaloftrees.com/

- Brad Haugaard

WWII Vet Gets Replacement Medals at Vets Day Celebration

At the Veterans Day celebration in Library Park World War II Battle of the Bulge veteran Antonio Sanchez, 94, gets replacement medals he lost in a house fire. https://goo.gl/hqgBep

- Brad Haugaard

Veterans Day Celebration at Library Park



Celebrating Veterans Day today in front of the library 

- Brad Haugaard 

Wrought Iron Fence Planned for Bradoaks School

At its next meeting (https://goo.gl/aYBPV9) the Monrovia Board of Education will consider  installing wrought iron fencing at Bradoaks School, installed by Charlie's Fence Company, for $34,500.  https://goo.gl/aJDDcz

- Brad Haugaard

Watch Out for this 'Sextortion' Email Scam

A reader writes to say her household recently received this email extortion scam.

Here's how it works: You receive an email from a person who has somehow obtained the password to your email, possibly through a data breach at some company. The writer claims to have proof that you've been watching pornography (it says the porn site you went to downloaded software that recorded both you and what you were looking at) and demands payment be made using Bitcoin otherwise the images or video will be sent to everyone on your contact list - friends, family, coworkers, etc. Don't be faked out by this. Here is an article about it: https://goo.gl/sVndWr

- Brad Haugaard

Bear, Would Love the Great Outdoors With You


Bear (A468293) loves the great outdoors and just can’t wait to go out and sniff the world. She gets so excited when she sees the leash that her tail starts wagging and begs to go out. Treat motivated and already trained to know sit, shake, down and stay, Bear is a 3-year-old black Labrador Retriever mix who would love to be your outdoorsy partner!

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

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day, Monrovia vets. 

- Brad Haugaard 

Production of Messiah at St. Luke

On Saturday, December 15, at 7:30pm,  the San Gabriel Valley Choral Company will perform an “historically informed” production of MessiahGeorge Frideric Handel’s masterpiece, under the baton of Visiting Artistic Director Dr. David Rentz. The performance will be held at Monrovia’s St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and will include excerpts from Messiahfeaturing soloists, and chamber musicians. 


- Brad Haugaard .

Dinner at Mahan Indian Food


Dinner at Mahan Indian Food. This is the former Noor's, near the southeast corner of Foothill and Myrtle. Got the Chicken Tikka Masala for $15, naan bread ($3.50), rice ($3), and a big beer ($9). I liked it ... a LOT. And it was enough for both my wife and me. It was served family style so what you see in the picture is just my first helping. Very friendly service as well. 


- Brad Haugaard 

The Big Country Movie This Saturday at the Library


For Classic Movie Afternoon, The Big Country, Saturday Nov. 10, from 2-4 p.m. in the library Community Room. Details: https://goo.gl/HYxD3U

- Brad Haugaard

Community Prayer Breakfast,

Community Prayer Breakfast, "Finding Inner Peace in a Troubled World" Nov. 16, 8-9:30 a.m. at Courtyard by Marriott. $30 per person. Details: https://goo.gl/4pMRCf

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia's AeroVironment Wins $3.2 Million Drone Contract for 'Allied Nation'

Monrovia's drone-maker, AeroVironment, has won a $3.2 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to provide its small, hand-launched Puma drone "to an allied nation in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command." https://goo.gl/j64eNZ

- Brad Haugaard