Construction About to Start on New Monrovia Apartment Building

Architect's rendering of new apartment building.

Construction should begin on an apartment project at the southeast corner of Fifth and Huntington "within the next month or so," City Manager Oliver Chi wrote in his latest weekly report ( http://goo.gl/qVi1Qy ). It will replace the former self-storage facility with a "four-story, 154-unit apartment complex, along with a small 1,340 square foot commercial space at the north corner of the building."

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Congresswoman Proposes Federal Overlay Over Part of City

Congresswoman Judy Chu, who represents a sliver across the top of Monrovia, has proposed an expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument to include an even larger chunk of Monrovia. The map above shows the border of Monrovia in black. The green part is already part of the national monument, red is the proposed expansion area for the monument, and blue would be for a proposed San Gabriel Mountains National Recreation Area. In his weekly report ( http://goo.gl/qVi1Qy ), City Manager Oliver Chi said the city has informed Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (who represents most of Monrovia and who co-sponsored the bill with Chu) that the city wants to be excluded from any national recreation area. He adds that "Napolitano’s staff reached out to the City to let us know that the NRA Bill is still sitting in committee and that there does not seem to be any interest by the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands – or by the House of Representatives for that matter – to consider the NRA Bill in 2016." Note: Chi politely refrains from mentioning that Chu introduced this measure, but she did: https://goo.gl/tNl5bC

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Baseball Over South Pas

Monrovia baseball victorious over South Pasadena. http://goo.gl/I4Qn2f

- Brad Haugaard

Women's Soccer Calls Up Monrovia Teen

U.S. women's soccer calls up Monrovia teen Ashley Sanchez. http://goo.gl/5HgJ9m

- Brad Haugaard

Meet Author Attica Locke at Monrovia Library

Meet author Attica Locke Saturday, April 16 at 2 p.m. at the Library Community Room as she talks about her latest novel, Pleasantville. Locke is the author of the national bestseller, "The Cutting Season" and "Black Water Rising." She is currently a writer and producer on the Fox drama, Empire. Books available for purchase at the event.

- Brad Haugaard

Lillian Sass Named Woman of the Year

Lillian Sass, coordinator of the Citrus College Foster/Kinship Education and Resources Program (FKCERP), has been named a Woman of the Year for the 25th Senate District by Senator Carol Liu.

Sass was selected because of her commitment to supporting foster youth and her dedication to educating foster and adoptive families. Citrus College serves the Monrovia area. Source: Citrus press release

- Brad Haugaard

Postage Stamp Train Tickets

Using the train regularly now, I think I've figured out the Metro ticketing system.

If you stand at the machine trying to figure out what it costs to get to Union Station or Culver City, or whatever, you will pull your hair out with frustration, but if you think of it as a postage stamp it becomes a lot clearer.

If you send a letter across the street or to New Hampshire it costs the same. In the same way, for $1.75 you can get to wherever the trains go (what a deal!), as long as you can get there in a couple hours. At least I think that's how it works. Metro could be clearer with its messaging but it's not bad once you change how you look at it.

UPDATE: Since I'm on the subject of trains, I just had the worst experience this morning. I waited 20 minutes (during rush hour) for a train in Monrovia and then it was shoulder to shoulder all the way to Pasadena. Sardine City. 52 minutes door to door. I started taking the train because it was almost as fast and much more pleasant. Today it was much slower and much more unpleasant than driving. A few more experiences such as I had this morning and I'll be back in my car.

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia School Board Agenda

Here's the agenda for the March 23 Board of Education meeting: here. Doesn't look like anything too earthshaking.

- Brad Haugaard

Monrovia Police: Gang Graffiti At Clifton; Burglaries From Cars; Drunk; Drunk and Driving; Five Arrested in Drug Bust; $100,000 Bail for Driving Without License

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for March 17-20. - Brad Haugaard]

Following are the weekend’s highlighted issues and events.

Vehicle Burglary
March 17 at 4:33 p.m., the victim of a vehicle burglary came to the police department lobby to file a report. The victim parked her vehicle in a parking lot in the 800 block of West Colorado. When she returned, her purse was missing from inside the vehicle. The victim believes she locked the vehicle. There were no signs of forced entry. The investigation is continuing.

Vehicle Burglary
March 17 at 5:18 p.m., a vehicle burglary was reported in the 500 block of S. Shamrock. The front passenger-side window was smashed and a handbag, tablet and other miscellaneous items were taken from inside the vehicle. The investigation is continuing.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
March 18 at 12:17 a.m., a resident in the 300 block of West Lemon called police to report a male subject on his lawn. Officers arrived and located a male subject wandering around in the area that matched the description. The subject was intoxicated and did not know where he was. The officers determined the subject was too intoxicated to care for himself. He was arrested and held for sobering.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
March 18 at 12:50 a.m., an officer on patrol saw a male subject stumbling down the street. He stopped the subject to check on his welfare and determined he was extremely intoxicated and unable to care for himself. The subject was arrested and held for sobering.

Driving Under the Influence – Suspect Arrested
March 18 at 1:50 a.m., an officer stopped a vehicle for a vehicle code violation, and while speaking with the driver, the officer could smell alcohol. After field sobriety tests were performed, it was determined the subject was intoxicated. The driver was arrested for driving under the influence.

Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Suspect Arrested
March 18 at 4:41 p.m., officers responded to a residence in the 200 block of Norumbega regarding the report of drug activity at the location. The resident gave the officers consent to search the location and officers found drug paraphernalia. A female subject admitted the items were hers and she was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Receiving Stolen Property – Suspect Arrested
March 19 at 12:56 a.m., officers detained a subject walking through a park in the 700 block of E. Lemon after it was closed. The subject was walking with a bike that had an address and a phone number on it. The officers phoned and spoke to the owner of the bike, who reported his bike had been stolen. The subject was arrested for receiving stolen property and taken into custody.

Possession of Drug Paraphernalia/Weapons Offenses – Five Suspects Arrested
March 19 at 10:48 a.m., officers were dispatched to a hotel in the 700 block of W. Huntington regarding foot traffic in and out of one of the rooms. Hotel employees suspected possible prostitution. The subjects had also set off the fire alarm in the room earlier in the week and marijuana was smelled coming from the room. When officers arrived, they contacted two males and one female in the room. The female and one of the male subjects are known gang members. The other male is a known drug user and burglar from prior police contacts in Monrovia. The subject who rented the room was not present. Drug paraphernalia and an empty Beretta handgun case were located in the room. The three subjects in the room were arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

As one of the officers was leaving the hotel, he saw another known local drug user pumping gas into a vehicle at a gas station across the street. There was a male and female seated in the vehicle. A computer check of the license plate revealed the vehicle was registered to the subject who rented the room at the hotel. Officers detained all three subjects. A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded Beretta handgun, a large amount of methamphetamine, heroin and cash. A total of 5 suspects were arrested for drug and weapon related charges in this incident.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
March 19 at 7:15 p.m., officers responded to a welfare check of a female subject in the area of Myrtle and Chestnut. Officers located the female subject matching the reported description and determined she had been drinking and was not capable of taking care of herself. She was arrested for public intoxication and held for sobering.

Vandalism
March 20 at 10:25 a.m., the vice principal at the high school in the 800 block of Colorado called police to report vandalism of school property. Someone had spray painted gang related graffiti on several buildings. The vandalism occurred sometime over the weekend. The investigation is continuing.

Warrant – Suspect Arrested
March 20 at 5:12 p.m., an officer saw a male subject he recognized walking down the sidewalk in the 600 block of S. Mountain. The officer knew the subject had a warrant for his arrest. A computer check confirmed the warrant for his arrest with a bail set at $100,000 for driving without a license. The subject was arrested for the warrant.

New Art Exhibit in Monrovia | Old Homes Tour on May 1

~ A "Works on Paper" exhibit coming to Saga Fine Arts (south side of Lime across from the Library - http://sagafineart.com/ ) on March 22-April 22.

~ Monrovia Historic Preservation Group will again host its annual home tour, but this year on Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., not on Mothers' Day. This is a docent-led tour of five homes and two museums. The selection of homes includes Spanish Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and English Tudor Cottage. Details: http://www.mohpg.org/

- Brad Haugaard

Telescope Night Tonight in Old Town Monrovia

The Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will be set up this evening at the corner of Myrtle and Lime from around 7-9 p.m. to give people a good look at the moon and Jupiter. One member plans to bring a large 7-inch refractor telescope.

- Brad Haugaard

Alize Neal - Youth Of The Year

Monrovia High Senior Alize Neal, 17, has been chosen as the Foothill Boys and Girls Club's Youth of the Year. http://goo.gl/eDnWPp

- Brad Haugaard

Raising $26,000 for Children's Cancer Research

The St. Baldrick's head-shearing event in Monrovia on St. Patrick's day raised more than $26,000 for children's cancer research. http://goo.gl/6VJ6w9

- Brad Haugaard

Dinner at Cafe Lori

Dinner at Cafe Lori, "healthy Mediterranean food" on the south side of Lime just east of Myrtle, built into the side of the Krikorian Theater. I got the beef shawarma ($10.50) and a Diet Coke ($1.25). There is not much emphasis on aesthetics here but I was very pleased with the food.

- Brad Haugaard 

Police Seek Missing Monrovia Teen

Monrovia Police are looking for 16-year-old Briana Ysenia Valenzuela, who left her guardian's home in a 2011 silver Buick Regal 4-door, license 6NYL096. She is Hispanic with long black hair, brown eyes, 5'4" and about 175 lbs. suffers from mental illness and takes medication. Contact watch commander at (626) 256-8031 or (626)256-8032 with information.