Monrovia Mayor Asks Residents to Sign Petition
Monrovia Mayor Mary Ann Lutz is urging Monrovia residents to sign an online petition protesting the State of California's intention to eliminate redevelopment agencies. If you would like to sign the petition, you can find it here: http://goo.gl/0pSnE - Brad Haugaard
Monrovia City Council Candidate Statements
Here are the Monrovia City Council candidate statements (click on the image to enlarge) from the official sample ballot for the April 12 city election.
Interestingly, although his name is on the ballot, there is no statement for candidate Jason Cosylion. Also, according to this report ( http://goo.gl/urJLh ), candidate Joe Espinosa has dropped out of the race because of a death in his family, although his name will remain on the ballot.
I did not include the statement for Mayor Mary Ann Lutz because she is running unopposed.
- Brad Haugaard
Monrovia City Manager Criticizes Assembly Speaker
In his weekly update, Monrovia City Manager Scott Ochoa mocks state Assembly Speaker Perez' description of his support for the elimination of redevelopment. Ochoa said Perez said, "You have to end it before you can mend it."
Ochoa isn't buying it:
"Right. Decades of law and legal precedent, investment, improvement, and public interest proposed to be erased in as many days, and we are to believe that this is about creating a better mousetrap? Not likely. This is about money. If this were about public policy, the State would - or at least should - involve many stakeholders and perspectives. Instead, Speaker Perez and the other members of the so-called Big 5 are holed up trying to figure out an $86 billion structurally imbalanced budget."
Source: http://goo.gl/2ePc5
- Brad Haugaard
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
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
- 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 HaugaardOld 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
- 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:
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
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