Walnut needs help with this year’s family festival on Oct. 12. Anyone interested in being involved with the planning should attend the meeting on Tuesday, April 2 at 5 p.m. at the Maintenance and Recreation Services Department, 21701 Valley Blvd.
Help is needed for the parade, entertainment and theme development. For more information, call Festival Liaison Cheryl Linnborn at 909-598-5605.
Air Force Airman Christopher Valdes of Walnut is graduating from Operations Intelligence Tech Training today in Texas after 8 months. The Walnut High graduate took basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Valdes is the son of Carina Valdes-Fajardo of Walnut, and grandson of Essie Valdes of West Covina.
The Cherry Blossom Festival will be held at Schabarum Regional Park on Saturday, March 9, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The festival celebrates the blossoming of the park’s cherry and ume trees. Dr. Ron and Jan Gu donated the original cherry trees.
The festival features live music, food and informational booths. Community groups will perform many multicultural performances. These will include Japanese and Korean drumming, as well as Taiwanese, Mexican and Dragon dancing.
The festival is sponsored by the park’s support foundation to support recreational programs. The event is free, but there is a $6 vehicle entrance fee.
The park is at 17250 E. Colima Road in Rowland Heights. For information, call 626-854-5560 or visit the website at www.schabarumparkfoundation.org..
The Walnut Valley Women’s Club will salute city officials today during a city appreciation luncheon beginning at 11:30 a.m. The grand event will be held in the Walnut Senior Center at 21215 La Puente Road.
Learn to draw and paint at the Hacienda Heights Library with a professional artist from Theatre of Hearts Youth First Artist-in-Residence program.
The workshops will be held Fridays, beginning Feb. 1, from 3 to 4 p.m.
Kids can discover their creative side and exhibit their work in a special exhibition. Sign-ups are required.The program is designed for students in fourth through eighth grades.
Then celebrate Chinese New Year on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 3 to 4 p.m. with a concert by Hacienda Heights’ own Sound of China Music Ensemble.
The performance will include traditional Chinese musical instruments such as guzheng, pipa and yangqin.
The library is at 16010 La Monde St., Hacienda Heights. For more information, call 626-968-9356.
In 2010, residents objected to a new residential development that was to include a shopping center. So the city got rid of the shopping center part and replaced it with a two-acre park.
The result? One of the largest San Gabriel Valley housing developments is moving forward, starting with a neighborly tour of the site today that is expected to be positive.
“The opposition was rooted in the commercial component. Once that was eliminated and the commitment to add a park was added, the opposition pretty much went away,” said Community Development Director Greg Gubman.
On Saturday, residents gathered at Castle Rock Elementary School for an explanation of the development and in particular, the mandatory neighborhood park. Then, weather permitting, they will be shuttled to the site with notepads and pencils to jot down what they envision for the dirt lot, Gubman said.
“It will be playgrounds, tot lots, park benches, maybe some barbecue areas and no sports field lighting,” he said, reading from the project’s specific plan.
Read more in Steve Scauzillo’s story LENNAR.
St. John Vianney’s Catholic Church in Hacienda Heights is busy readying the social hall for the winter homeless shelter that opens there tonight at 5:30 p.m. Last year, the local church was not able to host the homeless because of a fire that destroyed their sanctuary. The social hall had to be used for regular church services.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday postponed action on a stormwater- cleanup fee after an overwhelming majority of speakers representing cities, school districts, businesses and property owners expressed opposition to the measure and the way it was presented.
The supervisors voted 3-2 to redraft the measure to include a sunset clause, a list of projects and the possibility of placing it on a general ballot before the entire electorate, instead of only sending property owners a mail-in ballot.
Taxpayers can continue commenting on the proposed measure for another 60 days. The next hearing before the supervisors is tentatively slated for March 12. So far, the county has received 96,349 written protests, about 4.3 percent. It needed 50 percent or more to stop the process.
Several Rowland and Hacienda Heights residents attended the meeting. Read more in Steve Scauzillo’s story RUNOFF.
A solemn tribute played out Monday night in the parking lot of St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church on East Newton Street on the one-month anniversary of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn.
St. Matthew’s Youth Director Lowell Edward said he wanted people to always remember the 20 children and six staff members who were killed.
“It is one month later. People are back in their routines, and the hype of the tragedy goes away,” Edward said shortly before the 7 p.m. ceremony.
Most who came out in the bitter cold – Edward included – pointed to their own children and grandchildren, and to the strength of the parents of Sandy Hook who spoke out Monday at a news conference even while the loss of their children remained heavy on their hearts.
Read more in Steve Scauzillo’s story Vigil
The Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in Hacienda Heights will hold its annual Prayer for World Peace on Saturday.
“We have invited community and religious leaders from around the area to pray for peace with us this weekend,” explained said the Venerable Miao Hsi, temple spokeswoman.
The beautiful Hsi Lai Temple is a bastion of peace and tranquility on a hilltop in Hacienda Heights. The prayer will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the main sanctuary.
“Later in the day, we’re inviting families to come to our big neighborhood celebration,” the monk said. “We will have many cultural workshops and performances, as well as a light offering ceremony.”
The celebration begins at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and will continue until 8 p.m. Family members can enjoy tea ceremonies, Chinese calligraphy and arts and crafts until 5:30, when the light offering ceremony will begin in the main shrine. This will be followed by many performances by the musical and dance groups sponsored by the Hsi Lai Temple.
“Afterward, everyone may enjoy a free vegetarian dinner in our dining hall. We will be giving away many wonderful door prizes,” Hsi said.