December 2009 Archives

The 2010 Miss Pomona Scholarship Pageant coronation ceremony is quickly approaching.

The ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Pomona Masonic Lodge, 395 S. Thomas St.

Admission to the ceremony is free and open to the public.

A total of 22 qualified young women submitted applications seeking to be the next Miss Pomona, said Larry Egan, executive director of the Downtown Pomona Owners Association, which is organizing the event.

The number of applicants is the highest submitted in at least a decade, said Mickey Gallivan, co-chairwoman of the Miss Pomona Committee.

"I was very impressed with the quality of applicants," said Gallivan, who has been involved with the pageant in the past.

The committee reviewed the applications last month looking at young women's academic performance, school and community involvement and their responses to three essay questions, Gallivan said.

From that pool a group of applicants have been invited to interview, starting next week, with members of the committee.

Committee members include representatives of the Association, elected officials, past Miss Pomona title holders and community members, Gallivan said.

After the interviews three finalists will be selected and will be asked to deliver a speech before a panel of judges during the Jan. 23 ceremony.

The new Miss Pomona will be crowned at that ceremony, Gallivan said.

The newly crowned Miss Pomona and her court of two princesses will be awarded scholarships.

Scholarship sponsorship opportunities are still available, Egan said.

For sponsorship opportunities call the Association at 909-469-1121.

The dA Center for the Arts will host an exhibit of art inspired inspired by works in the permanent collection of the Pomona College Museum of Art in Claremont.

The opening reception for "In Front of the Real Thing," as the show is titled, begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m. Jan. 9, at the center, 252 S. Main St.

A closing reception at the center is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 30 with a free concert by The Sugar Mountain Mamas begins at 8 p.m.

The exhibit is the product of an idea of two Pomona College Museum of Art representatives. The goal was to give a group of local artists access to pieces that were made available in the museum's remodeled collection study room, according to a statement from the center.

Local artists were given the opportunity to study a particular art piece or the works of a specific artist that make up the collection, the statement said.

Local artists then produced new, original artistic works inspired by the art they studied.

PASADENA - In his time as a student at Cal Poly Pomona, Bob Corley was never involved with the Cal Poly Universities Tournament of Roses parade entry.

On Tuesday morning, Corley, his wife, Susan, and his son, Colton, 12, now residents of Georgia, helped out.

They sat at a table with three other people and shredded tree bark into thin pieces to be used to cover four monkeys that are part of "Jungle Cuts," Cal Poly Pomona's  and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's 62nd consecutive entry in Friday's Rose Parade.

"There are a lot of monkeys and a lot of this," said Corley, as he created small piles of the material.

The monkeys are barbers doing the hair of an assortment of animals in a float that uses the Cal Poly trademarks - humor and animation.

Numerous elements will be animated and there will be a working waterfall, said Johnathan Jianu of Glendale, a third-year mechanical engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona.

Putting together a float is never easy, but with as many moving parts as there are this year, the students had a few surprises to overcome, Jianu said.

Among the challenges: The float's battery-operated system wasn't capable of supporting the power load of all of the animation.

The problem was resolved by adding a generator that students borrowed from the Tournament of Roses, Jianu said.

"We have a lot of those `uh oh' moments," he said.

However, technology isn't everything.

Numerous natural and dry flower materials have been used to decorate the float, which includes hundreds of exotic flowers such as orchids.

"We will have over a thousand orchids on the float. I'm excited," said La Verne resident Mary Weaver, Cal Poly Pomona's decorations chairwoman.

Orchids will be used in the trees that serve as the barber monkeys' work areas as well as around the waterfall and the base of the float.

The orchids were purchased with the help of donors, Weaver said.

The float has involved a year's worth of work "just for 30 seconds on TV," she said.

But the efforts are worthwhile, Weaver said, especially when she sees the float on Colorado Boulevard with the rest of the Cal Poly students and volunteers who always sit in front of the Norton Simon Museum.

"There are no walls, but I'll be bouncing off something," she said.

Float decorating is not something new for Weaver. This is the 11th float she has worked on, and the second as a Cal Poly student.

Weaver said she was 6 years old when she decorated her first float. Her mother took Weaver and her brother to decorate a float so they could have a chance to do something she had also done herself.

Other members of Weaver's family take part in the float decorating. Her cousin, Leilah Kelsey of Victorville, is in charge of decorating West Covina's float.

Brandon Schmiedeberg, a senior landscape architecture student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and design chairman for his campus, worked Tuesday on the details of a large snake sporting a flat-top haircut.

The snake was covered in dried, ground marigolds grown on the San Luis Obispo campus along with dried orange halves, red beans, lime peels and pineapple rinds.

"The main effect we're looking for is the scaly effect," he said.

Last year, the Cal Poly float made history. It won the inaugural Tournament of Roses Viewers' Choice Award.

Television viewers will again be able to cast a vote for their favorite float between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday by going to the KTLA (Channel 5) Web site.

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Students of Western University of Health Sciences College of Pediatric Medicine recently collected about 700 pairs of shoes which were distributed earlier this month during Project Homeless Connect.

POMONA - They started with 28 programs and narrowed those down to 16, then 13, and finally 10.

That's how members of Pomona Unified School District's Superintendent's Budget Advisory Committee went though the painful process of determining the district's most critical programs and which ones to try to save when decisions about cuts come later this school year.

The priorities will be reviewed by school district administrators along with information such as state and federal requirements they must meet, results of labor negotiations, the response to an early retirement program for certificated personnel and other data to determine what can and can't be reduced or eliminated, said Superintendent Richard Martinez following Monday's committee meeting.

Once that's compiled, it will be presented to the school board, which will have to decide what cuts to make, he said.

Such information could be ready within 60 days but "I hope it will be quicker than that," Martinez said.

In the meantime, Martinez will be updating the school board and informing them as to what the committee came up with, which "is a step to taking a look at programs," Martinez said.

Monday's meeting was the fourth of the advisory group, which is made up parents, students, principals, district labor organizations, administrators and community members.

The group received information on the district and the state's financial pictures in previous meetings.

Last month, the group received a list of 28 programs that could be affected as the district attempts to prepare a balanced budget for the 2010-2011 school year that is $36 million smaller than the current budget.

Of that figure, $23 million are reductions in state funds and the remaining $13 million is one-time federal assistance received this year.

The broad range of programs include administrator training, adult education, assistance for students who are parents, and assistance for students who need intensive preparation to pass the high school exit exam.

Such programs are paid for with state money that has generally been limited for such purposes. However, in the current fiscal crisis affecting California and its educational system, Sacramento has loosened some of the restrictions on the use of those dollars, district administrators said recently.

Other programs on the priority list included kindergarten to third grade class-size reductions, high school and middle school sports, health and nursing services and visual and performing arts.

These are programs that are paid for out of the district's general fund, but which could also be threatened.

The different groups within the committee sought input before getting to work Monday on setting priorities.

Parent Maria Garcia is active at Alcott Elementary, Simons Middle School and Garey High and is president of the district's Bilingual Advisory Committee.

She had organized informal meetings with other parents seeking their input on the programs.

Parents were concerned about programs such as nursing and health services and the assistance for students preparing to take the high school exit exam, Garcia said.

Parents, she said, want their children to be as well-prepared as possible when they leave high school. Passing the exit exam is part of that preparation.

Other parents are concerned sports and music could be lost, Garcia said.

Some students stay in school because sports and music are their motivation but others see them as a way to earn a scholarship that can help pay for college, she said.

"In reality that's the only opportunity for some families," Garcia said in Spanish.

In other cases, such activities serve to keep students off the street and in a positive environment, she said. Garey High student Victor Franco encountered difficulties getting a school meeting organized but it didn't stop him from gathering the opinions of students and others.

He spoke to students and knocked on doors around his neighborhood.

The people he spoke with want programs like adult education, occupational programs, preparation for the high school exit exam, class-size reduction at the ninth-grade level, summer school and the visual and performing arts, Franco said.

Some students may not always be interested in academics, but because they must maintain their grades at a certain level to participate in performing arts or sports programs, they strive to do well in their school work, he said.

During the meeting, Franco expressed concerns there wasn't someone on the committee specifically representing adult education.

The program is a valuable one, and his family is an example, he said.

Franco said his mother was 16 when she became pregnant with him. It was through the adult education program that she earned a GED and later trained to become a certified nursing assistant.

She is now a licensed vocational nurse preparing to become a registered nurse, he said.

"Adult (education) gives people a second opportunity," Franco said.

Like others on the committee, Franco said he would have wanted more time, more information and more involvement from those who run the programs.

Representatives of Associated Pomona Teachers, or APT, and the California School Employees Association refrained from prioritizing programs Monday.

Tyra Weis, president of APT, said the organization could not participate in such a process "when so many of the individuals who will be impacted are not here."

She added, "we do not want our participation to be perceived by others as binding."

Also, in the past, when the state and district had money to spend, district leadership did not seek the opinion of organizations such as APT on how to spend it, Weis said.

Martinez said when financial times improve, advice will be needed as to how to use any extra money that comes to the district.

Although no other meetings were scheduled for the committee Monday, Martinez said this may not be the end of the committee's work.

"In the immediate future I may call on you," he said.

Not only may he need their opinions but he may need their creativity to help develop revenue-generating ideas that can help the district, Martinez said.

POMONA - Pomona Unified School District is preparing to cut $36 million from the 2010-2011 academic year budget that will result in the loss or reduction of various programs and services.

Members of the Pomona Youth and Family Master Plan Community Board said late last week with such deep cuts on the horizon the entire city must rally and find ways to fill the gaps that will result.

The discussion came about after Rev. Rick DeBruyne, a community board member who also serves on the Superintendent's Budget Advisory Committee, sought board members opinions in preparation for this morning's committee meeting.

Committee members, which includes parents, principals, students, labor representatives, clergy and others, will meet at the district Education Center today to prioritize a series of programs that could potentially be cut or scaled back to address the budget shortfall.

Programs range from administrator training and adult education to programs for students who are parents and to help students that need intensive instruction to pass the high school exit exam.

Those programs are paid for with state dollars that traditionally could not be used for other purposes, said Leslie Barnes, the district's business manager.

Last year the state relaxed some of those restrictions freeing up some of those dollars for other uses, she said.

The advisory committee will also be asked to prioritize a handful of programs paid for out of the district's general fund but which could also face cuts.

Those programs include visual and performing arts, high school and middle school athletics and health and nursing services.

"We're no longer talking about cutting fat," DeBruyne told Community Board members Thursday. "We're talking about flesh and bone and blood."

Last year Pomona Unified was able to avert substantial layoffs through a combination of cuts and one time federal assistance.

This year the district must plan on cutting $23 million the state will not be providing and which equal about 16 percent of the district's budget. The loss of the that money and the absence of $13 million in federal funds total a cut of $36 million or about 24 percent of the district's budget, Barnes said.

Since 2003 the district has made budget cut that total about $48.9 million, she said.

School district personnel are bracing themselves for the possibility of further state reductions to the education budget that could require additional cuts.

However, that part of the economic picture won't be clear until January when the governor releases his budget proposal, Barnes said.

Some community board members said this is now the time for all of Pomona to pull together and help the school district meet the educational needs of students.

"The school district is so important in this community," said Jane Taylor executive director of the YMCA of Pomona Valley and a community board member. "Kids are 25 percent of the population but 100 percent of the city's future."

Pomona must tap all the resources at its disposal including businesses, churches, service groups and the various colleges and universities in the city and around it, said Taylor who is also a member of the budget advisory committee.

Each entity can contribute something based on its area of expertise and the school district needs, she said.

By preparing now arrangements can be set in place before any cuts go into effect, Taylor said.

Community Board member Sarah Ross said there will be no way to get around cuts.

"It's devastating but I think we're really going to have to be a community and rise to the occasion to educate our students," Ross said.

Although the situation is not an easy one to address the interest of community board members is positive, Pomona Unified Superintendent Richard Martinez.

The problem is not seen as one for the district to bear alone but one that must be shared by the entire community, he said.

"We're serving the same constituents, the same families," Martinez said.

The entities stepping up "want to make sure were filling the void," he said.

POMONA - Cool, dry weather and a rainbow in the sky were all part of Sunday morning's inaugural L.A. County Half Marathon that took about 1,300 athletes through Fairplex and parts of San Dimas and La Verne.

Most athletes participated in the 13-mile half marathon and the Mt. SAC Heritage Hall 5K run. Some took part in a bike tour while very young athletes participated in a 1-mile fun run for children.

"This is absolutely perfect running weather," said John Parks, executive vice president of marketing for International City Racing, the organization the put on

Steve Wright of Fullerton grabs his medal as he crosses the finish line at the first L.A. County Half Marathon on Sunday. The race began and ended at Fairplex in Pomona. The event also included a 5K race and a bike tour. (Thomas R. Cordova/Staff Photographer)

the event.

Organizers said the number of participants was good for the inaugural event.

"We probably would have had more (athletes register Saturday) if it hadn't absolutely poured," Parks said.

Sunday morning the weather cooperated and runners had a pleasant run that began on the grounds of Fairplex and continued through parts of La Verne and San Dimas including Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park.

The final phase of the race brought the athletes back to Fairplex and many of its features including the Pomona Raceway, the historic trains exhibit and the NHRA Museum before reaching the finish line outside the Grandstand.

Shortly after the air horn went off and the runners and walkers were on their way Mark Moreno of Chino was crossing the finish line.

Moreno took first place in the 5K run with a time of 15 minutes and 33 seconds - three seconds over his goal.

However, Moreno said he signed up for the 5K "just for fun."

Andrew Robsham, 26, of Pomona, said he ran to support the event.

His running gear made him stand out a bit among the rest of the participants in the 5K. He wore business attire including a tan business jacket, khaki pants and dress shoes.

"I'm trying to make (the event) classy," said Robsham who finished in 41 minutes, 55 seconds.

Carlos Handler, 27, of Chino Hills was the first runner to complete the half marathon with a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes and 13 seconds.

Handler didn't register for the event until shortly before the run started. Three hours before completing the race Handler had come home from Reno, Nevada - via car - where he had been with a group of children he coaches in long distance running.

Handler entered the race but didn't have winning on his mind. His legs were tired after winning the Santa Barbara marathon a week earlier.

"I was just running for the kids," he said, adding participating in the half marathon was meant "to show them anything is possible with hard work."

The course, with it's hilly terrain and turns, is a challenging one, said Handler, who is familiar with the area.

Turns aren't easy "because you lose momentum and you have to start building it up" afterwards, he said.

What Handler appreciated where the people who took the time to stop and encourage the runners.

"They give you thumbs up and cheer you on. That helps you," he said.

Cat Dengate, 37, of Redlands was among the runners who used the half marathon to prepare for other running events.

The course was challenging but visually appealing with the views of the mountains, the still changing foliage on some trees and the all around beauty of Bonelli park and Puddingstone Reservoir, she said.

"It's a road race with a lot of nature," Dengate said. "I can't wait for next year."

Glimber Ayala, 28, of Santa Ana said pleasant scenery is good for him.

"It gets your mind off the running part," he said, adding that taking in what's around him lets him relax a bit.

Ayala was among the athletes who took advantage of the services offered by massage therapists after the race.

The massage to his leg would help relax his muscles and avoid injuries, Ayala said.

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, which was a partner in the event, staffed three medical tents with the help of more than 60 health care professionals and volunteers.

Hospital staff were at the finish line checking on the conditions of the athletes and providing Mylar blankets designed to keep them warm and help them gradually cool down.

No accidents were reported although medical personnel did see some runners with minor muscle cramps and blisters, said Frank Garcia, hospital spokesman.

In addition to goody bags and medals for every finisher organizers have out prizes to the top three men and top three women in the half marathon. First place winners were awarded $500; $250 for second place and $100 for third place, Parks said.

The top three men and the top three women in the 5K also earned prizes. First place winners earned $200; second place $100; and third place $50.

Plans call for growing the event with the goal of having a full marathon in 2011.

"The event has great potential. It'll grown and next year runners will be back with four or five of their friends," said Bob Seagren, the head of International City Racing and a Pomona native who went on to become and Olympic pole vaulter and one of top athletes in his field during the 1960s and 1970s.

As for next year's event, Seagren said the planning begins today.

Photo Gallery: Half Marathon

POMONA - Rain didn't keep about 2,000 spectators from turning out for Saturday morning's Pomona Christmas Parade through downtown.

This was the return of the parade to downtown following years of taking place along Holt Avenue.

The dreary weather didn't dampen the spirits of spectators like Rocio Palacios and her four children.

"We wanted to see all the parade stuff because we like parades," said Palacio's 7-year-old daughter Harmony Paramo, who was under an umbrella while her brothers Ryan Ramos, 10, and Jose Paramo, 6, played in the rain.

At total of 98 of out more than 100 parade participants showed up, said Larry Egan, executive director of Downtown Pomona Owners Association and one the event's co-chairmen.

Antique cars, high school marching bands, equestrian units, youth soccer teams, and even rolling art pieces got cheers and applause as they made their way down Second Street and down Park Avenue.

The art pieces included one with a working adult sized teeter-toter courtesy of the Second Street Sculpting Park.

Pomona resident Cecil Seymour was among those on East Second Street near Locust. Saturday he enjoyed the warm, hometown feel of the event where he saw friends and neighbors participate and observe the parade.

"There's lots of enthusiasm," Seymour said, adding that regardless of how bad the economy is at this time "this is very uplifting."

Jessie Nuno, her niece Carley Hall and 4-year-old grand-niece Izzy Hall, all of Pomona, claimed their seats on the southwest corner of West Second Street and Thomas by 8:30 a.m.

"We thought, oh, there's going to be lots of people and not enough parking," Nuno said.

But they did find parking and waited under the overhang of the Glass House concert hall for the parade to start.

Nuno remembers how years ago the parade was part of the holidays downtown and was glad to see it back.

Having the parade downtown "is more in the Christmas spirit," she said.

But the event needed one thing to make it complete, Nuno said.

"I wish they would have had it at night with the lights on," she said.

Nuno wasn't the only to express that desire.

"We have a lot of requests to do it at night," Egan said.

That will happen but "maybe in a year or two," he said.

The parade made its return Saturday after going dark last year.

Members of the Pomona Jaycees had organized the parade since the 1940s but financial difficulties and the dwindling membership made it impossible to carry out the event.

This year the Downtown Pomona Owners Association spearheaded the organization of the parade and moved it downtown to coincide with the Second Saturday Art Walk activities.

Egan said all those who participated in organizing the parade will meet soon to review their work and begin planning next year's event.

"It'll be bigger and better and hopefully we'll have Second Street decorated," he said.

Photo Gallery: Pomona Christmas Parade

POMONA - December 2008 came and went without a holiday parade.

This year, the parade is back with a new name, a new route and a new home in the city.

Starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, the Pomona Christmas Parade, as it is now known, will travel along Second Street and Park Avenue, said Larry Egan, executive director of the Downtown Pomona Owners Association.

"We've had an absolutely marvelous response," Egan said, adding the parade will be a true community event.

The more than 100 entries include high school marching bands, high school Jr. Reserve Officers' Training Corps groups, Scouts, service clubs, community-based groups, elected officials and others.

Floats, classic and antique cars and equestrian units will all be part of the parade, Egan said.

And, of course, there will be Santa and Mrs. Claus.

This is the first time the association is spearheading the parade organizing effort. It did so with the help of downtown business people and other volunteers.

The new route and new location are bringing the parade back to the area where it began in the the 1940s.

According to newspaper accounts, the parade started out as an outgrowth of the Christmas Preview, an annual event that drew visitors to downtown, where the streets were decorated and merchants displayed the newest merchandise for the season.

In 1948, four marching bands paraded from different parts of downtown and came together at Second and Garey Avenue. The bands then headed in different directions to offer outdoor performances.

In 1949, a parade with bands and a grand marshal moved along Second between Rebecca and Elm.

The 1948 appearance of the four marching bands was done with the involvement of the Pomona Jaycees, from that time on the primary organizer of the parade.

The organization's last Christmas parade was the 2007 edition. In 2008, financial difficulties and low Jaycee membership made it difficult for the service organization to carry out the large-scale event, which was held on East Holt Avenue.

Carolyn Hemming, president of the downtown association, said she'd like it to have a long-term connection with the parade.

"If all goes well, I see it becoming an annual event," she said, adding the association has included the 2010 parade in its budget.

She said nearly 1,700 people will march or ride in the parade.

"It seems like people were excited to participate," Hemming said.

The association budgeted $15,000 for this year's event but Hemming said costs may come in under $10,000.

Egan said the participation of numerous volunteers has made it possible to hold down costs.

The event is a community parade giving everyone interested in taking part the chance to do so, Hemming said.

Community groups and nonprofits were not charged to participate, she said, and only businesses were asked to pay a fee.

"Our goal was to involve the entire city and bring (the parade) back to the center of the city because this is the heart of town," Hemming said.

Several city representatives worked with the association to prepare for the parade.

As a result, the city Community Services Department opted to move Holiday Lane activities from Huntington Street to the Civic Center Plaza.

For eight years, Holiday Lane took place on Huntington Street, a project of former Councilman George Hunter.

One of the reasons for the move is budget constraints, said Mayela Aguilar, Pomona community services manager, but another reason is that the new parade route ends at Park Avenue and Eighth Street, a short walk from the Civic Center Plaza.

"We're hoping the participants of the parade will follow the parade and attend our event," Aguilar said.

So after the parade ends, starting at noon and ending at 4 p.m., Holiday at the Plaza, a free event, will offer visitors family-friendly activities.

The Pomona Concert Band, student musical groups and folkloric dancers will entertain.

Service groups will have information booths. Local food vendors will be on hand. Other activities will include children's arts and crafts and plenty of snow to play in.

Santa and some of his elves will also be on hand with St. Nick taking time to have his picture taken with children.

Bringing the Christmas parade back downtown is an important step in the revitalization of the area, said Mickey Gallivan, president of the Historical Society of Pomona Valley.

"If we're going to have a downtown it needs to be the center of the city," she said. That center is "where you have all big events."

Gallivan remembers attending the parade downtown.

The event took place at night years back, so families, including her own, would bundle up for the event.

The streets were decorated with colorful holiday decorations and lights, which added a little extra sparkle to the area, she said.

Having the parade back downtown will recapture some of that feel, she said.

"It's just cozier, more friendly and neighborly," she said. "It's more like the spirit of Christmas and community."

The Pomona Christmas Parade is scheduled to begin its trek along Second Street and Park Avenue at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The parade will end at Eighth Street and Park.

After the parade, Holiday at the Plaza will begin at the Pomona Civic Center Plaza, 505 S. Garey Ave. The free event will run from noon to 4p.m.

Food, entertainment, children's activities and snow will be part of the event.

Holiday at the Plaza will be a drop-off point for those wishing to contribute new, unwrapped toys to the Pomona Police Department's Santa Cop program.

Toys collected through the Santa Cop program will be distributed to needy children in the city.

The Pomona Christmas Parade will require some street closures from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The closures:

Pomona police recommend drivers use White or Towne avenues as north-south alternates and Holt Avenue as an east-west alternate.

POMONA - Temperatures will be on the low side Sunday but that hasn't dampened the enthusiasm for the inaugural L.A. County Half Marathon that morning in Pomona, La Verne and San Dimas.

Event organizers, International City Racing, have e-mailed messages to those people who have signed up to participate to advise them to be prepared for cold temperatures.

"It'll definitely be cold," said John Parks, executive vice president of marketing for International City Racing. "We'll be telling them to dress warmly before the event."

Sunday morning temperatures will be in the mid- to upper-40s, said Tina Stall, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in San Diego.

Sunday's high temperatures are expected to be near 60 degrees and the forecast includes a 60 percent chance of rain, she said.

Organizers have been coordinating with event partner, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, to make sure runners don't become victims of hypothermia, Parks said.

Medical center personnel have been preparing for the event for weeks, said Joe Baumgaertner, director of physical therapy and rehabilitation services.

Although the hospital has had a hand in providing care at other athletic events, the half marathon is different, he said.

Close to 60 people, mostly hospital employees, will be available to provide medical assistance on the day of the run, Baumgaertner said.

Doctors, trainers and even massage therapists will be available to care of athletes, Baumgaertner said.

Health care professionals and volunteers will staff three medical tents at the course's half-way and two-thirds points as well as at the finish line, he said.

Getting ready for the event has included regular meetings, Baumgaertner said.

"We're almost meeting in a disaster (mode) fashion," he said.

To prepare for the event, hospital representatives were present at the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon in October and worked with Long Beach Memorial Hospital, which provides medical care for the event, Baumgaertner said.

As of Wednesday, more than 1,000 people signed up for Sunday's half marathon and more people are expected to sign up during the Health and Fitness Expo, which will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Fairplex's Grandstand Pavillion. The expo will also be Sunday.

People interested in taking part in the half marathon can sign up as late as at 6 a.m. Sunday, Parks said.

The day will include a bike tour with a 7 a.m. start time; the Mt. SAC Heritage Hall 5K run, which begins at 8 a.m. and will help raise money for Mt. San Antonio College's Heritage Hall project; and a 1-mile fun run for children at 9 a.m.

The Health and Fitness Expo will be open to everyone, even non-runners, and will offer visitors information on health, sports equipment and other related areas.

The 13-mile half marathon course will begin and end at Fairplex and take runners through La Verne, San Dimas and parts of Bonelli Regional Park.

As they make their way through Fairplex, runners will run on the Pomona Raceway and wind their way past some of the most important features of the facility, including the historic trains exhibit, the NHRA Museum and others.

"We're really excited by the beauty of the course," Parks said.

At least one group of runners are looking forward to Sunday's event.

Members of the Chino Hills-based Inland Empire Running Club will take part in the event. An initial count showed 20 to 25 people will participate in the half marathon, said Greg Serrato, head coach of the club. The number is expected to grow to about 50, he said.

The club has 450 registered members who travel to Chino Hills from Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Many of the club's members are training for long distance running events and marathons such as the Los Angeles Marathon and the San Diego Marathon, Serrato said.

This time of year, there are few running events in this region that runners can take part in, he said.

"This is a welcome addition," Serrato said.

Sunday's event will be in an area easily accessed by runners living in the region, he said.

"The more events we have locally the better for the club and the community," Serrato said.

Because the club is at the half-way point in its training program, it was scheduled to have a 13-mile run this weekend making the half marathon a good way to carry out that run.

"What it does is it helps to gauge where (the members) are at in training," Serrato said.

Organizers said their goal is to have a half marathon that every year draws more participants leading to the establishment of a full marathon in a few years.

If the run can grow into a large scale running event that will have a positive impact on the region, especially Pomona.

The half marathon will be good for Pomona, but a larger full marathon that can draw 20,000 runners - the mark of a significant running event - would be even better for the city, said Raymond Fong, the city's redevelopment director.

A larger event would bring people into the city for more than one day and that "may have a spin-off effect into downtown," Fong said.

"Then we can sell downtown entertainment to them."

As part of the L.A. County Half Marathon there will be some street closures on Sunday morning.

Pomona - The westbound lanes of McKinley Avenue approaching Fairplex Drive will be closed from 7 a.m. to about 10:45 a.m. Vehicles will be able to travel east on McKinley to reach White Avenue.

San Dimas - A short section of Puddingstone Drive near the northern end of Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park will be affected. Vehicle traffic will be restricted and only westbound traffic will travel on Puddingstone Drive between Cannon Avenue and Walnut Drive between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.

La Verne - Fairplex Drive and Puddingstone Drive will close about 8:30 a.m. and reopen about 9:30.

Puddingstone at Wright Avenue will close about 9 a.m. and open at 9:30.

Drivers exiting the 10 Freeway at Fairplex Drive will have to use White Avenue to reach La Verne during the closures.

POMONA - Angelo's Pizzeria will be the subject of an evidentiary hearing next month.

The City Council this week decided to schedule the hearing for 5 p.m. Jan. 25 in City Hall after receiving a staff report that the establishment's owner has failed to meet a number of requirements he agreed to abide by in October.

After listening to witnesses for the city and for the business owner, the council will decide if it should modify, suspend or revoke Angelo's modified conditional-use permit.

City representatives and Jason Abboud, the owner of the business at 135 E. Second St., reached a deal in October on a modified conditional-use permit.

The council approved the permit on Oct. 19. Council members also decided to revisit the matter this month, 60 days after the modified permit was approved.

Abboud had 11 requirements to meet within time spans as short as five days and as long as 30 days, the staff report said.

Among the requirements the report says he has not complied with are:

- Signing and submitting a certificate of compliance that says he understands the conditions of approval set in the modified permit.

- Apply for an entertainment permit, which must be renewed annually. The application must include seating arrangements and floor plans.

- Upgrading lighting at the front and rear entrances.

- Meeting with police monthly.

As of Monday night, Abboud had complied with one requirement, said Mark Lazzaretto, the city's community development director.

Abboud had 15 days to remove a stage and obtain a permit for another the city allowed to remain. Lazzaretto said that permit was taken out Monday - about a month late.

Roger Jon Diamond, Abboud's lawyer as of Monday, said Tuesday he is seeking to have two conditions set in October reversed.

The conditions are "the most onerous," Diamond said.

One calls for prohibiting admission to people under age 21 after 10 p.m.

The other condition Diamond seeks to have reversed is the hour of closing. Angelo's must close at 2 a.m., but others establishments are allowed to remain open until 4 a.m.

"They set a hearing but we also want a hearing," Diamond said.

People ages 18 to 20 should be able to go to Angelo's, Diamond said.

"It's really a terrible situation," Diamond said, adding that such regulations impose a huge burden on his client.

"We have to see why the city is putting the screws" to Abboud, Diamond said. "We're talking about a legitimate business, an Italian pizzeria."

Diamond said his client has run his business responsibly and that allegations of disturbances are out of place because they didn't occur at Angelo's.

The city can only object to one thing, he said.

"The only quibble is he pulled permits late," Diamond said.

But that's not how city officials see it.

Angelo's began drawing the city's attention after it was granted a conditional-use permit in 2007 to serve alcohol and have entertainment.

As time passed, the business drew complaints that it was attracting crowds that exceeded its capacity and that there were fights that required the response of more than a dozen police officers.

Pomona representatives brought the city's concerns to Abboud's attention this year. Negotiations to address the matters started in June.

The staff report said the restaurant no longer has a nightclub environment.

Abboud said at the meeting that the conditions he is required to work under are making it hard for him to draw customers and have cost him tens of thousands of dollars.

Councilwoman Paula Lantz, who made the motion to proceed with a hearing, said Tuesday she did so based on the list of requirements Abboud has not met.

"That to me is symptomatic of the problems we have had over the last year or two," she said.

It took a year and a half of pressing the security concerns before Abboud made changes, Lantz said.

Now he is not complying with other requirements he agreed to, even though he was given the time and reminded he had to comply, she said.

"The idea was, if we give him a couple of months he'll come around," she said. "I'm not sure he's interested in coming around."

Instead the message that is coming across is that Abboud has no desire to comply with the agreement and is demonstrating "disregard and disrespect for the rules he has agreed to abide by," Lantz said.

POMONA - The houses around the Marquez family home are decorated with red, white and blue streamers and the banners welcoming Marine Corps Cpl. Phillip Marquez home.

After seven months in the desert of southwestern Afghanistan, Marquez found himself surrounded by family and friends (Dec. 3) this week.

Marquez arrived late Wednesday night to Southern California and was back in Pomona by early Thursday morning with his mother, sister and his Basset hound Sam.

Christina Marquez had a new bed with a pillow top mattress waiting for her son.

"It's probably the softest thing I've slept on since I left," the young Marine said. "I sank into that."

Thursday evening the extended family converged on the home where the Marquez sisters - Nikki, Rachael and Tania - prepared their little brother's favorite meal.

"Cheese enchiladas," Rachael said.

"With plenty of sour cream," Tania added.

This was the first combat tour for the U.S. Marine who celebrated his 21st birthday in October while he was at Firebase Fiddlers Green in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, an area considered a Taliban stronghold.

Marquez, an artilleryman, said he knew going in he and his fellow Marines were not going to have it easy.

The enemy "tried to run us out," he said. "There were firefights...We did what Marines do. They just take care of business."

Fighting the enemy is beyond a challenge because it is not a uniformed military force, Marquez said.

"They blend in with the local people," he said.

His unit came across many roadside bombs.

"At one point (we) stopped the Humvees on the road because the (bombs) were splitting Humvees in half," Marquez said.

When his unit first arrived when they first arrived in the flat desert "all we had was our armored vehicles and flaks," he said.

Although there were close calls, all those in Marquez's unit came home alive.

Before he left, Marquez was both anxious and excited about going off to war.

"I was going to see something my father went through in Vietnam," he said.

John Phillip Marquez, a veteran of Vietnam, died four years ago, his wife said.

"My dad would tell me stories and stories," the young Marine said.

As a boy he didn't always understand the stories, but he does now.

"He went through a lot," Marquez said. "This war is a lot different, a lot different than jungle warfare."

Marquez knew it was different the moment he stepped off the plane in Afghanistan. He felt the heat that at time was about 130 degrees.

Marquez's mother and sisters sent care packages filled with hard candy, cookies, chips, Hot Flaming Cheetos and powdered drink mixes like Kool Aid and lemonade mix.

Most important were the baby wipes.

"That's what kept me clean," Marquez said.

While in Afghanistan the young Marine always had his father in mind.

"I prayed to my dad every night. I asked him to protect me and watch over me. I know he was my guardian angel," he said.

Marquez came home the same week President Barack Obama announced an additional 30,000 troops will be sent to Afghanistan.

The young Marine said the additional manpower is needed.

"We do need more troops over there to be a success," Marquez said.

A year after becoming the Assembly representative for the 61st District, Assemblywoman Norma Torres, D-Ontario, offered constituents an update of the legislative business she's been handling since arriving in Sacramento.

In a statement Torres counted five bills the Governor signed into law.

The five pieces of legislation are: AB 22 which raised fines for those hacking into computer systems; AB 576 makes it easier for local government agencies to pursue recovery of costs associated with removing graffiti; AB 488 and AB 770 increases flexibility when it comes to funding for the care and education of foster children; and AB 912 which is designed to make improvements to the 9-1-1 system.

Torres said working its way through the legislative process is AB 422. If approved, the proposal would result in the creation of a youth and family master plan for the state.

Torres serves as chairwoman of the Assembly Housing Committee and plans to continue working on matters related to home ownership and homelessness. She plans on continuing to giving special attention to homelessness and military veterans.

As part of her work, Torres has also been involved in organizing workshops on home foreclosure and fraud; air quality; and on issues related to mobile home parks including those tied to code enforcement.

Recently Torres also held a hearing on gangs and their use of technology to carry out recruitment and other activities.

The committee, which includes parents, principals, students, labor representatives, clergy and other community members, met Monday and were briefed on the state's fiscal status, which at this point has a $21 billion deficit, and the local impact, the district announced in a statement."We have to assume that as the state tried to close this new $21 billion hole, public education is in for another round of cuts," Superintendent Richard Martinez said in the statement. "We just have no idea how deep they'll be. We can only work from past experience, and that tells us that for every billion the state cuts, it translates to about a $1 million in cuts for PUSD."