July 2011 Archives

Putt 4 Paws, an annual fundraiser for the Animal Care and Adoption Center, will take place on Aug. 13 at Boomer's in Upland. The miniature golf tournament, from 3:30 to 7 p.m., is hosted by the animal center and P.A.W. Love Pet Food Bank, an organization that provides pet food for pet owners with limited income.

Tickets are $20; $75 for a team of four. Participants will get to chose between Storyland and Cosmic Golf courses. There will be prizes, raffle and a buffet.

For more information or to pre-register, call 909-481-1822 or e-mail Suzanne.  

The Pizza Factory on 12273 Highland Ave. will donate 15 percent of proceeds to the Los Osos High School band and guard on Aug. 10. Order dine-in or take-out between 5 to 9 p.m. and bring the flier below.

The Pizza Factory Flyer.pdf  

There will be a blood drive on Aug. 7 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church on 12704 Foothill Blvd. from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Donors will receive a complimentary cholesterol testing and coupons or vouchers to Knott's Soak City water parks. High school students with ID will get to enter an iPad sweepstakes and college students with ID will get a chance to win $5,000 for tuition.

Information: www.LStream.org

 

Hair Phases Salon, 7211 Haven Ave., will host a cut-a-thon from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. All proceeds that day will be donated to the Cota family.

Last Saturday, Bernard Cota, a senior at Rancho Cucamonga High School, was riding his bicycle near Milliken Avenue and Terra Vista Parkway when he collided with a car. Cota, or Bernie as his friends call him, had emergency brain surgery and is currently in a coma.

Cota's mother, Denise, is a stylist at Hair Phases. On Sunday, money made from haircuts and other donations will go to the Cota family.

Update: Unfortunately, Bernard Cota is not going to make it. Family members are currently making arrangements to have his organs donated. The cut-a-thon will be postponed until Aug. 7. The event is expected to raise funds for the funeral.  

WinCo is not coming to the city after all.

The supermarket had intentions to open in the Mervyn's space at the Terra Vista center but changed its mind.

Instead, Hobby Lobby is coming in. According to its website, Oct. 3 is the planned opening day. Hobby Lobby is a national chain of arts and crafts stores selling fabric, picture frames, jewelry, scrapbooking supplies and other arts and crafts items.

Several other Hobby Lobby stores opening later this year, in Temecula and Merced, are also taking over a former Mervyn's.  

Talk about a cheap date.

For $5 you can catch a movie and a dinner at the senior center next Tuesday. The event, sponsored by Upland Rehabilitation and Care, begins at 5 p.m. with a grilled chicken salad dinner. A screening of "Morning Glory," starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, begins 5:30 p.m.

Sign up at the senior center or online by entering bar code #164773.

Information: 909-477-2780

    

Classic cars will be the star at the Magic Lamp this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The California Historic Route 66 Association will host a car show to raise money for the preservation of the mother road. It's free to view the cars; $30 to enter. Cost includes a buffet lunch.






Information: 909-985-2231

The Grape Harvest Festival, traditionally held in the fall, was moved up to August last year and apparently it was successful. They are having it on Aug. 19 to 21 this year. But instead of Victoria Gardens, the annual event has been moved to The Epicenter parking lot. The event is 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. There will be food, wine, entertainment, shopping opportunities and of course, the grape stomp.

Information: 909-987-1012   

To mark its 70th anniversary, the Chaffey Community Art Association Museum of Art will show its permanent collection through Aug. 21. The Base Line Road museum's permanent collection is a solid representation of mid-century watercolors and features works by Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes, Rex Brandt and Emil Kosa, Jr.

The CCAA Museum of Art is inside the Filippi Winery on 12467 Base Line Road. It is open Friday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Information: 909-463-3733  

Once upon a time, there was an idea of a theme park based on the Bible. It was never built and eventually the Epicenter and Victoria Gardens came instead.

Bible Storyland was slated for Rancho Cucamonga in 1960. It was the subject of a David Allen column in 2005. Now it's the subject of a documentary called "Bible Storyland."

A sneak peek of the film will be screened at 2 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Lewis Family Playhouse. A 1955 T-Bird convertible, owned by musician Bobby Troup, will be on display. Troup was best known for the song "Route 66."

Tickets are $7 and proceeds will go to the Rancho Cucamonga Community and Arts Foundation.

For tickets, call the Playhouse box office at 909-477-2752.

Wahoo's, 11561 Foothill Blvd., has a new burrito on its menu. The Outer Reef Burrito is stuffed with a choice of chicken, carnitas, fish, shrimp, tofu and vegetables and topped with cheese, lettuce, rice, beans and green sauce.

To promote the burrito, Wahoo's is starting a photo contest. Upload a photo of yourself eating the burrito to Facebook or Twitter with the tag @wahoosfishtaco. The winner will get a $150 Wahoo's gift card. Contest closes Aug. 30.







Courtesy of Wahoo's

Congratulations to Curiosity Quest for winning two Telly Awards this season for episodes "Karate" and "Fire Fighting Training." The PBS show hosted by Rancho Cucamonga resident Joel Greene has received 15 Telly Awards to date. The recognition is for local, regional and cable programing.

The episode "Karate" has Greene learning the virtues of the martial art from students as young as 4. In "Fire Fighter Training," Greene goes through an obstacle course blindfolded while carrying 60-pounds of equipment.

"Curiosity Quest" first aired as a local cable access show in 2001 to answer curiosities and challenges that children pose. The show airs weekdays at 4:30 p.m. on KVCR or channel 24.
 

The Archibald Library will screen "Eat, Pray, Love" on Aug. 4 as the last event of the Adult Summer Reading Program. The movie starts at 6 p.m. No tickets are required.

The summer reading program, with the theme Novel Destinations, focused on books about travel and world cultures.

Information: 909-477-2720

Property owners have voted down changes to Landscape Maintenance District 2 fees. That means the current rates will remain the same for all home owners, business owners and other property owners in the Victoria Planned Community.

Each vote is weighed differently in this counting process, which took three hours tonight. For example, a home owner, who would pay $460 if the vote passed, has a vote worth $460. But an owner of a condominium, who would pay $368, has a vote worth $368.

The "yes" vote represented $453,916 verses the "no" vote of $678,354.

Assistant City Manager John Gillison said staff will bring a report to the City Council in the next 90 days outlining options for LMD2 now that the vote has failed.

The City Council honored Park and Recreation Commissioner Antonio Karraa tonight for his eight years of service. During Karraa's tenure, phase one of Central Park, the Pacific Electric Trail, Olive Grove Park, Garcia Park and many other facilities came into existence.

"He has dedicated his time and effort into improving the community without question," Mayor Dennis Michael said about Karraa. "He's a man who has truly dedicated his time to this city."

Karraa's departure leaves a vacancy in the Park and Recreation Commission. The commission is a five-member board that advises the City Council on matters of parks, senior center, youth activities and many other programs offered through the Community Services Department.

Click here for an application. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and lives in the city. Applications are due July 28.

Information: 909-477-2700 ext. 2002

My first time blogging this week ... feelin' a bit under the weather.

The City Council meeting has just started.

Who are those two guys at the end, you ask. City Manager Jack Lam is somewhere in the Canadian Rockies so his assistant, John Gillison, is taking his place. City Attorney Jim Markman is not here either. His replacement is Craig Fox.

Tonight's meeting will not likely end before 10 p.m. The ballots for Landscape Maintenance District 2 is being counted. At the close of the meeting, we'll find out if property owners in that district will see a fee hike or not.

Harry Potter fans were out in droves last night for the midnight premiere of "Deathly Hallows," which broke box office records for midnight screenings. But for those who had early bedtime, there's an event at the Biane Library tomorrow.

From 2 to 4 p.m., the Victoria Gardens library will turn into Hogwarts. There will be wand-making lessons, potions classes, storytelling and other wizard-related activities.

"We want to send Harry Potter out with a bang," said Adam Tuckerman, technology center coordinator at the library.

On Tuesday, Red Brick Pizza will hold a fundraiser for 3-year-old Jocelyn Espeleta.

Jocelyn is fighting a cancer known as Ewing's Sarcoma. Her chemotherapy treatments were temporarily halted last month when she got pneumonia.

From 1:30 to 9 p.m., the pizza joint on Fourth and Milliken will donate 20 percent of proceeds to the Espeleta family. There will also be a raffle for tickets to Quakes games, Knott's Berry Farm and other prizes.

Information: 909-476-6067

Sizzlers is giving away $15 gift cards to promote its cheeseburger and salad bar special. You don't have to buy anything to enter. Just click here. Each Friday through Aug. 12, 10 winners will be picked to win a $15 Sizzlers card.

Rancho Cucamonga residents tend to do well at these contests. In March, a Rancho Cucamonga resident won free steaks for a year at Sizzlers.

You might have noticed that Sizzlers on 9588 Base Line Road has reopened. The restaurant temporarily closed last year.

Trash collection rates could go up in this city.

There will be a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Aug. 17 at the Council Chambers about proposed rate hikes for residential and commercial trash haul rates. The current $20.99 rate could go up to $21.88 for single-family homes. The $14.06 rate for seniors could go up to $14.66. To see the complete list of proposed rate changes, visit the City Clerk's office at City Hall Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

According to City Hall, the planned rate hike is due to increases in the consumer price index, materials processing and increased disposal costs.

Residents can protest the planned increases by writing to the City Clerk's office, 10500 Civic Center Dr., Rancho Cucamonga, 91729. Written protests must be received by 6 p.m. Aug. 16.

Information: 909-477-2740 ext. 4062

It's too bad that Suite 106 Cupcakery lost in last night's episode of "Cupcake Wars." Owners of the Victoria Gardens bakery were season one winners and were selected as one of four teams to compete in "Battle of the Champs."

But even though they weren't the best of the champs, Christiana Grammer (left) and Rebecca Grammer-Ybarra were winners at their bakery today. By 4:30 p.m., the sisters had to close the store because it sold all of its cupcakes. Normally, Suite 106 closes at 9 p.m.

"Win or lose I guess just being on TV is great for business!," the sisters wrote on Facebook.

The Food Network will run last night's show again at 5 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. next Wednesday.

In other 99 Ranch news ... the grocer has submitted a plan check to the city's Planning Department to open a Filipino restaurant inside the market. There are a number of spaces inside 99 Ranch for several small shops and two restaurants.

Planning Director James Troyer said there is no timeline as to when the restaurant will receive its permits.

 

The South Coast Air Quality Management District and 99 Ranch reached an agreement today. The market will install odor control equipment that is expected to eliminate the offensive smells.

But don't think you'll be able to buy that barbecued pork just yet.

The market first has to get approval by AQMD to construct the equipment. Then it has to get permission by the city. Then it has to buy and install the equipment. Then AQMD has to inspect the equipment and give the market a final ok before it can deep-fry, stir-fry and roast again.

Market officials hope this can be done by Thanksgiving. Roast duck and other Chinese dishes are popular during that time of the year.

As for the fish fry, a free service once offered in the seafood department, market officials were unsure when or if that service will resume. 

It appears that 99 Ranch and the South Coast Air Quality Management District have agreed on a plan to quell cooking odors that have irritated nearby residents. In the next hour, the market and AQMD staff members will testify to the Hearing Board about the odor control equipment that the market will install.

"The district is comfortable that this course of action has been chosen to improve this problem," said Karin Manwaring, the attorney representing AQMD.

If this is so, fried fish and chow mein could return to the Base Line Road market soon.

"Smells bad? Market services shrink," said a headline in yesterday's World Journal, a Chinese-language daily.

The article discussed the scaled-down offerings of 99 Ranch, the Base Line Road market that was declared a public nuisance by the South Coast Air Quality Management District last month. Tomorrow morning at 11 a.m., the Hearing Board will meet on the matter again.

A five-member board had ordered the Asian grocer to hire an environmental consultant after neighbors complained of extremely strong cooking odors. The consultant was to outline solutions and present them to the Hearing Board tomorrow.

Don't forget to watch cupcake proprietors Christiana Grammer and Rebecca Ybarra-Grammer (pictured) tonight on the Food Network in "Battle of the Champs." The Etiwanda High graduates were season one winners of "Cupcake Wars." That $10,000 prize helped the sisters open up shop at the Victoria Gardens Food Court.

The Food Network success also allowed the bakers to hire help. They have 17 employees now, which means no more middle-of-the-night delirious baking.

"We went from 20 Red Bulls a day to 10," Ybarra-Grammer said. "It's been a blessing. But we're still in the kitchen every day."

The Grammer sisters return to "Cupcake Wars" tonight at 8 p.m. They will compete with four other teams who also won in previous seasons.

  

There will be two Bark in the Park games next month at Quakes Stadium. On Aug. 3 and 24, bring your pet to watch a Quakes game. It's $8 for the pet owner and $3 for the pet. Proceeds from the pet tickets will go toward the animal center.

Information: 909-481-5000

The Central Park community center will be the site of the third annual Inland Empire Holistic Expo. The event is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 16. There will be speakers and exhibitors discussing nutrition tips, therapeutic touch and other wellness topics. Tickets are $10.

Information: 951-741-0622, www.DarleneMerkler.com

This month, the Animal Care and Adoption Center will offer a number of discounts on pet adoptions. Adoption fees for puppies and adult small dogs are half off. You can also adopt any two animals (dogs, cats, kittens or puppies) for the price of one. The offer is not valid for adoption of two puppies.

Information: 909-466-7387

Pet lovers are trying to bring a new license plate to the state. The new plate, pictured here and designed by actor Pierce Brosnan, will raise money for spay and neuter programs. Plates are $50 with an annual renewal fee of $40.

Those interested can pre-order now. The Department of Motor Vehicles will begin producing the plates once it receives 7,500 pre-orders. This week, they are nearing the 3,000 mark.

If you pre-order, you can help the Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care and Adoption Center win up to $7,500. Order online by clicking here. In step four of the online application, select "Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care and Adoption Center" from the drop-down menu. You can also order via mail or fax by downloading the application form or picking one at at the animal center on 11780 Arrow Route.

Click here for more information or call the folks at the California Pet Lover's License Plate at 800-390-1541.

Energy Upgrade California is offering up to $5,000 in energy efficiency improvements as part of its Home Energy Makeover Contest. Any Rancho Cucamonga homeowners age 21 or older can enter.

One grand prize winner will receive $5,000 worth of improvements including lighting system, insulation and other energy-efficient items. Five semi-finalists will get home energy assessments worth $500.

Enter by Aug. 11 online or pick up an entry form at City Hall, Central Park, library or other city facilities.

Residents, business owners and developers are invited to a public workshop next Tuesday on updating the city's Development Code. The meeting is 6 to 8 p.m. inside David Dreier Hall of the Central Park community center.

The Planning Department is in the process of conducting a comprehensive update of its Development Code, a document that sets requirements for private property development. The Development Code details development standards such as building height, parking and sign standards, landscaping requirements and other development-related topics.

Information: 909-477-2750, www.CityofRC.us/DCUpdate   

The 1970s rockers Three Dog Night will kick off the 2011-12 season at the Lewis Family Playhouse on Sept. 17. Tickets to the 8 p.m. concert are $65 and available online.




Information: 909-477-2752

The Friends of the Library are celebrating Christmas in July.

On July 16, the Archibald Library bookstore will hold a Christmas sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a slew of Christmas books, movies, music and more. Proceeds from the sale will go toward library programming.