Recently in Monrovia Category

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a trip to Monrovia this morning and saved a group of developmentally disabled residents from being thrown out on the streets.

The nearly two dozen residents of Regency Apartments -- ages 21 to 61 -- got notices in August that their leases were being terminated in order to comply with housing laws.

Apparently the complex is classified as a senior citizen community, so residents under 62 were asked to vacate.

But on Friday, Schwarzenegger paid a personal visit to tenants of the building and brought with him some good news -- they don't have to move.

Eviction terminated.

Assemblyman Anthony Adams served with recall papers. Read more.

Updated story on the resingation of Rosemead City Manager Oliver Chi. Read more.

Higher than normal number of candidates gearing up for Monrovia election. Read more.

It's election day in several of our cities, including Monrovia, Covina, Azusa, Monterey Park and Temple City.

Any voting issues today?

We got one call this morning about a Covina resident who said the polling place at the Covina United Methodist Church didn't have the information for voters with last names M - Z. It took the guy, whose last name was in the M - Z category, 25 minutes to vote. There were only three people in line, but he had to use a provisional ballot because of the name mix up.

Today, we wrote about the top five most memorable politicians in the San Gabriel Valley last year. But there were also a lot of great stories that came out of area, including politicians, their mishaps, and the results of their actions.

OPEN FORUM: What are some of your top stories out of the San Gabriel Valley during 2008?

Here are some that come to mind:

1. I know this came late in the year, but Congresswoman Hilda Solis, D-El Monte, being chosen as labor secretary will hopefully have a positive impact for the SGV and will also bring with it an interesting race to fill her seat.

2. Budget Shortfalls: We've seen shortfalls across the SGV in cities like El Monte - from $400,000 to $4 million -- to West Covina to Irwindale. And these shortfalls keep growing, too, which means the effects on residents and city employees could only get worse.

3. Taxes approved: You'd think that voters would feel economically stressed, but surprisingly residents rose to the challenge when their elected leaders called on them to raise taxes. Pico Rivera, El Monte, and MTA taxes were all approved, and several school districts got their bonds passed, too.

4. Police contract dispute: We saw heated negotiations in Baldwin Park, Arcadia and Monrovia, but ultimately the police officers got what they wanted.

5. Anthony Bejarano was arrested - but cleared - for being drunk in public; former water board director Dolores Holguin can never serve public office again after being charged with one felony county of misuing public funds; the city paid out $330,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim filed against Rosemead Councilman John Nunez.

Anybody living in a home connected to the area's history should check this out.

Two homeowners in La Verne are applying for the Mills Act, a program that gives property tax back to families that promise to fix up and maintain their old houses. The program can save thousands every year.

The program is popular in some of the area's older cities, such as Pasadena, Monrovia or Whittier.

Reporter Daniel Tedford called the city, and they said about 10 people in La Verne have applied.

Think your city is hot stuff?

Find out this weekend. Reporter Daniel Tedford is working on a story about the top cities in the San Gabriel Valley. Tedford is using a CNN/Money Magazine formula to rank the cities based on housing affordability, job growth, marriage and divorce rates, commutes, school test scores, and crime rates.

Just a heads up, you'll likely be VERY surprised to see whose at the top and bottom of the list.

Hate Athens? If you do, you're not the only one: http://www.stopathens.com/

Athens serves these cities, according to its Web site:

The same day that Monrovia Mayor Rob Hammond was quoted in the LA Times was the same day that Pasadena Star-News reporter Nathan McIntire found out he won't be running for re-election.

Monrovia mayor will not seek reelection
By Nathan McIntire, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/13/2008 05:12:24 PM PDT

MONROVIA - Mayor Rob Hammond has decided not to run for reelection in April's municipal elections, according to City Manager Scott Ochoa.

Ochoa wrote in his weekly report released today that Hammond has decided to step down at the end of his current two-year term. He plans to return to college to obtain his degree.

Leftovers Column: City's image takes a beating
By Jennifer McLain and Tania Chatila, Staff Writers
Article Launched: 10/05/2008 11:04:48 PM PDT

It's been a rough few months for the city of Baldwin Park's image.

Residents still are concerned about school board member Sergio Corona's arrest in May on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

He currently is facing misdemeanor charges of vandalism, resisting an officer and driving without a license in connection with the arrest.

Then last month, Baldwin Park Councilman Anthony Bejarano was booked on suspicion of public intoxication.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's office said last week week it would not be filing charges against Bejarano, who said he was not drunk the night of his arrest.

Still, the incident has stirred unrest in the community and has brought to light a question that often goes unanswered in the political realm - just how high should the ethical and moral bar be set for our public officials?

We put the question out there and got some interesting responses from anonymous readers of the Leftovers blog.

Here's a sample:

-- "Let's face it none of us is perfect in our personal lives..., we go through divorces, we have children who occasionally get in trouble, we occasionally say things in frustration or in the heat of the moment that upon reflection we wish we didn't say, we sometimes get our facts wrong."

-- "Yes, we do hold our elected officials to a higher standard, especially when they are representing us at a public event."

-- "I'm not saying we treat our elected with kid gloves in terms of their policy positions or in terms of factors which might impact their ability to act fairly, honestly and impartially. But I don't care to know about him having a simple argument with a spouse or that his or her kid got a D on their algebra exam or that (on one isolated) night they may have seemed a bit tipsy..."

-- "Character does matter."

Our elected officials have been in the news a lot lately over questions of ethical behavior among themselves and their relatives.

Pico Rivera Mayor Ron Beilke's son was recently detained by the sheriff's department in a case where a reserve deputy's .45-caliber revolver and vehicle were stolen. Beilke's son wasn't charged, but two of the 17-year-old's friends were.

Last month, the teenage son of former Irwindale Councilwoman and Baldwin Park Chief Deputy City Clerk Rosemary Gutierrez plowed his car through a neighbor's wall while driving home around 4 a.m.

A police report was not made, no one was arrested, no one was hurt and neighbors decided not to press charges on what was classified initially as a hit-and-run.

Then in El Monte, Mayor Ernie Gutierrez - who is not related to Rosemary Gutierrez - took a lot of heat for allegedly showing up at a city event drunk and shouting vulgarities.

In May, city officials prepared a report looking into Gutierrez's actions, but concluded the allegations had no merit.

We see this all the time - someone in the public spotlight, whether they be authorities, politicians or entertainment superstars, slips up and all of a sudden their abilities to perform come into question.

Only voter turnout will tell us how much constituents really care.

Monrovia's got a rumor control page on their Web site that addresses, well, rumors.

I spotted just this on there:

RUMOR
The City ordered First Christian Church to close down its ministry to the homeless and threatened to fine the church $2,000 per day if it did not comply. 

Fact: The Monrovia Police Department informed the church's leadership on several occasions that neighbors were filing complaints about the homeless people who came to the church to use its showers and to be fed - complaints that they were sleeping in neighboring yards and urinating and defecating on home lawns. 

There were many reports of similar incidents on public property and at the nearby Community Center as well. The church was told that the complaints were mounting, that neighbors were considering a Public Nuisance lawsuit against the church and that the complaints on file with the police department could support such a suit. 

The church leadership itself then shut down aspects of the homeless outreach program. At no time did the City or the Police Department order the church to end its program.

I don't remember us reporting on this, but I could be wrong. None the less, it's a pretty interesting issue.....

Star-News reporter Nathan McIntire wrote a story today about mandatory brush clearance in Monrovia.

The catch is property owners are going to have to remove brush on their property, and on other people's properties too.

The ordinance compels homeowners to maintain up to 200 feet of clearance between their buildings and any hazardous brush that constitutes a fire hazard, even if that brush rests on city-owned or private property.

Ochoa said the justification for the ordinance is that homeowners stand to lose more from a brush fire than the owner of undeveloped land.

"The crux of the city's brush clearance and mitigation efforts is to create defensible space around a dwelling," Ochoa said. "What we have done is to place the responsibility on the owner of the potential liability and loss."

If the property is not cleared, the city can enter it, remove the brush and attach a lien to the neighbor's property tax bill for the full cost of services rendered.

Administrative fines also can be imposed if the ordinance is not adhered to. If homeowners fail to respond to three written notices, they can be fined $1,000. Further failure to comply can result in a maximum fine of $5,000.

The ordinance has been in effect since 1992, and the city has never placed a lien on property or fined any homeowners for brush clearance violations, according to Ochoa.

But Jogminas said the law has only been fully enforced since Monrovia terminated its brush clearance contract with the Los Angeles County Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures last year. Previously, the county would clear undeveloped land if the landowner did not. The landowner would then be billed, said Jogminas, who lives in the Highland Place neighborhood.

What do you think? Is this justified? Or is the city just passing the buck along?

Read the full story here...

The San Gabriel Valley certainly has its share of all things quirky.

And the King Ranch market in Monrovia off of Huntington Drive is no exception.

Every time I walk into that supermarket, I always notice their interesting take on the claw game.

When most people play this addicting game -- usually found at Chuck E. Cheese's or Shakey's pizza -- the most they can win is a purple stuffed hippopotamus.

And most of the time, it's about 10 quarters later...

But not at King Ranch. The stakes are higher, sometimes $5, $10 and even $20 higher....Is that technically considered gambling?

Welcome back to the work week!

Here's this week's column inspired by the great dialogue by our readers last week. Thanks to everyone for participating in the conversation. There were many ideas that we've not heard from our elected leaders:

They say drastic times call for drastic measures.

We've certainly seen a lot of that as local leaders struggle with faltering revenues and excruciating budget cuts.

In West Covina, every department head was asked to cut five percent from their budget to make up for a $2.1million deficit.

In El Monte, facing a $400,000 deficit, council members slashed the Police Department's funds, maintained hiring freezes and cut back on recreation programs.

And in cities like Pico Rivera, El Monte, San Gabriel and Covina, taxes seem to be the only answer to supplement wavering incomes.

Many city council members have said this undoubtedly is a difficult time and it never is easy making cuts.

But what you would do if you were running the show?

Here are some ideas readers came up with, and they're nothing like what our elected officials have suggested:

Eliminate all car, travel and cell phone allowances for council members, as well as car allowances for city employees. "Stop paying for trips to China, Paris, Mexico, etc.," according to one reader.

Cut back on recreation departments, including youth and senior programs.

"Seniors tend to be better off than most non-retired working age folks. Seniors, though they are on fixed incomes, usually have a lifetime's worth of savings and investments accumulated ... and they also enjoy many discounts that non-seniors do not enjoy," another reader wrote.

Turn off at least half of street lights.
"We're figuratively throwing our money into the sky with all the lighting that goes up where it is not needed," one reader wrote.

Cut back on overtime for public safety, review every contract that has been in place in the city for at least three years and consider cutting staffing of "non-essential things such as school resource officers or farmer's markets," according to another reader.

Require those on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to use public transportation to attend meetings. "They're in charge of the MTA; they should be able to get to the meetings using the same public transit they govern. If it's not good enough for them, it's not good for us, either."

While some of these ideas are downright impossible others are more feasible.

Elected officials say city government is a labor of love.

So maybe they should think outside of the box a little more often. And maybe readers should get up from behind their computer screens and attend council meetings a little more often, too. Give those councils a piece of their minds.

Open Forum: Should council members go on conferences out of state if their cities are facing deficits?

There are several meetings today around the Valley:

Tonight will be a late night since I will be out covering Rosemead's council meeting. Also today is a meeting with Majestic Realty's Ed Roski, who will update the Tribune on his plans on building a football stadium in the city of Industry.

In Monrovia, the city is holding an informational meeting for residents on Royal Oaks Drive. I'm hoping they will give the reasoning behind having towering flood lights shining down on the street.

One thing that caught my eye was a display of old gas pumps.

First, it was interesting because the gas prices are so low! (Yes, that says 28 cents a gallon!)

Secondly, one of the pumps resembled the pumps spotted at an abdandoned gas station on Shamrock in Monrovia. Any one know anything about that abandoned station?

Many of our cities are facing budget cuts. So, here's an uplifting weekend question:

If you were in charge, what would be the first thing that you would cut out of your city's budget?

If all the tax measures pass, including a one-cent sales tax hike that the Governor is allegedly suggesting, cities such as Pico Rivera will be paying as much as 10.75 percent in sales tax.

Here are the proposed city and county tax measures appearing on the November ballot affecting San Gabriel Valley voters:

El Monte
What: A half-cent sales tax for a period of five years
Expected revenue: $4.4 million a year
Reason: To preserve funding for public safety, street and storm drain maintenance, rebuild reserve funds, plug a $400,000 deficit

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
What: A half-cent sales tax increase for 30 years
Expected revenue: $30 - $40 billion
Reason: To improve traffic flow, expand public transportation, extend light rail with airport connections and provide clean-fuel buses

Pico Rivera
What: A one-cent sales tax increase
Expected revenue: $6 million
Reasons: To preserve public safety, community programs, plug a $4.8 million deficit, and maintain city infrastrcuture

Pomona
What: An increase of the utility users tax to 10 percent from 9 percent for 2 years and 2 months
Expected revenue: $1.8 million
Reasons: Maintain city services and capital improvement projects

San Gabriel
What: An increase in the utility users tax to 8 percent from 6 percent
Expected revenue: $1.2 million
Reasons: Improve police protection and investigations that reduce crime, preserve fire and paramedic emergency response times, plug a $600,000 deficit, and perform capital improvement projects.

Once again, this week's Leftovers column:

***As a note, Monday's column was written as a first-person narrative by Jennifer McLain. In it, she talks about her recent move from West Covina to Monrovia. That's right, now we both live in Mayberry, er, the All-American City.

I've lived in West Covina for the past two years, and half of the time I spent complaining about it.

After all, what does West Covina have to offer a person in their twenties?
Sure, it has great freeway access, Big League Dreams and the city is home to the Tribune's headquarters.

But there's no ocean, no downtown and nowhere to go out on a Saturday night.
I learned to make do, but after my house was robbed twice, a friend's car window was smashed in on my street and I was awakened nightly by the sound of cop cars and helicopters, I had enough of the "Hub of the San Gabriel Valley."

That was, until I moved to Monrovia last week.

I remembered reading in the paper that Monrovia had its share of gang violence since December, but since I lived in West Covina I never really read with interest.

So I figured that the little haven I found on Royal Oaks Drive would finally give me what I wanted.

It was close to downtown, it was within walking distance to hiking trails, and there were national grocery stores within blocks of my house.

What were the chances that I would stumble on a neighborhood that was in the center of gang violence?

Turns out, those chances were pretty high.

I knew something was wrong the day I started moving in my things and I noticed a pair of towering flood lights shining down on a home in the 500 block on Royal Oaks Drive in Monrovia.

Equally strange was the day I came home from work only to see a group of kids that were playing in the street scatter when a low-flying helicopter ambushed our neighborhood.

And even more absurd was when I was carrying boxes from my car to my house, and I overheard a boy who looked to be about 8 years old say to his friend, "Bang, bang. I shot you, bro."

That's when I started researching my new street -- although I realize that I should have done this before I moved in.

On Royal Oaks Drive, there have been two drive-bys, including one as recently as July 12.
Sheriff's Temple Station Capt. Richard Shaw said that the towering floodlight, which shines into my window, is there to scare away gang members. Great.

Around the corner, there have been three other drive-by shootings since December, and all of the victims were Black and believed to have been targeted by Latinos.

My heart sunk when I realized that I moved into the middle of a race war, and it was at that point that I was really missing West Covina.

I'll take a robbery over a drive-by any day.

Then again, my neighborhood in West Covina certainly had its share of issues.

But all neighborhoods do.

As much time as we spend reporting on the crime that occurs in cities throughout the San Gabriel Valley, we also see neighborhoods overcoming the violence and developing a sense of community.

I'm hoping for the same in Monrovia.