P-Town this weekend

Glasshouse on Friday:

Pendulum @ 7PM
tickets $20

Glasshouse on Tuesday:

David Archuleta @ 7PM
tickets $23

Pomona Fairplex:

Giant Sale
Friday-Sunday
.........Where retailers go to sell off
over-stocked name brand merchandise for pennies on the dollar!! TVs,
digital cameras and camcorders, brand-name clothing and shoes,
kitchenware, lingerie, jewelry, art – it’s all here

Computer Fair
Saturday and Sunday
$6 and park at gate #9

ASTV Thai Festival
Saturday in the Grandstand
Parking is at Gate #17

Art Colony:

2nd Saturday Art Walk
check out Pomona Art Colonists and Metro Pomona for more
info and to download a map of the art colony. Also A.S. Ashley
has a piece in the Daily Bulletin.

Antique Row:

Just stop by and spend a little money. Looking
for quirky presents or a gift for that person
who has everything, I guarantee you can find
something at one of the shops. Our purchases
have ranged from Coca Cola tin trays
to living room furniture. We even framed
vintage newspaper ads.

Let's keep Pomona going by
supporting your local schools and businesses.

Other events:
Although not Pomona, Ontario's Granada might be worth a stop tonight. The lack of vintage seating is a bummer, but tonight they'll be showing Singin' in the Rain, starting at 8PM (30 minutes of vintage comics starts at 7:30PM). ($3) Check out David Allen's article.

Village Academy goes Presidential

If you didn't hear, President O'Bama (going with the Irish theme) incorporated the Village Academy video "Is Anyone Listening" in his recent speech before the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Check out the DB article and Pomona Unified website for more details.

Other PUSD news: K-12 education is being reshaped in Pomona. The yesteryear formula of elementary, middle school, and then high school will now be competing with multiple PUSD schools offering K-8 education and two middle schools converting to 7-12 academies. Gee, a public school generation that will miss those warm and fuzzy middle (junior high) school years, how unfair is that.


A message from the PUSD website:

Grade-level reconfiguration meetings
Join us this week at a community meeting to find out more about the five new Pre-K-8 schools and two small academies serving grades 7-12 that are coming to our district this fall. Come to the meeting that's closest to you:

Wed., March 11, 6:00 pm: Fremont Middle School
725 W. Franklin Ave., Pomona

Thurs., March 12, 6:00 pm: Golden Springs Elementary
245 S. Ballena Drive, Diamond Bar

Lottery applications/Aplicaciones de loteria are available
for download from our website here.

As Pomona residents, we are all affected by the public schools. If you have the time, consider volunteering at your local school.

faith and begorrah!

There are two things I look for in a hair-cutter: I want a good haircut, and I want to have a pleasant-enough conversation. Both are necessary; I didn't go back to one guy, despite having received one of the best haircuts of my life, because he was such a butthead.

I got a haircut today, and the pleasant banter turned to the fact that Barberella and her husband went to the Irish fair at the Fairplex this weekend.

Appalling fact no. 1: $16 entry plus $9 parking makes for a hefty pricetag.

Appalling fact no. 2: NO IRISH BEER! They only served Budweiser products. Well, apparently they sold Michelob too -- for the appearance of teh fancy. But ferchrissakes, Anheuser-Busch owns Bass -- how hard would it be to sell a little Irish beer? And don't say it's the Fairplex contract, because you can get non-Budelob beers when the LA County Fair is on.

I am truly ashamed of Our Fair City.

Commission Week

On this week's Planning Commission agenda:

1. A CUP for beer and wine at the Wing Stop in the shopping center at Arrow and Towne. Anyone have an opinion on this one? According to the supporting documents, the only two other on-sale alcohol licenses in the vicinity are at Shakey's and Sizzler. I've never been in Wing Stop, what's the food like?
2. Sign Ordinance for Downtown Specific Plan. The Metro Pomona crowd will likely attend the Commission meeting to weigh in on this one.
3. Location/Time: Wednesday @7PM in Council Chambers

On this week's Parks and Rec Commission agenda:

1. Homeless Issues in Pomona. I don't know if this refers to homeless sleeping in the parks or homeless issues in general. I suppose it could involve recreational opportunities for the homeless (particularly children).
   
2. Park Related issues/Police Department. I'm curious if any parks other than Lincoln park are closing their bathrooms during the week. I've caught a few people urinating in the alley since the November closure. Anyone else have this problem?
3. Location/Time: Thursday @ 5:30PM in Administration Board Room (City Hall 2nd floor).
   

On this week's Board of Parking Place agenda:

1. Sorry no agenda yet posted online.
   
2. Location/Time: Thursday @ 6PM in Council Chambers

Kudos to the department that assembles the Historic Preservation and the Planning Commissions documentation. Head and shoulders above the documents from the other commissions.

hysteric districts

Y'all thought I was dead, didn'cha? Guess again.

I've been enjoying the discussion about historic districts. I tend to be with Ed: Prices need to be kept within limits that encourage compliance. If we encourage violation of rules with ridiculous fees, the city will just end up spending even more money placing liens on property and crap like that. And everyone loses.

But the debate between John, Gilman, and others -- and probably the essential issue surrounding the creation of historic districts -- strikes me as far more philosophical than the discussion lets on.

Namely, I think the disgreement is really over the relevant verb. Is one group's aesthetic sensibilities being pushed over everybody else's (possibly under false pretenses), or is history being preserved for future generations? The chain-link-fence discussion really brings that out, since many people think it's ugly but it has historical value under some circumstances.

I've been wrestling with this issue ever since I read a quotation from the late Nell Soto a while back, asking why she should care about Lincoln Park when her ancestors were never allowed to live there. This fact too is part of the history, and to my mind also important to preserve.

So my position is this: We need to preserve architectural history even when it's butt-ugly. By preserving it, we not only give ordinary citizens the opportunity to benefit from the wisdom of past construction practices, but we also preserve the evidence of those practices for future study. If we are headed for a whomping big energy crisis -- to say nothing of a whomping big earthquake -- we may have a lot to learn from old structures for coping with forces beyond our control. Including construction practices that we may currently consider unimportant.

At the same time, we need to preserve the human and social history associated with neighborhoods (not the historical status quo, mind you, but the knowledge that it once was the status quo). History is an important way of remaining alert to the ways that social groups (whether linguistic, ethnic, religious, economic, or what have you) piss on each other (among other dealings). There are other ways to remind ourselves of this (and, one hopes, guard against it), but they tend to be more contentious than thinking about what's past and done. Just look at this discussion, which is proof that some residents of historic districts feel pissed-upon.

Irish Fair this Saturday & Sunday

Driving home from San Gabriel this evening, my tummy full and my feet well-massaged, I noticed the bright lights of the Fairplex billboard flashing green, beckoning the Irish among us. That's right, Irish Fair is here. Details below.


Celebrating its 7th year, The Irish Fair & Music Festival has become the largest festival of its kind in Southern California. With 8 stages featuring true Irish music.

Come join the best Fair ever!

Admission [Note: The 2009 Los Angeles County Irish Fair & Music Festival has lowered admission prices to provide the best family-entertainment value in Southern California!

$16.00 - General Admission
$14.00 - Seniors, age 55 & over
$14.00 - Students, with valid student ID
$26.00 - 2-Day Pass

Children, 11 and under are FREE!

Tickets purchased at the gate are CASH ONLY.

ATMs are located throughout the venue.

www2.la-irishfair.com

The 'H' map for Jan. and Feb.

Jan. and Feb. Homicide map

Pomona saw three homicides in the month of February. The most recent occurred at the Motel 6 on Garey Ave., near the 60 Freeway. Three suspects were arrested within days of the murder.

Claremont experienced their first murder since 2006. The Claremont PD issued a press release shortly after the homeowner's body was discovered, but now the PD's lips are shut tight. No arrests have been reported.

Montclair experienced a double-homicide resulting from an apparent domestic dispute.

Upland's only homicide was a shooting fatality in January. The reports from the Daily Bulletin suggested the victim was a gang member.

January in Rancho saw a SB County Sheriff shoot a 36 year old from Diamond Bar following a police chase. And in February, a 13 year old boy riding his bike was run down by an alleged drunk driver. The death of the 13 year old follows a fatal hit-and-run bike accident in October which took the life of a 19 year, and two non fatal bike accidents in January. Hmmm, can I suggest riding around Bonelli park.

Homicide ranking of cities by population: Montclair, Claremont, Pomona, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario. It pays to be big..........for the first two months.

For a view west of the 605, check out the LA Times Homicide Report.

City Council Meeting tonight

The agenda is a little beefy. If readers find concern or interest regarding a particular item, please comment.

City Council Agenda 3/2/09

I'm worried about Item 22 (Public Hearing-Zoning code amendment). This amendment covers construction of fences and walls. I believe, currently, the city only requires permits for masonry walls over 4 feet. This amendment would extend the permit requirement to other forms of fencing.

Here's the problem. If this amendment is passed in its current form replacing your fence in a historic district will now require a Major COA (Certificate of Appropriateness). If you haven't been reading my snarky comments on the tree ordinance, you might have missed that a Major COA will cost you $500. Even before a single hole is dug or a screw is purchased, a homeowner in the historic district will be $500 poorer if they want to replace their fence.

Does every resident in the city get smacked with a hefty permit fee. Nope. In fact, based on comments included in Item 22, the members of the Planning Commission apparently were concerned about the cost of the permit for the rest of the city, but still decided to require a Major COA (knowing it would cost $500) for historic district residents.

Can we swap out a standard dog-eared fence for another dog-eared fence? If so, should it require giving the city $500? Will the $500 yield better fences in the historic districts? I'm not opposed to some oversight, even at the possible risk of homogenizing the fence styles. Does it make sense to be yanking $500 out of people's pocket when they want to improve their property? With trees and fences, can we find some way to fast track these alterations and decrease the time investment of the Planning Department, as well as allow review by the HPC.

It's your money (or the little old lady's, on the corner). Speak up! The Council members with historic districts are Soto, Atchley, and Lantz. Send them an email, if you can't attend.

Overachievers

The city employees went map crazy again. Not only are we one of the few cities (maybe only) in the region to have a crime map, now they've added a map-related directory. Directory of what, you might ask? How about city businesses, government services, health services, and community services. Want to find the location of a Pomona Starbucks? Btw, we have three. Or are you looking for Alicia's Beauty Salon?Sorry, Alicia has only one of those. Fire stations, social services, and even churches can be mapped. Holy Jesus, do we have a lot of churches!

Explore Pomona

Very, very cool. My only question is whether the Chamber of Commerce shouldn't be taking this idea and running with it. If it takes the city to lead the way, so be it, but really, the Chamber should create a website, modify the interface and make it easy to shop Pomona.

The city isn't the greatest when it comes to posting agendas, but wow, can they map.

Planning Community Life?

The Community Life Commission meets on Tuesday for their monthly shindig. Show up at 7PM in the City Council Conference Room (next to Council Chambers) for news on sprucing up the freeway ramps, Miss Pomona, community gardens, and much (well, a little) more.

Will the Planning Commission plan to meet at their scheduled time on Wednesday? As of Monday night, the website isn't planning on telling us. Come on guys, point and click! Update: The Planning Commission has been canceled due to a lack of agenda items.

Any thoughts on the dismissal of both the city's utilities services director and community services director? It's anything but dull in the Halls of our City.

School Days

And the next generation.....

High School Sports
Basketball: Diamond Ranch boys and girls basketball programs came out on top of their respective leagues and advanced to CIF playoffs. After winning a first round game against Magnolia, the boys team will play in Fullerton on Friday. The girls had a bye in the first round and will play on Saturday against a currently undetermined opponent. The boys and girls programs at Pomona, Garey, and Ganesha found themselves in the midst of a rebuilding year. Pomona Catholic........well, what can I say. Playoff Brackets (boys) (girls)

Soccer: Garey, Ganesha, Pomona, and Diamond Ranch boys programs all advanced to the CIF playoffs. The first round games are Friday (2/20) @ 3PM. In girls soccer, only Diamond Ranch squeezed through and will have finished their first round game as I'm writing this. Update: Diamond Ranch Panthers won 1-0 and will go on to the 2nd round. Playoff Brackets (boys) (girls)

Congrats to all those who participated, whether as spectators or athletes.

High School Music
This Saturday from 8 to 5, Garey High School will host the SCSBOA District Solo and Ensemble Festival. Thank goodness they shortened it, SCSBOA stands for Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association.

The association is dedicated to enriching the cultural environment by helping all students to develop a greater appreciation of music, providing students with the means for exploring both vocational and non-vocational opportunities in music, raising performance and adjudication standards, and improving teaching techniques.

Next Saturday (2/28) from 8 to 5, Garey High School will host the SCSBOA District Band and Orchestra Festival.

School of Arts and Enterprise
A talent show is scheduled for 2/28. If anyone out there would like to provide more info, please share.

Out and About in Pomona (Feb 13+)

Metro Pomona

Glasshouse

---

X103.9 Presents Funeral For A Friend with The Sleeping Emarosa This is Hell

Friday, February 13 Doors: 7 pm $13 adv / $15 dos

X103.9 Presents Bleeding Through with The Acacia Strain As Blood Runs Black Impending Doom

Saturday, February 14 Doors: 6:30 pm $15

Murder City Devils with Tweak Bird Silverghost

Monday, February 16 Doors: 8 pm $20

KCRW Presents Lykke Li with Wildbirds & Peacedrums

Tuesday, February 17 Doors: 7 pm $17.50

---

Art Colony (Saturday)

Second Saturday Art Walk
Farmers Market @ Thomas Plaza

---

Pomona Fairplex

Computer Fair 10AM-5PM $6 admission Saturday and Sunday

WALLY PARKS NHRA MOTORSPORTS MUSEUM 10AM-5PM $7 or less

---

Saturday Morning Farmers Market
Parking lot of Pomona First Baptist Church

Sponsored by the
Inland Valley Hope Partners

---

No Council Meeting on Monday night

Friends of the Pomona Fox FIRST NIGHT!

Friends of the Pomona Fox, has announced that the first event at the newly renovated historic landmark theater will be "Fox First Night" on April 18, beginning at 6:00 pm.

The black tie optional fundraising event, will begin with a red-carpet cocktail reception in front of the theater, which will be bathed in klieg lights. Among the plans for the cocktail hour are celebrity arrivals, live music, the lighting of the marquee and tower sign, and a ribbon cutting to officially open the doors.

After the ribbon cutting, guests will be invited to enter the theater where Safron, the official caterers of the theater venue, will be serving dinner, while guests listen to dinner music. After dinner, there will be a program, still be put together, that will include the premiere screening of the Fox Theater renovation documentary, as well as some other special features. Yes, you won't get away from the mandatory speeches, but the program committee has promised to keep them to a minimum.

After the prepared program, guests will be invited to tour the theater complex and enjoy dessert at a number of the theater's newly restored spaces including the rooftop lounges, tower room, and Flyway Ballroom. In addition, there will be dancing in the main auditorium to a '30s swing band as well as other entertainment.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available. There are a lot of surprises being worked on and we know that this will be an event not to be missed.

There will only be 400 seats availalbe for this event, so it is recommended that you reserve yours as soon as possible. You can order tickets by calling Friends of the Pomona Fox at (909) 753-7903 or you can order and pay online (via PayPal) by visiting the PomonaFox.org web site.

Friends of the Pomona Fox is a dba of Pomona Fox Corporation, the non-profit that was created after the city purchased the building--not part of the current ownership. Funds raised by Friends of the Pomona Fox will be used to purchase historic items for the preservation of the theater. Our initial fundraising is to restore the historic box office, and to purchase chandeliers that are not viable for the developer to purchase, to return the theater to its full historic elegance.

Pomona and Tree Preservation

For those who have never read the "Historic Sites Tree Protection and Preservation Program" but live in one of the historic districts, you might want to know if this program affects your property. Let me start by confessing that I love mature trees and wholeheartedly agree that in some cases, public interest can outweigh private property rights when it comes to preserving an urban canopy. One needs only to take a quick drive up Indian Hill Blvd in Claremont to realize the impact of mature trees on the aesthetic elements of a neighborhood, not to mention their role in generating micro-climates and enhancing privacy.

Pomona has embraced conservation of mature trees through a number of resolutions over the years. In 1962, after receiving a proposal from the Street Tree Commission, the City Council passed Resolution 62-65 which sought to mitigate the loss of mature street trees (specimen trees) by altering curbs or sidewalks whenever possible. In 1973, the city identified several "specimen trees" within the city. In 2000, the Council passed a resolution adopting the historic tree preservation ordinance, which protects mature and specimen trees in the historic districts and at historic landmarks. And in 2007, the Council added city-wide protection to oak trees by amending the Zoning ordinance.

From reading the Council minutes and supporting documents, it appears the city may have yet another tree preservation ordinance that I couldn't find, so much appreciated if anyone can offer the info up.

Street tree preservation: CC Resolution 62-65
Specimen tree: CC Resolution 73-68
Historic tree preservation: City Council resolution 2000-72 (page 4+ are supporting documents)
Oak tree preservation: ordinance no. 4076

The evolution from street tree preservation, to specimen tree preservation, then historic tree preservation, and now to every oak with an 8 inch diameter at chest height in the city is actually an interesting read. In a nutshell, the city has moved from "preserving" trees on public space to "preserving" trees on private property, and in the process, the restrictions have become more onerous and the penalties more punitive.

So what is the Street Tree Commission that I mentioned in the earlier paragraph? It's appears to be subcommittee that can be formed by the Parks and Rec Commission. Given the burden being leveled on private property owners, perhaps it's time this generation of Pomona residents actively pursues a plan for planting trees in public right-of-ways. Pomona's tree heritage may lie more in the trees we plant today than in the trees that will more than likely be dead in 50 years.

512 McKinley
According to the documents, the birch tree at 512 McKinley was determined by the city arborist to be dead, and therefore should have probably been exempt from the COA. The Planning Department suggested giving the residents the opportunity to move the queen palms or replace them in the yard with other box trees. As for the gum tree, at 45 feet in height and only 30 inches from the house, the Planning Department's recommendation was to remove the tree, because of the risk to the house. Let's hope the City Council reverses this decision by the Historic Preservation Commission before the tree falls on the house and/or injures a resident, because I don't see the city winning this lawsuit.

Planning Commission Meeting Cancelled

Lack of agenda items leads to cancellation. The next regularly scheduled meeting is on Feb. 25.

Parks and Recreation Commission meets on Thursday
The agenda doesn't provide a great deal of information.
Thursday Feb. 12
5:30PM Administration Board Room
2nd Floor City Hall

Board of Parking Place Commissioners
Thursday Feb. 12
6PM City Council Chambers
Agenda: Parking space requests, Farmers market @ Thomas Plaza, alternative fuel vehicles for parking enforcement, potential sale of lots 2-11, 4-1, and 4-2, and a few other items.


**thanks to the city for posting these agendas online**

Thirsty?

Anyone up for a meet-and-greet (read: glass of wine) at dba this Tuesday around 8PM, following the 7PM SARA meeting?

The SARA meeting will take place in Council Chambers. Not sure what the heck SARA is? Check out this earlier post.

Things to do Feb. 6-8

NHRA is back in Pomona

T'he Winternationals is running at the Fairplex from Thursday February 5 to Sunday February 8. Several ticket offers are available. Children under 12 will get in free.

The Glass House on Friday: Revolution Motherplus The Dear Hearts, Brand New War, Who Rides the Tiger, Jive Ass Nobodies, andSleeping Sea King

The Glass House on Saturday: Versus plus Daylight West, Humble, Names in Vain, and Reach

Don't forget the Galleries , Antiques, and
other shopping opportunities

Be Pomonan, buy Pomonan

Cal Poly Pomona

Vagina Monologues on Feb 6, 7 and 13.

Cal Poly Pomona will be staging English and Spanish productions of “The Vagina Monologues” as a tribute to V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The English production will be Feb. 6 and 7 in the Bronco Student Center’s Ursa Major suite, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The Spanish production will be Feb. 13 at the same time and location.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students.





Pomona Public Library

Laura Ingalls Wilder Sociable on Saturday
Starts @ 1PM with Cowboy Ken telling cowboy/cowgirl stories
@ 2PM Cowgirl Christy will be doing rope tricks, songs and stories
@3-4PM Grandma Sue will be doing crafts (Conestoga Wagons)
And of course BIRTHDAY CAKE and PUNCH!

Friday @ Claremont Packing House

Claremont's Art Walk is the first Friday of the Month

thanks to Pomona Art Colonists for posting

HPC Meeting Update

Last night, Wednesday, Feb. 4. was the first Pomona Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) meeting since November 2008 and the November elections. We lost three commissioners in the electoral process. Former commissioners Jim Kercheval, Tad Decker, and Scott Hillsman received Goddess Awards at Monday's council meeting and they will be missed. I, personally, wish to thank them for their years of service, at no compensation, in what was often a difficult job.

In addition, Ramon Zavala, is moving away from the area to accept a new job position. While I wish him well, he also will be missed very much. He was a gentleman and always was deliberative in making the tough decisions.

This leaves two seats left to be filled. Councilwoman Christina Carrizosa needs to replace Ramon Zavala, and the Mayor still needs to make his appointment. If you're interested, be sure to fill out an application with the city clerk.

So, out with the old, in with the new.

The new commission retains commissioners Mitch Elias (district 4), Dawn Van Allen (district 5), and Udit de Lange (district 2). New commissioners who were attending their first meeting last night were: Dee Dee Brookshire (district 1) and Ethel Gardener (district 6). Both new commissioners were attentive and worked around a short agenda "learning the ropes" of the electronic voting system and the procedures of the commission.

The first order of business for the new commission was to choose an interim chair for the evening as both the chair and vice chair of the previous commission were no longer there. Dawn Van Allen was chosen to chair for the evening and did a commendable job. At the end of the meeting, the commission chose new leadership and chose Mitch Elias as chair and Dawn as vice chair. Congratulations to them both.

There were two items of interest at the meeting.

TREE REMOVAL: A resident of Lincoln Park, after cutting down a birch tree without a permit, asked to be able to remove 4 trees (including the birch) from their back yard. The residents (bought about 1-1/2 years ago) want to get rid of the trees to "make their yard more usable." Since the trees are living and show no signs of disease or that they are doing damage to the property, the tree ordinance is very clear that cutting down trees should only be a "last resort" measure. Since the birch was deemed to have been dead prior to being cut down, the commission approved that removal and asked that another tree be planted, at a location of the homeowner's choosing, but didn't allow for the removal of the other living trees. A 50+ year old gum tree was of particular concern as it was very mature and a part of the historic landscape. The commission did allow that the resident could move two Queen Palm trees to another location on the property to make their yard more usable. The resident didn't appear happy with the commission's decisions so I'm pretty sure we'll hear more of this in the future.

HISTORIC SIGN ORDINANCE FOR DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN: Staff gave a report to the HPC on progress toward a sign ordinance to be included as part of the Downtown Specific Plan. This would affect the area of the downtown that includes the Arts Colony and Antique Row, as well as some of the adjacent areas. Staff was just asking for input as the downtown specific plan moves through the process.

An additional public meeting on this subject is in the plans to be hosted by Pomona Heritage and the Historical Society of the Pomona Valley. I'll be sure to let everyone know when this gets scheduled.

All-in-all a good meeting. It looks like the new commission is poised to do a lot of good work. Good luck.

Events at Cal Poly

Events at Cal Poly

Living in a city with a large university should have its perks.

Executive Speaker Series:

Prakash Chandran, a Google Inc. employee who has helped design innovative applications such as Google Calendar, Gmail and Picasa web album, will be the first guest at the College of Business Administration Alumni Chapter’s Executive Speaker Series on February 5.

The presentation “Put the User First and the Rest Will Follow” will begin at 6:30 p.m. on campus at the Kellogg West Conference Center. Event tickets are $15 for current students, $30 for Alumni Association members and $40 for the general public. There will be a special reception for CBA Alumni Chapter members at 5:30 p.m.

Chandran received the 2008 Gmail Founders Award for his contributions to the Gmail application. He also is a Cal Poly Pomona alumnus (’04) who studied Technology and Operations Management. The Executive Speaker Series will continue May 13 when Khaja Ahmed of Microsoft will speak about “The Trusted Net.” Follow the link above to access the online registration form (limited seats available).

V-Day Campaign:

‘Vagina Monologues’ Performances
Mark V-Day Movement at Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly Pomona will be staging English and Spanish productions of “The Vagina Monologues” as a tribute to V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The English production will be Feb. 6 and 7 in the Bronco Student Center’s Ursa Major suite, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The Spanish production will be Feb. 13 at the same time and location.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students. Proceeds benefit violence prevention programs. As a result, the 2009 V-Day campaign at Cal Poly Pomona is called “Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource: Power to Women and Girls in Democratic Republic of Congo,” and is dedicated to drawing attention to dire circumstances in the DRC.

Each year, students produce benefit performances of “The Vagina Monologues” around Valentine’s Day to raise awareness of and funds for the Violence Prevention & Women’s Resource Center, the Cesar E. Chavez Center for Higher Education and the V-Day campaign. For more information, contact Erika Zepeda at (909) 869-3790

Thanks to Uyen Mai
Media Relations
Office of Public Affairs

City Council Meeting Tonight (2/2/09)

City Council is scheduled to meet in the Council Chambers starting @ 5:30PM for closed session and 7PM for the regular meeting.

Agenda and Items

Several outgoing commissioners will be receiving Goddess of Pomona Awards, including three from the Historic Preservation Commission.

Homicides for January 09

So far in 2009, lives have been cut short with apparent geographic indifference. Pomona, Claremont, Upland, and Rancho Cucamonga each saw a death by unnatural causes in the month of January. If the current pattern holds, residents in the little, big city of Pomona may want to stay in bed on March 1st given the two homicides for 2009 have occurred in the early hours of Jan 1st and Feb 1st.

I'll be updating the map throughout the month as homicides are reported, so don't be confused if the dates leap into February. Here's to hoping the rest of February will be homicide free.

Homicides for 2009

DUI Checkpoint?

I'm not reading too many howls over last night's DUI checkpoint. Did anyone manage to hit the strategic location?

Was I mistaken or did the powers-that-be really have the Pomona PD do a checkpoint eastbound on Temple Ave. near the 57 freeway? I guess that location could see its fair share of college age drunk drivers, but I just can't shed the thought that demographics and advocacy at the City Council level played a role in a public safety decision.

As for the tally of drivers, I'll probably wait for the unofficial results to be posted on the DB, but if any informed readers want to volunteer the numbers, don't be shy.

JUST IN:
1566 drivers were screened in 7.5 hours
3 people were arrested for DUIs
68 traffic citations
48 vehicles impounded

If I learned anything during my drive back from Walnut during the crackdown, I now will officially put my two cents in favor of more saturation patrols. Other than constantly checking my speedometer, double-checking my back pocket for my wallet, and sweating whether I'd make it through the green light, the increased presence of officers on the street explicitly looking for traffic violators was a refreshing change.

And lastly,.........thank you Pomona PD! Walking up to vehicles with unidentified occupants in the wee hours of the morning deserves far more appreciation and compensation than I can muster in a little blog post.

State of the Schools

A little message from Pomona Unified:

Dear Friends of PUSD,

As you know, California is in a severe financial crisis. What you may not know, is that K-12 education is being asked to bear more than its fair share in helping the state resolve the crisis. Our state is facing a $42 billion deficit over the coming 18 months (the rest of this budget year and the 2009-10 budget year).

So far, every proposal put forth by legislators and the Governor cuts K-12 education by at least 50% of the entire deficit, although K-12 funding represents just 40% of the state budget. Public education is being made to bear far more than its fair share of state budget cuts.

We know budget cuts are coming, but children and their schools should not be made to bear more than their fair share of the burden.

Please see the e-mail links at the end of this newsletter to the Legislature and the Governor, and help us explain this concern to them.

Meanwhile, we remain focused on Reaching, Teaching, and Learning, and wonderful things are still happening every day at PUSD, as you'll see in this edition of Friends of PUSD. We're changing and we're improving, and we couldn't do it without your support as a Friend of PUSD.

Thank you so much for your active participation in the education of our children.

Dr. Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana

Also in the email:
Lakers honor Kellogg Polytechnic Elementary teacher at halftime!
Diamond Ranch musicians "Rose" to the occasion.
Lunch Club mentors provide guidance for Pueblo students.
Village Academy video asks "Is Anybody Listening"
From Barfield to Kenya and back
Big Boy brings big gift to Marshall Middle School
Ganesha High rejoins National Honor Society
LACMA parks it at Alcott Elementary
PUSD administrators take pay cut to help district prepare for state budget cuts

If you haven't signed up to receive the PUSD emails, it's a click and an email address. www.pusd.org

news of the Ponz-economy

Ms. Lois from the Pomona Public Library -- and can I get a wha-wha for the fact that we have our own library and aren't part of the execrable LA County Library system? -- wrote to ask me to commend to your attention an article in the Daily Bulletin. It's about an AP English class at Village Academy High making a DVD about how the economy has affected them personally -- all spinning out of a reading assignment on The Great Gatsby.

I find the DB website really annoying (non-accessability-compliant, pop-ups, you name it), so I'm not going to link to it. That'll show 'em, huh? But I will link to the students' DVD, which they thoughtfully posted on YouTube.

Speaking of the Daily Bulletin, Joe Blackstock, the paper's History Guy (kinda like the Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons but taller and smarter), was the guest speaker at Pomona Heritage's feast on sunday night.

Joe opened his speech with a deep bow to Dave Allen, saying that he was going to riff on the Pomona A-Z columns with a "Top Ten Pomona Personalities of Yore" kind of thing.

I think my favorites were numbers 2 and 5. Two was Reverend F.T. Scott, who fought in the Battle of First Street. What, you didn't learn about the Battle of First Street in school? According to the SB Sun's timeline of the Inland Empire,

Battle of First Street. Pomona resident mobilized to take on Southern Pacific Railroad workers in downtown. SP wanted to build another track along First Street but Pomona officials said no. About 1,000 Pomonans battled with the SP workers and drove them away. Pomona later won the dispute in court.

Number 5 was Clarence Uno (I think I got that right -- I was taking notes on my cellphone, like a big dork. Oh, wait, I am a big dork), who was a World War I vet and president of the El Monte American Legion... and who was nonetheless interned with all the other Japanese-Americans at the Fairplex in 1942. I guess he just hadn't demonstrated his patriotism enough.

In seeing whether I could find out more about American hero Uno, I discovered that in fact a number of WWI vets were interned at Fairplex. You can read about them in this article (which, I have to warn you, puts a happy smiley face on the whole experience), including more about Mr. Uno's death at the more permanent concentration camp in Wyoming, where he was buried in his U.S. Army uniform.

Thanks, Clarence, and thanks, Joe. (And thanks to everyone who worked to make the feast a success.)

The frontispiece is of Clarence Uno's funeral, from Life magazine in 1943. You can see a photo of Mr. Uno upright (and alive) too.

breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Breakfast
Having ingested more than the usual amount of wine at a neighbor's house last night, K. and I were feeling like a greasy egg-and-potato breakfast this morning, so we toddled down to Angel's Place in LaVerne. We had dinner there a while back, and I've had lunch there a couple of times, but we'd never done breakfast there.

As it turns out, I'm thinking that breakfast may be Angel's finest meal. I had a spinach omelette, which was very tasty, and K. reported the same of his gyro omelette. And the potatoes -- the most important feature of any plate where K. is concerned -- were good too. They weren't your standard diner hash browns; rather, large chunks of cooked potato were smashed together and left on the grill until they were crusty and delectable.

I will say this, though: Worst. Coffee. Ever.

Has anyone tried breakfast at Roberta's Village Inn across the street from it? I feel like we need to try it too, in the spirit of culinary adventure, but it doesn't look all that prepossessing.

Lunch
Ha, fooled you -- no lunch after that big omelette for breakfast. I will, however, be making myself a proper cup of coffee.

Dinner
We'll be at the Pomona Heritage election and dinner tonight, in order to sandbag, um, I mean, vote for our Ed for the board. Where will *you* be dining?

Chief Joe Retirement Dinner

There will be a retirement dinner for Chief Joe Romero on Thursday evening, Feb. 5 at Sheraton Fairplex. The cost of the dinner is $55 per person. The no-host social hour is at 6:00 pm with the dinner at 7:00 pm.

For more information contact Beth Brooks of the Pomona Rotary at (909) 629-3477 email Beth3477@aol.com, or via mail at P.O. Box 7787 La Verne, CA 91750. The event is being coordinated by Virginia Madrigal of the Pomona Breakfast Optimists Club.

RSVPs are required, and I understand that the initial response has been great, so hurry if you want to attend.

Regardless of where you come down politically, the chief's 33+ years of dedicated service to our community is something that I'm glad we'll be recognizing. I hope to see you there!

Are You Smarter Than A.......

Ooops! I fixed my mistake. Aren't you all glad we don't get paid for these blog posts. The mistake carries a certain irony when you look at the title!


I have a motor vehicle quiz question for you. Recently (today) I had the opportunity to exchange a difference of opinion with a Pomona Police officer as to where a bicyclist should be at an intersection similar to the one pictured. Well, it wasn't exactly an exchange of opinion, since I wisely kept mine to myself, but I clearly heard what his answer to my query would be since he loudly shared it out his open car window, so I'm curious to see whether the enlightened blog readers are 'smarter than a Pomona PD officer'.


In the above diagram, a cyclist represented by an arrow is approaching the intersection and the light is red. Where should the cyclist position himself, if he wants to continue through the intersection in lane #3.

• (A) Move to lane #1 just because he can.
• (B) Move to lane #2.
• (C) Move to the center of lane #3.
• (D) Stay near the curb of lane #3.
• (E) Bicycles belong on the sidewalk, so it's a stupid question.

To check your answer, follow this link to the 2009 edition of the DMV handbook and go to page 47-48. In the officer's defense, it didn't appear that he does a lot of riding, but shouldn't a police officer know safe bike riding practices? Given the number of bikes I see traveling the opposite direction to traffic, riding on the sidewalks, running stop signs/lights, and even kids riding without helmets, I'm stunned that this officer would imply that he knows what I should be doing and then be wrong. I'll explain the rationale behind the correct answer, shortly.

As an ardent supporter of Pomona PD, this little rant is more about my realization of the hurdles bike advocates face in making this city more bike-friendly than a mocking of Pomona PD. If the police aren't familiar with the motor vehicle handbook and safe riding practices, how can I honestly encourage other residents to hop on a bike.

Drum roll, please, the answer is (C).

A hypothetical exercise

You are a City Council member and have received the following applications for Planning Commission:

Planning Commission Apps

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Who would you select and why?

Not that Pomona needs another blog, but...

Calling all Neighborhood Watch comrades!

In hopes of spurring some cross-neighborhood collaboration and information sharing, I've set up yet another Pomona-focused blog: http://pomonawatch.blogspot.com/

I look forward to posting information about the Garfield Park area. If you're involved in a Pomona Neighborhood Watch group -- or have even once whipped out a pair of binoculars to check out shady activity across the way -- and would be willing to post every now and again about the concerns, strategies, and community building efforts of your area, please shoot me an e-mail. prideingarfieldpark@gmail.com

Pomona Post Office: Take Action

Thank you to Goddess of Pomona for the excellent rant about the lack of an automatic teller at the Pomona post office. The post -- and the 12 comments it compelled -- prompted me to call the national USPS customer service number to log my concerns about the Pomona branch. I spoke with a truly amazing customer service rep (those who know me know I am rarely satisfied with customer service -- these are well-deserved accolades). She assured me she would send the complaint to the regional office.

Within 20 minutes -- no kidding -- someone from the regional office called to let me know she had initiated a feasibility review.

Today I received a letter in the mail from said regional office. It explains, "Postal headquarters determine which retail site to deploy an APC based on the actual 'candidate' revenue, which is credit/debit transactions already coming into the office that could have been done on the window. Based on a percentage of that revenue, they predict success of an APC and the odds that it would make the minimum amount of revenue per month to justify the purchase and maintenance of the machine. Pomona does not meet the minimum requirements for an APC at this time."

Argh. So we don't qualify -- I'm guessing, in part, because all of us are going to Claremont, LaVerne and other (nicer) post offices for our postal needs; our transactions aren't getting figured into the numerator or the denominator of the ratio. Let's raise a bit of a fuss. Here are some initial ideas for taking action (please post other ideas);

1. If you can muster the strength, wait in the lines at our post office to do the kinds of things one can achieve at the automatic tellers. Buy stamps, weigh packages, etc.

2. Call the regional office to express your concerns. The regional consumer affairs office, which is located in Santa Ana, can be reached at 714-662-6215. Call them, let them know your thoughts (with a smile in your voice, of course).

Pomona deserves better.

Kicked in the Teeth--Again!

An article appeared in today's Daily Bulletin under the Ontario NOW section regarding an open house at Assemblywoman Norma Torres' new District Office at 822 N. Euclid (see on map of the 61st District at left). So she couldn't get out of town fast enough. One might argue that the assembly seat is district wide so you need to be in the center of the district. But the way I see it, it's nowhere near the center (unless you count the center as the center of the 10 freeway). So those poor seniors who have to eat dog food must be grouped near Euclid and the 10 freeway so they can easily walk to get help from her staff. That's the only reason I can think of that she eschewed her Pomona base for the higher demographics of Ontario. (Sorry, sarcasm comes so easy.)

Why can't a Pomona assemblyperson have a district office IN Pomona? Nell Soto did the same thing. So much for those of us in the "hinterlands" getting any attention from the assembly office.

Rothman fils named to Commission

The rumor has been around for over a week, but I now have confirmation that 21 year-old Jason Rothman, son of Mayor Elliott Rothman has been named as a Planning Commissioner. I haven't been able to acertain who appointed him, but I'm sure that it was either the Mayor or the 5th District.

While I don't know Jason's qualifications, I would hope that he's at least an urban planning major in college. Without such bona fides, it appears to be either nepotism or quid pro quo. Either way it really doesn't pass the "smell test." I can't believe that, if it's the district 5 appointment, that there isn't anyone in Phillips Ranch with better qualifications than the 21-year-old mayor of the city to make planning decisions. And if it's the mayor's appointment, it's the entire city we're looking at.

Again, this is not an attack on Jason Rothman, just a questioning of how things are done in the city.

Jason's first Planning Commission meeting is tonight (Wednesday) in the council chambers at 7:00 pm. I'll be there as they're considering a CUP and variance for an MRI center to go in to the former PAL market/98 Cent store on Orange Grove at Monroe.

I'm sure that Ed will have one of his posts with the map of items on the Planning agenda (put you on the spot Ed).

Graffiti 411

I just returned from a Pomona Police Department SARA meeting for Neighborhood Watch organizers. (SARA, come to find out, stands for Survey, Analyze, Respond, Assess.) Here are some tidbits I picked up and wanted to pass along:

1. Code Enforcement, which is open seven days per week, actually has to spend its time after yard sales taking down signs advertising sales. I think the people of Pomona need to step it up and pick up after themselves; the Code Crew (yup, I came up with that all by myself) have more important things to do, like shake down people who leave their junker cars parked on front lawns. Here's a suggestion: If you post a yard sale sign, take it down after your sale.

2. Comparing 2008 to 2007 crime rates, the police department reports at 13% decrease in homicides, 23% increase (that's right, increase...booo) in rapes, 8% decrease in robberies, 17% decrease in aggravated assaults, 1% decrease (hey, it counts) in residential burglaries, 17% increase in commercial burglaries, 28% decrease (woot! woot!) in vehicle burglaries, 1% increase in auto thefts, and a 5% decrease in larcency/theft. Three cheers for Pomona PD!

3. The PD can generate a "shots heard" map. Let's play a game of higher/lower, like on the Price is Right. How many "shots heard" calls do you think PD received in the month of December? 100? Higher. 1000? Lower. Answer: 923. I assume many of these were for the same incident.

4. The 2008 Santa Cop program donated over 2000 toys to 365 families. Three more cheers for Pomona PD! This is an impressive show of support for the community. If you -- like me -- didn't donate to the cause this past year, let's add it to our "things to do in 2009" list. The photos of grinning kids unwrapping presents are worth at least a modest donation.

5. The Celebrate Pomona City-Wide Beautification Day is happening again. Mark your calendar, then get organized, for Saturday, May 9 from 8AM - 12PM. You can either select your own site or call the organizers for an assignment. To register, or for more information, call 909-624-1281 or e-mail rdebruyne@msn.com . I participated in this event last year; it was a blast (though my strongest memory is of a couple Cal Poly sorority members saying how "grossed out" they were by Pomona...grrrrrrrr). We can organize around whatever projects we want: alleys, parks, medians, schools, abandoned lots.

6. [SEE UPDATE BELOW] FINALLY, drum roll................Did you know that the graffiti abatement team does not take pictures of graffiti before painting over the offending marks?! I, for one, assumed a call to graffiti abatement resulted in (a) a picture, (b) an abatement, and (c) a sharing of the picture with the appropriate PD unit. Nope. If you'd like PD to know about the graffiti -- which you should, since they're the ones able to investigate and arrest the ne'er-do-wells -- you have to first call the police department. So, let's review: the order of operations is as follows. 1) Spot graffiti. 2) Call Graffiti Coordinator, Leesa Ybarra at the Pomona Police Department. She can be reached at 909-802-7464 or via email at leesa_ybarra@ci.pomona.ca.us . 3) I'm guessing Leesa contacts abatement post-investigation; if she doesn't, you can. The number is 909-620-2265.

I'm told there's another SARA meeting tomorrow afternoon concerning checkpoints. I don't know when or where, but am told it is in the paper. I really need to order a subscription...another thing for the "to do in 2009" list.

UPDATE JANUARY 29, 2009: The following message just came across the Web Watch listserv.

• There is only one number to call to have graffiti removed; it is (909) 620-2265. This number should be used 24 hours a day - 7 days a week for removal on private or public property. A removal crew will respond within 72 hours.
• If you desire a police report contact the Pomona Police Department at (909) 622-1241.

Should you have any questions or concerns that are not answered by the information listed above, you may contact CSO Leesa Ybarra at (909) 802-7464.

Driving back to work from lunch today, I noticed that Arrow Highway was littered with tumbleweeds, like something out of a spaghetti western. Wazzup wi' dat? The Santa Anas aren't supposed to begin until tomorrow -- just in time for this weekend's Cable Air Show. If you see K. there, say hey. Say hey if you see me there too, but you won't.

death of a salesman

Okay, "death of a salesman" is a bit of an exaggeration. But "death of a sale" is dead on.

Our dishwasher is in the advanced stages of dishwalla lymphoma, with demise imminent. Given that the dishwasher is the only thing that has kept us from murdering each other over the past 20 years, we went shopping this morning for a new one.

A friend recommends Pacific Sales in San Dimas, so we headed on down there, with the intention of making a decision. And we did make a decision -- but not about a dishwasher. The fellow who helped us really put the screws to us, and when we mentioned that we intended to do research on whatever model we decided upon, he launched into a 15-minute tirade against Consumer Reports that a detonating grenade couldn't have interrupted.

Thus it was that we left Pacific Sales with the intention of buying a dishwasher somewhere else. All the advice I've gotten suggests that Lowe's and Home Despot have special sub-par models manufactured for them, plus I'd rather purchase locally in any case.

We'll probably check out Cagle's, over in Ontario, but does anyone have suggestions for other local appliance retailers? Experiences to share? Recommendations, warnings, or dire predictions?

Twelve Months of Homicide

On the twelfth day of Christmas, I give you 12 months of homicides (if your twelfth day is the Epiphany, you can always read this tomorrow).

After a year of nearly daily clicking to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin, Riverside County Coroner, San Bernardino County Coroner, and occasionally the Pasadena Star, Whittier Daily News, and LA Times Homicide Report, I think I've accounted for just about all the reported homicides from San Bernardino to Pasadena. If I missed a few, you have my apologies and in the end, the FBI will ultimately decide what the true number should be anyway.

In our beautiful city of Pomona, the victims ranged in age from 2 to 71. Guns appear to be the primary weapon used, although the two youngest victims (2 and 5), reportedly died from neglect and intentionally drowning, respectively. Based on the initial newspaper report, at least six of the victims may have been killed by a family member or close acquaintance. And as for gender, males accounted for 16 of the 20 victims. I'll save you a trip to the US Department of Justice and let you know that over the last ten years, Pomona as averaged about 21 homicides a year.

Here's the breakdown by months: December (3), November (4), October (2), September (0), August (2), July (2), June (0), May (2), April (0), March (1), February (4), and January (0).

I don't see much of a pattern in the distribution, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Interestingly in 2007, Karesh Ave. was the focus of several newspaper articles, but in 2008 the area 'seems' to be safer. Perhaps a reader who is more informed about the efforts in that area of the city could shed some light on possible reasons for the 'apparent' improvement. Another area that appears to have shown improvement is the southern tip of the city. Of course, whether these two areas actually improved or whether we simply didn't see any homicides, I'm completely in the dark. And if the first Pomona homicide of 2009 is at all useful for making predictions, would you be surprised to find out that a woman murdered her husband on Jan. 1st in Phillips Ranch.

If you take a look at the map remember this one caveat, the blue dots west of I5 represent only the September homicides for that area. According to the LA Times Homicide Report (currently on hiatus), the actual number of homicides for LA County as of November was closing in on 600.

Total Homicides for 2008 (scroll to the bottom of the names for the second page).

This journey has vacillated from depressing to informative, so I haven't decided if I'm up for another twelve months, but here's a thanks to Meg for letting me post the 2008 numbers.

Visit Pomona, where things matter

When you work 60-70 hours a week, sometimes (especially on a Saturday afternoon) you just can't stand to be in the office a moment longer -- and yet there's work to be done.

That's when I gather up a satchel of paperwork and throw myself into the Packing House wine bar, where Sal, EV, and Alberto give me a nice glass of red and murmur "Poor baby!" as I camp out at the big table with my laptop, spreadsheets, and general crrrrrap. [Sometimes I go to dba256 too, don't worry -- but they don't open till 3 or 4pm.)

That's what I was doing yesterday when a couple came in and struck up a conversation from the other end of the table. Turns out it was Ellen Taylor, the mayor of Claremont, and her husband. We chatted about various things, including whether or not diamonds are a girl's best friend (agreed: NOT), and eventually we got onto the topic of local politics.

Diamonds were not the only thing we agreed on; the Taylors were pleasant folks, easy to talk to. One point of particular agreement was that Claremont city politics is so bitter because the stakes are so small -- it's all about rearranging the deck chairs at the Ritz-Carleton. Whereas Pomona... well, as Ellen Taylor said, that matters.

She offered as evidence a tart little anecdote. She and George Hunter were discussing their respective Youth Master Plans a few months ago (before the election -- and I was gratified to hear her support GH's ill-fated candidacy), and she said, "We're just trying to keep our kids active."

His reply: "We're just trying to keep our kids alive."

One little consonant (or consonant cluster), and yet such a difference.


Yes, the frontispiece is indeed Henry Kissinger. He is supposedly the origin of the quip that academic politics is so bitter because the stakes are so small.