Sunday Crime Watch

There's some truly odd crime news to report this weekend. First, the Daily Bulletin reported that early last Wednesday morning Pitzer College student and former Claremont High School wrestler Zack Lester and apprehended a stolen car suspect who was being chased by police.

According to the article, the sound of the police helicopter chasing the suspect woke Lester at around 2am. The suspect jumped into Lester's family's backyard and was trying to enter the main house when Lester caught him. Bulletin reporter Wes Woods II wrote:

"I ran outside and tackled him," Lester said. "We got in a brief fight, but I subdued him. He stopped fighting back. Then I told him to lie on his stomach and I twisted his arm behind him."

Police broke through the fence and ran in with shotguns drawn, he said.

"I held him until the cops grabbed him," he said.

Lester said he was later told by authorities that [suspect Gabriel] Acosta had a knife. That information could not be confirmed.

The article also noted that besides attending Pitzer College Zack Lester hosts the Lovelectric show Tuesday nights on the Claremont Colleges' radio station KSPC 88.7FM.

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The Bulletin also had an article about a man who tried to commit suicide at a Claremont Police Department DUI checkpoint. The Bulletin said that the man, who was not identified in the article, was stopped at 8:05pm Friday night and was waved over to a screening area after Claremont police officers discovered the man had an outstanding arrest warrant. When police approached the car, the man started slashing at his throat with a folding knife.

The Bulletin article stated the unidentified man was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, but his condition was unknown.

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Completing the odd crime news trifecta is our old friend Three Valleys Municipal Water District boardmember Xavier Alvarez. Alvarez, who is awaiting a June trial in Pomona Superior Court for felony insurance fraud and grand theft charges has already been convicted of a federal misdemeanor charge of lying about being a Medal of Honor recipient.

Meanwhile, since he has yet to be convicted of a felony, Alvarez continues to represent South Pomona on the Three Valleys board (thanks Assemblywoman Norma Torres!).

On the Bulletin's Claremont Now blog, Wes Woods II wrote about a run-in he had with Alvarez following a Three Valleys board meeting on May 13:

When I asked who his probation officer was, he said it's "none of [my] business."

Then he asked why I keep bringing up the Medal of Honor case. He said "nobody" wants to hear about it and if they did he would be getting recalled.

"Who cares? Nobody cares. You keep bringing up the past ... if they wanted me out, I'd be out."

I told him I get calls and e-mails about the case but he didn't want to hear it.

"What you write is a bunch of bulls***." I think he repeated this phrase, emphasizing "buuuuuulls***."

After this, he said I only wrote "negative" stories.

Then he said "you're full of s***" and that I had "s*** for brains."

KSPC Night at Rhino Records

We sing of Olaf glad and big. That's right. It's KSPC night with DJ Olaf at Rhino Records in the Claremont Village.

KSPC 88.7FM's DJ Olaf will be spinning live tonight from 5pm to 9pm, and you can get 10% off all purchases during Olaf's set.

RHINO RECORDS
235 Yale Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 626-7774

Downtown Pomona Happenings

David Allen had a column in Wednesday's Daily Bulletin about the ongoing restoration at the Fox Theater. Allen took a tour of the restoration work and reported back, saying that the original Art Deco look is being lovingly resurrected, down to the carpets and chandeliers, the original color schemes, architectural flourishes, old murals, and even the exit signs. We love it that the old revolving neon sign at top the Fox's tower will actually turn again.

Allen likened the work to an archeological dig and gave some insight into the people behind the project:

Credit for the Fox's rescue goes to the band of brothers: developers Ed and Jerry Tessier and concert promoters Paul and Perry Tollett. They bought the Fox in 2007 and are spending more than $10 million to ready the theater for the 21st century, while keeping many 20th century details.

Preservationists watching the Fox's revival say they couldn't be happier. They're happy not only because of the theater's impending return but because of the amount of restoration.

At first, the Tessiers, who are handling the renovation, had planned to put off most of the historic touches for a later time, when they would be paid for by community fundraising events.

The Tessiers mostly concerned themselves with restoring the Fox to operation after three decades of disuse and misuse.

Instead, rather than doing 20 percent of the restoration as planned, the Tessiers ended up doing more like 80 percent, digging deeper to recreate the murals and most of the chandeliers ahead of schedule.

The Pomona Fox Theater is scheduled to have its first event, a fundraiser called Fox First Night, on April 18th. It's not cheap. Tickets for the event are $135 or $1,080 for a table of eight. You can get more info here on the Friends of the Pomona Fox Theater site.

The Fox Theater itself has a separate site with photo albums of the restoration work, along with historical photos of the theater. You can find the photos here.

The Tessiers, incidentally, have pretty strong Claremont connections. Their company Arteco Partners restored the Claremont Packing House and is in the process of doing the same for the Padua Hills Theatre. Ed Tessier is a Pomona alum, Jerry graduated from CMC, and Jerry's wife Nancy owns the Hip Kitty Jazz Club in the Packing House, one of the few new downtown businesses that seems to be doing well.

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The blog for Claremont Colleges radio station, KSPC 88.7fm (who knew they had a blog?), has a post announcing a free hip-hop concert tonight in downtown Pomona's dA Center for the Arts. LA act Bambu is appearing, along with two from Pitzer: Pepe and Jerms.

The dA Center is located at 282 S. Main St. in Pomona. Doors open at 7pm, and the bands start at 9.

The KSPC blog says there's free transportation to the event for 5C students, but you have to reserve a seat in advance:

If you are a 5C student in need of transportation, The Sagecoach bus will leave from the intersection of 6th St. & College Way (between the Rains Center and Smith Campus Center) at 8:30 PM. Be prepared to leave when the show finishes, around 12 AM. To guarantee yourself a spot on The Sagecoach, please e-mail erica.tyron@pomona.edu ASAP.