Web Snares Tabloid Writers

Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday a few days ago had a story about the Weekly World News ceasing publication. The WWN will keep on churning out great headlines like, "Jealous Husband Explodes on Couch," but you can now only find them on the WWN website.

No more grocery store checkout double takes. As Simon noted, the WWN had a campy, sordid splendor that at times came close to comic genius, as long as you got the joke.

Simon quoted one of his favorite WWN headlines:

"Saddam and Osama Found in Torrid Love Affair." The paper said that they danced slowly and tenderly to "Wind Beneath My Wings."

We suspect WWN may not make it on the Internet. Something about it seems to call for newsprint and a tabloid format. The bat child or the headline telling us "Mother Nature Endorses Gore for President" don't seem quite the same staring back at us from an LCD monitor.

The Internet seems a lower form of communication, more the domain of anonymous Insiders and such.

Breaking News: Internet Crashes

You may have heard about the power failure in San Francisco that caused a data storage company called 365, Inc., to shut down last week. As a result, websites like Craigslist, RedEnvelope and Technorati were offline for several hours.

The LA Times had an article about the shutdown and posed the question, "What if the Internet crashed?" We shudder to think about the consequences. We'd have to abandon the Blogosphere's digital world and step out into analoguedom and get the lives a former Claremont mayor accused us of lacking.

The Onion gives us a window into the chaos that would ensue if the Internet ever failed:


Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

Brown Act

The Ralph M. Brown Act is a so-called sunshine law created by the state of California in 1953. The law governs public access to records and the public's right to speak at meetings of certain local level deliberative bodies. It is also supposed to limit governmental secrecy.

However, enforcement of the law has always been a problem, as this Wikipedia entry explains. So, it wasn't surprising to see that not much happened when writer Will Bigham at the Daily Bulletin recently observed that the Claremont City Council may violated the Brown Act in a June meeting.

Claremont had no worries, right? Who the heck cares about the Brown Act? No one enforces it. There's no Brown Act Police, other than the gadflies buzzing around City Hall, and the Claremont 400 is there to swat those pests

But wait! In today's San Gabriel Valley Tribune comes news involving the Los Angeles District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit. Yes, Claremonsters, there is such a thing; and, no it's not an oxymoron. The DA's office has sued the City of Covina over a possible Brown Act violation.

Thanks to the reader who forwarded this story.

Park News

The children's wading pool at El Barrio Park has been refurbished and is now open from 11:30am to 1:30pm. For more information, see the the city of Claremont's website.

El Barrio Park
Northwest corner of Claremont Blvd. & 1st St.
Claremont, CA 91711

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The nine-week Monday Night Summer Concert Series continues tonight in Claremont's Memorial Park with the Claremont Winds, a symphonic wind ensemble. The summer concerts run from 7:30pm to 9pm with concessions provided by the local Kiwanis Club.

For a concert schedule and other information, click here or call the Claremont Human Services Department at (909) 399-5490.

Memorial Park
840 S. Indian Hill Blvd.
Claremont, CA 91711

Sprouts Open for Business

The Sprouts Market at Foothill Blvd. and Mountain Ave. is open. We picked a couple melons, some brocoli, and also checked out the meats and produce. All looked good, and the prices on some of the sale items were very good.

The Goddess of Pomona blog also visited and had quite a lengthy review.

CodeRED

Claremont recently announced the purchase and implementation of CodeRED emergency notification system. A grant from FEMA and the State Office of Emergency Services provided the funds to buy the system.

One of the complaints during the 2003 Grand Prix fire was that some people did not hear the police and fire department evacuation announcements. With CodeRED, residents are notified of public safety emergencies by phone, cell phone, and computer.

The city website states that CodeRED can deliver up to 60,000 pre-recorded messages per hour. The phone numbers are provided by Verizon. You can also provide the city with your contact information to ensure that they have your correct contact numbers. There is also an opt out form if you want to be placed on a "Do Not Call" list.

Click here for information about CodeRED.

Home Ideas

The LA Times real estate section today featured Claremonters Vern and Debbie Jahnke, who lost a house in the 2003 Padua Fire (the same fire that burned through Palmer Canyon).

The house, built for $700,000, was designed by the Claremont Environmental Design Group (CEDG), a design firm owned by Mark von Wodtke, a landscape design professor at Cal Poly Pomona.

The home has many sustainable design features, including being sited so that prevailing winds help cool the house, reducing the need for air conditioning. It also has a solar electric system to help lower energy costs. In addition, many of the finish features are made from sustainable or recycled materials. The floors are bamboo, the carpeting is made from corn, and the countertops are manufactured from recycled newspaper and resin.

The house itself is built from a fire-resistant product called Rastra block, which is made from recycled styrofoam and concrete reinforced with rebar. When stacked together, the hollow parts of the block are filled with concrete, which forms a structural lattice, as the manufacturer's website shows.

Claremont is placing a greater emphasis on sustainability, and the Jahnke's new house represents a state-of-the-art design.

Sprouts Market Opening

The Claremont Courier reports today that the new Sprouts Market at Foothill Blvd. and Mountain Ave. will open on July 9th. The article quotes the owner of Wolfe's Market as being concerned about a possible glut of grocery stores once Sprouts and the new Trader Joe's at the corner of Indian Hill Blvd. and Foothill are open.

It's great to see new businesses come into town, but I don't think anyone wants to see established local businesses like Wolfe's, which has been in Claremont since 1917, go under because of the newcomers.

Human Costs

The Daily Bulletin today carried a letter by Claremont resident Carolyn Gonzalez, who criticized the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws. Gonzalez argues that the U.S. is in danger of losing its identity by making too many accomodations to illegal aliens. She writes:

When persons who are here illegally demand the United States change its laws to accommodate them, demand that the citizens of the United States accept them as equal citizens and refuse to assimilate, they are not here to contribute to the United States. They are here to exploit the United States.

And Gonzalez doesn't even touch on the issue of illegals taking away jobs from legal citizens. The Onion offers a examination of that growing problem:


Immigration: The Human Cost

Missing in Action

The Foothill Cities blog apparently broke the story that Assemblymember Nell Soto (D-Pomona), has been absent for the past two months due to pneumonia. As Publius at the FC blog noted, it's difficult to believe no one noticed an assemblymember gone from her duties for that long.

Sunday's Daily Bulletin ran an editorial criticizing Soto's office for keeping the public in the dark. The Bulletin commented:

Look at it this way: When you get sick and need to miss work, one of the first people you tell is your boss. You don't just stop showing up at the office. But that's essentially what Soto did, and while she and her staff can try to explain it away with "we thought she was getting better and would be back any time," it just doesn't wash. Not after two months have gone by.

(Speaking of her staff: What exactly were they doing during that two-month stretch? They couldn't cast votes for her, they certainly weren't issuing press releases, they weren't coordinating appearances for her or, we trust, crafting legislation without her input. So ... what?)

Soto represents Pomona, Chino, Montclair and Ontario.

Claremont: Poster-Child for High Speed Internet

In Claremont, on Tuesday, we see that Verizon will begin filming an ad for its new ultra-high speed Internet service described, in the City literature warning residents of the filming, as FIOS. FIOS apparently means FIberOptic Service and promises "mind-bending speeds of 100 Mbits per second or more!"

Only problem: You can't get it in Claremont.

The Insider checked the phone numbers of several friends (Yes, the Insider has friends, numbering well into the single digits) and Verizon informs us that FIOS is not available, and is not available anywhere in Claremont so far as we can determine. You can check it yourself.

It's kind of like filming an ad for Viagra in a monastery, an ad for a thresher-harvester combine in New York City, or an ad for good government--well--in Claremont.

There is information--we can't vouch for the authenticity--that only a few forward-looking cities in California currently have FIOS citywide, including Beaumont, Lake Elsinore, Sun City, and Westminster.

So be sure to stop by the filming Tuesday or Wednesday, and see the happy connected people on Yale between 2nd and 4th street, on 4th between Yale and College, and at the Grille, Hair Plus, the Press, and City Hall. Remember, they are actors, and although they may be happy, they won't really be connected.

News of Claremont from India

Editor's Note: The recent news that the Pasadena Now website has outsourced its Pasadena reportage to India prompted us to look into our own cost-cutting measures. Adapt or die, as they say--Claremont Buzz

--Compiled by Anand Gupta.

Greetings from Bangalore to all of our new readers. The Insider has contracted with Bangalore Poom Puhar News Source PLC to having us provide news of the luscious City of Claremont to its readership and to the World by means of the World Wide Web. We hope to demonstrate by our actions and writing that news of Claremont gathered and edited in India can be as timely and hard-hitting as news gathered by your own cadres.

Without further consternation, Here is today’s news of Claremont:

Mayor Scott Pope of Claremont issued a proclamation inviting and welcoming all probable visitors in October to see the Fall Foliage in the hills and river valleys outside of Claremont town from Newport all the way to the Ascutney State Park in Vermont.

The Claremont Resort and Spa has initiated special summer Rate Plans. The Resort and Spa has a distinguished history going back to the 19^th Century a.d. and has hosted the Saudi Royal Family in connexion with the Founding of the United Nations in 1945. Excellent views of the Bay Area are to be had.

City manager Glenn Southard very recently was criticised for releasing the police records of Mr. Obie Landrum, uncle of the unfortunate motorist shot and fatally murdered by the Claremont police department.

The Claremont Colleges entertained parents and guests over the weekend at their Commencement Exercises. Pictured is the outdoor setting of one of the events. Although dampened by an unseasonable May rain, the stately Palladian mansion built in 1708 provided a magnificent setting for the graduating students.

Some churlish College Students are heard to complain that Claremont is “dead” at night and on the weekend. This entry from Wikipedia should scotch that rumour: “Claremont Main Road is regarded by many as the clubbing capital of the Southern Suburbs. The road is dotted with clubs and bars and is a lively hotspot almost every night of the week. Bars on Claremont Main Road include Lizzards, Stones and Caps. Clubs on this road include Sobhar, Tin Roof, Town, Springboks and Tiger Tiger.”

The Claremont football club squad takes on the East Freemantle Sharks on Saturday, 19 May, 2007, at the East Freemantle Oval. Come out and cheer our squad and support youth sports in Claremont.

More on Claremont College is taken from Wikipedia:

Claremont College opened in 1990 as a senior secondary Government school for students in Years 11 and 12. It provides a full range of courses, preparing students for university, TAFE, traineeships and employment. Its 900 students study either on-campus or off-campus. The college is located at Claremont, Tasmania, in a picturesque setting overlooking the Derwent River, 15 km from Hobart. It particularly targets students living in Hobart's Northern Suburbs.

This is all for now from your faithful reporter, Anand Gupta. I shall look forward to serving you again in future with choice news of Claremont.

Congrats

Congratulations to Claremont High School teacher John Lawrence for being named Advanced Placement State Teacher of the Year by the Siemens Foundation. Mr. Lawrence teaches AP Environmental Science and worked at CHS for the past 12 years.

Quick Hits

Today Will Bigham reports in the Daily Bulletin on the continuing medical marijuana dispensary drama. According to the Bigham piece, Mayor Peter Yao says he gets occasional calls and emails about the issue, but no one apparently is contacting him after seeing the "Poorman's Bikini Beach" show on Channel 33 KJLA. (Maybe nobody wants to cop to watching the show.) The ad is also on You Tube and on the Foothill Cities blog, which has been having great fun with the whole issue.

Scroll down a little the Bulletin article, and you see that Bigham also reports that the new Sprouts grocery store on Foothill Blvd. at Mountain Ave. is scheduled to open in June. We hope the shopping center there gets a lift. It's been looking pretty sad since the Ralphs closed.

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Pomona may have some bigger problems to deal with than the Claremont land grab. Foothill Cities has been buzzing about the retirement of Pomona City Manager Doug Dunlap. Why couldn't he just go quietly into the desert like some other people we know?

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Glendora must have a lot in Claremont: small foothill town run for too long by patrician types, dysfunctional city council, official power wrongly directed against people trying to participate in the election process. Now that the L.A. District Attorney has declined to press charges against the teens he was targeting, we wonder what will Glendora Councilmember Gary Clifford do?

Finding a Voice

The Internet is a great place for stuff. All kinds. A little digging on EBay can turn up just about anything your heart could desire. Everyone knows its also a great place to find information. Of course you sorta have to pick and choose among to find the "real" nuggets. There's a lot of disinformation or unverified information out there (here?).

The Internet turns out to be a nifty place for storing stuff too. Old newspaper articles, book reviews and the like. I found an NPR site for their "Lost and Found Sound" series, which ran occasionally from 1999 until 2004. Listeners sent in story ideas, along with recordings of just about anything--historical events, audio letters, Internet audio files. It's a kind of Americana oral history project.

The stories range from the odd: "Atencion, Seis Siete Tres Cero: The Shortwave Numbers Mystery" (did the CIA send spies around the world coded shortwave radio messages during the Cold War and after?); to the humorous and wistful: "Lindbergh, Collie, and Me" (Alexandra Kalman's 1982 recollection of Charles Lindberg's 1927 landing in Paris and her dragging her reluctant husband Collie to Le Bourget Field to watch the landing); to the poignant: "Her Father's Voice" (NPR's Susan Stamberg listening to a recording of her dead father's voice, which she hadn't heard in 30 years).

One of the most striking stories, the sort that make you pull over to the side of the road to finish hearing the story, was "The Vietnam Tapes of Lance Corporal Michael A. Baronowski." The tapes were Baronowski's audio letters home from the Vietnam War in 1966. Whatever you believe about the Iraq War, you listen to this one story, and you realize what people at home and at war sacrifice in their partings.

Susan Stamberg seems to reach the heart of what the series aimed for when she talks about how a personality's essence can live in the voice. The website has a short epigram from a story about Sam Phillips: "There's somethin' about your voice--comin' out of the night, out of the light, out of the sky, out of the ground--over the airwaves comes your voice on a little Atwater Kent Radio."

Weekly World News

The medical marijuana dispensary issue in Claremont took a strange turn this past week. Foothill Cities has been following the follies with interest.

Tony Krickl in the Claremont Courier reported in Saturday's edition that Darrell Kruse, the dispensary's owner, has had a falling out with his business partner Dave Touhey and admitted that the real reason for their opening a dispensary in Claremont was to head off a competitor who was planning on opening his own medical marijuana shop. Krickl's article said that Kruse and Touhey own an existing dispensary in Pomona. By opening the Claremont location, they caused city council here to place a moratorium on such businesses, effectively ending the competitor's plans.

Yesterday, Wil Bigham in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reported that Kruse and Touhey have taken their dispute to court in Rancho Cucamonga where Touhey's family tried to get a restraining order against Kruse. And Kruse is claiming he has contacted the IRS in connection with the dispute.

Stranger and stranger.

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Yesterday's Bulletin ran a opinion piece from Pomona City Councilmember Stephen Atchley, who wasn't laughing over Claremont's proposed annexation of the Pomona plot in at Towne Ave. and Bonita Ave.

Atchley and Pomona Mayor Norma Torres are apparently unaware of Claremont's history of stepping on their neighbors' toes, or at least ignoring their property lines. We seem to recall a minor dispute with Upland a few years ago over the building of the Claremont City Yard on the Claremont-Upland border.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
--George Santayana

Water Alert

Claremonters are being asked to conserve water following the discovery of a failing eight-foot water pipeline in Rancho Cucamonga, the Daily Bulletin reported today. The pipeline supplies water from the State Water Project in the Sacramento River delta.

Residents are being asked to cut back on landscape watering, to take shorter showers, and to wash only full loads of laundry.