Around Town (and Pomona, too)

COUNCIL MEET-AND-GREET


The Claremont City Council will hold another neighborhood forum Tuesday night in the Claremont Public Library. We're not quite sure which two members will represent the council. Since it's the Village, we'll go out on a limb and guess Linda Elderkin and Sam Pedroza.

Here's the info listed on the City's website:

City Council Neighborhood Forum - Claremont Public Library

6:30 - 8:00 PM
208 Harvard Avenue
Claremont
(909) 399-5460

Council Members are also hosting a series of Neighborhood Forums. Neighborhood Forums give residents from different neighborhoods the opportunity to talk with City Council Members in a relaxed and informal setting. Neighborhoods can discuss issues that are important to them, air concerns, share ideas, ask questions and get the latest information about topics and projects that are specific to each neighborhood. Although forums are scheduled for specific neighborhoods, you do not have to live in that immediate area to attend.

PARKS RULES CHANGES

The Parks and Facilities Committee of the City's Community Services Commission will meet 6:00pm Wednesday, February 15, for a special meeting at the Community Services Department at 1616 N. Monte Vista Ave.

According to the agenda The committee will discuss a recommendation to the Community Services Commission to amend the City's Municipal Code to allow police to enforce park closures and to allow on-lease dog walking on the Padua Park trail.

Let's hope this doesn't lead to the sort of brouhaha at Padua Park that has happened in the past at the Pooch Park off College Ave.


AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA

If you're an opera buff, you can catch Pomona's Repertory Opera Company this afternoon at the First Christian Church at 1751 N. Park Ave., where they are staging a production of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. Admission is $30.

Click here for more information.




POMONA ART WALK TONIGHT

Also, don't forget that it's the second Saturday of the month, which means it's time for the Pomona Art Walk from 6:00pm to 9:00pm in the Pomona Arts Colony.

Claremont Events

Despite cutbacks in Claremont's city services, summer brings the fun for kids of all ages.

Tonight, the Claremont Police Department brings back summer movies for the kiddies in Blaisdell Park. There's no food available for purchase this year. You'll have to bring your own food.

Also back is the City's Monday night Summer Concert Series, co-sponsored by the City and the Claremont Kiwanis Club. Food is available there, and the proceeds from concessions help pay for the entertainment.

The City's website has all the info:

Movies In the Park Start At Blaisdell Park

The Claremont Police Department is hosting Family Movies in the Park beginning Tuesday, July 13 at 7 p.m. This movie will be held at Blaisdell Park. Bring a picnic, chairs, and a blanket. The movie will start at dusk. (Please bring your own refreshements. Food will not be served)

Movie Schedule
July 13 Monsters vs Aliens
July 20 Hotel for Dogs
July 21 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
July 22 The Goonies
July 27 Planet 51

And:

2010 Summer Concert Series

Monday Nights 7:30pm - 9:00pm in Memorial Park
Concerts will begin on Monday, July 5th and will conclude on Monday, September 6th.
For information call (909) 399-5490.

The Claremont Monday Night Concert Series continues to be a stunning success, drawing 3,000-5,000 people each night. This 10-week series is sponsored by both the City of Claremont and the Claremont Kiwanis Club and features some of the best entertainment in the area. In an effort to appeal to a wide audience, the series features a diverse type of music while including a few traditional groups.

Although the concert officially runs from 7:30-9:00pm, the concertgoers begin arriving as early as 6:00pm to select a space and enjoy dinner in the park. The Kiwanis Club offers a variety of concessions, from burgers, dogs and quesadillas to ice cream, popcorn, nachos, candy and drinks. Proceeds from the concessions fund the bands. This Monday Night Concert Series runs from July 5 - September 6, and is free and open to the public.

• Remember: Bring a picnic dinner, blankets and a low chairs.
• Dogs are not allowed in City Parks other than Claremont Pooch Park.
• Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in any City Park.

2010 Concert Schedule

• July 19 - Sgt. Peppers Beatles Tribute Band (Rock)
• July 26 - Brian Lynn Jones & The Misfit Cowboys (Country)
• August 2 - Kulayd (Doo-Wop/Mowtown [sic])
• August 9 - Suave (Latin/R&B)
• August 16 - Calypso Pirates (Reggae)
• August 23 - Neon Nation (80's)
• August 30 - Night Blooming Jazzmen (Dixieland Jazz)
• September 6 - The Answer (Classic Rock)

City Council Meeting Tonight

The Claremont City Council meets tonight, beginning with a closed session meeting at 5:15pm. The closed session involves negotiations for the 2.66-acre property on Base Line Rd. 1000 feet east of Towne Ave. One other item on the closed session agenda is litigation involving L.A. County and the county's Flood Control District.

The regular session begins at 6:30pm. The agenda seems fairly light. A few items stand out:

• Ginger Elliot, the executive director for Claremont Heritage, will be honored at the beginning of the meeting for her work with Heritage.
  
  
• The City has awarded a three-year contract for custodial services in city-owned buildings and park restrooms to Great Cleaning Services, Inc., an Irvine-based company.
  
  
• In accordance with California Redevelopment Law, Claremont has updated its five-year Redevelopment Implementation Plan for 2010-2014. This one is sure to upset some people, especially who feel that redevelopment ought to be retired in Claremont. Others who might not like this are those opposed to the City's use of eminent domain to take property from one private party in order to give it over for another private party's use.
  

If you'd rather stay in, you can watch the council meeting here.

Claremont City Council
City Hall - Council Chambers
225 Second Street
Claremont, CA 91711

Volunteers Needed for Park Duty

Claremont is looking for a few good men or women to serve as volunteer park rangers. You may have seen these folks in the Wilderness Park driving their white pickups. It's not exactly Ranger Bill or campfire sing-a-longs, but it does get you out into the local parks.

This is from the City website:

City Seeks Volunteer Reserve Park Rangers

The City's Community Services Department is looking for individuals interested in becoming a Volunteer Reserve Park Ranger. The position consists of a variety of duties, including providing information and monitoring the activities of park users, and assisting the Claremont Police Department with the enforcement of City policies and codes in the various City parks. This position requires primarily weekend work.

Individuals must be at least 21 years of age, be a high school graduate or have a GED Certificate. Related experience in flora/fauna is highly desirable. Proof of a valid Class C California Driver's License, auto insurance, and a good driving record are required. A current certificate in First Aid and CPR is also required. Successful completion of PC 832 may be required within 12 months of appointment.

Applications are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., at the Community Services Department, located at 1616 Monte Vista Avenue. Click on the link below for application materials. For more information, call the Community Services Department at (909) 399-5431.

• Download Application (Adobe Acrobat, 133KB)

Policing Claremont

The Claremont Police Department will be hosting another DUI checkpoint tonight from 6pm to 2am Saturday morning at an undisclosed location somewhere in town.

The CPD website says:

The Claremont Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, August 29, 2008 from 6 pm until 2 am, at an undisclosed location within the city. In an effort to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, DUI checkpoints are conducted to identify offenders and get them off the street, as well as educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving. Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Claremont doesn't seem to have the sorts of problems with these things that Pomona has had, where there's been a real community debate over how the checkpoints are conducted. On Thursday, August 21st, a Pomona community forum to discuss traffic checkpoint policies turned ugly and resulted some heated words between off-duty police officers and some civilian participants. The Daily Bulletin reported:

POMONA - Hours after off-duty police officers engaged in a shouting match with participants at a community meeting, members of the Pomona Habla/Pomona Speaks coalition began taking steps Friday to file formal complaints against the officers.

Coalition representatives met Friday and decided to file complaints with Police Chief Joe Romero's office and the City Council in addition to seeking an independent investigation of Thursday night's incident, said coalition member Arturo Jimenez.

The coalition will also file complaints at the state level, he said.

"We are going to be filing a complaint with the state Attorney General's Office and calling for his involvement," Jimenez said, adding that various state agencies will also be contacted.

Thursday evening's actions on the part of the officers were out of line, Jimenez said.

"What happened (Thursday) was a horrible intimidation tactic," he said.

* * *

Policing of a different sort may be in order for Claremont parks after yesterday's meeting of the Claremont Community Services Commission Parks and Facilities Committee meeting. The committee yesterday discussed a proposed ordinance to ban smoking in city parks. Daily Bulletin reporter Wes Woods II, who seems to be the new Claremont beat reporter, had an article that laid out the party line on the issue:

Colin Tudor, senior management analyst in the City Manager's Office, said he composed the ordinance after council members and staff had heard concerns from people about second-hand smoke in parks.

"It was not a specific instance," Tudor said. "I think it was more a general concern that had come up."

If the ordinance is approved today, it would go before the Community Services then the City Council at the end of September or early October.

An agenda report from Community Services Director Scott Carroll and Assistant City Manager Tony Ramos said Mayor Ellen Taylor had presented the idea to the commission.

On Wednesday, Taylor said the idea came to her after she attended a spring conference and "I thought, 'Wow.' I thought it was a good idea. I asked our city if we could do it, and they said sure."

Taylor said she was concerned about the health of children from second-hand smoke and people who drop cigarettes that wash into storm drains.

As we've noted before about Mayor Taylor, whose image needs some burnishing, it's all about the kids.

Park Crime Watch

We received an email in response to our post about the crime problem at Mallows Park in the Claremont Village and the perception by residents around the park that the Claremont Police Department wasn't being responsive to calls to clean things up. The email alert came Thurday evening from the reader who first told us about the problems at Mallows:

Subject: there are a lot of cops at Mallows Park right now!
To: "Claremont Buzz"

My friend who I told you about called me - first he saw them arrest someone in the park and now there's something else going on down there. I wonder if the cops are taking extra care with Mallows Park now?

We'll have to see if the Claremont Police site lists anything.

We didn't see anything listed on the CPD's site, but maybe something will be in the Claremont Courier's Police Blotter section. We'll keep our eyes and ears open.

Readers Chime In On Parks

We received a few emails in response to last Saturday's post about the crime problem in Claremont's Mallows Park at the northeast corner of Harrison Ave. and Indian Hill Blvd. Those problems included the recent find by a resident of a sawed-off shotgun in some bushes, as well as some reported odd activity in the bathrooms.

The reader who alerted us to the problems at Mallows Park indicated that the Claremont Police Department weren't very helpful, and the reader joked that the CPD might have been preoccupied with solving the city's Girl Scout problem.

One concerned reader said that they had noticed the some of the same problems:

Dear Claremont Insider,

I just wanted to thank you for running a piece about the Mallows Park problem. Everything that your reader says is true--particularly the very disturbing discovery of a sawed-off shotgun in the bushes. This should be a wake-up call to all our neighbors. I live on Harrison and I have noticed over the years how the park has become increasingly overrun with punk kids and homeless people. I know people who will walk several blocks out of their way to avoid going by that park.

Since I first heard about the gun incident I have been taking note of how seldom the bathrooms are locked at night. At far as I can tell they are just open all the time. It's really no wonder then that they have apparently become a magnet for drug dealers.

Thanks for giving this issue wider attention.

Well, yes, these things do deserve wider attention. Sadly, though, the CPD and the city haven't been especially responsive in the past. It really been a case of more poor Claremont customer service, a problem that plagues Claremont municipal government as surely as it does our local restaurants.

And the city commissions that work with parks, Community Services and Human Services, couldn't care less what hazardous situations they might be responsible for creating. (Claremont, consider yourselves on notice for your next lawsuit.) They're too busy chasing after state and federal grants for whatever the Project Du Jour might be to be sensitive and empathetic to the needs of the neighborhoods they affect.

And then, there was this reader, who worries that the problems at Mallows Park won't just be limited there:

Hello There,

The article and email on the "Saturday Crime Report" that was submitted by another reader is exactly what some of us here who live near the soon to be Padua Park are worried about. A park of that magnitude will invite this kind of element to the neighborhood. On the last Saturday of each month when everyone goes up to Mt Baldy due to not having to pay the $5 fee, I usually notice more cars with people of suspicious nature cruising the area. Usually, I hear more loud bass thumping music during these times as well as screaming teenagers driving by. In addition, I have had three friends who have had their car windows shattered during these times of the month.

I can pretty much guarantee that once this park goes up the police will be very busy around this area. People from other cites will know of this park and will be traveling over here to do what ever they will do good or bad. It will be like an open invitation for illegal activities. I believe we will see more cars cruising the neighborhoods, as well.

I have a great idea for the City Council to ponder and to think seriously about. Since this "National" Park will be going up anyway, why not build the new police station right across the street from it in that vacant land that was originally to be as a toddler park. From the last information I received on the park the vacant land across the street was no longer going to be part of the Padua Park. I would feel a bit more at ease as well as more accepting of this park knowing that the police would be right across the street. This would also cause the future "park criminals" to think twice before doing their illegal activities in the park. Obviously this is an idea that won't be considered, but if this won't happen we can all contribute some money and have a life-size cutout made of "Queen Ellen" sitting on a police motorcycle at the entrance as a deterrent. That would sure deter me if I saw that. Look how she single-handedly cleaned up Claremont's organized crime problem of the Girl Scouts mob.

Not a bad idea - something like a scarecrow. It'd work about as well as the current CPD action plan. Probably better.

Hey, if Ellen Taylor's involved, pictorially or otherwise, we'll be quivering in our boots. Take that, thugs!