Claremont Insider: Claremont City News

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Claremont City News

The January/February 2009 issue of the Claremont City Letter came in the mail last week, chock-full of useful information.


OUR FRIEND THE COYOTE

The front page of the CCL has an article about living with coyotes that offered some tips for dealing with some of our four-legged friends, who have at one time or another been seen in every part of town.

The CCL piece reminded us of the 16mm Disney True-Life Adventure films they used to show to elementary school kids on those heavy guage steel Bell & Howell projectors. You can almost imagine Disney's narrator Winston Hibler reading the CCL writer's text:

Hardly any animal in America is more adaptable to changing conditions than the coyote. Coyotes can live just about anywhere. They are found in deserts, swamps, tundra, grasslands, brush, and dense forests, from below sea level to high mountains. They have also learned to live in suburbs and cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Denver and Claremont. [Like the baby boomer, the coyote apparently favors the coasts, mountain states, and retirement communities. - ed.]

One of the keys to the coyote's success is its diet. A true scavenger, the coyote will eat
just about anything. Identified as a killer of sheep, poultry and deer, the coyote will also eat snakes and foxes, doughnuts and sandwiches, rodents and rabbits, fruits and vegetables, birds, frogs, grass and grasshoppers, pet cats and cat food [sometimes in the same sitting, if the cat in question has recently dined], pet dogs and dog food [ibid.], carrion, and just plain garbage.

In short, the coyote is nearly as resourceful and adaptable as your average non-5C college freshman. Remember instant mac-and-cheese, anyone?


ELECTION NEWS

The CCL also has a list of important dates to keep in mind for the March 3rd General Municipal Election:
January 22 - February 10
Sample Ballots mailed to registered voters


February 2 - February 24

Voters may request absentee/vote by mail ballots


February 16 - Last date to register to vote*

MARCH 3 - ELECTION DAY
Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.


*Registration forms are available in English and in Spanish at City Hall, the Claremont Public Library, and the Claremont Post Office. For more information about elections and voter registration, contact the City Clerk's office at 909-399-5460 or visit the website of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk at
www.lavote.net


NEIGHBORHOOD FORUMS

CCL also reminds us there are two neighborhood forums coming up. At each there will be two City Councilmembers present along with a staff member or two. They will talk to you and hear whatever concerns you may have about your neighborhood or the city in general:
Tuesday, January 20th
South Claremont neighborhood forum at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Blaisdell Center

440 S. College Ave.


Tuesday, February 17th

Claremont Village neighborhood forum at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Claremont Public Library

208 Harvard Ave.

[From the city website]:

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.


Call (909) 399-5460 for information.