Torres for Assembly?

A reader sent us a link to California List, a political organization that describes itself as "a political network to elect Democratic women to California state government."

The organization's website posts the California List newsletter. The February 11th edition is interesting because it lists Pomona Mayor Norma Torres as a candidate for the California Assembly's 61st District, which includes Chino, Montclair, Ontario, and Pomona:

(Click to Enlarge)

Torres, you may recall, has had a rough past year, feuding with Pomona Police Chief Joe Romero and having Xavier Alvarez, the person she endorsed for the local Three Valleys Municipal Water District, arrested on a federal charge of falsely claiming to be Medal of Honor recepient.

Torres is seeking the seat currently held by Pomona's Nell Soto, who preceded Torres on the Pomona City Council (1986-1998) and on the State Assembly (1998-2000 and 2006-2008). From 2000 to 2006, Soto served as a State Senator.

Soto herself had some problems last June, when she was discovered missing in action because of health problems that were well-chronicled in The FC Blog.

Wikipedia's entry for Soto also had this to say about Soto's sick time in 2007:

Controversy

In 2007, Soto was not in Sacramento for 25 days while she was out sick, but collected a total of $22,032 as a per diem that is supposed to be for travel and living expenses - as long as the Legislature is not in recess for more than 3 days in a row. Soto's office defended her taking the money, claiming that she was entitled to it because she has to maintain an apartment in Sacramento and "The rent for the apartment wasn't waived by the landlord" while she was at home recuperating, as explained by her Chief of Staff, Paul Van Dyke.

If the California List information about Norma Torres' candidacy is true, perhaps Soto's health and/or age (she's 81) may account for her not running again since she is not being termed out from the Assembly.

Daily Bulletin: Baseline Project "Effectively Killed"

Just up on The Daily Bulletin website, under "Breaking News", a Will Bigham article on Tuesday night's City Council meeting. (We will try to keep the link current while the Bulletin moves it from "breaking news" to "regular news" to "stale news"; the paper will then put the article in the archive which will require an iffy search.) The article is well worth reading, and we tease it with the first few lines:

The Base Line Road affordable housing project was effectively killed Tuesday night by the City Council.

Council members voted 3-2 to end the city's efforts to find funding for the project, which faced an unexpected $1.5 million funding shortfall after it was disqualified last month from receiving $2.5 million in Los Angeles County funds.

The decision means that the city's exclusive negotiating agreement with the project developer will lapse, and the city will not apply for additional state grant money for the project.

The council instead decided to form a citizens "task force" to identify alternative sites in the city for affordable housing projects.

The affordable housing committee is expected to be formed following a discussion at the next City Council meeting, on Feb. 28, about how members should be selected. The task force's work would be ideally finished within two months... (read more here)

Taylor Bombs at Taylor Hall

The reviews are in, and Claremont Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Taylor was a bust in her audition for the mayor's job last night at Claremont's Taylor Hall.

Because current Mayor Peter Yao was not feeling well, Mayor Pro Tem Taylor ran last night's city council meeting in Yao's stead. The meeting's hot topic was the Base Line Rd. affordable housing project, which had appeared dead in the water after a change in Los Angeles County rules that barred the county from giving grant money to projects within 500 feet of a major highway.

The Base Line Rd. project is within that 500-foot limit and so is automatically disqualified from county funds - funds which the city had counted on to build the project. Now, the city is on the hook for $2.5 million or more if they want to go forward on Base Line Rd.

There were a number of speakers last night, though there seemed to be fewer than the last meeting last month when the council certified the project's environmental impact report (EIR).

It was particularly interesting to watch Taylor run the meeting, which she seemed to do with the efficiency and fairness of a banana republic dictator. For instance, Taylor continually enforced a 4-minute rule for people wanting to address the council on the issue. Claremont had relaxed that rule in recent years, opening the council meetings up to better and fuller public discussions of issues.

But it was clear last night that Taylor would seek to cut people off at the 4-minute mark, though she did allow last night's speakers to finish their comments after she interrupted them to make her point that their time was up and that she was through with them.

Queen Ellen doesn't seem to get that members of the public are equal to her, or if she does, she sure doesn't much like it.

Taylor also told the audience up front that their remarks were to be limited to discussion of the funding of the project. So, when opponents of the Base Line Rd. housing seemed to bring in other points, such as the problems raised by the EIR, Taylor repeated interrupted those speakers. In contrast, when people in support of the project, of which Taylor has been a champion, rambled or strayed, Taylor didn't interrupt those people because they were in favor of Taylor's position.

The meeting was streamed last night, so we should be able to get video up of some of Taylor's choicest moments, the worst of them being when she more than once told the audience that if they continued to clap or boo to express their feelings for a speaker's remarks, she would have the room cleared. Amazing.

As to the meeting itself, the council did not instruct the city staff to seek alternate financing means. Instead, they opted to create a task force to consider different sites. Let's hope the task force consists of a mix of people from throughout the community rather than being a reprise of the League of Women Voter's group that has given us this fiasco.

We'll try to have a more complete discussion of some of the nuances of last night's meeting as time permits. It was clear last night that a majority of the council - Councilmembers Corey Calaycay, Sam Pedroza, and Linda Elderkin - are for seeking alternatives, though Elderkin's comments focused more on the funding and her concern against using additional city money on the project.

Theatre Developer Chosen

The city of Claremont has decided on a developer to do the renovation and earthquake retrofitting for the Padua Hills Theatre, the Daily Bulletin reports.

Bulletin writer Will Bigham's article said:

Arteco Partners was selected unanimously last week by the Padua Hills Theatre Advisory Committee following interviews with Arteco and another company that submitted a bid.

Jerry Tessier, president and owner of Arteco, said he hopes to begin construction at the theater in December and finish the work within six months.

"We're excited, obviously," said Tessier, a Claremont resident. "Padua is an amazing historical complex. I think it's one of those hidden gems in Claremont."

The project will cost $5 million, and will include complete renovation of the theatre, which currently sits unused. Bigham's article also stated that some of the auxillary buildings will be turned into a bed-and-breakfast operation.

Chantrelle's, the catering company that presently services the theatre for weddings and other functions will continue as the caterer.

Checkpoint Friday

The Claremont Police Department will set up a sobriety checkpoint at an unknown location in town beginning Friday at 6pm until 2am Saturday, according to the Daily Bulletin.

City Council Meeting Moved

Don't forget that tonight's Claremont City Council meeting has been moved to Taylor Hall at Claremont's Cahuilla Park, located at the corner of Indian Hill Blvd. and Scripps Dr. just north of Claremont High School. The meeting begins at 6:30pm.

Item number 12 on the agenda is the Base Line affordable housing project, which has had some interesting developments in the past week, leaving the two council people who'd been pushing the thing the hardest, Peter Yao and Ellen Taylor, looking for a gracious way out - probably the first and only time the word gracious has ever been associated with the acerbic Ms. Taylor.

The meeting has presumably been moved to Taylor Hall to accommodate more people, given the interest in the affordable housing issue. The last council meeting on the subject when the environmental impact report (EIR) was certified by the council, was in the Padua Room at the Alexander Hughes Community Center.

If you don't see a live video stream of the meeting on the City's website tonight, it's likely because Taylor Hall might not be wired up for streaming video, which might be a good break for the council and for some of their League of Women Voter and Claremont 400 friends who haven't been particularly telegenic when it comes to affordable housing.

* * *

Chances are, if the project goes down in flames, as appears to be the current case, you won't be seeing many of these so-called champions of affordable housing around in the near future with any alternative plans. They're likely to show their true colors and just take their ball and go home.

At some point, in a sane city, the powers-that-be would sit down after an affair such as this and try to figure out what happened. Project opponents argued early on that there were better sites for the affordable housing, sites closer to the center of town and closer to transit and shopping. The opponents also argued that there were serious air quality problem, and those opinions were proved right by the project's EIR.

The opponents said, "Let's put the police station on the Base Line site, and move the project to an alternate location, maybe closer to the Village." And, in fact, that may be what ends up happening.

In retrospect, there really was no evidence of any citywide backing for this project. There was no grassroots groundswell of citizens wanting the project on Base Line. At every meeting, the proponents consisted of the usual League of Women Voters talking heads and current or former council members and city commissioners. At every meeting, the proponents were outnumbered by the opponents.

Yet, the proponents insisted that it had to be this project on this site and no other. The proponents are responsible for a colossal waste of time, energy and city resources (the cost of purchasing the 2.6-acre site, tens of thousands to the developer, $160,000 for the EIR, and countless hours of staff time). Tell us again, why did we have to go down this road?

We hope that some of the current opponents to the project step up with some of the ideas they've tossed about and provide a real solution to this problem. Those people stand to gain or lose a ton of credibility depending on how they follow through on the things they have talked about during the affordable housing debate. Let's hope if they prevail, they don't take their ball and go home.

In any case, the meeting commences with public comment at 6:30pm. There is also a closed session council meeting at 5:15pm. The closed session apparently has nothing to do with the Base Line project, though you never can tell what really goes on behind those closed doors.

Claremont City Council Meeting - 6:30pm tonight
Taylor Hall
1775 N. Indian Hill Blvd.

Downtown News

http://www.claremontpackinghouse.com/about.htm

The Claremont Packing House has been open one year now, and according to an article in Saturday's Claremont Courier, the tenant reviews are mixed.

Courier reporter Tony Krickl wrote:

After one year, 4 store front business owners have walked away from their second story lofts out of 11 listed on The Packing House’s website. Some did not have the success they were hoping for, while others left for personal reasons.

Kathleen Galipeau, who ran an art studio in her loft, decided to move out due to poor business sales. She had hoped for greater foot traffic throughout the building to support her business and believes she will have more success in her previous location in Upland.

“There have been some growing pains along the road there,” she said. “Live/work lofts are such a new idea. It’s a great place to be, but there are a few integral problems with how upstairs is laid out.”

Lynnette Barron, who ran a floral business, worked an agreement to cut out of her lease early. She complained of difficulties with the building’s management, structural problems in her loft and excessive noise.

A 3rd tenant not renewing his lease was Chas Seward, whose ad agency, Spitfire Studios, ran Claremont’s holiday marketing campaign. Mr. Seward said he left because the loft was too big for his company’s needs and has moved to a smaller location in the Village.

“As far as environment, it’s a great space,” Mr. Seward said. “It just wasn’t conducive to our business.”

Krickl's article went on to quote several other tenants who were doing just fine, though one of them was Jerry Tessier, the president of Arteco Partners, who was the developer for the Packing House project. Tessier told Krickl that there's no shortage of prospective tenants lined up to fill the vacant units.

Some of the businesses seem to be making it. Three Forks Chop House reportedly has a waiting list of several weeks, and Meg at the M-M-M-My Pomona blog wrote that the Hip Kitty Jazz Club was jumping when she visited a couple weeks ago.

On the other hand, the Maui Wowie smoothie place appears to have been up for sale, and some of the other Packing House businesses haven't seemed especially crowded with customers or window shoppers.

Baseline Site Woes

The Daily Bulletin editorial board this weekend weighed in on Claremont's troubled Baseline affordable housing project. The Bulletin's conclusion: put it out of its misery. We couldn't find the editorial online, but provide a low-quality a scan here:



The Bulletin opinion concludes,

At Tuesday's meeting, council members will...no doubt take another look at alternate sites for the project, some of which are closer to schools and public transit than the Base Line land.

They should maintain the same zeal to get an affordable-housing project built at one of those alternate places...

In reaching this conclusion, the Bulletin reprised some of the points made many times earlier: the USC study cited in the environmental impact report showed freeway vehicle exhaust "detrimental to residents, especially children." However, the silver bullet seemed to be the decision by Los Angeles County to disqualify projects within 500 feet of a freeway.

Of course, Council could proceed by finding buckets of money to make up the shortfall, but to do that it appears that the City would have to have a live project--such as the one by Enhanced Affordable Development with a detailed design and that has undergone environmental scrutiny. As Will Bigham details here, City staffer Brian Desatnik has been busy trying to get Enhanced Affordable Development to walk the plank; failing that, Desatnik plans to push them. Bigham reports,

On Wednesday, Desatnik sent Marc Gelman, CEO of Enhanced Affordable Development, an e-mail seeking to terminate the exclusive negotiating agreement [ENA] between the city and Enhanced.

Desatnik asked Gelman to sign the termination agreement before 2 p.m. Friday. If it was not signed, Desatnik said, the city "intend(s) to exercise our unilateral authority to terminate the (exclusive negotiations agreement)," Desatnik said.

The e-mail exchange is quite informative; we include it at the end of this post.

All in all, the city council will have a lot to discuss at its Tuesday meeting, (February 12, 6:30 p.m. at Taylor Hall [not named for Ellen Taylor so far as we can determine, but we have to check with Judy Wright], 1775 N. Indian Hill, corner of Scripps). Don't imagine for a minute, though, that the council discussion will be free-wheeling; council members will have already been briefed on their roles by City Staff, and the speeches will likely be mere set-pieces. Maybe, as the staff report says, there will be a study session: [page 3 of the link, "Staff also schedule a study session [sic] with the council on alternative sites...].

While all this is going on, life imitates art over at the Courier. Some time ago we posted correspondence we received imagining how low the Courier might go. It went there last week in its article containing, among other things, the bit about La Verne City Manager and Claremont resident Marty Lomelli eating a sandwich. Oy.

* * * * *

As promised, here is the email exchange referred to by Bigham above [E-mail addresses have been slightly altered to help keep the bots away, and a cell phone number has been redacted].

From: "Marc Gelman"
To: "Brian Desatnik"
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 19:14:50 -0800
Subject: RE: Termination and Release Agreement
Message-ID:

Dear Brian:
We have no intention of signing any release that would potentially release the City from any liability or obligation to defend and indemnify us for any claims that may arise out of the political, zoning, environmental studies or other work done on this property by the City, when we've been bombarded with potential threats of lawsuits by local residents and interest groups.

Most importantly, we have difficulty understanding why (after 18 months) there is this sudden rush to get this termination signed when last week you were trying to rush us to sign a DDA. Also, it is strange that the voice mails from you and Tony suggest that the Council has already decided to terminate the ENA when there hasn't been any public discussion on this issue. Unless this is another attempt to replace us with another developer, the ENA should be terminated the same way like it was approved, as an item on the Council agenda presented to the public. We are taking a lot of unnecessary heat in the press and on the Internet and we can't let the City dump their political garbage on us and make it look like we are walking away from something that we have worked very hard for the people of Claremont.

Sincerely, Marc Gelman, CEO
Enhanced Affordable Development Co.
4221 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 260
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Dir: (323) 634-0561, ext. 215
Cell: (323) xxx-xxxx
Fax: (310) 356-6007
marcgatenhancedaffordable.com

_________________________

From: Brian Desatnik [mailto:bdesatnikatci.claremont.ca.us]
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 1:41 PM
To: Marc Gelman
Cc: David Rubin
Subject: Termination and Release Agreement

Marc: Please find attached a termination and release agreement. As you know, I requested documentation as to your third party costs pursuant to the ENA last Thursday and have yet to receive a response. Therefore there is a blank in number 3 of the agreement to be filled in upon our receipt of your third-party cost documentation. Please execute this document and return to me via fax or e-mail by Friday, February 8th at 2 p.m. If we do not receive a signature from you by this time we intend to exercise our unilateral authority to terminate the ENA. Call me if you have any questions.

Brian Desatnik
Housing and Redevelopment Manager
City of Claremont
909) 399-5342
909) 399-5366 fax
bdesatnikatci.claremont.ca.us

Farewell, Leo

Daily Bulletin writer Leo Greene passed away overnight Friday, the Daily Bulletin reported today in an article by Deputy Managing Editor Jeff Keating.

Green, who was diagnosed in August, 2006, with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), wrote about his journey through the progression of his illness in a remarkable series of columns for the Bulletin, as today's article noted:

In the newspaper and on his Web site, Leo's candid assessments of the toll the disease was taking on his body were countered in his words and pictures by what he described as a growing spiritual awareness, increased concern for the needs of those around him - especially family - and a pressing desire to pass on his skills and life lessons to the generations to follow.

"Having a notion of when the end might come allows time to prepare, to adjust priorities," Leo wrote in a column published one year ago today. "Spiritual knowledge can be found in an awareness of the life around us."

Greene's columns are maintained by the Bulletin on a page called "Leo's Story." Greene also maintained a blog where he posted letters from readers.

PBS station KCET's "Life and Times" also profiled Greene.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Our condolences go out to Greene's family and to the Bulletin staff, where Greene was a beloved friend and mentor.

Hey, Debra - Where's My Apology?

Tim Scarne, aka DJ Timbo, wants an apology from Scripps College Dean of Students Debra Wood, after Wood fired off a hasty email a week ago in response a flier for a "White Party" at Claremont McKenna College. As we've noted, Wood, not knowing what a White Party was, termed it racist and sexist.

Scarne issued a press release yesterday calling for an apology from Wood:

Can't we all just get along?

DJ Timbo Seeks Apology from Scripps Dean of Students

LOS ANGELES -- A recent party hosted by the students at Claremont College in Claremont, Calif. was merely intended to help weary students blow off some steam, get their minds off exams and deadlines. The last thing organizers expected was a proposed boycott and tongue lashing by Scripps Dean of Students Debra Wood when an invitation landed on her desk.

A flier advertising the "White Party" was declared both racist and sexist by the Dean, herself a lawyer and mother of three. The invitation which was disseminated amongst nearby campuses and approved by 2010 Class President Isayas Theodros, an African-American, depicts the party's host in a 70s white leisure suit flanked by two go-go dancers. Many may also be familiar with the yearly event hosted by rapper P. Diddy, also called the White Party, where all guests are requested to wear white. Truman Capote also once hosted the Black and White Ball.

So what's all the fuss?

"I saw it as a celebration of music with a throw back to the Studio 54 era style photo shoot," says Tim Scarne, aka DJ Timbo, "I thought it was sexy but tasteful."

In an angry email fired off by Wood, she encourages other administrators to "take a similar stand against racism and sexism and communicate their anger and dismay to the CMC Class of 2010."

Upon meeting Scarne, the last word that comes to mind is "controversial." The 33-year-old San Fernando Valley resident, married to his grammar school sweetheart, now seeks an apology from the Dean.

"I'm concerned that if she doesn't respond, that she stands on her ground that I'm a racist, and I am not," he says. "Isn't this person supposed to known about Constitutional law and libel?"

Apparently the 1,000+ students who enjoyed the party were not offended by the fliers, the party or any of it and would like administrators to let them make up their own minds on what is racist. That's what college is all about.

--###--

For further information, please contact:
Tim Scarne
Aka DJ Timbo
818-652-2319

It has been pointed out that we've never posted the original e-mail from Dean Debra "Debbie Downer" Wood. It is shown below in its entirety, along with the offending flier art. Who knew that this story would have legs for a whole week? Our contacts among CMC and Scripps students pretty uniformly find Wood's take laughable. Some Scrippsies--oh oh! can't say that--tell us they attended the party only after the Dean's e-mail. They are bemused that the Washington Post picked it up.

Email from Debbie Downer:

From: "Official Scripps Student List" <All-STUDENT-L@Lists.ScrippsCollege.Edu>
To: "Official Scripps Student List" <All-STUDENT-L@Lists.ScrippsCollege.Edu>
Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:27:04 -0800
Subject: Racist/Sexist Material on Campus
Sometime in the last few days, the CMC class of 2010 left racist and sexist party invitations with what appears to be a racist party theme on the dining room tables at Scripps College, Malott Commons.

These invitations were not stamped approved and we do not know if any CMC staff knew of them or approved of them.

I will not describe the content of the invitations so as not to do any more harm or damage to women and African Americans than has already been done , as I suspect these invitations were deposited throughout one or more of The Colleges.

While principles of free speech may protect these students' rights to advertise in this manner, free speech is best exercised with common sense, intelligence and sensitivity. I am saddened and dismayed , and angered, that students in the year 2008 would use this kind advertising to promote a party. It harms not only women and African Americans, but all of us here at the colleges and undermines our educational efforts.

I urge any other campus which received these invites to take a similar stand against racism and sexism and communicate their anger and dismay to the CMC Class of 2010 through appropriate ways- such as not attending the party, writing letters to the class leadership and/or student news papers, and refusing to tolerate this kind of treatment of members of our communities.

The Scripps Dean of Students Staff, faculty members and members of the Diversity Coordinating Committee
( listed at http://www.scrippscollege.edu/about/diversity/index.php )
stand by to support members of our community, and support may be found at the
Office of Black Student Affairs and Chicano/Latino Student Affairs Center.

I have already communicated directly with the CMC Dean of Students so he is aware both of the invitations and the nature of them , and my strong feelings about the theme of this party and how people are depicted in the advertising for it.

College Blog News

Claremont McKenna College has a student blogger, Charles Johnson, who runs a site called The Claremont Conservative.

Johnson picked up on a Daily Bulletin story that reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that CMC's $200 million gift from alum Robert Day will not be affected by the SEC's current probe into Day's sale of stock in the French bank Société Générale.

Day sits on the Société Générale board, and he and two foundations Day is associated with sold $206 million worth of the company's stock within a short time before the bank announced a $7 billion loss due to the actions of a rogue trader. Day's spokeperson has denied any use of inside information led to the sales and confirmed the sales were made in part to fund the CMC gift.

* * *

Johnson also noted that the Washington Post's Emil Steiner has written about CMC's recent "White Party" flier incident involving Scripps College Dean of Students Debra Wood ("Debbie Downer" to some of the students):

OFF/Beat's Emil Steiner ripped me off!

So the national media in the form of The Washington Post has finally weighed in on the ridiculousness that is Dean Woods' reaction to the "White Party." Granted, they ripped the flyer from my website and didn't give me proper attribution. *starts muttering about the liberal media...* Don't they know that's bad blogging etiquette? For shame... (I'm being only partially serious.)

The Washington Post got a spokesperson for Scripps College on record for saying the following:

"You could see how the poster might be misinterpreted by someone."

No, I really cannot. Maybe an apology won't be forthcoming.

[Insider editorial note: Thanks and acknowledgment to Mr. Johnson for first posting the image of the flier in question, reproduced here.]

The Washington Post's Steiner thinks Wood's actions are award-worthy:

Interpretations aside, the party, held Saturday, was said to be "excellent," with more than 1,000 in attendance. Organizers attributed their success to Wood, "who publicized it better than we ever could."

For her misguided attempt at promoting open-mindedness, I am proud to award Debra Wood a nomination in OFF/beat's 2008 Idiot of the Year Awards.

* * *

We've rearranged our blog roll in the left hand margin and have added a category called "The Claremont Colleges." Besides The Claremont Conservative, we also have links to Pomona College's newspaper, The Student Life, the Claremont OTR blog, The Claremont Student, and the colleges' radio station, KSPC 88.9FM.

Baseline Affordable Housing Falling Apart

When we ended a recent post on the Claremont affordable rental housing with the phrase, "look for more turmoil", we were--as they say--prescient.

There are lots of rumors flying around town about some kind of divorce between the City and and Enhanced Affordable Development, "the contractor" that Mayor Yao referred to when he said, not so cryptically, "...If he won't do it, we'll find someone else..." (link here, or here, or here)

Maybe it was never going to happen that the City of Claremont and Enhanced Affordable Development would kiss and make up, after losing the $2 1/2 million dowry from the County that Enhanced was supposed to bring in. But does the City really have to dump its political garbage on them?

It ought to be the job of the crackerjack, dynamite, highly paid city staff to follow important agencies in the County upon whom its projects depend.

Let the finger-pointing begin!

Call Him Ishmael

David Allen has come back to tell the tale. Allen is reading, and enjoying, the Herman Melville novel "Moby-Dick," according to one of Allen's recent blog posts:

Well, at the one-month point, a progress report: I'm at page 243, out of 577, or Chapter 53 of 135. At this rate I'll finish by the end of March, which isn't bad; I initially thought it could take me to the end of April.

Did you know Barack Obama cites "Moby-Dick" and "Beloved" as his favorite books? When I read that, I suddenly became an Obama fan.

"Moby-Dick" is an amazing book -- there's a reason classics are classics -- although it's not what you would call a quick read, owing to long sentences filled with semi-colons that sometimes require a second or third reading to decipher. Some of the language is jaw-droppingly lyrical, though. My schedule is such that it's rare I can find even a half-hour a day to read it, further limiting my progress.

The Wikipedia entry for "Moby-Dick" notes that the 2002 Norton Critical Edition of "Moby-Dick" included this quote from a letter written to Richard Dana while Melville was working on his novel:

I am half way in the work ... It will be a strange sort of book, tho', I fear; blubber is blubber you know; tho' you might get oil out of it, the poetry runs as hard as sap from a frozen maple tree; — and to cool the thing up, one must needs throw in a little fancy, which from the nature of the thing, must be ungainly as the gambols of the whales themselves. Yet I mean to give the truth of the thing, spite of this.

Maybe a lesson to us all in this absurdly literal land of Claremont (no, the white whale isn't a racist comment). A columnist like Allen could probably confirm there's truth and poetry to be mined in even the most mundane human activity. The trick is to mine that poetry with respect, humility, and patience.

And the heck with the literalists. Truth is more than a simple agglomeration of facts, and art can help us find the way to understanding. As author Thomas Berger reminded us at the end of his novel "Arthur Rex":

Now to all the ladies of the world Guinevere and Morgan la Fey and the Lady of the Lake are exemplary, and these are the three who took King Arthur away in the barge, the not-so-wicked, the not-so-virtuous, and the supernatural.... But in these fair laps we must leave King Arthur, who was never historical, but everything he did was true.

Con Law 101

Good morning, Class. This morning we are going to take up the California Constitution, Article 34. Now before you nod off, or worse, click away to a more interesting website, you have to realize that this constitutional provision may have some applicability to affordable housing in Claremont when "developed" by the City.

Mayor Peter Yao gave away the game with his statement to the Daily Bulletin, reproduced here that, "[Enhanced Affordable Development] is a contractor. He does what we tell him to do. If he won't do it, we'll find someone else. He's not a key link in this project." Off with his head!

In other words, the City is developing this project and Enhanced Affordable Development is simply hired on to carry out certain aspects of the project.

Now, stay with us, Class, because this this is where it gets interesting.

Article 34 of the California Constitution puts a requirement on California cities before they build low-income rental housing in the community:

Section 1. No low rent housing project shall hereafter be developed, constructed, or acquired in any manner by any state public body [this includes the city of Claremont] until, a majority of the qualified electors of the city, town or county, as the case may be, in which it is proposed to develop, construct, or acquire the same, voting upon such issue, approve such project by voting in favor thereof at an election [emphasis added] to be held for that purpose, or at any general or special election.
The section quoted goes on to say this applies to "low-rent housing...financed in whole or in part by...a state public body [such as the city of Claremont]." Section 2 of the provision goes on to say, "The provisions of the Article shall be self-executing..." This means no additional legislation is really required. Low rent housing project plus state public body (Claremont) equals vote of the electors.

The Insider fails to see how this cannot apply to Claremont, given the Mayor's statement. Even if the key concept is "financing", how could the plan survive without a vote of the people if financed by the County (another state public body) through City of Industry Funds, the State (as has recently been bruited), or even from Claremont's own treasury? We understand there is a structure of legislation (Health and Safety Code sections 36000-36005 and sections 37000-37002, and possibly others) that narrows Article 34. There is also an edifice of case law built by tricky attorneys like Sonia Carvalho attempting to circumvent the clear meaning of this article.

It's pretty simple. If the City of Claremont is developing a low-rent housing project in Claremont, an Article 34 referendum is required. Why hasn't an election been scheduled? Think about it, Class, and we will meet again on Monday.

More CMC News

Claremont McKenna College is having a rough week.

First, there was the news yesterday that the CMC Associated Students received some criticism over their "white party" last weekend, which Scripps College Dean of Students Debra Wood considered racist and sexist.

Now CMC alum Robert Day, who back in September gave the school the gift of a $200 million endowment, is making headlines for a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Day's sale of a large amount of stock in French bank Société Générale in December and January.

Day is on the board of Société Générale.

On January 24th, Société Générale reported a loss of $7 billion as the result of the actions of trader Jerome Kerviel. An Associated Press article on Monday gave a timeline of the stock sales by Day and two foundations he is associated with:

According to filings last week in France, Day and the charitable foundations sold shares in Societe Generale on Jan. 9, Jan. 10 and Jan. 18. The bank says it launched an internal investigation on Jan. 18, after transactions by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel raised red flags. The stock sales by Day and the foundations totaled $206 million.

The bank made its bombshell-loss announcement on Jan. 24.

Day, through a spokesperson, denied any impropriety in the stock sales, according to the AP article:

The spokesman for Day, Josh Pekarsky, said in an e-mailed statement: "Mr. Day and his family's trusts and charitable foundations sold Societe Generale shares in December and January, which was a window of time where such trades were permitted under Societe Generale's trading policies. All required government disclosures were made. No inside information was used in any way with respect to these sales. Mr. Day has pledged his cooperation into any inquiries of this matter."

An article in the British newspaper The Guardian yesterday indicated Société Générale doesn't believe that Day used any inside information to prompt the stock sales:

SocGen has defended Day, saying that he had not been advised of Kerviel's trading losses at the time of his sale of stock - nor was he aware of write-downs related to sub-prime mortgages which, SocGen said, were presented to its board on January 20.

New Directions at Scripps

Parody Alert, for the humor-challenged

This morning's post about the misapprehension by Scripps College Dean of Students Debra Wood concerning the "white party" hosted at Claremont McKenna put us in mind of another politically incorrect situation at Scripps last fall that fortunately was squelched before before seeing the light of day.

It seems the Public Information staff was working on a cover for the Fall number of Scripps Magazine, and was stumped on what sort of illustration to use. The Insider, through our usual habit of dumpster diving, found an early draft of the cover which arguably carries the theme "New Directions" even better than the one that was used, shown reduced in size at the left. We guess the first draft was a little too "out there" for the College that styles itself "The Women's College".

Never one to avoid a cheap shot, nor willing to avoid piling on when an institution is already making itself look silly, we disclose, for the first time, a worldwide exclusive, the original draft cover to the Fall, 2007, Scripps Magazine:

End Parody Alert.

Ms. Wood, you may now begin again taking seriously everything the Insider says.

Don't Forget to Vote

Happy Super Tuesday, readers. Remember to get out and cast your ballot if you haven't already. If you don't know where your polling place is, click here for the L.A. County Registrar of Voter's website and enter your address. Or call (800) 215-2666 for information.

Walk Scoring Claremont

I'm walkin', yes indeed I'm talkin'....

- Antoine "Fats" Domino

Centinel over at the Foothill Cities Blog turned us onto a website called walkscore.com where anyone can measure the walkability index of any given location in the U.S.

Walk Score explains its raison d'être:

Why Walking Matters

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our health, the environment, and our communities.

Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood. Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15 - 45.

Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero pollution transportation machines.

More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car!

Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for each 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10 percent.

Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It's easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don't need to drive between destinations.

And here's how they figure their scores:

How It Works

Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Check out how Walk Score doesn't work.

What does my score mean?

Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. The walkability of an address depends on how far you are comfortable walking—after all, everything is within walking distance if you have the time. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:

• 90 - 100 = Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
• 70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It's possible to get by without owning a car.
• 50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
• 25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
• 0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

How it Works

Walk Score™ uses a patent-pending system to calculate the walkability of an address based on:

• Calculating a score for each of these locations.
• The distance to walkable locations near an address.
• Combining these scores into one easy to read Walk Score.

Centinel typed in the address for Pasadena City Hall and got a walkability score of 98 out of 100.

We picked up Centinel's idea and thought we'd apply it to Claremont's Base Line Rd. affordable housing project, which is on its deathbed begging for a Do Not Resuscitate order.

We went to walkscore.com and first entered "Towne Ave. and Base Line Rd., Claremont, CA," the rough location of the Base Line Rd. project being pushed by the Claremont League of Women Voters, Mayor Peter Yao, and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Taylor. Walk Score kicked out a walkability index of 19 out of 100 for the project area - a very poor score:

Click on Image to Enlarge

In contrast to Towne Ave. and Base Line Rd., typing "111 S. College Ave., Claremont, CA," the old Claremont Courier building location and possible alternate site for the affordable housing project, produced a walkability index of 89 out of 100, an almost ideal total on the Walk Score scale:

Click on Image to Enlarge

So, for all their talk about sustainability (that means YOU, Bob Tener), by insisting on jamming the affordable housing project into the Base Line Rd. site, the Claremont 400, the Claremont's League of Women Voters, and the City of Claremont are demonstrating through their actions that they aren't really interested in reducing car trips, encouraging use of mass transit and walking, or helping local businesses by placing new, denser housing near the areas with the most shopping and restaurants - all those things that are aspects of REAL sustainability.

It's time, we think, for them to put their money where they mouths are.

Communication Breakdown

What we have here is a failure to communicate - achromatically....

Will Bigham in the Daily Bulletin reports that the Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College are in hot water over party flyer they circulated for a "white party" - that is, a party where everyone was supposed to come dressed in white.

Apparently, Scripps College Dean of Students Debra Wood took that to be an invitation to racism and sexism and said as much in an email she sent to Scripps students last week.

In her e-mail, Wood said the fliers promoted a "racist party theme." She urged Scripps students to boycott the party, and write letters of protest to student leaders and campus newspapers. Bigham reported:

"I am saddened and dismayed, and angered, that students in the year 2008 would use this kind (of) advertising to promote a party," said Wood in the e-mail sent Friday. "It harms not only women and African Americans, but all of us here at the colleges and undermines our educational efforts."

The party, hosted by the Associated Students of Claremont McKenna College, was held Saturday night in a large tent erected on one of the campus fields.

The disc jockey who performed at the event and contributed the images on the flier said he was "kind of astounded" when he learned of Wood's objections.

Tim Scarne, who performs as DJ Timbo, said the "white party" theme "meant you were supposed to wear all white because there were supposed to be black lights."

"Where the racism came in I have no idea, other than the theme of the party was misconstrued," he added.

"And sexist? I'd say sexy. I'll meet them halfway on that."

Wood's a little behind the times. Doesn't she know we're supposed to be in the post-racial world now? This sort of thoughtspeak business is getting a little out-of-hand, not to mention laughable.

LWV Soirée Set for Feb. 9th

Come to the Claremont League of Women Voters' annual gala fundraising auction Saturday, February 9th, at 5:30pm in the Alexander Hughes Community Center at 1700 Danbury Rd.

This year's theme is "Under the Tuscan Moon." According to the Daily Bulletin's Suzanne Sproul, you'll have a chance to sample the wares of aspiring Claremont celebrity chef Diann Ring. (You Insiders may want to hire tasters.)

The event costs $55 per person. You can call (909) 964-3187 to get more information.

Sproul's article quoted League development chair Carlynne McDonnell:

"Being in this organization is really part of a legacy. My mother was very active and believed in participation. I do, too, and I encourage people to be active in the electoral process. I believe very strongly in the idea of one voice, one vote, and that that concept matters," McDonnell said.

Naturally, McDonnell didn't bother to tell the Bulletin that the one voice, the one vote, that matters is the League's.

The artice also explained the League's self-image:

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that aims to help educate the public and encourage citizens to participate in government on all levels. Contrary to its name, the nonprofit organization is open to women and men and has been very active in the Inland Valley. It provides unbiased information through its voters service/citizen education program. The group prides itself on its nonpartisan status, but its members do study issues and will debate for or against particular policies.

As we've explained before, we believe the League's actions belie Sproul's description. For instance, as to the League's being "very active in the Inland Valley," a glance at their recent newsletters shows the Claremont League's activities are confined pretty much to Claremont.

The League doesn't seem much interested in what affects other cities like Alta Loma, Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, Glendora, La Verne, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, even though their website lists those places as being in their service area.

We won't even get into the partisanship nature of the Claremont LWV here, but we will note that truth in advertising laws may force the League to change its monthly newsletter name from the Voter to the Yenta.

LWV, Claremont: the names and slogan say it all:

[SELF-] SERVING THE PEOPLE OF Alta Loma, Chino, Chino Hills, CLAREMONT, Diamond Bar, Glendora, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas, Upland, California

Aikido Classes Offered

Musubi Dojo
1420 N. Claremont Blvd, Suite 204 A
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 624-7770

Photo: Originally uploaded by Rob Myers, aikidoclubucr.wikispaces.com

Abbie at aiki.com sent us a note a while ago (sorry for not getting this posted sooner, Abbie):

How about something on Aikido: Claremont has been the home of Musubi Dojo, a school of Aikido for 30 years. What a service it provides to the community would be a great angle.

Abbie, aiki.com

We don't know much about aikido, but we've met a few people over the years who've practiced this martial art, which from what we've been told is as much about a life philosophy and a way of looking at the world as it about self-defense. The Musubi Dojo's website has this to say about their discipline:

The deep philosophy of Aikido surrounds its practice. Everything around us has meaning and part of being awake is to understand and appreciate what that is. So, for instance, the hakama’s (the large pleated skirt/pants that is a part of the Aikido uniform) is not just a part of the Aikido uniform but a constant reminder of Aikido’s traditional values. Each of the 7 pleats of the hakama stand for one of the following virtues: courage, self-control, loyalty, piety, friendliness, wisdom, and courtesy. It is thought that those who manage to bring their attention to the meaning of their uniform will carry these values into their Aikido practice as well. Waking students up to their responsibility to foster this same attitude off the mat in their daily lives is a conscious aim of Musubi Dojo’s founders.

The dojo also offers yoga classes. We don't know if they offer musubis for you fans of Hawaiian cuisine.

Photo: Originally uploaded by Kendall '10, uscbloggers.com

Hip Kitty Reviewed

Meg over at M-M-M-MyPomona has a nice write-up of the Hip Kitty Jazz Club located in the Packing House in the Claremont Village Expansion.

Meg tells us that the night she went in, the place was crowded and lively. Meg writes that she's been there before and wasn't too impressed, but on this visit, the entertainment, fondue, and drinks were just fine, thank you:

The first plate of words I have to eat is the business prospects of the place: As the song goes, that joint was jumpin'. And it was jumpin' with clientele that one doesn't usually see in Claremont -- longhairs, hipsters, Fred Sanford clones, all sorts of folks. It was a pretty good vibe overall. It was an open jam night (maybe they all are, I dunno), and even for non-jazz fans like us, it was entertaining watching the anthropology of each song and set. And the music seemed pretty good too.

Hip Kitty still doesn't seem like a bar run by experienced professionals, but our fondue was mighty tasty. They have four different choices of cheese fondue (as well as other fondues -- meat, chocolate, etc.), but we went with the classic -- gruyère, garlic, and brandy. (Yes, I know, it should be kirschwasser, but the brandy was just fine.) It was served with teacups full of breadcubes; apples & grapes; and broccoli florets & carrot fingers. The bread was the tastiest; I ended up just nibbling on the other things sans cheese.

There's room for discussion over on Meg's post, so check it out and leave your opinion.

Hip Kitty Jazz Club
502 W. First St.
Claremont, CA 91711
(909) 447-6700

Marijuana News

Claremont's City Council may want to rethink it's consideration of a city ordinance regulating marijuana dispensaries in town.

The Los Angeles Daily News, a sister paper of the Daily Bulletin, had an article yesterday about a former dispensary owner pleading guilty to federal narcotics and money laundering charges:

Larry Roger Kristich, 65, who returned from Costa Rica last summer after being indicted, pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to one count of maintaining drug-involved premises and one count of promotional money laundering. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Kristich also agreed to forfeit more than $1.2 million cash generated by sales at his stores.

Kristich pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Manuel Real, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for April 21.

From 2002 through 2005, Kristich owned and operated Compassionate Caregivers, which had marijuana stores in Oakland, San Francisco, San Leandro, West Hollywood (which operated under the name The Yellow House), San Diego, Bakersfield and Ukiah. These stores sold marijuana, marijuana plants, THC-laced edible products (including candy bars, cookies and soda pop), and THC tinctures. Kristich was president of the company, which employed more than 200 people as growers, clone cultivators, drivers, directors, store managers, retail sellers (referred to as "budtenders") and security guards.

Kristich admitted that sales of marijuana and THC products at Compassionate Caregivers' stores totaled over $95 million. Kristich also admitted that he laundered more than $50 million of such drug proceeds.

Claremont's current city council currently has a three-person majority in favor a medical marijuana ordinance. Councilmembers Ellen Taylor, Linda Elderkin and Sam Pedroza have indicated in the past they may be willing to allow a dispensary in town.

In an unrelated Daily News article reporter Jason Kandel reported on violent takeover robberies occurring at San Fernando Valley marijuana dispensaries. In these instances, the employees of the dispensaries were innocent victims of robbers who targeted the clinics with the assumption that they generate pretty good cash flow as well as stocking a resaleable commodity, things that Larry Kristich could confirm.

Kandel's article said:

STUDIO CITY - Police today were searching for two men involved in an armed takeover robbery of a Studio City medical marijuana dispensary that netted the crooks $4,500 in cash and an unknown amount of pot, police said this morning.

Two men, described as African American, one armed with a shotgun, the other with a pistol, entered Wellness Caregivers on Ventura Boulevard about 1:30 yesterday, and ordered three employees to the floor, said Los Angeles Police Detective Joe Esquivel. One gunman tied up two employees with duct tape and locked them in a back room, while the second gunman took the manager room-to-room, seizing cash and pot, before taking off, Esquivel said.

No one was injured in the heist and no description of the gunmen was available. Nobody saw a getaway car. Police were hoping to retrieve surveillance video today.

Latest in string of heists

It was the latest in a string of similar heists in the San Fernando Valley -- at least the 14th such Valley robbery in the last two years. It comes as a Los Angeles medical-marijuana dispensary owner has installed a vending machine that offers up to an ounce of pot per week to pre-approved patients.

The outlets have become so prevalent - there are at least 232 in the city, 110 in the Valley - that late last year the LAPD put together a database of crimes that occur at or near them. Besides the 14 robberies, police have recorded more than 63 violent or major property crimes committed at these facilities in the last two years.

"There's a lot of crime associated with these places," said Los Angeles police Lt. Tom Murrell of the Devonshire Division, which investigated the Granada Hills incident. "It's becoming more and more prominent."

Jason Kandel also wrote about the robberies on the Daily News' Crime Blog:

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that when you have pot and cash at unsecured businesses - pot clinics - you're going to have a cottage industry of takeover robberies. The violence is making life hell for pot clinic employees, giving police more work, and in return forcing taxpayers to fork over more money to combat the problem.

It's unsurprising that the Claremont Police Dept. is against dispensaries opening in town. Not only might they have to monitor compliance issues, but they also might have to respond to these sorts of robbery incidents.

Of course, it's not like Claremont hasn't had these things happen without marijuana being involved.

College Crime Watch

Will Bigham in yesterday's Daily Bulletin reported that an on-campus gay and lesbian student support center at Pomona College was vandalized with a fire extinguisher Thursday.

At this point, there is apparently nothing to indicate that this was a hate-crime incident. Bigham's article stated:

A Pomona College spokeswoman said there is no evidence to indicate the Queer Resource Center of the Claremont Colleges was specifically targeted for political reasons.

The powder from the extinguisher was set to be cleaned up at the center Thursday.

An open house scheduled for Thursday evening was expected to proceed as planned, said Cynthia Peters, Pomona College spokeswoman.

A kitchen area adjacent to the center, located on the Pomona College campus at Walton Commons, was also vandalized, Peters said.

"Early reports are that most of the extinguisher was released in the kitchen," she said.

College officials have learned from past experience to allow these sorts of things to be investigated fully before making any pronouncements about the perpetrators' motives. As we all know, Claremont has been the scene of hate-crimes in the past, both real and imagined.

Yao Held Hostage by Affordable Housing Proponents

HOSTAGE CRISIS - DAY 332

Claremont Mayor Peter Yao remains held hostage by the Claremont League of Women Voters (LWV) and an assortment of Claremont power brokers, including former Police Commissioner Helaine Goldwater.

331 days have passed since Yao was re-elected to the Claremont City Council on March 6, 2007. Yao won by admittedly relying on the help of Goldwater and other Claremont 400 members to win election. In return, he has had to support a number of indefensible, irrational positions - the Base Line Rd. affordable housing project, the Claremont Off-Track Trolley, and others - that Goldwater, et. al. have pushed down the throats of Claremonters.

In the latest twist, as we've written the past few days, the Base Line Rd. project is on life-support because the developer, Marc Gelman at Enhanced Affordable Development, has lost out on $2.5 million in L.A. County grant money.

The county agency in charge of doling out the affordable housing money has instituted a policy of not allowing the county money to be given to projects within 500 feet of a freeway.

As we've noted time and again, the Base Line project is entirely within 500 feet of the 210 Freeway, and the project's environmental report cited the concerns raised by a USC Keck School of Medicine study finding that children growing up near freeways and major highways are likely to have impaired lung development as adults.

The Claremont LWV and Goldwater, in their irrational, stubborn insistence that this project be placed on the site at Base Line and Towne Ave. in northwest Claremont, have ignored the 10-year long USC study and have acted as if it did not exist. They have also refused to consider any alternative sites (of which there are several), and have actively worked to have alternative sites removed as possibilities.

Mayor Yao and Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Taylor (the real power on the council given her friendship with Goldwater) will not work to get an alternative project going, even though Yao must know that without county money the Base Line Rd. project is almost certainly dead in the water. We've come to expect intransigence from Taylor (pictured at left in her royal regalia), but we would think that Yao, who originally ran as something of a reformer in the wake of the Irvin Landrum shooting, would be more reasonable and open-minded.

Yet, an article by Will Bigham in today's Daily Bulletin indicates that Yao may want to push forward with the Base Line site, even if it means using $2.5 million in city funds:

Mayor Peter Yao disputed Gelman's response to the loss in funding, calling it a "premature conclusion."

"[Gelman is] a contractor," Yao said. "He does what we tell him to do. If he won't do it, we'll find someone else. He's not a key link in this project."

Yao said the city could contribute the $2.5 million from property taxes collected by its redevelopment agency. He also indicated that money may be available from state sources.

"Clearly, what we have to do is find a source of funding for that missing $2.5 million," Yao said. "If we can't over come that hurdle, then we'll have to consider an alternative."

Centinel at the FC Blog picked up on Yao's comments regarding Gelman in a post today:

Hmm. If I was Marc Gelman, I believe my response would be something like this: “Wow, what a jerk.”

Seriously, if this isn’t an expression of the petty arrogance of city officials, I don’t know what is. “Damn the torpedos, the county funding rules, the EIR, the USC report, the community opposition, the poor children who will grow up asthmatic, and the underlying premise of affordable housing (I subsidize your housing through taxes so that employers don’t have to pay you better wages); I want an affordable housing project and I’m going to get it, because I AM PETER YAO!”

Actually, Centinel, Yao's behavior is pretty easy to explain. It's Stockholm Syndrome. Poor guy, he's going Patty Hearst on us.

Or has having been mayor for two years gone to Yao's head? (Another nod to the Claremont 400, for brokering a deal to support Yao for mayor another year in return for control of his vote.) Perhaps he's forgotten he is an elected official and has fallen into an authoritarian way of thinking. Yao's certainly acting as if the city would follow him on a forced march if he ordered one.

Well, one thing's for sure, Yao's willingness to use Claremont redevelopment funds for the Base Line project will require him using his position as chairman of the Claremont Redevelopment Agency to free up the money. Chairman? Yao? Hmmm....