“Living in Heaven”
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 VOLUME 14, NO. 77
Monrovia Rotary to Host Annual Talent Show
Settlement Ends Former Jailer’s Lawsuit
On the evening of Saturday, October 3rd, The Rotary Club of Monrovia will be hosting “Monrovia’s Got Talent”. They are searching for performers to compete for the title of the most talented act in town, a title that comes with a $500 grand prize. Rotary leaders say that they are looking for musicians, dancers, comedians, and entertainers of any and all kinds, but that the material should be suitable for those of all audiences and ages. Last year’s show was a huge success, with some 300 people attending to see the fifteen acts that made it through a rigorous screening process and onto the big stage. Those performers donated their time and their talents to help raise money for the Monrovia Rotary Charitable foundation, a foundation which in turn supports many area charities. A few examples of how the proceeds were spent this year include a $10,000 donation to furnish the children’s section of Monrovia’s new library, $10,000 in college scholarships to Monrovia High School graduates, As-
A settlement agreement with a former Monrovia Police Department jailer has resulted in dismissal of a lawsuit against the City. The plaintiff is voluntarily dismissing his lawsuit “with prejudice,” and is therefore barred from making any future claims related to the case. Rudy Ramirez, 26, filed the civil suit in May 2008, claiming that Police Sergeant Daniel Verna sexually abused Ramirez in 2000, six years before Ramirez became employed with the City of Monrovia. In response to the allegations in the complaint, the City requested that the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department conduct an investigation to determine if any criminal activity had taken place. To date, no charges have been filed against Verna. In the lawsuit, Ramirez also alleged that Verna sexually harassed him during his employment. However, Ramirez never filed any complaints with the City while he was employed there. Ramirez was released from probationary employ-
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-Photo By Terry Miller
1100 Young Women ( and a few good men) Try out for Annual Rose Court BY TERRY MILLER
The annual Rose Queen & Royal Court Tryouts were held Saturday and Monday at Tournament House. More than 1,000 Pasadena-area young women and a few good men tried out hoping to become a part of Pasadena history as they participated in
Governor Thwarts Eviction of Disabled Monrovia Residents
this unique selection process. Seven finalists will be named to the Royal Court in the coming weeks. Of course, as predictable and as timely as the Parade itself - a handful of Arcadia High School boys tried out once again for the coveted Rose Court. One contestant
said “It takes a lot of courage for boys to enter” the prestigious Royal Court tryouts. Doubtful as it is that a male will be selected on the court, one hopeful said he did it to “meet girls” and another just wanted an “official” TOR photo with the bouquet of Roses.
“It’s a Beautiful Night In London”
As the young women waited for their turn to say a few words and give their first impressions to the TOR Committee on the south lawn of Tournament House, reigning Rose Queen and Arcadia resident Courtney Lee and her court gave the hopefuls a few
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JUDGE LANCE ITO PRESIDES IN PASADENA POLITICAL CAUCUS Pasadena Women’s Political Caucus Offers Unique Look at How Judges Get their Jobs
Frank Gallagher with the Pasadena Independent in hand on top the Plinth
BY JOHN STEPHENS AND TERRY MILLER
Following the appearance of an article in the Los Angeles Times last week, as well as an article printed nearly three weeks prior in this paper, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared
Friday morning at the Regency Court building in Monrovia where he announced his plans to stop the evictions. Regency Court Tenants
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In his thick Irish dialect and with absolute joy of life and passion in his heart, Pasadena artist Frank Gallagher took the internet world by stor m at mid-
night (GMT) Wednesday as friends and family watched from home and all around the world via the internet. With a copy of last week’s Pasadena Independent in hand and on parade for
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-Photo By Terry Miller
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Priceless Computer and Beacon Media Award Second Computer to Local Family In the second week of the Beacon Media/Priceless Computer Back to School Computer Giveaway, our winner comes from Monrovia High School, a place where, as Francisco Baltazar
says in his essay, computers are becoming more and more necessary to complete assignments and keep up with studies. Francisco comes from a large family, seven of them in
all, including four brothers, a little sister, and their parents. Just before deadline on Wednesday, the whole family came by the offices of Beacon Media to pick up their new computer, the first such
tool in their household. In addition to working hard in school, Francisco also plays in a band, so one of his first destinations through his new computer’s web browser was to YouTube,
where he showed us a video they had made of one of their songs. Francisco’s entire family was thankful for the computer, much like all of us at Beacon Media are thankful
to Priceless Computer in San Gabriel and the hard work they put in to make this project possible. Because no one can say it better than Francisco him-
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