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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 - OCTOBER 21, 2009 VOLUME 14, NO. 42
AND THEN, THERE WERE SEVEN
Mosca Voted Out as Delegate to Council of Governments BY SAMEEA KAMAL
- Photo by Terry Miller
Continuing our quest to make certain that every child in the San Gabriel Valley has the tools necessary for a modern education, Beacon Media and Priceless Computer recently awarded Valerie Cervantes of Monrovia a new computer. Valerie, a sixth grader at Clifton Middle School, told us that her computer she has been using was purchased more than ten years ago and that she was unable to complete her school assignments
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(l-r) Princess Ashley Thaxton, Princess Kinsey Stuart, Princess Katherine Hernández, Princess Michelle Van Wyk, Princess Natalie Innocenzi, Princess June Ko and Princess Lauren Rogers -Photo By Terry Miller
Full Coverage on Page 12
At last night’s meeting, the Sierra Madre City Council designated Don Watts and MaryAnn MacGillivray to serve as delegate and alternate to the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, ousting Councilman Joe Mosca from the position mid-term. Mayor MacGillivray and Mayor Pro Tem Watts attended a meeting of the Council of Governments recently, which the mayor said was an interesting exercise. Though Mr. Watts had his complaints, saying he had felt that there was little opportunity for the city to have a voice in the Council of Governments. He said he felt that Sierra Madre representatives were outnumbered and outvoted in the organization that represents 87 cities throughout Southern California. “I tend to agree, but we have to try,” MacGillivray said. Joe Mosca, who formerly
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Baldwin: Successful Rancher; Big-time Bon-vivant; Founder of Arcadia Alverno Neighbors Question School's “Hell, we’re giving away the land. We’re selling the climate” – Lucky Baldwin
Usage Negotiations Await School Review
BY BILL PETERS
W hen Elias Jackson “Lucky” Baldwin acquired the Rancho Santa Anita in 1875, the region was very rural with small populations. Even in Pasadena, the Indiana Colony, formed in 1873, was focused on growing citrus and walnuts, not towns and population. But in a mere 10 years all that changed. Pasadena, incorporated in 1886 had a population of almost 9,000—its incorporation spurred by citizen’s attempts to rid the city of saloons. Real estate was selling and by 1886 a real estate boom was in full swing. Baldwin, a successful rancher and Northern California businessman, saw opportunity in land. Ever the visionary and risk-taking entrepreneur, he signed a contract with the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad Co. in 1885 to bring a line to the ranch—and that would bring buyers to his de-
"Compatibility" with Residential Area
Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin, a successful entrepreneur and the founder of the City of Arcadia.
velopment dreams. The line reached Santa Anita Ave. in 1886, just in time for Baldwin and his business manager Hyram Unruh to open properties to the public under the development name, “Baldwin”. Monrovia, just to the east, was a bustling center of land sales, but the Baldwin development for unknown reasons simply died. Unruh and Baldwin tried the scheme again in 1887, first with an announced name of “Live Oak”, but as the sales office opened, the development name was changed to “Arcadia” perhaps to extol the virtues of country living over expanding cities such as Los Angeles and Pasadena. This time, Baldwin was successful as 400 lots were sold in four days and almost sold out by April of 1887. “Hell”, Baldwin was thought to have said, “We’re giving away the land. We’re selling the climate!” according to Sandy Snider and
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BY SAMEEA KAMAL
Some neighbors recall the early days of Alverno High School as a convent, where the sound of nuns singing would reverberate through the neighborhood. Today, the sounds are not quite as harmonious to nearby residents, and their negotiations with the school’s administration is continuing to attempt to address the noise and traffic issues caused by the school’s renting our of its facilities for events, among other concerns. Residents affected by the school’s facility rentals say the current administration has not adequately considered their needs and made the necessary changes to ensure their quality of life. “While neighbors know that every school needs to have fund raising events, the
use of the Villa has become excessive to the detriment of the neighborhood,” said Carolyn Simon, one of the residents who lives across from the eastern border of the private Catholic school for girls. The current negotiations came about when the school applied to the city for a conditional use permit to legitimize their fundraising activities. Neighbors felt little had changed even after years of complaints to the school and a lawsuit filed by a Pasadena resident who won her case. “It’s essentially a wedding and event catering business which is not compatible with a residential neighborhood,” she said. “The conditional use permit was for a day school, an academy with specific rules … like the gate must be
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