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monroviaweekly.com
THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 - JANUARY 20, 2010 VOLUME 15, NO. 03
Playground Reopens in Library Park
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Mayor’s State of Adams Will Not Monrovia: It Was Seek Re-Election the Worst of Times, But We Made the Best of Them BY SUSAN MOTANDER
Teacher of the Year, for her selection as one of four 2010 National Teacher of the Year finalists. Kovacic is the daugh-
Mayor Mary Ann Lutz, in her first State of the City address, stressed the challenges of the past year and the progress the city had made despite the difficulties presented by the economy. Among the comments was “when things get rough and times get tough, we need to pull together and we can make it and prosper.” Lutz notes that the work of the city was no the effort of the council alone or of the city staff and council, but rather a collaborative effort of all the elements of the community. She called it “Team Monrovia” saying “These partnerships were forged in tough times and have lasted and grown over the years to become the bedrock of Monrovia’s success; the foundation for the work that has shaped and improved the lives of so many of our citizens. She pointed out that there was a positive side to difficult economic times. “Ironically, there is a benefit to an economic crisis,” she said. “It forces you to focus on your priorities,” The priorities which she said she, the rest of the council and the city staff were: • Focusing on respecting and preserving Monrovia’s historical character and quality of life. • Keeping the city safe • Keeping the infrastructure strong • Maintaining Monrovia’s financial stability and footing • Doing the job efficiently and effectively. The majority of her address was a delineation of the successes of the city on these five goals and values. The entire speech can be read on-line and can also be seen on KGEM’s community access station. There were no substantive differences from the speech as written and as delivered. The speech did not ignore the problems of the year. The mayor pointed out that several large revenue producers were lost in the last year including
Citing the “outpouring of support” for him, Adams said he is confident that he would have won a re-election bid in spite of the massive recall effort last year. Adams said that support for his assembly seat was overwhelming during the recall effort. In a statement Adams said: “The decision to leave the legislature was a difficult one as I have enjoyed and been honored to represent the people of San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties. But, I’m at a time in my life where I’d like to move on to new challenges and new opportunities. Announcing my decision not to run for re-election at this time will give ample notice to potential candidates in AD 59 and it will give voters plenty of time to sort out who will best represent them in 2011 and beyond. In making this announcement, I want to thank all who stood beside me during the failed effort to recall me. I appreciate the words of encouragement, endorsement and financial support and wish I had time to thank everyone in person who voiced support.” In October, Adams was at the forefront of a recall effort, because Adams voted this year for a budget deal that included raising taxes something Adams pledged he would never do. “Announcing my decision not to run for re-election at this time will give ample notice to potential candidates in (Assembly District) 59 and it will give voters plenty of time to sort out who will best represent them in 2011 and beyond,” Adams, R-Hesperia, said in a statement after informing the Assembly Republican Caucus
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Oliver Sherman, 3 1/2, got a little too close to the oversized ceremonial scissors during the ribbon cutting ritual for the long-awaited grand opening of the Monrovia Library playground. Oliver, who quickly got over his wound, and about 30 of his fellow kids ran to be the first to enjoy the new equipment. - Photo by Terry Miller BY SUSAN MOTANDER
Library Park has not had a playground since construction began on the new library in December of 2007. With the ribbon cutting for the new play area last Saturday, that situation has been remedied. Children of Monrovia:
Rejoice. For months the whole park was locked behind a construction fence. Then when the library opened, there was still no play equipment. The equipment is now finally in place thanks to County Supervisor Mike Antonovich.
“Supervisor Antonovich is committed to education and health for our youth,” said the supervisor’s aide, Jay Gomez. “You have a state of the art library which is now joined by state of the art playground equipment. This is a great way for our young people to
spend their time when not in school.” There were not enough funds in the city’s budget to build the play area and the library bond issue monies could not be used for such an area. Antonovich came to the city’s
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Kelly Kovacic Selected as a County Sheriff Endorses Arcadia Council Candidate National Teacher of the Year Finalist Last week local attorney Jason Lee announced that Los Angeles County’s Sheriff Lee Baca had decided to endorse his candidacy for a seat on the Arcadia City Council. Lee said that as the leader of the largest Sheriff’s department in the nation, serving more than ten million people
under his jurisdiction in the greater Los Angeles Area, Baca’s endorsement carried significant weight in regards to issues of public safety. Lee has said that he intends to increase police patrols and presence as well as recruit community volun-
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Recognized in November as a California Teacher of the Year, Kovacic is One of Four Finalists for National Award This week State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell congratulated Kelly Kovacic, recently selected as a 2010 California
Adams BY TERRY MILLER