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Arcadia WEEKLY arcadiaweekly.com
Thursday, JULY 21 - JULY 27, 2011
Community News, Arts & Opinions Since 1996
READERS CHOICE 2011
V TE ONLINE
(THIS WEEK VOTE ON PAGE 16)
Volume XXXI, No. XXVII
Pasadena’s Plethora of Toads Halts County Debris Removal Project Monrovia Agrees to Pay ‘Ransom’ to the State to Save Redevelopment BY SUSAN MOTANDER The only real action taken by the Monrovia City Council at their July 19 meeting was the vote taken to pay the state what has come to be referred to as a “Ransom” or “Extortion Payment” to the save its Redevelopment Agency. The action was required by the current State Budget. The Council’s Action
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A plethora of tiny frogs and toadlets, while difficult to see thanks to nature’s camouflage, have been observed at Johnson’s Field north of Devils Gate Dam has halted debris removal, at least temporarily. – Photo by Terry Miller
BY MICHELLE R. BROWN LA County’s major project to remove built up debris from Devil’s Gate Dam in Pasadena has been halted due to an infestation of toads on Johnson Field, the proposed temporary holding site for the debris. Johnson Field will play
host to 15,000 cubic yards of sediment while the County completes an Environmental Impact Survey and decides on a permanent solution for the built up debris and green waste. According to Pasadena City Engineer Dan Rix,
the City was first informed of a toad problem at the June 13 City Council meeting. They then contacted the county, who hired Chambers Group, Inc., an environmental consulting group to send out a team of biologists to investigate
State Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Grocery Workers Dismissing claims by the California grocery industry, the state Supreme Court today upheld the right of local governments to protect the jobs of grocery employees following an ownership change. The 6-1 ruling overturns an appeals court decision and reinstated a Los Angeles ordinance that had been challenged by the grocery industry. In rejecting the industry’s case, the Court ruled that the ordinance “is fully consistent with both the state and federal equal protection clauses” and is not preempted by state or federal law governing
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the field and provide a Biological Resource Survey. According to the Survey, “Hundreds of oneinch newly emerged toadlets were observed in areas with drying soils.” The survey also investigated other wildlife, vegetation, and
birds that could inhabit the area but found very few plants and no nesting birds. Though Common Western Toads, or bufo boreas are not an en-
Bob Guthrie Named Chief of Arcadia PD, Officially
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Monrovia is a Business Friendly Town – Complete with Concierge BY SUSAN MOTANDER
Union grocery workers threatened to strike last month over reduced health benefits. – Photo by Terry Miller
Dan Bacani, a local commercial real estate broker appeared at the July 5 City Council Meeting to praise the City for its cooperative effort in working with WorleyParsons to find and help set up its new regional headquarters here in Monrovia. The council dutifully thanked Bacani for his part in arranging the deal. This is the sixth property for WorleyParsons in Monrovia and will be located on West Lemon Avenue in part of the building which used to house Barry’s Jewelers. The other locations are all along Huntington Drive in what has come to be called the “High Tech Corridor.”
According to Bacani part of the reason he has been able to market properties in Monrovia so easily is that the city cooperates as fully as possible to accommodate businesses. He cited several businesses which have moved to the community recently. One of those he noted after the meeting was Oto Oto Izakaya Japonaise. a high end Japanese restaurant which recently established its first U.S. location at 929 West Huntington Drive in the shopping center at the corner of Huntington and 5th Avenue. The parent company has more than 150
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Robert Gutherie has been selected at Arcadia’s Chief of Police – Photo by Terry Miller
Arcadia City Manager, Don Penman has announced that Robert Guthrie is now the new chief of police, officially, for the city of Arcadia. “ I was impressed with his commitment to public service…” Penman told the Arcadia Weekly. He added that Guthrie is a “well-rounded and enthusiastic individual who
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