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Monrovia WEEKLY monroviaweekly.com
Thursday, December 23 - December 29, 2010
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Volume XV, No. XXXXV
Sierra Madre Battles Minor Mudslides 200 Residents Show
Strong Opposition To County Plan To Cut Down 11 Acres Of Trees In Arcadia BY TERRY MILLER The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (DPW) public meeting to discuss the Santa Anita Sediment Removal Project attracted over 200 people on Thursday evening. According to former planning Commissioner Glen Owens, the battle over the 11 acres of trees is one of
Sierra Madre Public Works Department employees clear mudflow from Skyland Drive Wednesday morning - Photos by Terry Miller
of the dam, both for flood control and for groundwater recharge. For this reason, District staff has been working on a program to remove the silt and relocate it to Districtowned sediment placement sites below the dam. The District’s Santa Anita Dam sediment removal project includes an eleven-acre mature oak woodland. Several individuals have contacted my office with con-
City Returns to Green Flag Alert after Storms Subside Parking Restrictions Lifted BY SUSAN MOTANDER The City of Sierra Madre is on Yellow Flag Alert Status. That is nice to know, but what does it mean? If you have access to a computer, pull up the city’s web site for a full explanation. In a nutshell, it means the residents of the high risk areas of Sierra Madre need to be prepared to evacuate, but that no evacuations have yet being ordered.
On Wednesday morning, the Sierra Madre Weekly ventured up to the upper canyon where overnight heavy rains caused part of Skyland Drive to be closed by the City due to excessive mud. Public Works took advantage of a break in the rains about 10AM and started removing the mud from the 800 block. The good news is that the county and city efforts
from last year’s more serious mudflows seem to have been highly effective in keeping the mudflows to a minimum thus far this winter. The Green Flag is Ready, the Yellow is Set, and the Red is Go. For immediate information on flag status, check the city’s blog at: sierramadrepio.blogspot. com. This will be updated on a regular basis. For those
who are not yet on line, but with cable television, check out SMTV, which is Channel 3 for Time Warner Cable subscribers. For the true luddite knights, there is also AM Radio, Channel 1630. In the event that power is lost in the city, residents will still be able to find the alert status at four locations at which the warning
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Rain Doesn’t Deter the Spirit of Foothill Unity Foothill Unity Center Feeds 1800 Families for the Holidays The relentless rains didn’t stop volunteers at the Los Angeles County Arboretum continue Foothill Unity Center’s tradition off handing out more than 1,800 Christmas dinners and donated toys for children on Sunday and Monday. On Monday, more than 800 collected donated food,. On Sunday 1,052 families collected their holiday meals and gifts for children. The rain didn’t deter the spirits either with the steady stream of people seeking food and shelter
from the rain. Plastic ponchos provided some protection for the volunteers as they helped people select food for their holiday table. The steady stream of volunteers wheeling carts to and from the parking lot where they helped load up the goodies from extremely grateful recipients seemed like a well oiled machine. The Foothill Unity Center has been doing this for so long now that they have prepared
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Glen Owens is one of many in Arcadia and surrounding areas who is trying to save one of the few remaining oak woodland ecosystems in Arcadia. During a meeting last week, Owens was just one of scores of people who asked the county to reconsider their plans to remove 11 acres of oak and sycamore trees - Photos by Terry Miller
“Justice vs. Power”. Here’s a copy of the motion that has temporarily stopped any destruction of the trees: “Motion By Mayor Michael D. Antonovich December 7, 2010The Los Angeles County Flood Control District operates the Santa Anita Dam above the City of Arcadia. This dam provides flood control protection to residents of Arcadia and surrounding communities, and also recharges groundwater utilized by several water purveyors in the San Gabriel Valley. The area behind the Santa Anita Dam includes a substantial amount of silt, or sediment. This silt impedes the proper functioning
cerns about the proposed removal of these oak trees. I share their concern, and further believe that every option should be pursued to protect this valued environmental resource. I, THEREFORE, MOVE that the Board of Supervisors direct the Director of Public Works to: Postpone the start date of construction for the Santa Anita Dam sediment removal project for a minimum of 30 days; and Report back to the Board of Supervisors within 30 days advising on the environmental options explored for this project in
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