Claremont deli target of early morning crime

Photo Courtesy//Claremont Heritage

Wolfe’s Market, 160 W. Foothill Blvd., was targeted in an early Thursday morning burglary. Three crooks, dressed in light colored sweat suits and masks, entered the town specialty store and deli around 2:45 a.m. by prying open the front door, according to the police report. They made off with the store safe in a white late model, 4-door vehicle. Any information on this crime should be reported to the Claremont Police Department at 399-5411.

Hot meals served up at Claremont YAC

Claremont students are invited for dinner at the Youth Activities Center tomorrow, Thursday, January 31 at 4 p.m. 

The warm meal will be free for the first 40 students who sign-up. Students may sign up by presenting their YAC membership sticker on their school ID card. For more information, call the YAC, 1717 N. Indian Hill Blvd., at 399-5360.

Claremont PD to hold weekend sobriety check

The Claremont Police Department will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint this Friday, February 1, at an undisclosed location within the city.

The checkpoint, funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, will take place from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Drivers will be stopped long enough to ensure they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to a news release. Officers will also  be checking for valid drivers licenses and making sure drivers and passengers are wearing seat belts.

OLA offers books and tours this week

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church and school, located at 435 N. Berkeley Ave., kicks off Catholic Schools Week with an open house and book fair this week. 

Families and parishioners are invited to tour the school and check out book offerings today, January 28, through Wednesday, January 30. Class tours will take place from 8 to 10 a.m. and the book fair will continue on until 1 p.m. in the school auditorium.

OLA is a K-6 grade school established in Claremont in 1955 and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as well as the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA). For more information, call Principal Bernadette Boyle at 626-7135. 

Claremont's CHERP leads LA County in retrofits

Claremont residents and administrators took a night off on Thursday for a special house party.

About 400 Claremonters and dignitaries gathered at Taylor Hall to recognize Claremont’s Community Home Energy Retrofit Project (CHERP) reaching its goal of retrofitting 130 homes. Claremont leads Los Angeles County as the city with the most home energy retrofits.

As the city embarks on its new goal of retrofitting 1300 homes, 10 percent of the estimated 11,000 households in Claremont, program volunteers took a timeout to bask in their accomplishments.

“Claremont is really a unique place and it’s the right size and has the right attitude in its community to really make things happen,” said Freeman Allen of Sustainable Claremont. “It makes me think of the inauguration, when Alex Haley was as saying, ‘Find the good and praise it [sic].’ That’s what I see happening.”

Originally named the Claremont Home Energy retrofit Project, CHERP began in 2010 as a collaboration of residents working with community organizations, contractors and cities to cut back on fossil fuels and encourage sustainable building practices. 

Three years later, the Claremont community continues to latch on to CHERP, renamed the Community Home Energy Retrofit program in hopes of reaching out to other cities throughout southern California. To date, CHERP has brought more than $2 million dollars in jobs and about 2 dozen employees into the city, according to Mr. Allen.

“This is a model for what other communities can do,” Mr. Allen said. “This is a great tool in fighting global warming and making homes more comfortable. It’s just a win-win situation all around.”

Those interested in a home energy retrofit may receive rebates, grants or financing. CHERP experts and volunteers are willing to help. For more information, visit the CHERP website at www.claremontenergy.org or contact Chris Veirs, senior planner/sustainability coordinator, at 399-5486 or by email at cveirs@ci.claremont.ca

Vote on Clean Water, Clean Beaches ballot measure postponed

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has granted an extension for those who would like to protest the proposed countywide Clean Water, Clean Beaches tax initiative. If approved, the measure would charge residents an annual fee to help pay for water quality projects.

Those who wish to protest the parcel tax will be allowed 60 more days to do so. As of January 15, only 95,000 people had protested the fee. More than 50 percent of LA County’s 9.8 million residents are needed to stop the tax from going to a vote.

The city of Claremont, the Claremont Unified School District and the Pomona Valley Protective Association (PVPA) joined with numerous other municipalities, school districts and organizations across the county to add their voice in opposition against the Clean Water, Clean Beaches tax, which would cost Claremont an estimated $102,702.58 a year. The Clean Water fee is expected to cost the average single-family homeowner in Claremont $54 a year for a grand total of what city officials believe will be $1,539,658 annually. Only 40 percent of those funds will even be returned to the city for use in its water treatment, Brian Desatnik, director of community development, noted earlier this month.

“The measure provides an inadequate amount of funding to deal with the full compliance issue for the city,” he told the council on January 8. “We believe that if there is going to be an approach to local funding we should have more control over the entire funding source generated locally and that it should deal with the entirety of the issue and not just a small portion.

“It’s just not a solution to the problem,” he continued.

More than 200 individuals spoke at a hearing of the LA County Board of Supervisors earlier this month, gathered to take a vote on whether or not to send the proposed tax to a countywide vote, to voice a similar opinion. Instead, supervisors tabled the vote after weighing the concerns of the public.  Many LA County residents said they were upset about the timing of the proposed measure, sent in a nondescript letter that many noted looked like junk mail during the bustling holiday season. In addition, many were upset about the confusing verbiage of that letter.

Supervisors directed staff to make changes to the measure to include a sunset date, a list of projects and a credit for property owners already collecting storm water before making a decision.

“I think the supervisors did the appropriate thing and have extended [the decision] out and will revisit this in the next couple of months,” said Claremont City Manager Tony Ramos.

In addition to emails, letters of protest can also be mailed to the executive officer of the board of supervisors at PO Box 866006, Los Angeles, CA 90068. For more information on Clean Water, Clean Beaches, visit www.lacountycleanwater.org.

—Beth Hartnett

Inland Valley Hope Partners seeking volunteers

Inland Valley Hope Partners will host a Volunteer Leadership Orientation seminar this Saturday, January 26, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the administrative offices of Inland Valley Hope Partners, 1753 N. Park Ave. in Pomona.

Volunteer opportunities for the agency include assisting in one of 4 food pantries, one of which is located in Claremont, as well as administrative, reception, community outreach, special events, gleaning and more.  If you would like more information on Inland Valley Hope Partners volunteer positions or would like to RSVP for the Volunteer Leadership Orientation, contact Fran Robertson, resource development director, at 622-3806, ext. 231

Council to reflect at State of the City luncheon

Photo Courtesy//Steven Felschundneff

The Claremont Chamber of Commerce and the city of Claremont welcome the community to attend the annual State of the City luncheon to be held next Tuesday, January 29 at 11:30 a.m. at the Candlelight Pavilion. The public is invited to enjoy lunch while listening to city councilmembers present key city accomplishments and priorities over the past year. The cost of the luncheon is $35 for Chamber members and $50 for non-members. For more details, contact the Claremont Chamber of Commerce at 624-1681 or visit www.claremontchamber.org.