Claremont PD to conduct checkpoint

Photo Courtesy//Steven Felschundneff

The Claremont Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint tomorrow, March 1, at an undisclosed location within the city of Claremont. 

Between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. drivers will be stopped to ensure they have a valid driver’s license and are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Officers will also check to make sure seatbelts are being worn. The checkpoint is made possible by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Claremont students to be honored at evening awards banquet

Seven local students and 5 student groups will be honored tonight as the winners of the city’s 23^rd annual Making a Change contest. Through the competition, local elementary, junior high and high school students living or attending Claremont schools are invited to submit an essay on social justice issues. The contest is designed to increase awareness among Claremont youth of the contributions made by human rights champion Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This year’s individual awards went to third grader Rohan Shivaram and fourth grader Miles Patten, both of Chaparral Elementary, fifth grader Citlamina Mejia and sixth grader Abby Boon of Sycamore, Alyson Comia of El Roble Intermediate and Amanda Deal and Samuel Liu of Claremont High School.

The 5 group honors went to Annette Reed’s kindergarten class at Chaparral, Mary Byers’ first grade class at Sumner, Ann O’Connor’s second-third grade class at Sycamore, Anna Bella Cleere, Marcel Demidov, Julian Garcia and Joseph Rogers, students at El Roble, and Sarah Tran and Hyeonji Shim, students at Claremont High School.

Tap into Pliny the Younger tonight at Eureka!

Photo Courtesy//Steven Felschundneff

If you are in need of a brew to wash away the work week, check out Claremont's Eureka! Burger tonight as they tap Pliny the Younger, a once-a-year release from the Russian River Brewing Company. 

Pliny the Younger is a Triple IPA, featuring 3 times the hops of your typical India Pale Ale, and bound to help take off the edge. Not to mention it received a perfect score from both the Beer Advocate and Rate Beer. 

The hoppy specialty, available as a Russian River Set Flight, will only be available tonight until the keg is tapped. The beer begins flowing at 5 p.m. For more information, call 445-8875. Eureka! Burger is located at 580 W. First St. in the Claremont Packing House. 

Water tops busy council agenda

The Claremont City Council will meet to discuss the price and terms of the city’s desired water system purchase in a private conference this Tuesday, February 26 at 5:115 p.m. before the regular city council session begins.

The city offered $54 million for the purchase of the water system last November. Negotiations between Claremont and Golden State Water Company began on February 15 with a meeting held at Best, Best and Krieger’s Riverside office. Administrators on both sides have kept details regarding the conference private, only stating that it was positive. Those who would like to make a public comment on the water discussion may do so before the city council at 5:15 p.m. before council members recess into their private meeting.

Health care reform will be on the agenda when the council returns to open forum at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers will evaluate adding the city’s support to Claremont Graduate University’s Affordable Health Care Reform outreach and education program. Through the proposed free service, administrators with CGU’s School of Community and Global Health would help assist locals in finding affordable health care options, according to a letter drafted by Dean Gerstein, CGU’s vice provost and director of research. The program represents a collaboration with the local graduate school and Pomona Valley Hospital along with a handful of local school districts: Claremont, Chino, Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas and Upland.

CGU hopes to fund the outreach program with financial support from the Covered California Outreach and Education grant program, which is offering $43 million in aid for public awareness activities taking place from May 2013 through December 2014. University officials hope the city will draft a letter in support of their pursuits as such an outreach program is “consistent with the city’s goals of supporting youth, families and all residents alike to access health care and to improve quality of life,” according to a report submitted by Kathleen Trepa, the city’s community and human services director. The program plans to reach out to 120,000 households throughout Claremont and surrounding areas.

The council will also receive the Claremont Tourism Business Improvement District’s annual report. The CTBID was adopted in November 2009 to promote local tourism. Since its formation, the Tourism BID has introduced a series of new programs under its marketing plan “Discover Claremont” in an effort to market the local community to the masses. The council is also slated to approve 50-Fifty Asian Fusion and Bardot Restaurant’s applications to participate in the CDBG Job Creation and Business Incentive Program, as well as direct staff to move forward with preparations for the 2013-2014 Landscape and Lighting District annual report.

The Claremont City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, located to the side of City Hall at 225 W. Second St. View Tuesday night’s full agenda at www.ci.claremont.ca.us. 

Saturday morning class offers financial aid help for local students

Students looking to apply for financial aid can turn to the Youth Activity Center (YAC) and Teen Committee for help. The local youth advocates will host a workshop geared toward Cal Grant and Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) applications this Saturday, February 23, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The LA Works Youth Employment program will present information on how to locate grants, scholarships and other sources of funding for college. High School Seniors and their Parents or guardians are encouraged to attend. For more information, call the YAC at 399-5360.

Post arrest, Dr. James Hansen talks global warming

Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Space Center and the nation’s top climate scientist, will speak in Claremont this Sunday, February 24, at 7 p.m. The free lecture takes place at the Claremont United Methodist Church, 211 W. Foothill Blvd.

Dr. Hansen provides insight into climate change with his lecture “Global Warming Is Here. It is Worse than it Looks. But there is a Way Out.” Dr. Hansen is the primary scientific figure behind last Sunday’s anti-Keystone XL Pipeline demonstrations across the country, which in Washington, DC, drew between 45,000 to 50,000 demonstrators as well as several thousand in downtown Los Angeles.

Dr. Hansen’s talk will be the first of the lecture series “Agenda for Prophetic Faith,” a project of Progressive Christians Uniting (PCU), sponsored by a number of Pomona Valley religious congregations. For more information on this series, visit www.agendaforapropheticfaith.com.