Annual Campout

Camp Out Flyer

Drive-by fire crackering

Last night around 10PM, "shots" went off in the park. Come to find out, these shots were really fire crackers. Big fire crackers.

The neighbor reports someone (or some people) threw a box of lit fire crackers into the park as t(he)y drove by. A bit later, fire fighters came by to quell a smoldering tree. That icky char smell filled the air and ash landed on the nearby homes.

Of course, everyone is glad the trees and homes didn't experience major damage. That said, we're pretty freakin' irked by the irresponsible behavior of the passers-by. Grrrr. Tis the season?

Bicycle Rodeo this Saturday

2010 Bicycle Rodeo Flyer

Hoop it up

Exciting news here in Garfield Park!

Kids and adults waited with much anticipation this past month as city crews worked to pour cement, brush paint, and hang a hoop for a spankin' new half-size basketball court.

I am pleased to report the inaugural basketball game took place Saturday morning. Since Saturday, we've seen game after game of one-on-one, two-on-two, four-on-four, and horse (of course, of course). The sound of squeaky sneakers and bouncing balls fills the air.

While hanging out on the porch this afternoon, a sound foreign to the park hit my ears: the ping of an aluminum bat. I don't think I've ever seen a baseball game in Garfield Park. Yet, there it was. A pick-up game of baseball in between the basketball court and the sand volleyball court.

The players seemed to range in age from about 8 to 13. They played with a tennis ball and vague agreement as to the whereabouts of the bases. Although their language was quite salty, I was nevertheless pleased to see the kiddos sharing gloves and bats.

Now, if only that darn community center would open! We were told it would likely be open by the time the kids got out of school for the summer. Clearly that goal has not been met. We saw posted building permits and a work crew over there for a couple weeks last month, but everything looks very quiet now. The exterior of the building remains in ugly disrepair, and the lawn is one of the weediest on the park.

The park is teeming with happy kids and families -- now is the perfect time for the community center to begin building relationships with these constituents.

Image from http://eightiesology.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/basketball-hoop.jpg

Towne & Holt?

Pomona Joe posted the following as a comment under a previous post. I'm moving his comment here in hopes doing so increases the likelihood someone will see it and have some information. Thanks, Joe! - Pride

"Anyone know what was going down last night at 1AM? The police chopper seemed to be dive-bombing the intersection of Towne and Holt for about 20 minutes straight. The chopper circled over our neighborhood for literally 30 or 40 times."

Area Commander Meeting: July 13

From WebWatch:

The Pomona Police Department invites residents to join us in attending July's Area Commander Meeting. July's meeting will cover the Southeast area of the city, however, ALL residents are encouraged to attend.

The meeting will be on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at Washington Park Community Center, 865 E. Grand Ave. between
7pm to 8:30pm.

Report out from Area Commander Meeting

Having attended the Area Commanders meeting at Palomares Community Center, I wanted to report back on some points:

• Attendance was terrible. This was attributed to going against the Laker game and primary voting. We had 6 “civilians” to 8 police/CSO/council members. Laker game or not, this is really bad.
• PD was real responsive to questions regarding prostitution along the Holt corridor from the last meeting to focus on the North East. They came with encouraging stats on vice arrests and news that there has been enhanced cooperation with a federal task force. While all arrests surrounding prostitution are up, the task force focuses on minors. Through laws regarding the trafficking of minors, they can go after the pimps and not just the women on the street.
• Officer Hess of the gang unit gave a presentation on gangs in Pomona. The presentation focused on identifying gangs, the consequences of gang involvement and means of intervention. The encouraging news is gang involvement and related crimes is on a downward trend in Pomona, though still very real. This presentation was one of the better, more engaging and professional presentations I've seen at one of these meetings.
• Budget cuts were a frequent topic through out the night. Nothing is set in stone or finalized, but the by far most likely scenario is we will be losing 15 police officers. As to community Service officers, we will be going down to 2 (Councilman Lance is still fighting for a few more.) The 2 man Vice squad that has made such progress as noted above will remain, thanks in part to federal funding. The Gang unit will remain due to a department commitment to continually crack down on gangs.
  

Over all, one of the better Area Commander meetings I've been to. If there is any chance that you did not attend based on dissatisfaction with previous meetings, rather than watching basketball, I encourage you try an upcoming meeting. I think you agree that quality has improved.

Reminder: Area Commander Meeting Tuesday

This is just a quick reminder:

The next Area Commander meeting will be help Tuesday, June 8th from 7 - 8:30 PM at Palomares Park Community Center (499 E. Arrow Hwy). This is our chance to talk with police officers about our city's safety. Although this month's meeting will focus on the Northeast area of the city, all residents are encouraged to attend.

Pomona PD To the Rescue. Again.

Three cheers for Willow, the K-9 Unit, and the Pomona PD!

[Content from http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_15240181]

Alleged burglar tracked down by bloodhound in Chino Hills

Created: 06/06/2010 06:32:26 PM PDT

CHINO HILLS - A 41-year-old man was arrested after he was caught with stolen property from a neighbors house in Chino Hills early Sunday morning.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies from the Chino Hills Station responded at 1:45 a.m. to a house in the 5000 block of Stone Ridge Drive.

They were notified by a neighbor who said the alarm had been tripped, said sheriff's Detective Ray Hilfer.

Arriving deputies discovered the house had been burglarized. They also found a blood trail that led from the house to the area outside.

Deputies called for assistance from Pomona Police Department's K-9. Pomona's bloodhound Willow was also sent.

The bloodhound picked up the suspects scent and tracked him to his house on Esther Street.

Reynaldo Sabedra was found hiding under a camper near his house, Hilfer said.

"Willow did an outstanding job," Hilfer said.

Deputies found property from the house inside Sabedra's pockets, Hilfer said.

He was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of burglary.

jannise.johnson@inlandnewspapers.com

Shave, haircut, and a dime bag

Well, my neighborhood makes the news yet again. Grrrrr. I'm curious to know whether the owner's business license will be revoked.

Here is the story (and photo) from KTLA.com:

Pomona Barbershop Owner Arrested for Selling Marijuana

Police say they found bags of marijuana inside the shop owner's car.

POMONA -- The owner of a barbershop in Pomona has been arrested for selling marijuana to customers along with haircuts, police said.

Marlon T. Singleton, 39, of Rancho Cucamonga, who owns Groom Time Barber Shop at 924 E. Holt Ave., was arrested around 10 a.m. Monday, according to Pomona police Sgt. Chuck Becker.

Officers smelled marijuana coming from Singleton's car parked behind the shop.

They searched the car and found 35 grams of individually packaged marijuana bags inside, Becker said.