Notice of public hearing: Garfield Neighborhood Community Center

A public hearing concerning the Garfield Neighborhood Community Center (563 N. Mountain View Ave) is scheduled for Wednesday, April 28 at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers.

Here's the project description: "Conditional Use Permit (CUP 10-012) to allow a daycare/neighborhood community center within a former multi-family building, include interior and exterior rehabilitation in the R-3 (Medium Density Multiple Family Residential) zone located at 563 N. Mountain View Avenue."

This property was purchased with funds from the "Weed and Seed" grant the city received from the US Department of Justice.

See you there!

Our safety. Our police.

Pomona City Council voted last night to move forward with a Phase I study to evaluate some of the costs associated with outsourcing Pomona's police work to the LA County Sheriff.

I'm a fan of data. Good data can help make good decisions. However, after listening to nearly 40 speakers from the community and to the Q&A between Council and city staff, I have strong reservations about the quality, and hence the usefulness, of the data this Phase I study will provide.

First, the Sheriff's department will be playing the dual role of evaluator and evaluated. They are conducting the study on themselves. As speakers pointed out last night, this is a conflict of interest. We are taught to be suspicious of drug trials payed for by pharmaceutical companies for a reason. This "study" is a basic sales job. A pitch for a product/service.

Second, the Phase I study will offer insufficient data. The city will get to see broad-stroke estimates of, for instance, salary costs. The nitty-gritty costs -- for facilities, buying out pensions, cop cars, etc -- wouldn't become available until the Phase II study, which would cost our financially strapped city $25K to obtain. [I heard citizens say after the meeting that the Phase I study is only free IF we subsequently pursue the Phase II study -- does anyone know if this is true?]

Thus, we won't get access to sufficient data to make even purely financial decisions. And, counter to what Councilmember Atchley asserted in his comments concerning rationality, I see no reason why this should be a purely financial issue.

Third, the Phase I study, the Phase II study, and evidently many members of the Council are focused on just one type of cost: financial costs. Although the nearly 40 speakers at last night's meeting presented a multitude of angles from which to consider this issue, the vast majority of the council members' comments focused on fiscal concerns (I know money matters, but it certainly isn't all that matters -- even in city government). Frankly, they didn't seem to hear our concerns about the value of a stable and accessible police force that knows the streets, the issues, and people of the city.

I agree 100% with Councilmember Saunders, "Even though [the Phase I study] is free, it isn't worth the price."

What gives?

On the off-chance any Pomonawatch readers do not also read the M-M-M-My Pomona blog, I'd like to draw your attention to John Clifford's post about the upcoming City Council discussion about outsourcing policing efforts.

Math Homework Hotline: Spread the Word

I just learned that Harvey Mudd College, one of the Claremont Colleges, is starting a free Homework Hotline, which will provide free math tutoring for local students in grades 6 - 12.

The hotline opens February 1, and is available to students in Claremont and Pomona Unified School Districts.

Students are invited to call the Homework Hotline toll-free at 1-877-8 ASK-HMC. The hours are Sunday through Thursday from 7PM - 10PM (through May 2010). More information available at www.AskHMC.org

Here's a little more information from the organizers:

"Homework Hotline callers speak to Harvey Mudd College students who are trained in over-the-phone tutoring and have access to district-adopted mathematics textbooks, as well as supplemental math resources. The Homework Hotline currently employs 39 Harvey Mudd students and will have about 8 tutors available per evening. The program’s mission is to help students reinforce math concepts, develop problem-solving skills and become independent learners."

Parade of prostitutes

Are others noticing an increase in prostitution along Holt?

Late last week on my way home from work, as I drove along Holt from Indian Hill to Reservoir, I counted four prostitutes and one john (I'm guessing there were other johns, but I only saw one pulled over so a gal could jump into his HUMMER). Granted, late afternoons are a peak time for prostitution activity, but...c'mon...we're talking less than three quarters of a mile. That's a lot of for-pay-bootie.

Yesterday, around lunch time a gal was meandering along the south border of Garfield Park checking out cars and approaching those that pulled over to "ask for directions." Geez.

What gives? Perhaps the Montclair PD just upped its policing of prostitution east of Mills along Holt, inviting the "vendors" to shift even more into Pomona's jurisdiction?

I hate that our community is blighted by crime; I especially hate that this stretch of Holt is blighted by such visible crime (afterall, vendors in this business can't make much of a profit if folks don't know they're selling). From what I understand, neither prostitutes nor johns tend to live in Pomona, yet our tax dollars go toward policing and prosecuting the crimes. Argh.

If you see any hooking along Holt, please call dispatch.

911 wireless in Pomona

I earlier posted about the 911 wireless capability being rolled out in Claremont, and Pride asked me to check on Pomona. So being lazy, I sent an email to the police department, and they were nice enough to call me yesterday. Yes, Pomona is compliant with the 911 wireless system. I guess we beat Claremont (toss in the image of me jumping up and down).

There is one glitch in the system, in that according to the Goddess of Pomona, those areas adjacent to the freeway may still find that their wireless calls were routed to the CHP rather than the Pomona PD. Hey, it's not a perfect world, but at least we keep moving forward..........most of the time.

Preparing for 2010 Census

Between now and July 2009, individuals preparing for the 2010 Census Survey will be going door to door in the residential neighborhoods of Pomona. If someone claims they are from the Census, but you believe otherwise, be sure to ask for identification. The individual should also be carrying a bag with the census logo and a little hand-held computer.

If you're still unsure whether the person is legit, call dispatch or Paul Greening, Field Operations Supervisor of the Census, Glendora District. His number is 562-916-4057.

Hooligan sorts

This afternoon I found myself behind a cop car hurrying off to somewhere. Come to find out, the cruiser's destination was Garfield Park.

As I pulled into the neighborhood, I saw the officer approaching a young lad who still held in his hand a can of white spray paint. It seems a neighbor called dispatch (woot!) while the youth took his sweet time to tag the storage building in the park. One neighbor tells me it took the kiddo a good 20 minutes to do his handy work.

Two tid bits about this incident strike me as particularly fascinating:

1. The tagging took place at 4:00 this afternoon. Broad day light. The park was hopping with activity. How very brazen.

2. The tagger used white spray paint on a beige building. I don't claim any expertise in the tagging business, but wouldn't one shoot for perhaps a bit more contrast?

A bit later, probably around 6:00, there was another incident in the park to which three or four squad cars responded. I'm not sure what that one was all about.

Rumor has it the cops arrested a couple in Lincoln Park the other day for having sex in broad daylight -- well, there was a little blanky involved. Good lord.

Let's keep calling dispatch.

And the "duh" award goes to...

So let me get this straight: Group A provides its address to Couple B so Couple B can come by (with cash?) to purchase jewelry from Group A. Group A robs Couple B. Couple B provides Group A's address to the police. And...drum roll...police find Couple B's stolen property at the address. Isn't there an award of some sort for criminals who demonstrate a decided lack of forethought?

From KCAL News:

"Police are searching for a man suspected of robbing two Perris residents at gunpoint in Pomona Sunday afternoon authorities said.

"The 44-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman were robbed in the 1200 block of West Mission Boulevard about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, said Pomona police Lt. Paul Hitt.

"The pair went to the location to buy jewelry from a potential seller, Hitt said.

"The victims gave police a description of the suspects and the address of an apartment building in the 1500 block of West Mission Boulevard.

"When officers arrived at the location, they found two men and a woman matching the description of the robbers and took Ronald Chavez, 41, Pedro Reyes, 33, and Omara Bautista, 29 into custody, Hitt said.

"During a search of the location, police found the victims' stolen property, Hitt said.

"A fourth suspect, described as an older man, was still at large, Hitt said
early Monday.

"Anyone with information about the robbers call Pomona police at (909) 620-2156."

Garfield Park bathroom: Three arrests

Those of us who live near Garfield Park may have noticed the three police cruisers in (that's right: in) the park around 12:30 today. I called the Watch Commander to see if he could share any information. Come to find out, officers had been in the park looking for someone wanted on a charge unrelated to the park when they happened upon people doing drugs in the bathrooms. Officers made three arrests. Thank you to the PD for keeping our parks safe!

Peddling Wares in Parking Lots

Is it just me, or is business hopping in the parking lot of the "99 cent only store" on Holt and Paloma? I was in the parking lot twice this past week. Both times young men were approaching people getting into and out of cars, attempting to sell bootlegged DVDs and CDs.

Sure, I'm guessing the guy who camps out in front of Cardenas selling the little stuffed toys probably doesn't hold a city permit to sell or anything like that, but at least he is pretty up front about what he is doing and he isn't approaching vehicles. Moreover, there's at least a chance he's selling legally obtained wares.

The DVD and CD guys are definitely not selling legally obtained materials. Yesterday, the kid (maybe age 14 or 15) dropped his big black duffel bag in front of my car and then walked across the parking lot. He returned about a minute later. I casually asked what he had in the bag; he said DVDs. Ever concerned about his best interests (ha ha), I let him know the cops were in the lot a couple days ago busting people. This may or may not be true; I know I called dispatch to report the shady dealings a couple days ago, but I didn't stick around to see if the cops were able to stop by.

Ice Cream Trucks

I would like to talk about something that came up in the last watch meeting: Ice Cream Trucks.

I always enjoyed that an ice cream truck came by almost every day of the year, and sometimes three a day. I always thought the sound of an ice cream truck on Christmas Day was just a reminder I lived in sunny California. But then a neighbor brought up a good point, what are the ice cream trucks doing circling at 10:00 AM on school days? Who is their customer then? My neighbor said she sees adult men go up at these odd hours as customers. Are these trucks drug fronts or serve some other shady purpose?

I'd like to put a question and a request out there. The question- Am I just naive and these trucks have been underneath my street smarts radar all this time? The request- If you do see a suspicious mid-day sale at a ice cream truck, please report it. These trucks are all over Pomona all the time. If they really are infra-structure for crime, I'd love to shut them down.

Thanks for the read,

Stew