BeaconMediaNews.com
8 FEBRUARY 27 - MARCH 4, 2012
The Holy Grail of Shows, Spamalot, Opens Tuesday Night
-Courtesy Photo
Monty Python’s SPAMALOT, the Tony Awardwinning Best Musical of 2005, will return to Los Angeles, playing a strictly limited one week engagement February 28 – March 4, 2012 at the Pantages Theatre. Lovingly “ripped-off” from the internationally famous comedy team’s most popular motion picture, Monty
Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s SPAMALOT is the winner of three 2005 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director (Mike Nichols), as well as the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Musical. The original cast recording of Monty Python’s SPAMALOT won the 2006 Grammy Award
for Best Musical Show Album. Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and their quest for the Holy Grail, Monty Python’s SPAMALOT features a chorus line of dancing divas and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and one legless knight.
The Social Whirl A Concert of Love
A Concert of Love, The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber , was presented by the talented stars of the San Gabriel Music Theatre February 4 at the handsome Cleaver Hall in San Gabriel. Board members and the Spotlighters hosted a Dessert Buffet on the patio at intermission. The audience gave thunderous applause at the standing room only concert. l-r Tyler Ruebensaal,Kathy Risinger, Tim Woods, Louise Marie Cornillez, Chris Daniel, Jenna Townsend and Jason Marquez.[not shown] Carey Rebecca Brown. -Photo by Floretta Lauber
Oak’s Proactive Approach to Bullying
Police Facility Disapproval Continued from page 1
night that the timeliness was inappropriate, the method of funding inadequate, and that the decision would neglect other city interests. “If San Gabriel moves forward with approving these two projects, it will show how much the council is out of touch with the city’s business needs,” Valdez said. “The police association supports a new station when the city is able to financially support it. Please don’t gamble with risky tax increases -- it will potentially drive businesses away.” According to Preston, the combined project of the new city police facility and new city public works yard will cost a total of $36.5 million. The city has been putting aside $875,000 a year since 2004 for the project. The money is not taken out of the general fund, rather it is earmarked to finance the future construction of the facilities. This leaves the city to finance the balance of the cost, which is $27.3 million. So to cover the remaining amount for the project, estimated to be about $2.1 million a year, Finance Director Tom Marston said revenue mechanisms, such as increasing transient occupancy taxes, parking fines and business license taxes, were proposed to cover the
funding gap. “With these proposed revenue increase mechanisms, we are trying to give strong respect to the community,” Marston said, “providing valuable new facilities to residents, but not having them pay for it.” Citing the staff’s proposed timeline, Preston estimates the public works facility will be completed by December 2013, while the police facility, to be built at the current public works site, will be completed by November 2015. Lt. Darren Perrine, project manager for the new police facility, said the current station was built in 1962 to support about 40 personnel. “We currently have about 95 working here,” he said. “We’re desperately in need of improvements to our building, which according to today’s standards should be three times that size for our current needs.” Perrine said the current facility was besieged by the recent windstorms that rendered the station’s dispatch and radio systems inoperable. “The building was never designed to support the current technology, and it needs to be addressed,” he said, adding that the new 33,500 square-foot facility would be outfitted with a modern com-
munication center, community room, and an outdoor firing range. Although Valdez recognizes the benefits of a new police facility for the force, he said he does not understand how the city is willing to take extraordinary measures to build two new buildings by raising taxes and fines. With the San Gabriel Police Department currently in labor negotiations with the city, Valdez said there is a bigger community issue than compensation for police officers. “It is the lack of a business-friendly environment in San Gabriel,” he said in a phone interview. “We believe the public values public safety as an important issue, but we’re not asking for a raise at this time, just no further cuts. We get it, do they (the council)?” Preston said he respectfully disagrees with the police association’s analysis of San Gabriel’s economic condition, noting that the city is debt free and capable of floating a bond without taxing the citizens. “Well, if their argument is that they don’t want to tax anybody, then the council will look at it closely,” Preston said. “And if we can find a satisfying way to fund construction, then we will.”
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On February 15-16, 2012, Oak Avenue Intermediate School’s library was transformed into Oak’s fourth annual Museum of Tolerance. Oak’s Museum of Tolerance is designed to educate students about the destructive impact of bullying and represents a collaborative effort by students and staff to deliver the important message that everyone deserves respect.
Exhibits are comprised of student written work, multimedia presentations, and a tolerance “chalk walk”, featuring artwork created by eighth grade English classes. The objectives of this project are to promote acts of kindness on the campus, to give young people the tools and strategies to deal with conflict/harassment issues in a healthy way, and to make Oak a bully-free school. For the past four years,
with the support of school administration and staff, Oak’s Counseling and Guidance Department has facilitated this unique and meaningful event. Oak Avenue Intermediate School serves students in grades seven and eight in the Temple City Unified School District. For more information about Oak Avenue Intermediate School, please call 626-548-5061.
Temple City State of the City Address Set for March 6 Mayor Tom Chavez to discuss past year accomplishments and plans for the coming year Temple City Mayor Tom Chavez will present the annual State of the City Address on Tuesday, March 6, 6:30 p.m. in the Temple City Council Chambers, 5938 Kauffman Ave. Entitled “2012: A Year of Growth, Prosperity, and Community Involvement”, the mayor’s address will discuss upcoming projects for economic development, strategic plans for the next
few years, the power of community involvement and the unveiling of a new City-sponsored community program. “This year’s address will focus on the City Council’s objective to invest strategically in the City’s proposed plans. We want to ensure the community receives the same high-performing services as the people have in the past,” said Mayor Chavez. “I plan to speak to the commu-
nity about the challenges we faced and overcame in 2011 and the goals we hope to accomplish in 2012.” Residents and community members are encouraged to attend. The address will also stream live at www. templecity.kgem.tv and broadcast thereafter on public access channels 3 (Charter Cable) and 99 (AT&T U-Verse).