E xaminer EL MONTE
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Monday Edition of the
Monrovia Weekly ArcAdiA Weekly Temple Tribune MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25 - MARCH 3 , 2013 VOLUME 18, NO. 8 CITY
Duarte’s Alleged Brown Act violations by the TCUSD appeal Board of Education being investigated by DA of Azusa/ Vulcan materials EIR denied by state court The City of Duarte appeal, filed August 5, 2012 with the State Court of Appeal as part of its ongoing battle to save Van Tassel Ridge from being destroyed by a massive Vulcan Materials Company mining expansion project, was denied today. Duarte’s lawsuit, originally filed in August 2010 and first heard in the Superior Court in late March of 2011, challenged the validity of the Environmental Impact Report prepared for the mining expansion project. Duarte’s challenge was originally denied at the Superior Court on May 9, 2012. Today’s Court of Appeal decision upholding the Superior Court judgment will not be final for approximately 30 days. “We just received word from the Court of Appeal that our challenge to Azusa/ Please see page 3
nifer Snyder of the District Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Division told Beacon Media Thursday. Board member Joe Walker challenges that the board violated the Ralph M. Brown Act on Dec. 12 and on Feb. 13 when KangSmith used closed session meetings to specifically criticize and verbally attack Ken Knollenberg and him. Walker claims that
El Monte Promise Foundation transitions into nonprofit benefit corporation
Kang –Smith has always loved to “stir up trouble at Board meetings,” and has “ violated the Brown Act on numerous occasions.” Walker said he was censured by Kang-Smith during the Dec. 12 closed session for a comment posted by a community member on his Facebook page. The comment related to the Superintendent’s performance at the time her con-
Mike Gatto introduces legislation to better manage carpool lanes, ease congestion
tract was up for renewal Walker told the Temple City Tribune that Superintendent Chelsea Kang-Smith “ bullies board members .” “ I can’t wait until she is fired or resigns…” he said Thursday. Board member Ken Knollenberg took a somewhat more reserved approach to the news that
It’s happened to anyone who lives in Southern California. A late-night accident or mysterious slowing clogs the rightmost freeway lanes, while the carpool lane sits empty. Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) has introduced Assembly Bill 405, a measure that will create a pilot program of sorts to ease such traffic congestion by permitting singleoccupancy vehicles to access the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes (also known as carpool lanes) on State Highway Route 134, during nonpeak hours. A recent CalTrans report indicated that Southern California’s HOV lanes are not being utilized to capacity during non-peak hours, leaving single-passenger vehicles idling in slow-going or stand-
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From Left to Right, Superintendent Chelsea Kang-Smith, Board Vice President Kien Tiet, Board Clerk Kenneth Knollenberg, Board President Bob Ridley, Member Matt Smith, and Member Joe Walker. -Photo by Jerry Jambazian
BY TERRY MILLER Los Angeles County prosecutors are reviewing alleged violations of the state’s open meeting law by the Temple City Unified School District board. “We have an inquiry being conducted with regard to alleged Brown Act violations by the Temple City Unified School District Board of Education,” Jen-
FREE
Foothill Gold Line extension updates
BY DENA BURROUGHS When the El Monte Promise was first established in 2010, it was a collaborative of education stakeholders, local community groups, civic and business leaders, and professional organizations with one common goal – creating a college-going culture in the City of El Monte by providing local students with a pathway to higher education and helping them afford the first two years of college study. Recently this year, for example, the El Monte Promise offered $500 scholarships to any interested stu-
dents at Rio Hondo College who had graduated from an El Monte high school. The money was to be redeemed at the book store for class materials. Now, to better reach its goals, the El Monte Promise Foundation is transitioning to be an independent nonprofit public benefit corporation, one that will include a single Board of Directors with representatives from El Monte Coalition of Latino Professionals, El Monte Chamber of Commerce, and other members from the El Monte community. On the road to become
a nonprofit group, the El Monte Promise Foundation is looking for a Marketing and Branding Consultant – an individual or organization that will create a logo, branding strategy, materials, and graphics standards for the new outfit. The Foundation intends for this consultant to start working on April 1, 2013, in a task that should continue for six months. With that goal, the Foundation will be accepting proposals until March 8 at 5 p.m. and make a final deciPlease see page 7
–Photo by Terry Miller
The design-build team, Foothill Transit Constructors (FTC), is on schedule to have the project’s design work substantially
complete next month. The majority of the nearly 100 design packages have been “Approved for Construction,” and the remaining
packages are nearing 100% design. Significant construcPlease see page 2