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Temple City concerts in the park series kicks off - June 18 Unfold your lawn chairs and lay out the picnic blanket! Temple City Concerts in the Park returns for an 11week tour, June 18 through Aug. 27. Enjoy entertainment ranging from classic rock to Vegas-style swing, headlining every Wednesday night, 7-9 p.m. at Temple City Park (9701 Las Tunas Dr.). June 18 – The Wiseguys Sit back for an evening of nostalgia as The Wiseguys’ 18-piece ensemble kicks off the Concerts series by bringing back the Age of the Big Band. June 25 – Tom Nolan Band One word sums up this band’s mission: “Dance!” Tom Nolan Band (TNB) lights up the stage playing a mix of originals and classic tunes ranging from soul and Please see page 8
California’s tenure protections ‘unconstitutional’ judge rules A judge has ruled that California’s tenure protections for public school teachers are unconstitutional. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu on Tuesday ruled in favor of nine students who sued the state saying tenure and seniority policies have made it virtually impossible to fire bad teachers. Lawyers for the teachers say the changes would allow the firing of teachers too easily. The decision will have a “significant impact on the way California hires and fires teachers and could spur changes in other states with strong tenure laws,” according to lawyers who fought for continued tenure.
Rosemead Reader Monrovia WEEKLY Temple MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2014 - JUNE 22, 2014 VOLUME 19, NO. 24
Monday Edition of the
CITY
BALLOTS ARE HERE! PAGE 2
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Arcadia High School graduates 901 students School chief 5 to attend Harvard Torlakson reports significant drop in number of districts in financial jeopardy
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A few numbers for the Class of 2014: Graduates: 901. Graduation rate: Likely 99%, could be 99.8% when final calculation is made. Average GPA: 3.34. Average SAT score: 1846. Average ACT: 29
Plan to attend college: More than 94%, as of now. National Merit Scholarship Finalist: 22, some states might get one or two. We also have 5 students who will be attending Harvard in the fall, 1 going to MIT, 4 going to
San Gabriel votes to increase sewer rates BY SHEL SEGAL The San Gabriel City Council voted 3-2 at its June 3 meeting to increase sewer rates throughout the city by adding a new sewer fee, according to a published report. The fee is about $9.75 a month for homeowners of single family residences and will be used to repair the city’s aging sewer system, according to that report. In addition, the system has seen 13 sewage spills in the past seven years, meaning the city has received a citation and “and a consent judgment from the State Attorney General’s Office, giving it nine years to make major improvements” to the 72-mile system, accord-
ing to that report. Mayor John Harrington and council members Jason Pu and Councilwoman Juli Costanzo voted in favor of the sewer fee, while and council members Chin Ho Liao and Kevin Sawkins voted against it, according to that report. Under Proposition 218 residents were allowed to protest the fee increase with half of the city’s property owners – or 4,623 written protests – needed to halt the increase. However, just 737 protest votes were received by the San Gabriel City Clerk, according to that report. The rate for single famPlease see page 4
Stanford, 3 accepted to Princeton, 1 accepted to Yale, 47 accepted to USC, 56 accepted to UCLA, 4 accepted to Brown, 10 accepted to Carnegie Mellon. *Accepted does not mean necessarily attending.
The total student population for Arcadia High School is roughly 3,500. AHS was also awarded a gold medal ranking for the third straight year by U.S. News and World Report on its annual Best High Schools in America list.
A new report shows that the number of California school districts in financial jeopardy has been slashed by more than two-thirds over the past year, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced. This year’s Second Interim Status Report, FY 201314 shows a total of 30 local educational agencies (LEAs) are either in negative or qualified financial status. This is down significantly from the last report—in March 2014— that showed 49 LEAs with this status. This is also down even more significantly from the same report a year ago. In the Second Interim Status Please see page 9
D-17 baseball team more than up to the challenge Manager Ted Sutherland was warned that his newly formed D-17 11u baseball team might be taking on a bigger challenge than it could handle when it entered the prestigious annual 2014 La Canada Baseball Softball Association Summer Smash Tournament. After all, the squad of San Gabriel Valley boys was made up of players who had not only never practiced, let alone played together, but included on its roster players with limited experience beyond little league. As it turns out, D-17 was more than up to the challenge. In fact, it won four straight games during the past weekend, including a tense 3-2 victory Sunday afternoon over the La Crescenta Thunder, giving Suther-
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land and his team something nobody but he and his players thought possible when the tournament began: the Bronco Divison Championship trophy. David Mathias of Pasadena capped a brilliant
personal and team pitching weekend with this third save (to go along with one win) as D-17 built a 3-0 lead an hung on for the victory. It took some great defense Please see page 7