COMPLIMENTARY COPY
MONROVIAWEEKLY.COM
/
MONROVIAWEEKLY
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10 - JANUARY 16, 2019
Since 1996
VOL. 23, NO. 2
‘BIG JIM’ ESPINOSA OF MONROVIA A tale of Mexican-American struggle, determination and kindness Susie LING, Monrovia Legacy Project
“B
ig Jim” Espinosa was 6-foot-3 and between 200 and 300 pounds of mostly muscle, but it was his heart that was really big. Big Jim was a Monrovia community leader of his time. James William Espinosa (1904-1981) was born on Lucky Baldwin’s ranch in Arcadia. His father, Toribio, was then a ranch hand on the Baldwin estate and his mother, Maria, was of the Papago tribe (or Tohono O’odham) and born at the mission in San Luis Obispo. For Toribio’s work on the ranch, Baldwin gave him land on South Magnolia in Monrovia. This land was transferred before Monrovia started to enforce racially restrictive housing covenants that would otherwise have prevented a Hispanic family from owning property in this area outside the “barrio.” Although Monrovia Mexicans lived alongside African-Americans and some Asian-Americans south of Olive Avenue and east of Canyon Boulevard, there was still a social sense of barrio and ethnic solidarity. Unfortunately, Maria and Toribio SEE BIG JIM PAGE 10
Mary Lou Espinosa with her father and his Peterbilt, circa 1950s. – Courtesy photo / Mary Lou Sandoval
Monrovia Area Partnership Holds an Education Meeting This Saturday
PRELIMINARY PARKING COUNT DATA REPORT FOR MULTI-FAMILY PROJECTS IN MONROVIA COMPLETED Susan MOTANDER motander@yahoo.com
One of the concerns voiced by several people attending last month’s meetings about proposed new apartment complexes was parking. There was concern that there would not be enough parking contained within the complexes to provide enough spaces for all their residents. That led to concerns about street
parking. During the meetings city staff members indicated that a parking study for the already completed projects was underway. City Manager Oliver Chi’s update reported that the raw data from the two-month study shows that in the existing complexes the demand is between 1.01 and 1.21 spaces per unit.
Susan MOTANDER motander@yahoo.com
This Saturday, Jan. 12, Monrovia Area Partnership will hold its first MAP-edu, which according to City Manager Oliver Chi is a new spin on what was formerly called the MAP Ed Quarterlies. The workshops that day are
SEE PARKING PAGE 10
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Out With the Old,
Pasadena Playhouse Takes on Ambitious New Production
in With the Sew
Page 13
SEE MONROVIA AREA PARTNERSHIP PAGE 10
Page 9
SPORTS Monrovia Overcomes Sluggish Start to Trounce San Marino
MAP leadership pose for a photo – Courtesy photo / Facebook, @ MonroviaAreaPartnership
Page 19