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OPINION Monrovia Old Town report: Don’t drive like a jerk, volume 167

By Shawn Spencer

shawn@girlfridaysolutions.net Send your letters to tmiller@beaconmedianews.com - Please be brief.

It’s that time of year again. Twice a year, I tell y’all to drive safely; at the beginning of the school year and at the end, so here we are. I really shouldn’t have to do this, but apparently, some are slow to catch on. Let me say this really loudly for the folks in the back: There is no place you need to be in such a hurry that you hurt someone. Especially a child! In Monrovia, we have a lot of kids that walk to and from school. Which is all fine and dandy until one of them has to cross the street. I’m not convinced that the intersections WITH crossing guards are safe, but they definitely beat a blank. However, not every school has a crossing guard. Not every intersection near a school has a crossing guard. What they DO have are parents that are running late and speeding down the street to drop off their children, safe and secure, in front of the school. Maybe if EVERY parent made their kids walk, people would drive a bit slower. At least there would just be fewer cars around to endanger the kids. As most of you know, Monrovia is full of renters and street parkers. Those parked cars create so many blind spots, it’s ridiculous.

Interstate 210 in Monrovia, Calif. with San Gabriel Mountains. | Photo courtesy of David Jordan/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY

You can’t see these kids until they pop out in the middle of the crosswalk. I’m sure if I polled every parent at every school, they’d all have horror stories to share. I live near Clifton, and I see near misses and hear screeching brakes daily. Slow down!! It’s that simple. Now, for the double parkers and the blockers of the traffic lane — you and your child are no more special than the car behind you that can’t get where they want to go because you’re holding them up. If there is no drop-off room, do what you’re supposed to do: find another spot or go around the block. If your kid is at MHS or middle school, they can walk a block. Do not double park. Do not block traffic. It’s just rude.

Also, don’t let your kids out on the driver’s side. If you keep your kid's backpack in the trunk, get out and get it for them. Whenever I see a child retrieving their things from the trunk with running cars behind them, it gives me chills. So dangerous and so not worth the convenience. Let’s be real, the drop-off line is go-time. Your child should be ready to jump out and land once you come to a stop. This is not the time for kisses and the rearranging of bangs.

For you parents with middle and high schoolers: get off your phone! Your kids will be driving soon. If you haven’t noticed yet, kids learn a lot from our actions. If you want your child to not text and drive or talk and drive or google and drive… be the example you want them to see. Plus, it will feel so much better when they can’t throw your behavior in your face. For all of you little darlings out there: get off your phone while you’re walking! You need to be paying attention to cars. You need to be making eye contact with the drivers as you cross. You need to be checking out the car behind the stopped car to make sure they aren’t about to rear-end the car in front of them, which would then hit you. If you insist on wearing your earbuds, just wear one. You need to be able to hear the sounds around you. This isn’t just so you don’t get hit by a car, it’s so no one snatches you up.

If you don’t think it could happen to you, then I’m even more worried about you. I see so many of you walking home alone at night. You are not invincible. Walk in pairs. Be aware of your surroundings, particularly those creepy vans. Be aware of cars driving by slowly. Be aware, don’t be distracted and don’t be reckless. Stay out of the alleys and the dark corners. Your safety is so important.

Parents, get it together. Let’s keep all the kids safe. If your kids are older, come up with some safe plans for navigating Monrovia after dark. Please and thank you.

Entrance for Old Town Monrovia on Myrtle Avenue. | Photo courtesy of Renia Barouni/Hey SoCal

Re: “A Mayberry-good place to be” (Monrovia Old Town report, Aug. 11)

We all know of course about the Black Death which killed one-third of Europe’s population in the 14th century — and also about the Spanish flu, which left 30 million dead in the early 20th century.

But most likely we never expected to witness a global epidemic that so far has killed 15 million of our fellow pilgrims in life’s journey.

Thus, we owe our everlasting gratitude to the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who fought that invisible foe from the front lines. And also to all the workers in the service industries who risked their lives while continuing to serve us, their customers, during COVID-19’s invasion of our country.

David Quintero

Monrovia

House Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is a salute to a thriving democracy, not a window of opportunity to destabilize the Indo-Pacific region

By Director General Louis M. Huang, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles

Following the recent visit to Taiwan by U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began an aggressive and hostile campaign of intimidation against Taiwan. The PRC has no legitimacy to use House Speaker Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to escalate any situation and to attempt to unilaterally change the status quo through its livefire drills and economic coercion. There is simply no justification for the PRC’s aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan condemns recent threatening actions by the PRC, as the PRC’s escalatory response gravely affects international peace and security.

House Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is not unprecedented and is in line with the long-standing practices derived from the U.S.’ unwavering commitment to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act. Moreover, this significant visit not only represents the U.S.’ rock-solid support for Taiwan but also reaffirms and honors America’s support for Taiwan’s vibrant democracy. Taiwan has the right to cement relationships with other democratic countries. The PRC cannot dictate to a free and democratic country whom to associate with.

As the world denounces the PRC’s irrational behavior, Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to uphold the status quo and defend our commonly held values of democracy and respect for human rights. To prevent an unwanted cross-strait military conflict that would quickly tarnish the global economy, Taiwan will also continue to sustain strong deterrence and use selfrestraint.

These large-scale, livefire military exercises and missile launches are an attempt to demoralize the 23 million peace-loving people of Taiwan and send a message to the international community to not

Director General Louis M. Huang. | Courtesy photo

Suspect in shooting of Arcadia officer charged with attempted murder

By City News Service

Aman accused of opening fire on Arcadia police officers responding to a domestic-disturbance call at his family's home — striking one officer in the face and sparking an hours-long standoff — remained jailed without bail and is expected to be arraigned in midSeptember on five counts of attempted murder of a peace officer.

Nurhan Venk, 47, was also charged Friday with another attempted murder count for allegedly shooting his 73-year-old mother in the chest during the Wednesday night rampage, according to the District Attorney's Office. That charge includes a sentenceenhancing elder-abuse allegation.

He was also charged with one count of mayhem and two counts of elder abuse, with prosecutors saying Venk allegedly beat his mother during the disturbance.

An 83-year-old man who lives across the street from the Venk home was struck in the face by a stray bullet. Sheriff's officials said all three shooting victims were expected to survive.

Venk appeared in a Pasadena courthouse Friday afternoon, but his arraignment was postponed until Sept. 14.

Arcadia police initially responded around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday to a home in the 2500 block of Greenfield Avenue to a report of a family disturbance.

According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lt. Derrick Alfred, Venk's mother owns the home and had "kicked out" her son Nurhan, who used to live there. On Wednesday, he returned to the residence, prompting a family dispute that led to the police response.

Alfred said that as police approached the home, they heard gunfire inside. Moments later, shots were fired toward the group of

While the identity of the injured officer was not released, Arcadia police Lt. Brett Bourgeous said the officer has been with the department for about six months. | Photo courtesy of the Arcadia Police Department

"Alfred said that as police approached the home, they heard gunfire inside. Moments later, shots were fired toward the group of officers, striking one in the face."

officers, striking one in the face, authorities said.

Officers backed away from the home, and Venk's mother and her 12-yearold grandson ran from the home to safety, according to the sheriff's department. Venk's mother was then taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the chest, while the boy was not reported to be injured.

Another police officer suffered a minor ankle injury during the fray.

Zoo Yang, the 83-yearold neighbor across the street, was struck in the face by a stray bullet that passed through a window of his home. Yang's son told reporters the man was watching his 4-month-old grandson when he was shot, but the boy was not injured.

Authorities said Venk holed up inside the home for roughly five hours. He surrendered around 10:45 p.m. after law enforcement fired a flash-bang device at the home.

He emerged from the house with a limp, suffering from what authorities called an accidental, selfinflicted gunshot wound. Authorities said no police or sheriff's deputies fired their weapons during the standoff, which prompted evacuations of nearby residents.

While the identity of the injured officer was not released, Arcadia police Lt. Brett Bourgeous said the officer has been with the department for about six months, but has about three years of overall law enforcement experience, having previously served with the sheriff's department.

Neighbors told reporters at the scene that the family at the center of Wednesday's violence has repeatedly been involved in fights and arguments.

The shooting marked the second time this week a police officer came under fire. On Monday, off-duty Monterey Park Police Department Officer Gardiel Solorio was fatally shot during an apparent robbery attempt outside a gym in Downey. Solorio was off duty at the time, and there's no indication the shooting was related to his job as a police officer.

Two suspects — a man and a teen — were arrested in connection with Solorio's killing. The man was charged Wednesday with murder and other counts.

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