Readers’ comments: May 29, 2026

Robot weighs in on proposed sales tax measure
Dear editor:
In the City Council’s recent pursuit of making Claremont even more unaffordable [“Council approves study on sales tax increase measure,” March 13], we could have saved $37,000 as I simply asked Chat GPT the following question:
What is the likelihood that the residents of Claremont, Ca would support a sales tax increase of 1%?
It answered, “Based on Claremont’s recent voting history and current fiscal environment, a proposed 1% sales tax increase would likely face a very competitive election, with odds close to a coin flip unless the city can frame the measure around highly specific community priorities.”
Donna Lowe
Claremont

A rail respite on the A Line
Dear editor:
Need a respite from the 24/7 news cycle and the never-ending drama? Do what four of us did two weeks ago: we took mass transit from La Verne to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, roughly 80 miles round trip. (62 and older? Get a senior TAP card and ride, depending on time of day, for 70¢ to $1.50 round trip. Each leg includes a free transfer.)
The new David Geffen Gallery, 110,000 square feet of exhibition space on the second floor, just opened in April. It’s something to see. The outer walls are all glass, the views are terrific, and part of the gallery extends over Wilshire Boulevard. Admission varies from free to $30, depending on time, day, if a resident of LA County, etc. (see lacma.org or call for specifics).
Half the fun was getting to the museum. We took the new A Line extension (formerly Gold Line) from La Verne to Union Station. There’s a nice restaurant and bar in the station, Traxx, where we had lunch. From there, the extension of the D Line subway (formerly Purple Line) runs along Wilshire to La Cienega Boulevard, and is scheduled to extend to Westwood in 2027.
When you exit the subway at the Wilshire-Fairfax station, you are literally across the street from LACMA, not to mention a stone’s throw from the Petersen Automotive Museum, which opened in 1994 on the site of Orbach’s department store, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which opened in 2021 in the old May Company building.
We felt safe the entire trip. The trains were clean and the new subway stations are very nice. It’s fun to be a tourist in one’s own city and we plan to visit the other two museums soon.
Don Linde
La Verne

Beware of billionaires
Dear editor:
When Trump ran for President of United States, he told the American people he was so rich he could not be bought. He promised a better economy but has not delivered. Now Tom Steyer is telling California voters that he too is so rich he would not be bought and he is promising to fix everything if elected governor. California, beware of another billionaire trying to bamboozle you by telling you what he thinks you want to hear.
Opanyi Nasiali 
Claremont

New South Village plan is a bait and switch
Dear editor:
As a former happy customer of Richard Hibbard Chevrolet (years of service from 1974 and a new car purchase in 1986), I have long been sad to observe that desolate, unused lot.
The original Village South plan was a joy to behold, including all its walkability. As the native of a small Wisconsin town where both my parents walked to work every day, that is a high value of mine — and one reason I have loved living here since 1969.
The new plan sounds exclusive and unfriendly.
Please return to the original approved plan that enables more people to live in and enjoy the Claremont I and so many love.
Thank you for resisting developer’s bait ‘n’ switch.
Julie Steinbach
Claremont

New South Village plan is a bait and switch
Dear editor:
I am writing in opposition to the amended plan submitted on May 11 by Village Partners relative to the Village South housing  project. Village South sits directly adjacent to the Claremont Metrolink station — one of the few locations in Claremont specifically planned and suited for transit-oriented, higher-density housing. The state of California encourages cities to place higher-density housing near transit stations because residents who live near transit tend to drive less, reducing traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.
The 2023 city-approved 711-unit housing plan was designed to take advantage of this transit location with walkable streets, mixed-uses, and limited parking to encourage train and bus use. The revised 140-townhouse plan includes one private two-car garage per unit organized around private alleys. This is a dramatic reduction of 571 units.
California law requires Claremont to plan for over 1,700 new housing units by 2029. Village South is one of the city’s best-positioned sites to help meet that goal in a way that aligns with state housing and transportation policy.
The city-approved 2023 plan included 300 apartments, 106 flat-style condominiums, and 23 townhouses — a genuine mix of rental and for-sale housing of different sizes. Different housing types typically come at different price points, making a development accessible to a wider range of people. The revised plan replaces all of those housing types with 140 large, three-story, for-sale townhouses, a single product type serving a single segment of the market. Someone looking to rent, buy something smaller, or for a first home at a more accessible price point would not find it in the revised plan. This is a dramatic reduction of housing diversity.
Claremont should stick with the 2023 plan. It must be steadfast regarding its legal obligations and community values commitments to increasing the supply of housing diversity, incentivizing transit usage, and reducing greenhouse gases.
Sidney L. Mohn
Claremont

‘STOP’ means stop
Dear editor:
Claremont used to be known as “the City of Trees and Ph.D.s.” Obviously, the last part of that no longer applies because apparently many drivers in town cannot read. People just roll through stop signs as if the sign didn’t exist. I can only conclude people can’t read. Sad.
All joking aside, this is a critical issue. Folks, it’s dangerous not to stop when the sign clearly says “STOP.” According to AAA, every day there are 1,500 collisions in Los Angeles County alone. Probably not all of those are caused by people blowing through stop signs, but some are.  Injuries to pedestrians and cyclists have increased greatly even at a time when the same for people in vehicles have declined. I get it: it’s not like most drivers who roll through stop signs don’t care. Instead, they quickly assess the intersection, see no cross-traffic, they go. This is a significant problem with bigger vehicles, where you can’t see as well even though the height of the vehicle gives you the sense you can see better. In fact, “autobesity,” higher speed limits, cell phone and drug use are all leading causes of injuries and deaths caused by vehicles, according to Laura Sandt, director of University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. Forty-nine percent of Americans agree that drivers in their communities have gotten more careless.  Boy is that true in Claremont!
Please stop at stop signs. You are endangering everyone’s life by just rolling through. We criticize our leaders in government and the private sector for ignoring laws. Time to examine our own behavior. Remember too: our kids are watching.
Denise Spooner
Claremont