Opinion
Ad hoc committees effective Dear Editor: Concerned citizens packed the City Council chambers to overflow for the June 23 meeting of Traffic and Transportation Commission. The subject of the meeting was Metrolink train horns and the federal requirements for establishing the corridor through Claremont as a quiet zone. In a quiet zone, trains are prohibited […]
by Debbie Carini The author Thomas Wolfe wrote an entire book entitled, You Can’t Go Home Again, which you would think parents would pay extra for to be required reading of all college seniors—even if they just looked at (and took to heart) the title. But there’s something sentimental about home, even just the […]
A win-win for police Dear Editor: The city of Claremont already owns the land on which to build the proposed new police station to replace the existing building on Bonita Avenue. With pre-existing access onto Arrow Highway, the plot of land to the south of Hibbard’s Chevrolet dealership on Indian Hill [COURIER, June 24] is […]
by John Neiuber Claremont has an inventory of historic buildings in excess of the city’s relative small size. This phenomenon is the result of several factors. First, the Colleges had respected architects that completed many projects. Secondly, the arts movement that flourished at mid-century, due to the influence of the Scripps College Art Department […]
by Jan Wheatcroft Why does one want or need to dance? What makes a person “dance high” or dizzy with the beat and sound and movement with dancing. These are questions I ask myself as I remember my past experiences of dancing as an untrained member of “A Joy Through Movement” spontaneous group. My […]
Claremont’s new chapter Dear Editor: Again. John Pixley is right, again. Every point he makes in his June 17 Observer column is right on target. Just to be absolutely sure that the most important point is made yet again, here is a quote from his insightful article: “…this change will add to Claremont’s grace and […]
City staff are the pacesetters Dear Editor: Peter Weinberger, the publisher of the COURIER, is misinformed as to the cause of slow pace, as he sees it, of the Mayor’s Police Facility Ad Hoc Committee. It is not my place to defend the committee, but the sand in the gears slowing the committee’s work is […]
by John Pixley Whew! That was a close one. We almost went back to the days when the “sidewalks rolled up at 5” in the Village. We almost went back to the days when Claremont went dead after the Colleges had their graduations and closed down for the summer. That’s what those who didn’t want […]
By Peter Weinberger While many of us were following the news of Pomona College’s bid to build a new museum of art and move the Renwick House, two groups were working hard on familiar bond measures for a Claremont vote. The looming issue now is whether one or both measures will be ready in […]
Come blow your horn Dear Editor: Here’s something for everyone to consider before the Gold Line starts rolling into Claremont, bringing with it, additional noise. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 7,654 fatalities in automobile intersections in the United States in 2014. Conversely, Operation Lifesaver Inc. (oli.org) reports there were just […]
by John Pixley Deborah Bial asked those in the audience to think back to being nine years old. She remembers having braids. What, she wondered, do others remember about when they were nine? For most of those she was addressing, this meant thinking back about 10 years. For others in the audience two weeks […]
The war on trees Dear Editor: Claremont is called the City of Trees and PhDs. Despite that moniker, there seems to be a war on trees in and around Claremont. Clearly, removing diseased or damaged trees needs to be addressed, but this recent assault or war may have started with the tree removal request made […]
by Mellissa Martinez Each attempt to read Shel Silverstein’s classic The Giving Tree to our five-year-old, Felix, is met with the same response…“no, mom, it’s too sad. I don’t want to read it.” However, as I consider the narrative of the tall, healthy tree offering its fruit, leaves, branches and trunk for the happiness of […]
Claremont kid makes his mark Dear Editor: The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen. Brave’s Princess Merida. Nintendo’s Princess Zelda. The Roman Goddess Diana. Girl Scouts can now gather at La Casita Program Center in the foothills of Claremont and assume the role of their favorite archer heroine, all while perfecting their bow and arrow skills and […]
by John Pixley When is a train station not a train station? When it’s a museum—and not a train museum. I was thinking that this could be a kind of a joke, sort of like a knock-knock joke. Except then a friend came to spend a weekend recently. My friend got here on the […]
Thoughts on Pomona College Museum of Art before council vote Dear Editor: Building a new PCMA (Pomona College Museum of Art) behind the library is a wonderful idea and a good location. When standing on the corner in front of our post office, I can look down Harvard Avenue and see where the Claremont Museum […]