Opinion

by Debbie Carini   Do you remember those movies from your childhood, where there was always a spinster lady living in a decrepit, turreted house with dozens of cats roaming about? My house does not have a turret (though it has an extremely un-useful “Romeo and Juliet” porch that serves no purpose other than what […]

We can have it all Dear Editor: We support the development of a new Pomona College Museum of Art on the west side of College Avenue and we encourage the Claremont City Council to act decisively to end debate about this issue and vote in favor of the project. We believe it is well past […]

City services at the Depot Dear Editor: I appreciated and shared the concerns raised in the letter from Dennis Lloyd. I think it’s really sad that there are no restrooms in the Depot to be used by folks waiting for trains or just arriving in Claremont. I also think it’s really sad that there is […]

by John Pixley There is Central Park in New York City. Of course, there is Central Park. Everyone knows about Central Park. It’s probably the most famous park in America. We all know about this vast green space in the middle of a dense, sprawling metropolis. It was designed just to be that—a verdant escape—when […]

by Mellissa Martinez   An accent can reveal much about a person—it provides evidence of where we grew up, what social class we identify with and even where our parents come from. Some people are wary of the attached stigma or misperception of their accent and will attempt to change it to avoid being stereotyped. […]

Disaster at the Depot Dear Editor: It occurs to me that sometimes in an attempt to alter the Village so that it becomes more of a destination, the needs of the citizens are overlooked.  Yesterday I went to the Claremont Depot to renew my Senior TAP card, which allows me to use Foothill Transit and […]

by Ryan Zimmerman The real estate market has been on fire since completely bottoming out between 2011 and 2012. Investors started the trend by realizing that prices were low, and they pounced. Investors with deep pockets were grabbing up as much real estate as possible at a steep discount. At the time, cash was king, […]

by Jan Wheatcroft I just received a treasured birthday present from my younger son. He transferred all my old Greek cassette tapes that I could no longer play onto DVDs and sent them to me. I lived on the island of Samos in the ‘70s. This was the music I listened to in the tavernas […]

Metrolink noise abatement Dear Editor: The comments of Jan Raithel and Stuart Kerridge, published in the April 1 COURIER, highlighted a serious quality of life issue affecting many Claremont residents: warning horns from freight and passenger trains.  No less than 40 Metrolink trains pass through Claremont every weekday, with horns blaring at every crossing. As […]

Hidden costs Dear Editor: The expensive 12-page glossy-paper spring edition of the Claremont City Letter is, once again, hiding the true cost of the proposed new police station. It is not a $50 million public safety facility. By the time the parcel tax bond is paid off, as I recall, some $119 million will be […]

by John Pixley It’s that time of year again. I knew it was April and that it was spring. I knew that winter was over and that the school year would soon be coming to a close.  After all, we had switched to daylight savings time, and Easter had come and gone early this year, […]

At the top of the pass in Glacier National Park, there are the requisite ranger station, gift shop and restrooms. Most visitors stop there for a break because the Going To The Sun Highway is always nerve wracking.  But out back behind the station is a trail most people miss or avoid. The trail looks […]

Police station funding Dear Editor: I am pleased the COURIER is covering the meetings of the city’s ad hoc committee on the police station in some detail, but I am concerned that an important distinction between general obligation (GO) bonds and a parcel tax was not clear in last week’s article on March 25. As […]

  My husband and I have embarked on a little “house-refreshing.” We’re not really remodeling anything, just sprucing up after 20-odd years of life well-lived in a nearly 100-year-old house—kind of like using face-lift tape to smooth out the wrinkles instead of going under the knife.  In the process of painting rooms and airing out […]

by Mark von Wodtke, FASLA   One of the nicest towns for walking or riding a bicycle is Houten, in the Netherlands. Houten is designed so cars can drive to it, but not through it. Consequently it’s a very safe and pleasant place to walk, and people of all ages bike there safely while doing […]

By John Pixley When it comes to transportation, it’s hard not to feel like a fool this April 1. Or any time these days. It seems like we’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t. In talking about how we all get around, at the very least, there are no easy solutions. I certainly […]