City hires new Director of Community and Human Services

City Manager Tony Ramos has announced the appointment of Kathleen Trepa as the community and human services director. Ms. Trepa will begin work on Tuesday, September 4 and will be officially introduced to the City council and the public at the Tuesday, September 11 city council meeting.

Readers can expect a feature on Ms. Trepa in an upcoming edition of the COURIER.

Courier Place affordable housing receives LEED platinum certification

The Courier Place affordable housing project recently received LEED Platinum Certification, widely regarded as the nation’s most prestigious green building honor.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program, which is administered by the US Green Building Council, rates buildings in a number of areas including water and energy efficiency, transit availability, recycled materials and healthy building design.

The 75-unit project, located at 111 S. College Ave., is one of the first affordable housing projects in the country to receive this honor. 

Mountain Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard accessibility project

Gentry Brothers is scheduled to finish all major removal/replacements and ADA ramp upgrades on Indian Hill Boulevard by the end of next week, according to the city manager.

The contractor has already begun removal and replacements on Mountain Avenue. The project is tentatively scheduled to be completed by mid-August. To avoid potential conflicts with school traffic, all areas scheduled for construction near school sites will be completed first, should the project continue past the scheduled start of the school year.

Time Warner construction on First Street

Time Warner has hired L & G Cable to construct infrastructure to provide 250 W. First St. with telecommunication services. The downtown office building includes Coldwell Banker, among others. The majority of the work has been scheduled at night to minimize inconvenience to neighboring businesses. The project was coordinated with the Claremont Chamber of Commerce prior to permit approval to avoid any conflicts with scheduled chamber events.   Work is on schedule to be completed by this Friday with any outstanding work to be completed next week.

School supply drive for Inland Valley Hope Partners

Inland Valley Hope Partners is encouraging local residents to donate school supplies for families in need as the school year approaches. Suggested items include: pens and #2 pencils, spiral notebooks, folders with pockets, 3-ring binders, planners, calculators, colored pencils, highlighters, backpacks, loose-leaf and copy paper, and index cards.

Contact Inland Valley Hope Partners for details at 622-3806 ext. 231 or email franr@InlandValley HopePartners.org. Inland Valley Hope Partners is a nonprofit organization.

Claremont library offers kid-friendly activities

Those long summer days can be hard to fill. Luckily, there are a number of family-oriented events coming up to help young Claremonters while away the hours.

Along with its popular Toddler Storytime, held each Wednesday at 11 a.m., the Claremont Public Library has planned a slate of fun activities this month.

On Wednesday, August 1, kids are invited to a presentation called “Bubbles Galore: The Science of Bubbles.” On Thursday, August 2, the library is hosting the last of its Thursday Bingo sessions, aimed at players ages 3 and older. And on Wednesday, August 8, the topic will turn from bubbles to balloons for a presentation by Mr. Twister, the balloon man. Each of these events runs from 3 to 4 p.m.

Are you an aspiring artist? On Tuesday, August 14, Darlene Douthit, an expert in Mapanese Cartooning, will present an Anime Workshop. Teens and young adults are invited to bring colored pencils, Sharpies and Tombow brush pens to the event, which runs from 2 to 3 p.m.

On Tuesday, August 21, local youths are invited to drop by the library for Teen Game Day, featuring card games, chess and checkers, and board games.

The Claremont Library is located at 208 N. Harvard Ave. For information, call 621-4902.

Gas service interruption due to water line leak

Gas service for approximately 250 residents has been interrupted after damage to a natural gas line on Sunday, July 29. The incident occurred when a plastic water line failed, leaking into the gas line.

Southern California Gas Company crews have been working to repair the gas line and begin the process of removing water leakage. Unfortunately, gas regulators and meters have been damaged by water and many will have to be replaced. Replacements began Monday, July 30 and will continue until all customers are fully restored. While many customers will be restored by Tuesday, there may be some customers left without service due to unforeseen circumstances.

Once the meter equipment has been replaced residents affected by this outage will be contacted by a Southern California Gas Company representative to re-light gas-operated appliances. Questions should be directed to 809-0317.

Blood drive next week at Taylor Hall

The city of Claremont will partner with American Red Cross Thursday, August 7, to host a summer blood drive at Taylor Hall from 9 a,m, to 3 p.m.

Blood drive participants will receive 2 VIP tickets to the Laugh Factory and 2 complimentary tickets to a Chivas soccer game. Taylor Hall is located at 1775 N. Indian Hill Blvd.

For more information, visit www.givelife.com.

Garden Groove: RSABG summer concert series

Enjoy great music, picnic dinners and cool Claremont evenings at the summer concert series hosted by Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. Thursday, August 2 will bring Doc Rock-It, an oldies show bringing back the sounds of the glory days of rock, soul and R&B.

The Garden reopens at 6 p.m. for picnickers, and the concerts begin at 7 p.m.

RSABG is located at 1500 N. College Ave. For information, call 625-8767 or visit www.rsabg.org.