Bees, wasps and yellow jackets alert

Community Improvement staff has been receiving calls regarding residents and pets getting stung by bees, wasps and hornets. Community Improvement responds to reports of active hives or swarms of bees and other insects in trees on private property.

City code prohibits any property owner from maintaining or permitting a swarm of bees or an infestation of other vectors to exist on any property.

If an active hive or swarm is found on your property, Community Improvement staff recommends contacting a licensed pest control operator or beekeeper who will remove the hive or swarm and treat the affected area. The city does not remove hives from private property.

Be aware that yellow jacket (wasp) nests can be found underground, under bark and in leaf litter or ivy.

If a hive or activity is spotted on private property, contact Community Improvement at 399-5326. If a hive or activity is spotted on city property or parks, contact Community Services at 399-5431. 

Residents can review Claremont Municipal Code Section 6.24.050 in its entirety at www.ci.claremont.ca.us under the “City Government/Municipal Code” link.

Slurry seal project to begins Monday in Claremont

A slurry seal project on residential streets in the northern section of the city will begin on Monday, October 29. The contractor will replace damaged curbs, gutters and asphalt, fill larger cracks with a hot rubberized material and apply an asphalt coating to the pavement surface. 

Slurry seal fills the hairline cracks in the pavement and prevents the intrusion of water into the sub base.  Slurry seal also rejuvenates the oils in the pavement and keeps the membrane pliable and thermoplastic in nature, preventing it from becoming brittle and susceptible to cracking.  Slurry sealing the street prolongs the life of the street by approximately 7 years. 

This project includes all public residential streets located between Foothill Boulevard and Base Line Road, from Towne to Mills Avenues. In addition, Garey Avenue, from the south city limit to College Way, will be resurfaced, as will the streets within the Claraboya neighborhood, north of the Thompson Creek Trail (except for Mountain Avenue).

The tentative schedule is as follows:

October 29: Start curb and gutter repairs

November 5: Start asphalt repairs

November 7: Start crack seal

November 27: Slurry seal

The project will cost $1 million, and will be funded through State Gas Tax and Measure R funds.  

Property owners along the construction route will be receiving a notification with details on the project. 

Vehicle access to residential properties will be restricted for up to one day for the actual slurry work.  Questions regarding the project should be directed to the city’s Engineering Division at 399-5465.

Three Valleys hosts leadership breakfast

Three Valleys Municipal Water District will host its annual leadership breakfast on Thursday, November 1 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Avalon Restaurant in Pomona. Those interested in participating are asked to RSVP by this coming Monday, October 29.

Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, will give this year’s keynote presentation, titled, “The Bay Delta Conservation Plan: A Long Term Solution.” Mr. Kightlinger was appointed Metropolitan’s general manager in 2006. Prior to his appointment he was part of the company’s general counsel, overseeing the legal department. He previously worked in a private practice specializing in environmental law.

The event is $15 and covers the cost of the breakfast. RSVP by Monday, October 29 by calling 621-5568 or email cdechaine@tvmwd.com.

Reading with Kingsley Tufts poetry winner

Timothy Donnelly, 2012 Kingsley Tufts poetry winner, will read alongside graduate student poets Diana Arterian and Gregory Emilio this Friday, October 26, at 6 p.m. in the Peggy Phelps and East Galleries, 251 E. 10th St.

The free poetry event commemorates the publication of the latest edition of Foothill, a graduate student-run poetry journal published by the Claremont Graduate University.

Ms. Arterian, a graduate student at the University of Southern California and Mr. Emilio, graduate student at the University of California, Riverside, are among those featured in Foothill’s latest installment. The free event will also feature pieces by CGU art students Katie Grip, and Kelsey Kimmel, the journal’s design editor. Other first- and second-year student art will also be on display.

The event is free and open to the public. Drinks and hor d’oeuvres from the Cheese Cave will be served. To RSVP, email monika.moore@cgu.edu.

Police department collects 250 lbs of prescription drugs

On September 29, the Claremont Police Department held a prescription drug collection event. The Drug Take Back event was an opportunity for residents to dispose of their excess prescription drugs in a safe manner. According to the city manager’s weekly report, the police department collected 250 pounds of prescription drugs during the event.

Disposing of prescription drugs properly keeps them out of the wrong hands and out of our water system. Residents may drop off prescription drugs at the police station lobby during business hours.

Bees, wasps and yellow jackets alert

Community Improvement staff has been receiving calls regarding residents and pets getting stung by bees, wasps and hornets. Community Improvement responds to reports of active hives or swarms of bees and other insects in trees on private property.

City code prohibits any property owner from maintaining or permitting a swarm of bees or an infestation of other vectors to exist on any property.

If an active hive or swarm is found on your property, Community Improvement staff recommends contacting a licensed pest control operator or beekeeper who will remove the hive or swarm and treat the affected area. The city does not remove hives from private property.

Be aware that yellow jacket (wasp) nests can be found underground, under bark and in leaf litter or ivy.

If a hive or activity is spotted on private property, contact Community Improvement at 399-5326. If a hive or activity is spotted on city property or parks, contact Community Services at 399-5431. 

Residents can review Claremont Municipal Code Section 6.24.050 in its entirety at www.ci.claremont.ca.us under the “City Government/Municipal Code” link.

Water acquisition discussion by city council

The city council held a special closed session meeting yesterday to discuss the Water Acquisition Feasibility Report. Any action taken by the city council was to be reported at the beginning of the regular city council meeting last night. For a summary of the discussion, please visit our website at www.claremont-courier.com or see Saturday’s edition of the COURIER for a full council report.

Claremont High School classes host e-waste event

The classes of 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 will host a joint e-waste fundraiser this Saturday, October 27 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Prudential Wheeler Steffen Real Estate, Inc., 500 W. Foothill Blvd., Claremont.

Volunteers will be on hand to collect broken TVs, computer monitors, scanners and laptops that are sitting around collecting dust.

For larger e-waste items that need pick up, call Greenway Recycling at 518-7943, and mention that the donation is part of the CHS recycle program.

For information on what can be recycled, call Charles at  518-7943.

All proceeds support Claremont High School’s classes of 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Graduation Night party.

University Club gets dramatic

Members of the University Club of Claremont and their guests will celebrate the 88th anniversary of the club’s founding Monday evening, October 29, with a viewing of the musical Anything Goes at the Candlelight Pavilion dinner theater. The program will also include a tribute to all the club’s past presidents.

The University Club grew from an informal group of Pomona College professors and staff who had been meeting for 5 years or so, mostly to talk shop. George S. Sumner, professor of economics at Pomona, was the main force in reorganizing it into the University Club of Claremont in 1924.

The University Club was an all-male organization until 1989 but now includes many women both as members and officers. It also in recent years has abandoned its by-invitation-only exclusivity and has opened its weekly meetings to the public. The club meets each Tuesday at noon in the Hughes Center.

Tickets for the dinner and show are $60 each and may be bought from Celeste Palmer, 260-0980, or by email at celestemp@aol.com. The event begins at 6 p.m.

Pilgrim Place lecture: Tibetan Buddhism

Dr. Lourdes Arguelles (Lopon Dorje Khandro) will speak on “The Tibetan Buddhist Books of the Dead: Understanding and Working Through the Painful Bardos of Dying, Death, and Rebirth,” on Tuesday, October 30 at 7 p.m. The Bardos teachings are designed to illuminate profound questions about our journey through life, death and rebirth. 

A former community organizer, Dr. Arguelles is also professor emerita of education at Claremont Graduate University, a California licensed psychotherapist and a Spiritual Care Chaplain at Pilgrim Place. Public is invited, with free admission.

The talk will take place at Decker Hall at Pilgrim Place, 625 Mayflower Rd. For information, call 399-5500.