Contemplating Claremont

Dear Editor:

We moved to Claremont from Glendora three years ago. Before that, both my wife and I worked for years in her business and my private practice in Claremont. I’m thinking about this tonight after two glasses of wine, so I’m more openly nostalgic than usual.

What a community we have here in Claremont! The Claremont COURIER helps underwrite this dimension of our lives that we mostly take for granted.

On the occasion of the death of a dog, I’m prodded to write this letter of gratitude. Lucy, a Golden Retriever who lived on Sixth Street, died this week. Lucy was a wonderful dog, as are many dogs, but Lucy became a Claremont canine. Syd and Jan walked with Lucy every day and people all around town said, “Hello, Lucy.”

Syd put a note on Facebook, that social medium that invades our lives sometimes positively—a few photos and comments about Lucy. In response, from what I’ve been told, they got 70 (Yes! Seventy) comments from people in Claremont who knew Lucy and Syd and Jan.

Anyone who has lost someone while being known and loved in a community can cherish this experience. To have people out of the blue express their care, love, empathy and support when a member of our community, our society, goes onward, makes the best medicine for our grief, even our good grief. Lew Ellenhorn’s death is a good example and the COURIER expressed our goodbye to Lew beautifully.

Here’s to Claremont! We’re so blessed to be here with you all. Keep on caring for one another, expressing your love and empathy with one another, and please appreciate the community we’ve all helped develop and enjoy.

Of course, community means there are ways of handling conflict and differences. Conflict and differences are constant dynamics of any family, community and society. We’ve got what it takes to maintain these processes. What a place to live! Thank you for being Claremont, a City of Trees and people who care.

Chris Rubel

Claremont

Pomona’s Museum of Art

Dear Editor:

I am an art historian at Pomona College, but not involved with the planning of the new art museum. As an architectural historian, I fully support this project.  Machado and Silvetti are a world-class architectural firm, who will contribute a magnificent new museum to the campus and city.

The preliminary plans are in scale with the site at College and Bonita and just right as a link between town and gown.  First Street and College isolates the museum from both the academic core of the Colleges and the Village. Preliminary drawings and models provide an exciting new addition to town and gown, which gives the museum the capacity to have major shows with required temperature and humidity controls. 

In the preliminary plans, Renwick House on this incomplete urban block will be part of the museum or else this historic Victorian building will be relocated to a site where it will be used more than it has been in the last half-century. 

Machado and Silvetti are already well into the urban and campus context, which addresses all concerns raised. 

George Gorse

Claremont

iPads in the classroom

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to YouYoung Kang’s viewpoint in the May 22 COURIER and her opinion about technology integration in CUSD.

I should start by saying that I am a Claremont High technology integrator teacher. I respect our district’s vision and leadership in many areas, including the integration of technology in the classroom. 

Taking state and federal assessments online isn’t a choice that Claremont or any other district chose, but is rather a requirement. The superintendent did not want to spend a great deal of money on testing equipment that would be wheeled out just once a year, but thoughtfully looked at many options of how to best integrate technology into the classroom of CUSD students with devices that could also be used in state-mandated testing. 

The tech ed department, staffed with some of the brightest and most innovative teachers and administrators I have had the pleasure of working with in my 30- plus years as a teacher, looked at many models and platforms and “did their homework” before settling on the iPad as our tool. I am a bit confused about the author’s complaint about creativity. The iPad allows for fantastic multimedia presentations via iMovie, brilliant presentations via Keynote, many different infographic apps to create digital posters, apps such as Notability that allow students to annotate texts, exercises and more.

I have been fortunate to be a technology integrator teacher of English Learner students at CHS, and am able to have them use iPads in instruction, use bilingual dictionary apps, use Adobe Voice to record audio, collaborate on projects via GoogleDrive and so much more.

Professor Kang could visit one of the technology integrator classrooms to see first-hand the creativity that our students experience every day.

While we don’t have the luxury of rejecting the “testing regime” as the author suggests, I applaud our district for letting student work, creativity and instruction drive our technology choices. I have to disagree with her that the iPad is an expensive toy; it’s a powerful and engaging tool in the hands of a teacher with the proper training and support of the district. 

I, too, have a child in CUSD, and he has had the pleasure of terrific instruction from fine teachers, enhanced and amplified by the thoughtful use of iPads with specific applications only possible with the iPad.

Barbara Bilderback

Claremont

Stop the Super PACs

Dear Editor:

The explosive growth of Super PACs is a major outgrowth of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, and it is undermining the integrity and effectiveness of our nation’s anti-corruption campaign finance laws.

Super PACs raise and spend unlimited amounts and serve as vehicles for donors and candidates to bypass the contribution limits that apply to a candidate’s campaign—limits enacted by Congress to prevent corruption. 

It’s time to close this loophole that is letting too much big money into our elections. Tell your Representative to cosponsor and support HR 425, the “Stop Super PAC Candidate Coordination Act” introduced by Representatives David Price and Chris Van Hollen.

Since coordinated expenditures are treated by law as in-kind contributions to the candidate, new and effective coordination rules would bring Super PACs back into the contribution limit system and help protect against corruption of public officials.

Congress can fix this. Stand up today and urge your representative to strengthen coordination rules and stop Super PACS from evading the law. 

As a practical matter, Super PACs are sidestepping the law that is intended to block huge and corrupting campaign contributions. It’s time to establish real-world, common-sense definitions of corruption and close this massive loophole. 

Help us stop big money by telling your representative to cosponsor and support HR 425 today!

Ellen Taylor

VP Advocacy for

LWV of the Claremont Area