Water mandate discriminates

Dear Editor:

I fully agree with Chet and Eileen Jaeger’s letter published June 5 that the upcoming water-saving plan discriminates against conscientious, civic-minded residents who have already implemented water-saving ideas, something we were asked to do voluntarily years ago.

The 32 percent reduction favors those homeowners who are responsible for Claremont having to reduce consumption by seven percent more than the state mandate requires. It is also likely to encourage homeowners to use more water once the drought ends, in anticipation of future percentage reductions.

Instead of a blanket 32 percent reduction, why not implement a water-saving program based on the size of the lot and the number of persons living in the household? Lot size numbers are readily available and household numbers could be established and verified with a phone call or letter. Temporary adjustments and exceptions, such as a child moving back home, could also be put in place.

Let’s not reward the water hogs.

Theodore Perry

Claremont

Walking the walk

Dear Editor:

Mayor Corey Calaycay and the Claremont City Council are a contradiction. Mr. Calaycay was espousing how wonderful Claremont has been in providing sustainability practices for Claremont in recent years at the Bill McKibben talk at Bridges Auditorium as part of the conference “Seizing an Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization.”

Yet, the council approved the cutting down of beautiful trees at the request of a parent with unfounded evidence or proof that these trees were causing her son’s allergies to worsen. In addition, this same mayor and city council approved four new housing developments to be built just this past year, creating humongous water usage, resources consumption, more congestion (traffic and emissions from cars) and taking away from the beauty of this city.

And then to top it off, Mr. Calaycay encouraged attendees to go out to shop in Claremont and be good consumers! You can’t have it both ways. You can’t talk out of both sides of your mouth without losing credibility and respect.

Kae Yates

Claremont

Losing Claremont

Dear Editor:

Could someone please explain what is happening to the city of Claremont? Is it just getting too crowded or are too many people from other cities coming and changing the vibe?

We’ve lost something in the rush to (over) develop and get people to “Discover Claremont.”

Witness the following that happened on an otherwise peaceful Friday afternoon outside Some Crust bakery: After a near-collision in front of the bakery, a customer sitting at one of the tables felt okay saying in front of everyone to the driver, “You almost caused a crash, a#*hole.”

This was in front of the driver’s young child, no less. Little did the customer know that the person he said this to is an accomplished author and the grandson of the founder of one of Claremont’s oldest and most beloved businesses.

Even if the driver was perhaps in the wrong for the U-turn he made, that is certainly no reason to call someone an a#*hole in public. The aggressive manner in which the accuser handled himself was unwarranted. He was in the wrong and should have behaved in a civil way and offered the driver an apology for speaking to him that way.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the driver had been a white senior citizen instead of a youngish black man would the accuser have called them an a#*hole, too?

Then, in a separate incident that occurred shortly after that one, a young man in his truck threw six or seven of his empty Camel Light cigarette packages onto Yale Avenue as he drove away.

I don’t care if it’s an unpopular view, I miss the days when Claremont was a sleepy, laid-back town.

Gina Ortiz

Claremont

VMG and the museum

Dear Editor:

This letter is in response to the Viewpoint by Kirk Delman in last week’s COURIER. Mr. Delman’s points regarding the Pomona College Art Museum are well-taken, and we’d like to add a few other thoughts as Pomona and the city of Claremont work out details regarding the museum’s location.

We are longtime Claremonters. One of us is a third-generation resident and the other here for more than 30 years. We’ve owned two Village businesses and live within a couple of blocks of the proposed building site. We are both ardent supporters of all that makes Claremont the city it is, and believe the new art museum will add to Claremont’s legacy as a community that supports the arts.

We’ve been watching the to and fro regarding the location of the museum with interest, and believe the following points may assist in making a positive decision that the museum be located in the middle of town at the southwest corner of College and Bonita.

As we understand, there is the possibility of the new museum being deeply embedded inside the grounds of Pomona College. We believe this is not the most advantageous spot for the college or for the community. We see Bonita and College—a natural bridge between the Village and the Claremont Colleges—as a way to highlight both “town and gown.” The museum is promised to be a beautiful architectural structure that will hold Pomona’s impressive art collection, which includes Rembrandt, Picasso, JMW Whistler,  Andy Warhol, Karl Benjamin, Ansel Adams, Goya, Orozco and more.

Imagine walking near the corner of College and Bonita and being able to view RSVP Los Angeles, the project series highlighting emerging and under-represented artists, then turning the corner and viewing Pomona’s comprehensive collection of Native American art. All of this right in the heart of Claremont for students, community residents and visitors to explore. The college is including a welcome addition in the design: a room community members may use for meetings and events.

We are excited about all that will be possible once the new structure is built and the museum becomes a local art treasure for all to enjoy.

Diana Miller

CLU community stage

Village Marketing Group

Catherine Curtis

John Fisher Sculpture Project

Village Marketing Group

Brahms and Strads

Dear Editor:

Thank you for your article publicizing the extraordinary musicians who performed on the Stradivarius violin dating to 1714, the Guarneri violin dating to 1742 and a viola similar to the Stradivarius dating to the the 18th century, under the banner of the chamber music group Salastina.

The musicians included the principal cellist and also the principal violist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a violin soloist with the LA Phil and a teacher at the Coburn School of Music, alongside a fascinating and detailed explanation of the music by KUSC’s Brian Lauritzen.

Being in Little Bridges, just a few rows away from such outstanding musicians playing instruments that I never thought I would get to hear live in my lifetime, was incredibly moving and inspiring.

Many thanks to J. Brown Violin Maker for bringing this music into our midst and to Dr. William Sloan for loaning his rare instruments to the musicians so that we could hear them played. I hope that Salastina will return to Claremont once again, and that many more people will take advantage of the opportunity to experience their transcendent music. 

Nancy Mintie

Claremont

Clever title, misinformed opinion

Dear Editor:

YouYoung Kang’s comments in the May 22 COURIER reek of fear and misunderstanding about the future of technology in education. To say that the use of iPads in our CUSD classrooms benefits only the Apple corporation shows little insight in how this iGeneration learns.

Smart technology has been available to these students since their birth; why would we take that away from them in an educational setting? Today’s devices are only limited by the user’s imagination and skills on the device. By conceptualizing an iPad as only an “expensive toy,” Ms. Kang exposes her own limitations.

This year, each of my third graders had their own iPads to use and learn just as they have textbooks. In my 21-year professional opinion, iPads have transformed my students into the type of 21st century learners that the new Common Core State Standards expect and challenge our students to become. Our district’s investment in this unparalleled technology has enabled access to previously inconceivable and sophisticated audio/visual projects and presentations. 

My third grade students have used iPads to conduct research, write reports and make traditional shoe box dioramas come to life by utilizing Green Screen Technology.

Recently, my students completed a project to learn about adaptation. To address this state standard, my third graders worked in collaborative groups on a particular biome. IPads were used to complete the research in an interesting and engaging manner. Green Screen video technology was used to present their project from within the biome. They pieced the video clips, photos and narrative descriptions of animal and plant adaptations into an iMovie production, thus creating sophisticated audio/visual presentations that truly redefined the curriculum in a way previously unimaginable.

Finally, Ms. Kang writes about glitches during testing. In my classroom and school site, I can positively claim that testing has gone very smoothly with regards to the technology. Throughout the year, when problems arose, albeit infrequently, our iPads helped us learn how to become better problem-solvers. It would be “laziness” and a “lack of creative thinking” to discard these devices because of our own limitations.

Clever opinions without research easily captivate those who are uninformed. The truth of the matter is, CUSD has done its homework and has extensively trained its excellent and amazing teachers. The district is committed to our 21st century vision of education.

Jennifer Jensen

Third grade teacher

Condit Elementary School