TRAIL BLAZING

Word on the street is that Tim Donnelly is considering a run for California Governor. Mr. Donnelly is a Republican member of the California State Assembly, representing the 33rd district. On January 4, 2011,  Mr. Donnelly was cited and released after carrying a loaded firearm while attempting to board a flight at Ontario Airport.

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THE ROSENTHALS?

Claremont residents Michael and Karen Rosenthal just completed a 33-day trip covering nearly all of South America.

According to sources, the couple journeyed from Buenos Aires south to Cape Horn, up the west coast through the Panama Canal and through the Caribbean. Their May 1 return came none too soon as it was reported the Rosenthals’ visiting graduate student has been concerned about mysterious peanut shells that recently appeared on their home patio—the shells were most likely left by visiting blue jays for these very active empty-nesters.

START SPREADING THE NEWS

Subtitled “serendipitous poetry from The New York Times,” the newspaper launched a Haiku blog concurrent with National Poetry Month on April 2, 2013. The brainchild of Michael Bever and Andrea Eldridge, the Claremont COURIER launched its weekly Adventures in Haiku in October of 2011.

Jacob Harris, a senior software architect at the New York Times, developed an algorithm that periodically checks the Times home page and scans each sentence looking for potential haikus by using an electronic dictionary containing syllable counts.

An interesting approach by the Times. Call us old-fashioned, but the COURIER prefers non-digital poetry.

For more on Mr. Harris’ project, visit http://haiku.nytimes.com/about.

CLAREMONT ON WIKIPEDIA

Claremont’s Wikipedia listing starts out okay.

“Claremont is primarily residential, with a significant portion of its commercial activity revolving around ‘The Village,’ a popular collection of street-front small stores, boutiques, art galleries, offices, and restaurants adjacent to and west of the Claremont Colleges.”

When you get to the description of the expansion, however, the tone goes downhill.

“The Village was expanded in 2007, adding a controversial multi-use development that includes a cinema, a boutique hotel, retail space, offices, and a parking structure on the site of an old citrus packing plant just west of Indian Hill Boulevard. Some critics say that the expansion negatively altered the original, small-town feel of The Village.”

Is the expasion still controversial? If so, Sammy wonders where you come down on the issue, pro or con?

EUREKA! THEY’VE GOT IT

Claremont’s Eureka Burger was only the second location for the ever-expanding eatery, Redlands being the first.

A recent look at their website revealed the addition of 5 more restaurants—in Bakersfield, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Diego—with at least 3 more slated to open soon, including a tasting kitchen at the Hawthorne Airport and 2 full-service restaurants in Berkeley and Indian Wells.

MIND BOGGLING

Harvey Mudd College was the only university in the nation to earn a spot on Forbes’ top 100 schools list with students who “study most” while still placing on Fiesta Frog’s Top 100 Party Schools and Universities. Harvey Mudd placed 91st in the latter category.

WE MISSED THIS

A subscriber wondered, “Did you notice all of the hanging wood pieces on top of the light poles along Indian Hill in the Village section? Attached by a string, they differ at each intersection. I noticed a rabbit and eagle. Another one had a gun and immigrant sign.”

The impromptu art appeared on a Saturday morning and, according to our source, were gone by the following Friday. Anyone who has information on this should send it to sammy@claremont-courier.com.

WHAT YOU’RE SAYING ABOUT THE COURIER

•  Whoever is doing the writing for the Police Blotter section of the paper (I see the name Beth Harnett on the byline) is doing a great job. Bravo!  I actually find this section of the paper both informative and entertaining.  She’s taking the “just the facts ma’am” and adding her own conversational style in just the right combination…reflecting the gravity of certain situations while, in others, injecting a balanced and fair amount of subtle irony/humor. Good job.

• Wish you had waited for the Saturday mail’s final decision. I absolutely hate the new version. I have been a subscriber since the 1960s and a friend of Marty’s and Jan’s. The much higher price for seniors is unfair, as they will profit the least of all from the ads. Please keep articles, especially obits, shorter.

• What you have done to the COURIER is simply amazing. Love the new weekly edition and really appreciate the digital updates.

• Love, love history of Claremont, the Village, business, schools, founding fathers, anything. More please!

• I HATE letters to the editor where wanna-be writers seize the opportunity to pontificate to excess. There should be a 3-paragraph limit so readers don’t have to die of boredom. A good writer can certainly express themselves in that time.

Until next time,

Sammy