Editors Picks
(L-R) Resident Richard Bowen and La Verne City Manager Tim Hepburn at La Verne City Council’s November 3 meeting, where the council voted 5-0 to authorize a series of water rate increases that will ultimately see customers’ bills more than double. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
It was winter, and though nighttime temperatures dropped to -10F, we only had summer clothes. My father caught a cold and had a high fever. My mother and I sewed jackets for my children and father from blankets. The bathrooms were very dirty, the food barely edible. In the first 24 hours, I ate only a boiled egg. After five days and nights, we boarded a plane headed to America. Forty-eight hours later we arrived at Philadelphia International Airport. It was August 30, 2021. Exhausted and hungry, we were ready to start our new lives. Photo/courtesy of Nabila Painda
We worked with women who had never attended school, including some who had not been allowed to leave their homes. They were unaware of their rights and lacked skills beyond household chores. Our goal was to educate them to the best of our ability. Many eventually joined schools and later, universities. But sadly, history repeated itself: on August 14, 2021 I was on my way to work when a man dressed in the garb of a Taliban member stood in front of me and shouted, “If you don’t want to die, go back home; a woman’s place is at home.” Photo/by Hamed Painda
Following a tumultuous seven hour meeting in which emotions ran extremely high, the Claremont City Council voted unanimously early Wednesday to affirm its “longstanding practice of not adopting resolutions or issuing proclamations that take an official city position on social or political issues that are not local to Claremont,” essentially rejecting an alternative declaration that would have called for a cease-fire in Gaza. This story will be updated later today. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger
Claremont Colleges students staged a sit-in protest on December 8 demanding Pomona College divest funds from its endowment they say are benefiting weapons manufacturers and institutions that aid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. The students also demanded Pomona College officials call for a cease-fire in the conflict. “I and other administrators have repeatedly offered to meet when protestors have come to Alexander Hall, but these offers have been refused,” wrote Pomona College President Gabrielle Starr in a post on the school’s website. “I remain open to dialogue with students.” Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
Twenty-two-year-old Mira Nadon will tread a familiar stage this weekend for Inland Pacific Ballet’s annual staging of “The Nutcracker.” Nadon, a former Claremont resident and IPB trainee turned pro with New York City Ballet, will be dancing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy December 16-17 at Bridges Auditorium. “It’s super special,” said Nadon, who was 11 when she danced the role of Clara for IPB’s 2012 show. “It’s always fun to look back on that time.” Photo/courtesy of Erin Baiano
Several of those interviewed for the new documentary, “Peter Case: a Million Miles Away,” said the acclaimed, twice Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and author should be playing larger venues, and that more people should be aware of his wide-ranging catalog. Case has no such grievances.
“Isn’t Israel, in how it is conducting its campaign to destroy Hamas, combined with the steady stream of images of dead innocent Palestinian children flooding our social media feeds, very likely creating a far more dangerous enemy?”
Seventeen-year-old Vivian Webb School senior Jenny Wang, co-editor-in-chief of the Webb Canyon Chronicle, captain of the school’s debate team and co-ed badminton squad, and podcaster, can now add “published author” to her already bulging resume. Her first book, “Universal Faith: Conversations with 15 Religious Leaders in Southern California,” was published August 29 and is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. Photo/by Emily Li
A woman wearing a sleek suit with a ruffled shirt and bow tie sits on a stool on a stage, holding a guitar. As the lights go up, her fingers begin to fly up and down the neck as her right hand plucks the strings in a blur, releasing the notes of a soul-stirring flamenco song. The musician is Charo, whose guitar virtuosity has been one of pop culture’s best-kept (or perhaps most-ignored) secrets. But she’s aiming to change that. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 16 she’ll debut a new guitar-centric show at Lewis Family Playhouse, 12505 Cultural Center Dr., Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739. Tickets are more info are at cityofrc.us/events. Photo/courtesy of Reyes Entertainment
It was difficult to comprehend what I was seeing in that Lake Tahoe hotel room back in 1993. We’d had a few beers and shared a joint, and things were a little fuzzy. “This is a hold-up,” read the note, handwritten on neatly folded yellow legal paper. “You will not be harmed … Put the money in the envelop … Keep smiling – be quick … There is two of us.” He would hand that note to a bank teller and stand there calmly while she — it was always a woman, he said — crammed stacks of bills into a manila envelope. That kind of risk — and cruelty — was as foreign to me as I could imagine. I’d never been so close to a criminal before, and this one was my father.
Claremont-based nonprofit Parents Anonymous celebrated the third anniversary of its California Parent and Youth Helpline on May 9. The free help line serves parents and children of all ages who need emotional support or mental health services, information, or access to Parents Anonymous’ weekly therapy groups.
Nadia Murad has had a busy year. Last month she sat down with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly. In February she met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. And that’s not all.
Claremont High School alumna Kristina Leopold, 28, is living the dream. The Claremont native recently moved to New York City to begin work as an alternate in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “SIX.”
In 1993, Gabby Giffords graduated from Scripps College with a B.A. in sociology and Latin American history. Eighteen years later, she had just begun her third term as an Arizona Congresswoman when on January 8, 2011, while speaking at a “Congress on Your Corner” event in Tucson, she survived a gunshot to the head. Six people were killed and 13 others injured in the mass shooting.
Giffords, who now runs an eponymous gun-safety advocacy group, embarked on a difficult and ongoing road to recovery, captured in the recently released documentary “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.”
The COURIER has selected four local high school competitors as its outstanding athletes of the season for fall 2022. Students from both Webb and Claremont High School were named to the inaugural cohort.
Sometimes it’s important to stop and take a breath when assessing how a company is meeting its goals and challenges. That’s especially true for a nonprofit trying to make a difference in Claremont. On the surface for the Claremont COURIER, the good news is many things are also staying the same. The print edition continues to be delivered on Friday, the website is updated almost every day to stay on top of breaking news, our popular email newsletter is sent Thursday nights, each month we have a special edition inserted in the newspaper, and we continue our presence on social media, focusing on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (although we will evaluate if Twitter is still worthwhile as Elon Musk sinks the platform).