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Friends, family, organizers, and volunteers from Claremont After-School Programs gathered November 9 at Claremont Graduate University to celebrate CLASP’s 20th anniversary and the volunteers who have dedicated 15 years or more to the program, including Cass Armstrong, pictured here. Photo/by Denise Zondervan
Solomon Salim Moore has been named academic curator at Pomona College’s Benton Museum of Art. Moore will oversee academic programs and class visits to the museum and direct its intern program.
“In the ‘tough on crime’ 1990s, legislators enacted various statutes, including California’s Three Strikes law, designed to punish and isolate rather than rehabilitate those who commit crimes. Times have changed. From 2020 to 2024, former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón pushed for reforms that emphasized rehabilitation. But there has been a sharp decline in public interest for criminal justice reform. Many nonprofits that donated to Gascón’s previous campaign, flourishing during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, no longer exist. Criminal justice reform is no longer a top agenda item for many. This rapid loss of momentum reveals a troubling truth: criminal justice reform, and other forms of activism, have become trends.”
President Trump’s slew of executive orders since taking office January 20, particularly his attempt to end birthright citizenship in the United States, has unsettled many students at the Claremont Colleges. “My mom got birthright citizenship here. A lot of my friends have birthright citizenship … It’s kind of scary, especially at Pitzer, [where] we have a lot of international students,” said Pitzer College sophomore Karina Swerdloff. “But as horrible as he is, he doesn’t have much power to change the Constitution.” Photo/Courtesy of White House
“It’s hard — if not impossible — to discern the root causes and solutions for managing the Los Angeles fires. At this point, it’s far too early for definitive answers. Yet that hasn’t stopped the flow of mis- and disinformation to the public, making it difficult to know what to believe.
When the fires were raging, President Trump seemed more focused on assigning blame to Governor Newsom and the State of California for alleged poor pre-fire management. The timing of this criticism felt odd, given the widespread public concern and the heroic efforts of first responders and other agencies. It was hardly the morale boost the situation called for.”
Earlier this month, the City of Claremont announced Police Chief Aaron Fate would be retiring April 1. Fate’s estimated monthly pension in retirement will be $17,071, or $204,852 annually. The retirement package does not include medical insurance. Fate began his CPD career in 1999. He was named chief of police in 2021, replacing Shelly Vander Veen. Courier file photo
Robert Gaines, the Edwin F. and Martha Hahn Professor of Geology, is the acting president of Pomona College for the 2025 spring semester. Gaines, a geologist, has taught at Pomona College since 2003 and served as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college from 2019 to 2022. He’s been published in Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Geology, and other outlets. Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr is on sabbatical and will return in the fall. Photo/courtesy of Pomona College
The Youth Activity Center was a multicultural hub Wednesday afternoon as dozens of students, including Claremont High’s Eunice Lee, shown here playing with a Korean gonggi stone, made arts and crafts projects and games based on Swiss, Indian, Japanese, German, Chinese, and Korean traditions. The event was part of “art around the world,” a middle years program project. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
Tremoloco, masters of Tex-Mex, country, gulf coast, and “cantina music,” returns to the Folk Music Center in Claremont at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 8. The acclaimed band features Claremont’s own Cougar Estrada on drums, piano and percussion; Ontario native, LA roots rock legend and guitar virtuoso Jeffrey P. Ross; Tony Zamora on vocals and various stringed instruments; Roberto Rodriguez on vocals, accordion, bajo sexto, and guitar; and Mike J. Woodford on percussion. Photo/by Rose Brandt
Congratulations to Paula Pitzer, one of eight readers who correctly identified last week’s “Where am I?” as Betty Davenport Ford’s dolphin sculpture at Mt. San Antonio Gardens’ koi ponds. Paula is now entered into the year-end drawing for a one-year subscription to everyone’s favorite award-winning local newspaper, the Claremont Courier. So, “Where am I” this week? Email your answer, full name, and city of residence — and suggestions for future mystery photos — to contest@claremont-courier.com for your chance to win. Courier photo/Tom Smith
Claremont Graduate University’s Board of Trustees recently named Executive Vice President and Provost Michelle Blighas its interim president. Bligh will be CGU’s second interim president in less than a year when she takes the reins from current interim PresidentTim Kirley on March 1. Kirley succeeded former CGU President Len Jessup, who resigned in March 2024 after six years on the job. Photo/courtesy of CGU
A Jurupa Valley man was charged with attempted murder following a January 23 shooting in Claremont that injured three people, including the alleged gunman. Claremont police received reports of gunfire in the 600 block of Colgate Place at 7:23 p.m. January 23. Arriving officers found two male victims with critical gunshot wounds, as well as the alleged shooter, 33-year-old Erik William Guevara of Jurupa Valley, and a handgun. All three were treated at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. Guevara was subsequently arrested and booked at CPD on two felony counts of attempted murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo
Claremont Courier event calendar: January 31 – February 8, 2025
A Jurupa Valley man has been charged with attempted murder after a January 23 shooting in Claremont injured three people, including the alleged gunman. The Claremont Police Department received multiple reports of gunfire in the 600 block of Colgate Place at 7:23 p.m. Thursday, January 23. Arriving officers found two male victims with critical gunshot wounds, as well as the alleged shooter, 33-year-old Erik Guevara of Jurupa Valley, and a handgun.
A fast-moving snowstorm blanketed the San Gabriel Mountains with up to three feet of snow in higher elevations on Sunday. Mt. Baldy saw heavy snowfall above 5,000 feet, easing an otherwise mostly dry winter. Claremont received an inch of rain. The weather is expected to remain mostly clear and cool for the rest of the week, with no precipitation in the forecast. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger
The 80th Scripps College Ceramic Annual, the longest continuous exhibition of contemporary ceramics in the United States, returns to Scripps College’s Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, 251 E. 11th St., Claremont, from Saturday, February 1 through Sunday, April 6. A free and public opening reception will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, February 1.
Claremont Courier event calendar: January 24 – February 1, 2025