NorthPrimrose

EVERYBODY LOVES A PARADE!!

Wow!  What a Great Day!!

If you missed the Monrovia Day Parade this morning, you missed a great time.  Of course, if you missed it, you might also have been the only Primrosian who wasn't there, either in it or watching!  Here's a photo run-down of the Saturday morning fun.

Primrose Neighbor and School Board President Ed Gilliand was one of the many elected officials, of course, in the parade. He got to ride in a great Ford Fairlane!  Lucky him!

Ms. Omnipresent Monrovia, Becky Shevlin, brought along a Birthday cake-shaped hat as she joined the Monrovia Reads program.  That woman is everywhere!

Among the cutest entries in the whole parade was the Girl Scouts' Brownie Troop with Monica Wilkerson and Alyssa leading the way with the banner!

Of course, it's hard to have a parade without an audience, and Primrose was well represented.  At one point, we managed to gather the Luconis (yes, all three!), the Parrys and Oulettes in one spot! 

And, a parade also requires bands and flags and floats! the Monrovia Day Parade didn't disappoint!

The MHS Band was one of the leaders of the day!

 

Every good parade has a big red fire engine (or, so Robert says).  Got that covered too!

Oh yeah, you can't have a parade without the Mayor, either. And he gets a fancy convertible, too!!!

Monrovia is a flag waving kinda town, and some of the best presenters of the Stars & Stripes are the MPD Explorer Post color guard.  They looked really spit & polished, as always! Very impressive!

The Blue Star Families, getting started once again here in town were there, as well as many of their service-member families members in uniform, and looking proud.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONROVIA!!!!!

Speeding Update & NPRA General News

Some updates on NPRA and Primrose issues:

Robert talked to CPT Hunt of MPD during the last City Council meeting. He advised that the blue pick-up truck in question has been tickted several times since we brought it to his attention. This is good news!  Also, we are in the MPD traffic enforcement matrix, and should be getting a couple of hours of coverage each week. Several of your have complained that there just does not seem to be enough happening from the City. However, the speed trailer is making another rotation through at Oaks and Primrose, so hopefully that will have an effect. 

We think the consensus of the neighborhood, however, is that passive measures are having a limited effect.  Dennis, from the 200 block, will be sending an email to City Manager Scott Ochoa in an attempt to get more progress.

With that in mind, we'd like to have a neighborhood meeting to discuss some issues.  One of the things that were brought up back in January was the idea that this effort of ours should have some formal structure. We had resisted that idea, because we wanted to keep things simple, and not overbearing.  However, in light of recent developments, we'd like to have a meeting to discuss that very idea.

We will let you know when and where, but would appreciate your thoughts and ideas, plus preferred dates. Email us at northprimrose@gmail.com.  We will try to combine this "business" meeting with a presentation from the Monrovia Police Department on crime prevention, and make it a two-fer, possibly a backyard barbecue.

In addition, as most of you are aware, the Monrovia Police Officers Association and the City Council are at laggerheads over a contract. We have received a lot of questions on this.  We would like to hold a discussion with a representative of the Council and one from the POA so you can ask them questions, face to face, and guage their answers for yourself. We might even make that meeting a three-fer.

Let us know your thoughts.  We hope to see you all at the parade this weekend!

Who Doesn't Love A Parade?

Neighbors:

This Saturday, one of the great traditions of out little town will be rolling down the street, practically in our driveways!

The Annual Monrovia Day Parade - celebrating the official birthday of our little slice of heaven will kick off at 9:00 a.m. Saturday at Myrtle and Foothill.

This is a fun parade, like Christmas, with lots of kids and community groups.  Why not come out and watch?

You can always walk down to the parade, and that's probably a good idea. You'll need to burn off some calories after breakfast:

Pancake Breakfast starts at 6:00 am
at the Community Center
across from Library Park!

Now, as those of you on the South end of the street have probably seen, parking is banned on Primrose, for the parade starting at 6:00 AM Saturday, through noon.  We would have appreciated some sort of courtesy notice from the City, but, well, courtesy does not seem to be a strong suit of City leadership these days. Besides, they've got to organize the parade somewhere and somebody's got to be a bit inconvenienced to make it happen.  This year is our turn.  Consider it the price of living walking distance from  Caffe Opera! And an easy to support the community.

And, just like that, your weekend is planned out for you!

Fire Service Day!

As we previously mentioned, Saturday was Fire Service Day here in Monrovia. If you weren't there, you were one of the few!  We arrived around Nine and the pancake breakfast line was already 15 minutes long - just to pay! It was another 15 or 20 after that to get in.

Lots of Primrose residents were seen.  Chis & Becky Shevlin, of course were on hand.  Daniel and Deanna from the 200 block were there, too!  One of the other guests was nice enough to snap a cell phone picture ofthe four of us in front of a shiny red fire engine!

After we had a satisfying breakfast of pancakes, sausage and coffee, we went to watch MFD demonstrate their extraction techniques, using the "jaws of life" and other tools. 

Two things we learned: 1) If you're in a car wreck, you won't be stuck in it for very long.  2) Do NOT leave your car lying around on the streets on fire service day.  That is, inless you'd like to drive home a convertible!

By the way, the progression of the process, from first punching out of a window, to total removal of the last door, took a grand total of about 10 minutes.

It was pretty darned impressive!

A great show by MFD!  We were thinking it would be a good idea to have a home safety day sometime soon, with some fire fighters to give disaster preparedness and home fire prevention tips. Living in older homes, like many of those on Primrose, can pose challenges. Anybody interested?

Anybody know a GOOD gardener?

Someone on Primrose (who wishes to remain unnamed) has asked us to post the following:

Help! We need a good gardener!  Must actually do the weeding, not just cut the grass and blow it on the neighbor's driveway!

If you know of one like this, please email us at: northprimrose@gmail.com We will let the neighbor know. 

And, if you want the same referral, we'll pass it on to those who ask.

Conversation with CPT Hunt

Folks-

Sunday morning one of our neighbors in the 100 block, Mr. D., followed a black pick-up truck up Primrose all the way to Hillcrest, doing in excess of 45 miles an hour the whole way.

Frankly, you all probably know the one we're talking about.  It is the one with the driver with an active middle finger, who has spat at Maribel and is known to honk his horn up and down the street well after bed time.  Yeah, that guy.

After getting the license plate and watching the driver park, Mr. D. came  to our door, asking for  a letter he could leave on NPRA letterhead.  At this point, we still don't know if he was able to leave it on the truck, but the letter promised that we would be in touch with Monrovia PD. 

And, that we have!

On Monday and Tuesday, Robert talked with CPT Hunt in regard to this and other issues.  We are told (without specifics) that the truck is registered in our local area and it has been put "on the program."

The license plate in question begins with 7E7.  If you see it breaking the law, please call MPD and let them know.

On a related note, several Code Enforcement Officers attempted to carry off one of Lynda and Mike's signs Monday afternoon.  Lynda dashed out and retrieved it.  We are told by CPT Hunt that this was a mistake.  He was surprised, and originally thought it was most likely someone impersonating an officer.  We are assured that this was a misunderstanding and that  SLOWDOWN signs in the parkways have been deemed acceptable (if technically misaligned with the City sign ordinance).

Something to do on a Saturday

Neighbors:

The Monrovia Fire Department will mark Fire Service Day On Saturday, May 10 with demonstrations and a pancake breakfast.

For those of you with kids running around (whether age 6, 36 or 66), this is great fun and very informative. It's a chance to climb on fire engines and watch demonstrations of the skills and equipment our  fire fighters use to keep us safe.  It's also a great learning opportunity for the real young ones, as there's lots of information on things to keep 'm safe.

For everyone, regardless of your interest in lights and sirens and hoses (and big, hunky, muscular men, Maribel wants to add), there is a great opportunity to support these brave guys, say thanks AND have a tasty meal - $3.00 pancakes!

So, come one out and support them on the morning of May 10, at Fire Station 1, 141 El Lemon Avenue, right behind City Hall, off Myrtle.  Here's a picture of MFD in action last month!

Oh Deer!

Teddy took Robert out for a walk on Friday evening, shortly before 7:00, all the way up to Hillcrest.  As they approached Kevin's house, we saw three guests calmly strolling out of his driveway.  They had munched on his rose bushes, Kevin said, all the while video taping them as they gently crossed the street to see what Kerry & Carrie had for floral snacks. 

Kerry came out to show his new baby the visiting fauna, while traffic on Hillcrest slowed at the majestic site. And at least one guy just about fell of his bicycle when he discovered he'd glided to within 15 feet of the quiet visitors, without even noticing them.

Soon, though, they'd had enough treats, and decided to head home, crossing Hillcrest in the Vesper light, and, in the process, creating the first traffic jam we've ever seen in these parts. Robert whipped out his cell phone to capture these images.  If anyone has better, please forward them!

Teddy had by now noticed the creatures who are significantly bigger than him, and, as always, really wanted to go say hello, straining at his leash to drag Robert along.  They followed, with the drivers nice enough to let them cross, just a few feet behind.  A little farther up Primrose, the three visitors stopped along the side of the road, finding yet another natural delicacy.  Soon, however, they decided that the trailing papparazzi (and his little dog), were cramping their style, and headed into the back yard of a house in the 400 block.

Clearly, we are blessed to live so close to the wildlife.  (Well, it does have its drawbacks.  Wally and Mary John up near Primrose and Scenic had to abandon their rose bushes years ago, as the deer found them too tasty to ignore.)  There really are few places in LA County where you can run across deer on your evening stroll.

And, contrary to popular belief, it's not just folks in the 300 and 400 blocks, up close to the hills who get to enjoy these close encounters with nature's gifts. Regardless of where you are on Primrose (or much of Monrovia), you are close to wildlife.

Folks who joined NPRA early, back before this Blog went up, might remember the story we emailed about Eric and Monica from the 100 block.  Eric found himself confronting a full-grown bear in his front yard early one morning around last Thanksgiving time. That's just over a hundred yards north of Foothill, not really in the hills.  That guy eventually lumbered his way back into the wilderness, with MPD clearing the way.

We live in a special place indeed!

Backyard Beauties!

In the spirit of our review of Primrose Roses from Sunday, Lauren, from the 200 block, offers up this selection from insider her home.  These amazing blooms started in her backyard but are presently brightening things inside.  Nice work, Lauren!

We show them here nice and big, for your viewing pleasure.  Anyone else with more photos should send them to us at the email address!

City Installs Speed Limit Signs

Neighbors:

During our rose hunting walkabout this morning, Robin, from the 200 block, pointed out to us that the promised 25 MPH signs have gone in. 

This is a good sign (pun intended)!  We were beginning to get concerned that the City was going to fail to follow through.  Clearly they did not!  Kudos to the City Manager and Public Works Director Doug Fike!

As you may recall, the plan is to watch the effect of the new signs, and see how traffic does until the end of the month, then get together again.  We will get in touch with the City to set that meeting.

One thing we cannot emphasize enough - call in egregious speeders, especially if you get license numbers.

One neighbor was recently spat at by a guy in a large blue truck. This is not acceptable.  We're geting closer to success - and peace!