"I've been studying Washington politics and Congress for more than 40 years," said Norman Ornstein, the nationally known congressional scholar and commentator on American politics before an attentive crowd at the Claremont United Church of Christ last Sunday evening, "and never have I seen them this dysfunctional."
Thank you for publishing a story about the city’s plan to remove the 50-foot-tall pine trees in The Club neighborhood, which appeared in the March 1 edition of the COURIER.
Like Tonya Bennitt, quoted in the article, many of us who chose to live in The Club neighborhood were attracted by the pine trees, which give the neighborhood its distinctive quality. They are also appreciated by the dozens of Claremont residents from outside the immediate neighborhood who enjoy walking, jogging, biking or pushing baby strollers on these streets every day of the week.
Over the last 2 weeks, there has been discussion in the COURIER about the pine tree mitigation project in the development known as “The Club” (surrounding The Claremont Club on Monte Vista).
The petition presented to the COURIER by Tonya Bennitt, a homeowner in the association, has 28 signatures, unverified. There are 309 homeowners in The Club HOA, so this represents a very small percentage.
I cried twice this weekend. The second time was at the memorial service for a woman whose kindness was limitless. She helped start the program I now chair at our church and, as I sat down for the service, I was out of sorts and unfocused, thinking about where I had to be next. Then her children spoke. I cried so hard, I was afraid I might cause a disturbance.
SO LONG, RAKU
Raku on Yale Avenue has closed. The space has been for lease for sometime, but the owners previously said they were looking for a new spot to lease in the Village. Raku, and its sister store Paper Star, have been located on Yale for 40 years, offering cards and unique gifts.
The Daily Beast online ranked the top 25 “Amazing But Overlooked” colleges in the nation. Claremont McKenna College landed on their list of schools “You Haven’t Considered But Should.” The single greatest overlooked quality at CMC? A debtless degree.
Like Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, the Daily Beast notes, is CMC has a “penchant for helping in-need students.” CMC was the third “small” school—those with an endowment below $600 million—to make the no-loan pledge to students.
There is something positive to be said about the city of Claremont as it currently stands.
The city’s portfolio is widespread, no longer so heavily dependent on auto sales or any one source of revenue. Auto Center Drive is once again bustling with business, the council just approved a new housing development off Base Line Road and Mountain Avenue and there is finally movement in the long-dilapidated Peppertree Square.
