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The Allure is Gone, originally uploaded by matzahgrrl.

Here is a funny (and sad) photo by Matzahgrrl. Tough times for retail…another one bites the dust!

photo by jenna_cmyk.

I still haven’t been inside Monrovia’s record store, Family Music. I suppose one day I should poke my head in. I’m allergic to dust and old books and the like, so part of me rebels.

Well, it looks as if the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension is back on track, er, pun intended.

Foothill Extension representative Linda Manning sent out an information email today with encouraging words for all those looking forward to having light rail access in Monrovia.

“The Los Angeles The Los Angeles County Registrar made the results official on Tuesday, December 2, 2008 with Measure R passing with 67.93% approval. Although passage was anticipated following the November 4th election, provisional and absentee ballots were yet to be finalized before the December 2nd certification deadline,” wrote Manning. “The first phase of the Foothill Extension (Phase 2A through Azusa) is one of many projects listed within Measure R’s Operating Plan, with funding availability slated as early as 2010.”

She indicated that the best case timeline has been revised as follows:

December 2009

Commencement of the design / build procurement process for both the Santa Anita Aerial Structure and the Foothill Extension Phase 2A Alignment

June 2010

Recommend award of Santa Anita (Arcadia) Aerial Structure

August 2010

Groundbreaking for Santa Anita Aerial Structure

February 2011

Recommend Award of Foothill Extension Phase 2A contract

Groundbreaking for Foothill Extension Phase 2A

December 2013

Phase 2A Revenue Service

For more details on this topic, visit the Foothill Extension Website.

California Lofts, originally uploaded by Living in Monrovia.

More housing for Monrovia near California and Central. Now we just need some people!

The Wishing Well, originally uploaded by Living in Monrovia.

Finally a nice new business where the old pet store used to be on Old Town Monrovia.

Lunch at Garden Grill, originally uploaded by Tales of an LA Addict.

“Tales of an LA Addict” has been quite prolific lately in shooting Monrovia eateries. Here is the latest pic, of the Mediterranean Garden Grill on Foothill. Can anyone comment on the food?

Dinner at Bella Sera Trattoria, originally uploaded by Tales of an LA Addict.

I do enjoy dining outside at Bella Sera. Nice shot by “Tales of an LA Addict.”

More people than ever are looking for jobs and I’m sure the occasional bargain. To this end, I’ve added up-to-the-minute Craigslist feeds in my sidebar, all specific to Monrovia. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Abandoned Train Station, originally uploaded by ls2_zed.

Well, geeez, I’ve certainly posted pictures of our old train station on this blog before, but this HDR pic by “ls2_zed” takes the cake. I just had to post! Do view LARGER. I mean, criminey, does it get any better than this? I might as well bury my Canon six feet under and call it a day.

I have to say I have a soft spot for raccoons. They are just cute. Their black masks and fingers just make me melt. Usually, though, I don’t see them, despite knowing they are all around me. Tricky varmints, they are. It amazes me that skunks, opossums, squirrels and these raccoons all live in our midst and yet we rarely run across them.

Er, scratch that. I actually run across skunks more often than I’d like, or to put it another way, they run across in front of me, more like stroll, in the evening time. Thank god for that white stripe or I might not see them and…squirt! Well, you know the rest.

My dogs, on the other hand, in their olfactory adventures, haven’t been so lucky, poor little darlings.
OH MY GAWD, originally uploaded by Dom the Ghost.

Let’s step outside of Monrovia for a minute and see how ugly areas of buildings in other cities have been transformed. Before, and …

…After. I’ve always loved murals done for the purpose of beautifying an ugly or plain wall. Check out the work of Eric Grohe, an award-winning muralist who has transformed cities across the U.S.

Has anyone else noticed that Monrovia Presbyterian Church (Foothill & Myrtle) has started playing recorded bells on the hour every hour of the day? I used to love hearing real church bells when living in Italy, when they rang in the early evening to call people to services, but these cheesy recorded bells seem like more of an annoyance than a pleasure. This happens to be the same recording that my high school used (and I lived a block away then also, well within earshot), which makes it even more tiresome for me.

Monrovia’s Future Vroman’s, originally uploaded by Living in Monrovia.

Locals are were finally getting the bookstore they’ve been pining for! What a nice job in renovating this former eyesore of a building.