The Los Angeles Times reports Bell residents have taken "the first step" toward recalling the four city councilmembers who are pulling down six-figure salaries.

Article on the 30/10 initiative, which would have the feds lend money to the MTA, which the MTA would repay from Measure R funds. We'd get things built faster, and jobs would be created faster (not by November, of course, but faster).

At the end of the article, there's a note that

Funny thing happened when I read the SGV Tribune this morning. I saw an editorial written by a former student of mine, Alfredo Gonzalez. He wrote in support of Prop 21 on the November ballot, which would impose an $18 charge on top of your VLF (Vehicle License Fee) when you register your car.

Twenty-five cents for a box of twelve (six 2-packs) gingerbread Pop-Tarts. There's a cart full of them near the cash register of the Big Lots in Alhambra (Valley, at Almansor).

Last night the Rosemead Planning Commission held its annual review of Wal-Mart. It snuck up on me; since the store opened in late September, I assumed the review would be in late September instead of mid-August.

The city of San Gabriel (like the city of Rosemead) is replacing its street signs to meet federal visibility standards. Turns out someone in San Gabriel came up with a nifty idea--They're going to sell off the old signs for $35 a pop.

Nice story in the Mid Valley News about the Rosemead Youth Leadership Center, which (among other things) provides an afterschool alternative for students in the Garvey School District.

If you read his recent editorial, you'd get the idea he favors increased housing density and a shift to more pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use, transit-oriented, environmentally sustainable developments.