As noted yesterday, the JPL open house was this weekend (May 19 and 20).  It's often too crowded to actually learn much, but it's still nice to see what the rocket scientists up on the hill are working on.

The first picture attached below is a full-scale model of the Voyager spacecraft.  They flew by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune during the late 1970s and 1980s: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/current/voyager.html

In New York City, some of the neighborhoods are sort of acronyms of the nearby streets.  For example, Tribeca refers to theTRIangle BElow CAnal Street.  Soho is the area SOuth of HOuston Street.

Oddly enough, it was some kind of car commercial that got me thinking of this.

Then, in my typical free association state, I thought to myself, "Hmmm.  So if Rosemead was like New York, then my neighborhood would be . . . NoVa."  You know-- NOrth of VAlley.

I think Ron was trying to keep a lower profile, so I won't include his last name here.  But you know who you are, and I'm sure your fellow SOC-colleagues know who you are, too.

Ron was appointed last week to fill one of three vacancies on the city traffic commission.

I don't know the names of the other appointees.  And there wasn't a story about this in the Tribune.  Apparently, the planning commission appointees were more controversial because of things I and others have posted to this website.  Apparently, I get blamed for everything that appears on this website, regardless of who writes it.

Well, I was hoping someone else would log on to congratulate me, but it looks like I have to plan my own celebration. :)

On Monday, I was one of four new appointees to the city's Planning Commission.  I'll be joined by Larry Bevington, who I'm sure you all know.  I don't personally know the other two new appointees, and I only saw the holdover reappointee preside over a single commission meeting.  But I do hope we can all work together to improve the quality of life in Rosemead.

A city resident assembled this list of restaurants in Rosemead.  His desire is to see us help build up our local economy by eating locally.  That creates jobs in our city and keeps tax revenue at home, for our benefit.  Additionally, if currently-existing restaurants are profitable, it creates an incentive for other (hopefully, a variety of other) restaurants and other business to move to Rosemead to join in the profits.  It also means we can enjoy a meal out with out a long drive to some other city.

. . . Or, at least, a FALL in sales tax revenue!

Sales Tax Revenue to Rosemead

Fourth Quarter 2005 (November 15, 2005 - February 14, 2006):

     $705,202

Fourth Quarter 2006 (November 15, 2006 - February 14, 2007):

     $684,190

Change, 2006 - 2007:  -$21,012

Percent Change:  -3%

Bottom line:  With Wal-Mart open in Rosemead during the entire Fourth quarter of 2006, and covering the holiday shopping season when most retailers have sales that rival or exceed their sales for the other three quarters of the year combined, total sales tax revenue to the city of Rosemead DROPPED 3% in comparison to the same period for the previous year.

Polly Low asked me to post this to our site:

Today's San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Pasadena Star-News picked up an opinion piece from the New York Sun on the coming of Go-Go Curry to New York.  The writer foresaw this as the next "thing."  First curry, then kaiseki:

http://www.sgvtribune.com/opinions/ci_5467637

I think she's way off base.  After all, Hurry Curry and Curry House have both been here in Los Angeles for years, yet neither shows the sort of crossover appeal of even an El Pollo Loco.  I'm sure they do a fine business, but they're not going to be popping up on every corner.