An e-bike for $75 a year, in four of our five cities

Four of the five cities we cover qualify their residents for an electric bike at $75 a year with no income test, and a $2,000 cargo-bike voucher round opens for review this fall.

Residents of four of the five cities this newsletter covers can rent an electric bicycle from a regional public agency for $75 a year, with no income test. The rider has to be 18 or older and able to show they live in the San Gabriel Valley. The program is nine years old. The next round of a separate $2,000 voucher toward buying a cargo bike opens for review this fall.

GoSGV is run by the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments and the transportation nonprofit ActiveSGV. The SGVCOG says it was awarded $4.55 million in August 2017 from the California Transportation Commission's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant to form a valley bike share, that the grant funded 840 bikes, and that the fleet now stands at 900 e-bikes and e-trikes; it credits further support to SCAG, Metro, Metro ExpressLanes and the California Strategic Growth Council (SGVCOG program page). The member keeps one assigned bike, with a lock, charger, helmet and maintenance included, for as long as the monthly fee is paid (FAQ).

The commuter bike lists at $69 a month, $49 for students 18 and over and seniors 62 and over, and $29 for veterans. Residents of Alhambra, Avocado Heights, Monterey Park, Rosemead, San Gabriel and South El Monte are quoted $75 a year, or $6.26 a month, under what GoSGV calls the Equity Cities Membership, which the program states carries no income requirement (rate card). Cargo and family bikes are $149 a month standard and $35 a month for equity members on a three-month term (rate card). Temple City appears on neither the Equity Cities list nor the voucher priority list below; a Temple City resident qualifies for the program on valley residency like anyone else, and reaches the same $6.26 rate only through the income-based membership, which GoSGV describes as being for residents of other SGV cities who receive CalFresh, Medi-Cal, WIC or CalWORKs (FAQ).

A refundable deposit of $125 is required for the commuter bike and $500 for a cargo bike, or $250 for income-qualifying members; delivery is $50, and applicants upload two proofs of residency and sign an agreement before pickup (rate card, member guide). Equity members are asked to complete an intake survey, install the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's OpenPATH app to track their trips, and complete a survey afterward; GoSGV says that data is what keeps the program funded (FAQ). Repairs run through partner shops rather than any bike shop, and of the shops GoSGV lists, one is inside these five cities: Temple City Bike Shop, 9628 E Las Tunas Dr, (626) 287-6936. The first flat is free (member guide).

The voucher is a separate program that takes $2,000 off the counter price of an eligible cargo or family bike at a participating valley shop. The SGVCOG says it added the voucher in 2025 after demand outran the cargo fleet, that pre-applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and that the next award period begins with application reviews in fall 2026; it names Alhambra, Monterey Park, Rosemead and San Gabriel among the I-10 corridor communities in its priority group (SGVCOG program page, voucher page).

A pre-application is not an award, and the SGVCOG states the rationing rule: "If Pre-Applications exceed budgeted supply, Participants will be selected at random. Otherwise, all Eligible Participants who submit a Pre-Application will be awarded a voucher." It also says an applicant must not have received a GoSGV voucher before, that recipients must complete a rider safety course, and that they consent to a University of Tennessee study, which includes surveys, OpenPATH trip tracking, and keeping the bike for the study's duration (SGVCOG program page). Applications and the full rate card are at gosgv.com; the program lists [email protected] and (626) 652-2832.

In this section, in order: Rosemead, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Temple City, and one regional item.

1515 Walnut Grove Avenue: a Mitigated Negative Declaration is on file, and a hearing date appears with no notice attached. Rosemead's Current Projects listing describes the site as General Plan Amendment 24-01, Zone Change 24-01, Planned Development 24-01 and Tentative Tract Map No. 84626 (191 residential units on a 9.28-acre site), and states "Special Planning Commission Hearing on September 23, 2026 at 7:00 p.m." on the project's own tile (Current Projects listing). A Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project was entered in the state's CEQA database on 27 August (SCH #2026081013, CEQAnet record); the CEQAnet record gives its public-review period as 27 August to 16 September 2026, so the window closed the day before this issue.

The city's own calendar feed lists a "Special Planning Commission Meeting" for 23 September at 7:00 p.m. with no attached link or description (calendar feed), and the city's Granicus meeting-archive page lists the same "Planning Commission Special Meeting" for 23 September among "Upcoming Events" with no agenda or minutes link next to it (meeting schedule). Three of the city's own systems show the date; none of them link a notice or agenda explaining it.

Rosemead's council took up a letter to the Sheriff's Department about how captains assigned to the city are chosen. A Commercial Task Force document on the city's records portal returned a server error on every attempt, so what it recommends could not be read (records portal). The city's 8 September council agenda, read directly, does carry a separate, related item: "Discussion And Direction on Drafting a Letter to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Regarding the Selection Process for Sheriff Captains," with the council asked only to "discuss and provide direction" (agenda). What direction, if any, the council gave is not posted.

Rosemead's public-records portal has posted nothing newer than a May 2026 permit listing report. The newest entry returned by the portal's own listing-report search, sorted by publication date, is dated 24 June 2026 and covers "Permit listing report for May 2026" (permit-report search).

Rosemead posted an El Niño storm-preparation notice only to its homepage news carousel. "Mitigation and Preparation for El Niño" is listed as published 10 September 2026 among the city's "Featured News Stories" (news item).

Rosemead's council was asked, on 8 September, to adopt a resolution approving a peak-hour bus lane project on Garvey Avenue. The agenda item (Resolution No. 2026-46, advised by the SGV Forward Subcommittee) describes "side-running peak-hour bus lanes operating in the hours between 7AM - 9AM and 4PM - 7PM, transit signal priority, and bus shelter upgrades along Garvey Avenue between New Avenue and the eastern City limits," plus authorization to negotiate with LA Metro and/or the SGVCOG (agenda).

Per the staff report, if the corridor cities approve the scope, SGVCOG plans to seek environmental clearance by the end of 2026, pursue Metro funding, and target construction for the end of 2027 (staff report). Whether the council adopted the resolution is not posted. The minutes of the council's 25 August special meeting were published as an attachment to the 8 September agenda packet (minutes); by that route the 8 September minutes would appear with the 22 September packet, which has not posted (meeting schedule).

The state CEQA database carries a Los Angeles Metro freeway-ramp project touching Rosemead. A Notice of Exemption for "I-10/Rosemead Boulevard Freeway [Westbound] Ramp Improvements - LACMTA Project ID# MR4.1.2.08, FTIP# LA9918871" was received 1 August 2024, listed under the City of Rosemead as lead agency (SCH #2024080014, CEQAnet record).

Rosemead's Current Projects page carries six other listings, most without further detail posted. 909 San Gabriel Blvd is a new entry on the page with no project description beyond the address (project listing). 8001 Garvey Avenue is listed as a Pre-Application (project listing). 8500 & 8512 Garvey Avenue is listed with no further description (project listing). A five-lot small-lot subdivision at 4036 Walnut Grove Avenue is listed as "Under Construction" (project listing).

A seven-lot small-lot subdivision is listed at 3220 Walnut Grove Ave (project listing). The project at 7539 & 7545 Garvey Avenue (6,346 square feet of commercial space and 75 apartment units, some live/work, 7 stories) was labeled "Residential / Commercial Mixed Use" on the city's listing in late August and now carries the name "Prospect Villa" for the same address and description (project listing).

Two Monterey Park commissions met the night of 8 September, and neither decision has posted. The Recreation and Parks Commission's special meeting took up "Removal of the George Elder Scout Hut," asking the commission to consider "1. Supporting the removal of the George Elder Scout Hut; 2. Discussing potential future uses for the space" (agenda). That item's staff report, posted the same day, has its Executive Summary, Background and Fiscal Impact fields left blank (staff report).

The Planning Commission's regular meeting the same night took up Master Sign Plan No. 26-01 (DRB-26-044) for the Garfield Lincoln Center at 100-120 North Garfield Avenue and 103-123 North Lincoln Avenue (agenda packet). It was that commission's first meeting since a special meeting on 2 June, per the minutes packet attached to the 8 September agenda; how many meetings were canceled in between is not confirmed from what's archived. Neither commission's decision from that night had posted as of this week.

Monterey Park's Library Board met Tuesday, 15 September; its one substantive item was revising its own by-laws. Old Business item 9.A, "Updates to Library Board of Trustees By-Laws," asked the board to consider "Approving the recommended revisions to the Library Board of Trustees By-Laws" (agenda). Whether the board approved them is not yet posted.

Monterey Park's Community Participation Commission was marked canceled for its 15 September meeting, with no cancellation document filed. The city's calendar lists the meeting for that date (calendar entry); the meeting-portal record for it carries the notice "Notice of Cancellation" but lists no agenda file — its file name field is empty (meeting-portal record).

Both of Monterey Park's November ballot measures carry a council argument in favor and none against. The city's election-information page lists a "City Council Argument in Favor" for both Measure AAA (raising the transient occupancy tax from 13% to 14% for hotels and 16% for short-term rentals, projected at roughly $600,000 a year) and Measure HOM (creating a "HOME" housing overlay allowing housing in commercial and industrial areas); no argument against is listed for either (election page).

Measure HOM's page states the HOME designation "would not be available for parcels in the R-1 or R-2 residential zones" — a carve-out that covers those two zones only, not residential zoning generally (election page). Both measures get a city-run informational webinar: Measure AAA's ran 10 September, 6–7 p.m. (webinar listing), and Measure HOM's is set for 21 September, 6–7 p.m., eleven days apart (webinar listing).

Two Monterey Park commissions were scheduled 30 minutes apart on 8 September. The Recreation and Parks Commission's special meeting was set for 6:00 p.m. and the Planning Commission's regular meeting for 6:30 p.m., per the city's calendar (calendar entry, calendar entry).

A Monterey Park abatement order sets a 12-month completion clock at 795 West Garvey Avenue. A Decision and Order re Abatement, following an administrative hearing, declares the commercial property at that address a nuisance and orders it brought into compliance on a 12-month schedule, with further abatement remedies possible if milestones are missed (abatement order).

San Gabriel's Planning Commission met Monday, 14 September, on an agenda that contradicts itself twice. On 545 West Las Tunas Drive (Planning Case No. CUP26-008), the staff report opens by describing the beer-and-wine license request as being "for a new restaurant business," then its own recommended action describes the same license "for an existing restaurant business" (agenda). On 250 West Valley Boulevard Unit J, the item is captioned "Planning Case No. CUP26-011 (Conditional Use Permit Amendment)," but the recommended action asks the commission to adopt a resolution "approving Planning Case Number CUP26-006" for the same address (agenda). The meeting has passed; whether either resolution was adopted, and under which case number, is not yet posted .

San Gabriel canceled its Historic Preservation and Cultural Resource Commission meeting that had been scheduled for Wednesday, 9 September. The notice of cancellation names no reason (cancellation notice).

A county ozone advisory named the San Gabriel Valley in late August. LA County Public Health listed an Ozone Advisory dated 24 August among its press releases (press release).

A county arbovirus report lists Alhambra, not San Gabriel, as the home city of a West Nile virus case, the first Coverage Zone city named this season. LA County Public Health's arbovirus surveillance report lists the case; the report itself cautions that the city listed is not necessarily where the exposure occurred, and that counts lag real time (arbovirus report).

A Mission Drive & Las Tunas Drive intersection-improvements project is on file in the state CEQA database. A Notice of Exemption, "Mission Drive & Las Tunas Drive Intersection Improvements," was received 19 November 2025 under the City of San Gabriel as lead agency (SCH #2025110779, CEQAnet record).

Temple City's 15 September council meeting was at 7:00 p.m., not the "7:00 A.M." a long-running agenda-template line prints. The city's own calendar entry for the meeting reads "City Council Meeting," "Date: September 15, 2026," and carries the timestamp 2026-09-15T19:00:00 (calendar entry). A 1 September agenda's "FUTURE CITY MEETINGS" table prints, verbatim, "CITY COUNCIL ... 7:00 A.M. September 15, 2026" — on the same page whose own header for that day's meeting reads "SEPTEMBER 1, 2026 - 7:00 P.M." Temple City's regular Council meetings are the first and third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. under Ordinance No. 25-1080 and Resolution No. 25-5799, per the city's own meeting-participation and City Council pages (meeting-participation page, City Council page); the Regular Meeting agenda for 15 September itself is headed "SEPTEMBER 15, 2026 - 7:00 P.M." (agenda). The "A.M." print is the template's, not a change to the meeting time.

San Gabriel's 15 September council agenda carried $680,600 for a Las Tunas Drive contract and $17.4 million in Measure R funds. The agenda's consent item asks the council to award Contract No. 25-58 for the Las Tunas Drive Streetscape/Pedestrian Enhancements Project to Green Giant Landscape, Incorporated, "in the amount of $680,600, plus a 10% contingency," and separately to approve MOU agreements with LACMTA "to accept $17,400,000 in Measure R" funds for work including Mission Drive's intersection with Las Tunas Drive (agenda). The meeting has passed; whether the council approved either item is not yet posted .

Alhambra has a conditional-use-permit filing for 424 W Valley Blvd in the state CEQA database. A Notice of Exemption, "424 W Valley Blvd / CUP-23-29," was received 19 January 2024 under the City of Alhambra as lead agency (SCH #2024010500, CEQAnet record).

Alhambra Unified's Board of Education met Tuesday, 15 September; minutes are not yet posted. The district's own meeting-listing grid shows the meeting and, as of Thursday morning, still marks its minutes "UnPublished," as it does the 4 August and 25 August meetings. The newest minutes the district has published are from 21 July (meeting grid).

AUSD is running sixteen "EIC Community Conversations" on enrollment. The district's events calendar lists sixteen EIC Community Conversation entries running into mid-October. They cover thirteen elementary schools (Fremont and Northrup each hold two, one for the Dual Immersion track and one for the Traditional track) plus a session held on Zoom rather than at a school (district calendar).

AUSD canceled its 21 September LCAP Parent Advisory Committee meeting. The district's calendar carries the entry "CANCELED - Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) Meeting" for 21 September, describing it elsewhere as the "LCAP Parent Advisory Committee meeting" (district calendar).

AUSD is also holding a Library Card Distribution Day, 19 September, for four elementary feeder schools plus Mark Keppel High. The district's calendar lists the event at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library for 2nd-3rd and 9th grade students from Brightwood, Monterey Highlands, Repetto and Ynez elementary schools and Mark Keppel High (district calendar).

Alhambra Unified is asking thirteen elementary school communities about enrollment. The sixteen EIC Community Conversation sessions above are the mechanism (district calendar). The district's Enrollment Impact Committee page lists a series of presentations on enrollment projections, population trends and school finance; the district has been described as seeking to "right-size" its elementary schools, but that characterization could not be confirmed from an accessible copy of those documents. The presentation PDFs on that page carry no extractable text (presentation page), and the flyer attached to the individual meeting listings on the district's calendar opens only to a Google sign-in (district calendar).

Temple City's Planning Commission canceled its 8 September meeting; the next is 22 September. The notice of cancellation states the meeting "has been cancelled," with "the next Planning Commission Meeting ... scheduled for September 22, 2026, at 7:00 p.m." (cancellation notice).

Temple City's Parks and Recreation Commission was asked, Wednesday 16 September, to reserve Live Oak Park's baseball field for Little League's 2027 season, with the residency majority rule waived. The agenda's recommendation was to "Approve the request from TCALL for reserved use of the baseball field at Live Oak Park from January - July 2027 for their spring season, hanging of sponsor and registration banners and waive the 51% residency requirement for reserved use of the field" (agenda). Whether the commission approved it is not yet posted.

Temple City's Tuesday, 15 September closed session still names a church suing the city. The special-meeting agenda lists "Existing Litigation" involving "General Board of the Church of the Nazarene v. City of Temple City (LA Superior Court Case No. 26STCP02242)" (agenda).

Temple City's 15 September consent calendar carried an $88,000 Las Tunas corridor study, a Golden West Avenue closure for the Fall Festival, and acceptance of the completed 2025 pavement plan. The agenda authorizes a professional services agreement with RSG, Inc. "to prepare the Las Tunas Corridor Strategy for a base amount not to exceed $83,000, with a $5,000 contingency, for a total authorized amount not to exceed $88,000"; a temporary closure of Golden West Avenue between Las Tunas Drive and Woodruff Avenue, 26 September, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the "Fall Festival & Classic Car Show"; and acceptance of "the completed 2025 Pavement Management Program (PMP)" (agenda). The meeting has passed; whether the council adopted the consent calendar is not yet posted .

An 18-unit condominium development at 6119 Temple City Blvd is filed in the state CEQA database. A Notice of Exemption for a "MAJOR SITE PLAN REVIEW, TENTATIVE TRACT MAP, DENSITY BONUS WITH CONCESSIONS AND A WAIVER TO CONSTRUCT AN 18-UNIT CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT" at that address was received 25 November 2024 under Temple City as lead agency (SCH #2024110849, CEQAnet record).

A Reddit post alleges Monterey Park's Flock license-plate-reader logs show improper searches; no city record corroborates it. The post, dated 9 September, describes alleged out-of-state searches, searches naming a private investigation firm, and hundreds of "sidedoor" searches from other agencies against the city's Flock data (r/sgv thread). No city record has been located confirming or refuting the specific searches described. The checkable half of this is whether Monterey Park has released Flock logs at all in response to a public-records request; that would leave a trail this section has not yet found.

In this section: Temple City only this week.

Temple City's August new-business-license report lists two new business licenses; one is withheld here under our policy on residential filers. Xiao 8, Inc holds an active license at 9124 Las Tunas Dr, effective 8/17/2026. A business license is not confirmation that the storefront is open to the public (license report).

MAMA XITA has applied for a type-41 license at 5701 Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, filed under Auntie Xita Temple City LLC (CA ABC file 00681694, pending). The same address currently holds an active type-41 license under a different operator, HG.WW Inc., trading as Chun La Hao Chongqing Hot Pot (CA ABC file 00594426, active). MAMA XITA LLC also has a Fictitious Business Name statement on file for the same name (Fictitious Business Name statement, Los Angeles County). An application is not an approval or an opening. An active license does not mean the hot pot is still trading.

Temple City's August permit-activity report shows two commercial permits on Las Tunas Drive. A sign permit at 9055 Las Tunas Dr, Unit 200, covers illuminated channel letters reading "MOLLY TEA," issued 8/12/2026 at a stated valuation of $2,500 (permit B26-52187). A separate tenant-improvement permit at 9067 Las Tunas Dr, also issued 8/12/2026, covers an interior build-out to expand into the adjoining tenant space, valued at $2,500; the permit does not name a tenant (permit B26-52186). Neither permit states an opening date (permit report).

All five cities appear here every week, in alphabetical order, whether their council met, canceled or posted nothing.

Walked past 333 E. Main St., Suite A, in Alhambra. A Jersey Mike's is replacing the GameStop: signage is up, furniture and fixtures are in. The county's fictitious-business-name index has a December 2025 filing for Jersey Mike's Subs at that address. I don't know the opening date. If you do, reply to this email. — Pat

Reply to this email with a tip, or send one to [email protected]. Forward it to a neighbor who would want it.