A Guide to Property Tax and Assessment

Thursday, January 18, 7:00 p.m.

People who own a house or a commercial property or who are thinking about transferring real property to their children, or, seniors looking to sell their house and move to another location will want to come to this presentation by Carol Wong Quan from Los Angeles County Assessor’s office on Thursday, January 18^th at Crowell Library.  Ms. Quan will cover subjects regarding parent and child exclusion, grandparent and grandchild exclusion for real property transfers, the senior citizen’s replacement dwelling benefit, transfer of decedent’s real property, severely and permanently disabled resident exclusion, and a decline-in-value review.  A question and answer session will follow. 

Carol Wong Quan was raised in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Certificate in Business and Administration.  She has worked for over thirty-one years at the Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor.  Ms. Quan began her career in 1986 as a real property appraiser trainee and has risen through the ranks in assignments ranging from property valuations to special investigations.  She now works in Public Affairs Executive Office under the administration of Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang.

This free program will take place in the Library’s Barth Community Room at 7:00 p.m.  The program was presented last September to a standing room only audience, so arrive early to secure your seat.  This important presentation could possibly save attendees and their families some serious tax money.

Ageless Benefits of Exercise

Wednesday January 17, 11:00 a.m.

Start the year off on a positive note by learning about the ways exercise can help you stay happy and healthy.  According to Medlineplus^©, exercise can help control your weight, reduce the risk of heart disease, help your body manage sugar and insulin levels, help you quit smoking, improve your sexual health, reduce the risk of some cancers, improve your mental health and mood, strengthen your bones and muscles, and keep your thinking, learning and judgment skills sharp as you age.  The list goes on and on why we all need to keep moving.

Kathy Eastwood, a Community Outreach Nurse from Huntington Hospital, will present an inspiring program on the Ageless Benefits of Exercise beginning at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 17, in the Barth Community Room at Crowell Library.   This presentation will offer a discussion on the physical and mental benefits of exercise followed by a chair yoga session allowing the attendees to experience a safe, proven method of enhancing strength, flexibility and balance.

Patrons of Crowell Library have experienced the Huntington Hospital Community Outreach nurses first hand.  They have been monitoring the glucose levels and blood pressure numbers of many Crowell patrons for free.  They want to empower all members of the community to enjoy the healthiest lifestyle possible.  These nurses are active all year, working with many community-based organizations such as community centers, senior centers, faith organizations, schools, food banks, mental wellness programs, and health clinics. 

Kathy Eastwood, R.N., has worked at Huntington Hospital over three decades in Cardiology, ICU, and in Community Outreach for the last ten years.  Her passion is teaching and promoting a healthy lifestyle and she is also a certified yoga instructor. Encouraging and empowering others to wellness is her goal.  

Attendees are asked to wear comfortable clothing and non-slip shoes.  Take a deep, cleansing breath and one big affirmative step for the new year on Wednesday, January 17 at Crowell Library.

Game Design and Electrical Engineering for Teens

Saturdays, January 13 through March 17, 2-4 pm

Teens who enjoy playing computer games (and who doesn’t?) can attend these free classes and learn to create their own game with Scratch^©, while making new friends and having fun.  In ten weeks, they will be introduced to programming while gaining more passion and confidence in computing technology.  Every session at Crowell will be presented in two parts: instruction and experience, giving teens the opportunity to apply their knowledge as soon as they’ve learned it.

Scratch^© is a visual programming language developed by the MIT Media Lab with a purpose to help teenagers learn to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively. It is commonly used by students, teachers, and even college professors in beginner programming classes.  After learning Scratch^©, students will learn:  how to program a LED to flash when the push button is down, using if-else statements; how to “draw” an image on a screen by simply using 0s and 1s; how to create a music piece with a computer, instead of a piano. Teens will work on circuit board construction and perform tasks on the boards by programming.  Participants can apply their creativity, drawing skills, and even music skills to those circuit boards.

Instructor Yifei (Amy) Liu is a student at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy where she is Vice President of the Code Crew.  She also teaches students about programming concepts with Python.  Last summer she attended the iD tech academy - Electrical Engineering & Coding at Stanford University which inspired her to teach this free class in her community.

This class consists of ten Saturdays beginning January 13 through March 17 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the Crowell Computer Lab.  It is open to middle and high school students, but there is only room for ten participants so please sign up as soon as possible at the Adult Reference desk or by calling the library at 626-300-0777 extension 579.  Participants must bring their own laptop.