DIAMOND BAR: A judge will decide Sept....

DIAMOND BAR: A judge will decide Sept. 29 whether signatures should be recounted on a petition to recall council members Gary Miller and Phyllis Papen. The city clerk had disqualified the petition in June, saying it fell 80 signatures short of the 5,400 valid signatures needed.

MONROVIA: The City Council has taken the first step toward approving a multiscreen movie theater in Old Town Monrovia. The council voted unanimously to direct staff to negotiate with Calstar Equities Inc. over the proposed cinema project that would be located at the northwest corner of Colorado Boulevard and Myrtle Avenue.

MONTEREY PARK: Keith M. Breskin, the city’s director of economic development, has resigned. Breskin oversaw a series of large but often controversial redevelopment-agency projects including Atlantic Square and the proposed North Atlantic Boulevard project.

PASADENA: The City Council in closed session agreed to loan $50,000 in transportation funds to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in its legal battle against groups opposed to a bus fare hike. Pasadena officials said that if MTA is forced to keep a lower fare, it may not be able to invest in the Pasadena light-rail line.

SIERRA MADRE: Opponents of a five-person planning commission vowed this week to appeal a judge’s decision to uphold the city clerk’s refusal to count signatures on a petition for an election to restore the planning body to seven members. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien ruled last Thursday that City Clerk Nancy Sue Shollenberger was correct to reject the petition because it did not conform to the format specified in California’s election code.

SOUTH PASADENA: A state mediator is expected to meet with city officials Tuesday to help resolve stalled labor negotiations with South Pasadena’s city employees.