ALHAMBRA: City Council members agreed to lease...

ALHAMBRA: City Council members agreed to lease part of the old Sears store at Fremont Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue to Taco Bell Corp. for a fast-food restaurant. The firm will pay the city $62,000 annually. Taco Bell joins Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, which in April purchased part of the site from the city to build a store. El Pollo Loco and Adrays are also negotiating with the city for the remaining space.

ARCADIA: The council will consider Tuesday whether to allow sidewalk dining for restaurants and review the construction of a five-story, 147,000-square-foot patient tower at Arcadia Methodist Hospital.

CLAREMONT: Residents are invited to attend an ongoing series of workshops that seek public comment on the city’s budget process. The workshops will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Nov. 9 at Western Christian School and Sumner School respectively. A final session will take place at 10 a.m. on Nov. 19 at Taylor Hall, 1775 N. Indian Hill Blvd.

MONTEREY PARK: The City Council has voted to support Proposition 186, a statewide initiative to have a single-payer, state-operated health-care system that proponents say will guarantee health care for all.

PASADENA: City Manager Philip A. Hawkey said he will present a plan to the City Council on how to remedy alleged discrimination at City Hall after an advisory committee of minority employees and women makes recommendations Nov. 17. Hawkey had been expected to present a plan Monday, but members of the advisory group instead told the council they were working on recommendations for change.

SOUTH PASADENA: The City Council has hired Graffiti Control Systems Inc. to remove graffiti from private property at no cost to the owners. Residents are urged to call the city graffiti hot line at (818) 799-6578 to report vandalism or request assistance. Once a property owner has signed a liability waiver, the graffiti will be removed within 72 hours, city officials said.