Manhattan Beach's Rachel Bloom Honored for Promoting San Gabriel Valley

GActress Rachel Bloom was honored at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting for her work in promoting West Covina, the setting of the CW's musical comedy "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," which she co-created and in which she stars.

Bloom received a scroll from board Chair Hilda L. Solis for the positive publicity she has generated for West Covina, part of the First District that Solis represents.

Bloom "was born and raised in Los Angeles County," Solis said, thanking the Golden Globe winner for choosing the San Gabriel Valley as the setting for the 18-episode show that "sustains close to 800 jobs and generates more than $8 million to the local economy."

"Keeping TV production here in L.A. boosts our economy," Solis said.

Bloom, who was raised in Manhattan Beach, said she was "happy to be representing Los Angeles (County) to the rest of the country." She added that as a native Southern Californian, "I hadn't really seen anything that was set where I grew up."

When prompted to sing, the actress asked West Covina Mayor James Toma to join her in a couple of lines from the show's "West Covina song," gamely singing, "In my soul I feel a fire as I'm headed for the pride of the San Gabriel Valley."

The West Covina setting stemmed from a desire to do a "fish out of water story," the lack of previous series about "Inland Southern California -- it's way different than other parts, it's really fascinating" -- and because "a guy I used to have a crush on lived in Glendora and I would find excuses to try to go to Glendora all the time," Bloom, who was raised in Manhattan Beach, told City News Service in an interview last year.

Scenes are regularly filmed at the Big League Dreams Sports Park in West Covina and other locations in the city.

--City News Service, photo courtesy of the CW