Rita Bronwyn is named after Bronwyn C, a disk jockey at radio station WFMU FM in East Orange, New Jersey. Andy Breckman (creator of Monk) and Tom Scharpling (writer/producer) both host shows on WFMU.
Sharona tells her date that she can't take a vacation without Monk because she previously had to come home early to help Monk because of a garbage strike. In the S5:E2 Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike (2006), Monk again has to deal with garbage piling up because of a garbage strike.