A message from Lt. Joseph Dempsey of the Altadena Sheriff's Station:

The Altadena Sheriff’s Station has been under construction for some time now, however we are pleased to announce that the lobby portion of the station is complete and we are open for business.  Anyone needing to come to the station can now enter through the front door off of Altadena Drive and be assisted at the front desk. 

From the League of Women Voters:

There’s still time for voters to speak up about how their political districts will change as the groundbreaking Citizens Redistricting Commission comes down the home stretch in drawing new boundaries for state Assembly, Senate and U.S. Congressional Districts.

The League of Women Voters Pasadena Area is offering a unique opportunity to participate in a community conversation about “Dueling Maps: How Will Your District Change?” —

George will have an opening reception on Sun., June 5,  from 5 – 7 PM. Shepherd wil not be having a reception.

 
Lisa R. George is a figurative and plein air painter who works in oils and various other media. This series of paintings was inspired by walking in the foothills,

Facebook: The sheriff has opened a Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartment 

Twitter: @LASD_News, or if you’re not subscribed to Twitter, view at :

http://twitter.com/#!/lasd_news 

Youtube: the sheriff’s headquarters bureau now has a Youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/LACountySheriff 

Nixle: And as always,  

• Pasadena Weekly’s Andre Coleman updates on Patticakes (and yes, we said it was OK to use our headline.)
• Lisa Okikawa, a teacher of the visually impaired at Loma Alta Elementary, received a 2011 “League Educator Apple Award” from the Broadway League.  The awards honor local schools and community groups that support programs relating to Broadway or touring Broadway shows, promoting further development of theatre education.  Okikawa found a way that her students could experience the musical theater production of “Mary Poppins”

Gail Casburn at the Altadena Ale & Wine House tells us:

Angeles Forest Trail Maintenance Day tomorrow (Saturday) –meet at the front of the Ale House at 6:30 AM to carpool to trail site. The Angeles Crest Highway has been reopened. Gabor will be there to organize.

And after,

Dundon, aka Zeke the Sheik, is of course,  Altadena’s master of compost.  He lives in a rain forest of his own construction on Mountain View.  His friend Duane Thorin tells us “there is hardly an organic garden in LA that he has not supplied,

• Yolande Carson of (Altadenablog sponsor) scissors paper rock salon reports that their recent Soles4Souls shoe drive was a huge success, garnering almost 300 pairs of shoes for people who need them around the world.
• The Hollow Trees, folk music for families, will be one of the acts at Farnsworth Park Amphitheatre today as part of the Aveson June Jubilee.  They’ll be appearing at 11:30 (and is probably more family friendly than the acts they had two years ago!)

The clinic is for children up to age 18 who are uninsured, underinsured, or on MediCal or Healthy Families.

Please bring your immunization record.  if you don’t have one, go to your school’s health office for a copy.

For the 2011-2012 school year, all students entering grades 7-12 music show proof they have had a Tdap booster vaccine before they will be allowed to register for school —

After almost 11 months, the Oriental fruit fly quarantine in the Altadena/Pasadena area is over.

The California Dept. of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) sent out a press release Friday saying that the fruit fly infestation has been eradicated. A quarantine was declared over an 89 square mile area in July 2010 after the agricultural pest was detected in several traps.

• An exhibition of art, all for sale, in the library building itself. There will be a juried competition, with prizes awarded. The twenty-five to thirty pieces include ceramics,

The event is free to the public and food will be available for purchase.

The Pasadena Police Department opened up their Altadena-based heliport to the public Saturday, to not only show off their chopper fleet, but put in some good PR for the department, including its SWAT and K9 units.  More pictures after the jump.

Aveson Charter School pretty much took over Farnsworth Park Saturday for its annual June Jubilee.  Booths, confetti eggs, music, and all kinds of things to buy, play with, and do.

The large bouncer was a favorite with the kids …

… and it wouldn’t be an Altadena event without food trucks!

Reader Eric tells us that his family’s five-year-old, grey and white male tabby disappeared from their house on the 100 block of West Mariposa Street on Memorial Day evening, and there have been a lot of newer “missing cat” notices in the neighborhood.  He also ran into a neighbor who said he cleaned up the remains of a small animal from his lawn on Tuesday morning.

The Foothill Municipal Water District (FMWD) and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles are partnering to look at building a membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant to increase water supplies.

Such a plant would use biological means, membranes and ultraviolet light to treat wastewater before it is injected into groundwater to be further treated through natural filtering.  

Jessica from Reever Way gives us some disturbing news: two neighborhood feral cats have been injured — one had to be put down with a leg wound that the vet said resembled an exit wound, and as of Sunday afternoon the neighborhood was trying to capture a cat who was "dragging an almost severed leg behind him."

Of the several events going on Sat., June 11, one of the biggest is the American Cancer Society’s third annual Altadena Relay for Life at Farnsworth Park, a 24-hour event. Heather Morrow, who has been keeping track of this for us, reports on the activities and the need for volunteers:

Set-up for the event starts at about 7:00 am.  The Registration tent is set up first, and will be located in the southeast corner of the park,

The fire was reported about 12:30 PM and was knocked down by 2 PM, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Alice Wessen at JPL reports that the fire was on the ridge just above buildings 244 and 239 NE of the Mars Yard. 

Keep on track with the latest information at our town council election page.

The Atladena Town Council meets at 7 PM at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Dr.

At Tuesday's Altadena town council meeting:

• Sheriff Capt. Steven McLean introduced two new officers who will be working at Altadena station: Sgt. Dennis Dominguez, who has a background in tactics and officer safety who will act as a mentor and teacher to younger deputies; and Sgt. Joe Fender, who is a gang expert coming from Lancaster station.

Patticakes owner Mike McLellan gave an impassioned defense of the mural, which depicts a coffee cup and desserts, saying that he had just eight days to make it comply to county codes.  “I’m not going to paint the wall over,

A few important things coming up in the next few days:

• Invest in PUSD Kids' third annual community meeting will be held at 345 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, tonight from 7-8:30 PM.  Doors open at 6:30 to view the "No Boundaries" district art exhibit.
• The Yard House at the Pasadena Paseo will hold "Tips for CHiPs"

Milanian is a former JPL engineer who now runs Tosca Fashion, a dance and eveningwear company in Pasadena. The Altadena resident is also the founder of Children of One Planet, a nonprofit that will be holding an event this weekend to raise funds to fight child trafficking around the world.

It's time to prepare for a summer of fun at Altadena's county parks:

Summer camps: Enrollment is now open for summer day camp programs at Farnsworth, Charles White, and Loma Alta Parks. which all start June 27.

Summer day camps provide children with the opportunity to develop character,

Thurs., May 19

• CERT volunteers are asked to come to the Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Dr., from 6:30-8 PM  for an organizing meeting: see how many CERT-trained volunteers there are, where they are, what kind of skills and experience each has, etc. Help us be better prepared if a catastrophe occurs.
• Assemblyman Anthony Portantino hosts a public safety forum,

We have an AMAZING number of stories in the queue, so we're going to do our best to catch up today.  New stock gets added all the time!

• Local real estate agent Meredith McKenzie has a fascinating blog post about why Altadena has appeal for the urban homesteading lifestyle — and puts in a plug for “authentically local” businesses (yay!).  We DO want to know where she found this urban farmstead she describes for under $400K, tho’.
• And in a somewhat related manner, the Arroyo Food Co-Op recently elected four new board members: Joe Masiero, Laura Floom Manning ,

On Friday (tomorrow), May 20,  there will be a “Paint-In” at Camp Mariposa, the Girl Scout camp just across the street from the Altadena Library.  Make a donation and paint a luminaria bag with your message on it honoring or memorializing someone you love. 

The Altadena Chamber of Commerce will reveal the results of its recent online survey next Thurs., May 26, at the Chamber's monthly mixer.

This month's mixer will be at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Dr., 5:30-7:30 PM.

Chamber director Ed Meyers will discuss the results of the Altadena Survey,

Everyone in the community is welcome to enjoy food from local restaruants, kids’ activities, music, games, and much more for a free family day.  Click on the graphic for more details.

• PWeekly's brand spankin' new deputy editor Andre Coleman looks at the Patticakes controversy and the whole Altadena code-bombing phenomenon, and quotes us — accurately!
• We also have a piece up on the Authentically Local website, an expansion of an earlier presentation and editorial that appeared on these pages.

The annual  awards ceremony will be held this Sun., May 22, starting at 4 PM.  RSVP at 626-798-9687 or go to altadenaheritage.org.  Admission is $15 for members of Altadena Heritage, and $25 for nonmenbers.  You can also purchase a membership at the ceremony.  This year’s ceremony will be held at the home and garden of Altadena artist Nancy Romero. 

• Altadena supermom Cushon Bell has an article on the Parenting Magazine website about rising to the challenge in tough times for education.
• The Crown City Symphony will hold its first benefit concert next Sun, May 29,  at 2 PM in an historic Altadena Mediterranean home.  “Chamber Music in the Salon” is hosted by Fritzie Culick, a longtime patron of the arts in the community and owner of Old Town Music in Pasadena.  Minimum donation is $25,

 Check out the graphic for the full list of fun to be had (including food trucks!).  There will also be live music, and something for every member of the family.  Hours are 11 AM-5 PM.

Pictured: from the files — Raina Wessen found this visitor trolling her yard in the Chaney Trail neighborhood in 2009.

If the folks who showed up on Thursday evening to talk about bears expected to see Elmer Fudd with a shotgun, rarin’ to kill bears to the music of Ride of the Valkyries…well, it didn’t happen.

Everyone from presenter Lt. Martin Wall of the California Department of Fish and Game to former Greenpeace activist Randal Massaro was polite and concerned about the fate of the black bear or bears making themselves at home in residential neighborhoods. 

The Torch Relay honors the memory of those brave and dedicated individuals in Los Angeles County who sacrificed their lives in the performance of their duty during the past year.