A young female mariachi sings her heart out at one of the Altadena sites for “Big Night Out,” a fundraiser for the AIDS Service Center. There was lots to do last night, and we managed to get some pictures, after the jump.

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6:15 PM: Sheriffs are now looking for Kevin Pochter, 53, of Huntington Beach, who is the suspect in the murder of Dean Ron Albert of Arcadia, 55 who was found beside the road on Chantry Flat Thursday.  Sheriffs are at the Pinecrest Gate, and are looking around the area of Henninger Flats and Mt.

We're getting a late start this morning (up to all hours with the Osama bin Laden news), and it's PUSD STAR testing, so we gotta get the kids to school on time, but good stuff is coming up today.

While there are no action items, there will be discussion on a process to update the Community Standards District ordinance for both residential and commercial.

The dirt triangle — formed when Marengo was rerouted around 1965 — was “a hot-looking eyesore,” according to Michele Zack of Altadena Heritage. When she joined the town council in 2004, she didn’t realize that the dirtpile belonged to Altadena,

Identification of the remains has not yet been made, pending identification by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, but initial reports say that it is likely Kevin Pochter (pictured), who was being sought this weekend for the murder of Dean Albert of Arcadia last Thursday.

View Critter Map 2011 in a larger map

From the newsgroups comes word that a coyote jumped a six foot fence on Florecita Drive Sunday morning about 5:30 AM and killed the family dog.  We've also had reports of coyotes operating in daylight in the area,

 When Andrew Torres of La Cañada received a Congressional appointment to the United States Naval Academy to join the Class of 2002, little did he anticipate a diagnosis of cancer in his senior year. Torres persevered and graduated with his class with a B.S. in History, and was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant.

• Catching up: PSN’s Sandy Barrera has a nice piece about creating natural-looking California native and Mediterranean-adapted gardens, or how to let your garden look wild and natural.  Altadena gardens are the centerpiece of this movement, of course!
• On a related note, the Junior League of Pasadena will have its annual “Kids in the Kitchen” event on May 14 at the Armory Center for the Arts.  “Go Bananas! From Farm to Table”

The Bob Lucas Branch Library, 2659 N. Lincoln Ave., will celebrate Cinco de Mayo after school Thurs., May 5, starting at 3:30.  Join them for crafts, pan dulce, and much more!

Michele Zack will host "Our Town" on The Arroyo Channel this Wednesday at 9 PM.  Your Altadenablog publisher will be the guest (and we're trying to get somebody from the county, too) where the main topic will be code enforcement and other Altadena news.  If the technology gods are with us,

Philip Clarke told Altadenablog that the information flyers recently distributed to the Palm Street area were delivered by a company that he had hired, and he denied that they were responsible for the destruction and removal of signs that occurred the same day. 

According to a statement from the sheriff’s department:

The massive search for Pochter stretched over 62-miles of rugged terrain and involved patrol deputies from several sheriff’s stations,

Altadena Christian Children's Center invites you to an evening of camaraderie and commendation as we celebrate Superhero Educators Al Lowe and Renatta Cooper.

"It Takes A Community" is ACCC's  annual fundraiser that honors and celebrates local individuals who have worked diligently to help improve the lives and education of children. 

JPL's NASA Global Climate Change Website won the 2011 Webby award for best science site this week.  The Webbys are the leading international honor for the world's best websites. 

"NASA satellites take key measurements of our climate, and the Global Climate Change site gives the public access to that data as a visual,

Sometime during the night, one of our readers went to Altadenablog for their dose of local news, and logged our one millionth page view.

We started this website in October, 2007, with just a bare idea, inspired by the West Seattle Blog and other neighborhood news websites.  We'd been living in Altadena six years, loved it, and wondered why the interesting things going on here were not being covered by the local media.

After taking a victory lap over yesterday's 1 millionth page view, and an appearance on Arroyo Channel's "Our Town" (thank you, Michele Zack, our able interlocutor), reality has set in and we have a big pile 'o stuff to go through.  After this morning's doctor's appointment, we're getting to work!  Bear with us …

Community correspondant Philip Angerhofer (via Steve Gerow) shares a letter from Supervising Regional Planner Alex Garcia that was posted at Patticakes, 1900 Allen Ave., threatening fines and jail time over the mural on the side of the building.  Gerow says that the business is mounting a petition drive to try to get the county to change its mind.  More as it develops.

Thurs., May 5

• The Bob Lucas Branch Library, 2659 N. Lincoln Ave., will celebrate Cinco de Mayo after school today starting at 3:30.  Join them for crafts, pan dulce, and much more!

Fri. May 6

• Xiem Clay Center (where many Altadena potters create their work) will have an art fair and open studio sale from 6-9 PM Friday and 10:30 AM-4:30 PM Sat.

A wide range of educator workshops are being offered this summer by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and deadlines are coming up soon.
Classes will continue to be added over the summer so check this page for updates: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=110 .

Educator Workshop: Water Cycle, Ocean Circulation and Climate
Friday,

Agenda and speakers include:

Group Homes: Tanganica Turner, field representative for Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, who will give a presentation and answer questions.

Sheriff dispatch issues: Sheriff Lt. Roosevelt Johnson will discus issues with the dispatchers who answer the phones at the sheriff’s office.

From the LA County Sheriff's Dept:

CrimeReports, creators of the National Crime Map, announced the launch of the TipSubmit™ Mobile application for Android™ and iPhone™.  The app is the first mobile application which allows the public to anonymously submit crime tip information to law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, to help solve and prevent crime.

Sapphos Environmental, Inc., LA county's consultant, is letting everyone know that the proposed final trails manual for county trail guidelines is available for download in two versions.

The Final Trails Manual (Redline Version) shows the changes made from the Draft Trails Manual to the Final Trails Manual based on public comments received during the six public meetings held between February 16- March 3,

• Reader Hannah tells us she is having a yard sale tomorrow, Sat., from 8 AM-2:30 PM at 2129 N. Grand Oaks Ave., one block north of Glen Canyon and Craig Ave. on the west and Roosevelt  to the east. “Come look at some cool goodies!”
• The Altadena Urban Farmer’s Market returns after two months of being code-bombed on Sun., May 29, 1-4 PM.  It’s at 396 E. Mariposa (the Zane Grey estate), and we’ll be glad to see it back.

Coffee Gallery habitue Donna Barnes Roberts shares this video of the gallery's open mic musicians sharing the love with the community for supporting their efforts.

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It's a busy week: Passover started last night, Easter season kicks into gear on Maundy Thursday, and don't forget that today's the runoff for the PUSD board seat.  Find your polling place here.

Susanna Dadd and James Griffith, the purveyors of the Folly Bowl, Altadena’s spring/summer exploration of new and interesting music and performance, have announced their 2011 schedule of “concerts and other follies” held in their garden amphitheater:

May 7: Carmina Escobar
May 21: Subhajyoti Guha, Paul Livingston, plus Kathak dance
June 5: Briton Ensemble
June 25: HB3
Aug.

According to town council chair Gino Sund, the council will not vote on the candidates in the closed meeting, but will approve two candidates during the regular,

The Coffee Gallery is trumpeting its Thurs., April 28 fundraiser as "A Concert for the People by the People of Altadena."

The concert, to be held at the Altadena Community Church, 943 East Altadena Dr.,  runs from 7-10 PM, and donations are accepted.

The nine-member task force is charged with developing geographically-based districts for the Pasadena Unified School District board, whose members are presently elected at-large. 

Broadous is a local educator who is also on the board of the West Altadena Project Area Committee,

Election committee chairman Eric Pierce told the Town Council at last night’s meeting that a pre-election day, with all votes to be taken in a central location, would accommodate those who work on Saturday or observe it as Sabbath.

Pierce said that applications had to be returned by 5 PM Tues.,

Evans said that the chosen market manager (Air Machine Farmer’s Markets) had withdrawn due to injury, and now the the contract was “open to any potential market manager. So we’re back to square one, unfortunately.”

It may be hard to find a manager,

According to Christopher Stone, Assistant Deputy Director of the county Dept. of Public Works, the county wants to remove 25,000 cubic yards of sediment from the south end of the watershed before the next storm season.

• The Council of Arroyo Seco Organizations will have its quarterly meeting at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd., on Thurs., April 28.  Networking and refreshments start at 6:30, presentations and discussion at 7.  Featured topic will be what’s happening at Hahamongna Watershed, but also the Arroyo Seco bikeway and health of the watershed are on tap.
• Pasadena City College is holding an event tonight,

By Mary Lou Langedyke

Many are familiar with the role Altadena played in the early 20th century as a major tourist attraction thanks to the Mt. Lowe Railroad.   Searching for old postcards of Altadena,

Sun., April 10

Between 12:00 PM and 4:59 PM, Wed. – A petty theft occurred at Pacific Clinics, 700 block of Ventura Street. Suspect(s) entered an unlocked vacant house and stole the following items: brown love seat, silver glass top dining room table w/4 chairs, gray 32” TV, and twin bed set.

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are celebrating the 41st anniversary of Earth Day this week with several online activities to engage the public in the agency’s mission to use the vantage point of space to explore and protect our home planet.

On Earth Day, Friday, April 22, scientists involved in an airborne campaign in Greenland to monitor Arctic ice cover will participate in a Web chat.

NASA maintains the world’s largest contingent of dedicated Earth scientists and engineers to lead and assist other agencies in preserving the planet’s environment.

from Foothill Municipal Water District:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

DRAFT URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Foothill Municipal Water District is required to adopt its Urban Water
Management Plan (Plan) and to submit the Plan to the State Department of Water
Resources by August 1, 2011. Accordingly, Foothill has prepared its Draft Plan and its
Board of Directors will conduct a public hearing and consider adoption of the Draft Plan
at 3:00 PM on Monday,

Fri., April 22

• Good Friday.
• “Movies in the Park” at Davies Auditorium, Farnsworth Park, 1-8:30 PM.  This month’s movies are Disney Pixar’s “UP” starts at 1 PM;  “Tangled” plays from 3:30-5:45 PM; finishing up with a showing of “Tron Legacy” from 6:30-8:30 PM.  Free admission, with free popcorn, door prizes, snacks, and punch.
• Fun and Games Friday for teens and tweens at the Altadena Main Library,