The Co-Operative Food Exchange of Altadena has changed its name to RIPE Altadena to make it easier to connect the name to what our community group is all about. RIPE represents home grown garden, tree and vine ripened produce which we share with other community members. We trade our very (“Hyper”) local organic food that does not leave the large carbon footprint that obtaining produce from other sources does.

Almansor founder and president Nancy Lavelle said that the change of plans came in the light of “strong unresolved issues” with the property owner, Sahag Mesrob Armenian Christian Schools.

In an interview with Altadenablog, Lavelle did not want to reveal the exact issues that led to withdrawing the offer to buy the property to turn into a school for Almansor,

District Ranger Michael McIntyre submitted his own report about last night's meeting of the Altadena Crest Trail Restoration Working Group, where the Forest Service updated the plans for the Cobb Estate:

The Forest Service made a short presentation to the ACTRWG  (Altadena Crest Trail Restoration Working Group) on the status of the work to date.

On Sat., Sept. 18, the class will be held at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Dr., from 9 AM-12:30 PM.   The class will be repeated at the same hours on Sat., Sept. 25, at the La Canada Presbyterian Church, 626 E. Foothill in La Canada.

Space is limited and reservations are suggested.  For more information, call (818) 790-4036.

… and we’re going to stop there.

The newest member of the Altadenablog sponsor team, The Altadena Ale & Wine House (the ad will be up soon!)  will be the site of “Thee 1st Annual Los Angeles Limerick Fest”

Three short works will be performed at the mausoleum and cemetery, based on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, H.P. Lovecraft’s The Unnameable, and Charles Dickens’ The Chimes.

This is a new one for us:  reader John L. Hunter is looking for a place to store his vintage 1920’s fire truck.  If you can help him out, give him a call at (626) 797-9918 or (626) 568-2500.

Fri., Sept. 17

• Library Young Adult movie: Prince of Persia @ the Altadena Library, 3:30pm. Come and join us for popcorn and a movie. This action packed movie based on the popular graphic novel and video game features Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, and Ben Kingsley. Rated PG-13; 116 minutes.
  

Sat., Sept. 18

• Drought-ready gardening: The Foothill Municipal Water District will hold a class on California-friendly plants at the Altadena Community Center,

• NewTown, the Altadena-based art collective, is headlining a show at the Armory Center for the Arts, 145 S. Raymond, Pasadena.  Open until Jan. 9, 2011, “Convergences: New Sculptural Media”  is “one of NewTown’s most ambitious gallery shows, eleven digital natives and media pioneers appropriate the ubiquitous tools of media into cutting-edge, highly personal, curiously accessible experimental art forms. Convergences seamlessly integrates media with sculpture and installation in a cumulatively immersive experience, a multi-station journey through a labyrinth of experiences,

The newest Volunteers on Patrol (VOP) from the Altadena Sheriff’s Station celebrate the completion of their training Sept. 11.  VOPs, in the white uniform shirts, help out the deputies on a variety of tasks, from paperwork to crowd control. 

From left to right: Deputy Volunteer Coordinator Lamark Williams,  Chief Neal B. Tyler, volunteer mounted posse members Carol Gallegos and Debra May (in the hats), VOPs Robert Pierpoint,

The number one suggestion for all writers to improve their writing is to read.  Just how does a writer read?  Let this hands-on writers’ workshop with award-winning Altadena novelist, journalist, and food critic Michelle Huneven be your guide.   

Huneven’s Blame (2009) was finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the LA Book Prize, one of Oprah’s Ten Terrific Reads of the Year,

October is figuring to be a busy month for everyone at the Altadena Main Library, 600 E. Mariposa, and that includes children, too:

Oct. 6: Barks and Books: a new time and day to read to Pearl, a lovable rescued standard poodle, 3:30 PM.

Oct.

Transiting extrasolar planets provide a wealth of information on the physics and atmospheric properties of these planets, and arguably represent the currently most dynamic field in all of astronomy.  Dr. von Braun wil give some background on what information can be learned from studying transiting exoplanetary systems,

A resident reports seeing a large maroon extended-cab pickup, apparently loaded with discarded roofing materials and other junk, driving up Chaney Trail Road on Friday afternoon.  After the truck left shortly after (with an empty truck bed), Chaney Trail campground host Lonnie Fehr recorded this video:

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Reports another resident:

The "dumper"

Ngene Mwaura is a well-known local artist whose works reflects his upbringing in Kenya. His work is theatrical and combines intricate lines and gestures. He often uses repeated images of masks,

From left to right: Bernice Brunswick, Terry Huntsberger, Michele Zack, Sameer Etman, Nancy Steele, Ken Balder, Mark Goldschmidt, and Patricia Mulligan (committee chair).

Once again check your “Beautiful Altadena” license frame. Sometimes you don’t have to go further than your own backyard to find true paradise.

If you’re out on the upper arroyo today, Hometown Pasadena let us know that they’re testing the next generation Mars rover, Athlete, in the arroyo today.  Maybe you can see it bust a move:

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At Farnsworth Park, there’ll be a community barbecue starting at 2 PM, and a family concert starting at 6 PM.

This will be an occasion to look at the programs in all the parks, including Loma Alta Park and Charles White Park. 

• 
  NPR recently had a feature on Naomi Hirahara and her Mas Arai series of mystery books.  Mas Arai is one of the last of the Japanese gardeners, amateur sleuth, and based in Altadena!
• The Women’s Organizations of Greater Pasadena have an open invitation to all women (and we’re sure some men too!) to march around Pasadena City Hall on celebrate the passage of the 19th Amendment on Thurs., Aug.

Westminister Presbyterian Church at 1757 N. Lake in Borderdena is holding a children's art contest for pre-K to 12th grade, with a $100 grand prize.

In the  “Kids are Smart Art Contest . . . If I could invent anything” . kids and teens submit their artwork depicting a great idea.

Photo: Deputy Brad Reinford, who will help start the Altadena VIDA program, addresses attendees at the Altadena Community Center Thursday night.

Members of the LA County Sheriff’s Department met with community leaders on Aug. 19 at the Altadena Community Center to introduce the Vital Intervention Directional Alternatives (VIDA) program, soon to be implemented in Altadena.

The heat continues, tomorrow and Wednesday, shouts the National Weather Service:

…EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 8 PM PDT WEDNESDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOS ANGELES/OXNARD HAS ISSUED AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TUESDAY TO 8 PM PDT WEDNESDAY.