by Timothy Rutt

Janette Williams was the class act of the Pasadena Star-News and its allied papers.  While we didn’t know her personally, we saw her at several events we were both covering and appreciated her fine writing style and reporting skills, as well as her Scottish burr.

This great lady of Pasadena-area journalism passed away at her home in Monrovia over the weekend.

US Currency found near the intersection of Morada Pl. and Lake Ave. on 07-19-13.  To claim, contact Detective Munshi at Altadena Sheriff’s Station (626) 296-2119. Must identify the exact amount and the container.

Loma Alta Park’s “Parks After Dark” program continues tonight through Saturday from 5-9 PM, with an added twist tonight:  food trucks!

A Rockin’ Ice, My Tornado Potato, Burger Lunchador, and Macolicious have been burning up the Twittersphere with announcements that they will join tonight’s family-friendly and free activities at the park.  Our earlier story on Parks after Dark is here.

A masked, wandering physician during the Black Plague in 14th century Europe. Such measures probably won’t be necessary.

The county department of public health and the U.S. Forest Service have closed three loops of the Table Mountain Campgrounds in the Angeles National Forest after finding a ground squirrel with plague.

The Broken Blade, Twisted Arrow, and Pima Loops, near Wrightwood will be closed for at least a week,

Altadena Town Council chair Bernardean Broadous has sent out an email notice announcing that the council will consider applications for the vacancy in Census Tract 4603.02.

No one ran for the open council seat in last month’s elections.

Resident Ron Adams had submitted an application for the seat after the election and was to be appointed at the July town council meeting,

Intimidated by computers? Chances are if you’re reading this on  Altadenablog, you’re not.  But we bet you know someone who is!  Sign them up for Women At Works new “Introduction to Computers” 2-day workshop! 

Learn about hardware and software definitions, the components of the system unit, ways and means of storage, computer security, internet basics, system software and application software basics, and social media basics. “This class is a great opportunity for those who are just getting acquainted with computers and want to learn more,” says Janet Pope Givens,

• Familiar grounds:  The Santa Paula Times has a great interview with its new Police Chief Steven McLean, formerly Altadena’s sheriff captain. Why does he like Santa Paula? He says: “It reminds me of Altadena.” Story here.
• Altadena in LA: Bulgarini Gelato has announced that it’s now operating a cart at the Grand Central Market in downtown LA.  The cart will be there Monday-Saturday from 11:30 AM-6 PM.

We’ve had several reports of a brown bear cub on Echo Mountain Trail — nobody’s spotted the mom yet, but she’s probably close.  It’s a good idea if you’re hiking anywhere in the area to be aware of the bear and make some noise when you’re hiking (‘bear bells” are recommended)

The gnomes are celebrating the holiday. Story of the gnomes here.

by Timothy Rutt

Happy Fourth of July!  We’re enough of a flag-waving patriot that we celebrate the founding of what is still the greatest nation in the world, the “last best hope of earth” in Lincoln’s phrase, the nation that drew our families from Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada, and Germany (after a pass through Russia).

by Timothy Rutt

Altadena’s longest (if not oldest) Fourth of July neighborhood parade runs along Pepper Drive, where more people are marching than cheering on.  And that’s OK, because everyone meets at the end for cookies, brownies, and some good old American lemonade. It’s always a cavalcade of costumes and vehicles, and we captured a few after the jump.

Fancy Food Truck Friday already?  Yes, and this month with the island sounds of ukuleles!

The Jumpin’ Flea Circus Players Ukulele Club will perform familiar tunes with the extra zing! only a ukulele can bring. This is in addition to a great round of food trucks: Cousins Maine Lobster, Game On! Gourmet, Komodo, Mandoline Grill, Rosa’s Bella cucina, and Coolhaus.

In addition,

by Timothy Rutt

The Down Beat Express kicked off the Sheriff Support Group Summer Concert Series with verve as they played big band numbers from the 1930’s-1960’s in the Farnsworth Park Amphitheater Saturday night.

A larger-than-normal crowd for the first concert enjoyed the band and vocalist Jennifer Gates as they brought back the American classic songbook, even if just for a night.  The theme of the concert was “Dance-Dance-Dance,”

The Altadena Historical Society’s quarterly meeting and program on Monday, July 22, will slide into the past.

Leon Ricks, “The Mayor of Maiden Lane” (1928-2013)  was an accomplished photographer who documented four decades in the life of Altadena.  The Historical Society recently received a gift of over 1,000 slides from his collection.  This month’s program will look at 100 of them, giving insight into Altadena’s past.

District vector ecologists confirmed that three dead crows collected last week from the cities of Arcadia and Covina tested positive for West Nile virus (WNv).  So far this year, the District has confirmed a total of four WNv infected birds; three from the city of Arcadia and one from the city of Covina.

Birds are natural hosts for WNv and are routinely monitored to indicate whether the virus is active in the San Gabriel Valley. 

With a sound that is both powerful and melodic, “Law and Disorder” has built a large following on the strength of their live performances. “Law and Disorder” is the finest Classic Rock band in Orange County.

Summer Nights at the Altadena Farmers’ Market continues today with some of the farmers demonstrating cooking, food preparation, and aquaponic garden techniques by the Great Lawn:

Tentative schedule is:

4:30 – 4:50 / Ja Sakrungrueng, Moua Farms – Cooking Asian Greens: Ongchoy and Yuchoy

5:00 – 5:20 / Scott Henley, Whisper Farms –