A resident called after hearing a knock at the door — which the resident didn’t answer — followed by some sound in the back of the house.  Radio cars and the helicopter responded, but nobody was found.

However, Dempsey said, the screen door at the back of the home had been pried off. 

We're putting up a lot of stories today — we not only had to hit some deadlines on other projects, but our loyal Macbook Pro was overheating in the 100+ weather (as were we!), and went on a little strike.  We hope to be able to catch up some today — there's lots to say!

Staff reports
Pasadena Sun

A 22-year-old developmentally disabled man reported missing on Friday returned home Saturday, Pasadena Police Sgt. Jesse Carrillo said.

Robert Luera of Altadena was reported missing after 11 a.m. when he walked away from Grant Park at 1200 Cordova St. during an excursion with a Social Vocational Services group.

Ambassador of France, Francois Delattre, left, inducts Dr. Charles Elachi, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and vice president of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, into the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur during a ceremony at Caltech on Tuesday, September 6, 2011. (Cheryl A. Guerrero/Staff Photographer, Pasadena Sun) 

Lauded for advanced space exploration and for accomplishments that have strengthened international bonds,

Marcos Costa — the big-rig driver convicted of manslaughter and reckless driving charges in the 2009 crash at the foot of Angeles Crest Highway that killed two people — was sentenced Thursday to seven years and four months in prison. Costa will get credit for time served, or roughly half the length of the sentence. 

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolina Lugo said outside the courtroom that Costa could end up serving less than three years.

PIKA PIKA is simultaneously a low-tech light-animation workshop and large-scale screening event. Just bring your sense of fun and wonder.

The creators of this exciting new art form, Japanese artists Kazuo Monno and Takeshi Nagata, or TOCHKA, will provide simple LED flashlights and demonstrate how to use them to magically paint colorful light “graffiti.”

The Altadena Arts Council is planning to open a community arts facility at the Loma Alta School site, and is looking for instructors and volunteers aiming at a late September/early October opening.

The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) board agreed to the Altadena Arts Council’s request to establish a center at the site of the school on a one-year basis, with the potential for renewal.  According to Mary Ann Stevenson of the Altadena Arts Council,

I found a lost kitten last night 8-21-11 on New York Dr. and Allen in Altadena. The kitten is a gray striped tabby. Please help us find her home.

Call her at (626)318-4276.

by the Junior League of Pasadena

The Junior League of Pasadena, Inc. (“JLP”) welcomes ladies from the Pasadena area and beyond, interested in learning more about the League’s over 85 years of leadership and service in the community.  Prospective members are invited to the League’s headquarters where they learn about the League's mission: to develop the potential of women,

The Altadena Community Chest is one of the charities participating in Macy's "Shop for a Cause" this Sat., Aug. 27.

Macy's guests with a "Shop for a Cause" pass will receive  25% off on regular, sale and clearance merchandise throughout the store Saturday and will be eligible to win a $500 gift card,

… and we're still running this operation at half-speed so we can enjoy some late-summer activities with the children, so entries will be light for a few more days.

According to a notice from the water district, the appointment is scheduled for consideration at the board of director’s monthly meeting on Sept. 19, 2011 at 3 PM at the conference room of district headquarters, 4536 Hampton Road, La Canada Flintridge.

Candidates should send a one page statement of qualifications to serve before Sept.

Warm temperatures and low relative humidity were recorded Tuesday across interior areas of Southern California, heightening brush fire concerns, the National Weather Service said.

In Lancaster, the temperature was 102 degrees with relative humidity dropping to 9%. In the San Gabriel Mountains,

by Kelly Middleton
Public Information Officer
San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control Distric

The District’s West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance team continues to find evidence of WNV transmission in the San Gabriel Valley. 

To date:

• Seventeen (17) birds have tested positive for WNV this year from the following cities: Arcadia,

View Burglaries Aug. 22 2011 in a larger map

Add to the four daylight burglaries in Altadena Monday, a fifth in Pasadena in the same area.

A burglary with a similar MO was reported to the Pasadena Police Department Monday in the same general area (southernmost on the map).

The ever-bodacious and adventerous Revvell Revati says she will be selling adult-size hoops  (that's "hula hoop" to you unenlightened) at the Abundant Harvest Outreach and Festival on Sat., Sept. 10 and holding a separate class on hoop making and dancing the following day.  She also shares this video of a her rather pyrotechnic hoop technique (we don't think fire is involved in the class!):

——

• Earthquake! And it WAS a jolt to the East Coast yesterday.  We found this AP story in the “KnoxNews,” the website of the Knoxville, Tenn. News Sentinel (only because they used a file photo from the Altadena Christian Children’s Center doing a “duck and cover” drill).  The new east coast/west coast rivalry: earthquake response!
• Too many farmer’s markets? While Altadena is still waiting for ours, there seem to be a glut of farmers markets in New York and Massachusetts,

Fri., Aug 12

Between 7:30 AM and 1:30 PM – A residential burglary occurred in the 1800 block of N. Lake Avenue.  Suspect(s) entered the residence via the unlocked front window.  Loss:  silver Olympus digital camera,

The Upside-Down-T Neighborhood Association named Kendall Brown, 19, “Best Neighbor on the Block for 2011.”  The award has been given out annually by the “T” for the past decade. This is the first time in the Association’s history to give the award to a neighbor who was a teen.

Kendall Brown with his “Best Neighbor on the Block”

LOST – young male cat, approx. 2 1/2 years old, white with black spots.  Last seen Saturday night on August 20.  Lives on West Loma Alta, near the park. Contact:  Elizabeth (626)375-3414.

Thurs., Aug. 25

• Drive-through fundraiser for Marcus Jones burial, Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church, 185 W. Altadena Drive, 4-9 PM.
• The Muir High School Parents Union Revolution welcomes new PUSD Supt. Jon Gundry to a meet and greet from 6-8:30 PM at the Villa Parke Community Center, 363 E. Villa, Pasadena.
• Coffee Gallery,

DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO EXCEED 100 DEGREES OVER MANY VALLEY AND LOWER MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS AS A DOMINANT HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM REMAINS OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES.

Street pole banners hung throughout major streets will promote Northwest Pasadena’s amenities under the “heart and soul of Pasadena” slogan.

The orange and blue banners, designed by an ad hoc committee of the area’s leaders, staff and an advertising agency, are part of an initial phase to promote the diversity of Northwest Pasadena, the city said in a statement.

The flags have four different designs,

Our latest column is up at the Pasadena Sun.

Responding to legal and political pressure to reveal the staff budgets of individual members of the Assembly and state Senate, Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D-Los Angeles) unleashed an avalanche of financial information Friday evening that the Legislature had never previously made public.

Though the documents released do not appear to contain actual budget amounts,

• The Examiner looks at playwright Sharon Yablon, who will premiere her new play, “24 Hours on Sunset,” tonight at the Folly Bowl.
• Reader Karen TenEyck points out this story on the Pasadena Community Network’s blog about the closing of Persson’s Nursery.  The popular family-owned nursery at 3115 Sierra Madre Drive, at the confluence of Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre, closed down suddenly, leaving the plants to dry out and die.  Family health and other issues were involved,

Pictured: Bill Westphal’s stunning picture of the Station Fire in the hills above the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

by Timothy Rutt

On Aug. 26, 2009, we had our first entry that something smoky was going on in the hills above La Canada Flintridge.  The following day, Aug. 27, 2009, some homes in the Meadows were evacuated, crews were warning La Vina and Millard Canyon residents to get out,

Pasadena Sun editorial

The San Gabriel Mountains are clearly on the mend from the devastation of the Station fire, with flora and fauna coming back and areas reopened for public use. But as the two-year anniversary of the fire arrives, some important matters remain untended, leaving the region more at risk from inevitable future wildfires than it need be.

While Mars rovers garner a steady stream of public attention, scientists from NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory have set their sights back on the moon, preparing for the launch of a new project next month.

The Gravitational Recovery and Interior Laboratory project aims to fill in the blanks on the formation of the moon by sending two satellites to measure the varying levels of gravitational pull on the moon’s mountainous dark side.

Tairen Owens and Kevon Seymour have known each other since around the time they were 5 years old.

Owens became interested in sports first, splitting time between football and baseball. Seymour took a little longer to decide which sport he wanted to pursue.

by Timothy Rutt

Firefighters were called to a house fire at 2919 North Lake Ave. at 10:45 Sunday night. An 87-year-old female resident was hospitalized for mild distress due to smoke inhalation, and her caregiver was treated for first degree burns on her wrist, according to LA County Fire spokesman Matt Levesque.

According to the fire report,

First of all, special guest and opening act, performing for LA for the first time, is the incredible Stan Wood, playing his own instrument – The Vibraband. Stan is 70 years old and lives in Portland OR and here he is in action:

———

View Larger Map

The police scanner is telling us that there's a deputy-involved fight going on at Raymond Lane and Sacramento near Mountain View Cemetery right now (11:30 PM).

This is scanner traffic and not confirmed, but more deputies are responding,

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D- La Cañada Flintridge) and a Stanford-based open government group alleged Monday that recently disclosed Assembly member spending records are tainted by political posturing.

Accounts of member spending released Friday by the Assembly Rules Committee at the direction of Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D- Los Angeles) conflict with state payroll data,