The volunteers of Boys Republic don’t refuse anything –not donated goods, and not young people in trouble

by Laura Berthold Monteros

If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of gathering up all your unused clothes and household items for a charity collection, only to have the place refuse to take it, you will appreciate the philosophy of the Boys Republic Thrift Shop in Altadena.

By Joe Piasecki
Pasadena Sun

Pasadena, South Pasadena and Altadena would share an Assembly district with two San Bernardino County cities under maps finalized this week by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

The maps are expected to face numerous legal challenges, and the smoke may not clear for months.

The Mixx rocked the house at the Sheriff Support Group summer concert series Saturday night at Farnsworth Park.  Here, lead singer Angela Shepherd belts out that old-time rock ‘n’ roll to an appreciative crowd.  More after the jump.

Formed in 2005, The Tumbling Tumbleweeds are celebrating their five year anniversary. Since their premiere they have gone on to capture the 2008 Academy of Western Artists Will Rogers Award for Western Music Group of the Year and the Western Music Association Crescendo Award for Most Promising Talent along with the Marilyn Tuttle “Best in Show” Harmony Award. They were also named one of the Top 10 Live Acoustic Acts in Southern California by FolkWorks Magazine.

• 9/11 Memorial: Jenette Williams at the Pasadena Star News has a feature on John McDannel’s crusade to make the stretch of New York Drive between Altadena Dr. and Sierra Madre Boulevard into a tribute to the 9/11 victims.  Temporary signs will be set up by the city of Pasadena before the ten year anniversary.  McDannel hopes to have permanent, monumental signs set up as part of a ten year plan to develop the area.

Whatever the case, you may find just what you are looking for at the “Tablets, eReaders & more!”

Nobody walks in L.A.? Ridiculous! This is one in a series of articles exploring the many opportunities for walking in (and around) a city of 3.8 million.

ARROYO WALK

Distance: 3 to 7 miles

Duration: 1 to 2.5 hours

Difficulty: 1

Transportation: Free parking; Metro bus: Nos. 176, 177

This is a lovely country-in-the-city walk,

Watch this space.  We've got a big announcement about some changes on the horizon starting tomorrow, changes that we think will make this website even more indispensible.  But we're not telling until then!

Wickid Lit 2011 is planning two productions of famous classic ghost and horror stories, both to be performed at the mausoleum from Oct. 21-Nov. 6.

Production “A” will reprise three of last year’s chilling playlets: “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, “The Chimes” by Charles Dickens,

Thurs., Aug. 4

• Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N. Lake: The Byrds Collective (tribute band), $20, 8 PM.

Fri., Aug. 5

• Beach Bus to Santa Monica: pickups start at 9 AM. $3. See here for details.
• Come listen to the young musicians of Jazz Camp at their recital,

Zorthian Ranch hosts gathering of LA’s new folk artists Saturday

by Sean Fitz-Gerald

This Saturday, at 1 PM, the fabled Zorthian Ranch above Altadena will be transformed into an intimate, otherworldly, musical extravaganza, consisting of 30 live bands, a swimming pool, a water slide, and free coconut water.

It’s all part of the New Los Angeles Folk Festival,

Altadenablog is now a media partner with the Pasadena Sun, a new weekly paper and website that debuts Friday. The Pasadena Sun is a companion to the La Canada Valley Sun, and is operated by the Times Community News, a division of the Los Angeles Times.

by Timothy Rutt

A 31-year-old Rancho Cucamonga man was airlfted from Eaton Canyon Thursday afternoon after falling from a cliff, authorities say.

The Altadena Sheriff's Station was notified that two people were in distress at the third waterfall at Eaton Canyon.  Altadena search and rescue team members worked from the ground and a county fire department chopper crew worked from the air to locate the victims.

Wondering if you could post this picture of a very sweet cat who has been hanging out on our deck for the past week or so. She comes and goes but lately she is staying lots longer and showing interest in coming in the house. I’ve given her food (she’s quite skinny) and while we’ve all grown quite fond of her and are happy to welcome her as part of the family,

• Watercolor: Donna Barnes-Roberts is holding another eight week session of her popular watercolor classes at the Coffee Gallery: “If you haven’t explored watercolor, you are missing out on one of life’s little wonders.  It can change your way of thinking about many things. And I try to distill much into these little classes at The Coffee Gallery in Altadena.

An Altadena woman who fell down while in a parking structure in the 200 block of East Green Street Wednesday afternoon remains in critical condition at Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena Police Lt. Diego Torres said late Thursday.

The 45-year-old woman was found unconscious by police and fire personnel after they responded to a 911 call.

by Timothy Rutt

The new recommended supervisory district boundaries will be on the plate at a public hearing next week.

The LA County Board of Supervisors will discuss the redistricting proposal on Tues., Aug 9, and are encouraging public input. The supervisors will be looking at its Boundary Review Committee final recommendation,

When asked to describe his style of painting, Grigsby says he would call himself simply a ‘realist’, as opposed to a ‘photorealist’.

The comedy fundraiser features celebrity special guest Tommy Davidson (“In Living Color”), with Ernie G and Leo Lawrence.

Suggested donation is $22.  Flappers is at 102 E. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank.

by Timothy Rutt

The Altadena Sheriff’s Station is holding its free “Community Day in the Park” tomorrow at Charles White Park, 77 Mountain View St., from 1-4 PM.  There will be free food, drink, safety information, and a lot of fun is promised.

There will also be a “Community Shred-It” event, where documents will be shredded for free to help prevent identity theft (and there’s something really satisfying about shredding docments!),

• The as-yet-unidentified 45-year-old Altadena woman who apparently fell in the Paseo Colorado parking lot has died. PSN  tells us all we know.
• This KABC feature talks about the dangers of Eaton Canyon (and a great tip: take a picture of yourself with a smartphone, email it to a friend, and they can find you within 200 feet on GoogleEarth.  Who knew?  

In his new book, Altadena photographer Ibarionex Perello lights the way to the creative process

by Timothy Rutt
All photos (c) Ibarionex Perello and used with permission.

Ibarionex Perello is always thinking, searching, and learning. A photographer, writer, and educator for over 25 years, he’s knows there’s always more to know, more to find out — another image to capture, another way of capturing it that’s better or more original than what’s gone before.

by Timothy Rutt

As the story of the hiker who fell to his death in Eaton Canyon got sorted out since our breaking report yesterday, the victim was a man in his 20's who was hiking with a female companion near the second waterfall, and fell 30 to 50 feet.  The woman was trapped when she tried to help him,

The Los Angeles Times, Times Community News and the Sacramento Bee filed a lawsuit Friday seeking disclosure of state Assembly members' annual budget records in the wake of a dispute between Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) and top lawmakers.

The Assembly Rules Committee in July slashed Portantino's staff budget,

While the current proposal for changing the county supervisory districts keeps Altadena intact and firmly in the district of Michael D. Antonovich, the battle isn’t over yet.

Supervisor Gloria Molina and what the LA Times calls “Latino activists” are pushing for district boundaries that would in effect create a second majority Latino district and thus reflect the demographic reality that the county is 48% Latino. 

by Timothy Rutt

The Altadena Sheriff’s Station’s “Community Day in the Park” at Charles White Park Saturday afternoon was a little more low-key than Tuesday’s National Night Out, but there was food, lots of safety and community information, and document shredding.  Here, Altadena Station Capt. Steven McLean occupies his frequent address, the dunk tank, which wasn’t a bad place to be on a hot afternoon. 

by Timothy Rutt

The shade of Jirayr Zorthian was no doubt smiling as his Altadena Eden, the Zorthian Ranch, was the scene of the second New L.A. Folk Festival.  Just as in the ranch’s heyday, hipsters, bohos, creative people and gorgeous young women were abundant (albeit with more clothes — and more tattoos — than the nymphs of his fabled Primavera birthday parties).  Above,

A hot day ended with a cool breeze from the Blue Breeze Band at the Sheriff’s Support Group concert Saturday night.  They got the crowd dancing with Motown, R&B, and blues favorites for a memorable evening.

Bandleader Harold Wherry kept the band pumping out classic tunes.

The Altadena Senior Center’s Landy Johnson was a frequent visitor to the dance floor with several women from the crowd. 

Lisa’s musical upbringing combines multi-faceted genres of Americana, Cajun/Zydeco, Irish/Celtic, World/Pop, Folk/ Bluegrass, Blues and Jazz genres, in which she is well-versed. The power her strong vocals, family songs and stories convey our shared human emotion –

Scheduled topics and speakers are:

“The Film Industry in Altadena” with Geoffrey Smith from ‘Film L.A.’

“Liquor Stores in Altadena” with Alex Garcia from Dept. of Regional Planning, Christina Hernandez of Business License & Collection Services Unit, and
Anthony Posada from ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control)

NASA will offer a teacher workshop this weekend, Sat., Aug. 13, from 10 AM-12 PM, for Lunar and Meteorite Sample Certification at the Columbia Memorial Space Center, 12400 Columbia Way Downey, Calif.

NASA makes actual lunar samples from the historic Apollo missions available to lend to teachers. Attend this certification workshop to bring the excitement of real lunar rocks and regolith samples to your students.

You can always read books in your pajamas — but now you can check them out from the library, too!

Beginning Sept. 1, the Altadena Library will open up its new eBook colllection to browse, check out, and download books to your iPad, iPod Toch, iPhone, or an eReader such as the Sony Reader, or Barnes & Noble’s Nook.