Trail Users, Neighbors, Friends & Altadenans,

This Thursday, 17 January 2008, 9:00am – 10:30pm Supervisor Michael
Antonovich will be hosting a community meeting at the Altadena
Community Center on two topics of importance to many of us.

Agenda:

1. The SCE Tahachapi Renewable Transmission Project in Altadena that
will soon replace the current power lines above us with larger, 500kV
towers within walking distance and direct sight of many neighborhoods
and trails. This project has been wending its way gradually through
the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), largely unnoticed
by La Canada Flintridge and Altadena residents. To find out how close
the new, gigantic towers will come to your neighborhood, go to the
following web link and type in your own address (the map takes a bit
of time to load):  http://www.aspeneg.com/mapCheck/mapCheck.shtml

"The proposed project involves several types of transmission
upgrades, including: (1) Constructing new 500-kV transmission lines;
(2) constructing o new single-circuit 220-kV transmission lines; (3)
rebuilding existing 220-kV lines to 500-V standards; (4) rebuilding
existing single-circuit transmission lines to double-circuit
transmission lines; (5) relocating several existing 66-kV
subtransmission lines; (6) constructing a new 500-kV substation; and
(7) upgrading five existing substations. Approximately 46 miles of the
project would be located in a 200- to 400-foot right-of-way on National
Forest System land (managed by the Angeles National Forest) and
approximately 3 miles would require expanded right-of-way within the
Angeles National Forest."

2. Animal Shelter Services (or lack thereof) in Altadena

We have a rare opportunity at this meeting to let Supervisor
Antonovich know how dismal Baldwin Park Animal Shelter services have
been in Altadena for many years. Animal emergency calls and
aggressive dog / dog fight / barking complaints from Altadena often
go unanswered. If a Baldwin Park Shelter officer does show up, it is
often after several hours of delay, resulting in extreme suffering
for injured cats, dogs, horses, and wild animals hit by a car or
whatever. If an animal is still alive, it often does not survive the
long ride in traffic back to the Baldwin Park Shelter. Wild animals
(such as baby birds, squirrels, snakes, raccoons, skunks and
oppossums) are killed by the shelter, in spite of the fact that
nearby Pasadena Humane Society cares for and releases orphan and
injured wildlife.

Altadenans have had such bad animal shelter service for so long that
few of us bother to call the shelter anymore. When we do, we get
disconnected by the "new" central call center in Downey and cannot
reach the shelter directly. This has led to the misperception that
there is no problem because the shelter gets so few calls from Altadena!

Baldwin Park Animal shelter is the single County shelter serving over
38 cities and unincorporated areas (see list below). It doesn’t take
a rocket scientist to figure out that Baldwin Park’s limited staff
and resources, combined with its distant location, and the number of
communities it must serve, results in extremely poor response (or
none at all) for Altadena… and probably other communities. As it
is, the Altadena Sheriffs and Pasadena Humane Society receive the
brunt of animal emergency calls. The suffering caused by this
situation is immense. Altadena is an equestrian, semi-rural community
near a National Forest. Our need is great for qualified animal
shelter service due to the many horses, small livestock, domestic
pets, and wildlife. We also have dog fighting in our area. Large,
roaming dogs force many runners, hikers, and dog walkers to carry
large hiking sticks or golf clubs for self defense.

Please attend this meeting to demand Altadena’s fair share of skilled
service from L. A. County Animal Care & Control. This community
requires dedicated humane officers and a truck located in Altadena
24/7. There also needs to be a cooperative agreement with nearby
Pasadena Humane Society that would allow Pasadena Humane to assist in
emergencies where an injured animal would not survive the wait for
Baldwin Park Animal Shelter or the transport time through traffic
back to Baldwin Park. All communities around Altadena, including La
Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and portions of Angeles
National Forest are served by Pasadena Humane Society. Why not Altadena?

I realize that meeting on a business day at 9:00am is not convenient.
Many of us also suffer from "public meeting fatigue." That said, I
think this meeting with our Supervisor is an important one to attend.