Wednesday, November 25, 2020

County Supervisor Barger Remains Opposed to “Unnecessary” Restrictions on Restaurants, Asks Board to Bring in Outside Experts for Guidance

Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to move forward with a ban on outdoor dining at restaurants, breweries and wineries, even after receiving more than 3,700 comments from members of the public concerned with these restrictions.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger introduced a motion, co-authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn that would have rescinded these closures and enabled outdoor dining to continue given the lack of any data to support dining as a means for significant community transmission.

The motion was denied on a 3-2 vote with Supervisors Solis, Ridley-Thomas and Kuehl opposing.

“The current Health Orders seem to take the approach that sectors should remain closed throughout the entire County, instead of focusing only on necessary closures in sectors that carry an inordinate and proven risk,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “There is no data to support closing dining establishments which makes this an arbitrary and capricious restriction — especially the day before Thanksgiving. Furthermore, this action will only further encourage individuals to participate in private gatherings,

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Long-Time Altadena Residents Donate $1 Million to Expand 3D Printing, Research

The gift creates a dedicated research and development fund that has already yielded positive results in COVID-19 testing and protection efforts

STAFF REPORT

Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego announced today a $1 million gift from the Helen and Will Webster Foundation to create a research and development fund to rapidly expand the Hospital’s investment and use of medical 3D printing solutions to improve care, education and surgical outcomes for children.

Entrepreneur Will Webster Jr. founded Webster Laboratories where he and his team engineered and manufactured heart catheters, among them a device that enabled doctors to diagnose and treat a debilitating congenital heart arrhythmia called Wolf-Parkinson-White Syndrome. In 1996, his business became part of Johnson & Johnson, and today it continues to operate as Biosense Webster with thousands of employees worldwide. Building on the company’s success, he and his wife, who lived in Altadena their entire marriage, established the Helen and Will Webster Foundation to support educational and health care causes.

“Rich Webster and his family continue their father’s legacy of investing in innovation that changes lives,” said Patrick Frias,

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

Supervisor: New COVID Restrictions Take Effect on Friday

Looking to combat a surge in coronavirus cases, Los Angeles County will tighten some restrictions this week, such as requiring restaurants, wineries, breweries and non-essential retail businesses to close at 10 p.m., while limiting gatherings to no more than 15 people from a maximum of three households.

The county previously issued guidance limiting gatherings to three households, but there was no numerical limit on attendees.

Although the changes had not been formally announced as of late afternoon, County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl told the Daily News the restrictions will take effect Friday.

Other measures will include a 50 percent capacity limit for restaurants with outdoor service and a 25 percent capacity limit for personal care businesses and offices, she said.

Customers of personal care businesses — such as nail salons — will have to make advance appointments, and no services can be performed that require the customer to remove a face mask.

It is not known if Pasadena will adopt the new guidelines.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

State Passes 1 Million COVID-19 Cases

By ANDRÉ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

As Los Angeles County was struggling to escape the state’s restrictive purple tier prohibiting school and business reopenings, the state was surpassing the 1 million case mark in the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, state officials announced that 1,000,535 million people have been infected with COVID-19, which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11.

“We’re forgetting,” said Daisy Dodd, infectious disease specialist with Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, “we’re mingling together, people are sick of being locked up and not being able to interact, so they’re having larger gatherings and they might not necessarily be taking the proper precautions, the masking, the distancing, and, you know, the hand-washing.”

Lax attitudes about fighting the virus have sent efforts at prevention in the wrong direction.

For the first time since the tier system was implemented, no counties advanced last week to a less-restrictive level. Three counties, including San Diego County, regressed to the most-restrictive “purple” tier from the less-onerous “red” level.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

Barger Opposes Constitutional Amendment That Would Lead to Appointed Sheriff

By ANDRÉ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Pasadena and Altadena, said she does not support a state constitutional amendment that would allow the supervisors to appoint the sheriff.

On Tuesday, a split Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to explore ways to remove Sheriff Alex Villanueva from office.

According to the state constitution, the sheriff is an elected position, but since sheriffs are chosen by voters, they can ignore subpoenas and resist oversight with little penalty.

“Like every other municipality in the state of California, the sheriff of Los Angeles County is elected by the people,” Barger said in a prepared statement.

“While I have had disagreements with the current sheriff on multiple occasions, I do not support these efforts toward removal or impeachment, nor any actions intended to change the selection of the sheriff from an elected official to an appointee of the Board of Supervisors,” she said.

“Any action in this regard denies the will of the people to select the law enforcement representative of their choosing,” Barger said.

Thursday, November 12, 2020

L.A. County Board of Supervisors Will Evaluate Options to Remove Sheriff

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Tuesday to look at options for removing elected Sheriff Alex Villanueva as the county’s top lawman, rather than waiting to see if voters will do so in 2022.

Supervisors Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and Pasadena, and Janice Hahn dissented, saying the matter should be left in the hands of Los Angeles County voters.

Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl co-authored the motion recommending that the county direct its lawyers, inspector general, civilian oversight commissioners and acting CEO to look at possible avenues for removing the sheriff or cutting back his responsibilities.

Those options could include changes to how the sheriff enters office, switching from voter approved to a county appointed position. That would require an amendment to the state constitution.

Since an elected sheriff is mandated in the state constitution, oversight by commissions and the supervisors is limited if the sheriff refuses to comply with recommendations. As a result,

Monday, November 9, 2020

Altadena Library Seeking Applicants for Upcoming Vacancy on the Library Board of Trustees

The Altadena Library Board of Trustees is seeking applications to fill a board vacancy created by the expiration of Trustee Betsy Kahn’s term.

The successful applicant would serve on the board for a two-year term starting in December. Applicants must be at least 18, a resident of and registered to vote in Altadena. The new trustee will be sworn in on Dec. 14.

“The Altadena Library District thanks Trustee Kahn for her years of dedicated service and extends its profound appreciation for all her work on behalf of the library and the community,” the board said in a statement.

Applicants must submit a letter of interest, a resume, and a completed supplemental questionnaire to the district director by 5 p.m. Nov. 13.

The board will interview potential candidates at a special board meeting at 5 p.m. on Nov. 19. Each candidate will be given three minutes to make a statement and then be asked to answer three questions,

Friday, October 30, 2020

L.A. County Supervisor Barger Meets With National Security Advisor, Arizona Center to Discuss Efforts to End Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger took part in a roundtable discussion Friday with National Security Advisor and Pasadena resident Robert O’Brien, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Arizona, and representatives of the Armenian community to outline the United States’ efforts to broker peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, where Azerbajani forces have been clashing with the Armenian population for weeks.

The discussion focused on “unprovoked military operations by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region against Armenians in the area,” according to a statement issued by Barger’s office. “This ongoing military offense has included attacks on civilian and residential structures, which killed approximately 40 innocent civilians including children and older adults and wounded more than 125 people, according to the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh.”

Los Angeles County is home to more Armenians than anyplace else in the world outside of Armenia, Barger said.

“We are deeply troubled by Azerbaijan’s refusal to honor three separate ceasefire agreements in recent weeks and the continued campaign to spread misinformation to deflect their egregious actions,” she said.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

$20,000 Reward Renewed in Fatal Shooting of Altadena Man in Pasadena 5 Years Ago

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday renewed a $20,000 reward for information in the unsolved killing of a 27-year-old Altadena man who was gunned down in Pasadena nearly five years ago.

Robert Calderon was shot and killed about 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2015, in the 600 block of North Mentor Avenue, according to Pasadena police and Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner officials.

The killing has remained unsolved, in part due to an apparent lack of witness cooperation, investigators have said. No details regarding the circumstances of the fatal attack have been released.

Calderon’s mother, Sarah Mendoza-Jaime, said she remains confident that as detectives continue following new leads, the killer will be caught.

“There’s something in my heart that tells me justice will come soon,” she said.

On the night of the shooting, Calderon had just dropped his mother off at a Christmas party. After hearing of a shooting on Mentor Avenue, she tried calling her son on his cellphone but received to answer.

Monday, October 26, 2020

MTA ‘Microtransit’ Service to Come to Pasadena, Altadena Next Year

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Microtransit Pilot Project ride-hailing program trial is expected to be rolled out to Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre next year, following the approval of the first phases of the project by the MTA Board of Directors last week.

Metro Micro will offer on-demand, shared ride service for short trips within designated service zones in Los Angeles County at an introductory rate of $1 per ride, not including transfer, for the first six months.

“It’s our job to provide Angelenos with affordable and accessible ways to move around our city and region,” said Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti.

“Metro Micro will bring the convenience of ride-share technology at a fraction of the cost, which will mean less congestion on our streets, cleaner air, and another way to get the most out of our transit systems.”

Metro officials said staff members will return to the board at the end of the six-month introductory period to consider potential fare adjustments.