Monday, April 20, 2015

Altadena Mountain Rescue Team Helps with Saturday Rescue: “Hiker Hanging From Cliff”

With thanks to Deputy Dan Paige

As law enforcement types will undoubtedly tell you, calls for service often turn out to be very different from what they think they are getting into in, going in.

That’s exactly what happened Saturday about 3:15 p.m. when Altadena Search and Rescue crews were activated by Sierra Madre Search and Rescue Team to assist in the rescue of a hiker hanging from a cliff in the area of Upper Winter Creek Trail in the Angeles National Forest, Deputy Dan Paige said.

The Altadena team was scouring the Mt. Wilson Toll road near the Upper Winter Creek Trail when they located a three adult hikers, one man and two women.

It turns out the trio were the same people who earlier had been reported as a single person hanging from a cliff. The male hiker apparently was hiking when he stepped on the loose dirt, the trail gave way and the hiker fell,

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Monday, April 20, 2015

Deb Halberstadt Named Altadena Sheriff’s Station “Volunteer of the Year”

The very active and community involved Deb Halberstadt was named the Altadena Sheriff’s Station “Volunteer of the Year” and presented by Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell at a Friday ceremony honoring Sheriff’s Department volunteers.

Department officials said that Halberstadt is among volunteers “who have been an inspiration to the community.”

Each year the volunteer coordinator at the Altadena Station nominates one local volunteer based on their leadership, accountability, “can do” attitude, professionalism, compassion and respect for diversity.

Halberstadt is an Altadena photographer and videographer who has owned and operated HalfCity Productions since 1989.  She is well known for being active in various community groups and contributed photography to Altadena Point.

 

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Monday, April 20, 2015

Dr. Rajen Vurdien Reportedly Selected as PCC’s New Superintendent-­President

Dr. Rajen Vurdien, president of Fullerton College, has reportedly been selected to become Pasadena City College’s 15th superintendent-­president at a Sunday afternoon meeting of  the Pasadena Area Community College District Board of Trustees.

The decision comes after three finalists were selected to fill the position vacated by Dr. Mark Rocha. The trio were given the opportunity to meet with students and faculty is a series of forums over recent weeks.

Dr. Vurdien was chosen over Patricia Hsieh, president of San Diego Miramar College, and  Dr. Robert Miller, interim superintendent-president of PCC.

Next, an employment contract will be negotiated with Vurdien and his retention will be ratified.

Vurdien was appointed president of Fullerton College in May of 2010. Prior to that post, he served as vice president of Instruction at Saddleback College. In the 1980s, Vurdien worked for the United Nations Development Program, where he was positioned in China and led the U.N. language programs. He earned a Master of Education and Doctor of Philosophy in Psychological Studies in Education at Temple University.

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Monday, April 20, 2015

Pasadena Museum of History Opens Civil War and Thaddeus Lowe Exhibits

BY LAURA BERTHOLD MONTEROS

There’s always something new to learn at the Pasadena Museum of History. One thing is that the amputation kit on view in “When Johnny Came Marching West,” an exhibit marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, really wasn’t an instrument of torture. Another is that a famous character in a classic children’s book may have been modeled after Altadenan Thaddeus Lowe.

Elliott Codding, a captain in the 71st Pennsylvania Company B reenactment unit, said that amputees were pretty well knocked out with chloroform, and losing a limb was preferable to gangrene. The kit was only one of many artifacts on display at the preview of the exhibitions on Saturday evening. Entertainment for the VIP reception was provided by Silver Mountain String Band playing period tunes and Assemblyman Chris Holden was on hand to present certificates to the curators.

The exhibit, curated by historian Nick Smith and PMH board member Janet Kadin, focuses on the men and women who lived in Pasadena or moved to the area after the Civil War,

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Monday, April 20, 2015

Older Americans Month in May Brings “Book-to-Action” Series at Altadena Library

The community is invited to the Altadena Library’s Book-to-Action series of events, featuring Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery, to be held during Older Americans Month in May at the Altadena Main Library and the Altadena Senior Center.

Grandma Gatewood, as the reporters called her, became the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone, as well as the first person—man or woman—to walk it twice and three times. Her vocal criticism of the lousy, difficult stretches led to bolstered maintenance, and very likely saved the trail from extinction. Join the Altadena Library in celebrating the older Americans in our own local community by reading Grandma Gatewood’s Walk and engaging in community service work.

The Book-to-Action program is a variation on the traditional library book group—it offers participants not only the opportunity to collectively read and discuss a book and meet a book author, but also to put their newfound knowledge into action by engaging in a community service project or activity related to the book’s topic.

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Sunday, April 19, 2015

No Fires in Altadena Today, Sheriff’s Dept. Reports

[UPDATED]  Sgt. Rudy Sanchez of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. reports there are NO active fires in the Altadena area.

Sanchez says the visible smoke and smokey smell are all coming from Chino and Corona fires.

Los Angeles County Fire has been called out in Altadena several times this morning in response to the conditions, but in fact no active fires have been located in the Altadena area.

Just In:

I just called the fire department. They said they recently extinguished a fire in Azusa and thought the smokey air here was from that fire. There are no fires in the Angeles Forest.

Tim Callahan

Alzada Rd.

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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Video: Altadena Armenian-Americans, County Mayor Antonovich, Sheriff McDonnell and Altadena Station’s Captain Reed Attend Unveiling of Local Armenian Genocide Memorial

Many Altadena Armenian-Americans, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Mayor Michael Antonovich, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell and Altadena Sheriff’s Station Captain Christopher Reed were among hundreds attending yesterday’s unveiling of a poignant, long-awaited memorial in Old Pasadena to the estimated 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The event came days before the 100th anniversary of the start of pogrom on April 24, 1915.

For over ninety minutes under a blazing sun, speakers thanked the city and recounted the memorial’s purpose and local Armenian-American children sang before clergy led the dignitaries and crowd to the shrouded memorial itself for the unveiling.

“It’s hard for us to understand, to comprehend, the deaths of a million-and-a-half people. But nevertheless, we have a responsibility, all of us, to make sure that everyone is aware of this tragic and discrediting event in the history of mankind,” Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard told the crowd. “We must do our best to assure that events like this do not happen in the future.”

The monument’s unveiling came as the culmination of three years’ work by the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee,

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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Local Lawyers’ Association Offers $5,000 Scholarship Opportunity

A local lawyers’ association is offering Altadena students the opportunity to win a $5,000 scholarship.

The Pasadena Bar Association (PBA) is accepting student applications for its 5th annual Speech Scholarship Contest. Interested students should submit applications as soon as possible. This year the preliminary round will be held on May 9th from 9 a.m.to 4p.m. at La Salle High School.

The contestants will be expected to give a speech on their choice of one of three topics that the PBA provides. At the completion of the preliminary rounds, three students will move on to compete during the PBA’s Law Day luncheon on May 28, 2015 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium’s Gold Room.

During the final round, two finalists will be given seven minutes to present their speech to approximately 150 lawyers and dignitaries. Judging by attendees will occur during the PBA lunch, with the winner announcement shortly after. Speakers will be judged by a variety of factors including, but not limited to,

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Super Lineup Announced For the Folly Bowl

The first dates of the Folly Bowl 2015 schedule have been set, according to hosts Susanna Dadd and James Griffiths.

The Folly Bowl is a concert series that this artistic Altadena couple stage in their ampitheatre-enhanced garden.  The concerts are everything from avant-garde performance pieces and films to Medieval music making.

Dadd says “We start on May 16 with Paul Livingstone:(http://www.tanpura.com/ ) and Peter Jacobson (https://myspace.com/peteplayscello).

July 18th will have another amazing double bill with the pholk singer Phranc ( www.phranc.la) and Non Credo (www.noncredo.com).

August 8th Matin Espina brings the world of his handmade instruments to the Bowl.
And August 22 the surprising Brad Dutz returns with his talented pranksters (braddutz.com).

For more, see https://www.facebook.com/TheFollyBowl?fref=nf

 

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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Elected Officials Honor John Muir High School’s “Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development” at 7th Annual Benefit Gala

High-ranking federal, state, county and city elected officials were among the celebrants at a benefit dinner saluting Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development (MPYD), a long running character education and academic support organization for male students at John Muir High School.

Approximately 300 people attended the gala at Brookside Country Club which raised funds to support MPYD’s programs which include one-on-one mentoring, college and career preparation, a four-day summer camp and an on-campus motivational speaker series known as “Lunch With the Future.”

Presenting MPYD with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition, U.S. Rep. Judy Chu stated, “Obstacles can be daunting but the fact that you provide these (programs) really allows youth to succeed.”

California State Assembly Majority Leader Chris Holden saluted MPYD leaders for “fighting hard to make sure the resources are available for this very important organization to perform its mission to…build character and integrity in our young men.”

Speaking on behalf of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Mayor Michael D.

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