Wednesday, March 31, 2021

L.A. County Hits 4 Million Mark In COVID Vaccine Doses As Eligibility Expands

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County has officially crossed the 4 million mark in total COVID-19 doses administered, but the public health director again warned today that getting an appointment for a shot will become more difficult starting tomorrow when everyone aged 50 and over becomes eligible.

According to the Department of Public Health, a total of 4,013,521 doses have been administered in the county as of last Saturday. That includes 1,323,686 second doses, equating to the number of people who are now fully vaccinated.

“This does translate to tens of thousands of people having an extra layer of protection from serious illness and death due to COVID-19,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “… While we still have a lot of work to do, I do hope we can all take a moment to be proud of what L.A. County has accomplished in really a little more than three months.”

The county this week received its highest vaccine allocation to date,

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

County To Provide Grants For Small Personal Care and Retail Businesses

Small Los Angeles County businesses in the personal care and retail sector can apply for $10,000 grants starting April 5, county officials announced today.

The L.A. Regional COVID Fund distributed nearly $100 million in grants last year to small businesses and nonprofits, and this new round of funding, called the Keep Our Shops on the Block Grant, will dedicate $4.7 million to personal care and retail businesses.

Eligible businesses include hair and beauty salons, nail salons, estheticians, skin-care specialists, barbershops, dry cleaners, bakeries, and automotive stores, among others. They must have an open storefront in L.A. County, excluding the city
of Los Angeles, and make less than $1 million in revenue per year, officials said.

They also must also show proof of financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Main streets across L.A. County have experienced a sharp decline in pedestrian traffic throughout the pandemic,” said Rafael Carbajal, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

LASD to Start Writing Tickets, Towing Cars Again on Thursday

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday that it will resume enforcing state and county parking ordinances on Thursday.

The Sheriff’s Department patrols 42 of the county’s 88 cities, along with 130 unincorporated county areas, such as Altadena and East Pasadena.

Automobiles parked in street sweeping zones during posted times will be cited along with vehicles with expired registration will be cited, and those with delinquent registration for more than six months will be towed.

Parking restrictions were lifted at the beginning of the pandemic.

Anyone wishing to arrange a payment plan for fines can reach the Sheriff’s Department at (866) 561-9744, online at lasheriffparking.com, or by mail at Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, P.O. Box 30629, Los Angeles, CA 90030-0629.

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Community Organizations to Host Rally Against AAPI Hate in Altadena

The “Stop Asian Hate” rally from 4 to 6 p.m. is being sponsored by My Tribe Rise, in partnership with other local community groups. Participants will meet at Loma Alta Park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave., before marching to Charles White Park, just more than a mile-and-a-half away at 77 Mountain View St.

Partners include the Altadena Town Council, the Compassionate Support Team, SURJ-Altadena and Dena United, according to My Tribe Rise co-founder and Director of Operations Heavenly Hughes.

“We’re going to have different community leaders, different Asian community leaders, even different Asians that have experienced some type of racial hate toward them right here locally in Altadena,” she said. “Also, there’ll be pastors walking with us and speaking.”

With reports of increasing violence against members of Asian community across the nation, Hughes said My Tribe Rise wanted to support them.

“I feel like the Asian community is experiencing the same type of hate and disparities that the Black community has also experienced for years,” Hughes said.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Man Charged With Fatally Stabbing Mother, Uncle in Altadena

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A man was charged today with fatally stabbing his mother and uncle at their Altadena home while his mother was on a Zoom call with colleagues from Pasadena City College — one of whom witnessed part of the attack.

Robert Cotton, 32, was set to be arraigned later Wednesday in a Pasadena courtroom on two murder charges stemming from the Monday afternoon killings of Carol Anne Brown, 67, and her brother, Kenneth Wayne Preston, 69.

The charges include an allegation that he personally used a knife in the commission of the crime.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies from the Altadena Station went to a residence in the 3100 block of North Marengo Avenue at about 2:45 p.m. Monday on a report of a possible kidnapping in progress, Deputy Tracy Koerner said.

Brown, a Pasadena City College employee, was in her living room on a Zoom call with a colleague who saw part of the attack on Preston and called 911,

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Victims of Deadly Altadena Stabbing Identified as PCC Staff Member, Brother

By BRIAN DAY

Investigators have identified a man and woman who were allegedly stabbed to death by a relative at their home in Altadena on Monday, prompting mourning at Pasadena City College, where the woman worked for more than a decade.

Carol Brown, 67, and her brother Jenneth Preston, 69, were killed in the 2:45 p.m. attack in the 3100 block of North Marengo Avenue, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Lt. Barry Hall.

Robert Anderson Cotton, 32, who was Brown’s son and Preston’s nephew, was arrested in connection with the killings, officials said.

“With much sorrow,” Pasadena City College President Erika Endrijonas confirmed that Brown was a staff member at the school.

“Yesterday afternoon our PCC family suffered a terrible loss. Dr. Carol Brown, who most recently served as a co-coordinator of the Black STEM program, was the victim of a violent crime where she and her brother lost their lives,” she said in a letter to the PCC community.

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

UPDATE: Man Accused of Stabbing Mother, Uncle to Death in Altadena

Colleague of one of the victims witnessed the attack via Zoom meeting, officials say

By BRIAN DAY

[UPDATED] Deputies found a woman and her brother stabbed to death at their home in Altadena on Monday afternoon after a colleague of the woman witnessed an attack on the victims during a Zoom meeting and called 911, authorities said. A suspect, described as the son of the female victim and the nephew of the male victim, was in custody.

The double-homicide unfolded about 2:45 p.m. at a home in the 3100 block of North Marengo Avenue, north of Altadena Drive, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“During the investigation, detectives learned that the female victim was conducting a Zoom call with a colleague, when the attack on the male occurred,” Deputy Tracy Koerner of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said in a written statement. “The Zoom caller witnessed the attack on both the male and female and called 911 to report the crime.”

Deputies responding to what then was considered a possible kidnapping discovered a man suffering from multiple stab wounds in the driveway of the home,

Friday, March 12, 2021

2 Pasadenans, Altadenan Top Ranking of Competitors in World Food Championships

Two chefs from Pasadena and another from Altadena clinched the top three spots in the World Food Championships, to be held in Dallas in November, the competition announced Thursday.

Reigning World Recipe Champion Lidia Haddadian of Pasadena, a home cook competing in the “Recipes” category, topped the listing of 100 competitors to watch as nearly 500 chefs do culinary battle for a chance to win more than $300,000 in prizes, WFC said in a written statement.

She was immediately followed in the ranking by Jodie Tafell of Altadena, competing as a home cook in the “Bacon” category. Tafell is also defending her title as World Bacon Champion.

Professional chef Ven Diaz of Pasadena rounds out the top three competitors, competing in the “Chef” category, according to WFC.

Nearly 500 teams are expected to converge in Dallas in November for the competition, known as the “Ultimate Food Fight,” the statement said.

In a video statement provided by contest organizers,

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Community Leader Juanita De Vaughn Recognized by Asm. Holden and California Legislative Black Caucus

Altadena and Pasadena  area community leader, Juanita De Vaughn was recognized by Assemblymember Chris Holden and the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) in a virtual ceremony as the 41st Assembly District’s 2021 Unsung Hero for her positive impact in the community.

“Juanita De Vaughn’s contributions to our community will have a powerful impact for years to come,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden. “Through her dedication and hard work, she carries on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy and is an inspiration for future generations. I have known Juanita for many years and it is an honor and a privilege to recognize her.”

Juanita De Vaughn was born in Boligee, Alabama, where she began her career as a lifelong educator and civil rights activist. She taught at the Industrial School for Girls and Boys in Alabama, and worked as a Dietician at Talladega College and as a Nutritionist for the Headstart program in Birmingham.

Active with the civil rights movement in Alabama,

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Altadena Grocery Store Workers Will Soon Get $5 ‘Hero Pay’

Supervisors approve hourly increase for four months

By ELIZABETH MARCELLINO, City News Service

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 today to adopt an urgency ordinance requiring national grocery and drug retail employers in unincorporated areas of the county, which includes nearby Altadena, to pay frontline workers an additional $5 per hour hazard pay, or “hero pay,” for the next 120 days.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena, voted against the measure, which is to take effect immediately. Barger cited unintended consequences and a concern that the ordinance only covers a “small sliver” of the essential workforce.

Supervisors Hilda Solis and Holly Mitchell co-authored the motion calling for the temporary “urgency” ordinance that would apply to store chains that are publicly traded or have at least 300 employees nationwide and more than 10 employees per store.

Solis pointed to store profits as one justification, though she referenced a Brookings Institution analysis that includes retailers like Amazon and Home Depot,