Sunday, October 4, 2015

Altadena’s First Best Fest Was a Hit

Video and Story by MONICA TERADA | Click headline to see video

“Are you ready?” said Gerry O’Rourke, as he prepped his T-Shirt Canon for blast off.

“Three, two, one…”

Rourke’s canon shot out several t-shirts this Saturday morning at the Altadena Best Fest and was the hit attraction amongst kids.

“It’s so cool. I really want one in my bedroom,” said Scott Jameson, dripping in sweat from having run around trying to catch one of the shirts.

The festival took place on Mariposa St., where a section was blocked off from traffic, and several stands, food trucks, and even vintage trailers and campers came out for the “beautiful day,” as pointed out Johnny Agnew from Funky Junk Farms.

Agnew was one of the vintage trailers and campers exhibitors. According to him, it was a “great crowd” and he was “glad to be a part of it.”

The trailers ranged from big to small,

Friday, October 2, 2015

The Best of the Best: Best Fest Takes to the Streets

You don’t have to be a millionaire to experience the best Altadena has to offer. This year’s Best Fest offers a sampling of the town’s very top art, food, music and retailers. The festival expanded from the grounds of the Altadena library and has now taken to the streets.

“It was only artists initially. It was just an art fair and it was only artists. And then we had a food booth. And then we added a few community things. So we just ran out of space,” said Dale Lacasella, a festival organizer. “Last year we had 45 booths and it was just too crowded. So we decided to take it to the street.”

This year Best Fest has over 90 vendors, live music and activities for all ages.

Best Fest grew out of an annual art show on Mariposa Street and now includes everything from vintage cars to pet adoptions and live music. The art show, formerly called Art on Millionaire’s Row,

Friday, October 2, 2015

Big Draw LA offers Art Opportunities in Altadena and Pasadena

The Big Draw LA, a regional celebration of the art of drawing that has been attracting tens of thousands of Angelenos since 2010, will be held in Pasadena and Altadena this weekend.

On Saturday, October 3, the first of three Big Draw LA events in the area will occur as part of Altadena Best Fest from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Mariposa St. between El Molino and Marengo avenues. Entire familes may take part in group drawing or painting projects, created on a long scroll that can be folded up into a book-box The activitiy will be sponsored by the Urban Crop Circle.

BestFest is an annual festival that benefits the Altadena Library Foundation.

The next Big Draw event will be held on October 17th, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at Pasadena’s Memorial Park on Holly Street and Raymond Avenue. San Gabriel Valley Pride is sponsoring the event as part of the SGVP Festival that will also feature a classic car show,

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Daring Rescue of Dog Nets PETA Award for First Responders

Dog Who Fell 600 Feet Prompts PETA Call for Warning Signs at Cliffside

PETA’s Compassionate Action Award and Compassionate Police Department Award are on their way, respectively, to the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department–Altadena Station after they rushed to the aid of a dog named Angel, who plummeted 600 feet down a cliff while on an unleashed run with his guardian. After two hours of searching, first responders found the frightened dog, who was stranded, and were able to whisk him to safety with the help of a specially made harness. Angel sustained only a minor scratch on his nose and was reunited with his guardian.

“Thanks to the persistence of these courageous first responders, this dog is safe and recovering at home,” says PETA Senior Director Colleen O’Brien. “PETA hopes their determination will inspire others to come to the aid of animals in need.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—reminds all dog guardians to keep their animal companions near them on walks with a leash and a comfortable,

Thursday, October 1, 2015

County Fire Adds Two Additional Superscoopers in Anticipation of Santa Ana Wind Fire Threat

Photo credit Maarten Visser

Mayor Michael D. Antonovich announced that two additional CL-415 SuperScoopers will arrive for service in Los Angeles County on October 9 augmenting the two SuperScoopers currently leased from the government of Quebec.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has leased the fire-fighting aircraft to prepare for widespread highly flammable conditions caused by a four-year drought, coupled with mandatory water restrictions which have stressed native and ornamental vegetation — conditions similar to those which led to the rapid spread of multiple catastrophic wildfires in Northern California.

In the event that early and significant El Nino rainfall arrives, the fire department is prepared to return of all four SuperScoopers as early as November.

SuperScoopers are a fixed-wing aircraft that can carry up to 1,620 gallons of water and take only 12 seconds to scoop water from a lake and inject it with fire-resistant foam – a combination up to three times more effective than water alone.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Two PCC Board Candidate Forums Scheduled for Altadena Voters

Two candidate forums that will help Altadena’s residents decide who to vote for during the upcoming Pasadena City College Board of Trustees election are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, October 6th and 7th.

Area 2 encompasses East Altadena, East Pasadena and Sierra Madre.

The first Candidate Forum will feature both Area 2 and Area 4 candidates at the Westerbeck Recital Hall in the Center for the Arts on the PCC campus. It is co-sponsored by the PCC Faculty Association and the Pasadena Area League of Women Voters. The forum is from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Julie Kiotas, Faculty Association president, said PCC has faced unprecedented challenges, including recent sanctions by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges and “tumultuous relations between faculty, staff, administrators and the Board.”

“The November election offers the college a chance to begin the renewal process so that PCC can regain its equilibrium, begin to bring together as a team the faculty,

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Traffic Advisory as Sheriff’s Alert Public of Saturday Street Closure

The Altadena Station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. said today that on Saturday October 3, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., east Mariposa Street in Altadena will be closed between El Molino Street and Marengo Avenue.

“Join us for the Altadena Best Fest street festival, featuring the 6th Annual Art on Millionaire’s Row,” the announcement said.

Officials said there will be delicious food, an art festival, vintage car show and live entertainment.

For more information please visit www.altadenabestfest.com.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Altadena Station’s Crime Blotter for the Week of September 13, 2015

Sunday, September 20th

12:35 AM – Alexander Kenny, 25 years old of Concord, Ca., was arrested at Lincoln Avenue and Figueroa Drive for being drunk in public.

6:08 PM – Rodolfo Montoya, 23 years old of Altadena, was arrested at Olive Avenue and Figueroa Drive for possession of a controlled substance.

6:13 PM – An assault with a deadly weapon (firearm) occurred in the area of Lincoln Avenue and Figueroa Drive. The suspect shot at a group of males who were exiting a liquor store. One of the males was struck by the gunfire and sustained non-life threatening injuries. The investigation is ongoing.

7:30 PM – A vehicle vandalism occurred in the 100 block of Manor Street. The victim’s tires were slashed.

Monday, September 21st

No significant incidents to report

Tuesday, September 22nd

No significant incidents to report

Wednesday, September 23rd

10:00 AM – A residential burglary occurred in the 2000 block of Mar Vista Avenue.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Francisco Ramirez. . . Wrong place, wrong time? Find out Oct. 15 at Altadena Library

Historians Paul Gray and Michele Zack will take us back to the Pueblo of Los Angeles in its first years as an “American” town, via an illustrated talk and dynamic conversation.

In 1855, in the run-up to the Civil War, 18-year-old printer’s apprentice Francisco Ramirez founded the newspaper El Clamor Publico to express ideas of liberalism and democracy far in advance of this time and place. California was the newest state in the United States and in its southern half, Spanish-speaking Californios made up most of the population.

Misgivings about a new national identity after Mexico’s loss of California to the United States, the brewing division within the Union, and a pueblo governed by “Southern-minded” elites supporting the nascent Confederacy created a dangerous storm for young Ramirez, who spoke eloquently for social, gender, and racial justice.

Paul Gray is an attorney and bi-cultural independent scholar who wrote A Clamor for Equality (2012), the first book-length biography of Ramirez. Michele Zack is an author and historian who partnered for eight years with the Huntington-USC Institute for California and the West in a program that integrated California history into American History,

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Sheriff’s Captain Reed Talks Coffee, Cameras and ‘Broken Windows’

As with many coffee klatches, the hottest topic at the Coffee Gallery in Altadena last night was movies. But not favorite flicks or favorite stars. It was neighbors hosting film shoots, and film companies taking over neighborhoods.

The Altadena Sheriff’s Station and Captain Christopher Reed held a “Coffee with the Captain” meeting last night and while movies took over a lot of the conversation, Captain Reed and four deputies handled subjects as varied as new deployments, horse and foot patrols and policing policy.

A number of residents spoke out against both film companies and local homeowners being good neighbors and honoring the specifics of film permits by the LA Film Office. Reed assured the neighbors that local sheriff’s deputies are aware of the pitfalls of neighborhood shooting, but also emphasized that in a busy filming community like Altadena, it’s the responsibility of film companies to enforce matters like parking violations and the like.

Captain Reed also announced a new deployment strategy in the area with regard to deputies.