Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 21, 2010

4

 
Mountain Views News Saturday, August 21, 2010

Man Accused 
of Attempted 
Molestation 
Arrested


Planetary Society 
Asks Congress to 
Reconsider Human 
Space Exploration Plan

 Police detectives said Thursday 
they arrested a Pasadena 
man on charges of false 
imprisonment and attempted 
child molestation, following a 
complex investigation involving 
Pasadena Police Investigators, 
the U.S. Marshals, and the 
cooperation of the Mexican 
Government.

 According to police, Robert 
James Ruiz, 48, of Pasadena, 
allegedly held an underage 
female against her will in a 
motel room and attempted to 
molest her. The location of the 
motel was not given. 

 Pasadena Detective Lt. Tracey 
Ibarra explained, in a prepared 
statement, that when Ruiz 
learned that he was wanted by 
police, he called the handling 
detective and declared that he 
had no intention of going back 
to prison and that he had left 
the area. Working with multiple 
resources, investigators tracked 
Ruiz to Mexico where he was 
ultimately arrested without 
incident she said. 

 “Mr. Ruiz had an association 
with the victim’s family and took 
advantage of this relationship,” 
Ibarra said. “Having Mr. Ruiz 
at large to potentially assault 
or molest another female, and 
his threat of violence when 
arrested, made him a threat to 
the public and law enforcement. 
“

 “This collaborative effort 
among law enforcement 
agencies to track and arrest Mr. 
Ruiz resulted in a dangerous 
2nd strike criminal being taken 
off the streets,” said Pasadena 
Police Chief Phillip Sanchez. 
“It was excellent work by all 
involved.”

 The Los Angeles County 
District Attorney’s office filed 
attempted lewd acts with a 
minor, false imprisonment, 
child abuse, and indecent 
exposure toward a minor. He 
was arraigned Monday with a 
bail set at $1.2 million Ibarra 
said.


The Planetary Society has 
sent a letter to the Chairs and 
Ranking Minority Members 
of the four subcommittees 
currently considering the 
NASA budget and the 
Administration’s plan for 
human space exploration. 
The letter states: “We are 
concerned about omissions 
and a lack of coherence in the 
four committees’ versions of 
this bill.”

 The society details a 
number of the problems 
in the bills, including the 
vagueness about replacing 
the Space Shuttle and setting 
goals for human space 
flight. “The bills reject the 
President’s new plan, as well 
as the old Constellation plan, 
and instead come up with 
a patchwork of proposals,” 
stated Louis Friedman, 
Executive Director of The 
Planetary Society. The letter 
is signed by him, together 
with incoming Executive 
Director, Bill Nye, and the 
Planetary Society’s President, 
Jim Bell, and Vice-President, 
Heidi Hammel.

 The letter concludes 
by asking the Senators 
and Representatives to 
step back from each of 
the Congressional bills 
that have been passed by 
the Authorization and 
Appropriations Committees 
and refocus on the whole.

 Current space 
exploration bills lack 
coherence and have 
serious omissions.

Monte Cedro Project Moving Forward 

By Dean Lee

 Leaders from the Episcopal 
Home Communities apologized 
Tuesday night taking 
responsibility for, what they said 
was, neglect of the Monte Cedro 
project property the former 
Scripps Home in Altadena, 
having been vacant for years.

 “I want to begin with an 
apology,” said Episcopal Homes 
Communities president and 
CEO Martha Tamburrano. “We 
have just not taken care of that 
property well. We dropped the 
ball and let the care of the site 
fall between the cracks.” 

 Before apologizing 
Tamburrano said the project, 
once stalled permanently, would 
move forward, this time scaled 
back with an estimated start 
date of 2013. She said the date 
was dependent on receiving 10 
percent down payments on 70 
percent of the units. 

 Tamburrano explained that, 
for now, they hope to have 
the property just west of Lake 
Avenue, hydroseeded with 
grasses by October. They also 
plan to plant wildflowers 
down the middle stretch of 
the property. A green netting 
attached to the surrounding 
fence, which she said was torn 
in places, will also be removed. 

 She said they hired a new 
landscaping company last 
week, which has already begun 
clearing the property of weeds.

 “They have already done a lot 
of weed chopping and mowing 
and cutting,” she said. “All of the 
trees have been trimmed.”

 She also said a security service 
now patrols the area from early 
afternoon to night. 

 Arch Pelley of Perkins/
Eastman Architects outlined 
changes to the, once estimated, 
$125 million project including 
downsized the square footage 
from 203,510 square feet to 
201,950. The project will now 
consist of one main building 
with three surrounding smaller 
building. There will now be 226 
unassisted living units, down 
form 234 and 20 assisted living, 
down from 38. Pricing would 
be consistent with the area, 
$350,000 to $800,000 or $2,500 
to $5,000 per month they said. 

 Tamburrano also announced 
a multigenerational art project 
for the site, she said, “involving 
schoolchildren of Altadena and 
surrounding areas and seniors 
in our retirement communities 
to cover at last one side of the 
fencing on the property.”

 Episcopal Home Communities 
is also giving $10,000 to the 
local sheriff’s station to pay for 
crime-fighting equipment she 
said.

Chorine Leak Forces Caltech Evacuations

 Dean Lee

 Caltech was partly shut down 
Thursday morning, causing 
gridlock around the area, after 
a chorine leak forced 18 people 
to evacuate —two were treated 
for minor eye irritations. A 
firefighter was also treated for a 
heat related injury. 

 Nine building were shut down 
total including, Alles, Arms, 
Braun labs, Church, Crellin, 
Kerckhoff, North and South 
Mudd, Parsons-Gates and the 
Millikan Library. 

 According to fire spokesperson 
Lisa Derderian they received 
a call at about 5:22 a.m. of a 
strong chemical smell in the 
basement of the Kerckhoff 
Building. A full Hazmat team 
was dispatched including 
firefighters from Burbank, 
Glendale and South Pasadena. 
Pasadena police were also on 
scene she said. 

 Derderian said cleaning 
personnel were using equipment 
to chlorinate ponds on the 
campus. She said chlorine leaked 
into steam tunnels that connect 
some buildings. Firefighters 
used fans to blow the fumes 
away. A campus alert was sent 
out at 8:50 a.m. advising people 
to say out of the area. Catalina 
Avenue, Hill Avenue, Del Mar 
Boulevard, and California 
Boulevard were all shut down. 

 The campus was back to 
normal by 10:00 a.m. The school 
is currently on break.


Citizen Journalism Boot Camp 

 


 
Get hands-on multimedia 
journalism training! What 
makes news? Is it better to 
use a video instead of a still 
photo? How can I get this 
story out?

 Pasadena Community 
Network and this newspaper 
are holding a seminar on 
Citizen Journalism. Putting 
the news in your hands. 
Learn how to find the story, 
the tools needed to capture 
the story and the means to 
tell the story using the power 
of video, audio and print 
along with the internet. Class 
starts Aug. 24 from 11a.m.- 
1p.m. at the PCN studios 
2061 N. Los Robles Ave. 
#109. For more info contact 
Aaron Wheeler (626) 794-
8585. Cost of the six week 
camp is $10 which covers all 
instructional materials and 
equipment. 

 Learn not just how 
to blog but how to 
report the news

Library 
Launches 
Homeschool 
Collection

 Hastings Branch Library is 
launching a new Homeschool 
Collection September 16 
starting at 3 p.m.

 This specialized pilot 
collection has 140 multi-format 
materials for homeschool 
families to check out. These 
include general homeschool 
guides, curriculum resources, 
educational DVDs, literacy 
kits, as well as learning 
equipment materials – a 
microscope, a human body 
form, a globe, and much more!

 For more information on 
the Homeschool Collection 
contact Petra Morris at 
(626) 744-7262 or pmorris@
cityofpasadena.net.

Police Explorers Compete 
To Display Competence

Power Rangers Convention Powers Up Pasadena

Go, Go Power Rangers. 
The second annual Power 
Morphicon will morph the 
Pasadena Convention Center 
into Ranger Central. Power 
Morphicon will feature exclusive 
panels, guest appearances, and 
a silent auction the weekend of 
August 27-29. 

 More than one thousand 
attendees will enjoy expanded 
offerings this year, featuring a 
variety of engaging experiences 
including more than twenty 
specialty vendors, costume 
contests and a Power Quest 
Trivia Game. This year the 
convention welcomes the 
master toy licensee, Bandai 
America Incorporated, as the 
premier sponsor. 

 The Power Rangers convention 
boasts an impressive roster of 
fan favorites from the iconic 
series, who will participate in 
panels and exclusive autograph 
signings. Special guests 
include Jason David Frank, 
Steve Cardenas, Karen Ashley, 
Barbara Goodson, Blake Foster, 
Walter Emanuel Jones, Matt 
Austin, Jessica Rey, Catherine 
Sutherland, Tony Oliver and 
many more. 

 “The Power Morphicon 
convention is one of a kind, 
allowing our audience to get 
up close and interact with the 
guests at our panels, and maybe 
even learn a thing or two at one 
of our Ranger Events,” said Erin 
Coplan, Executive Coordinator 
for Power Morphicon. “We have 
everything the Power Ranger 
fans could ask for and a lot of 
surprises in store they won’t 
expect.”

 “Power Morphicon is very 
excited to have Bandai at our 
convention,” said Chairmen 
Scott Zillner. “We believe 
in their commitment to the 
franchise, and having them 
at our event only enriches the 
overall fan experience.” 

 
Police Explorers from Post 
19 will be going head to head 
against several hundred other 
police explorers this Saturday 
and Sunday at Hahamongna 
Park. Officials say weeks and 
weeks of dedicated training 
will be put to the test as they 
compete with groups from 
across the state. 

 “This is an excellent opportunity 
to see PPD Explorers at their 
best competing in drills, 
simulations and games that test 
their skills as future leaders and 
police officers,” they said. 

 “Pasadena Explorer Post 19 
is one of the most successful 
in the state,” said Police Chief 
Phillip Sanchez. “We have 
approximately 40 young 
people who are engaged in 
police training, volunteer in 
the community and have the 
opportunity to compete in fun 
activities such as this as well 
as enrichment field trips all 
around the country.” 

 Sanchez continued, “The 
dedicated Explorer staff are 
some of the best the country has 
to offer. A special thank you all 
of the Advisors and Instructors, 
all of whom volunteer their own 
time with these young people.” 

 Sanchez also invited and 
encourages the community to 
come see for themselves as the 
Explorers compete for more 
trophies for Pasadena. 

 “If you’ve never had the 
occasion to visit the Pasadena 
Police Department,” said Public 
Information Officer Janet Pope 
Givens. ”Then you’ve not had 
the opportunity to see the 
numerous awards and trophies 
that these young people have 
accomplished over the years.” 

 She further explained that to 
join the Pasadena Explorer Post, 
you must be between the ages of 
12 and 20, have a 2.0 Grade Point 
Average, be able to complete the 
academy, be willing to volunteer 
several hours a month to the 
Pasadena Police Department 
and participate in training and 
community events. 

 The competition takes place at 
Hahamongna Park from 7:00 
a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Saturday and 
7:00 a.m. – noon on Sunday.

 To find out more about 
Exploring and how to get 
involved, call (626) 744-4551. 


Pet of the 
Week


Cosmic Lens Used to Probe Dark Energy

 Astronomers have devised 
a new method for measuring 
perhaps the greatest puzzle of 
our universe -- dark energy. This 
mysterious force, discovered in 
1998, is pushing our universe 
apart at ever-increasing speeds.

 For the first time, astronomers 
using NASA’s Hubble Space 
Telescope were able to take 
advantage of a giant magnifying 
lens in space -- a massive cluster 
of galaxies -- to narrow in 
on the nature of dark energy. 
Their calculations, when 
combined with data from 
other methods, significantly 
increase the accuracy of dark 
energy measurements. This may 
eventually lead to an explanation 
of what the elusive phenomenon 
really is.

 “We have to tackle the dark 
energy problem from all sides,” 
said Eric Jullo, an astronomer 
at NASA’s Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 
“It’s important to have several 
methods, and now we’ve got a 
new, very powerful one.” Jullo 
is lead author of a paper on the 
findings appearing in the Aug. 
20 issue of the journal Science.

 Scientists aren’t clear about 
what dark energy is, but they do 
know that it makes up a large 
chunk of our universe -- about 
72 percent. Another chunk, 
about 24 percent, is thought to 
be dark matter, also mysterious 
in nature but easier to study 
than dark energy because of 
its gravitational influence on 
matter that we can see. The rest 
of the universe, a mere four 
percent, is the stuff that makes 
up people, planets, stars and 
everything made up of atoms.

 In their new study, the science 
team used images from Hubble 
to examine a massive cluster 
of galaxies, named Abell 1689, 
which acts as a magnifying, or 
gravitational, lens. 

 The gravity of the cluster causes 
galaxies behind it to be imaged 
multiple times into distorted 
shapes, sort of like a fun house 
mirror reflection that warps 
your face.

 Using these distorted images, 
the scientists were able to figure 
out how light from the more 
distant, background galaxies 
had been bent by the cluster —a 
characteristic that depends on 
the nature of dark energy. Their 
method also depends on precise 
ground based measurements 
of the distance and speed at 
which the background galaxies 
are traveling away from us. The 
team used these data to quantify 
the strength of the dark energy 
that is causing our universe to 
accelerate.

 “What I like about our new 
method is that it’s very visual,” 
said Jullo. “You can literally 
see gravitation and dark 
energy bend the images of the 
background galaxies into arcs.”

 According to the scientists, 
their method required multiple, 
meticulous steps. They spent 
the last several years developing 
specialized mathematical 
models and precise maps of the 
matter —both

dark and “normal”— 
constituting the Abell 1689 
cluster.

 “We can now apply our 
technique to other gravitational 
lenses,” said co-author Priya 
Natarajan, a cosmologist at Yale 
University, New Haven, Conn. 
“We’re exploiting a beautiful 
phenomenon in nature to learn 
more about the role that dark 
energy plays in our universe.”

 The California Institute of 
Technology in Pasadena manages 
JPL for NASA. More information is 
at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov.

 Just look at this adorable 
little guy! Sampson, a four 
month old kitten, is curious 
and loves attention. He was 
found stray and needs a 
loving new home. Come 
visit with this cutie today!

 The regular cat adoption 
fee is $70 which includes 
the spay or neuter surgery, 
microchip, vaccinations, 
and a free follow-up health 
check at a participating vet.

 Please call 626-792-7151 
and ask about A274515 
or come to the Pasadena 
Humane Society & SPCA, 
361 S. Raymond Ave , 
Pasadena CA , 91105 . 
Our adoption hours are 
11-3 Sunday, 9-4 Tuesday, 
Wednesday, Thursday, and 
Friday, and 9-3 Saturday. 
Directions and photos of 
all pets updated hourly 
may be found at www.
pasadenahumane.org

County Votes to Improve 
Medical and Mental Health 
Care for Probation Youth

 

 To ensure that young 
people in County probation 
camps receive quality 
medical and mental health 
service, the Board of 
Supervisors approved nearly 
$8 million to hire a team of 
healthcare and mental health 
professionals. Supervisor 
Michael Antonovich made 
the announcement Tuesday. 

 A motion by Supervisors 
Ridley-Thomas and Michael 
Antonovich., unanimously 
approved by the Board, 
develops safeguards and 
oversight to ensure that 
these funds are spent in 
a manner consistent with 
the requirements of the 
October 31, 2008 agreement 
between the County and 
the Department of Justice 
to improve juvenile justice 
programs, practices and 
outcomes for youth in 
county probation camps

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com