Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 9, 2010

5

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 9, 2010 

Metrolink 
to Integrate 
Positive 
Train Control 
System

US Supreme Court 
Hears JPL Privacy Case

The Science of Girl Power


By Dean Lee

 NASA contested Tuesday 
an injunction won by 28 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
employees, three years ago, 
blocking the rebadging 
of federal contractors 
that required extensive 
background checks 
including information about 
drug use and sexuality.

 The JPL employees 
sued in 2007 on the basis 
that background checks 
through Homeland Security 
Presidential Directive 12, 
HSPD-12 were an invasion 
of their privacy.

 Pasadena lawyer Dan 
Stormer defended the 
employees Tuesday , 
saying the issue, as now 
characterized, is really how 
far a government can go, 
‘may this government go, 
to intrude into the private 
lives of its citizens, both in 
positions that do not involve 
sensitive issues, classified 
issues, national security 
issues, or positions of public 
trust?”

 Stormer argued that 
“low risk,” government 
contractors should not 
have to face intrusive 
questioning to qualify for 
government-issued ID 
badges. At one point he 
called he background checks 
to scientists overkill in a 
campus-like atmosphere. 

 Defending NASA, Solicitor 
General Neal Katyal said 
the court underestimates 
how important security is at 
JPL. He explained it is not 
“campus like” saying there 
are armed guards when 
coming in. He also argued 
that the badges are not just 
for JPL allowing them “to get 
within, for example, 6 to 10 
feet of the space shuttle as it 
is being repaired and readied 
for launch.”

 Chief Justice John Roberts 
asked Katyal, “there is no 
right of any kind for a citizen 
to tell the Government: That 
is none of your business. 
The Government will decide 
that it can ask anything of a 
citizen, so long as you don’t 
disclose it?”

 “Our position here is that 
the government can collect 
information so long as it 
is not disseminated in the 
employment context,” Katyal 
said. 

 Justice Samuel Alito asked if 
there was any limit. 

 “Suppose the Government 
says: Well, we want to know 
all about your diet. We want 
to know whether you smoke 
cigarettes. We want to know 
everything you read. We 
want to know what your 
hobbies are, what forms of 
entertainment you enjoy, 
sexual practices, every aspect 
of your private life, just 
because that gives us a better 
picture of who you are as an 
employee. Is that okay?”

 Katyal said what questions 
to ask were not at issue, but 
rather the Ninth Circuit’s 
decision. 

 The court ruled that 
NASA could not require 
JPL scientists and engineers 
holding non sensitive 
positions to sign waivers of 
their privacy rights. 

A decision in the case is 
expected later this year.

 At press time, JPL employees 
refuted the claim that ID 
badges in question would 
get them within feet of the 
space shuttle. They called 
it an insult to those that 
work at the Kennedy Space 
Center saying it show how 
little the federal government 
knows about the relationship 
between JPL and NASA.


By Dean Lee

 Metrolink’s Board of 
Directors authorized, Oct. 
1, a $120 million contract 
to Parsons Transportation 
Group integrating a Positive 
Train Control, PTC, system 
throughout Metrolink’s 512 
miles of tracks. 

 The announcement comes less 
than a month after the second 
anniversary of a Metrolink 
crash September 2008, in 
Chatsworth, that killed 25 
people and injured 135 more. 

 According to Metro, they are 
the nation’s first rail operator to 
get approval from the Federal 
Railroad Administration on a 
PTC implementation plan. 

 The train control technology 
monitors and controls a train’s 
movements remotely avoiding 
train-to-train collisions. It can 
also monitor unauthorized train 
movement into a work-zone, 
movement of a train through a 
switch left in the wrong position 
and trains exceeding authorized 
speeds according to Metro.

 A week after the Chatsworth 
tragedy, the Los Angeles 
County Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority 
developed a comprehensive 
County Commuter/Freight Rail 
Master Plan that, among other 
things, looked at implementing 
PTC.

 The system consists of on-
board computers, display 
screens, GPS tracking and 
radios on 57 cab cars and 52 
locomotives as well as a stop 
enforcement system at 476 LED 
wayside signals. 

 Six-county specialized 
communication systems will 
link the wayside signals, trains 
and the centralized dispatch 
office replacing the current 
system.

 Deborah Hersman, chair of 
the National Transportation 
Safety Board said investigators 
concluded that the Chatsworth 
crash was a human failure. The 
investigation concluded that an 
engineer was text messaging a 
group of train enthusiasts and 
did on see a red signal.

 Thousands of Girl Scouts took part in the second annual Family Science Festival Sunday, 
themed “Innovation Meets Imagination” on the campus of Caltech. The festival included 
exhibits on rocketry, the environment, animals, robotics, and hands-on experiments, a 
scavenger hunt, a bubble mania challenge, there was also a live taping of “The Loh Down 
on Science LIVE!” radio pilot with host Sandra Tsing Loh, and demonstrations by GSGLA’s 
world renowned robotics teams. The event was hosted by Girl Scouts of Greater Los 
Angeles.

Urgent Care Center Set to Open

 


 If all goes according to 
plan, long waits, for some, at 
Huntington Hospital may be 
over as the new urgent care 
and primary care health center 
in east Pasadena is set to open 
next week. A ribbon cutting 
ceremony Wednesday marked 
the occasion. 

 The urgent care center, 
operated by Huntington 
Medical Foundation, is expected 
to help alleviate crowding in 
the hospital’s emergency room, 
where more than 30 percent of 
patients have health concerns 
that are not emergencies. 

 The primary care clinic will be 
managed by the Community 
Health Alliance of Pasadena 
(CHAP) and will serve the needs 
of low-income and uninsured 
patients. A reasonable, sliding 
fee schedule will be offered to 
uninsured patients. 

 “Access to health care in the 
greater Pasadena area has 
been identified as a growing 
community concern,” said 
Mayor Bill Bogaard. “This new 
center will serve important 
medical needs of segments 
of Pasadena’s population that 
otherwise would go to expensive 
emergency rooms or not be 
treated at all.” 

 The property, owned by the 
city of Pasadena and donated 
for the five-year pilot project, 
was chosen for its affordability, 
access to public transportation 
and proximity to a balanced mix 
of insured and uninsured users 
who would be likely to use the 
center. 

 The city funded $4.1 million 
for the partial demolition and 
reconstruction of an existing 
building that formerly housed 
a daycare center and police 
substation. The construction 
included expanding the 
building’s footprint as well 
as new electrical, plumbing 
and HVAC systems. The city 
funding included $3.6 million 
from the charter capital reserve 
and $500,000 from equipment 
and lease funds. 

 Funding for construction and 
equipment was also provided 
by Huntington Medical 
Foundation ($1.4 million), 
CHAP ($500,000 through a 
grant from Kaiser Permanente 
Foundation Hospital of 
Southern California) and LA 
Care Health Plan ($500,000). 

 “In these times of limited 
resources, the partnership of the 
city of Pasadena, Huntington 
Medical Foundation and CHAP 
is essential to increasing health 
care options in our community,” 
said Dr. Eric Walsh, director 
of the Pasadena Public Health 
Department. “Pasadena 
residents 

who have been hit hard by the 
economic downturn will now 
have a convenient and cost-
effective source of medical care.” 

 Hours of operation at the 
10,021-square-foot complex will 
be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. 

 For more information about 
the event call (626) 744-6000.


NASA Partnership Sends Earth Data To Africa

Employees, Scott Maxwell (left) and Thomas Starbird (right) 
handed out liteature Oct. 2007 in front of JPL opposing HSPD12 
requirements. Photo D. LEE/MVNews

 

 A unique partnership 
between NASA and agencies 
in Africa and Europe has 
sent more than 30 terabytes 
of free Earth science satellite 
data to South African 
researchers to support 
sustainable development and 
environmental applications 
in Africa.

 The data from one of the 
instruments on NASA’s Terra 
satellite provide observations 
of Africa’s surface and 
atmosphere, including 
vegetation structure, airborne 
pollution particles, cloud 
heights and winds. Transfer 
of these data to a distribution 
center in Africa will make it 
broadly accessible to African 
users who have not been able 
to remotely download the 
large data files because of 
limitations in the continent’s 
Internet infrastructure.

 The data are from the 
Multi-angle Imaging 
SpectroRadiometer (MISR) 
on Terra. NASA’s Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory in 
Pasadena, Calif., built and 
manages the instrument, and 
NASA’s Langley Research 
Center in Hampton, Va., 
processes, archives and 
distributes the data.

 “NASA is committed 
to helping governments, 
organizations and 
researchers around the world 
make effective use of Earth 
observation data to aid in 
environmental decision 
making,” said Hal Maring, 
a program manager in the 
Earth Science Division of the 
Science Mission Directorate 
at NASA Headquarters 
in Washington. “These 
efforts support the goals 
of the Group on Earth 
Observations, a partnership 
of international agencies that 
promotes collaborative use of 
Earth science data.”

Citizen Journalism Meet-up

Pet of the 
Week

 

 

 

 The Pasadena Community 
Network and this newspaper 
are holding a workshop on 
Citizen Journalism. 

 This group is the place where 
aspiring journalists can learn 
from trained professionals 
and support their local 
community by covering 
what’s really happening in 
their neighborhoods.

 We will put 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 online social media 
The next meeting will be 
October 5, from 6 to 8p.m. 
at the Pasadena Community 
Network - Studio G, 2057 N. 
Los Robles Ave.

 For more info call 
626.794.8585 or visit 
pasadenan.ning.com.

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

 
What a fun dog! Shelby , 
a three year old, Chihuahua 
mix is active, friendly, and 
playful. She gets along with 
other dogs, loves people 
and is looking for someone 
who will make sure she gets 
plenty of attention. Come 
visit with Shelby today!

 The regular dog adoption 
fee is $120, which includes 
medical care prior to 
adoption, spaying or 
neutering, vaccinations, 
and a follow-up visit with a 
participating vet.

 Please call 626-792-
7151 and ask for A276697 
or come to the Pasadena 
Humane Society & SPCA, 
361 S. Raymond Ave , 
Pasadena CA , 91105 . 
Our adoption hours are 
11-4 Sunday, 9-5 Tuesday, 
Wednesday, Thursday, and 
Friday, and 9-4 Saturday. 
Directions and photos of 
all pets updated hourly 
may be found at www.
pasadenahumane.org

PCC Professor to be 
Honored at Green Summit

Festival of 
California 
Poets

 Dr. Yuet-Ling O’Connor, 
workforce development director 
and chair of the green team at 
Pasadena City College, will 
be presented with an award at 
the annual Green Community 
College Summit Oct. 12-13.

 Presented on behalf of 
the Summit’s advisory 
board, the awards honor 
individual, organizational, and 
campus-wide achievements 
in community college 
sustainability. “The best thing 
about receiving an award for my 
work at PCC is the recognition 
for everyone who worked 
with me and the possibility of 
encouraging others to join in 
the community movement of 
building a sustainable future,” 
O’Connor said.

 Community colleges are a 
focal point for statewide efforts 
to create a green economy and 
workforce in California. The 
energy and interest surrounding 
the emerging green economy 
has provided community 
colleges with unprecedented 
opportunities to enrich the 
communities they serve.

 The summit will focus on 
attaining savings from building 
and running green campuses, 
developing a green curriculum, 
using green programs for 
teaching and apprenticeships, 
utilizing campuses as models 
of sustainable practices 
for their community, and 
helping students seize green 
employment opportunities. 
The summit will be held at the 
Pasadena Convention Center, 
Oct. 12-13. It is the largest event 
of its kind focused entirely on 
the greening of community 
colleges.

 For more information, visit 
the event’s website: http://www.
green-technology.org/.

PWP Offers Free Workshop To 
Make The Most of Rainy Season

 Distinguished California 
poets introduce and 
read poems by canonical 
California poets, as well as 
their own poems. Featuring 
Gabrielle Calvocoressi 
on Robert Duncan, Luis 
Rodriguez on Manuel 
“Manazar” Gaboa, and Al 
Young on Kenneth Rexroth.

 The event is Co-sponsored 
by PEN Center USA and 
Friends of the Pasadena 
Public Library.

 Saturday, Oct 23, 
3:00pm Donald R. Wright 
Auditorium, Pasadena 
Central Library

285 Walnut Street.

 Admission is free.

 On Sunday, Oct. 17, from 8:30 
a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Pasadena Water 
and Power is co-sponsoring the 
Rainwater Catchment Systems 
Association’s free workshop 
“Introduction to Rainwater 
Harvesting” at the Santa 
Monica Airport, 3223 Donald 
Douglas Loop S. The workshop 
and fair will demonstrate how 
a wide variety of catchment 
systems work. Even though 
Pasadena gets relatively little 
precipitation, the right system 
can be very effective at capturing 
enough free water for irrigation 
to make it a worthwhile project 
for residential or commercial 
use.

 Due to more frequent rains in 
autumn and winter, Pasadena 
’s Water Shortage Ordinance 
requires water customers to 
cut back their lawn and garden 
watering schedules to one day 
a week (Tuesday, Thursday 
or Saturday) from Nov. 1 
through March 31. Regardless 
of the time of year, landscape 
irrigation is prohibited between 
9 a.m. and 6 p.m., and whenever 
it is raining.

 PWP customers can reserve 
seats for workshops, learn 
more about water conservation 
resources and report water 
waste at www.cityofpasadena.
net/savewater. For more 
information call (626) 744-
6970. 

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