Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 15, 2011

WHEN THE BOUGHS 
BREAK (cont. from page 1)

beautiful grove of century old 
oaks and towering sycamores 
was one of the few habitats like 
it remaining in the foothills 
of the San Gabriels. It was 
traditionally a nesting ground 
for birds (some endangered) 
and a home for a diverse 
community of wildlife. As four 
heroic tree-sitters sat watching 
high in two of the trees, the 
loud and constant growl of the 
heavy equipment being used 
to tear down the forest was 
punctuated by the thunderous 
cracks of the giant oaks and 
sycamores as they were torn 
from their roots and broken to 
pieces...it echoed through the 
neighborhood...a death cry for 
sure. The normally pleasant 
smell of fresh-cut wood was 
instead an overwhelming 
stench with undertones of 
death and destruction to local 
residents and visitors. It was 
man and machine vs. nature in 
a scene that John Quigley (one 
of the tree sitters) described as 
“a real life Avatar.”

 The protestors were a relatively 
small group...outnumbered 
easily five to one by media 
and sheriff deputies. Initially 
five of the protestors made a 
stand at the gate to the county 
property, David Czamanske 
of South Pasadena, Jennifer 
McDonald of Sierra Madre, 
Laurie Gould from Pasadena, 
and an arborist from 
Glendora, and myself. The 
number had dwindled to two 
before we were “requested” 
to leave. The alternative was 
to be arrested and charged 
as trespassers. After a few 
minutes of discussion between 
the two of us, Laurie and I 
decided that it would serve the 
situation better if we were to 
move outside the barricades 
and continue our protest. We 
left our post distraught. It was 
already clear that the carnage 
inside the gate had begun and 
that our role at that time was 
strictly to show support for 
the tree-sitters. Though the 
request to vacate was made 
politely, there were times 
when some of the deputies 
were unnecessarily rude, 
menacing, and forceful to 
us, the rest of the protestors, 
and especially to some of the 
press. They were obviously 
impressed and fulfilled by 
the power they had in the 
situation. The legality of 
some of their actions was 
questionable and challenged 
by one member of the press 
who caught the violation and 
his efforts to address it on 
tape for the world to see. This 
is what journalism was about 
when I was growing up...it 
was about truth and holding 
authority accountable to the 
rest of us. It was part of the 
checks and balance system of 
our society. I watched as the 
journalists of the local media 
stood by compliantly with an 
almost patronizing attitude 
toward those of us who felt the 
need to stand up for what we 
are passionate about...which, 
in the past, was a primary 
motive for entering the field of 
journalism.

 With today’s corporate run, 
totally diluted, inaccurate, and 
perpetually skewed version 
of the “news”, it is almost 
understandable how ignorant 
and misinformed most of 
the public has become. Being 
present as this day unfolded, 
I watched the information get 
its “spin” from the authorities 
and the press and observed 
how the public reacted to 
that “spin” in the comments 
made on the internet news 
stories. To martial support 
of their actions, the county 
continuously pumped out 
their “public safety issue” 
rhetoric making it sound as 
though if the oaks were not 
removed the neighborhood 
would live with the possibility 
of a devastating flood....that 
the oaks were a threat to the 
safety of the area. Rather than 
obtaining the full story and 
doing a little commonsense 
reasoning of their own, the 
press dutifully reported that 
this action was necessary in 
the name of public safety. 
Instead of researching the 
issue, the neighborhood took 
this as truth and refused to 
challenge the county plan, 
often defending it as absolutely 
necessary for the safety of their 
homes. The truth is that a risk 
of flood is present if the area 
behind the dam is not dredged 
and the earth that is removed 
must be dumped somewhere. 
The woodlands was destroyed 
as part of the plan to dispose 
of the silt that is removed. If 
the trees were left unharmed, 
there would only be room 
for about three quarters of 
the silt on the site. The trees 
were destroyed so that the 
county would not have to 
truck the earth off-site. It was 
the cheapest and easiest plan 
available....but not the ONLY 
plan. Local residents hired 
their own engineers to analyze 
the situation and develop 
alternative plans, but the 
county did not even consider 
these plans and instead spent 
their energy and resources 
defending the one they had. If 
cost was the main motivation, 
the difference was likely offset 
by the cost of a days worth 
of the 40-60 deputies, the 
firefighters, the paramedics 
and their equipment that was 
deployed to handle the protest 
caused by their foolhardy 
stubbornness to listen to their 
constituent’s complaints, as 
well as the pricey revegetation 
part of the plan that calls for 
planting trees to off set those 
that were destroyed.

 It is hard to know where to 
place the blame. Most should 
probably be placed directly 
on the county for its sneaky 
tactics in handily constructing 
its spin and in quietly slipping 
this one past the sleeping 
public. But blame has to be 
placed also in an apathetic and 
complacent populous that is 
caught up in the pursuit and 
protection of their wealth 
and consumptive lifestyles, 
or just in daily survival. 
And blame also goes to the 
journalists of today who will 
not stand up to their corporate 
employers or to the bullying 
of authority, and who do not 
have the intellectual curiosity 
to discover truth or the ethical 
drive to report it. Really the 
only place blame cannot fall is 
on John Quigley and his three 
fellow tree-sitters...they are 
heroes and what we should all, 
in our own rights, aspire to be. 

15

HOMES AND PROPERTY

 Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 15, 2011 

One Of A Kind: Featuring unique homes and gardens and the people whoe create them Story By Chris Bertrand 


Once Vacant and “Rather Unlovely” Pasadena Lot 

Transformed into Treasured Arlington Garden

Back in 1962, one of the largest 
homes on the west coast was razed; the 
lot graded out and left to accumulate 
weeds for four decades. In the interim, 
the homesite was acquired by CalTrans 
for a section of freeway never built. Left 
in limbo for forty plus years, Pasadena 
City Council member Steve Madison asked for “development 
ideas” from the public, early in the last decade.

New Arlington Drive residents in 2002, Betty and Charles 
Mc Kenney, fondly known as Kicker, volunteered that year to 
be part of the committee to decide the future of the land. “We 
knew what we DIDN’T want right away,” said Betty. “No new 
buildings. The garden idea evolved.”

And so did the Mc Kenneys’ involvement. “When we’re not 
out here in the garden, we’re back at the condo figuring out 
how to fund and expand it,” chuckled Charles. “It takes $40-
50,000 every year, just to maintain, prune and irrigate the site. 
We solicit donations and support from organizations and individuals… 
We even sell marmalade made at E. Waldo Ward 
from our orange orchard here. Every little bit helps. Our next 
batch will be ready sometime in March. Check our website 
for details.”

Today, Arlington Garden, located at Pasadena Avenue 
and Arlington Drive, is a tranquil 3 acre jewel with over 800 
Mediterranean and drought tolerant plants. The gently sloping 
plot, a demonstration site for low water usage landscape, 
sits amidst the urban environment of Huntington Hospital, 
the bustling retail of Old Pasadena and the hundreds of “Millionaires’ 
Row” condos along Orange Grove and its tributary 
streets. The city now holds a lease on the garden land from the 
state until 2018.”

Mayita Dinos, deemed Best Xeriscaper (drought tolerant 
landscaping) in Los Angeles Magazine’s Best of LA, designed 
the master plan of Arlington Garden into 25 outdoor “rooms”, 
such as the Butterfly Garden, Citrus Grove, the Arroyo, the 
Succulent Garden, the Amphitheater, the Mediterranean allee 
of olives and cypress, the Vernal Pool, the bocce ball court, 
the Oak Grove with complementary underplantings of dry 
summer tolerant narcissus, gooseberries, golden currant, 
wildflowers, huechera (coral bells), hummingbird sage and 
ceanothus.

The garden has its bits of quirkiness that imbue a bit of light 
hearted humor into the garden. “A friend decided we needed 
a “fairy door” and one appeared at the bottom of one of our 
trees at Christmas this year,” said Betty. Near the newly installed 
fairy door is a mysterious water feature, inviting mystified 
query as to its source.

“AG is being built ‘room by room’ as funding becomes 
available,” Dinos commented, “The Arlington Garden has 
been championed by the City of Pasadena from the beginning. 
In particular, I think we can count Mayor Bill Bogaard 
and Councilman Steve Madison among the many fans of the 
AG; if it weren’t for their stalwart support, it wouldn’t be here. 
They really ‘get’ what this garden means to the community of 
people, birds, insects, and native plants of Pasadena!”

“Betty and Kicker McKenney, along with many friends, 
have created a unique and wonderful new park in southwest 
Pasadena,” reflected Mayor Bill Bogaard. “I hope it gains 
more and more support and continues as a great resource for 
the community.” 

Often, progress and growth in the garden comes from donations 
in kind and volunteer labor. We have a friend of the 
garden, Ken Colburn, who builds all the Adirondack style 
seating here in the garden. A stone, seven circuit classical 
labyrinth was installed by a cadre of sophomores at Mayfield 
Senior School nearby. The students there volunteer yearly at 
the gardens. Charles commented, “Last fall, we had a huge 
mound of stones piled next to our labyrinth room. The Mayfield 
students created a bucket brigade and had the labyrinth 
built in just a few hours. It was great.”

Marco Barrantes of La Loma Development Company has 
partnered with AG in repurposing old concrete removed 
from construction sites. The gently sloping site needs retaining 
walls to level planting beds at various locations, so it’s a 
win-win. “It keeps the concrete out of the landfill and it helps 
us continue to build the garden,” reflected Charles. “Another 
friend of the garden donated a fountain we used as hardscape 
for a succulent display.”

“We received 21 crape myrtles from Yoko Ono’s project 
at One Colorado recently,” said Betty as she pointed out the 
semicircular arrangement of the myrtles. “The trees were installed 
as a ‘Wish Tree’ memorial (a Japanese tradition) for 
Ono’s husband, John Lennon, for people to attach their written 
wishes. Other yearly memorials have been installed in Tokyo 
and Sao Paolo. Afterward, the 90,000 wishes were sent to 
an island off Reykjavik, Iceland, per Ono’s request.”

The garden is maintained and supported by the non-profit 
group Arlington Garden in Pasadena with generous help 
from local residents, Pasadena Beautiful Foundation, the 
Parks and Natural Resources Division of the Pasadena Public 
Works Department and Pasadena Water and Power.

A work day is planned for Martin Luther King Day this 
Monday. “Two years ago, we had 70 volunteers cleaning up 
the garden on MLK day, this national day of service. Now we 
need it again. Volunteers are needed to clean and weed the 
garden on Monday, January 17th, between 8 a.m.-3 p.m. For 
more information, to donate or volunteer, visit our website 
at http://ArlingtonGardenInPasadena.org/ or RSVP for the 
cleanup day by sending an email to ArlingtonGarden@Mac.
com

Referred to in April 2010 general plan meetings as “rather 
unlovely” in its former unkempt and weedy state, the Arlington 
Garden is now a place of tranquility and refuge from the 
city, where, as a student visitor saw it,” I like the garden because 
I can hear my thoughts here.”


Expose

Yourself

Kim Clymer Kelley

There is much debate among real estate 
professionals about the value of holding 
an Open House. Some insist these events 
help get the house sold. Others argue it’s an 
outdated practice in the digital age of virtual 
tours. However, it’s been estimated that 
nearly half of all buyers who visit open houses 
first learned about them on the Internet.

With all the time and money that an agent 
puts into marketing your home, an Open 
House puts those very targeted buyers inside 
your home and in front of your representative. 
One of the best aspects of the Open 
House is the feedback that visitors provide, 
feedback that can suggest you change your 
approach or make needed improvements.

Aside from interest generated by the Web, 
the signs your agent places may also attract 
curious passersby. While they may not be 
making a purchase themselves, they may 
very well know someone who is. An Open 
House also helps to create a sense of urgency 
among those who visit, particularly 
when they see that other buyers are showing 
interest.

Obviously, a successful Open House exposes 
your property to a broad base of buyers, 
but even if only three people visit and 
one makes an offer, it was clearly worth it. 
Not all homes are ideal candidates for this 
type of marketing, so ask your agent about 
the possibilities.

Luther Tsinoglou was named the top producing 
sales agent in Dickson Podley Realtor’s 
Sierra Madre office for 2009, making the 
top 10% at the company overall. Luther has 
been licensed and practicing real estate since 
1992. He specializes in residential and income 
property in Southern California. Luther can 
be reached at his direct line (626) 695-8650 or 
at luther@tsinoglou.com.