Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 5, 2011

4

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 5, 2011 


Schiff 
Deplores 
Use of 
Force in 
Egypt

Council Fires Audit Firm

By Dean Lee

 The city council Monday 
night voted unanimously to 
immediately terminate the 
contract with Mayer Hoffman 
McCann P.C. (MHM) the firm 
that had performed the city’s 
annual audits. The move comes 
after issues were raised last 
month by the state controller’s 
office over work done by MHM 
for the city of Bell. 

 Documents show Pasadena has 
used the firm since 2001.

 “The basis for the termination 
is a report issued by the State 
Controller John Chiang that 
was pretty scathing in its review 
of that firm’s practices in their 
connection with their work 
for the city of Bell,” Council 
Member Steve Madison said.

 Madison went on to say that in 
the case of Bell, the firm did not 
comply with the majority of field 
work auditing standards, with 
regard to audit documentation, 
evidence, risk of fraud, litigation 
claims and subsequent events. 

 City Manager Michael Beck 
later assured the council that 
there have been no problems 
with the city’s current audits 
and MHM.

 “We have had a very high 
degree of professionalism and 
thoroughness in our audits…” 
he said. “Our issue associated 
with termination was related 
to the risk associated with 
continuing to work with the 
firm as they’re distracted into 
the future.” 

 Madison further said that 
Chiang’s report found that 
MHM did not comply with 
sections of the California 
Business and Professions Code 
pertaining to the audit firm 
not maintaining adequate 
documentation. 

 “This report was with regard to 
the firm’s Irvine CA office,” he 
said. “That is, in fact, the office 
that our city has dealt with for 
many years.”

 In July, Bell’s city manager 
Robert Rizzo, police chief 
and assistant city manager all 
resigned after the Los Angeles 
Times, at the time, revealed they 
were making salaries totaling 
more than $1.6 million a year. 

 Rizzo currently awaits trial 
charged with more than 50 
felonies. It was later reviled that 
his compensation from Bell 
alone was $1.5-million annually. 

 Although Madison also said 
that to his knowledge they have 
not had any problems with 
MHM, he said the firm’s record 
publicly could not be reconciled. 

 City staff also assured the 
council that there was no 
severance or payout for ending 
the contract with MHM. 

 Madison also asked staff to 
make certain that when hiring 
another audit firm they are 
thoroughly reviewed, “That 
we include in the scope of that 
firm’s work some historic review 
just to make completely certain 
that we don’t have the kinds of 
problems that the controller 
pointed out.” 

 Chiang last year also mandated 
new requirements for cities and 
counties to submit all wage 
and compensation data to 
his office. The site sco.ca.gov/
compensation_search.html now 
lists the salary, pension benefits 
and other compensation for 
more than 594,000 city and 
county employees throughout 
California.

 
Following the eruption of 
violence in Egypt, as alleged 
security forces use batons, 
water-cannons, rubber bullets 
and tear-gas cannons against 
its own citizens Congressman 
Adam Schiff last week 
condemned publicly the 
attacks on those peacefully 
demonstrating. 

 Egyptian security services 
have also attacked international 
journalists he said, including 
a CNN reporter and camera 
crew, a German television 
newsman and a BBC reporter. 
Other journalists have been 
beaten and arrested, including 
some whose whereabouts are 
unknown.

 “I deplore the use of force 
to silence the peaceful 
protests of a broad-range of 
ordinary Egyptians and urge 
the Egyptian government to 
exercise maximum restraint. 
As the Egyptian people call 
for economic justice, an end 
to corruption and for freedom 
of speech and expression, 
President Mubarak and 
his government have an 
opportunity to lead Egypt 
into a new era by engaging 
in a true national dialogue 
on political and economic 
reform. President Mubarak 
has been a strong partner 
for the United States in the 
search for peace between 
Israel and the Palestinians 
and in the broader struggle 
against Islamic extremism. But 
that role does not excuse or 
justify his government turning 
the full might of his security 
apparatus on its own people.

 “Late reports indicate that 
President Mubarak has ordered 
the army onto the streets of 
Cairo. This is an extremely 
dangerous development and 
greatly increases the prospect 
for large-scale loss of life.

 “I am also concerned by 
the efforts of the Egyptian 
government to suppress 
Egyptian and international 
reporters and call upon 
Egypt to immediately cease 
any and all harassment, 
beatings, intimidation 
and imprisonment of 
journalists. Attacking the 
press is both repugnant and 
counterproductive. I have 
seen reports that journalists 
working for CNN, the BBC, 
and German TV have been 
singled out and beaten 
by Egyptian plainclothes 
police. This must stop. The 
censorship, intimidation and 
imprisonment of journalists 
violates not only their 
personal liberty, but also the 
rights of those who are denied 
access to important ideas and 
information.”

City Oks 
Valley Hunt 
Club’s 

Master Plan

By Dean Lee 

 After eight years in the making, 
the city council Monday night 
approved a 20-year new Master 
Plan for the Valley Hunt Club 
that will upgrade and expand the 
existing facilities of one of oldest 
private social clubs in Pasadena 
best known for starting the 
Tournament of Roses Parade in 
1890.

 “I think finally, my sense is that 
we have arrived at a great sort of 
outcome and I want to credit all 
sides for hanging in there and 
working together ultimately,” 
said Councilmember Steve 
Madison who’s district includes 
the club. 

 Before approving the plan 
unanimously two concerns 
came up including the use of a 
vacant lot at the end of Palmetto 
Drive adjacent to the club owned 
by Caltrans with an agreement 
to be used during construction. 

“I think that we need to be 
clear that is just a temporary 
use during the construction,” 
Madison said. “I may have 
missed it, but I don’t think I 
saw in the report what we think 
temporary actually means.”

 City staff said the intent was 
not to use the lot more than one 
year and only for valet parking 
during the construction of a 
subterranean parking garage. 

Madison also asked about 
entrances and exits into the 
garage. Staff said neither would 
change, “There will be the same 
access points,” they said. 

 None of the other council 
members commented on the 
project and although a number 
of people did speak during 
public comment all of it was in 
favor of the project. 

 According to the staff report, 
the project includes removing 
the current 56-space parking 
lot and replacing it with a new 
surface and subterranean 99 car 
lot/garage.

 It also includes construction of 
a 150 square foot swim coach’s 
office and construction of a two 
story 3,000 square foot multi-
use building along with another 
one-story 1,500 square foot 
multi-use structure.

 Plans also include the 
realignment of a tennis court 
along Palmetto Drive setback 
with other existing courts. The 
club also plans to replace an 
existing 1,000 square foot plant 
nursery and to upgrade a 270 
square foot snack bar. 

 Club members said the new 
plan should free up street 
parking along Palmetto Drive.

 

Citizen Journalism Meet-up

Monthly 
Walk with 
the Mayor 
Suspended

 

 

 

 
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 is 
Feb. 8 from 6 p.m. 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.com.


Tournament House 
Offers Guided Tours

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

 
Tournament House, 
operating headquarters of 
the annual Rose Parade 
presented by Honda and 
Rose Bowl Game presented 
by VIZIO, re-open for house 
tours on Thursday. 

 Complimentary guided 
tours begin at 2:00 p.m. and 
3:00 p.m. only and conclude 
at 4:00 p.m.

 The general public is 
invited to tour the former 
home of famous chewing 
gum manufacturer William 
Wrigley Jr., as well as the 
Wrigley Gardens. Free public 
tours of Tournament House, 
located at 391 S. Orange 
Grove Blvd., will be offered 
every Thursday between 
the months of February and 
August.

 Tournament of Roses 
enthusiasts and history 
buffs alike will have the 
opportunity to take a 
walking tour of the majestic 
21-room, 18,500-square-
foot Italian Renaissance-
style house. Tours are 
conducted by Tournament 
of Roses volunteers well-
versed in the organization’s 
122-year-history as well as 
in the architectural details of 
the 104-year-old mansion, 
designed by Architect G. 
Lawrence Stimson.

 The interior of the house 
features richly paneled 
rooms, inlaid marble floors 
and ornate molded plaster 
ceilings. Exhibited items 
of interest are crowns and 
tiaras worn by former Rose 
Queens and Princesses, Rose 
Bowl Game trophies and 
memorabilia, and historic 
photographs.

 Among the highlights 
of the tour is a one-of-
a-kind Waterford rose 
bowl commissioned for 
the centennial of the 
Tournament of Roses and 
the formal portrait of the 
reigning Rose Queen by 
Nick Boswell Portraiture.

 For more information 
visit http://www.
tournamentofroses.com. 

NASA Finds FIve Earth-
Size Habitable Planets

 Up and Moving Pasadena 
has announced that the 
monthly Walk with the 
Mayor program is being 
suspended, effective 
immediately. The walk, 
traditionally scheduled for 
the first Wednesday of every 
month at 7:30 a.m., will not 
take place.

 The program was developed 
and coordinated by Up and 
Moving Pasadena, with the 
full support of Mayor Bill 
Bogaard, to encourage and 
support fitness for health 
by creating a community of 
walkers. 

 “It has been a pleasure to 
join with Up and Moving 
Pasadena and all of the 
walkers over the past 
three years who share the 
commitment to healthy 
living,” said Mayor Bogaard. 
“I am glad that new 
groups are being formed 
to continue this valuable 
effort.”

 Up and Moving Pasadena 
will continue to focus its 
efforts on encouraging 
walking for fitness for 
all Pasadenans. Walking 
groups are currently being 
formed and a collaborative 
effort with Pasadena 
Forward will encourage 
kids and families to 
participate in the 5K event 
of the Pasadena Marathon. 

 Kristen Farley stated, “Up 
and Moving has enjoyed 
working with the mayor 
to promote walking in 
the Pasadena community. 
For three years, we have 
enjoyed participating 
in the monthly walks, 
which have highlighted 
local individuals and 
organizations who deserve 
recognition for their 
community service.” 

 For more information visit 
www.upandmoving.org.

 NASA’s Kepler mission has 
discovered its first Earth-size 
planet candidates and its first 
candidate in the habitable 
zone, a region where liquid 
water could exist on a planet’s 
surface. Five of the potential 
planets are near Earth-size 
and orbit in the habitable 
zone of smaller, cooler stars 
than our sun.

 “In one generation we have 
gone from extraterrestrial 
planets being a mainstay of 
science fiction, to the present, 
where Kepler has helped 
turn science fiction into 
today’s reality,” said NASA 
Administrator Charles 
Bolden. “These discoveries 
underscore the importance 
of NASA’s science missions, 
which consistently increase 
understanding of our place 
in the cosmos.”

 Candidates require follow-
up observations to verify they 
are actual planets. Kepler 
also found six confirmed 
planets orbiting a sun-like 
star, Kepler-11. This is the 
largest group of transiting 
planets orbiting a single star 
yet discovered outside our 
solar system.

 The discoveries are part of 
several hundred new planet 
candidates identified in 
new Kepler mission science 
data, released on Tuesday. 
The findings increase the 
number of planet candidates 
identified by Kepler to-date 
to 1,235. Of these, 68 are 
approximately Earth-size; 
288 are super-Earth-size; 
662 are Neptune-size; 165 
are the size of Jupiter and 
19 are larger than Jupiter. Of 
the 54 new planet candidates 
found in the habitable zone, 
five are near Earth-sized. The 
remaining 49 habitable zone 
candidates range from super-
Earth size -- up to twice the 
size of Earth -- to larger than 
Jupiter.

 “The fact that we’ve found 
so many planet candidates in 
such a tiny fraction of the sky 
suggests there are countless 
planets orbiting sun-like 
stars in our galaxy,” said 
William Borucki of NASA’s 
Ames Research Center in 
Moffett Field, Calif., the 
mission’s science principal 
investigator. “We went from 
zero to 68 Earth-sized planet 
candidates and zero to 54 
candidates in the habitable 
zone, some of which could 
have moons with liquid 
water.”

 Kepler, a space telescope, 
looks for planet signatures 
by measuring tiny decreases 
in the brightness of stars 
caused by planets crossing in 
front of them. This is known 
as a transit. Since transits of 
planets in the habitable zone 
of sun-like stars occur about 
once a year and require three 
transits for verification, it is 
expected to take three years 
to locate and verify Earth-
size planets orbiting sun-like 
stars. 

 The findings are based on 
the results of observations 
conducted May 12 to Sept. 17, 
2009, of more than 156,000 
stars in Kepler’s field of view, 
which covers approximately 
one four-hundredth of the 
sky. The Kepler-11 findings 
were published in the Feb. 3 
issue of the journal Nature.

 For more information about 
the Kepler mission, visit: 
http://www.nasa.gov/kepler. 

Pet of the 
Week

 
Patches, a beautiful, two 
year old, diluted tortoise 
shell cat is very friendly and 
loves attention. She would 
be a great companion for 
most any home. She gets 
along with other cats and 
would love to be adopted 
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 A282855 
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

Pasadena Festival of Women 
Authors Holds Annual Event

 The 2011 Pasadena Festival 
of Women Authors will be 
held on Saturday, April 2 
from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 
the Pasadena Senior Center, 
85 East Holly Street. Award 
winning authors Maile Meloy, 
Marianne Wiggins, Naomi 
Hirahara and Attica Locke will 
participate. Elizabeth Forsythe 
Hailey, author of A Women of 
Independent Means, will serve 
as moderator.

 The Pasadena Festival 
of Women Authors brings 
together diverse and well-
published Southern California 
female authors to discuss their 
work with the community. Did 
you know that women make up 
the majority of book purchasers 
and book club members? It 
is their enthusiastic love of 
literature that inspired this 
event. Everyone including 
book clubs and groups of 
book-loving friends is invited 
to attend. The festival provides 
an intimate setting where 
authors and guests can easily 
interact. Authors will also 
answer questions and there will 
be a book signing opportunity. 
Lunch will be served.

 Proceeds from the event 
benefit the Pasadena Senior 
Center. In the last two years the 
Pasadena Festival of Women 
Authors has made more than 
$35,000 in donations to benefit 
the programs and services of 
the Pasadena Senior Center. 
Tickets for the festival are $80 
per person and include lunch. 
Reserved tables of 10 are $750. 
Visit www.PasadenaFestivalof

WomenAuthors.org. for more 
information and to purchase 
tickets.

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