Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 1, 2011

4


Mountain Views News Saturday, October 1, 2011


City Reveals New 
Public Works Director

Wagging 
for a Good 
Cause

Edison Gives 
Update on 
Nursery 

 

 Local reporters got a chance 
Tuesday morning to meet with 
new public works director 
Siobhan Foster after City 
Manager Michael Beck made 
the announcement he had hired 
her for the position. Both Beck 
and Foster had worked together 
in Riverside. 

 Her first day on the job will be 
Oct. 26 Beck said. 

 Forster said she took the job 
because of Beck.

 “That was one of the 
considerations I evaluated when 
I decided to take this position,” 
she explained. 

 Foster said she started 
working in Riverside in the city 
manager’s office in 1990. Beck 
was the Riverside City Manager 
before coming to Pasadena. 
Foster served three years under 
Beck when he was assistant city 
manager in Riverside. Foster 
went on to head the city’s public 
works department.

Beck said a nationwide search 
was done for the position with 
over 100 applicants applying. 
He said six finalists, including 
Foster, were screened by two 
panels.

 “Those screening panelists 
consisted of public works 
directors from other 
jurisdictions, department 
heads from the city, employees 
from the public works 
department and community 
representatives,” he said further 
explaining that the candidates 
were then ranked. After 
narrowing the pool down to 
three, in order of rank and a site 
visit to Riverside, Foster was 
chosen. 

 The Pasadena Department of 
Public Works has more than 
300 full-time employees and 
a current operating budget 
of $51.5 million. The core 
services provided by Public 
Works are divided into six 
key areas that include the 
following divisions: Finance 
and Management Services; 
Engineering; Construction; 
Street Maintenance and 
Integrated Waste Management; 
Parks and Natural Resources; 
and Building Systems and Fleet 
Management. Foster’s salary 
was not specified. 

 Beck said both the open 
Human Relations Director 
and new head of Information 
Technology were next to be 
filled, “we expect to start the 
process by the first of the year,” 
he said.

 Photo Story By Dean Lee


By Dean Lee

 Representatives from 
Southern California Edison 
took questions Thursday 
about the now abandoned 
Persson’s nursery during 
a District 4 meeting held 
by Councilmember Gene 
Masuda.

 William Farley Manager of 
Real Properties for Edison 
said that because the owners 
filed bankruptcy, and 
because Edison is listed as a 
creditor, now “party” to the 
bankruptcy, he was limited 
on what he could say.

 “We’re trying to assess what 
we can do,” he said. “Our 
legal group is determining 
what we can do next. He 
also said the plants are 
part of the assets and had 
no idea why they were left 
to die. He said they would 
need to gain access to the 
property before any cleanup 
could begin. 

 Marissa Castro-Salvati, a 
spokesperson for Edison, 
said that cleanup could only 
begin sooner if the property 
became a threat or danger 
such as fire. City Manager 
Michael Beck said last 
month that if there were city 
code violations they could 
take action. Interim Fire 
Chief Calvin Wells said the 
area needed to be assessed 
for fire danger, “we would 
have to go out and look at 
it,” he said. 

Persson’s property is only 
a small part of the three 
mile Edison corridor in 
Pasadena Marissa Castro-
Salvati said. 

 Residents brought up 
ideas for the area such 
as community gardens, 
new soccer fields, walking 
trails and other green uses 
something Farley said were 
all in line with Edison’s 
“Passive Use Policies,” for 
the right-a-way.

 One resident asked they 
make a commitment to 
looking at community 
gardens, “I think that’s a 
great idea how about you 
and the city come back with 
a plan it two weeks,” he said. 
“That’s what this meeting 
about action, right?”

 Bert Tibbet, President 
of Magic Growers said he 
was approached by the city 
to create, what he called a 
“horticulture jewel,” along 
the right-a-way where the 
Persson’s property is now. 

 “Pasadena is looking for its 
own horticulture attraction 
where people will talk about 
as a destination point in lieu 
of the Arboretum, Descanso 
gardens or the Huntington,” 
he said.

 

 The Pasadena Humane 
Society & SPCA kicked off 
the 13th annual Wiggle 
Waggle Walk Sunday. The 
event is their largest yearly 
fundraiser for the animals. 

 Event Coordinator, Nicole 
Ring, said the walk raised 
nearly $300,000, which will 
provide food, shelter and 
medical care to homeless 
animals, nearly 12,000 of 
which are taken in by the 
humane society every year.

 Approximately 2,000 people 
and their canine companions 
joined forces in Brookside 
Park at the Rose Bowl to 
celebrate the human/animal 
bond. Walkers and their 
dogs chose either a one-mile 
or three-mile route around 
the outside of the stadium. 
Following they enjoyed a Fair 
& Pet Expo which included 
agility shows, contests and 
demonstrations by Pasadena 
and Glendale K-9 units. 
Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard 
kicked off the event with 
Pasadena Humane Society 
President, Steve McNall. 

 This year’s top sponsors 
included Wells Fargo, VCA 
Animal Hospitals, Three 
Dog Bakery, Tetsu and 
Kathy Tanimoto and Unified 
Grocers Ring said.

 The Pasadena Humane 
Society is an open door 
shelter that accepts and cares 
for every animal that comes 
to it from its service area—an 
average of 30 each day. It does 
not turn away any animal for 
any reason.

The shelter serves seven 
cities—Arcadia, Glendale, La 
Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, 
San Marino, Sierra Madre 
and South Pasadena

Woman Found Dead 
in Apartment Fire

Antonovich 
Extends 
Reward for 
Hit-and-Run

 

 The body of a woman was 
found by firefighters early 
Friday morning during an 
apartment blaze in the 100 
block of south Meredith 
Avenue. 

 Fire officials said they 
responded to a 911 call 
at 5:56 a.m. The fire was 
contained to a single unit 
of the eight unit apartment 
complex. During the course 
of the primary search of the 
unit a deceased female adult 
was found in the apartment.

 Officials said the identity of 
the victim is being withheld 
until notification of next 
of kin. Fire investigators 
and Pasadena Police 
are collaborating in the 
investigation to determine 
the cause of the fire.

 Traffic in the area was 
temporarily diverted.

 At press time no other 
information was given

 County Supervisor Michael 
Antonovich announced that 
the Board of Supervisors 
extended his motion to 
offer a $10,000 reward for 
information leading to the 
arrest and conviction of a hit-
and-run driver who struck and 
killed 49-year-old Joo Lee. 

 On January 1, 2010 at 
approximately 7:14 p.m. near 
the 3000 block of Montrose 
Avenue in Glendale , the 
vehicle, described only as 
a possible SUV, struck the 
pedestrian, throwing him 
approximately 70 feet and 
fled westbound on Montrose 
Avenue . Lee was transported 
to the Huntington Memorial 
Hospital where he died the 
following morning.

 Antonovich encourages 
anyone with information 
to contact Glendale Police 
Investigator Sgt. Dennis Smith 
at (818) 548-3131 or (818) 
548-4840 (after hours).

Two Charged in 
Murder of King King

 Pasadena Police filed 
charges last week against 
two suspects for the murder 
of King King a 43 year old 
Pasadena resident. King was 
found Sept. 21 dead behind 
the businesses in the 900 
block of E. Washington Blvd. 
Later this same day four 
individuals were detained 
and arrested for suspicion of 
murder. 

 Upon further investigation 
it was determined that 
the murder occurred in 
conjunction with the 
robbery of Mr. King. Today 
the Los Angeles County 
District Attorney’s Office 
filed Murder with special 
circumstances in the 
commission of Robbery 
against, Devon Westley 
Moore a 22 year old Los 
Angeles Resident and 
Sabrina King (No relation 
to the victim) an 18 year old 
Compton resident. Both are 
being held without bail. The 
District Attorney’s Office 
rejected the charges against 
the other individuals and 
they have been released. 
Police now say bloody 
shoe prints led them to the 
suspects. 

 Moore and King are 
scheduled to be arraigned 
on Oct. 7 in the Pasadena 
Superior Court. 

Caltech Chemist 
Honored With National 
Medal of Science

 


 Jacqueline Barton, the Arthur 
and Marian Hanisch Memorial 
Professor of Chemistry and chair 
of the Division of Chemistry 
and Chemical Engineering at 
Caltech—a leader in studies 
of the chemistry of DNA—
has been named one of seven 
recipients of the 2011 National 
Medal of Science, the highest 
honor bestowed by the United 
States government on scientists.

 Barton was cited by the White 
House for her “discovery of a 
new property of the DNA helix, 
long-range electron transfer, 
and for showing that electron 
transfer depends upon stacking 
of the base pairs and DNA 
dynamics. Her experiments 
reveal a strategy for how 
DNA repair proteins locate 
DNA lesions and demonstrate 
a biological role for DNA-
mediated charge transfer.”

 “Each of these extraordinary 
scientists, engineers, and 
inventors is guided by a passion 
for innovation, a fearlessness 
even as they explore the very 
frontiers of human knowledge, 
and a desire to make the 
world a better place,” said 
President Barack Obama when 
announcing the awards. “Their 
ingenuity inspires us all to reach 
higher and try harder, no matter 
how difficult the challenges we 
face.”

 Nominees are selected by 
a committee of Presidential 
appointees based on their 
extraordinary knowledge in 
and contributions to chemistry, 
engineering, computing, 
mathematics, and the biological, 
behavioral/social, and physical 
sciences.

Barton and her fellow medal 
recipients will receive their 
awards from the President at a 
White House ceremony later 
this year.

Robinson 
Park Center 
Offers Fun 
Classes 

This Fall

Citizen Journalism Meet-up

 

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 Oct. 4. 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.

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

 
Robinson Park Center 
is the place to be this fall, 
with a variety of classes for 
children, teens and adults 
meant to both enrich and 
entertain. 

 Little ones can build 
strength, coordination, 
flexibility and rhythm 
through Wednesday-
afternoon gymnastics 
classes at the City of 
Pasadena facility located 
at1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

Starting Oct. 5, kids ages 
three to five meet from 4:30 
to 5 p.m., and kids ages six 
and up meet from 5 to 5:30 
pm. The $2 fee includes 
registration and insurance.

 Budding musicians ages 
eight to 17 can learn to play 
guitar for free, courtesy 
of Guitars Not Guns, on 
Saturdays from 10 to 11:30 
a.m., starting Oct. 8. Space 
is limited.

 Adults can start their day 
feeling like heroes with the 
new Super Natural Fitness 
program weekdays from 
9:15 to 10 a.m., starting Oct. 
3. The eight-week program 
includes cardiovascular, 
flexibility, strength and 
nutrition training for just 
$60.

 You can register in person 
at Robinson Park Center, 
1081 N. Fair Oaks. Classes 
are organized by the city’s 
Human Services and 
Recreation Department. 
For details call 626-744-
7501.

Pet of the 
Week


Pasadena Public Library 
Conducting Online Survey

A Noise Within To Hold 
Community Open House

 From September 28 to 
October 19, 2011 the Pasadena 
Public Library will be 
conducting an online survey 
(pasadenapubliclibrary.net/
impact) to find out how our 
customers use the library’s 
computers and Internet 
connection and how this 
service has made a difference 
in their lives. This information 
will help the library improve 
its technology services and 
communicate the value of 
providing free access to 
computers and the Internet 
within the community. The 
IMPACT Survey is anonymous, 
available in English and 
Spanish, and takes 10 to 15 
minutes to complete.

 The survey is an extension 
of the U.S. IMPACT Study. 
Conducted in 2009, the U.S. 
IMPACT Study was the first 
large-scale investigation of the 
ways library customers use 
computers and the Internet at 
public libraries, why they use 
it, and how it affects their lives. 
The study was instrumental 
in providing evidence that 
access to the Internet at U.S. 
public libraries has a profound 
and measurable impact on 
individuals and communities. 
The study findings reported in 
first report, Opportunity for 
All: How the American Public 
Benefits from Internet Access 
at U.S. Libraries has helped 
public libraries throughout the 
United States improve public 
access services and advocate 
for better support of public 
access computing. The study’s 
second report, Opportunity 
for All: How Library Policies 
and Practices Impact Public 
Internet Access was released in 
June of 2011.

 The IMPACT Survey is 
coordinated by the University 
of Washington with generous 
support from the Bill & 
Melinda Gates Foundation. For 
more information about the 
IMPACT Survey, visit http://
impactsurvey.org.

 You can support the 
library by accessing the web 
survey from our website 
pasadenapubliclibrary.net/
impact

 

 A Noise Within (ANW), 
the acclaimed classical 
repertory theatre company, 
rolls out the red carpet for 
the community at large when 
it hosts a free interactive 
Open House to introduce 
the general public to its 
unique artistry and dazzling 
permanent new home, a 
33,000 square-foot, state-of-
the-art venue in Pasadena, 
on Sunday, October 23, 2011, 
1 to 4 pm.

 “This is the first public event 
of any kind in our new home,” 
say ANW Founders/Artistic 
Directors Julia Rodriguez-
Elliott and Geoff Elliott. “We 
have had amazing support 
from the community for A 
Noise Within’s new theatre, 
and we’re delighted to open 
our doors so our friends 
and neighbors from across 
the Southland can see this 
incredible new home for 
the classics and learn more 
about our work.”

 The Open House, which 
helps kick off A Noise 
Within’s milestone 2011-12 
Season and 20th Anniversary, 
features tours of the facility, 
readings and presentations 
by the company’s resident 
artists spotlighting the 
classical masterworks being 
performed during the season, 
activities for youngsters 
and much more. The event 
reflects ANW’s commitment 
to bringing the classics 
to the broadest possible 
audience and to expanding 
the deep community roots 
sown during its 19 years in 
Glendale. 

 The venue is located 
in the former Stuart 
Pharmaceutical building, 
3352 East Foothill Blvd. 
The Open House is free, but 
reservations are required 
and may be made by calling 
(626) 356-3127. 

 Meet Plato. He is a very sweet, 
friendly and well-behaved 
5- year-old Bichon Frise mix. 
He is playful, loving and great 
with other dogs. He loves 
attention and loves to go out 
for a car ride too! 

 Plato’s adoption fee is $120. 
His fee includes spay/neuter 
surgery, a microchip, the first 
set of vaccinations, and a free 
follow-up health check at a 
participating vet.

 Call the Pasadena 
Humane Society & SPCA at 
626.792.7151 to ask about 
A295482, or visit at 361 S. 
Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. 
Adoption hours are 11-4 
Sunday, 9-5 Tuesday –Friday, 
9-4 Saturday. Directions and 
photos of all pets can be found 
at www.pasadenahumane.org.