Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 22, 2011

4


Mountain Views News Saturday, October 22, 2011

Water Treatment 
Plant Goes Online

LOCAL STARTUP

UBERMEDIA 
LAUNCHES 
SOCIAL MEDIA 
PLATFORM

 
City officials, including Mayor 
Bill Bogaard and Pasadena 
Water and Power General 
Manger Phyllis Currie, gave a 
toast Thursday celebrating the 
opening of the $8.5 million 
NASA funded Monk Hill 
Water Treatment Plant— they 
all raised a glass drinking 
water right from the Windsor 
Reservoir

 Four wells owned by the 
city of Pasadena were closed 
years ago due to the detection 
of perchlorate and volatile 
organic compounds (VOC)s 
in the groundwater basin near 
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 
With oversight from the U.S. 
Environmental Protection 
Agency, NASA funded the 10 
year aggressive cleanup project 
and construction of a state-of-
the-art water treatment facility, 
which is now in service and 
owned/operated by Pasadena 
Water and Power. A coalition 
of federal, state, regional 
and local agencies will come 
together tomorrow to celebrate 
the opening of the Monk Hill 
Water Treatment Plant and 
the revitalization of a local 
groundwater source.

 Perchlorate is a salt used as an 
oxidizer in rocket propellants. 
VOCs were used decades 
ago as industrial cleaning 
solvents. The treatment 
plant, provided by the Calgon 
Carbon Corporation, removes 
perchlorate through an ion 
exchange process and VOCs 
with granular activated carbon.

 The city of Pasadena brought 
two of the wells back into 
service in July and October 
2011 and is in the process of 
bringing the two other wells 
back online. This project is a 
partnership between the city 
of Pasadena and NASA with 
cooperation from adjacent 
residential neighborhoods, the 
EPA, California Department 
of Toxic Substances Control, 
California Department of 
Health Services and Los 
Angeles Regional Water 
Quality Board. Currently about 
a third of Pasadena’s water 
supply comes from natural 
groundwater resources, and 
about two-thirds is purchased 
from the Metropolitan Water 
District of Southern California.

By Dean Lee

 Lifelong Pasadena based 
entrepreneur and internet 
guru Bill Gross launched a 
new social media startup this 
week Chime.in . Gross said the 
service, similar to Twitter and 
Facebook, will help users focus 
on topics and interests cutting 
down on what he called the 
signal-to-noise problem with 
social media. 

 Gross made the 
announcement Tuesday at the 
Web 2.0 conference in San 
Francisco. The site launched 
under UberMedia, a company 
Gross founded in 2010 as part 
of Idealab headquartered on 
Union Street in Old Pasadena. 

 Like Twitter, Chime.in 
uses a fundamental unit 
of conversation something 
Gross said the network calls 
a “chime.” Unlike Twitter a 
chime is 250 characters and an 
image, a message on Twitter 
is limited to 40 characters. 
He said the service also uses a 
“chime-line” to sort and filter 
information allowing relevant 
information to float to the top. 
There is no good way to filter 
information on Twitter he told 
reporters. 

Gross said the service would 
also provide devoted content to 
entertainment and television 
companies. 

 Launch Partners, he said, 
Include E!, Entertainment, 
Universal Pictures, Walt 
Disney Studios, Bravo and 
Redfin, as well as Strategic 
Funding Partner Comcast 
Ventures.

 “Social media is the future 
of all electronic content and 
transactions,” Gross said 
in a statement. “It will be 
everywhere, just like oxygen. 
However, now that a billion 
people are using social media, 
it’s easy to get lost in a sea of 
content that’s irrelevant to you. 
Chime.in, by focusing on your 
interests, and not just people, 
makes it much more relevant 
and engaging.”

 Gross said Chime.in also 
allows users to make money 
through e-commerce and 
advertising on the site. He 
explained the application 
programming interface (API) 
allows developers to extend 
the capabilities of the platform 
such as the ability to run 
auctions inside a chime. He 
also said all the ad real estate 
on a user’s page belongs to 
them with 100 present of the 
ad sales going to them.

 Gross also founded Overture, 
famed for creating paid search. 
The company was sold in 
2003 to Yahoo for $1.6 billion 
and later became Google Ad 
Words. 

 Chime.in is available as 
a browser-based desktop 
application and mobile 
for iPhone, Android and 
Blackberry. Registration for 
the beta version is available on 
a first-come, first-serve basis 
he said.

2012 Rose Queen Announced

 The Pasadena Tournament 
of Roses named Drew Helen 
Washington as the 94th 
Rose Queen Tuesday. This 
announcement concludes 
a month-long process that 
began with approximately 
1,000 Pasadena-area young 
women who participated in the 
Tournament of Roses Royal 
Court tryouts. Queen Drew 
was selected from the recently 
appointed seven-member Royal 
Court. The Rose Queen and 
Royal Court will reign over 
the 2012 Tournament of Roses 
festivities, culminating in the 
123rd Rose Parade presented 
by Honda and themed Just 
Imagine…, and the 98th Rose 
Bowl Game presented by VIZIO. 

 “2012 Rose Queen Drew 
Washington and our six 
princesses are perfect 
ambassadors for the 
Tournament of Roses and 
the city of Pasadena,” said 
Tournament of Roses 2012 
President Rick Jackson. “They 
are talented, graceful and stellar 
role models who will inspire 
many young girls. We are 
delighted to have Queen Drew 
lead our court and reign over 
the 123rd Rose Parade and 98th 
Rose Bowl Game.” 

 Washington, 16, lives in 
Pasadena and attends Flintridge 
Sacred Heart Academy. She is 
captain of her school’s varsity 
volleyball and varsity track 
and field teams. She is active 
in the Student Ambassador 
Club, SADD (Students Against 
Destructive Decisions), the 
Multi-cultural Club and the 
Latin Club. Drew is a member 
of her school’s National 
Honor Society, the California 
Scholarship Federation and 
Mu Alpha Theta, the honors 
math club. Over the summer 
she served as a camp volleyball 
coach. She plans to pursue a 
career in marketing or public 
relations. In her free time, she 
enjoys going to the movies, 
running, playing volleyball and 
spending time with her friends. 
Her parents are Craig and Lorie 
Washington.


Mayor Bill Bogaard

New Exhibition; a History of 
The Pasadena Art Museum

Madison 
to Hold 
Town Hall 
Meeting

Traffic Study to Look at NFL 
Team Use of the Rose Bowl

 Pacific Asia Museum 
announces a new exhibition, 
46 N. Los Robles: A History of 
the Pasadena Art Museum, on 
view beginning November 18, 
2011 through April 8, 2012. 
This exhibition explores the 
history of the Pasadena Art 
Museum during a time when 
America’s cultural life was 
changing dramatically. During 
this period, the Pasadena 
Art Museum pioneered 
groundbreaking exhibitions of 
modern and contemporary art, 
much of which has not been 
seen in Southern California 
since. Artists featured in 
this exhibition include Paul 
Klee, Marcel Duchamp, 
Joseph Cornell, Larry Bell, Ed 
Moses, Claes Oldenburg, Kurt 
Schwitters, Hans Burkhardt, 
Andy Warhol, Richard 
Diebenkorn and Edward Ruscha 
among others. 46 N. Los Robles: 
A History of the Pasadena Art 
Museum is guest-curated by Jay 
Belloli, who served as Director 
of Armory Arts Programs at 
the Armory Center for the 
Arts in Pasadena from 1990 
to 2010. This exhibition is 
part of Pacific Standard Time: 
Art in L.A. 1945 - 1980, an 
unprecedented collaboration 
bringing together more than 
sixty cultural institutions from 
across Southern California to 
tell the story of the birth of the 
L.A. art scene.

 Pacific Asia Museum’s 
exhibition will present more 
than 40 important modern 
and contemporary works 
shown at the Pasadena Art 
Museum including paintings, 
sculpture, prints, drawings, 
and documentation of 
performances. It will also 
feature audio and video 
interviews in which artists, 
museum directors, curators 
and board members look back 
at this extraordinary institution 
and time. 46 N. Los Robles: 
A History of the Pasadena 
Art Museum illuminates the 
vibrancy of the Pasadena Art 
Museum, and reinforces that 
this organization was a leading 
international institution of 
contemporary art.

 
Councilman Steve Madison 
will host a District 6 town 
hall meeting on the topic 
of public safety in Tuesday, 
Oct. 25, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. 
at the Maranatha High 
School Student Center, 169 
St. John Ave.

 Guests will include 
Pasadena City Manager 
Michael Beck, Police Chief 
Phillip Sanchez, and Acting 
Fire Chief Calvin Wells.

 Light refreshments will 
be available at 6:30 p.m. 
Parking is available at the 
school’s parking structure 
on St. John Avenue.

 For more information, 
contact District 6 Field 
Representative Takako 
Suzuki at tsuzuki@
cityofpasadena.net or (626) 
744-4739.

 

City manager Michael Beck 
confirmed Friday that the city is 
in fact looking at the possibility 
of allowing the Rose Bowl to 
be used as a temporary home 
for the NFL if the opportunity 
should arise.

 “At this point, are just 
conducting a traffic study that 
will identify possible traffic 
impacts of NFL games,” Beck 
said in an email.

 The study will look at traffic 
congestion around the Rose 
Bowl during a four day period 
next week that includes 
Saturday Oct 29 when UCLA 
plays their next home game at 
the stadium.

 According to ESPN on Friday, 
Rose Bowl General Manager 
Darryl Dunn said the study 
is expected to be released in 
December. An NFL team could 
move to the area as soon as next 
season although it would be up 
to the team’s owner where that 
team played.

 Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard 
said last week that the city 
was in no talks with any NFL 
team. He said any negotiations 
would be tricky because the Los 
Angeles Memorial Coliseum 
could also serve as a temporary 
home to an NFL team. Bogaard 
said the city was looking at a 
number of options to make 
up a $16.5 million shortfall in 
renovation costs, to the Rose 
Bowl, as part of a $152 million 
three phase project expected to 
be completed by August 2013. 
Any decision about an NFL 
team would be made by the city 
council and with public input 
from neighbors he said.

 He stressed that any use of 
the Rose Bowl by a pro football 
team would be temporary while 
a permanent stadium is being 
built either, Farmers Field 
in Downtown LA or a new 
stadium in the City of Industry. 

 Reports suggest the Minnesota 
Viking may be one team looking 
to move to L.A. 

Symphony 
Opens 
2011-12 
Season

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. 22. 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


Pet of the 
Week

 One of the nation’s foremost 
and acclaimed Maestras, 
Mei-Ann Chen will lead 
the Pasadena Symphony 
on Saturday October 29, 
2011 at the acoustically 
exquisite Ambassador 
Auditorium in a triumphant 
evening featuring Huang’s 
celebratory Saibei Dance 
and Tchaikovsky’s stirring 
Symphony No. 5. Violinist 
James Ehnes, hailed as “the 
Jascha Heifetz of our day” 
will perform Hollywood’s 
own Korngold Violin 
Concerto, a work which 
garnered him Grammy, 
Juno and Western Canadian 
Music Awards.

 The 2011-12 classics 
series marks the Pasadena 
Symphony’s 2nd season as 
the resident professional 
orchestra of the 
Ambassador Auditorium 
offering same day matinee 
and evening performances 
at 2pm and 8pm.Ticket 
prices begin at $35 and 
may be purchased online at 
www.PasadenaSymphony-
Pops.org, by phone at 
626.793.7172 or in person 
at 117 E. Colorado Blvd. 
Suite 200, Pasadena CA.


Supervisors Seek Changes 

in Time Deputies Work in Jail

 
Along with a unanimous 
vote to establish a 
“Citizens’ Commission 
on Jail Violence,” the 
Board of Supervisors 
also approved a series of 
recommendations for the 
Sheriff’s implementation and 
consideration. One of the 
recommendations submitted 
by Mayor Antonovich was to 
reduce the time newly-sworn 
deputies are required to 
serve in the jails before being 
assigned to patrol. Currently, 
they serve between three 
and five years before being 
assigned to patrol.

Antonovich has also 
appointed retired Judge 
Dickran Tevrizian, a 
Pasadena resident who 
served on the Los Angeles 
Municipal Court from 1972 
to 1978 and served on the 
California Superior Court 
in Los Angeles from 1978 
to 1982, to the Citizens’ 
Commission. Nominated by 
President Ronald Reagan, he 
was confirmed to a new seat 
on the United States District 
Court for the Central District 
of California on December 
16, 1985. Tevrizian assumed 
senior status on August 5, 
2005, before retiring in 2007. 

 “Through his unique 
experience and keen 
judgment, Judge Tevrizian 
has demonstrated his solid 
credibility and integrity 
as a jurist and as a public 
servant,” said Antonovich. 
“He will be a valuable asset 
to this commission.”

 Dickran Tevrizian 
appointed to “Citizens’ 
Commission on Jail 
Violence”

‘City Beat’ Topics Include 
NFL Team Use of the Rose 
Bowl, Ban on Plastic Bags

 Enzo has such a heart-
warming personality. He’s 
a three-year-old Boston 
Terrier mix. He’s looking for 
a compassionate and loving 
home.

 Enzo’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 
A296807, 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.

 

 The renovation and future 
use of the Rose Bowl 
Stadium and the ordinance 
prohibiting single-use plastic 
bags in Pasadena are among 
the topics on the latest 
edition of “City Beat” on 
KPAS and the Internet.

 Moderator Barry Gordon is 
joined by Pasadena Mayor 
Bill Bogaard, Pasadena 
Weekly deputy editor André 
Coleman and Mountain 
Views News city editor Dean 
Lee.

 “City Beat” replays Mondays 
at 2 and 6 p.m., Tuesdays at 
7:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 
8:30 a.m., Thursdays at 7 
p.m., Fridays at 8:30 p.m., 
Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. and 
Sundays at 8:30 a.m.

KPAS is on channel 3 on the 
Charter Communications 
cable system in Pasadena 
and channel 99 on AT&T 
U-Verse. Streaming video 
of all KPAS programming 
can be accessed in real time 
at www.cityofpasadena.net/
publicaffairs and clicking on 
the KPAS icon.

 For more information about 
the program call (626) 744-
4755.

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