Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 5, 2012

4


Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 5, 2012 


Mama Bear, Cubs 
Creates Media Frenzy

Student 
Arrested 
for Replica 
Handgun

 
According to police, 
Officers responded Tuesday 
to John Muir High School 
after whitness reported a 
student with a gun.

 In a statement, police said a 
teacher’s aide notified school 
security that she saw a male 
student with a gun in his 
waistband. 

 The police were immediately 
called. School officials 
notified staff to shelter in 
place, keeping students in 
their classrooms until the 
investigation was concluded. 
Safe School Officers 
responded and contained the 
area. 

 The student was contacted 
in a classroom and detained 
by officers without incident. 
The student did not have 
the gun of his person, but 
lead officers to his backpack, 
which was seized. Officers 
found the gun inside of the 
backpack and upon close 
examination the weapon was 
determined to be a replica 
handgun, possible an airsoft 
pistol. The replica resembled 
a black semi-automatic 
handgun.

The student, a Pasadena 
resident, was arrested for 
possession of a replica 
firearm on a school campus. 
He was transported to the 
Pasadena Police Department 
and booked. He was later 
released to his parents. The 
case will be presented to the 
juvenile District Attorney’s 
Office police said. 

By Dean Lee

 If they are cute, the media will 
come and they sure did all day 
Thursday as two young cubs 
and a mother bear hung out 
in a tree in an unincorporated 
area of Pasadena off New York 
Drive near Eaton Canyon. 

 The day long ordeal ended 
nondramatic with a simple 
message sent out at 8:30 p.m. 
by California Department of 
Fish and Game “the bears in 
Altadena have climbed down 
from the tree and are back in 
the woods. Safe and sound.” 
The message was sent out via 
Twitter. 

 Television news crews set 
up camp in the Kinneloa 
Mesa neighborhood waiting 
to interview whomever they 
could, the question of the day 
was, “were they going to use 
a tranquilizer gun to get the 
mama bear down?”

 “We don’t want to induce 
drugs to a mother that 
maybe nursing,” California 
Department of Fish and 
Game Warden J.C. Healy told 
ABC news. 

 For most of the afternoon the 
three bears slept making for 
cute pictures, and there was 
no shortage of them posted 
online Friday. At one point 
in the day, the bears climbed 
down from one tree although 
quickly climbed another in a 
nearby neighbor’s yard. Healy 
said there plan was not to 
intervene. 

 “this is working out exactly 
the way we wanted it to,” he 
told reporters adding that the 
bears did not feel threatened. 
He also said there was no 
threat to public safety. 

Healy said bear sightings are 
normal for this time of year. 

 “They’re waking up from 
their hibernation,” he said. 
“we had a warm spell about 
a week ago. So that really 
woke them up, they’re really 
staring to move down looking 
for water, they’re hungry. 
Hungry from their winter 
hibernation.”

Resident Keith Miller told a 
frenzy of reporters he first 
spotted the bears about 6:30 
a.m. although he was not the 
one who first reported the 
bears to authorities saying his 
next door neighbor made the 
call. 

 “I was going out to get the 
paper and I went around the 
corner... and the bear was 
right at the tree,” he said. “it 
took off so I went around to 
see what happened and the 
bear started towards me.”

Miller said the cubs went up 
first, “and then the mother 
went up after them.”

 A number of other neighbors 
said bears were common to the 
area, at one point suggesting 
this bear was a regular. 

Assembly Race Kicks into High Gear

By Dean Lee

 The battle began last week 
as five candidates running to 
represent Assembly District 41 
debated for the first time taking 
on issues including, the Gold 
Line, taxes and education. 

 About 70 people attended the 
90 minute debate April 26 which 
started right off questioning the 
economy and what could be 
done to ease the high vacancy 
rate in Pasadena.

 Attorney and CPA, Ed Colton 
said he wanted to get back the 
money lost from dissolving 
local redevelopment agencies.

 “When the redevelopment 
funds stopped that really cut 
off the legs from cities,” he said. 
“If that could be started again, 
with new sources of funds up 
in Sacramento, that would be 
one of the first things I’d want 
to do.”

 Colton considers himself an 
outsider to the current political 
system.

 When it came to gridlock in 
Sacramento from everything to 
water resources to balancing the 
budget, longtime Pasadena City 
Council member Chris Holden 
said transparency was key.

 “Right now you have a lot of 
the decisions made between 
legislators and lobbyists,” he 
said. “They don’t make their 
way into the public forum 
where we have an opportunity 
collectively to be a part of that 
processes. How I have operated 
23 years here in Pasadena.”

 Holden said he would propose 
budget deliberations, goal 
setting, between the legislature 
and the people of the state. 
“Maybe you have three sessions 
throughout the state, Northern, 
Central and Southern and allow 
the people to be a part of the 
goal setting.”

 Tea Party candidate, Donna 
Lowe said the root of the 
problem was special interest 
suggesting that both Demarcates 
and Republicans both no longer 
had free will.

 “When certain candidates 
go up to Sacramento they 
are owned by certain special 
interest,” she said adding that 
a number of ballot initiatives 
in November, if passed, would 
stop the problem.

 Lowe said spending needed 
to get under control, then, on 
education, she said vocational 
training needed to be put back 
into high schools. “It is not 
in everybody’s plan to go to 
college, nor should it be.”

 Newcomer to the political 
process, Victoria Rusnak, said, 
when asked about how to make 
California business friendly, 
“I think we should start with 
keeping the businesses we 
already have, and it really comes 
down to being very thoughtful 
about our regulatory system 
and making sure that our small 
businesses are being fueled so 
they can grow.”

 Rusnak also said the state 
needed to look at tax incentives, 
“not only for businesses coming 
in but for small businesses, 
we need to help our small 
businesses.” 

 Rusnak is President/General 
Counsel for Rusnak Auto 
Group. She oversees the 
company’s multimillion dollar 
budgets and more than 700 
employees.

 South Pasadena Mayor 
Michael Cacciotti pushed for an 
extension of Measure R saying 
it was critical to continue to 
expansion of the Gold Line 
through the San Gabriel Valley 
to Ontario Airport something 
he said was key to job creation in 
the area. He also said he would 
push for renewable energy 
sources to reduce dependence 
on imported fuels. 

 Cacciotti sits on the South 
Coast Air Quality Management 
District 12 member board and 
is a Federal prosecutor dealing 
with consumer fraud. 

 Chambers of Commerce of 
Pasadena and South Pasadena 
and the Pasadena-Foothills 
Association of Realtors hosted 
the forum. The Pasadena Sun, 
along with KPCC will host 
the next Assembly candidate 
forum Wednesday at KPCC’s 
Crawford Family Forum, 474 S. 
Raymond Ave. The event is free 
and will take place 6:30 p.m. to 
8:30 p.m. 

Program 
Gets Rid of 
eBook Blues

City to Celebrate 
Fire Service Day

 Do you have a new iPhone, 
iPad or Kindle and want 
to learn how to download 
library eBooks and apps to 
your new device but don’t 
know how? Learn how to do 
so and get your questions 
answered Saturday, May 
19 at 2 p.m. at the Linda 
Vista Branch Library, 1281 
Bryant St. 

 For more information on 
this program, call (626) 
744-7278.


Citizen 
Journalism 
Meet-up

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

Portantino 
to Host Town 
Hall Aimed at 
Foster Youth

 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 
May 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.

Pet of 
the Week

 Meet the dedicated men and 
women of the Pasadena Fire 
Department during Fire Service 
Day on Saturday, May 12th, 
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

 At Fire Station 33, 515 N. 
Lake Ave., firefighters will 
demonstrate life-saving and 
fire-suppression techniques 
including vehicle fires and 
extinguishments, vehicle rescue 
operation using the Jaws of Life, 
and aerial ladder operations. 
Fire engines, trucks and other 
apparatus will be on display, 
and there will be hot dogs and 
other refreshments as well as 
entertainment. Fire Station 
33 is on the west side of Lake 
Avenue just north of Villa 
Street. 

 Parking will be available in 
Lots C and D at Lake Avenue 
Church one block south of the 
fire station.

 All other fire stations in 
Pasadena will be open to 
the public as well to meet 
firefighters and showcase the 
fire apparatus:

• Fire Station #31, 135 S. Fair 
Oaks Ave. 

• Fire Station #32, 2424 E. Villa 
St.

• Fire Station #34, 1138 E. Del 
Mar Blvd.

• Fire Station #36, 1140 N. Fair 
Oaks Ave.

• Fire Station #37, 3430 E. 
Foothill Blvd.

• Fire Station #38, 1150 E. Linda 
Vista Ave.

For more information call (626) 
744-4675.

 Current and former 
foster youth are invited to 
a town hall sponsored by 
Assemblymember Portantino 
and All Saints Church 
-- “Breaking Barriers to 
Higher Education.” Local 
foster youth will have the 
opportunity to learn more 
about college opportunities, 
financial aid and other state, 
local and county services. This 
is the fifth foster youth town 
hall convened by Portantino 
and All Saints. Reaction to 
the previous four events was 
overwhelmingly positive 
from our youth and local 
non-profit and county service 
organizations. 

 California has the largest 
number of youth in foster care 
and each year about 1,000 of 
those young people in Los 
Angeles County leave the 
foster care system when they 
turn 18. 

 Experts will share their 
expertise and answer questions 
about a college education. 
Saturday, May 12, from 10:30 
am to 1:00pm (lunch included) 
All Saints Church, 132 N. 
Euclid Ave, Pasadena


PCC Garners Awards for PR

 PCC’s Public Relations 
office won five awards at the 
Community College Public 
Relations Organization 
(CCPRO) 2012 Annual 
Conference held at Mission 
College in Santa Clara, Calif.

 In the Social Media Marketing 
category, PCC won first place 
for the Pulse, the college’s online 
staff newspaper; and second 
place for PCC’s Facebook, 
YouTube, Twitter, Lancer Life 
and RSS feed that is linked on 
the PCC official website: www.
pasadena.edu.

 PCC also won first place 
in the Electronic Collateral 
category for its digital version 
of the President’s Report to 
the Community, the college’s 
external newsletter. The Report 
also took home third place in 
the Newsletter category.

Schiff Offers Amendment 
to Cyber Security Bill

 Ty is an active six-year-
old black Havanese/terrier 
mix. He’s been out on our 
Mobile Unit and is a staff and 
volunteer favorite. He enjoys 
being around people and other 
dogs. He even knows some 
basic obedience commands! 

 Ty’s adoption fee is $120, 
which includes his neuter 
surgery, a microchip, the first 
set of vaccinations, as well as 
a free follow-up health check 
at a participating vet. He also 
qualifies for the Seniors for 
Seniors program in which 
adopters 60 years old ,or older 
only pay the $20 mandatory 
microchip fee. New adopters 
will receive complimentary 
health and wellness exam 
from VCA Animal Hospitals. 
Ask an adoptions counselor 
for more information during 
your visit.

 Call the Pasadena 
Humane Society & SPCA at 
626.792.7151 to ask about 
A304527 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.

 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-
CA), a senior Member of the 
Intelligence Committee, offered 
an amendment last week to 
address concerns raised by the 
Administration, civil liberties 
groups and Internet users with 
the Cyber Intelligence Sharing 
and Protection Act (CISPA). 
The bill passed the US House of 
Representatives, and is set to be 
debated in the Senate. 

“Throughout the cyber security 
debate, my priority has been 
addressing the gaping holes 
in our cyber defenses,” Schiff 
said. “It is important to move 
forward with a cyber security 
bill to address information 
sharing, but we must make 
sure that it includes strong 
protections for the civil liberties 
and privacy of Americans. 
I appreciate the good work 
of the Chair and Ranking 
Member, and will continue to 
work with my colleagues on 
the Intelligence Committee to 
make improvements to the bill 
before it comes to the floor later 
this week. Along these lines, I 
am preparing an amendment 
which will address many of 
the concerns raised over the 
past month. I believe that my 
amendment would narrowly 
tailor the bill to its purpose 
of protecting us from attacks 
on our cyber infrastructure 
and protecting trade secrets 
while protecting the privacy 
and civil liberties of ordinary 
Americans.”

Schiff’s amendment would 
require the development 
of policies and procedures 
to minimize the impact 
of information sharing on 
privacy and civil liberties, 
specifically minimizing the 
collection of personally 
identifiable information. It 
would also narrowly define 
and tailor the purposes for 
which the government can 
use information obtained 
from private entities under the 
legislation, while including 
exceptions for information that 
directly relates to a crime or a 
specific national security threat.

City To Hold Economic 
Development Meeting

 Pasadena business owners, 
local employers and others 
interested in improving our 
local economy are encouraged 
to attend a public meeting of the 
city’s Economic Development 
Task Force to help prioritize 
economic development 
strategies. 

 The meeting begins at 4 p.m., 
Thursday, May 10, on the 
second floor of the Pasadena 
Conference Center, 300 E. 
Green St. The meeting is open 
to the public. 

 Earlier this year, City 
Manager Beck assembled the 
Economic Development Task 
Force to help prioritize the 
objectives most likely to boost 
Pasadena’s economic future 
in keeping with the Economic 
Development Strategic Plan 
(EDSP). The EDSP assessed 
the city’s existing economy and 
mapped a broad outline to help 
implement strategies for future 
economic health consistent 
with the city’s character. 

 “The Economic Development 
Strategic Plan is an important 
tool to help guide future 
economic development in 
Pasadena. A positive, growing 
economy helps us maintain 
Pasadena’s high quality of life 
and traditions as a great place 
to live, work, shop and learn,” 
Pasadena City Manager Michael 
Beck said. 

 For more information about 
the EDSP and the Task Force 
and its members, go to the City 
Manager’s page on the city’s 
website at www.cityofpasadena.
net/CityManager and click on 
the Economic Development 
link.

Folklorico 
Ballet

 Hastings Branch Library 
celebrates Cinco de Mayo 
with a special performance 
by Pasadena Group Ballet 
Folklorico Mexica featuring 
the traditional culture of 
Mexico followed by games 
and a piñata on Thursday, 
May 22 at 4 p.m.! Join us for 
a swingin’ time!

 Hastings Branch is located 
at 3325 E. Orange Grove 
Blvd. For more information 
call (626) 744-7262.