Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 23, 2013

Continued from page 1

 According to city staff, the 
action by the PUSD Board and 
Council to approve the 2013-
16 School/City Work Plan 
positions the organizations 
to join the ranks of cities and 
counties across the country that 
have embraced a “community 
schools” concept of setting 
common goals and strategizing 
together to improve the quality 
of life for youth and families. 
The full plan is on the city’s 
website under human services.

 PUSD Board President Renatta 
Cooper hailed the vote and 
the work plan as a “hallmark 
achievement” by PUSD and the 
City for acknowledging that 
learning starts long before a 
child begins school. “The hard 
work of implementation will 
show the community that this 
plan is not just words on paper 
but rather a roadmap to how the 
city and school district can best 
align services and attend to the 
needs of the community,” said 
Cooper. “Children and families, 
the constituents of all of us, 
deserve nothing less.” 

 Superintendent Jon Gundry 
said he was “very pleased” with 
the attention given to the plan by 
both jurisdictions. “The key to a 
vibrant local economy is having 
a strong public education system 
that prepares our students for 
the careers of tomorrow, and 
empowers our families with 
education and resources to 
support their students both in 
and out of school,” Gundry said. 
“The most effective education 
is the one that involves the 
entire community and this 
plan will help shape how both 
organizations operate and 
interact going forward.” 

 The plan will help PUSD and 
the City more effectively identify 
service gaps as well as avoid 
duplication of services. The 
plan will be implemented over 
the next three years. During 
the second year, in 2015, a long-
range strategic planning effort 
will be undertaken to ensure 
the efforts approved Feb. 19 are 
sustained over the next 15 years 
to 20 years. 

 The plan is also consistent 
with the recent work of the 
City’s Economic Development 
Task Force which recognized 
in its final recommendations 
that PUSD’s steady progress to 
improve student achievement 
and to prepare them for the new 
innovation economy is critical 
to the City’s economic success, 
according to City Manager 
Michael Beck. 


5

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 23, 2013 

School/City 
Work Plan 
Approved By 
Council, PUSD

Chameau to Step Down 
as Caltech President


Human Skull 
Found in 
Backyard

 Jean-Lou Chameau, the eighth 
president of the California 
Institute of Technology 
(Caltech), announced his intent 
to step down from the position 
in a letter to the Caltech 
community today. Chameau 
plans to leave later this year.

 “President Chameau has 
served Caltech with excellence 
and distinction, stimulating 
innovation and expanding 
resources for high-risk, high-
reward research,” said David 
Lee, chair of the Board of 
Trustees. “We are extremely 
grateful for his leadership as 
president, and we wish him 
success in his next endeavor.” 
Chameau informed the full 
Board of Trustees of his decision 
today. 

 Caltech was named #1 on the 
Times Higher Education World 
University Rankings in 2011 
and 2012. The international 
publication noted that Caltech’s 
faculty have the highest research 
citation rate in the world and are 
regularly recognized with the 
top honors in their fields. Since 
2006, Chameau has promoted 
Caltech’s multidisciplinary 
approach to research and 
education, supporting the 
development of programs 
in areas of societal impact, 
including energy, information 
technology, medical science, 
and the environment. 
Chameau also led initiatives to 
enhance students’ educational 
experiences, increase the 
diversity of the community, 
advance entrepreneurial 
opportunities for faculty and 
students, and enhance the 
partnership between Caltech’s 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory and 
NASA.

 As Chameau reflected on his 
tenure at Caltech, he identified 
the greatest accomplishments 
as belonging to the Institute’s 
faculty and students, whom he 
described as talented colleagues 
who share a commitment to 
excellence and the desire to 
have a disproportionate impact 
on science and society. “The 
discoveries, recognition, and 
impact of the Caltech faculty 
in a typical year are the envy 
of our peers. The opportunity 
to interact with such a special 
group, and to support their 
endeavors, is a reward in itself,” 
said Chameau.

 Upon his resignation, Chameau 
will lead the recently created 
King Abdullah University of 
Science and Technology in 
Saudi Arabia. 


By Dean Lee

 Although police have given 
little information about a 
makeshift altar, adorned 
with burned artifacts, 
animal bones, incense and 
candles found Saturday 
in the 800 block of North 
Oakland Avenue —including 
human bones and a human 
skull— numerous reports 
now suggest that neighbors 
had complained about the 
residents for years.

 Neighbors said they would 
hear music coming from the 
house late at night and the 
street lined with cars. They 
also said an odd smelling 
smoke would sometimes 
come from the backyard. 

 One neighbor told a Los 
Angeles Times reporter 
she had called authorities 
numerous times after finding 
a chicken with a severed head 
on her patio.

 An unidentified resident, 
of the home, told reporters 
that his sister practices Palo 
Mayombe, a religion similar 
to Santeria. The faith is 
sometime referred to as 
the dark side of Santeria, 
practiced in Central America, 
Brazil and Mexico.

 He also said the human 
bones were purchased on 
eBay something police said 
was not illegal. Reports also 
said the sister cooperated 
with police turning the bones 
over to the coroner’s office. 
Investigators said, as part of 
the investigation, they were 
looking into how the bones 
got onto eBay. No one at 
the home has been charge 
with a crime police also said 
adding that the focus of the 
investigation is on the bones.

 Police found the altar while 
responding, at approximately 
12:50 p.m., to a report of a 
possible trespasser in the 
area. 

 The price for a human skull 
on eBay ranges from $228.50 
to $1,345.00 according to 
listings posed Friday. Most 
advertise them for medical 
purposes.

Jean-Lou Chameau


NASA Rover Confirms First 
Drilled Mars Rock Sample

Dead Man Found On 
Area Horse Riding Trail

PCC to 
Celebrate 
‘Pi Day’ 
March 14

 

 Altadena Sheriff’s Station 
deputies were called out on 
Saturday morning and are 
investigating the circumstances 
surrounding the death of a man 
whose body was discovered 
along a horse trail in Altadena. 

 Lt. Dave Dolson of the Los 
Angeles County Sheriff’s 
Department- Homicide 
Bureau says horseback riders 
discovered the deceased around 
8 a.m. Saturday near Canon 
Boulevard. 

 Anyone with information 
about the case is asked to 
call the Los Angeles County 
Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 
(323) 890-5500

 NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity 
has relayed new images that 
confirm it has successfully 
obtained the first sample ever 
collected from the interior of 
a rock on another planet. No 
rover has ever drilled into a rock 
beyond Earth and collected a 
sample from its interior.

 Transfer of the powdered-
rock sample into an open scoop 
was visible for the first time in 
images received Wednesday 
at NASA’s Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

 “Seeing the powder from the 
drill in the scoop allows us 
to verify for the first time the 
drill collected a sample as it 
bore into the rock,” said JPL’s 
Scott McCloskey, drill systems 
engineer for Curiosity. “Many 
of us have been working toward 
this day for years. Getting final 
confirmation of successful 
drilling is incredibly gratifying. 
For the sampling team, this is 
the equivalent of the landing 
team going crazy after the 
successful touchdown.”

 The drill on Curiosity’s 
robotic arm took in the 
powder as it bored a 2.5-inch 
(6.4-centimeter) hole into a 
target on flat Martian bedrock 
on Feb. 8. The rover team plans 
to have Curiosity sieve the 
sample and deliver portions 
of it to analytical instruments 
inside the rover.

 To promote the spirit 
of learning mathematics, 
Pasadena City College 
invites the entire campus 
community to participate in 
“Pi Day,” a student-focused 
conference with the theme 
“Yes, I Can Do Math!” The 
conference will be held on 
March 14, from 9 a.m. to 4 
p.m. in the PCC Quad.

 Students are encouraged to 
talk about the subject, share 
their joys and frustrations, 
and develop the proper 
attitude and mindset needed 
to learn math. Students will 
discover ways of overcoming 
difficulties and anxieties in 
learning math, and celebrate 
and share their victories in 
understanding concepts they 
did not understand before.

 There will also be a T-shirt 
design contest that best 
typifies the theme, “Yes, I 
Can Do Math!” First prize 
is $100, and the deadline is 
Sunday, Feb. 10. The rules 
state that the shirt must be 
three colors or fewer, be 
computer-designed, and may 
include the front and back of 
the shirt. Students, faculty, 
and staff are invited to 
participate in thWe contest.

 There is also a poster 
assignment where groups of 
three to four students will 
create a poster showcasing 
research on a topic related 
to a math or science course. 
Posters will be presented at 
the conference, where all 
are welcome to explore the 
research that was done.

 For more information, visit 
www.pasadena.edu/pi/.

Parolee Arrested in Stolen Car

 Deputies from the Altadena 
Station arrested Cesar Antonio 
Soto, a parolee, after he was 
found driving a stolen vehicle 
in Altadena Tuesday. Soto was 
driving southbound Raymond 
Avenue near Montana Street 
when a deputy noticed that the 
vehicle’s taillight was inoperable. 
As the deputy drove toward the 
suspect’s vehicle, Soto suddenly 
pulled over on his own. When 
contacted, the suspect told the 
deputy that he was on parole 
for burglary. When the deputy 
ran the vehicle’s license plate, 
the vehicle returned as stolen 
out of the city of Whittier. Soto 
was arrested without incident 
and booked for driving a stolen 
vehicle and for a violation of 
parole. 

 The vehicle was a 1995 Honda 
Civic. 

 The case was be presented 
to the Los Angeles District 
Attorney’s Office Thursday.

 Soto has previous convictions 
for Burglary, Narcotics, and 
Robbery.

Marching Bands Selected 
For 2014 Rose Parade

 

 Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses President R. Scott Jenkins 
this week announced 18 of the 
20 marching bands that will 
participate in the 125th Rose 
Parade, themed “Dreams Come 
True.” Jenkins said they come 
from all across the United States 
— including Alaska and Hawaii 
— as well as from outside the 
country. The two bands not yet 
announced will be from the 
universities competing in the 
Rose Bowl Game® presented by 
VIZIO. They will be added to 
the lineup when those schools 
are determined.

 The 18 bands announced 
today are (listed alphabetically 
by school name):

Banda de Música Herberto 
López Colegio José Daniel 
Crespo, Herrera, Panama

 Carmel High School 
“Marching Greyhounds,” 
Carmel, Ind.

 Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” 
Johnson High School Marching 
Band, San Antonio, Texas

 Colony High School Knights 
Marching Band “THEE 
Northern Sound,” Palmer, 
Alaska

 Dobyns-Bennett High 
School Marching Indian Band, 
Kingsport, Tenn.

 Glendora Tartan Band and 
Pageantry, Glendora, Calif.

 Hawaii All State Marching 
Band “Na Koa Ali’i,” Kaneohe, 
Hawaii

 Homewood Patriot Band, 
Homewood, Ala.

 Liberty High School 
Grenadier Band, Bethlehem, 
Pa.

 Los Angeles Unified School 
District All District High 
School Honor Band, Los 
Angeles

 McQueen High School 
“Lancer Band,” Reno, Nev.

 Nagoya Minami High School 
Green Band, Nagoya, Japan

 Pasadena City College 
Tournament of Roses Honor 
Band & Herald Trumpets

 Rosemount High School 
Marching Band, Rosemount, 
Minn.

 St. Augustine High School 
Marching “100,” New Orleans, 
La.

 The Salvation Army 
Tournament of Roses Band, 
Los Angeles

 United States Marine Corps 
West Coast Composite Band

 Westfield High School 
Marching Bulldogs, Chantilly, 
Va.

 Bands are selected by the 
Tournament of Roses based on 
a variety of criteria including 
musicianship, marching ability 
and entertainment or special 
interest value.

Fire Station 39 Ground-
breaking Ceremony Set

Pet of the 
Week

 Preliminary work has begun 
on the seismic retrofit and 
rehabilitation of Pasadena 
Fire Station 39 in advance of 
the formal groundbreaking 
ceremony planned for 11:30 
a.m., Saturday, March 2. The 
public is invited to join Mayor 
Bill Bogaard, Councilmember 
Steve Madison, Fire Chief 
Calvin E. Wells and other city 
officials for the ceremony.

 Fire Station 39, at 50 Avenue 
64, was originally constructed 
in 1952 and, together with 
Station 37, is the oldest of 
the department’s eight fire 
stations. The brick exterior of 
the two-story, 4,400-square-
foot building has historic 
significance and improvement 
work was specifically planned 
to retain the exterior while 
completing the extensive 
interior remodel and seismic 
upgrade.

 The $1.78 million construction 
project is managed by the 
Pasadena Department of Public 
Works.

 Funding comes from the 
City’s Capital Improvement 
Project Fund. The project will 
be completed by local general 
contractor Mallcraft Inc.

 For more information, contact 
Assistant City Engineer Steve 
Wright at (626) 744-4695.

 
Bradley is a very sweet eight-
year-old gray tabby. He 
enjoys being held and loves 
to roll around. 

Bradley’s regular adoption 
fee is $70, 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. 
New adopters will receive 
complimentary health and 
wellness exam from VCA 
Animal Hospitals, as well 
as a goody bag filled with 
information on how to care 
for your pet. Bradley also 
qualifies for our Seniors for 
Seniors program in which 
his adoption fee is waived for 
adopters 60 years old or older. 
Ask an adoptions counselor 
for more information during 
your visit 

 Call the Pasadena 
Humane Society & SPCA at 
626.792.7151 to ask about 
A321454, or visit at 361 S. 
Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. 
Adoption hours are 11-4 
Sunday, 9-5 Tuesday –Friday, 
9-4 Saturday. Pets may not 
be available for adoption and 
cannot be held for potential 
adopters from phone calls or 
email. Directions and photos 
of all pets can be found at 
www.pasadenahumane.org.

Learn How to Produce 
Your Own TV Show

 Pasadena Media offers a free 
television-training program 
for volunteers. Various Areas 
of training are available to 
Pasadena residents. Plan 
to attend an orientation to 
discover the right classes for 
you. Producers’ Training 
teaches citizens how to 
produce their own show for 
The Arroyo Channel. Studio 
Production/Equipment 
training is also offered for 
volunteer crewmembers. In 
addition, on-going training 
and 

memberships are available in 
our citizen journalism and 
digital film groups. Call the 
office (626) 794-8585 or go 
to PASADENAMEDIA.ORG 
explore all that Pasadena 
Media has to offer.


Holden to 
Hold Open 
House

Grant Helps Women at 
Work Keep Working

 The organization, Women 
at Work, is slated to receive 
a $15,000 grant from Bank 
of America on Monday. The 
check will be presented to 
Robin McCarthy and several 
of the board members at the 
Women at Work Career and 
Job Resource Center, 3871 
E. Colorado Boulevard, in 
Pasadena by Ninfa Panameno, 
the Marketing Manager for 
Bank of America’s West San 
Gabriel Valley Region. 

 “Awards like these are 
significant and the help to 
insure that we continue to 
keep the door open to anyone 
who needs our services,” says 
Marsha Rood, Women At Work 
Board President. “We have seen 
a notable increase in women 
and men seeking our services 
on a regular basis and this will 
help us in the continued effort 
to meet their needs.”

 The check will be presented 
at the same time the Center’s 
Orientation, one of the most 
popular programs is beginning. 
Anyone interested in finding 
out more about Women At 
Work, the services provided and 
how to help is encouraged to 
drop by the Center to learn how 
this grant will benefit not only 
the clients, but the communities 
Women At Work serves.

 Assemblymember Chris 
Holden wants to hear 
thoughts and concerns 
about the community as he 
holds his first Open House 
as an Assemblymember. 
Light food and refreshments 
will be served. A brief 
program will honor the 
41st Assembly District 2013 
Women of the Year. The 
event is free and open to the 
public. Saturday, March 16, 
2013; 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. 600 N. 
Rosemead Blvd., Suite 117.

For more information, 
please call (626) 351-1917.

Class Offerings 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Nightly

Orientation: 1st & 3rd Monday

Producers’ Training 2nd & 4th Monday

Camera 1st & 3rd Tuesday

Character Generator 2nd & 4th Tuesday

Lighting 1st & 3rd Wednesday

Audio 2nd & 4th Wednesday

Video Tape Operator 1st & 3rd Thursday

Technical Director 2nd & 4th Thursday

Stage Manager 1st & 3rd Friday

Teleprompter 2nd & 4th Friday

Citizen Journalism Every Tuesday

Digital Film Group Every Thursday