Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 20, 2014

4


Mountain View News Saturday, December 20, 2014 


CITY BANS SMOKING 

AT ALL PUBIC LIBRARIES


Pasadena 
News Briefs


Appeal rejected 
from man charged 
with murdering 
girlfriend

 A three member justice 
panel from California�s 2nd 
District Court of Appeal 
rejected an appeal Tuesday 
from Corey Lavelle Green, 
convicted of murdering his 
girlfriend Maria Donnelly 
and setting her apartment 
on fire trying to destroy 
evidence.

 Green confessed to killing 
Donnelly Sept. 30, 2011, 
after firefighters found her 
body during an apartment 
fire at 59 S. Meridith Ave. 
Green was arrested in 
December of that year.

 The panel turned down the 
claim that a judge wrongly 
denied Green a last minute 
bid to represent himself as 
his own attorney.

 Green maintained 
Donnelly�s death was 
accidental. He was 
sentenced to 36 years to life 
in prison.

Hundreds Join 
March to Pasadena 
City Hall over Police 
Violence

 Pasadena Police Chief 
Phillip Sanchez was among 
hundreds of people that 
took part in a march Sunday 
led by the Pastor of FAME, 
First African Methodist 
Episcopal Church of 
Pasadena, decrying police-
involved killing of black 
men across the country.

 Protesters carried signs, 
chanting �hands up don�t 
shoot,� and �I can�t breathe.�

 Also among the crowd 
were Councilmember 
Jacque Robinson and Anya 
Slaughter, the mother of 
Kendrec McDade, the teen 
fatally shot by Pasadena 
police in 2012. 

 The Pasadena police union 
filed an appeal last month 
blocking the release of a 
redacted report on the 
shooting death of McDade.

 The group also protested 
the two grand jury decisions 
that declined to indict 
officers, both in Yew York 
where Eric Garner, died of 
a heart attack after a police 
officer used a choke hold 
and in Ferguson, Missouri 
where police shoot 18-year-
old Michael Brown.

By Dean Lee

 The city council voted 
unanimously in favor of 
adding no-smoking on the 
grounds of all city-owned 
libraries to an already 
existing Pasadena municipal 
code banning smoking in 
all public parks. The city 
attorney will return the new 
ordinance within 60 days.

 Pasadena Public Library 
Director Jan Sanders said 
the ordnance would broaden 
no-smoking now in effect at 
some city libraries.

 �We had the ordinance in 
effect at the La Pintoresca 
Branch because that is 
considered park land and 
it�s in the park so are several 
other libraries,�she said. 
�And so keeping the smokers 
away, it does interfere with 
the people coming in and out 
of the libraries.�

 Sanders said the new 
ordinance make all libraries 
uniform. She said it was a 
�right to clean air� as well as 
a litter issue. 

 During the meeting 
Councilmember Victor 
Gordo asked about signage 
at the libraries worried that 
if signs were not visible they 
would lead to problems 
similar to no smoking rules 
at the city�s parks.

 �I�m getting complaints 
in my district, of not just 
smoking cigarettes but 
other substances as well, 
at Robinson Park and 
Washington Park.�

 Gordo said he was also 
concerned with enforcement 
as well as signs.

 City Manager Michael Beck 
said that at some parks they 
added full time security; 
he said they are looking at 
using Pubic Works Security 
Rangers and the Health 
Department to beef up 
enforcement. 

New Fire Chief Demos Holiday Tree Safety

Police Chief warns that flying 
aerial drones at the Rose 
Parade is illegal and will not 
be tolerated. 

 

Newly appointed Pasadena Fire 
Chief Bertral Washington gave 
Holiday safety tips Thursday 
that included igniting a 
Christmas tree to demonstrate 
how quickly a fire can start �
this was the first media briefing 
by Washington as Chief.

 Washington started by stressing 
the importance of picking a 
fresh Christmas tree.�

 �Needles on the tree should 
be green and should not falloff 
easily, he said.

 He also said not to keep the tree 
up too long after the holiday and 
make sure it is watered. 

 Firefighters showed just how 
fast a dry tree can burn by 
igniting one during a controlled 
demonstration. 

 Washington also said to inspect 
any lights that go on trees or 
other d�cor. He also said to 
watch children and pets around 
the tree. He also cautioned that 
portable heaters should always 
be upright. 

 During the briefing Pasadena 
Police Chief Phillip Sanchez 
said The Tournament of Rose�s 
has secured permits for the 
parade route and things like 
unmanned aircraft or ships 
guided by remote control would 
not be tolerated. 

 �As has been the issue in 
recent days, with drones, we�re 
asking our parade goers not 
to bring commercial drones 
or recreational drones to the 
Rose Parade,� he said. �It is a 
permitted event� drones will 
not be allowed.�

 Sanchez said officers, including 
undercover, will attempt to 
locate the owner and confiscate 
any drone.

 Sanchez said his department has 
been preparing for New Year�s 
Day, for sometime, working 
with state, federal and local law 
enforcement.

 �We are well prepared for 
spontaneous events or other 
unusual occurrences; we will 
have overt and covert resources 
up and down the parade route,� 
he said. 

Christmas and New Year�s 
Closures and Reminders

NASA Data Underscore 
Severity of 3-Year Drought

 Pasadena City Hall and most 
City services will be closed 
on Christmas Day, Thursday, 
December 25, 2014 and New 
Year�s Day, Thursday, January 
1, 2015. Specific closures and 
exceptions for the upcoming 
holiday season are noted below.

 Pasadena Fire and Police 
Departments will be staffed 
during the holidays for all patrol, 
jail, fire, paramedic and other 
emergency services. For life-
threatening emergencies, always 
call 9-1-1. For other incidents, 
�If You See Something, Say 
Something!� by calling police 
at (626) 744-4241. Be prepared 
to speak calmly and know your 
location.

 The City Council has finished 
its 2014 public meeting schedule 
and will meet for the first time 
in 2015 beginning at 6:30 p.m., 
Monday, Jan. 12 in the Council 
Chamber at City Hall, 100 N. 
Garfield Ave.

 Pasadena residents and 
businesses with any power 
emergencies should call the 
Pasadena Water and Power 
(PWP) Department at (626) 
744-4673. For water-related 
emergencies call (626) 744-4138. 
PWP�s regular Customer Service 
Call Center will be closed for 
the holidays, but customers can 
still pay their bills by phone at 
(626) 744-4005 or on the Web at 
www.PWPweb.com. The City�s 
Municipal Services Payment 
Center at City Hall will be closed 
both holidays.

 The Citizen Service Center is 
closed Christmas Day, but will 
take your calls at (626) 744-7311 
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 26 
and Dec. 27. On New Year�s Eve, 
the Center will be open from 8 
a.m. to 9 p.m. and from 8 a.m. 
to 5 p.m. the next three days�
including New Year�s Day, Jan. 2 
and Jan 3.

 Refuse and recycling collection 
for Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, will be 
delayed by one day. All other 
routes will be serviced per 
schedule. No bulky pickups will 
be scheduled from Jan. 15 to 
Feb. 2, 2015.

 On Dec. 25, the City�s Area 
Rapid Transit System (ARTS) 
and Dial-A-Ride programs will 
not operate, but will resume 
regular service on Friday, Dec. 
26. All parking meters are 
free and time limits will not be 
enforced on Christmas Day. All 
parking meter enforcement will 
resume on Dec. 26.

 On Jan. 1, New Year�s Day, 
the ARTS buses and Dial-A-
Ride programs also will not be 
in operation, but will resume 
regular service on Friday, Jan. 
2, 2015. All parking meters will 
be free on Jan. 1 and time limits 
will not be enforced. Parking 
meter enforcement will resume 
on Jan. 2. Red curb violations 
and blocking fire hydrants will 
be enforced on both holidays.

 All branches of the Pasadena 
Public Library, including the 
Central Library, will be closed 
Dec. 24 and Dec. 25. The 
libraries also will be closed Dec. 
31 and Jan. 1.

 The City �s Community Centers 
will be closed, except for Winter 
Camps by reservation only, from 
Dec. 22 to Dec. 26. The centers 
will be open 8 a.m. to Noon, 
Dec. 31, and closed Jan. 1. All 
parks are open for picnics, fun 
and play, but no site reservations 
are accepted for the holidays.


Royal Court 
to Kick Off 
Visitor Hotline

 The 2015 Tournament of 
Roses Queen and Royal Court 
will help kick off the Pasadena 
Convention and Visitors 
Bureau�s 31st annual Visitor 
Hotline on Dec. 29 with a 
ticket prize giveaway to the 
2015 Tournament of Roses 
Parade.

 Rose Queen Madison Elaine 
Triplett and the Royal Court 
will make a special appearance 
at the Pasadena Convention 
Center from 9 -10 a.m. on 
Dec. 29 for a ribbon-cutting 
ceremony to kick off this year�s 
Visitors Hotline. They will 
then work the phones and 
take the year�s first calls to the 
hotline. 

 Contestants are eligible to 
win the Rose Parade tickets 
by following the Visitor 
Hotline on Twitter at @
VisitPasadenaCA on Facebook 
at / VisitPasadena or Instagram 
at #VisitPasadena. After the 
hotline opens on Dec. 29, 
simultaneous tweets, Facebook 
postings and Instagram alerts 
will be sent notifying followers 
when to respond through 
social media for a chance to 
win Rose Parade tickets. 

 The Pasadena Convention 
and Visitors Bureau offers 
information via a toll-free 
Visitor Hotline (877-793-
9911) as a service to assist 
visitors attending the 126th 
Rose Parade and the 2015 Rose 
Bowl College Football Playoff 
Semifinal on Jan. 1, 2015. 

 Operating from Dec. 29-Jan. 
2, the Visitor Hotline is staffed 
annually by volunteers from 
throughout the community 
who are available to answer 
questions about the Rose 
Parade and Rose Bowl Game, 
parade float decorating, 
parking, accommodations, 
dining, directions, other 
holiday-related events, and 
more.

 

 New findings released this 
week say it will take about 11 
trillion gallons of water (42 
cubic kilometers) -- around 1.5 
times the maximum volume 
of the largest U.S. reservoir 
-- to recover from California�s 
continuing drought, according 
to analysis of NASA satellite 
data.

 The finding were part of an 
update on the state�s drought 
made possible by space and 
airborne measurements and 
presented by NASA scientists 
Dec. 16 at the American 
Geophysical Union meeting 
in San Francisco. Such 
data are giving scientists 
an unprecedented ability 
to identify key features of 
droughts, and can be used to 
inform water management 
decisions.

 A team of scientists led by 
Jay Famiglietti of NASA�s Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory, used 
data from NASA�s Gravity 
Recovery and Climate 
Experiment (GRACE) satellites 
to develop the first-ever 
calculation of this kind -- the 
volume of water required to end 
an episode of drought.

 �Spaceborne and airborne 
measurements of Earth�s 
changing shape, surface height 
and gravity field now allow us 
to measure and analyze key 
features of droughts better 
than ever before, including 
determining precisely when 
they begin and end and what 
their magnitude is at any 
moment in time,� Famiglietti 
said. �That�s an incredible 
advance and something that 
would be impossible using only 
ground-based observations.�

 Earlier this year, at the peak 
of California�s current three-
year drought, the team found 
that water storage in the state�s 
Sacramento and San Joaquin 
river basins was 11 trillion 
gallons below normal seasonal 
levels. Data collected since 
the launch of GRACE in 2002 
show this deficit has increased 
steadily.

 To develop these calculations, 
the observatory measures how 
much water is in the snowpack 
and how much sunlight the 
snow absorbs, which influences 
how fast the snow melts. These 
data enable accurate estimates 
of how much water will flow out 
of a basin when the snow melts, 
which helps guide decisions 
about reservoir filling and water 
allocation.

 �The 2014 snowpack was one 
of the three lowest on records 
and the worst since 1977, when 
California�s population was half 
what it is now,� said Airborne 
Snow Observatory Principal 
Investigator Tom Painter of JPL. 
�Besides resulting in less snow 
water, the dramatic reduction 
in snow extent contributes 
to warming our climate by 
allowing the ground to absorb 
more sunlight. This reduces soil 
moisture, which makes it harder 
to get water from the snow into 
reservoirs once it does start 
snowing again.�

 For more information on 
GRACE, visit: http://www.nasa.
gov/grace

Pet of the 
Week


Learn How to Produce 
Your Own TV Show

 Cleo is a 1-year-old female 
black and white shorthaired 
cat. She is relaxed and calm 
and enjoys attention. She is 
curious, and while she may 
be a little shy at first, she�s 
affectionate once she warms 
up to you. 

 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.

 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. 

 Call the Pasadena 
Humane Society & SPCA 
at 626.792.7151 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.

 
New Citizen Journalism 
training starts Wednesday 
nights, learn how to report 
news using social media 
skills.

 

 With the opening of 
the new Pasadena Media 
studios at 150 S. Los Robles 
Ave, they are offering free 
television-training programs 
for producers. Plan to attend 
an orientation to discover 
the right classes for you. 
Producers� Training teaches 
how to produce shows for 
The Arroyo Channel. Studio 
Production/ Equipment 
training is also offered to 
volunteer crew members. In 
addition, on-going training 
will soon be available in 
citizen journalism and 
digital film groups. Call the 
office (626) 794-8585 or go 
to PASADENAMEDIA.ORG 
and explore what Pasadena 
Media has to offer.

Earthquake Warning System Gets Funding 

 

 Congressman Adam Schiff 
and Senator Dianne Feinstein 
announced Monday that 
Congress has included $5 
million in FY 2015 funding bill, 
also known as the CROmnibus, 
for a West Coast Earthquake 
Early Warning System, the 
first time Congress has ever 
provided funding specifically 
for the system. 

 A limited system developed 
by Caltech, UC-Berkeley and 
University of Washington, in 
conjunction with the United 
State Geological Survey (USGS), 
has already been deployed and 
has proven that the early warning 
technology is sound. This $5 
million in funding will allow 
those developing the statewide 
system to begin purchasing and 
installing additional sensors, 
build new stations, speed up 
the ShakeAlert system, and 
come closer to deploying 
comprehensive early earthquake 
warning coverage throughout 
earthquake prone regions of the 
West Coast. 

 �It�s absolutely critical that 
the West Coast implement and 
build out an earthquake early 
warning system to give us a 
heads up before the �big one� 
hits, so we can save lives and 
protect infrastructure,� said 
Congressman Schiff. �This 
funding will help build out 
additional stations, speed up the 
ShakeAlert system, and make 
it more reliable in our highest 
priority areas � including Los 
Angeles and the Bay Area � 
and those critical few seconds 
or a minute of warning will 
allow people to seek cover, 
automatically slow or stop 
trains, and pause surgeries. This 
first phase of funding will allow 
the work to begin expanding the 
system, and we will continue to 
work to secure future funding 
along with our other federal, 
state and local partners.�

 Earlier this year, Schiff led a 
group of 25 Members from 
California, Washington and 
Oregon in organizing a request 
that the committee fund an 
early earthquake warning 
system. Schiff�s letter requested 
additional funding for the 
Earthquake Hazards Program in 
USGS to kickstart the process of 
building out the early warning 
system so we can be ready for 
the next big quake. 

Class offerings days and nights weekly

Station Schedule 

Closed - Studio and Administration Office

December 20 through Sunday January 4

Orientation & Tour

Monday January 5 at 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

PCAC Board of Directors - Regular Meeting

Tuesday January 6 at 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Studio Cameras & Floor Manager

Wednesday January 7 at 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Citizen Journalism Training

Wednesday January 7 at 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.