Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, January 28, 2017

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Mountain View News Saturday, January 28, 2017 

Free Events Roundup at the 
Pasadena Senior Center

Pasadena Symphony 
presents Natasha Paremski

Schiff Introduces Bipartisan 
Legislation to Protect Children

 
Rachmaninoff’s Romantic 
masterpiece--Piano 
Concerto No.2

 Join Music Director 
David Lockington and 
the Pasadena Symphony 
for a romantically Russian 
program on Saturday, 
February 18th with award 
winning pianist Natasha 
Paremski performing 
Rachmaninoff's Piano 
Concerto No. 2 at both 2 p.m. 
and 8 p.m. at Ambassador 
Auditorium. Also on the 
program is Tchaikovsky's 
Symphony --No.6 
"Pathétique," Lockington 
describes the work as 
piece that envisions life, 
that has the joy, sweetness, 
tenderness and ultimately in 
the end--the great sadness 
that Tchaikovsky carried 
with him at the time.

 This concert marks Natasha 
Paremski’s debut with the 
Pasadena Symphony. With 
her consistently striking 
and dynamic performances, 
the Moscow born American 
pianist reveals astounding 
virtuosity and voracious 
interpretive abilities. 
“Comparisons with 
Argerich should not be 
given lightly, but Paremski 
is so clearly of the same 
temperament and technique 
that it is unavoidable here.” 
— American Record Guide. 
A recipient of the prestigious 
Gilmore Young Artists prize 
at age of 18 and the Classical 
Recording Foundation’s 
Young Artist of the Year in 
2010, Natasha continues to 
generate excitement from 
all corners as she wins over 
international audiences with 
her musical sensibility and 
flawless technique.

 The Pasadena Symphony 
provides a quintessential 
experience combining 
great music with a festive 
social atmosphere. To learn 
more about the music join 
us for Insights – a free 
pre-concert dialogue with 
David Lockington, which 
begins one hour prior to 
each performance. Patrons 
who plan to arrive early 
can also enjoy a drink or a 
dinner in the lively Sierra 
Auto Symphony Lounge, 
yet another addition to the 
carefree and elegant concert 
experience the Pasadena 
Symphony offers. A posh 
setting at Ambassador 
Auditorium’s beautiful 
outdoor plaza, the lounge 
offers uniquely prepared 
menus from Claud &Co 
for both lunch and dinner, 
a full bar and fine wines by 
Michero Family Wines, plus 
music before the concert 
and during intermission.

 All Symphony Classics 
concerts take place at 
Ambassador Auditorium, 
131 S. St. John Avenue. 
matinee and evening 
performances at 2:00pm 
and 8:00pm. Subscription 
packages start at $99; 
regular individually 
priced tickets start at $35 
and may be purchased at 
pasadenasymphony-pops.
org or call(626) 793-7172.

 There is something for 
everyone in February at the 
Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. 
Holly St.

 You do not have to be a 
member to attend. Some events 
require advance reservations as 
noted.

 Scenic Walkers Club – 
Wednesdays, Feb. 1 to 22, at 10 
a.m. Join this new group for a 
series of leisurely walks to enjoy 
the great outdoors and get some 
exercise. Alan Colville will give 
you a list of items to bring, 
let you know what to expect, 
provide detailed itineraries and 
arrange transportation. For 
more information or to sign up, 
email alancolville@charter.net 
or call 626-221-3741.

 Tax Time – Wednesdays 
and Fridays, Feb. 1 to April 
14, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. 
Representatives from the 
AARP Foundation’s Tax-Aide 
program will assist low- to 
middle-income seniors ages 
50 and older in preparing their 
federal income tax returns. 
Appointments are required: 
626-795-4331. Please note 
there is no age limit for this 
service.

 Save Money on Your Water 
and Power Bills – Thursday, 
Feb. 2, at 10 a.m. Keeping 
your utility bills low is a high 
priority for most households, 
including senior citizens with 
fixed incomes. Experts from 
Pasadena Water and Power 
will provide information about 
special programs available to 
seniors in Pasadena.

 Diabetes Empowerment 
Education Program – 
Thursdays, Feb. 2 to March 
2, from 2 to 4 p.m. Whether 
you or someone you care about 
is diabetic or pre-diabetic, 
this series will encourage 
you to make lifestyle changes 
while learning more about 
your diabetes and how it 
affects your health. Workshop 
topics include diet, exercise, 
medication issues, managing 
complications and the impact 
of diabetes on eyes, teeth and 
feet. Reservations are required: 
626-685-6732.

 Friday Movie Matinees 
– Fridays, Feb. 3, 10 and 17, 
at 1 p.m. Everyone enjoys 
movies and the pleasures they 
bring. Feb. 3.: “Florence Foster 
Jenkins” (2016, PG-13) starring 
Meryl Streep and Hugh 
Grant. A wealthy New York 
heiress attempts to become 
an opera singer despite her 
horrible singing voice. Based 
on a true story. Feb. 10: “The 
Girl on the Train” (2016, R) 
starring Emily Blunt and Justin 
Theroux. A divorcee becomes 
entangled in a missing persons 
investigation that promises to 
send shockwaves throughout 
her life. Feb. 17: “Sleepless in 
Seattle” (1993, PG) starring 
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. A 
widowed man’s young son calls 
a radio talk show with a wish 
that his father will find a new 
wife.

 Cardmaking Workshop – 
Monday, Feb. 6, from noon 
to 2 p.m. Surprise a special 
someone with a personalized, 
handmade greeting card. 
Whether it’s happy birthday, 
happy holidays, thank you, 
thinking of you or other 
sentiment, you’ll create a 
decorative card in your own 
unique style and have fun 
discovering your creativity 
while workshop leaders help 
you bring your ideas to life. All 
materials will be provided. 

The Pasadena Senior Center 
is an independent, nonprofit 
organization that offers 
recreational, educational, 
wellness and social services 
to people ages 50 and older 
in a welcoming environment. 
Services are also provided 
for frail, low-income and 
homebound seniors.

 The bipartisan Child 
Protection Improvements 
Act (CPIA), introduced by 
Rep. Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. 
Bishop (R-MI), will make FBI 
fingerprint-based background 
checks permanently and widely 
available to youth-serving 
organizations nationwide. 
They introduced the legislation 
with 26 bipartisan co-sponsors.

 “When parents send their 
children to after-school 
programs, sports camps, or to 
be with mentors, they must be 
able to trust that their children 
are in safe hands,” Rep. Schiff 
said. “Every organization that 
serves our youth should have 
access to the FBI fingerprint-
based background check 
system so they can thoroughly 
screen anyone who will be 
working with kids. The results 
of a multi-year pilot program 
strongly indicate that this 
system will be effective in 
catching child predators who 
try to avoid detection by 
moving across state lines.”

 “Congress has a duty to 
ensure every youth-serving 
organization in America can 
afford and access the very best 
background checks on staff 
and volunteers, and doing so 
means utilizing the FBI’s gold-
standard database,” said Rep. 
Bishop. “We cannot allow a 
single bad actor to slip through 
the cracks when it comes to 
our children’s safety. Protecting 
kids was a top priority of mine 
in the Michigan Senate, and I 
am proud to continue working 
with Congressman Schiff on 
this important effort.”

 Currently, many child-serving 
organizations have the ability to 
request state background checks 
on prospective employees and 
volunteers that will work with 
children. However, a state 
background check alone is no 
match for the FBI’s finger-print 
based system – the only one 
capable of performing a nation-
wide search and preventing 
child predators from avoiding 
detection by moving from state 
to state.

 CPIA builds on the success 
of the PROTECT Act’s Child 
Safety Pilot which ran from 2003 
until 2011. The pilot provided 
access to FBI fingerprint 
background checks for a 
variety of child-serving non-
profits. The pilot conducted 
over 105,000 background 
checks and 6.2% of potential 
volunteers were found to have 
criminal records of concern – 
over 6,500 individuals.

 The legislation would:

 Ensure that organizations that 
serve children, the disabled, 
and the elderly all across the 
country have access to FBI 
fingerprint searches in a timely 
and affordable manner. 

 Protect privacy rights by 
ensuring that the specifics of 
a criminal record are never 
disclosed without explicit 
consent by the volunteer or 
employee and providing an 
opportunity for individuals to 
correct errors in their records.

 Does NOT authorize any 
new spending. The program 
will be supported by the fees 
assessed for background checks 
by the requesting nonprofit 
organizations.

 Does NOT require 
organizations to utilize FBI 
fingerprint background checks, 
only makes them available to 
those wishing to utilize them.

 
Jarvis (A410475) is a white, 
male, dwarf hamster who’s 
full of energy! He loves 
running around his hamster 
wheel, going round and 
round to his little heart’s 
content. This adventurous 
pocket pet also enjoys 
exploring new sights and 
smells. We’re sure he’d love a 
home he could occasionally 
explore from the safety of a 
hamster ball! When he’s not 
making the world his oyster, 
you can find Jarvis enjoying 
his favorite snack of carrots 
and leafy greens.

 The adoption fee for 
hamsters is $5. 

 New adopters will receive a 
complimentary health-and-
wellness exam from VCA 
Animal Hospitals, as well 
as a goody bag filled with 
information about how to 
care for your pet.

 Call the Pasadena Humane 
Society & SPCA at (626) 
792-7151 to ask about 
A410475, or visit at 361 S. 
Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. 
Adoption hours are 11 a.m. 
to 4 p.m. Sunday; 9 a.m. 
to 5 p.m. Tuesday through 
Friday; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
Saturday.

 Pets may not be available 
for adoption and cannot be 
held for potential adopters 
by phone calls or email. 
Directions and photos of 
all pets can be found at 
pasadenahumane.org.

Pet of the 
Week

 The Board of Supervisors 
unanimously approved 
a motion by Supervisor 
Kathryn Barger 
reestablishing a $20,0000 
reward for information 
leading to the arrest and/or 
conviction of a suspect or 
suspects responsible for the 
murder of Marcus Nieto. 

 Nieto was discovered on 
the Altadena Crest horse 
trail by two riders on 
horseback on February 16, 
2013. Investigators have 
confirmed that Marcus 
Neito left his residence 
to visit an acquaintance 
in Pomona but may have 
returned to the Covina/
Azusa area at some point 
before he went missing. The 
Medical Examiner-Coroner 
has determined the mode 
of death to be a homicide. 
The $20,000 reward offer 
approved by the Board 
on April, 2014 has since 
expired. 

Supervisor Barger 
encourages anyone with 
information about this 
heinous crime to contact 
L.A. County Sheriff Sergeant 
Robert J. Gray at (323) 890-
5500.

Reward 
Extended 
In Altadena 
Murder Case

Similar-Looking Ridges on 
Mars Have Diverse Origins

 

 According to scientists this 
week thin, blade-like walls, 
some as tall as a 16-story 
building, dominate a previously 
undocumented network of 
intersecting ridges on Mars, 
were found in images from 
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance 
Orbiter.

 The simplest explanation for 
these impressive ridges is that 
lava flowed into pre-existing 
fractures in the ground and 
later resisted erosion better 
than material around them.

 A new survey of polygon-
forming ridges on Mars 
examines this network in 
the Medusae Fossae region 
straddling the planet’s equator 
and similar-looking networks 
in other regions of the Red 
Planet.

 “Finding these ridges in the 
Medusae Fossae region set me 
on a quest to find all the types 
of polygonal ridges on Mars,” 
said Laura Kerber of NASA’s 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead 
author of the survey report 
published this month in the 
journal Icarus.

 The pattern is sometimes 
called boxwork ridges. Raised 
lines intersect as the outlines of 
multiple adjoining rectangles, 
pentagons, triangles or other 
polygons. Despite the similarity 
in shape, these networks differ 
in origin and vary in scale from 
inches to miles.

Small and Large Examples

 Mars rover missions have 
found small versions they 
have been able to inspect up 
close. Some of these polygonal 
ridges, such as at “Garden City” 
seen by Curiosity, are veins 
deposited by mineral-laden 
groundwater moving through 
underground fissures, long 
before erosion exposed the 
veins. Curiosity recently also 
imaged small boxwork ridges 
that likely originated as mud 
cracks.

 At the other end of the size 
scale, ridges outline several 
rectangles each more than a 
mile (more than 2 kilometers) 
wide at a location called “Inca 
City” near Mars’ south pole. 
These may have resulted 
from impact-related faults 
underground, with fractures 
filled by rising lava that 
hardened and was later exposed 
by erosion.

 “Polygonal ridges can be 
formed in several different 
ways, and some of them are 
really key to understanding the 
history of early Mars,” Kerber 
said. “Many of these ridges are 
mineral veins, and mineral 
veins tell us that water was 
circulating underground.”

 Polygonal ridges in the 
Nilosyrtis Mensae region of 
northern Mars may hold clues 
about ancient wet, possibly 
warm environments. Examples 
of them found so far tend to 
be in the same areas as water-
related clues such as minerals 
that form in hot springs, clay-
mineral layers and channels 
carved by ancient streams. A 
larger sample is needed to test 
this hypothesis.

Volunteers Sought

 Kerber is seeking help from 
the public through a citizen-
science project using images of 
Mars from the Context Camera 
(CTX) on Mars Reconnaissance 
Orbiter.

 “We’re asking for volunteers 
to search for more polygonal 
ridges,” she said. Finding as-
yet-unidentified polygonal 
ridges in CTX images could 
improve understanding about 
their relationship to other 
features and also will help 
guide future observations with 
the High Resolution Imaging 
Science Experiment (HiRISE) 
camera to reveal details of the 
ridge networks.

 This citizen-science program, 
called Planet Four: Ridges, 
began Jan. 17 on a platform 
released by the Zooniverse, 
which hosts dozens of projects 
that enlist people worldwide 
to contribute to discoveries in 
fields ranging from astronomy 
to zoology. More information: 
ridges.planetfour.org

 Other Zooniverse Mars 
projects using data from 
CTX and HiRISE have drawn 
participation from more than 
150,000 volunteers.

 On Earth, too, polygonal ridges 
have diverse origins. Examples 
include grand walls of lava that 
hardened underground then 
were exposed by erosion, and 
small ridge networks inside 
limestone caves, where erosion 
can be chemical as well as 
physical.

 With CTX, HiRISE and four 
other instruments, the Mars 
Reconnaissance Orbiter has 
been investigating Mars since 
2006.

PUSD Measure TT Earns 
Positive Audit Reports

ALTADENA POLICE BLOTTER

 Measure TT, the Pasadena 
Unified School District’s 
(PUSD) voter-approved 
$350 million bond program 
to finance the construction 
and modernization of 
school facilities, has received 
unmodified opinions -- the 
highest level possible -- in 
annual audits of its bond 
spending in the fiscal year 
ending June 30, 2016.

 Required by the state’s 
Proposition 39, the annual 
audits ensure that bond 
fund proceeds are spent in 
accordance with the specific 
project list contained in the 
measure and that internal 
controls are sound. The report 
on the financial statement 
and performance audits was 
presented by the independent 
professional accounting firm, 
Nigro & Nigro, and accepted 
by the Board of Education on 
December 22, 2017.

 Auditors issued an unmodified 
opinion on Measure TT’s audit 
of financial statements. The 
performance audit, which 
measures procedures and 
internal controls in accordance 
with state law, also received an 
unmodified opinion with one 
exception in a single project 
related to change orders.

 “PUSD is delivering capital 
projects that provide access 
to high quality learning and 
recreational facilities, and meet 
the educational needs of today’s 
students,” said Superintendent 
Brian McDonald.

 Proceeds from Measure TT 
have been used to finance the 
construction of new school 
facilities such as a new building 
at Cleveland Elementary 
and new gymnasiums at 
Washington Middle, McKinley 
School, Sierra Madre Middle, 
and Marshall Fundamental, 
as well as renovations and 
upgrades to other schools.

 More than 55 percent of 
Pasadena Unified School 
District voters approved 
Measure TT in November 
2008, authorizing the issuance 
and sale of $350 million of 
general obligation bonds. 
On September 17, 2009, the 
District issued Series 2009A of 
the Election of 2008 General 
Obligation bonds in the 
amount of $125 million. On 
July 3, 2012, the District issued 
Series 2012 in the amount of 
$125 million. On May 25, 2016, 
the District issued Series 2016 
in the amount of $100 million.

 Bond spending audits 
undertaken for the purposes 
of Proposition 39 include 
a review and testing of the 
district’s Measure TT financial 
statements and its internal 
controls over financial 
reporting. Auditors tested the 
district’s compliance with laws, 
regulations, contracts, and 
grant agreements. The audit 
was conducted according to 
the Government Auditing 
Standards issued by the U.S. 
Comptroller General.

 The Board also heard the 
annual report from Measure 
TT Citizens Oversight 
Committee, the independent 
oversight committee mandated 
by law to monitor allocation of 
bond funds.

 Visit measurett.org for 
information on Measure TT 
and to track progress on bond-
funded projects.

Monday, January 16th

9:30 AM – A residential 
burglary occurred in the 
300 block of E. Calaveras 
St. Suspect(s) entered the 
residence by shattering a 
window. Stolen: white iPad.

Tuesday, January 17th

10:00 PM – A vehicle was 
reported stolen from the 
2100 block of Lincoln 
Avenue. Vehicle described as 
a green 1996 Honda Accord 
4 door.

Wednesday, January 18th

9:00 AM – A package theft 
occurred in the 1700 block 
of N. Holliston Avenue. 
Stolen: snake plant pot, poly 
tarp and a bamboo tray.

6:00 PM – A residential 
burglary occurred in the 
3200 Rubio Canyon Road. 
Suspect(s) entered the 
residence by shattering the 
sliding door. Stolen: gold 
bracelet.

Thursday, January 19th

12:30 AM – An assault with 
a deadly weapon occurred 
in the 50 block of W. Pine 
Street. Suspect has been 
identified as a friend of the 
victim.

11:50 AM – A vehicle 
burglary occurred in the 
2100 block of Midlothian 
Drive. Suspect(s) entered 
the vehicle by shattering the 
window. Stolen: black purse 
and brown jacket.

12:45 PM – A residential 
burglary occurred in the 
1400 block of Crest Drive. 
Suspect(s) entered the 
residence by shattering a 
window. Stolen: unknown.

1:30 PM – A vehicle was 
reported stolen from the 
2100 block of Lincoln 
Avenue. Vehicle described 
as a black 1999 Honda Civic 
2 door.

10:15 PM – A petty theft 
occurred in the 2000 block 
of Garfield Avenue. Stolen: 
blue trike.

Friday, January 20th

4:43 AM – A robbery 
occurred in the 1800 block 
of N. Lake Avenue. Suspect 
described as a male Black, 
20 – 21 years old, slim build, 
5 feet 9 inches, shaved head 
and brown eyes. Victim 
sustained minor injuries. 
Stolen: lighter.

4:39 PM – A package theft 
occurred in the 500 block of 
Calaveras Street. Stolen: bar 
soap.

6:30 PM – A robbery 
occurred in the 2200 block 
of Lincoln Avenue. Suspect 
described as a male Black, 20 
years old, 6 feet, 225 pounds. 
Suspect entered the location 
armed with a handgun and 
demanded the victim to 
open the register. Fearing for 
his safety, the victim opened 
the register and handed over 
the money. Stolen: currency.

Saturday, January 21st

No significant incidents.

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