Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, September 9, 2017

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Mountain View News Saturday, September 9, 2017 

Free Events Roundup at the 
Pasadena Senior Center

A Noise Within Production 
‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’

Pasadena Unified Remarks 
on Suspension of DACA

 A Noise Within (ANW) 
presents the second production 
of its 26th season, 2017-2018, 
The Madwoman of Chaillot by 
Jean Giraudoux and translated 
by Maurice Valency. Directed 
by Stephanie Shroyer, the 
poetic, surreal, and comic 
fable features ANW favorite 
Resident Artist Deborah 
Strang as Countess Aurelia, 
the Madwoman herself, 
performing September 17 
through November 11.

 Oil is discovered under Paris, 
and Countess Aurelia and her 
kooky coterie are determined 
to drive away the evil corporate 
profiteers lying in wait. ANW 
Producing Artistic Director 
Geoff Elliott says the play is "A 
can't-miss, rallying cry for those 
who crave a satisfying David 
vs. Goliath fable in the form of 
incisive, wildly comic theatre. 
Think Molière, Feydeau, 
Beaumarchais, Wilde." Shroyer 
returns to direct at ANW with 
the signature visually stunning 
aesthetic she brought previously 
to an acclaimed comedic take 
on George Bernard Shaw’s You 
Never Can Tell in 2016.

 “Giraudoux loves to create 
the fantastic and imbue 
an otherworldly aspect to 
something very identifiable to 
us. He brilliantly challenges 
us with scenarios that seem 
fantastical, but make us 
question our actions if we 
were put in the same situation. 
What would you do if oil were 
discovered in your backyard? 
This play is so subtle, and so 
funny, and stays with you long 
after it’s over,” says Director 
Stephanie Shroyer.

 Written in 1943, The 
Madwoman of Chaillot (La 
Folle de Chaillot) focuses in on 
three businessmen in Paris as 
they plot to destroy the City of 
Light, the center of culture, in 
order to unearth oil--located 
by The Prospector’s sense of 
smell--in the neighborhood. 
One character asks, “What 
would you rather have in your 
backyard: an almond tree or an 
oil well?”

 These grandiose plans come 
to the attention of the Countess, 
The Madwoman of Chaillot, 
whose ostensibly dotty and 
eccentric exterior masks her 
practical worldly goodness 
and common sense. She enlists 
the help of her fellow outcasts: 
The Ragpicker, The Street 
Singer, The Sewer Man, The 
Flower Girl, The Sergeant, 
and various other oddballs 
and dreamers. These include 
her fellow madwomen: the 
acidic Constance, the girlish 
Gabrielle, and the ethereal 
Josephine.

 At a tea party worthy of the 
other side of the looking glass, 
she brings together the spoilers 
of the earth and wreckers of its 
happiness. Lured by the scent 
of oil and undreamed-of riches, 
she sends them, one by one, 
into a bottomless pit that opens 
out of her cellar.

 The humanity and striking 
relevancy to current affairs 
is what drew Elliott and 
Producing Artistic Director 
Julia Rodriguez-Elliott to bring 
Madwoman to ANW for the 
Fall 2017-18 season: “This fall, 
all of our protagonists embrace 
love. They pay it forward, and 
by doing so make a positive 
difference to the lives around 
them. The Madwoman of 
Chaillot is in her twilight years, 
but she takes a stand for future, 
unnamed generations.”

 Tickets for The Madwoman 
of Chaillot, starting at $25, are 
available online at anoisewithin.
org and by phone at 626-356-
3100. A Noise Within is located 
on the corner of Foothill 
Boulevard and Sierra Madre 
Villa Avenue at 3352 East 
Foothill Blvd, just north of the 
Madre Street exit off the 210.

 There is something for 
everyone in August 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.

 Friday Movie Matinees 
– Fridays, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. 
Sept. 15: “The Philadelphia 
Story” (1940, NR) starring 
Cary Grant and Katharine 
Hepburn. When a conceited 
young socialite’s ex-husband 
and a tabloid reporter arrive 
at her family home the day 
before she is to marry a dull 
business tycoon, she begins 
to examine her life and 
priorities. 

 A Toast to the Joys of 
Music – Tuesdays to Sept. 
26, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. 
Tom Campbell will play 
guitar and sing songs in the 
Senior Center Lounge. Stop 
by and enjoy his covers of 
traditional country, country 
rock, blues, folk, gospel and 
classic rock originally made 
famous by Willie Nelson, 
Merle Haggard, Vince Gill, 
Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Neil 
Young, The Grateful Dead, 
The Rolling Stones and 
many more.

 Memory Loss Education 
– Tuesdays to Sept. 26, 
from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The 
four-part Brain Health 
Series will focus on memory 
loss. Sept. 5: Let’s Talk 
About It: Memory Loss and 
Alzheimer’s. Sept. 12: How 
to Keep Your Brain Healthy. 
Sept. 19: Alzheimer’s Disease 
Research Update. Sept. 
26: Are They Doing That 
to Annoy Us? Behaviors 
and Alzheimer’s Disease. 
Presented by Alzheimer’s 
Greater Los Angeles.

 Scenic Walkers Club 
– Wednesdays to Sept. 
27, at 10 a.m. Enjoy a 
series of leisurely walks in 
the great outdoors at Los 
Angeles County Arboretum, 
Descanso Gardens and 
other enjoyable locations. 
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.

 Domino Club – 
Thursdays to Sept. 28, at 1 
p.m. If you’ve never played 
Chicken Foot dominoes 
before, or even if you have, 
come join the fun as Vicki 
Leigh leads participants in 
a rollicking version of the 
game that is easy enough for 
beginners yet challenging 
enough for more seasoned 
players. Oh, and please 
excuse the laughter every 
Thursday…it’s contagious! 
For more information call 
Vicki at 928-478-4654.

 Multiple Generations 
Sharing Life Experiences – 
Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 11 
a.m. Staff from the nonprofit 
Sages & Seekers will discuss 
an upcoming eight-week 
intergenerational program 
during which older adults 
will share life experiences 
and valuable knowledge 
with local high school 
students. Don’t miss this 
presentation and your 
chance to participate in 
the program! For more 
information email raulm@
pasadenaseniorcenter.org or 
call 626-685-6706.

 Happy Feet – Thursday, 
Sept. 14, at 10 a.m. Learn 
about proper care of your 
feet, common causes of foot 
pain and what to look for 
when you go shoe shopping. 
Presented by Dr. Andrew La.

 For more information visit 
www.pasadenaseniorcenter.
org or call 626-795-4331.

 Founded in 1960, 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. 

 In light of the President’s 
decision to suspend 
protections of the Deferred 
Action for Childhood 
Arrivals (DACA) program, 
the Pasadena Unified 
School District reiterates its 
commitment to welcome 
all students and families 
to its schools, regardless of 
immigration status.

 In December 2016, 
the Board of Education 
unanimously adopted 
a resolution declaring 
Pasadena Unified schools 
as safe zones for students 
threatened by immigration 
enforcement. The policy 
bars Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE) 
agents from entering the 
district’s properties without 
a warrant.

 “Our district has long-
standing policies and 
practices that provide 
students with a safe and 
inviting environment where 
learning flourishes and 
where parents and families 
are welcomed,” said Board 
of Education President Roy 
Boulghourjian. “Our schools 
will continue to offer a safe 
and respectful learning 
environment where students 
can succeed.”

 “We continue to stand tall 
with all our families to ensure 
that all children - regardless 
of their background or 
immigration status - learn 
and grow so that they can be 
ready to succeed in college 
and careers.”

 Working in partnership 
with the community, we 
have provided schools 
with resources and support 
materials to help students 
and families who may be 
dealing with this issue. We 
will continue to provide 
support to families, and 
our counselors and other 
staff will continue to assist 
students who may be 
worried about their future.

 Information and resources 
are available at: pusd.us/
Page/5372.

Caltech Researchers Use 
Smartphone Camera to 
Measure Heart Health

 

 In a proof-of-concept 
clinical trial, engineers 
at Caltech, Huntington 
Medical Research Institute, 
and USC announced 
Tuesday that they have 
demonstrated that the 
camera on your smartphone 
can noninvasively provide 
detailed information about 
your heart’s health. What 
used to require a 45-minute 
scan from an ultrasound 
machine can now be 
accomplished by simply 
holding your phone up to 
your neck for a minute or 
two.

 The team developed a 
technique that can infer 
the left ventricular ejection 
fraction (LVEF) of the heart 
by measuring the amount 
that the carotid artery 
displaces the skin of the neck 
as blood pumps through it. 
LVEF represents the amount 
of blood in the heart that is 
pumped out with each beat. 
In a normal heart, this LVEF 
ranges from 50 to 70 percent. 
When the heart is weaker, 
less of the total amount of 
blood in the heart is pumped 
out with each beat, and the 
LVEF value is lower.

LVEF is a key measure of 
heart health, one upon 
which physicians base 
diagnostic and therapeutic 
decisions.

 “In a surprisingly short 
period of time, we were able 
to move from invention to 
the collection of validating 
clinical data,” says Caltech’s 
Mory Gharib (PhD ‘83), 
senior author of a paper on 
the study that was published 
in the July issue of the 
Journal of Critical Care 
Medicine. Gharib is the Hans 
W. Liepmann Professor of 
Aeronautics and Bioinspired 
Engineering.

 Three of the co-authors 
of the study, Derek 
Rinderknecht (PhD ‘08), 
Niema Pahlevan (PhD 
‘13), and Peyman Tavallali 
(PhD ‘14), developed this 
technology as students 
or research engineers at 
Caltech. They have since 
teamed up with former 
Caltech visitor in medical 
engineering Marianne 
Razavi, another author of 
the study, to found a start-
up named Avicena that has 
licensed this technology and 
will market the app. Gharib 
is an unpaid board member 
of Avicena and Pahlevan 
is currently an assistant 
professor at USC.

 To test the app, clinical 
trials were conducted with 
72 volunteers between 
the ages of 20 and 92 at 
an outpatient magnetic 
resonance imaging (MRI) 
facility. MRI is the gold 
standard in measuring LVEF 
but is seldom used clinically 
due to its high cost and 
limited availability. LVEF is 
most commonly measured 
using an ultrasound 
machine during a procedure 
known as echocardiography. 
Echocardiography, 
however, requires a trained 
technician, an expensive 
ultrasound machine, and up 
to 45 minutes of a patient’s 
time.

 To measure LVEF using 
the technique developed 
at Caltech, doctors simply 
held iPhones against the 
volunteers’ necks for one to 
two minutes. Afterwards, 
the volunteers immediately 
received an MRI 
examination, and data from 
both tests were compared. 
The measurements made by 
smartphone had a margin 
of error of ±19.1 percent 
compared with those 
done in an MRI. By way of 
comparison, the margin of 
error for echocardiography 
is around ±20.0 percent. 
(That means, for example, if 
the app generated an LVEF 
reading of 40, it would have 
a margin of error of 40 x 19 
percent, which equals about 
plus or minus 7.6 points.)

 “What is exciting about 
this study is that it shows 
our technique is as accurate 
as echocardiography at 
estimating LVEF when both 
are compared to the gold 
standard of cardiac MRI. 
This has the potential to 
revolutionize how doctors 
and patients can screen for 
and monitor heart disease 
both in the U.S. and the 
developing world,” Gharib 
says.

The app works because the 
walls of arteries are almost 
completely elastic—they 
expand and contract with 
each beat of the heart. That 
expanding and contracting 
can be measured and 
described as a waveform that 
encodes information about 
the heart. For the study, 
the team used an iPhone 5, 
but any smartphone with a 
camera will work.

Gharib and his team are 
exploring what other 
information about the heart 
can be mined from the 
waveform captured by the 
app. Soon, he anticipates 
that the technique could be 
used to diagnose heart valve 
diseases, like aortic stenosis, 
and coronary artery 
blockages.

 Other co-authors include 
Marie Csete (MS ‘98, 
PhD ‘00) and Thao Tran 
of Huntington Medical 
Research Institutes; and 
Michael Fong and Robert 
Kloner of the Keck School of 
Medicine of USC.

 This research was supported 
by the Rothenberg 
Innovation Initiative (RI2) 
program.

 Written by Robert Perkins

 

 Tux (A428319) is a 1-year-
old terrier mix with tons 
of personality. He’s a goofy 
boy who loves to play with 
toys. Tux walks well on leash 
and enjoys walking in the 
park. After he’s burned off 
some energy, Tux is sweet, 
affectionate and very lovable. 
He’s gone on a few field trips 
with our Wiggle Waggle 
Wagon, where he did well 
around other dogs and was 
great with people and kids of 
all ages. Tux already knows 
his “sit,” “stay” and “down” 
commands, but can get a 
little jumpy and mouthy 
when he’s excited. He’s 
looking for an active new 
home that will continue his 
basic manners training. 

 The adoption fee for dogs 
is $130. All dogs are spayed 
or neutered, microchipped, 
and vaccinated before 
being adopted. Tux is a Blue 
Ribbon dog, which reduces 
his adoption fee to $100.

 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 
A428319, 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


Editorial

Continued from page 1.

 

 besides themselves with fear 
and trust me, they may be a 
very important part of your 
healing process should you 
survive.

 And, what about 
your neighbors? Do you 
belong to a neighborhood 
watch group? That is for 
more than just discouraging 
criminals. Do you have 
contact numbers for them 
and vice versa? It certainly 
helps first responders when 
you can let them know who 
is missing in your immediate 
area.

 How do you 
communicate with other 
family members when you 
are not in the same place 
when disaster strikes? 
(School, work, church, 
grocery shopping, etc.).

 Do you have a family 
communication’s plan? We 
just discussed this morning 
that in the event of a disaster 
we will text our whereabouts 
immediately to each other. 
You should probably put 
together a group emergency 
contact thread on your very 
smart devices, to be used 
only in an emergency, not 
to invite family to Sunday 
Dinner. It should include 
those relatives that are far 
away. That will give them 
an immediate modicum of 
relief.

 Do you have a family 
evacuation plan for your 
house? During the 1991 
Oakland Hills fire, we both 
left the house in separate 
cars once a gust of fire 
engulfed the area (there was 
no time for an evacuation 
order). The smoke and fire 
were so thick you couldn’t 
see anything but orange 
flames. We made it out 
safely, but had no idea where 
to go or when we would see 
each other again. That was a 
terrifying eternity. So avoid 
that kind of situation. Have 
a meet up place established 
in advance so that if you are 
separated for any reason, 
you know where you will all 
wind up.

 Keep your electronic 
devices charged ALL THE 
TIME! You need them for 
communication AND if 
you are out of contact with 
friends and family, your 
signal can let FR’s find you. 
Also, most smart phones 
and devices these days have 
‘flashlights’, so if you don’t 
have that app, download it 
today!

 There are so many things 
we can do to help us 
through emergencies but 
first we must recognize 
that our communities are 
not immune to natural 
disasters. Secondly, we 
must prepare ourselves 
to the best of our ability. 
Sierra Madre’s Community 
Emergency Response Team 
(CERT) has a wonderful 
guide that can help. Go 
to: cityofsierramadre.com/
residents/emergency_
management/disaster_
preparedness/ 

 I hope by this time next 
week the answer to your 
question will be……Yes We 
Are Ready!

Susan Henderson, 
Publisher/Editor

Mountain Views News

ALTADENA POLICE BLOTTER

Monday, August 28th

10:00 AM – A petty theft from an unlocked vehicle occurred 
in the 2600 block of Fair Oaks Avenue. Stolen: construction 
tool. 

3:20 PM – A domestic violence incident occurred in the 200 
block of E. Altadena Drive. 

Tuesday, August 29th

1:15 PM – A battery occurred in the 1800 block of Lake 
Avenue. Suspect has been identified. 

Wednesday, August 30th

1:50 AM – Douglas Schulte, 50 years old of Altadena was 
arrested in the 2100 block of Washington Boulevard for 
being under the influence of a controlled substance. 

8:00 AM – A domestic violence incident occurred in the 700 
block of W. Harriet Street. Suspect was taken into custody. 

4:55 PM – Joseph Kusnierz, 59 years old of Pasadena was 
arrested in the 1400 block of E. Washington Boulevard for 
possession of a controlled substance. 

Thursday, August 31st

6:56 PM – Jose Sosa, 23 years old of Altadena was arrested 
in the 200 block of E. Altadena Drive for drunk in public. 

7:20 PM – A domestic battery incident occurred in the 300 
block of E. Calaveras Street. Suspect was taken into custody.

Friday, September 1st

12:40 PM – A domestic violence incident occurred in the 
200 block of E. Altadena Drive. 

2:00 PM – A residential burglary occurred in the 2000 block 
of Glen Springs Road. Suspect(s) entered the residence by 
shattering the rear sliding door. Stolen: jewelry. 

6:00 PM – A residential burglary occurred in the 800 block 
of W. Altadena Drive. Suspect(s) entered the location via 
the unsecured garage door. Stolen: gold Trek mountain 
bike. 

Saturday, September 2nd

9:47 PM – A battery incident occurred in the 500 block of E. 
Mount Curve Drive. Suspect was taken into custody.

Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk

 The 19th Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk is just three weeks away 
and, doggone it, The Pasadena Humane Society need your help 
so that we can reach a goal of raising $300,000 for the animals!!

Register today so that you don’t miss out on our biggest fundraiser 
of the year on Sunday, September 24 at Brookside Park at the Rose 
Bowl. 

 It promises to be a howlin’ good time with our emcee Lu Parker 
of KTLA Channel 5 along with dozens of pet-related vendors, 
police K9 and Frisbee dog demonstrations, food trucks, and other 
activities.

 For More information or to register visit: pasadenahumane.org.

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