Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, February 29, 2020

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 29, 2020 

Stolen Hearse 
Undisturbed 
Body, Casket 
Recovered


18th One City, One Story 
Community Conversation

 To celebrate the 18th year 
of Pasadena’s One City, One 
Story community reading 
project, the public is invited 
to a conversation with Lara 
Prescott, author of this year’s 
selected novel The Secrets We 
Kept, Thursday, March 5, at 
7 p.m. in Pasadena Central 
Library’s Great Hall, 285 E. 
Walnut St. 

 Prescott will discuss her 
experiences writing The 
Secrets We Kept. A question 
and answer session led by 
Pasadena Public Library 
Director Michelle Perera will 
immediately follow. Attendees 
are encouraged to bring their 
copies of The Secrets We Kept 
for the author to sign following 
the discussion. Prescott’s books 
will also be available for sale 
and signing following the 
program. The event is free and 
open to the public. Parking is 
available.

 The Secrets We Kept is a 
thrilling tale of secretaries 
turned spies, of love and duty, 
and of sacrifice. Inspired by a 
true story, the novel details a 
CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts 
and minds of Soviet Russia, 
not with propaganda, but with 
the greatest love story of the 
twentieth century: Doctor 
Zhivago.

 At the height of the Cold 
War, two secretaries are pulled 
out of the CIA typing pool 
and given the assignment of 
a lifetime. Their mission: to 
smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of 
the USSR, where no one dare 
publish it, and help Pasternak’s 
magnum opus make its way 
into print around the world. 
Glamorous and sophisticated 
Sally Forrester is a seasoned 
spy who has honed her gift for 
deceit all over the world--using 
her magnetism and charm to 
pry secrets out of powerful 
men. Irina is a complete novice, 
and under Sally’s tutelage 
quickly learns how to blend in, 
make drops, and invisibly ferry 
classified documents.

 The Secrets We Kept combines 
a legendary literary love story -- 
the decades-long affair between 
Pasternak and his mistress and 
muse, Olga Ivinskaya -- with 
a narrative about two women 
empowered to lead lives of 
extraordinary intrigue and 
risk. From Pasternak’s country 
estate outside Moscow to the 
brutalities of the Gulag, from 
Washington, D.C. to Paris and 
Milan, The Secrets We Kept 
captures a watershed moment 
in the history of literature -- 
told with soaring emotional 
intensity and captivating 
historical detail. At the center 
of this unforgettable debut is 
the powerful belief that a piece 
of art can change the world.

 Author Lara Prescott’s debut 
novel, The Secrets We Kept 
has been translated into 28 
languages and will be adapted 
for film by The Ink Factory 
and Marc Platt Productions. 
Prescott received her master 
of fine arts degree from the 
Michener Center for Writers 
at the University of Texas. Her 
writing has appeared in The 
Southern Review, The Hudson 
Review, Crazyhorse, and more. 
She lives in Austin, Texas with 
her husband and cats.

 For more information on 
this year’s One City, One Story 
activities, visit: cityofpasadena.
libguides.com/onecityonestory 
or call (626) 744-7076.

 
A body and casket were 
recovered Thursday 
morning, after the hearse 
had been reported stolen 
Wednesday night from St. 
Anthony Greek Orthodox 
Church in unincorporated 
Pasadena.

 “Out of all the bad 
decisions you have made, 
at least make one good one 
& bring back the deceased 
person and casket inside 
the Navigator,” Los Angeles 
Sheriff’s Department said 
in a tweet.

 The suspect driving the 
black Lincoln Navigator, 
later identified as James 
Juarez, was arrested after 
crashing the SUV at around 
7:45 a.m. shutting down 
part of the 110 freeway in 
Los Angeles. 

 It was unclear if Juarez 
knew there was a body 
in the Navigator. Police 
said they found the body 
untouched. 

 A witness reported seeing 
the hearse and reported 
it to police. Juarez rear-
ended another vehicle 
after a pursuit. At least one 
police officer was involved 
in the accident, no one was 
injured, they said. 

 According to investigators, 
the hearse was stolen 
around 8 p.m. when 
a mortuary attendant 
brought another casket 
into the church. 

 Juarez was booked on 
suspicion of grand theft 
auto.

Lara Prescott

Last Candidates Forum Before the Election

By Dean Lee 

 All four candidates running 
for Pasadena mayor had 
their final face to face chance 
to wow voters during the 
last debate before Tuesday’s 
primary nominating election. 
During the February 16 
Mayor’s Candidates Forum 
issues ranged from the 
sudden reassignment of the 
city’s Fire Chief, to sanctuary 
cities, homelessness, 
cannabis to rent control. 

 The evening stated with 
quick responses to the city’s 
handling of City Manager 
Steve Mermell reassigning 
Fire Chief Bertral 
Washington to the City 
Manager’s Office. Three of the 
candidates said the situation 
should have been handled 
better with incumbent 
Mayor Terry Tornek saying 
that the situation was tricky 
and that elected city officials 
should stay out of the hiring 
or firing of city employees.

 Pasadena mayoral candidate 
Jason Hardin directed the 
issue back to Mermell.

 “What I would do about 
it, I would ask for a leave of 
absence for Steve Mermell 
until this whole investigation 
gets to the bottom of what 
happened,” Hardin said.”

 Hardin is a marketing 
entrepreneur and former 
city senior commissioner, 
This is his second attempt at 
running for Mayor. Hardin 
first ran in 2015.

 Candidate and Pasadena 
Councilman Victor Gordo, 
a self identified immigrant 
from Mexico, said the city 
struggled with the idea of 
what a “sanctuary city” 
should be. He said he did 
not support working with 
the federal government on 
immigration. 

 “I understand well the 
need to protect our families, 
I understand well this 
issue of not working with 
the federal government to 
enforce immigration laws 
because that’s the role of the 
federal government,” Gordo 
said. “Police resources in 
Pasadena should be used 
to address local issues. If 
we want to have that debate 
again, I welcome it. 

 All the other candidates 
agreed with the city’s current 
sanctuary city status. Tornek 
commented now that 
California is a sanctuary state 
the idea of sanctuary cities is 
a moot point other than to 
reassure local residents. 

 Candidates answered a 
number of questions related 
to homelessness including 
allowing them to sleep in 
cars at church parking lots, 
and generally what plan they 
had to address homelessness.

 Tornek supported opening 
up parking lots, while other 
candidates first cautioned 
around safety issues.

 “We have a mechanism in 
the temporary conditional 
use permit to do that.” 
Tornek said. “Its interesting 
that [Pasadena City College] 
PCC was confronted with 
that challenged at the state 
level, where they were going 
mandate safe harbor parking 
at community colleges... they 
didn’t like it.. But they are 
allowing it in they parking 
structures on a de facto 
basis.”

Tornek said he also supports 
more permanent housing 
in the civic center for the 
homeless as part of the 
YWCA restoration. He also 
agreed they should look at 
surplus school properties 
and churches for permanent 
housing. Tornek said he also 
led the way on Hotel/Motel 
conversions to housing.

 Pasadena mayoral candidate 
Major Williams assailed 
Tornek’s remarks, “The 
mayor was able to give you 
two minutes of what he’s 
working on as if this is an 
issue [homelessness] that just 
started here in Pasadena.”

 Williams, in suggesting 
complete new city leadership, 
said he would look at the 
710 freeway gap to bring 
affordable housing.

 “I have a plan to use a 
million dollars a year that’s 
going to go to rent stimulus 
for families that are unjustly 
evicted or on the cusp of 
being evicted,” he said. “We 
have to begin to be creative 
and the creativity only comes 
when you have someone that 
has a track record of being 
creative.”

 Williams the co-founder 
of Fly Kicks for Kids, which 
collects and gifts sneakers 
for kids in low income 
communities. Although 
the local election is a 
nonpartisan race, Williams is 
an outspoken supporter for 
President Donald Trump.

 Other questions included 
Pasadena’s cannabis process 
in which all the candidates 
said the city could have 
done better, Hardin simply 
said the process was flawed. 
During a questing on the 
issue of rent control, Hardin 
was the only candidates that 
said he supported it. 

 Tornek said he would vote 
against any form of rent 
control saying it doesn’t 
work.

 The candidates were asked 
what they though was the 
most distinct thing about 
Pasadena? Williams said the 
“evaluation of inclusion.” 
Gordo said that Pasadena 
is the center of the universe 
“the diversity of our city is 
important and what makes it 
so special is a sense of place.” 
Hardin said the people “to 
stop them from leaving.” 
Tronek said the city plays 
bigger than it is. “To honor 
out past... and shape our 
future.” he said.

Free Public 
Forum on 
Climate 
Change

 Two common-sense 
approaches to curbing climate 
change will be presented at a 
free public forum March 28. 
9 am to noon at Fellowship 
Hall, First United Methodist 
Church, 500 East Colorado 
Blvd., Pasadena. The executive 
director of the U.S. Green 
Building Council-Los Angeles 
and a Pulitzer Prize-winning 
journalist and author of 
“Garbology: Our Dirty Love 
Affair with Trash”will give 
tips for getting the carbon out 
of our lives and how to stop 
trashing the climate. 

 The League of Women 
Voters Pasadena Area with 15 
environmental organizations 
is sponsoring the 9th annual 
climate change forum 
organized by the Natural 
Resources Committee. It is 
titled “Decarbonize Your Life 
and Clean Our Environment: 
A Positive Way Forward.” 

 Ben Stapleton as executive 
director of the U.S. Green 
Building Council-Los Angeles 
brings expertise from his 
participation in La Kretz 
Innovation Campus, a hub 
of entrepreneurs, engineers 
and policymakers focused on 
green economy and overseen 
by LA Water and Power. He led 
operations and finance for the 
LA Cleantech Incubator at that 
time.

 Edward Humes, the second 
speaker, has written four 
environmentally themed 
books. Speaking of his last on 
“Garboloby,” environmental 
activist Bill McKibben writes, 
“Unlike most dirty books, 
this one is novel and fresh on 
every page.” As for the way 
back, Humes says, it requires a 
rethinking of everything we’re 
doing on the garbage front.

 For more information call 
626-798-0965 or visit: lwv-pa.
org

San Marino League to Hold 
Fundraiser for ‘Art Matters’

South Pas: 
Celebrating 
132 Years

 The San Marino League 
(SML), a Southern California 
nonprofit organization 
committed to philanthropic 
work in the community as 
well as furthering their own 
knowledge of fine arts, will 
hold Art Matters on March 28-
29 at The Huntington Library, 
Art Museum and Botanical 
Gardens. Art Matters 2020, 
the League’s sixth juried 
exhibition and sale, will benefit 
internationally renowned 
institutions ArtCenter College 
of Design and The Huntington.

 Art Matters attracts some 
of the country’s best artists, 
providing more than 150 
exceptional juried paintings, as 
well as original 3D creations, 
such as glass art, ceramics, 
pottery, sculpture, and jewelry 
crafted especially for the show 
by selectively invited artisans. 
All of the art will be for sale.

 Art Matters 2020 will be 
included with the price of 
admission to The Huntington 
on Saturday, March 28 and 
Sunday, March 29. The 
Huntington is located at 1151 
Oxford Road, San Marino.

 Proceeds from the sale will be 
split 50/50 between the artists 
and the San Marino League for 
their two beneficiaries: Fine 
Art student scholarships at 
ArtCenter College of Design 
and the Japanese Garden 
Endowment at The Huntington.

 Participating artists will join a 
“Paint Out” at the magnificent 
gardens of The Huntington for 
three days on February 24–26.

 For more information visit: 
artcenter.edu or: huntington.
org or: sanmarinoleague.org.

 Celebrate, Sunday, March 
15, the South Pasadena’s 
132nd birthday with the 
City of South Pasadena 
and the South Pasadena 
Preservation Foundation 
at the Library Community 
Room. Three distinguished 
local authors—Glen 
Duncan, Chip Jacobs, and 
Rick Thomas—will each be 
sharing their perspectives 
on South Pasadena’s 
fascinating history. 
Books will be available 
for purchase. The South 
Pasadena Preservation 
Foundation will also 
be presenting short 
workshops on the Mills Act, 
a City incentive program 
providing property tax 
relief for owners who 
restore eligible historic 
buildings, and on the 
Foundation’s Centennial 
Plaque program, which 
allows owners of homes 
100 years old or older 
to commemorate that 
milestone with an 
attractive bronze plaque.

 The event will take place 
from 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
The Library Community 
Room is located at 1100 
Oxley Street. For more 
information call (626) 
403-7340.


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