Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 26, 2020

5


Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 26, 2020 


Local Area 
News Brief

Bridge to get 
Temporary 
Suicide 
Mitigation 
Mock-up 
Mesh Panels

Pasadena Celebrates 
Hispanic Heritage Month

 Man Accused of 
Truck Attack on 
Protesters Arrested

 
The City of Pasadena 
is celebrating National 
Hispanic Heritage Month 
by honoring the cultures 
and contributions of 
Hispanic and Latin 
Americans with free 
exhibits, demonstrations, 
book discussions,
films, events, lectures, 
workshops and activities 
for all ages. Programming 
is provided by the City of 
Pasadena’s Pasadena Public 
Library and the Latino 
Heritage Committee, in 
collaboration with the 
City of Pasadena Parks, 
Recreation, and Community 
Services Department. For 
more information, visit 
pasadenapubliclibrary.net or 
cityofpasadena.net/parks-
and-rec.

Exhibits

“Metamorphosis” by artist 
Dr. Patricia Jessup-Woodlin

Celebrates Día de Los 
Muertos or Day of the Dead, 
a celebration of life and 
death

October 1 - 31 | Hastings 
Branch Library, northwest 
windows, 3325 E. Orange 
Grove Blvd.

Community Events For 
Adults

Workshop - Spanish 
Conversation Group

Want to practice and improve 
your spoken Spanish? Join 
our conversational Spanish 
group now on Zoom! 
Volunteers and attendees 
help you to make personal 
progress and provide lots 
of practice speaking in 
Spanish. For all adults of any 
Spanish speaking level. Sign 
up at pasadena.evanced.
info/signup.

Thursdays, through – Oct. 
29, 2:30-5 p.m. | Zoom

Book Discussion - Pasadena 
Reads Book Club: "Afterlife" 
by Julia Alvarez

Meet to discuss "Afterlife" 
by Julia Alvarez. "Afterlife" 
explores the complexities 
of familial devotion and 
tragedy against a backdrop 
of a world in crisis, and the 
ways in which we struggle 
to maintain hope, faith, 
compassion and love. Copies 
are available through hoopla 
using your Pasadena Public 
Library card: hoopladigital.
com. Sign up at pasadena.
evanced.info/signup.

Thursday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m. | 
ZoomWorkshop - Crafts 
with Tosh and Tiff

Join us and learn how to make 
delicious traditional Spanish 
Rice, also known as Mexican 
Rice, Red Rice and Arroz 
Rojo. Join us on Instagram 
at @pasadenalibrary.

Monday, Oct. 12, 3 p.m. | 
Instagram

Book Discussion - Virtual 
Hill Avenue Book Club: 
“Slum Virgin” by Gabriela 
Cabezon Camara

Join us as we celebrate 
Hispanic Heritage Month 
Event and discuss “Slum 
Virgin” by Gabriela Cabezon 
Camara. Densely-packed, 
fast-paced prose, weaving 
slang and classical references, 
“Slum Virgin” refuses to 
whitewash the reality of the 
poor and downtrodden, and 
jumps deftly from tragedy 
to comedy in a way that 
has the reader laughing out 
loud. Copies of this title are 
available through hoopla 
using your Pasadena Public 
Library card: hoopladigital.
com/title/12441390. Sign up 
at pasadena.evanced.info/
signup.

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 10:30-
11:30 a.m. | Zoom

Lecture - Hispanic 
Influence on California 
Architecture

 Spanish-influenced 
architecture is one of the 
great Latino contributions 
to American culture, with 
millions of examples from 
California to Florida, 
built by tens of millions 
of people over the last 
four hundred years. This 
presentation focuses on 
how the Spanish/Hispanic/
Latino architectural design 
vocabulary evolved over 
a thousand years and four 
continents, and how it has 
been employed in Pasadena. 
It examines numerous local 
examples, including the 
San Gabriel Mission, Castle 
Green, the Caltech campus, 
Civic Center, 1920s Spanish 
Colonial Revival houses 
built by George Washington 
Smith, Wallace Neff, and 
many others, along with 
more recent Hispanic-
inflected projects, such as the 
Del Mar Station. Presented 
by Dave Nufer, program 
developer and docent with 
Pasadena Heritage and the 
Los Angeles Conservancy. 
The son of a mid-century 
modern builder, he has 
previously given talks at the 
library on “The Asian Roots 
of Pasadena Arts and Crafts 
Architecture” and “200 
Years of Black Pioneers in 
Pasadena and Los Angeles.” 
Sign up at pasadena.evanced.
info/signup.

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 4 p.m. | 
Zoom

 A San Marino man 
who allegedly drove his 
truck into a crowd of 
peaceful demonstrators 
on May 31 in Pasadena 
was arrested Wednesday 
on a federal criminal 
complaint charging him 
with conspiring to violate 
firearms laws.

 Benjamin Jong Ren Hung, 
28, was charged with 
one count of conspiracy 
to transport firearms 
across state lines and to 
make a false statement in 
acquisition of firearms.

 At his initial appearance 
this afternoon in United 
States District Court, Hung 
was ordered detained 
pending a Monday hearing 
to determine his bail 
status. Hung’s arraignment 
is scheduled for October 
15.

 According to an affidavit 
filed with the complaint, 
Pasadena Police officers 
arrested Hung on May 
31 after he intentionally 
drove his pickup truck 
into a crowd of protesters 
demonstrating in Old 
Town Pasadena. The 
crowd scattered as the 
truck approached, and no 
injuries were reported in 
the incident, the affidavit 
states.

 During a search of 
Hung’s truck on May 
31, police found a 
loaded semiautomatic 
handgun, multiple high-
capacity magazines loaded 
with ammunition, an 18-
inch machete, $3,200 in 
cash, a long metal pipe, 
and a megaphone, 
according to the affidavit. 

 Hung allegedly acquired 
the firearm from a friend 
who purchased it for 
him in Oregon and then 
transported it to California. 
When the friend purchased 
the firearm, he falsely 
represented that he was 
the actual transferee of the 
gun, rather than Hung, the 
affidavit states. Hung and 
his friend then allegedly 
conspired to transport 
the firearm to California, 
where Hung kept the 
firearm at his San Marino 
home prior to bringing it to 
the May 31 demonstration.

 The affidavit further 
alleges that in March 
Hung purchased at 
least three additional 
firearms in Oregon and 
then transported them 
to California. He also 
allegedly amassed other 
firearms and tactical 
equipment from suppliers 
throughout the United 
States and used his 
family’s vineyard in Lodi, 
California as a training 
camp to prepare to engage 
in civil disorders.

 A complaint contains 
allegations that a 
defendant has committed 
a crime. Every defendant 
is presumed innocent until 
and unless proven guilty 
beyond a reasonable doubt.

 If convicted, Hung would 
face a statutory maximum 
sentence of five years in 
federal prison.

 By Dean Lee

 The public will get a first change 
to see exactly what Colorado 
Street Bridge Suicide Mitigation 
Project will look like after the 
City Council voted Monday 
in favor of full-scale mock-up 
installations and public viewing 
in November. 

 The council voted to enter 
into a $160,210 purchase 
order contract with Custom 
Design Iron Works, Inc. for the 
fabrication and installation of 
five temporary mock-up panels.

 According to the Pasadena 
Department of Public Works 
Director Ara Maloyan, three 
deign options were chosen for 
the mock-up fabrication and 
will display two types of mesh 
patterns and pickets. The full-
sized panels will be installed 
at two locations on the bridge, 
one on the southeast and 
one on the northwest, and be 
independently supported on the 
tops of the bridge balustrade. 
They also plan to adjust existing 
light poles to accommodate the 
panels. 

 The council voted with 
very little discussion. Only 
Councilmember Andy Wilson 
asked about cost and popularity 
of the designs. Maloyan said 
that 68 percent surveyed 
favored mesh versus 50 percent 
for pickets. The pickets also 
had the lowest cost he said. 
Councilmember John Kennedy 
said the mock-up panels had 
been previously vetted at the 
city’s Public Safety Committee. 

 Maloyan also said a survey 
would be published on the 
project’s website to solicit public 
opinion on the mock-up design 
options once they have been 
installed. 

 The mock-up displays will 
be up for four to six weeks 
for public viewing. The Pubic 
Safety Committee will make a 
final decision sometime in late 
December or January.

 According the city staff report, 
the cost of fully implementing 
the Colorado Street Bridge 
Suicide Mitigation Project will 
rage from $2.5 million to $4.6 
million depending on materials 
and detailing.

Julia Alvarez

Playhouse Announces 
Streaming Premiere of Still

Wiggle Waggle 
Goes Virtual 
this Sunday

 Pasadena Playhouse 
Producing Artistic Director 
Danny Feldman announces 
the premiere of Still., a newly 
commissioned work written by 
and starring spoken word artist 
Javon Johnson, and directed 
by Donny Jackson. The 
production will launch online 
at PlayhouseLive on September, 
30, and is part of the Fall line-
up of pay-per-view streaming 
theatrical events. 

 As one of the nation’s most 
prominent spoken-word 
artists, Javon Johnson takes 
to the Playhouse stage in Still. 
to share his very personal 
experience as a Black man in 
America at a pivotal time in 
our history. Johnson blends 
powerful imagery, witty prose 
and beautiful lyricism in this 
timely, unforgettable theatrical 
event.

 Johnson has appeared on 
HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, BET’s 
Lyric Café, TVOne’s Verses & 
Flow, The Steve Harvey Show, 
The Arsenio Hall Show, United 
Shades of America with Kamau 
Bell on CNN, and co-wrote a 
documentary titled Crossover, 
which aired on Showtime, in 
collaboration with the NBA 
and Nike. 

 Producing Artistic Director 
Danny Feldman says, “We 
are honored to launch 
PlayhouseLive with the work of 
two extraordinary artists, Javon 
Johnson and director Donny 
Jackson. In this unique moment 
of American reckoning, Still. is 
a piece of art that eloquently 
captures what so many in our 
community are experiencing. 
It is a profound theatrical 
work created exclusively for a 
digital audience and captures a 
moment in history in real time, 
on our historic stage.”

 Javon Johnson is a renowned 
spoken word poet -- a three-
time national poetry slam 
champion and a four-time 
national finalist. He is also 
Assistant Professor and 
Director of African American 
& African Diaspora studies 
and holds an appointment in 
Gender & Sexuality Studies in 
the Interdisciplinary, Gender, 
and Ethnic Studies Department 
at the University of Nevada, Las 
Vegas.

 Director Donny Jackson has 
been a staple of the poetry 
community for over 2 decades, 
and is also a doctor of clinical 
psychology, and a multiple 
Emmy-winning Producer 
and Director in unscripted 
television, including CNN’s 
United Shades of America with 
W. Kamau Bell, R&B Divas 
for TV One, The Bachelor for 
ABC, A&E’s Teach, and Inside 
the Label for BET. Dr. Donny is 
also an NAACP Image Award 
winner for his producing 
duties on TV One’s music 
documentary series, Unsung.

 Still. can be rented through 
PlayhouseLive for $19.99 and 
is available through November 
1, 2020. After the initial 
purchase, Still. can be watched 
on any of the PlayhouseLive 
apps including Apple OS, 
Android OS, Roku, FireTV and 
more. Closed captioning will be 
available in both English and 
Spanish. 

 Additional information 
about PlayhouseLive and its 
programming, including new 
announcements and pricing 
specials, are available at: 
playhouselive.org. 

 PlayhouseLive breaks down 
the physical boundaries 
of theater walls and opens 
access to audiences all over 
the world. It is also integrated 
into the Pasadena Playhouse’s 
Community at Play program 
which remove barriers to arts 
participation and ensures free 
and low-cost ways to engage 
with the arts. Distribution 
channels include a standalone 
website, iPhone and Android 
apps, AppleTV, Amazon 
FireTV, Roku, Chromecast, and 
AirPlay, among others.

 Powered by Pasadena 
Playhouse, PlayhouseLive 
programming will include 
new filmed productions, 
staged readings, and cabarets, 
as well as original series, 
documentaries, and theater 
classes. It is a home for a 
wide array of theatrical voices 
through new and revisited 
work. PlayhouseLive also 
serves as an online companion 
to the work that Pasadena 
Playhouse and partner theaters 
create on our stages once live 
theater performances resume. 

 Grab your walking shoes and 
a leash for the upcoming 22nd 
Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk. 
Organizers said, to ensure the 
safety of participants during 
the COVID-19 pandemic, 
Pasadena Humane’s fundraiser 
is set to go virtual on Sunday.

 The Wiggle Waggle Walk is 
Pasadena Humane’s biggest 
fundraiser of the year, with 
proceeds providing food, 
shelter, veterinary care and 
other services to more than 
11,000 animals that come to 
Pasadena Humane every year, 
they said.

 Participants can join by 
registering online, and can walk 
anywhere to support Pasadena 
Humane with or without their 
dog, for as long or as short as 
they like. Thousands of people 
are expected to take part in the 
virtual walk, saving animals 
one step at a time.

 “Wiggle Waggle Walk has 
become an iconic tradition in 
Pasadena and the greater Los 
Angeles region for the past 
22 years,” said Dia DuVernet, 
president and CEO of 
Pasadena Humane. “We went 
virtual this year to ensure that 
everyone could still enjoy the 
event while staying safe and 
socially distant.”

 In addition to the Walk, 
there will be a roster of fun-
filled activities including, a 
Virtual Vendor Fair, online 
Photo Contest, and prizes 
participants can enjoy. Some 
prizes include a tile on the 
Wiggle Waggle Walk of Fame, 
a branded black unisex fleece 
full-zip hoodie, a branded 
insulated lunchbox, and many 
more treats participants can 
enjoy. People can also compete 
to be Pasadena Humane’s 
Top Donor, Top Fundraiser, 
Most Team Members, or Top 
Fundraising Team.

 Register online at 
wigglewagglewalk.org. 

 Pasadena Humane is a 
donor-supported, non-profit 
organization that provides 
animal care and services for 
homeless and owned animals 
in the Greater Los Angeles 
Area. To learn more, 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