Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, March 13, 2021

Mountain View News Saturday, March 13, 2021 Mountain View News Saturday, March 13, 2021 
Councilmember Masuda Home Depot grand opening, Photos Courtesy ofHome Depot and City of Pasadena. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com 


Local Area 
News Brief

 Former Pasadena 
Principal Chargedwith Grand Theft 

 
Los Angeles County DistrictAttorney George Gascón 
announced today that a local 
man has been charged withpocketing tens of thousandsof dollars while he worked 
as a principal at two schools,
including one in Pasadena,
over the past four years.

 “Betraying students, 
their parents and school 
administrators is the ultimate 
failure for those who are the 
face and voice of a school,” 
District Attorney Gascón said.

 According to a statement,
Kyle Douglas (pictured) wascharged with one count eachof misappropriation of publicfunds, forgery and grand theft.
Douglas pleaded not guiltyThursday and is scheduled 
to return on April 23 for a 
preliminary hearing settingin Department 50 of the FoltzCriminal Justice Center.

 The case was filed on 
February 22.

 In 2019, while working 
as principal at Woodrow 
Wilson Middle School in 
Pasadena, Douglas is accusedof collecting about $10,000 fora student trip to China andnever paying the companythat he hired to organize thetrip.

 Two years earlier, whileemployed as the principalat Inglewood High School,
the defendant is accused of 
negotiating a contract witha company for private useof the school’s parking lot.
He allegedly did not receiveauthorization and profitedabout $57,000 from the deal.

 Douglas is also a former 
teacher at Marshall 
Fundamental and Rose CityHigh School and started histeaching career with PasadenaUnified School District.

 The case remains under 
investigation by the DistrictAttorney’s Bureau of 
Investigation.

 City ReschedulesVaccination Clinic

 Pasadena Public 
Information Officer Lisa 
Derderian said Friday thatthe city has reschedule 
largest vaccination clinicfor this Thursday after 
hundreds of line jumperstook advantage of a sharedregistration link. Derderian 
said last Thursday, of 
the 1,500 available 
appointments, 900 of them 
went to ineligible people.

 She said most of the 
appointments booked 
were by entertainment and 
media professionals.

 “Most of the people whosigned up didn’t even live inPasadena,” Derderian said. 
News reports said the 
city was working to use adifferent signup system.

 As for Friday, the PasadenaPublic Health Departmentwas using myturn.ca.gov.

 For more information 
visit: cityofpasadena.net/
public-health. 

Home Depot Opens at Former Avon Site 

By Dean Lee

 Home Depot opened theirfirst local home improvementstore in East Pasadena Thursdayafter purchasing the propertyfrom Avon at end of 2016. As 
part of the new 113,500 squarefoot store at 2881 East Walnut 
Street, Home Depot welcomed200 new associates. In time, theyplan to hire over 275 employeesincluding cashiers, customer 
service/sales, departmentsupervisors and other positionsfor the store.

 The grand opening includedDistrict 4 Councilmember 
Gene Masuda along with 
Councilmember John Kennedy,
former Pasadena Mayor TerryTornek and Tournament of 
Roses President and Chairman 
Bob Miller. Instead of ribbon,
Masuda cut a piece of lumber.
The new store is located in 
District 4. 

After a series of packed public 
meetings between 2017 and 
2018, residents were unhappy 
with original plans to build a 
multiple level development onthe site, with residential, officebuilding and possibly a Costcoor other big box store, HomeDepot officials agreed to scaleback eliminating everything but 

City Seeks Public Inputon Colorado Street Bridge 

 City officials announcedThursday the recently 
completed fabrication and 
installation of full-scale mock-
up suicide prevention panelsof three vertical barrier designconcepts at the Colorado StreetBridge. Panels are installed attwo separate locations alongthe bridge to provide differentvantage points for visualization.
The public is invited to reviewthe full-scale barrier mock-
ups online and share theircomments with the City ofPasadena at: surveymonkey. 
com/r/CGJL5J8 by May 31. 
Photos of the barrier mock-upsas well as drone footage willsoon be available on the projectwebpage.

 The city began seeking a 
permanent and responsibly-
designed enhancement to 
the Colorado Street Bridgerailing in 2017 to serve as aneffective suicide deterrent while 
preserving the national historiccharacter and significanceof the bridge. Since then, theDepartment of Public Worksand Donald MacDonald 
Architects have engaged thepublic in developing barrierdesign options, taking into 
consideration the feedback and 
advisement of the City’s HistoricPreservation Commission, theDesign Commission and thePublic Safety Committee.

 In early 2020, the Public SafetyCommittee requested full-scalemock-ups be constructed ofthe preferred designs for better 
visualization and evaluation 
by the public before choosinga specific design concept. TheDepartment of Public Worksand Donald MacDonald 
Architects will host a virtual 
open house from 6-7 p.m. on 

the store.

 As part of an agreement withthe city, officials also agreed totraffic improvements to FoothillBoulevard and a dedicated 
entrance, with a traffic light onWalnut Ave.

 Founded in 1978, HomeDepot is the world’s largesthome improvement retailer inNorth America. According toa statement, “there are morethan 2,200 stores in the U.S.,
Canada and Mexico. The typicalstore today averages 105,000 
square feet of indoor retail 
space, interconnected with 
an e-commerce business that 
offers more than one million 
products for the DIY customer, 

Thursday, March 25, to reviewthe three design options withthe community, present photos/
videos of the mock-ups, andintroduce the City’s projectwebpage, along with the onlinepublic opinion survey. Therewill also be an opportunity forQ&A. The virtual open housewill be recorded and available 
on the project’s webpage forthose unable to attend the live 
session.

 Following the open house, theDepartment of Public Workswill meet with the City’s HistoricPreservation Commission,
the Design Commission andthe Public Safety Committee 
to share public feedback, 
and seek advisement and 
recommendations on a singlebarrier design to take to the 
City Council for approval.
Presentation to the Historic 
Preservation Commission 
is tentatively scheduled for 
Tuesday, April 20.

 Visit the project webpage foradditional details. Questionsregarding the project shouldbe directed to the project 
team at ColoradoStBridge@
cityofpasadena.net. 

professional contractors, and 
the industry’s largest installationbusiness for the Do-It-For-Me 
customer.” 

For more information and 
all job listings visit: corporate.
homedepot.com. 

Change YourClock, ChangeYour Battery 

The Pasadena Fire Departmentreminds you to change all ofyour Smoke Alarm batterieswhen you change your clocksforward an hour on Sunday,
March 14 
Change Your Smoke Alarm& Carbon Monoxide Alarm 
Batteries! Replace old batteries 
with fresh, high quality 
batteries. Make sure your 
emergency flashlights work 
when you need them by usingfresh high-quality batteries.
After inserting fresh batteriesin your Smoke Alarm, makesure the Alarm is workingby activating the safety testbutton. The Fire Departmentrecommends that you test allof your Smoke Alarms at least 
once each month. Replaceyour Smoke Alarms with newdevices every 10 years.
Count Your Smoke Alarms! A 
properly functioning Smoke 
Alarm should be placed in 
every sleeping room -and- in 
the hallway directly adjacent tothose rooms. If sleeping roomsare on an upper level, a SmokeAlarm should be installed in 
the center of the ceiling directlyabove the interior stairway.
Clean Your Smoke Alarms! 
Gently use a vacuum cleaneronce a month to remove dust 
and cobwebs. If your Smoke 
Alarms have been accidentallypainted or contaminated,
replacement may be necessary.
The Fire Departmentencourages you to practice yourescape plans with your childrenbecause they are at increasedrisk of dying in a home firesince they often become scaredand confused when a fire 
erupts. Make sure your childrenrecognize the sound of yourhome’s Smoke Alarm and teach 
them to respond instinctivelyto its signal. Create at least two 
different escape routes fromevery room and practice themwith the entire family.
Also check your disaster kitsand supplies to make sure they 
are current. Don’t forget tostock up for your pets too!
For further information call 
(626) 744-4655 

Tournament of Roses 
Unveils Little Free Library 


The Pasadena Tournament 
of Roses last week unveiled 
an official Little Free Library 
in celebration of Read Across 
America Day. The replica 
of Tournament House, the 
headquarters to the Rose Parade 
and Rose Bowl Game , is filled 
with books for the community 
to enjoy and provides a space 
for book-sharing.

 “Little Free Library’s mission 
is to be a catalyst for building 
community, inspiring readers, 
and expanding book access 
for all. We do that through a 
network of volunteers across 
the globe,” explained Greig 
Metzger, Little Free Library 
Executive Director. “We 
are excited to work with the 
Pasadena Tournament of Roses 
volunteers as they help share 
books across the community’s 
Little Free Libraries and 
thrilled by the custom 
Tournament House replica 
Little Free Library that will be 
an impactful addition to our 
network.”

 In addition, volunteer 
members will be stocking other 
Little Free Library boxes across 
Pasadena with books donated 
by Literati, a subscription book 
club company that curates 
books for all ages. Last month, 
the Tournament of Roses was 
able to get 10,000 books into the 
hands of local children (ages 
5-12) thanks to the generous 
donation by Literati.

 “Literati is passionate about 
increasing early childhood 
literacy. Thanks to partners like 
The Pasadena Tournament of 

Forum on Hiring New SouthPasadena Police Chief 

 The South Pasadena CityCouncil and Public SafetyCommission invite the publicto attend a virtual CommunityForum Monday to provideyour input to the interim citymanager as he contemplatesthe appointment of South 
Pasadena’s next Chief of 
Police. Community membersin attendance will have an 
opportunity to share their 
thoughts about the desired 
qualities of the next chief, and 
characteristics a successful 
candidate should possess. 
Members of the City Council,
the Public Safety Commission,
and the Interim City Managerwill be in attendance.

 Questions residents should be 

Roses and Little Free Library, 
so many families in Pasadena 
will have access to vibrant kids 
books,” said Vanessa Castañeda, 
Director of Philanthropy at 
Literati. “When a child learns 
how to read, they unlock their 
potential to learn how to do 
anything.”

 Another way the Tournament 
of Roses is honoring Read 
Across America Day, a handful 
of our 935 volunteer members 
will serve as virtual guest 
readers to students throughout 
the Pasadena Unified School 
District and community 
organizations. For the past 
several years, members have 
taken time to encourage a love 
for reading with area students.

 Known for the Rose Parade 
and Rose Bowl Game, the 
famed Pasadena Tournament 
of Roses Association may 
entertain the world once a year, 
but the organization prides 
itself in giving back to the 
community all year.

 From Tournament of Roses 
President Bob Miller, “As our 
country and community emerge 
from this pandemic, perhaps 
on the minds of many is the 
recognition of the importance 
of literacy and reading. The 
Association’s Little Free 
Library -- carefully, skillfully, 
and lovingly built by Kevin 
Sommerfield, the husband of 
Executive Committee Vice 
President, Terry Madigan -- is 
a small but mighty reminder of 
the importance of reading to 
learn, have fun and enjoy daily 
peace of mind.” 

prepared to answer include:
What are the challenges in thecommunity the new Police 
Chief will need to address? 
What are traits and qualitiesthat you would like to see in asuccessful candidate? 
What types of professionalexperiences should the nextChief have? 
What educational backgroundshould a Police Chief have? 
After the CommunityForum, the feedback will beconsolidated and integrated intothe recruitment process.

 Community forum will takeplace on Monday from 6-7 p.m.
on Zoom Webinar ID: 935 6874 
8517 Passcode: 265541

 For more information visit: 
southpasadenaca.gov.