Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 7, 2023

6

ALTADENA - SOUTH PASADENA - SAN MARINO

Mountain View News Saturday, October 7, 2023 

San Marino Upcoming 
Events & Programming

Barger Urges Support of 
Arts and Cultural Venues 
to Boost Arts Economy

Six Things to Know 
About NASA’s Asteroid-
Exploring Psyche Mission

Preorder Trunk or Treat & Concert Night Wristbands!

 Join us for a spooktacular time at our Trunk or Treat & Concert 
Night on October 27 from 6-10 PM at Lacy Park! 🎃

 There will be trunk or treating, food trucks, games, crafts, 
costume contests, and a concert featuring 80s cover band "Like 
Totally Fer Sure"!

 This is a ticketed event, and wristbands are required for adults 
and youth ages 2 and up. Preorder your wristbands NOW through 
October 26 at www.CityofSanMarino.org/Registration. Pre-
sale wristbands cost $5 for residents and $10 for non-residents. 
Pre-sale wristbands must be picked up at the San Marino 
Community Center (1800 Huntington Drive) by October 27 at 
11 AM. Wristbands will also be sold at the gate the day of the 
event for $15 for residents and non-residents. Wristband sales are 
non-refundable.

 For questions, call the Recreation Division at (626) 403-2200.

Huntington Nurses Health Screening

Wednesday, October 11 from 10:00 – 11:30 AM, Barth Community 
Room

 The Huntington Nurses offer free blood pressure and glucose 
screenings. Please plan to fast 2 hours prior to having glucose 
checked. These blood pressure and glucose evaluations can lead to 
prevention and early detection of the “silent killer” diseases such 
as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. Health screenings 
will be held every second Wednesday of the month. Registration 
is not required.

Health & Wellness Talk: Breast Cancer Screenings and 
Prevention

Wednesday, October 11 at 1 PM, Barth Community Room

 Join breast and endocrine surgeon Dr. Azadeh A. Carr from Keck 
Medicine of USC to learn everything you need to know about 
breast cancer screenings and prevention. Some topics include: 
when to start screening, screening options for high-risk patients, 
factors that may increase your risk, and simple lifestyle changes 
that can lower your risk. Registration is not required.

Chinese Club

Thursday, October 12 at 10:30 AM, Barth Community Room

 In the spirit of cultural exchange and appreciation of diversity, 
educational development, and community service, the Chinese 
Club of San Marino holds monthly lectures and workshops. 
Registration is required.

Candy Science

Thursday, October 12 at 3:30 PM, Barth Community Room

 Can candy really be educational? It is when you use it to conduct 
science experiments! Young mad scientists in grades kindergarten 
through 5th are invited to observe, make hypotheses, and discover 
just how sweet science can be. Registration is recommended.

Share your favorite memories with SMFD!

 Did the Fire Department provide you with a life-saving service? 
Help you fix an issue at your home? Did they visit your kids at 
school? Share how you appreciate SMFD! Be a part of the San 
Marino Fire Department's Centennial Celebration, and submit 
photos and share interactions you have had with San Marino's 
firefighters!

 We are looking to collect memories and photos to display at the 
Fire Department's Centennial Celebration on November 4, 2023. 
Submit your photos at www.CityofSanMarino.org/Fire.

Annual Grid Pruning with Mariposa Landscaping

 Mariposa Landscaping, the City’s tree maintenance contractor, 
will begin their annual grid pruning of City-owned street trees, 
on October 9. Work will commence in the portion of the City 
from Lacy Park north to City limits and east to Sierra Madre 
Boulevard (see map for details). This annual tree trimming will 
ensure resident safety and preserve the City’s aesthetic beauty.

California American Water - Watering Schedule

Per the recommendations of California American Water, all 
customers are encouraged to follow the below watering schedule:

THREE-DAYS-A-WEEK 

Odd Addresses (Addresses ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, 9): Tuesday, Friday, 
and Sunday 

Even Addresses (Addresses ending in 2, 4, 6, 8, 0): Monday, 
Thursday, and Saturday 

No watering on Wednesday 

To avoid evaporation, it is recommended that customers water 
outdoors before 9:00 a.m. or after sunset. 

 Watering should be limited to a total of 10-minutes per station 
per allowed days. 

 Hand watering with a garden hose/nozzle and low-flow irrigation 
systems (Including drip irrigation and micro spray) that emit less 
than two gallons per hour are exempt from days of week and time 
limitations.

Meetings

City Council Meeting

Wednesday, October 11 at 6:00 PM; City Council Chambers and 
Zoom (Public Access)

Public Safety Commission Meeting

Monday, October 16 at 6:00 PM; City Council Chambers and 
Zoom (Public Access)

 
With a launch readiness 
date set for Thursday, Oct. 
12, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, 
built by JPL will travel 2.2 
billion miles from NASA’s 
Kennedy Space Center 
in Florida to a metal-rich 
asteroid in the far reaches 
of the main asteroid belt 
between Mars and Jupiter. 
Trailing a blue glow from its 
thrusters and powered by a 
pair of massive solar arrays, 
the orbiter will use its payload 
of science instruments to 
learn more about the asteroid 
Psyche.

Here are six things to know 
about the mission:

1. Learning more about the 
asteroid Psyche could tell us 
more about the origins of our 
solar system.

 Based on data obtained 
by Earth-based radar and 
optical telescopes, scientists 
hypothesize that the asteroid 
Psyche could be part of 
the metal-rich interior of 
a planetesimal, a building 
block of a rocky planet that 
never formed. Psyche may 
have collided with other 
large bodies during its early 
formation and lost its outer 
rocky shell. Humans can’t 
bore a path to Earth’s metal 
core, so visiting Psyche could 
provide a one-of-a-kind 
window into the history 
of violent collisions and 
accumulation of matter that 
created planets like our own.

2. The asteroid could also 
suggest a different story of 
how solar system objects 
formed.

 While rocks on Mars, 
Venus, and Earth are flush 
with iron oxides, Psyche’s 
surface doesn’t seem to 
feature much of these 
chemical compounds. This 
suggests that Psyche’s history 
differs from standard stories 
of planetary formation.

 If the asteroid proves to 
be leftover core material 
from a planetary building 
block, scientists will learn 
how its history resembles 
and diverges from that of 
the rocky planets. And if 
scientists discover that Psyche 
is not an exposed core, it may 
prove to be a never-before-
seen kind of primordial solar 
system object.

3. Three science instruments 
and a gravity science 
investigation will help sort 
out these solar system origin 
stories and more.

 The spacecraft’s 
magnetometer will look 
for evidence of an ancient 
magnetic field at the asteroid 
Psyche. A residual magnetic 
field would be strong 
evidence the asteroid formed 
from the core of a planetary 
body.

 The orbiter’s gamma-ray and 
neutron spectrometer will 
help scientists determine the 
chemical elements that make 
up the asteroid – and better 
understand how it formed.

 The spacecraft’s 
multispectral imager will 
provide information about 
the mineral composition 
of Psyche as well as its 
topography.

 The mission’s science 
team will harness the 
telecommunications system 
to conduct gravity science. 
By analyzing the radio waves 
the spacecraft communicates 
with, scientists can measure 
how the asteroid Psyche 
affects the spacecraft’s orbit. 
That information will help 
them determine the asteroid’s 
rotation, mass, and gravity 
field, offering additional 
insights into the composition 
and structure of the asteroid’s 
interior.

4. The spacecraft will use 
a very efficient propulsion 
system for the first time 
beyond the Moon.

 Powered by Hall-effect 
thrusters, Psyche’s solar 
electric propulsion system 
harnesses energy from large 
solar arrays to create electric 
and magnetic fields. These, 
in turn, accelerate and expel 
charged atoms, or ions, of 
a propellant called xenon 
(a neutral gas used in car 
headlights and plasma TVs) 
at such high speed, it creates 
thrust. The ionized gas, will 
emit a sci-fi-like blue glow 
as it trails behind Psyche 
in space. Each of Psyche’s 
four thrusters, which will 
operate one at a time, exert 
the same amount of force 
that you would feel holding 
three quarters in the palm of 
your hand. In the frictionless 
void of space, the spacecraft 
will slowly and continuously 
accelerate.

 This propulsion system 
builds on similar technologies 
used by NASA’s Dawn 
mission, but Psyche will be 
the agency’s first mission to 
use Hall-effect thrusters in 
deep space.

5. Psyche is a collaboration.

 The mission draws on 
resources and know-how 
from NASA, universities, 
and industry. The principal 
investigator, Lindy Elkins-
Tanton, is based at Arizona 
State University. By enabling 
collaboration with students 
nationwide, the partnership 
offers opportunities to 
train future instrument and 
mission leads in science and 
engineering, and to inspire 
student projects involving 
art, entrepreneurship, and 
innovation. Over a dozen 
other universities and 
research institutions are 
represented on the mission 
team.

 NASA’s Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory in Southern 
California manages the 
mission for the agency’s 
Science Mission Directorate 
in Washington. Managed 
for NASA by Caltech 
in Pasadena, JPL is also 
responsible for system 
engineering, integration and 
test, and mission operations.

 NASA’s Launch Services 
Program at Kennedy Space 
Center manages launch 
operations and procured the 
SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

 Maxar Technologies’ team 
in Palo Alto, California, 
delivered the solar electric 
propulsion chassis – the 
main body of the spacecraft 
– and most of its engineering 
hardware systems.

6. The Psyche mission wants 
you to be part of the journey, 
too.

 Space exploration is for 
everyone. The mission’s 
“get involved” webpage 
highlights activities and 
opportunities, including 
an annual internship for 
college students to interpret 
the mission through artistic 
and other creative works, as 
well as classroom lessons, 
craft projects, and videos. 
Information on how to 
participate in a virtual launch 
experience is at nasa.gov/
specials/virtualguest/.

 The mission websites nasa.
gov/psyche and psyche.
asu.edu will post official 
news about the spacecraft’s 
journey. NASA and ASU 
will also post regular social 
media updates on Facebook, 
Instagram, and X.

 NASA’s Eyes on the Solar 
System, a free web-based 3D 
visualization tool, will track 
the location of the spacecraft 
in real time. Visit go.nasa.
gov/45k0OVY to see where 
Psyche is in the solar system.

 About two months after 
launch, as the team performs 
an initial checkout of the 
spacecraft and science 
instruments, the mission 
expects to receive its first 
images. Once the team 
confirms the imager is 
functioning as expected, 
a webpage will feature the 
unprocessed, or raw, images 
flowing straight from the 
spacecraft.

 For more about the mission, 
go to: nasa.gov/psyche.

 

 The Los Angeles County Board 
of Supervisors unanimously 
approved a motion Tuesday 
introduced by Supervisor 
Kathryn Barger that will 
launch a Countywide effort to 
promote and support the arts 
sector – which has been notably 
struggling to recover since 
COVID-19 restrictions drove 
down attendance and associated 
revenues. 

“My motion is about helping 
communities to do their part to 
support the arts venues spread 
throughout our County,” stated 
Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “I 
consider these venues to not 
only be spaces for entertainment 
– they are also shared communal 
spaces that reinforce mental and 
emotional well-being. They 
deserve our County residents’ 
full-hearted support.”

 The losses experienced by 
the arts sector has had a ripple 
effect on many industries – 
including public revenue. 
According to a 2023 report by 
CVL Economics on California’s 
live performing arts sector, state 
and local governments lost 
nearly $1 billion in tax revenue 
due to pandemic impacts on the 
performing arts in 2021 alone. 
If current trends continue, the 
report notes the losses could 
skyrocket to $4.1 billion over a 
four-year period that culminates 
in 2023. 

 The motion directs the County’s 
Department of Arts and Culture 
to launch a social media 
promotional campaign and 
to create a virtual map of arts 
programs so that residents can 
easily locate arts programming 
in their neighborhoods and 
attend. 

 Supervisor Barger’s motion 
also directs several County 
departments that serve high 
numbers of the public – 
including Public Library, 
Parks and Recreation, and 
Beaches and Harbors – to take 
a more active role in promoting 
resources and events related to 
arts and culture in Los Angeles 
County. 

 Supervisor Barger’s motion 
was received with wide 
support and appreciation 
from a wide array of local arts 
venues and organizations, 
including Ophelia’s Jump and 
the Inland Valley Repertory 
Theatre (Claremont); Pasadena 
Playhouse, Pasadena School 
of Music, and A Noise Within 
(Pasadena); Skylight Theatre 
(Los Feliz); NoHo Arts District 
(North Hollywood); Stage 
Raw (Hollywood); Melodia 
Mariposa (Altadena); Sierra 
Madre Playhouse; Lancaster 
Performing Arts Center and 
Palmdale Playhouse (Antelope 
Valley); and Arts for LA , Center 
Theatre Group, the LA Phil, LA 
Opera and Fostering Dreams 
Project (Countywide). 

 A link to the letters of support 
submitted backing Supervisor 
Barger’s motion can be accessed 
at: kathrynbarger.lacounty.gov.

 Motion notes looming 
$4.1B loss in arts 
revenues due to pandemic 
restrictions and a 
lackluster recovery from 
those restrictions

Portantino SB 368 Gun Safety 
Measure Signed by Newsom

 Senate Bill 368, authored by 
Senator Anthony Portantino 
was recently signed into law 
by Governor Newsom. SB 368 
is a commonsense gun safety 
effort that would expand and 
strengthen firearm ownership 
prohibition laws and create 
additional responsibilities for 
commercial gun stores.

 When compared to households 
without firearms, households 
that have firearms face a higher 
risk of homicide, suicide, and 
accidental firearm injury of a 
household member. Voluntary, 
temporary transfer of firearms 
for the duration of a crisis can 
save lives. Currently, however, 
licensed retailers and law 
enforcement agencies are not 
required to accept and store 
firearms during a mental health 
crisis.

SB 368 would:

- would require a licensed 
firearms dealer to accept for 
storage a firearm transferred by 
an individual to prevent it from 
being used during periods of 
crisis.

- prohibit a licensed firearms 
dealer from offering an 
opportunity to win an item of 
inventory in a game dominated 
by chance and would exempt 
from this prohibition nonprofit 
organizations under certain 
circumstances.

- extend the 10-year prohibition 
on owning a firearm by an 
additional 10 years if an 
individual is found to be in 
violation within the initial 10 
years.

 “It is fitting that this month – 
suicide prevention awareness 
month – Governor Newsom has 
signed SB 368 into law,” stated 
Margot Bennett, Executive 
Director of Women Against 
Gun Violence. “So far this year 
alone there have been almost 
18,000 suicides by firearm in the 
United States and the suicide 
rate continues to increase 
among young people and is at 
a 10-year high. It is with great 
appreciation and recognition for 
Senator Portantino’s efforts and 
Governor Newsom’s signing of 
this important legislation that 
we applaud this much needed 
common sense strategy to help 
save lives.”

 Senator Portantino has long 
been a champion of common 
sense gun reform policies. 
During his time in the Assembly, 
he successfully banned the open 
carry of handguns and rifles in 
California and as Senator, he 
raised the firearm purchase age 
in California to twenty-one. The 
Senator has authored legislation 
related to firearms storage 
and gun purchase safeguards, 
as well as a legislation that 
reduces the number of firearms 
an unlicensed individual is 
annually able to sell and the 
frequency with which they 
are able to sell. Most recently, 
he authored legislation aimed 
at preventing tragic schools 
shootings. 

 For more information visit: 
sd25.senate.ca.gov. 


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