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ALTADENA - SOUTH PASADENA - SAN MARINO
Mountain View News Saturday, July 27, 2024
Youth Apprenticeships,
Bringing Holden’s Bill to Life
San Marino Upcoming
Events & Programming
Perseverance Scientists
Find Intriguing Mars Rock
Last week, Governor
Newsom announced
that the Department of
Industrial Relations (DIR
) awarded $31 million in
California Opportunity
Youth Apprenticeship
(COYA) grants to 51
projects across the state.
Assemblymember Holden’s
legislation, Assembly Bill
2273, Paid Career Technical
Education Internships
sought to strengthen and
fund Career Technical
Education Internships to
ensure students are given the
opportunity to explore careers
and enter the workforce
with valuable experience.
Designed to create inclusive
and accessible opportunities
for disadvantaged youth,
COYA grants include specific
criteria that achieve AB
2273’s intended goals of
prioritizing foster youth and
disabled youth.
“It takes a collective effort
to expand opportunities for
our youth across the state
and that’s why I want to
thank Governor Newsom
for including proposed
amendments to my
legislation in this important
funding project. Our young
people will benefit greatly
from these apprenticeships
and because of these
guidelines it will be harder
for eligible young people to
miss out.”
DIR is summarizing the
target population for COYA
with the term “opportunity
youth,” which in the context
of this funding opportunity
includes individuals from
16 to 24 years of age who
are at risk of disconnection
or are disconnected from
the education system or
employment, unhoused,
in the child welfare,
juvenile justice, or criminal
legal systems, living in
concentrated poverty, or
are facing barriers to labor
market participation.
National Night Out 2024 at Lacy Park
Save the date! Join us for National Night Out 2024 on Tuesday,
August 6, from 6-10 PM at Lacy Park! 🎉 We'll have a DJ, a Movie
in the Park (Paw Patrol), games, and food trucks! National Night
Out promotes positive police-community partnerships. Don't
miss out on an unforgettable night. See you there!
City Treasurer - Volunteer Position Available
The City of San Marino seeks to fill an opening for City Treasurer.
The City Treasurer, in collaboration with the Finance Director,
oversees the City’s investments and advises the City Council.
Knowledge of the collection and accounting of municipal funds
is essential. Interested persons should visit the City’s website or
contact the City Clerk for additional information and application
materials. Appointment of the position will be made by the San
Marino City Council and is for a four (4) year term of office. San
Marino residency is required.
Please contact the City Clerk at (626) 300-0705 or CityClerk@
SanMarinoCA.gov for questions.
The deadline to submit an application is September 3.
Nomination Period Opens
The City of San Marino announces the opening of the Nomination
Period for the City of San Marino 2024 General Municipal
Election, which is consolidated with the County of Los Angeles
and scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024, which will seek to
fill two (2) Offices for Member of the City Council for a full four-
year term ending on December 13, 2028.
The requirements for candidates for elective offices of the City
are as follows: a United States citizen; at least 18 years of age; a
resident of the City of San Marino for at least 30 days prior to
filing nomination papers; and, a registered voter in the City of San
Marino at the time of nomination. Qualifying individuals may
contact the City Clerk's Office at (626) 300-0705, during normal
office hours Monday through Thursday between the hours of 7:00
AM and 5:00 PM and Friday between the hours of 7:00 AM. and
11:00 AM.
The Nomination Period opened on Monday, July 15, 2024,
and closes on Friday, August 9, 2024, at 5:00 PM. For more
information, please contact the City Clerk’s Office: (626) 300-0705
or CityClerk@SanMarinoCA.gov or visit our elections page.
Red Cross Blood Drive
Thursday, August 1 from 11 AM – 5 PM, Barth Community Room
Looking to help save lives? Come to the American Red Cross Blood
Drive! Appointments are required. To schedule an appointment,
visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter sponsor code CROWELL. On
the day of your appointment, visit RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass
to complete the pre-donation reading and health history questions.
This will streamline your experience and save up to 15 minutes!
All donors will receive a $20 Amazon.com gift card by email.
Summer Sunset Concerts
Friday, August 2 and 16, Lacy Park
Grab your chairs and blankets to carve out your spot in the middle
of Lacy Park and enjoy free concerts this summer! Attendees
are welcome to bring their own food and drink, or purchase
concessions from a variety of food trucks. Join us on August 2
at 6 PM for Alan Chan Jazz Orchestra and August 18 at 5:30 PM
for a multicultural concert! The multicultural concert features:
Kayamanan Ng Lahi - Philippine Folk Arts, Dai Qin - Lead Singer
of Chinese Rock Band "Thin Man", and Upstream - Reggae Band.
Registration is not required.
Happy Hour: Summer Bingo Bash
Friday, August 9 from 1 – 3 PM, San Marino Community Center
Cost: R $14 / NR $17
Get ready to shout “Bingo!” as you play rounds of exciting bingo
with your friends! Win fabulous prizes and more with every
winning card! We’re serving up a delicious feast of food, bingo,
and prizes! Don’t miss out on the fun! This event is open for active
adults ages 55+. Registration is required; no refunds.
Huntington Nurses Health Screening
Wednesday, August 14 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: Peripheral Neuropathy
Wednesday, August 14 at 1 PM, Barth Community Room
Peripheral neuropathy is a multifaceted neurological disorder
characterized by damage or dysfunction of the nerves outside
the brain and spinal cord. It manifests through a diverse array
of symptoms, including numbness, tingling, pain, and muscle
weakness, which can significantly impact an individual’s quality
of life. As we delve into this topic, Bhavesh Trikamji, MD will
unravel the complexities of its causes, explore the diverse array
of symptoms it produces, and discuss the current landscape of
diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Join us in gaining a deeper
understanding of peripheral neuropathy and its far-reaching
implications on individuals’ wellbeing..
A vein-filled rock is catching
the eye of the science team of
NASA’s Perseverance rover.
Nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” by
the team, the arrowhead-shaped
rock contains fascinating traits
that may bear on the question
of whether Mars was home to
microscopic life in the distant
past.
Analysis by instruments aboard
the rover indicates the rock
possesses qualities that fit the
definition of a possible indicator
of ancient life. The rock exhibits
chemical signatures and
structures that could possibly
have been formed by life
billions of years ago when the
area being explored by the rover
contained running water. Other
explanations for the observed
features are being considered
by the science team, and future
research steps will be required
to determine whether ancient
life is a valid explanation.
The rock — the rover’s 22nd
rock core sample — was
collected on July 21, as the rover
explored the northern edge of
Neretva Vallis, an ancient river
valley measuring a quarter-
mile (400 meters) wide that was
carved by water rushing into
Jezero Crater long ago.
“We have designed the route
for Perseverance to ensure that
it goes to areas with the potential
for interesting scientific
samples,” said Nicola Fox,
associate administrator, Science
Mission Directorate at NASA
Headquarters in Washington.
“This trip through the Neretva
Vallis riverbed paid off as we
found something we’ve never
seen before, which will give our
scientists so much to study.”
Multiple scans of Cheyava
Falls by the rover’s SHERLOC
(Scanning Habitable
Environments with Raman &
Luminescence for Organics &
Chemicals) instrument indicate
it contains organic compounds.
While such carbon-based
molecules are considered the
building blocks of life, they also
can be formed by non-biological
processes.
“Cheyava Falls is the most
puzzling, complex, and
potentially important rock yet
investigated by Perseverance,”
said Ken Farley, Perseverance
project scientist of Caltech in
Pasadena. “On the one hand,
we have our first compelling
detection of organic material,
distinctive colorful spots
indicative of chemical reactions
that microbial life could use
as an energy source, and clear
evidence that water — necessary
for life — once passed through
the rock. On the other hand, we
have been unable to determine
exactly how the rock formed
and to what extent nearby
rocks may have heated Cheyava
Falls and contributed to these
features.”
Other details about the rock,
which measures 3.2 feet by 2 feet
(1 meter by 0.6 meters) and was
named after a Grand Canyon
waterfall, have intrigued the
team, as well.
How Rocks Get Their Spots
In its search for signs of ancient
microbial life, the Perseverance
mission has focused on rocks
that may have been created
or modified long ago by the
presence of water. That’s why
the team homed in on Cheyava
Falls.
“This is the kind of key
observation that SHERLOC
was built for — to seek organic
matter as it is an essential
component of a search for
past life,” said SHERLOC’s
principal investigator Kevin
Hand of NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Southern
California, which manages the
mission.
Running the length of the rock
are large white calcium sulfate
veins. Between those veins are
bands of material whose reddish
color suggests the presence of
hematite, one of the minerals
that gives Mars its distinctive
rusty hue.
When Perseverance took a
closer look at these red regions,
it found dozens of irregularly
shaped, millimeter-size off-
white splotches, each ringed
with black material, akin to
leopard spots. Perseverance’s
PIXL (Planetary Instrument
for X-ray Lithochemistry)
instrument has determined
these black halos contain both
iron and phosphate.
“These spots are a big surprise,”
said David Flannery, an
astrobiologist and member of
the Perseverance science team
from the Queensland University
of Technology in Australia. “On
Earth, these types of features in
rocks are often associated with
the fossilized record of microbes
living in the subsurface.”
Spotting of this type on
sedimentary terrestrial rocks
can occur when chemical
reactions involving hematite
turn the rock from red to white.
Those reactions can also release
iron and phosphate, possibly
causing the black halos to form.
Reactions of this type can be
an energy source for microbes,
explaining the association
between such features and
microbes in a terrestrial setting.
In one scenario the
Perseverance science team is
considering, Cheyava Falls was
initially deposited as mud with
organic compounds mixed in
that eventually cemented into
rock. Later, a second episode
of fluid flow penetrated fissures
in the rock, enabling mineral
deposits that created the large
white calcium sulfate veins seen
today and resulting in the spots.
Another Puzzle Piece
While both the organic matter
and the leopard spots are of
great interest, they aren’t the
only aspects of the Cheyava
Falls rock confounding the
science team. They were
surprised to find that these
veins are filled with millimeter-
size crystals of olivine, a mineral
that forms from magma. The
olivine might be related to rocks
that were formed farther up the
rim of the river valley and that
may have been produced by
crystallization of magma.
If so, the team has another
question to answer: Could
the olivine and sulfate have
been introduced to the
rock at uninhabitably high
temperatures, creating an
abiotic chemical reaction that
resulted in the leopard spots?
“We have zapped that rock with
lasers and X-rays and imaged it
literally day and night from just
about every angle imaginable,”
said Farley. “Scientifically,
Perseverance has nothing more
to give. To fully understand
what really happened in that
Martian river valley at Jezero
Crater billions of years ago,
we’d want to bring the Cheyava
Falls sample back to Earth,
so it can be studied with the
powerful instruments available
in laboratories.”
More Mission Information
A key objective of Perseverance’s
mission on Mars is astrobiology,
including caching samples that
may contain signs of ancient
microbial life. The rover will
characterize the planet’s geology
and past climate, to help pave
the way for human exploration
of the Red Planet and as the first
mission to collect and cache
Martian rock and regolith.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory
built and manages operations
of the Perseverance rover. For
more about Perseverance visit:
science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-
2020-perseverance
The six-wheeled geologist
found a fascinating rock
that has some indications it
may have hosted microbial
life billions of years ago,
but further research is
needed.
L.A. County Supervisors
Approve Ethics Commission
The Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors
unanimously approved a
motion Tuesday, introduced
by Supervisor Kathryn
Barger and co-authored by
Chair Lindsey P. Horvath
that directs the creation
of an independent Ethics
Commission and ethics
reform measures to improve
transparency and create
greater oversight in County
government.
The motion gives the
County’s legal team 30 days
to report back on a plan to
create an Independent Ethics
Commission, an Office of
Ethics Compliance with an
Ethics Compliance Officer,
and an enhanced cooling off
period for former County
officials to lobby the County.
“Our Board has engaged
in a lot of discussion about
reforming Los Angeles
County governance,
including strengthening
ethical checks and balances,”
said Supervisor Kathryn
Barger. “We don’t need to
wait until November to
enact ethics reforms. This is
an opportunity to walk-the-
talk by committing ourselves
and our resources to further
cultivating a culture of
integrity and responsibility
now.”
“Creating, funding, and
empowering an Independent
Ethics Commission for
Los Angeles County is
necessary and the right thing
to do,” said Chair Lindsey
P. Horvath. “Through this
motion – and with input
from community voices –
we will lay the groundwork
for the Commission, while
working towards putting to
voters a charter amendment
to ensure the Commission
cannot be undone without a
vote of the people.”
The motion calls for
increased independent
oversight and authority over
ethical conduct, County
contracts, lobbying, financial
disclosures, conflicts of
interest, and campaign
finance laws, among other
things. It also supports the
implementation of data
portals to make lobbying
information and campaign
contributions easily
accessible to the public.
For more information visit:
lacounty.gov.
South Pas 2024-2025 Camp
Med After School Program
The South Pasadena
Community Services
Department announced this
week that Camp Med After
School Program is back for
another year.
The program will be offered
Monday through Thursday
from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
and Friday from 1:00 p.m.
to 6:00 p.m. at Orange
Grove Park beginning
on August 14, 2024 and
running through May 30,
2025. Participants must be
in 1st through 5th grade and
attend either Arroyo Vista,
Marengo, or Monterey Hills
Elementary Schools in order
to be picked up after school.
Camp Med After School
Program offers an enjoyable
and safe environment where
youth can enjoy recreational
activities ranging from
sports, arts and crafts, games,
reading, homework time,
and more.
Registration for South
Pasadena Unified School
District students is now
open. A completed
application and payment
for each participant’s first
month of Camp Med After
School Program is due at
registration. All applications
must be turned into the
Recreation Division,
located at 815 Mission
Street, South Pasadena,
or emailed to recreation@
southpasadenaca.gov.
To view and download
an application and Parent
Handbook, please visit:
southpasadenaca.gov/
campmed.
For more information, please
contact the Community
Services Department at (626)
403-7380
Celebrate National Night Out
Join the Pasadena Library
for Linda Vista’s first
National Night Out Tuesday,
Aug. 6 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
on Bryant St. between Linda
Vista and Ontario Avenues.
Celebrate with neighbors,
police, fire, and more. Enjoy
free entertainment as we
build a stronger community.
Everyone is welcome.
Linda Vista Branch Library
is located 1281 Bryant St,
Pasadena.
For more information vist:
cityofpasadena.net/library or
call (626) 744-7278
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
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