5

Mountain View News Saturday, December 14, 2024

Holiday Fire 
Prevention 
Safety Tips

Kiesza and Aloe Blacc to 
be Rose Parade Opening

Abolitionist’s Gravesite Becomes Landmark

 
Pasadena Fire Chief Chad 
Augustin reminds residents 
to keep fire safety top of 
mind when decking the halls 
this holiday season. Festive 
celebrations, bright lights, 
and pine-scented greens are 
staples of the holiday season, 
but they also present a greater 
risk for fire. One in every four 
home Christmas tree fires are 
caused by electrical problems, 
and two out of every five 
decoration fires happen 
because decor is placed too 
close to a heat source. Follow 
these tips to ensure a joyous 
and fire-safe holiday season:

- Choose decorations that 
are flame resistant or flame 
retardant.

- Replace string lights that are 
worn, broke, or have loose 
bulb connections.

- Use clips, not nails, to hang 
lights so the cords do not get 
damaged.

- Choose a tree with fresh, 
green needles that do not fall 
off when touched.

- Ensure the tree is placed at 
least three feet away from any 
heat source like fireplaces, 
radiators, candles, heat vents, 
or lights.

- Add water to the tree stand 
daily.

- Never use lit candles to 
decorate a tree and use 
lights that have the label of a 
recognized testing laboratory.

- Turn off all lights and decor 
before leaving your home or 
going to bed.

 When the holiday season 
comes to an end, properly 
dispose of your Christmas 
tree to reduce fire risks. 
Dried-out trees are a fire 
danger and should never be 
left inside your home, garage, 
or propped against your 
house. Christmas Tree and 
Holiday recycling is available 
for residents through the City 
of Pasadena Department of 
Public Works. 

By following these safety tips 
and being mindful of fire 
hazards, you can keep your 
home safe and enjoy a festive, 
worry-free holiday season.

Drop Off Dates & Locations:

Residents can drop off their 
trees for recycling from 7 
a.m. to 2 p.m., Dec. 26, 2024, 
through Jan. 3, 2025, at the 
following locations:

Eaton Blanche Park

3100 E. Del Mar Blvd.

Bring your tree to the parking 
lot on Millicent Way.

Robinson Park

1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

Bring your tree to the parking 
lot on Morton Street.

Please REMOVE all stands, 
ornaments and lights

 Curbside Pickup Dates (Your 
Trash Pickup Day)

From January 6 through 
January 17, City of Pasadena 
Refuse customers can set their 
Christmas trees out on the 
street next to their containers 
for pickup on their regularly 
scheduled collection days. If 
disposing of your Christmas 
tree outside of those dates, 
you must place the tree inside 
your organics (yard waste) 
container for collection. 
Please cut the tree down to fit 
into the container and ensure 
that the lid will close.

Please REMOVE all stands, 
ornaments, and lights.

 If you are not a City of 
Pasadena Refuse customer, 
contact your waste hauler for 
more information regarding 
curbside pickup of Christmas 
trees.

 Call the City Service Center 
at 626-744-7311 if you 
have any questions or visit: 
cityofpasadena.net/public-
works.

Aloe Blacc

Kiesza

 Excitement is set to takes 
center stage as Pasadena 
Tournament of Roses officials 
announced Wednesday the 
performers for the 2025 Rose 
Parade Opening Spectacular 
presented by Honda. The 
Opening Spectacular 
will burst to life with an 
electrifying co-headlined 
performance by Kiesza and 
Aloe Blacc.

 The Honda float will 
dazzle audiences with a 
synchronized light show 
featuring vibrant electric 
tubes, jaw-dropping 
pyrotechnics, extreme stunts 
and dynamic choreography 
that amps up the energy. 
Their inspirational float 
– “Electrified Dreams” – 
highlights the company’s 
commitment to sustainability 
and its challenging global 
goal of zero emissions for 
all mobility products and 
business operations by 2050. 

 Kiesza kicks things off, 
commanding the stage with 
her signature powerhouse 
vocals and captivating dance 
moves. She’ll breathe new 
life into her iconic smash 
hit, “Hideaway”—the track 
that dominated global charts 
a decade ago. Backed by 
20 dancers in shimmering 
reflective costumes, Kiesza’s 
performance will sizzle with 
precision and style. But she’s 
not stopping there—fans 
will get a taste of her recent 
Billboard #1 hit, “I Go 
Dance,” all while extreme 
acrobats on jumping stilts 
defy gravity to her beat!

 Then it’s Aloe Blacc’s turn to 
ignite the stage. His soulful 
voice will soar through the 
air as he belts out the timeless 
anthem “Wake Me Up”—his 
global mega-hit with the 
late Avicii. Enveloped in a 
stunning visual display of 
glowing light tubes, Aloe 
teams up with trampoline 
wall performers, whose 
gravity-defying flips and 
twists will leave the audience 
breathless.

 “Electrified Dreams” also 
marks the Rose Parade’s shift 
to a more electrified vehicle 
fleet, led by the new Honda 
Prologue, the brand’s first 
all-electric SUV, the first all-
electric Acura model, the 
ZDX Type S performance 
SUV and the Honda 
Motocompacto, a compact 
“last mile” e-scooter. 

 
The Los Angeles County 
Board of Supervisors 
unanimously voted Tuesday 
to designate renowned 
abolitionist Owen Brown’s 
gravesite in Altadena as a Los 
Angeles County Historical 
Landmark. 

 A commemorative rustic 
slab of stone and additional 
smaller stones placed to 
mark the presumed outline 
of Brown’s body currently 
identify his final resting place 
in Altadena on a hilltop at 
the northern end of El Prieto 
Road. 

 The landmark designation 
concludes a nearly year-long 
process that included a public 
hearing and administrative 
work by the Los Angeles 
County Department of 
Regional Planning.

 “Honoring Owen Brown’s 
gravesite as a Los Angeles 
County historical landmark 
is a powerful reminder of 
our shared commitment to 
justice and equality,” said 
Supervisor Kathryn Barger. 
“His fight against slavery and 
unwavering commitment to 
treating all human beings 
with dignity and respect 
reflects his courage and 
vision. I am proud that we 
will add his gravesite to 
our County’s registry of 
landmarks today. This will 
help preserve his memory so 
that future generations can 
pay homage to his life’s work.”

 In February, Barger 
introduced a motion to 
formally nominate the Owen 
Brown Gravesite as a historic 
County landmark. The 
nomination was catalyzed 
by the grassroots efforts of 
local organizations including 
Altadena Heritage and the 
Altadena Town Council. 

 Brown was born on 
November 4, 1824 in 
Hudson, Ohio. He was one of 
20 children from his father’s 
(abolitionist John Brown) 
first family. 

 In the early 1880s Brown 
moved with his brother Jason 
to Pasadena, a community 
recently established by 
Union supporters. They 
homesteaded the land 
around the gravesite and 
entertained a steady stream 
of visitors. When Brown 
caught pneumonia and died 
in January 1889, 2,000 people 
attended his funeral, many 
of whom marched from 
downtown Pasadena to Little 
Round Top to witness the 
burial.

 At the time of his death, 
Brown was the last survivor 
of John Brown’s historic 
raid on Harpers Ferry. He 
died in Altadena on January 
8, 1889. When his funeral 
was held two days later, a 
local newspaper at the time 
reported, “It was a historic 
day in Pasadena.”

Snuggle a 
Senior Care 
Package 
Program

Rollaway Vehicle Hits 
South Pasadena Home

 A vehicle caused minor 
damage to a home in South 
Pasadena Tuesday after it 
rolled backwards down a 
street and an embankment 
with the driver inside.

 According to police at 
approximately 12:30 p.m., 
the South Pasadena Police 
Department responded to a 
report of a vehicle crashing 
into a home in the 200 
block of Camino Del Sol. 
Upon arrival, officers and 
firefighters assisted the driver, 
sole passenger of the vehicle, 
and the occupants of the 
home. They also assessed the 
home for structural damage. 
The vehicle rolled backward 
down the street, onto the 
curb, through hedges, 
down an embankment, and 
through a tree before coming 
to rest against the house.

 The impact destroyed the 
landscaping but caused only 
minor damage to the home’s 
stucco exterior. Fortunately, 
no injuries were reported, 
and the occupants of the 
home were unaware of the 
incident until contacted by 
firefighters.

 Traffic was temporarily 
diverted while a local tow 
truck company recovered 
the vehicle from the 
embankment. The roadway 
was fully reopened by 3:00 
p.m.

 Anyone with additional 
information about this 
incident is urged to call 
the South Pasadena Police 
Department at (626) 403-
7270. If you would like to 
provide an anonymous tip, 
you can call Crime Stoppers 
at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).

 
The City of South 
Pasadena Senior Center 
is set to begin accepting 
donations of new blankets 
as well as notes or letters to 
be distributed to residents 
55 years and older. The 
Snuggle a Senior Care 
Package Program aims to 
bring warmth and comfort 
to homebound older adults 
during the winter months. 
Join us in spreading joy 
and love to our older 
adult community—your 
generosity can make a 
world of a difference!

 Blankets can be dropped 
off now through January 
3 at the South Pasadena 
Senior Center, located at 
1102 Oxley Street, between 
the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 
5:00 p.m. Care packages 
will be distributed during 
the week of January 13.

 For more information, 
to confirm a blanket drop 
off, or know a senior in 
need please call the South 
Pasadena Senior Center 
at (626) 403-7360 or 
email at seniorcenter@
southpasadenaca.gov.

City Council Approves 
New Solar Power Contract

 As part of its ongoing transition 
to carbon-free electricity, the 
Pasadena City Council approved 
Monday plans for 50 megawatts 
(“MW”) of solar power from 
Grace Orchard Solar III, LLC, 
a subsidiary of NextEra Energy 
Resources, LLC, one of the 
largest wind and solar energy 
generators and a world leader in 
battery energy storage. 

 The Grace Orchard Solar 
III project is a 170 MW solar 
photovoltaic generating facility, 
located near Blythe, California. 
The 20-year contract, scheduled 
to begin delivering energy by 
2028, was negotiated by the 
City of Pasadena, Water and 
Power Department, along 
with the cities of Anaheim and 
Colton, and procured through 
the Southern California Public 
Power Authority (“SCPPA”), a 
joint powers authority helping 
its participating members 
(including PWP) reduce their 
overall costs.

 The Grace Orchard Solar III 
project marks another measure 
of progress toward achieving the 
goals set by the Pasadena City 
Council through Resolution 
9977, which aims to source 
100% of Pasadena’s electricity 
from carbon-free sources by the 
end of 2030. Earlier this year, 
the City of Pasadena approved 
contracts for over 120 MW and 
a utility-scale battery storage 
system. The Grace Orchard 
Solar III project also provides 
replacement energy for existing 
energy facility contracts that are 
terminating in 2027.

 “The Grace Orchard Solar 
III project is another exciting 
addition to our growing energy 
portfolio,” said PWP Interim 
General Manager David Reyes. 
“Together with the Pasadena 
City Council and the local 
community, we will be leaders in 
the clean energy transition.”

 For more information visit: 
cityofpasadena.net.


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