Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 22, 2023

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ALTADENA - SOUTH PASADENA - SAN MARINO

Mountain View News Saturday, April 22, 2023 

NASA-Led Project Tracks 
Changes to Water, 
Ecosystems, Land Surface

San Marino Upcoming 
Events & Programming

LitFest in the Dena Returns 


Joyful Living Happy Life

Sunday, April 23 from 2:00 – 4:30 PM, Barth Community 
Room

 This workshop gives you tools to face challenges in the 
workplace, social life, and family life. Join the Unified 
Charity Foundation as they talk about the customs and 
traditions in a new land and how to remove cultural obstacles 
to prosperity. Registration is not required.

Smarter Living Series: Estate Planning

Wednesday, April 26 at 1 PM, Barth Community Room

 This free workshop will help to educate participants about 
estate planning, issues to be aware of, and different estate 
planning tools. Registration is not required.

Coffee, Tea, and Chat

Friday, April 28 from 9:30 – 11:30 AM, Thornton Conference 
Room

 Connect with your neighbors to learn more about the 
community and its traditions. This program is presented in 
Mandarin by the United Charity Foundation for ages 18+. 
Registration is not required.

Tree Planting Ceremony on May 4

 The Chinese Club of San Marino has generously donated 
a tree to be planted in Lacy Park. Join us for a tree planting 
ceremony to take place on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 10 AM. 
For any questions, please call (626) 300-0788.

Girl Scout Flag Retirement Ceremony

 Join the Girl Scouts for a beautiful ceremony to help properly 
dispose of used, worn and damaged American flags. It will 
take place on Thursday, April 27, from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM at 
Hill Harbison House. You may drop off worn American flags 
at Hill Harbison House before April 24th. Please place them 
inside the collection bin on the front porch. For questions, 
please email joycenoser@gmail.com.

Improvements to Lacy Park Gates

 On Monday April 24, a contractor will be at Lacy Park 
performing modifications to three existing metal gates 
on the north side of the Park along Virginia Road. The 
modifications to the gates include changing existing hinges 
to reverse the direction of opening towards the street, 
installation of panic hardware with solid panel and kick-
plate, addition of a privacy screen, and repainting of the 
repaired gates. These upgrades were approved at the March 
8th meeting of the City Council, and will improve the safety 
and security of the park’s entry/exit routes for daily park 
users as well as for ingress and egress during special events 
held at Lacy Park. 

Free Compost for Residents

 On Saturday, April 29, the City and Athens Services will 
hold a free compost giveaway for San Marino residents in 
the west (St. Albans) parking lot of Lacy Park. The event 
will be from 9 AM to 12 PM, and is first-come first-serve 
for interested residents. As the event is self-service, residents 
are advised to bring shovels and sturdy containers to assist 
in loading the material, as well as eye protection and gloves. 
For more information, please see this flyer.

Recent Happenings

 Over the past week, Parks and Public Works maintenance 
staff worked on the following tasks: removing fallen tree 
branches, palm fronds, and other debris from the public 
right-of-way; replacing streetlight bulbs and street signs; 
performing minor trimming of hanging tree limbs; 
repairing pavement; and picking up fallen street light 
globes. Public Works staff also participated in a training for 
the installation of thermoplastic striping, which is used at 
numerous intersections throughout the City. Residents who 
wish to report non-emergency issues in the public right-of-
way or City streets may do so via the San Marino Service 
Request Center: cityofsanmarino.org/report.

Meetings

Planning Commission Meeting

Wednesday, April 26 at 6:00 PM; City Hall Council 
Chambers and Zoom (Public Access)

City Council Meeting

Friday, April 28 at 8:30 AM; Barth Room and Zoom (Public 
Access)

 For more information on any of these events or the city of 
SanMarino visit: cityofsanmarino.org. 

 


 LitFest in the Dena 
presents 2 days of 
panel discussions, 
readings, workshops, 
and interactive 
literary experiences 
from 12:30pm to 
6:00pm each day.

 This year LitFest in the Dena 
has a theme, celebrating Books 
That Make a Difference. On 
Saturday, May 6 at 6:00pm, 
LitFest in the Dena’s Special 
Guest is author of the critically 
acclaimed A Student of History 
and philanthropic activist Nina 
Revoyr. Her depiction of our 
cities and historical roots of race 
and economic division informs 
us, enlightens us, and tells us 
why the written words matters. 
She’ll share her observations, 
perspective and learned 
experiences followed by a Q&A. 
As always, this year’s event is 
free to the public.

 LitFest in the Dena is best 
known for its focus on writers, 
the power of the written word, 
and how literature manifests 
change in our world, our 
communities and ourselves. 
Some books do this head-on. 
Some explore how we handle 
change. Others can unsettle 
and challenge us by presenting 
a new or unfamiliar point of 
view. Whether mystery writers 
delve into their genre or authors 
of color discuss “surviving the 
literary life,” books have made a 
difference, personally, culturally, 
socially, politically, historically, 
and within our community, and 
even the world.

 LitFest in the Dena begins 
on Tuesday, May 2 at Altadena 
Library with a tribute to Eric 
Priestley, alum of the original 
Watts Writers Workshop who 
created fierce, unsparing, and 
heartfelt poetry. Erin Aubry 
Kaplan, Pam Ward, and Jervey 
Tervalon, friends who he also 
mentored, lead the evening’s 
dramatic readings with actor 
Lorne Green and a discussion 
on the enduring legacy of 
Black culture and the arts. 
This is followed by “Surviving 
the Literary Life,” a discussion 
with Pat Alderete, Janet Fitch, 
Lorne Green, Gary Phillips, Lisa 
Teasley, and Jervey Tervalon.

 The weekend of May 6 and 
7, LitFest in the Dena heads to 
Mountain View Mausoleum 
with five locations for panel 
discussions, workshops, 
readings, and other literary 
events.

 Friday, May 5, Thomas Backer, 
PhD, opens LitFest in the Dena 
with his remarks on human 
creativity. This is followed by a 
VIP Authors and Participants 
reception and a performance of 
LA’s oldest crime reading series 
Noir at the Bar.

 Saturday, May 6, offers panel 
discussions, readings, and 
interactive literary events such 
as “Talk Story to Me,” “The 
Art of Literary Translation,” 
“Queer Writers Tracing 
Literary Ancestries,” “Book 
Talk and Literary Podcasting,” 
“Not-Quite Silenced Voices: 
Overcoming Abuse of 
Authority,” “Writing Trauma,” 
“Biblio Sinensis: A Tea and 
Book Discussion,” and “Debut 
Women Over 60.”

 Debut mystery novelist 
Lauren Thoman joins veterans 
Eric Beetner, Rachel Howzell 
Hall, Jordan Harper and Walter 
Mosley in “A Life of Crime” 
followed by Joe Ide’s “Writing 
the Killer Crime Novel” 
workshop.

 “Requited Love” brings 
together authors Lian Dolan, 
Erin Judge, Suzanne Park, Kate 
Spencer, and Elissa Sussman to 
discuss how romantic comedies 
are alive and well in fiction with 
deeper characters and more 
inclusive storylines, as well as 
what makes a great romance, 
how comedy makes it sing, and 
why we still love a happy ending.

 LitFest in the Dena partners 
with Children’s Literature 
Council of Southern California 
to present Book Banning and 
the Gatekeepers: Curation vs. 
Censorship featuring authors 
Ernesto Cisneros and Benson 
Shum, author and educator 
Sharon Langley, librarian 
Candice Mack, and Lynn 
Kysch, CLCSC president. 
Children, middle grade, and YA 
enthusiasts can enjoy “Making 
a Picture Book: From Process 
to Publication” and “Walking 
Through Fire: Hope and 
Resilience in Middle Grade and 
YA Fiction.”

 Sunday, May 7, offers “Comic 
Disruption,” a look at how comic 
writers and illustrators have 
pushed toward more inclusive 
characters and storylines, even 
among the big publishers like 
Marvel and DC Comics. With 
Shing Yin Khor, Jarrett Williams, 
and Josh Trujillo, co-writer for 
the character Aaron Fischer, the 
first teen, gay Captain America 
and current writer for the third 
iteration of Blue Beetle, this time 
as Jaime Reyes, the first Mexican 
American superhero.

 “Crafting the Future” with 
Kate Maruyama, Cody Sisco, 
and Sherri L. Smith explores 
science fiction where books 
touch on climate change, AI, 
mental illness, and a future 
through a queer lens, and how 
sci fi teaches us how we can go 
wrong, but also where we can 
go right, so we can imagine and 
then create a better world.

 Sunday also brings together 
the stories and activism of our 
community with “Bells Toll Ad 
Infinitum,” a group of BIPoC 
seniors and women who created 
an anthology to preserve 
their stories and “Power of 
One,” which for 20 years has 
chronicled the untold stories 
– and accomplishments – of 
everyday citizens working to 
improve their communities and 
create real change.

 LitFest in the Dena partners 
once again with Open Book, 
a program of the Pasadena 
Literary Alliance, as they present 
“Culinary Culture: How Food 
Connects Us to Our Wellbeing” 
with authors Kim Fay, Maite 
Gomez-Rejón, Fanny Singer, 
and Lian Dolan, moderator.

 A writing life is often 
challenging to create and to 
successfully navigate. Along 
the way many odd, exciting, 
alarming, and often very funny 
moments are experienced. In 
“Outrageous Literary Stories” 
these writers try to top each 
other in telling the most 
compelling, entertaining, 
and awkward moments of 
their literary lives. With Jean 
Guerrero, Gary Phillips, Tim 
Stiles, and Jervey Tervalon.

 LitFest revives “Bookstores 
We Love,” this time focusing 
on owners creating and finding 
their niche with Flintridge 
Bookstore, North Figueroa 
Bookshop, The Ripped Bodice, 
Octavia’s Bookshelf, and Zibby’s 
Bookshop. Moderated by Erin 
Judge.

 Sandra Tsing Loh and 
producer Samantha Dunn 
bring their podcast BOOKISH 
to LitFest in the Dena to talk 
book trends; funny, awkward, 
and inspiring moments; and to 
interview Diane Marie Brown 
about her debut novel Black 
Candle Women.

 “In the Belly of the Beast: 
Understanding Los Angeles” 
has authors Rosecrans Baldwin, 
Jim Dawson, Natashia Deón, 
and Mike Sonksen dissecting 
and analyzing what makes LA 
tick, what is the truth below 
longstanding stereotypes, and 
how does living here influence 
the stories they create.

 “Reclaiming Witches and 
Monstrous Women” shifts the 
lens from female archetypes that 
vilify and victimize to re-writing 
and reclaiming, embracing and 
celebrating.

 Local publicists Megan Beatie, 
Laura Segal Stegman and Holly 
Watson explain what they 
actually do and why it benefits 
an author to have one. And 
for the more home grown, the 
“San Gabriel Valley Food Club” 
reveals how over a shared meal 
community members come 
together to support one another 
in the publishing industry, from 
planning events to creating a 
speakers bureau, all with an 
egalitarian mindset. Finally, 
learn how to get your work out 
in the world at “How to Get 
Published” with representatives 
from Doppelhouse Press, Lil’ 
Libros, Red Hen Press, The 
Unnamed Press, and Tsehai 
Publishers. Moderated by 
Julia Callahan, sales rep for 
the distributor Independent 
Publishers Group.

 

 A new JPL project will make 
it possible for anyone with an 
internet connection to begin 
to answer these questions and 
more about changes to our 
dynamic planet.

 The OPERA (Observational 
Products for End-Users from 
Remote Sensing Analysis) 
project is managed by NASA’s 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 
with partners from NASA’s 
Goddard Space Flight Center, 
the U.S. Geological Survey 
(USGS), the University of 
Maryland, the University of 
Alaska Fairbanks, and Southern 
Methodist University. Scientists 
conceived OPERA in 2020 to 
address satellite data needs 
across different federal agencies 
and to enable better access to 
information on everything 
from water management to 
wildfire monitoring. The goal is 
to make specific satellite-based 
observations free and timely 
for users. The first offerings will 
be available in April 2023, with 
more to follow.

 “Quite often satellite 
missions are driven by science, 
applications, or technology 
demonstration. In OPERA, 
we focus on fulfilling the 
operational needs identified by 
federal agencies who rely on 
our work,” said David Bekaert, 
OPERA project manager 
based at JPL. “We leverage 
cloud computing to turn 
massive amounts of satellite 
observations into analysis-ready 
products relevant to our federal 
stakeholders. Shortening the 
path from satellite observation 
to stakeholder decision is a 
key driver behind the overall 
implementation and execution 
of OPERA.”

 OPERA is aggregating a unique 
combination of user-friendly 
data about Earth’s dynamic 
surface water and land, noted 
John Jones, a USGS scientist 
and OPERA project partner.

 “The magic of OPERA is that 
it transcends any one space 
mission,” said Gerald Bawden, 
program scientist at NASA 
Headquarters in Washington, 
who helped envision the project 
as part of the interagency Satellite 
Needs Working Group. Created 
by the Office of Management 
and Budget and the U.S. Group 
on Earth Observations, the 
Satellite Needs Working Group 
seeks to identify the satellite 
needs of U.S. federal agencies 
and develop new remote 
sensing products that fulfill 
their observational gaps.

 The first round of OPERA 
products ties together visible 
and infrared measurements 
from the ESA (European 
Space Agency) Sentinel-2 A/B 
satellites and from Landsat 8, 
built by NASA and operated by 
the USGS. These instruments 
will soon be augmented by data 
from the cloud-penetrating 
radars on ESA’s Sentinel-1 
A/B satellites and the recently 
launched Surface Water and 
Ocean Topography (SWOT) 
satellite, a partnership between 
NASA and the French space 
agency CNES (Centre National 
d’Études Spatiales). OPERA will 
eventually ingest satellite radar 
data from the NASA-Indian 
Space Research Organisation 
Synthetic Aperture Radar 
(NISAR) satellite, planned for 
launch in 2024.

Mapping Surface Water

 OPERA’s Dynamic Surface 
Water eXtent product suite 
offers what may be the most 
comprehensive data source 
for monitoring lakes, rivers, 
reservoirs, and streams. The first 
phase relies on Harmonized 
Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS) 
optical data to generate near-
global surface water mapping 
every few days at a 30-meter 
spatial resolution. Subsequent 
phases will use Sentinel-1, 
SWOT, and NISAR radar 
observations to map surface 
water more often (because radar 
can penetrate cloud cover).

 For example, when a series of 
nine atmospheric river events 
brought heavy rain and snow 
to California in the winter of 
2022-23, several flood-control 
dams faced risks of overflowing. 
OPERA’s surface water maps 
chronicled the dramatic filling 
of these reservoirs.

Monitoring Surface 
Disturbance

 OPERA’s products offer 
new insights into both 
environmental and geological 
processes taking place on Earth’s 
land surfaces. Complementing 
its water product suite, OPERA’s 
Surface Disturbance product 
uses HLS data to map changes 
in vegetation cover. It could be 
used to observe the scars and 
regrowth after wildfires, track 
growing cities, or even discover 
insect infestations in forests.

 “We are very excited to 
employ integrated Landsat 
and Sentinel-2 data,” said 
Matt Hansen, a professor at 
the University of Maryland 
and OPERA project partner. 
“The combined observations 
provide an unprecedented 
capability and, we expect, an 
unprecedented record of global 
land change.”

 For example, the Mosquito Fire 
was detected on Sept. 6, 2022, 
and burned predominantly 
in the Tahoe and Eldorado 
National Forests. OPERA’s 
surface disturbance data 
product shows vegetation losses 
due to the fire – California’s 
largest of the year – which 
covered some 76,788 acres and 
lasted for 50 days.

Measuring North America 
Surface Displacement

 OPERA’s third product, 
slated for release in late 2024, 
will provide a history of how 
much land surfaces in North 
America have moved, or 
deformed, due to geologic and 
human activities. The surface 
displacement product will map 
surface motion that is otherwise 
imperceptible without a vast 
network of GPS instruments.

 “This is a transformative 
product for detecting landslides, 
sinkholes, earthquakes, 
volcanoes – anything that is 
changing the land surface,” said 
Bawden. “Using these satellites, 
we’re able to measure motions 
on the ground surface less than 
an inch. And we can begin to 
explore how those motions are 
impacting everything living 
there.”

 All OPERA products are 
publicly accessible. The surface 
water and surface disturbance 
products are currently available 
through NASA Distributed 
Active Archive Centers, Physical 
Oceanography Distributed 
Active Archive Center and Land 
Processes Distributed Active 
Archive Center, respectively.

 Learn more and find product 
samples and quick guides: jpl.
nasa.gov/go/opera.


Pasadena Tip-A-Cop Fundraiser Tuesday 

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