Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, May 20, 2023

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Mountain View News Saturday, May 20, 2023 


Local Man 
Sentenced 
for Shooting 
at Planned 
Parenthood 

Former HEAR Board Member 
Antonio Paredes Honored 

 
A San Bernardino County 
man was sentenced Monday 
to 30 months in federal 
prison for firing BB guns 
at a Planned Parenthood 
facility in Pasadena nearly a 
dozen times and for illegally 
possessing a firearm and 
ammunition.

 Richard Royden 
Chamberlin, 53, who 
previously lived in 
Altadena, was sentenced 
by United States District 
Judge Michael Fitzgerald. 
Chamberlin was also 
ordered to pay $42,663 in 
restitution. 

 At the sentencing hearing, 
Fitzgerald described 
Chamberlin’s year-long 
string of BB gun attacks 
as a “reign of terror” and 
that Chamberlin had acted 
“in a calculated and cruel 
way” against Planned 
Parenthood, its staff, and 
patients. 

 Chamberlin pleaded 
guilty in December 2022 to 
one count of violating the 
federal Freedom of Access 
to Clinic Entrances (FACE) 
Act and one count of being 
a felon in possession of a 
firearm and ammunition.

 Chamberlin admitted 
in his plea agreement to 
driving past the Planned 
Parenthood facility in 
Pasadena and firing his 
BB gun at the clinic on at 
least 11 occasions between 
June 2020 and May 2021. 
Chamberlin admitted that 
he intentionally conducted 
the attacks to intimidate 
and interfere with the 
clinic, its doctors, staff, 
and patients specifically 
because the clinic was 
providing reproductive 
health services, including 
services related to the 
termination of pregnancies.

 Beginning on June 27, 
2020, Chamberlin’s attacks 
involved him firing BB 
pellets through the window 
of his car.

 On May 7, 2021, the 
Pasadena Police stopped 
Chamberlin while he was 
driving away from the clinic 
following another attack. 
At the time, Chamberlin 
possessed eight BB guns, 
including BB guns designed 
to look like assault rifles. 
On the front passenger seat 
of his vehicle, police found 
a backpack containing a 
.22-caliber pistol, which 
was loaded with 10 
rounds of ammunition. 
In his plea agreement, 
Chamberlin admitted that 
he possessed this firearm 
and ammunition after 
being previously convicted 
in Arizona in 2012 of a 
felony offense of attempted 
transportation of a narcotic 
drug for sale.

 “These victims have all 
been deeply impacted by 
[Chamberlin’s] conduct,” 
prosecutors argued in a 
sentencing memorandum. 
“The clinic’s employees still 
experience daily anxiety 
and fear, and they have an 
overwhelming sense of 
being unsafe in their work 
environment.”

 HEAR Center recognized 
the contributions and legacy 
of its former board member, 
Antonio “Tony” Paredes, during 
a plaque dedication of a rock 
garden on May 16. Paredes, 
who passed away on December 
8, 2022, donated truckloads 
of rocks, prepared the surface, 
and installed the rock garden to 
replace the grass that couldn’t 
grow in front of the building. 
The plaque, which is made of 
solid granite, will now be part of 
the building’s history.

 “When we found ourselves 
in need of help because grass 
simply would not grow under 
the shade of trees that surround 
the front of the building, Tony 
basically said ‘Let me take care 
of it,’” HEAR Center’s Board 
Chair Armida Baylon told 
guests at the dedication. “We 
now have the opportunity to 
acknowledge the importance of 
the deeds Tony quietly took care 
of.”

 Paredes’ family, board 
members, volunteers, and staff 
attended the event to pay tribute 
to him. Marco Lundgren, 
district representative for 
Senator Anthony J. Portantino, 
presented the family with a 
certificate to honor his legacy. 
Other certificates from LA 
Supervisor Kathryn Barger and 
Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo 
were presented to the family.

 A former board member of 
HEAR Center for nearly 30 
years, Paredes was a generous 
donor and advocate for its 
mission, which offers complete 
and affordable hearing and 
speech services to people at all 
stages of life, so they can be a 
part of the hearing and speaking 
world.

 Born on January 11, 1953 in 
Mexico City, Paredes’ family 
emigrated to the United States, 
settling in Boyle Heights. To 
learn more about HEAR Center, 
visit hearcenter.org.

City to Discuss Library Retrofit Project

 Pasadena city officials are 
set to hold the first in a 
series of community town 
hall meetings to discuss the 
Pasadena Central Library 
Retrofit and Renovations 
Project and introduce the 
project's design team. 
The meeting 
will be held Wednesday at 6 
p.m. at the Jefferson Branch 
Library Auditorium, 1500 
E. Villa St. Free on-street 
parking is available.

 According to city staff, 
earlier this year, Pasadena 
City Council approved a 
$6,104,109 contract with a 
design team led by Gruen 
Associates to develop the 
Central Library Retrofit and 
Renovations Project.

 “As the design team develops 
strategies to seismically 
improve the nearly 100-year-
old Central Library, the 
city will seek input from 
community members on how 
the library should be used 
and what features should be 
included for the future while 
also preserving the building’s 
historic character,” city staff 
said.

 Design work is expected to 
be completed in early 2025, at 
which point the city will solicit 
bids for design construction, 
pending funding.

 Last year, Assemblymember 
Chris Holden worked to 
secure $4 million in funding 
for the project through a grant 
from the State Library System. 
The state also earmarked an 
additional $5 million to the 
project, bringing the total to 
$9 million to be used towards 
the design and engineering 
work. 

 The Gruen contract includes 
preparation of environmental 
documentation, final 
construction drawings 
and cost estimates for 
construction.

 City staff also said that 
additional community 
meeting dates will be 
announced in summer and 
in fall. 

 On May 3, 2021, city officials 
were forced to close the 
Central Library until a seismic 
retrofit and restoration could 
be completed to meet life 
safety requirements.

 Visit: cityofpasadena.net/
library for more information 
about the Central Library 
Retrofit and Renovations 
Project. Questions can be 
directed to City of Pasadena 
Project Manager Teo Sierra at 
(626) 744-4772 or TSierra@
CityOfPasadena.net.

The Pasadena Chorale to 
Present Listening to the Future

 

 The Pasadena Chorale will 
present its annual student 
composer concert Listening 
to the Future on Saturday, 
June 17 at 7 p.m., at the First 
Neighborhood Unitarian 
Universalist Church in 
Pasadena. Audience members 
will be the first to hear ten new 
pieces that were composed by 
five local high school students 
for the Chorale’s June concert. 
These young aspiring composers 
were accepted into Pasadena 
Chorale’s education program 
of the same name in December 
2022 and wrote the pieces over 
the last five months. They were 
mentored by composer Amy 
Gordon, who has returned 
as a composer mentor to the 
program for the second time.

 “The five students of 
Pasadena Chorale’s Listening 
to the Future program have 
composed absolutely beautiful 
arrangements and original 
pieces for the June 17 concert,” 
said composer mentor Amy 
Gordon. “The pieces have a 
very nice variety of thematic 
content, tempo, and mood. The 
audience is in for such a treat, as 
each piece is truly unique.”

 This year’s Listening to the 
Future composers are Iris 
Milagros Barrera (South 
Pasadena High School), Milo 
Brody (Pasadena Waldorf 
School), Tyler Gjerde (Pasadena 
High School), Charles 
McDermott (Beverly Hills High 
School), and Noa Sherman 
(Pasadena Waldorf School).

 During its dozen years of 
service to the community, the 
Chorale has presented over 
one hundred performances 
and enjoyed collaborations 
with the Pasadena Playhouse, 
MUSE/IQUE, the Los Angeles 
Philharmonic, the Los Angeles 
Chamber Orchestra, and the 
Gamble House. In 2017 the 
Pasadena Chorale was awarded 
second place in the American 
Prize in Choral Performance.

 The Chorale also offers a 
robust education program 
at no cost to participating 
students. Each year, through its 
unique Listening To The Future 
project, the Chorale pairs local 
high school composers with a 
professional composer mentor 
for a year of study. At the end of 
the year the Chorale presents a 
concert of the music composed 
by these students.

 The Pasadena Chorale is the 
proud recipient of support from 
the Los Angeles County Arts 
Commission, The Pasadena 
Community Foundation and 
the City of Pasadena. All of 
the Pasadena Chorale’s regular 
concerts are offered on a “Listen 
First, Then Give” basis, ensuring 
that all are able to attend, and 
encouraging the generous 
support of those who are able.

 The Neighborhood Unitarian 
Universalist Church is located 
at 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd. 
Tickets are required but 
free and now available at 
PasadenaChorale.org. 

Pasadena 
Humane 
Upcoming 
Events

City of Pasadena Seeks Input 
on the Next Director of Parks

 
The City of Pasadena invites 
community members to 
provide input on the key 
attributes, experience and 
background they would like 
the next director of the Parks, 
Recreation, and Community 
Services Department 
(PRCS) to possess in order 
to best serve the needs of 
the community. A virtual 
Microsoft Teams meeting 
will be held Wednesday 
from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. so that 
community members may 
share their thoughts.

Appointed by the city 
manager, the director of 
PRCS is responsible for:

Operations of City parks, 
open spaces, recreation areas, 
and community centers;

Maintenance and 
development of PRCS 
programs, including 
recreational programming 
and community services; and

Management of all 
department services and 
activities.

The incoming director must 
ensure PRCS programs and 
services reflect Pasadena’s 
diverse and multicultural 
community; and provide 
courteous and expedient 
customer service to the 
general public and City staff.

 During the May 24 virtual 
meeting, participants will be 
asked to provide responses to 
the following questions:

What are three things that 
you especially like about 
Pasadena’s Parks, Recreation 
and Community Services 
Department?

What are the top three 
priorities or challenges the 
next PRCS director should 
address?

What are the key skills, 
attributes and experience 
necessary for the PRCS 
director to be successful?

Microsoft Teams Virtual 
Meeting Details

Meeting ID: 261 776 440 95

Meeting passcode: mEAtJL

 To join by phone, dial (331) 
256-5069 and enter the code 
576605720# when prompted.

 For accessibility 
information or to request 
an accommodation, contact 
(626) 744-7311 or CSC@

 CityOfPasadena.net. 
Providing at least 72 hours 
advance notice will help 
ensure availability.

 The City of Pasadena 
has partnered with the 
firm Koff & Associates to 
collect community input 
and conduct the search. 
For more information or to 
provide direct feedback to 
the recruiter, contact Frank 
Rojas, recruitment manager 
at Koff & Associates, at (510) 
495-0448 or Frank_Rojas@
ajg.com.

Chip in “Fore” the Animals

 Join Pasadena Humane on 
Monday, June 26 for our 24th 
annual golf tournament, 
dinner and auction at 
Oakmont Country Club in 
Glendale. Enjoy 18 holes of 
unparalleled golf against the 
breathtaking backdrop of the 
San Gabriel Mountains. Not 
a golfer? You can still join in 
on the fun by attending the 
post-tournament cocktail 
party and dinner, featuring 
wonderful food, drinks, an 
exciting auction and more.

For more information visit: 
pasadenahumane.org.

2024 Calendar Photo 
Contest

 Your pet could be featured in 
our 2024 Pasadena Humane 
Calendar. Enter your pet 
June 1 through July 31in 
the Pasadena Humane 2024 
Calendar Photo Contest for 
a chance to win amazing 
prizes – including the chance 
to have your pet featured on 
a full month spread of our 
2024 calendar, a custom pet 
portrait, and more.

For more information visit: 
pasadenahumane.org.


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