Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 19, 2023

5

Mountain View News Saturday, August 19, 2023 

Vehicle 
Crashes 
into South 
Pasadena 
Garage


City Mandates Vaccine 
for Health Care Workers

 
A vehicle slammed into 
a South Pasadena garage, 
after losing control, 
Saturday night killing one 
person and sending two 
others, including the driver, 
to the hospital. 

 According to South 
Pasadena Police on August 
12 at 1:51 a.m, 21-year-old 
David Silva of Sun Valley 
was driving southbound 
on Orange Grove Avenue 
at a high rate of speed in 
a silver, 2020 Infiniti. As 
Silva approached Oliver 
Street, he lost control of 
his vehicle, veered into a 
residential garage in the 
300 block of Orange Grove 
Avenue. The impact was 
significant enough to push a 
vehicle parked in the garage 
through the back wall.

 Silva and the front 
passenger were transported 
by the South Pasadena 
Fire Department to a local 
hospital with moderate 
to severe injuries. The 
passenger in the backseat 
suffered major trauma and 
died from his injuries at the 
scene. The identity of the 
passenger is being withheld 
pending notification of the 
next of kin. Nobody inside 
the residence was injured.

 Anyone with information 
about this is encouraged to 
call (626) 403-7270.

 Pasadena Public Health 
Department (PPHD) 
reminds the community 
that health care workers 
(HCW) in Pasadena must be 
up to date with COVID-19 
vaccination and must 
wear masks in healthcare 
and direct care settings as 
required by Pasadena Health 
Officer Orders.

 Pasadena has observed 
evidence of a surge in local 
COVID-19 cases. Over the 
last month, there has been 
a 35 percent increase in 
weekly cases. We know this 
is an underestimate of cases 
because of the widespread 
adoption of at-home antigen 
tests, which do not require 
reporting to the public health 
department. Additionally, 
the COVID-19 test positivity 
rate in Los Angeles County 
increased from 5.5 percent to 
7.6 percent this week. A spike 
from previously stable rates 
this year.

 The SARS-CoV-2 virus poses 
a particular risk to the health 
of medically vulnerable 
residents in health care and 
long-term care facilities 
which establishes a need for 
more protective measures 
within health care settings. 
Pasadena has higher per 
capita population residing 
in long-term care settings 
compared to the rest of Los 
Angeles County. The number 
of hospitalized COVID-19 
confirmed patients in Los 
Angeles County increased 
over the last couple weeks of 
July after decreasing in June 
and the first part of July. As a 
lagging indicator, this recent 
increase suggests we could be 
heading to a more worrisome 
surge in the upcoming weeks.

 “Protecting the health 
of those at greatest risk 
for severe illness remains 
a priority in Pasadena,” 
said Acting Public Health 
Director Manuel Carmona. 
“Vaccination and masking 
requirements effectively 
reduce infection rates and 
protect at-risk individuals 
from COVID-19-related 
complications.”

 PPHD encourages all 
Pasadena residents to stay 
up to date on vaccines and 
boosters, test for COVID-19 
after traveling, stay home 
when sick, and seek available 
COVID-19 treatments. 
PPHD continues to offer free 
COVID-19 bivalent vaccines 
on Mondays and Wednesdays 
from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 
1 – 4:30 p.m. The bivalent 
vaccine is effective in 
decreasing the spread of 
COVID-19, preventing 
severe illness, and reducing 
hospitalizations and deaths. 
Walk-ins are welcome or 
schedule an appointment at 
MyTurn.ca.gov.

Union Street Protected Bikeway Completed 

 

 In honor of the completion 
of the city’s Union Street 
Protected Bikeway, a 
ribbon cutting ceremony 
and resource fair is set for 
Saturday, September 9, from 
8:30 a.m. to 11 :00 a.m., in 
front of Pasadena City Hall 
in Centennial Square. The 
new bikeway is scheduled for 
completion by September.

 Local, state, and federal 
elected officials and 
dignitaries are set to speak 
at the event and join in an 
inaugural bike ride. The 
morning’s events will begin 
at 8:30 a.m., with dignitaries 
speaking at 9:30 a.m. and 
then a short inaugural bike 
ride on Union Street from 
City Hall to Playhouse Village 
Park and back. 

 According to city officials, 
the Union Street Protected 
Bikeway is a 1.5-mile-long 
two-way protected bike lane 
along Union Street and a 
0.3-mile-long bike boulevard 
along Holliston Avenue with 
traffic signal and curb ramp 
improvements along both 
streets. The addition of new 
traffic signals, improved 
curb ramps, and protected 
bikeway provides an all-ages 
bicycle connection between 
Pasadena City College, 
CalTech, Playhouse Village, 
and Old Pasadena while 
closing gaps in the existing 
pedestrian network. 

 The project was first 
envisioned in July 2013 
when the Municipal 
Services Committee gave 
direction to the Department 
of Transportation to 
take a bolder approach 
to the proposed bikeway 
installations within the 
City’s Bicycle Transportation 
Action Plan (“Plan”). The 
Plan was developed over 
the course of 2014 and 2015 
with the input and support 
of Pasadena residents and 
business community. Initial 
funding for outreach, design, 
and construction was secured 
in 201 7 through the state 
Active Transportation 
Program grant. Additional 
funding required to make the 
project a reality came from the 
American Rescue Plan Act, 
Measure R Transportation 
Fund, the Congestion 
Mitigation and Air Quality 
program, and other local 
funds. Working closely with 
Pasadena Public Works, 
the project broke ground 
after 5 years of numerous 
community and stakeholder 
meetings.

 For more information visit: 
cityofpasadena.net.

Free Movies 
at Pasadena 
Senior Center

 Friday movie matinees will be 
shown Sept. 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 1 
p.m. in the Scott Pavilion at the 
Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. 
Holly St. 

 Seating will be limited and 
registration will be accepted 
on a first-come, first-served 
basis. Each member of the 
Pasadena Senior Center may 
reserve one additional seat for 
a nonmember guest 50 or older. 

 “Champions” (2023, PG-13) 
starring Woody Harrelson and 
Kaitlin Olson – Friday, Sept. 
8, at 1 p.m. A former minor 
league basketball coach under 
court order to manage a team 
of players with intellectual 
disabilities soon realizes that, 
despite his doubts, this team 
can go further working together 
than they ever imagined” 

 “9/11” (2017, R) starring 
Charlie Sheen and Gina 
Gershon – Friday, Sept. 15, at 
1 p.m. Five people trapped in 
an elevator in the North Tower 
of the World Trade Center 
during the Sept. 11 terrorist 
attacks work together to try to 
escape before the unthinkable 
happens. 

 “Bye Bye Birdie” (1963, G) 
starring Dick Van Dyke and 
Ann-Margret – Friday, Sept. 22, 
at 1 p.m. A rock singer travels to 
a small Ohio town to make his 
farewell television performance 
and kiss his biggest fan before 
he is drafted. 

 “The Social Network” (2010, 
PG-13) starring Jesse Eisenburg 
and Andrew Garfield – Friday, 
Sept. 29, at 1 p.m. As Harvard 
student Mark Zuckerberg 
creates the social networking 
site that would become known 
as Facebook, he is sued by 
twins who claim he stole their 
idea and by the cofounder who 
was later squeezed out of the 
business. 

 To register for any or all of these 
films or for more information, 
visit:.pasadenaseniorcenter.net 
and click on Activities & Events, 
then Friday Movie Matinee or 
call 626-795-4331. 

Pasadena 
Woman Killed 
During 

Tenant Dispute

 Pasadena police released 
Wednesday the identity of 
a woman shot last week in 
Northwest Pasadena during 
an argument related to a 
tenant dispute.

 According to police, on 
August 8 at 1:11 a.m., Tynisha 
Houston was shot at an 
apartment complex located 
in the 2000 block of North 
Fair Oaks Avenue. She was 
transported to a local hospital 
by paramedics where she 
succumbed to her injuries. 

 The suspect, identified as 
54-year-old Mark Anthony 
Levels, a Pasadena resident 
was located by patrol officers 
within the same apartment 
complex a short time after 
the shooting and detained 
without incident.

 An investigation revealed 
that the suspect and victim 
were tenants in the same 
apartment complex. Just 
prior to the shooting, there 
was a verbal argument in a 
common area of the complex 
related to a tenant dispute. 
The argument, which involved 
residents from two different 
apartment units, escalated 
into a physical altercation and 
then the shooting.

 Levels sustained injuries 
from the physical altercation 
that preceded the shooting 
and was transported to a local 
hospital following his arrest.

 On August 10, the Los Angeles 
County District Attorney’s 
Office filed a felony complaint 
on Levels for Murder. Bail was 
set at $3,100,000.

 Anyone with information 
about this case is encouraged to 
call (626)- 744-4241 or report 
information anonymously at 
(800) 222- TIPS (8477)

L.A. County Public Works 
Unveils $8.9M Huntington 

Drive Roadway Improvement

South Pasadena Library Gets 
$22,470 Grant for Programs

 
The South Pasadena 
Library has been recently 
awarded federal Library 
Services and Technology 
Act (LSTA) funds via the 
California State Library to 
provide programming and 
educational opportunities 
focused on sustainability 
and climate resilience. The 
Library’s proposal for “Sow 
South Pasadena” includes a 
series of public programs, the 
purchase of new materials, 
a Seed Library, and more. 
Staff said collaborating with 
community partners is also a 
component of the Sow South 
Pasadena project, and letters 
of support were submitted 
by the South Pasadena 
Community Garden, South 
Pasadena Beautiful, and 
landscape designer Flor 
Mota.

 The project will launch in 
early 2024.

 


 Last week, Los Angeles 
County Supervisor Kathryn 
Barger, along with Los Angeles 
County Public Works Director 
Mark Pestrella, City of 
Arcadia’s Mayor Paul Cheng, 
Mayor Pro Tem April Verlato, 
Councilmember Eileen Wang, 
community members, and 
cycling enthusiasts from Active 
SGV and Monrovia’s Ride 
On Cycling, all gathered at 
Michillinda Park to inaugurate 
the Huntington Drive Median 
and Roadway Reconstruction 
Project.

 The project started construction 
in February 2022 and is located 
in the unincorporated area 
lying between the cities of San 
Marino and Arcadia, between 
San Gabriel Boulevard and 
Michillinda Park. Improvements 
were designed after soliciting 
community input, resulting in a 
resurfaced roadway, installation 
of buffered bike lanes and a 
new traffic signal system. New 
sustainable, drought tolerant 
landscaping for the center 
median also now stands out 
– a feature that will capture 
stormwater, treat it, and help 
provide sustainable water supply 
for the native plant palette. 

 According to Los Angeles 
County’s Public Works, this 
stretch of Huntington Drive 
accommodates a staggering 
15,000 vehicles daily – which 
equals more than 1,000 vehicles 
during peak hours. 

 “The completion of this 
project brings a wave 
of improvements to the 
surrounding neighborhoods,” 
said Supervisor Barger. “Traffic 
will flow smoother, cyclists will 
have dedicated space to ride, 
and pedestrians will navigate 
their neighborhood streets 
with additional buffers. These 
improvements are also aligned 
with the County’s Vision Zero 
Action Plan, which aims to 
reduce and eliminate traffic 
fatalities on our roadways.” 
Supervisor Barger commended 
the Department of Public Works 
“for finishing the project on time 
and on budget.”


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