Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 21, 2023

5

Mountain View News Saturday, October 21, 2023 

Altadena 
Man Arrested 
in Deadly Hit 
and Run


The Japanese 320-Year-Old 
Heritage Shoya House Opens

 
Two people were killed in 
a hit and run, multi-vehicle 
collision, Wednesday at the 
intersection of Raymond 
Avenue and Penn Street.

 According to Pasadena 
police, at around 9:20 
p.m. officers discovered 
a Lincoln Navigator had 
collided with a Nissan 
Versa. The driver of the 
Nissan Versa, 63-year-
old, Antonio Mendoza-
Hernandez, a Los Angeles 
resident was pronounced 
dead at the scene and his 
passenger, 33-year-old 
Veralice Yanira Membreno 
Orellana, an Altadena 
resident, died later at a local 
hospital. The occupants of 
the Lincoln Navigator fled 
the scene.

 On Thursday, police 
investigators arrested 
30-year-old, Jeffrey Butler 
just outside his home in 
Altadena after a search 
warrant was issued

 Butler was booked for 
vehicular manslaughter 
with gross negligence, hit 
and run resulting in death, 
and violation of parole. 

 Anyone with information 
about this case is 
encouraged to call the 
Pasadena Police at (626)

744-4241 or report 
information anonymously 
by contacting “Crime 
Stoppers” at (800) 222-

TIPS (8477).

 Opening today, the 
Huntington Library Art 
Museum and Botanical 
Gardens offers visitors 
a unique opportunity to 
see a restored residential 
compound from 18th-
century rural Japan. The 
Japanese Heritage Shoya 
House, a 3,000-square-
foot residence built around 
1700, served as the center 
of village life in Marugame, 
Japan. The compound has 
been reconstructed on a 
2-acre site, which includes a 
newly constructed gatehouse 
and courtyard based on the 
original structures, as well as a 
small garden with a pond, an 
irrigation canal, agricultural 
plots, and other landscape 
elements that closely 
resemble the compound’s 
original setting. Visitors will 
be able to walk through a 
portion of the house and 
see how inhabitants lived 
their daily lives within 
the thoughtfully designed 
and meticulously crafted 
320-year-old structure.

 Los Angeles residents Yohko 
and Akira Yokoi offered 
their historic family home 
to The Huntington in 2016. 
Huntington representatives 
made numerous visits to 
the structure in Marugame 
and participated in study 
sessions with architects in 
Japan before developing 
a strategy for moving the 
house and reconstructing 
it at The Huntington. Since 
2019, artisans from Japan 
have been working alongside 
local architects, engineers, 
and construction workers to 
assemble the structures and 
re-create the traditional wood 
and stonework features, as 
well as the roof tiles and 
plaster work, prioritizing 
the traditions of Japanese 
carpentry, artisanship, and 
sensitivity to materials.

 “The new Japanese Heritage 
Shoya House will offer a 
glimpse into rural Japanese 
life some 300 years ago and 
provide insights into that 
culture and its sustainability 
practices,” Huntington 
President Karen R. Lawrence 
said. “We are very grateful 
to the Yokoi family for 
giving The Huntington 
the opportunity to tell 
this important story as an 
immersive experience for 
visitors.”

 The historic house was 
the residence for successive 
generations of the Yokoi 
family, who served as the 
shoya, or village leaders, of 
a small farming community 
near Marugame, a city in 
Kagawa prefecture, Japan. 
Chosen by the feudal 
lord, a shoya acted as an 
intermediary between 
the government and the 
farmers. His duties included 
storing the village’s rice 
yield, collecting taxes, and 
maintaining census records, 
as well as settling disputes 
and enforcing the law. 
He also ensured that the 
lands remained productive 
by preserving seeds and 
organizing the planting and 
harvesting. The residence 
functioned as the local town 
hall and village square.

 Sustainability is a major 
theme of the interpretive 
scheme. “We aim to present 
a working model of Edo 
period permaculture and 
regenerative agriculture,” 
said Robert Hori, the 
gardens cultural curator and 
programs director at The 
Huntington. “It represents 
real-life circumstances. An 
authentically constructed 
Japanese house using 
natural materials, combined 
with careful attention to 
agricultural practices, 
will demonstrate how a 
community became self-
sufficient. We will show how 
emphasis was placed on 
reducing waste and repairing 
items so they could be reused 
or repurposed. Visitors will 
see how this 18th-century 
Japanese village maintained 
a symbiotic relationship 
between humans and the 
surrounding landscape.”

 The Shoya House will be 
open from noon to 4 p.m. 
The Huntington Library 
is located at 1151 Oxford 
Road, San Marino. For 
more information visit: 
huntington.org.

Police to give Military Equipment Use Update

 The Pasadena Police 
Department is set Monday 
night to give the city council 
an annual military equipment 
report, as required and 
described in the department’s 
Military Equipment Policy 
711 and Government Code 
Section 7072. 

 In the report, without 
specifics, the police 
department, in the last year, 
used the BearCat Armored 
Rescue Vehicle in 12 field 
deployments. The BearCat 
ARV (pictured above) is 
designed to provide ballistic 
protection during critical 
events and designed to 
withstand multiple bullet 
strikes from small arms fire as 
well as low-level explosions.

 They also used the Loki 
MK2 (intelligence gathering 
drones) three time. The Loki 
MK2 is an indoor drone 
system for gathering video 
and audio tactical intelligence 
during an incident. They 
feature a highly sensitive Day-
Night + IR sensor camera 
giving it the ability to fly and 
see in complete darkness.

 According to the city staff 
report, military equipment 
includes unmanned aerial 
or ground vehicles, armored 
vehicles, command and 
control vehicles, tear gas, 
pepper balls, less-lethal 
40mm projectile launchers, 
specialized firearms and 
ammunition, and light-sound 
distraction devices commonly 
known as “flashbangs.” 
Except for three Bell OH-
58 helicopters, which were 
obtained from the military, 
all other equipment in the 
department’s inventory has 
been sourced through direct 
purchases and seizures.

 Police officials said, in the last 
year, one person complained 
that the .50 caliber and the 
“MRAPs (Mine-Resistant 
Ambush Protected vehicles)” 
have “no place” in the 
department. The citizen 
added that the maintenance 
costs could be better utilized 
elsewhere.

 The report said they used 
.50 caliber ammo twice 
during accuracy checks. 
The department owns the 
McMillan TAC-50C, a bolt 
action rifle that has a long 
and heavy free-floating barrel 
which allows for accuracy 
meant to take precise shots 
at either a great distance or at 
large/armored targets. 

 Most of the other equipment 
was used in training exercises 
the report states.

 The city council utilizes 
the annual report as a 
mechanism to ensure the 
department’s compliance and 
to help determine whether 
to approve, revise, or revoke 
components of the Military 
Equipment Policy for the next 
year.

 The city council meets 
Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the 
Council Chamber, Pasadena 
City Hall 100 North Garfield 
Avenue, Room S249.

South 
Pasadena 
Litigation 
Settlement

 The City of South 
Pasadena announced 
Thursday the conclusion of 
litigation against Caltrans 
over the property at 626 
Prospect Avenue. Recently 
the parties, including 
Friendship Baptist Church 
Community Development 
Corporation, participated 
in mediation resulting in a 
Stipulation to dissolve the 
preliminary injunction. 
This allows Caltrans to 
proceed with its sale of 
the property to Friendship 
Baptist Church Community 
Development Corporation 
for the rehabilitation of 
an existing multi-family 
property for affordable 
housing.

 “We welcome Friendship 
Baptist Community 
Development Corporation, 
and look forward to their 
significant investment in 
the property,” said Mayor 
Jon Primuth. “They have 
a well-rounded team of 
professionals, and we are 
pleased to work with them 
and lend the City’s support 
as they embark on this 
major renovation project 
for existing and future 
tenants to enjoy.”

 Moving forward, the City 
continues to pursue the 
purchase of the unoccupied 
Caltrans properties, and 
hopes to also actively assist 
its residents in the sale of the 
tenantoccupied properties. 
The long-standing goal is to 
bring these properties back 
into the available housing 
stock. The City continues to 
actively engage Caltrans on 
various matters related to 
these properties.

 “City leadership is 
committed to increasing 
affordable housing 
opportunities in South 
Pasadena,” said Mayor 
Jon Primuth. “With this 
litigation behind us, we 
will continue our efforts to 
address our local housing 
needs, including the 
opportunities that lie within 
the Caltrans properties in 
South Pasadena.”

Fire vs. Police 
Battle 

for Mental 

Health Event

 The City of Pasadena will 
host, today at 2:30 p.m., 
the Fire vs. Police: Battle 
for Mental Health Sparring 
Demonstration charity event 
in front of City Hall, 100 N. 
Garfield Ave. 

 Open sparring will occur 
2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., where 
anyone from any gym can hop 
in the ring. The first scheduled 
sparring demonstration for 
first responders will be at 7 
p.m. This free, family-friendly 
event is made possible by the 
City of Pasadena and Scott 
Henderson, a Firefighter 
Paramedic for the City of 
Pasadena and founder of the 
Battle for Mental Health event. 
The Battle for Mental event 
aims to spread awareness for 
first responders’ mental health 
and suicide prevention. The 
proceeds from the event go to 
Next Rung.

 Next Rung is a nonprofit 
organization with the mission 
to combat mental health issues 
among Firefighters and first 
responders and to be a beacon 
of hope during the difficult 
times that they encounter 
in the line of duty. Next 
Rung provides peer support 
counseling with complete 
anonymity and provides 
resources to those looking for 
professional counseling and 
inpatient treatment.

 In addition to the main 
scheduled first responder 
sparring demonstration, 
attendees can enjoy music 
by a live DJ, enter raffles, and 
purchase a meal from food 
trucks and various vendor 
booths.

 To learn more about Next 
Rung, visit NextRung.Org or 
at CityOfPasadena.net.

Extremely Rare Case of 
Locally-Acquired Dengue

 

 Pasadena Public Health 
Department Friday reported 
a case of dengue in a Pasadena 
resident who did not travel 
outside the United States. 
This is the first confirmed 
case of dengue in California 
not associated with travel and 
is instead an extremely rare 
case of local transmission in 
the continental United States.

 “Pasadena Public Health 
Department has been 
conducting surveillance and 
investigation of mosquito-
borne diseases in Pasadena 
for years,” stated Dr. 
Matthew Feaster, PPHD 
Epidemiologist. “Our work 
so far, in partnership with the 
Vector Control District, gives 
us confidence that this was 
likely an isolated incident and 
that there is very low risk of 
additional dengue exposure 
in Pasadena.”

 Feaster urges the community 
to follow standard precautions 
to reduce mosquito 
populations and the risk of 
mosquito-borne diseases:

Eliminate standing water 
in clogged rain gutters, rain 
barrels, discarded tires, 
buckets, watering troughs, or 
anything that holds water for 
more than a week.

Ensure that swimming pools, 
spas, and ponds are properly 
maintained.

Change the water in pet 
dishes, birdbaths, and other 
small containers weekly.

Report neglected swimming 
pools in your neighborhood 
to your vector control district.

To prevent mosquito bites, 
PPHD recommends:

Wear insect repellent 
containing CDC and EPA 
approved active ingredients: 
DEET®, picaridin, IR3535, or 
oil of lemon eucalyptus.

Wear loosely fitted, light-
colored, long-sleeved shirts 
and long pants.

 Symptoms of dengue may 
be mild or severe and include 
fever, nausea, vomiting, rash, 
and body aches. Symptoms 
typically last two to seven 
days and although severe 
and even life-threatening 
illness can occur, most people 
recover after about a week.

 For more information visit: 
cityofPasadena.net.


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