Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 25, 2023

6

Mountain View News Saturday, November 25, 2023 

Man Found 
Shot to 
Death in 
Local Park

Pasadena Mayor set to 
hold Annual Tree Lighting

Doo Dah Parade Swarms Old Town

 
The brother of a former Los 
Angeles Lakers player was 
found dead early Saturday 
morning after Pasadena 
police responded to a 
gunshot alert in Northwest 
Pasadena. 

 According to police, 
on November 18, at 4:10 
a.m., officers responded 
to Washington Park 
located in the 700 block 
of East Washington Blvd. 
regarding a ShotSpotter 
gunshot detection alert. 
Upon arrival, officers found 
64-year-old Mickey Cooper 
in the park who had 
sustained gunshot wounds 
and was unresponsive.

 Cooper, a Pasadena 
resident, was pronounced 
deceased at the scene. 
Detectives from the 
Pasadena Police 
Department’s Robbery / 
Homicide Unit (RHU) 
responded to the crime 
scene to initiate an 
immediate follow-up 
investigation into the 
shooting.

 Mickey Cooper is the 
younger brother of former 
Los Angeles Lakers player 
Michael Cooper.

 Detectives coordinated 
an arrest operation with 
members of the US 
Marshal’s Pacific Southwest 
Regional Fugitive Taskforce 
and arrested 24-year-old 
Aaron Miguel Conell 
without incident.

 On Teusday, the Los 
Angeles County District 
Attorney’s Office charged 
Conell with Murder, 
Attempted Murder 
and Assault with a 
Semiautomatic Firearm. 
Bail was set at $4,025,000.

 During the investigation, 
PPD provided extra service 
and security to the park. 

 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), or smartphone by 
downloading the “P3 Tips” 
Mobile App Store, or online 
at: lacrimestoppers.org. 

 Join Pasadena Mayor 
Victor Gordo for the Mayor’s 
Annual Holiday Tree 
Lighting Ceremony, 5-7 p.m., 
Friday, Dec. 1, at City Hall, 
100 N. Garfield Ave. Bring 
family and friends to this free 
celebration featuring local 
singers and dancers, crafts 
for kids provided by Armory 
Center for the Arts, light 
refreshments, and a special 
appearance by jolly ol’ Santa 
Claus. Have your camera 
handy to capture some 
festive holiday moments at 
several photo stops available 
throughout the event.

 Mayor Gordo will light the 
City’s official tree at 6 p.m., so 
come early for parking and a 
prime viewing spot at City 
Hall.

 If you have the means, 
please help the Pasadena 
Fire Department give local 
underserved children and 
teens a holiday to remember. 
Pasadena firefighters will be 
at the tree lighting ceremony 
collecting donations of new, 
unwrapped toys, sports 
equipment and gift cards for 
the annual Spark of Love Toy 
Drive.

 The night will feature 
performances by local youth 
groups.

 For more infomation visit 
CityOfPasadena.net, or call 
the Citizen Service Center 
Monday through Friday 
during business hours at 
(626) 744-7311.


Pictured: (top) the start of the 
44th Occasional Pasadena 
Doo Dah Parade, (bottom) 
Doo Dah Queen Mama's 
Sunshine. Photos by D.Lee/
MVNews

South Pas. 
Library 
Holiday 
Book Sale

 Dodging the rain, with perfect 
weather, the Occasional 
Pasadena Doo Dah Parade 
celebrated 44 years of 
irreverent frolicking Sunday, 
returning to its original route 
in Old Pasadena. 

 “Pasadena is hooked up with 
the man or woman upstairs 
and made it happen,” Tom 
Coston Doo Dah Parade 
co-organizer said. “The rain 
made everything beautiful 
and sparkly.”

 Doo Dah Queen “Mama’s 
Sunshine,” AKA Natalie 
Flores of Los Angeles was 
showered with tortias as she 
rode down the parade in a 
vintage tan convertible. 

 The parade showcased 
upwards of 100 parade 
entries of every description, 
Coston said, including art 
cars, mutant vehicles, rockers, 
punk bands, performance 
artists, showstoppers, zany 
dancing troupes, and political 
pundits.

 The Doo Dah Parade began 
as a grassroots event in 1978 
and gained national attention 
for its eccentric and, often, 
irreverent satire. It is best 
known as the “twisted sister” 
of the Rose Parade.

 The Friends of the South 
Pasadena Public Library’s 
annual Holiday Book Sale 
will take place December 1 
through Dec. 3 in the Library 
Community Room at 1115 El 
Centro Street, South Pasadena.

 The sale will feature an 
extensive curated collection, 
including current and classic 
fiction, children’s books, 
stunning art and coffee table 
books, antiquarian and 
vintage titles, and much more. 
With hundreds of pristine, 
like-new books for sale, there 
is something for everyone, 
from birdwatchers to gaming 
enthusiasts, gardeners, graphic 
novel readers, golfers, and 
gastronomes. Complimentary 
gift wrapping will be available 
while supplies last.

 Back by popular demand, 
on Sunday only there will 
be a Holiday Marketplace, 
featuring local artisans 
offering a variety of handmade 
gifts such as ceramics, jewelry, 
art cards, and fiber arts.

Holiday Sale hours:

Friday, December 1st

6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Members of the Friends of the 
Library get early admittance 
at 5:00 p.m. To be eligible, 
individuals must join by 
November 30 at the $20 level 
or above. To join, visit the 
Friends of the Library website, 
where you will find links to 
pay online or download a 
paper membership form. 

Saturday, December 2

11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 

Sunday, December 3

 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Artisans’ Marketplace, Sunday 
only! 

 Items not sold during the Sale 
will be available for purchase 
through the end of December 
in the Friends Bookstore on 
the second floor of the library 
during regular Bookstore 
hours: Tuesday to Thursday, 
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Friday, 
11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; 
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m.

 The Friends of the Library 
is a non-profit organization 
whose mission is to raise 
money and public awareness 
in the community to support 
the services and programs of 
the City of South Pasadena’s 
beloved library. All funds 
raised at the Holiday Sale 
directly support the South 
Pasadena Public Library. 

South Pasadena: Dr. Beatriz Solis 
Memorial Park Groundbreaking

 
The City of South Pasadena 
invites the community to 
attend a groundbreaking and 
naming December 13 at 3:30 
p.m., of the new Dr. Beatriz 
Solis Memorial Park that 
memorializes the popular 
community leader, advocate, 
and resident.

 The park is located at 2006 
Berkshire Avenue.

 Dr. Solis was a long-time 
South Pasadena resident, 
and a tireless advocate of 
parks. She played an integral 
role in the City Council’s 
decision to purchase the 
Berkshire property from 
Caltrans, and her desire 
was to secure the land for a 
neighborhood pocket park 
in the northern section of 
South Pasadena, to add open 
space in the area. Dr. Solis 
was also a crucial participant 
in the South Pasadena 
Educational Foundation 
assisting in building strong 
schools in South Pasadena 
where her two sons 
attended and graduated. Dr. 
Solis is renowned locally, 
in the region, the state, 
and nationwide for her 
contributions to education, 
access, equity, and inclusion. 
The family continues to 
reside in and contribute to the 
South Pasadena community.

 In recognition of her 
exemplary service, the South 
Pasadena City Council 
unanimously voted to name 
the park in her honor. The 
open space project is made 
possible through funding 
from the voter-approved Los 
Angeles County Measure 
A funds. Dr. Beatriz Solis 
Memorial Park will feature 
a new four-square court, 
fitness equipment, seating 
areas, open play space, and 
additional safety elements 
and site enhancements.

 This event will bring 
together the community, 
local leaders, as well as 
the family and friends of 
Dr. Solis to commemorate 
her life and contributions 
to the community. More 
information about the Dr. 
Beatriz Solis Memorial Park 
is available at: 

 southpasadenaca.gov/ 
pocketparks.

Pasadena Wins Awards for 
Two Public Works Projects

 


 Director of Pasadena Public 
Works Tony Olmos announced 
Wednesday that the city has 
won two 2023 American Public 
Works Association (“APWA”) 
BEST awards for two public 
works projects: Renovation of 
Honorable John J Kennedy Pool 
and Pool Building, and Union 
Street Protected Cycle Track. 

 According to Olmos, Each year, 
APW A Southern California 
Chapter recognizes Public 
Works projects that are ranked 
to be the best in their respective 
project category based on 
enhanced performance, 
uniqueness, and impact to the 
quality of life in the community.

 Pasadena competed against 
other similar-sized cities in 
the Southern California region 
for the following awards: The 
Renovation of the Honorable 
John J Kennedy Pool and Pool 
Building project won Project of 
the Year in the Recreational and 
Athletic Facilities category as a 
facility that meets the needs of 
a diverse, largely disadvantaged 
community and fosters a 
healthy lifestyle for residents of 
all ages and abilities. Through 
an extensive community 
engagement process, the new 
4,141 square-foot heated pool 
and the renovated pool house 
can now accommodate the year-
round programming desired by 
local residents including swim 
lessons, water aerobics, parent-
and-me classes, recreational and 
lap swimming, and lifeguard 
training. The project also 
included a new youth and teen 
center.

 The Union Street Protected 
Cycle Track project won Project 
of the Year in the Traffic, Mobility 
and Beautification category by 
providing a safe all-ages facility 
for bike riders to use to travel 
through Pasadena’s dense, car-
centric historical downtown 
area. The new cycle track is a 
fully signalized 1.5-mile two-
way protected bikeway along 
Union Street and a quarter-mile 
bike boulevard along Holliston 
Avenue in the commercial and 
cultural core of the City. The 
project includes modifications 
to 14 existing traffic signals, 
installation of six new traffic 
signals, and pedestrian crossing 
improvements and updated 
curb ramps at all affected 
intersections. 

 For more information 
about these projects visit: 
cityofpasadena.net.

Pasadena 
Library 
Free Health 
Screening

 The Pasadena Hastings 
Branch Library is set 
to provide free health 
screening December 20 
at 10 a.m. Registered 
nurses from Huntington 
Health provide free blood 
pressure and blood glucose 
screenings for hypertension 
and diabetes, referrals and 
health education. A two-
hour (minimum) fasting 
time is required before 
blood glucose testing. No 
appointment necessary.

 Hastings Branch Library 
is located 3325 E Orange 
Grove Blvd.

 For more information 
visit: cityofpasadena.net/
library.


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