altadenablog

Cops believe Altadena & Pasadena shootings may be related

Courtesy the Contra Costa Times, of course (actually by PSN's Robert Hong), sheriff's deputies and Pasadena police are looking into the three shootings that have occurred in a two mile radius since last week, starting with an Altadena shooting on Thursday.

Andre Coleman goes on (virtual) book tour

PWeekly reporter, new dad,  and local man o'letters Andre Coleman is going on a virtual book tour to promote his book Blackbirds v. 1.  Check it out!

Is Zumba for you-mba?

Ellen Snortland sends us a bleg:

Janet Bordeaux, a personal trainer specializing in yoga as well as custom workouts is interested in creating a Zumba class in Altadena. Janet has been teaching fitness classes for 12 years and discovered Zumba 9 months ago. She is very excited about Zumba, and would like to take an “interest” pulse to see if there are people who would like to blend fun with fitness.

For those of you who don’t know what Zumba is, it’s a fusion of Latin dance and music with aerobic exercise. Zumba is about the joy of movement to music, so you don’t have to be a dancer to join in. The steps are easy and music is energetic. Depending upon whether she has to rent a space to conduct the class, she anticipates the class would cost between $7-$10 for an hour. Zumba is good for all ages!

If you’d be interested in attending a class like that in the Altadena area, please contact Janet at: 626.794.4978 or e-mail to jbordxyz@yahoo.com.

Expressing interest is not a commitment so just let her know if it’s of interest to you.

Altadena Town Council Meeting, 7 PM Tues.

... at the community center, 730 E. Altadena Dr.

Chairman Gino Sund tells us that the major agenda item will involve a possible new trash contract.  There may also be the usual surprises.

Crime Log: Nov. 2-4

Running late, but some interesting items on this crime log:

Nov. 2: Woman assaulted a victim with a display rack on the 900 block of E. Altadena Drive.

Nov. 3: 2400 N. Tanoble St., victim had truck containing landscaping equipment stolen at gunpoint.

Nov. 4: Lincoln Ave. and Toolen Ave., a woman was arrested for possession of account information with the intent to commit identity theft.

“The Altadena Station crime log is published for the purpose of providing the community with a sampling of reported crimes within the Altadena Station jurisdiction.  This report does not include all criminal activity occurring within the parameters of this report.  The objective of this report is to enhance community awareness and assist its members in taking proactive steps towards ensuring their safety and the safety of others within the community.”

Fire information online

J. Lopez of the Los Angeles County Fire Department has been circulating this note to the newsgroups:

Yes, to see the current fires with State Responsibility Areas go to: http://www.fire.ca.gov/index_incidents_info.php

To see information on the Sayre Incident (this is a LA City Fire) go to:
http://lafd.blogspot.com/2008/11/lafd-sayre-fire.html

To see the fires with Federal Responsibility Areas go to:
http://www.inciweb.org/

Be safe,
J. Lopez

Red flag warning this weekend

As we watch the news coverage of the fires in Sylmar and Montecito, we send out our prayers to those affected and the firefighters who are battling the blazes.  (Particular prayers go out to the brothers at Mt. Calvary Retreat House, who were forced to flee as the monastery was totally destroyed).

While we're fortunate that nothing is happening in the local area, the low humidity and gusty winds are putting Los Angeles and Ventura Counties into red flag conditions at least until Sunday afternoon, so if you're going into the mountains this weekend, be especially careful.

Bullet the blue sky

We'll finish up today with an actual picture of the U2 "Dragon Lady" spy plane that puzzled and amazed so many in the San Gabriel Valley today.  And the pictures and the story are by -- who else??? -- Bill Westphal:

OK, OK, OK,

This caught us ALL off guard.  Actually my wife got an email forwarded to her from a friend.  And then I got one from a friend at work.  Why didn't we hear about this in the media I thought?  A little more research told me that it was "Air Force Week" and we would be treated to a flyby of vintage military aircraft.  They were supposed to fly over Griffith park and on to Hollywood and Highland where there was a ceremony celebrating "Air Force Week".

"Father of earthquake engineering" dies at 97

George W. Housner, 97, Caltech professor and "father of earthquake engineering," will appropriately be buried in the same cemetery as Charles RIchter, i.e. Mountain View.  His amazing engineering career is detailed in this LA Times obit.

Palm tree, cell tower, or alien probe? You decide ...

Bo Astrup of the Altadena Neighborhood Alliance points us to these pictures that mock up how the proposed cell phone tower will look at St. Elizabeth's.

Sex after 50? You bet!

We just want to see how many hits we get on THIS story ...

but congrats to Debbie Swanson Patrick, the AltadenaAboveItAll gal, who landed this story in the "Life After 50" website.  She says it's award-winning, but won't tell us which award!

Where the streets have no name: U2 mapping us? (UPDATED)

UPDATE, 6 PM: Still haven't found what you're looking for?  The U2 mystery has been solved, after the jump.

Chris Considine, who has given us aviation news before, sends us this message @ 11:30 AM

F15's, fighter escorts, have been circling our area of the San Gabriel Valley this morning.
Upon further observation they are circling in escort of the FAMOUS U2 SPYPLANE which is taking some type of recon photographically or electronically of our neighborhoods.

The famous jet is very very wide and the wing span is huge...it flies incredibly slowly...and
MAKES NO SOUNDS AT ALL...something those that have witnessed the B-2 New Years Day flyovers know only too well....silence...stealth... and loud interceptors should someone like to make something out of it...

As to WHY!?!? the military is doing this over our bedroom communities of La Canada, Altadena, Sierra Madre and Arcadia (that's all that I can see from my house) I have absolutely no idea....anyone else?

Not unless word's gone out about our exercising neighbor ...

Library position open for Americorp literacy volunteer.

Deadline is coming up on this, Dec. 1:

ALTADENA LIBRARY DISTRICT
AmeriCorps Literacy Assistant Position Open

The Altadena Library District Literacy Program has one part-time volunteer position open for the 2009 service year.  AmeriCorps members provide an enormous boost for the community by tutoring local adults, recruiting volunteers and conducting outreach for Literacy Services.

The position requires a minimum of 20 hours per week.  The service year is from January 1 to December 31, 2009.  Applicant must be at least 18 years old, able to read, write and speak English well and be willing to have a background check.  Along with helping the community, additional benefits of this position include a monthly stipend, free training in the area of literacy, computers, project planning and community outreach and a financial education award at the end of the year’s service.  Applications are available at the Main Altadena Library at 600 E. Mariposa St. and the Bob Lucas Branch Library at 2659 N. Lincoln Ave.  The deadline to submit completed applications is 5:00pm on Monday, December 1, 2008.

The Altadena Library District participates in the statewide California Library Literacy Services AmeriCorps Initiative. This program is dedicated to improving literacy in each of the communities it serves.  “AmeriCorps service is a perfect fit for those special individuals that want to make a difference in their community,” says Roberta Lauderdale, the Altadena Public Library AmeriCorps Program Supervisor.  The California Library Literacy Services AmeriCorps Initiative is made possible by a grant from the California Service Corps and operates as a statewide partnership of the California State Library, the National City Public Library, LiteracyWorks, and Starbucks.  The Altadena AmeriCorps Members are sponsored by the Friends of the Altadena Library.  For more information about AmeriCorps and the Altadena Library Literacy programs, contact Roberta Lauderdale at 626-798-8338 or rlauderdale@altadenalibrary.org

Music hath charms ...

From the Exile, a local blog of Jewish issues, profiles Altadena percussionist Karolyn Berkman.

Dear Star News ... we're here!

We got cc'd on this letter by Nancy L.C. Steele to the Pasadena Star-News:

Dear Steve and Larry,
It happened again. The Pasadena Star-News had a story yesterday on the Shake-Out that was accompanied by a city-by-city listing of where to go and who to call in the case of emergencies. Again to my amazement, Altadena and its over 42,000 residents, along with all of the other residents of unincorporated areas, was ignored. There was no information published for County residents. We are apparently invisible to the Pasadena Star-News.

This is inexcusable. Reporting that ignores Altadena and other communities in your sphere is simply bad reporting. Supervisor Michael Antonovich's office publishes a guidebook for Altadena and other incorporated areas with all kinds of information on where to go and who to call. I find it hard to believe that this guidebook is not in the PSN library of resources or that your reporters do not have the ability to actually find this information by making a phone call to the Supervisor's district office in Pasadena. From now on, you need to instruct your reporters that a general article on activities in the region is not complete unless it also reports on Altadena.

Nancy L.C. Steele
Altadena

(Flle photo: Cmdr. Linsenmayer putting the Star News to good use in Mexico.)

UPDATE: After a morning of fevered emails traveling around town, we got cc'd on this response to Alice Wessen from PSN's Larry Wilson:

alice, many thanks for your concerns. as a 16-year altadenan at various times in my life, i understand alta pride. i will pass your comments on to the city desk for discussion. all best, larry

Mountain lion sighting around Stonehill

Stonehill News has pictures of a mountain lion sighted in the neighborhood at about 1:30 yesterday afternoon.

Art reception at Beckett Hall Sat.

Beckett Hall,  1051 E. Altadena Dr., will hold a reception for artists Edward Beckett, Bob Young, and Robert Moore on Sat. from 3 to 10 PM Saturday.  PSN has all the details.

All shook up

Students evacuate Eliot Middle School this morning as part of the Great Southern California Shake-out earthquake drill. 

Man shot this morning in front of Johnny's Liquor

This just in from PSN: a 19-year-old man was shot in front of Johnny's Liquor at the corner of Fair Oaks and Harriet St. this morning just before 8 AM.

PSN says of the perp:

The suspect fled on foot with a handgun, possibly a revolver. He is described him as a black male in his mid-twenties, wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans. He is 5'6" and 180 pounds, [Sherriff Lt. Greg] Sisneros said.

Street Cities - Free Mapping and Street View Tools

East Pasadena urgent care still up in the air

An urgent care facility in East Pasadena (which would also serve that area of Altadena) isn't any closer to happening, says Andre Coleman and Joe Piasecki in Pasadena Weekly.  The old St. Luke Hospital location and others all present their own problems.  Check the story for deets.

Reeves first black judge in Stanislaus County

The Razor, in probably his last story before fatherhood (welcome to Society of the Sleep-Free, Dre), has a piece in PWeekly about former Altadenan Dawna Frenchie Reeves, 44, now the first African-American judge in Stanislaus County.  Reeves, a 1982 PHS grad, is a former county prosecutor.

ACTS holds ecumenical Thanksgiving celebration Nov. 23

An ecumenical community Thanksgiving celebration will take place on Sun., Nov. 23, 7 PM  at Altadena Baptist Church, 791 East Calaveras Street. This event will include representatives from a number of local Christian denominations, the Jewish community, the Bahai faith, and other religious expressions, demonstrating the need all people have to express their gratitude.

The keynote address will be presented by the Rev. Wendy Tajima, who is a third-generation Japanese-American, born and raised in Pasadena. Wendy worked with battered women for ten years, then in management with the Apple Computer Company. She entered seminary in 1997 to train for Christian ministry. She was ordained in the Presbyterian Church and served as a pastor in Hawaii with the United Church of Christ. Her Thanksgiving message will be entitled "Raisins in the Stuffing."

Music expressing thanks and praise will be led by two choirs, the Pasadena Jewish Temple Choir, directed by Cantor Judy Sofer, and the Altadena Baptist Gospel Choir, directed by Glenn Molina. There will be readings from sacred writings of the various faith traditions participating.

This community celebration is being sponsored by ACTS (Altadena Congregations Together Serving), a local affiliation of clergy and lay people dedicated to growing together through conversation, fellowship, shared projects and mutual respect. One of the continuing programs of ACTS is a cooperative Food Pantry, staffed by volunteers from the various congregations, that helps local families in financial stress. An opportunity will be given at the celebration for people to bring either canned foods or money to support the Food Pantry.

Duck & cover for the Great Shake-out tomorrow!

Thursday is the Great Southern California Shake-out -- at 10 AM tomorrow, schools, businesses, day care centers, etc. will participate in the largest earthquake drill in the country.  If you're not ready yet, the website is here!

And don't forget -- the protocol is "Drop, Cover, and Hold On," not "Triangle of Life."  Learn more here.

Holiday bleg

(for those who don't know, a "bleg" is a beg on a blog)

We want to put out there that churches and other groups will be scheduling holiday activities, and we want to include them in our new Holidays page.  If your church has their Christmas Eve/Christmas services, pageants, concerts etc. scheduled, we'd like to know about them so we can tell the community.

Veteran's Day dish

We hope you are enjoying your holiday and remembering those who've served (our father and father-in-law served during the Korean war; my uncle liberated a concentration camp in WWII; and my grandfather served in WWI -- he was considerably older than my grandmother when they married!  And my college roommate Dave, who never saw action but kept the East Germans in line anyway during the early 1970's.  And all the veterans and reservists in our men's breakfast group.  A toast to them all!).

Since PUSD is taking the day off, we're on kid duty all day and just returned from a supremely-overcrowded LA Zoo, but there's some things percolating:

• Don't forget the Norm Stevens talk at the main library at 7 PM.
  
• John McEuen at the Coffee Gallery (and if you don't have tickets, you're probably out of luck)
  
• We ran into Sheriff Capt. Roosevelt Blow last week, and he says this technology will be in operation soon in Altadena -- a device that reads license plates and correlates them to known crooks.
  
• We wondered why the helicopter was orbiting around the same place so much this morning and we were getting nothing out of the scanner.  Then an Altadena friend on Facebook mentions that she was exercising naked in the privacy of her backyard and got flown-over half a dozen times.  It all makes sense now.  Maybe they were trying to read her license plate?

Photos of hiker rescue

Bill Westphal sent us these pictures of tonight's helicopter landing at the Farnsworth Park ballfield.  The rescue chopper was transferring an injured hiker to a ground ambulance.  Click to enlarge.

Landing at the ballfield

Landing

Preparing for takeoff

 

Another injured hiker, another chopper

A rescue copter just touched down at Farnsworth Park around 7:35 to drop off another injured hiker.  According to the scanner traffic, the hiker was airlifted from Echo Mountain.  The injuries were not serious enough to warrant airlifting to a trauma center, so the Farnsworth Park ballfield was turned into a helipad to transfer the hiker to a ground ambulance.  We ran into Bill Westphal there (because he's EVERYWHERE) with camera in tow, and he promised us pictures of the dramatic scene later tonight.

Sheriff's Station food and toy drive underway

Every year, the Altadena Sheriff's Station looks to the community to help them provide food and toys to families they have identified as needing special help this holiday season.  (It's also good for them to have a supply of stuffed animals and other toys on hand to help reassure and comfort children who end up getting involved in assistance calls). 

The annual food and toy drive is now underway, and the deputies are looking for pantry staples and holiday food items as well as toys to help the people who need it.  Please call Dep. Sam Estrada, 626-798-1131 for more information, and Altadenablog will post the drop-off locations once they've become available.

Yes we can -- 50,000! Did we say 50,000?

As of sometime today -- Monday, Nov. 10, 2008 -- Altadenablog has passed 50,000 lifetime page views.  Our lifetime per-day average is now up to 123 (which includes many months when page views didn't get above the dozens), and we are safely hovering in the 250-500 page view per day range these days, depending on what's going on in town.

Thank you to all our supporters -- to those who keep us informed about what's going on in their corner of the world, so we can share it with you.  Thank you to our advertisers for being smart enough to know where the community is going for news (and we still have charter rates, so if you advertise with us now, you'll always get the best price -- shameless plug).  Thank you to those community members and institutions whose support we have received, who send us their news, and endure our nosy questions.  Thanks to all of our commenters, both praising and critical (Robert Heinlein said "I never learned from a man who agreed with me"). 

And a special thank you to our readers and those who say we've helped them or brought them something they needed to know.

Thank YOU for supporting Altadena's community newsblog!

(Even Prof. Lowe is breaking out the balloons!)

Update 6 PM: Our provider, Typepad, begins the daily page view count at 0000 GMT.  Therefore, for Nov. 10, we scored an all-time high of 716 page views.  Thank you!

Veteran's Day activities

Who knew there was so much to do on Veteran's Day (tomorrow) in Altadena?

The Libraries are open, and the evening will feature a talk by "Norm" Stevens, WWII bombadier, at 7 PM;

No Adventure Pass is needed if you're planning to hike the Angeles National Forest;

The legendary John McEuen will be appearing at the Coffee Gallery, 8 PM!

And remember those who have served their country -- fly your flag!

Rescue going on near Sam Merrill Trail

7:14 PM: been a lot of helicopter activity and scanner traffic tonight.  Altadena sheriff's station tells us that a rescue is going on right now, but we don't have many details.  Victim has apparently been found, and a rescue is in progress.

Open thread: what business would YOU like to see?

With the developer of Altadena Plaza looking for good businesses to fill his mall, there's been some interesting discussion on the local newsgroups about what would be appropriate to fill the space.

But we want to open up the discussion to the community: what kind of businesses would YOU like to see inhabiting our new mall?  Florist, bookstore, Trader Joe's?  Let's start a comment thread!

Danny's Farm wins the trifecta!

... or so it seems.  This flyer tells us that Danny's has won "Employer of the Year" from the Pasadena Mayor's Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities,  a commendation from Supv. Mike Antonovich, and a recognition from Assemblyman Anthony Portantino.  David May of Danny's Farm won "Employee of the Year" award from the mayor's committee.

You can see 'em on the flyer, but can't link to them, so we'll help:  this link goes to the NBC nightly news story on Danny's, and this link goes to Fox's feature on the farm.

UPDATE 11/9: Caroyn Graham, editor of LA Parent Magazine, also has good words to say about Danny's Farm in her blog.

Altadena Relay for Life meeting Wed.

We recently met with Sarah Eagle of the American Cancer Society.  The society is planning on holding a fun event, the Relay for Life, at Farnsworth Park in August of '09.

Several communities have been holding similar relays for years, so this will be a first for Altadena, Eagle says.  The actual "relay" will be a 24 walk around a particular track.  Participants will form teams and get pledges to help support the American Cancer Society's efforts.

Eagle says that it will be a fun event, with music, games, and other activities while the relay is going on.  In addition, cancer survivors will be honored as part of the festivities.

Right now, the Altadena Relay for Life is looking for volunteers for a variety of tasks to get started on the right foot.  An information meeting will be held at the Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive, at 6 PM on Nov. 12.

You can also contact Sarah Eagle at  626-372-9456 or sarah.eagle@cancer.org

Nature, red in tooth and claw ...

... or maybe not now, but Isaac Garcia on E. Loma Alta has great pictures of a Cooper's Hawk that landed in his yard on his own blog!

Waldorf School Elves' Faire Nov. 22

The Pasadena Waldorf School, 209 E. Mariposa St., Altadena, will hold its annual Elves' Faire on Saturday, Nov. 22, 10 AM-4 PM, with food, games, crafts, and the activities that are part of the faire's unique charm.  More details on the flyers (click to enlarge).

Altadena WeatherCam: it's the meteor webcam!

The amazing Bill Westphal passes all superlatives by capturing a meteor on the weathercam!  We're in the middle of the Taurid meteor shower, and the 'cam picked this up shortly before 4 AM today.  Thank you, Bill! 

Arts-a-Dena in November

Via Micki's Zoo, the Hen's Teeth Art Collective is having a reception tonight, and the Gallery at the End of the World is announcing its next Sunday salon on Nov. 23 (check her site for deets)

A day in history

PSN columnist and Altadenan Shirlee Smith talks about election day and her joy at Barack Obama's victory.

Town council talking trash

A note from town councilor Alice Wessen:

Dear Neighbors:

A few town council folks will be meeting with the county and DPW next week
regarding upcoming trash contracts, to ask about what is possible, what is
being offered and how the county can help. We want to start this discussion
prior to Dept of Public Works doing a presentation to town council.

I'd like to be sure our needs are being heard and understood. While I
represent northwest Altadena, on this issue I welcome comments from all over
Altadena.

If folks have specific concerns they wish to share, please let me know
offline. Your names will not be used. I will only use the street name to
give a sense of the issues related to a neighborhood.

I can be reached at awessen@yahoo.com

PUSD looking to fill Measure TT oversight committee

On Tuesday Nov. 4th the communities of Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre passed Measure TT by an overwhelming majority (74.5%). This is a public schools facilities improvement bond.

The district is required to establish an independent Citizens' Oversight Committee to scrutinize how bond funds are allocated and spent. The Oversight Committee must include representation from the business community, a taxpayers' organization, a senior citizens' organization, and parents; it may not include any District employees. The Oversight Committee will meet at least quarterly, publish an annual report, and alert the school board and community to any unauthorized use of funds.

An application for membership in the Citizen's Oversight Committee to monitor Measure TT is available online (http://www.pusd.us/docs/tt/COC_Application.pdf). Applications are due no later than December 31, 2008.

St. Elizabeth cell tower rises again

Bo Astrup at the Altadena Neighborhood Alliance is asking people to submit comments to the city of Pasadena as it considers changes to its telecommunications facilities and equipment rules and regulations.  The neighborhood alliance has opposed constructing a cell tower on the property of St. Elizabeth's Church.  The church is in Altadena, but Pasadena is just across the street.

The public hearing before the Pasadena Planning Commission is Nov. 12, and the official notice is after the jump.  Contact at the city of Pasadena is Jose Jimenez (and we'd just show our age if we did a joke about THAT).

Altadena Plaza close to finishing, looking for tenants

From Town Councilmember Alice Wessen, we received the following message from the developer of the property at Lincoln and Altadena Drive, which finally looks like it's coming close to completion:

From:  Ernest Brambila <ejbrambila@sbcglobal.net>

We are pleased to announce that we are in the final stage of construction and expect to be completed mid December.   I have taken the liberty of attaching our current marketing flyer.  If you think you are interested please feel free to either call or email.

  Ernest J. Brambila
 Alliance Commercial Properties

 Tel # 626-570-8289
 Fax# 626-943-7401
 ejbrambila@sbcglobal.net

Wessen tells us that "the developer for the property at the corner of Lincoln and Altadena Drive is looking to the community to help find appropriate vendors for the area."  Click on the pictures to see them at a larger size.

Suspicious characters on Midwick/Midlothian

This message, by retired Pasadena Police Lt. Tom Oldfield, has been making the rounds of local newsgroups:

This evening (Thus. Nov. 6), 4 PM, I was walking our dog eastbound on Midwick approaching Midlothian. I saw two young men walking through the front yard of the house on the southeast corner of Midwick and Midlothian (2174 Midlothian). As they reached the north side of the house they walked to the rear of the house and then out of sight southbound behind the house. When I arrived on Midwick just at the rear of the house they had been at the southeast corner of the house, either at the gate or in the back yard. They walked northbound to Midwick and then turned westbound as I passed. When I turned to look at them they both took off running southbound on Midlothian and then westbound on Meadowbrook. I do not recall ever seeing them in the area prior to this occasion.

#1: Male 17-18, dark complexion, 5-9, 140 lbs, straight black hair, wearing a grey t-shirt and beige pants, carrying a black skateboard.

#2: Male, 16-17, dark complexion, 5-6, 120 lbs, Asian facial features, straight black hair, grey t-shirt, also carrying a black skateboard.

The dark complexion of these two appeared to be more middle eastern than Hispanic.

I called LASD Altadena and they sent four or five cars out within five minutes, a response that I found to be very prompt and appropriate. They did check the residence and did not find anything amiss. I don't think they located these to fellows.

The time of day, 4PM is a little late for residential burglars, but the house was closed up and it appeared that no one was home.

Crime Log: Oct. 28-Nov. 2

Just two items in this week's Crime Log:

Oct. 28: Man arrested for possession of marijuana and resisting arrest at Lincoln Ave. and Harriet St.

Nov. 2: Male adult arrested for sexual assault on a minor on Alberta St.

“The Altadena Station crime log is published for the purpose of providing the community with a sampling of reported crimes within the Altadena Station jurisdiction.  This report does not include all criminal activity occurring within the parameters of this report.  The objective of this report is to enhance community awareness and assist its members in taking proactive steps towards ensuring their safety and the safety of others within the community.”

Busy Friday ...

and your blogkateer will be running late today.  We're going to be on kid duty until late evening.

But there's good stuff coming -- mostly involving crime and updates to Altadena Plaza, so keep the news comin' in, and we'll put it up when we can!

Weekendin'

Some things to keep you occupied this weekend, all flashbacks from previous posts:

Veterans' Benefits & Education Workshop at the Community Center on Saturday, 730 E. Altadena Dr., 9-noon.
Millard Canyon restoration, also starting at 9 AM.
Verdugo Hills Community Hike, also Saturday.
Soul Food Sunday at the Community Center, 3-5 PM.

A compleat angler at PWeekly

Bob Johnson of Altadena, an enthusiastic mountain fisherman, is profiled by Christopher Nyerges in this week's Pasadena Weekly. 

Keep your pets from cat-tastrophe

The cougars are out, and you foothill dwellers need to keep an eye on your dogs, kids, and other livestock. 

Thanks to the efforts of Lori Paul and Alice Wessen over at the Chaney Trail area, word is getting out among the newsgroups.  Click on the flyer to expand it to full size.

Taurid meteors swarming thru next week

The Spaceweather site tells us we're in the middle of a meteor shower -- and it's a goodie!

Space Weather News for Nov. 6, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

TAURID METEOR SHOWER: The annual Taurid meteor shower is underway and it could be a good show. 2008 is a "swarm year" for the Taurids. Between Nov. 5th and 12th, Earth is due to pass through an unusually dense swarm of gritty debris from parent comet 2P/Encke. When a similar encounter happened in 2005, sky watchers observed a slow drizzle of midnight fireballs for nearly two weeks. Whether 2008 will be as good as 2005, however, remains to be seen. In 2005, the swarm encounter was more central; Earth passed through the middle of the cloud. In 2008, forecasters believe we are closer to the outskirts. How much this will affect the shower, no one knows. The best time to look is during the hours around midnight when the constellation Taurus is high in the sky.

(Thanks to Bill Westphal for tipping us off!)