At Tuesday's Altadena town council meeting:
- Sheriff Capt. Steven McLean introduced two new officers who will be working at Altadena station: Sgt. Dennis Dominguez, who has a background in tactics and officer safety who will act as a mentor and teacher to younger deputies; and Sgt. Joe Fender, who is a gang expert coming from Lancaster station.
McLean also said that the first VIDA class will graduate June 11 in a ceremony at Belvedere Elementary School in east Los Angeles.
The lobby of Altadena station will be completed by the middle of June, and McLean said they hoped the entire station would finish renovation by Aug. 1. - Lt. Joe Dempsey presented the monthly crime report, saying that Part I (serious) crimes were down 35.7%, the biggest decrease of any sheriff station in the county. Dempsey said that the only crime up was rape, with five reported date rape incidents (none of which have appeared on the police blotter, by the way -- ed.).
- The council certified the slate of candidates for June's town council election. (Rev. CR Legal SR was removed from the ballot as he did not present required identification). The candidates also made their pitch for their seat in the candidate's forum during the meeting.
Check our election page later in the day for the full slate and locations of polling places -- and candidates are urged to submit campaign statements and pictures to altadenablog@gmail.com to appear on the page. - Councilman Tecumseh Shackelford urged residents to attend a May 26 meeting at the La Canada High School cafeteria, 4465 Oak Grove Dr., at 6 PM, for a hearing on the hauling routes that trucks will use when the county removes silt buildup at Devil's Gate dam. The county is planning to remove some of the silt buildup closest to the dam during the summer -- this is not the major cleanup that planners are pushing for Hahamongna Watershed, but an interim measure to increase dam safety as environmental impact reports are prepared for any major removal.
ADDED: - Chair Gino Sund said that the county supervisors finally approved the trash hauling contract with Athens at their Tuesday meeting. There will be a period of public notification, and it is hoped that Athens will start as Altadena's sole trash hauler in September.
- Marissa Hernandez, from the Los Angeles County parks and recreation department said that they were hoping to "solidify" a vendor to managed the Loma Alta farmer's market this week. The REACH program, which gives summer jobs working in county parks to students, will have 11 working in Altadena parks this summer.
- Allan Wasserman, who represents the council on the West Altadena Project Area Committee, said that the Community Bible Church had purchased the building on the southeast corner of Lincoln Ave. and Woodbury for $2.5 million in cash and will turn it into a campus facility that will include a coffee shop, a library, a bookstore, and school. The church calls itself the largest low income housing owner in Pasadena and works with many different community organizations.
