UPDATE 4:13 PM: As usual when one runs fast out the door, more facts come spilling in -- so we're taking the story below with a grain of salt until we dredge up some more. We usually do better than this, so hold on ...
UPDATE 4:15 PM: Tony Bell has clarified that Barger is monitoring the meeting, and Altadena has in fact not come up at all -- "off the table" just meant that it's not being discussed. We're walking back this story and apologizing for jumping the gun here.
UPDATE 4:16 PM: Are things coming thick and fast? Yes. This is a message we received from Kathryn Barger, Antonovich's chief of staff:
The meeting is being streamed "live" on County website. The plan being proposed and voted on today keeps Altadena in 5th....ultimately - The Board of Supervisors will take this issue up in August and vote to accept the plan approved by committee today- or modify the plan.
So, in summary: the plan proposed by the Boundary Review Committee keeps Altadena in the Fifth District, but the Board of Supervisors has final say and can accept or modify the plan. Barger's comments were not public in the meeting, but to the staff -- and it still seems less likely that Altadena will ultimately be split or moved.
UPDATE 4:29: from Elliot Gold, who is monitoring the meeting, caught the following sound bite: "5th District, we got over 100 pieces of correspondence, almost without exception support keeping the existing boundaries, and keeping Altadena intact."
This is beginning to remind us of those Station Fire days ...
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Splitting Altadena between two supervisory districts or moving it entirely to the First District is "off the table" for now, according to county staff.
Tony Bell, spokesman for Fifth District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, confirmed to us that Antonovich's chief of staff, Kathryn Barger, told the county's Boundary Review Committee today that changing Altadena's status is "off the table" as new district boundaries are being drawn.
However, Bell cautioned, the process is not yet over. After the committee finalizes its recommendations today, it will be sent to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. Still, a switch to the First District (Gloria Molina) or splitting Altadena between the First and Fifth Districts seems less likely in light of Barger's public comments.
