altadenablog

One reported dead in Eaton Canyon fall

Pictured: Rescue workers gather at the gate at Pinecrest this morning as two hikers have fallen near Eaton Falls.

by Timothy Rutt

As we write, there are two rescues going on simultaneously in Eaton Canyon and the Angeles National Forest.

According to Sgt. Gary Ogurek of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station, a male and female had fallen off a cliff near Eaton Falls this morning.  The man died but the woman was rescued, Ogurek said.

Meanwhile, near Gould Mesa, a horse and rider have fallen about 6-8 feet according to reports, and rescue is presently underway.

 Pictured: Forest Service rescue vehicle goes down the trail at Pinecrest Gate.

"Abstract: Altadena" brings the fun

We weren't able to attend last night, but the irresistible force Bill Westphal stepped in:

Attendance was a little light at Saturday's Abstract: Altadena exhibit held in Galloway Alley. It was a wonderful exhibit of abstract photos from local photographers organized by Molly Tierney. Local merchants were there displaying there goods and a variety of food was available. Those Manning Boys were on hand and provided music.

The Alley and the Abstract photos on display. Molly Tierney can be seen at the far right talking to Walt Mancini and Gloria Fogler-Mancini who had images on display at tonight's exhibition. Our hats go off to Molly for organizing this wonderful photo exhibition. We look forward to more.

More after the jump.

Coffee Gallery hosts autobio writing/performance workshop

Telling Tales Theatre at the Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2027 North Lake Avenue.

This exciting autobiographical writing/performance workshop encourages both experienced and new writers to cultivate their literary skills in a stimulating and supportive environment
 
Workshop Begins Sat., Jan. 9, 2010 at 1-3 PM. at the Coffee Gallery Backstage
 
Theme:  The Adventure of Self Discovery
 

Garden Conservancy hosts Altadena tour April 26

The Garden Conservancy, a national organization, will be highlighting some of the outstanding gardens of Altadena on Sun., April 26, 9:30 AM-3:30 PM.  Maps and discounted admission tickets (a booklet of 6 tickets for $25) will be available at Nuccio's Nurseries at 3555 Chaney Trail.

Tenants must leave -- vermin still there, Weekly says

The Razor has a great story in this week's PWeekly about the kerfluffle involving small low-income apartments on Raymond south of Woodbury.  Tenants have complained about nonattention to rodents, cockroaches, and bad plumbing, and many complaining tenants have been served with notices of eviction.  Reason for eviction?  Nonpayment of rent (altho' it goes into an escrow account pending repairs), and plans to subdivide the apartments into even smaller units. It's all in court, of course. Solid piece.

Who's hot and who's not? Altadena -- not

Money Magazine and CNN have an annual feature on best places to live (No. 2 nationally this year is Ft. Collins, Colorado, our place of birth and raising).  In the local breakdown, i.e. San Gabriel Valley, Walnut gets the No. 1 nod out of 25 cities.  Anchoring the lower three are Altadena, Whittier, and Covina, with Altadena cited as worst in crime (and yes, we know the Crime Log is quite skimpy). 

Open thread: let's talk trash!

Lots of ideas floating around the newsgroups and around town about trash collection in Altadena.  The town council is considering a contract for one provider, as opposed to the "semi-exclusive" franchise now operating with Athens and Allied.  What do you think?  Is it better to have competition, or accountability?  Flexibility? Bear-proof containers? Comments below.

Stargazing at Farnsworth Park Dec. 5

The LA County Dept. of Parks and Recreation will host a stargazing party on Fri., Dec. 5, starting at 7 PM at Farnsworth Park, 568 E. Mount Curve.  JPL astronomer Jane Jones will be there, and information will be available on hosting your own stargazing party.

(Hubble image courtesy NASA)

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 ...

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.

Let's eat!

Now that he's got some free time, Steve Lamb is writing local restaurant reviews at Haunts of the Fat Man.

Chaney Trail: at the mountains of madness, or "Lovecraft" is not a sex book

It's hard to track this conversation, but a recipe request at the Chaney Trail newsgroup has transformed into what combination of goat, eggplant, stone knife, and virgin will be required to feed/call up Cthulhu.  (It's possible that the virgin prepares the eggplant and goat with the knife herself -- it's unclear).

This means one of two things: (1) the Chaney Trail neighborhood is even stranger than we feared, or (2) the geek factor over there is pretty high.  Possibly both.

Lines

If you go to Pasadena over the next few days, here's the geography:
1.  The long line in Old Town is trying to get the new Iphone.
2.  The long line at the Paseo is trying to get tickets to "Dark Knight."
3.  The long line on Lake is IndyMac depositors making withdrawals.

(The above picture is the police line for International Monetary Fund Protests at Washington, D.C. in 2002, because it's the only public domain line we could find quickly!)

Chaney Trail: "we'll be back" or "Yi-Yi-Yi-Yi-Yi-Yi-Yi .."

Well, the folks at the barely-civilized Chaney Trail neighborhood are upset that the sheriff's department is not shutting the trail gate for the night in a timely manner, and they're looking for self-sufficient alternatives.

After deciding against the "head on a pike" alternative, they're discussing others.  Most popular alternatives to date:  1) Xena, Warrior Princess, or 2) a cyborg, preferably driving a Hummer.  (We could say something about after-hours visitors and hummers, but this is a family blog, so why even try?)

(Voodoo dolls and a real security guard have also been offered as alternatives, but what fun are they?)

A bleg for the Farnsworth concert tonight

Schedule won't allow us to attend the Sheriff's Support Group Farnsworth Park concert series tonight, but if anyone would like to share pictures with us and everyone else in the world, send 'em here!  Thank you!

Note to self: do not mess with Chaney Trail residents

The Chaney Trail newsgroup has gotten rather bloodthirsty of late.

Fresh on the heels of the  lung and trachea found in a resident's yard (which now appears to come from a deer, not a dog), someone submitted a recipe for beuschl, an Austrian dish that is largely comprised of lung as well as other disgusting animal parts.  The homeowner responded:

Darn! I wish I had known about this recipe before getting rid of the beuschl.we should have scaped off the dirt, flies and yellow jackets and prepared a delicious meal for the whole neighborhood. With the price of meat skyrocketing, it's economical as well!

And if that's not bad enough:  there's been an ongoing spat in the neighborhood about closing the Chaney Trail gate.  It's supposed to be shut about 8 PM by sheriff's deputies, who conduct a sweep of the area to chase out anybody before closure.  That hasn't happened lately (sheriff's are claiming "emergencies," which is probably true, altho' you wouldn't know it to talk to them), and residents are concerned, as there is already the sound of firecrackers going off in the woods (as we've said: dry forest + drunken bonehead + fireworks = trouble).  So the residents are thinking of taking matters into their own hands.

After a short discussion on spreading the responsibility for shutting the gate, one member said:

On the other hand, heads on stakes are really good at keeping the wrong people out.

To which another commenter respondied:

Heads on stakes might also work, but then the Health Dept. and Vector Control would come unglued and someone would have to put fresh ones up on a regular basis. It's just not feasible or aesthetic...

Do NOT mess with Chaney Trail residents!

Grrlie throws MTA under the bus for not knowing where Altadena is

Kelly the West Coast Grrlie rides the new 762 line (apparently alone) to see it travel to Altadena, like the brochure says.  Well, Washington and Fair Oaks ain't Altadena, last we checked, and the Grrlie knocks 'em one for it.

No more pic-a-nic baskets for the Farnsworth bears

The county is replacing some of the picnic tables in Farnsworth Park this spring.  The new concrete tables, in a browny-buff color, look sturdy if undistinguished.

They don't quite have the charm of the older benches they replace, which have the grizzly bear and tree logo of the state parks dept. on the base.

Photo ops

Lot of pictures of Altadena this weekend in the blogosphere.

... somewhere in Altadena.  Anybody know where this is?

Petrea's Pasadena Daily Photo has a melancholy view of Mountain View Cemetery, and one for Memorial Day..

A cloudy view up Lake Ave.

JPL Open House this weekend

Alice Sarkisian Wessen sends this note:

My husband and I will be there the entire weekend so
feel free to stop by and say hi!
Alice

JPL Open House: May 3 and 4
JPL rolls out the welcome mat for the public this weekend, May 3 and 4.

Highlights for this year's Open House include watching 700-pound robots glide under artificial stars in the Robodome and close-up views of models of Mars rovers - past, present and future.

Children will be able to participate in many hands-on activities.

The free event runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pso/oh.cfm?msource=FL20080429&tr=y&auid=3620336

Deps sweep the decks, vexed at wreck's Rx

PSN has a piece on that blighted, fenced-in wreck on Lake between Morada and Sacramento.  Seems that they found some psychotropic meds out loose there, remnant of its period as a board-and-care for the mentally disabled.  Sorry if you had  plans for the weeked -- sheriff's deputies cleaned it up.

Sheriff's Community Campout

The Altadena Sheriff's Station showed off its new command post vehicle at Lincoln Crossing Tuesday afternoon.  Sheriff Capt. Roosevelt Blow said that contributions from many community members and groups have refurbished and spiffed up the trailer, which made its public debut at Lincoln Crossing this week.  While it's now used for community outreach events, Blow said that eventually they hope to build in radio dispatch and computer capabilities so it can be a true mobile command station.

Capt. Blow meets with community members at the "campout."

Christmas Tree Lane is Go!

Cooler heads have prevailed after the hare-brained idea we pointed out below to close Altadena Drive for repaving right at Santa Rosa, i.e. Christmas Tree Lane, during the Christmas Tree Lane season.

Pasadena Now reports that Supervisor Michael Antonovich has stepped in, and the repaving will be delayed until after the season.

However, Allen will be torn up at Mendocino and "No Parking" signs will be put up around the Balian mansion ... okay, we're kidding.

Whoosh!

The photographic Bill Westphal sends us this image this morning from the Altadena Weathercam.  He writes:

The forecasted Wind Event did seem to materialize this time for us here in Altadena.  I recorded 26+ mph gusts both yesterday afternoon and this morning.

In this Weathercam image dust and ash (from the Lowe Fire earlier this year) can be seen blowing in the wind.  Things seem to be calming down now and the High Wind Warning will be cancelled.

It sure would be nice to get a little rain though wouldn't it?

A right jolly old elf

Father Christmas delivers crystals at the Waldorf School's 22nd annual Elves Faire on Saturday.  Lots of music, crafts, fun kid activities, a not-to-be-missed festivity every year.

(Thanks to Mrs. Altadenablog for the photo!)

Angeles Forest to re-open Thursday

Word from USFS Public Affairs Officer Sherry Rollman is that the Angeles National Forest closure will be lifted Thurs., Nov. 8.  San Bernardino and Los Padres will also re-open Thursday, and Cleveland on Saturday.  Fire conditions are still "extreme," and all prior fire restrictions will remain in effect.

'Tis the season, already.

Well, Halloween's over, the Braeburn Boneyard is being dismantled, and it's already time for the snows of Christmas ...

Yes, we're still dealing with weather in the '80's, but thanks to the joy of Hollywood special effects, this house on Mendocino is enjoying a fresh coat of artificial snow for whatever-it-is they're filming there (the production assistants weren't talking to me). 

On the other hand, up the street, this IS one of the signs of the season in Altadena:  the Balians are stringing up their Christmas lights, preparing for their annual reproduction of the Close Encounters Mothership at Mendocino and Allen.

Workin' for the weekend

A few interesting things going on this weekend:

"A Walk Thru Time -- Channeling Hollywood:  The Vamp, the Impresario, Superman and More," an excursion through the shades that inhabit Mountain View Cemetery, will take place at the Mausoleum on Marengo St.  on Saturday and Sunday. Actors under the direction of the Pasadena Playhouse will re-create some of the denizens that inhabit the cemetery and mausoleum, including Barbara la Marr, George "Superman" Reeves, and Earl Derr Biggers, who created Charlie Chan.  A fundraiser for the Pasadena Playhouse and Pasadena Museum of History, tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for members of either institution.  Reservations are required: 626-794-7133.

Come see the copper choppers:   The Pasadena Police Air Operations Section is hosting an open house on Saturday from 11-1 at their helipad, 2175 Yucca Lane, Altadena.  There will be food, beverages, information about the helicopter program, meet the pilots, and watch a flyover at about 12:30 featuring Pasadena airships and the new, quieter-techology choppers used by Glendale PD.

A gospel concert to support the Sheriff's Dept. new Youth Activities League and Cadet program will be held at Eliot Middle School.  Open house starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by a program in the auditorium by Altadena's own Varetta Heidelberg. Tickets are $20 each (tax deductible), and available at the door or ahead of time at the sheriff's station.  Children 12 and under accompanied by a paid adult are free.

And don't forget next weekend, Altadena Heritage will be holding a home tour, "Artists of Altadena: The First 100 Years," which promises to be a lot of fun!  Reservations required: (626) 797-0054

 

Thanksgiving for home-bound seniors

The Pasadena Senior Center, in collaboration with Salvation Army and Meals on Wheels, will provide free home-delivered meals to seniors living in Altadena and Pasadena on Thanksgiving Day.  If you know of someone who will be alone and homebound, and is age 50 or older, please call 626-685-6577 by Nov. 12 to arrange for a meal.

Halloween is the new Christmas Part III

Another Halloween over-achiever on Pepper Drive (Pepper seems to be a hotbed of holiday decoration this year).  Of particular interest is that they've decorated the actual house to look like Kang and Kodos from the Simpsons!

Halloween is the new Christmas Part II

Two more homes ready for the holiday:
104 W. Loma Alta Drive -- Halloween, but approachable, followed by:

A spider and her huge web at 1734 Pepper Dr.

Is there a house in your neighborhood that's Halloween-ready?  Let us know at altadenablog @ gmail.com.

  

Halloween is the new Christmas

Forgive the slightly glare-y picture ... but Halloween has arrived early, as the folks at 1640 Braeburn strive to outdo themselves yet again.  It's the Halloween version of the Balian mansion!

Altadena Drive closure moves east

  The floating closure of Altadena Drive has moved again -- this time, the Holliston to Porter section will be closed to all but local traffic until around Thanksgiving.