Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Trash Talk

A few Meadows residents have voiced their frustration regarding non-paying residents sneaking their trash into others’ trash cans on trash days. Even after repeated requests to stop, the practice continued. The residents are upset that they are paying for a service that a neighbor is abusing. The waste disposal companies have stated that if they detect a non-paying resident is using others’ trash services, they will stop picking up the trash at that location.

Meadows FireSafe Council Update

All Meadows residents are urged to attend a town hall meeting that is being planned for September in which The Meadows FireSafe Council will preview the plans for brush clearance funded by the $83,000 grant we’re receiving this year. The council will provide an overview of the project and solicit input from Meadows residents. Presentations from the L.A. County Fire Department, U.S. Forestry Service, Altadena Sheriffs, and others will be included. More information to come regarding the date and location.

Loma Alta Park Update

The new gymnasium and community rooms at Loma Alta Park are scheduled to be opened the week of July 31. The official opening ceremonies are being scheduled for September.

Power to the People?

The Meadows experienced two power outages on Saturday, July 22 for approximately 12 hours and Monday, July 24 for approximately 7 hours. This was the third lengthy outage this year with the first being on January 2 for approximately 12 hours.

Our Town Councilman, Dennis Bridwell, addressed these outages with the County Supervisor’s office while we were in the middle of the outage. He was told that Supervisor Antonovich contacted Southern California Edison which will be addressing the problem. The SCE believes we have an old grid that services our area. Other theories heard by residents include the possibility that an old transformer services our neighborhood. Dennis will be calling for an investigation into why The Meadows appears to have more power outages than many of the surrounding areas at the next Town Council meeting. Please support his efforts by attending the meeting on Tuesday, August 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center. Thanks to Dennis for his proactive approach.

Also note that the Sunday’s Star News coverage of the outages in Southern California never mentioned Altadena. In an email response from the reporter, he acknowledged that he inadvertently left Altadena off the list. Please contact these reporters when oversights occur. (Emailing the reporter is fast and easy.) “Getting press” on the issue helps stir offices like the SCE and County Supervisor’s office into action.

ATC Update

An update from our Altadena Town Councilman, Dennis Bridwell: The Altadena Town Council (ATC) denied a store owner’s request for a Conditional Use Permit for a liquor license at 2211 Fair Oaks. This was the liquor store that burned down last year and was the subject of many law enforcement and gang issues.

Shots Fired Near Altadena and Lincoln

Yesterday afternoon, gun shots were heard from here in The Meadows. One reader of this blog asked if anyone knew what happened.

I talked to the owners of George's Liquor today. They said that a group of guys around the houses west of Loncoln and George's appeared to be "playing around". They assume that it turned into a fight and guns started being fired. The youths ran to George's parking lot but never entered the store. The sheriffs were called.

That's all the information we have so far. If anyone has additional information or comments, please post to our blog.