Thursday, April 30, 2009

Acting Workshop for Youth

Led by one of our Meadows Residents:

The Altadena Arts Council (TAAC), in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, will be sponsoring an "Acting Workshop for Youth", which will be held at Farnsworth Park, corner of North Lake Avenue and East Mountain Curve. The workshop will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:00 pm - 5:00 p.m. The first six-week session begins on Monday, May 11th and ends on Wednesday, June 17th. The workshop is open to all youth 9-14 years of age and costs $10.00 per class. Advanced registration is advised. For further information, please contact Mary Ann Stevenson at 626.797.5798 or via E-mail at maswrites@att.net .

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Census Update

Sheriff's Headquarters has been told that census takers will be in neighborhoods for 2 separate reasons.

The first is that they will be walking through neighborhoods in an effort to develop a good address list and to look for multiple units so the actual census taking effort is more effective.

They will be carrying hand-held computers with gps devices. The first round - those out identifying addresses will be in our neighborhoods from April 6, 2009 through June 19, 2009.

The Census takers will have a red, white and blue identification badge that will also say CENSUS ENUMERATOR, and will include the name of the person on the front, as well as their picture.

These actual census takers, or census enumerators, will be walking the neighborhoods between April 1, 2010 and some time in July, 2010. They will be out making an effort to contact households that did not return the questionnaires that will be mailed in February, 2010.

The Sheriff's Department is urging all people concerned about whether they are seeing actual census takers should call the Altadena Sheriff's Station at 626 798 1131 and let the person answering the phone know that there are strangers going door to door. It may be better to let the Sheriff's deputies determine that the people in their neighborhoods are the actual census takers.

The phone number for the Regional Census Office in Van Nuys is 818 267 1700.

JPL Open House May 2 & 3

JPL Open House
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/open-house.cfm
The 2009 JPL Open House will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 2nd and 3rd, 2009, 9am-5pm both days.

This popular event celebrates JPL's accomplishments with exhibits and demonstrations about the Laboratory's ongoing research and space exploration. Many of the Lab's scientists and engineers are on hand to answer questions about how spacecraft are sent to other planets, how scientists utilize space technologies to explore Earth and how researchers are searching for planets beyond the solar system.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/open-house.cfm

More info:
Admission and parking is free. Please be advised that we will not have buses to and from the parking lots. There are also no internal bus tours this year. JPL will provide special needs vans for guests with mobility challenges throughout the day.

The following items are not permitted at this NASA/JPL Event: weapons, explosives, incendiary devices, dangerous instruments, alcohol, illegal drugs, pets, all types of skates including skateboards, segways and bicycles. No bags, backpacks or ice chests are allowed, with the exception of small purses and diaper bags.

Your entry on NASA/JPL property constitutes your agreement that you, your vehicles and your personal belongings are subject to inspection.

+ Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities
JPL is located at 4800 Oak Grove Drive in Pasadena, off the 210 (Foothill) Freeway at the Berkshire Avenue/Oak Grove Drive exit. Parking is available near the Oak Grove main gate and the eastern boundary of JPL, accessible from Windsor Avenue via the Arroyo Boulevard exit off the 210 Freeway.

For more information, please contact:
Public Services Office
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mail Stop 186-113
Pasadena, CA 91109

Cactus in Bloom

Thanks to Jane for taking this pic of a cactus in my garden.

Altadena Business Open House May 15

Mark your calendar for Fri., May 15, as the North Lake Ave.
> Business District holds its first Open House, 4-9 PM.
>
> Businesses on and around Lake Ave. in Altadena will be open, and there
> will be food, music, art, and other activities available for the
> family.
>
> The open house is the brainchild of the newly-formed Altadena Arts
> Coalition, a local arts and business group spearheaded by Ben McGinty
> (Gallery at the End of the World), Lance Anderson (Altadena Junction),
> Molly Tierney (Photography by Walt) and "Jeff the Chef" Klein (Coffee
> Gallery).
>
> McGinty said that the idea for the open house "morphed out of" a map
> he found of Altadena businesses in the 50's-60's, published by the
> Altadena Chamber of Commerce. To mark the open house, the coalition
> will also release a map of today's local Lake Ave.-area businesses.
>
> McGinty, who has operated his gallery in Altadena since 1994, said
> that the whole point of the evening was "about awareness. It's not
> about sales, it's about people getting excited about what we've got
> here." McGinty said he has walked up and down Lake Ave. from Altadena
> Dr. to New York Dr., talking to each business to try to get some
> buy-in.
>
> Among the activities already booked include an art opening at the
> Coffee Gallery, an antique car show at Ronnie's Automotive, "Spring
> Fever" at the Gallery at the End of the World," 20-minute portrait
> painting at Altadena Junction, and an exhibit of emerging
> photographers at Walt's.
>
> McGinty said that the vision was an evening with "hundreds of people
> walking the street, meeting their business neighbors, realizing that
> (Altadenans) don't have to leave their back yard -- just a chance to
> come out and find what's in the community."
>
> Anderson said that future Open Houses were being planned, including
> one to coincide with the annual lighting of Christmas Tree Lane.

Found Turtle

Hey Neighbors....

Some friends in the Meadows found a turtle and we are now taking care of it. We are happy to give this turtle a new home - but if someone out there is missing a beloved pet, we want to put the word out that we have it.

If you know of someone here in the Meadows missing a turtle, you can give them our phone #, so they can call to describe the turtle they are missing.

Right now s/he seems pretty darn happy at our zoo.
;)
Jane & Todd Szabo
(626) 797-7792

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Census Counting on You

2010 is the year of the Census. Census representatives will be knocking on doors from now until next month for the 2010 Census. They should be wearing red, white and blue ID tags and carrying computers and GPS systems if they come to your residence. Still, if neighbors feel unsure of a representative or uncomfortable answering the door, they should call the Sheriff.

Friday, April 03, 2009

Tombstone Rock Vandalized


Unknown parties did some excavation around and under Tombstone Rock, on the Owen Brown Trail near the slide area, on or about March 30, for purposes unknown.

A large boulder that used to lie in front of "Tombstone Rock" was removed, and extensive digging, with tools, was done as if in an effort to undermine the huge monolith.

The stone, estimated to weigh nearly two tons, has been dubbed "Tombstone Rock" because it looks like an almost perfectly symmetrical tombstone with a gable-like top. It tumbled down onto the trail during the Northridge Earthquake fifteen years ago. It is located on unpatented National Forest land.

On or about the weekend of March 28-29, two young men were seen hiking up the trail with shovels. When asked "what was up," they replied, "snake protection!" That may sound suspicious, but there's no hard evidence to link them to the vandalism.

Ray Backes