• Ray Bradbury celebrated his 90th birthday in South Pasadena. The Star-News did a nice piece on it but, I think, made a slight boo-boo: “The Fremont Centre Theater regularly shows Ray Bradbury movies.”
• Interesting story in the Wall Street Journal on the Modern Whigs includes this bit: “Nationwide, Whigs point to just two members in political office, both in unpaid, local positions. Alan Reynolds, a 25-year-old engineering consultant who stumbled onto the Whigs by Googling ‘Political Parties,’ holds an appointed post on the Parks and Recreation Commission in South Pasadena, Calif.”
• A little stale for me to mention now, but blogging.la listed the five worst Trader Joe’s parking lots, and didn’t include South Pasadena. Vigorous debate ensued in the comments.
• Writer and urban designer John Leighton Chase, who grew up in South Pasadena, has died. He was 57.
• The L.A. Times once quoted Alhambra City Manager Julio Fuentes as saying, ”This is not just an Alhambra versus South Pasadena issue. We’re fighting for the regional benefit of this freeway. We want to get the traffic off our streets and onto the freeway.” He was talking, of course, about the 710. But now there’s a proposed high-speed rail system that could cut through Alhambra. Is Fuentes for it? “Sure, it’s good for the state, but depending on how it effects our neighborhoods, we’ll fight it.” Sigh.

South Pas Reserve Officer Joe Payne and former Maywood Police Chief Frank Hauptmann both confirmed they’re finalists to fill Dan Watson’s shoes. There’s plenty about Payne here, but I haven’t mentioned Hauptmann before. Besides the video above, here are a couple stories floating around:

• Four Maywood officers allege retaliation for exposing departmental misconduct.
• The L.A. Times was also there when the Maywood Police Department disbanded. ”On behalf of Maywood police employees, this will be our last transmission. Maywood police will now be 10-7, End of Watch. June 30th the year 2010. God bless all of you.”

An agenda for the executive session was labeled “performance evaluation of the city manager,” which an open government expert said violates California’s Brown Act.

Lee has worked in the San Gabriel Valley for several years. From 1990 to 1996 he was the city attorney in South Pasadena until the City Council fired him over concerns about his billing practices.

The city had become embroiled in a wide-ranging scandal that brought down the Police Department.

In 1995, South Pasadena spent $245,000 on Lee’s services even though the city had only budgeted $178,000, then-City Attorney Linda Holmes said.

Lee served as city attorney in multiple area cities, but it looks like in the past week he was canned by Downey, and resigned from Covina and Maywood. He also resigned from his law firm. He remains city attorney for Bell.

Dan Watson

Dan Watson’s run as chief of the South Pasadena Police Department comes to an end on July 1, and a few days later he starts as interim chief of the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. I wanted to ask him a few questions, and he was nice enough to answer them. The full Q&A is after the jump.

Q: Mammoth Lakes! That’s a pretty big change from South Pasadena. How did you decide that’s where you want to be? Are you a skier?

A: I’ve skied once in my life when I was in college and it was a disaster. At this point, I’m past the point of wanting to learn. My wife will be taking it up again, though.

It was a last minute decision to apply and I wasn’t certain I was interested. I’d never been to Mammoth until I drove up for the interview one month ago. During the two hour interview, I “connected” with the Town Manager and other members of the panel. We discussed problems they are facing and it looked like a good challenge and also a fantastic place to live. When I was given a tentative job offer it was easy to accept. We’ve leased a house there and we’re keeping our home here so we’ll have a home base and place to return to.

Q: You’re being brought on as an interim police chief. What happens at the end of the fiscal year?

A: I have been hired on a one year contract. I will be evaluating the Department and making recommendations to the Town Manager on a number of issues including the hiring of a permanent chief. Depending on how everything progresses, there is a possibility that I will become the permanent chief. Whenever I leave, whether it’s in one year or some time after that, we’ll decide whether we want to return to our home, stay in Mammoth Lakes, or move somewhere else.

Q: When you became police chief in South Pasadena, I think there was an expectation that you’d continue on the path of reshaping the culture of the department. Do you think Mammoth Lakes has those same expectations?

A: You are correct about my responsibilities when I came to South Pasadena over 8 years ago. The previous chief was a change agent and he was successful in fixing some problems. My job was to continue the forward progress while restoring a sense of calm and order. The Mammoth Lakes Police Department has a good group of employees. I will be looking at doing some of the same things I did here such as improving management systems and controls. I will also be looking at staffing levels, which seem very low, and making recommendations on them and other issues.

Q: It’s fair to say that your exit from The South Pasadena Police Department hasn’t gone unnoticed. Do you have any words of wisdom for your replacement?

A: The circumstances of my departure have been disappointing. There’s a cliché that applies to police chiefs. We must remain apolitical while working in a political environment. The average tenure of a California police chief is less than 4 years, and many leave under circumstances that are other than what they would like them to be. Most of my advice to the next chief will remain private.

Q: As South Pas police chief, what are you proudest of? Anything you wish you might have done differently?

A: I believe the Department is in better shape than when I got here. I have hired 70% of the current employees and promoted more than 50% of the supervisory and management ranks, and they are my legacy. The next Chief will be taking over a Department with good people committed to providing quality service to the residents of South Pasadena. I am very proud of the work that they do every day.

No doubt the next chief will find areas that need additional attention. I have addressed many, but the next one will see things I didn’t see and make the Police Department better. That’s the value of a change in leadership — new ideas, new energy, and fresh eyes often improve an organization. That will happen here, and hopefully that will happen in Mammoth Lakes after I get there.

Q: What are you going to miss about South Pasadena?

A: The people. No doubt the people. My wife and I have been embraced by the people in this town and we will miss them. Also the City’s management team, and especially the men and women of the Police Department. Being their Chief has been the highlight of my career.

Q: Will you be sticking around for the Fourth of July parade?

A: No. My last official duties will be on July 1. I will be the keynote speaker at the Rio Hondo Police Academy graduation where one of the graduates is Karen Garcia. My last official act will be to swear her in as a South Pasadena Police Officer later that day, and I can’t think of a better way to end my time here. I will be cleaning out my office on July 2, and we move to Mammoth Lakes on July 3. I understand they also have a Fourth of July parade, but I think I’ll wait till next year for that one. No doubt it will pale in comparison to South Pasadena’s celebration.

It has now been moved to the War Memorial building due to some sentiment that it should be held within the city. This, which appeared in the Star-News today, apparently fueled the fire:

“Maybe it wasn’t their brand of sauce, but South Pasadena city officials skipped over Gus’ (sic) Barbecue (sic) in South Pasadena in favor of Pasadena’s Barn Burner Barbecue (sic) to host Police Chief Dan Watson’s going-away party. Fans of the departing police chief can stick a fork in Watson and some slathered ribs on June 30, with the proceeds going to a parting gift for South Pasadena’s top cop, now headed for a similar position at Mammoth Lakes.”

I’m told it’s the same date and time. I can’t imagine 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on a Wednesday is the most convenient time for a party, but then again I’m not an event planner. I added the sics to the story. I could have just corrected them, but a newspaper should know how to spell the names of the businesses it covers. So there. The original brief is here (second item).

*UPDATE: I was just told: “Contact Jeannie Chiu at the City Manager’s office to sign up.  Cost is $20 per person.”

Save the date. Via the Star-News:

South Pasadena Police Chief Dan Watson will be honored during a goodbye party from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Barn Burner Texas Barbeque Restaurant, 1000 South Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena.

Three things about the story: It doesn’t mention the date (June 30 per the city editor); I think they mean “party” where they say “part”; and I think they might mean “finalists” and not “finalist.” Not great for a story that’s on the site’s front page. Also, to be picky, you don’t have to spell out Avenue if it’s part of a specific address.

*UPDATE: The story has been removed, whatever that means. So I included a screenshot.

*2nd UPDATE: The story is back. And it’s been fixed, fixed, fixed and fixed.

I’m done with the updating, but they reportedly changed the venue.

South Pasadena Council PTA Invites You to a Rally for Our Children

Thursday, March 4, from 3-4 p.m., in front of the SPUSD Administration Building: 1020 El Centro Street

The governor’s budget proposal makes devastating cuts to schools, in the amount of $2.4 billion over the next two years, despite his pledge to protect education. The budget will also decimate children’s healthcare and family services.

For SPUSD these cuts translate to an additional $1,100,000 cut, or 5% of our total budget. This is on top of a $2,000,000 cut in 2009-10 and $3,500,000 that was cut over the last 2 years!

Our children have already lost  instructional assistants and other support positions.  If this proposal goes through, our children stand to lose even more teachers, counselors, arts specialists, and additional support staff!

The System is Broken!

Budget Reform is Crucial!

The Time to Act is NOW!

Letters to our legislators demanding a change in the number of votes necessary to pass a budget and a demand for a stable funding stream for education will be on hand.

You are invited to attend an SR-710 Update Meeting hosted by the City of South Pasadena on Friday, Feb. 26, at the South Pasadena High School Auditorium. Registration will be from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Presentations will be followed by a question and answer period.

Speakers

• South Pasadena City Council
• State Senator Gilbert Cedillo of the 22nd District (invited)
• State Assemblymember Anthony Portantino of the 44th District
• Ara Najarian, Metro Board Chair (editor’s note: he’s also a Glendale city council member)
• Laura Olhasso, Mayor of La Cañada Flintridge
• Antonio Rossmann, Special Legal Counsel
• Jan Chatten-Brown, Special Legal Counsel
• Mike Roos, Strategist
• Richard Gutschow, Tunnel Technical Study TAC Member
• Gary Brierley, Geotechnical Consultant

South Pasadena High School Auditorium
1401 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, CA 91030

• In an obit for Frisbee inventor Walter Frederick Morrison, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune mentions in passing that WHAM-O began in a South Pasadena garage. Maybe you already knew that but, well, I didn’t.
• The L.A. Times says, “Today, Stargate (Studios) generates $15 million in annual revenue and employs 150 digital artists, producers and technicians.”
• The Crescenta Valley Weekly posted a fun correction, which looks like it might have been prompted by a call from the South Pas mayor’s office.
• Food, She Thought posts oodles of photos from a meal at Shiro.
• In an aptly titled post, The South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce asks what you think of Claremont’s revitalization.

*Update: I wouldn’t normally add the asterisk for a comment, but it’s only fair to draw attention to Mike Ten’s response. I’ll do the same for anyone else mentioned.

I’d like to thank those of you who got in touch with me. And I heard roughly the same story enough that it’s worth posting. The South Pasadena Review already wrote that Joe Payne, a reserve officer for the South Pasadena Police Department, said he was approached by David Sifuentes months ago about the police chief position. I haven’t heard a bad thing about Payne. He’s well-liked among the ranks, and he worked for the SPPD for 35 years before he retired two years ago. The South Pasadena Police Officers Assn. maybe thinks he’d push for pay hikes. That helps to make sense of Mike Ten’s presentation, which implied South Pasadena is the deadliest place on Earth for a cop. That’s an assertion that seems to contradict the recently released Uniform Crime Report showing (yet another) significant drop in crime under Chief Dan Watson’s leadership.

Payne isn’t entirely without baggage. According to the L.A. Times, he’s one of six who sued the city after being demoted in the wake of scandals that plagued the department in the late 1990s. There’s nothing to suggest he was a bad cop, it’s just that when former Chief Michael Berkow came in to clean house, he thought there were too many cooks in the kitchen.

Anyhoo, here’s what I’m hearing is raising the hackles of residents:

• The perceived arrogance of council members who plan the ouster of — and the successor to — the city’s police chief behind closed doors.
• Elected officials who are giving the appearance of ignoring their constituency in favor of deep-pocketed campaign donors.

Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. If I got something wrong, please let me know via comments or email. Ditto if I got something right.

If you’re interested, there’s a fluff piece on Payne after the jump. It was in the April 2009 El Pueblo newsletter, which is “The publication of the All City Employees Benefits Service Association.” The full 24-page newsletter is here as a pdf, but it’s big and not much worth the bother. And yes, there are typos (um, South Pass?), but I’m too tired to clean it up.

Men like Retired Police Lieutenant Joseph Payne are spoken of in tall-tale form. “Stalwart” and “workhorse” comes to mind as does the simple elegance of “dedication.”

To have the esteemed record Joe enjoys, one has to have the qualities listed above. In short, to achieve a thirty-five year career as a police officer, where never once has a day of work been missed, a person needs the stuff Joe has.

And what is that stuff? Easy: it’s called heart.

Of course, as one can expect, Joe modestly qualifies his success: “I never went AWOL,” which indirectly means Joe never irresponsibly left his position. Sure, he may have called in sick once in a while, or missed a day or two for other uncompromising reasons. But Joe never simply left a day’s work without explanation, and in 35 years, that says something.

By and large, Joe, who has worked as a background investigator with the Los Angeles Police Department for the last six years, existed as an agent of dependability

while with his former long-term employer, the South Pasadena Police Department. Regularly, he picked up shifts for other officers who for various reasons could not make it into work.

“Ours (South Pasadena) was a small police force. So when one guy called in sick, it affected almost everything.”

A 1972 graduate of both Pasadena Community College and then Rio Hondo Police Academy, Joe’s career as an officer began as a Police Explorer, then after the academy and the rigorous training involved there, at 21, he became a full fledged cop.

During the following three-and-a-half decades, the Temple City native worked virtually every division South Pass had to offer: from beat cop to detective, watch commander to training officer, Joe had done it all with the force up until 55 when he voluntarily retired.

He credits his prolific career with SPPD with the diminutive size of the force. By contrast, LAPD is a much larger and different entity.

Joe is no longer a cop. He now recruits individuals who he believes would best suit the role of a cop. Undoubtedly if Joe’s recruitment skills hold fast, and if his number of successful recruits stays on track, he will be instrumental in the LAPD achieving the 10,000 police officers Mayor Villaraigosa proposed for the City.

Of course as a recruiter, Joe’s stellar record undoubtedly comes into play, particularly for his experience and understanding of the psyche a police officer should have in a city like Los Angeles.

When asked what makes a good cop today, Joe responds, “They have to be curious, understanding and tolerant.”

Are the recruits much different today than years ago when he started?

“They’re older,” he states, citing the economy as one reason the hiring landscape has changed for the LAPD. “Many more are professionals.” In that, Joe brings to light that not only does he meet individuals who were once in finance and real estate, but he even sees people with law degrees.

All this hedges toward situations where an older age group now seeks the stability found in a law enforcement career. And to this end, Joe’s plate is full. At the time of this interview, he was in the midst of reviewing twelve cases, six of which seemed promising. And that’s only the tip of the hiring iceberg for the LAPD.

On occasion, Joe is a volunteer police officer with his old South Pasadena force. But when asked if he would perform the same duty for the Los Angeles Police Department, his “no” is emphatic.

Granted, he loves the work, but the size and intensity of Los Angeles is, at this time in his life, not his cup of tea. As is, recruitment has its own set of challenges, particularly in regard to generational differences from today’s recruits and when Joe himself was a recruit.

But even so, Joe maintains a good cop knows no age boundaries.

“The reasons are all the same. It’s fascinating work. They (a good cop) want to help. They want to make a difference. Hopefully during the training process you find good ones and get rid of the bad ones.”

And who should know better than a 35-year vet who has never missed a day.