• Via the Star-News: “Police learned Friday that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office plans to charge (18-year-old Nancy) Diaz with a misdemeanor count of furnishing alcohol to a minor in connection with the Dec. 12, 2009 party, the detective said.” That’s the party where SPHS student Aydin Salek, 17, was drinking before he died.
• The alleged kitty-cat tagger from Alhambra is being charged with six felony vandalism counts. Here’s (allegedly) some of his work.
• Leonardo Cisneros, 26, is the remaining defendant in the case of a string of robberies in 2004, which includes South Pas. He’s also being charged with murder.
• Arcadia has followed in the footsteps of Pasadena and San Gabriel to start using CrimeMapping.com.

This week’s police report after the jump.

June 30 – July 6, 2010
(Hundred block given in place of exact address)
The Weekly Crime Summary is a list of reported auto thefts, burglaries, robberies and other activities occurring in the City of South Pasadena. An alert and well-informed citizen makes you less of a target to a criminal. Remember; call the South Pasadena Police Department to report any suspicious activity.

AUTO BURGLARY

• 7-1-10, 4:20 PM to 5:10 PM, 2000 block of Oak. ’00, Chevy Silverado. Suspect(s) removes rear window to gain entry and takes loss. Suspect(s) immediately attempts to use victim’s credit card but is declined. LOSS: Purse.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY/SHOPLIFT

• 7-6-10, 3:30 PM, 800 block of Fair Oaks (Radio Shack). Suspects enter store and S1 distracts employee as S2 takes loss. LOSS: Cell phones. SUSPECT VEHICLE: Green, Toyota Camry. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: S1- Male, Hispanic, 20, 603, 210, shaved head, mustache, wearing a brown t-shirt and tan pants. S2 – Male, Hispanic, 20, 507, 170, shaved head, goatee, wearing dark t-shirt and dark shorts.
• 7-5-10, 5 PM, 1200 block of Fair Oaks (Pavilions). S1 enters store and takes loss. Employee sees S1 exit store without paying for loss and walk to a waiting vehicle, driven by S2. LOSS: Liquor. SUSPECT VEHICLE: Blue, Toyota Camry. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: S1 – Male, Armenian, brown hair, wearing sunglasses and wearing a brown jacket. S2 – Male, Armenian.

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

• 7-2-10, 1:35 AM, 1100 block of Garfield (7-Eleven). Officer is standing behind suspect waiting in line, when officer overhears suspect asking people to purchase alcohol for him because he is underage. Officer contacts suspect, and suspect admits to being under 21. Suspect is also found to be in possession of marijuana. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 20, La Habra.
• 6-30-10, 4:45 PM, 1400 block of Garfield. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be in possession of marijuana. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 30, Los Angeles.

DUI

• 7-6-10, 12:54 AM, 2000 block of Meridian. Suspect is involved in a traffic collision and found to be driving under the influence of alcohol. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, 19, South Pasadena.
• 7-4-10, 2:54 AM, 300 block of Monterey. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be driving under the influence of alcohol. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 27, West Covina.

RESISTING/OBSTRUCTING

• 7-3-10, 3:52 PM, 700 block of Fair Oaks. Suspect is crossing the street against a red light, causing a traffic delay. Officer contacts suspect who becomes belligerent. Officer attempts to control suspect and suspect resists arrest. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 27, Los Angeles.

SUSPICIOUS PERSON

• 7-3-10, 1:40 PM, 600 block of Orange Grove. Officers respond to a suspicious person walking through apartment complexes. Officers locate suspect who is found to have two outstanding warrants. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, 53, Pasadena.

THEFT

• May 2010 to 6-30-10, 900 block of Monterey. Victim answers an online ad regarding a babysitting job. Suspect sends victim a check and tells victim to deposit the check. Suspect instructs victim to keep a portion of the amount and to wire the remaining balance to a third person, who is out of state. Victim later discovers that the check the suspect sent is counterfeit.

• There’s art in them thar walls.
• Chair of the 710 Freeway Coalition: “The MTA board acted courageously and decisively where public bodies had cowered before.” … Steve Hymon has the nitty gritty on the May 27 vote.
• While Radhika’s seems to be faring well since their Mother’s Day opening, Pat at Eating L.A. noticed a “promising” new Thai place snuck into town.
• “So few people I know were born in Pasadena and have lived here their whole life. But I have, baby, I have.”
• And speaking of … “You know you grew up in South Pas in the ’80s if … “
• Dr. Gary Seto gets a mention in USA Today.
• Is it the fool’s Gold Line?
• Fork off of the median.

• The Highland Park Heritage Trust is asking Caltrans to stop all that construction on the 110.
• The Eclectic Music Festival & Art Walk will have oh-so-hip food trucks. Phew. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like an odd decision for the chamber to hire out-of-town food trucks, which would compete with local businesses.
• I dig South Pas history. I really dig it.
• SPHS student store suffering because they can’t sell crap anymore.
• Finally, the cuss kid is still in the news. I’m not linking to any of it, but yeah, he’s still in the news.

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.

• Sometimes there’s a fine line between news and advertising. Sometimes that line gets trampled.
• The death of SPHS student Aydin Salek prompts a bill proposal from Assemblyman Anthony Portantino that would “grant immunity from criminal prosecution to teenagers who seek emergency medical attention for someone possibly suffering from alcohol poisoning.”
• State Assemblyman Mike Eng pushes Caltrans to sell all the homes along the aboveground 710 route. It’s an odd about-face from the guy who opposed Portantino’s bill last year, which kinda would of done the same thing.
• iamnotastalker.com, well, stalks Kaldi’s.
• Via The Source: “Full-time students attending Pasadena City College (PCC) will soon be eligible to receive heavily discounted Metro passes – $30 for unlimited travel on all Metro bus and rail lines for an entire semester. Part of Metro’s I-Pass program, this new partnership will bring affordable transit to 8,800 community college students.”

The ambiguously titled blog Friends for Fullerton’s Future reports that Fullerton School District Superintendent Mitch Hovey played this video at a recent school board meeting. The blog suggests it might have been used to float the idea of a parcel tax. One gem from the post: “Enjoy the manipulation of children by the same mindless fools who put our current legislature in office.” Not exactly sure what that means.

Related: I’m really, really tired of bringing up No Cuss Kid, but yeah, thanks to Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, the first week of March is now possibly at some time in the future Cuss Free Week in the state of California. And yes, McKay Hatch is now the national youth spokesperson for the Parent Television Council, which is the org that protests pretty much anything on television.

• First, you can take a look at SPUSD’s official release.
• For the Burbank perspective, here’s a reaction piece from the Burbank Leader. The story contains this absolute: “South Pasadena, with its multimillion-dollar homes backing up a respected school district, is about a quarter of the size of Burbank.” I guess Burbank is filled with hobos, which might make a parcel tax a hard sell.
• The Pasadena Star-News gives an unbiased assessment. It’s titled “South Pasadena Unified Chooses Steady Hand for Top Post.” And no, it’s not an Op Ed piece.
  

Let me put this in perspective. If the president of your company calls for a mandatory meeting, you attend. If the president of the United States asks to give a — let’s be honest — completely innocuous talk to the youth of this country, it’s within his right … him being the leader of the free world and all that. Bush did it. Reagan did it. Get over it.

Enough ranting. After the jump, an unrelated video of healthcare reform protesters (I just have a sneaky feeling its the same people outraged this time around) and the full release from the district.

President Obama’s speech to students on September 8, 2009
September 4, 2009
Next Tuesday, September 8, our students will have an historic opportunity to hear from the presidency about some of our primary concerns as educators: students setting goals and working hard in school to achieve those goals. In 1991 President Bush addressed the nation’s students on live television from an American history classroom in Washington, D.C. Next Tuesday, President Obama will do similarly as our nation seeks to raise the bar on student achievement.

Before and after the 15-20 minute presidential address, our teachers will talk with students about the importance of setting goals and working hard in school to reach those goals. Teachers and administrators are always seeking out ways to more fully engage students in their education. Any constructive opportunity we get to meaningfully engage students is good for all involved.

As educators our focus will remain on respect for the presidency and the message, regardless of how we feel about the president. We hope that as a result of a conversation about goal setting and hard work, all students in SPUSD will be even more committed to excel this year in school.

If you have any questions or concerns about next Tuesday’s address, please read the speech on Monday at http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/. If after reading the non-partisan address, you have concerns, please contact me at 626-422-0579 between 3:00-5:00 p.m.

With great respect for the presidency and you the parent/guardian,

Steve Seaford
Assistant Superintendent
Instructional Services

The Governing Board of the South Pasadena Unified School District recently took action to hire
professional consultants to work with the Board in the search process to fill the position of Superintendent.

The Cosca Group, a consulting firm specializing in executive searches, was hired by the Board to assist in obtaining a new superintendent. The Board has met with the consultants on two occasions and, in accordance with the search process, encourages community members as well as staff, students, and parents to meet with the consultants to share ideas and thoughts pertaining to the strengths of the District as well as needs and critical issues. In addition, the consultants will be seeking input regarding the characteristics desired in the new superintendent.

The Board is pleased to announce that Dr. Steve Goldstone of The Cosca Group will conduct the public meeting on Thursday, July 9th in the District Office Board Room from 6-8 p.m., thus providing an opportunity for community input into the process.

Although the open forum has been scheduled to allow for maximum participation, individuals who cannot attend a forum are urged to complete a survey form available in Room 6 of the District Office at 1020 El Centro Street, as well as on the District website - www.spusd.net.

Sylvia Carroll
Executive Secretary to the Superintendent
South Pasadena Unified School District