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.

June 9-15, 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.

RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE

• 6-15-10, 8 AM, 1000 block of Fair Oaks. ’08, Toyota Tacoma. Officers respond to a vehicle parked in a parking lot and discover vehicle to be stolen from Temple City.

STOLEN VEHICLE

• 6-11-10, 9:30 PM to 6-12-10, 6:45 AM, 1600 block of Fremont. ’97, Honda Accord.
• 6-10-10, 6 PM to 6-11-10, 8 AM, 300 block of Monterey. ’99, Honda CRV. Recovered on 6-11-10, by LAPD Hollenbeck.

VEHICLE TAMPERING

• 6-13-10, 12 PM to 6-14-10, 2:12 PM, 800 block of Fremont. ’03, Chevy Silverado. Suspect(s) attempts to pry door handles to victim’s vehicle.

AUTO BURGLARY

• 6-13-10, 1 AM to 9 AM, 1700 block of Grevelia. ’02, Nissan. Suspect(s) smashes window to gain entry. LOSS: Cell phone.
• 6-10-10, 6 PM to 6-11-10, 8 AM, 300 block of Monterey. Toyota Scion. Suspect(s) smashes window to gain entry. LOSS: Portable GPS.
• 6-9-10, 3 PM to 4:35 PM, 400 block of Mission. Honda CRV. Suspect(s) smashes window to gain entry. LOSS: Portable GPS and car charger.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

• 6-14-10, 6 AM to 3:45 PM, 1600 block of Meridian. Suspect(s) smashes rear window to gain entry. LOSS: I-pod.
• 6-9-10, 6 PM to 6-11-10, 4:45 PM, 700 block of Orange Grove (storage unit). Suspect(s) pries door latch open to gain entry. LOSS: Camera, lights, laptop computer and misc. equipment.

ROBBERY

• 6-15-10, 10:30 AM, Fair Oaks/110 freeway. Victim is stopped for a red light with suspect vehicle in the adjacent lane. When traffic light turns green, suspect’s vehicle swerves in front of victim’s vehicle. Suspects exit vehicle and run to victim’s vehicle brandishing a knife. Suspects smashes victim’s side windows, and demands cash. Suspects reach inside victim’s vehicle and takes loss. Suspects then run back to vehicle and drive away. WEAPON USED: Knife. LOSS: Jewelry. SUSPECT VEHICLE: White, Toyota Corolla. SUSPECT DESCRIPTIONS: (2) males, wearing ski masks, dark colored baseball caps, dark clothes and baggy pants.

CHILD ANNOYANCE

• 6-10-10, 5 PM, 1700 block of Mission. Victim (17 year-old female) is walking on the street, when suspect drives next to victim and honks vehicle’s horn. Suspect offers a ride to victim and victim refuses. Suspect then drives away and makes a U-turn and comes back to victim, offering victim a ride again. Victim refuses and continues walking. Suspect drives away and makes another U-turn and parks in front of victim. Suspect exits vehicle and walks up to victim, then places his hand on victim’s arm. Suspect points to his vehicle and says he is going her way. Victim walks away and suspect enters vehicle and drives away. SUSPECT VEHICLE: Newer, white, Toyota Tacoma pick-up. SUSPECT DESCRIPTION: Male, Hispanic, 40, 6’, 200 lbs., short black/gray hair, dark eyes, wearing a striped blue and white shirt.

INDECENT EXPOSURE

• 6-12-10, 4 PM, 800 block of Stoney (horse trail near Arroyo Park). Victims (two, 13 year-old, females) are walking on the horse trail when suspect jogs by. Suspect stops in front of victims and pulls pants down exposing genitals to victims. Victim takes cell phone out and suspect runs away. SUSPECT DESCRIPTION: Male, White, 20-25, slender build, long brown shoulder length hair, goatee beard, wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt, blue shorts with a gold striped on the sides and wearing brown shoes.

DUI

• 6-10-10, 1:52 AM, 1600 block of Fair Oaks. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be driving under the influence of alcohol. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 36, Pasadena.

DRUNK IN PUBLIC

• 6-9-10, midnight, 400 block of Fair Oaks. Officers respond to a person yelling in the parking lot. Officers arrive and sees suspect hitting a table and chair with a hammer. Suspect is found to be intoxicated and unable to care for himself. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 40, South Pasadena.

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

• 6-15-10, 1:20 AM, 100 block of Marmion. Officer investigates a suspicious vehicle parked on the street and discover suspect (driver) in possession of marijuana. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 19, Los Angeles.
• 6-14-10, 1:27 PM, Huntington/Primrose. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be in possession of marijuana. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 27, Rosemead.

THEFT

• 6-13-10, 8:40 PM, 200 block of Monterey. ’07, GMC Sierra. Witness sees suspects enter victim’s unlocked vehicle. Witness yells at suspects and suspects flee. LOSS: None. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: S1 – Male, Hispanic, 20, shaved head, wearing dark blue, or black shirt, dark shorts. S2 – Male, Hispanic, 20, buzz cut hair, wearing white shirt and dark shorts.
• 6-12-10, 11:30 AM to 2 PM, 900 block of El Centro. Suspect(s) cuts lock off, securing loss to bicycle rack. LOSS: Bicycle.
• 6-1-10, 12 PM to 6-9-10, 2:35 PM, 1000 block of Arroyo. Suspect(s) takes loss from apartment laundry room. LOSS: Rent check.

IDENTITY THEFT/CREDIT CARD FRAUD/CHECK FRAUD

• 6-10-10 to 6-13-10, 1100 block of Fair Oaks. Suspect befriends victim through an online website. Suspect asks victim to wire funds to Nigeria because suspect’s daughter needs an operation. Victim agrees and wires money to suspect.
• 6-2-10 to 6-9-10, 1100 block of Pine. Suspect(s) duplicates victim’s webpage and changes victim’s contact information.
• May 2010 to 6-2-10, 1600 block of Huntington. Suspect(s) uses victim’s personal information to open credit card accounts.

DISTURBING THE PEACE

• 6-11-10, 4:34 AM, 300 block of Raymondale. Suspect is having a party and was warned about the loud noise. Officers respond back to party and victim makes a private person’s arrest for disturbing the peace. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 29, South Pasadena.

VANDALISM

• 6-9-10, 9:30 PM to 6-10-10, 7:40 AM, 1400 block of Monterey. Suspect(s) lets air out of victim’s vehicle tires.

• First and leastmost, an upstart literary magazine is looking for a Web designer. The post contains this blatantly ageist gem: “We’d prefer someone age 35 or younger since the magazine is run by a group of people who are all in their 20s, and we’re looking for someone with a similar artistic and stylistic sensibility.” To paraphrase, young people are all hip in some universal sense, old people notsomuch. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Wow, that’s pretty illegal,” be comforted by the fact that it’s an unpaid gig. Also, since I’m feeling righteous, I’ll point out that the literary magazine can’t spell complement.
• Wild Thyme is looking for a weekend line cook.
• Gus’s is looking for servers and bartenders.
• Bristol Farms is hiring for a few positions.
• Blog for a marketing company.
• And, of course, South Pasadena is still accepting applications for a police chief to replace Dan Watson. But the deadline is Monday. Here’s a link to the brochure (pdf).

Full report after the jump.

May 19-25, 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.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

• 5-21-10, 5 PM to 5-24-10, 6 AM, 1300 block of Huntington (garage). Suspect(s) enters unlocked garage and takes loss. LOSS: Bicycle.
• 5-19-10, 6:26 AM, 1900 block of Meridian. Witness sees S1 looking through some bushes near his property. As witness approaches S1, S1 runs to a waiting vehicle, driven by S2. S1 enters vehicle and suspects drive away. Officers discover that neighbor’s residence, was burglarized. Victim’s residence was being fumigated and S1 possibly made entry by prying a window. Officers find various pieces of jewelry, sunglasses and other misc. items in the bushes. LOSS: Jewelry and camera. SUSPECT VEHICLE: Silver, Chrysler 300. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: S1 – Male, White, 30 years, 508, 190, brown hair, wearing gray hooded sweatshirt and light colored pants. S2 – Male, White, wearing white t-shirt.
• 3-1-10 to 5-15-10, 1300 block of Garfield. Suspect(s) enter through an unlocked side window. LOSS: Motorized wheelchair, laptop computer, checkbooks and medications.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY/SHOPLIFT

• 5-20-10, 3:55 PM, 1700 block of Garfield (Ralphs). Employee sees suspect enter store and takes loss from display. Suspect removes tag from loss and place loss on head. Suspect then exits store without paying for loss. Employee detains suspect and suspect is arrested. LOSS: Sunglasses. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 43, South Pasadena.

DUI

• 5-23-10, 9:20 PM, Fremont/Huntington. Officers respond to a traffic collision and discover one party involved was driving under the influence of alcohol. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, 35, Pasadena.
• 5-22-10, 1:34 AM, 600 block of Milan. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be driving under the influence of alcohol and also had an outstanding warrant. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 30, Downey.
• 5-21-10, 2:48 AM, Fremont/Alhambra. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be driving under the influence of alcohol. Suspect is also found to be in possession of marijuana. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, 21, Los Angeles.
• 5-19-10, 2AM, Atlantic/Garfield. Suspect flags down officer, who is found to be driving under the influence of methamphetamine. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, 42, Los Angeles.
• 5-19-10, 12:38 AM, 300 block of Monterey. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found driving under the influence of alcohol. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, 35, Los Angeles.

DRUNK IN PUBLIC

• 5-25-10, 11:25 PM, 600 block of Fair Oaks. Officers respond to a person walking in the street and possibly drunk. Officers locate suspect and is found to be intoxicated and unable to care for himself. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 19, Los Angeles.

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

• 5-22-10, 2:32 PM, Orange Grove/Columbia. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be in possession of marijuana. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 34, Glendora.
• 5-19-10, 9:37 PM, 800 block of Stoney. Officers respond to a male and female subject arguing. Officers locate subjects and discover both subjects in possession of marijuana. SUSPECTS ARRESTED: S1- Male, 23, South Pasadena. S2 – Female, 23, South Pasadena
• 5-21-10, 10:25 PM, Fair Oaks/Monterey. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to be in possession of marijuana. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, 21, South Pasadena.

THEFT

• 5-24-10, 11 AM to 2:20 PM, 1600 block of Oak (South Pasadena Middle School). Suspect(s) takes loss from victim’s unlocked locker. LOSS: Cell phone.
• 5-21-10, 3:52 PM to 5-24-10, 10:45 AM, 900 block of Summit. Suspect(s) takes loss from victim’s tractor. LOSS: Batteries, wires and shifter knob.
• 5-21-10, 4:30 PM to 5-23-10, 9 AM, 1200 block of Fair Oaks (Pavilions). Victim pays for groceries and puts loss back into purse. Victim later discovers loss missing. LOSS: Wallet.

IDENTITY THEFT/CREDIT CARD FRAUD/CHECK FRAUD

• Unknown date/time to 5-20-10, 5000 block of Harriman. Suspect gains access to victim’s checking account and makes an unauthorized purchase.

CRIMINAL THREATS

• 5-21-10, 2000 block of La France. Suspect is told to clean up property, but suspect refuses. Suspect makes threat to city employee.

SATURDAY

SOPA Studios is having an artists’ reception Saturday from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Also, Ken Kulhken will be at BOOK’em Mysteries on Saturday at 3 p.m. to sign copies of “The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles.” What it’s about:

In 1926, when musician Tom Hickey reads in a broadside about a lynching the Los Angeles newspapers failed to report, and discovers the Negro victim was an old friend, he goes to his neighbor Leo Weiss, an LAPD detective.  Leo confirms that, officially, the lynching didn’t occur. Yet Tom decides to investigate the murder. The lynching occurred across the street from evangelist Aimee Semple Macpherson’s Angelus Temple. He goes there looking for clues and is watched by an usher who shadows him after the service and daily.

MONDAY

If you’re not worried enough about the state of our schools, you can go see a screening of “Race to Nowhere” on Monday. Macaroni Kid says they added a 3:30 p.m. show at St. James Church after the 7 p.m. show sold out. Via an email:

This documentary is igniting a national conversation about the unintended consequences of the stress on young people and teachers in our current achievement focused education system and culture. Parents and schools have the best intentions for children, but in many ways these intentions are backfiring. Between homework requirements and extracurricular activities, children are missing the guilt-free down time that they need for physical and mental health.  Teen suicide and stress-related illness is on the rise at alarming rates; cheating has become commonplace, and students arrive at college unprepared and burned out.  This film is a call to action for parents, teachers and school administrators.

From left, a kiwi, an ostrich and a moa.

Behold the moa. Per Wikipedia, this bad bird from New Zealand was 12 feet tall and about 510 pounds. The species is guessed to have become extinct from Maori hunting, around 1500 AD.

The moa is also my awkward ostrich-related segue. The past month has included trips to New Zealand and Oregon, not to mention my awesome wife has just returned from a nursing trip to Haiti. It’s been busy. Good busy. A better person might have blogged while on the road, but that’s not how I roll.

I’m kind of glad to have missed Pole Vaulting-Gate, but there’s other stuff I need to catch up on. I promise to cobble the police reports together and post them before Friday. Stay tuned.

March 17-23, 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.

STOLEN VEHICLE

• 3-17-10, 4:40 AM, 1500 block of Beech. ’97, Honda Accord. Victim had her vehicle parked on the street in front of her house and is awakened by her vehicle’s horn sounding. Victim looked out the window and saw her vehicle move forward to a Honda Accord that was parked directly in front of it. S1 exited the parked Honda Accord and enter the victim’s stolen vehicle that was driven by S2. The suspects then drove away in the victim’s vehicle. A check on the parked Honda Accord that S1 exited from revealed that it was stolen from Alhambra on 3-16-10. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: S1 – Female, White, or light-skinned Hispanic, shoulder-length brown, curly hair wearing a gray sweatshirt and jeans. S2 – Male.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

• 3-22-10, 10:45 AM to 9:15 PM, 200 block of Monterey. Suspect(s) smashes window to gain entry. LOSS: Jewelry, laptop computer and Xbox games.
• 3-21-10, 2 PM to 5:45 PM, 400 block of Monterey (apartment complex). Suspect(s) pries front door open to gain entry. LOSS: Playstation 3 with controllers
• 3-17-10, 8 AM to 3:15 PM, 500 block of Arroyo. Suspect(s) smashes rear window to gain entry. LOSS: Unknown.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY

• 3-22-10, 3:45 PM, 900 block of Fair Oaks (Rite Aid). Employee sees suspects enter store and take loss from shelve. Suspects opens package and places loss inside S2’s purse. Suspects pay for other items but do not pay for loss inside purse. Suspects exits store and is detained by employee. Suspects ignore employee and walk to a parked vehicle. Employee calls police and suspects run away. Officers arrive and locate suspect’s parked vehicle, and conduct a registration check. Officers go to vehicle’s registered address and speak to S1’s father. S1 and S2 arrive home and are arrested. LOSS: Batteries. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: S1 – Male, 18, South Pasadena. S2 – Female, 18, South Pasadena.

ROBBERY

• 3-17-10, 12:45 PM, Indiana/Mission. Victim (Female, 70 years) is walking on the sidewalk when she is pushed to the ground from behind by S1. S1 grabs loss from victim and runs to a waiting vehicle, driven by S2. S1 enters vehicle and S2 drives away. LOSS: Purse. SUSPECT VEHICLE: Dark red, 4-door, possibly late model Toyota. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: S1 – Female, Hispanic, 20-30 years, 504, wearing red shirt and black pants. S2 – Male, Hispanic.

DUI

• 3-2-10, 2:05 AM, 800 block of Stoney. Suspect is involved in a traffic collision and found to be intoxicated. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, Hispanic 22 years, Los Angeles.

DRUNK IN PUBLIC

• 3-22-10, 11:28 AM, 1100 block of Oxley. Officers respond to a subject yelling at people. Officers contact suspect, who has been arrested in the past for being drunk in public. Suspect is intoxicated and unable to care for himself and arrested. Suspect attempts to resist arrest before complying. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 48, Simi Valley.
• 3-20-10, 3:37 AM, 2000 block of Meridian. Suspect walks to rear yard of victim’s house and victim calls police believing suspect is a prowler. Officers respond and find suspect passed out in the rear yard. Suspect is heavily intoxicated and unable to care for himself and arrested. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 20, Los Angeles.

IDENTITY THEFT/CREDIT CARD/CHECK FRAUD

• 3-21-10 to 3-23-10, 1600 block of Fair Oaks. Suspect(s) gains access to victim’s debit card account and makes an unauthorized charge in Poland.
• August 2009 to 3-17-10, 100 block of South Lane. Suspect(s) uses victim’s personal information to open a cellphone account.

VANDALISM

• 3-22-10, 10 AM to 11:59 PM, 600 block of Prospect. Suspect(s) smashes windows to victim’s vehicle.
• 3-16-10, 7 AM to 3:35 PM, 1400 block of Fremont. Suspect(s) scratches victim’s vehicle.

Mt. Waterman is finally open. They got a ton of snow this year, but the rain and mudslides have kept the roads closed until now. There is a slight catch: You have to take a pretty big detour to get there. But the drive is pretty amazing as you wind your way through the Station Fire burn area. So if you’re looking for something to do tomorrow, head on up. The roads are dry and Waterman would appreciate the business. Directions and a photo from the drive up after the jump.

• Take the 210 Freeway to Sunland Boulevard.
• Turn right when you get off the freeway and drive .07 miles to Oro Vista Road.
• Take a left on Oro Vista and drive until you reach Big Tujunga Canyon Road.
• Take a right and drive 12 miles to Angeles Forest Highway.
• Take a left on Angeles Forest Highway and drive 4.4 miles to Upper Tujunga Canyon Road.
• Take a right and drive 9 miles to Angeles Crest Highway.
• Take a left. It’s 14 miles to Mt. Waterman.

• 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.