July 2007 Archives

Interesting development in the Heritage Square saga today ("Heritage Square partner drops out", but lest we forget there are other causes celebre out there. Following what was reportedly the successful intervention of Mayor Bill Bogaard in the Edison/Persson's Nursery impasse, the drums are beating again for another nearby owner:

From: dale trader
Date: Jul 27, 2007 11:46 AM
Subject: Present Perfect Nursery Eviction from Southern California Edison Right of Way
To: Bill Bogaard, steve haderlein
Cc: [a bunch of people]

Dear Mayor Bogaard and Councilman Haderlein,

Our concerns about Persson's Nursery also apply to Present Perfect Nursery. Please do what you can to save Present Perfect from eviction from the Southern California Edison right of way.

Regards,
Dale Trader
Pasadena Neighborhood Coalition
Environmental Committee

A thundering chorus of disapprobation from the masses forced the brass into a corner and compelled them to restore this blog's link on the newspaper's homepage. Their rationalization for it's removal? Reducing visual clutter. Perhaps motivated by frequent complaints of ... excessive visual clutter.

I'm partial to a convenient link, but come on people ... Lrn2Bookmark.

All 142 of them. Did I mention there were 142 verdicts to decide? More on that later -- I promise there are some interesting observations to be made.

Here's some foundation material: Predatory Towing Company, Operators Charged With Attempted Extortion and Taking of Vehicles

I was in the office for about 20 minutes before the Heritage Square avalanche started coming down on me. Sounds like I'm going to need a thick notebook tonight.

It's good to be back.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports more trouble for the Oakland charter school founded by former Pasadena Councilman Isaac Haqq (formerly Isaac Richard).

University Preparatory Charter Academy has defrauded the state of more than $260,000 by forging teachers' signatures to inflate attendance figures at the East Oakland public high school, Oakland education officials say.

At least 30 teachers' signatures on attendance reports from the 2006-07 school year appear to have been forged -- and in one case even misspelled -- according to a letter sent Thursday by Kimberly Statham, state administrator of the Oakland Unified School District, to the governing board of the charter school known as Uprep.

Former Board of Education member and multilevel-marketer Prentice Deadrick is chairman of Uprep's board.

See, the original plan was to surge into the newsroom and write up the outcome of the investigation into the Heritage Square development process, had verdicts been read by mid-day Friday, .

The deliberations didn't end, but I'll have much more to say about that when I am permitted to do so.

I've gotten a copy of the report now to digest and will see if I can get a PDF posted. That, or spend another day looking at even more apartments I don't want to live in.

Tip to former mayoral candidate Aaron Proctor: Don't ever take your show on the road to New Zealand, where Parliament has banned the use of footage from its chambers for "satire, ridicule or denigration."

I'm late to the party on this one, but ...

Safely ensconced in St. Louis, Aaron was inspired by news of Councilman Steve Haderlein's letters to constituents to launch a tribute to the object of his admitted "heterosexual man-crush" at "Steve Haderlein's DIstrict of Sexy"

T.G.I.F. Thank goodness it is Friday.

It has been a long week being Sexy Steve.

I turned down yet another photo shoot for CQ (Councilman's Quarterly) magazine.

I am never using Victor Gordo as a wingman for as long as I live.

Margaret McAustin was mentally stripping me with her eyes again.

Forget about all of that. It's beautiful days like these when a beautiful guy like me just wants to go home, take my shirt off, and wash my car in front of the whole neighborhood.

Yours in bed,

Stevie

So much going on and I'm still in jury service. We were told to expect a 10-day trial at most. We're on day 13, I believe.

Apparently last week's musing about the backlog of Pasadena council meeting minutes was not malformed pattern recognition.

At the end of last night's meeting, just before the moment all media had been waiting for, there was a brief dispute over what exactly the council had agreed to re: Heritage Square at its May 21 meeting. (Video from last night not posted yet.)

As the council adopted a gaggle of minutes-past, Mayor Bill Bogaard said after reading page seven, he "had a feeling the minutes may not be reflective of the action that was taken."

Victor Gordo, who made the compromise motion that night, concurred, and suggested the minutes should be amended as per the mayor's suggestion.

"My understanding of your motion at that time was that we enter into a pre-negotiation," Chris Holden, who seemed suspicious of trickery.

"I also had some confusion when I read this," Margaret McAustin.

By making the amendment "are we saying these are incorrect?" Jacque Robinson.

After five minutes of uncertain debate, they all agreed to the changes. The draft minutes were not available, nor was the amended language at the time I sprinted out to make it back to the newsroom.

Bill did refer to the development as "Heritage Square" despite the fact -- as I've heard -- that term would be retired after complaints from the Heritage Square down alongside the Pasadena Freeway.

But then again, the Falun Gong people didn't follow through with referring to China's float in the Rose Parade as the "GENOCIDE FLOAT!

Eye Level Pasadena has pictures from Saturday's Really Really Free Market.

Proctor For Mayor Proctor in St. Louis has two new top-ten lists: New Features at City Hall and Reasons I should be the Rose Parade Grand Marshal

Our fine media syndicate has launched another blog, this time it's reporter Frank Girardot with a crime blog at Crime Scene.

West Coast Grrlie discovers architecture in Arcadia.

Being out of the loop juryin', I missed the Really Really Free Market http://rrfm.wordpress.com today, but it sounds like it won't be the last.

The RRFM is like a rummage sale, except that everything is free. There is no bartering, trading, buying or selling, and no corporate sponsorship. All items at the RRFM are offered freely. The RRFM is also a grass roots festival.

Heading over to bridge fest, however. Probably won't make tomorrow's hall fest.

From the Ministry of Information:

Please help us out by reminding people in any upcoming stories you do that chairs will NOT be provided for the Pasadena Pops concert at City Hall on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. People should bring a blanket or portable chair to sit on. Thanks.

I'm going to be on an unexpected hiatus following my selection as Juror No. 11 for a trial estimated to last seven to 10 days.

Honestly I didn't think I'd survive the voire dire, but am sincerely happy to fulfill my civic duty. But it really hurts the reporting stream and stories that were in development.

The New 7 Wonders experiment has ended. Great Wall, Colosseum and The Taj? Sure. Petra, Machu Picchu and Chichen Itza? Amazing sites, but meh, there are greater "Wonders."

Christ Redeemer? Now is it just me -- a mere minion of the Godless press -- or is one statue a hella lame Wonder?

Of course Cambodia doesn't have the tourism nor did it orchestrate a campaign as did other countries in the running -- votes were apparently subsidized in Brazil -- but not including the ancient and expansive Khmer temple complexes collectively known as Angkor Wat is absurd.

I've visited a number of the sites that were under consideration. Getting up close to a place like the Taj Mahal cuts through all cliche and oversaturation to evoke true awe and wonder.

But I've actually toured and retoured the complexes around Siem Reap/Angkor Wat on two separate Cambodian incursions, because their wonder occupies an entirely different scale.

Here's a link to the Cambodia section of articles and pictures on my now defunct travel site.

So I've been, er, wondering what people vote as the Seven Wonders of Pasadena? Or should we say the San Gabriel Valley? (Does imagination and wonder exist east of the 605?)

What do you think? Any suggestions? (Let's pretend to be serious for a moment.)

To qualify it has to be something humans have inflicted upon the environment (aka "man made") such as City Hall, the Rose Bowl or the Colorado Street Bridge.

If leaving a comment is too "public" feel free to e-mail me at todd.ruiz@sgvn.com.

Oh, and remember, Friday is the deadline
for submissions to the Peppermint Gardens contest.

While perusing Pasadena's archive of council meeting agendas and minutes I noticed the typical month-ish delay between a meeting and its minutes being posted had lapsed of late.

The last meeting to have minutes posted is April 23, one week before Heritage Square exploded to anoint the newly reopened council chambers with peace and harmony.

I'd hate to be tasked with authoring a record of reality that everyone on the council can agree to.

P.S. There is something mistakenly linked to for July 30 -- looks like minutes from a CDC meeting on July 31, 2006.

China is a large place and proved a lot of ground to cover during a four-day, holiday week.

I think people can tell when the balance of a story leaned more toward more its reporting or writing. More of the latter is best, but is bolstered and made effective by the latter.

Despite considerable reporting going into Sunday's story about Falun Gong, China and Pasadena, I was left with insufficient time for the actual writing, resulting in some marathon-length sentences that some rewrites would have weeded out.

But little space must have been available on the actual page because a considerable amount of the story was cut.

For example, several paragraphs pertaining to Mayor Bill Bogaard, who returned my anxiety-fortified messages Friday to speak about the issue from a beach he was visiting with his grandchildren.

And some other significant passages/context. I'll post the entirety here once I have access to it again.

Yesterday seems so long ago and it's easy to move onto the next topic without realizing today's newspaper had a story about Pasadena investigating its employees handling of a development deal. ("Firm hired in Heritage Square probe")

I offer two contrasting takes posted on PUSDGreatschools today -- which more than school matters, is something of a vehicle for Pasadena's "opposition movement."

First is a video posted by local political consultant Martin Truitt, excerpted from the denouement of the April 30 council meeting and titled "Bakewell goes Berserk"

Second is a message posted by former Councilman Paul Little, who along with former Councilwoman Joyce Streator, supported Chris Holden's motion to enter into exclusive negotiating rights with The Bakewell Company/Century Housing:

That anyone was hired to “investigate” is a problem for me. Is this the result of pressure from Council or the feeling among some senior staff that Council needs to be assured of their honesty. (I sure hope it’s not the latter… if so we need a new council, not an investigation of staff.)

Purloined this pic from what I believe to be Jeremiah Small's blog, Stonehill News. (Turns out it's a Star-News photo by the equally inimitable Walt Mancini which Jeremiah lifted from us.)

Whether you embrace Rene Amy as dedicated reformer or busybody muckraker, his commitment to overturning every stone - and pebble - is consistent.

If we write a story about misdeeds in the Pasadena Unified School District that hasn't already come up in his PUSDGreatschools discussion group, such as spending abuse by employees in the LEARNS program, you can bet he'll be down at Hudson Avenue the next day demanding receipts.

If it gets out that the recently unemployed, previous president of the school board appears mixed up in a barely legal business, Rene is - and was - going down to City Hall bright and early to see if that business is properly licensed. Apparently city staff were unable to find such a license for PDD Consulting: "Deadrick Operating Illegal Business?"

One can dispute the conclusions and criticisms extrapolated from the vigorous dialogue in his PUSDGreatschools discussion group on a subjective basis -- where everything is conclusive evidence of the school district's collective mendacity, villainy, incompetence, greed, cowardice, languor and/or stupidity.

But what infuriates the critic's critics is that he's often right. And that people pay attention -- from City Council and Board of Ed members to parents and reporters. For a school district long operating with a siege mentality, the fact that Rene has a place in our Rolodex is adequate proof of our mission to Destroy Public Education.

If you consider the alternative, where no one aggressively pursues transparency ... I just wish Patrick Leier-era Pomona Unified would have benefitted from 1/10 of a Rene.

You know it's Rene on the phone because the laughter on the other end of the line which begins before you get to "Hello" and continues after you've said "Goodbye." And you know he's likely not laughing at himself.

Hey the Foothill Cities Blog headline ("The Proctor is In")was good enough for the Weekly to lift ("Proctor's in at City Hall").

The Noticeable One is begrudgingly settled into St. Louis and has resumed tele-blogging Pasadena at ProctorForMayor.com.

Apparently he has a new preoccupation: http://www.proctorformayor.com/2007/07/06/nevermind-the-bogaards/

Is everyone ready for the experience? I mean, Aaron Proctor & The 11% Experience! My fake band that I wish were real.

This is what my first album, entitled “Nevermind The Bogaards” (Sex Pistols reference for those not inclined) would contain:

1. “Stand & Deliver” (cover of the Adam Ant classic, of course)

2. “I Left My Parking Permit On El Molino”

3. “West Coast Gothy Blather”

4. “Crown City Rockers” (A parody of “Clash City Rockers” by The Clash)

5. “Mr. Touchdown USA” (Victor Gordo tribute)

6. “The Pomona Bloggin’ Blues” [featuring Publius]

7. “Chris Holden (Out For A Hero)”

8. “Affordable House of The Rising Sun”

9. “Murder Bus 187″ [featuring Master P-Little]

10. “Incense & Peppermint Gardens”

11. “I Love You With 11.2% Of My Heart” (Proctor’s Love Theme)

12. “Fly Me To The JPL”

13. “It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Green Party” (duet with Koebel)

In stores now! Only three easy payments of $21.99 + shipping and handling!

Now that the taxpaying public of Pasadena are proud owners of a defunct pizzeria what should we do with it?

The decision to spend $4.8 million was made without public input to stave off further litigation brought on by an ill-advised strategy to keep another strip club off Foothill Boulevard. According to one of the advertising reps, fur and noise from the dog kennel next door contributed to Shakey's demise.

Perhaps the public will have some say in what becomes of that property? So any ideas?

The Roger J. Diamond Center for the Performing Arts?

Leave a comment with your suggestion, the winning entry will be selected by the inimitable Molly Rachel Okeon and the winner will receive a lifetime free subscription to this blog.

UPDATED: The vote is in! Let's all please show our support for the Haderlein for Mayor Campaign Headquarters! (Slogan: "Priceless")

So Prentice Deadrick didn't write me back about his new opportunities, or why he left CCAFS. In the year or so I covered the Pasadena Unified School District -- even while Prentice was school board president -- he never returned a phone call on a wide range of issues, yet publicly complained about being misrepresented.

I thought I'd slipped into Bizzaro Pasadena when he rushed out of a school board meeting late last year to ask why I posibly could have said such in a Nov. 24 story:

After resisting for months the replacement of embattled Superintendent Percy Clark, Deadrick stepped down from the post of president after a majority voted to do so.

Deadrick, who has not granted an interview since shortly after he assumed the post of board president in May ...

But this update is about something much more important than my complaining. And we'll get back to Prentice.

This update is about no less than the salvation of the human race: THE TUNGUSKA BLAST(TM)!

First, some background:

STARDATE 1908: According to historians Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, it was none other than the Vulcans -- in an act of benign intervention to protect pre-warp, Western civilization -- behind 1908's mysterious meteor impact in Siberia.

Little did we know, one century later, the "miracle of 1908" would be the key to a new era of personal fulfilment.

Little did we know, that blast would nurture "thousands of herbs, roots, and fruits reborn from the ashes of the mysterious Tunguska Event" [sic] infused with what scientists discovered as "the ten most concentrated with therapeutic properties and natural nutritional benefits." [sic]

Okay, grammatical failures aside, that sounds pretty damn good.
Better. Faster. Stronger. The Tunguska Blast(tm) will set us free!

And there is one man in Pasadena who wants to share its power to "boost your energy and stamina," "support your immune system," "increase your mental clarity," "enhance your physical performance" and "much more!"

That man is Prentice Deadrick, Tunguska Blast!(tm) salesman and multi-level marketer.

Little did we understand the true virtue of the Vulcans' act. Is Prentice their instrument on Earth?

He didn't reply to my e-mail, but he did reply to Janette Williams' request for comment re: accusations of academic misconduct made against former Pasadena Councilman Isaac Richards -- now Isaac Haqq -- at a charter school listing Prentice as Chairman of the Board.

Prentice's statement wasn't terribly interesting: "I have no comment on the matter. Thanks"

But his e-mail signature/footer:

Prentice D. Deadrick
PDD Consulting-Cyberwize Services
575 Cliff Drive.
91107
Office: 626.351.2022
FAX: 626.351.0746
Cell: [Redacted]
http://cyberwize.com/prenticedd

From Prentice's section at the CyberWize home page:

"CyberWize is the first company to tell the story of the miracle of 1908 in Tunguska, Russia. Now the event that changed history nearly 100 years ago is ready to change your future."

Of course there are skeptics (Romulan agents no doubt!!1!) always quick with their hurtful and damaging accusations of "scam." They also mention terms like "pyramid scheme" but I'm pretty sure this has to do with a crater, not a pyramid.

I tried to join the CyberWize movement, but got stuck at the part where it asked for $1,200 to "automatically activate three Tracking Positions by fulfilling the one-time 600 personal BV requirement." (I think this is jargon for how many people would be healed)

Click the "continue reading" link below to see what more credible sources had to say, such as the Better Business Bureau, the Economic Crime Division of the Florida Office of the Attorney General and much, much more!

Now for something entirely random.

UFOs. Who doesn't like UFOs?

Of course, when I was conferred the dark rites of corporate-media membership, I swore bloody oaths to counter and undermine all efforts to expose the Shocking Truths about extraterrestrials on Earth.

Yet the immortal rumors, speculation and interest in what happened in Roswell, New Mexico, buzzed across these fine Internets this week with news the public information officer at Roswell left a post-mortem retraction of the entire "cover-up" story:

The public relations officer at the Roswell air base in 1947 has released claims that he saw a crashed spacecraft and the bodies of aliens at the site, despite a lifetime spent denying any such things.

In the affidavit, Lieutenant Walter Haut says the weather balloon was a cover story, and that the real crashed object had been stored by the military. He also claims to have handled the material from which the crashed craft had been constructed.

Haut died last year, but left instructions that his statement should be opened after his death.

In it, Haut described a meeting he attended on the morning of the crash:

Samples of wreckage were passed around the table. It was unlike any material I had or have ever seen in my life. Pieces which resembled metal foil, paper thin yet extremely strong, and pieces with unusual markings along their length were handled from man to man, each voicing their opinion. No one was able to identify the crash debris.

He said that for months after the crash, military personnel would periodically search the wider area for debris.

At the same meeting the decision was taken to put out a press announcement. Locals were already aware that something had crashed, Haut said, and the release was intended to divert attention from a second crash site.

Also seen on the Internet is a site where you can file your own Pasadena UFO sightings.

Such as this one:

2007-01-01 - UFO spotted on spanish tv recording of Rose Parade.

Word comes that as of Friday, Executive Director Prentice Deadrick of the Center for Community and Family Services has left the building. Not that there's any indication of such at www.ccafs.org beyond listing Gwen White as "Interim Executive Director" on the executive team roster.

A former Pasadena assistant city manager and school board member, Prentice announced in November he wouldn't seek another term after a wild ride on the Board of Education Express. His departure from CCAFS is only interesting because Prentice talked about that job every chance he got at school board meetings and it was one of his principal motives for stepping down. From his e-mailed announcement then:

I have no desire to run again, I have done just about all I can do and my priorities for the Pasadena school district and other school districts in LA County is to produce kindergartners ready to learn and not in an achievement gap. My leadership over the Center for Community and Family Services is far more critical in making a difference for poor and low income families that look to public education to break the cycle of poverty. It has been a challenge for me to be the CEO of an agency that serves 10 thousand children and families in 37 different locations in Los Angeles County while also participating as part of the governance body of PUSD. I look forward to working one full time job, not two.

I dropped a note to Prentice asking him what happened; will update when there's word.