Forget access to City Hall, we can't even get access to the Rose Bowl tonight for the damn Turkey Tussle.

With the stadium unlikely to even be half-full, our photographers and reporters can't get the usual access. Brilliant move!

I'd like to presume it's poor communication/management and nothing to do with what happened last year:

Coach's brother could face charges over tussle Star-News (Pasadena, CA) December 29, 2006 Author: Mary Frances Gurton, Staff Writer Estimated printed pages: 2

PASADENA - City prosecutors are considering filing charges against the half-brother of Pasadena High School football coach Kevin Mills over an alleged assault following last month's Turkey Tussle.
Michael Harrison, 36, of Pasadena is accused of punching Muir High School running back Phillip Morrow in the face mask in the moments after the Nov. 9 matchup between the historic crosstown rivals, according to Pasadena police spokeswoman Janet Pope Givens.

Harrison on Friday denied the allegations, claiming he merely attended the game with his son, a PHS team member.

"I have nothing to hide," Harrison said. "If the police had anything on me they would have arrested me at the time. This is nothing to me. I was just on the sidelines cheering for my son."

Police photographs taken of Harrison's unbruised hands following the alleged incident further point to his innocence, he said.

Harrison was never arrested, and no formal charges have been filed, though Pasadena city prosecutor Yvette McDowell is still consulting police officers who investigated the alleged incident, according to Chief Prosecutor Connie Orozco.

Added Pope Givens: "We didn t feel there was enough evidence to arrest him, but we put together a case and forwarded it to the city prosecutor's office."

Mills offered little comment when contacted this week.

"I can t say anything because I didn't see what happened," he said. "All I know is what I was told."

Morrow's parents, who declined comment when reached Friday, filed a complaint with the Pasadena Police Department in the days after the game. Although few witnesses had come forward, Muir and PHS officials acknowledged on Nov. 13 that several people observed the incident.

"None of this has been substantiated yet," Pope Givens said at the time. "Investigators and detectives are still interviewing witnesses. So far the only people saying a coach punched a player are the player and his parents."

Morrow, a senior who played for PHS last year and transferred to Muir over the summer, was allegedly punched as both teams converged near midfield to shake hands after the game.

"I talked to Phillip," Muir Athletic Director Melicia Protic said previously. "He said as he approached, [Harrison] reached back and hit him in the face mask ... Phillip and his parents are very upset and so are we."

Posted by Todd at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I committed to doing a quick edit of footage from Tuesday's meeting at the JRC, but my new laptop for editing video (courtesy of my pops, Reuben Ruiz) wasn't entirely tricked out with requisite tools and by 3 a.m. I still hadn't managed to upload the video to our new streaming host. So here's the Tube treatment.

Highlights: Developer Jimmy Morris leads about 10 others in rhetoric-laced chants about injustice in the Northwest, laying the blame for all of the Northwest's ills -- including this past year's violence -- on Mayor Bill Bogaard. What's next? Will the Weekly blame him for the war in Iraq? After bringing the drought, will Bogaard call a plague down upon us? Invite a totalitarian regime into the Rose Parade?

Most of the racially-charged questions-as-accusations had remarkably boring answers:

Q: What happened to Jazz in the Park?
A: It grew too big and people like former DIstrict 1 Councilwoman Joyce Streator didn't want it in Brookside Park.

Q: Why hasn't Robinson Park been improved?
A: The city's $3.3 million needs another $2 million or so for the first phase of about $19 million in planned improvements.

Q: Where's the affordable housing?
A: There are 181 units either built or under construction and the city is looking at four properties it might buy.

Q: How many African Americans have been hired under the city's local hiring program?
A: City is not allowed to track statistics by race.

Despite what drew people to attend, the meeting was about Heritage Square -- and, even more so than the project -- the meeting was about several people's interest in seeing the Bakewell Company get the job.

From the suggestion department: "No justice, no peace" is a classic, but I'd advise steering away from tongue-twisting chants like "The Mayor is Available, Just not for the Black Northwest Pasadena Community."

FYI Didn't give this the pro treatment -- video and editing quality is decidedly 'rough cut'

Posted by Todd at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Speaking of China, I found a fascinating list on the FDA's site of "refusal actions" detailing what was actually found during its infrequent searches of incoming ships.

"SALTED BEAN CURD CUBES IN BRINE WITH CHILI"
Rejected: The article appears to consist in whole or in part of a filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or be otherwise unfit for food.

"FROZEN CHANNEL CATFISH"
Reason: SALMONELLA. The article appears to contain Salmonella, a poisonous and deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health.

Posted by Todd at 3:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Given the past year of poisoned pet food, toxic toothpaste, lead-steeped paints ... imagine a worse headline for your trade image:

"4.2 million Chinese-made toys contaminated with a powerful 'date rape' drug"

Even better, the toy looks like rave candy!

NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. safety officials have voluntarily recalled about 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots toys contaminated with a powerful "date rape" drug that has caused some children to vomit and lose consciousness upon ingesting the contents.

Bindeez, which were named Australia's toy of the year, contain a chemical that converts into a "date rape" drug.

Scientists have found the highly popular holiday toy contains a chemical that, once metabolized, converts into the toxic "date rape" drug GHB (gamma-hydroxy butyrate), U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) spokesman Scott Wolfson told CNN.

"Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression or have seizures," a CPSC statement warned.

Ahhh, globalism. All I can say is that there must be a *lot* of lead in China.

Posted by Todd at 2:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)