From Steve Scauzillo's Opinion Desk

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino applies the cheek swab, part of the oral HIV rapid test now offered free and without an appointment at the Pasadena Public Health Department.

Several community leaders, including myself, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and Pasadena City Councilman Jacque Robinson participated in the National HIV Testing Day Saturday on the patio of Vroman's Bookstore in the Pasadena Playhouse District.

The new test involves just a swab between your cheek and gums. You then place the swab stick into the vial and in about 20 minutes, the result is ready. Getting tested should be a regular part of everyone's health screening. Men and women who get tested for cholesterol levels in their blood should also get the HIV test.

Portantino said the CDC estimates there are 180,000 to 280,000 people nationwide who are HIV-positive but are unaware of it. These people then spread the disease to others. Everyone should know their status. That is the first step in helping to prevent the spread of this disease.

While many say it is under control, the statistics are changing. For example, it is no longer just homosexual males who are getting infected. The CDC reports HIV infection was the leading cause of death for black women, that includes African-American women, ages 25-34. The instances of young people with HIV are also on the rise: the CDC reports a 42 percent increase in young people ages 13-24 living with AIDS from 2000 to 2004. Finally, older people are also being infected at a more rapid pace. There has been a 7 percent increase in older people (age 50 and above) since 2001.

I got tested. Why shouldn't you? (Pasadena Dept. of Health: (626) 744-6030.

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard speaks about how the "AIDS crisis" has lost some of its meaning today, when everything from finance to budgets to the economy are in "crisis." On right is Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-44th Assembly District.

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This viral video from Iran shows Iranian protestors Saturday, June 20, pushing back and overtaking security forces. A small victory for democracy!
Thank you Pete Newcome for sending me the video.

Click on the link. It will get you to his blog and the video.

My American Voice: FOR ONCE - THE PROTESTERS HAVE THE SECURITY FORCES "ON THE RUN"

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 9:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Entrance to Grad Nite shows this year's theme "I Love L.A."

Grad Nite at Temple City High School went off as planned Friday night, with close to 400 TCHS graduating seniors attending the all-night party. Like the San Marino High School event (Bonita High also does this every year), the campus was transformed into a place of games, rides and stages where students can hang out and celebrate for the night.

Grad Nite tradition began about 17 years ago in Temple City and is a way to counter the going off campus and partying syndrome that often ends in tragedy elsewhere. This tradition in the San Gabriel Valley is not only a community service but it a way to keep seniors safe on their big night.

I was privileged to play a small role in the decorating, set up and the operations. However, the weekend is bittersweet. Although I'm proud of my son, Andy, a graduate and member of the TCHS Class of 2009, he represents our last child completing public education. He'll be off to college in September.

Here's to all graduating high school seniors this weekend: Stay safe!

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A mural of Indiana Jones maneuvering a tight spot adorns a wall at San Marino High School. The decorations are for tonight's "Grad Night," the 54th in the school's history.

Congratulations to all the graduates of San Marino High School.

And to the parents and sponsors who helped transform the school into the SMHS Grad Night 2009, with an Indiana Jones theme.

Grad nights are a way to help graduates stay on campus and have fun the whole night, instead of traveling off campus and risking a car crash or other problems.

Here's to a safe grad night.

And next week: Temple City High School's Grad Night, whose them is "We Love L.A.!"

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This just in from the Silicon Valley group Next 10:

"We just updated the forecast numbers in the California Budget Challenge and project that in five years, California may face a budget deficit of $27.6 billion ... the updated Challenge reflects our current financial condition and many of the policy options being considered in Sacramento."

We featured Next 10 in our May 31 Perspectives page "Put your mark on the budget." Go to their site and try your hand at balancing the state budget. They call it the Budget Challenge.
That is an understatement of a name. Check out our editorial on how the readers voted on our budget challenge.

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was 11 years ago when my wife and I decided we could sell our house in a city where the public schools were far below par, and buy one in a city with an above average school district. Instead of shopping for homes with the best bathrooms or the most walk-in closets, we looked for homes located within the political boundaries of the best school districts of the San Gabriel Valley.

After bidding on a house in Arcadia, and the seller denying us, our Realtor found a house in nearby Temple City. After poring through API scores and demographic reports, I was convinced Temple City Unified School District schools would offer our two elementary-aged boys the best, most challenging education, both academically and otherwise.

We were fortunate. We scraped together every penny and landed a home within the TCUSD. The result? Both our boys received an excellent education in a public school system. Our older boy attends UC Berkeley, where he told me the college level calculus course was easier than the high school AP calculus classes he took at Temple City High School (taught by the excellent teacher Mrs. Nancy Bulgin). He got 100 percent on two midterms and a final from the Berkeley class! Sure, he's good at higher math. But he specifically told me he "learned all that stuff" at TC High.

Our other son graduates in two weeks from TC High and is headed for UC Irvine, also an excellent school, where the average GPA of the entering freshman for the first time reach 4.01.

It is clear our gamble paid off big time. But not every family we run into were so lucky. Some could not afford a home in Temple City. Some were denied transfers into TCUSD. Many could not buy into San Marino, South Pasadena, or Arcadia, home to fantastic school districts.

That's why I am so passionate about a school choice bill that is offered by two local legislators who normally are far apart on political issues. SB 680 is authored by state Sen. Gloria Romero, a Democrat, and state Sen. Bob Huff, a Republican. The bill would extend the District of Choice program, of which the Walnut Valley Unified School District is a member. Check out the newspaper's editorial for more on the bill

Since that editorial was posted, we've received comments both pro and con from school superintendents and school officials. Nany Lyons of Walnut Unified said the editorial nailed it. She favors the bill. Board members from Rowland Unified and Pasadena Unified have stated they are opposed to the school choice bill. Some say that Walnut doesn't play fair when a student wants to transfer into Walnut, that Walnut "cherry picks" their students for the best and the brightest. I don't know if that is true. But I would guess the rules could be tightened up and more oversight offered.

Overall, I still believe that parents need to fight for the right to send their children to the public school of their choice. Because getting a student excited about school can make all the difference not only with their grades, but in their lives.
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Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you haven't seen the documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," you are missing out on one of the best pieces of video journalism out there. It is also an enlightening treatise on what is called the largest business scandal in the history of the United States. Not only is this movie about how the Houston-based energy company schemed and defrauded investors and his own employees, but it is also about how other Wall Street and banking institutions hopped on board this greed train.

When I watched this movie again (praise God for Netflix) the other night, I saw it through the eyes of the current sub-prime mortgage fraud and banks behaving badly.

Helping Enron commit fraud and in particular, rob California of electricity power and cause the state to ring up $30 billion in unforseen costs back in 2000 and 2001 were the following: Merril Lynch (three traders were convicted of fraud); Chase and JP Morgan (banks that went along with Enron's outrageous money-making schemes). There was giant accounting firm Arthur Andersen, which was convicted of obstruction of justice in 2001 but whose conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2005. Still, the once proud firm went from 28,000 employees to a handful and lost all its clients, never recovering from its involvment with Enron as its chief auditing firm.

If the friends of George Bush (i.e. Ken Lay, who was convicted but died a few months before going to prison) didn't have so much pull, could this debacle have been stopped?
The same question is being asked since 2007 with regard to the mortgage brokerage firms that allowed bad home loans to go through without checking on borrowers income or in some cases, lying on applications.The motivation then, and now, was companies were making money, so who cares!

When will we ever learn in this country?

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The memorial to those Azusans killed in action just after new wreaths were laid by family members participating in today's Memorial Day ceremony at Azusa City Hall.

Today's Memorial Day ceremony in Azusa was one of the best i've ever attended. There were no politicians. No grandstanding. But there were heartfelt speeches from military personnel and powerful prayers from clergy There was even a touching poem read and a rendition of "God Bless America" sung.

I was moved by Sgt. First Class Martin Salazar's closing remarks. He is the person who knocks on the door of loved ones to tell them their soldier died in battle. He spoke Monday of how he recently had to deliver the news to a family in La Puente. Though he didn't say, I believe he was speaking about Army Staff Sgt. Esau Ivan De La Pena-Hernandez who was killed in Afghanistan last week (see Opinions, Our View, "We pray, we grieve, May 25). He said we usually thank the veterans, the soldiers on active duty for serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and that's all well and good. But he wanted to thank the families of our troops. I second that. For almost 5,000, they are living with the loss of loved ones who fought bravely and gave their lives for us.

Also in Azusa today were the parents of Leroy Harris Kelly III. Harris Kelley was one of two soldiers from Azusa to be killed in the Iraq War. His parents laid the wreath at the memorial for all the soldiers who fought and gave their lives in the Iraq War. The other soldier killed in Iraq was Azusan Elias George Elias.

I went today because my father used to take me to Memorial Day ceremonies when I was a kid. He didn't speak about how he fought the Nazis during World War II and was wounded (nearly killed) during his tour of duty. He would just listen to the speeches and the prayers. He'd let them do the talking.

The Azusa ceremony ended with a 21-gun salute. And a charge from Colonel Keith Bushey of Duarte and Salazar to go out and enjoy the day. America has earned it.

John Moreno kicks off the Azusa Memorial Day ceremony Monday morning.

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I attended the "town hall" meeting featuring the governor at the Industry Expo Center Monday morning. I'm out of this picture, however. Photo by Raul Roa

The best moment during Monday's town hall meeting came when La Puente City Councilman Dan Halloway verbally agreed with Arnold during his comments about career tech education.

Arnold was answering a question about career-tech schools, something he has pumped up during his tenure in Sacramento. It seemed like one of many canned questions that accentuate his gubernatorial muscle. When Arnold spoke about attending Santa Monica City College, Halloway spoke out, saying he was a classmate of his.

Arnold then walked over in the middle of the town hall meeting and gave Halloway a high five.

Before the meeting, Halloway told me the story. Halloway was attending the community college back in 1972. The instructor asked each student to stand up and introduce themselves. When he came to Arnold, he stood up and said in less than perfect English, "I am Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. World, Mr Universe, I've been a body builder."

The teacher interrupted and said why are you taking a math class in the summer?

Dan said Arnold said he wanted to get into the supplement business and he wanted to learn math to keep track of his business receipts.

In the college yearbook which came out at the end of the semester was a feature on this student from Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger, complete with a picture of the future governor of the state wearing short shorts and flexing his ample muscles.

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

View of the newly repaved, re-opened Live Oak Avenue in Irwindale just east of Peck Road.

It's been a long time coming. In fact, it's been almost two years before motorists could take Live Oak Avenue in Baldwin Park, passed the Santa Fe Dam entrance, over the 605 Freeway, and into Irwindale, Arcadia and Temple City.

A storm drain project along Live Oak Avenue is complete. The east-west route in the San Gabriel Valley, once closed or reduced to one-lane and heavy congestion, is now two, sometimes three lanes.

As the picture above shows, the roadway is fantastic. But was the wait and the new plants and palm-trees median worth it? In a way, this reminds me of the federal stimulus debate. All the median tiles, all the median palm trees and flowers can't pretty up the street all that much. Because on both sides, there are junkyards, rusting cars, and gravel pits that are in clear view. There was little landscaping to shield those businesses from view.

Government can take a street and hopefully, stop it from flooding in the future. And also, plant trees and flowers in the median. But the nature of the street doesn't really change. That takes small businesses to thrive and an influx of private cash. It takes code enforcement. It takes requiring junkyards and gravel pits to clean up their operations or leave.

That hasn't happened.

But as the following pictures taken a few weeks ago show, this roadway is important as a relief valve for the busy Foothill (210) Freeway. Whenever there's a closure, due to a jackknifed truck or some jumper on a bridge, Live Oak and Arrow Highway get jammed. I've seen them backed up for miles during an "incident" on the 210. When Live Oak was unavailable (basically the last 2 years), I had to take the 10 Freeway or Los Angeles Street (which has stop signs and goes through residential neighborhoods of Baldwin Park) to go home or reach the San Gabriel Valley Tribune office where I work.

So, I'm glad Live Oak has opened. I hesistated to post these photos because after I shot them, more orange cones sprung up on Peck Road and on Live Oak Avenue west of Peck Road. The roads were narrowed to one lane for some additional construction.

I hope the cities leave this crucial avenue open and construction free for a while.

The true test will come in the winter when the rains fall. Will it flood or was that problem finally solved?

A driver's side view of newly finished and opened LIve Oak Avenue looking east.

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

San Dimas Mansion, also known as the Walker House, during the recent grand opening.

Side view of the Walker House in San Dimas, north of San Dimas Avenue and Bonita Avenue.

Tall "steeple" shows the height of this two-story building from 1887.

I love the attention to detail. The restoration of this place, originally a hotel, clearly is the best restoration of any 100-plus-year-old building in the San Gabriel Valley.

Below is a full view of the Walker House:

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Al Martinez, left, with me. The famous newspaper columnist spoke Tuesday night as part of Cal State Fulleton's Communications Week 2009.

He saw San Francisco as a dream cloaked in fog, a magic city part Paris and part Brigadoon that didn't exist anywhere else in the world. (on Herb Caen, 1997)

Those are excerpts from some of the best columns by Al Martinez, former Los Angeles Times' columnist. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed hearing him talk about writing and his life during Comm. Week at Cal State Fullerton Tuesday night.

He has always been one of my favorite columnists, one who injected prose in between the gray and grime of a daily newspaper. He continues his work on his blog (Al Martinez On Everything Else).

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Honeycomb made of beeswax, left behind.

They came. They visited. They snubbed.

A pack of bees came to our side yard this week and took up temporary residence under the lid of our composter.

Yup, on Tuesday, my wife picked up the lid and saw the ball-o-bees swarming. It appeared like they were attaching themselves like a modest chandelier to the knob of the lid.

We pondered what to do for a few days. Finally, my wife (check out her blog for all the details) got in touch with a local beekeeper who said he would come to take the hive. By the time it got around to that, the bees had up and left.

I guess our house wasn't good enough for them.

They left behind a cool calling card: a flexible honeycomb made of beeswax. I was told that they are eatable. But I said no thanks. If only they had left behind some honey...

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hang on to your punch cards. Two more elections are coming your way very shortly.

People of Monrovia need to get read to vote on Tuesday, April 14. Contested races include the mayor's seat and the race for two city council seats.

I was in Monrovia Friday for the Family Festival and saw a bunch of supporters for Becky Shevlin holding signs at the corner of Mayflower Avenue and Huntington Drive. That's the spirit!

Signs for Kirby, Garcia and Lutz were all over Myrtle Avenue shops. People should send in their letters to the editor before Saturday.

The Arcadia Unified School District is having an election the following week, Tuesday, April 21. There are three candidates running for two school board seats.

And then, all state voters must vote on May 19 for statewide ballot measures that, among other things, keep the fragile budget deal in place.

See you at the polls.

If I missed any upcoming election, do post a comment. We, too, are getting a bit election weary. Democracy takes work.

Posted by Steve Scauzillo at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)