Recently in South Pasadena Category

SOUTH PASADENA -- A man was found fatally shot sitting in the passenger seat of a car early Sunday, authorities said.
The man's name was not released pending notification of his family, however he was described as a 35-year-old Latino man, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Selena Barros said.
The discovery was made about 4:20 a.m. in the 1000 block of Arroyo Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Byron Ward said.
In a written statement, Deputy Lillian Peck said the body was first found by a police officer.
"A South Pasadena patrol officer saw a vehicle parked... with the windows fogged up," the statement said. "When the officer checked the suspicious vehicle, he discovered the victim sitting in the front passenger seat, murdered."
Detectives from the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau are helping South Pasadena police in the investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at (323) 890-5500.
Sheriff's homicide detectives had already left the scene early Sunday afternoon, however South Pasadena police kept the area cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape and used dogs to continue searching for possible evidence.
The slaying was South Pasadena's first in more than three years, South Pasadena police Cpl. Matt Petersen said.
Armando Reynaga, 28, of Eagle Rock was fatally stabbed in the parking lot of a Carrows restaurant in the 800 block of Fremont Avenue.
Officials said Reynaga had been meeting his estranged wife at the parking lot for several weeks prior to the stabbing to exchange custody of their young child.
The case remains unsolved.

SOUTH PASADENA -- Police jailed four self-identified members of a tagging crew late Friday, authorities said.
Morgan Smith, 20, of Pasadena, Noe Miller, 18, of South Pasadena, Patrick Hillseth, 18, of South Pasadena and a 16-year-old boy, whose name was not released due to his age, were booked on suspicion of felony vandalism, South Pasadena police Officer Shannon Robledo said.
All four admitted to belonging to a tagging crew that calls itself "United Street Mob" and uses the acronym "USM" when scrawling graffiti, the officer said. The group is believed to be responsible for at least half a dozen incidents of graffiti vandalism in the northern portion of South Pasadena.
"We're going to do further investigation," Robledo said. "We're going to try and build a case against them."
Officers were patrolling on Stoney Drive near the 110 freeway when they saw two men come out of some bushes, Robledo said.
When police began talking to the men, a can of spray paint fell out of one of their sweat shirts, he said.
Both men admitted tagging on the nearby banks of the Los Angeles River, Robledo said, and to belonging to the tagging crew.
Police went to investigate the tagging, and they discovered another man and a teenager hiding in the riverbed, the officer said.
They had paint markings on their hands, he added, and they also admitted to tagging in the riverbed and belonging to the tagging crew.
Officials are now working to build a case against the suspects for other local graffiti attributed to their tagging crew.
The teenage suspect was cited and released to his father with a written promise to appear in court, South Pasadena police Sgt. Robert Bartl said.
According to sheriff's booking records, Morgan and Miller were released Saturday after posting $20,000 bail, while Hillseth was still being held in lieu of $20,000 bail. No information was available regarding their initial court appearances.

Looks like the feds plan to dole out about $252 million in stimulus money to California cop shops. I haven't done the math but in most cases it looks like the package will return about $1 to cities per resident. Here's a round up of what some San Gabriel Valley cities can expect

PASADENA $342,008

EL MONTE $320,930

WEST COVINA $184,000

WHITTIER $152,145

BALDWIN PARK $151,669

PICO RIVERA $148,182

ALHAMBRA $143,111

MONTEBELLO $127,104

ROSEMEAD $113,633

SAN GABRIEL $98,260

COVINA $95,090

AZUSA $93,347

MONTEREY PARK $80,668

ARCADIA $71,159

SANTA FE SPRINGS $68,782

MONROVIA $64,503

SOUTH EL MONTE $64,344

INDUSTRY $59,590

DIAMOND BAR $55,152

LA MIRADA $55,152

DUARTE $45,009

SAN DIMAS $39,621

TEMPLE CITY $36,610

GLENDORA $33,599

LA VERNE $33,123

WALNUT $23,297

SOUTH PASADENA $19,018

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE $11,411

IRWINDALE $10,618

Gotta love those small town police blotters. Check out this entry from South Pasadena:

6-16-08, 6 PM, 1300 block of Fair Oaks (dry cleaners). Suspect (customer) complains to victim (employee) about a stain that wasn't removed from a shirt. Suspect demands a refund and argues with victim. Suspect grabs cell phone from victim's hand and hits victim in his chest. Suspect then exits store and throws cell phone on sidewalk. LOSS: None. SUSPECT DESCRIPTION: Female, White, 56 years.

 

An engineering study done in South Pasadena apparently suggests raising some speed limits around town.

In most cities of the San Gabriel Valley, such a study would hardly raise an eyebrow. But, we are talking about South Pasadena here. Word on some of those affected streets is that tonight's Transportation Commission meeting could get ugly.

Elizabeth Daly, an RN and resident of South Pas sent an open letter to members of the council and her neighbors:

 

You know that word?

Sometimes it's a noun. Other times, it's an adjective. It's also definitely a verb.

Don't use it in South Pasadena this week.

Or any word remotely close. That's because the city has declared it's "Cuss Free Week."

The idea comes from 14-year-old McKay Hatch, who started a No Cussing Club at South Pasadena Middle School this past June, according to his father, Brent.

South Pas isn't the only place adopting McKay's program. He has a Web site, nocussing.com and branches of the club in all 50 states.

McKay's Web site explains the origins of his club.

"A lot of kids at my school, and some of my friends, would cuss and use dirty language all the time. They did it so much, they didn't even realize they were doing it. It bothered me so much that one day I challenged them to stop," Hatch wrote. "But some of the kids said they didn't know how to stop. That's when I started the No Cussing Club."

It wasn't easy at first. Kids at the middle school would say some pretty foul things to McKay, his dad recalled.

And, as for starting the club, Brent was sort of against it at first.

"When McKay came to us and said he wanted to this, I didn't want to do it all," Brent said.

That's probably because Brent, like most of the rest of us, doesn't scream a hearty Homer Simpson "d'oh" when he stubs his toe.

If he's like me, the language is likely more purple than the bruised toe. I slip up in the newsroom, too, so needless to say I really had to watch it Wednesday when a group of Cub Scouts from Foothill Christian School toured the plant at deadline.
A very dangerous time.

"I slip up every once in a while," Brent admitted. "I'm not perfect. I've always had a real bad habit, but I'm trying to curb it 100 percent."

Of course Brent's not alone in South Pasadena. Over at Ben's Barbershop, a blue word can be heard now and then.

Same thing at Carmine's on Fair Oaks.

"Most people here say what they are going to say," said a woman at the Italian restaurant who identified herself as Amy. "That's a high school thing. We're a business for adults - 21 and over."

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A preliminary hearing for Man-Ling Williams has been postponed - again.

Williams, 27, is accused of suffocating her two young sons and stabbing her husband to death at the couple's Rowland Heights home in August.

Killed were Neal Williams, 27, and sons Ian, 3, and Devon, 7.

The case is moving pretty slowly through the system and it appears as if the District Attorney's Office is allowing the defense to drag their feet.

Appearing before a judge this week, the defense presented a sealed argument asking for another delay. And, it was granted. Because the argument was heard in chambers, we don't know how the prosecution responded.

Likely the argument contained evidence that the defense didn't want made public. What's interesting is that the DA's office has said nothing about the case since bringing the prosecution in August.

Back in January, Jan Williams, Neal's mother noted the defense delays were maddening to the family.

In an email she wrote, "I thought the judge was getting impatient with the delays, If only we could move ahead on one of these fronts, I think we would feel better.

 

Issac Hayes would have fit right in South Pasadena this week. Here's what we'll be writing about from there:

The city is recognizing this week as “Cuss Free Week” -- the first city ever in the nation to adopt a cuss-free week, according to officials. This springs from the 50-member No Cussing Club formed months ago by 14-year-old McKay Hatch, who successfully lobbied the City Council to pass the proclamation against public profanity.

Oh, Issac Hayes? Why Shaft, of course. Here's those lyrics:

You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother--
(Shut your mouth)
But I'm talkin' about Shaft
(Then we can dig it)