The Debate Around High-Speed Rail Debate and negotiations are at the very core of our democracy and certainly my work in Sacramento. We live in a big state, with tens of millions of people all holding a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds and ideals. We do not need to look much further than our own […]
Who Burned Down The La Cañada Schoolhouse? – Part 2 Fifteen-year-old Lemuel Veilex was in a lot of trouble. If you remember last week, the mysterious arson fire on the evening of March 16, 1893 had burned down the La Cañada schoolhouse. A reward was offered and a young LA transient, O.M. Clement, figured he […]
Tribute to Harriet Hammons It has been a little over a year since the passing of our friend, civic volunteer and community booster, Harriet Hammons. She selflessly did so much for the foothill communities, Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, Boy Scouts, La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association, not to mention serving her church in various […]
Who Burned Down The La Cañada Schoolhouse? – Part 1 It was a cool spring evening in La Cañada Valley – March 16, 1893. Theodor Pickens, the man for whom Pickens Canyon is named, was playing the card game of whist with some friends. Pickens, now in his 40s, had given up his life as […]
Summer is Officially Over! I am so glad that in-person school sessions are back this year. Thank you GUSD (board members, superintendent, faculty, and staff) for taking all precautionary measures to make our students safe. This Saturday, we all be commemorating the anniversary of 9/11. That day was the worst day we have ever […]
RECALL ELECTION DRAWS NEAR… As the recall election draws near, it is important to set partisan politics aside and look critically at Governor Gavin Newsom’s performance and personal qualifications. In my opinion it’s clear; he is not fit to continue as California’s governor. Under Newsom, California has among the highest property tax, gas prices, sales […]
Not a Bright Outlook In the Aug. 12 issue in the Leisure section, page 14, the “then and now” feature highlighted the oldest house in Montrose. [What happened to it] sizes up all that’s wrong in not only this city but all over: the dissolving of R1 zones. A total lack of concern or respect […]
Historical ‘Asian Hate’ in the Foothills The phenomenon of “Asian hate,” or prejudice against Americans of Asian descent, has unfortunately been in the news lately. Locally, Korean Americans are a huge part of our community and I’m sure that some of them could point to incidents that have happened to them recently. Looking at the […]
Laughter is the Best … Not long ago, a coworker came into my office, plopped down in a chair and said, “Tell me something funny. If I don’t laugh right now, I am going to cry!” Without pausing to ask her what was wrong, I launched into a story about the time my mom accidently […]
Pioneer Memories: Wynn Norton and Mrs. Seright For the past few weeks I’ve been quoting a 1938 newspaper article that recounted the memories of the earliest residents ofLa Crescenta and La Cañada. These eyewitness accounts of what life was like here are fascinating. I quote from the article, but I’ve inserted my own comments in […]