Obama declares Station fire area federal disaster

A volunteer cleans up the destroyed home of Henry and Damaris Laguna on Manistee Drive in La Cañada Flintridge on Feb. 13. (Raul Roa/News-Press)

President Obama declared the neighborhoods affected by the Station fire and subsequent debris flows a disaster area Monday, paving the way for federal assistance with cleanup efforts.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced a federal disaster declaration for neighborhoods in the Station fire burn area that have been affected by recent debris flows.

The declaration makes city, county and state agencies eligible for reimbursement for up to 75% of the costs incurred during mitigation and cleanup efforts that started Jan. 17.

Damage assessments identified $59.1 million in eligible reimbursements from FEMA and another $33.3 million in reimbursements through the Federal Highway Administration, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office.

… Continue Reading: Obama declares federal disaster

Kiwanis Club coordinates help for debris flow victims

The Kiwanis Club of La Cañada is coordinating assistance efforts for victims of the ongoing rains and debris flows. Club members have been authorized to use city vehicles to shuttle volunteers up into the impacted hillside neighborhoods.

Those in need of help and others who have time to volunteer are urged to e-mail or call City Hall at (818) 790-8880. Volunteer work is expected to take place Thursday after the storm and mandatory evacuations are lifted.

… Continue Reading

Evacuation orders issued in mudslide-prone areas

L.A. County authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders Monday night for more than 500 residences in areas in La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and Acton. Residents have been ordered to leave their homes by 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Click here for a complete list of addresses to be evacuated.

Rains cause ‘train wreck’ of destruction in La Cañada

Heavy rains that pounded La Cañada Flintridge in the early morning hours Saturday overwhelmed the Mullally Debris Basin in the Paradise Valley area, with the resulting mud and debris destroying homes on at least one street before flowing down Ocean View Boulevard and onto Foothill Boulevard.

The protective cement K-rails installed last fall by the county in the wake of the Station fire were no match for the debris flows. Many were pushed out of place and no longer provided protection for homes. Vehicles parked in the neighborhood also took a hit, with up to 40 picked up by the flow and carried to various sites along Ocean View.

No injuries have been reported, but Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel rescued at least one family, and search and rescue teams are on the scene to assist others who might need to be taken to safety.

At least four homes on Manistee Drive sustained such massive damage that they may no longer be inhabitable, and at least two dozen others in the neighborhood were impacted by mudflows.

“We know upper Ocean View and Manistee is pretty much a train wreck,” Mayor Laura Olhasso said Saturday morning. “Other areas of the city are not in great shape, but not bad.”

…Continue Reading

The Early Edition: Glendale News-Press

Sense of urgency
Urgent-care facilities in Glendale and Burbank are trying to draw on the growing totals of patients who don’t have health insurance and end up pursuing routine treatments at already strained hospital emergency rooms.

Chase ends at Americana
DOWNTOWN — A man suspected of robbing a pregnant cashier at gunpoint evaded police in a getaway car and on foot for several hours Monday before he was finally caught hiding in a stairwell at the Americana at Brand.

Firm suing the city
CITY HALL — A cosmetics company is suing the city for losses allegedly incurred by eminent domain threats related to the multimillion-dollar Flower Street widening project.

CV knocks off Muir
LA CRESCENTA — In convincing fashion, the Crescenta Valley High girls’ basketball team accomplished two significant feats on Monday night.

A Balcony View: Barking up the new trees
Picture this. You wake up. You dress for work. You go out to get the paper. It’s a beautiful, crisp winter morning. You peruse the front page. And as you turn to go back inside, you discover two 7-foot-tall trees have been planted on your front lawn.

Throop confirmed president of Tournament of Roses Assn.

Jeffrey L. Throop of Sierra Madre was confirmed Thursday as the 2010-2011 president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn. by the organization’s board of directors. He immediately announced his theme for the 122nd Rose Parade will be “Building Dreams, Friendships & Memories.”

Throop, a native Pasadenan, is an executive with the George L. Throop company, a building supplies retailer and concrete producer. He has been an active volunteer member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn. since 1974 and was elected to its executive committee in 2003.

Throop is a past president of the Pasadena Jaycees, the Pasadena Salvation Army Advisory Board and the Pasadena Boys Club Council.

It's already time to enter 2011 LCF float contest

Although volunteers are still about three weeks away from finishing “Scissored Wizard,” the La Cañada Flintridge float entry in the 2010 Rose Parade, the local float association has already announced its annual contest to design the 2011 float.

Whoever dreams up with the winning design concept will win two grandstand tickets to see the parade on Jan. 1, 2011.

The good news for people who have little artistic talent is that they only have to come up with a winning idea, according to the contest rules put forth by the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Assn.: “Entries should be simple and easy to understand. Animated with an element of surprise and be whimsical and humorous. Entries must be submitted using a brief written description. Please do not submit drawings or color renderings.”

The concept also needs to be compatible with the parade’s overall theme, which in 2011 will be “Building Dreams, Friendships & Memories.”

Contestants would do well to remember that LCF floats are known for their animation. Cute animals have  always been popular with contest judges, and a human being is never, ever allowed to ride on the float. It’s in the by-laws.

All contest entries must be received by noon Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 to be considered. Hopefuls can find the entry form online at www.lcftra.org. Or, they can hand-write their entries and mail them to: Design Concept 2011, P.O. Box 253, La Cañada, CA 91012.

For more information call Jim Geoghegan at (818) 519-1282 or e-mail geogheganjk@charter.net.

Weather might delay WISE launch

This artist's conception shows NASA's WISE spacecraft mapping the whole sky in infrared. (Ball/NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge are atwitter this week over the pending launch of the new, $208 million Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), managed by JPL for NASA. 

The WISE spacecraft, which will circle the Earth one-and-a-half times over a nine-month period, is scheduled to be carried into orbit on a Delta II rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday. 

But the possible launch-day weather will interfere with plans, according to a NASA report: “The forecast calls for thick clouds, disturbed weather and precipitation, resulting in an 80 percent chance of conditions preventing a launch,” said a statement found on www.nasa.gov today. 

So, local scientists may have to wait until the spacecraft can begin its mission to map the entire sky, cataloging the multiple millions of objects it encounters.

LCF Young Republican Club grows

Addressing the La Cañada Flintridge Republican Club during a recent meeting, the teen-age president of the five-year-old Young Republicans Club reported that membership in the youth group is growing and now exceeds 30 members.

 La Cañada High School sophomore Kevork Kurrdoghlian said future plans for the Young Republicans of LCF include looking into expanding the organization into other high schools in the city’s boundaries (the private St. Francis High School, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Flintridge Preparatory School and Renaissance Academy are the other campuses in town, besides the public LCHS) and to hold a 9/11 remembrance event in La Cañada’s  Memorial Park in 2010.

Al Restivo, chairman of the adult LCF Republican Club and Kurrdoghlian’s mentor, said the youth group was organized “to provide for the development of future Republican leaders for the community. Our goal is to have these young people interface as much as possible with the senior members who are community leaders with extensive management and leadership  experience.”

Holiday Book Sale at LCF Library

The Friends of the Library suggest area residents check out the Holiday Book Sale at the L. A. County Library, La Cañada Flintridge Branch, Saturday, Dec. 5.

This sale is for one day only; doors will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The library is located at 4545 Oakwood Ave., La Cañada Flintridge. For more information call Rosemary Hook, president of Friends of the LCF Library, at (818) 249-4530.