Altadena

A would-be robber demanded money from a Pasadena pedestrian early Wednesday morning before fleeing the scene, acording to Pasasdena police. At around 1:20 a.m., an Altadena  man was walking near Lincoln Avenue and Palisade Street when he was approached by a man on a blue mountain bike. The man brandished what appeared to be the handle of a pistol and demanded money. The pedestrian said he had none. The suspect, described as a male Hispanic roughly 30 years old, then fled on his bike.

It's a little-known fact that Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena may have one of the largest collections of remains of Civil War veterans outside of the areas where the battles were fought. According to Nick Smith, a historian who works at the Pasadena Library, local researchers believe that around 700 Civil War soldiers, from both sides of the conflict, are buried at Mountain View. Those soldiers - and the wives they left behind and other contemporaries - will be remembered on Memorial Day with a special ceremony honoring the Civil War dead.

One of two suspects in the 2007 killing of an Altadena man and kidnapping of his 4-year-old son was convicted of murder, kidnapping and child endangerment on Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Mesha Arshaz Dean, 27, faces a possible sentence of life in prison with possibility of parole, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office. Sentencing is set for April 11 in the courtroom of Judge Lance Ito. Monroe Miles Jr. was shot to death on March 18, 2007.

Cartoonist Bert Ring gets some inspirtation from the movie "Up," when musing about the planned demolition of homes to make way for the MonteCedro project in Altadena .  -- Dan Evans, Times Community News Follow Dan Evans on Twitter: @EditorDanEvans .  

A man who apparently shot a woman and then barricaded himself inside an Altadena home was found dead at the residence Sunday evening, authorities said. The man allegedly shot the woman at a home in the 3200 block of North Lincoln Avenue about 3:30 p.m., according to Mark Pope of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Authorities believe the woman may have been related to the shooter, but details were still unclear Sunday evening on their relationship. Continue reading > > -- Ari Bloomekatz, Los Angeles Times

A drunk driver with an AK-47 in his car was arrested after a short pursuit Saturday morning, police said. Officers spotted the driver at Glen Avenue and Howard Street in Altadena, said Sgt. Debra Herman of the Crescenta Valley Sherriff's Department. They attempted to pull him over, but he refused. After a three-minute pursuit, he stopped the car, Herman said. Police arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence and his passenger for possessing a firearm. Neither had a permit for the weapon, Herman said.

A woman convicted of killing a man and helping to kidnap a boy from an Altadena home in 2007 was sentenced Wednesday to 49-years-to-life in prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. Mesha Arnaz Dean, 27, was convicted  March 26 of second-degree murder, child abuse and kidnapping. The child's biological mother, Vanessa Ochoa, 27, previously pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping and child abuse. Ochoa was sentenced to 15 years in prison on April 9. According to prosecutors, on March 16, 2007, the couple drove from Las Vegas to...

The California Highway Patrol will conduct a sobriety checkpoint Friday in the unincorporated area of east Altadena, officials announced today. "Traditionally, we see an increase in the number of arrests and collisions involving drivers under the influence during the summer. These last few months have been no exception," CHP Capt. Steve Strull, the Altadena area commander, said in a statement. Checkpoints are "proven effective tools" in cutting down on the number of DUI-related incidents, according to the CHP announcement.

A horse named Cowboy found it a tough trot home in Altadena when he stepped on a manhole cover that gave way. The man riding the horse, Damon Scott, managed to leap from the horse to safety. But the horse became trapped in the manhole along Lincoln Avenue, KTLA-TV reported. Scott and two other riders tried to pull Cowboy out. Scott even climbed into the hole to loosen Cowboy's saddle. "As he was in the hole, he was bucking, kicking and trying to get out," Scott said. "He couldn't because he was tired.

Detectives were seeking help from the public Wednesday in tracking down a man who raped a girl in Altadena as she was walking home from school. The girl, whose age was not disclosed, was attacked by the man in the 2500 block of north Fair Oaks after he approached her from behind, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. The man forced the girl into his car, parked behind a business and attacked her Feb. 27, department officials said in a statement. Continue reading > > -- Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times

Detectives were seeking help from the public Wednesday in tracking down a man who raped a girl in Altadena as she was walking home from school. The girl, whose age was not disclosed, was attacked by the man in the 2500 block of north Fair Oaks after he approached her from behind, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. The man forced the girl into his car, parked behind a business and attacked her Feb. 27, department officials said in a statement. Continue reading > > -- Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times

MonteCedro - the long-planned retirement community on the site of the historic Scripps Home - plans to finally break ground late this summer. The property - which has turned into a field of wildflowers in the years since the Scripps Home was demolished in 2007 - is already seeing some activity, with the last remaining buildings on Crawford Avenue being dismantled and recycled by Habitat for Humanity. According to Martha L. Tamburrano, president and chief executive of the MonteCedro's owner, Episcopal Homes Communities, the development must have 130 residences, or 70 percent, reserved...

Tree-killing invaders: Nancy Romero lives in a 1909 Craftsman farmhouse and - up until late 2012 - she had a row of boxelders of the same vintage. But they're gone now. Not only did they have to be cut down, but also ground up. The sawdust had to be contained, and the tree-cutters had to make sure that the remains never got in contact with green waste or other compost. Why? Romero's trees were victims of the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer. The beetle, named Euwallacea fornicatus, digs small holes into trees to move in. The females carry a fungus with them that infests the...

The zany and somewhat irreverent Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena has a new queen -- a singing, dancing, outrageously dressed pirate with a guitar-wielding slave and her own brew. Altadena artist and specialty foods entrepreneur Susann Edmonds was crowned queen of the upcoming parade during a raucous selection party on Sunday that drew some 250 revelers to American Legion Post 280 in Pasadena. PHOTOS: Pasadena Doo Dah Queen tryouts With her pirate slave in tow, she sang, danced and found favor with an amorphous panel of judges by distributing a special “Doo Dah”...

The Arroyo Food Co-op was founded in Altadena almost five years ago by locals who wanted a community-based alternative to large corporate grocery store chains. The co-op reached a major milestone last week as it signed a lease for the old George's Market neighborhood grocery store in central Pasadena. The co-op plans to locate in the 4,900-square-foot building at 494 N. Wilson Ave., at the corner with Villa Street. “We looked high and low to find just the right spot to open the co-op.

Eaton Canyon hiking warnings: The second waterfall at Eaton Canyon holds a strange and deadly allure - people keep trying to climb up to it, despite the fact that there is no safe way up there. The narrow ridges, high cliffs and crumbling decomposed granite trails claim too many to death, injury or just being stuck with no way out. Too often, members of the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team or other first responders are dispatched, at the risk of their own lives, to save people from their own foolishness.

Good morning, readers. Today is Tuesday, October 23. Police in Pasadena were able to stop a man from jumping off the Colorado Street Bridge Monday afternoon. Police closed off the bridge to traffic as police crisis negotiators stopped his suicide attempt . The man was taken into custody and transported by paramedics to a local hospital, reports the Pasadena Sun The identity of the victim in a fatal stabbing case in Altadena has been released . The victim has been identified as 47-year-old Robin Martin of...

Good morning, readers. Today is Friday, November 30. A historic 1898 hotel in Pasadena is giving a rare tour. Castle Green holds the holiday event this Sunday , reports the Pasadena Star-News . Life on Mars? Curiosity hasn't found any organic molecules yet , NASA says. CNET Students at MIT created a website to donate apparel from their rival school, Caltech, to the homeless , according to the Huffington Post . It was designed as a 'joke,' but no one's laughing.

Brush up your Shakespeare: The California Shakespeare Ensemble will take over the Davies Auditorium in Farnsworth Park on Saturdays from April 27 to May 25. It is a troupe “dedicated to professional and engaging performances of the works of Shakespeare,” according to the organization. The ensemble's Brian Elerding said via email that the troupe and Los Angeles County made a deal to use the auditorium in exchange for some free workshops on Shakespeare and theater for both adults and teens as part of the local run. They aren't saying what play they will perform yet, but...

GOOD works: Daryl Bilandzija, a language arts teacher at Odyssey Charter School, won a $10,000 grant a year ago from GOOD Magazine as innovative teacher. Laura Monteros, a freelance writer for altadenablog.com, caught up with him this week to check on the progress - and it's impressive. Bilandzija is integrating language arts with theater and nature to provide a holistic, positive, experience for his students. Double-glass doors have been installed on his portable classroom that open up onto an outdoor stage and overlook the new garden that's been installed in...