Notice of Intent (to cancel Allied Waste Services)

For shame!

A little background. As many in this area will recall, about two or three years ago, BFI was bought out by Allied Waste Services. When it was still BFI, Athens Services came to town , offering a cheaper alternative, but rather than switch, I called up BFI and told them I had a lower offer. BFI promptly matched Athens' rate without argument. Ever since Allied Waste took over, they have been trying to sneak up my rate, but each time I have called and told them that Athens is cheaper, and they have (now grudgingly) acquiesced and matched Athens rate.

PSN focus on Education

Pasadena Star News deserves credit (clicks and eyeballs) for giving us a dedicated Eduction section on their website to complement their new Tuesday section on the same subject.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/education

This kind of substantial reporting about PUSD that goes beyond the scandal-du-jour is to be commended. Please vote with your clicks and visit it every week.

(One day maybe they'll even give us the Education article RSS feed I've been asking for)

Pasadena Now: scooping the pulp press

I just read a Dormitas post in which s/he makes this aside: "This from Pasadena Now (the most consistent coverage of Pasadena news we have):"

I couldn't agree with Dormitas more.

Pasadena Now, the news organization that recently made the headlines by outsourcing journalism to India, seems to be scooping the old guard Pasadena pulp press.



Pasadena Now shows some technical rough edges, probably hallmarks of being a small operation. For examples, the fact that their home page CSS doesn't render properly on all browsers, and their Flash content throws non-fatal errors (see screen image above). At first I was dismissive of PN based on their lack of technical polish, but then Jill Davis Doughtie pointed out their Headlines RSS feed:

http://www.pasadenalivingmagazine.com/_ArticleManager/publish/rss.xml

Proctor Coming Back

My favorite politician, Aaron Proctor, has announced his return to Pasadena after two months in exile in St. Louis. Yeah!

http://www.proctorformayor.com/2007/07/24/major-announcement/

See you in August!

Will Instant Runoffs Trickle Down to PUSD?

This article caught my eye today:

Senate committee considers bill allowing instant-runoff voting

By STEVE LAWRENCE - Associated Press Writer

Published 12:10 pm PDT Sunday, July 8, 2007

Voters could express their first, second, third, fourth and maybe even more choices in local government elections under legislation scheduled to be considered this week by a state Senate committee.

Read the full story here:
http://www.mercurynews.com/article/ci_6328234?

See you soon Aaron Proctor

Well, I'm just aggregating the news, so you may have already heard, but Aaron Proctor is taking a leave of absence from our community. He says he'll be back soon.

Even though I don't know him well, I will sincerely miss his contribution to local politics. Aaron has the unique ability to do his civic duty with a terrific sense of humor, and local politicians would do well to learn from Aaron's pure heart. Most people could not pull off his unique style and natural sense of humor, but everyone can learn from his integrity and sincerity.

Come back soon, Aaron. We need you in Pasa/Altadena politics. It's too predictable and boring without you!

--
Jeremiah (and Fiona)

Snail-mail Spam?

If you're like me, the unruly circulars full of ads and coupons that show up in your real mail box bother you almost as much as their modern equivalent in your email inbox or your fax machine. The good news is, the "real" spam costs the sender money, unlike email spam which is "free" or fax spam where the spammer actually steals your supplies to advertise to you.

I have had a surprisingly easy time getting in touch with the senders to remove my address from their lists. I decided to tear off the address portion and contact portion of all the junk mail circulars that arrived in January. I discarded all duplicates and came up with four publishers so far.

Altadena Web Links

Bauer2000.com
Great place for gifts
Created by local talent

The Underground Arts Society
Featuring monthly gallery openings with local artists
Located at 2473 N. Lake Ave (Accross from Webster's)

TheOrangeCat.org
Calendar, Advice & Tips for Busy Families
in the San Gabriel Valley

PasadenaKids.com
Calendar listings for kids

AltadenaMeadows.com
A neighborhood website serving the far northwest parts of Altadena

Altadena Foothills Conservancy
The Altadena Foothills Conservancy was founded to preserve and restore open, undeveloped land and associated trails and historic structures in the foothills of Altadena.

Eaton Canyon Nature Center
Unfortunately bad web design, but useful information :)

Altadena Town Council
The Altadena Town Council is a forum instituted by the citizens of unincorporated Altadena to present a unified voice to Los Angeles County Supervisor (5th Supervisorial District) and County government. Its sixteen representatives and eight alternates are elected by the residents of each of eight respective census tracts.

Altadena Mountain Rescue
The Altadena Mountain Rescue Team is one of the oldest search and rescue organizations. Staffed by reserve deputies (all volunteer), it's goals are saving lives through mountain rescue and safety education. Headquartered at the Altadena Sheriff's Station, the team is operational 24 hours each day, 365 days every year.

Farnsworth Park Concert Schedule
In the amphitheater Farnsworth Park
Lake Avenue at Mount Curve in beautiful Altadena
All performances begin at 7 p.m.
(Note: not all evenings are Saturday)

Altadena Library
Special events as well as information services including online databases and the "Ask Now" service. Ask questions and get answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This reference service is staffed by California Librarians

Jet Propulsion Laboratory Kids
"Welcome to the Space Place!
Come on in and check out our games, animations, projects, and fun facts about Earth, space and technology."