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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2014 - DECEMBER 17, 2014
More Southland Rains Expected The Director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Mark Ghilarducci, has released the following statement about the statewide rain system expected later this week: "This week California is expected to experience high winds and heavy rains in several parts of our state. For many of us, these rains are a welcome sign for agricultural and domestic water needs. We live in the arid West and this year has been historically dry. Any help that Mother Nature provides will alleviate extremely low water levels and is greatly needed. "We know that it can flood anywhere that we receive heavy rains. This storm will present a risk of flash flooding and debris slides in areas where ground conditions have not adapted to the saturation. This year was also a significant fire season for Northern and Southern California and burned areas are especially at risk for debris slides. Even regions that don't experience regular seasonal flooding could see flash flooding during this intense storm system, which could be the largest to date of this year's rainy season. "Before the rain comes to your area, educate yourself and be aware of the potential risk to the places where you live, work and play. I urge all Californians to take basic steps to increase their own ability to be resilient through these storms and their impacts. The public safety community will be very busy during these storms and it's important to help reduce 9-1-1 call volumes by lowering your risks of danger as much as possible." During a disaster is not the time you want to be thinking about creating an emergency plan or creatPlease see page 12
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Trainspotting in Arcadia - First Tests of Light Rail Between Pasadena and Azusa Start BY TERRY MILLER
The $4 million AnsaldoBreda P2250 weighing over 100,000 pounds, was outfitted with specialized gear to test clearances, wheel/rail interface, rail switches, and the Overhead Catenary System. – Photo by Terry Miller
On Monday morning, Foothill Extension Goldline conducted the first of many clearance tests involving an actual Metro Gold Line train from Sierra Madre Villa to Azusa. The light rail project recently held a track completion ceremony in Azusa and this, now, is the next nec-
essary step to propel the Gold Line towards Azusa next year. Scores of people assembled at the corner of First and Santa Clara starting around 9AM to witness a historic moment in Arcadia’s history; the first time a train has been seen in Arcadia for decades. Due to several delays, the train
Arcadia PD Seizes 250 ‘Mature’ Pot Plants on Wistaria Avenue As a result of the Arcadia Police Department’s “See Something, Say Something” program, an alert resident notified the Police Department of suspicious activity surrounding a residence in the 400 block of East Wistaria Av-
enue. Arcadia Police Officers and Detectives conducted an investigation. On Thursday, December 4, 2014, at about 3:00 PM, Detectives obtained and served a search warrant at Please see page 7
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didn’t actually arrive until around 1:30PM. Metro crews carefully inched the vehicle from Sierra Madre Villa to check for clearance at various spots using Styrofoam connected with duct tape to assess the clearance, particularly at station platforms. The next 10 months
will be devoted to testing the trains, next time under their own power. Monday’s test was unpowered and required the use of a semi-truck to pull the Gold Line train through Arcadia, Monrovia and into Azusa. The long and lengthy proPlease see page 17
Ebola Unstoppable in Sierra Leone, Killing Hundreds of People
Volume 20, No. 49
Local Groups Call for Police Auditor in Wake of McDade Shooting The Coalition for Increased Oversight of Pasadena Police, whose members include the NAACP of Pasadena and of Altadena, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Greater Pasadena, ACLU So. California /Pasadena/ Foothills Chapter, ACT, the Pasadena Latino Forum, the Arroyo Democratic Club, and the Foothill Democratic Club, sent out a statement Thursday calling for a police auditor for Pasadena PD. “The events in Ferguson MO over the past few weeks show the price a community pays when there is a lack of confidence between the police and the people in the neighborhoods they are policing. We have witnessed how the mishandling of the investigation of a tragic incident has profoundly widened the gulf that was already there. Other recent controversial deaths in Cleveland and New York City underline the fact that
Education From Locals for Locals Please see page 20 Against Ebola Prevents Deadly Ex-Irwindale Disease From Spreading BY JENNIFER SCHLUETER For a few years now, Beacon Media’s founder Von Raees has been supporting Sarah Culberson’s Kposowa foundation, rebuilding Bumpe High School in Sierra Leone, which had been destroyed in the country’s civil war, and supporting its students’ education. Since the Ebola outbreak, however, the organization’s focus has now shifted to educating all villages in the Bumpe district to prevent the virus from spreading. Whereas Nigeria and Sen-
Cop Pleads to Sexual Molestation
egal have been declared Ebola-free in October, the epidemic is unstoppable in Liberia and Sierra Leone. To receive first-hand information from a local, I skyped with Sarah Culberson’s brother and Kposowa representative Hindo in Sierra Leone. He told me that he started an Ebola sensitization project in August. Instead of enjoying his vacation from school, Hindo realized the increasing danger and
A former Irwindale Police Department officer pleaded no contest Dec 8 to sexually molesting a 14year old girl and sending suggestive text messages to another girl, both of whom were in the department’s Explorer Program, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
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