INDEPENDENT glendaleindependent.com
THURSDAY, MAY 14 - May 20 , 2015
be sure to VISIT: PASADENAROSEPARADE.COM
Volume 3, No. 20
USAID/ USA-2 Re-Engages in Nepal to Assist Victims Following 7.3 ‘Aftershock’
Fire Engineer Dave Marquez, Paramedic Matt Caffey, and Captain Tim Okimura went to Nepal on their own time to help in the disaster zone after the initial 7.8 Nepal quake. With the help of Cody Walker (the late actor Paul Walker’s brother). – Photos by Terry Miller
No sooner did a group of Pasadena firefighters (part of a rescue team) return from a trip to Nepal to assist victims in the massive quake three weeks ago than another potent earthquake shook eastern Nepal on Tuesday, shattering recovery efforts . By late afternoon, Nepal’s National Emergency Operation Center had reported 42 deaths and 1,117 injuries from Tuesday’s
Finishing touches are being made all about the 24acre, $265 million Foothill Gold Line Operations Campus in anticipation of the May 23 dedication ceremony and community open house. Thousands of drought tolerant plants have been delivered and are now being planted within and around the campus. Installation of local artist Christie Beniston’s 14’ x 11’ lobby mosaic was completed late last week. Comprised of mo re than 140,000 glass squares, the mosaic is the centerpiece of the California Poppy-themed artist elements incorporated throughout the Campus.
earthquake, which the United States Geological Survey assigned a preliminary magnitude of 7.3. The death toll from the April 25 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8, has reached 8,159 and continues to rise. The USA-2, Medium Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team, which is serving on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART),
was in Kathmandu, Nepal, when a 7.3 magnitude struck the Dolakha District in the Central Region of Nepal. The U.S. Geological Survey considers this earthquake to be an aftershock following the April 25 magnitude 7.8 earthquake. USAID deployed the DART to Nepal on April 25 to coordinate the U.S. government’s response efforts, conduct disaster assessments, and
provide search and rescue capabilities. The DART comprises 133 people, including 22 USAID disaster experts, a 54-person USAR team from Fairfax, Virginia, a 57-person USAR team from Los Angeles County, and 12 canines. After Tuesday’s earthquake, all members of DART—including the 57 members of USA-2—are safe and accounted for. Members of the USAID
DART—including its USAR personnel—are conducting aerial assessments of Dolakha and the surrounding areas in coordination with the U.S. military to view the extent of the damage. USAR members of the USAID DART are also on the ground in Dolakha and Kathmandu conducting active search and rescue operations to find survivors. Please see page 3
Foothill Gold Line Operations Campus to Be Dedicated May 23
-Photo by Terry Miller
FREE
Shooting Death in South El Monte Monday Los Angeles County Sheriff Department Homicide Detectives are continuing their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a man in South El Monte. On Monday, May 11, 2015, at 5:30 a.m., deputies responded to the 2500 block of South Continental Avenue, El Monte (Unincorporated) in response to a gunshot victim at the location. Upon their arrival, they discovered the victim, a male Hispanic, 31 years old, lying on the floor of his apartment suffering from a gunshot wound. Witnesses heard the victim arguing with another person outside his apartPlease see page 3
Baldwin Park Man Gets Jail Time for Killing Poodle A Pomona Superior Court judge on Tuesday sentenced a Baldwin Park man to a year in county jail and four years probation for beating to death his miniature tan poodle. Sarah Ardalani, a public information officer for the District Attorney’s Office, said the court also ordered Jason Vaca to attend 26 anger management classes and a year of classes dealing with animal cruelty. The 35-year-old Vaca also cannot own, possess, live with or care for an animal for 10 years, according to Ardalani. Vaca threw himself on the mercy of the court and pleaded no contest Please see page 2