Altadena Above It All

From Carolyn Seitz

Greetings to you all,

People in the Northeast part of Altadena/Pasadena, Sierra Madre Villa area, are reporting theft of valuables from vehicles in their garages – and the garage door was open.  Not sure if these incidents are happening during the daytime or night, only that they report having left the garage door open and returned to discover that keys, wallets, cell phones or other valuables were missing.

In the same neighborhood, they’ve also observed young men with backpacks going through trash cans and recognized that these young men were likely not collecting recyclables.

This same neighborhood has also experienced theft from mailboxes and failed to report these incidents to the Altadena Sheriff’s Station or to Pasadena Police Department.

Here’s your reminder to shred mail or other documents before you deposit them in your trash, even junk mail that has your name on it, credit card solicitations or anything else that might in some way be used to steal your identity.

An even more important reminder – call the Sheriff’s Station – 626 798 1131 when you spot what appears to be suspicious activity in your neighborhood, and please report any incidents that occur – including theft from mailboxes, theft from your automobile or any other criminal activity.

Do you catch little visions of Altadena on TV every now and then? Like Ronnie’s Service Station in the Immonium AD commercial, or the Altadena Nursery in the Kia spot? You see the film crews here all the time.  When and where have YOU seen Altadena on TV?

It’s time for me to speak up on a few subjects. The first is aimed at the otherwise lovely Canadians. Clubbing and shooting of baby seals makes me want to throw up.  Here’s a Humane Society letter to forward  — with a link to a petition to support the EU ban on trading in seal products.  Cut off the market and save the creatures. Have a heart and please sign and forward…

Dear Friend,

The European Commission is considering proposing a ban on the trade of seal products in the European Union. Several countries have already ended their trade in seal products or announced their plans to do so. By closing down markets for seal products, we can ensure no more seals are clubbed or shot for their fur.

I hope you’ll sign a petition in support of an EU ban on trade in seal products. It only takes a minute. Thanks for joining me in ending these cruel seal hunts. Here is the link:

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/protectseals08_EUban/w3kx3k34f7bxbetd?

Thanks for Monica Hubbard for this item…there’s no place like Folly Bowl! See photos in my early posts.

Kudos to Susanna Dadd and James Griffiths who will be receiving
the Pasadena Arts Council’s prestigious Gold Crown Award for “their
unique approach to recycled materials in creating an amphitheatre in
their garden, the ‘Folly Bowl.’”  This year’s awards are a departure
from years past, in that there are only three honorees, and for the
first time ever, the Council is honoring contributions to the arts
through environmental awareness and sustainability.  The awards will
be presented on June 5 at a special reception at Castle Green.  Call
the office to be placed on their mailing list:  626-793-8171.

Just a little nosh here in tribute…

Julia Child is still in the media. Food Network is airing an episode on our famous former Pasadena party girl (ok, I’m reaching over the Pasadena line for this one) on their show Chefography. She was quite the little tart as a girl and couldn’t be missed at 6 foot 2–no wonder she was such a hoot to watch.

Thankfully she joined the Office of Strategic Services married Paul Child, a cartographer and artistic renaissance man who’d lived around the world and introduced her to French food. Not a natural born chef, she struggled to figure out how to even get a meal on the table. Fittingly, her last meal is reported by Wikipedia to have been French Onion Soup.  Bon apetit! 

You may know I’m a member of IWOSC (Independent Writers of Southern California) and here’s an event that fellow member Jeanine Frank is putting on as part of her long-running series of shows, Parlor Performance. Following is news about IWOSC’s booth at the LA Times Book Festival April 26/27.

Parlor Performances and Hayworth Theatre present
“Carla-Bration!”
A Fund-Raiser on Two Variety Nights for ALS-stricken solo artist Carla
Zilbersmith

A CARLA-BRATION for Carla Zilbersmith: Two Special Variety Nights
Saturday, April 12
8pm
Steinway Hall @ Fields Pianos, 12121 W. Pico Blvd.

&

Monday, April 14
8pm
The Hayworth Theatre, 2509 Wilshire Blvd.

Jeannine Frank of Parlor Performances @ Steinway Hall and Danna Hyams and
Gary Blumsack of The Hayworth Theatre are joining forces to present
CARLA-BRATION! two special variety nights raising money to assist their
friend and colleague, Carla Zilbersmith who was recently diagnosed with
ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). These two benefit shows will feature a lively
line-up of some of LA’s favorite monologists, cabaret artists and musical
humorists including Ray Jessel, Marie Cain, Betsy Salkind, Kres Mersky,
Darryl Henriques, Stephanie Satie, Kenny Kane and more — including Carla
herself!

While facing extraordinary challenges and tough decisions Zilbersmith
continues to be insightful, honest — and even humorous, regularly
channeling her observations and feelings into a series of ironic, often
hard-hitting and always-inspiring essays at
http://carlamuses.blogspot.com. All proceeds from these events will go
toward additional assistance and quality of life services not covered by
insurance. More information about the fund and Carla can be found at
“http://www.quiltmamas.com/dmc/” \o “http://www.quiltmamas.com/dmc/“
http://www.quiltmamas.com/dmc/.

Zilbersmith’s solo show, “Wedding Singer Blues,” ran at the Coronet and
Hayworth Theatres in 2006 and was described as “bitingly funny” by the LA
Weekly. The LA Times called her “a strong-voiced find with a knack for
spot-on characterizations that recalls Lily Tomlin.”

Just the Facts: A CARLA-BRATION for Carla Zilbersmith: Two Special Variety
Nights to celebrate & support a friend and artist in need!
When: Saturday, April 12 at 8pm
Where: Steinway Hall at Fields Pianos, 12121 W. Pico Blvd. (one door w. of
Bundy, Level P2 under the store), Park free in lot!
Cost: $25 suggested donation
Reservations & Info: Jeannine@FrankEntertainment.com or (310) 471-3979
&
When: Monday, April 14 at 8pm
Where: The Hayworth Theatre, 2509 Wilshire Blvd., and Los Angeles 90057
(between Rampart and Alvarado).
Cost: $25 suggested contribution
Reservations & Info: www.thehayworth.com or (800) 838-3006

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Visit IWOSC at the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA, Sat.-Sun., April
26-27, Booth #428 near Royce Hall. And don’t miss our annual Agents
Panel, Mon. April 28. Reservations required; see iwosc.org.

Listen up! Make “Write On!” — IWOSC’s very own Internet radio program –
a part of your day. You won’t want to miss words of wit and wisdom from
our interviews with IWOSC member writers and authors and other scribes.
All shows include tips about how to make your writing life better. Listen
24/7: go to www.bigmediausa.com and type IWOSC in the Search box.

Some of you may not be familiar with Altadena’s various tracts, so I thought I’d give you the link here. Your councilmembers are also listed.

http://www.altadenatowncouncil.org/atcCensusTracts.asp

N E W S ITEM FROM CALTECH ABOUT LOCAL RESIDENT Geneticist Giuseppe Attardi

PASADENA, Calif.-Giuseppe Attardi, whose work linked degenerative diseases and aging to genetic mutations, died at his home in Altadena on Saturday, April 5. He was 84 years old.

Attardi, the California Institute of Technology’s Steele Professor of Molecular Biology, was among the first scientists to delve into the processes through which DNA’s information is transferred. He identified all the genes of the DNA in human mitochondria–often called the powerhouses of biological cells. He then developed techniques for investigating genetic diseases, including Alzheimer’s, and aging in general, which he discovered is associated with changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

Born in 1923 in Vicari, Italy, a town of less than 3,000 people in the Province of Palermo, Attardi earned an MD from the University of Padua in 1947. He remained there for almost 10 years as an assistant professor in the Institute for Histology and General Embryology.
During those years, he also visited the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, as a research fellow in cell research and genetics, and the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine as a Fulbright Fellow.

Still on the Fulbright Fellowship, Attardi arrived at Caltech in 1959. He was appointed associate professor of molecular biology four years later. It was at Caltech that Attardi turned his interests to mitochondria, establishing that mtDNA is an active, working genome.
This spurred research into the organelle’s genetic machinery.

David Chan, an associate professor of biology and Attardi’s colleague and friend, credits Attardi with being a leading figure in identifying the products and functions of the mitochondrial genome.
Attardi and a student developed a technique in which they replaced the mtDNA of a human cell line with the mtDNA from diseased cells.
This allowed them to distinguish the roles of mtDNA and the genome of the nucleus–where the rest of a cell’s DNA resides–in causing the disease. With this technique, they could also examine the relationship between changes in mtDNA and changes in cell function caused by the disease. “Many labs have used his approach to understand how mutations in mtDNA diseases affect mitochondrial function,” Chan says.

“Giuseppe was one of the founders of what is now a central and still-expanding area of molecular cell biology,” adds Attardi’s colleague and friend Gottfried Schatz, emeritus professor of biochemistry at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum, in Switzerland.
“His unique insights bore magnificent fruits with the landmark description of the transcription map of mammalian mtDNA, as well as the precise characterization of the mechanism of mitochondrial diseases and the dynamics of human mitochondrial genomes.”

In recent years, researchers in Attardi’s lab at Caltech have focused on how mtDNA replicates, and on detecting mutations that result from aging, and what affects those mutations have. The team discovered that older people carry a significantly greater number of genetic defects in a specific region of their mtDNA, suggesting that cell aging begins in the mitochondria.

“He has been a central figure in mitochondrial research for several decades. One of the things I will always remember about him is his constant excitement for all types of biological questions,” Chan says. “I think his intense curiosity is one reason he accomplished so much as a scientist.”

Schatz adds, “To him, science was everything and he never tired of discussing the latest experiments. Yet he also embodied a vanishing breed of scientists whom I would define as ‘gentlemen intellectuals.’
He had a superb grasp of European history and world culture, had mastered French and German at a very high level of proficiency, and even in his most spirited discussions refrained from personal invective or overt aggression. To me, he was an example of how science can keep us young in spirit, and ennoble us.”

During his career, Attardi garnered several distinctions. They include two Guggenheim Fellowships; election to the National Academy of Sciences; the Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize for Medicine from the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei; a degree of doctor honoris causa from the University of Zaragoza, Spain; the Passano Foundation Award in 2000; and the Gairdner Foundation International Prize.

Attardi is survived by his wife and fellow researcher, Anne Chomyn, a senior research fellow, emeritus, at Caltech; a son, Luigi Attardi, of Rome; a daughter, Laura Attardi, of Palo Alto, who is a professor of cancer biology at Stanford University; and a grandson, Marcello Attardi, of Palo Alto.
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Visit the Caltech Media Relations website at http://pr.caltech.edu/media.
–
Elisabeth Nadin, science writer
Caltech Media Relations