By Valley Sun staff
After combing through 2014 issues of the Valley Sun, the staff offers, for your consideration, its selection of the Top 10 La Cañada news items to come out of the past year.
School districts haggle over Sagebrush
La Cañada and Glendale school officials sat down this summer to negotiate an agreement for the transfer of families living in the westernmost territory of La Cañada from Glendale to LCUSD.The talks seemed to mark a turn-around in the litigious, decades-long struggle for a solution — until GUSD asked for $23 million in compensation in November, an amount La Cañada Unified officials said they could not pay.The next meeting between the two sides is slated for Jan. 8, but if no agreement can be reached, citizens group Unite LCF! plans to petition the county for a ruling.
If you missed our Sagebrush timeline, check it out below or the full-size version on our Infographics page:
La Cañada Unified’s Measure LC parcel tax passes
La Cañada schools scored a victory in March when residents approved a new parcel tax to replace one scheduled to sunset in June. A seven-year assessment of $450 per parcel would allow LCUSD to maintain programs and staff in the face of shrinking state support, officials said. Voters agreed, passing Measure LC by 68.16%, beyond the two-thirds approval required for passage.
“For years, the district has only been able to think 2 feet in front of them because there’s been this specter of financial insecurity,” then-Board Vice President Andrew Blumenfeld said. “(Now) a good school district gets to have a vision beyond the next Sacramento legislative session.”
Olympian Kate Hansen fever hits La Cañada
The city celebrated one of its own this spring, when La Cañada High School grad and luger Kate Hansen competed in the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Fans watched Hansen’s televised events at Los Gringos Locos — the restaurant owned by her dad and uncle — cheering “Go, Kate, go!” from 6,889 miles away. Upon her return, Hansen made several local appearances and threw out the first pitch at an April 17 Dodgers game.
On May 31, she participated in the USA Luge Slider Search, an event intended to attract future Olympians hoping to follow in the hometown hero’s footsteps.
Foothill (210) Freeway sound wall projects completed
City officials celebrated a victory more than a decade in the making October when three sound walls off the Foothill Freeway — at Curran Street, the Meadow Grove area and St. Francis High School — were completed. One boasts a 90-foot-long commissioned mosaic mural.
The $4.588-million project was paid for mainly by funds from Measure R, a transportation tax approved by county voters in 2008. La Cañada's city council made sound walls a priority and secured the funding.
“The theory was let's do all the work ourselves, so when money became available we would be the first in line,” said Anthony Portantino, a former council member and sound wall advocate. “That was the theory, and guess what? It worked.”
Devil’s Gate Dam Sediment Removal project approved
On Nov. 12, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a five-year plan, pitched by the county Department of Public Works, to clear 2.4 million cubic yards of sediment from the Devil’s Gate Dam.
That decision followed months of negotiations between county officials and La Cañada and Pasadena residents, who claimed the $65-million project would negatively impact health, traffic and wildlife populations.
On Dec. 10, representatives of the Arroyo Seco Foundation and the Pasadena Audubon Society announced plans to file a lawsuit challenging the environmental impacts of the proposal, which they say will degrade more than 50 acres of local stream zone habitat.
Death of Green Beret Staff Sgt. Scott Studenmund
In June, La Cañadans mourned the loss of Scott Studenmund, a 2008 Flintridge Preparatory School graduate who died in southern Afghanistan’s Zabul Province.
Studenmund was one of five servicemen killed June 9 in what was later investigated as an incident of “friendly fire.” Those who knew him recalled his tenacity.
In a 2013 issue of PrepTalk, the school’s alumni magazine, Studenmund spoke about the school’s football program, saying the sport “takes heart.”
“Football accesses your inner core, and it ignites your warrior spirit. You learn that, if necessary, you have to act aggressively to get what you want,” he told the magazine.
Sport Chalet sold
In July, shareholders of La Cañada Flintridge-based retailer Sport Chalet announced the approval of a $70-million acquisition of the company by the East Coast company Versa Capital Management, Inc.
Founded in 1959 by La Cañada resident Norbert Olberz, Sport Chalet operated 50 stores in California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada and remained family-owned until 1992. But in 2014, son Eric Olberz and relatives sold all family stock in the company, amounting to 68% of the shares.
No stores were closed as a result of the acquisition, and Vestis retained the Sport Chalet name and brand.
Descanso’s opens new oak woodland
In November, Descanso Gardens officials unveiled the garden’s first new addition in 30 years — a 7.7-acre oak woodland that attempts to recreate the Southern California landscape before the arrival of European settlers.
The $1.2-million project was completed through a partnership with the nonprofit L.A. Conservation Corps, which provides job training and work experience to at-risk youth. Together with staff, corps members hand-weeded the parcel, sparing native plants while transplanting another 30,000 cuttings and seedlings grown specifically for the area.
Part of the impetus for the space was a desire to put visitors in touch with the ever-shrinking Los Angeles landscape, according to Descanso Executive Director David Brown.
City commissioner’s sudden passing mourned
Civic leaders reacted with shock and sadness to the loss of Andy Beattie, a longtime community volunteer, a former school board president and sitting public safety commissioner who died suddenly on July 27 while walking the family dog, Brodie, near his Upper Alta Canyada home.
In his six years of service on the Public Safety Commission, Beattie played an integral role in several citywide projects, including the recent adoption of the La Cañada “Alert LCF” notification system and its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
“He was thoughtful, he was smart, direct and honest, which were traits I absolutely treasured,” City Councilwoman Laura Olhasso said of Beattie. “I can't imagine life without him in the world.”
La Cañada Video closes
After 33 years, Hamlet Shahbazian, owner of La Cañada Video on Foothill Boulevard, closed up shop in the wake of a tenant/landlord dispute that activated the La Cañada community.
On Aug. 6, Shahbazian received a 30-day eviction notice from landlord Al Cabraloff, who’d sought increased rent after a renovation of the building. When negotiations broke down, customers rallied around Shahbazian and Cabraloff relented, extending the move-out date to Oct. 31.
In the store’s last weeks of operation, Shabazian sold off his 30,000-plus-title collection at deep discounts. Some customers bought up VHS cassettes and DVDs as a way of owning part of La Cañada Video’s long legacy.