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Facing Grave Illness, Aspiring Chef Fulfills Dream to Serve Teens

Photo courtesy Katherine Tran
Culinary student Angel Hankins, 20, worked with Hugo Bolanos, executive chef at Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air restaurant, to fulfill her wish to provide a fine-dining experience for foster girls from Pasadena’s Victor Treatment Center. Hankins is in hospice care for stage 4 metastatic carcinoma.

Twenty-year-old culinary student Angel Hankins’ outlook has always been about living the best life she possibly could, despite hardships and heartaches she experienced while growing up in South Central Los Angeles. The glowing, soft-spoken young woman loves to cook, she admits, and, even more, she loves to smile. She beams even as she says it. Continue reading “Facing Grave Illness, Aspiring Chef Fulfills Dream to Serve Teens”

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Efficiency Workshop Helps Students Handle Homework Overload

Photo by Wes Woods II / OUTLOOK
Marc Montgomery, with Debbie Ourfalian, explains how students can become more efficient in their studies during a workshop at La Cañada High School last week.

La Cañada High School 9th-grade student Ava Hulett learned the difference between multi-tasking and finishing a project at a recent efficiency workshop designed for students and parents.
Marc Montgomery, former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory productivity improvement manager, led the presentation, which showed how focusing and finishing a project was a time saver compared with multitasking. He and Debbie Ourfalian, who works at NASA JPL, showed the audience how to use a large white “productivity” board with Post-it Notes for homework assignments in various subjects. The board had a to-do list, a doing list, a done list and awaiting review/feedback list for homework.
“I think I’m going to try it out because the classes I’m taking this year are a lot harder than what I’ve done before. I think it’s interesting to see a new way that I can try to manage those,” Hulett said after the workshop presentation. “It’s separate from writing something down in a planner.” Continue reading “Efficiency Workshop Helps Students Handle Homework Overload”

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LCHS Grads Believe Clothing Firm Is Tailored to Succeed

Photo by Wes Woods II / OUTLOOK
La Cañada High School alumni Jonathan Sotoodeh, Chris Sotoodeh and Bennet Cowdin have co-founded New Manhattan, which uses robotic machines to make tailored clothing and sells it online.

Not so many years ago, Jonathan Sotoodeh would go to an area tailor’s shop to get outfitted for La Cañada High School homecoming events, and he encountered an old-fashioned way of doing things — one that didn’t fit his style. Continue reading “LCHS Grads Believe Clothing Firm Is Tailored to Succeed”

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LCHS Parents Schooled on the Risks of Vaping

Tanya Wilson, head of security for La Cañada High School, gave a vaping presentation recently at a PTSA-hosted event at LCHS.
Photo by Wes Woods II / OUTLOOK
Tanya Wilson, head of security for La Cañada High School, gave a vaping presentation recently at a PTSA-hosted event at LCHS.

With vaping linked recently to 27 pulmonary injuries and at least one death in Los Angeles County, an event at La Cañada High School where officials spoke about dangers associated with the use of e-cigarettes seemed especially timely. Continue reading “LCHS Parents Schooled on the Risks of Vaping”

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Unsightly Wheel Stops at PCY Removed; City to Broach New Plan

Recently installed wheel stops, or parking bumpers, placed near Paradise Canyon Elementary School to help control what is recognized as a chaotic pickup and drop-off area, were removed, last week after pushback from local neighbors convinced the Traffic Commission to reevaluate the area and conduct a study with community input. Continue reading “Unsightly Wheel Stops at PCY Removed; City to Broach New Plan”

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SMUSD Wants Public’s Advice on Fixing Facilities, Paying the Tab

The San Marino Unified School District would like your input as it works toward making a decision on its facilities needs and how to satisfy them.
On top of a town hall meeting held on Monday evening and another this morning, district officials also plan to host two walk-throughs at Valentine Elementary School on Thursday, Nov. 2, beginning at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., respectively. Additionally, residents are invited to offer their views at the district’s website, using a portal called Thoughtexchange. Continue reading “SMUSD Wants Public’s Advice on Fixing Facilities, Paying the Tab”

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Spartan Offense Stalls in 42-7 Loss at San Marino

LC running back Jacob Hardy (21) fought for every yard against the Titans.
Photos courtesy Eric Danielson
LC running back Jacob Hardy (21) fought for every yard against the Titans.

The La Cañada High School varsity football team has already accomplished a number of achievements this season but head coach Jason Sarceda set a loftier goal for his program. He wants to guide the Spartans to their first CIF Southern Section playoff berth since 2016, a feat that is now in jeopardy following a 42-7 loss at San Marino High School last Friday. Continue reading “Spartan Offense Stalls in 42-7 Loss at San Marino”

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Obituary: Murlene Horne

Murlene Horne
Murlene Horne

Murlene Horne, a 51-year resident of La Cañada Flintridge, passed away while surrounded by loving family on Monday, Aug. 26, of complications from Alzheimer’s. She was 89.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1930 to Clint and Esta Robbins, Murlene was the delight of a household that included two older brothers, Hollis and Garland, both now deceased. She graduated from Paschal High School, worked at the historic F.W. Woolworth Building in downtown Fort Worth and also served as a dental assistant. By age 19 she fell in love with a fellow Paschal Panther alum, the handsome and athletic Jack Horne, after his return from serving on the high seas with the U.S. Navy and a stint as a sure-handed football receiver at Texas Christian University. Continue reading “Obituary: Murlene Horne”