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Traffic-Relief Ideas Range From ‘Fix It’ to ‘Forget It’

Michael Throne
Photo by Zane Hill / OUTLOOK
Parks and Public Works Director Michael Throne speaks with a local couple, Kim and Kien Chua, about a traffic-related concern in San Marino. Throne and other city officials have been soliciting ideas to improve traffic flow in town, though many residents say the answer is simply to do nothing.

The City Council plans to take a first look at specific proposals to alleviate traffic congestion on portions of San Marino roadways sometime in June, finally starting a council-level discussion on whether the city should even move forward with the projects that would be funded by Metro. Continue reading “Traffic-Relief Ideas Range From ‘Fix It’ to ‘Forget It’”

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At 97, Author Tolles Has Even More Tales to Tell

Author Martha Tolles
Photo by Zane Hill / OUTLOOK
Author Martha Tolles talks with Tina Kleindorfer after signing a copy of Tolles’ newest book, “Love and Sabotage.” Tolles, a San Marino resident, has mostly written children’s books throughout her career and more recently dived into the world of adult fiction.

With eight children’s novels and three other serialized stories published and sales of more than 2 million copies, Martha Tolles finally decided she was grown up enough for a foray into adult fiction.
During a recent interview, Tolles, 97, who has admitted to planning her 95th birthday two years in advance and to currently planning her 100th, said she’d already started to consider the follow-up to last year’s “Love and Sabotage.” That tale chronicles a World War II-era reporter, Marty, determined to investigate a shipyard fire while repelling her too-friendly editor and longing for the return of her fiancé, a deployed Marine pilot named Eddy. Continue reading “At 97, Author Tolles Has Even More Tales to Tell”

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New Superintendent Plans to Hit the Ground Running

Jeff Wilson
Photo by Zane Hill / OUTLOOK
Jeff Wilson speaks before the school board for the first time after being approved as San Marino Unified School District’s new superintendent last week.

Addressing the San Marino Unified School District Board of Education for the first time, Jeff Wilson said he looks forward to the opportunity to “make you guys my true family” when he formally takes over as the district’s superintendent on July 1.
“You are my new family, like it or not,” he quipped, speaking at the school board’s meeting last week, “and I can’t wait to get started.”
Wilson, whose selection by the school board was announced May 3, with the appointment made formal with a contract approval on May 14, will become SMUSD’s 14th superintendent when the next
school year begins. He comes by way of Arcadia Unified School District, where he served as an assistant superintendent since 2014. Continue reading “New Superintendent Plans to Hit the Ground Running”

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Spartans Fall in Championship Game, 7-0

Spartans baseball
Photo by Raymond Quan / OUTLOOK
The Spartans wait in front of the dugout for postgame honors after being defeated by Temecula Great Oak, 7-0, in the CIF-SS Division 3 championship.

The La Cañada High School varsity baseball team’s hopes of adding another accolade to its historic season were crushed by No. 4-seeded Temecula Great Oak.
The Spartans were denied their first CIF Southern Section championship as Great Oak scored seven runs in one inning and claimed the Division 3 title with a 7-0 victory at Dodger Stadium last Saturday. Continue reading “Spartans Fall in Championship Game, 7-0”

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Polytechnic Denied Second Straight Baseball Title

Polytechnic varsity baseball team f
Photo courtesy Polytechnic School
The Polytechnic varsity baseball team fell to Palm Desert Xavier Prep, 3-0, in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 championship at the Riverside Sports Complex last Saturday. The squad, guided by head coach Nicholas Wagner and assistant coaches Stephen Gleason and Kyle Murray, includes Franco Alonso, Maxi Alsoufiev, Van Fichtner, Thibeaux Hirsh, Samuel Howell, Edward Konjoyan, David Mathias, Jason Mayo, Sean McTigue, Jacob Shafia, Jacob Sherwindt, Trent Steele and Robert Wilson.

The Polytechnic varsity baseball team found itself in familiar territory at the Riverside Sports Complex last Saturday. The Panthers were playing in the same field where they captured their CIF Southern Section Division 6 title one year ago. Continue reading “Polytechnic Denied Second Straight Baseball Title”

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Westridge’s Historic Season Ends In Defeat

Westridge varsity softball team
Photo by Oscar Areliz / OUTLOOK
The Westridge varsity softball team fell to Upland Western Christian, 3-0, in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 championship at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine last Friday. The squad, which brought home its first runner-up plaque, includes Olivia Bulow (front row), Sophie Haydon-Khan, Hailey Lam, Franny Chilton, Paloma Salseda, Mina Alvarado Goldberg, Sonaya Vazquez-Wright and Ava Ferrante. Middle: Natalie Vandergriff, Nica Kinser, Zelia Mauro, Kaley Penichet-Khaw and Julia Valenzuela. Back: Hailey Yoshida, Corina Dunn, Sosi Day, Deijah Bradley, Celeste Teran , Molly Morgan, Claire Coffman, Annie Gold, assistant coaches Ginny Garofalo and Allison Clark, head coach Karen Hanselman and assistant coach Christine Valenzuela.

The Westridge varsity softball team entered Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine last Friday having already made history. The squad earned a spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 championship game, a feat no other has accomplished in the program’s history.
Unfortunately, the Tigers were unable to control the nerves that came with playing on a big stage, and Upland Western Christian took advantage of Westridge’s mistakes to claim the CIF championship with a 3-0 victory.
The Tigers (13-8 overall record) committed eight errors in the game, which allowed the Fighting Lancers (22-7 overall) to score unearned runs in the second, third and fifth innings. Continue reading “Westridge’s Historic Season Ends In Defeat”

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Obituary: Mary Paniccia

March 5, 1924-May 11, 2019

Mary Paniccia
Mary Paniccia

Mary Napoleon Paniccia passed away on May 11 at Aegis of Granada Hills, a memory-care residence where she lived for the last two years of her life.
Mary was born March 5, 1924, in Trenton, New Jersey, the daughter of Italian immigrants who came to the United States from Norcia, a small town in the hills of Umbria. Shortly after the start of World War II, Mary married Valentino Paniccia, an Italian immigrant who enlisted and served in the South Pacific. Mary then raised their firstborn son alone until the war ended. They then moved to Los Angeles and lived at Roger Young Village, which was temporary GI housing that consisted of quonset huts along the L.A. River in Griffith Park. Continue reading “Obituary: Mary Paniccia”

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Restaurateurs Nourish Ties to Nonprofits, Flavor City’s Culture

Pasadena’s restaurateurs
Photo by Staci Moraza / OUTLOOK
Pasadena’s restaurateurs, many of whom have been operating local eateries for decades, include (front row, from left) Armando Ramirez, Abel Ramirez, Gale Kohl, R-lene Mijares de Lang and Pete Gallanis. Back: Michael Hawkins, Bob Harrison, John Bicos, Michael Osborn, Rick Liss, Robin Salzer and Gregg Smith.

It may have once been known as an idyllic suburban hub surrounded by orange groves and craftsman cottages, but Pasadena’s urban center has morphed in recent decades into a nexus of leisure, entertainment and gastronomy comparable to that of any metropolitan city, with offerings as diverse as the people who inhabit the City of Roses. Continue reading “Restaurateurs Nourish Ties to Nonprofits, Flavor City’s Culture”

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LCHS Principals’ ‘Cartnal and Gold’ Podcast Debuts

La Cañada High School Principal Jim Cartnal and LCHS 7/8 Principal Jarrett Gold
OUTLOOK photo
La Cañada High School Principal Jim Cartnal and LCHS 7/8 Principal Jarrett Gold have a new podcast titled “Cartnal and Gold” available on the LCHS and LCHS 7/8 websites as well as Spotify.

La Cañada High School has officially joined the podcast craze with its new show, “Cartnal and Gold,” a tool to spread news about school activities and objectives as well as students’ accomplishments, using a medium with which youth are familiar.
LCHS Principal Jim Cartnal and LCHS 7/8 Principal Jarrett Gold’s podcast debuted recently on both schools’ websites and Spotify.
The show’s name, displayed in its logo over a crossed-out “Cardinal,” arose from La Cañada Unified School District webmaster Toby Lewsadder’s inspiration.
“The school colors are cardinal and gold,” Cartnal said in a recent interview. “That was Toby’s idea. We have heard positive feedback so far.” Continue reading “LCHS Principals’ ‘Cartnal and Gold’ Podcast Debuts”

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LCHS Is Losing Two Assistant Principals, Will Hire Just One

Jonathan Lyons and Kip Glazer
OUTLOOK photo
Jonathan Lyons and Kip Glazer are leaving La Cañada High School to become principals in Carmel and the Santa Barbara area, respectively.

With some big administrative changes already undertaken this school year, La Cañada High School is prepping for yet another.
Assistant principals Jonathan Lyons and Kip Glazer are set to leave, having accepted jobs in other districts, and the district will look to fill the vacancies with just one person, administrators said.
“Historically, the LCHS team is two assistant principals and one principal,” said LCHS Principal Jim Cartnal, who was confirmed in his role in March after briefly serving on an interim basis. Former Principal Ian McFeat has left the district since reaching a settlement of a dispute with the school system. Continue reading “LCHS Is Losing Two Assistant Principals, Will Hire Just One”