11.01.18

PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS
BRIEFS
DOPE PACKAGING
BOMB PROBE LEADS TO DRUG
BUST BY PASADENA PD
BY ANDRÉ COLEMAN
After blowing up a suspicious-looking device found
attached to a rental truck, Pasadena police on Monday
arrested a man upon finding drugs, not explosives. Lt. Jason Clawson
The incident began at about 6 p.m. on Monday when
officers responded to a call about a suspicious device attached to a U-Haul truck
parked on South Raymond Avenue, just north of California Boulevard.
After surrounding the vehicle, police, firefighters and explosives experts with the
Sheriff’s Department agreed that the device looked like a pipe bomb and evacuated
the area.
Local radio station KPCC 83.9 FM, which is located on South Raymond, was shut
down during the incident. The threat also disrupted service on Metro’s Gold Line,
which runs parallel to South Raymond.
The device was detonated by a robot shortly after 9 p.m., three hours after the
evacuations began.
Buses replaced train service between the Lake Avenue Station and South Pasadena
while authorities worked to deal with the device. In the end, the device turned out
to be a hiding place for illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia.
According to Pasadena police spokesperson Lt. Jason Clawson, Theodore
Bancarz of Glendale was taken into custody late last night and released after receiving
a citation.
The 34-year old Bancarz told police that the device, which was attached to the
truck by magnets, was used to hide and transport methamphetamines and syringes.
According to Clawson, unless a suspect possesses drugs for sale or is caught selling
drugs he can only be charged with a misdemeanor. Bancarz only possessed a small
amount of drugs.
According to Clawson, a second container with drugs and other paraphernalia
was discovered after police searched Bancarz’s home in Glendale.
Bancarz was arrested on suspicion of drug violations and released after being
cited by police. He is due in court on Jan. 29.
“We thank our neighboring public safety jurisdictions for their prompt assistance
in this matter, along with cooperation of the public,” said Interim Pasadena Police
Chief John Perez. Perez said Pasadena police were aware of the bombs sent through
the mail to CNN and prominent Democrats, including Barack and Michelle Obama
and Bill and Hillary Clinton. But local authorities remained focused on the situation at
hand.
“Out of an abundance of caution we took appropriate measures to make sure
public safety remained a top priority. Hopefully this quick arrest helps ease any
concerns,” Perez told the Pasadena Weekly.
At a press conference Monday night, after it was determined that the device was
not a bomb, Perez said, “We treat each situation with the facts that we have. And this
one is being dealt with, with exactly what we are looking at.” n
HAND-TO-HAND
ARTS & CRAFT FAIR COMING TO
HILTON PASADENA HOTEL
BY ANDRÉ COLEMAN
Artists, artisans, makers, bakers and specialty
purveyors will showcase their works and wares at a local
gift market extravaganza just in time for the holidays.
The Pasadena Arts & Crafts Show, which runs from
Friday, Nov. 9, through Sunday, Nov. 11, is at the Hilton
Pasadena Hotel, 168 S. Los Robles Ave.
The three-day exhibition showcases handcrafted works and offers a vast
choice of holiday gifts and products designed and produced by independent
artisans and studio artists.
The event will include clothing and accessories; textile, weaving and
handmade art; jewelry, gems, minerals and home goods; furniture, antiques, craft
supplies and artisan foods.
The show was established by artisans who were inspired by the Arts & Crafts
Movement and wanted to offer special gifts to people directly from the artists,
artisans and tradespeople.
By 1908, Pasadena had become a hotbed for the handcrafted movement,
which began in England in response to mass-produced furniture, clothing
and jewelry, and emphasized handmade artisanship, authentic materials and
meticulous detail.
Architects soon began creating a collection of timeless homes, churches,
winding cobblestone walkways, gardens, and stone work arcades — using
materials in their designs that were in harmony with the natural surroundings.
The show’s promoters produce shows like these every year in Pasadena,
Costa Mesa, Santa Monica, Walnut Creek, Marin and Tucson. Each one promotes
artisanship, handcrafting and workshop design, offering the widest range of
artisan creations to be found anywhere.
The Pasadena Arts & Crafts Show takes place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 9-11
at the Hilton Pasadena Hotel,168 S. Los Robles Ave. Admission is $8 online, $10
at the door. People 18 and under get in for free. Visit ArtsAndCraftsShow.com. n
MATH PROBLEMS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
else who doesn’t know your community be able to do
that.”
If the district does not cut the additional $6
million, Izuka would be promoted to fiscal advisor.
“I really want to believe all of you are wellintentioned,”
PUSD parent Tina Fredericks told Board
of Education members at their meeting last week.
“You’ve joined this board with the best intentions, but
this is a failure. It’s a failure of leadership.”
On Thursday, the school board approved $3.1
million in cuts by increasing the lease on facilities
used by charter schools by $134,000, which will result
in more than $600,000 annually. The new rate will also
apply to incoming charter schools.
That could result in resistance from local charter
schools, which oppose the increases.
The increases will only impact charter schools
with leases that are up for reconsideration.
Cuts to school district warehouses and
maintenance yards will save the district about
$290,000.
The district will save an additional $392,564 by
eliminating instructional coaches and a bilingual
coordinator. The district will also restructure the
athletics department for about $480,000 in savings.
The board took a proposal to eliminate the CIF
athletic program at Blair High School off the table.
“We’re starving these programs, but we’re not
canceling them,” Board of Education member Kim
Kenne said. “We expect them to continue, but we are
taking away their support. This is going to make a lot
of people unhappy.”
The board also opted to reduce the international
baccalaureate coordinator position to 10 months a
year, and to implement an administration ratio for
assistant principals.
“Every decision you make is going to be tough and
increase the workload of others,” said Eva Lueck,
interim PUSD chief business officer, after board
members speculated the cuts could increase the
workload on remaining district employees.
The district has been in a state of declining
enrollment due to rising housing prices and apartment
rent increases in Pasadena that have left many young
and lower income families unable to live in Pasadena,
Altadena and Sierra Madre.
Earlier this year, the board supported a rent
control initiative that would have capped rent
hikes, but organizers failed to gather the number
of signatures needed to get the initiative on the
November ballot.
Organizers of Proposition 10, which would
repeal a state law to clear the way for cities to enact
rent control laws, are being badly outspent and
the proposition appears to be headed for defeat
Tuesday.
To make matters worse, the state has mandated
increases in district retirement contributions. Health
benefits are likely to increase over the next three
years beyond the district’s projections, due to the
dismantling of the Affordable Care Act.
The contribution taken from PUSD’s general
THE COUNT
As of Monday, 3,043 days after the war in Afghanistan ended …
2,224
American military
service members
(0 more
than last week)
were reported
killed in Afghanistan
since
the war began in
2001, according to
The Associated Press.
5,200
US troops will be sent
to the southern
border by
President Trump.
All told, there will
be more troops
at the nation’s
border with Mexico
than in Iraq and Syria
combined.
unrestricted budget for needed special education
services over the last five years was $147 million. The
district’s contribution is likely to go up without an
increase in funding from the federal government.
Those factors have left the district financially
compromised and dangerously close to takeover by
LACOE.
LACOE took over the Inglewood Unified School
District in 2002. According to an article in the
Los Angeles Times, six years later enrollment is
still declining and the district remains in poor
fiscal condition. LACOE warned the Los Angeles
Unified School District in August that, like PUSD,
the district is in danger of not meeting its fiscal
obligations.
LACOE is calling for cuts to special education,
an increase in the district’s insurance fund workers’
compensation program, and close monitoring of
enrollment trends. School funding by the state is
predicated on student daily average attendance, with
funding cuts corresponding to steep and ongoing
reductions in the district’s student population.
Earlier this year, the Board of Education voted
to eliminate 139 full-time employees — 87 of
those positions held by teachers — to close a $6.9
million gap via current year reductions and revenue
increases. The board made another $14.2 million in
reductions for the 2018-19 school year, beginning in
September.
Earlier this month, the United Teachers
Association gave Superintendent Brian McDonald
a vote of no-confidence, and parents are looking for
leadership as the crisis grows.
Last year, 500 students left the district and on
Thursday, McDonald announced enrollment was
expected to continue to drop. He anticipates 100 more
students will leave the district this year.
“When I went back [and looked at the record] we
only had one or two years where we only lost 100
students,” said Kenne. “I think that’s an optimistic
number.”
The board voted Tuesday to shutter Cleveland
Elementary School. Votes to shutter Franklin
Elementary School and Wilson Middle School
failed.Cleveland has experienced a 46 percent
drop in enrollment since 2016 and now only has 99
students. Only 183 students attend Franklin Middle
School, which has suffered a 25 percent enrollment
drop over the past two years.
Wilson Middle School’s population has decreased
15 percent over the same time period and has 485
students.
McDonald said school closures are “needed” now.
“With declining enrollment, flat state and federal
funding and rapidly increasing mandatory costs, we
are at a point where tough decisions must be made to
right size our district and cut costs,” he said.
Board members said they needed more
information before they would agree to close schools.
McDonald said that any rejected proposals that the
district opted not to vote on could come back at a later
date. n
1
civilian was killed in
an armed attack
in Baghdad on
Monday by
unidentified
gunmen,
according to
Reuters. ISIS has
taken responsibility for
the attack.
75
civilians were killed and 179
injured in Iraq in terrorist
acts in September,
according to casualty
figures provided by the
United Nations Assistance
Mission for Iraq
— Compiled by
André Coleman
8 PASADENA WEEKLY | 11.01.18