Featured Articles from the La Canada Valley Sun

Our ‘Force of Nature’ has left us. Dorothy Louise (nee Ames & Woods) Randall died peacefully last week at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla. Dottie, as she was known to all, was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, Jack E. Randall, and is survived by her four children, seven grandchildren, and is mourned by numerous in-laws, step-grandchildren, cousins, and friends at home and abroad. Dottie was born a Christmas Eve baby in Long Beach in 1930. A willful and lively single child of Lillian and Homer Ames, she was later adopted by her dad, Leland Woods.

A man found dead in a vehicle parked at a turnout on Angeles Crest Highway this week was a 43-year-old from Pasadena, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Dept. of Coroner said Tuesday. There has not yet been an official ruling as to the cause of death, according to coroner's spokesman Craig Harvey. The man was found at 2:57 p.m. Monday seated in a vehicle parked in a turnout at mile marker 27.2 on the highway. Capt. John Kades of the coroner's office said Monday that it appeared the man had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

“La Cañada is a running town,” explained Leanne Mothershead. I knew immediately what she meant. We were seated outside the Foothill Boulevard Starbucks, Mothershead and I. No dogs. No husbands. Just the two of us. Mothershead is a volunteer regional coordinator for Girls on the Run, a program that helps girls build self-esteem by training to run. Mothershead is a Toronto native who moved to La Cañada in 2006. Her husband, John, is a La Cañadan and a 1984 graduate of Flintridge Prep.

Although long a holdout against free-standing convenience stores, La Cañada is poised this year to see two 7-Eleven stores open. The former La Cañada Liquor store at 1585 Foothill Blvd. is being rebranded as a 7-Eleven, and a Union 76 gas station undergoing renovations on Foothill at Angeles Crest Highway also will include a 7-Eleven. City Councilwoman Laura Olhasso said that although the city decided years ago that it didn't want convenience stores, the shops are permitted when attached to gas stations.

A vinyl-sticker depiction of President Obama has appeared on a wall in Montrose in the style as the world-renowned, yet secretive, graffiti street artist Banksy. The vinyl-sticker — on a concrete wall on Ocean View Boulevard near Foothill Boulevard and the 210 Freeway — depicts the president at a podium giving a speech with the words “That’s right, ladies…” A photo of the poster has been making the rounds through the blogosphere ever since Perez Hilton, included it on his website Wednesday night.

A driver heading toward La Cañada on Angeles Crest Highway was killed at about 3 a.m. Friday when he lost control of his car, careened into an embankment and collided with a tree, officials said. The fatal wreck came just a week after state transportation officials reopened the winding 7-mile stretch of highway between La Cañada Flintridge and Angeles Forest Highway. Pasadena resident Julio Velasquez, 21, crashed his Honda sedan near mile marker 30.71, a sharp curve about six miles above the Foothill (210)

It's about to get just a little quieter for residents near the 210 Freeway, thanks to an infusion of state funds. After years of discussion and planning, La Cañada Flintridge finally will get freeway sound walls. With $10.7 million of Measure R transportation funds coming to the city from Sacramento, the City Council voted Monday to put those funds toward the first phase of a long-awaited plan to shield residents from traffic noise. The first $4.588 million will be issued immediately.

The discovery of a man's body alongside a guardrail on the Angeles Crest Highway Thursday prompted an all-day road closure as authorities investigated the scene well into the evening. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials did not release the man's identity, but confirmed that it was not a missing 20th Century Fox executive, 57-year-old Gavin Smith, who was last seen May 1 near his Oak Park home. Los Angeles County coroner spokesman Craig Harvey said the man may have suffered a gunshot wound, but an official cause of death was pending further investigation.

The body found on Angeles Crest Highway Thursday morning has been identified as 35-year-old Noe Vasquez, a Los Angeles County coroner's official said today. Coroners officials have not yet completed an autopsy on Vasquez to determine his cause of death, although authorities on Thursday said he may have died of a gunshot wound. Larry Dietz, a spokesman for the cororner's office, said officials have not yet determined Vasquez' city of residence. Vasquez' body was discovered near the Mile 27 marker on Angeles Crest Highway above La Cañada Flintridge early Thursday morning, prompting authorities to close the road in both directions.

La Cañada Flintridge's role on an advisory board addressing the proposed extension of the Long Beach (710) Freeway is off to a bumpy start. City Council members voted unanimously on Monday to buck a request by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority to swap out their preferred representatives for the State Route 710 Stakeholder Outreach Advisory Committee. The group's first meeting is Friday. In March, the council appointed three of its own members to serve on the advisory committee despite Metro's insistence that the 17 participating cities send planning commissioners, not elected officials.

This post has been updated. See below. A man found dead early Thursday morning along Angeles Crest Highway just above La Cañada Flintridge suffered a possible gunshot wound, said Los Angeles County Coroner spokesman Craig Harvey. California Highway Patrol officers have closed the Crest to traffic as Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. detectives investigate the scene. The body was discovered near the first turnout above the Angeles National Forest snow gate, about 2.7 miles north of the Foothill (210)

With traffic roaring in their ears and diesel fumes mixing with the warm spring air, four people settled into canvas chairs on the Gould Avenue overpass above the Foothill (210) Freeway this week, their gaze focused unwaveringly on the roadway below. The four were collecting data for a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority study of local traffic patterns. The data will go into the environmental impact report for the 710 gap. The study is controversial, as La Cañada Flintridge officials and others believe Metro and Caltrans will favor a 4.5-mile freeway tunnel connecting the Long Beach (710)

The La Cañada Flintridge Country Club filed a lawsuit Monday claiming the U.S. Forest Service caused nearly $50,000 in damage to its grounds while fighting the August 2009 Station fire. Firefighting helicopters responding to the blaze drained golf course ponds , damaging irrigation pumps, us ing thousands of gallons of water billed to the club and scatter ing sand, tree branches and other debris, according to club President Randy Dreyfuss. The club filed suit in federal court after the Forest Service denied a 2009 administrative claim in November, said club attorney Burton Mark Senkfor.

The beach bus is back. On Monday the La Cañada City Council agreed to spend nearly $13,000 next year to bring the popular beach shuttle back this summer. The service, offered by Los Angeles County Public Works Department, offers locals the chance to ride from Memorial Park to Santa Monica Pier for $3 each, $1.50 for seniors. The city agreed to a one-year deal with two additional one-year options. In 2011 La Cañada saw its highest use of the beach bus in the service's 12-year history, with 1,816 rides originating in La Cañada, about 36% of the total.