Seniors Graduate La Salle High

It went by so fast! La Salle High School graduated 195 seniors Friday.

Lancers enter the Church of Nazarene for graduation ceremonies. Credit John Blackstock

Photos

Lancers enter the Church of Nazarene for graduation ceremonies.Katrina Dela Cruz delivers the Commencement Address at La Salle High School's graduation ceremony. Meaghan Allen delivers the Welcome Address for La Salle High School's 2012 Commencement. Meaghan Allen delivers the Welcome Address for La Salle High School's 2012 Commencement.

La Salle High School graduated 195 seniors at its 53rd Commencement on Friday evening. Commencement exercises took place at the Church of the Nazarene, next-door to the school.

Sheyda G. Pejoumand received the La Salle High School General Excellence Award and will attend the University of California, Berkeley in the fall. Pejoumand also received the Excellence Award for Spanish.

The General Merit Award went to George J. Pearman who will also attend the University of California, Berkeley.

Claire C. McCarthy and Mathew Godshall received the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Christian Service Award.

Chelsee J. Grover-Odom was selected by her senior class peers to receive the Pro Deo et Patria Award.

The De La Salle Service Award went to Vincent Delgatto and Manuel M. Sariano. Francisco Luna and Arolyn D. Basham received the Brother Celestine All Around Athlete Award.

Meaghan E. Allen, who lives in Sierra Madre gave the Welcome Address and Katrina A. Dela Cruz was chosen by the Faculty Commencement Committee for the honor of delivering the Commencement Address.

Every member of La Salle’s graduating class will attend college or post graduate academies next year, and 91-percent of the class will matriculate to four-year institutions.

Freddie Mac: 30-year fixed mortgage hits new record low at 3.79%

Mortgage ratesFreddie Mac’s McLean, Va., campus. Rates well under 4% continue for 30-year fixed mortgages (Freddie Mac / May17, 2012)
By E. Scott ReckardMay 17, 2012, 7:26 a.m.

OK, maybe it’s not as jaw-dropping as crashing the 5% or the 4% barrier. But Freddie Mac says 30-year mortgage rates have fallen below 3.8% for the first time to average 3.79%, down from a then-record 3.83% a week ago.

The 15-year fixed loan also hit another new low, falling from 3.05% last week to 3.04% this week in Freddie’s latest survey, released Thursday morning.

The start rates on adjustable mortgages rose slightly in the survey, which asks lenders what rates they are quoting to rock-solid borrowers with 20% down payments or equivalent equity in their homes if they are refinancing.

The borrowers would have paid 0.7% of the loan amount on average in upfront fees and discount points to obtain the fixed-rate loans, and slightly less for adjustable-rate loans.

The low rates have been a gift to people refinancing their home loans, a market also driven recently by a revised government program to help people refinance underwater loans.

A Mortgage Bankers Assn. report this week recorded a double-digit jump in applications for replacement mortgages, which now make up three-quarters of all home loan requests.

Home sale contracts declined last month in California

home sales

A worker tapes a window ledge while working on a home in San Diego’s San Elijo Hills community. (Sam Hodgson / Bloomberg / May 22, 2012)

By Alejandro LazoMay 22, 2012, 10:47 a.m.

The number of contracts signed for new home purchases in the Golden State dropped nearly 8% last month as the inventory of homes for sale remained tight, according to a real estate group.

The California Assn. of Real Estate’s home sale index of pending sales declined 7.9% from March, though that was up 11.9% from April 2011. The index is based on the number of contracts signed by potential buyers and is one indicator of where the housing market is headed.

“Inventory constraints could be a contributing factor to lower pending sales,” said LeFrancis Arnold, president of the real estate group. “The tight inventory we’ve been experiencing in the distressed market over the past several months is now spreading.”

Sales overall in the last few months have been better than last year, but real estate agents have complained that they might be better if there were more properties on the market. Investors have snapped up properties vigorously in recent months. Non-distressed sales are also becoming increasingly competitive, real estate agents said.

A separate report by the National Assn. of Realtors said that the number of closed sales nationally were up 3.4% from March and were up 10% from the same month last year.

Locals go 4 for 4 at Masters

Locals go 4 for 4 at Masters

Track and Field: Kieffer-Wright, Ezold, Crear and De La Torre all move on.

La Salle's Daniel De La Torre qualified for the CIF State Meet in the the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.Friday.La Salle’s Daniel De La Torre qualified for the CIF State Meet in the the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.Friday. (Raul Roa/Staff Photographer / May 25, 2012)
By Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.comMay 25, 2012| 10:55 p.m.

NORWALK — Perhaps the qualifying standards were too simple, or maybe the Pasadena area’s track and field athletes are hitting their strides at the right moment.

Whatever the reason, there was little doubt Friday evening’s CIF Southern Section Masters Meet was a wild success as all four local competitors — La Salle High’s Daniel De La Torre, Maranatha’s Ebony Crear, San Marino’s Kyle Ezold and South Pasadena’s Claire Kieffer-Wright – qualified to the following weekend’s CIF-State Meet in Clovis.

The ever-hungry De La Torre turned in the most impressive effort as he was the only area athlete to qualify in two events: the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.

“I know I should be happy, but I really thought I’d do better than my times today,” De La Torre said. “I guess the goal was to advance and I did that. The best thing is that I have one more week to run my best race.”

Like every athlete who competed Friday, De La Torre needed to either finish in the top five in his respective event or hit a state at-large qualifying mark.

In the 3,200, De La Torre moved from fifth after four laps to third with a lap remaining before settling for fourth in 9 minutes, 06.13 seconds.

De La Torre began the day by racing out to third place through the first three laps of the 1,600 before tiring and finishing sixth with a qualifying mark of 4:12.84.

“My muscles were tightening up and I just didn’t feel my strongest today,” De La Torre said, “but I guess it could have been worse.”

Like De La Torre, Crear also hoped to advance in two events, but wasn’t as fortunate, as the sophomore qualified in the 100-meter dash, but just missed out in the 300 hurdles.

Crear, who was sixth after 40 meters, rallied into fourth (14.09) in the 100 hurdles, but fell from fifth to seventh over the final 20 meters of the 300 hurdles as her time of 44.29 missed the at-large mark of 43.75.

“I’m a little disappointed, but this is all a learning experience,” Crear said. “My goal was to make it to state and I did that, so that’s cool.”

San Marino multi-sport athlete Ezold entered Friday’s 400-meter dash having finished second in the Division III championships last weekend and seventh overall with a mark of 48.12, well ahead of the at-large time of 48.65.

Yet, Ezold needed no at-large mark, as he finished fourth in 48.60.

“I worked on my form this week and on finishing,” Ezold said. “I kept a faster pace than last week and finished hard.”

As for the area’s close call, that came from Kieffer-Wright in the high jump.

The sophomore needed two turns to hit 5 feet 3 inches before eventually landing on the state qualifying mark of 5-5 on her third try at that height, which tied her for seventh.

“I’ve never really jumped when it was this windy before, but I know it affected everyone,” Kieffer-Wright said. “When it came around to 5-5 and I missed on my first two attempts, I can’t lie, I was really nervous. I was telling myself, ‘This is it.’“

Friday also marked the end of the road for two Pasadena residents as Loyola 3,200-meter runner Charles Marquardt (ninth, 9:20.38) and Cubs’ junior Josh Lewis, who finished seventh in the 800 (1:54.37), did not advance to state.

I’ll Have Another Wins Preakness–Second Jewel In Triple Crown!

Gutierrez, Derby winner win Preakness thriller, are one win from the Triple Crown

BY JENNIFER CALDWELL

updated 9:22 p.m. ET May 19, 2012

BALTIMORE – Two weeks ago, J. Paul Reddam’s I’ll Have Another ran down pacesetter Bodemeister to take the Kentucky Derby under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. On Saturday, I’ll Have Another took on that pacesetting rival in the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes and gutted out a neck victory to take the second jewel of the Triple Crown at Pimlico.

The front-running Bodemeister took command straightaway and set more reasonable fractions of :23 3/5, :47 3/5, 1:11 3/5 and 1:36 3/5 this time around than what he did in the Derby. Jockey Mario Gutierrez settled I’ll Have Another in behind and to the outside as Creative Cause kept pace with Bodemeister on the backstretch.

Bodemeister, Creative Cause and I’ll Have Another swung around the turn in tandem, but the gray Creative Cause couldn’t keep pace as his two rivals faced off yet again. Bodemeister held the advantage for much of the stretch run, but I’ll Have Another kept inching closer and just got up in the shadow of the wire to finish 1 3/16 miles on the fast dirt in 1:55 4/5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We wanted to be a little bit closer to Bodemeister this time because normally that horse runs a huge race,” Gutierrez said. “My horse has a tremendous kick in the end. He has been proving that in the last three races. He didn’t disappoint again today. He has proven a lot of people wrong. I just have to prepare because I want to be at the same level as him. He’s an amazing horse.”

The exciting rematch was witnessed by a record crowd of 121,309 at Pimlico, edging the 2005 Preakness when 121,263 packed Old Hilltop. The 13-race Thoroughbred card generated an all-sources handle of $80,463,005. The handle ranked as the sixth highest for Pimlico’s signature day.

“The numbers say it all. We had a tremendous event,” Maryland Jockey Club president Tom Chuckas stated.

It’s now on to the Belmont Stakes in New York for the Doug O’Neill-trained I’ll Have Another, who cost just $35,000 when purchased by O’Neill’s brother Dennis at the 2011 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The colt will attempt to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed swept all three races in 1978.

“I’m just numb,” Doug O’Neill said. “I could see him and I felt like he was coming, but you never want to expect that he’s going to be in front. I saw him coming. It seemed like the stretch never ends. Usually you want it to end. Incredible.

“Just absolutely exciting,” O’Neill added in regards to winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown. “It’s what it’s all about. Those are the kind of races you hate to lose. But when you win those kind of races, you always feel like you have a chance the whole race. Then you’re yelling at the top of your lungs. Then to see a horse in front at the wire, there is no better feeling. It’s incredible.”

“I haven’t thought past today,” Reddam admitted when asked about going for the Triple Crown in an NBC post-race interview. “I just can’t imagine it. Hopefully the horse is doing well out of the race. It’s going to get crazy.”

I’ll Have Another paid $8.40, $3.80 and $2.80 as the 3-1 second choice to move his record to 7-5-1-0. The chestnut colt boosted his earnings to $2,693,600 with the winner’s share of the $1 million purse.

Bodemeister reputed himself well in second as the 8-5 favorite, and it was another 8 3/4 lengths back to Creative Cause in third.

“It’s one of those things where it’s good for the sport. It’s good for the Belmont. It’s tough,” trainer Bob Baffert admitted about Bodemeister’s loss. “I felt really good about where he was. He looked like he was traveling nicely down the backside and coming to the three-eighths pole, he just sat on him. The fractions were more reasonable today, so turning for home I really thought he was going to do it. He just got a little late there at the end.

“It was a good horse race. I really can’t complain. We didn’t win it, but my horse ran his race.

“The winner’s a good horse. He’ll get the respect now that he deserves,” Baffert added. “The California horses are really tough. They ran 1-2-3. I’m proud that as a trainer my horse showed up and he ran his race. He just got beat.”

“I thought I put him away, but (I’ll Have Another) reached up and got us with three strides,” said Bodemeister’s jockey, Mike Smith. “Two great horses and I give them all the credit for what they did.”

Zetterholm rounded out the superfecta three lengths farther back, while Teeth of the Dog, Optimizer, Cozzetti, Tiger Walk, Daddy Nose Best, Went the Day Well and Pretension completing the order under the wire.

“We’re happy,” trainer Richard Dutrow said of Zetterholm’s fourth-place run. “He’s not supposed to beat the top two, so we are really pleased with the way he ran today.”

“He ran a huge race,” jockey Junior Alvarado said of Zetterholm’s performance. “He was there and was coming from behind. We were almost last and when I asked him, he started to pick it up.”

I’ll Have Another is following in the illustrious hoofsteps of fellow California-based Sunday Silence, who captured the Grade I Santa Anita Derby en route to victory in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness over Easy Goer. Those two put on a show in the 1989 Preakness similar to I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister, with Sunday Silence just getting the nose win over his chestnut rival.

In the Belmont Stakes, though, Sunday Silence fell short as the 1 1/2-mile distance of the “Test of the Champion” proved too far. I’ll Have Another has thus far proven capable of finding more as the distances have increased and could complete one of the toughest challenges in American sports by adding the Belmont to his resume on June 9.

I’ll Have Another began his career last July at Hollywood Park, breaking his maiden on the synthetic Cushion Track by three parts of a length. He followed up with a second while making his stakes debut in the Grade II Best Pal Stakes on Del Mar’s all-weather Polytrack, then shipped cross-country to New York to try a conventional dirt track in the Grade I Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga. The Flower Alley colt was unable to challenge that day after running wide throughout, ending up sixth, and called it a campaign for his juvenile season.

I’ll Have Another returned five months later to take the Grade II Robert B. Lewis Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths at Santa Anita and is now undefeated this year from four total starts. After the Lewis came a nose win in the Santa Anita Derby, and the chestnut colt overhauled Bodemeister in the Kentucky Derby to win that classic event by 1 1/2 lengths.

Bred in Kentucky by Harvey Clarke, I’ll Have Another is out of the winning Arch mare Arch’s Gal Edith and comes from the family of Grade I winners Roanoke and Into Mischief. He counts as his fifth dam the influential matron Patelin, ancestress of champion Pleasant Stage and such Grade I winners as A Phenomenon, Seattle Meteor, Pillaster and Class Play.

New to Arcadia or thinking about moving to Arcadia California?

 

The City of Arcadia extends a warm welcome to you as a new resident of our great city.  Arcadia has a long history of excellence, dedication and community pride.  The City Council and staff are committed to providing the best public services and the people who live here are very involved in community activities and in keeping Arcadia a wonderful place to call home.  We hope you enjoy being here as much as we do. 

Below is some information that should help you get settled.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call the phone numbers listed, browse the rest of this website, or you can call the City Manager’s Office at 574-5401.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

The on-line community calendar (which can be accessed here) contains information about many City meetings, special events and other activities.  Please check the calendar regularly to see what is going on in town.

The “News and Information” section of the website is also a good resource for interesting information about Arcadia. 

PARKING REGULATIONS

The Arcadia Municipal Code prohibits parking on public streets between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. unless certain special circumstances arise. 

Storage of vehicles on the roadway is strictly prohibited.  Any vehicle parking on the roadway in excess 72 hours will be subject to tow at the owner’s expense.  These restrictions were enacted to increase safety and security–as well as enhance Arcadia’s aesthetics–while allowing a clear path for street sweeping vehicles.

A permit allowing all-night street parking may be granted on an annual or temporary basis:

Obtaining an Annual Parking Permit

If all of the below circumstances exist residents may obtain an annual permit that allows all-night street parking:

A)     Insufficient parking space is available or obtainable upon the property designated as the applicant’s residence, and;

B)     Additional parking space cannot be provided or constructed anywhere on the property, and; 

C)     No spaces previously provided for parking have been converted to other uses.

Annual parking permit applications may be obtained from the Cashier’s Office at City Hall (240 W. Huntington Drive).  The permit fee for a full calendar year is $84, with fee reduced by $7 for each month elapsed.  Please note that a copy of the vehicle’s registration is required, and permit fees are non-refundable.  Click here to download a copy of the Annual All-Night Parking Permit Application form.  

Obtaining a Temporary Parking Permit

A temporary night-by-night overnight parking permit may be obtained from a 24-hour self-service machine in the lobby of the Police Station (250 W. Huntington Drive).  Temporary permits are $3 per night and may be purchased from the automated machine from one night up to nine nights.  

Payment in cash, VISA, or MasterCard is accepted.   

PLEASE NOTE: Any outstanding parking citations must be paid or a permit will not be issued.  Permits are not issued for commercial vehicles or recreational vehicles.  The Police Department Watch Commander may grant exception for issuance of temporary permits on a case-by-case basis.  Parking permits, annual or temporary, are only valid for overnight parking.  The permits do not allow a vehicle to park in violation of any other municipal code or parking regulation, such as street sweeping.  In the event that a permit is issued and it is later determined that the vehicle does not meet the above criteria, the permit will be revoked and the application fee will not be refunded.

Transfer Of Permit

Should a change of vehicle occur during the year, a new permit sticker can be obtained by presenting the current parking sticker (containing the permit number) to the Cashier’s Office, where an application for transfer will need to be filled out.  There is a $1.00 transfer fee for this transaction.

For any additional questions regarding obtaining an overnight parking permit, please call (626) 574-5464.

PARAMEDIC MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM

In an effort to lower the cost of emergency medical fees to Arcadia residents, the City offers a Paramedic Membership Program.  For $40.00 per year, you and your entire household can be covered for any Arcadia paramedic and ambulance service fees – a bargain given that one emergency call can cost as much as $1,500.00.

As a member of the Paramedic Membership Program your entire household is covered and pays nothing for 24-hour emergency paramedic and emergency ambulance service (non-emergency trips to or from a hospital or retirement home are not provided by Arcadia paramedics and are not covered by this program).   The Program is especially beneficial for people who are not insured, are under-insured, or have a deductible higher than the membership fee. Insurance coverage varies so you should check with your insurance company to find out what, if anything, is covered for emergency medical fees.

The Paramedic Membership Program offers a plan for residents and businesses, as well as a low-income discount.  If you would like to request a brochure and an application form for the Program, please call 574-5126.

REFUSE AND RECYCLING

Waste Management provides refuse and recycling services for all residential homes in Arcadia.  Households are provided with a black container for trash, a blue container for recyclables, and green containers for green waste.  The containers have built-in wheels, handles and a permanently attached lid.  The containers are specifically designed for automated trash collection.  Waste in any other container will not be collected.  To begin service or inquire about what can and cannot be recycled, please call Waste Management at 856-1285.

For your information, trash containers should be placed at the curb for pick-up no more than 24 hours prior to collection and removed by 5:00am the day after pick-up.  

STREET SWEEPING

Streets in commercial districts are swept a minimum of once per week. Residential streets are swept every week, the day after refuse collection.  To help keep our streets and storm drains clean, sweeping leaves and grass into the street is prohibited.  Questions about street sweeping may be answered by calling 256-6554.

UTILITY TAX EXEMPTION FOR LOW INCOME AND DISABLED PERSONS

An exemption from having to pay the 5% Utility User’s Tax is available to low income qualified and disabled residents.  The exemption allows those who qualify to avoid paying the 5% City tax on their utilities (Edison Company, Southern California Gas Company and telephone companies) as well as providing water customers with 600 cubic feet of water each billing period without charge.  This exemption also qualifies you to enroll in the Paramedic Membership Program at the reduced rate of $21 per year.

If you are interested in this program and believe you may qualify, pick up an application at City Hall or call 574-5463 for more information.

HELPFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Arcadia’s area code is 626.

Arcadia Unified School District - 821-8300

AT & T Cable - www.att.com

Champion Broadband Cable - 866-801-1122

City Hall (general telephone number) - 574-5400

Water Billing - 574-5428

Water Service - 256-6650

Southern California Edison - 800-684-8123

Southern California Gas Company - 800-427-2200

Time Warner Cable – 441-4559

Verizon - 800-483-4000

May 2012 Market Report/Pasadena California

May 2012 Market Report/Pasadena California. For a Market Report in your area please contact me and just say “Market Report …(insert city)” @ BrettanyHarrison@me.com

April property sales were 28, up 33.3% from 21 in April of 2011 and – 17.6% lower than the 34 sales last month.

Facebook’s IPO Price: $38 Per Share

Facebook’s IPO price: $38 per share

By Julianne Pepitone @CNNMoneyTech May 17, 2012: 5:15 PM ET

zuckerman-smile.gi.top.jpg
Faceboook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will oversee a $16 billion IPO, making it the third-largest IPO in U.S. history.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — After four months of paperwork, hype and speculation, the last piece of the Facebook IPO is in place: Facebook said it has priced its IPO at $38 a share.

At that price, Facebook’s IPO will raise $16 billion, making it the largest tech IPO in history. It’s the third largest U.S. IPO ever, trailing only the $19.7 billion raised by Visa (VFortune 500) in March 2008 and the $18.1 billion raised by automaker General Motors (GMFortune 500) in November 2010, according to rankings by Thomson Reuters.

There are still a few more steps before Facebook’s shares are ready to trade. The company is waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to declare its IPO effective — the formal green light Facebook and its underwriters need before they can sell shares to outside buyers.

The $38 IPO price is the rate at which Facebook’s underwriters (including lead banker Morgan Stanley) will sell shares to their clients, which typically include large institutional investors, mutual funds and hedge funds.

Shares will be released Thursday night to those buyers, who can resell them on the open market beginning on Friday.

Some shares were made available to individual investors, but getting them typically requires either a lot of money or a lot of trading experience. It also required moving fast. Many brokerages offering pieces of Facebook’s IPO allotment “closed their books” on Tuesday, meaning they stopped taking orders.

When can I buy? Ordinary investors looking to get a piece of Facebook will have to wait until Friday morning.

Unlike Google (GOOGFortune 500), whose IPO used a “Dutch auction” to allow direct bidding by investors, Facebook’s setup doesn’t give regular folks access until shares begin trading publicly on the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange.

While the market opens at 9:30 am ET on Friday, Facebook’s shares won’t start trading instantly. It typically takes time — sometimes an hour or more — for newly listed shares to begin actively trading on the day of their public debut.

How much Facebook is worth: Facebook’s (FB) market capitalization will hover around $81 billion on the day of its IPO.

Many Facebook employees and executives hold unexercised stock options. If all of those shares were exercised, Facebook’s outstanding share count would rise to around 2.8 billion — pushing the company’s total valuation closer to $107 billion.

Who’s selling shares: Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg plans to sell 30.2 million shares in the IPO offering. That will net Zuckerberg about $1.1 billion.

But Zuckerberg won’t be hanging on to his cash. Facebook said he will use the “substantial majority” of the windfall to cover the massive tax bill he’ll be hit with, thanks to his plan to exercise a large stock-options grant that will increase his ownership stake in the company he founded.

After the offering, Zuckerberg will hold 503.6 million shares, or about 31% of the company. That stake is worth $19.1 billion.

Venture capital firm Accel Partners, which is the largest shareholder outside of Zuckerberg, is selling 49 million shares in the offering. That’s about a quarter of its Facebook holdings.

– CNNMoney’s Chris Isidore and Maureen Farrell contributed reporting. To top of page

First Published: May 17, 2012: 4:20 PM ET

Fundraisers are in Bloom/Courtesy Mention Brettany Harrison

Around Town: The fundraisers are in bloom

By Anita S. BrennerApril 21, 2012 | 6:13 p.m.

Spring is here and the fundraisers are blooming.

In a down economy, we must be creative.

Last Sunday, we attended the most creative Hillsides Guild “Day at the Races.”

The Hillsides Guild supports the Hillsides center, which began in 1913 as an Episcopal orphanage. Today, Hillsides is a private, nonprofit children’s foster care and treatment center, with a focus on counseling and mental health.

Hillsides’ “Day at the Races” is the brainchild of La Cañadan Dee Fisher. Dee is a fellow member of the Thursday Club.

Each year, Dee rallies the guild members, assorted husbands and others. I’m not a member of the guild, but we always support Dee’s events, which, like their organizer, are a charming amalgam of fundraising, friend-raising and elegance.

This year, Dee partnered with an energetic co-chair named Astrid Fishbein. Their aides de camp, who each made mass purchases of raffle tickets, were Dee’s husband, a local viticulturist named Mark Martinez, and Astrid’s husband, a man of many talents named Michael Fishbein.

Martinez explained, “I started coming six years ago, when I first met Dee, and now I’m hooked. This is a wonderful cause. The guild is an all-volunteer organization. Their efforts allow the kids to have extra activities, like the annual picnic or a bowling night. These ladies are wonderful.”

The raffle baskets were assembled by La Cañadan Aline Kuhnle, who attended with her husband, Paul.

“This is the most fun we’ve had all year,” exclaimed Kuhnle.

At Santa Anita Racetrack, the mountains are gorgeous, the food is good and within minutes of arrival, even if you are a teetotaler, you totally mellow out.

Except for mixing up a trifecta with a trifecta box, this year I almost won a lot of money. Plus, there was a lot of chocolate, courtesy of Brettany Harrison, a charming young broker from Coldwell Banker.

Meanwhile, over at Flintridge Prep, the parents are beginning to gear up for the annual Flintridge Prep Parents and Alumni Golf Tournament and Dinner, scheduled for April 30 at the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club. Kudos to Randy Dreyfuss for making our town’s only golf course available for so many charity events.

Prep now has a gender-neutral parents association. Back in the day we had the Mother’s Club that did all the work, and the Father’s Club, which had one guy who did all the work and other guys who watched.

The Flintridge Prep Father’s Club Blanket Sale was one of the most successful and price-variable development schemes in the history of any local school. The La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation should take note.

By the time this Valley Sun arrives on your doorstep, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy’s Disco Divas of the ’80s will be arriving home from the 2012 Gala, held on Saturday at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena.

The online auction includes a decrepit wheelbarrow aptly named, the Wheelbarrow of Booze. “Bring home this red wheelbarrow and your bar will be stocked for your next party, and much more,” read the description. The Wheelbarrow of Booze was valued at more than $1,000.

Now, that’s creative.

ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Cañada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Email her at anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com and follow her on Twitter @anitabrenner.

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Should You Get a Prepaid Debit Card?

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