Pasadena Board

Members of the Pasadena Unified School District board have rallied behind Supt. Phillip Jordan, who is among 17 people being questioned in a district attorney's investigation of why Los Angeles school authorities took more than a year to report child molestation allegations against a Los Angeles teacher. Jordan was a regional superintendent in the Los Angeles district at the time. Kathryn T.

A prominent student leader in the South Pasadena Unified School District died, possibly of an alcohol overdose, after attending a party Saturday night, district officials said. Aydin Salek, who would have turned 18 today, was the student representative on the 4,000-student district's board of trustees, as well as a student leader and writer for the newspaper at South Pasadena High School. Details about his death, news of which spread through the community Sunday, were not immediately available.

Louis Creveling, a San Marino resident and 1926 graduate of Pasadena City College, has been elected to a second term as president of the PCC Alumni Assn. Vice presidents are James Stoddard of Covina, Jess Hughston, a member of the Pasadena Board of City Directors, Rupert Bayley of Los Angeles and Edi Metcalf of Altadena. The association's major activity is awarding scholarships to PCC students.

Walter T. Shatford II, an attorney for whom Pasadena City College named its library in recognition of his four decades of service on the school's boards, has died. He was 94. Shatford, who was also a civil rights activist, died May 5 at his longtime home in Pasadena of complications related to old age, said his wife, Sara. When the $16.5-million Shatford Library opened in 1993, the college's Board of Trustees decided to honor one of its own instead of naming the building after a donor.

The Pasadena Board of Directors reelected William E. Thomson Jr. to a second one-year term as mayor this week and reelected Jess Hughston as vice mayor. Chris Holden, who was elected by voters in March to represent the 3rd District in northwest Pasadena, was sworn into office to succeed Loretta Thompson-Glickman, who retired after 12 years on the board.

The matter may have been swept under the rug, and certainly nobody wants to talk about it; however, the fact remains that Pasadena Director-elect (Isaac) Richard effectively purchased his election margin of 191 votes--with 600 free dinners in exchange for ballot-stubs (Times, April 18). Such a practice would be illegal under federal statute, but local laxity in this instance prevailed. At the same time, if Mr. Richard believes that his election ploy will be forgotten in the future--as he sits on the Pasadena Board of Directors--he is wrong.

City Clerk Pamela S. Swift submitted her resignation Tuesday to the Pasadena Board of Directors, effective July 7, to take a position with a private consulting company. Swift, who served as Pasadena city clerk for eight years, will become executive vice president of La Mirada-based Management Services Institute, which is headed by consultant Douglas W. Ayres. Before coming to Pasadena, Swift served as city clerk at Bellflower and California City. She was honored last year as city clerk of the year by the City Clerks Assn.

The city's 68-year-old War Memorial Flagstaff, which broke and sustained foundation damage in the October, 1987, Whittier earthquake, will be re-erected in its old location on the northeast corner of Colorado and Orange Grove boulevards. The Pasadena Board of Directors on Tuesday approved the estimated $173,000 project. The city will be out of pocket $14,961 and will be reimbursed $158,039 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Pasadena Board of Directors will decide Tuesday whether to enact two proposed tax increases to help fund the city's $108-million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The proposals would raise the utility tax for residential customers to the same levels paid by commercial users and would impose a tax on interstate and international telephone calls. The increase in the utility tax would raise the average residential customer's bill by $1.57 a month. City officials said such a bill would still be $4 below that of a comparable customer in neighboring cities because of Pasadena's low rate for electricity.

Edward Aghjayan, a utilities consultant in Palo Alto, has accepted a newly created deputy city manager position, City Manager Donald F. McIntyre has announced. Aghjayan, 45, will begin the $75,000-a-year job as deputy city manager for public works and water and power next month. A native of Boston and a second generation Armenian-American, Aghjayan has been director of utilities for the cities of Austin, Tex., and Palo Alto, where he now runs his own consulting firm.

The Pasadena Board of Education has voted to replace embattled school Supt. Percy Clark Jr., who frequently clashed with the teachers union and was recently accused of plagiarizing portions of an opinion piece in a local weekly newspaper. Clark will retire from the district no later than the end of his current contract in July 2007 and may leave sooner if a replacement is found, according to a statement released Wednesday.

The South Pasadena school board and Supt. Rob Arias agreed to part ways this week after more than two months of intense public scrutiny following their decision to reassign four administrators. The school board voted 4 to 1 in a special closed session late Tuesday to accept the superintendent's resignation and to issue a public statement that acknowledged no wrongdoing on either side. "We think he would be more successful at a different district," said board President Joe Loo.

The South Pasadena school board has decided not to renew Supt. Mike Hendricks' two-year contract, board President Tammy Godley said Sunday. "Mike is a talented guy and he has served our district well, but the board is looking for a strong leader that can take this great district to the next level," Godley said.

The City Council has taken the first step toward approving a $96.6-million seismic retrofit of the Beaux Arts City Hall to prevent its collapse in a major earthquake. Council members Monday opted to pursue a state-of-the-art retrofit that will require the closure of the 72-year-old landmark for more than two years. "Obviously, this vote is just the beginning. We've got to find the money to fund this retrofit scheme," Councilman Paul Little said.

The massive, gothic headquarters of the Board of Education should be sold and a more practical site found, a committee has recommended. A spokeswoman for the Pasadena Unified School District said it will hold a series of public meetings before deciding on the recommendation by the facilities committee, which includes many prominent city leaders. The District Administrative Center at Hudson and Del Mar avenues is estimated to be worth at least $4.5 million.

Two outspoken critics of the Pasadena Unified School District have taken out nomination papers to run for the school board. Steven Lamb, an Altadena town councilman, is challenging incumbent George Van Alstine. John Laraway, a parent who is suing the district, is challenging board member Jackie Jacobs. Lamb has for several months participated in a series of protests against the district over a shortage of books and poor academic performance.

The newest member of the Pasadena Board of Directors, William Cathey, in his baptism of fire, has goofed. He should be more alert. In a story in the Jan. 15 San Gabriel Valley section he discussed the city receiving 1,200 tickets to the Super Bowl, saying that, "I don't think this is a big political plus. . . . There's a perceptual problem here." If, as he says, there is a political problem, a more mature and wise politician would have not taken part in distributing the tickets.

A state parole administrator told the Pasadena Board of Directors this week that placement of a parole office at 468 N. Rosemead Blvd. remains under consideration despite strong opposition from Hastings Ranch residents, although another site, at 123 N. Lake Ave., is also under study. Frank Marino, parole administrator who has taken charge of the search for a parole office site in Pasadena, said his agency is willing to look at other sites in Pasadena, but "we have to get something going in the next couple of months."

The City Council has given tentative approval to an ordinance allowing Police Chief Jerry Oliver to place civilians on three police review boards. The boards will advise Oliver on use of force, disciplinary matters and safety issues. Each board will consist of five Pasadena police officers and three civilians who live or work in the city. For the disciplinary board, one member would be chosen by the employee under review.

Despite the prospect of having to slash $500,000 from the district's schools next year, the Pasadena Unified Board of Education is considering the establishment of a $2,400 expense account for itself. Last week, without a vote, the board gave a first reading to a proposal to provide $800 a year in expenses to the board president and $400 to each board member. The plan's leading proponent, board member Elbie Hickambottom, was absent because of illness.