Thursday, APRIL 26 - MAY 2, 2012
A zusa B eacon Community News, Arts & Opinions Since 1996
300 Residents Attend 97th Armenian Genocide Commemoration at Pasadena City Hall By Terry Miller
Elizabeth Keshishyan, 8, looks over at her best friend Lara Chahinian, also 8, during the ceremony at Pasadena City Hall commemorating the 97th Armenian Genocide . The two girls wearing traditional clothing handed out black ribbons to guests at the ceremony. -Photo by Terry Miller
NAACP Demands More Information On April 23, the NAACP Pasadena sent a letter to Ann Sherwood Rider, Pasadena’s city attorney requesting more transparency in the McDade shooting. The letter, written by Pasadena-branch NAACP President Joe Brown, calls for the immediate release of ballistic reports, the sealed autopsy report, still photographs taken from a parking lot security camPlease see page 8
Sierra Madre Changing Guard Punctuated by Departing Civic Leaders’ Advice
Jane Goodall Selected as TOR Grand Marshal
"Young Turk" government of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916. One and a half million Armenians were killed, out of a total of two and a half million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Armenians all over the world commemorate this great tragedy each April 24, because it was on that day in 1915 when 300 Armenian leaders, writers, thinkers and professionals in Constantinople (present day Istanbul) were rounded up, deported and killed. Also on that day in Constantinople, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were butchered in the streets and in their homes. The Armenian Genocide was masterminded by the Central Committee of the Young Turk Party (Committee for Union and Progress [Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyet, in Turkish]) which was dominated by Mehmed Talât [Pasha], Ismail Enver [Pasha], and Ahmed Djemal [Pasha]. They were a racist group whose ideology was articulated by Zia Gökalp, Dr. Mehmed Nazim, and Dr. Behaeddin Shakir. The Armenian Genocide was directed by a Special Organization (Teshkilati Mahsusa) set up by
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses® revealed today that Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, will serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2013 Tournament of Roses festivities. On New Year’s Day, in front of a world television audience, Dr. Goodall will ride in the 124th Rose Parade® presented by Honda and themed “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!.” She will then toss the coin before the 99th Rose Bowl Game® present-
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Jane Goodall -Photo by Terry Miller
Lifeline for Pets Seeks Foster Parents in San Gabriel Valley By Terry Miller
very inexperienced one and will require the guidance and direction from the collective genius and common sense of the citizens of Sierra Madre, we the people,” said Councilwoman MaryAnn MacGillivray. “And I now join with all of you in that endeavor.” Her experience serving on the Sierra Madre City Council for 12 years, and having been mayor twice, leaves the city with the biggest shoes
In the coming weeks we will be focusing on individuals in our community who care for unwanted animals in San Gabriel Valley. While there are wonderful organizations like Pasadena Humane Society and San Gabriel Humane Society, often there is a need much greater than they can handle and this is where volunteers like Lifeline for Pets step in. Lifeline for Pets was founded in 1981, Lifeline is one of only a handful of no-kill rescue organizations which is small in size but gargantuan in heart.
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BY JIM E. WINBURN The standing-room only crowd at Tuesday’s City Council meeting filled Sierra Madre City Hall’s chambers expecting to witness an immediate and apparent shift in local governance. But the changing of the guard for Sierra Madre’s civic leaders was punctuated more by its outgoing members’ departing comments than by the excitement of the new members taking their oaths. “This new council is a
Between 1915 and 1923, Armenians were subjected to torture, starvation, mass murder and exile from their historic homeland. 1.5 million lost their lives. The Armenian Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving noble civilization. On Tuesday morning at 10 am a somber ceremony was held in remembrance of the Genocide. Master of ceremonies was Roy Boulghourjian. Pasadena Mayor Bogaard presented a proclamation and several other dignitaries presented the Armenian community at large special certificates recognizing the tragedy of April 24, 1915. Lara Chahinian and her best friend Elizabeth Keshishyan went to each and every person in the audience to offer them the black ribbons in honor of those lives lost. While it might be difficult for these 8 year olds to fathom the depth of the atrocities of 1915, the moment was certainly not lost on their parents and others at the wellattended ceremony. The Armenian Genocide was carried out by the
Volume XVII, No. XVII
Maggie is one of several older cats available for adoption. -Courtesy Photo