Home of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Vol. 88 No. 28
San Marino, Friday, July 14, 2017
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Free First Thursdays at The Huntington Library Are Now Tame, Especially When Compared to Those At the Outset of the Program
$1.75 a Copy, $89 per year
Council Passes $28.9 Million Budget; $6.7 Million Goes to SMPD
Also Includes $3.9 Million for Improvements to City’s Infrastructure; Reserves Jump By More Than $355K. By Mitch Lehman
EDITOR OF THE TRIBUNE
MARKED CONTRAST: Guests at the Huntington Library found themselves in much more crowded conditions at this 2008 Free Day, left. Last Thursday’s event, right, brought less than half of the 7,000 that were once common on such occasions. Photo at left courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Photo at right by Mitch Lehman.
By Mitch Lehman
EDITOR OF THE TRIBUNE
Randy Shulman and Jim Folsom, both employees of The Huntington Library, Art Col-
Convention Report Up First for New Rotary President
lections and Botanical Gardens, paused to chat for a couple minutes outside Community Church last Thursday afternoon following the Rotary Club of San Marino’s weekly
meeting. “Hiding from Free Day, you guys?” this reporter joked. “It’s Free Day?” replied Folsom. “I forgot.” Folsom’s innocent,
accurate statement indicates just how far things have progressed in the 21 years since The Huntington asked the state for the ability See FREE page A-8
SMHS Delegates Shine At California Boys State Key Club and Senior Class Presidents Take Part In Prestigious Program By Mitch Lehman
With just hours left before the state-mandated deadline, the San Marino City Council unanimously passed a $28.9 million budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year. “This will put us on a track for long-term financial health,” said Interim City Manager Cindy Collins. “There is a target plan for each part of our infrastructure. We have completed an actuarial study that will look at our next 10-15 years and we have restructured our organization to better handle our resources.” The budget includes just over $24 million in operating costs. The San Marino Police Dept. will get $6.7 million, the San
Marino Fire Dept. is earmarked to receive $6.26 million, Parks & Public Works will make do on See BUDGET page A-10
Council Hears Staff Report On Possible Site for Cell Tower By Mitch Lehman
EDITOR OF THE TRIBUNE
The San Marino City Council on Wednesday evening considered alternate sites for a temporary cell tower to replace an existing unit that is located on common property between the campuses of Huntington Middle School and Valentine Elementary School. See TOWERS page A-6
Collo Says “Aloha” to Overseas Opportunity Popular SMHS Science Teacher Taking A One-Year Sabbatical at Hawaii’s Punahou School
EDITOR OF THE TRIBUNE
DENISE WADSWORTH
By Mitch Lehman
EDITOR OF THE TRIBUNE
Denise Wadsworth began her term as president of the local Rotary Club by reporting on the many global matters the group addresses. Wadsworth attended the the Rotary International convention that was held last month in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center, where attendees discussed such matters as business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill, child sex trafficking, the terrors of nuclear war, Rotary’s continued efforts to eradicate polio from the See ROTARY page A-6
It’s a program that experiences few institutional changes, and the responses of its participants are also very predictable. “Amazing,” said Grant Holt, who will be a senior at San Marino High School in the fall. “The best week of my life,” commented classmate Chuma Azinge. They were talking about California Boys State, a program sponsored by the American Legion that provides young people with an introduction to government through the implementation of a mock system. Holt and Azinge were selected for the prestigious week-long event that took place on the campus of California State University, Sacramento from June 17-24 and included more than 1,000 other boys of similar qualification. Attendees were split up into 27 different “cities,” where they lived while forming governments and either running or volunteering for public offices. “It was really something else,” said Holt, who was successful in his campaign to be district
By Catherine Yang CONTRIBUTOR
BOYS STATERS: San Marino High School rising seniors Chuma Azinge, left, and Grant Holt recently spent a week at California State, Sacramento, where they participated in the American Legion’s Boys State program. Mitch Lehman Photo
attorney. “I was amazed at how quickly we all bonded with each other. By the time we left, I felt like we had become very good friends and am surprised how it was formed in such a small amount of time.” Grant spent the week serving as the chief legal advisor for Haley County in which his city – Drake – was located. “If we sued or were sued, I would prosecute or defend and assist on all the legal matters,” he said of the position, which he secured by a large margin of votes.
Grant told The Tribune that the highlight of his week was a visit to the State Capitol building, where they chatted with staff members of Assemblymember Ed Chau and Senator Ed Hernandez, both of whom were out of town on official business. “It was very interesting to speak with them,” he reported. Grant is the son of Steven and Rosie Holt. He has two younger sisters; Carolyn, a sophomore at San Marino High School, and Victoria, who will enter the 6th grade at HunSee STATE page A-4
Science teacher Wyeth Collo has announced that he will be leaving San Marino High School for the 2017-18 academic year to take a sabbatical at the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. He will teach at the K-12 institution with a student body of 3,700 students. While his son, Samuel, begins his neurobiology studies at the University of California, Davis during his leave, daughter Emma will enroll in the 9th grade at Punahou School, joining her father on the adventure. What Wyeth Collo will be looking forward to most is the different teaching philosophy that the Punahou School is embracing. Last year, when Punahou approached him with the opportunity to teach, they also presented him with the idea of implementing portfolio grading in the sciences, which places a stronger emphasis on projects, rather than letter grades and grade point average, or GPA, of the traditional
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CHANGE OF SCENERY: Wyeth Collo, a popular teacher and coach at San Marino High School, will spend the upcoming school year on sabbatical at Punahou School in Hawaii.
system. “Just because you have an A, that has no indication of what you really know, or what you are good at,” Collo explained. “It’s just like in art, where you demonstrate your portfolio and your breadth of knowledge, but in the sciences.” He also noted that colleges are starting to adopt this new form of portfolio-based education, as well. As for the Punahou School, Collo commentSee COLLO page A-8