ALTADENA -- When your government has nearly 91,000 employees, whom do you call when something goes wrong? In unincorporated Altadena, there's no City Hall to storm, no mayor to recall if citizens are upset with the status quo. The Altadena Town Council has no official power over the county and doesn't follow the state's open meetings law. Michele Zack left, and Robert Staehle, both Altadena Residents study a map showing disputed area. (photo by Richard Lui) Services come from Los Angeles County departments scattered across more than 34,000 square miles. Only the Sheriff's and Fire departments have local outposts. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich has an office in Pasadena, but it is closed on weekends, as is the toll-free hot line for "quality-of-life' violations.

A woman who lived with her husband in a bungalow filled with books and cats was killed by a fast-moving fire late Thursday night on Devonshire Lane in Altadena. At least 15 cats owned by the couple also died in the blaze.

ALTADENA -- Ending five years of rancor, the Forest Service said Thursday it will build a road within the sinuous length of Rubio Canyon and haul out some 35,000 cubic yards of rock and debris that covered the watershed after construction blasting. "This is the quickest way for the canyon to heal and has the least impact on the environment,' said Angeles National Forest Supervisor Jody Cook.

ALTADENA -- An unknown number of mature oak trees have died after being dug up and stored in planters during construction of 269 luxury homes in the the La Vina development. But with no written conditions requiring developers of the gated community to properly care for the boxed oaks, county foresters responsible for monitoring the project say their hands are tied.

PASADENA -- The Broad building has two faces. One is travertine limestone and looks back toward Caltech's traditional cream-colored stucco architecture. The other is brushed stainless steel, reaching ahead to a future not yet realized. Thus the Broad Center for the Biological Sciences straddles the Caltech of yore, known for physics, astronomy and aeronautics, while positioning the school to lead in biotechnology, the sexiest modern science.

SOUTH PASADENA -- Two-time PGA champion and former South Pasadena resident Paul Runyan died Sunday of pneumonia in Palm Springs. He was 93. Runyan won more than 50 golf tournaments, including the 1934 and 1938 PGA championships, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame.

LOS ANGELES -- The District Attorney's Office will dismiss the three remaining charges against Pasadena dentist Drueciel Ford, who was acquitted last week of 60 misdemeanor and felony counts, including child endangerment. "This is great news," said Robert H. McNeill, one of Ford's attorneys. Ford was "shouting, happy and pleased," he said.

PASADENA -- Let us examine the finite set A={go, tech, fight, win, two defense, shoot, beavers, "clap," "pause," "nod"} Let us then define a "cheer" as a k-tuple permutation of the set A, where k is an integer. We shall allow "x" to assume only the values of "clap" or "pause" to be determined as Tony (the coach) sees fit.
Then, by the Inclusion-Exclusion Principle (see Appendix A), the set of "Caltech Basketball Cheer" is defined as follows:
FAST BREAK DOWN THE FLOOR! SCORE! SCORE!
SHOOT! SHOOT IT THROUGH! SHOOT IT THROUGH FOR TWO!
GO TECH GO GO!
"As you can see, these were obviously typed up by a Caltech student," said Logan Linderman, one of two men on the Caltech Cheer Squad.

PASADENA -- Much is said about the natural beauty of the young, but nothing illustrates the old adage better than six perky princesses and one beautiful queen having their hair done at 3 a.m. New Year's Day. Each of the teen-age girls had a bright smile at Amadeus Salon in Pasadena, where the Rose Court begins its biggest day. Tournament of Roses officials then shepherd the girls through three hours of grooming and primping. Here's a rundown of the final preparations.

PASADENA -- Harbor Patrol Capt. Marty Kasules estimates the three Caltech researchers rescued from Newport Bay last week had two hours until hypothermia took their lives. Six-foot swells had swamped their boat, leaving the three men bobbing in 60-degree seas.

MONROVIA -- An early morning wreck allegedly caused by a drunken driver killed a 17-year-old girl and injured four others Sunday. Claudia Arevalo was severely injured in the single-car accident. She died shortly after being brought to Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, said Sgt. Don Newton of the Monrovia Police Department. Police did not immediately know where Arevalo lived, Newton said.

"Life went on, which I can't say for a lot of the fellows. A lot of the fellows say they have nightmares. I don't know if it's just me or my make-up, but you just have to go on with it. I don't dwell on it, other than just talking about it." -- Lyle Umenhoffer, USS Indianapolis survivor