Monthly Archives: May, 2019

You can add “National Merit Scholarship winner” to the ever-expanding dossier of San Marino’s Louise Deser Siskel. Deser Siskel—the 2019 Rose Queen—last week was one of 2,500 Merit Scholar designees selected from a pool of 15,000 finalists to receive a $2,500 scholarship. This year’s National Merit Scholarship program began in October 2017 when more than 1.6 million juniors at approximately 22,000 high schools took the preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Deser Siskel, a senior at Pasadena’s Sequoyah High School, is heading to the University of Chicago, where she will study cellular and molecular biology. Louise, the 101st Rose Queen, in is the daughter of Charlie Siskel and Abigail Deser; she has a brother, Simon. At Sequoyah, Louise was a member of the Debate Team and the Judicial Committee and also participated in the YMCA Youth and Government program....

Offering evidence to the old sports adage “it doesn’t matter where you start, it only matters where you finish,” San Marino High School’s upstart varsity softball team continued its surprising march in the CIF Division 6 playoffs on Tuesday afternoon with a 5-0 victory over Sierra Vista to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal contest at Woodcrest Christian. In three postseason games, the Lady Titans have outscored their opponents by a combined 40-1, defeating Saddleback Valley Christian by a score of 22-0 in a wild card contest and topping United Christian Academy 13-1 last Thursday in a first round match-up. The Lady Titans finished third in the Rio Hondo League but are the last team standing in the playoffs, with both La Cañada—the champs—and runner-up Temple City having both been eliminated. The relatively late success could be attributed to the Lady Titans’ youth. The majority of starters are freshmen or sophomores. Sierra DuNah, a senior first baseman who will be continuing her softball career at Sterling University in Kansas, leads the team in hits, RBIs and doubles, but most of the other big guns can be slid into the “beginner” category. Freshman pitcher Claire Streeter has struck out 18 batters in the first three playoff games, but faced only six batters (and fanned them all) in the win over Saddleback. Freshman outfielder Kate Brunner is batting .429 with three homers, freshman catcher Macy Mooney has a .311 mark with 11 RBIs while sophomores Jessica VanFossan (.368), magnet-gloved Charis Chung (.390), and slap-hitting Kinu Takasugi (.436) are setting the table at an impressive rate. A relative veteran, junior Justene Huang (.474) is adept at the plate also backs up Streeter on the mound. Huang can also play just about every position on the field. Sophomores Erin Hill (.333) and Kira Glasse (.275) are proven offensive threats and Bella Escobar is a vacuum cleaner at second base. Baseball and softball teams are often judged by their ability “in the middle,” and with catcher Mooney, pitcher Streeter, the double-play combination of Takasugi and Escobar and highlight-reel centerfielder Chung, it’s difficult to imagine anything better. And that’s three sophomortes and two freshmen, to boot. “I keep telling the parents, this team is doing phenomenal,” said head Coach Stephanie Hernandez. “I don’t think they know there is an end to this, which I absolutely love. The defense is tight, they just keep playing and keep fighting, and I love that.” When asked to single out a few players for exceptional contributions to the team, Hernandez smartly refused to take the bait. “I give them all the same amount of credit,” she said. “Every single one of them. They each bring something to the table and they mesh together. The girls who don’t happen to be on the field at the time are all cheering hard and we can see that has had a very positive effect on the team. These girls get along so well and they have a lot of fun.” If the Lady Titans can get by Woodcrest Christian on Thursday, the squad will most likely host a quarterfinal contest on Tuesday, May 14 against the winner of Garden Griove Santiago and Garey. After that? Well, things could get very interesting. Still lurking on the other side of the bracket is a team familiar to all rostered by some very familiar faces: Pasadena Polytechnic, with five girls from San Marino. With two more wins apiece, the Lady Titans and Panthers would square off for the CIF Division 6 championship, though the fate and time are currently listed as TBA. Is San Marino the newest softball hotbed? Time will tell.

Dr. Jeff Wilson is the SMUSD's "lone finalist" for the position of Superintendent of Schools. It was a nationwide search, drawing candidates from across the...

A full house of approximately 120 residents and city officials gathered Monday for a resident-led meeting at Hill-Harbison House to discuss plans presented to...

A man driving a stolen vehicle crashed into a light pole on Monterey Road just a few yards west of the intersection with Shenandoah Road and attempted to flee the scene on Monday morning. Paul Lee “PJ” Martin, 29, of Los Angeles was taken into custody by San Marino Police officers and charged with multiple offenses after the Toyota Prius he was operating collided with a cement light standard on the south side of Monterey Road and rolled over. Witnesses told the SMPD they saw Martin retrieve a bag and other property from the car before running into a rear yard in the 1600 block of Shenandoah Road. A perimeter was established around Shenandoah and Virginia and Martin was taken into custody in the side yard of the property at 1615 Shenandoah, according to a police report. Martin sustained injuries in the accident and was transported to a local hospital, where he was met by a representative from the Los Angeles County Probation Dept. The car had been reported stolen to the Los Angeles Police Dept. and was taken to the SMPD lot for further inspection and evidence processing. Martin was also in possession of a counterfeit key used by the United States Post Office. San Marino Police Chief John Incontro told The Tribune on Monday afternoon that Martin could face additional charges. “During our search we acquired some additional property, including drugs, that was in his possession so we believe there could be additional charges,” said Incontro. The incident received a response from the Pasadena Police Department’s helicopter unit and affected traffic on Monterey between Virginia and St. Albans.

After nearly 78 years, descendants of John Albert Karli can finally take respite in the knowledge that the former United States Navy First Class Seaman is coming home. Karli was until recently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii among the other “unknown” servicemen who lost their lives aboard the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941. And on Wednesday, May 1—fulfilling a lifelong wish that their son would return home— Seaman First Class John Albert Karli was laid to rest with his parents, Hildur and Albert Karli, when a graveside Military Honors Ceremony was held at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena. Karli’s remains were recently identified through the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. In February 2012, two family members submitted DNA samples to a reference database as it had been determined that advances in forensic science and genealogical help from families—DNA testing—could make identifications possible. John was born on June 25, 1922, the fifth child and only son of immigrant parents. He had four older sisters, twins Mary and Ruth, along with Alberta and Elsie. His mother, Hildur Rudin, emigrated as an infant with her parents, from Sweden in 1884. His father, Albert Karli emigrated in 1901, at age 22 from Switzerland. Both became naturalized citizens of the United States in 1928, according to surviving relatives. Hildur and Albert met on a beach, fell in love and were married in December 1915. Their four daughters were born in La Jolla, between 1916 and 1920. In 1921, a new job opportunity found the family moving to what was then known as the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino. John was born on the estate in 1922. His father worked in the greenhouses and gardens tending the plant collections of railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington and his wife Arabella. The Karli family lived in the employee cottages on the estate from 1921 until 1930. Other residents of those same bungalows include Armin Thurnher, who became the first superintendent of Lacy Park and for whom the Thurnher Home is named. “I can only assume that John’s father, whom worked in horticulture like my grandfather Armin did at the Huntington, must have been close friends while living on the Huntington Estate,” Jeffrey Thurnher told The Tribune. “Both these men lost their sons.” Erwin William Thurnher, Armin’s son and the man who would have been Jeffrey’s uncle, also perished in WWII. John was a lifelong resident of the San Marino and Pasadena area. He attended school in San Marino from kindergarten through the third grade. After the family moved to Pasadena in 1930, he attended McKinley school through the 8th grade, eventually graduating from Muir High School in June 1940. A talented baseball player, John was the catcher and co-captain of the Mustangs’ varsity squad and was also one of six high school boys who played on the Pasadena Junior College baseball team. The very day after his 18th birthday, John went to the Naval Recruiting Station in Los Angeles, filling out his enlistment papers with the US Navy as his career choice and signing up for six years of service. Things were put on hold when he was informed that since he was not yet 21 years old, he would need approval and a signature from his father as well as his birth certificate. He returned the next day with his father—and the birth certificate—to complete the enlistment process. On July 12, 1940 Apprentice Seaman John Albert Karli reported to the Naval Training Station in San Diego, where he successfully completed his training on September 19, 1940. He was then transferred to the Naval Air Station in San Pedro before further transfer to the USS Oklahoma, a Nevada-class battleship. He reported for duty aboard the USS Oklahoma on October 5, 1940, and advanced in rank to Seaman Second Class by mid-November. In June 1941, John advanced to the rank of Seaman First Class. The USS Oklahoma arrived in Honolulu on December 6, 1940—one year and one day prior to the fateful Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, the USS Oklahoma sustained numerous torpedo hits. The ship quickly capsized, and 429 Sailors and Marines lost their lives. His last letter home was written to his parents on the 1941 Thanksgiving Day menu from the USS Oklahoma. On December 20, 1941, a telegram arrived at the Karli residence, informing them that their son, John Albert Karli, Seaman First Class, US Navy, was missing in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country. In mid-February, a second telegram arrived, telling the family that “after exhaustive search it has been found impossible to locate your son, John Albert Karli, Seaman First Class, US Navy and he has therefore been officially declared to have lost his life in the service of his country.” He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in December 1943 and later received the World War II Victory Medal and the American Defense Service Medal. John Albert Karli is honored at the Courts of the Missing in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific—the Punchbowl—and the USS Oklahoma Memorial on Ford Island in Honolulu. He is survived by a nephew, David Snyder

Kimia Hassibi, a junior at San Marino High School, recently traveled to Houston, where she was honored as a Dean’s List finalist at the...

William Graham, a junior at San Marino High School, one night made a decision to become the new mascot and the Titans are all...