Blog: 12 of the most read Valley Sun stories this year

When it comes to news our readers were interested in this year, crime stories came out on top. But that’s not the only genre LCF residents and readers were interested in — below is the top Valley Sun story of each month in terms of pageviews. The list also includes stories about the death of Allen Lund, discovery of a male mountain lion living in the Verdugo Mountains and news of a resident winning the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

“I have read many emails circulating throughout the city recently. While I understand where some of the comments come from, I feel it is important to arm you with facts. Regarding Part 1 serious crime in La Cañada Flintridge, I report monthly in person at the City Council meeting. Most people who attend know that crime is low. Murder, rape, assaults and robbery are usually reported to be zero. There are few other cities that can boast such numbers.”

Dax Shmidt was taken into custody and booked at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station after a search of his residence and vehicle turned up loose pills, according to Dep. Eric Matejka, who said Shmidt is a La Cañada High student.

“They appeared to be Xanax,” the deputy said of the pills recovered from Shmidt’s vehicle.

“Within the last 24 hours, an LCHS student was detained under California Penal Code Section 422 for making criminal threats,” Sinnette said in the email. “We are being vigilant in monitoring the safety and security of students and staff and taking immediate and appropriate measures, both proactively and in response to any dynamic situation.”

In early April, Allen Lund, known in the Foothills as a “gentle giant” who built a highly successful transportation brokerage with offices across the nation and gave generously to further the education of others, died, according to a brief statement released by his company.

“Just recently diagnosed with a very rare and fast moving cancer, Allen was surrounded by family and friends as he said his goodbyes,” stated the news release issued by the La Cañada Flintridge-based corporate office of the Allen Lund Co. The exact date of Lund’s passing was not given, but it was announced that a funeral mass had been set for April 14 at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.

According to reports, the man received a drink order at the Starbucks on Foothill Boulevard and eventually saw the computerized label bore the name “Beaner,” a derogatory term used against Latinos.

Precise details were not made public by reliable sources, but a sheriff’s report for a possibly related incident of graffiti — involving someone writing “BNR” on the window of the coffee shop in a white polish — included an interview with the employee.

An alleged gang member was in custody at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station after reportedly attempting to steal a vehicle at the La Cañada Ralphs grocery store with a woman and her 8-year-old daughter still inside.

Watch Commander Lt. DeMarcus Smith said the station received a call indicating an altercation, possibly an incident of domestic violence, was taking place in the grocery store parking lot.

Eight months after the death in October 2017 of P-41 — the first adult male mountain lion documented living in the Verdugo Mountains above Glendale and Burbank — from rodenticide poisoning, there was a new puma in town.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Science awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in chemistry to three scientists who have harnessed power and sped it up, allowing them to create never-before-seen chemical reactions in a process called directed evolution.

Claes Gustafsson, chairman of the 2018 Nobel Committee for Chemistry, called their work “a revolution in evolution.”

“Our laureates have applied the principles of Darwin in the test tube and used this approach to develop new types of chemicals for the great benefit of humankind,” he said.

Frances Arnold, a La Cañada Flintridge resident of 17 years and biochemical engineer at Caltech, was awarded one half of the $1.01-million prize for conducting the first directed evolution experiments in 1993. Her work has led to the creation of more environmentally friendly ways of making drugs, agricultural chemicals and fuels, among other products.