Pasadena Now to Launch New Altadena Website That Will Include AltadenaPoint Archives

Pasadena’s news website, Pasadena Now, said that it will launch a new online publication devoted to Altadena coverage in mid-April.

Pasadena Now publisher James Macpherson said that the new website, Altadena Now (www.Altadena-Now.com, with a hyphen), will help carry on the job started by Timothy Rutt, publisher of AltadenaPoint and its predecessor site, Altadenablog.

“We hope that going forward, Altadena Now can perform much the same roles as Tim’s publication did,” Macpherson said. “In fact, we have invited Tim to contribute and will give him total access to edit and publish content to the site.”

“Altadena is an interesting, lively, and unique community that I am proud to be part of,” Rutt said. “It has been ignored or underserved for many years by local news media, which is one reason why we started AltadenaPoint. Altadena Now means that there will continue to be a place to go to stay informed about our community.”

Altadena Now will also host an archive of the seven and a half years of postings of AltadenaPoint/Altadenablog that will be accessible to readers. This access will be in addition to the online historical archive being preserved by the Altadena Historical Society. The Society’s archive will join Rutt’s records to a library of Altadena news sources going back to 1929.

Both repositories say they are committed to preserving all posts, photos, video links, and reader comments.

Rutt and Macpherson had maintained a cordial working relationship over the years, often sharing stories which were relevant to both communities. With the end of AltadenaPoint drawing near, Macpherson asked if his company could help preserve Rutt’s valuable work.

Altadenablog started in September, 2007, and became AltadenaPoint in 2014. Over the years, it has broken many critical stories happening in Altadena, and was recognized for its unprecedented real-time online coverage of the Station Fire in 2009. It was recognized by the Altadena Chamber of Commerce as Altadena’s first Business of the Year in 2011, and was recognized for its Station Fire coverage by the LA County Board of Supervisors and California state senate and assembly.

AltadenaPoint will cease publication on April 10, 2015. Rutt cited reduced advertising support and increased family needs as the reasons to shutter the website.

Pasadena Now and Altadena Now publisher Macpherson has deep Altadena roots. He grew up in Altadena, and his sister resides in the family’s home on Midwick Drive, built by their parents in 1952.