WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
Saturday, July 13, 2013

   

Founded in 1962, the WPRA is dedicated to maintaining the character of our communities and enhancing the quality of life in West Pasadena. 

  

Editor  

Ann Erdman 

 

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City Council and commission meetings
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION -
 

MONDAY 

JULY 15               

 

City Council
6:30 p.m.

City Hall  

Council Chambers

100 N. Garfield Ave.

On the agenda: Staff recommendation to cancel public hearing on bicycle transportation plan and reschedule it for another date (see related article in "Editor's top picks" below.

 

Historic Preservation Commission

6 p.m.

George Ellery Hale Building (Permit Center)

Hearing Room

175 N. Garfield Ave. (enter on Ramona Street)

On the agenda: application for Wotkyns-Richland Landmark District; applications for designation of 405 Mira Vista Terrace and 317 S. San Gabriel Blvd. as landmarks.  

 

TUESDAY 

JULY 16 

 

Recreation and Parks Commission

6 p.m.

Public Works Building at City Yards

Conference Room 201

233 W. Mountain St.

On the agenda: Proposal for Armenian genocide memorial at Memorial Park.

WPRA notes
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION -
 
710 meeting 

Metro and Caltrans will host informational meetings, including one at Blair High School on Saturday, July 20, regarding the proposed 710 Freeway extension and potential alternatives. Pasadena Heritage encourages everyone to speak out in support of the historic resources that would be affected.   

 

Pasadena Roving Archers  

As a result of City of Pasadena staff proposals for changes in rules for the area of the Arroyo Seco where the Pasadena Roving Archers have their archery range, the WPRA board is preparing to take a position on the proposals and send a letter to the City Council. The letter will be available on the WPRA website after it has been sent. In the meantime, the Pasadena Rover Archers organization has invited the WPRA board and all WPRA residents to the archery range Sunday, July 28, beginning at 10:30 a.m. to see the instruction program in action. For a Google map showing the location of the range, click here.    

   

Room 13 needs you!

WPRA is proud to have "adopted" San Rafael School, the last public elementary school in this service area, through the WPRA Student Enrichment Program. Now the Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based nonprofit that focuses on arts in schools, is launching its latest Room 13 art studio at San Rafael this fall. If you can donate materials that can be put to creative use by students and/or help furnish the studio, please bring them to the school Saturday, Aug. 3.  

   

The News, WPRA style

View the latest issue of The News, the WPRA quarterly magazine.   

Neighborhood notes
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION 

REMINDER: Be prepared for traffic and noise 

Sunday, July 28, the "Legends of the Summer" concert at the Rose Bowl Stadium will star Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z from 7 to 11 p.m. with amplified sound. Parking lots will open several hours in advance, so expect potential traffic delays.     

 

Partners for plantings in the arroyo 

The Arroyo Seco Foundation has partnered with La Loma Development Company to grow native trees and shrubs that will be used for plantings and restoration projects throughout the Arroyo Seco Canyon project at Hahamongna Watershed Park. Interested in volunteering to help care for the trees on the La Loma Development grounds? Email scott@arroyoseco.org.

 

La Casita restoration 

A $125,000 check was presented by the La Casita Foundation to the City of Pasadena on July 8 for renovation of La Casita del Arroyo, the historic meeting place designed 80 years ago by renowned architect Myron Hunt on the east bank of the Arroyo Seco just south of the Colorado Street Bridge.  

 

Rose Bowl renovation update
Find out what's going on with the Rose Bowl Stadium renovation. 

Editor's top news picks
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION -
  

Pasadena bike plan sent back to the drawing board

"Council members sent the city's draft bike master plan back to the drawing board this week after agreeing with a newly formed community coalition that the plan was not strong enough." Pasadena Star-News

Tournament of Roses Foundation names new president

"The Tournament of Roses Foundation has elected Nancy Neal Davis as its new president. In addition, Tournament of Roses Association members Gerald Freeny and Karen Palmershein will join the board, as will Norma Garcia Kachigian and Jerri Price-Gaines." Pasadena Now

 

Garcetti picks ex-Ventura city manager as a top budget advisor

"In selecting Rick Cole as his deputy mayor for budget and innovation, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is getting an outspoken proponent of high-density building along transit corridors...Cole, 60, was Ventura's city manager for eight years..and is a former mayor of Pasadena." Los Angeles Times

 
Leisure
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION -

 

Looking for other ways to entertain or educate yourself and your family? 

For current events around the area, we encourage you to visit our local news outlets. Click on the publication title to visit that publication's events section.

Attend WPRA board meetings each month 

Monthly WPRA board meeting dates and locations are on the WPRA website. Click on the headline above or visit our website and look under "Meetings and Events."


The WPRA needs you ... 

If you'd like to serve your community and do it with a group of your neighbors who are equally dedicated, the WPRA encourages you to join your neighborhood residents' association. If you live within our service area, we'd welcome your help. 

  • Got the local news bug? Just curious about your city (and would like to share news with 1,000 or so of your closest friends), consider serving as a co-editor of Neighborhood Update. It will only take a few hours a week (on your own schedule) in the month or two a year in which you'd serve. We'll train you.  
  • We have lots of opportunities to serve on one of our many committees:
    • Land use and planning
      If you care about how we use our land  
    • Education
      If you want to help save public education for West Pasadena  
    • Open space & conservation
      If you care about preserving open space and conservation of land and resources 
    • Membership
      If you'd like to help us continue to build our membership so we can do more  
If you'd like to chat about ways we could help you become more involved or, more likely, more effective (by helping us), send an email to WPRA President. Tell him about your interests.   
To learn more

Visit wpra.net or click on one of the following links

 

To submit information for the Neighborhood Update, send it to update@wpra.net. 

 

Joseph Stoddard's watercolors: The WPRA wishes to express its appreciation to local artist Joseph Stoddard, who has generously allowed us to display his watercolors in our quarterly magazine, WPRA News, on the WPRA website and in this publication. To explore Mr. Stoddard's work, visit josephstoddard.com.