WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
Saturday, July 20, 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
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MONDAY 

JULY 22               

 

City Council
6:30 p.m.

City Hall  

Council Chambers

100 N. Garfield Ave.

On the agenda: adoption of revised enforcement program related to development, adoption, progress reporting, violation reporting and contingency relief with respect to Pasadena Water and Power's procurement of renewable resources; predevelopment plan review for multifamily project at 377-395 S. Marengo Ave. that will include temporary relocation of a historic structure.

 

Design Commission

6 p.m.

George Ellery Hale Building (Permit Center)

Hearing Room

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

On the agenda: preliminary consultation regarding demolition of Macy's at Paseo Colorado and construction of a six-story hotel and two-story commercial building; concept design review of Rose Bowl Stadium south entry improvement project; final design review of new construction of a five-story mixed-use with 26 residential units and 10,560 square feet of commercial space at 496 S. Arroyo Parkway.

 

WEDNESDAY   

JULY 24  

 

Transportation Advisory Commission
4 p.m.

Transportation Department

221 E. Walnut St., Suite 210

On the agenda: management study of development review process.

 

Planning Commission

6:30 p.m.

City Hall

Council Chambers

On the agenda: EIR scoping for 100 W. Walnut planned development project (Parsons site); development agreement between Norton Simon Museum and City of Pasadena for maintenance of existing land use regulations for property at 267-337 E. Colorado Blvd. and 55-77 N. St. John Ave. (Rusnak property).

 

WPRA notes
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WPRA has been outspoken in its opposition to the proposed tunnel alternative and urges everyone to attend a press conference Saturday, July 20, at 8:45 a.m. on the doorsteps of Blair High School to educate the public and alert state agencies to the high risks and costs. This will be followed by a 9:30 a.m. informational meeting

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. If you can't attend, participate from home! Watch a live stream of the meeting at www.ustream.tv/channels/sr-710-study. Follow a live tweet of each informational meeting @SR710study and be sure to use #whatsnext710 in your own tweets. There will be another informational meeting with the same content Tuesday, July 23, at 6 p.m. at Langley Senior Center, 400 W. Emerson Ave. in Monterey Park. 

 

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 has sent a letter to the City Council outlining WPRA's position on the proposals. The letter will be available on the WPRA website soon. 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
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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.     

 

Does your child know how to stay safe?

Applications are being are accepted through Sept. 13 for the Pasadena Police Department's seven-week Kids' Safety Academy with topics ranging from stranger danger and bicycle safety to environmental stewardship and the 9-1-1 phone system. The classes, for children ages 6 to 12 and their parents, are held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon and are taught by Pasadena police officers, firefighters and others.

 

Rose Bowl Roundup Newsletter
Find out what's going on with the Rose Bowl Stadium: renovation, updates, Tours program, Legacy Campaign and more.  

Editor's top news picks
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WPRA honored at Pasadena Heritage event

"Pasadena Heritage hosted an elegant and enchanting evening at the Hulett Merrit mansion on July 13 to celebrate the history of South Orange Grove and honor organizations that have created and perpetuated the unique character and charm of Pasadena" - Pasadena Now

 

House restores funding for JPL Mars project

"The House Appropriations Committee has passed a funding package that restores some funding the planetary science budget, including money to help pay for the next over mission to Mars and exploration off Jupiter's moon Europa." - Los Angeles Times

 

Caltech discovers evidence of ocean on Mars

"The possible ocean would have spanned the northern hemisphere of the red planet and could have covered as much as a third of it, according to a paper published Friday in the Journal of Geophysical Research." - Pasadena Star-News

 

Former prisoners share stories, help others find jobs

"Elaine Carson knows as well as anyone the struggles that former inmates face when returning to society. After being released following a lengthy prison sentence, she has not only worked to become a productive member of society but to help others do the same." - Pasadena Now 
Leisure
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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.