WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
Saturday, July 27, 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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We're going on vacation!
 


Neighborhood Update will go dark in August while the co-editors take respective breaks in Timbuktu or castles in Spain ... or at their own homes. Neighborhood Update will reappear in your email boxes Saturday, Sept. 7. In the meantime, we wish all of you a relaxing and enjoyable rest of the summer. Now go have some fun in the sun!  
City Council and commission meetings

MONDAY

JULY 29

 

6:30 p.m.
City Hall  
Council Chambers
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: authorization to enter into a contract with GE Packaged Power Inc. to design, furnish and deliver equipment for the Glenarm repowering project (replacement of a 48-year-old steam generation unit with a new natural gas unit); and city council workshop on recent developments and funding issues related to the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS).
WPRA notes
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION -
 
WPRA opposes freeway tunnel option in letter to L.A. Metro board

A letter from WPRA was sent July 24 to the L.A. Metro board describing issues of concern about the proposed freeway tunnel option for extending SR-710: unclear goals, increasing local pollution at both ends of the tunnel and inability to adequately filter exhausts. It concludes that the tunnel option is by far the most expensive, challenging, risky and controversial one being considered and urges Metro to withdraw the tunnel alternative and focus on 21st century solutions.

 

WPRA asks City Council to postpone voting on Pasadena Roving Archers agreement

A letter sent to the City Council July 15 asks for a delay in voting on a staff proposal for a new agreement with the Pasadena Roving Archers to allow WPRA to fairly evaluate the proposal and offer informed recommendations and opinions.

 

WPRA requests public comment and information on pedestrian bridge project

A July 19 letter from WPRA to Laura O'Neill of GPA Consulting states that the project name for the Arroyo Seco pedestrian bridge is misleading and that the bridge is designed for vehicles, is larger than any bridge crossing the channel at ground level and should be consistent with Lower Arroyo Master Plan guidelines. WPRA will defer judgment until the plans have been reviewed and approved by the La Loma Bridge Design Advisory Group.

 

Campus cleanup day at San Rafael Elementary School

Bring tools and elbow grease to San Rafael Elementary School Saturday, Aug. 3, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parents, families, friends and neighbors in the greater San Rafael community are encouraged to help with gardening, painting, carpentry and inventory. Children must be supervised; child care will not be provided. Please be sure to wear hats and closed-toed shoes and bring your own water and snacks. Contact Dawn Fagot at dwfagot@gmail.com or (626) 698-0615 to register or for more information.

 

Room 13 needs you!

WPRA "adopted" San Rafael School 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, between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.  

  

The News, WPRA style 

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

Neighborhood notes
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION 

REMINDER: "Legends of Summer" concert will bring traffic, noise ... and music!
On Sunday, July 28, the Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z concert at the Rose Bowl Stadium from 7 to 11 p.m. will include amplified sound. The concert is sold out and parking lots will open at noon, so expect potential traffic delays.

Fundraising gala at Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden

A fundraising gala for Velina Hasu Houston's film "Path of Dreams" will take place at Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden Friday, Aug. 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. The film follows the Japanese legend and poet, Ono no Komachi, who used poetry to challenge social constraints. Tickets are $55 and $160.

 

Summer concerts continue at Memorial Park
You don't have to be a senior citizen to attend free concerts, from iconic folk music to Cajun zydeco, at Memorial Park every Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. through Sept. 3, courtesy of the Pasadena Senior Center. Bring a picnic or purchase dinner at the park and have some toe-tapping fun!

 

General Plan outreach meetings canceled in August

The General Plan Update Advisory Committee has canceled meetings scheduled in August. GPUAC is charged with guiding the city's outreach program for the General Plan.


Kids' Safety Academy

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
- CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION -

Plague found in squirrel; parts of Angeles National Forest closed

"Los Angeles County health officials confirmed this week that a trapped ground squirrel tested positive for plague, and as a precaution parts of the Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood have been closed. The areas closed, since 1 p.m. Wednesday, include the Twisted Arrow, Broken Blade and Pima Loops of the Table Mountain campgrounds. NOTE: Only four cases of human plague in Los Angeles County have been identified since 1984, none of which were fatal." Los Angeles Times


Caltrans raises rents every six months in 710 Corridor

"Residents living in houses seized by Caltrans more than a half-century ago in a failed attempt to extend the Long Beach (710) Freeway through El Sereno, South Pasadena and parts of Pasadena have for years complained about the state transit agency's shoddy upkeep of the homes...Caltrans recently announced it will increase rents by 10 percent every six months." Pasadena Weekly

 

La Caņada City Council vows to fight 710 tunnel

"If transportation officials opt to extend the Long Beach (710) Freeway with a tunnel, La Caņada

Flintridge leaders are prepared to fight the project, which they say could have a serious environmental impact on the city. The City Council on Monday night approved setting aside $500,000 for litigation and other costs related to protecting the city from the project." La Caņada Valley Sun

 

Adopted energy plan means electricity bills may rise
"At a public hearing Monday night, Pasadena Water and Power officials said they expect residents' power bills to become more costly in coming years because the state requires that California gradually moves toward using greener, and thus more expensive energy." Pasadena Now

Design Commission hears plans for hotel at Paseo
"The city's Design Commission on Monday July, 22 heard a proposal that would revamp the Paseo Colorado shopping mall, in part, with the construction a new six-story hotel, a two-story commercial building, and significant changes to the Garfield Promenade." Pasadena Now

Tougher requirements recommended for home construction projects
"Smaller home construction projects in Pasadena may soon require permitting. Are you planning to tear down a shed or build a new garage at your home? If so, and if the floor area is at least 120 square feet, a permit from the Pasadena Department of Public Works may be in your future." Pasadena Now

City staff aims to control City Council's field representatives
"City human resources staff recommended that field representatives be hired by the City of Pasadena rather than by the city councilmember they represent at the Legislative Policy Committee meeting on July 24. As policy currently stands, city council members recruit, hire, supervise, and terminate their field representatives as they see fit without any supervised criteria by the city." Pasadena Now  

 

"On a spacious patio running alongside Old Pasadena's Memorial Park, a string quartet playing classical and popular standards created the perfect ambiance for the 50th wedding anniversary party ... for 21 couples married at least 50 years." Pasadena Now
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.