WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
Saturday, September 28, 2013

Welcome

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

   
Send comments to update@wpra.net 

Editor  

Chuck Hudson

 
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City Council and commission meetings
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

City Council: special workshop
6:30 p.m. 

Pasadena Conference Center

Conference Room 211

300 E. Green St.

On the agenda: Presentation by Cynthia Kurtz, Pasadena's representative on the Metropolitan Water District  Board; a three-year update of the Del Mar Urgent Care facility by Public Health Department Director Eric Walsh; appointment of Anita Fromholz as District 6 appointee to the Recreation and Parks Commission; a public hearing on designation of 405 Mira Vista Terrace as a landmark

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1 

6 p.m.
City Yards, second floor
233 West Mountain St.
On the agenda: the La Loma Bridge retrofit/rehab project and Lower Arroyo pedestrian bridge project; proposed design for southern entrance area of Lower Arroyo Seco  
 
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2
 

Board of Zoning Appeals

6 p.m.

City Hall

Council Chambers

100 N. Garfield Ave.

  

Hearings: use permits and variances

6 pm

George Ellery Hale Building

175 North Garfield Avenue

Hearing Room #120

WPRA in motion
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Wondering how the SR-710 decision will be made?

Groups opposed to the SR-710 tunnel options report that Metro Board member Frank Quan on September 25 revealed to the South Pasadena City Council and LA County Michael Antonovich (and now you!) how the decision about which SR-710 freeway extension option (if any) would be chosen. Although Metro had previously refused to reveal how the decision would be made, Quan, responding to multiple requests for clarification by Supervisor Antonovich, laid out the following process:

  1. Metro's Technical Staff will recommend to the Metro board a preferred alternative.
  2. The Metro Board will vote to accept the recommendation or vote for an alternative of their own choice.
  3. The Metro Board will then forward their recommendation to the District 7 Director of Caltrans, who will make the final decision and certify the Environmental Impact Report. Caltrans in Sacramento or the California Transportation Commission will have no say, since state funds are not involved.

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

Neighborhood in motion
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TRAFFIC AND CROWD ALERT:
  • Saturday, September 28, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Gladiator Rock 'n Run. Expect up to 3,000 participants in Rose Bowl Stadium and parking lots, Area H, Rose Bowl loop and park trails. Street closures include the east and west extension, Washington between Rosemont and West Drive, West Drive between Washington and Seco, Salvia Canyon between Linda Vista and West Drive, Parkview between Madia and West Drive.
  • Sunday, September 29, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Wiggle Waggle Walk. Expect up to 2,500 participants in Brookside Park and the Rose Bowl loop. Street closures include east and west extension (including the recreation lane) with intermittent traffic control at Seco/Arroyo and around the Rose Bowl loop.

Representatives of the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA (PHS) have began door-to-door canvassing to ensure city residents' dogs are properly licensed. The initiative is part of the joint effort between PHS and the City to improve animal services. PHS canvassers will be knocking on doors Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. All canvassers will display a photo ID badge and wear a white or tan "polo" shirt (with a PHS patch on the shoulder) and blue slacks or jeans. For more information, call (626) 792-7151, ext. 115, during normal business hours (except on Mondays) to verify that the person is with PHS. 


Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden has Open Day on September 29
The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden, 270 Arlington Dr., will open its gates to the public this month on Sunday, September 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, send an email to info@japanesegardenpasadena.com. 
 

Drop by for a curbside chat with PPD

The Pasadena Police Department will be at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Lot K with its mobile substation for a curbside coffee chat on Monday, September 30, 9-11 a.m. You're invited to stop by and say "hi," enjoy a cup of coffee, find out any new crime trends for your area and meet your Service Area 1 beat officer (Jim Riehl) Community Relations officer (Ralph Ordonez) and Crime Prevention officer (Kathleen "Kitty" Johnson).


Pasadena Fire Department kicks off "fire prevention week"

The Pasadena Fire Department invites the public to attend a special "kick-off" event for Fire Prevention Week on Saturday, October 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Rose Bowl Stadium, near Gate A. Free hot dogs and drinks will be available for the first 250 attendees.

 

County schedules DEIR public meetings for Devil's Gate sediment removal  

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has completed a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Devil's Gate Reservoir sediment removal and management project. The report will be posted on the project's website in late October. Subsequently, the County will host two community meetings to present the project and DEIR during the required 60-day viewing period:

  • Wednesday, November 6, 6-8 p.m., in the Rose Bowl Stadium visitor's locker room, 1001 Rose Bowl Dr, (park in Lot F, enter at Gate A)
  • Saturday, November 16, 2-4 p.m., in the La Caņada Flintridge Community Center, 4469 Chevy Chase Dr.

 

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

Editor's top news picks
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Metro says 710 study team is active in Pasadena

"According to Fred Dock, Director of Transportation for the City of Pasadena, Metro's SR-710 North Study team has informed Pasadena that members of the study team will be conducting noise measurements at the following schools: Sequoyah School, Waverly School and New Horizon School." Pasadena Now

 

City Council and officials huddle, set goals

"Pasadena City Council members brainstormed with other City officials Monday, at a strategic planning retreat to hash out the goals they want to accomplish in three years. Goals that made the list are: improve and maintain infrastructure, improve financial stability, complete funding and construction of the Rose Bowl renovation, improve the local economy and improve the quality of life and enhance public safety." Pasadena Now

 

Understanding PWP's new outage management system

"Pasadena Water & Power will be rolling out a new outage management system to improve customer service. In light of this, customers are encouraged to update their contact information. What for?" Pasadena Now

 

The state of PUSD schools: "Hopeful"

"At Pasadena Unified School District's Annual State of the School Address on Tuesday presented at Jackson Elementary School, President Renatta Cooper declared the state of the schools in Pasadena as hopeful. 'It's a difficult task, but we believe we're up to that task,' Superintendent Jon Gundry said." Pasadena Now

 

CalPhil transitions to new ownership; foundation declares bankruptcy

"After struggling financially last year, the California Philharmonic Foundation has filed for bankruptcy and handed over ownership and operations of the CalPhil orchestra to local events firm Pasadena Entertainment." Pasadena Star-News

 

Rally looks to demonstrate grassroots support for alternative of LA River restoration

"The Los Angeles River will soon be getting a makeover, according to a study released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week. The group is looking at five alternatives to restore 11 miles of the river from Griffith Park to downtown LA while maintaining existing levels of flood risk management, including a 'no action' option." Pasadena Weekly

 

Local YWCA names former police Lt. Riddle as interim director

"Retired Pasadena Police Lt. Phlunte Riddle has been named as the interim Executive Director of the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley branch." Pasadena Weekly

Opinion: Down at the crossroads of a California Delta decision

"On Monday, the Metropolitan Water District and the California Department of Water Resources hosted a tour in support of the massive proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a 50-year project to send Delta water south in big tunnels and protect the habitat of native fish and plants. Opponents don't see it as conservation. They see more efforts to transfer water from their north to our south." Larry Wilson/San Gabriel Valley Tribune
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 (alphabetical order).

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.