Pasadena's street trees provide $1 Million+ in air-quality benefits   

A multi-month assessment of Pasadena's street trees has determined that the 58,267 Pasadena street trees used in the study provide an equivalent of $8.8 million in cumulative benefits each year, including a $6.94 million increase in local commerce and property values and $1.36 million in air-quality benefits. The replacement cost, if lost, would be more than $308 million, according to National conservation organization American Forests, alongside funding partners, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and U.S. Forest Service. With the initial assessment complete, on Saturday, November 16, Bank of America volunteers will join American Forests and local partners for a tree-planting event at 679 Zanja St., beginning at 9 a.m., to help expand the urban forest and the benefits provided to the community. The event will be hosted Pasadena Beautiful Foundation.

Watch these two important events ... on your schedule

• Miss District 6 Councilmember Steve Madison's Global Warming Forum on October 29? Catch it now on YouTube, watch it on the District 6 website, or watch it on KPAS each:

• And, if, on October 26, you missed the official "opening" of Pasadena Community Garden, 721 S. Pasadena Ave., you can watch it on KPAS each:
• Sunday, 10 p.m.
• Monday, 5:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, 10 a.m.
• Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, 5 p.m.
• Friday, 11:30 a.m.
• Saturday, 2:30 p.m.

Town Hall meeting set for Linda Vista-Annendale

District 6 Councilmember Steve Madison invites residents of the Linda Vista-Annandale neighborhoods to a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, December 5, 6:30-7:30 p.m., in the Faculty Dining Room of the Art Center College of Design, 1700 Lida St. Discusssion topics include the proposed plans for Linda Vista Park and the Complete Streets Program improvements for Lida Street, the Los Angeles County Sediment Removal Project at Devil's Gate Dam and more! For parking, look for the parking signs on your right as you enter the campus.  

Mapping Pasadena's huge upcoming hotel explosion 

"The 2,500 hotel rooms in Pasadena are woefully inadequate for a city so blessed with charm, culture, colleges, a famous football stadium and parade, proximity to LA, and a recently-expanded convention center, claims Pasadena Monthly. So thank the development gods that there are now six new hotels on the way in the 'Dena, which should just about double the number of available rooms. (Meanwhile, the city's Sheraton and Hilton are also undergoing renovations.)" Curbed Los Angeles

City will issue opinion on Devil's Gate Reservoir sediment removal project 

"Keith Lily of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District made a special presentation about the Devil's Gate Reservoir Sediment Removal and Management Project for the Municipal Services Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, allowing for a discussion about how the city would give an official comment by December 16." Pasadena Now

Glenarm repowering project picks up steam 

"The Glenarm Repowering Project has gained momentum once again as the recommendation to enter a contract for project and construction management passed the second round of comments by the Municipal Services Committee and will be brought before the entire Council at the next meeting." Pasadena Now

New landmark district proposed 

"A neighborhood in Southwest Pasadena brought forward a request to become a landmark district to the Planning Commission on Wednesday where it was approved 5-1 and will be sent to the City Council. The neighborhood consists of 23 homes on South Grand Avenue and Covington Place that were built between 1905-1965. Three of the contributing houses were built in the Arts & Crafts Period, four in the mid-twentieth-century period and the other 11 in the period revival era. Four properties in the district boundaries are non-contributing." Pasadena Now

Pasadena's first academy got started with collections of rocks, shells and baskets

Understanding "Common Core": a breakdown of the pros and cons

"Forty-five states have voluntarily adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an educational initiative 'designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.' Pasadena Patch

Pasadena Water and Power warns of scammers

"Pasadena Water and Power warned its customers of solar electric contractors who are calling Pasadena residents to promote solar sales." Pasadena Now

City installs first "back-in" project to solve lack of parking

"The Department of Transportation will install the City's first "Back-In" or reversed angled parking on a city street amid concerns of inadequate parking." Pasadena Now

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

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