WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
Saturday, October 4, 2014


Welcome

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

   
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Justin Chapman
Editor  

 

View the latest and past issues of the WPRA's quarterly magazine, The News, which is mailed to more than 7,000 homes in West Pasadena.
Neighborhood Update
View past issues of this weekly WPRA eNewsletter, which is emailed each Saturday morning to more than 1,100 residents of Pasadena (and beyond).
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City Council and commission meetings
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<

Monday, October 6

 

City Council

6:30 p.m.

Council Chamber, Room 249

Pasadena City Hall

100 N. Garfield Ave.

 

On the agenda: public hearing/first reading of mandatory ordinance that would require all dogs and cats over six months of age to be spayed/neutered; public hearings/second readings of an ordinance to amend and consolidate road speed limits in Pasadena, and a proposal to update the list of parks and open space areas (to include the future Desiderio Neighborhood Park) on which residential impact fees may expended.

 

Economic Development & Technology Committee

4:15 p.m.
Council Conference Room S245/S246, 2nd Floor

Pasadena City Hall

 


Tuesday, October 7

 

Historic Preservation Commission

6 p.m.

Hale Building
175 N. Garfield Ave., 2nd floor

 

Human Relations Commission

6:30 p.m.

Jackie Robinson Center

1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.



Wednesday, October 8

5:30 p.m.
Hale Building, Suite 420
175 N. Garfield Ave.

6 p.m.

City Yards

233 W. Mountain St.

 

Human Services Commission

6 p.m.

Grand Conference Room, S038

Pasadena City Hall

100 N. Garfield Ave.


Planning Commission

6:30 p.m.

Council Chamber, Room 249

Pasadena City Hall

100 N. Garfield Ave.

 


Thursday, October 9

Code Enforcement Commission

4 p.m.

Hale Building
175 N. Garfield Ave.

 

Northwest Commission

6:30 p.m.

Jackie Robinson Center
1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

 

Recreation and Parks Commission ... canceled

WPRA in motion
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<

   

Help "Connecting Pasadena Plan" design "the ditch"

Currently, an empty freeway ditch, the 710 stub, divides our city. Connecting Pasadena Plan (CPP) is a citizen-driven initiative that aims to develop a draft master plan for this 35-acre strip of land flanking the 710 stub south from Union to Del Mar and California and revitalize this "dead space." CPP will hold two sequential workshops on October 25 (at Maranatha High School) and November 8. Both workshops, to solicit input, will be led by architect and urbanist Stefanos Polyzoides and other transportation, economic and land-use experts. For more information, click on the headline above. Send RSVP to aokelley@msn.com

 

Help us respond to the SR-710 DEIR/DEIS
The WPRA is forming a team to respond to the SR-710 Draft Environmental Impact Report DEIR) and Statement (DEIS), which is planned for release in February 2015. We're looking for experts or research-oriented amateurs to help review the following subject areas: legal, NEPA/CEQA, construction, geology, hydrology, transportation and traffic, air quality, water quality and usage, noise/vibration, hazardous materials and safety, global warming, human health, biological assessment, historic assets, cultural and social assets, economics and environmental justice. 

To volunteer or recommend an expert that might volunteer, contact Sarah Gavit at gavit@wpra.net.

 

SAVE THE DATE: Neighborhood Candidates Forum

With Mayor Bill Bogaard's decision not to seek re-election, next year's municipal election promises to be a historic time for choosing and change. West Pasadena voters will have the opportunity to help elect a new Mayor and, possibly, a new District 6 councilmember. Although the WPRA does not endorse candidates, we do encourage all voters to become informed. To help, the WPRA on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, will host a Neighborhood Candidates Forum from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., in the large courtroom of the Richard H. Chambers Ninth Circuit Courthouse, 125 S. Grand Ave. Members of the forum planning committee are Blaine Cavena, Justin Chapman, Vince Farhat and Kenyon Harbison.

 Neighborhoods in motion

>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<
 

TRAFFIC AND CROWD ALERTS

  • The UCLA vs. Utah football game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Rose Bowl. However, the parking lots will open at 1:30, UCLA Fan Zone opens in Area H at 3:30 and gates open for all patrons at 6. Estimated attendance is over 60,000 people. In addition this year, the Rose Bowl Operating Company has retained the services of an event management company, APEX, dedicated to acting as the neighborhood liaison to address any event day issues immediately. The APEX staff will be exclusively stationed in the neighborhoods for all 2014 displacement events, in order to quickly respond to any issues. To reach an APEX representative, please call the Rose Bowl Event Day Hotline at (626) 397-4141.
  • The 16th annual Eagle Rock Music Festival is taking place today from 4 to 10 p.m. Colorado Boulevard will be closed between Eagle Rock Boulevard and Argus Drive. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the multicultural festival, which features hip hop, jazz, swing, rock, techno, and local and international musicians.

 

LA Great Street visits Pasadena

Last month the Great Streets Team traveled to Old Town Pasadena with LA Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation Rick Cole (former Mayor of Pasadena) to check out what the city has done in the last three decades to turn Old Pas into a regional destination.

 

Library commemorates the 1930s American Dust Bowl

The Pasadena Public Library is currently hosting "Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry," a national traveling exhibition about the Dust Bowl, the disastrous drought and dust storms that wreaked havoc on the American Great Plains in the 1930s. The exhibit is on display in Central Library's Great Hall, 285 E. Walnut St. through October 9. The exhibition recalls a tragic period in our history and explores their environmental and cultural consequences.

 

ArtNight Pasadena

Enjoy a free evening of art, music, food trucks and entertainment as Pasadena's most prominent arts and cultural institutions swing open their doors. Last fall, 14,000 people experienced the excitement of ArtNight. The event takes place across the city from 6 to 10 p.m. this Friday, October 10.

 

Share your thoughts on Pasadena's energy future

Join the Department of Water and Power for Pasadena's second Energy Roadmap Event in honor of Public Power Day. Come see PWP's scorecard comparing renewable and conventional energy resources for Pasadena's future energy plan. PWP experts will discuss how different scenarios could impact your bill, affect your electric service and benefit the environment. PWP will also discuss feedback collected from the Integrated Resource Plan survey, which is currently gathering community input. The event is taking place this Thursday, October 16, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Faculty Dining Room at Art Center College of Design, located at 1700 Lida St. RSVPs are required as seating is limited. To RSVP please contact the Citizen Service Center (626) 744-7311.

 

Deadline looming for Rose Bowl brick campaign

October 31 is the deadline to purchase bricks for the second phase of the Rose Bowl's Legacy Commemorative Brick campaign. The first installation was completed in June and the second installation will commence in December. Bricks range in price from $100 to $425.

 

Gas pipeline replacement project underway

The Southern California Gas Company has begun replacing a natural gas pipeline starting near Fair Oaks Avenue and Alessandro Place, continuing west on Bellefontaine and ending at S. Pasadena Avenue. The project will take approximately two months to complete. The north and southbound lanes along Fair Oaks, near the intersection of Bellefontaine, may be reduced to one or more lanes for approximately a week. For approximately one month, lane reductions may also occur along portions of Bellefontaine, between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Avenue, and sidewalk access access along the eastern portion of Fair Oaks will be closed between Alessandro Place and Hurlbut Street. If you have concerns about safety, call (800) 427-2200.

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

U.S. cities are rethinking urban freeways

"In Syracuse, NY, city officials want to demolish the 1.4 miles of highway that cuts through the middle of Syracuse and route the traffic through surface streets, creating a grand boulevard where the highway once stood, complete with stores, homes and a more walkable vibe." LA Times

 

Pasadena residents brainstorm ideas for 710 freeway stub 'ditch'

"While state transportation officials are studying an underground tunnel as one option to close the long fought-over 710 Freeway gap, a group of local residents is taking a different approach. If Caltrans does not elect to build the tunnel, residents said they want to be prepared to put the 35-acre space to good use." Pasadena Star-News

(Editor's note: Please see information about the "Designing the Ditch" event in the WPRA in motion section above.)

 

Closures on the rise in Old Pasadena

"Over the past 12 months, Rocket Fizz Candy Store, Pappa Rich's, Twin Palms Restaurant, Johnny Rockets, Barney's Restaurant, Temptations Chocolate Factory, Barnes & Nobles, Popcorn N More, Val Surf, La Luna Negra, Louise's Trattoria, Scarlett Tea Room, Cheval Blanc Bistro and Haven Restaurant have closed their doors." Pasadena Weekly

 

Wiggle Waggle Walk draws large crowd, donations

"Animal lovers flocked to Brookside Park in full force to the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA's 16th Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk, with approximately 3,000 people and 1,500 canines in attendance. Dogs and humans alike enjoyed their one to three-mile walk around the Rose Bowl, as well as the free Pet Expo afterwards. The Wiggle Waggle Walk succeeded in raising over $325,000 for the animals." 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 (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 and "like" our Facebook page  

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

 

Joseph Stoddard's watercolors: The WPRA is grateful to local artist Joseph Stoddard, who has generously allowed us to display his watercolors in our quarterly newsletter, The (WPRA) News; on the WPRA website; and in this publication. To explore Mr. Stoddard's work, visit josephstoddard.com.