WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
Published weekly since 2000

Welcome

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

   
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Chuck Hudson
Co-Editor 

 

View the latest and past issues of the WPRA's quarterly magazine, The News, which is mailed to nearly 8,000 homes in west Pasadena.
Neighborhood Update
View past issues of this weekly WPRA eNewsletter, which is emailed each Saturday morning to more than 1,500 residents of Pasadena (and beyond).
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Important community meetings
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

6:30 p.m.
Council Chamber, 
Pasadena City Hall
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Adopt a resolution governing the Residential Impact Fee (RIF) by amending the distribution methodology to allow 20% of each fee collected to be placed in a reserve that can fund projects in any of the City's RIF park districts, and allow for 100% of the entire available RIF fund balance to be used for park acquisition and/or projects of citywide significance; approve the Enduring Heroes Committee's request to install the Enduring Heroes memorial sculpture in honor of Pasadena area fallen soldiers at Defenders Parkway West; conduct first reading of an amendment to the official zoning map of the City for the Glen Summer Landmark Overlay District

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1

4 p.m.
Hale Building
175 N. Garfield Ave.
"Quote" of the week

"As many of you have seen for yourselves, San Rafael Elementary School is a precious jewel that should be protected by our community. It is for this reason that we extend a huge gracias to the West Pasadena Residents' Association for its unwavering support, compassion, and commitment to our students. Along this rollercoaster of a journey, it has always been in our corner."

- Rudy Ramirez, principal, San Rafael Elementary School, following the news that the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will likely save the school from closure in the wake of recent testing that proves there are no active faults under the school
WPRA in motion
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The City of Pasadena wants your views on how entitlement funds should be spent in the community. The WPRA encourages you to provide this feedback through an online survey in which you can rank eligible activities, based on community needs. The top five priorities for public service and non-public service activities will receive scoring preferences in the City's 2016-2017 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Request for Proposal. The survey will close at 5 p.m. on September 27.
The Orange Grove Neighborhood Community will host a public meeting on October 6, 6 p.m., at the Tournament House, 391 S. Orange Grove Blvd. On the agenda is water conservation, and delivering the message is Ursula Schmidt, PWP Water Conservation Program Manager, and a featured landscape architect. 

 


Since June 1, the City has been under a Level 2 water-supply-shortage plan to reduce water use across the city by 28%. Report water waste to the City:
  1. Call Pasadena's Citizen Service Center, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at (626) 744-7311. Be prepared to provide the location and nature of the issue.
  2. Complete a short form on the City's Citizen Service Center
  3. Use the free app for smart phones and tablets: 
Neighborhoods 
in motion
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<

TRAFFIC/CROWD ALERT: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

9 a.m. - Noon
Estimated attendance: 10,000+
Music and speech will be amplified throughout this event, but not earlier than 8 a.m. Street closure around the Rose Bowl loop begins at 8:15 a.m. and continues until approximately 11:30 a.m. Pasadena Police will be deployed to assist with managing the road closure on the Rose Bowl Loop. Barricades will be in place on the streets and manned by personnel.

Note: If any issues arise, please contact the Resident Hotline at (626) 397-4141. Please report any issues or concerns as soon as possible (especially during the event) so that they can be addressed immediately. For more information about these events, please visit the Rose Bowl Stadium website.

 


Open day and tea Ceremony Demonstrations
Sunday, Sept. 27, servings at 1p.m. and 2 p.m.
Sencha, "steeped tea," is a method of tea drinking that evolved in China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Sencha tea practitioner Mikko Nakatomi will perform two Sencha tea ceremonies. Reservations are necessary at japanesegarden. and can be made on our website for $17.50. Admission to Open Day is included. Open Day is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the last Sunday of every month (except December.) Reservations for Open Day can be made on the garden's website for $7.50, or $10 cash/check at the gate (age 12 and under free). The garden is wheelchair accessible. No pets.
 
Lecture series: Aspects of Japanese art
Japanese art historian Meher McArthur will draw from her 20 years of experience researching and curating Japanese art to present a series of lectures discussing aspects of Japanese traditional and contemporary art.
Lecture 1: Thursday, October 1, 6:30 p.m.: Twists and turns: the evolution of Japanese bamboo baskets,
Lecture 2: Thursday, November 5, 6:30 p.m.: The wonders of Japan's woodblock prints
 
Please join Women at Work and moderator Salvatrice Cummo, director of the Pasadena Small-Business Development Center at Pasadena Community College, on Tuesday, October 6, 6-9 p.m., for a conversation with four amazing female entrepreneurs who found their North Star and will discuss the journey they are on to achieve their dreams. The session will be held in Harbeson Hall at Pasadena Community College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd.

Does Pasadena need independent oversight for greater transparency and accountability of its police department? What might community oversight look like? How is it working elsewhere? The Coalition to Increase Civilian Oversight of Pasadena Police presents "Transparency & Accountability in Pasadena's Police Department" on Tuesday, October 6, 7-9 p.m. at the Fuller Seminary Travis Auditorium, 180 N. Oakland Ave. Featured are Samuel Walker, national expert and co-author of The New World of Police Accountability, and panelists Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek; Gary L. Moody, president NAACP; Stella Murga, executive director of Adelante Youth Alliance; and Pastor Kerwin L. Manning, president, Clergy Community Coalition. The forum will be moderated by Larry Wilson, Pasadena Star News Public Editor. For more information contact, Kristen Green at kgreen890@gmail.com.

1570 East Colorado Blvd.,State Assemblymember Chris Holden will chair a Select Committee On Regional Transportation And Interconnectivity Solutions Oversight hearing, "Moving People, Moving Goods," on Thursday, October 15, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Richard Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals, 125 S. Grand Ave.

Editor's top news picks
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"Calling it a culmination of a six-year effort, including 160 community events attended by over 4,700 and the collaboration of nine commissions, Pasadena Director of Planning and Development Vince Bertoni gave an overview of the city's newly instituted General Plan at the District 6 Town Hall Meeting at the Pasadena Humane Society community room Thursday evening." Pasadena Now

"The Governing Board of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments has approved the hiring of Philip A. Hawkey as Executive Director, effective October 1, 2015, Gene Murabito, President of the SGVCOG, announced. Hawkey, Executive Vice President Emeritus for the University of La Verne and former City Manager of Pasadena, will manage the SGVCOG under a two-year contract with Kelly and Associates approved on September 17." Monrovia Patch

"Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Brian McDonald delivered an optimistic assessment of the District, but admitted that the District still faces some challenges. McDonald said that nearly 36% [of students] met or exceeded the standards for English, while approximately 29% met or exceeded in Mathematics. This would place the students just below the state average, which is 44% in English and and 34% in mathematics." 
Pasadena Now
 
"Pasadena will receive a $250,000 grant from the Department of Justice to support its body camera program as part of a more than $23 million push by the Obama administration to build trust and transparency between police and their local communities." San Gabriel Valley Tribune

"When Habib Balian signed the documents certifying substantial completion of the $1 billion Foothill Gold Line extension Wednesday, he glanced at partners from Kiewit Infrastructure West and Parsons Transportation Group, reminding them the pens were not theirs to keep." Pasadena Star-News (may require subscription)

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 ... 

... to serve your community and do it with a group of your neighbors who are equally dedicated. 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.