WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2016
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, FEBRUARY 15

City Council - Cancelled (Presidents' Day)
 
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16

Non-Potable Water Project - informational meeting
5 p.m.
On the corner of Parkview Avenue and Laurel Street
Mayor Tornek, District 6 Councilmember Steve Madison, and Pasadena Water and Power staff will be available to answer all questions about the Non-Potable Water Project that will go before City Council on February 22
6:30 p.m.
Pasadena City Hall
100 N. Garfield Ave.
City Hall Council Chamber S249
On the agenda: approval of measures "to address homelessness"; an update on the current airspace rules as they relate to drone policies and regulations; and information about police oversight models, body-worn camera purchases; and review of 2015 police discipline and use of force

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17

6 p.m.
Permit Center Hearing Room
175 N. Garfield Ave.
(Enter at Ramona Street Side Entrance)
On the agenda: A hearing on a Paseo Colorado Holdings' tract map application for Paseo Colorado shopping center, 300 E. Colorado Blvd., to subdivide, for condominium purposes, three existing retail lots - one for new retail space, one for a new hotel, and one for 77 new residential condominium units

6:30 p.m.
Council Chambers
Pasadena City Hall
100 N. Garfield Ave. Rm. S249
  
6:30 p.m.
160 N. Canon Ave.
Sierra Madre
  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18
  
4 p.m.
351 S. Hudson Ave.
Conference Room 229
On the agenda: Discussion of budget goals for 2016-2017 and current status of 2016-2017 projections for enrollment, staffing and site and district budgets
"Quote" of the week
"No one could ever doubt Michael's [Beck] work ethic, and I think we would all agree that he has accomplished so much for us." 
-- Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek about City Manager Michael Beck, who is leaving the City to assume a role as Administrative Vice Chancellor with UCLA
WPRA in motion
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BREAKING NEWS: San Rafael Elementary wins 2016 Gold Ribbon Award!
The WPRA congratulates San Rafael Elementary School for having been chosen as a 2016 California Department of Education Gold Ribbon Award recipient, recognition of its outstanding programs and academic performance. Credit should be shared by Rudy Ramirez, principal as well as teachers, staff, parents and, of course, the students whose hard work made this possible.
 
To help make our roads safer, the Pasadena Police Department is deploying extra traffic enforcement officers on Friday, February 19, in an effort to stop distracted driving. Police officers will be spreading the message that distracted drivers are not only a danger to themselves, but to everyone else on the road. Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
 
The seismic retrofit and rehabilitation of the La Loma bridge project is well underway and will soon transition from demolition to construction. This transition is expected to occur the week of February 15 or February 22, and will include the installation of piles, which is a noisy but unavoidable operation. The pile-driving operation is expected to continue intermittently during daytime work hours for approximately two weeks. Recent work at the project site has primarily included demolition of the existing bridge structure and appurtenances. In addition, the contractor has constructed a temporary bridge across the stream channel to provide access for trucks and machinery to the west side of the channel and has been busy prepping the site and planning for the transition from demolition to construction of the new bridge structure. It is anticipated that La Loma Bridge will re-open in December 2016.
 
Pasadena City Council has selected Assistant City Manager Steve Mermell to serve as Interim City Manager. Mermell assumes his new duties effective February 15, replacing outgoing City Manager Michael J. Beck. Mermell joined the City in 1989 as an analyst for Pasadena Water and Power Department. He served in a variety of positions for several City departments before being appointed in 2008 as one of two Assistant City Managers. To collect citizen input about the search for a new, permanent City Manager, the City has created City Manager Community Survey online.
 
Supporters of the Hahamongna Cooperative Nursery attended a recent Environmental Advisory Commission meeting to discuss the future management of the Hahamongna Cooperative Nursery, which recently received an eviction notice (by March 23) from the City. Commissioners learned of the what the nursery has accomplished since Nick Hummingbird became the nursery manger last year. Commissioners expressed concern when learning that the nursery is in jeopardy, agreed on the importance of preserving this community asset, and voted to send letters of support to City Councilmembers and appropriate city staff. [Source: Arroyo Seco Foundation]
From February 25 through March 10, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) will shut down its Weymouth Treatment Plant for a planned upgrade. This means Pasadena will receive no water from the MWD, which normally provides 60% of the city's total water supply. In January, City Council temporarily approved implementation of a Level 4 Water Supply Shortage Plan during the shutdown period. This action prohibits all outdoor watering, including hand watering.


The Pasadena water-savings gauge dipped to 21% between June 1, 2015 and February 3, but the target remains 28%. Fortunately, given the recent rains, the State Water Resources Control Board extended the deadline of its statewide conservation mandate to October from February.
Neighborhoods in motion
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Pasadena residents and businesses are reminded that City Hall and many City services will be closed Monday, February 15, in observance of Presidents' Day.
  
The Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association on February 18, at 7-8:30 p.m., in the Pasadena Presbyterian Church's Gamble Lounge, 585 E. Colorado Blvd., will host a "Strong Towns" presentation about the "financial health of our places." The presentation will explain why our cities and towns are so short of resources despite decades of robust growth; why we struggle at the local level just to maintain our basic infrastructure; what we should do now that the economy has changed so dramatically; and the financial realities facing America's cities, towns and neighborhoods. This stunning presentation is a game-changer for communities looking to grow more resilient and prosperous during changing times. RSVP at eventbrite.com

The Pasadena City Council will consider certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report and approval of the Non-Potable Water Project at a public hearing to be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, at City Hall, Council Chamber, 100 N. Garfield Ave., Room S249. The purpose of the project is to provide nine to 10 percent of Pasadena Water and Power's overall water needs from local, non-potable water sources. The proposed project involves the construction and operation of a new non-potable water distribution system to deliver water from three local water sources to customers within the service areas of PWP, Foothill Municipal Water District and their member agencies (including Lincoln Avenue Water Company, Valley Water Company, Las Flores Water Company, and Rubio Canyon Land and Water Association), and California American Water Company for landscape irrigation, cooling, and other non-potable uses.

Residents and businesses can safely dispose of electronic waste and have personal and business documents shredded at the City's e-waste event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 27, in Parking Lot I outside the Rose Bowl Stadium near Brookside Park, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd. The event is sponsored by the City's Department of Public Works. Shredding trucks and e-waste collection sites will be arranged at different stations in Parking Lot I. Look for signs directing you to the event. Motorists and bicyclists are advised to use caution while traveling through the area. E-waste items include desktop and laptop computers, keyboards, printers, monitors, docking stations, scanners, shredders, fax machines, computer mice, telephones, televisions of all types, VCRs, DVD players, PDAs, cassette players, tape drives, stereos and household batteries. For more information about the free e-waste collection and document shredding event, visit the Public Works' website or call (626) 744-7311.
 
For 10 nights and 11 days starting on May 20, Pasadenans will have an opportunity to tour Japan and visit Pasadena's Sister City, Mishima, for its annual flower festival. The tour cost, including roundtrip airfare, is $3,800, based on 20 travelers. In coordination with the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee, reservations will be accepted up to February 29 on a first-come first-serve basis. For more information, contact Bryan Takeda at (626) 396-9927 or by email affinity2000@earthlink.net.
Editor's top news picks
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"Departing City Manager Michael Beck was feted at City Hall by colleagues and friends Tuesday evening. He will be assuming a vice-chancellor position at UCLA." Pasadena Now

Local realtor's charitable foundation gives $85,000 to local charities
"The Pasadena-Foothills Association of Realtors Charitable Foundation kicked off 2016 with $85,500 in grants to 24 local charities." Pasadena Star-News (May require subscription)
 
"The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership has a new leader. On Wednesday, the organization's board of directors approved Jeff Allred, who currently serves as city manager for Rosemead, as the partnership's president and CEO. Allred replaces Cynthia Kurtz, who held the position for seven years before accepting a job as director of operations for the LA River Revitalization Corp. in January." Pasadena Star-News (May require subscription)
"In 1957, three years after the Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional, nine African-American students were enrolled in previously white-only Little Rock Central High School. One of those nine students was Dr. Terrence Roberts, now a management consultant and author who has lived in Pasadena for 30 years." Pasadena Weekly [written by our very own WPRA secretary, Justin Chapman]
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.