WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 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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Justin Chapman 
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, MARCH 14

6:30 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers
100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: 
  • Contract award to Crosstown Electrical & Data, Inc., for installation of dynamic message signs and gateway signs at various locations, for an amount not-to-exceed $852,000
  • Authorization to execute an addendum to the city/school joint use agreement for the use of Madison School as a neighborhood park
  • Proposed modification to Pasadena municipal code to provide exemption from the overnight parking prohibition for businesses
  • Recommended final projects for completion of the Underground Utility Program
  • License agreement with Relevant Sports for an international soccer match to be held on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 at the Rose Bowl
  • Second Reading of an ordinance to require the payment of a city-wide minimum wage
6:30 p.m.
Jackie Robinson Center
1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
On the agenda: Not available.

TUESDAY, MARCH 15

6 p.m.
Hale Building, Hearing Room
175 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Not available.
"Quote" of the week
"As a direct report to the City Council, the City Clerk's Office has immediate accountability to the City Council and Pasadena residents. Should these duties shift to the county level, Pasadena would then become just one of 88 'clients' of the county for election administration services." - Mark Jomsky, Pasadena City Clerk, on a new state law that would allow LA County to run local elections

WPRA in motion
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The West Pasadena Residents' Association board of directors meets at 6:30 p.m. every first Wednesday of the month in the Community Room at Westridge School, 324 Madeline Dr. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Neighborhoods in motion
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TRAFFIC & CROWD ALERT
Pasadena Triathlon at Brookside Park and the Rose Bowl Loop
Today, Saturday, March 12, 8 a.m.
Event Hours:
7 a.m. Parking Lots I, J west & J east open; No charge
(Parking is open to both event attendees and recreational users)
7 - 8 a.m. Registration open
7:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Street closures in effect
8 a.m. - 12 p.m. Amplified sound
8 a.m. Triathlon begins
12 p.m. Event ends
Est. Attendance: 1,200
This event will involve street closures in the recreational loop including the Arroyo Blvd. east and west extensions north of Seco St.; On West Dr. between Seco St. and Washington Blvd.; On Salvia Canyon at West Dr. Seco St. will remain open at all times. Street closures will start at 7:30 a.m. and end by 10:45 a.m. to all vehicles and bikes. However, the recreational loop will remain open at all times to patrons for recreational activity. The Equestrian Loop will remain open at all times. For any resident questions or concerns, please contact the Human Services and Recreation Department Day Resident Hotline at (626) 744-5041.

LGO Hospitality partners with Five Acres to create a coloring book for adults and kids
The Luggage Room Pizzeria will host a "meet the artist" event today, Saturday, March 12, from 12 to 5 p.m. to celebrate the release of a new coloring book. Rachel Fuller, a local artist and Luggage Room employee, created the unique and fun coloring book for adults and kids of all ages. Two dollars from the sale of each book is going back to local Pasadena charity Five Acres. Coloring books are now on sale at both restaurants. Fifteen percent of food sales at today's event will go back to Five Acres and the artist will be on hand to sign books.

Dr. Leslie Tamppari, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter deputy project scientist, will speak about what JPL has learned about Mars during the last 10 years of the project. Entitled "In the Blink of the Eye: What 10 Years at Mars Can Tell Us About the Planet," the free lecture will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, at the von Kármán Auditorium at JPL, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., and at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 25, at the Vosloh Forum at Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd.

The 15-day no watering period for the city of Pasadena ended on March 10. The city thanks the Pasadena community for their added conservation during the shutdown period. Starting March 10, the city resumed its Level 2 Water Shortage Plan outdoor watering schedule, which restricts outdoor watering to one day per week on Saturdays only from November 1 to March 31, and two days per week on Tuesdays and Saturdays from April 1 to October 31.

Editor's top news picks
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"The company expects to break ground on the new school, which will be built on land Kaiser already owns, in 2017 and to welcome its first class of students in fall 2019. The campus will be located in central Pasadena, adjacent to the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research and Evaluation at the corner of Los Robles Ave. and Green St." Pasadena Star-News

"Less than one day after commuters rejoiced in the long-anticipated opening of the expanded Gold Line light-rail route connecting Pasadena to Azusa, a fiery big rig crash early Sunday brought the trains to a halt between the Allen and Sierra Madre Villa stations in Pasadena and the newly-operational Arcadia station." Pasadena Star-News

"'Hire someone local,' was the message from a small but vocal group of citizens at the first of two community meetings to discuss Pasadena's hiring of a new city manager to replace Michael Beck, who left at the end of January to take a new position at UCLA." Pasadena Now

"More than a year after the discovery of a $6.4 million alleged embezzlement scandal, Pasadena still relies on temporary workers in its finance department. The city fired its finance director and other employees resigned or retired in the scandal's aftermath. Since then, city officials struggled to find replacements for key positions." Pasadena Star-News

"The Pasadena City Council on Monday directed the city attorney to get an opinion from the state attorney general on a new law that could impact local elections and lengthen the time between the city's primary and general elections." Pasadena Weekly

"As cities across Southern California grapple with how to best preserve historic structures and refine outdated development standards, the debate over 'mansionization' continues to take center stage. But what exactly is 'mansionization?' The term 'mansionization' refers to the practice of demolishing older, smaller homes and replacing them with larger ones that often dwarf nearby dwellings." Pasadena Star-News

"Tickets are now on sale (and will probably sell out fast) for the L.A. Vegan Beer and Food Festival on June 18, which returns to Pasadena's Rose Bowl for the seventh year. The Festival will again feature a long lineup of local breweries, musical acts booked by GoldenVoice, and vegan-friendly restaurants." Pasadena Now

"The checks and balances in Pasadena's finance department did little to stop an employee from requesting fraudulent payments for services never rendered, according to court testimony Thursday." Pasadena Star-News

"A battle between Huntington Memorial Hospital and the California Nurses Association will go before a judge this summer. The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against the hospital last week after finding merit to nurses' allegations that administrators tried to stymie their efforts to unionize. The matter boiled over last year when the hospital fired two nurses prominent in the movement." Pasadena Star-News

"The Pasadena City Council tonight unanimously approved the first reading of the City's new minimum wage ordinance after making changes that beef up enforcement powers. This moves the ordinance ever closer to being officially enacted on July 1, 2016, the beginning of the City's new fiscal year." Pasadena Now

"The Friends of the Pasadena Public Library invite you to its 3rd Annual 'Beer, Brats and Books,' to be held on May 7 at 7 p.m. in the main hall of Central Library located at 285 E. Walnut St. Funds generated by this event will benefit "Born to Read Pasadena," sponsored by the Pasadena Public Library. By providing first time mothers with books for infants and resources on parenting, Born to Read Pasadena aims to develop an early interest in reading." Pasadena Now

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.