WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 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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Send comments to update@wpra.net 

Happy Father's Day!

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).
COMMUNITY MEETINGS
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<
NOTE: The following meeting dates, times and agenda items are accurate as of Friday evening. Click on the appropriate blue headline to ensure the meeting hasn't been cancelled or rescheduled.

MONDAY, JUNE 20

3 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers, 100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Continued public hearing on FY2017 Operating Budget.


6:30 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers, 100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Caltrans lease extension for property at 721 Pasadena Ave.; Consideration of placing a measure on the November 8, 2016 general election ballot to repeal Measure A and uncodified ordinance no. 5861, adopted by a vote of the people in 2001, thereby rescinding the policy requiring the city of Pasadena to support the completion of the 710 freeway.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22

6:30 p.m.
City Hall, Council Chambers, 100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Not available.

THURSDAY, JUNE 23

4 p.m.
Department of Transportation, 221 E. Walnust St., Suite 210
On the agenda: Not available.
VERBATIM
"This is a democracy. People need to be heard. A lot of the people who voted [for Measure A] in 2001 don't live here anymore. African Americans were displaced by the 210, and I am not going to change the quality of life in my district with trucks passing through there for years. The community was promised sound walls, but they never got built. If I don't allow the people the vote, we have effectively changed the quality of life in my community. Let the people vote."
- Tyron Hampton, District 1 Pasadena City Councilmember
WPRA'S POINT OF VIEW
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<

The public is invited to attend the regular WPRA board meetings, held the first Wednesday of the month (except August and December) in the Westridge School Community Room (unless otherwise noted), 324 Madeline Dr.

WPRA seeks email newsletter editors
Do you have writing and editing skills and want to help inform your community? Contact Chuck Hudson at hudson@wpra.net to learn how to become a co-editor of WPRA's weekly Neighborhood Update email newsletter.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION<
 

TRAFFIC AND CROWD ALERT:
Los Angeles Vegan Beer and Food Festival
Today, Saturday, June 18

11 a.m. VIP Entry to Stadium
1 p.m. General dmissionA Entry to the Stadium
7 p.m. Event Concludes

Event Location: This event will occur on the Rose Bowl Stadium North Concourse and the Brookside Golf Course.

Est. Attendance: 8,000 

Parking: $10. Lots F and K will be utilized. In Lot I we will protect spaces for Kidspace and Aquatics Center.  

Sound: There will be amplified sound, however, noise levels are not expected to be significant.  

Road Closures: East and West Extensions (Streets leading up to Gate A) 

Recreation users will be allowed to recreate on the Rose Bowl Loop. 

If any issues arise, please contact the Resident Hotline at (626) 397-4141. Please report any issues or concerns you may have as soon as possible, especially during the event. It can be addressed immediately.

UPCOMING ROSE BOWL DISPLACEMENT EVENTS:

Monday, July 4 (Time TBD) - 4th of July AmericaFest

Wednesday, July 27 at 8:30 p.m. - International Soccer (Chelsea vs. Liverpool)

Saturday and Sunday, August 20-21 (time TBD) - Coldplay Concert

For assistance before, during or after events, please contact the Rose Bowl Event Day Resident Hotline: (626) 397-4141

 
Learn more about the City's budget for Fiscal Year 2017 during special joint meeting meetings in June convened by the City Council and its Finance Committee. The meetings are held at City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave., Second Floor, in the Council Chambers.
 
The Pasadena Fire Department's brush clearance inspections have begun and will continue through June 2016. Residents in brushy areas should receive a brochure outlining the requirements mandated by the State of California. Firefighters are available to answer any questions about City fire codes and ordinances regarding hazardous vegetation management and brush clearance. Given the current drought, compliance is essential to avoid devastating fires. For more information, contact the Fire Prevention Bureau at (626) 744-4668.

The city's Spring/Summer watering schedule runs through October 31. This schedule permits outdoor watering between midnight to 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. to midnight on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
THE EDITOR'S TOP NEWS PICKS
>CLICK ON HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION

"Joining the battle against the 710 Freeway tunnel extension, the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education last night voted to direct Lawrence Torres, its representative to the 5-Star Education Coalition an amalgam of local school districts - to vote in favor of a Coalition resolution formally opposing the plan to build a 4.5 mile tunnel from Alhambra to Pasadena." Pasadena Now

"Following nearly two hours of discussion, the Pasadena City Council Monday agreed to consider in closed session Mayor Terry Tornek's recommendation to hold a special election in November to repeal Measure A, the 2001 measure which placed Pasadena firmly in favor of completing the 710 Freeway extension." Pasadena Now

"The process to hire a new Pasadena City Manager is accelerating with first-round interviews of candidates this week and final selection in about three weeks, Mayor Terry Tornek said Monday." Pasadena Now

"Following years of research, controversy and discussion, the Pasadena City Council Monday unanimously approved the purchase of 320 body worn cameras for the Pasadena Police Department. The total cost of the cameras would be $1,532, 238, over five years, with each camera costing approximately $4,353 each." Pasadena Now

"City officials said late last week that Pasadena residents should be prepared for rolling electrical blackouts throughout the summer and even beyond resulting from the shutdown of Southern California Gas Company's Aliso Canyon facility due to a massive leak." Pasadena Now

"While the 'scope problems were troubling, the San Gabriel Valley can still trust its major hospital." Pasadena Star-News

"The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area would more than double in size by adding a vast area of land known as the Rim of the Valley if Congress approves a bill introduced Tuesday." KPCC

"Southern California's top water wholesaler said Wednesday it has enough supply to cover the needs of the 19 million people it serves - even if the state endures three more years of drought." KPCC

"The Rose Bowl game is so closely associated with the Tournament of Roses it's hard to imagine that chariot racing - not postseason college football - was once a highlight of the annual New Year's Day event in those carefree days of the turn of the last century." Pasadena Weekly

"Busch Gardens was a pre-Disneyland theme park located on the property of Adolphus Busch, a St. Louis-based brewer who generated his immense fortune from the sales of Budweiser beer." Pasadena Weekly

"Scientists there have calculated the dollar value of urban trees in cities around the U.S., measuring and monetizing the benefits trees provide by sequestering carbon, improving air quality, providing shade, reducing noise, and absorbing rainfall." The Atlantic City Lab
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 ... 

... 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.