WPRA
West Pasadena Residents' Association 
Neighborhood Update
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016
Published weekly since 2000

The Rose Bowl Stadium will host its 90th annual AmericaFest on Monday, July 4, 2- 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $13 - General (age 5 and under free), $25 - Reserved (age 2 and under free)

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).
COMMUNITY MEETINGS
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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, JULY 4

City Council - Cancelled

Festival of Balloons parade: "Cities against the 710 toll tunnel"
10 a.m.
Want to celebrate the Fourth and show your opposition to the proposed SR-710 freeway tunnel option? Join the "Cities against the 710 toll tunnel" segment of the South Pasadena July Fourth Festival of Balloons parade. Meet fellow marchers at the corner of Hope Street and Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena. Wear your "No 710" t-shirt, buy one for $8 before the parade or wear your own red shirt. Marchers will be given banners, signs, balloons and, for the musically inclined, kazoos. The parade distance is less than a mile. For more information, send an email to No71Ostore@gmail.com or call (626) 354-4340.

TUESDAY, JULY 5

 
6:30 p.m.
Jackie Robinson Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
Agenda: Community perceptions of policing in Pasadena (Dr. Graziano, CSULA), review and approval of revised 2015 fiscal-year accomplishments, and review and approval of commission work plan for fiscal-year 2016-2017
 
 
7 p.m.
Suite 101, 150 S. Los Robles Ave.
Agenda: Authorization to implement employee healthcare plans, benefits and/or contributions, election of fiscal-year 2016-2017 board officers

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6
 
6 p.m.
Hearing Room #120, Hale Building, 175 N. Garfield Ave.

THURSDAY, JULY 7

4 p.m.
Hale Building, 175 N. Garfield Ave., Permit Hearing room
 
6:30 p.m.
Brookside Clubhouse, 1133 Rosemont Ave.
Agenda: Not available
Verbatim
"These meetings are not fun, and there are very few citizens involved because they are not fascinating. There are very few things that we get to control directly, and this is one of them. So we've taken this process very seriously. I think this is a good budget; (though) I know it's a little scary in terms of what the future holds in store." 
Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek speaking about the City's 2016-2017 fiscal year budget
WPRA'S POINT OF VIEW
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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. The next meeting will be on July 6.

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
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UPCOMING MAJOR ROSE BOWL STADIUM EVENTS

The Drum Corps International tour will return to the Rose Bowl Stadium and feature 12 competing corps inside the stadium.
Estimated attendance: 7,500
Event hours:
3:30 p.m.: Sound rehearsals 
4:30 p.m.: Gates open
5:30 p.m.: Event begins
10 p.m.: Event and amplified sound concludes
1 p.m.: Street closures begin for Arroyo Boulevard, East and West Extension, the road that leads into the stadium. Recreation users will be allowed to recreate on the Rose Bowl Loop. Vehicle access into the Arroyo will remain open at all times.

To receive assistance before, during or after the event, please contact the Rose Bowl Event Day Hotline: (626) 397-4141.

Event Hours:
9 a.m.: Parking lots open
2 p.m.: Family Fun Zone opens in Area H
6 p.m.: Gates open
9 p.m.: Fireworks show starts
Estimated attendance: 25,000 inside & 50,000 outside the stadium
Sound check: Brief sound check rehearsals will occur sporadically throughout the day on Sunday, July 3rd.
Noise levels and sound during the event: This event will bring considerable traffic, and pyrotechnics (fireworks) that can be seen and heard from outside the Rose Bowl Stadium. It will last 45 minutes.
Lighting hours: Stadium lights will be on through much of the night from July 1 through the Fourth for safety and security.
Street closures: Recreational activity will be closed nine hours prior to the event, beginning at 10 a.m. The Equestrian Loop will remain open at all times. The Rose Bowl Operating Company will be providing neighborhood street security adjacent to the Rose Bowl Stadium to address any event day concerns. 

To receive assistance before, during or after the event, please contact the Rose Bowl Event Day Hotline: (626) 397-4141.

Wednesday, July 27 at 8:30 p.m. - International Soccer (Chelsea vs. Liverpool)
 
City Hall and most City business offices are closed on Monday, July 4, in observance of our nation's birthday. Normal schedules and office hours resume on Tuesday, July 5.

All fireworks are illegal to sell, use or possess in Pasadena. The City's police and firefighters are teaming up for special enforcement patrols. 

Pasadena Heritage hopes we'll all come out this year on Saturday, July 16 to celebrate the historic Colorado Street Bridge and help raise money for Pasadena Heritage. Advance tickets are available through July 15: Non-member - $18, member - $16; Children 7-12 non-member - $9, member - $8, Children under 7 - free. If you have any questions or need help with the online process call Pasadena Heritage at (626) 441-6333 or at our office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

LA County Public Works will host a series of informational meetings designed to provide details on the Devil's Gate Reservoir sediment removal activities, which the Audubon Society and the Arroyo Seco Foundation oppose and have filed suit to stop. The public information meetings are:

Wednesday, July 13, 2016
6:30 p.m.
Jackson Elementary School, auditorium, 593 W. Woodbury Rd., Altadena
 
Thursday, July 14, 2016
6:30 p.m.
Visitors' Locker Room, Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Dr.
 
Saturday, July 16, 2016
2 p.m.
Main Room, Community Center of La Caņada Flintridge, 4469 Chevy Chase Dr., La Caņada Flintridge

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
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"Just minutes before the AmericaFest fireworks show lights up the skies over the Rose Bowl this Fourth of July - and over 365 million miles away from Pasadena - JPL's Juno spacecraft will pull into orbit around Jupiter. Back on earth in the Arroyo Seco, giant screens will display a live feed from the mission control room so AmericaFest-goers can witness the long-awaited arrival of a mission managed right here in Pasadena since 2011. Pasadena Now

"The Pasadena City Council Monday evening unanimously passed what Mayor Terry Tornek described as a 'hair's breadth, breakeven budget' for the new fiscal year ending in 2017." Pasadena Now

"The process of selecting of a new City Manager for Pasadena slowed this week with the cancellation of a Tuesday evening special meeting to conduct final interviews, due to scheduling conflicts." Pasadena Now

"Pasadena plans to immobilize cars with five or more parking tickets in an effort to collect roughly $3 million in unpaid citations. 'Booting' will replace towing in most circumstances, as officials say it's less expensive and more convenient for residents. The city hasn't finalized the exact method, but typically a metal clamp, or boot, is placed on a vehicle's wheel to keep it from moving." Pasadena Star-News

"Pasadena's new minimum wage ordinance - passed last March a mere 21 days before California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a State version - goes into effect today throughout the City of Pasadena." 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.