Saturday, November 23, 2019
Published on Saturdays since 2000
and HAPPY HOLIDAYS ... FOR US, TOO!

Your hard-working WPRA Neighborhood Update co-editors are taking a break during the holiday season. We'll resume publication on Saturday, January 4, 2020 . We wish you and yours a happy holiday season and a peaceful, rewarding new year.
To receive your own copy of this weekly email update just click on " Subscribe " ... or forward this email to friends so they can subscribe.
Click on the links at the bottom of this page to unsubscribe or to update your email address. Send comments and suggestions to update@wpra.net .

Dan Beal
Co-editor
Neighborhood Update - This weekly WPRA eNewsletter is emailed each Saturday morning to nearly 1,500 residents of Pasadena and beyond.

The News - The WPRA's quarterly magazine is mailed to nearly 8,000 homes in west Pasadena and beyond.
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Community meetings
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NOTE : The following meeting dates, times and agenda items are accurate as of Saturday morning. Click on the appropriate  blue  headline to ensure the meeting hasn't been cancelled or rescheduled.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25

4 p.m. 
Council Chambers, City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda: Amendments to the Capital Improvement Program; recognition and appropriation of Justice Assistance Grant Program Mental Health Training grant; quarterly financial update and investment report. 

6:30 p.m. 
Council Chambers, City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave.
On the agenda:  
  • Item 3: Authorization to extend contracts for parking operations for two additional years | Staff report
  • Item 4: Amendment to contract with Point C to conduct an SR-710 northern stub repurposing technical feasibility assessment | Staff report
  • Item 14: Public hearing: proposed zoning code amendments to the city’s cannabis regulations | Staff report
  • Item 15: Approval of key business terms of an affordable housing loan agreement with the Salvation Army not to exceed $1 million for development of a 66-unit permanent supportive housing project at 1000 E. Walnut St. | Staff report
  • Item 16: Ordinance second reading, interim urgency ordinance of the City of Pasadena temporarily prohibiting demolition and “major projects” affecting eligible, undesignated historic resources. | Staff report
  • Item 17: Ordinance second reading, adopting Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations – various building-related codes. | Staff report

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26



6:30 p.m. 
Council Chambers, City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave 
On the agenda:  Advisory review of Colorado Street Bridge suicide mitigation enhancement project; major changes to approved project, 33-45 W. Green St.; comments and reports from staff, commission and committees.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27


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

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28

Happy Thanksgiving!

Click for the latest Pasadena City Commission   Facts and Vacancies
Announcements / Events
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TRAFFIC/CROWD ALERT: The Great Los Angeles Walk
For the first time, the Great Los Angeles Walk will pass through Pasadena on Saturday, November 23. Starting at 9 a.m. in Arcadia County Park, the route traverses Pasadena on Colorado Blvd. on its way to Figueroa Street, Highland Park and downtown Los Angeles.

On  November 23 and 24 from 12-8 p.m., Amazon Prime Video will be taking over the Rose Bowl stadium for a free, immersive fan experience inspired by  The Aeronauts film.

The Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade will celebrate 42 years of irreverent frolicking on the streets of Pasadena with “shake, rattle and roll” as its theme on Sunday, November 24, stepping off at 11 a.m. at 2627 E. Colorado Blvd.

For 49 years, Union Station Homeless Services has hosted Dinner in the Park on Thanksgiving Day, November 28. This community event provides thousands of holiday meals and hope for all who attend, including homeless men, women, children, seniors, very low-income families, and those with no place to go during the holidays. Want to volunteer or donate? The annual event will be held in Central Park, 219 S. Fair Oaks, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On Thursday, November 28, the second annual Rose Bowl Turkey Trot comes to Pasadena for a timed 5K race on Thanksgiving morning at the Brookside Golf Course. Racers, walkers, and trotters will complete a 5K route and finish back at the grounds of the Rose Bowl. The event is for all ages; leashed dogs are welcome. The start line and registration table will be located at North Lot K (Corner of West Drive and Seco Street) Parking will be located in Lot K. Registration/check-in is at 8 a.m., and the race begins at 9 a.m.

Join Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek for a city holiday tradition: the Mayor’s annual tree-lighting celebration, 5-7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6, at City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave. Pasadena’s free celebration features local singers and dancers, crafts for kids, free, light refreshments and a special appearance by Santa. The Mayor lights the city’s official tree at 6 p.m.

On Saturday, December 7, celebrate the holidays during South Lake Avenue’s annual Holidayfest at The Shops on Lake Avenue, 345 S. Lake Ave. Presented by
the South Lake Business Association, you are invited to take advantage of in-store specials and promotions at over 40 S. Lake Ave. merchants. Additional festive activities include a themed scavenger hunt, live music, photos with Santa, holiday crafts for kids, carolers, cookie decorating, holiday character photo ops, raffles, giveaways and much more!  12 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Admission is free.

The city of Pasadena and Visit Pasadena have launched a campaign to encourage local shopping and dining in this holiday season. The 'Shop Pasadena' campaign puts a spotlight on the hundreds of independently-owned Pasadena businesses. 

On December 28-30 the Tournament of Roses will sponsor the second annual Sip&Savor event. Ticket holders can sample some of Southern California's favorite eateries, while sipping from craft breweries and regional wineries, and enjoying live entertainment.

In May 2019 Pasadena adopted an ordinance requiring the seismic retrofit of so-called “soft-story” buildings. These structures are wood-framed buildings with more than one story that typically have extensive ground-story windows, garage doors or open-air spaces (such as parking) with little or no solid walls. City staff estimates there are 493 wood soft-story buildings that require evaluation and possible retrofit. Letters will be sent to owners of these buildings before the end of 2019.

The Pasadena Public Works Department, and Parks and Natural Resources Division have declared open the fall 2019 - project request submission period for the 2020 Landscape Beautification Program. The program formalizes the process by which requests for landscape improvements in city parks and other city-maintained landscapes are received and processed by the city. Typically these projects include irrigation renovations, new plant material, and the use of mulch or decomposed granite. The public is welcomed to submit project suggestions by completing and
submitting the application form [click on headline above] no later than December 13.

The city of Pasadena's primary municipal election will be held on  March 3, 2020. The official nomination period closes at  5 p.m. on  Friday, Dec. 6. Nomination papers will be available in the Office of the City Clerk, 100 N. Garfield Ave., Room S228. Candidates may circulate nomination petitions for the Office of Mayor (elected citywide) for a full four-year term, or for members of City Council for Districts 1, 2, 4, and 6, each elected for a full four-year term.

Parsons announced the City of Pasadena as one of 10 cities to be identified as Smart Cities Challenge semifinalists during the CoMotion LA Conference. Selected from a competitive pool of international applicants, the City of Pasadena will now move into the next selection phase before a finalist is announced this spring. 
Editor's news picks
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“Previous concentrations of affordable housing could be a thing of the past, as demographics and new laws merge; inclusionary housing developments could spread low-income units throughout the City. Pasadena currently has 3,775 affordable housing units including Section 8, Special Needs, Family and Senior units.” – Pasadena Now

“According to a memo from the Department of Public Works, the concepts were reportedly selected based on popular support in public meetings. But Pasadena’s preservation commissioners expressed concerns with proposed changes to the bridge.” – Pasadena Now

“Caltech and the city of Pasadena are teaming up to create a citywide fiber optic earthquake detector capable of mapping how temblors are shaking the city at millimeter-scale resolution. The work will take advantage of two currently unused—or “dark”—strands of Pasadena’s fiber optic cable that stretch in a large loop around the city.” – Pasadena Now 

“The Police Department’s year-to-date report shows reported crimes in nearly every category the department tracks has fallen by 15% to 50%. The only increases, both in low single digits, occurred with assaults and residential burglaries. Three murders this year are half or less than 2017 and 2018 statistics.” – Pasadena Now

“Stopping an $850 million bond measure, the Pasadena School Board Thursday voted unanimously to table efforts to prepare Bond Measure GO for the March 2020 municipal ballot. The board will instead set its sights on the November 2020 ballot.” – Pasadena Now

”The Rose Bowl Operating Company (RBOC) has entered into a services agreement with urban planning firm Jerde to develop a plan that ties the disparate parts of the properties surrounding the stadium into a more cohesive entity.” – Pasadena Now

“An administrative law judge said he found the testimony of two Pasadena Fire Battalion Chiefs ‘inherently unbelievable’ regarding a petition circulated supporting Fire Chief Bertral Washington. The conflict began after Washington supported a decision to not allow Pasadena firefighters to wear black armbands honoring three firefighters who died fighting fires in 2017.” – Pasadena Now

WPRA's point of view
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The public is invited to attend the regular WPRA board meetings held at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month ( except for August and December ) in the Westridge School Community Room (unless otherwise noted), 324 Madeline Dr. Park in the State Street lot and walk north across campus to the Community Room.

Would you like to help the WPRA share important information with your neighbors? Send an email to update@wpra.net to volunteer to serve as a co-editor of WPRA's weekly Neighborhood Update email newsletter. It will only take a few hours a week (within your own schedule) in the month or two each year in which you'd serve.

WPRA seeks grant application writing expertise 
Do you have experience writing grant proposals? WPRA is exploring assisting city departments in applying for public and private grant funding. Please send email to president@wpra.net .
Your donations and membership allow us to continue our efforts to maintain the character and enhance the quality of life in our west Pasadena neighborhoods.
We can't do it without your support!

NOTICE: Due to a production error, the donation envelopes included in the recent edition of WPRA's quarterly newsletter, The News, may result in personal information being visible when mailed. WPRA regrets the error. You may send membership donations in a regular envelope to: WPRA, P.O.Box 50252, Pasadena CA 91105, or donate online HERE

Questions? Please email membership@wpra.net.
... to serve our community by joining neighbors who are equally dedicated. If you live within WPRA service area we'd welcome your help.

Got the local news bug? Just curious about your city (and would like to share news with over 1.500 of your closest friends)? Consider serving as a co-editor of the Neighborhood Update . It will only take a few hours a week (on your own schedule) in the one or two months a year in which you'd serve. We'll train you. 

We also have opportunities to serve on one of our many committees:
  • Land use and planning for those interested in land use and zoning
  • Education to improve public education in west Pasadena 
  • Open space & conservation focuses on parks, open space and our environment
  • Membership to help us build membership and serve our members

If you'd like to chat about ways we could help you become more involved or more effective (by working with us), send an email to WPRA President , indicating your interests.
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 below to visit that publication's events section (alphabetical order).


Monthly WPRA board meeting dates and locations are on the WPRA website. Click on the headline immediately above or visit our website and look under "Meetings and Events."
To learn more visit wpra.net
Information to be considered for the Neighborhood Update should be submitted 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 this publication, on our website and in The News , our quarterly newsletter. To explore Mr. Stoddard's work, visit josephstoddard.com .