Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 22, 2011

4

Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 22, 2011 


Richard 
Jackson 
Elected 
Tournament 
of Roses 
President


Employees 
at JPL Lose 
Court Ruling

Mayor Gives State of the City

By Dean Lee

 The next fiscal year is expected to be the third 
successive year Pasadena’s budget will see 
significant reductions Mayor Bill Bogaard told a 
crowd of hundreds during his annual State of the 
City address Thursday. 

 “Major revenue sources have fallen dramatically 
over the past few years, most significantly in 
the General Fund – the largest operating fund 
for providing basic city services,” he explained. 
“Sales tax revenues alone have decreased more 
than $7 million since 2008. The current General 
Fund budget, approximately $217 million, is 
at the same level as in 2007.” He added that the 
city council had no choice but to explore ways to 
reduce expenses even further including employee 
layoffs. 

 ArcLight Cinemas was chosen as the location of 
this year’s address.

 Bogaard acknowledged that the city’s budget 
shortfall was not unique to Pasadena saying that 
California faces a projected $25.4 billion shortfall 
over the next 18 months. He said Governor 
Jerry Brown’s budget proposal will have further 
negative impact to Pasadena.

 Bogaard said, as a vice president of the League 
of California Cities, he would be involved in the 
negotiations at the state level. At the city level he 
said they also need to take a hard look at current 
employee compensation and benefit practices 
including pension programs. An assessment from 
CALPERS of pensions imposes an increase of 
$13.2 million over the next three years he said. 

 Using this year’s theme, “Leading the Way,” 
Bogaard shared some immediate examples 
including a ribbon-cutting ceremony that took 
place Friday at the new Teen Education Center at 
La Pintoresca Park and the upcoming celebration 
Jan. 29 to inaugurate a new soccer field at Villa 
Parke.

 Last week, work began on the renovation and 
expansion of the Rose Bowl an icon to the city. 

 “This work is scheduled for completion in time 
for the 100th Rose Bowl Game in 2014, with the 
final game of the Bowl Championship Series one 
week later,” he said. “Plans for the project as well 
as the financing were completed last year.”

 He also made the announcement that new 
President of the Tournament of Roses, Rick 
Jackson, took office Thursday. The123rd Rose 
Parade theme “Just Imagine” was also announced.

 He had good news for the school district saying 
the PUSD Academic Performance Index has 
risen 52 points since 2007, and more students 
are scoring at a proficient or advanced level in 
English, language arts, and math – especially in 
the middle schools and high schools. 

 Bogaard wrapped the hour long speech noting 
the March 8 elections, with the mayor’s seat, four 
City Council seats and three board of education 
seats on the ballot. He also said this year marks 
the 125th anniversary of Pasadena’s incorporation 
as a city. 

 A full copy of the speech can be found at www.
cityofpasadena.net under latest news.

By Dean Lee

 The Supreme Court ruled 
Wednesday that NASA 
can subject government 
contractors to background 
checks ending a long running 
lawsuit that started with a 
decision in October 2007 to 
require mandatory rebadging 
for all JPL employees. At the 
time NASA said those who did 
not comply would be fired.

 Justice Samuel Alito wrote 
in the court’s official ruling, 
“Reasonable investigations of 
applicants and employees aid 
the government in ensuring 
the security of its facilities and 
in employing a competent, 
reliable workforce.”

 He also said, “The questions 
respondents challenge are 
part of a standard background 
check of the sort used by 
millions of private employers. 
The Government has been 
conducting employment 
investigations since the 
Republic’s earliest days, 
and the President has had 
statutory authority to assess an 
applicant’s fitness for the civil 
service since 1871.”

 The ruling was 8-0 with 
Justice Elena Kagan removing 
herself citing a previous case 
she considered as President 
Obama’s solicitor general. 

 Known as the JPL 28, the 
group of senior scientists and 
engineers filed a lawsuit against 
NASA claiming a violation of 
constitutional rights since the 
implementation HSPD-12. 

 The policy, set froth by then 
President George W. Bush, 
Common Identification 
Standard for Federal 
Employees and Contractors 
was implemented as part of 
post 9/11 programs. 

 The JPL 28 were granted an 
injunction the U.S. Court of 
Appeals for the 9th Circuit. At 
the time the court said some 
open ended questions, such as 
drug use, went too far. 

 In Wednesday’s ruling, the 
Supreme Court found the 
questions were reasonable 
saying there were safeguards 
in place to make sure the 
information would not be 
public.

 The court rejected the 
argument that questions were 
unconstitutional.

 “The ‘treatment or counseling’ 
question is a follow up question 
to a reasonable inquiry about 
illegal-drug use,” Alito wrote. 
“In context, the drug-treatment 
inquiry is also a reasonable, 
employment-related inquiry. 
The Government, recognizing 
that illegal-drug use is both a 
criminal and medical issue, 
seeks to separate out those 
drug users who are taking 
steps to address and overcome 
their problems.”

 When asked, organizers of 
the JPL 28 said it was now a 
personal decision to decide if 
they stay or leave JPL.

 
In a ceremony Wednesday, 
the Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses Association’s Board of 
Directors confirmed Richard 
Jackson as President for the 
2011-2012 Tournament 
year. Jackson will provide 
leadership for the 123rdRose 
Parade presented by Honda 
and the 98thRose Bowl 
Game® presented by VIZIO 
on Monday, January 2, 2012.

 President Jackson revealed 
Just Imagine… as the 
theme for the 123rdRose 
Parade. “While this theme 
can represent the world 
of a child’s imagination, it 
can also be expressed as a 
reflection of the achievable 
hopes and dreams of 
adults, the remarkable 
accomplishments and

innovations of business 
and the world vision of 
an optimistic future,” said 
Jackson. “It should celebrate 
a new year of opportunity, 
underscore the brilliant 
imaginings of our past, and 
inspire us to reach higher, 
try harder, and believe in our 
dreams.”

 Jackson has been a 
volunteer member of the 
Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses Association since 
1975 and was elected to 
the Executive Committee 
in 2004. Throughout his 
extensive Tournament 
career, Jackson has chaired 
and served on various 
committees including 
Parade Operations, FanFest, 
Float Entries, Music and Post 
Parade.

In addition to Jackson’s 
many years of service with 
the Tournament of Roses, he 
has been and still is involved 
with numerous community 
organizations. Jackson 
served as president of the 
Pasadena Optimist Club in 
2003 and the Swedish Club 
of Los Angeles in 1986. He 
has also served on the board 
of directors of the Pasadena 
Jaycees and 

 Treasure Little Children 
Foundation. Professionally, 
Jackson is a CPA in 
Pasadena and is a member 
of The American Institute of 
Certified Public Accountants 
as well as the California 
Society of Certified Public 
Accountants.

 Born in Detroit, Mich., 
Jackson earned his B.S. in 
Business Administration 
from Oregon State 
University. He currently 
resides in Altadena with 
his wife Sharon. They have 
four children and four 
grandchildren. Jackson’s 
interests and hobbies 
include sailing, Napoleonic 
wargaming, reading and 
traveling.

 This year, the Rose Parade 
and Rose Bowl Game will 
take place on Monday, 
January 2 according to the 
Tournament of Roses’ “Never 
on a Sunday” policy. In 1893, 
officials decided it would be 
best to avoid interfering with 
Sunday worship services 
and decided to move events 
to January 2nd whenever 
January 1 fell on a Sunday.

City Hires New Planning Director

 


 City Manager Michael J. Beck 
announces that Vince Bertoni 
has been appointed as the 
new director of the Pasadena 
Planning Department effective 
Feb. 28. 

 Over the past two years Bertoni 
has overseen and managed the 
planning operations of the Los 
Angeles Department of City 
Planning, including community 
planning, historic resources, 
urban design, environmental 
review, zoning, code studies, 
expedited processing and public 
counters. 

 During his tenure in 
Los Angeles , 16 historic 
preservation overlay zones were 
adopted, new guidelines for the 
Broadway Historic District were 
instituted, innovative downtown 
street standards were enacted, a 
bicycle master plan was drafted 
and a new community plan for 
Hollywood was created. He 
streamlined operations in the 
department due to budgetary 
cutbacks and re-engineered the 
internal culture.

 “Vince Bertoni has a strong 
background in development 
and a reputation as an excellent 
manager who is sensitive to 
community issues,” said Beck.

 Bertoni served as director of 
community development in 
Beverly Hills from 2007 to 2008, 
interim director of planning 
and building services in Santa 
Clarita from 2003 to 2004 and 
interim planning director in 
Malibu from 1996 to 1997. His 
career has also included work as 
a city planner and principal of a 
planning consulting firm.

 He is co-chair of the 2012 
American Planning Association 
national conference and a 
member of the California 
Planning Roundtable.

 Bertoni earned a Bachelor of 
Arts degree in transportation 
and urban geography from San 
Diego State University in 1988. 

 He and his partner, architect 
and landscape architect Damon 
Hein, are long-time residents 
of the historic Windsor Square 
District of Los Angeles, which 
Bertoni helped establish.

 The Pasadena Planning 
Department has a $13 million 
budget and 73 employees. It 
includes community planning 
services, design and historic 
preservation, zoning, arts and 
cultural affairs, and green city 
programs.

Citizen Journalism Meet-up

 

 

 

 
The Pasadena Community 
Network and this newspaper 
are holding a workshop on 
Citizen Journalism. 

 This group is the place where 
aspiring journalists can learn 
from trained professionals 
and support their local 
community by covering 
what’s really happening in 
their neighborhoods.

 We will put the news in your 
hands. Learn how to find 
the story, the tools needed 
to capture the story and the 
means to tell the story using 
the power of video, audio and 
print along with online social 
media The next meeting is 
Jan. 25 from 6 p.m. to 8p.m. 
at the Pasadena Community 
Network - Studio G, 2057 N. 
Los Robles Ave.

 For more info call 
626.794.8585 or visit 
pasadenan.com.

 
Learn not just how 
to blog but how to 
report the news

Locking Recycling Bins Ward Off Offenders

 


Hands off, scavengers! 
Pasadena residents can now 
order locking bins to keep 
others out of their items to 
be recycled. Call 744-4087 to 
exchange your recycling bin 
for a new one at an additional 
charge of only $1.34 per 
month.

 By selling recyclables 
collected through our 
curbside recycling 
program, we offset the cost 
of the pickups, support 
environmental education, 
keep other Public Works 
Department programs 
going strong and support 
Pasadena’s goal of creating 
zero waste by 2040.

 By using locking bins, 
residents can ward off 
illegal scavengers, cut down 
on the number of stolen 
shopping carts, prevent 
potential identity theft 
and help safeguard our 
neighborhoods.

 Each locking container 
comes with a key that gives 
you easy access. City trucks 
can disengage the lock to 
empty the contents during 
pick-ups. A limited number 
of locking bins are available 
on a first-come, first-served 
basis and more will be 
ordered to meet demand. For 
more information call 744-
4087.

NASA Spacecraft Prepares 
For Comet Rendezvous

Chamber 
to Hold 
Candidate’s 
Forum

Pet of the 
Week

 NASA’s Stardust-NExT 
spacecraft is nearing a 
celestial date with comet 
Tempel 1 at approximately 
8:37 p.m. PST (11:37 p.m. 
EST), on Feb. 14. The 
mission will allow scientists 
for the first time to look for 
changes on a comet’s surface 
that occurred following an 
orbit around the sun.

 The Stardust-NExT, or 
New Exploration of Tempel, 
spacecraft will take high-
resolution images during 
the encounter, and attempt 
to measure the composition, 
distribution, and flux of dust 
emitted into the coma, or 
material surrounding the 
comet’s nucleus. Data from 
the mission will provide 
important new information 
on how Jupiter-family 
comets evolved and formed.

 The mission will expand the 
investigation of the comet 
initiated by NASA’s Deep 
Impact mission. In July 2005, 
the Deep Impact spacecraft 
delivered an impactor to the 
surface of Tempel 1 to study 
its composition. The Stardust 
spacecraft may capture an 
image of the crater created by 
the impactor. This would be 
an added bonus to the huge 
amount of data that mission 
scientists expect to obtain.

 At approximately 336 
million kilometers (209 
million miles) away from 
Earth, Stardust-NExT will 
be almost on the exact 
opposite side of the solar 
system at the time of the 
encounter. During the flyby, 
the spacecraft will take 72 
images and store them in an 
onboard computer.

 “You could say our spacecraft 
is a seasoned veteran of 
cometary campaigns,” said 
Tim

Larson, project manager for 
Stardust-NExT at NASA’s Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory in

Pasadena, Calif. “It’s been 
half-way to Jupiter, executed 
picture-perfect flybys of an

asteroid and a comet, 
collected cometary material 
for return to Earth, then 
headed back

out into the void again, 
where we asked it to go head-
to-head with a second comet

nucleus.”

 As of today, the spacecraft 
is approximately 24.6 
million kilometers (15.3 
million miles) away from 
its encounter. Since 2007, 
Stardust-NExT executed 
eight flight path correction 
maneuvers, logged four 
circuits around the sun and 
used one Earth gravity assist 
to meet up with Tempel 1. 

 
The Pasadena Chamber 
of Commerce will host 
a candidate’s forum 
Wednesday 6:30 p.m. at the 
Pasadena Senior Center. 

 The event will be in a forum 
format with candidates for 
city council from District 
1, District 4 and District 
6 participating. Each 
candidate will be able to give 
a brief opening statement. 
Each will then answer a 
series for questions posed by 
the Chamber of Commerce. 
Audience members will 
have the opportunity to 
submit questions, as well. 

 Each candidate will be 
asked to answer each 
question. Chair of the 
Board of the Pasadena 
Chamber of Commerce 
Dr. Dennis Buckley will 
moderate the evening’s 
discussion. All active 
candidates for Pasadena 
City Council in contested 
races are expected to take 
part in the informational 
event. The event is free. The 
Pasadena Senior Center is 
at 85 E. Holly St. For more 
information call: 626-795-
3355 

City Looks For Input on New 
Director of Human Services

 

 The city will hold meetings 
next week to provide input 
on the search for the city’s 
next director of human 
services and recreation.

 Staff explained there are two 
opportunities: Tuesday, Jan. 
25, at 6:30 p.m. at Villa-Parke 
Community Center , 363 E. 
Villa St . ; and Thursday, Jan. 
27, at 6:30 p.m. at Victory 
Park Center , 2575 Paloma 
St .

 City Manager Michael 
Beck, who will make the final 
selection, said he encourages 
residents to participate by 
voicing their opinions on 
the ideal qualities the next 
director of human services 
and recreation should 
possess and the issues the 
director should be prepared 
to undertake. 

 “The job has been posted and 
the final day for applications 
is Jan. 31,” said Beck. “I want 
to provide an opportunity 
for the community at large to 
provide input because I value 
their opinions.”

 The new director will 
have an opportunity to 
present a fresh assessment 
of the department’s business 
practices, systems and 
customer orientation.

 After semi-finalist 
candidates have been 
identified, Beck will appoint 
a community committee 
to assist him in selecting 
three to four finalists. He 
anticipates appointing a new 
department director by the 
end of the year.

 Patsy Lane , the current 
department director, will 
retire by early March after 
19 years with the city of 
Pasadena , 26 total years of 
public service and a 36-year 
career. 

 For more information 
call the Pasadena Human 
Resources Department at 
(626) 744-4366.

 Chuck, a handsome, four 
year old, black and white cat 
is looking for a new home. 
He is calm, friendly and loves 
to lounge around. Chuck also 
gets along with other cats. He 
has already been neutered 
and would love to be adopted 
today!

 The regular cat adoption fee 
is $70 which includes the spay 
or neuter surgery, microchip, 
vaccinations, and a free 
follow-up health check at a 
participating vet.

 Please call 626-792-7151 
and ask about A282057 
or come to the Pasadena 
Humane Society & SPCA, 361 
S. Raymond Ave , Pasadena 
CA , 91105 . Our adoption 
hours are 11-3 Sunday, 
9-5 Tuesday, Wednesday, 
Thursday, and Friday, and 
9-4 Saturday. Directions and 
photos of all pets updated 
hourly may be found at www.
pasadenahumane.org

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No.327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com