Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, October 29, 2016

4

SOUTH PASADENA - SAN MARINO

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 29, 2016 

San Marino Harvesting 
Rain Barrel Giveaway

South Pasadena Library 
Hours Change Monday

Voter Guides at the South 
Pasadena Public Library

 
Free copies of the Easy Voter 
Guide are now available at the 
South Pasadena Public Library. 
This non-partisan handbook 
provides information about 
the November 8th California 
General Election, including 
an explanation of the U.S. 
Presidential election process, 
the electoral vote system, and 
how it is used to determine the 
winner of the election. The 
Guide outlines the different 
U.S. Senate, Representative, 
and Assembly offices, the term 
limits of the offices, and the 
constituencies each represent.

The Easy Voter Guide also 
provides detailed information 
about each of the 17 
Propositions on the California 
ballot this election, the fiscal 
and legislative measures they 
cover, and the possible effect of 
passage and implementation of 
each of these measures. 

 The Guide contains links and 
other information regarding 
polling places, as well as how to 
download the Guide in English, 
Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, 
and Korean.

The Easy Voter Guide is created 
in collaboration with The 
League of Women Voters of 
California Education Fund, 
The California State Library, 
and the Common Knowledge 
Group.

Important Election Dates:

 November 1, 2016 Last 
day to request a “vote by mail” 
ballot

 November 8, 2016 
ELECTION DAY – Polling 
locations open from 7:00 am to 
8:00 pm

 For more information, visit 
the Library at 1100 Oxley 
Street in South Pasadena, call 
the Reference Desk at (626) 
403-7350, or check out the 
Library’s website at www.
southpasadenaca.gov/library. 

 Rainwater harvesting is a 
simple way to conserve water, 
protect the environment, save a 
few dollars and make the most 
of the nature’s gifts.

• Limit one (1) rain barrel per 
household.

• Only customers of California 
American Water/City of San 
Marino residents are eligible.

• You must bring a water bill 
and photo ID. The water bill 
must show the name of the 
water company and account 
number for the address where 
the barrel will be installed.

• Barrels must be installed at 
address on water bill within 45 
days.

• Property must have existing 
gutters with downspouts 
throughout the entire perimeter 
of the roof for adequate water 
collection.

• Rain barrel must be mounted 
in a way that allows the barrel 
to receive water unimpeded 
from a downspout.

• Should not block or restrict 
access to walkways or pathways.

• Rain barrel must not be 
connected to the irrigation 
system and must be distributed 
through a hose or bucket.

• Should be elevated 6 inches 
off the ground on a solid 
foundation.

• Please do not arrive before 7 
AM.

• Begins at 8:00 AM, Rain or 
Shine.

• Park and walk to Registration.

• Be prepared to wait in line. 
Supplies are limited and offered 
on a first-come, first-served 
basis.

Questions? Contact Ron 
Serven, Environmental Services 
Manager at (626) 300-0789 or 
rserven@cityofsanmarino.org.

 The South Pasadena Public 
Library Board of Trustees 
recently approved Thursday 
night open hours --instead 
of Monday night open 
hours-- for the Library 
beginning this October 
31. In order to provide 
adequate staffing and to 
complete other necessary 
preparations, The South 
Pasadena Public Library 
will begin this change in 
hours for Mondays and 
Thursdays hours on October 
31 (Halloween). The new 
schedule for hours will 
continue through November 
and beyond.

 These changes in hours 
were recommended in the 
recently completed Library 
Operations Study and 
approved by the Library 
Board of Trustees and the 
City Council. They were 
approved to better serve 
the community by aligning 
Library hours to a major 
traffic and activity pattern of 
the community. The South 
Pasadena Farmers Market, 
conducted only a couple of 
blocks away each Thursday, 
usually attracts about 3,000 
to 4,000 residents every 
week. While the Farmers 
Market is taking place, 
dozens of families and 
other visitors of all ages are 
already in the Library Park, 
The Library looks forward to 
attracting and being open to 
serve visitors of the Farmers 
Market and the rest of the 
community on Thursday 
nights.

 On Monday, (Halloween) 
the Library will open at 10 
am and close at 6 pm. The 
Library will maintain its 
same schedule of hours on 
Tuesday and Wednesday 
nights, and be open from 
11 am to 9 pm on Thursday 
nights starting on November 
3. The schedule will remain 
the same as it is now for 
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 
hours.

Starting October 31, 2016- 
the South Pasadena Public 
Library Hours will be:

Sundays 1-5

Mondays 10-6

Tuesdays 11-9

Wednesdays 11-9

Thursdays 11-9

Fridays 10-6

Saturdays 10-5

South Pasadena ‘Pathways 
to Art’ Street Sign Sale

South Pasadena Unified 
School District About Bond Measure SP

 South Pasadena Educational 
Foundation (SPEF) and the 
South Pasadena Arts Council 
(SPARC) are teaming up 
to sell 300 local retired city 
street signs. This joint project, 
“Pathways to Art,” will raise 
money to advance the arts 
within our community, such as 
SPARC’s utility box initiative 
and funding an SPUSD 
Visual and Performing Arts 
Coordinator. These signs were 
generously donated to SPARC 
by the South Pasadena City 
Council.

Signs are $100 per sign and the 
cost of shipping is not included. 
If you need to have a sign 
shipped please let us know.

 Please note: The signs are 
not in pristine condition, 
reflecting the character of their 
years of service, and sold as 
is. All sales are final. The city’s 
sign replacement will be an 
ongoing, three-year process, so 
as new signs become available 
this list will be updated.

 If the street you are interested 
in is not on this list please 
contact Stacey Petersen at 
spetersen@spef4kids.org or 
call the SPEF office at 626-441-
5810 ext. 1163. We will give 
you a call as soon as your sign 
becomes available.

 


 Vote YES on Bond Measure 
SP to upgrade and repair aging 
classrooms, labs and facilities 
to ensure all South Pasadena 
Unified students are ready 
to excel in the 21st-century 
economy. Strong academic 
programs, excellent teachers 
and high-performing students 
make our South Pasadena 
Unified School District schools 
strong, keeping property values 
high and our community 
desirable.

 Yet to continue providing a 
top-quality education, South 
Pas schools are in serious 
need of repair. Many schools 
are more than 40 years old, 
with leaky roofs, old rusty 
plumbing, faulty electrical 
and air conditioning systems. 
The Bond Measure will fund 
critical improvements to aging 
classrooms, labs and facilities, 
ensuring that all local schools 
are safe and accessible for 
students.

 We need Bond Measure 
SP to keep up with the 
growing demand for science, 
technology, engineering, arts 
and math education. The Bond 
Measure provides a dedicated 
source of local funding to 
expand science labs, computers 
and other learning technology 
so that all students are prepared 
for success in the modern 
world. 

Vote Yes on Bond Measure SP.


So. Pasadena 
Tips on 
Proper 

Tree Care

 South Pasadena has been 
named Tree City USA by Arbor 
Day for 17 years straight. The 
Tree City USA program is an 
Arbor Day Foundation program 
recognizing cities that support a 
healthy tree canopy. The benefits 
of a robust urban forest include 
cleaner air, improved storm 
water management, energy 
savings, and increased property 
values. Caring for our trees takes 
a year round, community wide 
effort. No matter how old your 
trees are, or what size, caring for 
them can be easy if you follow 
some basic rules.

 In order to help keep your 
trees alive and healthy, there are 
some key factors to consider. 
First is watering, which should 
be changed depending on the 
age of the tree and the time of 
the year. Second is maintenance. 
Trimming your tree and caring 
for the ground beneath it are 
both important for tree health. 
Lastly is observation. It is 
important to take note of what 
condition a tree is in. If a tree is 
under or over watered, stressed, 
diseased, aging or dying, there 
will be signs. This can include 
the appearance of the trunk, leaf 
color, and more.

 Observation is also important 
to maintaining trees in medians 
and parkways. It is the resident’s 
responsibility to water parkways 
trees adjacent to their property, 
but it is the City’s responsibility 
to maintain and trim those trees. 
We need residents to be our eyes 
on the street, and should any 
issues arise with the parkway 
trees, please submit a service 
request to the Public Works 
Department. 

 How should I water?

 The amount of water your tree 
should receive depends upon 
the tree size. A general rule of 
thumb is to use approximately 
10 gallons of water per inch 
of trunk diameter for each 
watering. General formula: Tree 
Diameter x 5 minutes = Total 
Watering Time. All size trees 
should be watered April through 
September, but young trees 
should also receive adequate 
water during the winter months 
if rainfall is scarce.

Water once or twice a month 
for established trees, and more 
frequently for younger trees.

 Water slowly for hours with a 
“tree ring”, tree watering stakes, 
or coil a soaker hose around the 
drip-line of the tree (the outer 
canopy of the leaves).

Infrequent slow waterings are 
much better than multiple 
shallow waterings because they 
allow the water to seep down 
deeper into the roots.

Place 3 to 4 inches of mulch 
under the tree, keeping the 
mulch 6 inches from the trunk.

 When planting a new tree, 
create a moat at the drip-line 
to hold the water and reduce 
runoff (adjust the placement of 
the moat as the tree grows). 

 Under our current water 
restrictions, irrigation systems 
designed to water turf do not 
sufficiently water your trees. 
During the drought, trees should 
be given a higher priority than 
lawns. Lawns can be replaced in 
a matter of months whereas a 20 
year old tree will take 20 years to 
replace.

 Working with West Coast 
Arborist (the City’s arborist), 
staff created a helpful flyer with 
some watering tips, which is 
available here. Another helpful 
flyer was created by Tree People, 
and can be found here. 

 What should I look for?

 Symptoms of drought injury 
to trees can appear suddenly, 
or may take up to two years to 
be revealed. Drought injury 
symptoms on tree leaves include 
wilting, curling at the edges, and 
yellowing.

 Leaves of deciduous trees 
may develop sun scorch, which 
causes brown leaf edges or 
browning between veins.

 Evergreen needles may turn 
yellow or brown, usually starting 
at the tips of the needles.

During extended drought, leaves 
may be smaller than normal, 
drop prematurely or remain 
attached to the tree even though 
they’ve turned brown.

Drought stress may not kill a tree 
outright, but it may contribute 
to serious secondary insect and 
disease infestations in following 
years.

 When should I trim my trees?

 The City operates on 
a four year cycle when it comes 
to trimming its trees; however 
some trees are visited more 
frequently depending on their 
condition, specie and location. 
This means that once a tree is 
trimmed, it won’t be trimmed 
again for four years. Residents 
should consult with a contractor 
and/or arborist to establish 
an appropriate maintenance 
schedule for their trees. As a tree 
grows its trimming needs will 
change, so be sure to reassess 
your maintenance schedule 
based on your trees’ growth.

 To ensure proper tree 
health in oak trees, residents 
are only allowed to trim them 
from July through October. 
Prior to trimming an oak or 
California native tree in South 
Pasadena, residents must submit 
a completed application to 
the Public Works Department 
to obtain a trimming permit. 
A permit is also required 
for the removal of any trees. 
More information and both 
applications are available in the 
Public Works Office at City Hall, 
1414 Mission St., or on the City’s 
website southpasadenaca.gov.


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