PASADENA EDITION


SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017

VOLUME 11 NO. 13

Local Area 
News Briefs

Foothill Transit to Raise 
Fares, Eliminate Bus Routes

 
Pasadena Woman 
Pulled Out of Can 
Robbed and Beaten

 Police are looking for 
two men after they pulled 
a 24-year-old woman out 
of her car in a Northwest 
Pasadena parking lot, 
demanded money, and then 
began beating her.

According to police, the 
victim was sitting in a 
parking vehicle at Lake 
Ave. and Washington Blvd 
waiting for a friend that 
went into a store. One of the 
men opened her car door 
and pulled her from the car. 
The two suspects ran away 
on foot taking the victim’s 
cell phone. They were last 
seen running south on Lake 
Ave. No description on the 
suspects was given. 

The victim had cuts to her 
face but declined to be 
taken to a hospital.

 Foothill Transit is seeking 
input for proposed system 
changes that include a 25 
cent fee hike and splitting the 
popular 187 line that connects 
Old Pasadena to Azusa 
into two lines, among other 
changes including the complete 
elimination of a number bus 
routes throughout the San 
Gabriel Valley.

 “We’re traveling farther for 
longer hours to get you where 
you need to be, which adds 
to the cost of doing business 
(more fuel, more wear and 
tear).” Officials said. “On the 
flip side, we’re seeing fewer 
people on board. This is partly 
due to some pretty significant 
population shifts, but also 
because gas is cheap and cars 
are easier to obtain. In fact, 
ridership on public transit is 
down across the region.”

 In a letter to Pasadena City 
Manager Steve Mermell, 
Foothill Transit Executive 
Director Doran Barnes said 
“fares at Fotthill Tranist have 
not changed since 2010. 

The fare proposal includes:

 Fare changes would take place 
in two stages to minimize the 
impact on customers.

 Proposing to simplify the 
prices of fares and passes by 
pricing fares in multiples of 
$0.25 and passes in multiples 
of $5.

 To provide a discount for TAP 
card customers to encourage 
TAP card use, since using TAP 
gives so many benefits to our 
customers.

 To introduce the day pass to 
customers have been asking for, 
which would offer unlimited 
rides on all local lines and the 
Silver Streak for a full day.

 Proposing to do away with 
Foothill Transit-to-Foothill 
Transit transfers.

 Proposed fares would maintain 
a 50 percent minimum discount 
on fares and passes for Seniors/
Persons with Disabilities/
Medicare customers.

 To also maintain a 25 percent 
minimum discount on 31-day 
passes for students. 

 The plan would also add new 
bus routes and stops such as the 
Santa Anita Mall and near the 
LA Arboretum. 

 “Overall, these changes are 
expected to save Foothill 
Transit around $550,000. We’d 
like to immediately reinvest 
that money back into service, 
specifically service that you’ve 
always wanted,” officials said.

 The first of six public meeting 
will be Friday, April 7, from 
2:30 to 5 p.m. at Claremont 
Library 208 Harvard Ave N, 
Claremont. Ironically, Foothill 
Transit officials suggest taking 
the 187 line to get there.

 The proposal is expected to be 
heard by The Foothill Transit 
Executive Board for review in 
May. If approved, the changes 
will go into effect in October.

 For more information visit: 
foothilltransit.org/changes.

Make Music Pasadena on Hiatus

 In what some local musicians 
had been anticipating, event 
organizers for the popular free 
Make Music Pasadena festival 
announced this week that the 
event will not take place this 
year. 

 The Pasadena event, with a 
lineup that normally totaled 
more than 150 bands was 
one of the largest free music 
festivals modeled after the Fête 
de la Musique and part of Make 
Music Day, a free celebration of 
music around the world on June 
21, the summer solstice. 

 “After nine years of bringing free 
music to the streets of our city 
with Make Music Pasadena, Old 
Pasadena Management District 
and the Playhouse District 
Association, co-producers of the 
festival, have made the difficult 
decision to put the event on 
hiatus for 2017 and to evaluate 
its future viability.”

 “Current funding sources are 
not sufficient to finance an event 
that is entirely free to the public. 
Due to exponentially rising 
costs in conjunction with a 
significant lack of funding from 
sponsorships and donations, 
Make Music Pasadena faced a 
$150,000 budget deficit, making 
it impossible to produce the 
festival for 2017. A proliferation 
of local and national music 
festivals has also made it a 
challenge to secure both talent 
and local media attention within 
a limited budget.”

 “The producing organizations 
remain hopeful that sufficient 
sponsorship might be 
achieved for a 2018 event, and 
altruistically-inclined white 
knights are encouraged to 
contact either organization to 
discuss details. That’s not to say 
that Pasadena will be without 
live music this summer: We are 
delighted that the Arroyo Seco 
Weekend Festival will join in 
the tradition of bringing local, 
regional, and national acts to the 
people of Pasadena.”

 At a number of public meetings 
in March 2016, local residents 
questioned if both Make Music 
Pasadena and an Arroyo Seco 
Music and Arts Festival could 
coexist. The Arroyo Seco Music 
and Arts Festival is now called 
the Arroyo Seco Weekend. 

 As part of Make Music Day 
the city of Los Angeles will 
hold Make Music LA, for more 
information visit: makemusicla.
org.

 Make Music Day is observed in 
more than 750 cities around the 
world.

 Renaissance Plaza 
Vons to become 
Vallarta Market

NoHo to 
Pasadena 
Bus Becomes 
Permanent

 After an announcement 
last month that the North 
Fair Oaks Avenue Vons 
supermarket in northwest 
Pasadena would close, 
Vallarta Supermarkets has 
submitted a $5 million 
renovation project that 
would keep both the Wells 
Fargo Bank and pharmacy 
within a newly designed 
Vallarta store. 

 The current Vons is set 
to close this April 22 with 
the Vallarta Supermarket 
opening in November. 

 In a statement Vons parent 
company Albertsons 
Companies Inc, said all 
of the current employees, 
about 60, would have the 
option of working at other 
Vons markets.

 The Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority 
(MTA) approved, last week, 
making the dedicated bus 
way connecting the Metro 
Red Line station in North 
Hollywood to the Gold Line 
Del Mar station in Pasadena 
permanent fixture in the 
community.

 According to Supervisor 
Kathryn Barger, the MTA 
will begin studying two 
options, a rapid transit 
bus way along major 
city streets in Pasadena, 
Burbank and Glendale, or 
a bus way primarily fixed 
in the middle of the 134 
and 5 freeways. The street 
alignment is estimated to 
serve 18,000 riders a day 
by 2035, and the freeway 
alignment would serve 
around 10,300 riders.

 “This express line provides 
commuters in both Valleys 
a convenient way to travel 
between the Metro Gold 
Line in Pasadena and Metro 
Red/Orange Lines in North 
Hollywood with stops at 
the Burbank Media District 
and North Downtown 
Glendale,” she said.

Free Tuition to Students 
Through ‘PCC Promise’

 Starting this fall, high school 
graduates in the San Gabriel 
Valley will be able to attend 
Pasadena City College without 
paying tuition through a 
new program known 
as the PCC Promise.

 The program is the latest 
in a growing number of 
similar programs at two-
year colleges around the 
country designed to give 
every student access to a 
college education. 

 “PCC has been a 
gateway to a better 
life for residents of 
our region for more 
than 90 years,” said 
PCC Superintendent-
President Rajen Vurdien. 
Under the program, 
students who meet 
eligibility requirements 
will receive one year 
of their PCC education 
completely free of tuition 
fees. Any student who 
graduates from a high 
school within PCC’s 
district and enrolls 
the Fall Semester after 
graduation will qualify 
for the program.

As the college aims to 
establish the program in 
perpetuity, the Pasadena 
City College Foundation 
will be engaging 
community support for 
the PCC Promise.

 “America’s community 
colleges serve millions 
of students who 
otherwise would 
not receive a college 
education,” said former 
PCC President and 
California Community 
Colleges Chancellor 
Jack Scott, who leads the 
Foundation’s effort to 
engage the community. 
“If we lower the cost barrier 
for low-income families, we 
will drive success in our local 
economy, our state economy, 
and our national economy.”

 Some guidelines apply to the 
PCC Promise:

Eligible students must have 
earned a high school diploma 
from any public or private high 
school within the Pasadena Area 
Community College District.

 Local students who enter 
military service immediately 
following high school will be 
eligible if they enroll at PCC the 
first semester after completing 
service.

 Students must maintain a 2.0 
GPA at PCC to remain within 
the program.

 Students must enroll in at least 
9 units per semester while at 
PCC.

 The program covers students’ 
credit fees, comparable to 
tuition, which are paid on every 
unit for which the student 
registers. Funding will be 
provided to each individual 
student for one academic year.

 The program will be available 
to students beginning in the 
Fall 2017 semester. Eligibility 
guidelines and program 
parameters are subject to 
change.

 For more information, visit 
pasadena.edu/promise.


CALENDAR Pg. 2

MORE PASADENA NEWS

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SAN MARINO/SO. PAS

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SIERRA MADRE Pg. 5

ARCADIA Pg. 6

MONROVIA 

EDUCATION/YOUTH

Pg. 7

South 
Pasadena 
Doggy Day

FOOD & DRINK Pg. 8

THE GOOD LIFE Pg. 9

WORLD AROUND US 

 Pg. 10

 Bring you four-legged friend 
to Garfield Park April 29 from 
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Families 
as well as their dogs and cats 
will enjoy activities including 
arts and crafts, and live music. 
If you get hungry, food and 
drinks will be available for 
purchase. There will also be 
a performance showcasing 
wonderful dogs by Disc Dogs 
of Southern California. 

 Vendors providing a 
variety of dog and cat related 
resources will be on-site to 
provide information on the 
services and products they 
offer. Join us in showing 
appreciation for the dogs and 
cats in your lives.

 For more information call the 
South Pasadena Community 
Services Department at (626) 
403-7380.

 
BEST FRIENDS Pg. 11

SECTION B: 

AROUND SAN GABRIEL 
VALLEYB1

THE ARTS B2

BUSINESS NEWS

B3

OPINIONB4

LEGAL NOTICES B5


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