PASADENA EDITION

 SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2018 


VOLUME 12 NO. 20

Buildings 
to be 
Under New 
Earthquake 
Standards 

Bridge Party is Back


By Dean Lee 

 Pasadena city officials, 
including Mayor Terry 
Tornek, are urging that a 
new earthquake retrofitting 
mandate for some 500 at risk 
buildings throughout the city 
be done quickly. The issue 
was discussed at a Public 
Safety Committee meeting 
Wednesday night. 

 Pasadena City Manager 
Steve Mermell said these 
are apartment buildings or 
condominiums, “soft story,” 
build prior to the late 70s with 
open air parking underneath. 

 “We’re going to look a process 
to require them to be brought 
up to newer standards,” he 
said Thursday morning. “The 
big issue is how long will they 
have to get into compliance 
and what the cost will be.”

 He said many were build the 
standards of the day.

 Tornek said, Wednesday 
night, they needed to have an 
ordinance in less than a year.

 City staff said that an 
advisory group, made up 
of stakeholders, would be 
formed. There will also be 
two community meetings to 
get comment from the public 
and that they also plan to use 
non-technical language in the 
draft ordinance for review. 

 Mermell said they were just 
now starting the process, “we 
hope to have something in 
front of the council within 
nine months, the big issue 
will be how long the property 
owners have to comply.”

 City staff told the Safety 
Committee that there are a 
number of government grants 
that help pay for seismic 
retrofits. Mermell said that, 
without them, it could also 
mean higher rents.

 “Usually it’s the property 
owner that bears the cost, and 
they tend to pass that cost on 
to tenants.”



 Event organizers announced 
that the biannual Colorado 
Street Bridge Party is set for 
this July.

 Join Pasadena Heritage for 
their celebration at the Colorado 
Street Bridge Party Saturday, 
July 14th from 6:00 p.m. to 
11:30 p.m. Stroll along one of 
the most beautiful bridges as 
you enjoy an evening of music, 
dancing, vintage cars, free kids 
activities, and festive foods and 
beverages.

 The Colorado Street Bridge 
has been threatened numerous 
times in its one hundred and 
five year history, and for 
the last 41 years, Pasadena 
Heritage has been its leading 
champion. To save and restore 
this iconic structure, the 
organization conducted letter-
writing campaigns, constant 
lobbying and national publicity 
efforts. Pasadena Heritage’s 
famous summer event on 
the spectacular span first 
highlighted the need to repair it. 
After many years of effort, the 
Bridge was saved, seismically 
upgraded and restored to its 
original grandeur – a feat that is 
celebrated biennially and what 
has become a much anticipated 
community event. 

 Pasadena Heritage works to 
identify, preserve, and protect 
the historic, architectural, and 
cultural resources of the City 
of Pasadena through advocacy 
and education.

 Tickets: Early: Member $18 
Non-member, $20. The day of 
the event ticket: Everyone- $25

Tickets will be available in 
early June at pasadenaheritage.
org/Bridge.

For more information about the 
event visit: pasadenaheritage.
org. 

City Holds Police and Fire Memorial

 Mayor Terry Tornek, Interim 
Police Chief John Perez and 
Fire Chief Bertral Washington 
all took part Thursday morning 
in the Pasadena Police and Fire 
Memorial in front of city hall. 
This is the event’s7th year. 

 “I think its important that we 
take time every year to honor 
these people and all of our first 
responders,” Tornek siad. “We 
own them a debt of gratitude 
on a daily basis and I think its 
important that we take time out 
to express that gratitude.”

 “Today is a somber reminder of 
the daily sacrifices of our police 
and fire heroes,”Perez said. “Last 
year across the United States 
we lost 135 police officers, 95 
firefighters in the line of duty. 
This year, so far, we have lost 
53 police officers and 37 brave 
firefighters.”

 “Out of the utmost respect for 
these firefighters, represented 
by the empty helmets behind 
me, we are dedicated to given 
the upmost respect to their 
families each and every year,” 
Washington said. The event include 
the Presentation of Colors, 
the National Anthem, the 
ceremonial law enforcement 
21-gun salute, fire service 
ringing of the bell, and Taps 
by the United States Marine 
Corp. Family members of the 
fallen heroes were honored 
with a reading of their family 
member’s name. 

 To date, seven Pasadena police 
officers and 10 firefighters 
have lost their lives serving the 
Pasadena community. 

 The event was in association 
with National Police Week.

Workshops to 
Discuss Area 
Specific Plans

Happy Birthday Pasadena

 The city of Pasadena is set to 
host a series of community 
workshops as part of “Our 
Pasadena – Putting the Plan in 
Motion,” the citywide program 
to implement Pasadena’s 
General Plan. The theme of the 
workshops is “Getting Specific,” 
with a focus on individual 
Specific Plan Areas—the 
workshops will be tailored to 
each Specific Plan, providing 
opportunities for community 
members to share ideas for each 
area. The next meeting Thursday 
is night.

 “These community workshops 
are at the heart of what “Our 
Pasadena” is all about—creating 
Specific Plans that reflect the 
unique qualities of our distinct 
neighborhoods,” said David 
Reyes, Director of Planning and 
Community Development.

 The City encourages 
residents, business owners and 
community members of all 
ages to attend a workshop in 
their neighborhood and share 
their ideas to help shape the 
future of the areas that are most 
important to them, where they 
live, work and play.

 The “Getting Specific” 
workshop series begins on May 
17 in East Pasadena and runs 
through the summer in the 
following neighborhoods:

East Pasadena: Thursday night 
from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the 
Armenian General Benevolent 
Union

South Fair Oaks: Thursday, May 
24th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. 
at the Los Angeles College of 
Music

Lincoln Avenue: Thursday, June 
14th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at 
Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church

North Lake: Thursday, June 21st 
from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Lake 
Avenue Church

Central District: Tuesday, June 
26th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at 
the Holly Street Senior Center

Fair Oaks/Orange Grove: 
Thursday, July 12th from 
6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Fair Oaks 
Renaissance Plaza

East Colorado: Tuesday, July 
17th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at 
Pasadena City College

Lamanda Park: Thursday, July 
26th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at 
Pasadena Christian Church

 For more details about the 
program and a full workshop 
schedule, visit the “Our 
Pasadena” project website, www.
ourpasadena.org.

Museums of the Arroyo Day




 Pasadena is set to celebrates 
its 132nd year with robots 
and Stormtroopers, music 
by Gypsy Jambo, makeup 
and monsters, face painting, 
balloon art, activities 
stations galore, and – of 
course – birthday cake. The 
free, family-friendly party 
for the community takes 
its cue from the Museum’s 
popular exhibition, 
Dreaming the Universe: 
The Intersection of Science, 
Fiction, & Pasadena. Party-
goers are welcome to dress 
as their favorite science 
fiction characters, or come 
as you are.

 Festivities begin at 1:00 
pm. The official cake cutting 
ceremony with Mayor 
Terry Tornek, City Council 
members, and other VIPs is 
scheduled for 2:00 pm.

Reasons to go:

Eat cake. 

Visit the Dreaming the 
Universe exhibition & the 
Finnish Folk Art Museum.

Hobnob with the Mayor and 
other City dignitaries.

Watch science fiction 
monsters come to life in the 
Makeup Demo studio.

Enjoy performances by 
Gypsy Jambo.

Create your own robot in 
Art 2 Go’s crafts workshop.

Enhance your “look” at our 
Face Painting station.

Marvel at the wizardry of 
Mind-Blowing Balloons 
while they make something 
special just for you.

Get to know some 
Stormtroopers – don’t miss 
this photo op.

 Happy Birthday Pasadena: 
Wish Upon a Star is 
presented by Pasadena 
Museum of History and 
the City of Pasadena, and 
supported through the 
generosity of numerous 
Event Sponsors, Partners, 
and Volunteers.

For more information visit: 
pasadenahistory.org.

 The Pasadena 
Museum of History 
is one of six local 
Museums opening 
their doors this 
Sunday as part 
of Museums of 
the Arroyo Day 
MOTA Day features 
unique history-
based museums 
that preserve and 
perpetuate early Los 
Angeles life. The 
public can visit one 
or all of the museums 
during the day at no 
charge.

 MOTA museum 
includeThe 
Autry’s Historic 
Southwest Museum 
Mt. Washington 
Campus, the Gamble 
House, Heritage 
Square Museum, 
the Los Angeles 
Police Museum, the 
Lummis Home and 
Garden, as well as, the 
Pasadena Museum of 
History. In addition 
to its ongoing regular 
displays and exhibits, 
each museum will 
feature a distinctive 
slice of Southern 
California history.

 The Pasadena Museum of 
History current exhibition 
“Dreaming the Universe: 
The Intersection of Science, 
Fiction, & Southern 
California” explores the 
history of science fiction in 
Southern California from 
the 1930s to the 1980s, and 
how it interacted with the 
advances of science, the 
changes in technology, and 
shifts in American society. 
Curated by Nick Smith, 
former president of Los 
Angeles Science Fantasy 
Society, the exhibition brings 
together an unusual range of 
artifacts, fine and graphic 
arts, books, ephemera, and 
photographs.

 “A lot of science fiction 
came out of Pasadena and 
I don’t think people realize 
that,” Smith said. “You had 
a lot of people coming to 
Los Angeles because of 
television, movies and radio 
coming out of here. Some 
of those wanted to write 
for those, some just kind of 
tagged along. Over the years 
they came here to work.” 

 For more information 
on the twenty-ninth 
annual MOTA visit: mota.
dreamhosters.com. For 
more about the Pasadena 
Museum of History visit: 
pasadenahistory.org or call 
626-577-1660. 
Pasadena Museum of 
History Photo By D. Lee/
MVNews. 

Pasadena Museum of 
History: Dreaming 
the Universe: The 
Intersection of 
Science, Fiction, & 
Southern California

CALENDAR Pg. 2

MORE PASADENA NEWS

 Pg. 3

SAN MARINO/SO. PAS

Pg. 4

SIERRA MADRE Pg. 5

ARCADIA Pg. 6

MONROVIA 

EDUCATION/YOUTH

Pg. 7

FOOD & DRINK Pg. 8

THE GOOD LIFE Pg. 9

WORLD AROUND US 

 Pg. 10

 BEST FRIENDS Pg. 11


SECTION B: 

AROUND SAN GABRIEL 
VALLEYB1

THE ARTS B2

BUSINESS NEWS

B3

OPINIONB4

LEGAL NOTICES B5


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