Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, March 9, 2019

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SOUTH PASADENA - SAN MARINO

Mountain Views-News Saturday, March 9, 2019 

Ray Bradbury Live (forever) 
New Touring Stage Portrayal

New South Pasadena City 
Hall Art Gallery Exhibits

Raymond Hill Development 
Project and Tree Removals

 The first public performance 
of a new touring stage 
tribute to iconic author Ray 
Bradbury is scheduled for 
Friday, March 22 at 7:00 
p.m. in the South Pasadena 
Public Library Community 
Room. “Ray Bradbury Live 
(forever)” is a tour de force 
officially authorized by the Ray 
Bradbury estate and features 
Emmy Award-winning actor 
Bill Oberst Jr., who’s appeared 
in 150 movies and TV shows, 
as Bradbury, with a special 
appearance by Stacy Rabon as 
Maggie Bradbury, Ray’s wife 
and soulmate.

 Oberst’s script for “Ray 
Bradbury Live (forever)” mixes 
excerpts of Bradbury works 
like “A Sound Of Thunder” 
and “Something Wicked 
This Way Comes;” selections 
from 50 years of Bradbury 
interviews and essays; large-
screen video projections, and 
an original musical score. “It’s 
not biography” says the actor, 
“it’s a trip inside Ray’s mind; 
his loves; in his own words.” 
In addition to the Bradbury 
estate, Oberst’s script was 
vetted by Dr. Jonathan Eller, 
the Director of The Center 
For Ray Bradbury Studies and 
the author of two acclaimed 
Bradbury biographies, and by 
Bradbury media scholar Dr. 
Phil Nichols of the University 
Of Wolverhampton. “Ray 
Bradbury Live (forever)” is 
performed by permission of 
Ray Bradbury Literary Works 
and Don Congdon Associates, 
Inc. 

 Oberst, who won awards Off-
Broadway and in Los Angeles 
for his theatrical reading of 
Bradbury’s “Pillar Of Fire,” 
states, “I’m the least likely 
person to portray Ray Bradbury 
- I didn’t know him and I don’t 
look like him - but I’ve been in 
love with him for 40 years. This 
wild, improbable project was 
born of wild, blinding love.”

 The actor adds that it was after 
his performance of “Pillar Of 
Fire” before a standing ovation 
audience at the South Pasadena 
Library in 2016, he first spoke 
of his secret dream to do a 
show as Bradbury. A friend 
and associate of Ray Bradbury 
(1920-2012) who was in 
attendance offered to put him 
in contact with the Bradbury 
family.

 “It is wonderfully fitting,” says 
Oberst, “to be doing this first 
performance at South Pasadena 
Public Library, where the idea 
was born. It’s also apt that the 
show debut in the Library that 
has dedicated its Conference 
Room in Ray Bradbury’s name 
and one that has also presented 
so many other projects to 
honor his legacy. And besides, 
a multitude of Ray Bradbury 
appearances, film screenings, 
and plays have been presented 
in South Pasadena through the 
years, not only at the Library, 
but also at the Fremont Centre 
Theatre a couple of blocks 
away.”

 Ray Bradbury was near and 
dear to South Pasadena and 
often remarked that the small 
town atmosphere reminded 
him of where he was born in 
Waukegan, Illinois. He also 
stated that the South Pasadena 
Library reminded him of the 
Waukegan Carnegie Library 
where he first started his 
lifelong self-education journey 
which eventually led him 
to become one of the most 
beloved and popular American 
authors.

 The Community Room is 
located at 1115 El Centro Street 
in South Pasadena. Doors will 
open at 6:30 p.m. and no tickets 
or reservations are necessary. 
Admission is free and 
refreshments will be served. 
The show is appropriate for all 
ages. For more information 
visit: raybradburyliveforever.
com or call the Library at 626 
403-7350.

 


 The City has recently 
received questions and 
concerns from several 
residents in the Raymond 
Hill area about a 
development project located 
at 203 Cedar Crest and 204 
Mockingbird Lane that is 
now in the early stages of 
construction. Specifically, 
concerns were raised about 
pending tree removals and 
whether the removals had 
been reviewed by the City as 
part of a public process.

 The project has been 
reviewed multiple times 
before several City 
commissions since it was 
first introduced in 2015. 
Like all meetings of City 
commissions, these were 
public hearings. Residents 
near the project received 
postcards in the mail 
informing them that the 
project was going to be 
discussed at a public hearing. 
Concerns were raised by 
residents, and the project 
was modified in response to 
those concerns.

 A brief history of the 
203 Cedar Crest and 204 
Mockingbird Lane project:

The applicants first presented 
the proposal to the Planning 
Commission on June 22, 
2015. The project is a 2,475 
square-foot duplex house 
on a privately owned 8,044 
square-foot lot that is zoned 
for high density residential 
development. 

At the June 2015 meeting, 
residents provided input to 
the Planning Commission 
that resulted in changes 
to the proposed project, 
including reduced height, 
changed setbacks from 
the street and neighboring 
properties as well as changes 
to the slope of the driveway.

The modified project was 
reviewed by the Planning 
Commission at additional 
public hearings on July 27, 
2015 and again on August 
22, 2015, where additional 
public comment was 
provided. 

The modified project taking 
in to account comments 
received from the public was 
approved by the Planning 
Commission at the August 
2015 hearing. The Planning 
Commission also approved 
the initial environmental 
study as required by the 
California Environmental 
Quality Act (CEQA). This 
initial study covered a range 
of topic of concern such as 
traffic, air quality, seismic 
safety and a variety of other 
issues. 

A tree removal application 
was reviewed by the 
Natural Resources and 
Environmental Commission 
on September 29, 2015. 
The NREC received tree 
inspection reports from a 
city arborist, an independent 
professional arborist and the 
developer’s arborist.

Based on the arborists’ 
reports, the NREC approved 
the removal of two unhealthy 
oak trees (on the lower 
portion of Mockingbird 
Lane) and four pepper trees, 
which were also determined 
to be unhealthy. An oak tree 
on the upper portion/Cedar 
Crest side of the property 
was preserved, but approved 
to be trimmed. All of the 
removed oak and pepper 
trees will be replaced using 
the City’s tree replacement 
formula.

In early 2016 the City was 
made aware of historic 
resources, specifically the 
remains of a wall from the 
historic Raymond Hotel 
and a former (now sealed) 
pedestrian tunnel. A 
supplemental environmental 
review was required.

As a result of the historic 
findings, the project went 
before the City’s Cultural 
Heritage Commission and 
required that the developer 
prepare additional studies to 
address these issues. 

The CHC approved a 
supplemental study that 
found that there was no 
impact on historic resources. 
However they added 
conditions of approval to 
protect the wall during 
construction. The developer 
has integrated the wall into 
the approved landscape plan. 
There are no visible remains 
of the tunnel and it appears 
to have been destroyed in 
1964 with the construction 
of the apartment building at 
1625 Raymond Hill Rd. 

The project underwent an 
additional review by the 
Planning Commission on 
June 4, 2018.

 The City takes the issue of tree 
removal and replacement 
very seriously. The Council 
recently modified the 
City’s tree ordinance to 
strengthen the requirements 
for the replacement of 
trees removed during 
development.

 

 The South Pasadena Arts 
Council presents Childhood 
101 - Photographs by 
Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin 
and A Day in the Life - Plein-
Air Paintings by Laurie 
Hendricks at the SPARC 
Gallery at South Pasadena 
City Hall.

 In Childhood 101, 
South Pasadena-based 
photographer and educator 
Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin 
who is known for her 
“compassionate and curious 
lens,” documents the playful 
activities of her two sons and 
their friends at their South 
Pasadena home, in their 
backyard, on the road, and 
around town, remembering 
her own treasured outdoor 
playtime as a child. A 
Fulbright Senior Scholars, 
and recipient of the, IREX 
IARO Grant from the 
National Endowment for the 
Humanities, and a Houston 
Center for Photography 
Fellowship McLaughlin 
has exhibited nationally 
and internationally. Her 
images are in permanent 
collections at the Museum 
of Photographic Art in San 
Diego, Western Virginia 
Museum of Art, and the 
U.S. Embassy in Bucharest. 
Childhood 101 runs through 
June 30, in the 2nd floor 
SPARC Gallery at South 
Pasadena City Hall.

 Laurie Hendricks, a 
California plein-air 
painter and a champion of 
California Impressionism, 
teaches painting classes 
at her South Pasadena 
studio, and has taught 
courses and workshops in 
Croatia, Greece, Provence, 
Tuscany, Normandy, 
and the Cotswolds. 
Interpreting the natural 
world in a vivid chromatic 
palette, Hendricks often 
features California’s varied 
landscapes in her work—
rolling foothills, rugged 
coastline, brush-covered 
mountains, and undulating 
deserts. Her paintings, 
including portraits and still 
lives, are collected nationally 
and abroad. She is an artist 
member of the California 
Art Club, the Laguna 
Plein- Air Painters, the Oil 
Painters of America and 
the American Impressionist 
Society, and from 2012 to 
2018, Hendricks operated 
her own gallery in South 
Pasadena. A Day in the Life 
runs through May 5 at South 
Pasadena City Hall, 1414 
Mission St.


Community 
Input 
Requested: 
Next Year’s 
Priority 
Initiatives

 
The San Marino budget process 
for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 is 
currently underway, and City 
Council is considering what 
special projects – or priority 
initiatives – staff should 
dedicate time and/or financial 
resources to (in addition to 
their standard operating tasks) 
next year. 

 Using the City’s 8 “Critical 
Success Factors” as a 
framework, City Council has 
identified 21 initiative ideas 
to consider further. These 21 
options are still in the idea 
phase; they are not fully fleshed 
out plans. Before making any 
final decisions and turning them 
into fully planned initiatives, 
City Council is interested in 
hearing which initiative ideas 
community members think are 
the most important. 

 If you have clarifying questions 
about any of the potential 
initiative ideas, please feel free 
to call us at (626) 300-0781 or 
email us at CityManagerOffice@

 CityofSanMarino.org. 
To take the survey visit: 
cityofsanmarino.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