Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, June 29, 2019

6

Mountain View News Saturday, June 29, 2019 


OPENING OF 
DESIDERIO 
NEIGHBORHOOD 
PARK 

Hahamongna Big 
Dig Trial Postponed

 
A Los Angeles Superior Court 
judge agreed, last week, to postpone 
the trial regarding Los Angeles 
County Flood Control District’s 
Big Dig project in Hahamongna 
Watershed Park in Pasadena to 
allow the parties to develop a 
comprehensive settlement of the 
disputed issues. 

 According to officials related to 
the matter, Honorable James C. 
Chalfant issued a 29-page tentative 
decision JUne 19 in favor of the 
Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF) 
and Pasadena Audubon Society 
(PAS) in their lawsuit against the 
County. The tentative ruling finds 
that the Flood Control District’s 
environmental impact report is 
inadequate in several key areas.

 In a statement Hahamongna 
advocates said. rather than 
contesting the judge’s decisive 
ruling, Senior Deputy County 
Counsel William Simon asked 
for a postponement of the trial 
until July 30 to allow the County 
to get together with ASF and 
PAS to develop a comprehensive 
settlement agreement. Judge 
Chalfant asked ASF/PAS attorney 
Mitchell Tsai if his clients agreed 
to a postponement, and Mr Tsai 
responded that they did.

 “The tentative decision is detailed 
and decisive,” said attorney Tsai. 
“It finds that the Flood Control 
District failed to provide the public 
with a meaningful opportunity to 
comment on the revised program 
and the alternatives available as a 
result of the Flood Control District 
downgrading its required flood 
control capacity standard at Devil’s 
Gate Dam. In addition, the tentative 
decision finds that the Flood 
Control District’s environmental 
mitigation measures failed to 
specify performance standards 
for the required habitat mitigation 
areas.”

 Tim Brick, Managing Director 
of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, 
stated, “We agreed to the 
postponement because it has 
never been our intention to stop 
the County’s sediment removal 
program. Our goal has been to 
minimize the negative aspects 
of the project, such as noise, 
dust, traffic and air pollution, 
and to ensure that the resulting 
Hahamongna management 
program is ongoing and protects 
the unique environmental values 
of the area. We want the County 
to treat the Arroyo Seco like a river 
and to implement nature-based 
solutions that will serve our region 
well as we face climate change and 
the challenges of nature. We have 
assurances from Mark Pestrella, 
County Public Works Director, 
that the County will work hard to 
develop a settlement along those 
lines and that all our concerns are 
on the table.”

 Laura Solomon, President of 
the Pasadena Audubon Society, 
stated “The Pasadena Audubon 
Society is gratified that the court 
recognizes that the County has 
failed to work transparently with 
the public, despite their frequent 
claims to the contrary. We hope 
that the County will do its job to 
protect the land, the birds, and the 
people by shrinking the size of the 
permanent footprint of the project, 
using the cleanest trucks possible 
to move the sediment, and truly 
restoring the Hahamongna basin, 
especially the nesting habitat they 
have destroyed.”

 The Flood Control District 
proposes to remove 1.7 million 
cubic yards of sediment and 
debris in the reservoir behind 
Devil’s Gate Dam in a program 
critics has dubbed “The Big Dig.” 
The sediment has accumulated 
over many decades. The removal 
program would involve as many as 
425 diesel truckloads daily for four 
or more years and the destruction 
of 70 acres of prime habitat in the 
alluvial canyon at the base of the 
San Gabriel Mountains.

 If the environmental groups and 
the County cannot develop an 
agreement in the next six weeks, 
Judge Chalfant will hear oral 
argument regarding the tentative 
ruling on July 30. If he finalizes 
the tentative decision, he will issue 
a writ ordering the Flood Control 
District to revise and recirculate 
the Project’s environmental impact 
report and set aside or vacate the 
Project’s approvals. All project 
activity would then cease pending 
revision and recirculation of the 
Project’s environmental document.

 “The winner today is Hahamongna 
and all those who are determined 
to protect and save it for future 
generations,” said ASF’s Tim Brick.

By Dean Lee

 Pasadena Mayor Terry 
Tornek (pictured), City 
Manager Steve Mermell 
and a number of local 
children celebrated the 
grand opening Thursday of 
Desiderio Neighborhood 
Park.

 During the ceremony, 
Tornek said the occasion 
marked Pasadena’s first 
new park new park in over 
10 years. The 3.8 acre site 
was the former Desiderio 
Army Reserve Center. 
The city acquired the 
property from the federal 
government in 2013. 

 The park, located directly 
under the Colorado Street 
Bridge, includes, walkways 
that loop around and 
through the park with 
open grassy areas, play 
equipment and picnic 
tables. 

 During the proposal phase 
Desiderio Neighborhood 
Park saw its fair share 
of criticism, including 
adding bathrooms and 
the location under the 
Colorado Street Bridge.

 Residents have criticized, 
the yet to be added, 
restrooms over size, 
location in the park and 
the possibility of attracting 
criminal behavior. 
Residents also worry 
of overcrowding to use 
the restrooms after large 
events at the Rose Bowl. 

 The city, in July 2017, 
installed temporary 
barriers along the bridge 
to stop a surge in suicides. 
Residents feared dead 
bodies would be found 
in the park. At the city 
council’s last meeting, 
they finalized the city’s 
2020 operating budget, 
that includes $750,000 for 
construction of permanent 
suicide prevention barriers 
for the bridge.

Nation’s Largest Fireworks Show Returns

 

 Recognized as one of the 
nation’s largest and longest 
running 4th of July fireworks 
shows, the Rose Bowl 
will host its 93rd annual 
AmericaFest celebration 
on Thursday, July 4th with 
a spectacular nighttime 
display of more than a ton 
of fireworks. Thousands 
of special effects fireworks 
will be launched from the 
stadium as part of the Rose 
Bowl’s daylong family-
friendly entertainment 
extravaganza.

 This year’s audience will be 
treated to very special live 
performances by various 
Southland choirs to celebrate 
Disney’s “The Lion King,” 
in theaters July 19. Jon 
Favareau helms the new film, 
which blends live-action 
techniques, state-of-the-
art virtual-reality tools and 
photoreal digital imagery to 
bring treasured characters 
to life in a whole new way. 
Walt Disney Records’ 
highly acclaimed a cappella 
group, DCappella, joins the 
celebration, too, performing 
reimagined classics from the 
Disney songbook, including 
favorites from “The Lion 
King.” The night of music 
continues with, University 
of Southern California’s a 
capella group, SoCal VoCals, 
who have who 5 ICCA 
awards to date. 

 As part of the 50th 
anniversary of the lunar 
landing, guests will delight 
in witnessing an exciting 
preview from “Apollo 11: 
The Immersive Live Show.” 
Finally, always a crowd 
thriller, TNT Freestyle 
Motocross returns to take 
to the air with thrilling 
motorcycle stunts.

 AmericaFest is a Rose 
Bowl Stadium tradition and 
is celebrating its 93rd year 
as the longest running 4th 
of July show in California. 
The Rialto-California based 
company Pyro Spectaculars 
by Souza will once again 
produce the Southland’s 
largest fireworks show at the 
Rose Bowl.

 Pyro Spectaculars by Souza 
has been family operated 
for five generations and 
has provided fireworks 
entertainment at the Rose 
Bowl Stadium for more than 
35 years. Known worldwide 
for extraordinary firework 
displays, Pyro Spectaculars 
produces shows for NFL 
Super Bowls, the Olympic 
Games and major events 
throughout the world. 

 “It’s exciting because 
this year’s Rose Bowl 
AmericaFest™ celebration 
will feature the largest 
fireworks display in the 
western United States,” said 
Darryl Dunn, Rose Bowl 
general manager. “This 
year will be the Southland’s 
biggest and most exciting 
musical pyrotechnic show 
as we celebrate our nation’s 
birthday.”

 A Family Fun Zone outside 
the stadium will open in 
the afternoon and will offer 
food, entertainment, crafts, 
exhibits and inflatable rides 
for children.

 Tickets for AmericaFest, are 
on sale now at Ticketmaster 
(800) 745-3000 or at 
ticketmaster.com.

 Features the Lion 
King Music Tribute 
and an Apollo 11 
Preview

 Library Gets 
Grant for 
Immigration 
Resources 

 The California State Library 
recently awarded Pasadena 
Public Library a local Library 
Services and Technology Act 
(LSTA) grant of $62,000 to 
focus on bolstering citizenship 
and immigration resources 
at the La Pintoresca and Villa 
Parke Branch libraries and 
Central Library. “Libraries 
try to provide resources 
on everything including 
immigration, which is a very 
complex issue,” said Melvin 
Racelis, Senior Librarian at 
La Pintoresca Branch Library 
who is leading this project. 
“Recently, there has been an 
increased interest in this topic. 
As librarians, it is important 
that we serve the informational 
needs of immigrants to our 
community, as well as anyone 
interested in the citizenship 
process.”

 Newly created Citizenship 
Corners at each of the three 
library sites will provide 
patrons with access to 
resources and materials to 
assist them with understanding 
United States citizenship and 
related processes, including 
information kits, which will 
be available for checkout. 
These locations will also 
host bilingual educational 
workshops in English and 
Spanish in partnership with 
outside organizations to 
address a variety of immigrant 
needs. Additionally, library 
staff will receive training 
from the Department of U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration 
Services (USCIS) to help them 
better assist patrons with 
questions on the citizenship 
process.

 To prepare further for 
the naturalization test the 
Pasadena Human Services and 
Recreation Department offers a 
U.S. Citizenship Class at Villa 
Parke Community Center for 
adults ages 50 and up. This 
class provides participants with 
a basic overview of U.S. history 
and government.


Amendment Stops Children 
from being Held at Former 
Japanese Internment Camp

 Congresswoman Judy Chu 
introduced Wednesday an 
amendment to H.R. 3401, 
the supplemental border 
appropriations bill, that 
would prohibit any funds 
made available by the bill 
from being used to operate 
Fort Sill, a former Japanese 
American internment 
camp, as a detention center 
for minor children. This 
amendment is a response to 
the Trump Administration’s 
plans to relocate about 1,400 
migrant children to the 
fort. Rep. Chu issued the 
following statement:

 “Donald Trump should 
not be detaining children. 
Period. This is a policy he 
has implemented by choice, 
under the cruel assumption 
that abusing children 
already here will deter future 
immigrants from coming at 
all. Now, he is trying to take 
his cruelty one step further 
by bringing back relics of 
one of the most shameful 
periods in our history: the 
imprisonment of innocent 
Japanese Americans during 
WWII. Japanese Americans 
understand the costs of 
xenophobia. And so it is 
particularly painful for 
those who have endured this 
prejudice to once again see 
this facility used to deprive 
innocent individuals of their 
basic human rights. Donald 
Trump should not receive one 
single dollar to be used for 
placing immigrant children 
in unlicensed facilities. And 
this amendment goes further 
by preventing him from 
dredging up the ghosts of 
xenophobic policies past.”

Repair Café

 Throw It Away? No Way! 
Saturday, July 20, from 10 
a.m. to 1 p.m. Come to the 
Repair Café where tinkers, 
tailors and blade sharpeners 
will be on hand to repair 
your appliances, electronics, 
clothing, toys, tools, knives, 
jewelry and other items for 
free. There also will be a seed 
and seedling swap, gardening 
advisor, music for your 
enjoyment and the Really 
Free Market with 100 percent 
off everything – take away 
items and/or donate items. 
All are welcome! For more 
information or to volunteer 
as a repairer, email contact@
repair-cafe-pasadena.org. 
This is a Zero Waste event 
hosted by Transition Pasadena 
(www.transitionpasadena.
org).

PASADENA CITY MEETINGS

Regular City Council Meeting

 

NEXT CITY COUNCIL MONDAY JULY 15

Public Meeting 6:30 P.M. 

Council Chamber, Pasadena City Hall

100 North Garfield Avenue, Room S249 

MUNICIPAL SERVICES COMMITTEE (Chair Margaret McAustin, Tyron Hampton, Terry Tornek, Andy Wilson)

Meets July 9 at 4:00 p.m., Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Room S249 (Council Chamber, 2nd Floor)'

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE (Chair Victor Gordo, Tyron Hampton, Steve 
Madison, Andy Wilson) 

Meets July 16, at 5:30 p.m. Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Room S245/S246 (Council Conference Room, 2nd 
Floor)

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE (Chair John J. Kennedy, Tyron Hampton, Steve Madison, Gene Masuda) 

Meets July 17 at 6 p.m. Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Room S249 (Council Chamber, 2nd Floor)

FINANCE COMMITTEE (Chair Mayor Terry Tornek, Victor Gordo, John J. Kennedy, Margaret McAustin)

Meets July 22 at 4:00 p.m., 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Room S249 (City Hall Council Chamber, 2nd floor)

LEGISLATIVE POLICY COMMITTEE (Chair Terry Tornek, Steve Madison, Gene Masuda)

Meets July 23 at 6:00 p.m., Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Room S245/S246 (Council Conference Room, 2nd 
Floor)

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