Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, December 26, 2020

5


Mountain Views-News Saturday, December 26, 2020 

New Year's 
Holiday 
Closures and 
Reminders


Cosmic Cocktail Hour: 

Search for Life in the Universe

 
Carnegie Observatories 
presentation hosted by 
Pasadena Senior Center 

 Pasadena residents and 
businesses are reminded 
that City Hall and most 
City services will be closed 
on New Year’s Day. Specific 
closures, exceptions and 
reminders are noted below.

 Pasadena residents and 
businesses with any power 
emergencies should call 
Pasadena’s Water and 
Power (PWP) Department 
at (626) 744-4673. For 
water-related emergencies, 
call (626) 744-4138. 
PWP’s Customer Service 
Call Center will be closed 
Friday, Jan. 1. Customers 
can access their accounts 
and make payments 
through the automated 
phone system at (626) 
744-4005 or online at:
PWPweb.com.

 The City’s Citizen Service 
Center (CSC) will also 
be closed Friday. You can 
contact the CSC via the 
web or by calling (626) 
744-7311. City trash
collection will not occur
on Jan. 1. Trash, recycling
and yard waste collection
will have a one-day delay
for residents with Friday
pickup.

 Residents can drop off 
their Christmas trees 
today, through Monday, 
Jan. 4, for recycling at 
Eaton Blanche Park 
(3100 E Del Mar Blvd.) or 
Robinson Park (1081 N 
Fair Oaks Ave.) between 
the hours of 7 a.m. and 
2 p.m. Please remove all 
stands, ornaments and 
lights prior to drop-off. 
Curbside Christmas tree 
pickup will take place 
Jan. 4 through Jan. 15 on 
residents’ regular pickup 
day.

 Pasadena Transit and Dial-
A-Ride transportation will
not operate New Year’s
Day. Overnight parking
restrictions will not be
enforced through Jan. 3.
All parking meters will
be free and parking time
limits will not be enforced
on Jan. 1. All other parking
violations, including red
curb parking and blocking
fire hydrants, will be
enforced.

 The City’s Permit Center 
will also be closed Jan. 1.

 Pasadena Fire and Police 
Departments will continue 
to be staffed for all patrol, 
jail, fire, paramedic and 
other emergency services. 
Always call 9-1-1 for life-
threatening emergencies. 
For non-emergencies, 
call (626) 744-4241. If 
you “See Something, 
Say Something.” Report 
suspicious activity 
to Pasadena Police 
Department at (626) 744-
4241.

 All parks will be open 
for picnics, fun and play; 
however, gatherings 
of any size with non-
household members are 
not permitted (except for 
outdoor worship services 
and protests, which are 
constitutionally protected 
activities). Please follow 
public health guidance to 
ensure the safest holiday 
possible. For more visit: 
cityofpasadena.net. 

 Dr. John Mulchaey, director 
of Carnegie Observatories, will 
make a presentation about the 
search for life in the universe 
for the second monthly 
Cosmic Cocktail Hour lecture 
on astronomy hosted by 
the Pasadena Senior Center 
Wednesday, Jan. 6, at 4 p.m. via 
Zoom. 

 Over the past decade, a series 
of remarkable discoveries has 
increasingly indicated that 
life forms must exist beyond 
Earth. According to Mulchaey, 
observations of water geysers 
on one of Saturn’s moons 
and ice on Mars are just two 
examples, and the trillions of 
galaxies in the universe must 
contain types of life as well. 

 “Detecting faraway evidence of 
life is one of the most complex 
challenges in astronomy 
today, involving observational 
astronomers who use telescopes 
for visual data and theoretical 
astronomers who deploy 
state-of-the-art technologies 
to analyze observational data 
and patterns,” said Mulchaey. 
“During this event, I will 
discuss both types of research 
underway at Carnegie 
Observatories and how 
Carnegie astronomers and 
their colleagues worldwide are 
collaborating to address this 
exciting challenge.” 

 The cost is only $7 for members 
of the Pasadena Senior Center 
and $10 for non-members. To 
register for this Zoom event 
or for more information, visit 
www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org 
and click on Events, Clubs and 
Lectures, then Online Events or 
call 626-795-4331. Everyone 
who registers will receive an 
email link to access the event. 

 At Carnegie Observatories, 
Mulchaey investigates groups 
and clusters of galaxies, elliptical 
galaxies, active galaxies, black 
holes and dark matter, which 
is the invisible material that 
makes up most of the universe. 
He also is a scientific editor of 
The Astrophysical Journal and 
is actively involved in public 
outreach and education about 
astronomy and astrophysics. 
He received his PhD from 
the University of Maryland 
and was a fellow at the Space 
Telescope Science Institute 
and at Carnegie Observatories 
before joining the Carnegie 
staff. 

 Since the beginning of the 20th 
century, Southern California – 
and especially Pasadena – has 
been the world’s leading center 
of astronomy research and 
discovery. Today it is dedicated 
to deep research on the 
evolution of the cosmos and 
the training of new generations 
of astronomers. For the 
past 40 years most of this 
research has taken place at the 
Observatories’ large-telescope 
facilities in the Atacama 
Desert in northern Chile and 
has yielded discoveries about 
galaxy and star formation, dark 
matter, black holes and more. 

 For more information 
about online activities 
and other programs and 
services of the Pasadena visit: 
pasadenaseniorcenter.org or 
call 626-795-4331. 

Mulchaey

The Rose Bowl Name Goes Undecided 

By Dean Lee

 In the latest update to an 
ongoing saga that could end 
with the Rose Bowl, not only 
moving January 1 to Arlington 
Texas but also renamed. 

 The Pasadena city council 
met Tuesday night, during a 
closed door special meeting, to 
either, allow use of The Rose 
Bowl name, or prohibit the use 
outside Pasadena. City officials 
said no action was taken during 
the hours long meeting. 

 With less than a week before 
Notre Dame takes on Alabama 
the game is, for now, being 
called “The College Football 
Playoff Semifinal Presented by 
Capitol One.” 

 The city council still needs 
to make the decision this 
week. The use of the name 
would also need approval 
from the Tournament of Roses 
Association. If the name is not 
allowed this would be the first 
time the game would be played 
New Years as something other 
than the Rose Bowl. 

 Along with the “Rose Bowl 
Game, ” “The Grandaddy of 
Them All” and “The Rose 
Parade” are all trademarked. 

 In a letter to the council, 
Pasadena Chamber of 
Commerce CEO Paul Little 
said he opposed using the name 
outside the city.

 “The name and the game 
are Pasadena’s identity to the 
world,” Little said. “You betray 
Pasadena, its residents and our 
history to allow the Rose Bowl 
name to be used for a game in 
Texas.”

 Others viewed the use as 
necessary during the state’s 
COIVD-19 restrictions. 

 As a Pasadena resident and 
business owner, I support the 
use of the Rose Bowl Game 
name in the CFP semifinal in 
Texas,” said an unnamed former 
Rose Bowl Operating Company 
boardmember. “Portability and 
flexibility are effective principles 
during this pandemic. Please 
support the use of the Rose 
Bowl Game name at the Texas 
CFP semifinal. 

 A last minute appeal to the state 
last week by the Tournament of 
Roses Association was denied. 
If granted, the appeal would 
have allowed 4,000 people to 
attend the game in Pasadena. 
On Monday Governor Gavin 
Newsom said he was sad to 
see the game leave California 
but added that with 0 percent 
ICU capacity, “we can’t make 
exceptions.” 

 In Texas, 16,000 fans are being 
allowed to attend the game at 
AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Kermit the 
Frog to be 
Celebrity 
Conductor


Chu Decries San Gabriel 
Mountains Protections Cut 
by Senate Republicans

 Tournament of Roses 
officials announced Monday 
Kermit the Frog will be the 
celebrity conductor in the 
“Rose Parade’s New Year 
Celebration presented by 
Honda.” Kermit will lead 
the virtual performance 
showcasing seniors in high 
school and college. The world’s 
most famous amphibian 
and international film and 
television star is no stranger 
to the Rose Parade; in 1996 
Kermit road down Colorado 
Blvd. as Grand Marshal. 

 The segment will feature 
hundreds of students from 
bands across the country, 
and from around the world, 
who will come together for a 
special, virtual performance 
of “Everything’s Coming up 
Roses.” From Pennsylvania to 
San Diego and from Sweden to 
Panama, these students will be 
part of history as the first virtual 
performance in America’s New 
Year Celebration.

 The Pasadena Tournament 
of Roses has invited all the 
bands who were scheduled 
to perform in the 2021 Rose 
Parade to join the 2022 Rose 
Parade. 

 The music and choreography 
was sent to each school for 
preparation and rehearsal. 
Each student submitted a video 
of themselves performing. 

 The TV entertainment special 
will also feature special musical 
performances, heartwarming 
segments related to the Rose 
Parade, special Rose Bowl 
Game football highlights, 
equestrians, celebrity guests, 
spectacular floats from years 
past and New Year’s wishes 
from fans around the world.

 For more information and a 
list of participating schools, 
visit: tournamentofroses.com.

Caltech Von Kármán Lecture 
to Feature Spacecraft Origami

 Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
Technologist Manan Arya 
and Lizbeth B. De La Torre, 
Creative Technologist at Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory are 
set to talk about Spacecraft 
Origami Thursday Jan. 14, as 
part of the the Theodore von 
Kármán Lecture Series. The 
lecture will be presented online 
only on YouTube at “Von 
Karman Public Talks.” 

 According to event organizers, 
for years, engineers have had 
to deal with “the tyranny of 
the faring:” anything you 
want to send into space has 
to fit into a rocket bearing. A 
field of advanced design has 
been looking for new ways to 
advance our engineering, using 
the centuries old art form to 
dream bigger.

 The Theodore von Kármán 
Lecture Series, named after 
JPL’s founder, and presented by 
JPL’s Office of Communication 
and Education, brings 
the excitement of the 
space program’s missions, 
instruments and other 
technologies to both JPL 
employees and the local 
community. Lectures normally 
take place twice per month, 
on consecutive Thursdays and 
Fridays.

For more information visit: 
caltech.edu/campus-life-
events, or find CaltechLive! 
on Facebook, Instagram, and 
Twitter. 

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 
Judy Chu earlier this month 
issued a statement criticizing 
Senate Republicans for 
stripping language to 
increase protections for 
the San Gabriel Mountains 
from the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal 
Year 2021 which passed the 
House of Representatives 
Dec. 8:

 “The NDAA conference 
report which the House 
voted on Tuesday [Dec. 8] 
was a far cry from the one 
House Democrats passed, 
and which I was proud to 
support, in July. Instead of 
using the NDAA to ruin 
public lands with a needless 
border wall, as Republicans 
had demanded, the House 
version protected and 
promoted public lands. 
In particular, I was so 
pleased that it included 
the text of the San Gabriel 
Mountains Foothills and 
Rivers Protection Act, my 
legislation to expand the 
borders of the San Gabriel 
Mountains National 
Monument to include the 
western Angeles National 
Forest. It would also have 
established a National 
Recreation Area to enhance 
conservation, increase 
access for all communities 
by connecting park poor 
areas to open space, and 
improve the management of 
the area through improved 
resources, education, and 
public engagement. This 
language was included with 
the support of Democrats 
on the Armed Services 
Committees in both the 
House and Senate as well as 
Senate Energy and Natural 
Resources Ranking Member 
Joe Manchin and passed 
out of the House with 
overwhelming support. But 
that language protecting our 
precious lands was removed 
by Senate Republicans, 
who instead sent back an 
NDAA that increases the 
gap between defense and 
domestic spending, and 
commits the United States 
to endless war. We should be 
leaving future generations 
a better inheritance than 
just fruitless wars and 
humanitarian disasters. We 
should be leaving them a 
country they are proud to 
defend. That must include 
preserving our precious 
natural resources. I’m 
disappointed that this small 
commitment to our future 
was cut out of the final 
NDAA.”


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