Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 2, 2021

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 2, 2021 

Fall ArtNightReturns Friday 


The highly anticipated Fall 
ArtNight returns Friday, 
Oct. 8, 6–10 p.m., with both 
virtual and limited in-person 
activities. Nineteen local arts 
and cultural institutions will 
showcase diverse works of art, 
music and dance by the best 
the city’s creative community 
has to offer. Enjoy hands-on, 
interactive activities for all 
ages and interests—all for free

 Catch musical excerpts of 
“I’m Okay, You’re Okay at the 
OK Corral” at Pasadena City 
Hall performed by Theatre 
Americana. Local acoustic 
trio The Subs will also play 
popular songs from the 1950s 
to now.

 Additional ArtNight 
offerings include an outdoor 
viewing under the stars of the 
Pennington Dance Group at 
A Room to Create; physically 
distanced hands-on art 
making at artWORKS Teen 
Center; a live performance by 
Dyad, a violin and bassoon 
duo, at the brand new Lineage 
Performing Arts Center; an 
outdoor video billboard on 
the front lawn of Pasadena 
City College showing works of 
artist Natalie Bookchin; Viva 
La Fiesta, a virtual celebration 
honoring Hispanic Heritage 
Month, hosted by Pasadena 
Public Library, with book 
talks and crafting demos; 
live streamed and prerecorded 
classical, jazz, and 
multicultural performances 
by Pasadena Conservatory of 
Music students, faculty, and 
special guests; a virtual book 
giveaway hosted by Red Hen 

Press; and a virtual ikebana 

demonstration presented by 

Jane Imai, executive director 
of Shumei Arts Council.

 Visit: artnightpasadena. 
org for additional details 
and a complete list of art 
and cultural offerings at 
ArtNight, one of the most 
exciting events in Southern 
California! 
Participating arts and cultural 
institutions include: 
A Room to Create 
Armory Center for the ArtsArt Center College of DesignartWORKS Teen Center 
Boston Court Pasadena 
California Art Club 
City of Pasadena City HallLineage Performing Arts 
Center 
MUSE/IQUEParson’s Nose Theater 
Pasadena Central LibraryPasadena City CollegePasadena Conservatory of 
Music 
Pasadena Museum of HistoryPasadena Unified School 
District 
Red Hen Press 
Shumei Arts Council 
The Gamble House 
USC Pacific Asia Museum

 The City will not be providing 
free shuttle transportation for 
the public; however, there will 
be two access buses provided 
for wheelchair accessibility 
at City Hall. Pie ’n Burger 
and Fat Boys food trucks will 
be parked at City Hall and 
Boston Court Pasadena.

 Some in-person and virtual 
events require reservations. 
Individuals who are sick or 
have COVID-19 should stay 
home. Masks are required at 
all indoor and some outdoor 
venues. Proof of COVID-19 
vaccination or a negative 
COVID test no older than 72 
hours is required to be shown 
at indoor venues expecting 
more than 1,000 visitors. 

Pasadena Sears set to Close Permanently 


By Dean Lee

 After well over a half century 
of serving Pasadena residents, 
Sears parent company 
Transformco announced last 
week the indefinite closing of the 
Hastings Ranch Plaza location 
and with it one of only five Sears 
Auto Centers left in California. 
The store first opened in 1958. 
The store at 3801 E. Foothill 
Blvd is set to close Nov. 14 just 
weeks before Black Friday and 
the start of the holiday season. 

 Sears has already started 
liquidation, from 10 percent 
to 70 percent off, of everything 
in the store including all the 
fixtures. Signage on the doors 
reads “nothing held back.” 

In a press statement by 
Transformco spokesperson 
Larry Costello, he said they plan 
to redevelop the property. 

 “This is part of the company’s 
strategy to unlock the value of 
the real estate and pursue the 
highest and best use for the 

benefit of the local community, 
he said adding that they are in 
talks with best-of-class retailers.

 Sears, was bought by Hoffman 
estates-based Transformco 
out of bankruptcy in 2019. 
Transformco was created by 
former Sears CEO Edward 
Lampert and his hedge fund. 

 Moving forward Costello also 
stated that Transformco”will 
continue to expand both 
[Sears] Hometown Stores and 
Home & Life stores in cities 
and towns that previously had 
larger format stores.” they are 
also “very focused on growing 
sears.com and the Sears Home 
Services business,” he said.

 Hometown Stores are located 
in cities such as Coachella and 
Tehachapi. The last Sears stores 
in Southern California will be in 
Burbank and Whittier.

 Transformco also owns Kmart, 
with only one location left in 
California near Lake Tahoe. 

 Sears, once the country’s largest 

City of Pasadena HiresNew Public Works Director 

 
Pasadena city officials 
announced Friday that 
City of Brea Public Works 
Director Tony Olmos has 
been appointed public works 
director with the City of 
Pasadena effective Nov. 1. 
He will oversee a department 
with 230 full-time employees 
and an annual budget of 
$76.9 million.

 Olmos has 28 years of 
professional experience and 
comes to Pasadena from 
the City of Brea where he 
has served as public works 
director for five years. In that 
position, he is responsible for 
the overall operations of the 
Public Works Department, 
including Administration, 
Refuse, Maintenance, 
Engineering, Fleet, 
Environmental Programs, 
and Utilities (water, sewer, 
and storm water). In 
addition, Olmos has held 
progressively responsible 
positions including city 
engineer, assistant director of 
engineering/chief engineer 
and public works director 
at the County of Orange 
and the Cities of Manhattan 
Beach, Huntington Beach, 
Santa Fe Springs, and Santa 
Ana.

 “I am confident that Tony 
will be a great addition to 
the City of Pasadena,” City 
Manager Steve Mermell. 
“In addition to having 
strong leadership skills, his 
qualifications are impressive. 
He has a track record of 
working well with the 
community—seeking input 
and providing solutions—as 
well as experience working 
with engaged constituents, 
leading change efforts, and 

building rapport and trust 
with employees and external 
stakeholders,” said

 The city retained an 
executive search firm which 
facilitated the process. 
Pasadena residents were 
invited to share feedback 
and input on a new public 
works director via the City’s 
website. Ultimately, 56 
applications were received, 
and the five most qualified 
were identified by the search 
firm based on the established 
qualifications and 
participated in interviews 
with a panel of professional 
staff from outside agencies 
and within the City. From 
that group, the top three 
applicants were interviewed 
in early September by the 
assistant city managers and 
city manager.

 “I am honored and excited 
to have been selected 
as the City’s next public 
works director. I’m looking 
forward to applying my prior 
experience to engage our 
community and staff to help 
carry out City Council’s goals 
and initiatives,” said Olmos. 

 Olmos is married to his wife 
of 25 years and is the proud 
grandfather to his threeyear-
old granddaughter. 

merchant, was the go-to place 
for Craftsman tools, Toughskins 
jeans or a Kenmore washing 
machine. Founded 134 years 
ago by business men Richard 
Sears and Alvah C. Roebuck in 
Chicago, the company survived 
two world wars and the Great 
Depression. 

Photo D.Lee/MVNews 

Library Gets$4 Million for 
Upgrades

 Assemblymember Chris 

Holden presented, at last 

weeks City Council meeting, a 

check for $4 million to the City 

of Pasadena and the Pasadena 

Public Library to help seismic 

retrofit and restoration of the 

Central Library.

 According to city officials 

after a long closure of 

Pasadena Public Library 

facilities due to the pandemic, 

many looked forward to the 

reopening of the Central 

Library and its nine branch 

libraries. In April, the first to 

open was the Central Library. 

It was short lived as the city 

discovered that the building 

was not safe should there be 

an earthquake.

 On May 3, city officials were 

forced to close Central Library 

for a required seismic retrofit 

and restoration to meet 

life safety requirements. A 

structural assessment revealed 

that most of the building 

consists of unreinforced 

masonry.

 The city moved to work 

towards identifying a plan for 

seismic upgrades, restoration, 

and reopening of the facility. 

The city reached out to Holden. 

Just one month later, it was 

announced that the State of 

California had approved in its 

budget $4 million to be used 

for the design and drawings 

for the seismic upgrades of the 

Pasadena Central Library.

 At the City Council meeting, 

Holden said, “Having served 

on this council, I understand 

first-hand how important this 

library is to the community.”

 In the previous year, prior 

to the pandemic closure, 

Pasadena Public Library 

greeted over 616,000 guests, 

with the Pasadena Central 

Library hosting 232 group 

events and 876 community 

and organization meetings.

 With these initial funds now 

secured, the city will assemble 

and manage an architectural 

engineering design team of 

experts that will bring the 

iconic Central Library back 

online to ensure access to 

library services and programs 

for future generations, and 

to preserve the historical 

features of the Central Library 

building.

 For more information on the 

Central Library, please visit 

PasadenaPublicLibrary.net. 

Pasadena to Celebrate 
National Coming Out Day 

 
Pasadena Public Health 
Department, Pasadena Public 
Library and Pasadena Parks, 
Recreation and Community 
Services will host Pasadena’s 
6th annual Coming Out Day 
Celebration on Monday, Oct. 
11, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 
Memorial Park, located on the 
corner of Raymond Avenue 
and Walnut Street. The annual, 
free event is part of the City’s 
efforts to celebrate and foster 
an inclusive community.

 The keynote presenter is 
Tyanta Snow, the “Game 
Show Guru.” A well-known 
television personality, actor, 
host and musical artist, he has 
appeared on over 15 reality 
shows and game shows and is 
currently appearing as Human 
#28 (The Tic Tac Toe Guy) on 
the Netflix hit reality show 
“100 Humans.” Snow also has 
his own gospel group named 
Ty Snow and Xtreme Purpose, 
which has toured and recorded 
across the country. He serves as 
director for KJLH Radio Free 
Voices under Stevie Wonder’s 
direction. Known affectionately 
as “Mr. Tigger,” Snow also 
works as a special education 
teacher for Pasadena Unified 
School District, bringing a 
bright light to everyone he 
comes across and ensuring that 
fun and laughter are the most 
important part of the day.

 Tia Wanna (Te Jay McGrath) 
will serve as the evening’s 
moderator. The celebration will 
also feature the popular Drag 
Queen Storytime, featuring fun 
family stories, crafts, LGBTQ 
speakers, music, resource 
tables, giveaways, and free HIV 
testing, COVID-19 vaccines 
and flu shots. 

 This event is for all ages and 
supports those who have come 
out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, queer (LGBTQ) 
or as an ally. Pasadena’s 
celebration coincides with the 
33rd anniversary of National 
Coming Out Day, launched 
to recognize the first National 
March on Washington for 
lesbian and gay rights and to 
remind all of us of the power of 
coming out.

 Nearly one in two Americans 
knows someone who is gay 
or lesbian. That number is 
one in 10 for transgender 
people. Coming out—whether 
as lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, queer or allied—
still matters. Sharing our 
stories helps raise awareness 
and change perspectives. When 
people know someone who 
is LGBTQ, they are far more 
likely to support equality under 
the law.

 At their Oct. 4 meeting, 
Pasadena City Council 
members are scheduled to 
proclaim October 2021 as 
LGBTQ+ History Month in 
Pasadena to celebrate and 
commemorate those who 
fought for equal rights and 
services for the LGBTQ+ 
community; and as a means of 
educating others, promoting 
a culture of acceptance and 
inclusivity, and advancing 
equality for all.

 The City of Pasadena is an 
inclusive city, accepting of 
everyone regardless of race, 
creed, color, religion, national 
origin, marital status, socioeconomic 
status, sex, age, 
sexual orientation, gender 
identity, genetic information, 
or disability. 

Vaccine Proof To Be Requiredat Events, Bars and Nightclubs

 A Pasadena Health Officer Order was issued Monday, requires 
proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a pre-entry negative test 
for outdoor mega events starting Oct. 7; children under 12 are 
exempt. The Health Officer Order also requires vaccination 
verification for customers and employees at indoor portions of 
bars, breweries, nightclubs and lounges.

 The requirement is for vaccine verification or a negative test 
within 72 hours prior to attending an outdoor mega events 
with more than 10,000 attendees that are ticketed and/or have 
controlled points of entry to a well-defined area, such as sporting 
and music events. Customers receiving indoor service in bars, 
breweries, nightclubs and lounges, and employees must provide 
proof of at least one dose by Oct. 7 and full vaccination by Nov. 4. 
Although the new order does not apply to restaurants, vaccination 
proof for customers dining indoors is strongly recommended.

 The order puts in place safety measures to address the continued 
need to reduce community transmission of COVID-19, which is 
still at a substantial level in Pasadena, For more information visit: 
cityofpasadena.net. 


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