Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 8, 2022

5


Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 8, 2022 

Pasadena 
Celebrates 
Cheese-

burger Week 

South Pasadena Wins Founder Award

Rose Bowl Postpones ‘Party 
of the Century’ Until October


Restaurants throughout 
Pasadena pay homage to 
the cheeseburger

 Celebrate all things 
cheeseburger during 
Cheeseburger Week from 
January 23rd to January 
28th. 

 Each January, Pasadena 
honors Lionel Sternberger’s 
genius in being the first to 
put cheese on a hamburger 
and serve it at the Rite 
Spot in Pasadena. It is 
anticipated that thirty 
of Pasadena’s favorite 
restaurants, lounges and 
burger joints offer their 
signature burgers, some 
special creations and great 
deals during Pasadena 
Cheeseburger Week.

 In 1924, as legend 
has it, teenaged Lionel 
Sternberger burned one 
side of a hamburger 
patty at The Rite Spot, his 
father’s roadside stand 
along Colorado Boulevard 
(then Colorado Street) 
in west Pasadena. Rather 
than throw away the 
spoiled burger, he masked 
his mistake with a piece 
of cheese and served it 
to a very appreciative 
customer. Word soon 
spread and customers 
flocked to The Rite Spot for 
The Aristocratic Burger, A 
Hamburger with Cheese. 
Sternberger’s achievement 
is the first verified instance 
of someone serving a 
hamburger with cheese to 
a customer.

 Over the years, 
Sternberger perfected 
his Aristocratic Burger, 
much to the delight of 
customers at The Rite Spot. 

 Sternberger’s culinary 
achievement in 1924 has 
been documented by 
Hamburger America, the 
Los Angeles Times and 
even Time magazine in its 
obituary of Sternberger.

 To celebrate Sternberger’s 
burger masterpiece, 
Pasadena restaurants are 
offering specials, unique 
creations and the tried and 
true. From the nationally 
recognized, cheeseburger 
at Pie ‘n Burger to the 
Zacatecas Burger at El 
Portal and Yahaira’s, 
Pasadena’s burger 
purveyors pull out all the 
stops with special menu 
items and pricing. Dog 
Haus offers its acclaimed 
Haus Burger for $6.99 at 
both Pasadena locations.

 Patrons can find a terrific 
burger experience, from 
top-of-the-line fine dining 
experiences to burger 
stands and lounges. Those 
wanting a variety of 
experiences can organize 
a cheeseburger crawl or 
follow one of the pre-
planned themed crawls.

 Information on venues, 
specials, cheeseburger 
crawls and more can 
be found at www.
pasadenarestaurantweek.
com.

 Cheeseburger Week is a 
Pasadena Restaurant Week 
and California Restaurant 
Month event presented by 
the Pasadena Chamber of 
Commerce. 

 The Rose Bowl Stadium, 
in coordination with the Rose 
Bowl Legacy Foundation, is 
set to host a 100th birthday 
celebration on October 28 – 
the exact night that it hits the 
century mark from the day the 
stadium opened in 1922.The 
event had to be postponed from 
April 2020 following the start 
of the COVID-19 pandemic. It 
was again rescheduled late last 
year. 

 The “Party of the Century” will 
be the first fundraising event of 
its kind for the iconic America’s 
Stadium. It will be hosted 
on the signature Rose Bowl 
Stadium field to celebrate the 
life and moments of the venue’s 
global history, while generating 
support to protect, preserve 
and enhance its future as a 
National Historic Landmark.

 The event will raise funds 
towards the on-going Legacy 
Foundation Centennial Capital 
Campaign that has a goal of 
generating $40 million in new 
philanthropic support to spark 
the continued preservation, 
protection and enhancement 
of the National Historic 
Landmark’s future.

 “Over the past almost-100 
years, the Rose Bowl Stadium 
has touched not only our 
lives locally but those of 
millions of fans across the 
globe,” event co-chairs Angel 
Throop and Angie Miller said 
in a statement. “This historic 
venue has fulfilled dreams and 
created generational memories 
that will last a lifetime. We are 
excited, humbled and honored 
to be involved in the start of the 
Centennial Celebration of this 
historic venue, and to throw 
a birthday party deserving of 
its 100-year history, which has 
been and will continue to be a 
big part of our lives.”

 The “Party of the Century” will 
welcome a Roaring ‘20s theme 
to celebrate the 1920s – the 
decade when the stadium was 
built. Guests will experience 
an unforgettable evening 
together enjoying the Stadium 
in a 1920s grand fashion. The 
evening will include a 1920s 
speakeasy, gourmet dining, 
entertainment, high profile 
guests and many more exciting 
surprises.

 “Bringing the community 
together is something that the 
Rose Bowl Stadium has done 
for a near-century. It’s time 
that we celebrate the venue 
as a unifier and celebrate our 
vibrant future on the 100th 
birthday night of this special 
place,” said Chief Development 
Officer Dedan Brozino.

 A National Historic Landmark 
built in 1922 and known around 
the world, the Rose Bowl 
Stadium has earned its world 
class reputation by hosting five 
NFL Super Bowl games, the 
1984 Olympic Soccer matches, 
the 1994 Men’s World Cup, the 
1999 Women’s World Cup, four 
BCS National College Football 
Championship Games and the 
College Football Playoff Semi-
Final game.

 Tickets will go on sale early 
this year. Legacy Foundation 
staff will reach out to those with 
a ticket for the original date, 
prior to rescheduling. 

 For more information visit: 
partyofthecentury.org.

 
South Pasadena 
Tournament of Roses 
looking for 2023 
parade float concepts, 
must be submitted by 
January 21.

By Dean Lee

 Nothing could have been more 
fitting in Pasadena on Saturday 
morning than this year’s Rose 
Parade theme “Dream. Achieve. 
Believe.” Days before, during 
a weeks’ worth of heavy rain 
storms volunteers continued 
to work and finished the South 
Pasadena float “Sky’s the Limit.” 
Saturday’s weather was parade 
perfect.

 And all their work paid off as 
the self-built float traveled the 
parade route with the Founder 
Award Banner, up front, for 
most outstanding float built and 
decorated by volunteers from a 
community or organization.

 “We basically stand in water 
all day when it’s raining,” South 
Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses Decoration Chair Janet 
Benjamin said days before the 
parade. 

 The float featured a large 
ostrich “Theodore Fahrenheit” 
with a jetpack, wearing goggles 
and a helmet made of leather. 

 And if building a parade 
float in the rain and during 
the Covid pandemic was not 
enough, they also had to deal 
with supply chain shortages and 
skyrocketing materials costs, 
making this year’s float the city’s 
most expensive to date. 

 “Our roses went from $18 
a bunch to $32, steel tripled 
in price,” Benjamin said. “We 
normally spend $100,000, 
around there. This one is 
going to be $150,000. All 
from fundraising, we are still 
fundraising.”

 She said in spite of that, they are 
always looking to cut costs. The 
South Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses has a tradition of raising 
their own funds. 

 “The pinecones that are on 
the float, the sycamore leaves, 
they were all collected by 
volunteers, the city itself and the 
community,” she said. “Lowe’s 
donated about 20 Christmas 
trees.”

 Benjamin also said they were 
simply putting fewer flowers 
on the float, although they 
mind tournament rules that 
say everything must be covered 
with flowers or other natural 
materials. “We will still have a 
ton.” 

 Because there was no parade 
in 2021, she said that they were 
also able to rollover some of last 
year’s funds.

 As for building the float, 
Benjamin also said this was the 
first year that they did a lot of 
carving on the float. 

“We recruited someone who 
had never carved before but 
wanted to try carving. All the 
heads are carved, the flames are 
all carved, he did an amazing 
job.”

 She said all of the ostrich beaks 
are covered in strawflower. Parts 
of their heads and necks are 
covered in rose pedals.

 Because there was no parade 
last year, South Pasadena floats 
have been honored three times 
in a row. They won the Mayor 
Award both in 2019 and in 
2020. On New Year’s morning, 
Benjamin said the were very 
happy wining the Founder 
Award.

 Other self-built floats also took 
home awards including, Sierra 
Madre’s “Nature’s Classroom” 
with the Judges Award, Cal 
Poly Universities “Stargazers,” 
took the Animation Award –
an honor they are no strangers 
to. The Burbank Tournament 
of Roses Association won this 
year’s Mayor Award and La 
Canada Flintridge Tournament 
of Roses Association float “Who 
Says We Can’t? won the Crown 
City Innovator Award.

 South Pasadena’s float 
inspiration came from a famed 
tourist attraction, Cawston 
Ostrich Farm that opened in 
1886 in South Pasadena.

 Tournament of Roses officials 
said they are looking for concept 
ideas for 2023 parade float. 
Concepts must by submitted 
by mail to SPTOR Design 
Committee PO Box 3662, 
postmarked by January 21, or 
delivered to the South Pasadena 
Chamber of Commerce 1121 
Mission Street by 5 p.m. January 
21.

 For more information visit: 
facebook.com/SPRoseFloat.

Holden Appointed Chair of 
Committee on Appropriations

 California State Assembly 
Speaker Anthony Rendon 
appointed Assemblymember 
Chis Holden Monday as Chair 
of the California State Assembly 
Committee on Appropriations.

 “I appreciate his confidence 
in my ability to chair this 
important committee," Holden 
said.

 The Assembly Committee 
on Appropriations primary 
jurisdiction includes all fiscal 
bills including bonds and 
alternative public financing.

 “After serving nearly 24 
years on the Pasadena City 
Council, and nine years in the 
California State Assembly, I 
have learned the important 
balance of maintaining fiscal 
responsibility and advancing 
effective public policy. I look 
forward to working with my 
colleagues as we endeavor for 
another impactful legislative 
session,” said Holden.

 Holden formally chaired 
the Assembly Committee 
on Utilities and Energy for 
five years where its primary 
jurisdictions included public 
utilities, the California 
Public Utilities Commission, 
energycompanies,
telecommunications and 
international trade, among 
others. He will continue as 
a member of this committee 
as well as the Assembly 
Committee on Judiciary, 
the Assembly Committee 
on Communications and 
Conveyance and the Assembly 
Committee on Environmental 
Science and Toxic Materials.

City Appoints Two Pasadena Police Chiefs 



 Interim City Manager 
Cynthia Kurtz announced 
Monday that two officers 
from within the Pasadena 
Police Department will serve 
as Interim Police Chief. After 
almost 37 years with the 
Pasadena Police Dept., Chief 
John Perez officially retired 
Wednesday. 

 According to Kurtz, Cheryl 
Moody became the Interim 
Police Chief on Friday 
and will serve in this role 
until Monday, May 2. Jason 
Clawson will then assume the 
role on May 2 and serve until 
a new City Manager makes a 
permanent appointment.

 Moody is the first woman 
in the police department’s 
more than 130-year history 
to serve as Deputy Chief she 
said..

 She was hired as a police 
officer with Pasadena Police 
Department in 1992 after 
serving three years in the 
United States Air Force 
and working four years 
with the Long Beach Police 
Department. She possesses 
nearly three decades of 
policing experience.

 More recently, she has 
overseen all of Pasadena 
Police Department’s daily 
operations, as well as 
the department’s special 
projects and department’s 
reorganization efforts.

 Clawson is a veteran of the 
U.S. Navy and has 30 years 
of experience in municipal 
law enforcement operations. 
Clawson has worked many 
ranks across various divisions 
to include Patrol Operations 
and Investigations. As a 
Police Commander, Clawson 
has become an expert 
handling neighborhood 
quality of life issues by 
focusing on premise liability, 
prevention, intervention and 
enforcement methods. He 
led a Safe Streets Task Force 
while assigned as a Task Force 
Supervisor with the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, 
focusing on the transnational 
gang problem. Jason has 
coordinated jurisdictional 
Mutual Aid, Critical 
Incident Response Team 
operations, and focused on 
problem locations through 
community policing efforts 
in high crime zones.

 Clawson has served as the 
Press Information Officer 
where he directed and 
coordinated the activities 
within the Office of the Police 
Chief; audits and inspections; 
and the on-going review of 
policy and procedures.


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