Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 3, 2022

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Mountain View News Saturday, September 3, 2022 

September 
Is Pedestrian 
Safety Month

City to Dub Park Stage after Van Halen

Chu Honors Senior Center 
As Nonprofit of The Year 

 
Congresswoman Judy Chu, 
who represents the 27th 
Congressional District, recently 
honored the Pasadena Senior 
Center as Nonprofit of the 
Year during her Congressional 
Leadership of the Year awards 
ceremony. 

 The annual awards recognize 
individuals and organizations 
that have provided exceptional 
leadership in the district, which 
encompasses 16 cities from 
Pasadena to Upland. 

 Unlike most senior centers 
nationwide that are managed 
and funded by local government 
organizations, the Pasadena 
Senior Center is an independent, 
nonprofit organization that 
receives no government 
funding and relies solely on 
shared investment by the 
greater Pasadena community, 
foundations and other sources 
that make it possible to provide 
social services, offer classes, pay 
instructors, maintain facilities 
and more. 

 “We are so grateful and pleased 
to receive this distinction,” 
said Akila Gibbs (pictured), 
executive director of the Senior 
Center. “This is a pleasantly 
surprising validation of the 
broad array of innovative 
services, programs and activities 
older adults have come to expect 
here for more than 60 years.” 

 With the population of older 
adults in the U.S. increasing 
exponentially every year due 
to longer life expectancy, 
the Pasadena Senior Center 
continually serves as a vital 
community asset that offers 
new and inventive programs 
and services to meet every need 
and interest. Annually, in recent 
years, more than 10,000 adults 
50 and older have come to the 
center for a sense of community, 
to continue lifelong learning, 
discover new opportunities for 
social interaction and engage 
in a multitude of activities to 
keep their minds sharp, bodies 
healthy and spirits soaring. 
Services also are provided for 
frail and homebound older 
adults. 

 In 1999 the center earned 
national accreditation by the 
National Council on Aging’s 
National Institute of Senior 
Centers, which made it the first 
nationally accredited senior 
center in California. 

 For more information visit: 
pasadenaseniorcenter.org or call 
626-795-4331.

As part of Pedestrian Safety 
Month, the Pasadena Police 
Department announced 
Friday that they will 
participate in activities 
throughout September 
encouraging the safety of 
people walking.

“People should not feel in 
danger walking,” Pasadena 
Police Department 
Lieutenant Anthony Russo 
said. “Drivers, please slow 
down and be aware of 
people who are walking. 
If we all look out for one 
another, we can all get 
where we need to go safely.”

Based on data projections 
from the Governors 
Highway Safety Association 
(GHSA), 7,485 people, 
or an average of 20 people 
every day, died after being 
struck by a vehicle last year 
–an 11.5% increase from
2020 and a 40-year high.

To promote the safety
of people walking, the
Pasadena Police will
conduct a traffic safety
operation on Sept. 16
focused on the most
dangerous driver behaviors
that put the safety of
pedestrians at risk. These
violations include speeding, 
making illegal turns, failing
to yield and running stop
for signs or signals.

The Pasadena Police
Department offers safe
driving and walking tips,
including staying off the
phone when behind the
wheel or walking:

Drivers

-Do not speed, and slow
down at intersections.
Be prepared to stop
for pedestrians at 
marked and unmarked 
crosswalks.

-Avoid blocking crosswalks
while waiting to make a
right-hand turn.

-Never drive impaired.

Pedestrians

-Be predictable. Use
signalized crosswalks where 
drivers may anticipate foot
traffic.

-Watch for approaching
vehicles and practice due
care crossing the street. At
30 mph, a driver needs at
least 90 feet to stop.

-Make it easier for drivers to 
see you at night – wear light
colors, reflective material
and use a flashlight.

-Be careful crossing streets
or entering crosswalks at
night or on busier streets
with higher speed limits.

For more information visit:

 
Pasadena city officials are 
set to unveil and dedicate the 
community stage at the new 
Playhouse Village Park after 
the famed 80s rock band Van 
Halen during a ribbon cutting 
ceremony September 10.

 The Pasadena City Council 
decided last year to name the 
stage after the entire band and 
not just guitarist Eddie Van 
Halen. The change was none 
at the request of the Van Halen 
family. Eddie Van Halen passed 
away in 2020 after a battle with 
cancer. 

 According to city staff, The 
new park features open space for 
informal recreation, relaxation, 
and community gatherings, 
a shaded children’s play area, 
separate dog runs for large and 
small dogs, benches and seating, 
a 48-space parking plaza, among 
other amenities.

 In addition to exploring the 
park’s amenities, guests are 
invited to participate in grand 
opening activities where you 
can:

-Park officially opens with a
ribbon cutting ceremony at 9
a.m.

-Learn how to create a fun fan
with USC Pacific Asia Museum

- Develop a love for reading with
story time with Mr. Steve from
Vroman’s Bookstore

-Make traditional Mexican
tissue paper flowers with
Mercadito Monarca

- Play a round of giant games with 
Playhouse Village Foundation

-Discover the joys of riding an
e-bike from GoSGV

-Join a read-aloud and then
bring the story to life through 
arts and crafts with Southern 
California Children’s Museum

-Get creative with a craft from
the Pasadena Public Library

-Enjoy light refreshments from
Tepito Coffee and El Portal

For more information visit:
playhousevillage.org/park.

Photo (top) the stage being 
built, credit Pasadena 4 Van 
Halen

Tournament 
Announces 
Día de los 
Muertos Art 
Competition

Water & Power Tests New 
Grid Reliability Project

 The Tournament of Roses 
announced Friday the third 
annual Día de los Muertos art 
competition, a celebration of 
art, in partnership with the 
Consulate General of Mexico in 
Los Angeles, Pasadena Unified 
School District, the Greater 
LA Education Foundation, 
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 
Los Angeles Unified School 
District, Mercadito Monarca, 
360 Agency and Yankuititl.

 Winners of this year’s regional 
competition will be awarded 
scholarships and gift cards in 
three age categories: 4-8, 9-13 
and 14-18.

 Submissions are due by noon 
on Friday, October 7

 Winners will be announced 
at annual Día de los Muertos 
celebration on Saturday, 
Qctober 29

 To enter, students must be 
between the ages of 4 and 18. 
Masterpieces can take any 
shape or form, as long as it 
celebrates, reflects and honors 
the traditions of Día de los 
Muertos. Students should 
consider the following art 
categories:

Paintings & Drawings - 
Create an art piece featuring 
marigolds, monarch butterflies 
or other representations of the 
holiday

Calavera – Make and decorate a 
sugar skull

Ofrendas – Build or construct 
an altar

Catrina – Paint a face with 
traditional Día de los Muertos 
makeup

Digital Art/Graphic Design – 
Use technology and graphic 
design to bring your art to life

Other visual arts – Get creative 
in some other form, including 
sculptures, making a traditional 
Día de Muertos costume

 A tradition in Mexico and 
Central America that goes back 
more than 3,000 years, Día 
de los Muertos is an annual 
holiday that is now celebrated 
around the world. 

 For submission details visit: 
tournamentofroses.com/

diadelosmuertos.

 Jeffrey Kightlinger, Interim 
General Manager of Water and 
Power announced that earlier 
this month, Pasadena Water and 
Power (“PWP”) successfully 
tested new equipment that may 
reduce power disruptions in 
the future. 

 PWP receives most of its 
power from power generation 
plants and renewable power 
facilities located outside the 
City. The power is sent to the 
City through high voltage 
transmission lines under the 
direction of the California 
Independent System Operator 
(“ISO”). In August 2020, the 
ISO ordered their participating 
utilities, including PWP, to 
curtail load because they had a 
shortage of power due to high 
heat and power system issues. 
Utilities typically achieve load 
curtailment by turning off a 
portion of their customers 
for an hour, and then rotating 
the outage to another set of 
customers until the situation is 
resolved. 

 In response, PWP began 
exploring options to avoid 
future power disruptions to 
its customers during ISO 
load curtailment events. The 
solution was to take advantage 
of existing power lines that 
come to Pasadena from our 
neighboring utility, the Los 
Angeles Department of Water & 
Power (“LADWP”). Originally 
built to bring power from the 
Hoover Dam to Pasadena in 
the 1930s, PWP later switched 
its incoming power to the ISO 
in the early 1970’s and those 
lines were placed on stand-by 
for emergency use in case there 
was a total loss of power from 
the ISO. 

 New equipment installed at 
PWP’s Glenarm Receiving 
Station enables PWP staff to 
quickly transfer part of its 
customer load to the power 
lines that come from LAD WP. 
In the future, if the ISO needs 
to have utilities curtail load 
due to a system emergency, 
this load transfer to the LAD 
WP lines should satisfy that 
request without the need for 
rotating power outages for 
PWP customers. 

 For the first time in over 50 
years, LADWP’s system served 
load in Pasadena after a recent 
successful test of the new 
equipment. The project was 
the result of the support from 
LADWP and the collective 
work by PWP staff from various 
sections of the Department 
including Engineering, 
Electric Test and Construction, 
Transmission and Distribution, 
Substation Operations and 
Power Dispatch; For more 
information about PWP, visit: 
pwpweb.com.

Symphony and Pops Host 
Annual Gala at City Hall

 
Join the Pasadena Symphony 
Association for an evening of 
enchantment and romance on 
Saturday, September 24 as they 
host their annual Moonlight 
Sonata Gala, surrounded 
by Pasadena City Hall. The 
festivities will kick off at 5:30 
p.m. with an elegant courtyard
reception, followed by a
luxe dinner, live auction and
program filled with music and
dancing under a starry night in
Centennial Square.

 Music from the Pasadena Youth 
Symphony Orchestras will usher
guests into Centennial Square
with a warm welcome, and 
iconic Los Angeles meteorologist 
Dallas Raines and his wife 
Dannie will host the evening’s
program as guests enjoy a 
decadent four-course meal 
by Claud & Co. To top off the
elegant affair, popular songstress
Allie Feder will perform an 
intimate set of standards in an
exclusive performance befitting
this enchanted night of music
and community.

 The event will honor two 
longtime Pasadena Symphony 
Association supporters as 
outstanding luminaries. 
Philanthropist Luminaries 
Freddi and Ken Hill will be 
recognized for their charitable 
contributions to the Pasadena 
community and their longtime 
commitment to the Pasadena 
Symphony Association for 
over three decades. The PSA 
will recognize as Corporate 
Luminary the generous 
charitable contributions of Paul 
Rusnak and the Rusnak Auto 
Group, whose longtime support 
has encouraged the Pasadena 
Symphony and POPS to flourish 
as the region’s preeminent source 
for live symphonic music.

 Allie Feder is a seasoned 
performer and studio singer 
based in Los Angeles. Her 
versatile skills in pop, rock, jazz, 
classical, and character voiceover 
have given her the opportunity 
to sing on film scores, TV shows, 
and concerts around the world. 
With credits both on-screen 
and off, Allie appeared in the 
hit musical comedy film Pitch 
Perfect 2, playing a member 
of the German villain group 
“Das Sound Machine,” and has 
sung on countless film scores 
including Frozen 2, Mulan, The 
Grinch, Ready Player One, The 
LEGO Movie 2, Birds of Prey, 
The Call of the Wild, Doctor 
Sleep, The Nun, War for the 
Planet of the Apes, Suicide 
Squad, and Rogue One: A 
Star Wars Story. TV recording 
work includes: The Simpsons, 
Modern Family, Centaurworld, 
American Dad, Fuller House, 
Disney’s Descendants, 
Charmed, American Housewife, 
Jane the Virgin and more. 
Tickets to the Moonlight Sonata 
Gala are limited. Individual 
tickets start at $300 and may 
be purchased by visiting 
PasadenaSymphony-Pops.org or 
by contacting Alan Maldonado, 
Development Associate at alan@
pasadenasymphony-pops.org or 
626.793.7172 x27.

Pasadena 
Humane Free 
Adoption Day

 
Join us at Pasadena Humane 
on Saturday, September 24 
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for 
Free Adoption Day sponsored 
by the Spence family and 
Petfinder Foundation! 
Adoption fees will be waived 
for all available dogs, cats, and 
critters. Adoptions include 
spay or neuter, a microchip, 
and age-appropriate vaccines.

 This is a walk-in event, so 
no appointment is needed. 
Regular adoption screening 
applies. Pasadena Humane is 
located 361 S Raymond Ave. 
For more information visit: 
pasadenahumane.org. 


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