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Mountain View News Saturday, March 30, 2024 

Fast Food 
Minimum 
Wage Bill to 
Take Effect


Leslie Livesay Named 
Deputy Director of JPL

 
The first woman to serve 
as JPL’s deputy director, 
Livesay serves under 
Laurie Leshin, the first 
woman to lead the lab.

 City officials are reminding 
the community that 
beginning Monday, all fast 
food restaurant employees in 
California who are covered 
by the new law must be paid 
at least $20.00 per hour. A 
restaurant must meet all of the 
below criteria to be considered 
a “fast food restaurant”:

- Be a “limited-service 
restaurant” that offers limited 
or no table service, where 
the customer’s order food or 
beverage items and pay for 
those items before the items 
are consumed.

- The restaurant is part of a 
restaurant chain of at least 60 
establishments nationwide.

- The restaurant is primarily 
engaged in selling food and 
beverages for immediate 
consumption.

 California’s fast food 
restaurant employee’s 
minimum wage supersedes 
Pasadena’s local minimum 
wage for those covered 
by the new law; however, 
all other persons who are 
not considered “fast food 
restaurant employees” must 
not be paid less than the 
Pasadena minimum wage of 
$16.93 per hour. Beginning 
July 1, 2024, the Pasadena 
minimum wage will increase 
to $17.50 per hour for all 
other occupations regardless 
of size. This new wage rate 
will remain in effect until June 
30, 2025, when it will again be 
adjusted.

 On September 28, 2023, 
California Governor Gavin 
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 
1228, raising the minimum 
wage. 

 The hourly minimum wage for 
fast food restaurant employees 
may be increased by a state-
appointed Fast Food Council 
beginning on January 1, 2025. 
Questions about enforcement 
of this new State law should 
be directed to the California 
Labor Commissioner’s Office. 

For more information visit: 
dir.ca.gov.

 Officials announced that 
newly appointed Leslie 
Livesay began her tenure 
last week as deputy director 
of NASA’s Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory. She succeeds 
Larry D. James, who served 
as deputy director since 
September 2013.

 During a career spanning 
more than 37 years at 
JPL, Livesay has managed 
teams in the development 
of technologies and flight 
systems for planetary, Earth 
science, and astrophysics 
missions. She served as the 
project manager of the Kepler 
space telescope mission, led 
the lab’s Engineering and 
Science Directorate, was 
director for Astronomy and 
Physics, and most recently 
served as associate director 
for Flight Projects and 
Mission Success, overseeing 
the implementation and 
operations of all JPL flight 
missions.

 “Having served a variety 
of roles at JPL, I’ve been 
fortunate to be able to work 
up close with the many 
remarkable organizations 
that make this lab such a 
special place. I’m looking 
forward to my new role as we 
dare mighty things together, 
boldly driving transformative 
science and technology,” said 
Livesay.

 Born in Chicago, Livesay 
holds a bachelor’s degree in 
applied mathematics from 
California Polytechnic State 
University, San Luis Obispo 
and a master’s degree in 
electrical engineering from 
the University of Southern 
California. She is the 
recipient of the American 
Astronautical Society Carl 
Sagan Memorial Award, 
Aviation Week Network’s 
Laureate Award, NASA’s 
Exceptional Achievement 
Medal, and the NASA 
Outstanding Leadership 
Medal.

 As the first woman to be 
named JPL’s deputy director, 
Livesay serves under Laurie 
Leshin, who in May 2022 
became the first woman to 
lead JPL. Functioning as the 
laboratory’s chief operating 
officer, the deputy director 
is responsible for the day-
to-day management of its 
resources and activities. 
Managed by Caltech for 
NASA, JPL employs about 
6,000 scientists, engineers, 
technicians, and business 
support personnel, and 
manages over three dozen 
flight missions and science 
instruments, with more in 
development.

 “Leslie has blazed a path in 
numerous senior leadership 
positions across JPL. She 
brings remarkable experience 
and capabilities to the role as 
we look toward the enormous 
and exciting opportunities 
that lay ahead,” said Leshin. “I 
also want to express my deep 
gratitude to Larry James, 
whose tenure is marked with 
multiple successful missions, 
significant improvement 
in JPL’s operations, and 
exemplary institutional 
stewardship.”

 Lt. Gen. James was the Air 
Force deputy chief of staff 
for intelligence, surveillance, 
and reconnaissance in 
Washington before retiring 
from active duty and coming 
to JPL. Earlier in his career, 
he trained as an Air Force 
payload specialist for the 
Space Shuttle Program. 
James also served as vice 
commander of the Air Force 
Space and Missile Systems 
Center in Los Angeles and 
as commander of the 14th 
Air Force at Vandenberg 
Air Force Base in California, 
where he was responsible for 
all Department of Defense 
satellite and launch systems.

 “I’ve been a space enthusiast 
from an early age, so it’s been 
a privilege to have been part 
of JPL,” said James. “Although 
my time here is done, I’m 
eager to see the full manifest 
of missions and projects 
that we’ve been working on 
come to fruition, and I know 
Leslie will thrive in her new 
role. As for me, I’ll be taking 
a new position in Australia 
to help build their space 
capabilities and continue to 
strengthen the U.S.-Australia 
partnership.”

 A division of Caltech, JPL 
began in 1936, going on 
to build and help launch 
America’s first satellite, 
Explorer 1, in 1958.

City Unveils New Water Treatment Facility 

By Dean Lee

 Although a new state-of-the-art 
groundwater treatment facility 
in East Pasadena went online in 
January, local dignitaries and city 
officials held a ribbon cutting 
ceremony Thursday to mark the 
completion of the project. The 
Wadsworth Treatment Facility 
is expected to treat 20 percent of 
the city’s water supply.

 “We have lots to be proud about 
in Pasadena having our own 
utility and that includes water 
services and being leaders in the 
region in the area of water,” said 
Mayor Victor Gordo. 

 He also said. “It’s all about 
water... to reclaim... that comes 
down from the sky and that ( is 
something) we are all concerned 
about this weekend. We have a 
big storm (expected).” 

 Councilmember Felicia 
Williams said, “I want to thank 
all of you that work at Water 
and Power, you are the critical 
element of how our city survives 
and... how our constituents live 
and have a great quality of live.” 

 Pasadena City Manager Miguel 
Márquez along with Department 
of Water and Power Interim 
Manager David Reyes and 
elected officials’ representatives 
were all part of the ribbon cutting 
ceremony (pictured above). 

 According to Department of 
Water and Power Customer 
Relations Manager Kellee 
O’Rourke, the facility includes 
six 22-foot-tall vessels filled 
with granular activated carbon 
that removes volatile organic 
compound. The facility can 
treat 3,000 gallons of water per 
minute enough to supply about 
15,000 families per year. The 
water is collected from three 
groundwater wells as part of the 
Raymond Basin. 

 City officials said that before 
the new treatment plant city 
groundwater was not treated but 
used a method of dilution. 

 The Department of Water and 
Power also over sees the Monk 
Hill Water Facility near JPL 
as part of an ongoing effort to 
remove perchlorate and volatile 
organic compounds from the 
groundwater polluted by Army 
rocket testing decades ago. The 
Monk Hill Water Facility opened 
in 2011.

Heritage 
Square 
Project to be 
Completed 

 Director of Housing, William 
Huang, announced Thursday 
that the construction of 
the Heritage Square South 
permanent supportive 
housing project is scheduled 
to be completed by the end of 
this month. 

 The project developer is 
nonprofit BRIDGE Housing 
Corporation. Consisting of 
69 one-bedroom units with 
amenities, Heritage Square 
South will provide affordable 
rental housing for seniors 
(55+ years) experiencing 
homelessness. Residents will 
be provided on-site supportive 
services and case management 
by Union Station Homeless 
Services. Leasing activities 
commenced in February. 

 Prospective applicants are 
referred through the Los 
Angeles County Coordinated 
Entry System (“CES”), a 
network that aligns homeless 
services in the County to 
ensure that resources are 
efficiently and equitably 
distributed to support people 
experiencing homelessness. 
The CES referral process 
will apply the City’s local 
preference policy. This policy 
has resulted in successful 
outcomes for affordable 
housing projects in Pasadena. 
Local preference information 
for other recent projects is 
provided below. 

 The Diane and John Mullin 
Hope Center, 1000 E. Walnut 
Street 

 The 65-unit permanent 
supportive housing project 
for persons experiencing 
homelessness was placed in 
service in October 2023. At 
initial occupancy, 49 units (75 
percent) were made available 
to persons who qualified 
under the Pasadena local 
preference.

 Lincoln Orange Grove, 735 
N. Orange Grove Boulevard 

 This 48-unit for-sale housing 
development, completed 
in March 2023, provided 
first-time homeownership 
opportunities for 35 low- and 
moderate-income families. Of 
these buyers, 31 (88.6 percent) 
qualified under one or more 
Pasadena local preference 
categories.

The Next Masters Series at 
Pasadena Senior Center

Officials announced Thursday 
that Producer, director and 
author Steven C. Smith is set to 
host a six-week Masters Series 
event, titled Behind the Scenes: 
The Films and Filmmakers That 
Changed Hollywood hosted 
by the Pasadena Senior Center 
consecutive Tuesdays, April 16 
to May 21, from 2 to 4 p.m. via 
Zoom.

 The series will explore a 
plethora of film topics, touching 
on genres, classic films and 
famous directors, revealing 
the compelling human stories 
behind classic movies and 
their makers. Participants will 
discover how these storytellers 
changed Hollywood and why 
their films remain vital today.

Each of the six-week 
presentations will have a 
different topic:

pril 16: Casablanca: The Making 
Of Movies’ Greatest Love Story

April 23: They’re Here! 
Hollywood Sci-Fi and Soviet 
Scares in the 1950s

April 30: Hollywood Rebels: 
Orson Welles and Otto 
Preminger

May 7: Mel Brooks and the Art 
of Movie Parody

May 14: Screwball: It Happened 
One Night and His Girl Friday

May 21: West Side Story, The 
Sound of Music and The Era of 
Musical Blockbusters

 The cost for this course of The 
Masters Series, which embraces 
lifelong learning, is only $75 
for members of the Pasadena 
Senior Center and $90 for 
nonmembers. 

 To register or for 
more information visi: 
PasadenaSeniorCenter.org, then 
click on Activities & Events or 
call (626) 795-4331. Registration 
is required to receive the Zoom 
link. Recordings of sessions 
are available to registered 
participants.

 Smith is a four-time Emmy 
nominee and 16-time Telly 
Award winner. He has 
created over 200 long-form 
documentaries for various 
media, including AMC, TCM, 
History Channel, A&E, National 
Geographic and Bravo. A former 
supervising producer of the 
TV series A&E Biography and 
AMC Backstory, he has worked 
with such filmmakers as George 
Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin 
Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, 
Robert Redford, James Cameron 
and Kathryn Bigelow.

 Smith, featured as a film expert 
in documentaries and audio 
commentaries for 20th Century 
Fox, Universal, Sony and The 
Criterion Collection, is the 
author of the biography, A Heart 
at Fire’s Center: The Life and 
Music of Bernard Herrmann, 
which won the ASCAP-Deems 
Taylor Award. 

 As a donor-supported 
nonprofit, the center operates 
without any local, state or 
federal funding and provides 
more services to older adults in 
the San Gabriel Valley than any 
other organization. Hours of 
operation are Monday through 
Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 
noon. To learn more, visit www.
pasadenaseniorcenter.org or call 
626-795-4331. The Center is 
located at 85 E. Holly Street in 
Pasadena.

 Behind the Scenes: the 
Films and Filmmakers that 
Changed Hollywood 

Egg Bowl and 
Bunny Brunch 
Cancelled

 Due to a forecast of heavy 
rain, the City of Pasadena 
and the Rose Bowl Stadium 
unfortunately announce the 
cancellation of the Egg Bowl 
and Bunny Brunch events 
scheduled fortoday. 

 “While we understand the 
disappointment this may 
cause, we must prioritize the 
safety and well-being of all the 
event attendees, participants, 
and staff involved,” event 
organizers said. “We apologize 
for any inconvenience 
this cancellation may 
cause. We appreciate your 
understanding.”

 Guests who purchased tickets 
to the Bunny Brunch and 
VIP Egg Hunt will be issued 
a refund from Eventbrite 
within the next 72 hours via 
the original payment method 
used to purchase the tickets.

 In lieu of Saturday’s planned 
events, the City of Pasadena 
and the Rose Bowl Stadium 
invite all guests of this 
weekend’s events to “Hop 
into Spring” at the Rose Bowl 
Stadium Tuesday from 3:00 
p.m. to 6:00 p.m.. Join city 
officials for an Open House, 
mini egg hunt on the field 
and photo opportunity with 
the bunny. All guests must 
register in advance at Bit.ly/
HopIntoSpring2024.


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