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Mountain Views News Saturday, February 22, 2025


Pasadena 
Conducts 
Homeless 
2025 Count

Select Pasadena Restaurants 
Honor the Cheeseburger

 Pasadena Chamber member 
restaurants celebrate the 
invention of the cheeseburger 
in Pasadena in 1924 during 
Cheeseburger Week 2025. A 
total of 40 restaurants, burger 
joints and more take part in the 
citywide celebration Sunday to 
Saturday, March 1.

 During Cheeseburger Week 
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 
in 1924. Forty of Pasadena’s 
favorite restaurants, lounges 
and burger joints offer their 
signature burgers, some special 
creations and great deals during 
Cheeseburger Week. 

 This year Shake Shack on 
Arroyo Parkway in Pasadena 
joins the Chamber member 
restaurants participating. Shake 
Shack is celebrating by offering 
their famous Cheeseburger for 
just $5.

 In 2025, you can expect these 
new menu items, specials and 
more during Cheeseburger 
Week in the greater Pasadena 
area:

 Pie ‘n Burger is offering a 
special meal deal (dine in 
only). Get a burger, side order 
and soft drink at a very special 
(Cheeseburger Week only) 
price. Download the coupon at: 
pasadenarestaurantweek.com. 

 Dog Haus (both Pasadena 
locations) offers a $10 Haus 
Burger & Drink (fountain 
drink, beer or well shot in Old 
Pasadena) and $10 Haus Burger 
& Drink (fountain drink or beer 
at the Hill Avenue location).

 Lucky Baldwin’s (the original 
Pub in Old Pasadena, Trappiste 
Pub on east Colorado and 
Delirium Cafe in Sierra Madre) 
has their tasty Slider Flight on 
the menu for Cheeseburger 
Week. 

 Kathleen’s Restaurant is 
offering a special Salmon 
Burger meal ($22.95 + tax and 
gratuity) and Avocado Bacon 
Cheeseburger meal ($20.95 + 
tax and gratuity). 

 
Magnolia House offers a special 
Holy Shitake Burger (Sesame 
bun, stacked wagyu patties, 
porcini rub, new American 
cheese, confit shiitakes, pickled 
cipollini onions, secret sauce, 
arugula with an option to add a 
small portion of fries.)

 El Portal (and Yahaira’s) offer 
the famous Zacatecas Burger-a 
delicious blend of ground meats 
(handmade patty with ground 
beef, ground pork, and chorizo) 
on a telera roll. Topped with 
ham, American cheese, lettuce, 
tomato, and chipotle mayo). 

 The Langham Huntington 
Hotel offers the Hideaway 
Smashburger poolside at the 
Lanai Pool. 

 Tardino Bros. Italian Kitchen 
is offering a special Chili 
Cheeseburger Pizza for 
Cheeseburger Week.

 New York Chicken & Gyros 
is offering their cheeseburger 
Free only during Cheeseburger 
Week (Dine in Only). Follow 
New York Chicken & Gyros on 
social media to qualify. 

 For 2025, you can still take 
the Cheeseburger Challenge 
and vote for your favorites 
during Cheeseburger Week. 
Find the link to vote at: 
pasadenarestaurantweek.com. 

 Cheeseburger Week is 
organized by the Pasadena 
Chamber of Commerce with 
their restaurant members. 
Continuing at the end of 
February, 2025, is the

 Cheeseburger Challenge. 
Participants will still be able to 
vote for their favorites in several 
categories at: 

 pasadenarestaurantweek.com 
during Cheeseburger Week. 

 
In the wake of the Eaton 
Fire, the City of Pasadena 
Department of Housing 
conducted the postponed 
2025 Point-in-Time Homeless 
Count on Wednesday night 
from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. 
and the following Thursday 
morning from 6:00 a.m. to 
8:00 a.m. with a supplementary 
youth count on Wednesday 
afternoon. Volunteer teams 
counted and surveyed people 
experiencing homelessness 
across the City’s entire 
geography. The count also 
included those in shelters 
and transitional housing or 
utilizing motel vouchers. The 
results of the Homeless Count 
will be available by June.

The Pasadena Police 
Department provided critical 
support surveying the City’s 
parks, freeway embankments, 
and other hard-to-access 
locations. Additionally, the 
Pasadena Public Health 
Department, in partnership 
with Huntington Hospital, 
provided COVID-19, Hepatitis 
A, and flu vaccines, as well 
as Narcan overdose reversal 
kits. Volunteers offered these 
resources to each person they 
surveyed, and a Vaccine Strike 
Team was dispatched on the 
spot to provide these services 
in the field.

Teams of four to five people 
covered 28 geographic 
zones using a mobile, GIS-
enabled survey tool which 
was developed by the City’s 
Department of Information 
Technology. As part of the 
count, volunteers distributed 
cold weather kits with socks, 
hats, beanies, and hand 
warmers as well as resource 
cards

Although most of the damage 
from the Eaton fire was in 
Altadena, beyond Pasadena’s 
scope, the Pasadena Public 
Health Department provided 
safety guidance to volunteers 
who were assigned to zones 
that encompassed the portions 
of the burn scar. No people 
experiencing homelessness 
were found in fire-impacted 
areas.

“After we had to delay the 
count, we are grateful that 
169 volunteers stepped up to 
thoroughly canvas the City over 
a two-day period,” said Dan 
Davidson, Homeless Count 
Coordinator. “Only with their 
help are we able to compile this 
critical information that guides 
the City’s strategic planning for 
homeless services.”

The Homeless Count provides 
a “snapshot” of what the 
homeless population looks 
like on any given night. Count 
data is most useful as a tool 
to study the demographics 
of the unhoused population 
and to track trends over time. 
Pasadena was the first city in 
the State of California, and one 
of the first three cities in the 
nation, to conduct a dedicated 
Homeless Count in 1992.

Homeless Count data is 
used year-round to inform 
the planning and funding of 
homeless services in the City 
and is used by state and federal 
funders in the allocation of 
housing grants.

Council to Discuss Relaxing Regulations 
for Rebuilding many Fire Damaged Homes

 The Pasadena city council 
is set to discuss Monday 
night passing a temporary 
suspension or modification of 
zoning development standards 
and processes for rebuilding 
structures damaged by the Eaton 
fire. 

 If passed, the their action would 
“direct the City Attorney to 
prepare an Interim Uncodified 
Ordinance that there is a current 
and immediate threat to the 
public health, safety, or welfare 
from the Eaton Fire, which 
resulted in the destruction of 
structures and displacement 
of residents, and that current 
zoning code requirements on 
the rebuild would exacert)ate the 
existing threat to public health, 
safety, or welfare by delaying the 
rebuild of structures and homes.”

 The council’s actions and 
discussion will center around 
Executive Order N-4-25 
signed in January by Governor 
Gavin Newsom to streamline 
the rebuilding of homes 
and businesses destroyed by 
suspending the permitting and 
review requirements under 
the California Environmental 
Quality Act.

 The council will discuss going 
beyond Newsom’s Executive 
Orders to give greater flexibility 
on the site for locating the new 
home and allowing gross floor 
area as a base for the square 
footage calculation, potentially 
providing, a greater increase in 
size, their staff report reads.

 “Location: May be at a different 
location on the site, provided 
setback requirements are met 
or match a previously existing 
setback. Expansion: May exceed 
the previous footprint or overall 
gross floor area by 10 percent, 
whichever is greater. Any added 
footprint or floor area must meet 
setback requirements or match a 
previously existing setback.”

 Newsom’s order states rebuilding 
of destroyed structures would 
be in the same location as 
previously existed and that any 
expansion does not exceed the 
previous footprint by more than 
10 percent. The order also states 
the height does not exceed the 
previous height by more than 10 
percent.

 Newsom’s order also allows 
Detached Accessory Dwelling 
Units to be constructed and used 
prior to the main dwelling and 
that recreational vehicles mobile 
homes and modular structures 
to be used as temporary housing 
during construction, something 
the council will discuss.

 According to city officials, 
in Pasadena, the Eaton Fire 
destroyed 185 structures. The 
overwhelming majority were 
single-family dwelling and 
accessory structures in the Upper 
Hastings Ranch, VictoryRose, 
Dundee Heights and NATHA 
neighborhoods.

 The Pasadena city council 
meets at 6 p.m. in the Council 
Chamber, Pasadena City Hall

100 North Garfield Avenue, 
Room S249. 

 For more information visit: 
cityofpasadena.net.

Senior 
Center 
Cultural 
Thursday

 Pasadena Senior Center’s 
own Bollywood dance 
instructor Richa Jauhari will 
share her unusual life journey 
from her childhood in India to 
Los Angeles — with stops in 
Nigeria and Canada along the 
way — in a Cultural Thursday 
event on March 6 at 2 p.m. 
onsite at the Pasadena Senior 
Center.

 In conversation with PSC’s 
Events Director Annie Laskey, 
Richa will share how her 
life experiences have shaped 
her life choices. Richa has a 
background in architecture, is 
a dance and fitness instructor, 
writer and associate marriage 
and family therapist, anxiety 
coach and single mom. As 
a self-taught dancer, she 
understands the importance of 
learning to move with comfort 
and confidence at any age. As 
a teacher, she unites people 
through the shared experience 
of dance and movement, 
creating non-judgmental 
environments where everyone 
feels comfortable, valued, and 
included.

 The event is free for 
Pasadena Senior Center 
members, and $5 for non-
members and reservations are 
suggested. To register or for 
more information, visit www.
pasadenaseniorcenter.org and 
click on Special Events, or call 
626-795-4331.

 Richa has devoted many 
years to serving others 
through movement and 
mindful connections. Her 
personal experiences with 
mental health issues among 
her family and friends have 
given her a unique sensitivity 
and empathy towards others. 
Her separation from a long-
term marriage and navigating 
co-parenting of her two 
young children have provided 
her with valuable insights 
into recognizing difficulties, 
accepting loss, managing 
anxiety and complex 
situations, and being open to 
change.

 To learn more visit www.
pasadenaseniorcenter.org or 
call 626-794-4331.

City Announces the General 
Manager of PWP Recruitment

 

 City Manager Miguel Márquez 
has announced last week the 
recruitment process for the next 
General Manager of Water & 
Power. The application process 
for this position is currently 
open with screenings in March 
and interviews taking place in 
April.

 The public is encouraged to 
attend a meeting to provide 
input about the most important 
qualities potential candidates 
should have. Anyone who 
would like to offer input can also 
do so online at Surveymonkey.
com/r/5RPBJLH. The online 
survey will remain available 
until March 4, 2025.

 “Engaging with our community 
is vital to ensuring we select 
the right leader for Pasadena 
Water & Power. I encourage 
all community members and 
stakeholders to participate in the 
upcoming forum and provide 
their insights on the qualities 
and expertise they believe are 
essential for our next General 
Manager,” states Márquez.

The community forum will take 
place on Zoom on the following 
date and time:

Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 
at 6:00 p.m.

Meeting information:

Pasadena General Manager 
Community Forum

Meeting ID: 829 0448 6130

Passcode: 544276

 Please visit General Manager 
of Water & Power Brochure for 
more information.

Pasadena Library Expands 
Digital Magazine Collection

 
Director of Libraries and 
Information Services, Tim 
McDonald, announced 
Thursday that the department is 
expanding its digital magazine 
collection with PressReader’s 
new acquisition of Condé Nast’s 
US publications providing 
Pasadena Public Library 
cardholders access to thousands 
of magazines and newspapers. 
The expanded collection includes 
The New Yorker, Vogue, Condé 
Nast Traveler, GQ, Glamour, 
Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, 
Pitchfork, Wired, Bon Appétit, 
Cook’s Illustrated, US Weekly 
and Ars Technica he said.

 PressReader is a newspaper and 
magazine database where users 
can search for and read an array 
of publications. Pasadena Public 
Library card holders have free 
and unlimited checkout access to 
PressReader’s collection as well 
as varied checkout access to three 
additional digital magazine and 
newspaper databases, Flipster, 
Libby, and Hoopla. Flipster is 
a dedicated digital magazine 
platform offering unlimited 
access to users and houses the 
monthly magazine and annual 
Consumer Reports Buying 
Guide within its collection. Libby 
offers a 10-item total checkout 
per month limit for eBooks, 
e-audiobooks, and magazines. 
Hoopla, with magazines, books, 
music and movies, offers a four-
item total checkout per calendar 
month.

 Library cardholders can access 
digital magazines and newspapers 
by visiting the Digital Magazines, 
Comics, & Newspapers page 
on the Pasadena Public Library 
website. PressReader, Flipster, 
Libby, and Hoopla are accessible 
through the library website and 
mobile compatible through their 
respective apps.

 For more information 
about library services, visit 
PasadenaPublicLibrary.net.


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