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Mountain Views News Saturday, July 19, 2025

Pasadena 
Celebrates 
Anniversary 
of the ADA


Pasadena Water and Power 
Winners of Annual Art Contest

 
Pasadena city officials 
affirmed the city’s commitment 
to the principles of equality 
and inclusion for people with 
disabilities and recognizes the 
35th Anniversary as a cause 
for celebration Wednesday 
and an opportunity to honor 
the legacy of those who fought 
for and supported the passage 
of the ADA.

 “This month as we celebrate 
the 35th anniversary of the 
Americans with Disabilities 
Act, we recognize a 
transformative moment in 
our nation’s history,” says 
Casey Jagusch, Chair of the 
City of Pasadena Accessibility 
and Disability Commission. 
“The ADA affirmed the 
rights, dignity, and potential 
of millions of Americans with 
disabilities. We’ve come a long 
way in breaking down barriers 
and expanding access, but the 
journey is far from over. There 
is still much work to do to 
ensure true equity, inclusion, 
and opportunity for all. This 
Disability Pride Month we 
honor the progress made and 
recommit ourselves to the 
continued pursuit of a more 
accessible, inclusive, and just 
society.”

 On July 26, 1990, President 
George H.W. Bush signed 
into law the ADA to ensure 
the civil rights of people with 
disabilities. Signing of the 
ADA represented a historical 
benchmark and milestone 
in America’s commitment to 
full and equal opportunity for 
all. Throughout the past 30 
years, the ADA has expanded 
opportunities for millions 
of people with disabilities 
by reducing barriers, 
changing perceptions, and 
increasing full participation in 
community life.

 At their Monday regular 
meeting, the Pasadena 
City Council will issue a 
proclamation recognizing the 
35th Anniversary of the ADA.

 The council meets at 6:00 
p.m. in the Council Chamber, 
Pasadena City Hall 100 North 
Garfield Avenue, Room S249.

 For more information visit: 
cityofpasadena.net. 

 Pasadena Water and 
Power (PWP) announced 
Wednesday the winners of the 
2025 “Being Water Wise Is…” 
Art Contest. The first-place 
winner is Alice Z., 5th grade, 
the second-place winner is 
Sharon X., 5th grade, and the 
third-place winner is Olivia 
H.,11th grade. Honorable 
mention goes to Barron G., 
Kindergarten. Winners are 
from Polytechnic School, 
Crestview Preparatory 
School, Westridge School, 
and Mayfield Junior School.

 Held every year in 
partnership with the 
Metropolitan Water District 
(MWD), the “Being Water 
Wise Is …” Art Contest is 
open to all Pasadena students 
in grades K-12 who reside 
within PWP’s service area. 

 As a community-owned 
utility, PWP takes pride in 
empowering local youth 
about water conservation 
through educational 
programs like the art contest. 
Student artists submitted 
creative artwork with 
messaging that encourages 
the community to conserve 
and use water more wisely. 
All four winning artworks 
were submitted to MWD 
for consideration in their 
student art calendar.

 Next year’s art contest will 
open in February 2026 and 
conclude in May 2026. For 
more information about 
the art contest and to view 
the winning artworks, visit: 
PWPweb.com/ArtContest.

Altadena Village Post Office Opens

 The new postal 
counter is inside 
Webster’s Community 
Pharmacy

 
Los Angeles County Board 
of Supervisor Kathryn 
Barger, U.S. Postal Service 
representatives and other 
community leaders came 
together Wednesday for the 
grand opening of the new 
Village Post Office at Webster’s 
Community Pharmacy –
marking an important step 
in restoring essential services 
and renewed optimism to the 
Altadena community.

 The new postal counter at 
Webster’s offers letter and 
mail drop-offs, pre-paid box 
services, stamp sales, and 
priority and flat-rate mailing 
supplies.

 “Today’s [Wednesday] 
grand opening is more than 
the return of postal services, 
it’s another step towards 
cultivating hope and a sense 
of normalcy,” Barger said. 
“This new Village Post Office 
stands as a testament to the 
resilience and dedication of 
Altadena’s residents, local 
business owners, support 
organizations, and our federal 
partners who worked hard to 
make this reopening a reality.”

 Barger expressed 
appreciation to the United 
States Postal Service, 
including former Acting 
Postmaster General Douglas 
Tulino and new Postmaster 
General David Steiner–who 
began his tenure on July 14–
for their responsiveness and 
partnership. 

 “We are honored to reopen 
postal services at Webster’s 
Community Pharmacy, which 
has been such an important 
part of Altadena’s history and 
heart,” said Cipriano Corona, 
USPS District Manager. 
“Today represents our 
ongoing promise to serve this 
community.”

 The Village Post Office 
is located at Webster’s 
Community Pharmacy, which 
carries on a nearly 100-year 
legacy of service in Altadena 
and a proud 50-year history 
of hosting USPS operations 
within the business. 

 “Today [Wednesday] 
is a truly special day for 
our business and for me 
personally, because for the 
first time I feel a genuine 
sense of happiness radiating 
from the community,” said 
Meredith Miller, owner 
of Webster’s Community 
Pharmacy. “People are still 
struggling–the trauma 
lingers, and everyone is 
faced with so many difficult 
decisions. Being able to 
bring neighbors together and 
provide a positive, meaningful 
service to the community is 
deeply rewarding.”

 Community supporters 
also attended the opening, 
including Manny Abascal, 
Board Member of the 
Altadena Recovery and 
Rebuild Corporation 
(ARRC). 

 ‘I’m proud to be part of 
this milestone in Altadena’s 
recovery,” Abascal said. 
“ARRC’s mission is to serve 
as a bridge connecting 
philanthropy, investors, the 
private and public sectors, 
and the community. Our 
role in this project was to 
help secure funding and help 
coordinate efforts so postal 
services could once again 
be offered locally. Ensuring 
that essential services like 
this remain accessible will 
continue to be a central focus 
for ARRC.” 

 For more information visit: 
websterspharm.com.

South Pas 
Seeks Input 
on Parks 
Plan survey

Pasadena Man Gets Over 
11 Years for COVID Fraud

 

 A Nigerian man living in 
Pasadena was sentenced 
last week to 135 months in 
federal prison for defrauding 
California and Nevada out of 
$1.3 million in COVID-19 
pandemic unemployment 
and disability insurance 
benefits by submitting 
more than 100 fraudulent 
applications using stolen 
identities and using the 
money to build a nightclub 
and mall in Nigeria.

 Abiola Femi Quadri, 43, 
of Pasadena, was sentenced 
by United States District 
Judge George H. Wu, who 
also ordered him to pay 
$1,356,229 in restitution and 
a $35,000 fine.

 Quadri is a Nigerian citizen 
who acquired permanent 
residency in the United 
States through what he 
described – according to 
court documents – as a “fake 
wedding” in messages to a 
woman who was not his wife, 
pleaded guilty on January 2 
to one count of conspiracy to 
commit bank fraud. 

 Quadri withdrew the 
fraudulent unemployment 
and disability benefits at 
ATMs from 2021 until 
his arrest in September at 
Los Angeles International 
Airport, where he was 
scheduled to fly to Nigeria. 
Quadri sent at least $500,000 
abroad during the scheme. 
He also paid for the 
construction of a 120-room 
resort hotel in Nigeria, the 
Oyins International, that 
includes a nightclub, a mall, 
and additional high-end 
amenities. Quadri failed to 
disclose his ownership of 
the hotel as required when 
completing his financial 
disclosure to the court.

 Investigators found on 
Quadri’s phone images of 17 
counterfeit checks totaling 
more than $3.3 million, 
along with messages about 
negotiating the checks. Some 
of the checks were made 
payable to shell businesses 
held in the names of Quadri’s 
aliases.

 California paid Quadri to 
provide daycare services to 
developmentally disabled 
children through his 
Altadena-based business, 
Rock of Peace. When agents 
searched Quadri’s residence, 
they found the children’s 
misappropriated food-aid 
debit cards.

 
The City of South Pasadena 
is seeking community input 
to help shape the future 
of local parks, recreation 
and open spaces through 
the Parks Comprehensive 
Plan survey. Residents are 
encouraged to participate 
in a public survey that will 
guide long-term planning 
and improvements for park 
facilities.

 The online survey, which 
is open now through mid-
August, is an essential part 
of the planning process and 
offers residents a chance 
to share their thoughts on 
park usage, facility needs, 
trail and open space, 
accessibility, and more.

 This is a unique opportunity 
for community members to 
have a direct voice in how 
we invest in our parks and 
recreation system over the 
next decade. Whether you 
use our parks daily or only 
occasionally, we want to 
hear from you.

 The Parks Comprehensive 
Plan will serve as a roadmap 
for future park upgrades, 
new development, 
and potential resource 
allocation. Input from the 
community will ensure the 
plan reflects local priorities, 
supports sustainability, and 
enhances quality of life.

 For more information about 
the Parks Comprehensive 
Plan or to access the survey 
visit: planspparks.com.

Full Street 
Closure: 

Fair Oaks Ave.

 Director of Public Works, 
Greg de Vinck, announced 
Thursday that part of the final 
improvements for the new 
USC Keck Medical building at 
590 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, crews 
will be restriping Fair Oaks 
Avenue and parts of California 
Boulevard. Work will include 
crosswalks at the intersection 
on Monday between 9:00 p.m. 
– Tuesday, July 22, 6:00 a.m. 
A full closure of Fair Oaks 
Avenue between Palmetto 
Drive and Congress Street will 
be necessary to complete the 
work. The following are traffic 
impacts and detours:

Southbound Fair Oaks Avenue 
traffic will detour to Raymond 
Avenue via Bellevue Drive.

Northbound Fair Oaks 
Avenue traffic will detour 
to Pasadena Avenue via 
Bellefontaine Street.

Emergency access to 
Huntington Hospital and local 
business access will remain 
open.

 Advance warning signs 
and message boards will be 
placed to notify the public. 
Commuters are encouraged to 
please plan ahead and follow 
posted detours. 

Public Works Sees Savings 
with LED Streetlight Upgrades

 Pasadena’s Public Works 
Department made the 
announcement Thursday 
that over the past five years, 
the Department has made 
significant progress in 
upgrading the city’s public 
lighting system by converting 
620 lights to energy-efficient 
LED fixtures. 

 According to city staff, this 
conversion effort has resulted 
in an energy savings of 664 
kilowatt-hours (kWh) per 
day, which is equivalent 
to the daily output of 332 
rooftop solar panels. These 
savings come from targeted 
upgrades to our streetlights 
and intersection safety lights.

 In addition to the energy 
savings, residents are literally 
seeing the benefits of these 
lighting improvements. LED 
lighting provides brighter, 
higher-quality illumination, 
with more footcandles on the 
ground for better visibility 
and safety. The fixtures 
are also far more reliable, 
reducing the need for ongoing 
maintenance and freeing up 
Public Works staff to focus on 
other essential services.

 "This is a significant 
accomplishment towards 
our city’s sustainability and 
infrastructure goals," city 
staff said. "With many more 
outdated fixtures still in use, 
the City remains committed 
to expanding our conversion 
efforts." 

For more information visit: 
cityofpasadena.net/public-
works.


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