Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 18, 2020

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 18, 2020 

Local Area 
News Briefs


Pasadena Senior Center to 

Celebrate 60th Anniversary 

 Pasadena Set 
to Celebrate the 
Cheeseburger 


Senior Center 1960

 New participants include 
Roy’s, Alexander’s 
Steakhouse, Smitty’s Grill 
and Granville.

 The 60th anniversary of the 
Pasadena Senior Center will 
be celebrated with a series of 
special events and activities 
throughout 2020.

 Founded in 1960, the 
center is an independent, 
donor-supported nonprofit 
organization that offers 
recreational, educational, 
wellness and social services 
to people ages 50 and older, 
as well as specialized services 
for frail, low-income and 
homebound seniors. It 
receives no funding from 
local, county, state or federal 
governments.

 The idea for a senior 
center that would serve the 
needs of Pasadena residents 
was sparked in 1953. Four 
years later the Pasadena-
Altadena Committee for 
Senior Citizens was formed 
to outline a plan. The city 
of Pasadena provided a 
site at the south end of 
Memorial Park, and a bond 
issue was passed by voters 
to fund construction. With 
additional funding from the 
Junior League of Pasadena, 
an executive director was 
hired who would work 
with a board of directors 
and the city of Pasadena to 
achieve the long-held goal 
of providing recreational 
and social services to senior 
citizens.

 The doors of the 
organization opened in 
1960, and it was the first 
independent, nonprofit 
senior center in Southern 
California and one of the 
first in the nation. (Unlike 
the Pasadena Senior Center, 
most U.S. senior centers 
are funded and operated 
by municipal recreation 
departments). Pasadena 
Junior League members 
contributed thousands of 
hours to staff the new facility 
the first 10 years.

 An extensive expansion 
in 1998 tripled the size of 
the center, making many 
more programs and services 
possible to enrich the lives 
of members. The following 
year, it became the first 
in California to receive 
accreditation by the National 
Council on Aging’s National 
Institute of Senior Centers. 

 “It is fitting that 60th 
anniversaries are associated 
with diamonds because they 
symbolize commitment, 
strength and endurance,” 
said Akila Gibbs, executive 
director of the Pasadena 
Senior Center. “This 
organization continues to 
shine after 60 years, and the 
people we serve sparkle like 
diamonds.”

 Sixtieth anniversary 
commemorations will kick 
off in spring 2020 with 
events and activities at the 
center and throughout 
Pasadena, continue with the 
popular #AgeWell Day in 
October and culminate with 
an evening celebration later 
in the year that will feature 
a look back at the Pasadena 
Senior Center’s history and 
a look forward to the future. 
Fritz Coleman, KNBC-TV 
weathercaster and comedian 
and a long-time supporter 
of the center, will be the 
honoree at the evening 
celebration.

 “We look forward to 
celebrating 60 years of 
innovative programs and 
services,” Gibbs added. 
“The Pasadena Senior 
Center operates successfully 
because of our board, 
staff and volunteers, our 
community partners and 
because people donate to 
this vital community asset.

 During Cheeseburger 
Week from January 26th 
to January 31st, 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 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 has been 
documented by Hamburger 
America, the Los Angeles 
Times and even Time 
magazine in its obituary of 
Sternberger.

 To celebrate Sternberger’s 
culinary masterpiece, 
Pasadena restaurants are 
offering specials, unique 
creations and the tried and 
true. Patrons can experience 
the Zacatecas Burger from 
El Portal and Yahaira’s, the 
K-POP from Dog Haus 
and Dog Haus Biergarten, 
the Impossible Burger at 
Umami or the traditional, 
and nationally recognized, 
cheeseburger at Pie ‘n Burger.

 New participants for 2020 
include Roy’s, Alexander’s 
Steakhouse, Smitty’s Grill 
and Granville. Pie ‘n Burger, 
Dog Haus and Dog Haus 
Biergarten and Roy’s are 
among those offering special 
prices and/or offerings 
created for Cheeseburger 
Week.

 Patrons can experience 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: 

 pasadenarestaurantweek.
com.

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

Bakery Fined $80k for Wage Violations

 

 A joint investigation 
including staff from Pasadena's 
Planning & Community 
Development Department and 
the California Department of 
Industrial Relations - Bureau 
of Field Enforcement (BOFE) 
has resulted in a combined 
assessment of more than 
$80,000 in back wages, damages, 
premiums and interest for 
minimum wage violations and 
various California labor code 
violations at Chapala Bakery 
located at 265 E. Orange Grove 
Boulevard. 

 Responding to an employee-
generated complaint, City staff 
interviewed several bakery 
employees and determined 
that violations of Pasadena’s 
minimum wage ordinance and 
California Labor Code had 
occurred. City representatives 
held several meetings with the 
business owner in an effort 
to resolve the matter locally 
however, the proprietor was 
intransigent and uncooperative 
leading the City to collaborate 
with the Department of 
Industrial Relations’ BOFE 
investigators and auditors.

 As a result, fines, penalties 
and liquidated damages 
assessed to the employer for the 
minimum wage violations and 
various labor code violations 
were nearly $81,000. This 
total includes minimum wage 
violations, overtime and split 
shift pay, meal and rest period 
pay, and liquidated damages due 
employees. BOFE investigators 
determined that the business 
operators must compensate the 
three employees who joined 
the complaint $62,987.78 and 
must pay the State $17,950 
in civil penalties for a total 
of $80,937.78. Staff from the 
DIR Judgement Enforcement 
Unit continue to investigate 
the proprietor’s various assets 
in an effort to recover funds for 
the payment of unpaid wages, 
penalties and damages.

 Enacted by the Pasadena City 
Council in 2016, the City’s 
minimum wage will reach 
$15.00 per hour starting July 
1, 2020 for employers with 26 
or more employees, and July 1, 
2021 for employers with 25 or 
fewer employees. 

 Pasadena’s City Council is 
committed to the investigation 
and resolution of minimum 
wage and wage-theft 
complaints, as well as providing 
local outreach, education and 
training to low wage earners, 
members of the immigrant 
community and business owners 
and operators. The City values 
its effective partnership with 
the Department of Industrial 
Relations in investigating 
multi-faceted complaints of 
wage and hour violations and 
will continue to jointly enforce 
wage and hour violations that 
are breaches of law and may 
result in the recovery of wages 
and the imposition of fines and 
penalties.

 More information is available 
at: cityofpasadena.net under 
the Planning & Community 
Development link.

Honoring Dr. 
Martin Luther 
King Jr. Events

 Assemblymember Chris 
Holden said even now, 
a half century after his 
death, Dr. Martin Luther 
King Jr.’s contributions 
toward developing a more 
equal society, one where 
all Americans have the 
opportunity to succeed, 
remain unmatched.

 “Each year, the Legislature 
honors his birthday with a 
Concurrent Resolution. I am 
proud to be a co-author of this 
year’s Assembly Concurrent 
Resolution 146 to honor Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. in 
2020.

 Today, I encourage you to 
give back to your community 
in his honor, and participate 
in a local event honoring Dr. 
Martin Luther King’s legacy, 
he said.”

MLK Community Coalition 
Events:

MLK Day of Service: A Day 
On, Not Off

Saturday, January 18

8 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Muir High School, 8:00 a.m.-
12:00 p.m.

1905 N. Lincoln Ave. 
Pasadena, CA 91103

 Description: On the Saturday 
before the MLK Day of 
Service, it is our tradition to 
provide a local school with 
volunteers to help beautify the 
campus. We will plant flowers, 
clean up, and do

several maintenance tasks. 
Afterwards, we will enjoy a 
nice lunch and entertainment 
from the students from the 
school. This is collaboration 
between Martin Luther King 
Community Coalition and 
Pasadena Unified School 
District and the school 
principal.

Interdenominational 

Ministerial Alliance

Sunday, January 19

3:30 p.m.

Metropolitan Baptist Church

2283 N. Fair Oaks Ave. 
Altadena, CA 91001

Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Holiday Celebration and 
Student Awards

Monday, January 20

8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Robinson Park

1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave. | 
Pasadena, CA 91103

8:00 a.m. - Continental 
Breakfast & Teach-in

9:45 a.m. - Program begins

Pasadena 2020 One City, 
One Story Author Event 

 
Pasadena Public Library 
will start a series of 
community events around 
their two book selections 
for Pasadena’s 2020 One 
City, One Story community 
reading celebration, The 
Secrets They Kept by author 
Lara Prescott, the 2020 One 
City, One Story selection, 
and Finding Dorothy by 
author Elizabeth Letts, the 
2020 One City, One Story 
Summer Edition. 

 A conversation with author 
Lara Prescott discussing her 
novel The Secrets They Kept 
is set for Thursday evening, 
March 5 at Pasadena Central 
Library.

 The Secrets They Kept is a 
thrilling tale of secretaries 
turned spies, of love and 
duty, and of sacrifice. 
Inspired by a true story, 
the novel details a CIA plot 
to infiltrate the hearts and 
minds of Soviet Russia, not 
with propaganda, but with 
the greatest love story of the 
twentieth century: Doctor 
Zhivago.

 One City, One Story 
community programs will 
be held throughout March, 
for more information 
visit: facebook.com/
pasadenalibrary.

 
The One City, One Story 
Summer Edition, Finding 
Dorothy is a richly imagined 
novel that tells the story 
behind The Wonderful 
Wizard of Oz, the book that 
inspired the iconic film, 
through the eyes of author L. 
Frank Baum’s intrepid wife, 
Maud.

 Finding Dorothy is a fun 
summer read and a perfect 
selection to celebrate 
the 100th anniversary 
of the Women’s Suffrage 
Movement, with thematic 
programs and opportunities 
for community dialogue and 
discussion planned around 
the book throughout June 
and July. Event details and 
visit by author Elizabeth 
Letts will be announced in 
the future.

 Free talk Monday, Jan. 27, 
at 1 p.m. at the Pasadena 
Senior Center. Voting 
Systems for All People is 
a new, more secure and 
transparent voting system 
that will debut in time for the 
2020 California presidential 
primary in Los Angeles 
County. Learn how to receive 
an interactive sample ballot, 
vote at any voting center in 
the county, vote on the same 
day you register, and more. 
Presented by the League of 
Women Voters Pasadena 
Area. For more information 
visit: pasadenaseniorcenter.
org or call 626-795-4331.
Pasadena Senior Center is 
located 85 E. Holly St. You 
do not have to be a member 
to attend. 

In Related News 

How Will Voting Change? 

Lara Prescott


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