Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 25, 2020

3


Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 25, 2020 

Department 
Appoints 
First Female 
Deputy Chief


Robert Miller President of 
2021 Tournament of Roses

 The Pasadena Tournament 
of Roses Board of Directors 
last week confirmed Dr. 
Robert B. Miller (pictured) 
as President and Chairman 
of the Board for the 2021 
Pasadena Tournament 
of Roses Association, 
providing leadership for the 
132nd Rose Parade® and 
107th Rose Bowl Game on 
January 1, 2021.

 Miller announced “Dream. 
Believe. Achieve.” as the 
Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses theme; celebrating 
education’s ability to open 
doors, open minds and 
change lives. “Education 
paves the path to success 
with a world of opportunities 
achieved through 
knowledge, compassion and 
determination. Education is 
the great equalizer,” shared 
Miller. “As a community 
college educator, I have seen 
firsthand the life-changing 
miracle that education 
provides. As students 
visualize their future, 
education becomes the 
bridge to accomplish their 
aspirations and transform 
lives for generations to 
come.”

 Miller has been a 
volunteer member of the 
Pasadena Tournament of 
Roses Association since 
1984. He was appointed a 
Tournament Chair in 2002 
and a Tournament Director 
in 2007. Throughout his 
extensive Tournament 
career, Miller has served 
on and chaired various 
committees including Float 
Construction, Float Entries, 
Post Parade and University 
Entertainment.

 Professionally, Miller has 
been a Community College 
educator, administrator and 
consultant for more than 40 
years and recently retired to 
provide fulltime service to 
the Tournament of Roses. In 
2016, Miller was appointed 
to the position of Vice 
Chancellor for Finance and 
Resource Development for 
the Los Angeles Community 
College District, the largest 
community college district 
in the country serving 
245,000 students annually 
through nine colleges. 
Miller provided oversight 
for the District’s fiscal 
services, business services, 
government relations, 
institutional advancement, 
career and technical 
education, adult education 
and information technology 
units. 

 Prior to the Los Angeles 
Community College 
District, Miller came 
from the Pasadena Area 
Community College District 
(Pasadena City College) 
where he served in several 
positions including Interim 
Superintendent/President 
of Pasadena City College 
(PCC).

 His last position with 
PACCD was as the Assistant 
Superintendent and Senior 
Vice President of Business 
and College Services 
responsible for the college’s 
fiscal services, business 
services, human resources, 
information technology, 
facilities and construction 
management, police and 
safety services, institutional 
research and auxiliary 
services units. Miller’s 
association with PCC began 
in 1975, when he produced 
an Emmy nominated 
telecourse for the college. 
Over two terms of service 
spanning a combined 22 
years, Miller held a variety 
of positions at Pasadena City 
College including adjunct 
faculty member, Production 
Manager of Instructional 
Television Services, Manager 
of Media Services, Associate 
Dean, Learning Resources, 
Academic Services Dean, 
Vice President, Educational 
Services, Assistant 
Superintendent and Senior 
Vice President, Business and 
College Services and Interim 
Superintendent/President. 

 From 1990 to 2005, Miller 
held vice president level 
positions in development 
and marketing with 
INTELECOM, a national 
leader in the production of 
educational television and 
distance learning courses 
owned by 38 California 
Community Colleges. Miller 
holds an associate degree in 
telecommunications from 
Pasadena City College, 
a bachelor’s degree in 
business administration 
from the University of La 
Verne, a master’s degree in 
Public Administration from 
California State University, 
Northridge and a doctorate 
in Public Administration 
from the University of La 
Verne.

 Miller and his wife, Barbara, 
have lived in the Pasadena 
area since 1969.


State of the City 2020 Looks Bright

By Dean Lee

 Braking from past tradition, 
Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek, 
last week, spent most of his 
annual State of the City on 
non-budgetary issues including 
the Arroyo Seco, 710 Freeway 
Gap, cannabis retail stores and 
homelessness among others. 
Tornek devoted the first 10 
minutes to finances.

 The first non budget issue he 
discussed was the “demise,” 
through state legislation, of the 
connection between the 710 
and the 210 freeways. 

 “we can... begin to address in 
earnest the future of the terrible 
ditch inflicted on our city...,” he 
said. “This is a legacy land use 
planning effort with all kinds 
of legal, design and planning 
issues. But it will result in 
recapturing approximately 50 
acres in the heart of our city for 
productive uses.” 

 He also said Metro had 
allocated $250 million to build 
a grade separation of the Gold 
Line and California Blvd, “This 
is a big, complicated project. 
It will require much public 
discussion, careful planning, 
and sensitive design.”

 Tornek said the grade 
separation would improved 
access to Huntington Memorial 
Hospital. 

 The second non budget issue 
was the Arroyo.

 The County of Los Angeles 
has agreed to provide $2.5 
million to the Army Corps of 
Engineers to restart a large scale 
habitat restoration study for the 
Arroyo, Tornek said.

 “This, like the discussion of 
the recapture of the 710 right 
of way, is a long term project, 
he said. “However, the Arroyo 
Advisory Group has evolved 
into the non-profit One Arroyo 
Foundation which has begun 
to raise funds to implement the 
recommended demonstration 
trails project.” 

 Tornek said last year’s homeless 
count was down 20 percent, 
but there are still over 300 
people sleeping on Pasadena’s 
streets every night. This year’s 
homeless count for 2020 took 
place Tuesday night. 

 He also said the application 
and selection process for legal 
cannabis sales is underway and 
the city hopes that some retail 
stores will be operational this 
year. 

 On finances, Tornek said 
“new development and rising 
property values will continue 
to be our primary source of 
revenue and revenue gains.”

 His proposal is a combination of 
building reserves and investing 
in capital improvements. “This 
is the strategy that we adopted 
with the $11million surplus 
generated by Measure I this 
year.”

 When asked during a 
question and answer about new 
development “pricing” residents 
out of the city, he said, “what 
we have attempted to do is 
chance our policies... Pasadena 
has an inclusionary housing 
ordinance... any new residential 
housing development has to 
have at least 20 percent of the 
units devoted to affordable 
housing, we just bumped that 
up from 15 percent.” 

Tornek said overall General 
Fund Revenues were 
approximately $275 million, up 
from $245 million last year.

 “The four biggest individual 
sources which account for 
more than half of that Revenue 
remain: 

Property Tax = $69.7 million- 
up $5M from last year; Sales 
Tax = $55.8 million – way up 
from $35.0 million last year 
largely due to Measure I; Utility 
Users Tax = $27.5million and 
Transient Occ. Tax [hotels] = 
$18.3 million-up from $17.5 
million, he said. “Everything 
else, charges, fees, unpredictable 
intergovernmental transfers = 
$103.6 million.”

 Tornek said there were 
several things that could have 
a large positive impact on city 
revenue, like “additional hotels, 
significant tax revenue from on-
line sales, and restored Federal 
or State funding.”

 He also said that the city’s 
contribution to the employee 
retirement system, CalPERS, 
has received a lot of attention 
and is projected to top out in 
FY 2024 at 14.3 percent of the 
General Fund Budget. 

 Pasadena Police 
Department announced 
Teusday that Chief of 
Police John Perez has 
appointed Cheryl Moody 
to the rank of Deputy 
Chief. The Deputy Chief 
will begin in her new role 
on Feb. 17. Deputy Chief 
Moody is the first woman 
in the police department’s 
more than 130-year history 
to serve as deputy chief.

 Deputy Chief Moody was 
hired as a police officer 
with Pasadena Police 
Department in 1992 after 
serving three years in the 
United States Air Force 
and working four years 
with the Long Beach Police 
Department. Deputy Chief 
Moody possesses nearly 
three decades of policing 
experience, leading many 
high-performing teams 
over the years, including 
the Special Enforcement 
Section. She has served 
on Pasadena Police 
Department’s Executive 
Command Staff for 
five years and has held 
executive board positions 
with local and national 
chapters of The National 
Organization of Black Law 
Enforcement Executives 
(NOBLE). Deputy Chief 
Moody is currently serving 
as the president of the Los 
Angeles County Chapter 
of Women Leaders in Law 
Enforcement (WLLE).

 Deputy Chief Moody will 
oversee all of Pasadena 
Police Department’s daily 
operations, as well as 
the department’s special 
projects, while continuing 
the department’s 
reorganization efforts.

Valentine’s 
Day 
Luncheon

Finalists Chosen in Mars 

2020 Rover Naming Contest

 Having a sweetheart is not 
a requirement to get into the 
swing of the annual Valentine’s 
Day dinner and dance Sunday, 
Feb. 9, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the 
Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. 
Holly St.

 Friendship and romance 
will fill the Scott Pavilion 
where tables will be decorated 
beautifully and the room will 
be adorned with red and white 
ornamentations as everyone 
enjoys a festive meal. The 
Great American Swing Band 
will perform music that is 
sure to bring back memories 
and compel some participants 
to kick up their heels on the 
dance floor.

 The cost is only $10 for 
members of the Pasadena 
Senior Center and $12 for 
non-members of all ages. Pre-
paid reservations are required 
and must be received at the 
Welcome Desk no later than 
Thursday, Feb. 6.

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

 Founded in 1960, the 
Pasadena Senior Center 
is an independent, donor-
supported nonprofit 
organization that offers 
recreational, educational, 
wellness and social services 
to people ages 50 and over in 
a welcoming environment. 
Services are also provided 
for frail, low-income and 
homebound seniors.

 

 Members of the public have 
an opportunity to vote for their 
favorite name for NASA’s next 
Mars rover. The nine candidate 
names were made possible by 
the “Name the Rover” essay 
contest, which invited students 
in kindergarten through 12th 
grade from across the United 
States to come up with a fitting 
name for NASA’s Mars 2020 
rover and write a short essay 
about it.

 More than 28,000 essays were 
submitted after the contest 
began on Aug. 28 last year. A 
diverse panel of nearly 4,700 
judge volunteers, composed 
of educators, professionals 
and space enthusiasts from all 
around the country, narrowed 
the pool down to 155 deserving 
semifinalists from every state 
and territory in the country.

 “Thousands of students have 
shared their ideas for a name 
that will do our rover and 
the team proud,” said Lori 
Glaze, director of NASA’s 
Planetary Science Division in 
Washington. “Thousands more 
volunteered time to be part of 
the judging process. Now it 
is the public’s opportunity to 
become involved and express 
their excitement for their 
favorites of the final nine.”

 The nine finalists (submission 
name, grade level, student 
name and state) are:

Endurance, K-4, Oliver Jacobs 
of Virgina

Tenacity, K-4, Eamon Reilly of 
Pennsylvania

Promise, K-4, Amira Shanshiry 
of Massachusetts

Perseverance, 5-8, Alexander 
Mather of Virginia

Vision, 5-8, Hadley Green of 
Mississippi

Clarity, 5-8, Nora Benitez of 
California

Ingenuity, 9-12, Vaneeza 
Rupani of Alabama

Fortitude, 9-12, Anthony Yoon 
of Oklahoma

Courage, 9-12, Tori Gray of 
Louisiana

 The poll opens online today 
and will remain open through 
Jan. 27 until 9 p.m. PST 
(midnight EST). The results of 
the poll will be a consideration 
in the final naming selection. 
For the poll, visit: go.nasa.gov/
name2020

 After the poll closes, the nine 
student finalists will discuss 
their rover names with a 
panel including Glaze, NASA 
astronaut Jessica Watkins, 
NASA-JPL rover driver Nick 
Wiltsie and Clara Ma, who 
earned the honor of naming the 
Mars rover Curiosity as a sixth-
grade student in 2009.

 The contest will conclude in 
early March, when the rover’s 
new name — and the student 
behind it — are announced. 
The grand prize winner will 
also receive an invitation to see 
the spacecraft launch in July 
2020 from Cape Canaveral Air 
Force Station in Florida.

Gardening 
Workshop: 
Intro to 
Composting

 
Learn the basics of 
backyard composting, 
water-wise gardening, 
worm composting, 
grass-cycling, and edible 
gardening during a 
workshop February 8 
from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. 
No reservations needed. 
Bring your friends and 
neighbors. Workshop 
will be held at the South 
Pasadena Public Library 
Community Room at 1115 
El Centro Street, South 
Pasadena.


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

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