Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, April 2, 2022

Mountain View News Saturday, April 2, 2022 

Pasadena 
MayorDisputes SB 9Violations 

 
Pasadena Mayor Victor 
Gordo, (pictured) released a 
letter to residents Friday that 
disputes California Attorney 
General Rob Bonta’s claims 
that Pasadena is in violation 
of Senate Bill 9, a housing law 
passed by the Legislature in 
2021. 

 “It is important that I 
communicate and provide the 
supporting documentation, 
directly to our residents who 
are entitled to know that the 
City of Pasadena is not in 
violation of SB 9 as wrongfully 
asserted by the Attorney 
General” Gordo said.

 In a formal response to 
Bonta, Gordo simply states 
that local historic districts are 
exempt from the provisions 
of SB 9. According to 
Pasadena’s legal counsel, the 
city’s “landmark districts” are 
clearly “historic” districts, as 
they are evaluated using the 
same criteria as used for an 
application for the National 
Historic Register, their 

boundaries are determined 

using the same criteria as 
used for an application for the 
National Historic Register, 
and every landmark district 
must show a relationship to 
a historical context Gordo’s 
letter reads. 

Gordo states that Pasadena 
is acutely aware that there is 
a serious housing shortage in 
the State of California. 

“Assuming your office was 
unaware, please take note 
that, in the last housing 
element cycle, Pasadena 
permitted and entitled over 
4,950 new residential units, 
many times more than its 
total Regional Housing 
Needs Allocation of 1,332 
units,” Gordo states. “The city 
currently has 1,021 affordable 
units in the development 
pipeline, all but 150 intended 
for lower income households, 
and an additional 2,200 units 
are under review.”

 Using fiery language, Gordo 
said city officials took issue 
with Bonta’s politics with his 
letter. 

 “We were sent the letter 
alleging violations of state law 
without any prior substantive 
conversation with your 
office, and despite the city’s 
history as a supporter of 
new housing,” Gordo said. 
“To add insult to injury, the 
letter was released concurrent 
with a press statement, and 
shortly thereafter self-serving 
tweets by elected officials, 
misrepresenting Pasadena’s 
efforts on SB 9, and housing 
policies in general.”

 Gordo ended his letter 
saying that city officials were 
in the process of setting 
up a meeting with Bonta’s 
office, elected state and local 
officials, and legal counsel. 

Gordo also wrote, near the 
end of the his letter, “Be aware 
that Pasadena must defend 
its reputation of successfully 
balancing the need for new 
housing while protecting its 
historic resources.” 

Playhouse Park to Honor Octavia Butler 


renamed, if approved, “Octavia 

 Stage area of the park 

Butler Park,” will be a 1.04


to be named for the Van 

acre park including a children’s 
Halen band. play area, dog run, trellised 
structure over sitting/stage area, 

 The Pasadena city council is lighted pathways, restroom and 
set to vote Monday to name a storage building, and a 48-space 
new park, under construction, parking lot. 
located in the Playhouse The park’s trellis structure is 
District as Octavia Butler Park also set be named Monday the 

– and stage area is expected to Eddie Van Halen Stage. At the 
be named the Van Halen Stage. request of the family, the stage 
According to the city staff area will be named for the 
report, Playhouse District entire Van Halen band instead 
Park at 701 East Union Street of exclusively for Eddie Van 
between El Molino Avenue Halen, staff said. 
and Oak Knoll Avenue to be An online survey last year 

PCC Earns 2022-2023 MilitaryFriendly School Designation 

Octavia Butler 

posted on the city’s website 
asked residents to propose 
names for the new park.

 The survey had received 
thousands of submissions, of 
which 526 of them were for 
Octavia Butler Park, according 
to city staff. 

 The park to be completed by 
summer according to the report. 

Pasadena’s 
Great EggScramble 

 
Celebrate spring by hopping 
over to Pasadena’s free Great 
Egg Scramble on Saturday, 
April 9. Over 10,000 eggs 
filled with wonderful surprises 
will line the sports fields at 
Robinson Park, 1081 N. Fair 
Oaks Ave. and Victory Park 
2575 Paloma St. We are so 
EGG-cited and can’t wait to 
see you.

 Children up to age 12 can 
join the fun by participating 
in one of the four egg hunts 
held at each location. Egg hunt 
start times are 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 
noon and 1 p.m. In addition 
to the egg hunts, there will be 
a festival area with inflatable 
games, arts and crafts, and 
photo ops with the Bunny and 
his fury friends! Registration 
is limited, required and open 
to Pasadena residents and 
PUSD students ONLY. To 
register, please visit www. 
cityofpasadena.net/reserve.
Free parking is available.

 The Great Egg Scramble 
is hosted by the City of 
Pasadena Parks, Recreation 
and Community Services 
Department and will comply 
with Pasadena Public Health 
Department COVID-19 
guidelines. Please stay home 
if you feel sick, even if your 
symptoms are mild. 

 For more information, please 
call (626) 744-7500 or email 
prcsevents@cityofpasadena. 
net. 

 To request materials in 
alternative formats or 
other accommodations, 
contact (626) 744-7311 or 
Pasadena311@

 cityofpasadena.net. 

 Providing at least 72 hours 
advance notice will help ensure 
availability. Stay connected to 
the City of Pasadena, visit: 
cityofpasadena.net. 

Barger Funds $135,000 Boys& Girls Club Renovations 

 
Los Angeles County 
Supervisor Kathryn Barger 
announced that she attended 
a ribbon cutting ceremony 
Wednesday at the Boys & 
Girls Club of Pasadena to 
celebrate the completion 
of its Mackenzie-Scott 
Clubhouse renovation. The 
project was made possible 
by Barger’s allocation of 
$135,000 in Proposition A 
funds.

 “Since its founding in 1937, 
the Boys & Girls Club of 
Pasadena has been a beacon 
of hope and stability in 
children’s lives,” Supervisor 
Barger said. “Every 
community’s youth deserves 
access to an environment 
like the Boys & Girls Club – 
one that promotes academic 
success, healthy habits and 
connections to caring adults. 
If we want our children to 
reach their full potential 
as future responsible and 
productive citizens, we must 
invest in programs like this 
one.”

 Lisa Cavelier, Chief 
Executive Officer of the Boys 
& Girls Club of Pasadena, 
said the funds Supervisor 
Barger allocated will have a 
direct impact on the Club’s 
efforts. 

 “The Boys & Girls Club 
of Pasadena is incredibly 
grateful to Supervisor Barger 
and Los Angeles County for 
helping to fund the interior 
renovations of our northwest 
Pasadena facility,” Cavelier 
said. “It’s been a long time 
coming, and now we feel 
we can serve all kids in the 
Pasadena area in an updated 
and beautiful building. This 
renews our energy around 
impacting the trajectory of 
kids’ lives, which is what we 
do best.” 

 The Boys & Girls Club 
of Pasadena offers a year-
round program in its 
Mackenzie-Scott clubhouse, 
which has provided more 
than 250,000 children with 
a safe and nurturing place to 
call their own. The interior 
renovations made to the 
clubhouse address safety 
issues and include updating 
electrical systems, replacing 
worn flooring, resurfacing 
gym walls, repairing ceiling 
tiles and adding a fresh coat 
of paint. 

 The clubhouse is located 
at 2020 North Fair Oaks 
Avenue in Pasadena. For 
more information on the 
Club’s programs, visit: 
bgcpasadena.org. 

 
Pasadena City College officials 
announce that the college has 
earned the 2022-2023 Military 
Friendly School – Gold Status 
designation. 

 Institutions earning the 
Military Friendly School 
designation were evaluated 
using both public data 
sources and responses from 
a proprietary survey. Over 
1,200 schools participated in 
the 2022-2023 survey with 747 
earning the designation. 

 Only seven large community 
colleges in California have 
earned the distinction this year.

 The 2022-2023 Military 
Friendly Schools list will be 
published in the May issue of 

G.I. Jobs magazine and can befound at www.militaryfriendly. 
com. 
Methodology, criteria, and 
weightings were determined 
by Viqtory with input from 
the Military Friendly Advisory 
Council of independent 
leaders in the higher education 
and military recruitment 
community. Final ratings were 
determined by combining the 
institution’s survey response set 
and government/agency public 
data sources, within a logic 
based scoring assessment. We 
measure the institution’s ability 
to meet thresholds for Student 
Retention, Graduation, Job 
Placement, Loan Repayment, 
Persistence (Degree 
Advancement or Transfer) 
and Loan Default rates for all 
students and, specifically, for 
student veterans. 

 “We are thrilled to be 
recognized for our support 
for servicemembers who have 
made the important decision to 
continue their education,” said 
Dr. Erika Endrijionas, PCC’s 
superintendent/president. “We 
consistently strive to improve 
our services every year, and our 
designation this cycle as a Gold 

award recipient is a testament to 
those efforts. We stand proud in 
our service to veterans and their 
families across the San Gabriel 
Valley.”

 “Military Friendly is committed 
to transparency and providing 
consistent data driven standards 
in our designation process,” said 
Kayla Lopez, National Director 
of Military Partnerships, 
Military Friendly. “This creates 
a competitive atmosphere 
that encourages colleges to 
consistently evolve and invest 
in their programs. Schools who 
achieve designation show true 
commitment and dedication in 
their efforts. 

 “Our standards assist schools 
by providing a benchmark that 
promotes positive educational 
outcomes, resources, and 
support services that better 
the educational landscape 
and provide opportunity for 
the military community,” she 
added.

 For more information about 
PCC’s student veteran programs 
and its heralded Veterans 
Resource Center, visit Veteran’s 
Services website at: pasadena.
edu.

 The Military Friendly Schools 
list is created each year based on 
extensive research using public 
data sources for more than 
8,800 schools nationwide, input 
from student veterans, and 
responses to the proprietary, 
data-driven Military Friendly 
Schools survey from 
participating institutions. The 
survey questions, methodology, 
criteria and weighting were 
developed with the assistance 
of an independent research 
firm and an advisory council of 
educators and employers. The 
survey is administered for free 
and is open to all postsecondary 
schools that wish to participate. 
Criteria for consideration can 
be found at: militaryfriendly. 
com. 

PPHD to Offer Vaccines, 
Additional Boosters Monday 

 The Pasadena Public 
Health Department (PPHD) 
will begin to offer Monday 
additional booster doses 
of Moderna and Pfizer 
vaccines for those who 
are immunocompromised 
ages 12 years or ages 50 
years and older. Following 
FDA’s regulatory action 
on Thursday, the Centers 
for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) updated 
its recommendations to 
allow these individuals who 
received an initial booster 
dose at least 4 months prior 
to be eligible for another 
mRNA booster (Moderna 
or Pfizer) to increase their 
protection against severe 
disease from COVID-19. 
Covid vaccines and boosters 
remain safe and continue to 


be highly effective against 
severe disease. As a reminder, 
people aged 5 and older 
with moderately or severely 
weakened immune systems 
should get a third primary 
dose. Find a COVID-19 
vaccine clinic at: myturn.
ca.gov/, visit a PPHD clinic 
at: cityofpasadena.net/
public-health/covid-19vaccine/, 
or call Citizen 
Service Center at (626) 7447311 
for assistance finding a 
clinic. Appointments are not 
needed for PPHD clinics. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com