I promised silliness today because, I mean, yesterday I was so serious. I'm sure we'll get back to that but you just can't be that way every day. (Okay, fine, if you must, but I can't.)
I suppose I could have saved this for Zen Monday. Goodness knows I'm running out of those.
I've already harped on talked about the 710 freeway extension. I'm about to do so again. I will try to be entertaining (woohoo! cars! fumes! circus music!) but my feelings will not be hurt if you click away. Please come back tomorrow for silliness.
To recap: Caltrans, its proverbial finger on the proverbial pulse, thought now would be a good time to push ahead with an ancient plan.
OMG, we said, or letters to that effect.
Could we unite behind a presidential candidate? Could we unite over a sports team? Could we unite over so much as a flavor of ice cream? No.
However, nobody, but nobody wants a 710 freeway extension. We don't want it so fiercely that we are practically up in arms against it. Even local governments are involved in the fight.
For a moment it looked like Caltrans (finger to pulse) thought a tunnel under our communities might be some kind of cheery compromise, but yesterday the news broke: I first read it from Elise Kalfayan of Glendale's The Sunroom Desk. Lauren Gold also had the story at the Pasadena Star-News. The Los Angeles Transportation Committee, as Gold reports, "unanimously approved a resolution to oppose the F-7 tunnel route for the proposed 710 Freeway extension." This is good.
Today at 10 am at City Hall, 200 N. Spring Street in Los Angeles, the LA City Council is scheduled to review and vote on a resolution opposing all six alternative freeway routes. You can go to this meeting. You are encouraged to show up and express your views. The more the merrier, and the better chance of showing Caltrans and the State of California that there are more forward-thinking ways to spend taxpayer money than on outdated concepts like freeways. The idea is so old fashioned that by the time a proposed 710 extension is finished, we'd be able to teleport goods from Long Beach to the Panama Canal.
If the resolution passes at today's City Council meeting, that doesn't guarantee that Caltrans will be stopped. Caltrans is like a chicken with its head cut off--it just keeps on running around in circles, even without a brain. The "No 710 Freeway Extension" group on Facebook grows every day. Feel free to join up.
Freeways have served their purpose, but here in the 21st century where you and I live they represent a disappearing, unenlightened age. They've already gone through Pasadena. They've already divided our city. They've already destroyed homes, businesses and neighborhoods. It's time to move on.
Here's another one of those spots I probably shouldn't tell you about.
At the foot of Bailey Canyon in Sierra Madre you'll find Bailey Canyon Park. West of the park is a paved road. Walk north, toward the mountains.
You'll pass alongside the Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center. You can't see much of the Center from this road. On your right is a dry reservoir, which I guess is the Grove Street Reservoir because Bailey Canyon Park is at the end of Grove Street.
When the road ends, if you continue north along the path you'll head up the mountain. But before the path, a little bridge crosses a wash and leads you to a quiet, sun-dappled clearing. The first time I found myself in this clearing, no swing hung from a tree.
It's good to get out of the same old neighborhood, to test the waters, or the coffee, somewhere else.
So my friend and I visited Cafe de Leche in Highland Park, our sunny neighbor to the southwest. It's a good spot for a cup of coffee anytime but especially in the late afternoon, when the sun sets opposite this broad window.
I haven't spent much time in Highland Park but I like the feel of the neighborhood. It reminds me of my Chicago days. That's probably because I was hip and young when I lived in Chicago, and Highland Park has a hip, young vibe.
Hey kids! Let's put on our poodle skirts and saddle shoes! It's the 1950's again and Caltrans wants to build a freeway!
Let's go Retro!
"Stop 710 through San Rafael area."
"Stop 710 Through Avenue 64."
I'm pretty sure you'll find similar wording on signs in El Sereno, South Pasadena, and Highland Park. Perhaps Caltrans thought they could divide and conquer, but folks are wising up. The sign I saw today at the 134 San Rafael Avenue off-ramp said, "710 NO BUILD ANYWHERE.
I took the above photo facing north on Avenue 64 at 5:09:46 pm on August 15th. That's rush hour on a Wednesday. Obviously we're getting along fine without a 710 freeway extension and the Pasadena City Council seems to agree. That's because this freeway extension, so close to the Arroyo Seco (where the Rose Bowl stadium sits), would ruin much more than Avenue 64. Pasadena property values? Not!
But seriously, folks, is Caltrans really considering a freeway? Are they really not talking about a faster, less-polluting, light rail system for transporting goods from the port of Los Angeles? Is everybody who works at Caltrans still rolling their non-filter cigarette packs up in their t-shirt sleeves? Wearing coonskin hats? Combing their hair into a ducktail while they shake their hula-hoops?
What century is this?
If you'd like to add your voice, you can join the No 710 Freeway Extension Facebook Page. Please feel free to leave other links and suggestions in the comments.
And speaking of outdated schemes: tomorrow is the last day for public comment (until 5pm) regarding Pasadena's "Multi-Benefit/Multi-Use" Project Initial Study (aka, "building a soccer field in Hahamongna watershed"). Here's a toolkit to help you register your comments. It takes only a few minutes and your words matter.
Two new exhibits at the Pasadena Museum of History are well worth your visit.
You're going to love the enthralling Pacific Electric Railway, Then and Now, an exhibit of memorabilia and "then and now" photos based on the book by Steve Crise and Michael Patris. Crise took the exquisite "now" pictures with more than expertise: he added care and wit. Not satisfied to simply position his camera to correspond exactly with the "then" photos, Crise went to the trouble to take his photographs at the same time of day so shadows would correspond. He added witty touches as well, even waiting for the time on a clock to be the same in one photo as it was back then.
Oh and note the detail of the train crossing gate above. A delicious touch.
Tasty in a whole different way (like a banana split with a whiskey chaser) is What a Long, Strange Trip it's Been: 35 Years of the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade. Just across the hall from the trains you'll find photos, costumes, signs, and uh, stuff, collected from past Doo Dah Parades. I wish my photo of the crowns of past Doo Dah queens had worked! That is some fab headgear.
Doo Dah is our own mini-Burning Man, Pasadena's hand-made, knee-jerk reaction to the Tournament of Roses. There may be other events like it, but they probably haven't had a lot of museum coverage. Bravo to the PMH for proclaiming Doo Dah as part of Pasadena's history, which of course it is. My only concern is the exhibit may legitimize Doo Dah, and I would hate for that to happen.
Sierra Madre is a charming corner of the San Gabriel Valley. Adele is excellent company. My friend Karyn O'Bryant is a fine actor and so is everyone else in the cast of Incident at Vichy (that's one reason why it was a Critic's Choice in the Los Angeles Times). Add them together and it was a great evening.
Across the street from the Playhouse there's this cocktail joint called The Buccaneer. You can see the Playhouse marquee reflected in the window. Adele and I didn't go in because we were both tired, but the place has a reputation for fun. Snotty Scotty and the Hankies play there, so I don't know what more you could ask.
Sierra Madre is Adele's territory (not that any of us are territorial around here), so I'll let Adele give you the pic from the theater (doesn't Karyn look marvelous?). But we had such a good evening. Many, many thanks to Karyn and the cast and crew of Incident at Vichy and the Sierra Madre Playhouse.
I wished I'd gotten to the center of the walkway to take this photo. Symmetry, you know. It's so pleasing to the eye. But a moment is a moment, it fleets, and you don't always have the chance to position yourself perfectly for it. You raise the camera (or the baseball bat, or your hand) and you click (swing, grab). A sideways catch is better than no catch at all.
And a garden is a garden. Even a manicured one gets a little wild. No matter how much you trim and mow, it's the fringes that tempt.
What I don't like is being stinky. I hope you don't mind my saying. John says nobody can smell me but me, but that's bad enough. And yes, I use deodorant, but no amount of ...
I probably shouldn't be talking about this.
How's your summer going? Getting ready for school? Some people are starting up again next week and it seems too soon, don't you think?
August 23rd marks the end of the period for public comment on the scope of the Environmental Impact Report on the Initial Study for the Multi-Benefit/Multi-Use Project at Hahamongna Watershed Park.
That's doublespeak for:
Pasadena proposes to build an athletic field at Hahamongna, which is currently mostly open space. The name of the proposed field is the Sycamore Grove athletic field. I'm not sure why, maybe because sycamore trees will be razed to build it, along with cottonwoods and willows.
The city also proposes "creek restoration" and "trail restoration." Some bad stuff and some potentially good stuff. They've bundled these things into one project with a confusing name.
It's easy to register your comments, and you don't have to be from Pasadena to do so. Here's the City's link to get you started. Also, the Arroyo Seco Foundation has provided you with a toolkit. At the most recent Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee meeting, Loren Pluth of the city staff said comments will be accepted until the close of business on thae 23rd.
Please send your comments regarding the scope of the EIR to:
Rosa Laveaga, City of Pasadena, Department of Public Works,
Phone: (626) 744-4321
E-mail: mbmuproject@cityofpasadena.net,
Mailing Address: City of Pasadena, Department of Public Works, Attn: Engineering Division, 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101
To help get you started, here are the comments I submitted yesterday:
Dear Ms. Laveaga,
Herein are my comments on the Initial Study of the Multi-Benefit Multi-Use project for Hahamongna Watershed Park.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The description of the project is vague. Under the circumstances, it's difficult to make direct comments.
ATHLETIC FIELD
As a frequent Hahamongna user, I notice the athletic field that is already there is rarely used.
Why are we building a second field there when the first one gets so little use?
Are there records on the use of the first field?
If so, where can I see the records?
If not, how do we justify a second field at that location?
FLOODING
Because the athletic field is to be built in a flood plain, sooner or later all or part of the field will be affected by heavy rains. One possible result is that the field will be flooded and/or washed into the dam.
Does Pasadena have the funds to repair the field during flood years?
Does Pasadena have the funds to clean the remains of the field from the dam during flood years?
Another possibility is that the field will withstand heavy rains, and flood waters will back up north of the raised field. In a low rainfall year, this wouldn't be a problem. In a high rainfall year, this could affect Tom Sawyer Camp, Rose Bowl Riders, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.
Is Pasadena prepared to repair those potential damages and/or respond to potential lawsuits?
Has the regularity and severity of flooding in Hahamongna been studied? Over how many years?
Where can I see the results of that study?
HABITAT RESTORATION
It seems we are destroying habitat only to "restore" it.
How are you defining "habitat?"
How are you defining "restore?"
WATER
Water shortages continue around the United States. The Colorado River is no longer a source for the Metropolitan Water District. Pasadena's watershed feeds the Raymond Basin. Building anything at all in our watershed, at this time in history, is, at best, idiocy, especially something that pollutes with pesticides, oils, gasoline runoff, asphalt, etc.
Can you guarantee 0% pollution of the Raymond Basin, a San Gabriel Valley water resource?
California's governor is proposing a $23.7 billion pipeline to transport water in California, while Pasadena proposes to destroy its own potentially lucrative water resource. Once we've done that, we will have to spend taxpayer money on water we would have already had if we hadn't ruined the watershed with construction, pesticides, gasoline runoff, trash, etc.
Is Pasadena prepared to pay more for water?
What water resources will Pasadena have when the Raymond Basin becomes polluted?
Now that the Colorado River is no longer a source, where will Pasadena get its water?
Can the Metropolitan Water District guarantee enough water to Pasadena in future decades, when we won't have use of our own watershed and/or the Raymond Basin?
Have the above questions been studied?
Where can I see the results of the study?
WILDLIFE
The Initial Study says there will be no impact on wildlife. I have seen a mountain lion within yards of where the proposed athletic field is to be built, not to mention rabbits, deer, squirrels, snakes, and toads.
How have the project's effects on each of these particular creatures been studied?
How are you defining "wildlife?"
How are you defining "impact?"
Have these potential effects been documented, per creature? Where can I see the documents?
Additional auto and foot traffic can't help but impact wildlife. Not to mention lights, which the city says it will not include but which the grant requires.
How does the city reconcile the fact that it does not allow lights in Hahamongna but the grant requires the field be lit until 7pm?
Rare black willow and cottonwood are rebounding in the Hahamongna basin.
How many of these rare trees will be impacted?
Will they be part of the restoration?
The federally listed endangered bird, the Bell's Vireo, has now been documented in the exact area where the athletic field is planned.
What are Pasadena's plans to protect this federally listed endangered bird?
Last week I received a call from Patty Murphy of Women at Work. If you've been in Pasadena for any amount of time you probably have at least a vague idea of what they do there: train women and men in job skills and help them find work. They've been doing it, with great success, since 1979. Patty was calling to tell me about their new division called Training at Work, where they would come to my office and train my employees in job skills.
I've done everything I can to get Boz the pooch to learn Quickbooks and he flat out refuses, so I thought the best thing I could do would be to spread the word. So Patty and I set up a time for me to meet with her and Robin McCarthy, Executive Director of Women at Work.
A few days later while I waited in the lobby a man entered, approached the receptionist and offered to volunteer. That's a fine thing because there's plenty to do. Each Monday begins with orientation for those new to Women at Work, followed by the popular Job Club, with motivation and the "Hot Jobs List." Job Club involves a $2 requested donation, for which you can stay at Women at Work all day and use their computers to search for a job and even check your email.
The hot story now is the new division called Training at Work: "workplace training at our site or yours." As companies cut training budgets they still need employees who know what the heck they're doing. Women at Work can send a qualified expert to train your employees, and can tailor that training to your company's needs.
Contact Vickie N. Campbell, Program Manager, at 626-796-6870 ext. 32, and qualified trainers will come to your place of business and train your staff in such skills as Business Communications, Customer Service, Project & Time Management, Social Media for Business, and even job-seeking. The W.A.W. folks can teach your employees how to use the various Microsoft Office programs, too. And as long as they don't behave like spoiled, overfed, elderly dogs, Training at Work can even teach them Quickbooks.
It had gotten to the point where I was embarrassed to be seen in my darling car.
I don't have a preference when it comes to car washes in Pasadena. Do you? If so, let me know. I've only tried a couple and I tend to stick with convenience and price.
The Walnut-Hill Car Wash (on Walnut at Hill) doesn't get a whole lot of stars on Yelp but I've never had a problem there. They have this Something Wicked This Way Comes arcade that captures my fancy, if not my quarters.
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City Daily Photo Bloggers: the portal is not coming back any time soon. Join the City Daily Photo Facebook group to stay current on theme days, new blogs and old friends. The September theme might end up being "people watching" unless you vote!
When a tree on our street began dropping large, random branches, we called the city. While we await the inspector's visit, the neighbor girls and I are concerned about what happens when the next branch falls. So we got out the markers and construction paper.
I don't think it was the sign above that warned off these neighbors because it's on the wrong side of the tree for them to see.
They crossed the street in time to be out of harm's way. It might have been this sign that warned them.
Or maybe it was these dire warnings, which they saw on their approach.
For help with city-owned trees on your block, call Pasadena's Urban Forestry division at Parks and Natural Resources, 744-4321.
Update:
A crew of great guys came out within 48 hours of my phone call. They removed the branches that had come down and mulched them on the spot. They told us they don't park their cars under trees when the weather gets hot like it's been lately. Any tree, not just a liquid ambar, can drop a branch. The guys said they'd send an inspector out, just to make sure there were no other problems with the tree. My neighbor (whose daughters made the signs) asked the crew what to do about a branch dangling over her driveway; it had been damaged by a truck and it threatened to come down. They sent a man up in the cherry-picker and snip-snip! Problem solved.
Zen Monday is the day I refrain from telling you about the photo so you can tell the rest of us, without influence, what the photo makes you think, feel or see. Let yourself go. No one is passing judgement. Really.
About 21 years ago, I quit smoking on the last day of August. I felt euphoric for the first few days, then I had to move, and I mean move, constantly. At my office job I offered to deliver mail, run errands, do the heavy lifting. In my car I chewed gum, sang with the radio, rolled up the windows and screamed. With friends I opted for things like dancing, babysitting, swimming--anything active.
But I still had down times that had to be filled. The best thing was walking. I lived in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles, and I did all possible errands on foot. One day, I got the idea to drive up to Pasadena to a hiking trail I'd read about.
I don't know how hot it was, but it was hot, and it was noon, and I had no experience with mountain hiking. About three miles up the trail, when I saw no cover from the sun and I was so thirsty I could have chewed a cactus, I noticed no one was out there but me and decided maybe I had picked the wrong day. I stopped, looked out over the San Gabriel Valley and told myself I didn't have to kill myself to quit smoking. In fact, that was missing the point.
Years later, hiking the Sam Merrill Trail, recognition tapped me gently on the shoulder and I realized I was on the same trail, in the same spot where I'd turned around that day. It was not three miles, not even one mile up the trail. With the shape my lungs were in back then, it had only felt like I'd gone that far.
21 years later and by no means an athlete, I can still outdo my younger, smoking self. I'll prove it when the weather cools.
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The heat wave has finally reached southern California. It was still above 90 degrees at 6pm yesterday, so Boz and I had to wait until the sun went down to take our walk. He did not appreciate the wait.
But once we got out it was pleasant to stroll. People were about, moving slowly, just appreciating the air. When you stay inside all day, even in air conditioning, you get stir crazy.
This isn't like the heat wave that's been plaguing the rest of the country. Mid-nineties is normal for August around here. It's just that every year I forget that until right about now.
