• Ray Bradbury celebrated his 90th birthday in South Pasadena. The Star-News did a nice piece on it but, I think, made a slight boo-boo: “The Fremont Centre Theater regularly shows Ray Bradbury movies.”
• Interesting story in the Wall Street Journal on the Modern Whigs includes this bit: “Nationwide, Whigs point to just two members in political office, both in unpaid, local positions. Alan Reynolds, a 25-year-old engineering consultant who stumbled onto the Whigs by Googling ‘Political Parties,’ holds an appointed post on the Parks and Recreation Commission in South Pasadena, Calif.”
• A little stale for me to mention now, but blogging.la listed the five worst Trader Joe’s parking lots, and didn’t include South Pasadena. Vigorous debate ensued in the comments.
• Writer and urban designer John Leighton Chase, who grew up in South Pasadena, has died. He was 57.
• The L.A. Times once quoted Alhambra City Manager Julio Fuentes as saying, ”This is not just an Alhambra versus South Pasadena issue. We’re fighting for the regional benefit of this freeway. We want to get the traffic off our streets and onto the freeway.” He was talking, of course, about the 710. But now there’s a proposed high-speed rail system that could cut through Alhambra. Is Fuentes for it? “Sure, it’s good for the state, but depending on how it effects our neighborhoods, we’ll fight it.” Sigh.

From the city:

The City Council of South Pasadena is interested in receiving your input on the best use of the City-owned property at 825 Mission Street. This site is currently used as the City Yard housing the Public Works Department vehicles and supplies. In April 2009, a fire caused extensive damage to the City Yard. Although no one was hurt, two-thirds of the west garage was destroyed. At this point, the City Council wants your input and suggestions on the best utilization of this property, whether it may be to rebuild the City Yard or consider other uses. Please submit your suggestions to the City Manager’s Office by December 31, 2009 via letter, fax, email, or in person at:
City Hall-City Manager’s Office
1414 Mission Street
South Pasadena, CA 91030
(626) 403-7210
Fax (626) 403-7211
Email

The date was changed, and changed again, but now Metro is confident the Eastside Extension of the Gold Line will open Nov. 15 … unless a rogue umbrella ruins everything. So to get you prepped, here are some study materials (you can also get them here):

• Go Metro System Map
• Metro Gold Line Eastside Destinations Map
• Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension Fun Map
• Eastside Flavors Map

The spill happened in South Pasadena Saturday afternoon when the sewage overflowed from a main sewer line in South Pasadena at Arroyo Verde Road and Sycamore Avenue. The spill entered the storm system and eventually dumped into the [Los Angeles] River.

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 545 without my signature.

This bill is unnecessary.  The project development process currently being undertaken by
the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the appropriate vehicle to determine the scope
and feasibility of a project to address the transportation needs in the I-710 corridor.  This
process provides ample opportunity for public involvement and input.  There is
absolutely no need to enact statutory restrictions that would mandate certain project
design options or remove others from potential consideration.  In addition, several
properties belonging to the state would be subject to sale for less than fair market value as
a result of this bill, resulting in the loss to the state of hundreds of millions of dollars.

For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

• Garbage and politics are not mutually exclusive. Take, for example, the Montebello City Council race. Frank Gomez is choosing to run, in part, because of the exclusive trash contract the city awarded to Athens. There’s also a spirited recall campaign against council members who voted for the 15-year pact. The recall effort is funded largely by competing haulers. The opposition is getting a big chunk of funding from Athens.
• You know those really big metal bins they pull up to construction sites to take care of large loads? The West Covina City Council passed an ordinance last week that makes them illegal, even on private property … unless they’re provided by Athens. Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that three of the sitting council members have received a combined total of $12,000 toward their re-election campaigns from Athens-related donors.
• Somewhat unrelated, but interesting. An outdated, but current South Pas Municipal Code states that “Every owner, tenant or occupant of any premises where garbage is created shall provide upon such premises one or more galvanized metal garbage receptacles, provided with outside handles and with tight-fitting galvanized metal covers for receiving and holding all garbage created upon such premises between the times of collection. Each receptacle at places other than an industrial establishment shall have a capacity of not less than five nor more than fifteen gallons.” The city’s trash page, meanwhile, is illustrated with a big-ol’ plastic bin.
• Temple City officials are re-examining their 30-year contract with Athens after allegations surfaced in late July that a former council member’s election campaign was secretly run by the trash hauler.
• It was announced last week that Athens has been fined $270,000 by the California Air Resources Board for diesel-emission violations.

• South Pas fashion designer Richard Tyler decided the best way for Scientologists to overcome their sinister image is to have them wear black capes and sorting hats.
• Our firefighters were among those battling the blaze off the 134.
• Us and them: “I think the people of El Sereno should pay attention to their own community. We’ll pay attention to ours.”
• Black and white: “In a six-month period, I was stopped three times in a tony, South Pasadena neighborhood in 1988 by the same officer who made me, clad in my best ‘Carlton Banks’ outfit (white button down, yellow sweater, khakis and penny loafers), sit on a curb while he ran my driver’s license … ALL THREE TIMES.”
• One man’s fight for a little peace and quiet.
• Driving home on the 110 might get a little easier once a “dynamic-lane” system is installed.

SOUTH PASADENA — A large, destructive fire has virtually destroyed the Department of Public Works building.

The three-alarm fire encompassed almost a full city block at Mission Street and Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena, on the border with Pasadena.

The fire broke out at 8:50 p.m.  Scores of firefighters were on scene.

To be clear, the fire is west of Meridian, but that’s where they blocked off traffic on both Mission and El Centro.