• 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.

• There’s art in them thar walls.
• Chair of the 710 Freeway Coalition: “The MTA board acted courageously and decisively where public bodies had cowered before.” … Steve Hymon has the nitty gritty on the May 27 vote.
• While Radhika’s seems to be faring well since their Mother’s Day opening, Pat at Eating L.A. noticed a “promising” new Thai place snuck into town.
• “So few people I know were born in Pasadena and have lived here their whole life. But I have, baby, I have.”
• And speaking of … “You know you grew up in South Pas in the ’80s if … “
• Dr. Gary Seto gets a mention in USA Today.
• Is it the fool’s Gold Line?
• Fork off of the median.

• Sometimes there’s a fine line between news and advertising. Sometimes that line gets trampled.
• The death of SPHS student Aydin Salek prompts a bill proposal from Assemblyman Anthony Portantino that would “grant immunity from criminal prosecution to teenagers who seek emergency medical attention for someone possibly suffering from alcohol poisoning.”
• State Assemblyman Mike Eng pushes Caltrans to sell all the homes along the aboveground 710 route. It’s an odd about-face from the guy who opposed Portantino’s bill last year, which kinda would of done the same thing.
• iamnotastalker.com, well, stalks Kaldi’s.
• Via The Source: “Full-time students attending Pasadena City College (PCC) will soon be eligible to receive heavily discounted Metro passes – $30 for unlimited travel on all Metro bus and rail lines for an entire semester. Part of Metro’s I-Pass program, this new partnership will bring affordable transit to 8,800 community college students.”

You are invited to attend an SR-710 Update Meeting hosted by the City of South Pasadena on Friday, Feb. 26, at the South Pasadena High School Auditorium. Registration will be from 6:30 to 7 p.m. Presentations will be followed by a question and answer period.

Speakers

• South Pasadena City Council
• State Senator Gilbert Cedillo of the 22nd District (invited)
• State Assemblymember Anthony Portantino of the 44th District
• Ara Najarian, Metro Board Chair (editor’s note: he’s also a Glendale city council member)
• Laura Olhasso, Mayor of La Cañada Flintridge
• Antonio Rossmann, Special Legal Counsel
• Jan Chatten-Brown, Special Legal Counsel
• Mike Roos, Strategist
• Richard Gutschow, Tunnel Technical Study TAC Member
• Gary Brierley, Geotechnical Consultant

South Pasadena High School Auditorium
1401 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, CA 91030

• In an obit for Frisbee inventor Walter Frederick Morrison, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune mentions in passing that WHAM-O began in a South Pasadena garage. Maybe you already knew that but, well, I didn’t.
• The L.A. Times says, “Today, Stargate (Studios) generates $15 million in annual revenue and employs 150 digital artists, producers and technicians.”
• The Crescenta Valley Weekly posted a fun correction, which looks like it might have been prompted by a call from the South Pas mayor’s office.
• Food, She Thought posts oodles of photos from a meal at Shiro.
• In an aptly titled post, The South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce asks what you think of Claremont’s revitalization.

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

• Who: South Pasadena Public Library
• What: Author Night with Denise Hamilton. The event is free and open to the public and will showcase bestselling mystery author Denise Hamilton and a musical set by pianist David Batt. Hamilton is the author of, most recently, The Long Embrace and edited L.A. Noir. She’s also the author of The Jasmine Trade, which introduced heroine Eve Diamond as she investigates the killing of a San Marino High School student.
• Where: South Pasadena Public Library
• When: 7 p.m., Thursday, April 23

• Who: South Pasadena Mission West Association
• What: Mission West Spring Art Festival
• Where: Mission Street, from Meridian to Fremont
• When: April 25-26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Who: Caltrans
• What: 710 Tunnel Technical Study Meeting
• Where: Blair High School cafeteria,  1201 S. Marengo Ave., Pasadena
• When: 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 28

You are invited to the following SR-710 Tunnel Technical Study Community Meeting

• When: Thursday, March 26, 2009, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Where: El Sereno Senior Citizens Center
  4818 Klamath Pl., Los Angeles, CA 90032
  New location: Los Angeles Christian Presbyterian Church
  2241 N. Eastern Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90032
  (3 blocks south of the El Sereno Recreation Center)

Come and learn more about tunnels and tunnel systems around the world! Become informed; learn about the planning behind tunneling and geophysical testing methods for tunneling purposes.  The SR-710 Tunnel Technical Study staff will be available to answer your questions about studies being conducted in your area.

For more information please contact the SR–710 Tunnel Study Information office 323-222-1710. You can also visit our website at www.710tunnelstudy.info

*Updated location