South Pasadena Council PTA Invites You to a Rally for Our Children

Thursday, March 4, from 3-4 p.m., in front of the SPUSD Administration Building: 1020 El Centro Street

The governor’s budget proposal makes devastating cuts to schools, in the amount of $2.4 billion over the next two years, despite his pledge to protect education. The budget will also decimate children’s healthcare and family services.

For SPUSD these cuts translate to an additional $1,100,000 cut, or 5% of our total budget. This is on top of a $2,000,000 cut in 2009-10 and $3,500,000 that was cut over the last 2 years!

Our children have already lost  instructional assistants and other support positions.  If this proposal goes through, our children stand to lose even more teachers, counselors, arts specialists, and additional support staff!

The System is Broken!

Budget Reform is Crucial!

The Time to Act is NOW!

Letters to our legislators demanding a change in the number of votes necessary to pass a budget and a demand for a stable funding stream for education will be on hand.

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.

I’d like to thank those of you who got in touch with me. And I heard roughly the same story enough that it’s worth posting. The South Pasadena Review already wrote that Joe Payne, a reserve officer for the South Pasadena Police Department, said he was approached by David Sifuentes months ago about the police chief position. I haven’t heard a bad thing about Payne. He’s well-liked among the ranks, and he worked for the SPPD for 35 years before he retired two years ago. The South Pasadena Police Officers Assn. maybe thinks he’d push for pay hikes. That helps to make sense of Mike Ten’s presentation, which implied South Pasadena is the deadliest place on Earth for a cop. That’s an assertion that seems to contradict the recently released Uniform Crime Report showing (yet another) significant drop in crime under Chief Dan Watson’s leadership.

Payne isn’t entirely without baggage. According to the L.A. Times, he’s one of six who sued the city after being demoted in the wake of scandals that plagued the department in the late 1990s. There’s nothing to suggest he was a bad cop, it’s just that when former Chief Michael Berkow came in to clean house, he thought there were too many cooks in the kitchen.

Anyhoo, here’s what I’m hearing is raising the hackles of residents:

• The perceived arrogance of council members who plan the ouster of — and the successor to — the city’s police chief behind closed doors.
• Elected officials who are giving the appearance of ignoring their constituency in favor of deep-pocketed campaign donors.

Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. If I got something wrong, please let me know via comments or email. Ditto if I got something right.

If you’re interested, there’s a fluff piece on Payne after the jump. It was in the April 2009 El Pueblo newsletter, which is “The publication of the All City Employees Benefits Service Association.” The full 24-page newsletter is here as a pdf, but it’s big and not much worth the bother. And yes, there are typos (um, South Pass?), but I’m too tired to clean it up.

Men like Retired Police Lieutenant Joseph Payne are spoken of in tall-tale form. “Stalwart” and “workhorse” comes to mind as does the simple elegance of “dedication.”

To have the esteemed record Joe enjoys, one has to have the qualities listed above. In short, to achieve a thirty-five year career as a police officer, where never once has a day of work been missed, a person needs the stuff Joe has.

And what is that stuff? Easy: it’s called heart.

Of course, as one can expect, Joe modestly qualifies his success: “I never went AWOL,” which indirectly means Joe never irresponsibly left his position. Sure, he may have called in sick once in a while, or missed a day or two for other uncompromising reasons. But Joe never simply left a day’s work without explanation, and in 35 years, that says something.

By and large, Joe, who has worked as a background investigator with the Los Angeles Police Department for the last six years, existed as an agent of dependability

while with his former long-term employer, the South Pasadena Police Department. Regularly, he picked up shifts for other officers who for various reasons could not make it into work.

“Ours (South Pasadena) was a small police force. So when one guy called in sick, it affected almost everything.”

A 1972 graduate of both Pasadena Community College and then Rio Hondo Police Academy, Joe’s career as an officer began as a Police Explorer, then after the academy and the rigorous training involved there, at 21, he became a full fledged cop.

During the following three-and-a-half decades, the Temple City native worked virtually every division South Pass had to offer: from beat cop to detective, watch commander to training officer, Joe had done it all with the force up until 55 when he voluntarily retired.

He credits his prolific career with SPPD with the diminutive size of the force. By contrast, LAPD is a much larger and different entity.

Joe is no longer a cop. He now recruits individuals who he believes would best suit the role of a cop. Undoubtedly if Joe’s recruitment skills hold fast, and if his number of successful recruits stays on track, he will be instrumental in the LAPD achieving the 10,000 police officers Mayor Villaraigosa proposed for the City.

Of course as a recruiter, Joe’s stellar record undoubtedly comes into play, particularly for his experience and understanding of the psyche a police officer should have in a city like Los Angeles.

When asked what makes a good cop today, Joe responds, “They have to be curious, understanding and tolerant.”

Are the recruits much different today than years ago when he started?

“They’re older,” he states, citing the economy as one reason the hiring landscape has changed for the LAPD. “Many more are professionals.” In that, Joe brings to light that not only does he meet individuals who were once in finance and real estate, but he even sees people with law degrees.

All this hedges toward situations where an older age group now seeks the stability found in a law enforcement career. And to this end, Joe’s plate is full. At the time of this interview, he was in the midst of reviewing twelve cases, six of which seemed promising. And that’s only the tip of the hiring iceberg for the LAPD.

On occasion, Joe is a volunteer police officer with his old South Pasadena force. But when asked if he would perform the same duty for the Los Angeles Police Department, his “no” is emphatic.

Granted, he loves the work, but the size and intensity of Los Angeles is, at this time in his life, not his cup of tea. As is, recruitment has its own set of challenges, particularly in regard to generational differences from today’s recruits and when Joe himself was a recruit.

But even so, Joe maintains a good cop knows no age boundaries.

“The reasons are all the same. It’s fascinating work. They (a good cop) want to help. They want to make a difference. Hopefully during the training process you find good ones and get rid of the bad ones.”

And who should know better than a 35-year vet who has never missed a day. 

• Let’s start at the beginning. The South Pasadena Review runs a story saying Watson will need to reapply for his position. That’s pol-speak for “you’re fired.” Mister Earl’s Musings and Glimpses of South Pasadena raise red flags.
• Wilson decides to save himself the trouble and announces his resignation.
• Hundreds of residents add their names to full page ads supporting Wilson in the South Pas Review.
• Larry Wilson makes me look up “putsch” and delicately tells City Manager John Davidson to grow a pair, then gets into the inevitable Brown Act implications.

That’s it for now. Still no official word on why the “putsch.”

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

*Updated: The numbers below now reflect the final tally. The incumbents keep their council seats; Measure L passes handily.

Candidate Votes (% of total votes)
Michael Cacciotti: 2,346 (39%)
Philip Putnam: 2,033 (34%)
Bill Sherman: 1,623 (27%)

Measure L:
Yes: 2,733 (80%)
No: 698 (20%)

My goal for the coming term is to champion the values shared by South Pasadena residents:

Fiscal responsibility

Rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure

Preserving our small-town character through sustainable growth

Providing excellent city services for residents

Protecting and improving our environment to create a healthier and more beautiful community

Ensuring that our business district grows successfully and sustainably, including its existing merchants

Conserving our resources to save money

Ending the threat of a surface freeway route in South Pasadena

Light-rail, clean freight trains and pedestrian/bike-friendly alternatives to expensive, air-polluting tunnels and freeways

Moving along, here’s the wording from Measure L:

Shall an ordinance be adopted extending the Library Special Tax, which is due to expire on June 30, 2011, for an additional 5 years until June 30, 2016, to provide funding for the maintenance and operations of the South Pasadena Public Library at the current level of library services?

And here’s the city attorney’s impartial analysis of Measure L:

This measure, if approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the voters voting on the measure, will extend the current Library Special Tax for five (5) years (from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2016) and any further extension must be approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the voters voting on such extension at another municipal election.

Currently, pursuant to Section 2.89-4 of the South Pasadena Municipal Code, any revenue generated by the special tax can only be used for maintenance, operating, and administrative costs of the Library. That restricted use of the special tax revenue would continue to apply if the measure is adopted.

The annual rate by category for the special tax would also continue at the current rates, approved by the voters in March of 1999 as follows:

1. Single family residence and condominiums pay $24.00 if they are less than 2,000 square feet; $36.00 if between 2,001 and 4,000 square feet; $48.00 if over 4,000 square feet. “Square feet” refers to square feet of Building Areas as determined by the Los Angeles County Assessor.

2. Multi-family residential units, such as apartment buildings, pay $12.00 per Dwelling Unit on the parcel.

3. Non-residential parcels pay $24.00 per parcel if one-quarter (1/4) acre or less; $48.00 per parcel if over one-quarter (1/4) acre to one-half (1/2) acre; $72.00 per parcel if over one-half (1/2) acre to three-quarters (3/4) acre; $96.00 per parcel if more than three-quarters (3/4) acre.

4. The following types of property would remain exempt from the tax:

a. Parcels owned by charitable or community service organizations or churches that qualify for an exemption from ad valorem taxation under California law.
b. Vacant parcels.
c. Parcels owned by the federal, state or local government, or any state or local agency.
d. Any owner who has income, adjusted for family size, at or below eighty percent (80%) of the area median income as determined under the Section 8 Income Limits for Los Angeles County. (These limits are published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.)

The following restrictions would also continue if the measure is passed:

If in any year the City Council does not budget and appropriate sufficient funds for the basic level of library services, the special tax would be fixed at a reduced level in relation to any reduction in the budget.

Any surplus amounts raised by the special tax in any one year may only be used for the purposes described in South Pasadena Municipal Code Section 2.89-4, and must be carried over to the following fiscal year. The existence of a surplus in one year must be considered by the City in levying the special tax for the next year.

The special tax will continue to be collected by the Los Angeles County Assessor in the same manner as property taxes.

Got it? City Clerk Sally Kilby and City Treasurer Victor Robinette are running unopposed. Happy voting!