PASADENA AUTHOR FAIR RETURNS
Pasadena Press
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015 - FEBRUARY 15, 2015
pasadenapress.com
A Minivan Full of People vs. a Legion of Archers by nick kipley
– Photo by Nick Kipley
The City Council meeting on Monday night, Feb. 2nd, went on for a full eight hours and well over a hundred taxpayers and citizens from all over Southern California turned up. Early in the night, Chief of Police Phillip L. Sanchez gave a report on the recent spike in violence in Northwest Pasa-
dena, spurring residents to rally together in the public comment portion of his remarks. Citizens North of the 210 and West of Lake Avenue claimed that they only needed a little help and funding from the city to create more afterschool sports, park-based programs, and ways to fill vacant public space with positive influ-
ence. At the end of the session, several members of the community concluded that in order to favorably impact the youth of Pasadena more inexpensive, family-based outdoor activities were needed in order to create a positive change in not just Please see page 4
Pasadena Author Fair Returns Pasadena Public Library will host their second annual author fair on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Central Library, 285 E. Walnut Street. The expanded event features over 50 San Gabriel Valley authors whose work covers a myriad of topics; history, mystery, poetry, fiction,
non-fiction, children’s and more. Featured authors include: Marcella Adams, Maria Alexander, Cindy Arora, Ontresicia Averette, Anne Louise Bannon, Julie Berry, Boualem Bousseloub, Mary Brodsky, Petrea Burchard, Stuart Douglass Byles, Christina Cha, Jus-
tin Chapman, Regina Conroy, Joey L. Dowdy, Quoleshna Elbert, Carol Elek, Jamie Eubanks, Jess Faraday, Kenneth Grant, Anjeza Angie Gega, Steven Gibson, Ken Goldstein, Michael Paul Gonzalez, Reg Green, Claudia Heller, RuPlease see page 3
HAVE A HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! VOLUME 2, NO. 6
Public Invited to 33rd Annual Black History Parade and Festival Celebrate black history, culture and achievements at Pasadena’s 33rd annual Black History Parade and Festival from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21. The festive celebration includes one of the biggest and longest-running Black History parades in California. Bring family and friends to enjoy upbeat parade performances and plenty of free post-parade fun and entertainment. This year’s theme is “Our Heritage: The Bridge to the Future.” The parade begins at 10 a.m. at Charles White Park, Fair Oaks Avenue and Ventura Street in Altadena; then heads south on Fair Oaks Avenue before ending at Pasadena’s Robinson Park, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave., where the festival takes place from 12-4:30 p.m. on the north side of the park on Hammond Street. More than 70 entries will be featured in the parade, including the Wilson Middle School Marching Band, New Buffalo Soldiers, local dance and drill teams, car and motorcycle clubs, musicians, community dignitaries and City officials. Celebrity Grand Marshals are award-winning NBC4 Southern California General Assignment Reporter Beverly White and actor-comedian Jason Echols. Community Please see page 2
2 | FEBRUARY 9, 2015 - FEBRUARY 15, 2015
Archery in the Arroyo Continued from page 1
one neighborhood, but in all of Pasadena. This was immediately followed by a proposal by a group calling themselves the “Stewards of Public Land” whose mission is to greatly limit a specific inexpensive, family-based, outdoor activity whom opponents of the Stewards claim has created a positive change in not just one neighborhood, but in all of Pasadena—Pasadena Roving Archers. Proponents of the archery range claim that the archers have beautified the arroyo, that they tend to the region, and nearby residents have said in the past that they feel like the archers make an area safe that would otherwise be a vacant swathe of land (like the civic activity-devoid parks in Northwest Pasadena that the residents claim are attributing
to the recent spike in violent crime). Although Mayor Bogaard’s wife is an outspoken member of the Stewards of Public Land, (the Mayor claimed that this fact had absolutely no effect on his final vote) the group is not, according to their website in a section called “setting the record straight,” comprised of “West Pasadena Elitists.” They are instead—as made very clear by Dianne Philibosian—a group comprised of nature-loving West Pasadenans who just want to be able to walk through the Lower Arroyo and not be hit by an arrow. And to be fair, that’s a reasonable request. Unfortunately, literally every person who publicly commented on behalf of the Pasadena Roving Archers—a
Change lives. Make wishes come true.
Become a Make-A-Wish ®
VOLUNTEER
Volunteers for Make-A-Wish give their time and talents to help bring hope, strength and joy to children who are battling life-threatening medical conditions. We have a special need for volunteers in the Inland Empire to help local children.
Get Involved Today ocie.wish.org | 714-573-9474
number in the low fifties—as well as every member of the City Council, a document known as the Lower Arroyo Master Plan, the City Manager, and even the people opposed to the archery range admitted that there is, in fact, a newly renovated walking path that totally avoids the field archery range, and it is maintained by the City of Pasadena. So, rather than make an argument that might lump them into the elitist camp, for example, “When I stand in the back yard of my hilltop estate, upon the earthen terrace overlooking the nature preserve, I don’t mind looking down at the thicket of wild oak and at the architecturally significant bridge, so long as I know I’m not going to get shot from an errant arrow fired from America’s oldest field archery range,” the Stewards for Public Land have different reasons for not wanting an archery range. The Stewards of Public Land claim that their reason for not wanting the archery range is because they really want to be able to walk through a space that has unfortunately been occupied by a live field archery range for the past eighty years. “So here I am before you. Privileged. Powerful. Totally unsympathetic with children,” said Philibosian in heavily selfdeprecating overtones that the Independent would like to objectively state affected not a single person in the room at 1 a.m. on this particular Monday night. Then, without another hint of the above-mentioned selfirony, she continued, “I believe for those of you that know me know me as a very egalitarian individual. And that I’m often here voicing the concerns of those who cannot voice them for themselves.” This right away set the entire crowd slightly on edge. Of the majority of those who
spoke up to keep the range, many seemed to consciously be struggling with that daunting, almost Kafkaesque task of having to earnestly convey a passion to an indifferent-looking panel of politicians. The Independent would like to stress that of the sixty plus speakers in the Public Comment section for this proposal, a very conservative estimate would place those who spoke wholly in favor of keeping the range made up approximately 90%. Their argument time and time again seemed to circle the great appreciation and respect that the archers have for the Arroyo and the positive effects archery can have on one’s life. As was stated by Trifina Elliot, a young woman of all of about 13 years old, “Many people who tried archery like it so much they bought their own equipment. If you shut down the range Monday through Friday, what will they do with their equipment? … Please think of how much fun archery could be if the range could stay where it is.” Prior to Ms. Philibosian speaking, several young archers spoke before the council. Amongst them was 2016 Rio Olympic Hopeful, Amanda Tomayo. Tomayo has been an archer for five years now and is already nationally ranked and is going to try out for the U.S. Woman’s Olympic team. She has been recruited by Berkeley’s archery team, and practices in the Lower Arroyo 40 hours a week. Rumor has it, field archery might become a new medal sport in the Olympics, and since Pasadena has the oldest field archery range in the nation, the Lower Arroyo could very soon become the U.S.’s center for a new internationally recognized sport. In an interview with Tomayo, Please see page 4
FEBRUARY 9, 2015 - FEBRUARY 15, 2015 | 3
hlr media EDITORIAL jschlueter@hlrmedia.com Editor Jennifer Schlueter Publisher HLR Media Advertising advertising@hlrmedia.com Submissions:
Please send all press releases to: jschlueter@hlrmedia.com HLR Media, LLC .All contents herein are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily that of the management and staff at HLR Media, LLC 1000 E. Walnut St., Suite 227 Pasadena, CA 91106
Phone: (626) 386-3457 Fax: (626) 600-4452
Alhambra PRESS ANAHEIM PRESS
Baldwin Park
Belmont Beacon INDEPENDENT
Cypress Press INDEPENDENT
Pasadena Press
San Bernardino Press
Black History Parade and Festival Continued from page 1
Grand Marshals are Pasadena community activists and business owners Bill and Brenda Galloway. Ms. White and other members of the NBC4 news team will be at the NBC4 booth on Hammond Street during the festival for a special meet and greet with the community. The parade will be recorded in its entirety by Pasadena Media, one of the event sponsors, and will air on both KPAS, the City government TV station, and The Arroyo public access station serving Pasadena. Visit www.pasadenamedia.tv for broadcast times. For more information about the parade and festival, contact the Jackie Robinson Community Center at (626) 744-7300. Other parade honorees are Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard; Pasadena restaurateur and philanthropist Robin Salzer; Tournament of Roses Association Secretary Gerald K. Freeny who is slated to become the first black Tournament of Roses Association president in 2019; late civil rights activist and Pasadena’s first black councilmember Henry Wilfong; Pasadena Journal publishers Joe and Ruthie Hopkins; longtime Pasadena resident Pastor Emeritus John Burch; Pasadena Water and Power General Manager Phyllis Currie; retired Pasadena Fire Chief Calvin E. Wells; Pasadena Human Relations Commission staff member Sonya Amos; 2015 Rose Queen Madison Triplett; and Kristina Smith, who became Pasadena’s first black Rose Queen in 1985. The festival begins immediately after the parade and concludes at 4:30 p.m. Live entertainment will be provided for both adults and children, including performances by the famous Philadelphia soul group The Delfonics. The festival also features for-sale food by vendors and free information booths.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to navigate around street closures, find parking and claim their favorite viewing spots along the parade route. Free parking will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis at Calvary Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 135 Glorieta St., Pasadena. The following streets will be closed for the parade and festival at the times listed below. Motorists are advised to use caution while driving through the area. Hammond Street, between Morton Avenue and Fair Oaks Avenue, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Fair Oaks Avenue, between Woodbury Road and Mountain Street, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Mountain Street, between Raymond Avenue and Morton Avenue, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Morton Avenue, between Glorieta Street and Hammond Street, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The 2015 parade and festival are sponsored by Wells Fargo, MillerCoors and Pasadena City College. Media sponsors are the Pasadena Journal; Beacon Media Inc., publisher of the Pasadena Independent; NBC4 Southern California, Please see page 4
Long Beach Office 3780 Kilroy Airport Way Suite 360 Long Beach, CA 90806 Ph. (562) 472-0071 Fx. (562) 689-0071 Los Angeles Office 5701 South Eastern Avenue Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90040 Ph. (323) 727-1144 Fx. (323) 727-9198 www.heger-industrial.com Lic. #00814086
4 | FEBRUARY 9, 2015 - FEBRUARY 15, 2015
Archery in the Arroyo
Black History Continued from page 3
Continued from page 2
the young athlete didn’t like the idea of using the old police shooting range as proposed in the meeting, given that the site would only be good for targetshooting. “Plus, wouldn’t it cost the city money to clean up the lead in the ground?” she pointed out. A young woman named Miss Caroline Bruce, a nationally ranked 16-year-old AP student who uses the range weekly to hone her skills said (while phalanxed by approximately ten other kids) “If you kick the Archers out of the Arroyo Secco, the very privileged section of the community can retain the notion that their influence entitles them to reserve access to the park. I trust that you will be able to make the decision that benefits the most people, rather than the powerful few.” Ms. Philibosian, who was unaware that the Independent’s tape-recorder was running and that she was sitting directly next to it, gasped with disgust at the word, “entitles,” and then muttered to herself, “This is amazing to me…” when Miss Bruce made the Robin Hood corollary with the words, “powerful few.” Ms. Philibosian’s speech, though, did claim that the
lower arroyo was one of the last wooded areas in all of southern Pasadena. “I take up the rights of children and advocate actively for children throughout the city,” she humbly informed a room peppered with children from throughout the city; “However I am also an environmentalist and I care about children and their opportunities to experience nature in the way it was meant to be experienced. In a natural, whole, unorganized setting without rules, regulations or restrictions. … This is one of the only places in the Lower Arroyo you can hike through a shaded area IF! you hike through the archery range. And I have almost been shot by an arrow by an archer standing in the wrong place.” Several people booed openly, but quietly. James Corey went up next and laid down what hours of frustration had boiled down to, “Some people don’t wanna walk on that nice trail. They wanna walk on this eighth of a mile. I can’t walk on that nice trail; I have to walk twenty yards to the left. I have to. And I don’t understand why. ” “I just explained why,” Ms. Philibosian mumbled. It was at this point that
Ms. Philibosian realized that this reporter from Independent was recording the entire council meeting. She promptly switched seats with her lawyer. After literally hours of this, another lawyer shifted conversation to “private property” regarding complaints of one Arroyo landowner who had collected dozens of arrows over an unspecified amount of time (which Vice Mayor Robinson and others said was beside the point, given no official slough of complaints exist on record of these arrows in the files of any civic or police authority). The vote came down to changing the semantics of two articles that, for some reason, would take the power out of the hands of the council and the public and put it instead in the hands of Mr. Michael Beck, City Manager. “I don’t understand why the city manager needs this power,” was mentioned by Torneck, Madison, McAustin and Kennedy before Beck decided to backpedal and claim that it’s all just semantics and gaining power wasn’t his intention. The council voted to pass resolutions 1-5 but to remove Resolution 4. About a minute later, the council changed its mind and decided to re-include Resolution 4 but only after a word was changed and a period added to the middle of a long sentence. Then, it was discovered that the Pasadena Roving Archers had lost their non-profit status about two weeks back, effectively making official negotiations with the city impossible until they re-acquire this status. The meeting was adjourned and everyone left looking defeated and exhausted.
www.nbclosangeles.com; and Pasadena Media, www.pasadenamedia.tv. Stay connected to the City of Pasadena! Visit us online at www.cityofpasadena.net; follow us on Twitter @PasadenaGov, www.twitter.com/pasadenagov, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cityofpasadena. Or call the Citizen Service Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, at (626) 744-7311.
Author Fair Continued from page 1
bin Johnson, Lloyd Kaneko, Gay Toltl Kinman, Sarai Koo, Ph.D./ Gail Taylor, Jay Mathews, Dan McLaughlin, Kay Murdy, Elizabeth Pomeroy, Adrienne Ramsey-Harris, Raquel Reyes-Lopez, Susan S. Rosvall, Jo Anne Sadler, Kathy Salama, Gisele Samaan, Yvette Samaan, Yvonne Senkandwa, Jason Silva, Lucie Simone, Frederick Smith, Ellen Snortland & Lisa Gaeta, Lynn Martin Snowden & Kyle Sydney Powell, Rick Stepp-Bolling, Mary Terzian, Larissa Theule, Alicia Thompson, Marcia L. Thompson, Sarah Thursday, Cherie Mercer Twohy, Erika Wain Decker, Nancy Woo, Nancy Young, and Desiree Zamorano. Books will be on display and available for sale. Authors will be on hand to chat with visitors and sign copies of their books. Special author presentations will be offered throughout the event. Coffee and pastries will be available for sale at Espress Yourself Coffee Bar. For more information, contact Christine Reeder, Adult Services Manager (626) 7447076 or creeder@cityofpasadena.net.