ICE HOUSE FEATURES BRUCE BRUCE SEE PAGE 2
Pasadena Press pasadenapress.com
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2015 - FEBRUARY 22, 2015
Pasadena’s Risky Pension Obligation Bonds Will Soon Come Due by nick kipley
Terry Tornak, head of the Finance Committe
The Finance Committee met this past Monday in City Hall to discuss repayment on $122.5 million dollars’ worth of Pension Obligation Bonds that are coming due in May of this year. POBs are bonds issued by a municipality in order to generate enough capital to pay the pension obligations of re-
tired city employees. When the bonds come into maturity they can either be refunded so that the city can make annual payments on them, or they can be paid off all at once if the city has raised the money in the time it took the bond to mature. These specific types of bonds have become notorious
PARENTS URGED TO VACCINATE FOR MEASLES SEE PAGE 4
– Photo by Terry Miller
in recent years for very rapidly bankrupting large California cities such as Oakland, San Bernardino, and Stockton. Critics of using bonds to pay off debt claim that POB’s offer a shortterm fix to a long-term problem given it allows politicians to take
VOLUME 2, NO. 7
City Manager Appoints New Health Officer for Pasadena City Manager Michael J. Beck Monday announced the appointment of Dr. Ying-Ying Goh as the City’s new Health Officer. Prior to her new role, Dr. Goh served as Pasadena’s Interim Health Officer from May 2014 to January 2015. Since 2011, she has been the Pasadena Public Health Department’s Medical Director for Programs and Research, securing new grant funding and managing programs related to diabetes care management and childhood obesity prevention. The City separated the Health Officer duties from the Department’s (administrative) Director position, adopting an organizational structure similar to the model used by the Department prior to 2007. The City is currently conducting a nationwide search for a new Department Director who will be responsible for the overall
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“Visit Pasadena” Website Offers Interactive Tour of City’s Cultural, Historic, Entertainment Attractions VisitPasadena.com, the consummate Internet guide to “all things Pasadena,” has a new look and a plethora of new features designed to give meeting and event planners,
visitors and Web browsers an intimate and up-close tour of the city’s eclectic mix of restaurants, nightlife, museums, architecture, music, theatre, galleries, sports, recreation and
countless other attractions. Incorporating cutting-edge technology and responsive features, The Pasadena ConPlease see page 4
Dr. Ying-Ying Goh
– Courtesy photo
Please see page 3