Shipping Corporations Go “On Strike” Against Workers P. 10
pasadenaindependent.com
Thursday, February 12, 2015 - February 18, 2015
LOCAL NEWS
City Manager Appoints New Health Officer for Pasadena P. 16 Pasadena City Services Closed Next Monday P. 17
SPORTS
St. Monica Basketball Snaps La Salle’s Four-Game Winning Streak P. 25
PCC Seeks Teams for Inaugural “Hoops for Awareness” P. 25
ENTERTAINMENT Powerhouse Performances in Playhouse’s “The Whipping Man” P. 13 FIDM’s “Art of Motion Picture Costume Design” P. 15
BUSINESS
Business Profile: Pacific Plate Brewing Company P. 18
Caltech Students Create Glow-in-the-Dark Toilet Seat Sign P. 18
EDUCATION
The Monrovia Unified School District P. 23
School Gardens A-V on Saturday, Feb. 21 P. 23
Train Testing Underway Throughout Summer Along the Foothill Gold Line BY TERRY MILLER
T
rain testing for the 11.5-mile Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Pasadena to Azusa has started in earnest this month and will continue through summer 2015. Testing is currently taking place in the city of Duarte and portions of Irwindale, and will expand to the cities of Pasadena, Arcadia, Monrovia and Azusa over the next several months. As a result of the train testing, some construction activities will need to be done during a second shift when trains are not occupying the tracks. Second shifts will be necessary periodically and will take place throughout the corridor. Second shifts will start at 3:30 p.m. and conclude by 11:00 p.m. All sound walls are now installed and the activities that will be performed during the second shift will generally be of low impact to the surrounding comSEE PG. 8
- Photo by Terry Miller
The now familiar Gold Line trains will be tested along the newly complete line to Azusa
Risky Pension Obligation Bonds Will Soon Come Due BY NICK KIPLEY
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 retired 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
The Great Haircut Sale!
A price so low, everyone will go.
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VOLUME 19, NO. 7
Community News, Arts & Opinions Since 1996
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types of bonds have become notorious 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 short-term fix to a long-term problem given it allows politicians to take financial risks based on what the speculate future tax revenues will be. Bonds can be a great tool— like a credit card—if used properly. They allow a city to make large-scale investments in big civic projects. However, critics SEE PG. 16
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- Photo by Terry Miller
Terry Tornek, head of the Finance Committee
Friday – Monday Only! February 13-16, 2015
GREAT CLIPS MONROVIA • Huntington Plaza 452 W. Huntington Dr. 626-303-2100 (Near Sprouts Market)
No Appointment Necessary Find us at 2/6/15 3:27 PM