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THURSDAY, MAY 28 - JUNE 3, 2015
$265 Million State-Of-The-Art Operations Campus Opens Construction Authority Held the Dedication and Community Open House for the Light Rail Facility After Completing Construction Months Ahead of Schedule and on Budget
The Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority (Construction Authority) Saturday held a community open house and dedication for the stateof-the-art Foothill Gold Line Operations Campus. Satur-
day’s event was attended by elected officials at all levels of government, transportation officials and hundreds of community stakeholders. The dedication of the 24-acre, $265 million light rail mainte-
nance and operations facility marks a crucial milestone in the completion of the 11.5mile Foothill Gold Line light rail project from Pasadena to Azusa, which is on schedule for completion in late-Sep-
- Photo by Trevor Stamp
tember 2015. “The completion of Foothill Gold Line Operations Campus months ahead of schedule and on budget is a testament Please see page 2
Sierra Madre Resident Takes Drought Seriously; Landscaping Features a 52-foot Swale Resident to Open Her Garden June 27 for Free Classes
OK, I know what you’re about to ask. What on earth is a ‘Swale’? Simply put, swales are water-harvesting ditches, built on the contour of a landscape. Most ditches are designed to move water away from an area, so the bottom of the ditch is built on a modest slope, usually between 200:1 to 400:1. Swales, however, are flat on the bottom because they’re designed to do the
opposite; they slow water down to a standstill, eliminate erosion, infiltrate the surrounding area with water, and recharge the groundwater table. When water moves along the flat bottom of a swale, it fills it up like a bathtub — that is, all parts of the bath tub fill at the same rate. The water in a swale is therefore passive; it doesn’t flow the way it would on a slope. It is absolutely brilliant
in it’s simplicity but few have venture as far a one Sierra Madre resident to do her part for the environment during California’s historic drought. Carolyn Dasher, together with consultant Rishi Kumar, co-founder of The Growing Club, have used the sheet mulching technique to create healthy soil where there once was dying grass. Her front lawn has been transformed into a
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Volume 3, No. 22
woodland setting featuring a 52-foot water-harvesting swale. The back yard project is underway and features two more water-harvesting swales which take water from roof runoff, driveway runoff, and overflow water from the front yard, as well as an outdoor sink. Carolyn, Rishi, and a team of volunteers replaced the water- and resourcePlease see page 3
Glendale Low Income Home Ownership Project Approved
The Glendale Housing Authority approved the appropriation of $1.4 million in federal HOME funds to support the development of a 6-unit affordable home ownership development in partnership with San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity. The project will be built on 634 and 700 East Lomita Avenue and will give priority to low income, first time homebuyer households that live and/or work in Glendale. The estimated cost of the entire project is $2.8 million. The Housing Authority will provide $1.4 million which will include the land purchase of $980,000. The project will consist of 6 attached townhouse style 1,300 square foot condominiums. Each unit will have three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms and an attached two-car garage. Each affordable housing
unit will be sold to qualified low-income first time homebuyers for an estimated total value of $425,444, of which approximately $194,000 will be a monthly mortgage payable to Habitat at 0% interest. The balance will consist of deferred nonpayment loans on the units that will help ensure long time affordability to all future buyers. Additionally, each selected family must complete 500 hours of “sweat equity” by working on the project. The Glendale Housing Authority is committed to developing new affordable housing opportunities in the City. Habitat has completed seven ownership projects and is in construction on its eighth in Glendale. This project will be their ninth project in Glendale, providing a total of 43 units of affordable home ownership housing.
Duarte Residents, Officials Question AQMD on Azusa Air Monitor Delay By joe taglieri
Despite data indicating the air quality in Duarte is currently at a safe level, officials and residents have voiced concerns over the absence of monitoring equipment on the Azusa side of a commercial mining operation that straddles the border between the two cities. A community meeting earlier this month at Duarte City Hall with representatives from the South Coast Air Quality Management District served as the latest venue of public discourse for this contentious issue. For two years officials from Azusa and the AQMD have been unable to reach an agreement on installing a device designed to measure particulate matter, elevated levels of which could potentially pose a public health risk. Dust generated by the Azusa Rock Quarry for years
has been the subject of much debate and concern in Duarte and Azusa as a seemingly apparent source of particulate matter that has been shown to cause asthma and other ailments. In 2010, the city of Duarte sued Azusa and Alabamabased Vulcan Materials Co., which owns the quarry, in an attempt to garner an environmental impact assessment acceptable to Duarte officials. Two and a half years later an appeals court upheld a Los Angeles Superior Court decision that found in favor of Vulcan and Azusa, which approved the company's plan to extract granite aggregate from a ridge on the company's property that overlooks Duarte. The lack of an air quality monitor near the Vulcan Please see page 4