COMPLIMENTARY COPY
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Thursday, October 12, 2017 - October 18, 2017
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VOLUME 20, NO. 41
PASADENA WATER RATES SET TO RISE Public hearing slated for Oct. 16
In order to recover higher operational costs, the department of water and power is proposing to raise water charges over the next two years. - Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Gus HERRERA gherrera@beaconmedianews.com
R
esidents may soon see some major changes on their water bills, as the Pasadena Department of Water and Power (PWP) seeks to adjust and restructure the city’s water rates.
According to city staff’s report, the changes are “recommended to account for environmental, operational, and financial sustainability needs based on current water consumption patterns and the expectation that water conservation practices will continue to develop.” In other words, PWP’s price of doing business has risen and they will look to
the residents as a means of recovering operational costs. The city is also looking to capitalize on the success of recent conservation efforts by attempting to make lower water allotments and higher prices the “new norm.” Specifically, staff is citing $4.9 million in increased costs for FY2018, partly due to higher imported water prices. As
the City of Pasadena sources 40 percent of its water locally from the Raymond Basin, the remaining 60 percent must be imported from Northern California and the Colorado River - a feat that will inevitably continue to become more expensive. PWP is proposing to raise two charges SEE WATER PAGE 12
100 Year Old Sierra Madre Volunteer ‘COFFEE WITH A CAUSE’: UNIQUE Fire Dept. Now Fully Staffed PASADENA CAFE HIRES HOMELESS YOUTH Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
Sierra Madre City Council voted at the last council meeting to convert its paid and volunteer Fire Department into a fulltime service department. The department will now apparently have 3/2 staffing, which means one captain, one engineer and one firefighter/para-
medic will staff the engine, and two paramedics will operate the ambulance or (RA), for each of three shifts. Our friends over at Sierra Madre Tattler said, “There you go. Either nearly 100 or 110 years old, Sierra Madre's fire department went from being volunteer to a fully paid outfit because it is now the 21st century and the town
can't be Mayberry anymore - Or something along those lines.” John Crawford then went on to say “in this downtown era of new transparency, I have no problem justifying to myself turning City Hall into a blog research resource. I sent another e-mail inquiring about whether or not Gabe v(Sierra Madre City SEE FIRE DEPT. PAGE 12
Staff Writer editorial@beaconmedianews.com
On Monday a coffee shop that improves the lives of down-and-out Pasadena residents, while serving top-notch craft coffee, teas, pastries and sandwiches, opened its doors to the public. Rosebud Coffee, 2302 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, is the only cafe in the city that exclusively hires formerly
homeless people and transitional-aged youth to work in its shop as baristas. This first-of-its-kind cafe also sources its coffee beans and food items from local businesses and nonprofits that regularly give back to the community. “Your cup of coffee is providing the opportunity to change the life of a formerly homeless or transitional-aged youth,” said Dan Davidson, founder
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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Shopping
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of Rosebud Coffee and lead pastor at Rose City Church. “I would say your coffee has a cause,” he said. The idea for Rosebud Coffee arose six years ago when Davidson and his wife, Samantha, reopened a shuttered, historic church building on Del Mar Boulevard and Allen Avenue in Pasadena. The church, rented out SEE COFFEE PAGE 13
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