SUNDAY, 2PM – Let’s Get Together! – Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Meeting

Friends and neighbors are gathering this Sunday, May 1, at 2pm.

The Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association is off the ground, and is holding its first public meeting.  We're spreading the word, to encourage every energetic resident of Downtown Pasadena to get involved.  We love Pasadena, and want to make it even better!

Where: Bang & Olufson, 169 West Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91105 (map)

 

Who are we?

We are the folks who LIVE in downtown Pasadena.  We are renters. We are owners. We are Businessowners and stakeholders.  We are people of all sorts, with an interest in Downtown Pasadena.

What do we mean by "Downtown Pasadena"?

We're still getting acquainted, meeting new people, and defining ourselves, but so far, we think of the boundaries of Downtown Pasadena as, roughly, the 210 freeway (north), Catalina Ave (east), California Blvd (south), and Pasadena Ave (west).

Why do we need an Association?

Life in Downtown Pasadena is different than other parts of our city. Our neighborhood is more urban, more dense, and more walkable than anywhere else in Pasadena.  Therefore, our needs and desires are different.  Other Pasadena neighborhoods have formed associations to advocate for their interests, but up until this point, Downtown has not had a voice to speak up for our needs and desires. That changes now.  Plus, why be a stranger? This is a great way to meet the people that you live with.

What kinds of things will we accomplish? What are our goals?

That's still up for discussion.  We're still talking amongst ourselves, sharing our concerns, and listening to opinions. So far, a few common themes have emerged (see our working mission statement), but those will change and be refined as we hear new voices.

All residents of Downtown Pasadena are welcome and encouraged to attend and invite their neighbors. Parking is metered on the street, or there is $5 parking at the lot on Pasadena Ave, or you can WALK there, because this is Downtown Pasadena!!

Please, join us!!

A New Park in the Playhouse District: Community Workshops Announced

Click for more info on workshop scheduling

Please consider attending this fun and engaging workshop tomorrow (Thursday evening) where anyone interested in the future urban park planned for Union/El Molino in the Playhouse District will be able to brainstorm and shoot out ideas that will be collected and used to help design the new park. This is the first of four workshop meetings planned for April, May, and June.

Please see below for more info:

Union & El Molino Park NowCommunity Workshop Series

1. Thursday, April 28, 2011

• from 6-8:30 p.m., South Hall
• Brainstorming

2. Saturday, May 14, 2011

• from 10am-12:30 p.m., Room 301
• Community Develops Park Designs

3. Thursday May 19, 2011

• from 6-8 p.m., Room 301
• Design Alternatives Reviewed, Discussed and Selected

4. Thursday, June 2, 2011

• from 6-7 p.m., Room 301
• Confirmation of Selected Design

Workshop Location:
Pasadena Presbyterian Church,
585 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena

East Pasadena Election Generates Heat, Hostility

The run-off election for Pasadena City Council and School Board is nearing the finish line.

Friday was the last day for voters to safely mail in their vote-by-mail ballots, as Pasadena only considers those ballots that have arrived by election day. Ballots received after election day will not be counted, even if they were postmarked earlier.

Election Day is Tuesday, April 19.

Those voters who have already received a ballot in the mail, but are unable to get mail it in time should drop off the ballot at the City Clerk’s office downtown during business hours. Or, they may drop off their ballot at any polling place on Election Day.

The hot race in this election, of course, is District Four, East Pasadena. A recent endorsement of candidate Jill Fosselman by blogger Michael Coppess has recently generated a lot of comments, some of them sharply partisan, with accusations on both sides of “Tea Party” influence. Similar accusations were hurled in the District 6 race between Madison and Naber.

Read the endorsement and the comments at:
EAST OF ALLEN: District 4 City Council Race: Fosselman or Masuda?#links
 
 
The City Council, of course, is not partisan, and the “Democrat” and “Republican” designations really have no bearing on city politics. But trotting out those positive/negative labels does get folks to the polls.

What does matter to city politics, on the other hand, is a pols’ attitude towards development and growth. Does the candidate view new business, new office buildings, new shopping centers, new apartments, condos, and homes as a good thing, or a bad thing? Is Pasadena perfect as-is, thank-you-very-much, take your-business-elsewhere, or is there room for improvement?

In reality, of course, development isn’t nearly so clear-cut. Almost everyone agrees that growth is good, or at least some growth, but then we all squint our eyes, furrow our brow, and qualify that statement with, “Well, the right kind of growth.”

Wisdom to know what kind of growth is good–having the foresight and imagination to foresee the effects of a proposed project, then, is the quality that voters must ascertain in a candidate.

Residents of Downtown Pasadena, of course, prefer candidates who posses that wisdom, who posses planning experience, and who most importantly view Downtown Pasadena as a proper context for urban development. We like the energy and vitality that comes from density and walkability, from having businesses and residences closely interspersed.

East Pasadena has its own character, and its residents may prefer a different lifestyle, as Coppess expressed in his blog. That’s fine, in East Pasadena. Each to his own. On the other hand, we must also strive to make sure that no district of Pasadena (and, ultimately, of Greater Los Angeles as a whole) exists in isolation, walled off and separated. Residents of East Pasadena (and elsewhere) should be (are are!) welcome in Downtown, and should be able to interact with our urban context. In practical terms, that may mean building parking garages on the periphery of Downtown Pasadena, so that suburban residents, who are more car-dependent, can easily transition to walking or taking public transit. It may also mean eventually extending the planned streetcar from Downtown, so that it reaches into our suburban areas, drawing shoppers and visitors towards our center, as the Red Cars did a century ago.

In the meantime, residents of Pasadena await the election results, and hope for a City Council composed of men and women with the vision, foresight, and imagination to encourage the right kind of development, and to lead Pasadena forward.

East Pasadena Election Generates Heat, Hostility

The run-off election for Pasadena City Council and School Board is nearing the finish line.
Friday was the last day for voters to safely mail in their vote-by-mail ballots, as Pasadena only considers those ballots that have arrived by election day.  Ballots received after election day will not be counted, even if they were postmarked earlier.

Election Day is Tuesday, April 19.

Those voters who have already received a ballot in the mail, but are unable to get mail it in time should drop off the ballot at the City Clerk’s office downtown during business hours.  Or, they may drop off their ballot at any polling place on Election Day.

The hot race in this election, of course, is District Four, East Pasadena.  A recent endorsement of candidate Jill Fosselman by blogger Michael Coppess has recently generated a lot of comments, some of them sharply partisan, with accusations on both sides of “Tea Party” influence.  Similar accusations were hurled in the District 6 race between Madison and Naber.

Read the endorsement and the comments at:
http://eastofallen.blogspot.com/2011/04/district-4-city-council-race-fosselman.html

The City Council, of course, is not partisan, and the “Democrat” and “Republican” designations really have no bearing on city politics.  But trotting out those positive/negative labels does get folks to the polls.
What does matter to city politics, on the other hand, is a pols’ attitude towards development and growth.  Does the candidate view new business, new office buildings, new shopping centers, new apartments, condos, and homes as a good thing, or a bad thing?  Is Pasadena perfect as-is, thank-you-very-much, take your-business-elsewhere, or is there room for improvement?

In reality, of course, development isn’t nearly so clear-cut. Almost everyone agrees that growth is good, or at least some growth, but then we all squint our eyes, furrow our brow, and qualify that statement with, “Well, the right kind of growth.”

Wisdom to know what kind of growth is good–having the foresight and imagination to foresee the effects of a proposed project, then, is the quality that voters must ascertain in a candidate.

Residents of Downtown Pasadena, of course, prefer candidates who posses that wisdom, who posses planning experience, and who most importantly view Downtown Pasadena as a proper context for urban development.  We like the energy and vitality that comes from density and walkability, from having businesses and residences closely interspersed.

East Pasadena has its own character, and its residents may prefer a different lifestyle, as Coppess expressed in his blog.  That’s fine, in East Pasadena.  Each to his own.  On the other hand, we must also strive to make sure that no district of Pasadena (and, ultimately, of Greater Los Angeles as a whole) exists in isolation, walled off and separated.  Residents of East Pasadena (and elsewhere) should be (are are!) welcome in Downtown, and should be able to interact with our urban context.  In practical terms, that may mean building parking garages on the periphery of Downtown Pasadena, so that suburban residents, who are more car-dependent, can easily transition to walking or taking public transit.  It may also mean eventually extending the planned streetcar from Downtown, so that it reaches into our suburban areas, drawing shoppers and visitors towards our center, as the Red Cars did a century ago.

In the meantime, residents of Pasadena await the election results, and hope for a City Council composed of men and women with the vision, foresight, and imagination to encourage the right kind of development, and to lead Pasadena forward.