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Pasadena Beautiful Fall Update

Come Join Us!

Pasadena Beautiful is delighted that fall is finally here.  We are looking forward to cooler crisp days and excited to resume our Wednesday Weeders activities.  

Our first fall meeting is on Wednesday, October 6th, from 8:30 to 9:30 am. at Singer Park at the corner of St. John and California Boulevard near the Huntington Hospital.  Please come join us and other volunteers to help prune, clip, trim, pick-up trash and to spruce up the park.  Just show up with your hat, water bottle and clippers for one hour a week.  It is a great way to start your day, meet our Board members and at the same time make an impact on keeping Pasadena beautiful.  

Please mark your calendar for our Commercial Design Awards which will be held on Thursday, October 21st from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. at the historic Maxwell House, Western Justice Center on 55 South Grand Avenue in Pasadena. 12 awards will be presented to commercial organizations that have incorporated outstanding landscape designs in their projects.  Those which have included creative uses of drought tolerant plants and irrigation systems.  Please check our website for more information closer to date.

We are looking forward to seeing you!

Brad Hanson, President

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Two New Board Members

A resident of Pasadena since 1999, Michael grew up in La Crescenta and graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Business Administration. He served on the board of BCR A Place to Grow for over 25 years, including stints as Chairperson and Treasurer. BCR provides services for the developmentally disabled. He recently retired from a career in commercial banking.

Dr. Stephen J. Thornton has been involved in academia in various positions and capacities his whole life. He began his career in teaching in Australia.  He was the Professor of Social Science Education at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida and since retired.  He was also previously the Associate Professor and Assistant Professor of Education at the Teachers College, Columbia University and University of Delaware respectively.  He has also extensively published books and articles on social studies. 

We are excited to have them both on our Board and believe their background and expertise in their fields will bring a great perspective to our organization. 

Brad Hanson, President

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In The News: Pasadena Commemorates National Public Works Week And Arbor Day This Month

Published on Thursday, May 20, 2021 | 10:38 am, PasadenaNow.com

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo has issued proclamations formally recognizing both National Public Safety Week and Arbor Day in Pasadena this month, officials announced Thursday.

National Public Works Week, May 16 through May 22, celebrates the men and women who operate and maintain essential systems, such as sewers and storm drains, streets and sidewalks, traffic signals, public buildings, parks, and trash collection and recycling, city officials said in a written statement.

These vital roles “could not be provided without the dedicated efforts of our public works team members,” the statement said.

Arbor Day falls on May 27 this year.

In addition to the proclamation, the city will plant 11 trees around City Hall and the Civic Center, as well as a large specimen oak tree at Defenders Park, in partnership with the Pasadena Beautiful Foundation. Due to the pandemic, no public events are planned around the planting.

“The City of Pasadena is committed to trees as a defining feature of the city,” the statement said.

Pasadena has been named a Tree City USA designee by the National Arbor Day Foundation for 31 straight years, and has also received a “Growth Award” for its promotion of urban forestry, officials added.

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New Board Member

Pasadena Beautiful Foundation is pleased to introduce our newest Board member, Christian Arndt.

Christian is a licensed architect and has spent the past 35 years working throughout Southern California on a wide variety of large commercial projects.  Most recently he worked at Moule & Polyzoides Architects in the Wallace Neff Office Building at California Avenue. 

During his tenure he participated on the Metro Gold Line-Del Mar Station, the De Mandel athletic pool at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, Plaza la Reina boutique hotel in Westwood, and Patios de Cordova condominiums in Pasadena at the intersection of Oakland and Cordova Boulevard. 

‘’I became disappointed with the current state of the professions for Architecture, Construction and Development. So in response, I have embarked on my solo career specializing in the design of custom homes with the Southern California characteristics we love and admire’’,  said Christian.   He has an enormous admiration for Southern Californian’s historic and traditional homes.  He also serves on committees with Pasadena Heritage and The Institute for Classical Architecture and Art. 

He loves all dogs, fine food and wine, attends classic car shows and likes traveling locally and overseas.  

We believe his background and expertise will bring a great perspective to our organization. 

Brad Hanson, President

Please see Christian’s video tour of Pasadena City Hall:

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In The News: Brad Hanson, Pasadena Beautiful: Colorado Street Bridge Barrier Options Impair Views, Degrade Walking Experience

OPINION BY BRAD HANSON, PASADENA BEAUTIFUL FOUNDATION PRESIDENT
Published on Thursday, April 1, 2021, Published on PasadenaNow.com

Since its construction 109 years ago, Pasadena’s iconic Colorado Street Bridge has tragically attracted suicide attempts. This prompted The Department of Public Works to add a 10-foot barrier in 2016, while the City considered more permanent options to deterrence. Now the City has placed mockups of three proposed barriers on the bridge for public comment.

Each of those options is a vertical barrier that impairs views of the bridge and degrades the experience of walking it.

The Board of Directors of Pasadena Beautiful strongly urges the City to consider a horizontal barrier, such as the one designed for San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge by the same engineering firm that Pasadena has engaged for the Colorado Street Bridge project. A horizontal net barrier suffers none of the drawbacks of the vertical designs; it wouldn’t detract from views or intrude on the walking experience. San Francisco supplements the net with paid and volunteer bridge patrols and has phones on the bridge, wired to a suicide prevention hotline. There is no reason that Pasadena couldn’t implement a similar program.

We believe the City dismissed the option of a horizontal barrier without adequately analyzing it, instead offering fact-free assertions that would-be suicides would have to be physically removed from it, while thrill-seekers would repeatedly be seeking to jump from it. The Colorado Street Bridge surely merits, and the community of Pasadena deserves, that the City consider a horizontal barrier that would deter suicides while respecting the aesthetics of our treasured bridge.

Please visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/public-works/engineering-and-construction/construction/colorado-street-bridge/

Fill out the survey and give your input at the end of the site.

https://www.goldengatebridgenet.org

Also hear Brad Hanson talk about the bridge on KPCC’s AirTalk with Larry Mantle.

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In The News

In The News: Hefty cost for moving trees on protected land

From The LA Times, May 10, 2019

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In The News: Seeing Green (July/August 2019)

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In The News: The Undervalued Trees of LA

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In The News

In The News: Residents Honored at Golden Arrow Ceremony (May 30, 2019)

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In The News: New Trees Planted for Arbor Day (April 6, 2017)

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In The News: Our trees are worth the investment to keep them

From West Pasadena Residents’ Association, “The News” Fall 2016:in-the-news-nov-2016

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In The News: Transition Pasadena will fix it up for you

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