Arroyo September 2015

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA

September 2015

CELEBRATING Ten Years of Arroyo

arroyo

VOLUME 11 | NUMBER 9 | SEPTEMBER 2015

PHOTOS: (Top) Raisa Ell with sister Tamara Lance, photographer unknown; (bottom left) Evan Robinson; (bottom right) Teri Lyn Fisher

39

17

48

ARROYO’S TENTH ANNIVERSARY 13 THE UNSINKABLE ALYCE WILLIAMSON Pasadena would be a different place without her indefatigable support of culture.

—By MARTIN BOOE

17 COUNTED BLESSINGS Faye and Bob Davidson have spent their lives donating their time as well as their treasure.

—By BETTIJANE LEVINE

35 COME TOGETHER Kin Hui fosters community in increasingly diverse Pasadena with his philanthropic and business ventures —By REBECCA KUZINS

39 A PASADENAN’S FAMILY ALBUM A (practically) native son retraces his recent journey of discovery on disinterring hundreds of vintage family photographs.

—By ROBERT ELL

DEPARTMENTS 10

FESTIVITIES Raisa Ell turns 105, Pasadena Heritage’s Cum Laude event, Bent opens at the Taper

48

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS If you have a mug and a microwave and you’re short on time, mug meals are a delicious way to go.

50

THE LIST Wiggle Waggle Walk for animals, Gumbo Fest for education, Real Women Have Curves at the Pasadena Playhouse and more 09.15 ARROYO | 7

EDITOR’S NOTE To salute Arroyo’s 10th anniversary, we decided to profile three philanthropists whose dedication says a lot about Pasadena — and its changing face. Gone is the city’s monochromatic populace, much of it descended from the Los Angeles area’s early settlers (although they’re still here too — after all, why leave?). Where elitism and exclusivity were once Pasadena’s watchwords, now diversity and inclusiveness characterize much of the city’s movers-and-shakers class (although a few of its exclusive institutions linger on).

As one of our philanthropists, Art Center President Bob Davidson, told Bettijane Levine, “There was no diversity when we got here [in the late ‘70s], but it has become much more diverse today and more open.

Relative to other places, it’s light years ahead.”

Shanghai-born and Hong Kong–bred philanthropist Kin Hui, who settled in SoCal long before the recent influx of well-heeled Chinese, actively encourages his peers to embrace their adopted land and culture rather than limit themselves to their own community. “My definition of ‘rich’ is happiness, how you work with other people,” he told Rebecca Kuzins.

Indeed, one thing all our philanthropists share is a belief in the importance of donating not just treasure, but also time — something all of has have, regardless of where we stand on the economic ladder. As Alyce Williamson, a descendant of pioneers and a major supporter of L.A.’s arts scene, said to Martin Booe, “Giving of yourself is what really makes the difference.”

This issue also features a special treat, a peek into Pasadenan Robert Ell’s ongoing exploration of his family’s old photographs. His research has already turned up some big surprises — colorful relatives who experienced their own Roaring Twenties, breeding horses for Chinese warlords, rooming with Myra Loy in the early days of Hollywood, setting a world archery record and much more. But perhaps most moving is a revelation that hit closer to home — Robert’s discovery that his father, the late Victor Ell, chaired the Pasadena Planning Commission in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, when it was actively involved in preserving Old Pasadena, an accomplishment the modest Victor had never even mentioned.

—Irene Lacher

EDITOR IN CHIEF Irene Lacher ART DIRECTOR Carla Cortez ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Torres PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Tim Oliver, Rochelle Bassarear EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine COPY EDITOR John Seeley CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Bilderback, Martin Booe, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, Patt Diroll, Carole Dixon, Kathleen Kelleher, Rebecca Kuzins, Diana Palmer, Ilsa Setziol, John Sollenberger, Nancy Spiller ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Dina Stegon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Lisa Chase, Brenda Clarke, Leslie Lamm ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Bruce Haring ADVERTISING DESIGNERS Tim Oliver, Stephanie Torres HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker PAYROLL Linda Lam ACCOUNTING Alysia Chavez, Kacie Cobian OFFICE ASSISTANT Ann Weathersbee PUBLISHER Jon Guynn 8 | ARROYO | 09.15

arroyo FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA

SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING V.P. OF FINANCE Michael Nagami V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin CONTACT US ADVERTISING dinas@pasadenaweekly.com EDITORIAL editor@arroyomonthly.com PHONE (626) 584-1500 FAX (626) 795-0149 MAILING ADDRESS 50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, Pasadena, CA 91105 ArroyoMonthly.com ©2015 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

09.15 ARROYO | 9

FESTIVITIES

Raisa Ell celebrates with family members (clockwise from bottom left) Eric Ell, Deanna Boulton and Robert Ell of Pasadena and Eric Ell’s daughter.

Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek, Sue Mossman and George Falardeau

Longtime Orange Grove Boulevard resident Raisa Ell, the mother of late Pasadena notable Victor Ell, celebrated her 105th birthday surrounded by family on July 25 at Silverado The Huntington Memory Care Community in Alhambra. The Russian-born Ell was one of the first female graduates of the Dental College in China, later practicing at the Veteran’s Hospital in West L.A. (See her in her heyday in her grandson Robert Ell’s family album feature starting on page 39.)...Pasadena Heritage organizers and devotees didn’t let a little rain douse its Cum Laude: Historic Preservation and Higher Education event planned for the rooftop of Art Center College of Design’s South Campus on July 18. Some 150 supporters celebrated honorees Art Center, Caltech, Pasadena City College and Fuller Seminary in three gallery spaces–turned–impromptu party palace, where they sipped Vertical Wine Bistro wines and dined on grilled salmon and Brussels sprouts salad, raising $72,000 for the organization. The crowd was addressed by Pasadena Heritage Board Chair Cal Hollis, Executive Director Sue Mossman and new Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek...The opening night performance of the Mark Taper Forum’s acclaimed revival of Bent, a searing 1979 play about the Nazis’ persecution of gay people, brought out Nathan Lane, Steve Martin and wife Anne Stringfield, Sharon Lawrence and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner on July 26.

Rajen Vurdien flanked by event organizers Brooke Larsen Garlock (left) and Mic Hansen

Nathan Lane

Pasadena Heritage Vice Chair Tom Seifert and Mossman

Sharon Lawrence 10 | ARROYO | 09.15

Matthew Weiner and Linda Brettler

Director Moises Kaufman and actor Steve Martin

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Robert Ell, Mia King for Pasadena Heritage and Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging for the Mark Taper Forum

Pasadena Heritage Board Member Catherine Hany, Nate Risdon and Michael Wright

09.15 ARROYO | 11

PHOTO: © ArtCenter College of Design/John Dlugolecki

Williamson (center) flanked by Art Center students

The Unsinkable Alyce Williamson Pasadena would be a different place without her indefatigable support of culture.

BY MARTIN BOOE

THE LAST THING PASADENA PHILANTHROPIST ALYCE DE

PASSION WHOSE ABILITY TO GALVANIZE SUPPORT FOR A

ROULET WILLIAMSON LIKES TO TALK ABOUT IS MONEY, BUT

WORTHY CAUSE VIRTUALLY GUARANTEES THAT A LEGION OF

ON THE SUBJECT OF GIVING, SHE’S TIRELESS. SHE IS, IN FACT,

DONORS WILL FALL IN STEP BEHIND HER.

TIRELESS IN MOST RESPECTS, AND IN LIGHT OF HER 85 YEARS,

“I’m not good at asking people for money,” she says. “I don’t exactly do it that way.

So that’s why I like to do something that’s fun for people. There are so many people who don’t have a lot of money and they give so generously and they give of themselves. Giving of yourself is what really makes the difference.”

Her favorite cause has long been Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, but her hands-on involvement in the Los Angeles–area arts world encompasses most its key entities. A trustee for Art Center College of Design since 1986, she also serves on the boards of the Music Center, L.A. Opera and the L.A. Philharmonic. In addition, she’s

SHE’D WIN ANYONE’S ADMIRATION JUST FOR BEING ABLE TO SHOW UP AT THE MYRIAD BOARD MEETINGS OF THE MANY CAUSES SHE CHAMPIONS. BUT WILLIAMSON IS A GALE OF

–continued on page 14 09.15 ARROYO | 13

–continued from page 13

involved with Children’s Hospital and the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.

“The way Alyce gets things done is by doing them,” says former Art Center President David Brown, now serving as Descanso Gardens’ executive director. The two go way back. In fact, his first board meeting as newly installed president was her first Art Center board meeting too. “She is a show-up kind of girl. She makes the phone calls, plans the meetings.” And perhaps Williamson’s most enduring legacy is the Art Center 100, based on the Music Center’s Blue Ribbon group. It’s the 100 (more or less) benefactors who’ve put up millions of dollars in scholarships since she founded it in 1986. “That’s one of the things I loved about Alyce — she started my intense focus on the individual students,” says Brown. “And when you’re with Alyce, you’re truly rubbing shoulders with Los Angeles history.”

An avid fan of horse-racing, Williamson spoke by phone last week from Del Mar, where she and husband Warren “Spud” Williamson (a Chandler cousin who instigated the family’s sale of the L.A. Times’ parent, the Times-Mirror Co., in 2000), spend a good part of the racing season. The couple were anticipating the arrival of pretty much the whole Williamson clan for Spud’s 87th birthday. “I’ve just come back from the farmers’ market!” she said enthusiastically. Horse owners themselves, Williamson was lamenting that three horses in the last four races had to be scratched due to weather. Her enthusiasm for the sport is evident in her voice. “It’s the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. You have to be crazy to get into this.”

Williamson has more than a bit of the thoroughbred in her, to be sure. One of her admirers’ favorite memories of her is the entrance she made to the Pasadena Symphony Ball in 2000 as the evening’s honoree, bedecked in a full-length sequin gown and riding a white horse side saddle.

Indeed, Art Center (and by extension, Pasadena) would be a different place had there been no Alyce Williamson. Its 4,600-square-foot Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery shows established and emerging work and is regarded internationally as a leader in the exploration of innovative products, concepts and expressions drawn from art, science and new technologies. “Thanks to Alyce, we now have a legacy of exhibitions that have touched thousands of students and the public, inspiring new pathways of thinking about

art, design and our world,” says Stephen Nowlin, the gallery’s director. “Alyce’s philanthropy doesn’t only build or fund things, it impacts real lives in a viral way, over many years. In that sense, she’s an investor in human potential.”

“I think that probably my greatest accomplishment is helping the world discover what a treasure Art Center is,” she says. “Art Center was sort of a well-kept secret, and I brought it down from the hill. I mean, look how it’s grown. For me, personally, it’s that I have so many young friends, and it’s so exciting and I love what I’m doing. I’m always learning something.”

It was Dorothy Chandler (Williamson called her “Aunt Dot” even before marrying into the Chandler family) who launched her into philanthropy. “She got me involved in the Music Center from the very beginning. Back then there was really nothing in the way of the arts. And look where we are now! I honestly think that Los Angeles is the greatest city in the world. I have a lot of friends who are artists, and people want to come to L.A. from all over the world. Not the restriction of elsewhere. And [L.A. Phil Music Director] Gustavo [Dudamel], [L.A. Opera General Director] Plácido Domingo — [it] doesn’t get much better.”

Williamson’s French family lineage is a portrait of early California. She describes her great-grandfather as a Parisian aristocrat-turned-pioneer who arrived at the age of 17, presciently buying up large tracts of land in what would become the mid-Wilshire area. That was when when the city had barely grown beyond its origins as a rough and scruff y cowtown with lynch mobs as its preferred form of justice; and while Spanish was the dominant language, French ran a close second. The land passed down to her father, Henry de Roulet, a real estate developer who virtually created mid-Wilshire.

By her own description, Williamson’s childhood was nothing less than idyllic. Her father built a colossal Craftsman house in Hancock Park decorated with Moorish tiles.

It had floor-to-ceiling windows that opened onto garden patios on either side, and a two-story living room with a cathedral ceiling. The house was no airless mausoleum of gentility — more often than not, the ground shuddered with the antics of her five roughand-tumble brothers who, she says, “doted on me like I was a princess.” Kids played kick the can in the street, nobody locked their doors and there was no such thing as rush hour.

–continued on page 16

14 | ARROYO | 09.15

PHOTO: © 2014 Chris Hatcher Photography

Lorne Buchman, Williamson, Jay Leno and Stewart Reed at Art Center’s Car Classic last year

09.15 ARROYO | 15

–continued from page 14

But the family was not unmarked by adversity. Her father, a polo champion in his youth, was stricken with polio in his 20s but nonetheless upheld the family’s vigorous pioneer lineage. “He shot a rifle with one arm, went hunting and fishing and we had a pool long before anyone had a pool because he used it for exercise,” Williamson says.

“No one thought of him as an invalid. They called him the iron man.”

It’s rather easy to conclude then, that Williamson’s own unsinkability well into her 80s is well-embedded in her DNA. In fact, a broken leg sustained in early summer did not stop her from attending a meeting of the Blue Ribbon later that same day.

“She’s a very generous human being and a force of nature,” says her longtime friend Patt Diroll, society writer for the Pasadena Star-News. “That woman loves life.

There’s something very charming and girlish [about her] and she’s very down to earth.

There’s nothing grande dame about Alyce.”

In her youth, Williamson exhibited a strong flair for the arts in her own right. Her art teacher was no less than Millard Sheets, who was prominent in the California School of painting. But her real passion was dance. In fact, she was offered a scholarship to the Martha Graham School of Dance in New York, an opportunity that she says, in a tone of regret, was blocked by her father, who found the calling beneath her station.

Back in Del Mar, the preparations for the family reunion are getting under way, and Williamson calls out to her husband, who’s just coming through the door with a bag of groceries. “Here’s Spud — we’ll see how much of my shopping he’s duplicated,” she says cheerfully. “We’ve been married 61 years. We’re at a stage in life that’s just horrible in some ways because every week, you’re losing another one of your contemporaries. But my life is always exciting. I am so excited about my family coming to celebrate my husband’s birthday. There will be 15. Seven grandchildren and three married children and their spouses. And, of course, our horse trainer.”

Sometimes it occurs to her that she might need to slow down. “I’ll say to myself, you’re spreading yourself too thin. Then I think, well, what can I change? I really want to spread the word about what our graduates at Art Center are doing. I have a plan to really get through to some of these associates of mine who are really able to give large amounts of money. There’s still a lot of fundraising for Art Center that needs to happen.” ||| 16 | ARROYO | 09.15

PHOTO: © ArtCenter College of Design

Williamson and Art Center scholarship winner Zorine Pooladia

PHOTO: Evan Robinson

Bob and Faye Davidson

COUNTED BLESSINGS Faye and Bob Davidson have spent their lives donating their time as well as their treasure.

BY BETTIJANE LEVINE

FAYE AND BOB DAVIDSON ARE ONE OF PASADENA’S MORE PHILANTHROPIC AND PERIPATETIC COUPLES. MARRIED FOR 37 YEARS AND THE PARENTS OF THREE SONS, THEY’RE ALSO AVID ART COLLECTORS WHO HAVE AMASSED ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S FINEST COLLECTIONS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART, WHICH THEY LEND TO MAJOR MUSEUMS. BUT WHAT THEY’RE MOST KNOWN FOR, ASIDE FROM THEIR BONHOMIE, IS WHAT MIGHT BE CALLED THE DAVIDSON BRAND OF GIVING. ALONG WITH FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS, THEY DEVOTE A MAJOR PORTION OF THEIR TIME AND ENERGY TO HANDS-ON EFFORTS AT DOING GOOD.

Bob is in his third term as chairman of the Board of Trustees at Art Center College of Design. He’s the first African-American to hold the position, and one of few individuals who have been elected to three successive terms. That’s only one of his many current board positions, but it’s a particular favorite because it helps satisfy his passions for advancing the arts and for helping young people achieve their educational goals.

Philanthropy is not just about giving money, Bob says. “Of course money is important.

But I have a personal commitment for this chapter of my life, after having some modest success in business, to contribute to making the world a better place.” And to do that, he says, “I must donate my time, my energy and my knowledge. That’s what you do as a trustee of an institution. You offer work and wisdom along with wealth.”

But the common perception of philanthropy and board membership seems to be quite a bit different than Davidson’s. A Minnesota Council on Foundations survey found that some people had no idea what the word “philanthropy” even meant, and those who did know thought it only applied to über-rich folks who could easily afford to give away bundles without personal sacrifice. But that definition is far too limited. The word is derived from the Greek term for “love for humanity.”

The common understanding of board membership is also fuzzy, according to Arroyo’s informal survey. The consensus was that serving on a board of trustees is an honorary position offered only to the wealthy, who earn even more money for the honor of –continued on page 18 09.15 ARROYO | 17

President Barack Obama is presented with an honorary doctorate of laws by Robert C. Davidson, Jr., chairman of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees, at the school’s 2013 commencement ceremonies.

serving. In fact, board membership for nonprofit institutions, such as museums, hospitals and schools, is unpaid and involves the commitment to give money as well as time and talent.

Bob Davidson is affiliated with so many worthy causes and has served on so many boards of directors that it’s almost impossible for him to name them all. A partial list of panels and organizations he has served includes The Huntington Library Selection Committee and Board of Overseers; Pasadena’s Armory Center for the Arts; Pasadena’s Planning Commission; the Board of Trustees at Morehouse College in Atlanta, from which Bob, who serves as chairman, and his three sons graduated, and where the president’s residence is named Davidson House in his honor; the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Advisory Council (Davidson earned his MBA there); the White House Fellows Commission; the Boards of Directors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of L.A.; the L.A. Chamber of Commerce; Rebuild L.A., formed in the aftermath of the L.A. riots; the Museum of Contemporary Art; the Charles Drew University School of Medicine; the L.A. Chamber Orchestra; the Museum of African American Art; Big Brothers of Greater L.A.; the L.A. Urban League; the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem; the Weingart Center for the Homeless; and the South Coast Air Quality Management District Brain Tumor and Air Pollution Foundation. He is also an independent director of Jacobs Engineering Group, Broadway Federal Bank and Fulcrum Venture Capital Corporation.

Faye Davidson is a member of the Pasadena Art Alliance and a past board member of Pasadena Day Nursery as well as the Pacific Oaks Pre-School, St. Mark’s School and La Salle High School. She is a member of the Pasadena-Altadena chapter of The Links, Incorporated, one of the country’s oldest and largest volunteer women’s organizations committed to enriching and sustaining African-American culture.

Davidson downplays the time and money he and Faye spend on philanthropic work. “Faye and I focus on what we love and what our passions are, which is helping the underprivileged and the children — Faye’s work with schools, mine with schools and hospitals, and both of us with the needy. You can’t walk through Children’s Hospital and keep a dry eye,” he says. As for Art Center, he says, “We go to graduation and see

18 | ARROYO | 09.15

those young people walk off the stage and realize that their lives and trajectories are now changed forever. They can go out and become productive citizens and make a difference in the world.”

Where Davidson is self-effacing, Art Center President Lorne Buchman is effusive on the subject of his board chairman’s impact. “It’s been immense, an enormous contribution,” Buchman says with what sounds like reverence. “I learn from him all the time. Great board members set direction and strategy, and they do it in a close working relationship with the executive leadership, to ensure that the college is doing what it needs to do in order to thrive. Bob’s here to meet and work with me, to ask the tough questions, to ensure that my decisions and approach are in concert with our goals. He makes sure the board members are properly assigned, that they feel engaged, that their strengths are being well used.”

Asked about Bob’s particular strengths, Buchman describes him as “a very strategic thinker. He combines big-picture strategy with grounded common sense in the best possible balance. That’s a very unique talent — actually, the best I’ve ever seen. Usually, a person is either a big idea person or they’re just great at tactics. Bob has the gift of both.

And he’s a very skilled financial man and businessman. He gets business; he understands the numbers and how to work with them.”

Art Center has undergone a major expansion under Davidson’s chairmanship. “It’s an impressive list of things we’ve accomplished,” Buchman says. “We’ve purchased two different properties and tripled the size of our south campus, adding 200,000 square feet in facilities and another five aces of space. Bob was significantly involved in that, especially in the acquisition of the properties. His business acumen really came into play. We’re planning to build student housing, we’ve added four new degree programs and a number of new facilities and services to enhance student and faculty life.” L.A. starchitect Michael Maltzan, whose clients have included the Hammer and the Victoria & Albert museums, has been chosen to reimagine the campus; also during Davidson’s chairmanship, the school introduced a dual-degree program with Claremont’s Drucker School that blends design and business. To top it all off, Buchman says, with the board’s help the school has raised $63 million for capital, scholarship and endowment funds.

“This is what great boards and board chairmen do,” Buchman says. “And bear in mind it’s a volunteer position. They don’t get a penny for their work. On the contrary, they give money. They’re our greatest advocates and our greatest donors.”

The Davidsons say their philanthropic bent comes naturally, a result of how they were raised. Faye was born in Phoenix and raised in Sacramento, where she says her mother ran a home for disabled children. Bob, born in Memphis, says his mother founded the first orphanage for African- American kids in the Southern city. “Before that, there were no orphanages for them. African-American orphans in Memphis were sent to juvenile hall,” Bob says. “So we both grew up in environments where doing for others was a priority. Even before we met, before we had resources, we both were involved in organizations that helped people in need. The more resources you have, the more you are able to do.”

When the Davidsons first met, Faye was a radio disc jockey known as Lady Faye on KAGB, L.A.’s now-defunct black-owned station. Bob had been a serial entrepreneur, starting and running a number of successful businesses on the East Coast. “In that one year, 1978, I acquired a new wife, a new baby and a new business.” The paint and coating manufacturing firm he started that year in L.A., Surface Protection Industries, has become one of the country’s largest and most successful African-American–owned businesses.

Even as a young couple, the Davidsons say, they agreed to make philanthropy a priority, and the commitment simply expanded along with their growing assets.

“We made a pilgrimage to India to meet Mother Theresa,” Bob says. “We wanted to understand how she helped the underprivileged. We went to her orphanage, her hospital, her home. We were overwhelmed by this person who selflessly dedicated her life to help

PHOTO: Morehouse College

–continued from page 17

PHOTO: Courtesy of Art Center College of Design

make the world a better place. Everyone can’t be a Mother Theresa, but the visit inspired us to do the most we can with what we have. As she told us, and it’s true, you don’t own anything. You are simply the custodian of assets in your possession at any point in time. It’s your decision how to use them. And we decided it’s our responsibility to share those assets in the best ways we can. We don’t want thanks from anyone. We just hope that anyone we may have helped will go out and live a good life and pay it forward, so that others get to benefit in the same way.”

What do they do for fun? There’s a summer house on Martha’s Vineyard they impetuously bought 23 years ago, and where they have a group of wonderful friends.

“We’ve already missed a few parties,” Faye says. But their major joy is art. “Some people like to fish, some people like to golf, we like to collect art,” Bob says. “Faye and I just came back from a 10-day trip to New York where we did nothing but museums and galleries. That, to us, is fun. Collecting is our passion and joy. We focus on African-American artists because they were not being recognized when we began collecting. They were accomplished but overlooked. So we collect those artists, most of whom have now passed away, and we share their better works with museums around the world.” Back home, for example, the couple recently loaned Charles White’s powerful 1940 painting, Preacher, and an exquisite hammered copper mask by Sargent Claude Johnson to the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. “Don’t confuse that aspect of our lives with our philanthropy,” he continues. “When I served on the boards of MOCA and The Huntington Library, tit was purely out of love for the arts.”

Faye says the couple moved to Pasadena in the late ’70s when their first baby was still small, so they could send him (and any future siblings) to the highly regarded private preschool at Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School. They’ve loved the city ever since. “Pasadena makes L.A. bearable,” Bob says with a chuckle. “It’s small enough so you get to know the people around you, and big enough so that nobody’s running your life. It’s a city that allows you to get engaged. There was no diversity when we got here, but it has become much more diverse today and more open.

Relative to other places, it’s light years ahead. It’s been a place where we could raise three sons in a very balanced manner, where they could seize upon opportunities that we didn’t have.”

Asked if they have a particular philanthropic philosophy they live by, Bob reads from the Bible on his desk, which he says he keeps open to this quote from Luke 12:48: “For everyone to whom much is given, much will be required. And to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” |||

09.15 | ARROYO | 19

arroyo

™

~HOME SALES INDEX~

ALTADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. ARCADIA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. EAGLE ROCK Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. GLENDALE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. LA CAÑADA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SAN MARINO Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SIERRA MADRE Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. SOUTH PASADENA Homes Sold Median Price Median Sq. Ft. TOTAL Homes Sold Avg Price/Sq. Ft.

JULY ‘14 30 $566,250 1432 JULY ‘14 25 $1,080,000 1908 JULY ‘14 19 $735,000 1392 JULY‘14 132 $580,000 1461 JULY ‘14 39 $1,250,000 2417 JULY ‘14 160 $622,500 1452 JULY ‘14 12 $2,009,500 2414 JULY ‘14 15 $727,000 1442 JULY ‘14 23 $1,045,000 1647 JULY ‘14 455 $541

2015 HOMES SOLD

+11.83%

2014

523

AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT.

july

455

+14.95%

JULY HOMES SOLD

HOME SALES

JULY‘15 46 $698,250 1422 JULY ‘15 37 $1,018,000 1898 JULY ‘15 17 $710,000 1795 JULY ‘15 155 $620,000 1442 JULY ‘15 32 $1,380,000 2196 JULY ‘15 185 $678,000 1412 JULY ‘15 11 $2,133,500 2021 JULY ‘15 21 $875,000 1838 JULY ‘15 19 $1,033,000 1762 JULY ‘15 523 $605

HOME SALES ABOVE

RECENT HOME CLOSINGS IN THE PASADENA WEEKLY FOOTPRINT ADDRESS ALTADENA 2310 Midlothian Drive 2545 Boulder Road 2555 Boulder Road 2269 Mar Vista Avenue 3469 Hollyslope Road 1402 Hull Lane 1933 Homewood Drive 1966 Roosevelt Avenue 1303 East Palm Street 939 East Mt. Curve Avenue 2091 Crescent Drive 1210 Sonoma Drive 3315 Bellaire Drive 3805 Alzada Road ARCADIA 800 Singing Wood Drive 265 Hacienda Drive 2112 South 6th Avenue 1341 Julyflower Avenue 1716 Alta Oaks Drive 251 West Foothill Boulevard 20 West Orange Grove Avenue 1811 Elevado Avenue 135 Loralyn Drive 1300 North Santa Anita Avenue 2528 South 3rd Avenue 2177 Highland Vista Drive 1236 Oakglen Avenue 2531 El Capitan Avenue 1312 South 4th Avenue 1250 Oakglen Avenue 1521 Loganrita Avenue 1325 South 5th Avenue 2231 Highland Vista Drive 419 Robbins Drive 2660 Loganrita Avenue 2434 Lee Avenue EAGLE ROCK 5164 Highland View Avenue 1923 Silverwood Lane 5142 Hermosa Avenue 1138 Glen Arbor Avenue 5201 Townsend Avenue GLENDALE 370 Salem Street 3317 Barnes Circle 201 Caruso Avenue 932 West Kenneth Road 2011 Rimcrest Drive 921 Kilmary Lane 1525 Moreno Drive 360 Edwards Place 1123 Avonoak Terrace 905 Calle Simpatico 3814 Brittany Lane 3305 Barnes Circle 911 East Mountain Street 1721 North Pacific Avenue 2301 Sylvan Lane 1309 Daily Circle 1641 Santa Maria Avenue 3254 Honolulu Avenue 1245 Imperial Drive 609 Benowe Scotia Road 1502 East Maple Street 3410 Rosemary Avenue 1300 Beaudry Boulevard 2344 Barton Lane 3903 Altura Avenue 1217 Moncado Drive 5131 New York Avenue 2301 East Chevy Chase Drive 3813 Sky View Lane 3384 Oakmont View Drive 1000 Avonoak Terrace 2478 Florencita Avenue 823 East Wilson Avenue 2125 El Arbolita Drive 3115 Charing Cross Road 1366 Cleveland Road 216 Edwards Place 1890 Idlewood Road 1057 Dolorita Avenue 1716 Highland Avenue 1249 Ethel Street

CLOSE DATE

PRICE

BDRMS.

SQ. FT.

source: CalREsource

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE

PREV. SOLD

07/21/15 07/17/15 07/14/15 07/01/15 07/07/15 07/28/15 07/15/15 07/15/15 07/01/15 07/13/15 07/29/15 07/17/15 07/29/15 07/21/15

$2,300,000 $1,780,000 $1,760,000 $1,450,000 $1,399,000 $1,275,000 $1,235,000 $1,225,000 $1,150,000 $1,111,000 $1,100,000 $895,000 $879,000 $870,000

5 6 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 1 2 3 4 4

3210 2995 2328 2472 3281 3311 2964 2420 2137 491 1727 1630 2369 1690

1925 1925 1925 1924 2004 1959 1937 1938 1920 1938 1955 1947 2009 1960

$1,975,000 $1,400,000 $1,331,000 $355,000 $719,000 $900,000 $1,351,000 $825,000 $810,500 $555,000

10/30/2013 12/05/2012 09/07/2005 02/21/2003 10/24/2008 12/10/2003 06/15/2006 12/04/2003 04/06/2007 04/23/2001

$719,000 $265,000 $640,000

08/29/2014 07/13/2000 10/02/2012

07/23/15 07/24/15 07/20/15 07/27/15 07/09/15 07/15/15 07/21/15 07/30/15 07/14/15 07/07/15 07/13/15 07/28/15 07/23/15 07/06/15 07/20/15 07/22/15 07/20/15 07/02/15 07/23/15 07/23/15 07/20/15 07/24/15

$7,680,000 $6,800,000 $3,800,000 $2,820,000 $2,700,000 $2,200,000 $2,099,000 $1,899,000 $1,720,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,350,000 $1,210,000 $1,170,000 $1,150,000 $1,100,000 $1,039,000 $1,035,000 $1,018,000 $938,000 $888,000 $853,500

3 4 2 3 2 6 3 4 4 3 2 4 3 3 4 4 2 3 3 4 3 3

2580 2611 1464 2120 1647 3694 2198 2595 2779 2426 1911 2521 2382 1343 1700 2362 2316 1481 1904 1699 2302 1728

1952 1960 1956 1950 1951 1958 1952 1951 1950 1948 1948 1961 1957 1950 1918 1960 1954 1955 1960 1955 1946 1958

$2,678,000 $2,500,000 $1,210,000 $828,000 $1,150,000 $700,000 $697,500 $1,060,000

08/05/2013 10/24/2013 09/05/2013 02/01/2013 09/13/2013 07/23/1996 12/08/1998 12/09/2004

$980,000

07/02/2014

$470,000

07/29/1988

$970,000

11/06/2013

$603,000 $680,000 $299,000 $850,000

01/31/2005 09/01/2004 06/05/1998 08/21/2014

07/21/15 07/17/15 07/28/15 07/17/15 07/01/15

$1,100,000 $995,000 $963,000 $937,500 $829,000

4 3 5 3 3

1791 2069 2504 2576 1400

1924 1966 1922 1977 1929

$800,000 $495,000

08/11/2005 04/08/2003

$200,000

02/01/1994

07/29/15 07/24/15 07/06/15 07/23/15 07/22/15 07/23/15 07/07/15 07/30/15 07/16/15 07/24/15 07/27/15 07/15/15 07/17/15 07/23/15 07/06/15 07/27/15 07/30/15 07/22/15 07/23/15 07/23/15 07/30/15 07/20/15 07/30/15 07/13/15 07/14/15 07/16/15 07/16/15 07/17/15 07/08/15 07/30/15 07/01/15 07/15/15 07/22/15 07/13/15 07/13/15 07/08/15 07/14/15 07/20/15 07/16/15 07/07/15 07/07/15

$2,100,000 $1,950,000 $1,800,000 $1,636,000 $1,300,000 $1,300,000 $1,295,000 $1,270,000 $1,267,500 $1,252,000 $1,240,000 $1,200,000 $1,185,000 $1,165,000 $1,100,000 $1,100,000 $1,098,000 $1,070,000 $1,070,000 $1,005,000 $1,000,000 $992,000 $985,000 $981,500 $967,000 $952,000 $929,000 $929,000 $925,000 $920,000 $900,000 $900,000 $900,000 $890,000 $875,000 $865,000 $861,000 $859,000 $850,000 $849,000 $825,000

2 5 2 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 2 3 3 4 4 4 6 3 3 2 3 3 4 4 4 3 2 4 8 2 3 3 3 4 3 2 3

1248 5790 1895 3417 3410 2448 2214 2390 2744 2618 3334 3903 2476 2768 1472 2343 2228 3056 2352 2377 3201 1861 2321 0 1992 1663 2020 1803 2705 3137 2152 2335 4392 1565 2117 2111 2312 2883 1529 1668 1744

1915 1988 2008 1955 1985 1973 1950 1950 1963 1990 1996 1988 1946 1955 1940 1974 1931 1930 1938 1964 1950 1926 1959 1950 1950 1928 1907 1938 1996 1985 1967 1922 1977 1971 1931 1933 1967 1963 1954 1920 1928

$240,000 $1,075,000 $875,000 $550,000 $95,000

07/01/2011 03/04/2003 10/31/2011 03/27/1997 03/23/1984

$1,062,500 $568,000

09/08/2010 04/09/1993

$1,050,000 $920,000 $840,000 $760,000

10/03/2013 02/18/2011 02/24/1989 08/31/2010

$485,000

02/16/2011

$407,000

08/14/1997

$202,500 $464,000 $815,000

08/24/1984 04/05/2002 11/19/2008

$255,000

02/23/1999

$730,000 $800,000 $1,198,000 $728,500 $535,000 $890,000 $703,500 $465,000

06/08/2004 02/12/2010 07/31/2006 09/15/2004 07/01/2003 06/10/2004 05/11/2010 07/10/1990

$230,000 $1,000,000 $675,000 $830,000 $225,000

05/19/1986 03/28/2014 12/14/2004 05/16/2005 02/12/1987

The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra Madre and Arcadia. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2015. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly.

20 | ARROYO | 09.15

ADDRESS CLOSE DATE LA CAĂ‘ADA 5357 Alta Canyada Road 07/09/15 07/21/15 4409 Encinas Drive 871 Greenridge Drive 07/09/15 4389 Beulah Drive 07/24/15 826 Green Lane 07/01/15 921 Regent Park Drive 07/29/15 1833 Fairmount Avenue 07/02/15 1930 Lyans Drive 07/28/15 417 Richmond Road 07/02/15 1746 Earlmont Avenue 07/01/15 5012 Princess Anne Road 07/14/15 4619 Hillard Avenue 07/30/15 4115 Encinas Drive 07/28/15 1429 El Vago Street 07/10/15 290 Starlight Crest Drive 07/02/15 2040 Hilldale Drive 07/21/15 4810 Grand Avenue 07/22/15 5428 La Forest Drive 07/28/15 4613 Alveo Road 07/28/15 4413 Cornishon Avenue 07/02/15 1123 Inverness Drive 07/09/15 5354 Palm Drive 07/28/15 4218 La Tour Way 07/16/15 4524 El Camino Corto 07/21/15 1621 Verdugo Boulevard 07/01/15 5118 Crown Avenue 07/08/15 5365 Godbey Drive 07/08/15 1600 Orange Tree Lane 07/06/15 PASADENA 370 Glen Summer Road 07/02/15 1527 Glen Oaks Boulevard 07/20/15 345 East Colorado Boulevard #602 07/07/15 509 Prospect Boulevard 07/14/15 1215 Parkview Avenue 07/09/15 295 Markham Place 07/23/15 333 Manford Way 07/20/15 543 Vallombrosa Drive 07/21/15 44 Club Road 07/07/15 2311 Crystal Lane 07/24/15 425 Plumosa Drive 07/07/15 407 Patrician Way 07/09/15 1466 Glen Oaks Boulevard 07/17/15 1260 Chateau Road 07/30/15 525 Covington Place 07/07/15 1080 East Topeka Street 07/24/15 1535 Dove Court 07/28/15 1984 East Cricklewood Path 07/16/15 1435 Chamberlain Road 07/13/15 920 Granite Drive #510 07/13/15 530 South Marengo Avenue 07/21/15 636 West California Boulevard 07/24/15 150 Linda Vista Avenue 07/10/15 415 Laguna Road 07/22/15 3525 Landfair Road 07/14/15 1195 South Oak Knoll Avenue 07/24/15 640 Busch Garden Lane 07/16/15 920 Granite Drive #309 07/17/15 3275 Orlando Road 07/10/15 761 North Hill Avenue 07/02/15 202 South Berkeley Avenue 07/15/15 807 Las Palmas Road 07/10/15 573 Lincoln Avenue 07/28/15 389 South Meridith Avenue 07/06/15 700 Arbor Street 07/23/15 132 South Greenwood Avenue 07/21/15 1118 Las Riendas Way 07/02/15 1841 Fiske Avenue 07/24/15 995 East Orange Grove Boulevard 07/10/15 1625 Hastings Ranch Drive 07/29/15 3602 Mountain View Avenue 07/24/15 82 North Grand Oaks Avenue 07/27/15 373 Bonita Avenue 07/17/15 1091 North Wilson Avenue 07/24/15 326 Tamarac Drive 07/16/15 2355 Brigden Road 07/28/15 407 Wallis Street 07/24/15 595 North Chester Avenue 07/30/15 3678 Grayburn Road 07/28/15 1769 North Allen Avenue 07/22/15 SAN MARINO 2830 Canterbury Road 07/08/15 1439 Wembley Road 07/23/15 1830 Carlisle Drive 07/08/15 2784 Fleur Drive 07/21/15 1735 West Drive 07/28/15 1930 Sycamore Drive 07/21/15 2875 Sheffield Road 07/17/15 1957 South Euclid Avenue 07/30/15 1435 Bellwood Road 07/07/15 2696 East California Boulevard 07/01/15 460 Plymouth Road 07/09/15 SIERRA MADRE 715 Oak Crest Drive 07/17/15 233 Windwood Lane 07/22/15 319 Camillo Road 07/21/15 1940 Oakwood Avenue 07/02/15 160 Coburn Avenue 07/06/15 2035 Liliano Drive 07/15/15 281 San Gabriel Court 07/27/15 175 West Carter Avenue 07/14/15 168 East Sierra Madre Boulevard 07/15/15 SOUTH PASADENA 260 Hillside Road 07/07/15 1318 Milan Avenue 07/23/15 207 Oaklawn Avenue 07/28/15 2040 Primrose Avenue 07/10/15 1925 Milan Avenue 07/15/15 2065 Primrose Avenue 07/23/15 1124 Magnolia Street 07/28/15 1936 Illinois Drive 07/14/15 1714 Alhambra Road 07/14/15 731 Garfield Avenue 07/24/15 1026 Adelaine Avenue 07/16/15

BDRMS.

SQ. FT.

$3,650,000 $3,100,000 $2,500,000 $2,282,000 $2,120,000 $1,925,000 $1,901,000 $1,825,000 $1,815,000 $1,800,000 $1,800,000 $1,798,000 $1,512,500 $1,438,000 $1,435,000 $1,400,000 $1,360,000 $1,350,000 $1,335,000 $1,310,000 $1,295,000 $1,150,000 $1,065,000 $1,050,000 $1,030,000 $965,000 $895,000 $850,000

PRICE

4 5 5 4 2 3 4 4 4 4 2 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2

4277 4224 4448 3100 1708 2977 4037 2771 3406 3273 1443 2765 3270 3031 2498 2025 2229 3019 1844 2162 2112 2748 1989 1286 2074 1474 2112 1128

YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE 1927 1957 1986 2012 1951 1946 1964 1955 1949 1929 1949 1942 1960 1963 1958 1968 1948 1948 1947 1954 1953 1976 1946 1945 1941 1951 1973 1950

$4,750,000 $4,730,000 $4,500,000 $2,760,000 $2,750,000 $2,400,000 $2,325,000 $2,260,000 $2,100,000 $2,100,000 $1,915,000 $1,900,000 $1,830,000 $1,780,000 $1,650,000 $1,600,000 $1,574,000 $1,520,000 $1,510,000 $1,425,000 $1,425,000 $1,425,000 $1,400,000 $1,400,000 $1,298,000 $1,265,000 $1,242,000 $1,215,000 $1,200,000 $1,168,000 $1,120,000 $1,112,500 $1,000,000 $995,000 $945,000 $938,000 $930,000 $917,000 $900,000 $900,000 $890,000 $890,000 $882,000 $881,500 $880,000 $867,500 $860,000 $860,000 $835,000 $831,500

3 5 3 5 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 5 3 3 3 5 4 4 3 3 6 4 3 3 2 2 2 3 4 3 2 2 5 2 2 4 3 4 5 3 3 6 2 3 3 3 2 4 2 6

6485 5990 4300 4436 3229 4841 3435 3363 3952 6662 3074 4336 2997 2871 2648 3128 3112 2920 1738 2060 3142 2234 2394 2309 1368 1664 1914 2030 2134 2271 1268 1907 1606 1951 1302 2473 2131 2242 2572 2479 2098 2764 1280 1754 1870 1884 1044 1956 1752 2130

2008 2003 2007 1917 1948 1904 1960 1940 1968 2004 1938 1927 1983 1958 1947 1910 1978 1957 1975 2009 1913 1948 1959 1961 1949 1952 1952 2009 1946 1921 1913 1885 1947 1925 1921 2008 1974 1950 1930 1965 1941 1924 1927 1927 1958 1941 1946 1914 1950 1952

$3,200,000 $3,125,000 $2,950,000 $2,383,000 $2,195,000 $2,133,500 $1,843,000 $1,687,000 $1,660,000 $1,500,000 $1,200,000

6 4 4 4 4 2 2 3 3 4 2

4246 2946 3044 2773 2075 1471 1931 1896 1683 2021 1593

1948 1950 1937 1927 1938 1937 1948 1927 1941 1954 1926

$2,850,000 $1,798,500 $1,515,000 $1,150,000 $1,105,000 $995,000 $975,000 $948,000 $875,000

3 4 0 3 3 3 2 3 3

3603 3615 0 2160 2281 1919 1216 1972 1838

1990 1983

$4,345,000 $3,217,500 $1,825,000 $1,576,000 $1,365,000 $1,225,000 $1,095,000 $1,070,000 $1,040,000 $1,033,000 $910,000

8 4 5 2 3 3 4 3 4 3 3

5281 3598 4356 1289 2090 1777 2128 2044 1862 1703 1828

1934 1924 1912 1929 1910 1929 1907 1976 1937 1913 1901

1952 1954 1956 1926 1955 1922

PREV. SOLD

$2,100,000

12/01/2006

$2,062,500

05/31/2013

$1,990,000 $940,000 $1,795,000 $1,835,000 $2,037,500 $785,000 $1,281,500

02/27/2009 08/31/2001 09/12/2006 06/24/2005 06/22/2005 07/08/2011 03/07/2006

$659,000

07/16/2002

$1,230,000 $163,000 $816,000 $350,000 $865,000

12/05/2006 09/14/1979 05/23/2012 06/20/1997 12/08/2009

$710,000 $975,000 $850,000 $178,000 $760,000

06/08/2004 07/31/2014 04/15/2009 11/26/1986 11/03/2004

$945,000 $630,000

04/10/2002 02/27/2001

$128,500 $246,000 $290,000 $2,112,500 $1,300,000 $1,350,000

09/15/1976 09/24/1979 02/28/1985 09/05/2014 05/06/2008 09/10/2013

$1,395,000

04/30/2013

$460,000

10/17/1997

$282,000 $485,000 $1,185,000

10/13/1993 11/27/1990 04/24/2014

$555,000

04/23/1993

$459,000

12/16/1999

$554,000 $1,100,000

01/29/2013 06/26/2013

$1,025,000 $591,000 $650,000 $150,000 $450,000

06/16/2005 02/06/2014 06/02/2010 10/03/2002 12/22/2000

$750,000 $315,000 $369,000

02/01/2008 12/24/2002 10/25/2000

$435,000 $777,000 $541,500 $775,000

08/30/2001 05/28/1999 11/13/2003 04/22/2011

$738,000 $535,000 $690,000 $815,000

01/19/2012 08/15/2008 08/15/2012 06/21/2005

$995,000 $1,038,000 $146,000 $1,160,000

08/18/2004 07/23/2002 03/07/1977 09/18/2012

$1,200,000 $1,210,000 $1,190,000 $1,399,000 $760,000 $460,000

09/18/2014 10/16/2013 08/18/2009 05/06/2014 06/25/1991 05/19/2000

$1,500,000 $1,015,000 $570,000

02/28/2000 09/07/2000 09/24/2012

$350,000

10/31/1989

$840,000 $431,000

05/12/2006 07/20/2001

$1,595,000 $1,585,000

07/20/1995 07/27/2001

$257,000 $120,000 $986,500 $299,000 $850,000 $290,000 $150,000 $130,000

03/29/1996 09/06/1979 08/31/2009 10/18/2001 08/17/2007 07/07/1995 05/01/1985 06/15/1983

09.15 ARROYO | 21

ARROYO

HOME & DESIGN SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

AREA COPES WITH DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS It’s dry, but pool tools and landscaping can help conservation efforts

BY BRUCE HARING

That’s the bad news. The good news is, those steps are working. State of-

also requires water leaks to be fixed within 48 hours of discovery and prohibits filling ornamental lakes and ponds. The city Department of Water & Power estimates these and other tactics have saved 24% of potential water use from June through August of this year, the period when state mandates kicked in.

The San Gabriel Valley Water Company, which services Alhambra, Azusa,

ficials say Californians reduced water use by 27.3 percent in June, the first month

Monterey Park and Sierra Madre, did even better. Its customers reduced water

that the new state-wide emergency conservation regulations were in effect.

use by 35 percent in June, which is 1.5 time greater than the 23 percent reduc-

That savings percentage exceeded the mandated 25 percent cuts, and proves

tion it achieved in May

that citizens are willing to pitch in to help during the water crisis.

But while water is being saved, lives go on. Landscapes still need to be

Pasadena and surrounding areas are particularly active in the water-

tended and some homeowners are moving forward with installing swimming

saving cause. The Pasadena City Council adopted a city ordinance that limits

pools. Fortunately, there are companies with long experience in dealing with

outdoor watering to two days per week in April through October (Tuesday and

a water-sensitive climate, and they work within the new guidelines to provide

Saturday only) and one day per week from November through March. The plan

environmentally sound living spaces.Karen Miller is the owner of Sacred Space

22 | ARROYO | 09.15

–continued on page 25

PHOTO: Courtesy of Huntington Pools

CALIFORNIA IS IN A SEVERE DROUGHT. WATER RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE, A STATE OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED, AND OFFICIALS ARE TAKING EVERY ACTION POSSIBLE TO SAVE WATER, INCLUDING SHUTTING OFF FOUNTAINS, NOT WATERING LAWNS, AND FINING MUNICIPAL WATER WASTERS.

24 | ARROYO | 09.15

PHOTO: Courtesy of Sacred Space Garden Design

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 22

Garden Design of La Crescenta. The landscape design firm focuses on conserving water resources by creating California-friendly gardens and outdoor rooms. She says positive changes are underway in water conservation and landscape design, a trend she calls “encouraging.”

“We’re all familiar with restricted watering days at this point,” Miller says.

“Other changes that are underway have to do only with new construction. When you are getting a permit through city planning, there are new restrictions imposed as to how much sod can be installed, what type of watering systems, etc.”

One of the biggest changes is the use of so-called “grey water” systems for irrigation. Grey water is waste water from households or office buildings, including the runoff from sinks, baths, showers, washing machines and dish washers. It does not include waste water from toilets or other fecal contaminated runoff, which is called blackwater or, more commonly, sewage.

Use of grey water reduces the need for fresh water and is good for irrigation.

“Starting in 2016, it will no longer be allowable to drain water to the streets,” says Miller. “In the past, this has always been the case: rain gutters, surface drains, etc. all had to go to the street. Now they will have to drain onto the property.”

Miller says the new regulation is welcome news. “For several years now, we have been installing gravel filled drainage pits to collect water and allow it to percolate back in to the water table. It is encouraging to finally have some of these practices recognized, even mandated, by city planners and engineers.”

–continued on page 26

09.15 | ARROYO | 25

PHOTO: Courtesy of Garden View Landscaping, Nursery & Pools

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 25

Mark Meahl, President of Garden View Landscaping, Nursery & Pools says there are many succulent-type ground covers and low growing shrubs that use very little water and help keep an area cool. “I try not to landscape with too much rock,” he says.”It just looks too dry and barren and hot.”

So much water can be saved by using the right kind of drip irrigation, Meahl adds. “Proper knowledge and installation with irrigation uniformity procedures intact will save more water than most plant installations.” Meahl estimates a drought-tolerant landscape can save 50% to 90% of the water used on regular landscaping.

SWIMMING POOL RESTRICTIONS Despite the efforts, some municipalities have adopted measures to restrict new pool construction or, in some cases, outright ban filling pools with water. But Californians still love their outdoor spaces, and have continued to install swimming pools.

Metrostudy, a research firm that tracks real estate data, reports that new pool construction permits in California rose 2.5 percent in 2014 from the year prior. That amounts to 5,200 new permits. It’s quite a contrast to the bottom of the swimming pool market during the last recession, when new permits were below 1100 for both 2010 and 2011.

The firm estimates there are 1.18 million residential swimming pools in the state, each taking up to 30,000 gallons of water to fill.

Fortunately, the Pasadena area has largely escaped pool sanctions.

Jeff Lokker, the owner of Huntington Pools, says, at this point, “There are no restrictions in the San Gabriel Valley on pool construction.” Lokker notes there are programs in place that will incentivize drought-tolerant plant installations and reduce the amount of lawn space.

Lokker pointed out that the political action committee for the pool industry did a study that showed that a pool and its surrounding hardscape areas, once installed, use less water than a lawn or traditional landscape. “A lawn –continued on page 30 26 | ARROYO | 09.15

09.15 ARROYO | 27

PHOTO: Courtesy of Sacred Space Garden Design

—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT—

–continued from page 26

will be watered three or four times a week,” says Lokker, a process which results in excessive water use. “We’ve helped educate a lot of municipalities.”

Pools lose water to evaporation, but automatic pool covers are trending in the Pasadena area, Lokker claims. That’s “definitely a water-saving device. When we construct a pool, we have a trough that allows the pool cover to be underground.

Through a key or switch, you can open or close the pool cover.” While the pool covers are catching on, they still are featured on less than 40 percent of the state’s pools, according to industry estimates.

In addition to limiting water evaporation, pool covers help with child safety, keep the pool cleaner, and help maintain chlorine levels, which can be affected by sunlight.

EL NINO IS COMING When will the drought end? Recent indications points to a major El Nino event in the coming rainy season. The weather phenomenon, allegedly so named because it was first noted around Christmas time by Spanish-speaking fishermen, is a cyclical warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean that allows warm water that’s normally kept in the western Pacific to reach the east. That results in significant rainfall for Southern California.

The El Ninos typically occur every two to seven years. The last one for Southern California was in 1997, so we are overdue. Scientists now estimate a greater than 90% chance that El Nino will start in the late winter, bringing expected drought relief to our area.

While that will not eliminate the need for water conservation in our parched region, it will go a long way toward helping ease the water shortages that have plagued the region. That’s good news for homeowners, and even better news for the area’s landscapers and pool installers.|||| 30 | ARROYO | 09.15

09.15 ARROYO | 31

32 | ARROYO | 09.15

09.15 ARROYO | 33

4 | ARROYO | 08.15

COME TOGETHER Kin Hui fosters community in increasingly diverse Pasadena with his philanthropic and business ventures.

BY REBECCA KUZINS | PHOTOS BY AMBROSE LEUNG

KIN HUI’S DEFINITION OF PHILANTHROPY IS AS BROAD AND VARIED AS HIS BUSINESS VENTURES. The president and CEO of Singpoli Group and Singpoli Capital Corp. — an Arcadia-based cluster of real estate investment, construction, financial management, media and restaurant companies — Hui believes charity encompasses much more than donating money. His view of philanthropy also embraces people working in harmony, and respect for and understanding of cultural diversity. “My definition of ‘rich’ is happiness, how you work with other people and have a win-win,” he explained in a recent interview. “Not only can you win, but you enjoy the wealth with one another.”

Singpoli (the company’s name combines the Chinese words for “honesty” and “maintaining a profit”) practices Hui’s philosophy by supporting a range of Pasadenaarea institutions and activities, including Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, the Five Acres child welfare agency, Boy Scouts of America, Caltech, Pasadena City College, the Pasadena Symphony and Pops, the Tournament of Roses and The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. In another demonstration of his community involvement, Singpoli entered floats in the last two Rose Parades — the first Eastern-

flavored float featured a pagoda and two winged horses, the second, a lavish fi rebird signifying a “bright future” — and will sponsor another float in 2016. Hui also has his own eponymous charity foundation that aids special-needs orphans in China, providing medical services and daily care, such as formula and diapers.

Hui, 47, is especially concerned about the future of both American and Chinese orphans. “I’m a very lucky guy,” he says. “My parents loved me and I love my kids. I was never an orphan. Look at other people without parents. Look to their journey in the future. At a very young age they can turn into a good person. If you don’t help at a young age, you know what? They can turn into our social problem.”

As the honorary chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles, Hui seeks to set an example of charitable giving for other Chinese-American businesses.

While the group’s mission is to promote business in the Chinese-American community, Hui also encourages chamber members to seek out a larger, more mainstream market.

“The important thing is how to evolve with the mainstream,” he says. “I want Chinese people to know the market, not just the Chinese market, but the market overall.”

–continued on page 36

09.15 ARROYO | 35

–continued from p page age g 35

Kin Hui with his wife, Ivy Leung Hui, in front of Singpoli’s first Rose Parade float in 2014

For this evolution to occur, Hui says, Chinese businesspeople must learn to understand and care about other people’s cultures. “It’s about feelings,” he added. “My business is about community, about neighbors. I want my neighbor to feel my project is a benefit overall for the community.”

Singpoli’s recent $60 million renovation of the chic Hotel Constance illustrates Hui’s sensitivity to community concerns. Located on the southwest corner of Colorado Boulevard and Mentor Avenue, the hotel was built in 1926 and in recent years evolved into an old-age home. Singpoli has partnered with Bangkok-based Dusit Hotels & Resorts, which owns and operates a chain of high-end hotels in Asia, to build Dusit’s first North American hotel — the dusitD2 Constance Pasadena.

Before the project began, Hui solicited feedback from preservation advocates and neighborhood residents. Those discussions led to his company’s careful preservation of the building’s exterior while renovating the interior — adding a restaurant, cocktail lounge and fitness center and equipping its more than 130 rooms with iPads that provide virtual-concierge service. Hui says the mix of old and new is designed to attractt younger guests while satisfying the community’s desire to maintain the historicc building. The renovation was completed last year and the hotel reopened in October 2014, later earning a 2015 Historic Preservation Award from the City of Pasadena.

Singpoli is now engaged in phase 2 of the project — construction of a 25-suite hotel addition along Colorado Boulevard. The company expects the addition, which will feature a rooftop pool, spa, conference rooms and restaurants, to be completed in 18 months. Singpoli’s other properties include the Bank of America building on the southeast corner of Colorado and Lake and the 2 N. Lake Ave. office building on the northeast corner.

Hui’s community impact — both charitable and entrepreneurial — has been recognized with a raft of awards, most recently the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year, which he received in July. The Pasadena Symphony and Pops will honor him at its Moonlight Sonata Gala on Sept. 26. Chamber CEO Scott Hetrick says Hui “goes about all his projects in the correct way, being very considerate of all the entities involved. He really understands the community where he’s going to do developments. He’s a stand-up guy, always looking to do the right things for the right reasons.”

Arcadia City Councilman Sho Tay says his longtime friend “possesses the sound principles and integrity that made him a successful entrepreneur… He also believes the motto of ‘service above self ’ and that one person can make a difference for the betterment of society. That’s why he is always doing what he

36 | ARROYO | 09.15

can c to give back to the community when possible.”

Both Hetrick and Tay agree that Hui’s family is critical to his success. “Behind the successful man is his devoted wife, Ivy, who is always there to support him,” says Tay. s “Th ey have four children and, as busy as he is, Kin always spends quality time with them “ because he believes a solid, united family is the foundation of his personal success.” b Hui was born in Shanghai. When he was 5, his family moved to Hong Kong, where his h contractor father, Herman Hui, founded the Singpoli construction company in 1977.

His H father assigned him many varied tasks, preparing him to eventually manage the company.

Hui left his family and moved to L.A. in 1986 to attend Woodbury University, c where he met Ivy, another student from Hong Kong. w After graduating in 1991, Hui took over his father’s business, eventually relocating Singpoli to Southern California. “I told my father I wanted to continue the Singpoli S name,” he says. As the company’s CEO, Hui strives to realize his father’s ambitions for n Singpoli and does “whatever I can to make his name a success.”

S He is similarly encouraging his children — Winnie, 22, Kelly, 18, Ronald, 14, and Briana, 11 — to continue the Kin Hui Charity Foundation. That wasn’t what pianist B Winnie and violinist Kelly initially had in mind when they recorded a classical CD for W sale s a few years ago. But when they had a hard time finding buyers, Hui taught them a lesson in blending business with charity. He suggested they donate all the sales revenue le to his foundation.

“Immediately,” he says, snapping his fingers, “all of the CDs sold…I t want w them to…continue the foundation…That way it will help their kids and at the same time it will help the community.”

When he’s not managing Singpoli, Hui pursues his love of horse racing. In his typical fashion, he approaches the sport more as a business than a hobby. Hui stables his seven thoroughbreds at Santa Anita Park and designed the silks worn by his jockey.

Although it’s a long shot, Hui dreams that the performance of one of his horses will rival the success of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. “My philosophy is to do your best … and to never give up,” he says. “You keep doing the thing you like, and one day you’ll be successful.”

Of course, Hui’s definition of success is broad: “The good thing about entrepreneurs is creativity — how to create a business, how to make it a success. But I think the success is about working together. It’s about community relationships; to me this is very important. You’re not here just to try to make money; you’re here to try to share your wealth together, to make money together, to make a better community.” |||

The Huis with Singpoli’s “Firebird” Rose Parade float in 2015

09.15 ARROYO | 37

38 | ARROYO | 09.15

PHOTO: Henry Waxman

A PASADENAN'S FAMILY ALBUM (Practically) native son Robert Ell retraces his recent journey of discovery on disinterring hundreds of vintage family photographs.

–continued on page 40

Myrna Loy (left) and Lillian Butterfield appeared in Sid Grauman’s prologue shows before feature films at his theaters in Hollywood.

09.15 ARROYO | 39

Craig Ell (center) and album author Robbie Ell (right) with their father, Victor Ell, at the post – Rose Parade lineup

–continued from page 39

I’VE LIFTED UP THE DOOR TO THE STORAGE LOCKER. DUST CLEARS

DISCOVERED WAS A TREASURE TROVE OF UNEXPLORED FAMILY

LIKE A SCENE OUT OF RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. BEFORE ME

HISTORY, OF SO MANY LIVES AND ADVENTURES. BOX BY BOX, I

STRETCHES AN ENDLESS SEA OF BOXES HOLDING THE BELONGINGS

TOOK ON THE EMOTIONAL TASK OF SAYING GOODBYE TO GHOSTS

OF MY DAD, MY AUNT, BOTH GRANDMAS AND MYSELF. WAS

OF THE PAST WHILE SAYING HELLO TO FAMILY MEMBERS I NEVER

THIS JUNK OR TREASURE? SO MANY OF THE BOXES WERE SIMPLY

KNEW. AND THROUGH THIS ADVENTURE OF DISCOVERY, I FOUND

MARKED “PHOTOS.” MANY OF MY FAMILY'S OTHER VALUABLES

SOMETHING MUCH CLOSER TO HOME THAN I’D EVER IMAGINED

CLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS BY VARIOUS RELATIVES HAD

— I DISCOVERED UNCHARTED SIDES OF MYSELF.

BEEN SOLD OFF, LOST OR, EVEN WORSE, FORGOTTEN. My father, VICTOR ELL AS FOR ME, I HAD FINALLY COME TO A TURNING POINT IN MY ADULT LIFE, WHERE LOOKING BACK WAS AS COMPELLING AS LOOKING FORWARD. SO OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, I’VE BEEN OPENING THE BOXES, CLEANING AND SORTING THEIR CONTENTS, PURGING, RESEARCHING AND FINALLY DIGITIZING. WHAT I

I always thought my father would have made a great Pasadena mayor. He loved this town!

In the ’60s, Victor Ell had the brilliant idea to move us all from Alhambra to Pasadena, minutes from downtown Los Angeles where he worked as the general manager of the U.S. General Accounting Office. To Victor, Pasadena was a perfect place to have a family, a pool, two children with wife Ann, a wood-paneled station wagon and a Greenhill Road home in Lower Hastings Ranch. Victor was devoted to the city’s history and preservation.

As a Tournament of Roses member for more than 30 years, he forged our wonderful memories of Wrigley Mansion teas and coronations of queens and courts. He also served as a treasurer of the Pasadena Museum of History and a member of local social –continued on page 42

40 | ARROYO | 09.15

09.15 ARROYO | 41

World-champion archer Clinton W. Douglas demonstrates his skill.

–continued from page 40

organizations — the former Pasadena Exchange Club and the Twilight Club (his second wife, Sandra, still belongs).

My father was so modest about what he did, I didn’t really understand until now the magnitude of his contributions to the city and the country. He helped audit Reagan's “Star Wars” program — space-based anti-missile system — as well as federal hospitals, etc. And I learned only recently that he served as chairman of the Pasadena Planning Commission in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when it was focusing on preserving Old Pasadena. Since his passing in 2005, it has been too painful still for me to go through all the boxes of manuscripts and papers documenting his contributions to the city, but I’ve been hoping to find an appropriate way to honor him. For years I told friends about my idea of creating a “fountain of roses” in Central Park in his name. Then recently, on my fi rst day as a proud new resident of one of Pasadena’s great remaining buildings — Castle Green — I looked outside my window and spotted the exact site I’d imagined for the fountain. I feel his spirit even now.

My stepgrandfather, CLINTON DOUGLAS Raisa Ell, my grandmother on my father’s side, was married twice. Her second husband, after my grandfather Jack, was Clinton Douglas, a science teacher who worked at a high school across the street from her home on Arapahoe Street in L.A. All I’d ever known 42 | ARROYO | 09.15

about him was that he was a teacher and that he died when my father was very young. He left behind slides, a scrapbook and some metal trophies. A few months ago, I took the time to go through Clinton’s scrapbook and discovered that it was fi lled with wonderful clippings on his career in archery. I had no idea he was an archer, let alone that in 1928, my very own stepgrandfather had beaten the world record held since 1857 by Horace Ford of England.

Another archery tournament was held in Pasadena on April 7, 1929, and was reportedly attended by a Frank Robinson, Miss Thrall and Mr. McMean, an elderly gentleman and former world-record holder, who shot the fi rst arrow. Even there, Clinton won first prize.

But that wasn’t the only surprise. Buried among the archery clippings was a very short news clip, headlined, “Mr. Douglas Has Noted Ancestor.” Clinton Douglas was related to Stephen A. Douglas, the Illinois senator dubbed “Little Giant” for his short stature and big political clout. Stephen Douglas was the Democratic nominee for president in the 1860 election; before he lost that bout to Abraham Lincoln, they faced off in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. Stephen Douglas also dated Mary Todd, who later married Lincoln.

My grandmother was still alive at 104, so I was able to bring her the news in person.

What a remarkable day to inform the child of Russian immigrants who fled Russia, China and Japan before arriving in America that she was related to a prominent figure in American history!

Lillian Butterfield’s costume test shot for a prologue at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. She was Myrna Loy’s roommate and would go on to appear as a bit player in motion pictures.

producer Marc Wanamaker of Bison Archives has described as “almost unknown among historians of Hollywood and its theaters.” Having spent my entire career working in the entertainment industry, I was thrilled to learn that my own cousin had such a special link to Hollywood history.

Great-Uncle FRED BARTON Once a year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hosts Home Movie Day at its Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. It’s a fun opportunity for the public to see personal home movies on the big screen. As luck would have it, a couple of days before the 2013 event, I’d uncovered an 18mm fi lm in a canister marked, “Fred Barton Ranch in China.” I raced down to the Linwood Dunn and joined the lineup of people waiting for archivists and projectionists to cull screen-worthy home movies from among the many submissions. Even though my fi lm was shot in the 1920s, it was in remarkable condition, so it made the cut. Less than an hour later, I was miked for sound to speak about the fi lm on a stage flanked by Oscar statuettes. I hadn’t actually seen this footage, let alone any footage of Uncle Fred, and I had no idea what would be on the fi lm. Suddenly cowboys in 10-gallon hats and woolly chaps rode onto the screen, amid cattle herds, men building ranches and exotic street scenes of China. But Fred was from Montana, and this was not a Hollywood movie about the Wild West. These were real cowboys in the wild East!

The Montana cowboy in Shanxi province was beyond fascinating. According to Larry Weirather, author of Warlord Cowboys in China: The Fred Barton Story of the World’s Greatest Horse Drive, my great-uncle was granted special permission by the U.S. Government to export and breed horses for the Chinese militia and nobility. For better or worse, my relative was instrumental in the early beginnings of the Westernization of the East. His greatest export, however, was Great-Aunt Ashia. Enchanted by her beauty, he married her and took her to America in the early ’40s. Soon after, Ashia would send for her sisters. Thanks to AMPAS Home Movie Day, Fred fi nally made it to Hollywood.

–continued on page 45

Cousin LILLIAN BUTTERFIELD Some of my discoveries have happened by pure chance. A couple of years ago I was browsing through old books at a local shop when I came across Myrna Loy’s autobiography, Being and Becoming. I was astonished to find that one of the photos in her book was also sitting on my dining room table. Before that, I had no idea who these two marvelous women were, posing so dramatically. But then I scrolled down the page to a caption that read, “Henry Waxman’s publicity shots of Myrna [Loy] and Lillian Butterfield for the Ten Commandments prologue impressed Rudolph Valentino and won Myrna her fi rst screen test.” I discovered that the beautiful woman on the right was my cousin Lillian Butterfield and the photo I had in my possession was actually movie star Myrna Loy at a pivotal moment in her career.

Now the rest of my Hollywood photo collection began to make sense. These were not just a fan’s mementos of the great fi lm stars of the ’20s. They were actually people Lillian had worked with, including Charlie Chaplin, Monte Blue, Clara Bow and Will Rogers. Bit by bit, I started piecing together the puzzle. That was Lillian on a set with Adolphe Menjou (perhaps in Charlie Chaplin’s Woman of Paris). There she was in costume atop the Egyptian Theater. Some of the photos were rare records of the famous Grauman prologues — live shows preceding movie screenings — which archivist and

Yan Xishan (center), the Shanxi province warlord who later appeared on the cover of Time magazine, and Russian nobles meet their first cowboy, Fred Barton (right).

09.15 ARROYO | 43

44 | ARROYO | 09.15

Olga Bundersky Layton (third from left) in a Russian Shanghai Ballet Company performance

Layton (far left) onstage with the Russian Shanghai Ballet Company

afternoon search of my uncle’s name and, much to my delight and surprise, I learned that four recordings existed. I was moved to tears within seconds, as I listened to Uncle Ward yodeling his cowboy songs. I never dreamed I would ever hear his voice, let alone hear him singing on Victor recordings of “Hawaiian Love Song,” “When the Moon Am Shining,” “Rock-a-bye Baby” and, my favorite, “Sleep, Baby, Sleep.”

(Visit loc.gov/jukebox/search/results?q=Ward%20Barton.)

My grandmother, OLGA LAYTON A promotional vaudeville shot of Ward Barton

–continued from page 43

WARD BARTON, Fred’s brother I was always fascinated by two old photos I had of my great-uncle, Ward Barton (Fred Barton’s brother). I’d heard that Ward was a vaudeville performer, but the only evidence I had were two photos of him and an old program from the Pantages Theatre in San Francisco, which proudly touted, “Soon! Soon! Talkies!” I discovered the National Jukebox — the Library of Congress’ online collection of historic recordings. A quick

My grandmother on my mother’s side, Olga Layton, lived in a Laguna Beach home fi lled with old furniture and paintings that hinted at her past life in Russia and China. We spent magical summers at her place, awash in ocean breezes and sunshine. Olga lived to be 98 years old. She sometimes spoke of her youth in Kiev, Harbin, Shanghai and Tientsin. When she passed away I was given an old photo album to copy. The images were astonishing. Pressed between the album’s black pages were photos of her family, her long-lost brother, her sisters, a nephew, her father (a Warner Bros. fi lm distribution representative for northern China in the ’30s), her daughter and my mother, Galia, and life in China during and after the 1900 Boxer Rebellion.

But the most stunning images were photos of the Shanghai Ballet Company with –continued on page 46 09.15 ARROYO | 45

Raisa Ell costumed as a gypsy at a Russian ball in China

–continued from page 45

painted sets and period costumes. One of the ballerinas was my grandmother, Olga.

The top hat costumes are my favorite. I listened to a tape-recorded interview in which she explained that the ballet company tour would take her to Kobe, Japan, where my mother was later born. Perhaps if it weren’t for that ballet company, I wouldn’t be writing this now.

Grandmother RAISA ELL

Raisa uses husband Jack Ell as her means of transportation while living in Harbin, China.

46 | ARROYO | 09.15

How fortunate we were to be able to celebrate my grandmother’s 105th birthday in July.

The real-life “Little Old Lady From Pasadena” had recently moved from her grand Orange Grove Boulevard condominium to a nearby memory clinic and residential care facility by then. She may not have grasped that her favorite Pie ’n Burger truck served up lunch that day, but she still entertained us with stories from 100 years ago. Raisa Ell is living history!

Jeanette Bovard of the Pasadena Museum of History came by to screen my grandmother’s interviews for the Centenarian Project, which Raisa and I helped sponsor to honor my father’s legacy. How amazing that his own mother lived long enough to be one of the participants! At age 101, she recounted her journey from the Ukraine to Moscow, and then to China. She talked of working in her father’s five-anddime store in Harbin, famine and bread lines in Kiev and the Bolshevik Revolution.

She also reminded us of her love for chocolate. I am still most taken by her love of America. “When we got here, I kissed the ground,” she said. “There is no place better than America.” In my book, that makes her a nationELL treasure.

(Visit youtube.com/watch?v=IEgG6cOwTUk.) ||||

09.15 ARROYO | 47

KITCHEN CONFESSIONS

Fast Food

If you have a mug and a microwave and you're short on time, mug meals are a delicious way to go.

BY LESLIE BILDERBACK

real recipes from fresh ingredients that can easily be prepared in a microwave. Pasta?

Rice? Salmon? You bet! Chili? Corn dogs? Meatloaf? Yes, indeed. I even figured out how to zap homemade cinnamon rolls, which, in my opinion, deserves some sort of national prize.

I wrote this latest book with several cooks in mind: First and foremost, it is for cooks with limited equipment, like college students, hotel residents and motor home travelers. These recipes provide satisfying whole-food meals that are made with only a knife, a fork, a mug and a microwave. It is also great for busy people with a packed schedule. The recipes are, for the most part, finished in about five to 10 minutes.

And for kids who are not ready to use the stove, the microwave offers real cooking without scary flames. But because it is real cooking, and not merely reheating, it teaches real cooking techniques. Finally, it’s perfect for people focusing on portion size. These mug-size meals emphasize flavor over quantity and demonstrate just how satisfying a standard portion can be.

These recipes were designed to be made in mugs — but they don’t have to be.

Any microwave-safe vessel will work. So feel free to cook in a bowl, a loaf pan or a recycled Cool Whip container. It’s all good!

Mug cooking is also the perfect vehicle for using up leftovers and precooked foods. And in this age of extreme food waste, it’s nice to have a cache of recipes that facilitate leftover use. In this spirit, if you don’t have a specific ingredient on hand, I have provided lots of options for substitutions. And if you don’t have the specified spices, herbs and various condiments on hand, don't make a special trip. Use what you have. While specific measurements of ingredients like chopped vegetables, herbs and seasonings are given, cooks should feel empowered to eyeball it. And if you like your food herbier, veggier, meatier or saltier, then you should make it that way. It’s nearly impossible to screw up these dishes.

I hope you will use these recipes as a jumping-off point. Once you come to terms with the ease of microwave cooking in small batches, perhaps you will discover that the methods you learn here can help in your regular cooking. Quickcooking vegetables, sauces and proteins can speed up prep for larger meals made on a standard stove. Next time you tackle a big dinner party, put some mug-meal technology to use.

Now get cookin’! ||||

THE KIDS ARE BACK IN COLLEGE AFTER A FANTASTIC SUMMER AT HOME, IN Leslie Bilderback is a certified master baker, chef and prolific cookbook author. She lives

HORRIFIED THEIR MOTHER WITH THEIR NEWLY ACQUIRED EATING HABITS. IT’S NOT THAT THEY FORGOT THEIR TABLE MANNERS. IT’S THAT THEY FORGOT WHAT GOOD FOOD IS. BUT, TO BE FAIR, IT’S NOT THEIR FAULT. COLLEGE CAFETERIA CUISINE HAS NEVER BEEN STELLAR. AND DESPITE THE ATTEMPT BY MANY SCHOOLS TO OFFER QUALITY FOOD CHOICES, IT CAN’T BE EASY TO PASS UP THE PIZZA AND CHIPS WHEN YOUR CHEF MOM AND HER DISAPPOINTED EYES ARE 3,000 MILES AWAY. Which is why I have followed up my Mug Cakes book with something every college student can use — Mug Meals: More Than 100 No-Fuss Ways to Make a Delicious Microwave Meal in Minutes (St. Martin’s Griffin), coming out this month. (Yep. It’s another shameless book plug.) The microwave cake phenomenon (which I didn’t start but certainly capitalized on) got me thinking about what else could be cooked quickly and easily in a microwave.

And boy, did I learn a lot.

I’m not talking about reheating frozen prepared foods or last night’s doggy bag. I mean 48 | ARROYO | 09.15

in South Pasadena and teaches her techniques online at culinarymasterclass.com.

Corn Dog Unless you have a very tall and skinny mug, this recipe will not look like a traditional corn dog. It will, however, taste like it, which is all that really matters.

INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon unsalted butter ½ cup milk 1 egg ½ cup cornmeal ½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper 1 hot dog, chopped into half-inch wheels

METHOD 1. Place the butter in a large mug and microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, until melted.

Stir in milk and egg, and beat with a fork until well combined. Add cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper, and mix to form a batter. Fold in hot dog. Microwave until the batter is risen and firm, about 1½ to 2½ minutes. Serve immediately with mustard.

VARIATIONS Cheesy Dog: Add ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese with the hot dog, and cook as directed.

Polish Dog: Replace hot dog with your favorite sausage. Try andouille, kielbasa, Italian or even veggie sausages. Be sure they are fully cooked before you fold them into the cornbread batter.

PHOTO: Teri Lyn Fisher

WHICH THEY DID SOME WELL-DESERVED RELAXING, MADE A LITTLE MONEY AND

Chili Con Carne Nothing warms up a cold afternoon like a mug of chili. That said, it's pretty darn good in the summer, too.

INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ cup ground beef 2 tablespoons yellow onion, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 2 tablespoons celery, minced 1 tablespoon canned chipotle chile, minced ¼ teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon tomato paste

¼ cup tomato, diced ¼ cup canned kidney beans 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, minced ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper Water 1 tablespoon cheddar cheese, grated 1 tablespoon sour cream

METHOD 1. In a jumbo mug, combine oil, beef, onion, garlic, celery, chile, cumin and coriander.

Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add tomato paste and tomato, and microwave for another minute to warm through.

2. Add beans, oregano, salt, pepper and enough water to cover. Heat another 1 to 2 minutes to warm thoroughly. Serve immediately topped with grated cheese and sour cream.

VARIATIONS More Chile in Your Chili: Instead of the chipotle and tomato paste, use canned enchilada sauce or your own chile paste made from dried chiles that have been toasted, seeded, soaked and pulverized.

Huevos Rancheros A standard on many diner menus, huevos rancheros starts off your morning with a kick.

The size of the kick is up to you. Choose a mild or spicy salsa to fit your morning mood.

INGREDIENTS 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ green onion ½ cup chopped tomatoes ¼ teaspoon ground cumin ½ avocado, diced 2 tablespoons salsa 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

Dash of Tabasco ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese 1 egg ¼ teaspoon kosher salt ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper 5 or 6 tortilla chips 1 tablespoon sour cream

METHOD 1. In a jumbo mug, combine oil, onion and tomato and heat in the microwave for 1 minute, until onions are translucent and the tomatoes have softened. Stir in the cumin, avocado, salsa, cilantro, Tabasco, cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Insert tortilla chips and nestle them down into the egg mixture. Microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the egg is set. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream.

VARIATIONS Meat: Add ¼ cup of leftover carne asada, chicken, turkey or shrimp for heartier huevos.

Cheese:Try this recipe with jack, pepper jack, goat, feta or authentic Mexican cotija cheese.

Peanut Brittle This recipe is dangerous, and not just because you’ll find yourself making it way more than you should. Caramelized sugar is scalding hot, so be sure to have your oven mitts at the ready.

INGREDIENTS ¼ cup sugar 1 teaspoon butter 2 tablespoons corn syrup ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ¼ cup dry roasted and salted peanuts ¼ teaspoon baking soda METHOD Combine sugar and corn syrup in a jumbo mug and microwave for 3 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is very hot and bubbly and turns a light amber. Add peanuts and cook in 30-second increments, until the mixture is browned. (Be careful, because it can easily go too long and burn. I look for the first indications of smoke to determine doneness.)Place a large sheet of waxed or parchment paper on the counter, and coat it lightly with pan spray. Stir in butter, vanilla and baking soda, and mix until foamy. Carefully pour the mixture out onto the prepared paper, and spread smooth. Allow to cool, then break apart into bite-size pieces.

VARIATIONS Nut Options: Try this same recipe with almonds, pistachios, cashews or pecans. Spicy sweet and heat make for some great snacking. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or red chile flakes with the baking soda.

Orange Zest: Add a teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest with the baking soda for a bright citrus punch.

09.15 | ARROYO | 49

A SELECTIVE PREVIEW OF UPCOMING EVENTS COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER

THE LIST

Working the Night Shift at Exposition Park

Memorial Park in Glendale. The comedic

Sept. 7— Nightshift

of the 14th century. He and inept thieves

2015 — Working

Bardolfo and Pistola cook up a scheme to

opera revolves around Sir John Falstaff, an old, fat knight from Windsor at the end

Californians’ annual Labor Day party and

woo two wealthy matrons in an attempt

music festival in Exposition Park — offers top

to tap into their husbands’ wealth, and

entertainment in a benefit for the nonprofit,

the fun begins. Performances are at 7 p.m.

which promotes social innovation and

today and Sept. 13, 19 and 20. Tickets cost

investment in Southern California’s low-

$25, tables for two go for $65 to $80 and

income communities. The lineup includes

tables for four from $120 to $150.

Grammy-nominated jazz singer and

Forest Lawn Glendale is located at 1712

percussionist Sheila E. (above), Jamaican

S. Glendale Ave., Glendale. Call (323) 739-

reggae act The Wailers, former American

6122 or visit pacificoperaproject.com.

Idol Musical Director Rickey Minor, the

Andrews Band and an internationally

Tea and Magic at the Langham

acclaimed funk artist to be announced.

Sept. 13 — The

The festival begins at 11 a.m. with music

Langham Huntington,

New Orleans All Stars featuring the James

starting at noon. Tickets cost $35 to $250.

Exposition Park is located at 700 Exposition Park Dr., L.A. Call (888) 929-7849 or visit ax.com/events for tickets. Visit workingcalifornians.org for information about

CURVY WOMEN BONDING AT PLAYHOUSE

Pasadena hosts another installment of its Imagine Tea series for children. The hotel and the Junior Program of the Academy of Magical Arts (headquartered at the Magic Castle,

Sept. 8 — Real Women Have Curves comes to the Pasadena Playhouse today

above) have joined together to bring

through Oct. 4. Written by Josefina Lopez (above) and directed by Seema Sueko,

magic up-close to children, who can

Piano Spheres Season Opens

it tells the story of five full-figured women racing to meet an impossible deadline

dine on decorated cookies, ham, turkey

to keep their small East L.A. sewing factory in operation. The play celebrates real

and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,

Sept. 8 — Pianists

women’s bodies, SoCal life and the strong bond between women who work

whimsical desserts, pink lemonade, milk

Gloria Cheng (left)

together. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays

and fruit-infused, caffeine-free teas. A

and Thomas Adès

and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Tickets cost $37 to $150.

portion of the proceeds benefits child and

perform in a duo recital, which is the

The Pasadena Playhouse is located at 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Call 626)

family services agency Five Acres. Seatings

inaugural concert of the Piano Spheres

356-7529 or visit pasadenaplayhouse.org.

are at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tickets cost

the organization.

$48 for adults, $36 for children.

series at the Colburn School’s Zipper

The Langham Huntington, Pasadena is

Concert Hall in downtown L.A. The 8 p.m.

Pasadena and surrounding communities

program includes the world premiere of

interested in volunteering and leadership development are invited to attend.

Having a Ball at the Huntington

located at 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasa-

Thomas Adès’ “Concert Paraphrase on Powder Her Face” for two pianos, four

Please call to RSVP.

Sept. 12 — The

hamhotels.com.

hands, commissioned for Piano Spheres.

The Junior League of Pasadena is located

Huntington Library,

Other selections include works by Ligeti

at 149 S. Madison Ave., Pasadena. Call (626)

and Messiaen. The series continues at

796-0244 or visit jrleaguepasadena.org.

REDCAT Theatre Oct. 7 through March 22.

dena. Call (626) 585-6218 or visit lang-

and Botanical Gardens hosts the 2015

Gamble House Roots Recounted

Huntington Ball, a black-tie gala honoring

Sept. 14 — The Sidney D. Gamble

Art Collections

Tickets to the Zipper Hall concert cost $35,

Oscar Salute Caps Pops Season

late donor and philanthropist Jim

$30 for seniors and $20 for students. Tickets

Sept. 12 — The Pasadena Pops closes

Rothenberg. The 7 p.m. event begins with

to all five concerts in the series cost $120.

its summer concert season at the L.A.

cocktails, followed by a gourmet dinner

presents “Building Paradise in California,”

Zipper Hall is located at the Colburn

County Arboretum and Botanic Garden

and dancing to music by Wayne Foster

a 7 p.m. lecture and signing of the

School, 200 S. Grand Ave., L.A. REDCAT

with “A Night at the Oscars!,” saluting

Entertainment. Tickets cost $1,000 ($500

book of the same name by the

Theatre is located at 631 W. Second St.,

Academy Awards glamour. Vocalists

for Society of Fellows members). Tables of

volume’s photographer, Alex Vertikoff,

L.A. Visit pianospheres.org for more on the

featured are rising star Sheléa Frazier

10 are available for $12,000, tables of 12

at the Neighborhood Church. A panel

series. Visit redcat.org for information on

and Jeremy Jordan, a Tony and Grammy

for $14,000.

discussion follows with the book’s authors

the venue.

Award nominee. The grounds open for

The Huntington Library, Art Collections

— Gamble House Director Edward R.

Lecture Series

picnicking and dining at 5:30 p.m., and

and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151

Bosley, California architecture writer

Junior League Needs Helping Hands

the concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Ticket

Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 405-

Robert Winter, Ann Scheid of the Greene

prices start at $20.

2100 or visit huntington.org/ball.

& Greene archive at the Huntington and

Sept. 9 — The Junior League of Pasadena

The L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic

Gamble House Curator Anne Mallek. The

hosts an open house and recruitment

Garden is located at 301 N. Baldwin

Falstaff on Tap at Forest Lawn

book describes the role David and Mary

event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at its

Ave., Arcadia. Call (626) 793-7172 or visit

Sept. 12 — Pacific Opera Project presents

Gamble played in creating their winter

headquarters. Women who live or work in

pasadenasymphony-pops.org.

Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi at Forest Lawn

50 | ARROYO | 09.15

–continued on page 53

09.15 ARROYO | 51

52 | ARROYO | 09.15

THE LIST

–continued from page 50

home and garden, designed by Greene

at 7 p.m. The former Soundgarden lead

& Greene. Tickets cost $30 ($25 for Friends

singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist,

of the Gamble House).

known for his genre-defying sound, was

The Neighborhood Church is located at

one of the chief progenitors of the 1990s

301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena. Call

grunge movement. He has performed in

(626) 793-3334 or visit gamblehouse.org.

Temple of the Dog with future members of Pearl Jam and in supergroup Audioslave

Harvest Moon Gala Shines for Kids

with former members of Rage Against the

Sept. 19 —

and Vicky Cornell Foundation, helping

Pasadena’s

children facing homelessness, poverty,

Machine. Tickets cost $50.50 to $70.50. One dollar of every ticket sold goes to the Chris

Professional Child Development

abuse and neglect.

Associates, which supports children with

The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N.

developmental disabilities, hosts the

Brand Blvd., Glendale. Call (213) 622-7001

annual Harvest Moon Gala at a private

or visit laco.org.

residence in South Pasadena. The event,

PCDA alumni parent Carolyn Watson, runs

Mayor Honored as History Maker

from 6 to 10 p.m. and includes a dinner

Sept. 25 — The

and art auction. Tickets cost $150, with

Pasadena Museum of

tables for 10 available for $1,250.

History honors former

honoring designer, activist, volunteer and

Call (626) 793-7350, ext. 289, or visit pc-

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard (left) at its

dateam.org/harvestmoon.

2015 Contemporary History Makers Gala at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena.

Chamber Orchestra Launches Season

The award recognizes an individual

Sept. 19 — The Los

Pasadena’s unique heritage. Bogaard,

Angeles Chamber

who retired this year after serving four

whose civic passion, innovative design or charitable interests continue to shape

Orchestra starts its 2015–16 season at

terms, made history as Pasadena’s

the Alex Theatre in Glendale with Music

first directly elected mayor in 1999.

Director Jeffrey Kahane conducting

The black-tie gala dinner and awards

works old and new. The program includes

program runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Ticket

Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 in B minor

prices start at $400.

and the world premiere of “Prisms,

The Langham Huntington, Pasadena

Cycles, Leaps,” a percussive piece by

hotel is located at 1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave.,

L.A. composer Derrick Spiva influenced

Pasadena. Call (626) 577-1660, ext. 14,

by traditional West African drumming.

or visit pasadenahistory.org/events for

Also on the program is violinist Michael

tickets.

Barenboim’s (above) West Coast debut

and repeats at 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at UCLA’s

Symphony and Pops Hosts Moonlight Sonata

Royce Hall. Ticket prices start at $27.

Sept. 26 — The

The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N.

Pasadena Symphony

performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61. The concert starts at 8 p.m.

Brand Blvd., Glendale. Call (213) 622-7001

and Pops’ annual Moonlight Sonata

or visit laco.org.

Gala is an evening of fine dining, entertainment and libations, starting

Chris Cornell Rocks Disney Hall

at 5 p.m. at Pasadena’s Ambassador

Sept. 19 — Grammy

Meyers (above), Billboard magazine’s

Award--winning rocker

2014 top-selling instrumentalist, and

Chris Cornell (left)

symphony supporters Peter Hoffman

Gardens. The event honors Anne Akiko

kicks off a North American acoustic tour

of the Sierra Auto Group and Kin Hui of

in support of his new solo studio album,

Singpoli Group. Tickets cost $250, with

Higher Truth, at Walt Disney Concert Hall

–continued on page 54 09.15 | ARROYO | 53

THE LIST –continued from page 53

sponsorships and patron levels also

Walt Disney Concert Hall with a program

available.

of Russian choral works — lush, mostly

The Ambassador Gardens is located at

a cappella music written in the 19th

380 W. Green St., Pasadena. Call (626) 793-

and 20th centuries by Tchaikovsky,

7172 or visit pasadenasymphony-pops.org.

Rachmaninoff, Gretchaninov and Yashenko. Also on the program is the West

L.A. Zoo Hosts Latino Heritage Celebration

Coast premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s

Sept. 26 and 27 — The LA Zoo salutes

nature-influenced writings of St. Francis

Latino heritage with a two-day

of Assisi, performed by cellist Robert

celebration of Latin American cultures

deMaine. Concerts start at 2 p.m.

and animals native to the Americas. The

Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost

weekend offers crafts, close encounters

$29 to $129.

with animal keepers and their charges

Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111

and live performances of traditional

S. Grand Ave., L.A. Call (213) 972-7282 or

music and dance. Free with regular zoo

visit lamc.org.

“Canticle of the Sun,” inspired by the

admission of $19, $16 for seniors and

under 2 and Greater Los Angeles Zoo

A Walk for the Animals

Association members are admitted free.

Sept. 27 — Animal

The celebration runs from 10 a.m. to

lovers will descend on

4 p.m. both days.

Pasadena’s Brookside

$14 for children ages 2 to 12; children

The L.A. Zoo is located at 5333 Zoo Dr., in

Park for the 17th

Griffith Park, L.A. Call (323) 644-4200 or visit

annual Wiggle Waggle Walk, a fundraiser

lazoo.org.

for the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA. Walkers hope to raise $400,000 to

Celebrating Ventura County Farms

provide care for thousands of animals

Sept 26 — Students

Registration is free.

for Eco-Education

Brookside Park is located at 480 N. Arroyo

that end up in the group’s shelter every year. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

and Agriculture (SEEAG) hosts Ventura

Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 792-7151, ext. 167,

County Farm Day, offering guided

or visit wigglewagglewalk.org to register.

and self-guided tours of more than 20 working farms, with hands-on activities,

Grab Gumbo for Good Schooling

educational demonstrations and the

Sept. 27 — The Pasadena Education

Farm Day Mercantile Hub, a group of

Network (PEN) and Chef Claud Beltran

local artisanal vendors selling produce,

host the eighth annual Gumbo Fest at

olive oil, goat-milk soap and other items.

Bacchus’ Kitchen in Pasadena. A portion

Tours run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission

of the proceeds benefits PEN’s efforts to

is free. An optional barbecue runs from

promote family participation in public

4 to 9 p.m. at Limoneira Ranch in Santa

education with a network of more than

Paula, with live music by Grammy Award–

1,000 parents of Pasadena Unified School

winning artist Todd Hannigan, tractor

District students. This all-you-can-eat food

rides, a kiss-the-farmer photo booth,

party features Beltran’s Mumbo Gumbo

gourmet salads, craft beers and small-

chicken and andouille sausage gumbo,

batch wines. Barbecue tickets cost $35,

boiled Mexican white shrimp with garlic

$15 for children 12 and younger.

aioli, bread, salad and bananas Foster

Visit venturacountyfarmday.com for

flambé. Jazz guitarist Buddy Zapata and

tour locations and barbecue tickets.

rockabilly band The Screaming 8-Balls

Visit seeag.org for information about the

provide the music. Tickets cost $45 until

organization.

Sept.1, $50 thereafter.

Bacchus’ Kitchen is located at 1384

54 | ARROYO | 09.15

Master Chorale Season Opens

E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena. Visit

Sept. 26 and 27 — The L.A. Master

gumbofestpasadena.com for tickets. Visit

Chorale, led by Artistic Director Grant

penfamilies.org for information about the

Gershon, opens its 2015–16 season at

organization.

||||

09.15 ARROYO | 55