“Getting better all the time.”
ArcadiaWEEKLY
arcadiaweekly.com
THURSDAY EDITION News, Arts, Opinions and Community Events Since 1996
$0.00
THURSDAY, JULY 16 - JULY 22, 2009 VOLUME 14, NO.57
Preparations Begin for Iconic Bridge Construction Plans for Gold Line Freeway Overpass Bridge are Soon to be Unveiled
AHS Student Spends Summer as Researcher at UC Davis
BY NURIA MATHOG Preparations are officially underway for the construction of a new bridge across the Foothill Freeway, a structure that will serve as an iconic gateway to the San Gabriel Valley. Once completed, the BY KYLE KHANDIKIAN The City of Pasadena Department of Transportation has convened this year to begin revisiting its existing Bicycle Master Plan, which describes Pasadena’s longrange planning for developing bicycle infrastructure. A new plan will look at the full range of actions Pasadena could take to improve biking conditions, and is expected to require more innovation as the city considers new bicycling treatments, amenities, and services. But the City also looks at being able to qualify for state and federal funds, particularly from Caltrans. This time around, however, organizers have announced that the City is looking to rewrite the plan altogether, and funding may be an issue. The current BMP, labeled “Century of Bikes,” which was adopted by City Council in November of 2000, aimed to provide a “safe and attractive environment” needed to promote bicycling as a means of transportation in Pasadena. Although 60lane miles were identified
bridge will connect the freeway’s existing Metro Gold Line tracks to the proposed Foothill Gold Line Extension which will pull first into Arcadia and Monrovia’s waiting stations before winding its way all the way to Montclair. God
and Metro willing, of course. To generate public interest in the project, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority created a competition encouraging qualified artists and engineers to submit design proposals for
Eastward Connections Still Absent from New Pasadena Bicycle Plan
-Photo By Terry Miller
with signage and stripes under the 2000 plan, residents, bicyclist and non-bicyclist, have complained that desig-
nated bike routes are located on busy, high-speed roads, are poorly maintained, not properly cleaned, and overall
Music Returns to Local Guitarist Thanks to the Kindness of Strangers and the Power of the Printed Word BY SUSAN MOTANDER &TERRY MILLER Last week Beacon Media News printed the story of musician and single dad Jake Lenaburg who was mugged on his way to an ATM to make a deposit. Not only was his money stolen, but the muggers also destroyed his guitar, an action that was particularly hurtful as he was supporting himself and his 5 year old daughter as a street musician while he worked his way through nursing school. Shortly after the story appeared, one of our readers
Jake on 22
the new bridge. Artists from around the county were invited to examine the site, and a live feed video teleconference was held for the benefit of out-ofarea contest participants. To qualify for the contest, artists
dangerous to bikes. Concerns have also been raised over the safety and security of Metro stations and the lack of ameni-
Bridge on 13
ties at those facilities, as well as the lack of accessibility to surrounding neighborhoods. Two community meetings have already been held (one in February and another in May) by the Department of Transportation, along side the newly formed Bicycle Master Plan Advisory Committee, which is comprised of local cyclists, bicycle advocacy groups, bike shops and city staff, and Ryan Snyder Associates LLC (RSA), a new urbanist transportation planning consulting firm specializing in transit and paratransit planning. Open to the public, three more workshopmeetings were supposed to convene by the end of spring 2009, but have not done so. However, a complete draft of the new plan did meet its deadline of June 2009. The newest draft of the BMP seems to acknowledge many concerns regarding bicycling, proposing a network of bikeways so that every neighborhood is within 0.25 miles of an effective bicycling route in the north-south and east-west directions.
Cyclists on 6
Courts Furlough Employees, Continue Serving up Justice BY SUSAN MOTANDER
A delighted Jake Lenaburg plays a guitar that was donated to him after a story about him being mugged outside his ATM in Pasadena appeared in these newspapers last week. -Photo by Terry Miller
were required to demonstrate proof of prior work on a public agency or infrastructure project amounting to more than $5 million. The 15 architectural firms deemed qualified sub-
Court employees had their first budget driven mandatory furlough day on Wednesday, July 15. Court reporters and clerks as well as the court security officers had an unpaid day off. The deputy sheriffs who act as bailiffs in some courtrooms were not forced to take the day off as they are not employees of the Superior Court. As elected officials, the judges, whose salaries are set by the legislature, were required to be at work. According to Candace
While most high school students are lounging around the pool, playing video games, or maybe working at the nearest mall, one local senior is spending his off-time doing research at UC Davis. Sam Wang of Arcadia High is among a group of students attending the UC Davis Young Scholars Program this summer. The advanced science program, hosted by the School of Education, introduces up to 40 high school juniors and seniors to the world of original research in the biological and natural sciences. “Students work under the direction of real-world researchers,” said Rick Pomeroy, program director and teacher educator in the School of Education at UC Davis. “In fact, these high school students are engaged in research that most college undergraduates don’t have an opportunity to do.” The new program, which kicked off this year on June 21, attempts to immerse students
AHS Student on 13
City to Screen Tale of Despereaux in Outdoor Amphitheatre at Library
Beason, the Supervising Judge at Pasadena Superior Court said that the court had been planning for the furlough day for weeks and that most cases were not continued to that day. She said, “One courtroom in each courthouse will be fully staffed and prepared to handle all those matters which legally have to be handled.” Beason explained that there will also be clerks available for necessary filings. She said those staff members who worked on Wednesday would have a
On July 28th, Arcadia’s Recreation and Community Services Department “Movies in the Park” program will play The Tale of Despereaux, a G-rated movie by Universal Pictures. The tale of three unlikely heroes, Despereaux features a misfit mouse that prefers reading books to eating them, as well as an unhappy rat who schemes to leave the darkness of the dungeon, and a bumbling servant girl with cauliflower ears - all of whose fates are intertwined with that of the castle’s princess. Even better than the cool summer night’s breeze is the fact that this event is complete-
Courts on 16
Despereaux on 13