JULY/AUGUST 2003

IN  THIS  ISSUE:

Pasadena’s Summer Reading Project

he One City, One Story phenomenon that made Pasadena sizzle last summer will pick up again this month with the communitywide reading of Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River.

  Sponsored by Pasadena Public Library, the popular program is meant to stir up excitement for reading, ignite discussions among friends and family and promote understanding of other people’s viewpoints. More than 5,000 readers joined the first celebration in 2002, reading Mark Salzman’s The Soloist.

Peace Like a River, Enger’s first novel, took the publishing world by storm in 2001 and was listed as one of the best books of the year by Time magazine and most major newspapers.

  The novel centers around Ruben Land, an asthmatic child who has great hope for the world and everyone in it. His brother escapes from jail after committing a crime that saved the family from certain harm and is considered a murderer by some and a hero by others. Ruben, his father and his sister take a road trip across the Badlands of North Dakota to find him. Along the way, the family is touched by fate, spirituality and the kindness of strangers – even though a federal agent is following close behind.

  The book is available for check-out at all Pasadena public libraries or you can buy a copy at local bookstores. The library’s Store at Central, Vroman’s Bookstore and Barnes and Noble offer a 20% discount. The book is also available in audio format at Pasadena Public Library for persons with visual impairments.

  For more information visit www.onecityonestory.com or call 744-4066.

Join The Discussion!

Join your friends, neighbors and family during any number of free discussion opportunities during this summer’s One City, One Story community reading project.

An Evening with Leif Enger
    Friday, July 18, 7:30 p.m.
    Forum Room, All Saints Church

Central Library events:
    Wednesday, July 16, 7 p.m.    
    Saturday, July 19, 11 a.m. (teens only)
    Thursday, July 24, 7 p.m. (sponsored by Friends of the Library)

Branch Library Events:
    Saturday, July 12, 2 p.m., San Rafael
    Thursday, July 17, 4 p.m., Santa Catalina
   Saturday, July 19, 2 p.m., La Pintoresca
    Wednesday, July 23, 2 p.m., Lamanda Park
    Friday, July 25, 10 a.m., Villa-Parke
    Saturday, July 26, 1 p.m., Allendale
    Monday, July 28, 7 p.m., Lamanda Park

Other Events
    Thursday, July 24, 7 p.m., Trader Joe’s on South Lake (rooftop)   
    Wednesday, July 30, 1 p.m., Jackie Robinson Centerr

Through an Officer’s Eyes

The Pasadena Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy offers an action-packed, 12-week series Thursdays from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at police headquarters starting in September. In a friendly, no-pressure setting, you’ll learn about police communications, criminal law, arrest procedures, crime enforcement, investigations, weaponless defense, event planning and youth programs. This course will give you a behind-the-scenes look at police procedures but is not designed as a preparatory course for a career in law enforcement.

To qualify, you must be at least 18 and live, work or own property in Pasadena. You also need a clean record, with no misdemeanor convictions within the past year and no felony convictions ever.

Applications are now being accepted, so call the Police Department’s Community Services Section at 744-4551.
 

The grand old band shell at Memorial Park will come back to life this summer with a series of free outdoor community concerts.

Newly polished and renamed the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts, the 73-year-old landmark will play host to a line-up of big band, folk, gospel, jazz, country and soul performers to entertain all tastes. Bring a picnic to the free concerts July 20 to Sept. 14: Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (Children’s Night), Thursdays at 8 p.m. (Folk/Rock Night), Fridays at 8 p.m. (World Beat Night), Saturdays at 8 p.m. (Anything Goes Night) and Sundays at 7 p.m. (Jazz Fusion and Blues Night). Dubbed the Gold Shell when it was built in 1930, the venue was created to provide welcome entertainment to Pasadenans hit hard by the Depression (photo shows the opening event). Thanks to a generous $250,000 grant from the Mortimer Levitt Foundation, the beloved structure has been refurbished just in time for the summer concert series.

For more information visit www.levittpavilionpasadena.org or call 683-3230.

Photo: Pasadena Museum of History

Countdown to City Hall Retrofit

The countdown is on for the retrofit and restoration of Pasadena City Hall! The public comment period for the draft environmental impact report began June 12 and will continue until July 28. The draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is available for viewing at Central Library, Allendale and San Rafael branch libraries, and The Permit Center at 175 N. Garfield Ave. All written and oral comments submitted during this review period will be included in the final EIR along with responses to those comments. For a schedule of public hearings and other information on the project, go to www.ci.pasadena.ca.us and click on City Hall Project or call 744-7073. In June 2004, city employees will move out and construction will begin.

Photo: Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau

New Life for the Conference Center

Tens of thousands have walked through Star Trek conventions, browsed through antique expos and attended professional conventions at the Pasadena Conference Center. The events are always popular but the 30-year-old center is losing meetings and conventions to other cities because of its outdated and often cumbersome design.

A $71 million project is underway to add 25,000 square feet of exhibition space, 10,000 square feet of meeting rooms, a new ballroom and 180 additional parking spots.

The expansion will be a boon for our economy. Even now, 176,000 people attend dozens of meetings and conventions at the center each year, spending nearly $400 million in Pasadena every year, and this figure will increase dramatically when the expansion is complete.

Now in the design phase, final approval is expected on the project next year with completion targeted for 2007.

 
For more information visit www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/housing/developmentprojects/pcce.asp or call 795-9311.