From Steve Hymon: Puck Boy Chronicles..

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Pasadena City Council to Ice Skaters: Burbank Is That Way! Now Leave!
The end of ice skating in Pasadena may be near after the City Council in Seniorcitizensville on Monday voted against building a desperately needed new ice rink. My advice to skating enthusiasts: fetch a Thomas Guide and memorize the route to the Pickwick ice rink in Burbank -- the next closest sheet of ice. What happened Monday? The Council voted 4 to 3 to build the new rink. But five votes were needed for passage and the potential fifth vote, Councilman Victor Gordo, was absent from the meeting. Madison tried to postpone a final vote, but the three opponents of building the rink -- Chris Holden, Terry Tornek and Margaret McAustin -- also voted against that motion. It needed five votes to pass, so Holden, Tornek and McAustin were smart in a sneaky, sleazy kind of way: they knew that if Gordo decided to show up at a future meeting, the new rink might actually be approved.Instead, the Council ended up passing a motion to investigate renovating the existing rink. The current rink has one, small sheet of ice. The new rink would have had two -- meaning actual time and space for ice hockey. That's a good thing if you, like me, are 43 years old and trying to learn to play the game. Here's the thing about learning to play ice hockey: I've found it really helps to spend time on actual ice.In a sharply worded email sent to fellow supporters of the new rink, Councilman Steve Madison wrote that there are numerous reasons to believe the current rink in a converted ballroom at the Convention Center is doomed when its lease expires in Sept. 2011 (I added the italics for emphasis):
"I have asked for a detailed investigation into why the project took so long to come to Council such that we lost our momentum and ultimately the project itself, wasting a decade of time, energy and literally millions of your tax dollars. At the end of the discussion, a majority voted to explore renovating the current civic auditorium single sheet rink, so that the three councilmembers’ votes do not end ice skating in Pasadena. But the reality is that is likely what they accomplished--with parking now $9 at the convention center, a dilapidated rink that is too small to begin with, crammed into an old ballroom, and a lease that expires in September 2011, this may well be the end of figure skating and ice hockey in Pasadena."The new rink would have cost about $18 million. According to a city report, the city would have had to commit about $1 million to the project and guarantee about $8 million in bonds, meaning the city was potentially at risk of losing money if the new rink was under-utilized. In a short blog post on the vote, the Star News' Dan Abendschein reported that Madison implied that the three opponents of the rink aren't exactly supporters of youth activities. My opinion is that Madison is extremely correct on this point. The vast majority of people who use the Pasadena rink happen to be under 18. Go anytime and see for yourself. It's all munchkins, all the time -- with a few geezers like me thrown in as a novelty.Terry Tornek is my representative on the City Council, although I use the word 'representative' only in the strictest technical sense. He doesn't represent my views, nor does he seem even slightly interested in explaining his views. As I posted earlier, when I emailed Tornek last month expressing my support for a new rink, I received a bleak two-sentence no-reply: "Thanks for your comments. Sorry we disagree on every aspect of this proposal."Isn't it refreshing when a politician tries to explain himself? (Note to literal readers: That last sentence was intended to be exceedingly sarcastic).I'm going to email Tornek now and ask him the BIG question: How does renovating a rink that is too small -- and with no room to expand -- remedy the problem that the rink is too small? I am no physicist, but I'm pretty sure this makes no sense whatsoever. Here's my take: Ice skating is still seen as a freaky sport in Southern California. Although we have two pro hockey teams here and some of the world's best figure skaters (world champion Evan Lysacek, to name one) have called the area home, people just don't associate skating with the region -- likely due to the weather, poor media coverage and ineffective marketing of hockey by the perenially losing Kings. So when politicians are faced with a decision to spend public money on skating, their instinct is to think it's a waste, although anyone who has been to a busy rink knows that it is not.The full text of Madison's email to ice rink supporters is posted after the jump. It's worth reading. P.S. In case you also live in the 7th Council district and were curious, Tornek is up for reelection in 2013. He was elected to the Council earlier this year after serving on the City Planning Commission -- a gig he was appointed to by his predecessor on the Council, Sid Tyler.As for Tyler....In my former capacity as transportation reporter for the Newspaper Whose Name I Shall Not Speak, I once called Tyler and asked him why the traffic lights in Pasadena are amazingly unsynchronized. Tyler didn't know what I was talking about. Please. Anyone who has ever driven in Pasadena knows exactly what I'm talking about--green, red, green, red, red, red, etc. So whenever I hear the words "Sid Tyler" I always think of the phrase "out of touch." --Steve HymonFrom: Steve Madison <smadison@cityofpasadena.net>Date: September 15, 2009 9:43:43 PM PDTSubject: RE: UPDATED! Pasadena "Build The Rink" (Your Support is Still Needed by July 31)Last night the Pasadena City Council ended our dream of building a new ice rink in Pasadena. Although Mayor Bogaard, Steve Haderlein, Jacque Robinson and I voted to continue negotiations to build the new rink, we needed 5 votes and Chris Holden, Margaret McAustin and Terry Tornek strongly opposed building a new rink in Pasadena and insisted on killing the project last night. Victor Gordo, who has been supportive of the rink and might have been the necessary 5th vote to continue to work on ways to build the rink, was unable to attend the meeting last night because of work commitments. At one point I made a motion to table (postpone) the matter until Victor was back. But that motion failed by the same vote—led by Chris Holden, the three opponents realized that the rink project might still be alive if we put the matter it over until we had all 8 councilmembers present, so they opposed my request for a postponement of one week! Again, we needed 5 votes to postpone and we only had 4.This decision essentially ends 8-10 years of work for many of us; years in which we spent $3 million of taxpayer money on the new rink, set aside another $2.5 million to be used to build it, acquired and readied a site in East Pasadena supported by the Councilmember from that district (Steve Haderlein), retained architects and developed plans for a new state-of-the-art double sheet rink that under the most conservative estimates would be a moneymaker for Pasadena (without even considering the indirect economic benefits of hotel stays, restaurant business, sales tax, etc.), and negotiated extensively with Luc Robataille and others for a management agreement that would have included the support of the LA Kings for the new rink.I have asked for a detailed investigation into why the project took so long to come to Council such that we lost our momentum and ultimately the project itself, wasting a decade of time, energy and literally millions of your tax dollars. At the end of the discussion, a majority voted to explore renovating the current civic auditorium single sheet rink, so that the three councilmembers’ votes do not end ice skating in Pasadena. But the reality is that is likely what they accomplished--with parking now $9 at the convention center, a dilapidated rink that is too small to begin with, crammed into an old ballroom, and a lease that expires in September 2011, this may well be the end of figure skating and ice hockey in Pasadena. I look forward to hearing from you as we go forward about what if anything you believe we should do at this point. Please pass this message along to anyone interested in skating in Pasadena, and let them know I would love to hear their thoughts about where to go from this point. Thanks for your support, and I am so sorry we were not successful.
Posted by Steve Hymon at 1:18 AM

Pasadena New Ice Skating Rink

PASADENA NEW ICE SKATING RINK
UPDATE (9/11/09)

The Pasadena City Council will meet again on Monday, September 14 at 6:30 pm (Public Session) to resume discussions regarding options for building a new ice skating center in the City of Pasadena .

Your attendance at this meeting is important and encouraged. Thank you for your support!

Visit www.icesaver.org for more information.

The council meeting agenda item is shown below:
A. PROPOSED ICE RINK FACILITY Recommendation of City Manager: It is recommended that the City Council: (1) Direct staff to return to City Council by December 31, 2009 with a negotiated long-term ground lease with Polar Ice Ventures that includes: (a) Construction of an ice skating facility with two sheets of ice substantially conforming to the plans developed by the City; (b) A shifting of financial risk associated with construction and operation of the ice rink to Polar Ice Ventures, consistent with the terms listed in the Executive Summary section of the agenda report; (c) A public benefits program similar to that negotiated in the draft management agreement; (d) A First Source Local Hire Program and a commitment to provide an opportunity to those currently working at the ice rink in Pasadena; and (e) Exclusive partnership agreement between Polar Ice Ventures and the Los Angeles Kings. (2) Reject all bids received on April 1, 2009, in response to the Request for Bids for construction of the Pasadena Ice Skating facility. Alternatively, if the City Council elects not to move forward with the ground lease approach, staff recommends that the City Council direct staff to return to City Council by February 28, 2010, with a proposal to renovate the existing ice skating facility at the Convention Center, as well as a management agreement with PCOC to operate the facility. Staff would work with the Convention Center staff and Board to develop a rehabilitation plan for the facility and evaluate options for managing the facility, as the current lease terminates in September 2011. This action would preclude the rehabilitation of the facility as a ballroom until such time that a new facility can be built.
Pasadena “Build the Rink” Committee
buildtherink@yahoo.com

Los Angeles County Fair Discount

I just wanted to share this all with you from one of our service providers.

PLEASE EMAIL ME SO I COULD FORWARD YOU THE FLYER. I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST IT ON OUR BLOG.

ENJOY THE REST OF THE WEEK!,

Jess Mangubat

From: Robert Kral [mailto:rkral@boltonco.com]
Sent: Friday, September 04, 2009 3:33 PM
To: Bolton & Company
Subject: Los Angeles County Fair Discount



We are pleased to pass along to all clients, your employees and their
family members, special pricing for the LA County Fair, which will be opening
Labor Day weekend (Saturday, September 5th). The Bolton rate is $9 for adults
(vs.$17 on the weekends) and $6 (vs. $12) for children ages 6-12. This
discounted pricing can only be obtained online with the exclusive access
code as listed in the attached flyer.



We appreciate your ongoing business; enjoy the fair!



Robert S. Kral

Executive Vice President

Bolton & Company
(626) 535-1498 Direct Phone

Cost of fighting Station fire tops $43 million -- latimes.com

Cost of fighting Station fire tops $43 million -- latimes.com

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Taste of Old Pasadena

http://www.pfar.org/images/taste.gif


Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The PFAR Charitable Foundation proudly presents its 18th annual "A Taste of Old Pasadena."

Sample your way through Old Pasadena's finest restaurants on a walking taste tour! Each participating restaurant will provide maps to guide you on your tour - or you may zsimply follow the signs conveniently placed in front of the establishments.

Join fellow community members for an evening of great food company with proceeds going to support local charities!

Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Time: 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Cost: $25 for Adults; $15 for Children (4-12 yrs)*

Tickets are available at the PFAR office. For more information, contact 626-795-2455.


* Save $1 off regular admission by showing a Metro Pass, Metro Rail or Destination Discount Card when purchasing a ticket on the day of the event at Dilbeck REALTORS®, 132 E. Colorado Blvd, Pasadena.

GET UP AND GO!

EXPLORE NEW POINTS OF VIEW ON A COMMUNITY MOVE ABOUT

COME ON, PASADENA - IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO WALK YOUR TALK!

Through a fun community MoveAbout tour, let's get out on the street to really experience and comment on different Pasadena locales. After all, it's one thing to form quick opinions as you zip by on the way to work, but quite another to amble along a sidewalk and get the feel for a place.

City planning staff and GPUAC members have desinged unique tours that highlight some of Pasadena's most challenging issues such as residentail density, the need for safe bike lanes, the walkability of the city and architectural desing. You can walk, bike, drive, or ride a Pasadena ARTS bus or the Metro Gold Line for very different perspectives. (Get a free all-day Metro Gold Line Pass Saturday, Aug. 29, from 9 to 11 am at the Fillmore Station.

But first, pick up a MoveAbout booklet starting August 22 from the information booth at Pasadena City Hall, the Permit Center at 175 N. Garfield Ave., or any Pasadena public library or community center. You can even download a copy from www.cityofpasadena.net/generalplan.

The handy booklet offers maps, commentary on key issues, thought-provoking questions, and spaces for you to get "passport" stamps from retailers. Along the way you'll see local landmarks and have the opportunity to taste the local flavor at neightborhood eateries.

Take as many of the tours as you like through Sept 27; turn in your completed booklet by Sept 28 at any of the locations listed above. The more passopoert stamps you receive, the more chances you have to win fun raffle prizes at the community open house in November.

Your perspective will be important as Pasadena's General Plan is updated.

CITY OF PASADENA ADOPTS NO SMOKING POLICIES

CITY OF PASADENA
ADOPTS NO-SMOKING POLICIES

IN CERTAIN OUTDOOR PLACES



Community Update - New Outdoor No-Smoking Law

On October 27, 2008, City Council unanimously approved a No-Smoking Policy in certain outdoor places.

8.78.071 Smoking prohibited in certain outdoor public places.

A. It shall be unlawful to smoke in the following outdoor public places:


Outdoor areas of shopping malls;


Unenclosed areas of bars and restaurants;


In service waiting lines or within 20 feet of such lines;


Outdoor public gathering events/special events/parades/fairs.



B. Notwithstanding exemptions enumerated under California Labor Code


Section 6404.5, the prohibitions in Section A above shall apply to the
outdoor areas of a private smokers lounge and retailer or wholesale
tobacco shops as defined under state law and to significant tobacco
retailers under the City’s Zoning Code.




8.78.072 Reasonable smoking distance required – 20 feet.

Smoking in unenclosed areas shall be prohibited within a reasonable distance (20 feet) from any doorway, window, opening, or vent into an enclosed area in which smoking is prohibited, except while actively passing on to another destination.

The Ordinance takes effect on November 30, 2008. Staff will also be implementing a proactive public education communications effort, coupled with clear and prominent signage to notify the public about the newly adopted policies. Enforcement of the proposed policies would be built into an existing enforcement mechanism operated by the Public Health Department. This mechanism is a complaint-driven process with a telephone number and website for the public to register complaints. For more information or to report a violation of the new law, please contact call the Pasadena Public Health Department at (626) 744-6014.