The Countdown is on for City Hall Retrofit

HANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED in the Pasadena City Hall 75th anniversary events in December! Tours, a birthday party, concert, holiday tree-lighting ceremony and other activities helped usher in the future of this magnificent architectural treasure.

Tavo Olmos, photographer.

City Hall souvenirs were unveiled and were greeted with great enthusiasm. There are plenty of official City Hall postcards, posters, magnets, T-shirts and other items available for sale in room 121 at City Hall and at Pasadena Public Library’s Store at Central. Show your pride in City Hall by sending some souvenirs to family and friends! All proceeds will help fund the restoration of the barrel-vaulted ceiling of City Hall’s grand entrance (often referred to as the rotunda) on Garfield Avenue.

In only about a year, the retrofit and restoration of Pasadena City Hall will begin. City offices will move to other locations where city services will continue to be offered without missing a beat, and city staff will have to get very comfortable in their temporary digs while the three-year project is underway. For more information about the project, visit www.ci.pasadena.ca.us and click on City Hall Project or call 744-7073.

Thanks also to everyone who wrote or emailed after trying to find the upside-down artichoke at City Hall. It is at the bottom of the large hanging lantern in the grand entrance (see photo). A few very small upside-down artichokes are found on smaller versions of the lantern.

Lookin’ Good, Pasadena!

Pasadena has a reputation for being a beautiful city.

Many areas of Pasadena, however, have become unsightly because of abandoned sofas and mattresses, shopping carts, litter, signs on light poles, graffiti and unkempt properties.

A new campaign with the theme “Lookin’ Good, Pasadena” will begin in February and will include organized clean-ups throughout Pasadena in residential and commercial neighborhoods. Business owners, residents, city crews, non-profit organizations and other groups will get involved. We’ll all benefit, and we can be proud to live in a community that is actively involved in preserving its image and improving its quality of life.

Look for special “Lookin’ Good, Pasadena” information on the city website, in local newspapers and in Pasadena In Focus in upcoming months and get involved in this effort! For more information call 744-4755.

See What it Takes to Wear the Blue

Applications are now being accepted from adventurous residents who want to learn more about our local force. The 12-week academy, held Thursdays from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at police headquarters beginning in February, will cover everything you ever wanted to know about police operations and community policing. In a friendly, casual group, you’ll learn about police communications, criminal law and procedures for arrest, street crime enforcement and investigations, field investigation, weaponless defense, event planning and youth programs.

To qualify, you need to be at least 18 and live, work or own property in Pasadena. Your record should be squeaky clean, with no misdemeanor convictions within the past year and no felony convictions ever.

Slots are filling quickly for the next two series. For an application, call the Pasadena Police Department’s Community Services Section at 744-4551.

Scheduled to begin operating in July 2003, the Pasadena Gold Line light rail system will provide a dependable transportation link between Pasadena and Los Angeles. Six stations in Pasadena are being constructed at Fillmore Street, Del Mar Boulevard, Memorial Park, Lake Avenue, Allen Avenue and Sierra Madre Villa (shown in photo). From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily, riders will be able to travel to and from these stations as well as stops in South Pasadena, Highland Park, Chinatown and downtown Los Angeles, where there will be links to other locations. Pasadena ARTS bus routes will be expanded to ensure that they serve every station. The modern-looking trains have already made some test runs on the tracks, and you’ll see more and more of this between now and when the system begins officially operating. For a closer look at Gold Line routes and drawings and models of stations, drop by the temporary office at the southwest corner of Arroyo Parkway and Holly Street. The office, located within an antiques business in the center of the construction action, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and every other Friday. For more information visit http://www.metrogoldline.org/ or call (866) GO-LA-PAS.

Making The Most Of Pasadena’s Money

THE YEAR 2002 SAW THE NATIONAL ECONOMY GROW AT A SLOW PLACE for the second year in a row while interest rates dropped to historically low levels and the stock market took a tumble. But thanks to smart planning, the City of Pasadena’s investments are growing slowly, surely and safely.

The city has funds and reserves - nearly $440 million in 2002 - to cover its operating expenses. Rather than letting these funds sit idly in a bank account, the city treasurer plugs them into stable, sound investments so they can earn the highest yield possible.

When choosing investments, Pasadena follows all government regulations and city policies and strategies. Therefore, the city does not invest in the stock market. Instead, Pasadena’s public funds are placed in “fixed income” opportunities - treasury bonds, government agency bonds, corporate bonds and money instruments. The city’s fiscal managers check accounts daily, making sure Pasadena has a good mix of investments and that the city is getting the very most for its money.

In Fiscal Year 2002, the city’s two largest investment portfolios earned a rate of return of 5.82% and 7.49%, all of which helped fund city programs, projects and services.

For more information about the city’s investments, visit www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/finance/ investments.asp or call 744-4422.

INVESTMENT GLOSSARY

Commercial Paper: Short-term obligations, ranging from two to 270 days, issued by corporations.

LAIF (Local Agency Investment Fund): An investment pool managed by the state treasurer.

Pooled Investment Portfolio: Moneys of all governmental and other funds pooled into one portfolio.

Power Reserve Portfolio: The reserve for the stranded investment of the city’s electric utility.

Yield: Return on an investor’s capital investment.