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By David Klug Director, City of Pasadena Economic Development Pasadena continued in 2025 to strengthen and evolve its reputation as a hub for technology and innovation. The City’s Economic Development Division supported a wave of new business activity, including both high-growth startups and business expansions. Among the standout developments, Virtualitics, a Pasadena-based AI and data visualization company, launched a new generative AI toolkit aimed at defense and logistics applications. Deep 6 AI, specializing in clinical trial acceleration through big data,... continue reading »"Pasadena grows as a hub for innovation"

WPRA Newsletter Editor’s Note: Nina Chomsky — a Linda Vista resident, a former president of the Linda Vista-Annandale Association, West Pasadena Residents’ Association director and Land Use and Planning committee chair — passed away at age 78 in a house fire on Aug. 30. She worked tirelessly for more than 40 years to help maintain the character of our communities and to enhance the quality of life across Pasadena. What follows are comments from those who are witnesses to the... continue reading »"Nina Chomsky: A Force of Nature, a Champion for a Better Pasadena"

The idea behind the annual WPRA meeting’s main program theme emerged from the ashes of the January wakeup-call residents and businesses received. What once seemed unlikely was suddenly all too real: The Eaton Fire destroyed nearly 10,000 structures on 14,000 acres in Altadena and, to a lesser degree, Pasadena. The fire also resulted in 18 deaths, all but one in Altadena. To acknowledge the risk and opportunities, the annual meeting focused on what residents can do to reduce the risk... continue reading »"Wildfire Prevention is the Key, Starts at Home"

By Ian Lockwood, PE [WPRA Newsletter Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a series of responses by Ian Lockwood to questions raised during the WPRA’s 2024 annual meeting.] Q: Did any newer cities such as Brasilia or new California suburbs, get the traffic-car culture issue right? What lessons have we learned from them? Brasilia was built, from scratch, in a lightly populated area, away from the coast, to become the capital city. In 1960, the capital was moved... continue reading »"Focus on 710: Embrace Traditional Values; Push Back Against Car Supremacy"

By Cynthia Cannady Co-chair, Pasadena 100 For most of us, the question is not whether climate change is a threat to our quality of life and the survival of future generations. We understand that the cause of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from burning fossil fuels like coal, methane gas and petroleum. The question in many people’s minds is what, if anything, we can do about it. Pasadena 100 is a coalition of 22 nonprofit and non-partisan organizations,... continue reading »"Pasadena 100: Advocating for a Safer Future"

By Ian Lockwood, PE “Do traffic roundabouts reduce traffic delays and shorten trip times?” Years ago, at a typical set of traffic signals, at any point in time two approaches to that intersection were stopped, and two were moving. However, with the advent of protected phasing for left turns, all-red phases, pedestrian phases, and increasingly, bike phases, motorists spend a lot more waiting at traffic signals. When intersection spacing works out and with better detection technologies, some synchronization can reduce... continue reading »"Focus on 710: Making the Case for Road Roundabouts"