Honoring Black History Month BUSINESS PROFILE: A Snail’s Pace
ENTERTAINMENT: Play Review: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Page 9
Page 10
Page 17 SPORTS: Arcadia Defeats Monrovia in CIF Game Page 23
COMPLIMENTARY COPY VOLUME 20, NO. 8
pasadenaindependent.com
Your Voice, Your Community
Thursday, February 25, 2016 - March 2, 2016
Since 1996
A pond in the Arroyo Seco. The City Council discussed getting water by maximizing the local supplies from tunnels and streams in the Arroyo Seco, as well as other sources.
– Photo by Terry Miller
City Council Authorizes Several Municipal Contracts - Potable Water Project BY GUS HERRERA The Pasadena City Council met this past Monday, Feb. 22, in order to authorize several items. The majority of the items on the consent calendar required the council’s approval of contracts between the city and a myriad of private compa-
nies to carry out several municipal services such as: sewer and storm drain re-lining; fiber optic splicing; printing and mailing services; software licensing; minor construction projects; among others. Many of these contracts were simply renewals or slight modifications of previous dollar amounts.
For the most part, Mayor Tornek and the council were on the same page as they only decided to pull out five items for further discussion. As for the rest of the items, Tornek proposed a sweep motion of approval, a motion that was adopted unanimously by the councilmembers.
Madison Teacher Returns to Classroom, Under PUSD Gag Order
Madison Elementary School teacher Patricia Guzman was returned to her classroom teaching duties on Feb. 22, but she is subject to a Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) gag order. Guzman is a 30-year
Madison veteran teacher who was the United Pasadena Teachers Union site representative when Superintendent Brian McDonald unilaterally imposed Juan Ruelas as Madison’s principal in May 2015, without a principal
selection committee of site stakeholders – while McDonald allowed other schools to have such site selection committees. At the beginning of the SEE PAGE 12
It is important to note that out of all the items on the consent calendar there was only one public comment of disapproval, so it is safe to say that the sweep motion was in general agreement with public opinion. Of the five items designated for further discussion two were particularly interesting.
The first issue had to do with Item 7, which concerned the authorization to enter into a contract with HHS Construction Inc. for fiber optic splicing, testing, and emergency troubleshooting for Pasadena’s fiber optic network. SEE PAGE 13
Few Clues Emerge in Pasadena’s First Homicide of 2016 James Rucker, 29, died from multiple gunshot wounds in the Washington Square area of north Pasadena Tuesday night, Feb 17, at about 9:45 p.m. It appears that it may have been a random shoot-
ing from an automobile, but nothing has been confirmed. Terysa A. Rojas, Lieutenant with Pasadena Police, emailed us the following statement: “We have no additional info at this time. Detectives
are actively working any leads and conducting following up by re-canvassing the area. As in all murder cases we do not release information that we are currently SEE PAGE 12