Complete up to the minute coverage every day. Read more on heysocal.com. Group wants environmental impact study of San Gabriel Mountain bungee jump site Page 4
LA County COVID-19 hospitalizations nearly quadruple in one month, majority unvaccinated Page 5
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VOL. 10, NO. 30
Fair housing advocates continue to pressure Pasadena council Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
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n Monday, Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian sent out a statement in an effort to allay local renters’ fears about the ending of the federal eviction moratorium. “The federal eviction moratorium has now expired and there are a lot of renters panicking even though they are still protected by our state and local moratoria. Pasadena renters can call the Housing Rights Center at (626) 831-9732 if they have questions about how they are protected and the steps they need to take to stay protected. www.stayhousedla.org is another great resource for LA County residents with information on eviction moratoriums/renter protections, rental assistance, and even connection to free legal services,” Derderian said in an email. “Finally, we encourage renters to apply for state
emergency rental assistance if they are behind on rent or struggling to make rent due to the pandemic. The state is now covering 100% of areas for eligible renters. Landlords can apply too.” On that same day, Pasadenans Organizing for Progress (POP) joined with a coalition of affordable housing advocates hoping to change the city’s Housing Element draft which they claim has not met the housing needs for the average person in the city. The Housing Element allows cities to “prepare a communityspecific approach to ‘how’ and ‘where’ housing will be addressed to meet the needs of the community,” according to the city. The coalition of housing advocates argue that Pasadena has not met its Regional Housing Needs Assessment for lowincome housing. Sporting signs that read “We have a voice” and “Affordable housing now … Pasadena needs rent control,” organizers’ demands fell mostly
On the steps of Pasadena City Hall Monday, local religious and affordable housing advocates hoped to change the city’s direction concerning the needs of low-income people in the city. | Photo by Terry Miller / Hey SoCal
on deaf ears during the meeting as council voted to authorize Pasadena’s planning director to submit the draft 20212029 Housing Element to the California Housing and Community Development
Department. “We are going to have to keep exploring opportunities for affordable housing,” Mayor Victor Gordo told council Monday evening. “The Affordable
Housing Coalition is pleased that Council members Jess Rivas and John Kennedy, the two strongest proponents of affordable housing and tenant protections on the Council, framed the
motion that was passed unanimously to send the Draft Housing Element on to the State for review. “Recognizing the draft is short on details, the See Fair housing page 12
Hahn, Kuehl call for vaccine, testing mandate for LA County employees By City News Service
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irroring moves by the state and cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Pasadena, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice
Hahn and Sheila Kuehl will ask their colleagues next week to approve a policy requiring all 100,000 county employees to either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. "We have a responsibil-
ity to protect our employees, the residents who depend on them and lead by example," Hahn wrote in a Twitter post Tuesday announcing the motion, which will go before the board next week. If approved, the motion
would ask the county CEO, attorneys and Department of Human Resources to develop a vaccination policy for employees within 15 days, requiring them "to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or be tested at least once per
week." "To protect the public and increase our vaccination rates, it is important that Los Angeles County have a vaccination policy for its workforce of approximately 100,000 employees to be vacci-
nated against COVID-19 and explore the feasibility of requiring contractors to follow this policy as well," the motion states. "With increasing spread of the Delta variant, the Board of See Call for vaccine page 12