Mystery History -- Solved

Petrea wins! I have emailed her about her fabulous prize. (D5Rep is disqualified on a technicality -- she works on the inside!)

In the photo above, a drill is taking place in 1944 in the Civil Defense Center in the basement of Pasadena City Hall.

World War II was in full swing, and 1944 was a busy year.

Here's a photo of a sign being put up in front of City Hall identifying the building as a shelter site. Note the loudspeakers above it. These were serious times and everyone needed to be at the ready just in case.


Some additional World War II information:

Victory Park was dedicated as a living memorial to those who fell in World War II. Note that the rose garden is in the shape of a "V." Next time you're in the neighborhood, stop by and take a look around the memorial area, including the dedication plaque at the base of the flag pole. It's really quite nice. There's also a memorial to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joe Hayashi, the only Pasadena resident to be awarded the the Medal of Honor (posthumously by President Bill Clinton) for making the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. This photo was taken on Memorial Day so the flag was at half-staff.



The Vista del Arroyo Hotel was taken over by the federal government and converted to a U.S. military hospital during World War II. Today it is still owned by the federal government and serves as one of the locations for the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.


Two of Pasadena's five sister cities -- Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Mishima, Japan -- were "adopted" post-war so Pasadena could help the cities' civilians get their lives and their communities back to normal.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, put the entire west coast of the U.S. on high alert, forcing the cancellation of the Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 1942, as a precaution. The Rose Bowl Game was moved to Duke University (score: Oregon 20, Duke 6). Anyone who has one of these tickets may be sitting on a gold mine because they were useless and had to be reprinted!



The astronomy program managed by Caltech came to a halt during part of the war because most of the engineers and scientists involved in the program were reassigned to war-related projects.

What will the next Mystery History photo be? You'll have to wait until next Tuesday to find out!

NASA's Green Initiatives

Merrilee Fellows and I were long overdue for a get-together over breakfast to catch up with each other's professional and personal goings-on.

We did just that last week at my favorite spot for breakfast meetings: Ventanas Restaurant at the Westin Hotel.


Merrilee is NASA's manager for community involvement for environmental remediation.

I have known Merrilee for years, ever since outreach regarding treatment of some city-owned wells near JPL was added to her many responsibilities at NASA.

Not to mention the fact that Merrilee is a member of the sterling Pasadena Follies alumni!

She caught me up on the "green" initiatives she is working on from an outreach perspective.

It's exciting to know that the water treatment work NASA is conducting at our wells is given equal importance to bringing solar power to the John F. Kennedy Space Center!

You can learn more about NASA's green initiatives here.

And you can learn more about Merrilee here.

Groundbreakings Aren't as Boring as They Sound!

I’ve always said that from a media perspective, groundbreaking ceremonies are right up there with ribbon cuttings and check presentations.

Newspapers rarely dispatch photographers to these kinds of events, so I take lots of photos and send them to media with captions after the fact.

Some print them, some don't.

My work is complete on our most recent groundbreaking ceremony on March 17, so here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

First, this is all about cleaning up four wells in the Monk Hill area of Pasadena, in that funky "index finger" area at the top of District 1 in Northwest Pasadena.

It's an interesting challenge setting up for such an event in the middle of a big empty space.

Thankfully I wasn't in charge of logistics! That was staff from Pasadena Water and Power.

I had the entire event videotaped, and I asked my KPAS crew to get a few interviews in advance to edit into the program.

Here's our city manager, Michael Beck, on camera. That's Stuart Johnson doing the interview and Michelle Maglionico behind the camera.


I'm expecting a final version in the next day or two, and then we'll put it on KPAS.

Pasadena Water and Power staff provided educational information to the many people who attended.




People visited for a while...

..and then the ceremony began. Mayor Bill Bogaard served as master of ceremonies.


District 1 Councilwoman Jacque Robinson presented a certificate of appreciation to Tecumseh Shackelford, a neighborhood leader.

Ta-dah!


Dig (no pun intended) the Brady Bunch grass.

Left to right: Steve Slaten, NASA's project manager on groundwater cleanup; Keith Takata, director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program for Region 9 (Pacific Southwest); City Councilwoman Jacque Robinson; Dr. James Wright of NASA; Mayor Bill Bogaard; and Phyllis Currie, general manager of Pasadena Water and Power.

The area is surrounded by residential neighborhoods, which will be affected by the construction.

To help shield neighbors' view of the project, evergreen trees have been planted and green-screen fence installed all around the project.

Here's the view from the street.


This is a great example of intergovernmental cooperation: NASA and the City of Pasadena have worked closely together on site selection and design of the treatment plant with support from the EPA, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and California Department of Public Health.

NASA is funding construction and operating costs; the City of Pasadena will own and operate the plant.

A contract for construction has been awarded and completion is anticipated in late 2010.

We'll keep you posted!