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!