Double Rainbow

This was shot Wednesday by Dan Rix, our city engineer in the Public Works Department. His office is on the third floor at City Hall.

Tree-lighting at City Hall

Here's what I love most about our Christmas tree-lighting event every year at Pasadena City Hall: Ours is not an uber fancy-schmancy department store type of tree. Instead, ours is traditional and folksy. The entire ceremony warms everyone's hearts.

Last night dozens of people gathered in the grand entrance for the occasion.


Expectant faces were everywhere we looked.


Robin Turrentine led the McKinley After-school Performing Choir. These children -- and their director -- are magnificent.

Mayor Bill Bogaard and I shared the MC responsibilities.


Some of our wonderful volunteers served up refreshments.


And then Mayor Bogaard flicked the switch that lit the tree.

Thanks to Manuel Galloway of our Public Works Department, a crew cleaned and polished the tile floor of City Hall's grand entrance for the event, and the lights are reflected beautifully as a result. (Another Public Works Department crew delivers the tree to City Hall every year, and still another decorates it.)


Happy holidays, everyone!

All photos were shot by the mighty Zack Stromberg of my Public Affairs Office staff.

Mystery History -- Solved

Happy Thanksgiving!

JM comes closest with his/her guess "The field of the Rose Bowl or at Tournament House and this is part of the Rose Queen selection. Sorry, don't know the year." (JM, please email me at aerdman@cityofpasadena.net and I'll tell you about your fabulous prize.)

In the photo above, contestants for Rose Queen of 1930 pose in late 1929 inside a giant question mark.

The winner was Holly Halstead, below (and third from the bottom in the question mark).


She passed away in July 2004 at 95. From an article the following week:

When Holly Halstead Balthis reigned as the queen of the Tournament of Roses in 1930, the Rose Bowl was only 7 years old, and, as she once noted, Old Town Pasadena was new.

Mrs. Balthis, the oldest living Rose Queen, died at age 95 of natural causes Friday at her home in Laguna Beach, said her son and sole survivor, Frank Balthis Jr.

Mrs. Balthis never dreamed her stint as Rose Queen would mean much once it ended.

"I thought it was a short deal, New Year's Day, and that'd be it," she said in a 1986 interview. "But it's something that stays with you all your life."

Indeed, in recent decades Mrs. Balthis was considered "the grand dame" of the Tournament of Roses. She remained active in tournament functions up until her death and each year welcomed the new queen.

Mrs. Balthis was born in Pasadena in 1908 and graduated from Pasadena High School in 1925.

"At first I felt overwhelmed and honored, but I think I really did it because of my dad," she said. "He was so proud of the fact he had been an early comer to Pasadena."

Her escort was her future husband, Frank S. Balthis, a Harvard law student who would later become a Superior Court judge and an appellate court justice.

Halstead Street in Pasadena was named after her father, Richard Halstead, who was a prominent businessman.

The grand marshal of the 1930 Rose Parade was James "Sunny Jim" Rolph, mayor of San Francisco.


Every week my Mystery History posts have something to do with City of Pasadena operations. So how does this post apply?

The City of Pasadena and the Tournament of Roses Association have a long-term contract. As we get a little closer to the end of the year, I'll go into more detail about that.

Suffice it to say that we're going into high gear here at City Hall. Every year, as the T of R maneuvers the monumental task of planning the parade and the game, the City of Pasadena is behind the scenes inspecting grandstands, barricading streets, planning traffic control, managing public safety, cleaning streets afterwards, you name it.

The New Year's Day operations manuals for the Public Works Department, Police Department, etc., are voluminous.

And do you know the City of Pasadena owns the Wrigley Mansion (Tournament House)?


Here's 2010 Rose Queen Natalie Innocenzi at her coronation earlier this month.


Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger will serve as grand marshal.


New Year's Day is just over a month away. We're off and running!


Many thanks to Pasadena Public Library, Los Angeles Public Library and Tournament of Roses Association.

Composting Made Easy

Composting helps improve soil structure and water conservation, and reduces the amount of waste that would otherwise go to the landfill.


If you don't have a compost bin yet, or if you do but want to get an additional one, come over to the Victory Park Farmers Market in the Pasadena High School parking lot this coming Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon and the Public Works Department will sell you one for dirt cheap! Soil Saver compost bins will be available for $40 each, payable by cash or check only.

Public Works staff will provide information on how to improve plant growth by using kitchen scraps and lawn cuttings. You'll also learn how to cultivate worms!

Composting is a great investment for your wallet, your household and our Green City!

The EPA has a nice little web page with some tips and more info about composting.

Still have questions? Gabriel Silva is our recycling coordinator. His number is (626) 744-4721.

Only the Stump Remains

The mature oak tree that fell over a couple of weeks ago was first chopped up and then removed altogether.

Only the stump remains. It will be replaced by another tree in due time.



Sometimes the trunks of fallen city-owned trees have been recycled. An example: the wooden benches that grace the eastern banks of the Arroyo Seco.

I asked my go-to certified arborist in the Parks and Natural Resources Division of the Public Works Department what was to come of the fallen tree. She told me it would be turned into mulch, and that interested people can call her about it.

Here's her info:

Darya Barar
(626) 744-3846
dbarar@cityofpasadena.net

The Mighty Oak Has Fallen

The mightiest of our mighty oaks in the City Hall courtyard met with a tragic end overnight on Sunday/Monday.


One of the original oaks planted at City Hall in the 1920s, it was already in a precarious condition when independent arborists determined the trees' health during the retrofit and restoration project more than two years ago. It was decided at the time that the root system was not in good shape. We hoped it would be OK with a lot of TLC, but the saturating rains the other night made it very heavy and the high winds blew it over.

Thank goodness nobody was sitting on this bench at the time.

A crew from the Parks and Natural Resources Division of the Public Works Department will cut the tree up in the next day or two, and it will eventually be replaced with a young oak that will have plenty of spunk for the long haul.

Life goes on.

Help Plant a Tree

Can you help plant some trees in Bungalow Heaven this Saturday? Meet in front of McDonald Park, Mountain Street at Catalina Avenue, at 8:30 a.m.

You'll work with staff from the Parks and Natural Resources Division of the Public Works Department, who will appreciate assistance in digging holes, taking trees out of their temporary containers, planting them in the ground, doing basic cleanup, etc.

Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes. If you have gloves and a shovel, bring them along, although they're not required.

Call (626) 744-4321 no later than Friday at 5 p.m. to let them know if you can help.