Here is an edited clip of previously redacted obscured public testimony and a segment of the presentation made by the Mayor Pro Tem of the City of South Pasadena (currently a deputy attorney general with the State of California, Department of Justice) with a report from the AQMD, recorded by the City of Pasadena on June 13, 2011, posted by the city on their website as June 14, 2011 (actually posted on or after June 16, 2011):
I want to thank the City of Pasadena for listening, and for giving careful consideration to their future actions, or inactions. ‘Tis frightfully disturbing, isn’t it? Oh dear me, I do know something of pre-mature death. My clocks stopped at twenty to nine. Jaggers? Jaggers!
Clinking teacups filled with a fine Earl Grey,
Miss Havisham
Ducking photo posted by Sugarhouse Farms on Facebook
A laugh, yes and no. If slaughtering 500 year old oak trees (prized acorn food providers for the ancestral local indian tribes) to clear hillside lands for development, sediment dumps, or soccer fields is a joke then there would be no need for the fictional configuration of a Princess Haha. This is what a frustrated, depressed, hamstrung environmental activist does when she feels powerless er.. or powowless.
LADPW destroyed the Arcadia Woodlands
With a crown of leaves and feathers…a few homegrown organic Brussels sprouts, Princess Hahamongna Cowabungna Intergarlictic made a plea to the tribe of the DooDah. At the request of an official, Princess HaHa CI composted from within what she believes to be the mating call of her tribe. Haha to DooDah to PooBah (Grand Marshal Ron Stivers of PooBah Record Shop), this:
Then, a quote from Henry David Thoreau:
Be not simply good – be good for something.
And so it goes. How did we get so lost in our materialism? How did we get so disconnected from nature?
Last night the Pasadena City Council looked (practically begged) for comments from the public on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LADPW) plan to remove sediment from the Devil’s Gate Dam and the Hahamongna Watershed Park. No one came forward. Is it apathy? I don’t think so. Dave Meslin describes intentional blocks to you and I becoming engaged in our local government in this TED video:
The Pasadena branch of the Sierra Club, and the Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Commission were both very satisfied with County Mayor Antonovich’s strong advocacy and order of an EIR (Environmental Impact Report). However, at the time of this jubilation, the LADPW had not yet given any details of how they would proceed in the interum.
Here is the portion of the meeting that pertained to Devil’s Gate Dam:
Please forgive the visual…it turned bad in the transfer. The unedited source audio/video can be found within the entirety of the April 11, 2011 meeting here:
http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/CouncilAgendas/Video/
I’d love for you to walk with me, and carry a sign with your love on it, or nothing. I am inviting you on April 30, 2011, 10AM to meet me there. Spur of the moment, if you like! And in the spirit of Leaves of Grass, black willows bend to say, thank you for your attention.
The word “sacred” is often bandied about, of late. What does it mean? Words mean things. Legally and criminally, I was taught that mere words are not enough to bring serious harm. Wherein a threat is persuasive evidence of an action to cause physical or mental harm, but by themselves, words are not enough to convict or find a party responsible for harm done. This is the American system. It is part of our belief in free speech, the very first amendment to our Constitution.
It is, however, the precise reason one should not use words cavalierly. For instance, “I love you.” Miss Havisham takes umbrage. When a member of the City Council of Pasadena, Steve Madison, uses the word “sacred” to describe a beautiful urban wild land called Hahamongna, I take notice.
Today, I attended the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors regular meeting in the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles. Supervisor and County Mayor Michael Antonovich presented a motion to require an Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) to be done on the sediment removal plans of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (“LADPW”) in the Arroyo Seco Hahamongna.
Mr. Madison read a letter to the County Supervisors; Mr. Mark Ridley-Thomas, Mr. Zev Yarovslavsky, Mr. Don Knabe, Ms. Gloria Molina, Mr. Mike Antonovich, as follows:
The Honorable Michael D. Antonovich
L.A. County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles, California
Dear Supervisor Antonovich:
On behalf of the City of Pasadena, I convey strong support for your motion on today’s Supplemental Agenda (Item 60C) pertaining to the Devil’s Gate Dam Sediment Removal Project. After due deliberations, the Council unanimously expressed support for the motion.
We recognize the seriousness of the project to be undertaken, and Pasadena is prepared to cooperate fully in its implementation in the years ahead. But like you, we strongly believe that the project must be structured in a thoughtful and environmentally sensitive manner, and we agree that the approach suggested in your motion will put us on the right track for this effort. The City will be represented at today’s meeting by either Vice Mayor Victor Gordo or Councilmember Steve Madison.
Please share this letter with your colleagues on the Board of Supervisors. It is our hope that the motion carries and that the short term plan, to be returned within 90 days, will take into account all material environmental concerns. In this regard, our Public Works staff stands ready to confer and cooperate with the Department of Public Works, Los Angeles County, to assure that the interests of the City of Pasadena in Hahamongna Park are taken fully into account.
Please let us know how we can be helpful in pursuing this important matter.
Sincerely,
BILL BOGAARD
Mayor of Pasadena, California
Mr. Madison added that the Hahamongna Watershed is “sacred space.” He was forceful and appeared sincere, and because he represents the entire city of Pasadena, I took his words to heart. Why then, could he continue to propagate the idea of allowing a soccer field to be constructed in this same “sacred” spot? He can’t. Can he?
He must change his way of thinking. Certainly, no soccer enthusiast will appreciate the idea of his/her sport venue created at the expense of wild plants and animals, such as the Arroyo Toad, or the fruity pepperiness of the chanterelle mushroom, when there are many other places where foot can meet ball.
