01.03.19

PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS
EDITORIAL
EDITOR
Kevin Uhrich kevinu@pasadenaweekly.com
DEPUTY EDITOR
André Coleman andrec@pasadenaweekly.com
ARTS EDITOR
Carl Kozlowski carlk@pasadenaweekly.com
CALENDAR EDITOR
John Sollenberger johns@pasadenaweekly.com
CONTRIBUTING MUSIC EDITOR
Bliss
CONTRIBUTORS
Patti Carmalt-Vener, Justin Chapman, Peter Dreier, Randy
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INTERNS
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ART
ART DIRECTOR
Stephanie Torres artdirector@pasadenaweekly.com
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR
Richard Garcia
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Rochelle Bassarear
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS
AND PHOTOGRAPHERS
Danny Liao, Jen Sorensen,
Tom Tomorrow
ADVERTISING
SALES AND MARKETING
Brenda Clarke, Alexandra Valdes,
Lisa Chase
CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Ann Turrietta (Legals)
BUSINESS
HUMAN RESOURCES
Andrea E. Baker
PAYROLL
Linda Lam
ACCOUNTING SPECIALISTS
Perla Castillo, Yiyang Wang,
Quinton Wright
OFFICE MANAGER
Ann Turrietta
CIRCULATION
Don S. Margolin
PUBLISHER
Dina Stegon
SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING
V.P. OF OPERATIONS
David Comden
PRESIDENT
Bruce Bolkin
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HOW TO REACH US
Address:
50 S. DeLacey Ave., Suite 200, Pasadena 91105
Telephone: (626) 584-1500
Fax: (626) 795-0149
•LETTERS•
YEAR IN REVIEW
As we enjoy the holiday season,
I wanted to quickly catch you up on
my legislative priorities and news
from the district.
I’m excited to have introduced
Assembly Bill 30, which will
improve and expand dual enrollment
opportunities throughout the state.
It’s clear now that dual enrollment
at community colleges can pave the
way to a four-year college, while also
reducing the cost of that four-year
degree.
Affordable housing continues to be a pressing issue facing
Californians. That’s why I joined my colleagues to author
and introduce Assembly Bill 11, which will provide cities and
counties the tools necessary to fund affordable housing and
infrastructure projects.
In the district, we accepted our new class of young
legislators for my Annual Young Legislators Program — a
six-month program that offers high school seniors in the 41st
Assembly District a front row seat to the public policy and
political arena. I have no doubt this program will again have a
lasting impact on the students, and I look forward to meeting
them at our kickoff in January.
Lastly, we capped the year off with my Annual Holiday
Party and Shoe Drive that brought in 400 pairs of shoes
and socks for kids in need. Thank you to everyone who
participated.
I hope you enjoy the holiday season, and I look forward to
keeping in touch in the New Year!
- CHRIS HOLDEN
ASSEMBLY MEMBER
PASADENA
TURN THE TIDE
I am currently a freshman
at Bennington College. I am
enrolled in a course on plastic
pollution. Plastic is a growing
concern across the planet,
and it is good to see that more
people are becoming aware of
the issue.
You may have read about
the dead whale in Indonesia
that had over 1,000 pieces
of plastic in its stomach,
including a pair of flip flops!
How would we feel if that had
happened in California? It
will happen here if we do not
cut back on our daily use of
plastic.
We often utilize single-use
plastic packaging such as
bags, bottles or polystyrene
for just a few minutes, but it
remains in the environment
for decades or longer.
I have a few friends that
question life without plastic
straws. “Will this really make
a difference?” they ask. I
always tell them we have
to keep pushing to reduce
plastic consumption. It will
not always be easy, but we
must take individual strides to
make the big jump into a new
world built on sustainability.
When you look at the
overall picture, it can feel
hopeless. I was waiting for
a hero, but recently realized
that we as a community are
capable of affecting change
for the benefit of all living
things. Everyone has to be
realistic about the amount
of plastic used each day. Our
world deserves better.
- AUBREY ELWES
VIA EMAIL
GMO FACTS
Genetically modified wheat
has not been approved to
be produced in the USA or
Canada, unlike corn, soy,
salmon, apples and cotton.
That is not to say there
have not been recorded
instances of GMO wheat being
grown experimentally in
Oregon and Washington, but
GMO wheat is not available
commercially yet. It is alleged
that our commercial wheat
flours often have additional
gluten added, aggravating
gluten intolerance symptoms
when eaten, but that does
not meet the definition
of a genetically modified
organism.
GMOs occur in the lab
when a gene from a different
species is deliberately added
to an existing gene structure
to fundamentally alter the
original, as when a gene
from the ocean-going pout is
added to salmon so that the
salmon will spawn twice in
one year instead of once, or
a glyphosate-resistant gene
is added to corn seed so that
the weed killer Round Up can
be sprayed on corn without
harmful effects.
Please do not infer from
my letter that I am pro-GMO,
however. The pros and cons
of GMOs are a topic for
another discussion.
- MONA EVANS, MS
CONSULTANT DIETITIAN
MARINA DEL REY
AUDITED CIRCULATION of 27,516
Serving Alhambra, Altadena, Arcadia, Eagle
Rock, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Montrose,
Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre and South
Pasadena
LETTERS WANTED:
Send letters to kevinu@pasadenaweekly.com.
For news tips
and information about happenings
and events, contact
Kevin at the address above or
call (626) 584-1500, ext. 115.
Contact Deputy Editor André
Coleman at andrec@pasadenaweekly.com
and at ext. 114.
01.03.19 | PASADENA WEEKLY 5