PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS BRIEFS WEAR ORANGE COUNCIL PROCLAIMS JUNE 7-9 NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS WEEKEND BY ANDRÉ COLEMAN As national statistics suggest, Americans in every state have been adversely affected by gun violence, either through the death or injury of a friend or relative, or by being directly involved in some type of shooting incident, either as an assailant, a victim or a witness. For those reasons the public is being asked to participate in Wear Orange Day today, June 6, and on National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend, Friday through Sunday. Now in its fifth year, Wear Orange Day was created to honor the many lives that have been cut short by gun violence and to support efforts to reduce gun-related crimes. On May 20, the Pasadena City Council proclaimed June 7-9 as National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend in Pasadena. The proclamation states “Gun violence touches every segment of our society and impacts people of all ages; it increases the probability of death in incidents of domestic violence; raises the likelihood of fatalities by those who intend to injure others, and among those who attempt suicide; it places children and young people at increased risk of physical harm and injury; and disproportionately affects communities of color.” The last fatal mas shooting in the US occurred on May 31 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, resulting in 13 people killed and six wounded. The last fatal mass shooting in California, also on May 31, occurred in West Covina, ending with one dead and three people injured. According to gunviolencearchive.org, 108 people were killed and 255 injured in gun violence-related incidents around the country from June 1 to June 4. In 2019, the website found there have been 22,627 gun violence incidents, resulting in 5,968 deaths, 11,441 injuries, 249 children ages 0 to 11 killed, and 1,128 children ages 12 to 17 killed. n HELPING HAND COUNCIL VOTES TO AMEND TENANT PROTECTION ORDINANCE BY ANDRÉ COLEMAN The Pasadena City Council on Monday unanimously approved the first reading of an amended Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) which now will protect tenants displaced by a change in a building’s ownership. According to the amendment, the property owners will be required to provide relocation funds and moving expenses to income-qualified tenants in good standing if the tenancies are terminated within 18 months of the date the property is transferred. According to a city staff report, “The changes expanding and enhancing the ordinance are intended to provide more assistance to displaced tenants and to keep pace with the rapidly rising rental housing market as directed by the City Council.” Rents in Pasadena are among the highest in the state. A onebedroom apartment in Pasadena costs about $2,100 a month, and landlords in California can increase the rent as much as they want. According to Pasadenans Organizing for Progress (POP), a poll conducted by David Binder Research revealed that 69 percent of local voters support rent control and 82 percent support a law that would block evictions without a valid reason. The poll also found high support for rent control in all seven council districts. Several of the council members own rental property in Pasadena, including Council members Victor Gordo, John Kennedy and Margaret McAustin. Gordo recused himself on Monday. Kennedy and McAustin made statements that the ordinance would not impact them and agreed to participate in the vote. Councilman Steve Madison attempted to make the ordinance retroactive to Jan. 1 in order to offer protections to local residents that received eviction notices. However, City Attorney Michelle Bagneris said that could not be done because the ordinance is penal, which means landlords could face criminal charges and have a right to know going forward that they are subject to laws. n 8 PASADENA WEEKLY | <strong>06.06.19</strong> Victor Gordo BARNSTORMING PASADENA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 out how to get traction again,” “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd said Sunday of the Vermont rally. A Decisive Role Later last Friday in Pasadena, Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, a former cabinet member with the Obama administration, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee participated in the first presidential forum focused on immigration at the Pasadena Hilton, a few blocks from the city Convention Center. While not widely known, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, also a candidate for president, spoke at a private event on Thursday, May 30, at the Women’s City Club of Pasadena Biden, who did not attend the state Democratic Party Convention in San Francisco the following Saturday, and fellow candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, are also finalizing plans to stump in Pasadena. Part of the reason candidates are making sure to traverse California on their respective campaign trails is because the state has moved its primary election date up from June to March 3, 2020, also known as Jay Jay Inslee Super Tuesday. The earlier date — after only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — will ensure that California voters and the state’s nearly 500 delegates play a decisive role in determining the eventual nominee, who will be chosen at the Democratic National Convention in July 2020 in Milwaukee. Out of all the candidates, Sanders comes in second place in most polls behind only Biden, though the difference is by double digits. Focus on Immigration US Rep. Judy Chu, whose district includes most of Pasadena, delivered introductory remarks at the immigration forum at the Pasadena Hilton. The event, titled the Unity + Freedom Forum, was hosted by FIRM Action, Community Change Action and CHIRLA Action Fund. All four candidates who participated — Harris, Sanders, Castro and Inslee — pledged to enact comprehensive immigration reform and revoke President Trump’s Muslim travel ban during their first 100 days in office, in addition to other progressive immigration policies. Harris, who formerly served as California attorney general, said the fight for immigration reform will not be easy, but that it’s “a fight worth having, and I promise you we will win this fight.” Castro, who formerly served as President Obama’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary, described specific policy proposals that he would enact if elected president. His twin brother Joaquin, a congressional representative from Texas, was also in attendance. Castro called for a “21st century Marshall Plan” for Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. “We need a president who’s not going to look down on these countries but work as a peer in a mutually beneficial way to ensure that people can find safety and opportunity in their home country, instead of having to come here to the United States,” he said. “At the same time, the truth is we need a lot of the folks who are coming to the United States right now, because they add vitality to our country. It would be economic Kamala Harris suicide not to have them, because we have a declining birth rate and an aging population. We need a young, vibrant workforce. We need immigrants.” Inslee, who is running as a climate change candidate, said he would increase foreign aid to Central American countries, end family separations at the border, and give asylum seekers hearings in a reasonable time period and increase the number of refugees — including those displaced by climate change — accepted into the United States to 110,000 per year. After Pasadena, Sanders, Harris, Castro, Inslee, Gillibrand and nine other candidates traveled to San Francisco for the California Democratic Party Convention, which was the largest gathering of 2020 presidential contenders thus far until the first official Democratic debate will be hosted by MSNBC on June 26-27 in Miami. Stay the Course In his speech in Pasadena, Sanders said the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, kleptocracy, hatred, lies, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia or religious bigotry. “We have news for Donald Trump: we are going to end those ugly practices when we are in the White House. The principles of our government will be economic justice, racial justice, social justice and environmental justice.” Like nine other candidates since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in US elections and obstruction of justice Julian Castro on the part of Trump, Sanders also changed his position on impeachment following Mueller’s press conference explaining his thinking in the Russia investigation. Sanders now believes impeachment inquiries must begin. “As you all know,” Reuters News Service quotes Sanders saying at the party convention, “there is a debate among presidential candidates who have spoken to you here in this room and those who have chosen for whatever reason not to be in this room about the best way forward. We cannot go back to the old ways. We have to go forward with a new and progressive agenda.” Said Kyle, “There are a lot of people in the race, but [Sanders] has enough money to stay the course and he will probably be in there until the end.” But, she said, “I think Warren and Biden will give Sanders a run for his money.” n
Manning ADAM CAROLLA UpCOMEDIAN VENTS HIS FRUSTRATIONS IN HIS FIRST COMEDY SPECIAL ‘NOT TACO BELL MATERIAL’ BY CARL KOZLOWSKI Adam Carolla has built a media empire throughout his unusual 20-plus-year career in radio, TV and podcasting. As the co-host with Pasadena-based Dr. Drew Pinsky on the longtime syndicated radio smash “Loveline,” he established himself as a no-nonsense comedic counterpoint to the advice Pinsky dished out about drugs and relationships. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 <strong>06.06.19</strong> | PASADENA WEEKLY 9
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