07.11.19
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• NEWS •<br />
PASADENA | ALHAMBRA | ALTADENA | ARCADIA | EAGLE ROCK | GLENDALE | LA CAÑADA | MONTROSE | SAN MARINO | SIERRA MADRE | SOUTH PASADENA<br />
TUNNEL CLOSED<br />
BILL WOULD AID NONPROFIT TENANTS<br />
IN BUYING CALTRANS SURPLUS<br />
PROPERTIES<br />
SHAKING THINGS UP<br />
EARTHQUAKE APP WARNING<br />
THRESHOLDS TO BE LOWERED<br />
AFTER RECENT TREMORS<br />
NO TALKING<br />
IRAN SAYS IT HAS NO INTEREST IN<br />
DISCUSSIONS WITH US<br />
P. 8<br />
P. 8<br />
P. 8<br />
WEB EXCLUSIVE<br />
ON GUARD<br />
PLANNED PARENTHOOD IN PASADENA BEEFS UP SECURITY AS<br />
ABORTION DEBATE HITS CLOSER TO HOME<br />
BY MARY REINHOLZ<br />
Anew wave of out-of-state legislation banning abortion with<br />
few exceptions triggered massive protests across the country<br />
recently, including one that drew about 400 pro-choice advocates<br />
to the steps of Pasadena City Hall. There, on the evening of<br />
May 21, proponents held signs reading “Stop the Bans,” and “We<br />
Won’t Go Back” as they affirmed their support for Roe V. Wade,<br />
the landmark US Supreme Court decision that struck down a<br />
Texas statute against abortion as a violation of the right to privacy<br />
and due process.<br />
The rally was organized by Planned Parenthood of Pasadena and<br />
the San Gabriel Valley, an 85-year-old affiliate of the New York based<br />
national nonprofit. It’s funded in part by Title X, the federal family<br />
planning grant program, and offers (besides abortion) screenings<br />
for cervical cancer and STDs, birth control pills and sex education<br />
plus a wide range of other health care services for mostly low income<br />
patients — male, female and transgender.<br />
Unlike other affiliates, Planned Parenthood of Pasadena has<br />
not been targeted for violence by extremist anti-abortion activists<br />
over the years, but there have been minor “trespassing” incidents,<br />
said Julianne Hines, vice president of external affairs. However,<br />
she seemed to suggest that things could change because of the new<br />
restrictive laws and a surfeit of incendiary rhetoric about abortion<br />
in the Trump era, including by the president himself.<br />
According to the National Abortion Federation, there have<br />
been increased attacks and harassment aimed at abortion clinics<br />
nationwide following the 2016 election of once pro-choice President<br />
Trump (who falsely claimed at a Wisconsin rally in late April that<br />
both mothers and doctors can legally decide to “execute babies”<br />
after a failed abortion).<br />
Hines made it plain that she views Alabama’s near total ban on<br />
abortion last month as “absolutely a political attack on women and<br />
their ability to get health care. And they’re doing this in defiance<br />
GOOD CITIZENSHIP<br />
GRANTS TO HELP PASADENA<br />
LIBRARIES IMPROVE<br />
IMMIGRATION RESOURCES<br />
The California State Library has awarded<br />
the Pasadena Public Library a local Library<br />
Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant<br />
of $62,000 to help improve citizenship and<br />
immigration resources at Pasadena Central<br />
Library and the La Pintoresca and Villa Parke<br />
branch libraries.<br />
“Libraries try to provide resources on<br />
everything including immigration, which is<br />
a very complex issue,” said Melvin Racelis,<br />
senior librarian at La Pintoresca Branch<br />
Library in a prepared statement. “Recently<br />
there has been increased interest in this topic.<br />
As librarians, it is important that we serve<br />
the informational needs of immigrants in our<br />
community, as well as anyone else interested<br />
in the citizenship process.”<br />
The three library sites will implement<br />
“citizenship corners” that will provide visitors<br />
access to materials to help them understand<br />
US citizenship and related processes. These<br />
informational resources will be available for<br />
checkout.<br />
Bilingual educational workshops in English<br />
and Spanish will also be available at the three<br />
library sites, in partnership with outside organizations,<br />
to address a variety of immigrant<br />
needs. Additionally, library staff will receive<br />
training from the Department of US Citizenship<br />
and Immigration Services (USCIS) to<br />
help them better assist patrons with questions<br />
on the citizenship process.<br />
Per a city ordinance, city employees cannot<br />
question a person’s immigration status.<br />
“It is just providing resources to help<br />
people with the project. Nobody is going to<br />
be asking about their status,” Racelis told the<br />
Pasadena Weekly. “They are free to ask for<br />
help, but we are not going to procure personal<br />
information from these folks.”<br />
Some of the information will be available<br />
for check out which will require a library card,<br />
Racelis said.<br />
To further prepare for the test, the Pasadena<br />
Human Services and Recreation Department<br />
offers a citizenship class at Villa Parke<br />
Community Center for adults over 50. The<br />
class provides a basic overview of US history<br />
and government.<br />
Funding for this grant is provided by the<br />
US Institute of Museum and Library Services<br />
under the provisions of the Library Services<br />
and Technology Act, administered in California<br />
by the State Librarian.<br />
For more information, contact Racelis at<br />
(626) 744-7268 or mracelis@cityofpasadena.<br />
net; or Catherine Hany at (626) 744-4207 or<br />
chany@cityofpasadena.net.<br />
WEEKLY WEATHER<br />
THU<br />
91°<br />
FRI<br />
94°<br />
SAT<br />
96°<br />
SUN<br />
95°<br />
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8<br />
MON<br />
94°<br />
TUE<br />
92°<br />
WED<br />
88°<br />
— André Coleman<br />
THU<br />
86°<br />
<strong>07.11.19</strong> | PASADENA WEEKLY 7
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