August 19

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA 

August 2019 

Bridging 

Generations 

AT GRANDPARENTS UNIVERSITY 

TOTS ON TECH: 

THE NEW CLASS DIVIDE? 

GLENDALE GRIEF CAMP 

LEARNING TO DEAL WITH 

LOSS THROUGH PLAY 

DOLLARS AND SENSE 

CAN FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION 

REDUCE STUDENT LOAN DEBT?

08.19 | ARROYO | 3

4 | ARROYO | 08.19

arroyo 

VOLUME 15 | NUMBER 08 | AUGUST 2019 

15 

10 46 

FAMILY AND EDUCATION 

10 TOTS ON TECH: THE NEW CLASS DIVIDE 

The rich ban technology for their children, while most of America 

embraces it. 

—By BETTIJANE LEVINE 

15 DOLLARS AND SENSE 

Educators are being urged to offer fi nancial literacy courses that could help avoid 

future student loan catastrophes. 

—By KATHLEEN KELLEHER 

37 BACK TO SCHOOL…FOR GRANDPARENTS 

Grandparents Universities offer aging baby boomers the chance to bond 

with their grandkids in learning environments. 

—By KATHLEEN KELLEHER 

42 HAPPY CAMPERS 

Children beset by grief over the loss of a loved one fi nd solace and strength 

at Camp Erin in Glendale. 

—By CARL KOZLOWSKI 

DEPARTMENTS 

08 FESTIVITIES KCET kicks off the PBS “Summer of Space” at The Huntington 

and more 

19 ARROYO HOME SALES INDEX 

46 KITCHEN CONFESSIONS Root beer fl oats are the ultimate summer refresher. 

47 ARROYO COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH Orange Grove 

48 THE LIST The Festival of Fruit at the Arboretum, Frankenstein at A Noise Within, 

Arcadia Steam+M Festival 

08.19 ARROYO | 5

EDITOR’S NOTE 

I’ve long thought that schools don’t prepare 

you for three of the most important 

tasks of adult life — parenting, interpersonal 

politics and personal fi nance. 

These days, with student loan debt 

spiraling to new heights, threatening the 

futures of young adults, it’s more important 

than ever to know how to handle 

money wisely from an early age. 

The good news is that advocates 

for personal fi nance education are 

fi nally making inroads, as Kathleen Kelleher reports. There’s a bill pending 

in Sacramento that would make it a requirement for graduating high 

school in California. And while such instruction is currently spotty at best, 

the tools are already there — Next Gen Personal Finance offers free curriculums 

on its website (ngpf.org). If your child’s school doesn’t cover the 

subject, it might be time for a parental nudge. 

Another topic parents should keep an eye on is screen time. Bettijane 

Levine writes that many tech moguls, concerned about emerging 

research on the problematic effects of screen use on young brains, are 

keeping their kids in analog mode. That approach is, perhaps counterintuitively, 

becoming the province of the elite, while the rest employ 

electronic babysitters. But is a digital childhood screening out important 

life skills? 

Finally, there’s a lot to be said for setting aside a special time and 

place for focused experiences, where nothing else matters. In this Family 

Issue, we cover two such opportunities for childhood enrichment. Carl 

Kozlowski reports on Grief Camp in Glendale, where children who’ve 

suffered a personal loss can learn coping techniques and bond with 

other kids in similar circumstances. (The next one is coming up in early 

September; see the story for application details.) Kelleher writes about 

another terrifi c program — Grandparents University, where grandparents 

and grandkids share learning experiences on college campuses, mostly 

in the Midwest. In addition to fostering the intergenerational bond, GPUs 

help entice kids to pursue higher education. 

—Irene Lacher 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Irene Lacher 

ART DIRECTOR Stephanie Torres 

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Richard Garcia 

PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Yumi Kanegawa 

EDITOR-AT-LARGE Bettijane Levine 

COPY EDITOR John Seeley 

CONTRIBUTORS Leslie Bilderback, Léon Bing, 

Martin Booe, Michael Cervin, Scarlet Cheng, 

Richard Cunningham, Tommy Ewasko, Noela 

Hueso, Kathleen Kelleher, Frier McCollister, Brenda 

Rees, Jordan Riefe, Ilsa Setziol, John Sollenberger, 

Nancy Spiller 

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Lisa Chase, 

Rick Federman, Javier Sanchez 

ADVERTORIAL CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 

Bruce Haring 

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Andrea Baker 

PAYROLL Linda Lam 

ACCOUNTING Perla Castillo, Quinton Wright 

OFFICE MANAGER Ann Turrietta 

PUBLISHER Dina Stegon 

arroyo 

FINE LIVING IN THE GREATER PASADENA AREA 

SOUTHLAND PUBLISHING 

V.P. OF OPERATIONS David Comden 

PRESIDENT Bruce Bolkin 

CONTACT US 

ADVERTISING 

dinas@pasadenaweekly.com 

EDITORIAL 

editor@arroyomonthly.com 

PHONE 

(626) 584-1500 

FAX 

(626) 795-0149 

MAILING ADDRESS 

50 S. De Lacey Ave., Ste. 200, 

Pasadena, CA 91105 

ArroyoMonthly.com 

©2019 Southland Publishing, Inc. 

All rights reserved. 



FESTIVITIES 

Andrew Russell, Sarah Willoughby, Dr. Charles Elachi and Peter Jones 

Suzanne Cryer 

Beth Grant 

Ralph Vartabedian 

KCET and PBS SoCal hosted a sneak peak of their “Summer 

of Space” programs celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 

original moon walk at The Huntington Library, Art Collections 

and Botanical Gardens. The July 9 screening was followed by 

a panel discussion featuring Emmy-winning filmmaker Peter 

Jones, who made the KCET Original documentary miniseries 

Blue Sky Metropolis; former JPL Director Charles Elachi; Northrop 

Grumman exec Sarah Willoughby; and Los Angeles Times 

reporter Ralph Varabedian. Authors M.G. Lord and Wayne 

Biddle joined KCET and aerospace luminaries for a prosecco 

post-reception…Jason Alexander, Suzanne Cryer and Beth 

Grant were among the Hollywood notables who attended the 

June 30 opening of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa‘s prep school 

drama Good Boys, starring Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad), at the 

Pasadena Playhouse. 

Daena Title and Jason Alexander 

Marion Ross Andrew Russell David Zayas Daren Kagasoff 

8 | ARROYO | 08.19 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of KCET. (KCET and PBS SoCal); Nick Agro (Pasadena Playhouse)


TOTS ON 

TECH: THE 

NEW CLASS 

DIVIDE 

The rich ban technology 

for their children, while 

most of America 

embraces it. 

BY BETTIJANE LEVINE 

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates raised their kids substantially 

tech-free. That should have told us something. If the guys 

who invented the devices wouldn’t let their own kids use 

them, there must have been good reason. Yet in more than a decade 

since that news was revealed, America has increased its embrace of 

technology for children, even for infants and toddlers for whom, 

many parents believe, tablets and cellphones are the best babysitters 

and pacifiers ever invented. 

But not all of America is gung-ho for tech. It’s the middleand 

lower-income families whose kids are increasingly immersed 

in what many experts now say is too much brain- and psychedamaging 

screen time. The superrich, it seems, have declared 

war on digital devices. And that’s a total reversal. 

In tech’s early days, having technology at home or carrying 

it with you was a sign of wealth and status. Only the rich could 

afford costly new computers for their children, and worries arose 

that only privileged kids would develop essential skills, leaving 

the rest to lag behind. Now that tech is commonplace in schools 

and homes, its ill effects on children are emerging and a new 

kind of digital divide concerns pediatricians and social scientists: 

Children of the middle class and poor will be raised and taught 

by screens, while children of the elite will have the luxury of 

actual life experience with such things as books, toys and, most 

important, human interaction. 

“Life for anyone but the very rich...is increasingly mediated 

by screens,” tech journalist Nellie Bowles recently wrote in The 

New York Times. Screens are being foisted on the public as wondrous 

innovations for education, but for the multiple millions of 

children now exposed to screens from infancy onward, at home 

and at school, she writes, “the texture of life, the tactile experience, 

is becoming smooth glass.” 

The tech titans in Silicon Valley and other top income areas 

around the country are so afraid of screens for their kids, Bowles 

writes, that many parents now require nannies to sign a pledge 

that they will not allow any screen time for the children in 

their care, and will not even use their cellphones while with the 

children. These high-income parents are also opting for tech-free 

private schools, like the Waldorf schools, where no classroom 

technology is used until students are 12 or 13, and where parents 

are advised against any screen time for children when at home. 

(See sidebar.) 

They’re backed by studies on screen time’s effects on little ones, 

— just beginning to surface in medical journals — which are not 

comforting. They indicate that young children exposed to screens 

may lag behind in language development, thinking and communication 

skills, impulse control, socialization and concentration. 

–continued on page 12 



–continued from page 10 

Meanwhile, more and more screen time is trending among middle- and 

lower-income families. Totally online preschools are reportedly proliferating. 

In these free programs, funded by government and nonprofits, 3- and 

4-year-olds learn nursery rhymes and letter sounds from a computer in their 

home without ever interacting with classmates or a live teacher. Opponents 

of such programs say that screen life is a poor substitute for real life. Preschool 

is mainly meant to prepare children to work well with others, to curb 

antisocial tendencies and to develop creativity, communication and social 

skills. None of that can be accomplished online, experts say. 

What’s more, child development depends upon utilization of all the 

senses, educators agree. Learning by looking at objects behind glass screens 

and listening to disembodied voices is no substitute for communicating eye 

to eye with other humans and experiencing the sensory stimuli that come, 

for example, from playing with real blocks, touching real animals and flowers 

or learning to write with pencil and paper rather than on a screen. A toddler 

can learn to identify a rose on a screen but will not experience the rose’s 

scent, its velvety petals or the prick of a thorn. The rose’s actual properties 

will remain unknown. A child learning about a real rose with a caring adult 

present will have all the sensory experiences and the benefit of a person to 

discuss them with. 

In April, the World Health Organization issued a new set of guidelines 

stating that babies under 1 should not be exposed to electronic screens, and 

“limiting or in some cases eliminating screen time for children under the 

age of 5 results in healthier adults.” Meanwhile, a groundbreaking study of 

more than 11,000 children is being conducted by the National Institutes of 

Health to determine the effects of screen time on children’s brain development. 

Preliminary results of children’s brain scans show that those who’ve 

spent multiple hours per day glued to a screen experience a thinning of 


The Waldorf Way 

To find out more about the Waldorf philosophy on technology, 

we talked with Erin Semin, the Pasadena Waldorf School’s pedagogical 

administrator. (There’s no title of principal at the school.) 

What is the Waldorf policy on tech? 

Waldorf is definitely anti-tech for lower grades. With the youngest 

children, we ask parents not to expose them to any tech at all. We 

work very strongly with parents starting in preschool to advocate for 

playtime, social time and creative time over screen time. In school 

we use no technology until seventh and eighth grade, when they start 

computer-based research projects under a teacher’s guidance. 

the cerebral cortex. That’s the layer of neural tissue responsible for processing 

information from each of the five senses. Other test results show that thinking 

and language-development skills are demonstrably lower for children who spend 

two hours a day or more gazing at screens. And a Canadian study released this 

year by the University of Calgary’s psychology department indicates that children 

ages 2 through 5 who experience high levels of screen time get lower test scores 

in communication, problem-solving and social and motor skills than those with 

little screen time. 

Many, if not most, of America’s families have not yet gotten the message. 

Children of middle- and low-income parents, from infancy onward, are increasingly 

building with virtual blocks, reading Goodnight Moon on tablets and 

learning to draw, spell and identify objects via digital devices. The new online 

preschools and public elementary schools use computers in classes and ask that 

homework be done on them. At any moderate-price restaurant you’ll see toddlers 

in high chairs fiddling with phones and tablets to keep them diverted while 

parents dine and chat. Kids traveling in cars watch screens rather than observe 

the passing scene while talking with their parents about it. Attachments to cribs 

allow infants lying on their backs to stare up at tablets programmed to play ageappropriate 

diversions. 

Some studies have shown that many grade-school children spend up to seven 

hours per day looking at screens in classrooms and then at home. And experts say 

that the more technology children are exposed to, the less human engagement 

occurs. Or, as one pundit put it: “Human engagement is becoming a luxury item.” 

Indeed, middle- and lower-income families, even with two working parents, can 

rarely afford private nannies or the cost of a tech-free private school such as the Waldorf 

schools, reportedly a favorite with Silicon Valley’s top-tier tech execs. Kindergarten 

tuition at the Pasadena Waldorf School in Altadena is about $25,000 per child. 

What’s the bottom line? All parents should be mindful of and cut back on children’s 

screen time, as well as their own screen time while with their children. But 

they needn’t panic. No longterm studies have yet been done to determine whether 

brain changes in children are permanent or temporary. And no studies yet address 

whether children who are heavy screen users will actually fare worse as adults 

than those who are raised without screens. Such research is still in its infancy. But 

common sense dictates that children raised with communicative adults and even 

the simplest shared real-life experiences will probably be emotionally, socially and 

intellectually better off than those who are abandoned by adults to a constant diet 

of screens. |||| 

What’s so wrong with tech, from the Waldorf perspective? 

It runs counter to the way the brain wants to develop. As a child 

moves through the world, they’re having sensory, social, movement 

and motor planning [the ability to plan and carry out a skilled motor 

act] experiences. Each of these experiences creates a pathway in their 

brain, an actual physical, neural pathway. There are points in development 

where, in order for the brain to grow, the pathways that are 

not well used or well traveled have to be cleared away. And so what a 

child spends much time doing has long-term effect. 

The more you do a certain thing, the more myelenated , or 

cemented, that brain pathway becomes. A child who is frequently 

outside observing nature, running, jumping and falling has well protected 

pathways for motor planning and executive functioning, for 

reasoning with the relative dangers in life. One who spends a lot of 

time with a screen that’s two or three inches from the face will have a 

lot of visual input pathways but few motor ones well established. 

A child sitting in a high chair at a dinner table, watching grownups 

converse, and every now and then a grownup converses with the 

child, who may also be figuring out how big a stack of sugar cubes 

they can build, that child is working on patience, learning social 

skills and cues and learning a kind of syntax of human conversation 

and relationships. A child at a table with a phone in front of him, not 

paying attention to anything else, is not using pathways shaped by 

their own experiences but only absorbing what the producer of that 

program has decided a 2- or 3-year-old would be interested in. 

What’s the difference between, say, building with blocks or digging in 

sand on a screen and in real life? 

To click and drag a cursor on a screen is simply a fine motor and 

visual panning activity. Yet the program tells you that you have just 

dug a hole or built a castle. A child who is not on a screen but in the 

world will learn that you need a shovel and sand and it takes hours to 

build a hole that’s big enough to stand in. So the child has a realistic 

sense of the physical effort it takes to produce change in the world. 

The child also gets a better basis for future physics, chemistry and 

math learning when he or she builds with real blocks. Stacking the 

blocks, you sense how heavy they are, you know intrinsically that 

different size blocks will hurt differently if they fall on your foot, 

and that certain ways of building will be more wobbly than others. 

This becomes the basis for intellectual learning later on. Students 

can work not just with a concept, but can marry that concept to what 

they’ve already learned in life. 

—B.L. |||| 



DOLLARS AND SENSE 

Educators are being urged to offer financial literacy courses 

that could help avoid future student loan catastrophes. 

BY KATHLEEN KELLEHER 

Student loan debt is now at a record high — estimated at more than $1.5 trillion for 2019 

— second only to mortgage debt. Student loans also have higher delinquency rates than 

other forms of debt. Call it a trillion-dollar crisis. Democratic presidential hopefuls 

like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders do; both senators describe student loan debt as 

a national emergency. A recent Harvard Business School study concludes that burdensome 

student loan debt is paralyzing young people, actually stopping them from getting advanced 

degrees in pursuit of better-paying jobs, buying homes and getting married — ultimately 

diminishing more substantial contributions they should be making to the economy. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Teaching personal financial education in schools is one way 

to lower mounting student loan debt by preparing college-bound high school graduates for 

the complexities of paying for continued schooling, the first time most will take out loans, say 

advocates for mandatory school financial literacy education. Most students do not grasp the 

fundamentals of complex financial decisions, particularly those whose parents can’t help them 

navigate the maze of loan and aid options. Less than one-third of college-bound high school 

grads know how to compare loans, more than half do not pencil out future loan payments and 

over half regret student loan choices, wishing they could change college finance commitments, 

according to to the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), a nonprofit 

dedicated to empowering individuals and families to make sound financial decisions. 

“Student loan debt is almost greater than mortgage debt, and it cannot be discharged in 

bankruptcy [although] most students think it can be,” said Anthony Zambelli, director of the 

San Diego Center for Economic Education and economics professor at Cuyamaca College in 

San Diego. “It is humongous and one of the downsides to all of this is an economy driven by 

borrowing…okay in the short run, but not the long run.” 

Yet personal financial education courses are not a high school graduation requirement and 

are not offered in most schools. South Pasadena High School, for example, does not have a 

standalone course on personal finance although it teaches an applied-math class that covers 

some personal finance elements, according to Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), a Palo 

Alto–based nonprofit that analyzes content and availability of personal finance courses at 

more than 11,000 U.S. high schools (here is the link to the search tool: ngpf.org/advocacy/). 

(Arroyoland schools are largely absent from the list, with the exception of Alhambra High, 

which offers a course in finance that meets the group’s “silver standard.”) 

South Pasadena High also offers an elective virtual business-enterprise class that touches 

on personal finance, said Principal Janet Anderson. Pasadena High School has no personal 

finance class, according to NGPF. The Waverly School, a progressive private school in 

Pasadena, has an applied finance and accounting class in its high school that includes some 

personal finance lessons, according to a school representative, speaking off the record. 

Only six high schools in California have standalone personal finance courses required for 

graduation; NGPF considers a 60-hour standalone semester course to be the gold standard. 

California requires a semester-long economics class to graduate, but such courses touch only 

briefly on personal finance education, said Zambelli, adding, “The lack of a [California] statewide 

test on economics and personal finance means that high school economics teachers can 

teach whatever they feel meets the standards.” About 140 California schools offer semesterlong, 

standalone personal finance electives, according to NGPF. The rest of the state’s high 

schools meet the one-semester economics class requirement, but, Zambelli and other proponents 

of personal finance education say, “It is not enough.” California has received an “F” since 

2013 for its schools’ weak personal financial education on the Center for Financial Literacy 




(CFL) Report Card, issued biannually by Champlain College in Vermont. 

“The definition of an ‘F’ is a state with no, or few, financial ed requirements,” said John Pelletier, 

director of the center, which offers a graduate-level summer course in teaching personal 

finance. “California has an economics requirement to graduate but no financial ed. What we 

know is that educators are as financially illiterate as anyone. There are very few states that require 

teachers to show an endorsement on their teaching license that they can teach this stuff. ” 

While five states (Virginia, Utah, Missouri, Tennessee and Alabama) require one semester 

of personal finance education to graduate from high school, only two states require the 60- 

hour gold standard, said Ranzetta, whose data builds on the 2017 Financial Report Card 

from the Center for Financial Literacy. One in six high school graduates takes a mandated 

personal finance course to graduate in the U.S., NGPF found. In low-income communities, 

that number drops to one in 12 students. Tim Ranzetta, cofounder of NGPF, says that 

requiring at least one semester of comprehensive, hands-on personal financial education for 

high school grads is the most effective way to ensure access for all students. Classes “embedded” 

with bits of personal finance info tend to be insufficient, trying to cover the material in 

just a few weeks. 

“You can’t possibly consider that adequate for a subject as comprehensive as personal 

finance,” said Ranzetta, who was inspired to create NGPF in 2014 after volunteering to teach 

the subject at a public school. “When personal finance is embedded in another class, it’s much 

more likely to be glossed over. If you asked students in those 25 states with personal finance 

embedded in other classes, you would hear, ‘I don’t recall ever taking personal finance.’ Their 

methodology of embedding it in other courses creates a really low bar.” 

Americans, in general, don’t fare well on basic financial literacy tests: nearly two-thirds of 

Americans (63 percent) fail a basic five-question financial literacy test, according to a study 

conducted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a nonprofit dedicated 

to protecting investors. Less than one-third of Americans correctly answered a question about 

compound interest. Less than one-sixth of U.S. 15-year-olds understand simple concepts used 

in basic decision-making on everyday spending. 

Despite a dearth of personal finance knowledge, most college-bound high school grads 

must grapple with interest rates, comparing loans, calculating future payment plans, understanding 

when loans are due, terms of deferment and costs of defaulting, including hits to 

credit scores. Some lenders prey on consumers with low financial literacy, including collegebound 

students. Yet California has not done its part to help students become smarter borrowers. 

But there is legislation in the works to change that. 

A bill introduced last year (AB 1087), sponsored by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham 

(R-San Luis Obispo), would make personal financial education a high school graduation requirement; 

whether that would be achieved with comprehensive materials on financial education 

baked into an economics class or a standalone personal finance education class is yet to be 

decided. Details will be worked out in committee hearings and the bill will be revisited next 

January, according to Cunningham’s chief of staff, Nicholas Mirman. But if funding does 

not follow the mandate for personal finance education classes in high schools, said Zambelli, 

nothing will happen. 

“We would like to suggest that in the future, curriculum frameworks for California 

high schools will include financial education,” said CFL’s Pelletier. “Right now there are not 

standards for financial education. I would argue that the curriculum is free so the only other 

cost is teacher training.” 

Ranzetta and other advocates have set a new goal of requiring 100 percent of American 

high schoolers to complete at least one semester of personal finance education by 2030. In 

San Diego County public high schools, students have three to four weeks of personal finance 

included in the required economics class, but, he added, it’s too little too late. Zambelli would 

like to see the subject built into curriculums from preschool to college. Also, California state 

universities’ personal financial education classes do not qualify for their behavioral science 

class requirement, yet another failed opportunity, he added. Zambelli just helped orchestrate 

three days of financial education training in June at University of San Diego for nearly 40 

elementary, high school and college teachers from around the country; the event was presented 

by the San Diego Center for Economic Education in partnership with the Federal 

Reserve banks of Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco and St. Louis. 

“Our first thrust is to teach the teachers how best to teach those personal finance subjects, 

and then we try to improve their own personal finance, because how can you teach it if you 

don’t know how to do it yourself?” said Zambelli. He noted that he learned to save when a 

bank rep visited his second-grade class and taught students to save 50 cents a week in a bank 

account, a saving habit that stuck for life. It taught him how to delay gratification, a lesson he 

passed onto his daughter, who saved enough to buy her own first car. “We are not taught to 

wait and we are not taught to save,” said Zambelli. “The younger we can get them, the better.” 

Surprisingly, there is some debate about whether personal finance education is effective. 

One critic is Lauren Willis, a professor of consumer law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. 

Willis argues that some studies show that financial education does not change behavior 

and over time loses any positive impact. “There is virtually a nothing effect averaged over 





people’s lives,” Willis said. “We expect people to be their own fi nancial planners. My 

mom is a weaver. Financial planning is not her area of expertise. I don’t fi x my own 

car.” 

But other studies support arguments by fi nancial education advocates. A recently 

published study in the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking looked at the eff ects of 

state-mandated personal fi nancial courses eff ects on fi nancial decisions made by 

incoming freshman at four-year colleges. Researchers Christina Stoddard and Carly 

Urban, professors of economics at Montana State University, compared students 

from three states with a personal fi nance graduation requirement to students from 

states without one; they also assessed students in the same state before and after these 

courses became requirements. 

Th ey found that mandated personal fi nancial education classes “shifted students 

from high-cost to low-cost fi nancing.” Th e mandated courses also led to increased 

aid to incoming freshmen and acceptance of federally subsidized loans (with lower 

interest rates). And they reduced the likelihood that students would carry credit card 

balances. Students from a ffl uent families took out smaller private loans, and those 

from less wealthy families were also less likely to work while enrolled as students 

(more study time, better outcomes). (A “plausible explanation” for lower-income students 

working less is that they had less fi nancial need to work because they borrowed 

wisely, but the researchers could not specifi cally “pin down the why.”) Th e re searchers 

followed the students from ages 18 to 22, and in a study published last year, Urban 

found that mandated personal fi nance education in high schools resulted in higher 

credit scores and fewer severe delinquencies in that age group. She compared three 

states (Georgia, Idaho and Texas) that had passed legislation requiring personal 

fi nancial education courses for graduation to a neighboring state with no such 

requirement. She also compared credit scores and delinquency rates among students 

within the same state before and after the state mandated fi nancial education. Th e 

latter comparison shows the causal eff ect, she said. 

“Students shift their borrowing to more responsible borrowing,” Urban said in 

an interview. “Students are getting more grants and scholarships after they get more 

fi nancial education. We think it has to be required to have an eff ect.” 

In sum, Urban and Stoddard’s study suggests mandated personal fi nance education 

in high school makes college-bound grads smarter and better borrowers, and 

decreases their overall debt. Th at’s encouraging, considering a record 7 million 

Americans are falling three months behind on car loan payments, and U.S. credit 

card debt, now $870 billion, is the highest it has ever been. And one-fourth of Americans 

admit that they cannot pay their bills on time, according to the Federal Reserve 

Bank of New York and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. “I love this 

study because it measures what we want to measure — behavior…not how they do on 

fi n lit tests,” said Pelletier. 

Exacerbating college debt is the rise in tuition rates. Over the past decade states 

have slashed college funding by an average of 16 percent per student; that necessitates 

tuition increases which in turn force students to take on ever-larger debt loads. Average 

student loan debt for borrowers ages 24 to 32 jumped from about $5,000 in 2005 

to $10,000 in 2014, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Borrowers 

in the class of 2017, on average, owe $28,650, according to the Institute for College 

Access and Success, a nonprofi t that works to make higher education in the U.S. 

more aff ordable. 

Ranzetta, whose NGPF off ers free teaching material on personal fi nance, emphasizes 

the enduring value of communicating simple basics: Establishing good credit by 

paying bills and loan payments on time and avoiding credit card balances with added 

interest can save hundreds of thousands of dollars on a mortgage loan. Even avoiding 

overdraft fees on a bank account, which earn banks $30 billion a year, is covered 

in basic personal fi nance instruction. Overdraft fees can turn a $3.75 cup of coff ee 

charged to an overdrawn bank account into a $38.75 cup of java. 

“What gives me hope is that there are 600 schools in the nation that require 

personal fi nance that are not located in states that require it,” said Ranzetta. “So there 

are teachers, students, parents, administrators and board members who have stood up 

and demanded fi nancial education in their local high schools. Th ere are just too many 

important decisions for it to be an ‘Oops, now how am I going to sort this out’” | || 


arroyo 

~HOME SALES INDEX~ 

HOME SALES 

-0.46% 

AVG. PRICE/SQ. FT. 

2.09.% 

June 

2018 

436HOMES 

SOLD 

ALHAMBRA JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 

Homes Sold 39 18 

Median Price $680,000 $739,000 

Median Sq. Ft. 1347 1519 

ALTADENA JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $760,000 $842,000 

Median Sq. Ft. 1507 1507 

ARCADIA JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $1,032,000 $775,000 


EAGLE ROCK JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $931,250 $902,000 


GLENDALE JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $830,000 $742,500 


LA CAÑADA JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $1,701,500 $1,924,000 


PASADENA JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $822,500 $902,500 


SAN MARINO JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $1,930,000 $1,926,500 


SIERRA MADRE JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Median Price $1,434,000 $713,500 


SOUTH PASADENA JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 

Homes Sold 19 8 

Median Price $1,430,000 $1,472,750 

Median Sq. Ft. 1917 2103 

TOTAL JUNE ’18 JUNE ’19 


Avg Price/Sq. Ft. $1893 $613 

 

June 

2019 

234HOMES 

SOLD 

HOME SALES ABOVE $850,000 

source: CalREsource 

ADDRESS CLOSE DATE PRICE BDRMS. SQ. FT. YR. BUILT PREV. PRICE PREV. SOLD 

ALHAMBRA 

932 North Electric Ave. 6/5/19 $4,820,000 3 1,236 1907 

1816 West Grand Ave. 6/26/19 $1,130,000 4 2,894 1925 $800,000 11/2/12 

405 North 3rd St. 6/27/19 $1,110,000 4 2,132 1928 

501 North El Molino St. 6/6/19 $1,030,000 5 2,219 1930 $899,000 8/24/16 

ALTADENA 

2010 Midwick Dr. 6/26/19 $2,500,000 5 3,699 1922 $2,000,000 9/23/14 

960 Alta Pine Dr. 6/21/19 $1,168,000 2 1,484 1948 $270,000 8/20/98 

1005 Parkman St. 6/25/19 $1,090,000 4 1,960 1925 $715,500 11/7/08 

2174 Mar Vista Ave. 6/19/19 $1,087,000 3 1,685 1949 $760,000 10/30/18 

2828 North Mount Curve Ave. 6/20/19 $1,050,000 3 2,062 1995 $681,000 10/29/09 

1807 North Altadena Dr. 6/20/19 $1,010,000 3 2,154 1940 

805 New York Dr. 6/25/19 $887,000 2 1,355 1947 $485,000 3/18/13 

ARCADIA 

1620 South 4th Ave. 6/3/19 $1,860,500 2 985 1947 $875,000 8/12/14 

2039 Elkins Place 6/17/19 $1,700,000 3 1,813 1955 $1,388,000 3/19/14 

1327 Linda Way 6/3/19 $1,200,000 4 1,834 1963 $880,000 3/16/16 

909 North Santa Anita Ave. 6/24/19 $1,150,000 4 1,896 1949 

1029 Encino Ave. 6/26/19 $1,109,000 3 1,776 1956 $761,000 11/26/07 

220 Eldorado St. 6/19/19 $1,045,000 3 1,973 2003 $528,000 6/4/03 

322 Diamond St. #2 6/19/19 $860,000 3 1,936 2000 $360,000 8/2/00 

E AGLE ROCK 

5148 Dahlia Dr. 6/18/19 $1,495,000 3 1,795 1923 $549,000 5/22/08 

2411 Langdale Ave. 6/3/19 $1,425,000 2 807 1922 $500,000 1/8/18 

4326 York Blvd. 6/19/19 $1,380,000 2 861 1927 $1,100,000 6/22/17 

911 La Loma Rd. 6/6/19 $990,000 4 2,235 1947 $490,000 8/27/09 

4949 Genevieve Ave. 6/28/19 $965,000 4 2159 1941 $550,000 7/12/07 

2330 Yosemite Dr. 6/25/19 $919,000 5 1882 1908 

4336 Toland Way 6/25/19 $910,000 4 1856 1930 

2537 Hyler Ave. 6/4/19 $902,000 3 1,308 1927 $575,000 3/26/07 

4911 Algoma Ave. 6/5/19 $866,500 3 1,980 1985 $172,000 6/1/87 

1490 Silverwood Dr. 6/17/19 $853,000 2 1,352 1952 

1042 Glen Arbor Ave. 6/25/19 $850,000 3 2055 1950 $415,000 11/2/10 

GLENDALE 

1609 San Gabriel Ave. 6/5/19 $1,700,000 3 2,192 1950 

1633 Santa Barbara Ave. 6/4/19 $1,423,000 2 2,467 1925 $1,350,000 6/7/18 

1960 El Arbolita Dr. 6/6/19 $1,408,000 3 2,596 1936 $1,175,000 11/8/13 

1444 East Maple St. 6/17/19 $1,315,000 4 2,640 1923 $1,090,000 11/9/17 

3000 North Verdugo Rd. 6/25/19 $1,250,000 4 2,177 1950 $718,000 3/7/19 

206 Allen Ave. 6/25/19 $1,215,000 2 2,068 1920 $230,000 7/16/98 

953 Calle La Primavera 6/20/19 $1,040,000 4 2,548 1992 $980,000 3/23/15 

1315 Romulus Dr. 6/17/19 $1,030,000 2 1,096 1927 $880,000 11/8/16 

1919 Canada Blvd. 6/24/19 $930,000 4 2,594 1931 

1109 Green St. 6/28/19 $915,000 3 1,503 1929 $688,000 6/6/16 

1858 Caminito Del Cielo 6/24/19 $900,000 2 2,146 1990 $825,000 4/28/16 

3535 Rosemary Ave. 6/17/19 $885,000 2 1,045 1925 $269,000 2/1/89 

1600 Marion Dr. 6/28/19 $850,000 3 1,250 1963 $654,500 3/3/16 

LA CAÑADA 

5350 Harter Lane 6/18/19 $5,100,000 5 8,797 2005 $350,000 11/12/99 

635 Berkshire Ave. 6/6/19 $4,250,000 6 6,107 1949 $10,000 1/1/92 

384 Meadow Grove St. 6/19/19 $3,700,000 5 5,255 1931 

4257 Woodleigh Lane 6/19/19 $3,070,000 6 3,056 1924 $2,900,000 12/29/14 

4228 Chula Senda Lane 6/6/19 $2,750,000 2 2,357 1950 

4284 Hampstead Rd. 6/4/19 $2,600,000 3 3,039 1976 

4736 Gould Ave. 6/4/19 $2,500,000 5 3,792 1941 $2,220,000 6/4/07 

5525 Stardust Rd. 6/26/19 $2,400,000 4 3,004 1958 $1,245,000 3/1/06 


The Arroyo Home Sales Index is calculated from residential home sales in Pasadena and the surrounding communities of South Pasadena, San Marino, La Canada Flintridge, Eagle Rock, Glendale (including Montrose), Altadena, Sierra 

Madre, Arcadia and Alhambra. Individual home sales data provided by CalREsource. Arroyo Home Sales Index © Arroyo 2019. Complete home sales listings appear each week in Pasadena Weekly. 

08.19 ARROYO | 19


–continued from page 19 


LA CAÑADA 

4730 Hayman Ave. 6/27/19 $2,310,500 4 3,258 1954 $1,900,000 2/8/17 

4810 Fairlawn Dr. 6/17/19 $1,948,000 4 2,917 1950 $766,000 4/4/01 

1304 Journeys End Dr. 6/20/19 $1,900,000 3 1,666 1957 $990,000 9/11/15 

660 Pomander Place 6/19/19 $1,842,500 4 2,606 1951 $1,200,000 10/28/09 

933 Coral Way 6/28/19 $1,815,000 5 3,231 1956 $530,000 4/26/00 

5025 Ocean View Blvd. 6/28/19 $1,560,000 3 2,296 1963 $880,000 2/25/05 

547 Meadowview Dr. 6/4/19 $1,492,000 4 2,509 1973 $1,760,000 2/14/19 

515 Starlight Crest Dr. 6/4/19 $1,492,000 4 4,266 1966 $1,700,000 3/29/12 

5156 Redwillow Lane 6/4/19 $1,492,000 4 4,707 1990 $750,000 12/1/89 

2020 Manistee Dr. 6/21/19 $1,417,000 3 1,912 1961 $1,145,000 10/3/16 

2104 Normanton Dr. 6/28/19 $1,165,000 3 1,888 1961 

PASADENA 

890 Huntington Circle 6/3/19 $6,300,000 7 7184 1933 $3,430,000 7/20/04 

801 South San Rafael Ave. 6/18/19 $3,850,000 4 3310 1947 $750,000 5/1/87 

325 South Grand Ave. 6/5/19 $3,300,000 7 5908 1893 $2,310,000 4/25/03 

1112 Wellington Ave. 6/28/19 $3,150,000 3 3473 1912 $1,716,000 10/12/11 

1235 Linda Ridge Rd. 6/18/19 $2,800,000 4 2641 1957 $1,600,000 4/16/10 

1010 Old Mill Rd. 6/28/19 $2,550,000 5 2909 1922 $1,720,000 6/30/11 

420 South Greenwood Ave. 6/5/19 $2,150,000 4 2888 1926 $1,112,000 5/21/03 

929 South Oakland Ave. 6/5/19 $2,145,000 4 2617 1920 $995,000 3/12/04 

537 Michigan Blvd. 6/18/19 $2,050,000 6 5856 1925 

112 South Orange Grove Blvd. #2086/28/19 $2,050,000 2 2530 2016 $1,678,045 5/25/16 

1313 North Hill Ave. 6/28/19 $1,798,000 5000 1924 

1340 East California Blvd. 6/4/19 $1,755,000 3 3600 1931 $956,500 3/14/19 

80 South Sunnyslope Ave. 6/19/19 $1,715,000 9 4948 1966 

3675 Yorkshire Rd. 6/20/19 $1,680,000 3 1440 1947 $760,000 7/22/17 

1590 Oakdale St. 6/27/19 $1,615,000 4 3034 1923 

85 Glen Summer Rd. 6/28/19 $1,560,000 4 2301 1947 $1,512,000 8/17/16 

2750 San Pasqual St. 6/3/19 $1,535,500 3 1770 1952 $489,500 9/3/99 

385 South Bonnie Ave. 6/19/19 $1,529,000 3 2091 1936 $585,000 10/18/00 

722 East California Blvd. 6/6/19 $1,467,000 5 1905 1922 $1,050,000 2/15/07 

1052 Pine Oak Lane 6/18/19 $1,435,000 4 2379 1968 

1151 South Los Robles Ave. 6/6/19 $1,421,000 3 2036 1948 $799,000 1/24/05 

99 Annandale Rd. 6/5/19 $1,396,000 3 2148 1936 $1,049,000 6/18/12 

1424 Linda Vista Ave. 6/18/19 $1,370,000 3 1803 1946 $908,000 7/31/12 

3695 Greenhill Rd. 6/19/19 $1,275,000 2 2090 1950 

745 La Loma Rd. 6/25/19 $1,245,000 4 1757 1908 

1098 North Los Robles Ave. 6/25/19 $1,200,000 5 2949 1938 

1573 North Hill Ave. 6/27/19 $1,195,000 2 2047 1924 $525,000 3/24/17 


PASADENA 

3840 Canfi eld Rd. 6/5/19 $1,181,000 2 1850 1950 

981 Worcester Ave. 6/6/19 $1,149,500 4 1911 1912 $905,000 3/12/15 

946 East Topeka St. 6/20/19 $1,127,000 3 2407 1981 $339,000 3/23/98 

1436 Paloma St. 6/4/19 $1,125,000 5 2434 1924 

1424 Wesley Ave. 6/21/19 $1,105,000 4 2060 1924 

1390 Riviera Dr. 6/6/19 $1,100,000 3 2095 1955 $310,000 8/1/90 

2186 Las Lunas St. 6/24/19 $1,090,000 3 2058 1952 $695,000 9/21/10 

3696 Yorkshire Rd. 6/28/19 $1,070,000 3 2048 1947 $810,000 12/12/18 

108 South El Molino Ave. #302 6/20/19 $1,050,000 3 1811 2004 $800,000 7/9/12 

1465 Washburn Rd. 6/24/19 $1,031,000 3 1218 1958 $660,000 1/25/13 

383 South Marengo Ave. #102 6/21/19 $1,020,000 3 1660 $874,500 7/18/17 

135 Backus Ave. 6/4/19 $1,000,000 5 2054 1924 $305,000 6/3/09 

2174 Casa Grande St. 6/6/19 $990,000 3 1518 1931 $610,000 11/16/09 

2193 Loma Vista St. 6/19/19 $975,000 4 1474 1928 $235,000 4/1/92 

1693 East Elizabeth St. 6/21/19 $970,000 4 2070 1939 $849,000 11/15/16 

1851 Fiske Ave. 6/25/19 $950,000 3 1789 1948 $740,000 4/5/17 

2212 East Crary St. 6/3/19 $945,000 3 1614 1950 $710,000 11/17/05 

1545 Knollwood Terrace 6/3/19 $945,000 4 2159 1954 $1,800,000 5/3/19 

2245 East Dudley St. 6/3/19 $941,000 3 1736 1928 $247,500 3/1/89 

87 Columbia St. 6/4/19 $905,000 2 1142 1925 

125 Hurlbut St. #107 6/27/19 $900,000 

3576 Thorndale Rd. 6/26/19 $890,000 2 1241 1938 $805,000 6/6/14 

1432 North Harding Ave. 6/19/19 $875,000 2 1780 1933 

1131 South Orange Grove Blvd. 6/27/19 $870,000 2 1618 1964 $800,000 2/21/17 

1758 Kenneth Way 6/19/19 $855,000 2 837 1949 $530,000 9/18/18 

SAN MARINO 

1450 Westhaven Rd. 6/24/19 $2,993,500 3 2207 1952 $1,846,000 6/3/16 

811 South Santa Anita Ave. 6/6/19 $2,108,000 4 3219 1949 

1836 Sharon Place 6/20/19 $1,928,000 3 2294 1950 $650,000 7/1/90 

2865 Lorain Rd. 6/5/19 $1,925,000 3 2369 1953 $540,000 12/5/00 

1710 Rubio Dr. 6/27/19 $1,728,000 3 1973 1940 $1,251,000 6/1/06 

2285 Longden Dr. 6/28/19 $1,360,000 2 1434 1947 

SIERRA MADRE 

407 West Orange Grove Ave. 6/18/19 $1,225,000 2 1735 1960 $900,000 9/9/18 

SOUTH PASADENA 

803 Columbia St. 6/19/19 $3,951,500 6 4785 1925 $1,635,000 5/15/02 

238 Saint Albans Ave. 6/18/19 $1,745,500 4 3846 1986 $1,500,000 1/18/17 

1233 Brunswick Ave. 6/28/19 $1,600,000 4 2292 1963 $1,615,000 7/25/17 

807 Bank St. 6/21/19 $1,545,500 2 1913 1959 

835 Rollin St. 6/5/19 $1,400,000 4 2334 1960 $720,000 6/15/11 

2002 Oak St. 6/27/19 $1,335,000 3 1309 1924 

08.19 ARROYO | 21

ARROYO 

HOME & DESIGN 

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT 

THE ART OF 

DORM ROOM DESIGN 

Whether On A Budget Or Going For Luxury, College Students Are 

Paying More Attention Than Ever To What Goes In Their Rooms 

By Bruce Haring 

It’s that time of year again. After a summer spent working, 

playing and generally relaxing, the young adults in your home are 

heading back to college life. Some are going away for the first time, 

while veterans of the campus are busy planning their schedules and 

looking forward to greeting old friends. 

Whatever the status of your student, one thing they have 

in common is their living conditions. Most are in college dorms, 

although some opt for off-campus apartments or fraternity/sorority 

life. And that means they will occupy a room that needs to be made 

livable for studying and relaxing. 

Most dorm rooms will provide the standard issue furniture - a 

bed, a thin mattress, a desk and chair, maybe a mirror, and perhaps 

a trash can. The rest is usually up to you. Some trendy and wealthy 

college students are actually enlisting interior decorators to come up 

with dorm room ideas, and there’s no shortage of designer websites 

that are inspiring students to reach a bit with their budget. 

The US Census reports that 18.4 million students are enrolled in 

college as of 2017, the last year numbers are available. Women are 

the majority at 54.0 percent of undergraduates and 59.8 percent of 

graduate students. 

continued on page 25 




—ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT— 

continued from page 22 

Most dorm rooms will provide the standard issue furniture - a bed, a thin 

mattress, a desk and chair, maybe a mirror, and perhaps a trash can. The rest 

is usually up to you. Some trendy and wealthy college students are actually 

enlisting interior decorators to come up with dorm room ideas, and there’s no 

shortage of designer websites that are inspiring students to reach a bit with their 

budget. 

The US Census reports that 18.4 million students are enrolled in college as 

of 2017, the last year numbers are available. Women are the majority at 54.0 

percent of undergraduates and 59.8 percent of graduate students. 

Overall, about 40 percent of full-time students live on campus, with 40 

percent living off-campus and 20 percent living with their parents. However, in 

some private schools, as much as 90 percent to 100 percent of students live on 

campus. 

The art of college room decoration is a highly subjective one, made all the 

more complicated by the fact that your scholar may be sharing a room with one 

or more people. Tastes vary, and the space students have is generally small and 

utilitarian, designed to accommodate the basic necessities of living rather than 

luxuriating in a plush space. 

Statistics on how much people are spending on dorm décor are hard 

to come by. The National Retail Federation indicates that around $1,000 

is in the ballpark of what the average student will spend, but obviously 

that’s a vested interest in getting you to load up. That figure undoubtedly 

includes some things that the average student can easily live without. US 

dorm spending totals more than $50 million per year, though, so someone is 

digging deep into their pockets. 

WORK WITH THE SPACE 

To take full advantage of the limited space, dorm rooms need to be 

organized. You need a space for studying, one for sleeping, and then hopefully 

there’s room for a comfortable chair or two to make it easier to have a guest or 

two visit. 

Setting the mood in a dorm room all starts with light. Most dorms have one 

window and fluorescent bulbs as their basics. Neither are particularly inviting. 

Thus, it’s smart to have a lamp that can bend in several directions. A good desk 

lamp that can be repositioned is ideal, as the desk will likely adjoin your sleeping 

space and can serve two purposes if you read laying down. 

You may also consider a stand-alone pole lamp that can be used for 

ambient lighting in the room. You can also create a more festive feel with string 

lights. These will have to wrap around something for support, so perhaps some 

adhesive backed hooks will be needed. 

Posters can also help set a mood, although it’s wise to stay away from 

Che Guevara and other potentially inflammatory depictions. A landscape 

can provide some calming moments in hectic times, and prints are easily 

found on websites like Etsy and Society6 that have many thousands of 

unique art prints. 

Storage is at a premium in tight quarters. A three-drawer vertical cart on 

wheels can be positioned wherever there is space in the room. There are also 

continued on page 29 






continued from page 25 

pieces of furniture that can provide storage options and not take up a lot of 

room. Consider the unused spaces in the dorm room as well – places like under 

the bed or on top of the dresser. Both are ripe for storage containers that can 

hold various items. 

THE LUXURY ITEMS 

The above are the items that you need to live a basic existence. But a 

Spartan existence, while budget conscious, isn’t really conducive to enjoyment. 

There are a few other items to consider that will bring some vibrant qualities to 

make the room feel more like home. 

First and foremost, get a dorm-size refrigerator. Yes, as attested to by the 

infamous “freshman 15” that most students gain in their first year away from 

home, the catering at colleges is quite good. But you’ll also need some drinks 

and snacks in your room for the wee, small hours of the morning, and a dorm 

room refrigerator is the godsend that will help you get through some of those 

times. Most small units start below $200, going up from there, depending on what 

else you want. Keep in mind that space is at a premium and this isn’t a kitchen, 

so plan for something that will provide a maximum of enjoyment in a minimum of 

space. 

In the old days, a television in the dorm was a luxury. Now, thanks to 

streaming, most students can watch whatever they want on their laptops. Since 

there are subscription costs for many sites, plan accordingly for what you really, 

really need to watch. 

Music can also be streamed from your phones, but consider adding to the 

ambience with some wireless speakers that can pump the bass and the party 

when necessary. Sonos and Logitech are two brands that are popular, but 

review what’s out there on Amazon and adjust your budget accordingly. 

Finally, consider a small area rug to give a touch of warmth to the cold, tile 

floors that will undoubtedly be a part of dorm life. Small rugs can be found for 

$100 or less, and they add considerable charm to your living space. 

All of the above are something of an investment in your life, and four years 

will go by pretty rapidly. If you’ve chosen quality items, the dorm room style can 

become a part of your first post-college apartment. That’s when the real testing 

begins. 




Education 

A DIRECTORY OF LEARNING OPTIONS 

Altadena Children’s Center 

At Altadena Children’s Center, the families of the children in our programs who range 

in age from 2 months to prekindergarten fi nd programs that meet the needs of the 

whole child within a developmentally appropriate framework. Our family-centered 

approach helps to nurture healthy partnerships between teachers and parents as 

we all work together to support the children. We are eager to help families from 

diverse backgrounds to discover that Altadena Children’s Center is the best place 

for their child’s early education. 

Contact Director Toni Boucher at (626) 797-6142 or visit accc-kids.org. 

Barnhart School 

We believe that education is a lifelong comprehensive human experience; that social 

and emotional learning is as important as academic learning. Accredited by the 

California Association of Independent Schools and Western Association of Schools 

and Colleges, Barnhart is distinguished through its focus on Early Literacy, Writers’ 

Workshop, the Virtues Program, conversational Spanish at all grade levels, daily PE 

and a stellar middle school program where students are graduating with acceptance 

to their top choice high schools. In addition to a robust and rigorous academic 

base of subjects, we provide a full range of co-curricular programs including 

music, art, technology, Spanish and PE. In middle school, we further extend learning 

to include classes in public speaking, life skills, woodshop, theater arts, yearbook 

production, student leadership and much more. Barnhart is known as a “down to 

earth”, diverse community. We invite you to take a tour and talk with our parents 

and students. Come meet our dedicated team of professionals, spend some time in 

our community, and watch our students in action! 

240 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia (626)446-5588 barnhartschool.org 

California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley 

The mission of California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley (CSArts-SGV) is to provide 

an unparalleled arts and academic education to a diverse group students who 

are passionate about the arts, preparing them to reach their highest potential. Our 

dynamic school culture enables students to fl ourish in a uniquely challenging and 

nurturing environment that celebrates creativity, individual growth and supportive 

learning. Students receive a robust and rigorous college-preparatory curriculum in 

addition to pre-professional arts conservatory training in their chosen discipline of 

dance, fi ne and media arts, music or theatre. CSArts-SGV is a tuition-free, donationdependent 

program serving 1,200 seventh through 12th grade students from across 

the San Gabriel Valley. 

Come learn more at our Preview Days coming up on October 12, December 7 and January 

11. www.sgv.csarts.net/previewday 




Education 



The Gooden School: A Values Driven Community 

At The Gooden School, a K-8 independent, co-ed day school nestled in the foothills 

of Sierra Madre, strong and clearly expressed values create identity, focus, unity, 

and drive. Gooden’s new head, Jo-Anne Woolner, is proud to be leading a community 

where the school’s motto, “Respect for self, others, and the world” answers 

the questions, ‘what do we belong to?’, ‘what’s important to us?’, ‘what holds us 

together?’ and ‘why do our collective efforts matter?’ The school’s values, rooted 

in its Episcopal identity, inspire its students to try harder as individuals so that collectively 

the school community thrives. The curriculum facilitates cooperative and 

independent learning, promotes unconditional acceptance of self and others, 

recognizes the interdependence of mind and body, inspires a love of learning, encourages 

self-determination, and develops global awareness. Open houses will be 

held on Saturday, November 2, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and Wednesday, 

January 15, 2020 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. 

For more information please call (626) 355-2410 or go to the school’s website at goodenschool.org 

High Point Academy 

High Point’s mission is to awaken the joy of learning by inspiring students to their 

fullest potential in a collaborative, stimulating community of caring and academic 

excellence. Dedicated, talented faculty provide a strong K-8 curriculum enriched 

by world languages, music, art, library, technology, and daily physical education. 

High Point’s 2019 graduates gained entrance into acclaimed independent high 

schools, earning over $700,000 in merit scholarships. Experience why High Point 

instills self-confi dence, good character, and an exceptional foundation for success. 

For more information, attend an Open House or sign-up for a tour. 

HighPointAcademy.org 

Immaculate Heart High School & Middle School 

A Catholic, independent, college preparatory school, Immaculate Heart educates 

and empowers young women in grades sixth through 12th grades. Founded in 1906, 

Immaculate Heart offers a distinguished history, with more than 10,000 graduates. 

Its hillside campus, centrally located in Los Angeles near Griffi th Park, welcomes 

students of geographic, ethnic and religious diversity. Virtually 100 percent matriculate 

to college, including the most prestigious universities in the country. The high 

school’s curriculum offers 14 honors classes and 18 Advanced Placement courses, 

including the new two-year AP Capstone course. IH fi elds teams in basketball, cross 

country, diving, equestrian, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & fi eld, and 

volleyball. Students participate in community service, retreats and liturgies, theatrical 

productions, the visual arts, and more than 30 clubs. Bus transportation serves 

Pasadena! 

5515 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028. immaculateheart.org (323) 461-3651 

Los Angeles Children’s Chorus 

An introduction to vocal instruction from an award-winning children’s chorus. 

Children are introduced to the wonder and excitement of singing and key music 

concepts in First Experiences in Singing (FES), a non-auditioned, non-performing 

class for 6-7-year-olds. New singers develop vocal and musical skills, are exposed to 

general tonal and rhythmic concepts, and introduced to bel canto singing. Through 

the FES program, children gain experience and confi dence singing in bel canto 

technique in group, small group, and solo settings; learn tonal and rhythmic skills 

through Kodály-based sequential lessons, from master teachers; become familiar 


–continued on page 35




Education 



with high-quality folk songs, singing games, and dances; demonstrate the skills 

learned through a fi nal demonstration for parents, family, and friends, followed by a 

social gathering. 

585 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena (626) 793-4231 lachildrenschorus.org 

Pacifica Graduate Institute 

Pacifi ca Graduate Institute is an accredited graduate school offering masters and 

doctoral degree programs in the traditions of depth psychology. Our educational 

environment nourishes respect for cultural diversity and individual differences, and 

our students have access to an impressive array of educational resources on Pacifi 

ca’s two campuses, both of which are located a few miles south of Santa Barbara, 

California. Join us for our Information Day and learn about our various degree programs 

in the tradition of Depth Psychology informed by the teachings of C.G. Jung, 

Joseph Campbell, Marion Woodman, James Hillman, and others. 

Saturday, August 24th from 10:00am-4:00pm. Pacifica.edu. 

Realtime Captioning 

DIANA BRANDIN REALTIME CAPTIONING & ASL! - Communication Access Realtime 

Translation and Sign Language (ASL, SEE, Tactile, Spanish - on-site and remote).We 

now do LIVE-STREAMED EVENTS to YouTube, FB, or other platforms. We specialize in 

in K-12, colleges, & university CARTcaptioning, large and small organization conferences, 

non-profi ts and more. ADA Compliance. Communication access for public/ 

private academic institutions (universities, colleges, K-12, special events, on-site and 

online learning), businesses, corporations, non-profi ts, for-profi ts, corporate meetings, 

conferences, conference calls, live-streamed webinars, legal, court, hearings, 

medical, hospitals, doctor appointments, social services, weddings, funerals. 

Realtime captioning and American Sign Language plus transcription of recorded 

media, closed-captioning or subtitles for videos, webinars, DVDs, YouTube clips, and 

other media. Live captions displayed via tablet, smartphone, laptop, fl at-screen TV, 

projector-to-screen, jumbotron and more. We hire only seasoned professionals! Local 

small business and woman-owned business. FREE DEMOS onsite and remotely. 

OnPointCaptions.com | (818) 279-8136 

South Pasadena Music Center 

South Pasadena Music Center & Conservatory offers lessons and classes in the 

European classical tradition, combined with cutting edge instruction in jazz, rock, 

and modern music. Our instructors are professionals in their fi elds and have masters 




Education 


Stowell Learning Center 

Weak underlying processing skills can cause even very bright students to have 

to work harder or longer than expected. These skills are not usually addressed at 

school, but they are essential for reading and comprehending words on a page. An 

estimated 30% of students in school have some diffi culty with auditory processing; 

20% are dyslexic; and 50% of those who are ADHD are said to have hidden auditory 

processing challenges. At Stowell Learning Center, We Have “A System - Not 

a Program. We have helped over 10,000 struggling students become successful in 

school and in life through our proprietary brain training approach, and we believe 

we can help you and your struggling student too. When a child is working harder 

than he/she should, it’s time to look at why, and what can be done differently and 

more effectively. At Stowell Learning Center, Students Experience Results that Last A 

Lifetime! 

Come visit us at our new Pasadena location! 572 E. Green St., Suite 200 (626) 808-4441 

stowellcenter.com. 


or doctoral degrees in music. We also offer Early Childhood Music and Movement 

classes for children 15 mos to 2 years and ages 3 – 5 years. These classes are fun, 

energetic, and encourage kids to play with sounds, pitch, and rhythm. It’s a great 

way to prepare young ones for instrumental instruction. With the start of the school 

year around the corner, our instructor schedules begin to fi ll up. Call soon to reserve 

your spot. Come make music with us this fall! 

1509 Mission Street, South Pasadena (626) 403-2300 southpasadenamusic.com 

Stratford Schools 

Stratford School provides an unparalleled education where children are inspired 

to be creative problem solvers, innovators, and leaders. These 21st century qualities 

provide children with the knowledge, confi dence, and ingenuity to help them excel 

in future careers! Stratford’s accelerated curriculum from preschool through eighth 

grade emphasizes STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) 

while incorporating music, physical education, foreign language, and social skills 

development. By combining a safe and nurturing learning environment, Stratford 

teachers ensure a stimulating and balanced curriculum while cultivating a child’s 

natural joy of learning. Evident at all its schools is the Stratford motto, “Summa spes, 

summa res,” meaning “Highest hopes, highest things.” Grades: Preschool-8th. 

2046 Allen Ave., Altadena (626) 794-1000 stratfordschools.com |||| 


BACK TO SCHOOL… 

FOR GRANDPARENTS 

Grandparents Universities offer aging baby boomers the chance to bond with their 

grandkids in learning environments. 

BY KATHLEEN KELLEHER 

DEBBIE MERCER WENT BACK TO 

COLLEGE WITH HER THEN 8-YEAR-OLD 

GRANDDAUGHTER, KADENCE, IN TOW. THE 

2013 EXPERIENCE WAS A CONTINUATION 

OF HER INTENSE LOVE FOR BOTH HER ALMA 

MATER AND HER GRANDDAUGHTER, AND 

A DESIRE TO INTRODUCE KADENCE TO THE 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Kansas State University 

KSU’s Debbie Mercer shares quality time with Kadence 

JOYS OF FUTURE COLLEGE LIFE. 

“I wanted to share my love of Kansas State [University] 

with her and provide an opportunity for her to see and 

experience K-State through the eyes of the student,” Mercer, 

dean of the College of Education at Kansas State University, 

said in an email interview. “The expectation to go on to 

college needs to be nurtured and supported.” 

The program Mercer and her granddaughter participated 

in is Grandparents University, a shared college learning 

opportunity for both old and young. The one- two- or 

three-day visit is full of joint learning, frivolity and 

intergenerational bond-building. Every summer thousands 

of grandparents from around the world descend on college 

campuses, mostly in the Midwest, with their grandkids ages 

7 through 14 in tow. 

There are more than 70 million grandparents in the 

U.S. — more than ever before, according to 2017 Census 

figures. That’s because the baby boom has aged into the 

grandparent boom. The number of grandparents has jumped 

by 24 percent since 2001. By age 65, 83 percent of Americans 

are grandparents, according to the Pew Research Center, 

and they are a robust economic and demographic force 

with considerable spending power. One way grandparents 

contribute to their grandchildren’s lives is by exposing 




them to values and life paths (and in many cases, by helping pay for college 

tuition). Grandparents University aims to help with that guidance, while allowing 

grandparents to re-experience college life. Sharing “aha!” moments of learning 

together helps forge a relationship of equals rather than wizened teacher and childstudent. 

Grandparents stay with their grandchildren in a dormitory room or suite and 

attend classes together. GPU classes are taught by professors, faculty members, 

teaching assistants and professionals in the course subject. Some programs are 

limited to alumni, but many are open to all, including aunts, uncles, godparents and 

others who want to attend GPU with a special child. Typically, there are between 50 

and 60 participants at GPU camp, said Mercer. 

GPU was started on the campus of University of Wisconsin, Madison, by 

the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) during the summer of 2001. It has 

been licensed to and replicated at colleges around the country, including Purdue, 

Michigan State, Oklahoma State, West Chester, Western Washington, Winona 

State, University of North Texas, and other University of Wisconsin campuses. 

Mercer was inspired to start a GPU at Kansas State University in 2013 because of her 

granddaughter and has since attended yearly, first with Kadence, until she aged out in 

2017, and then with her second granddaughter, Paisley, starting last summer. “Both 

girls absolutely loved it,” said Mercer. “They loved the Insect Zoo, STEM activities, 

eating K-State’s world-renowned Call Hall ice cream, taking dance classes and 


GPU at KSU 

sleeping in dorms and feeling like real college students.” 

For Mercer, a grandparent who’s also a working professional, the chance for two 

days of one-on-one time with each granddaughter in a place “that means the world to 

me” was a rare treat. 

“What more could I ask for?” said Mercer. 

GPU also aims to help children learn about possible careers and exposes them to 

college life, encouraging them to eventually attend the university. Course offerings 

are wide and varied. For example, there are 25 “majors” to choose from at University 

of Wisconsin at Madison, ranging from art, entomology and digital storytelling to 

social robotics, engineering and wildlife ecology. University tours and field trips 

are integral to most GPUs, but they all offer “ice cream socials,” board games and 

meetings with school mascots. 

THE ABCs OF GPUs 

Length of stay: Most programs last 2½ days. 

Who can attend: Some GPU programs require that adults in attendance be alums 

(University of Wisconsin–Madison, Purdue and Oklahoma do), but others, like KSU, 

do not. Check with the GPU program website you are interested in. 

Prices: Costs range from $250 to $340 per grandparent and $200 to $245 per 

child. Linens and pillows may be provided but may vote an extra fee. If you recall, 

dorm mattresses are thin, so you may want to stay in a hotel. Applications are 

generally due in January or February for the following summer. 

What it includes: Wisconsin, Purdue, Winona State and Oklahoma State ask 

participants to focus on a specific field of study or major. It could be veterinary 

medicine, astronomy, computer science or archery, according to Forbes Magazine. 

Other universities offer hands-on courses like theory of flight, producing a television 

show, fashion design, how DNA studies work, robotics and making a recording of 

a grandparent reading to a grandchild, Forbes adds. Some GPUs allow attendees 





to take up to four classes; at some, like Michigan State, there are 200 classes from 

which to choose. Most GPUs include evening programs, leaving ample time to 

explore campuses, photo opportunities with school mascots, trivia competitions, 

rope-climbing, team-building and “secret” projects for grandchildren to create a 

parting gift for their grandparents. Some also include field trips. Prices usually 

include housing, meals and campus transportation. 

Most popular classes: Not surprisingly, Legos courses are a hit. Jessica 

Kauphussman, director of the Winona Retiree Center, told Forbes that its GPU 

Legos class is very popular with grandchildren — who help grandparents to learn the 

technology and problem-solving, rather than the reverse. Always popular are STEMrelated 

sessions, including robotics, airplane building and bridge construction, said 

KSU’s Mercer. Of course, everyone loves KSU’s Veterinary Health Center, where 

they can watch student vets care for animals, and the marching band, said Mercer. 

Attendees learn cheers, get to know band members and handle the instruments. 

Takeaway: Fond memories of college draw many grandparents to GPUs, which 

promote family bonding and lifting up the next generation. The hope is that a 

university education will be a natural segue for the grandchild, rather than a jolting 

shift from high school. Said Mercer: “When that is coupled with the love of a special 

child, it just creates the perfect opportunity for creating new Wildcat [K-state’s 

mascot] memories.” |||| 


HAPPY 

Lauren Schneider 

CAMPERS 

Children beset by grief over the loss of a loved one 

find solace and strength at Camp Erin in Glendale. 

BY CARL KOZLOWSKI 


Marjani Welch was only 10 years old on Dec. 28, 2017, the day her father, 

Michael, died during surgery. It wasn’t supposed to happen — Michael 

had entered the hospital a healthy man to undergo prophylactic surgery to 

prevent future cancer due to a genetic mutation. 

For Marjani and her mother, Marche Boose-Welch, the death was devastating. 

But afterward, both found solace through the therapy programs of the grief support 

center Our House, which offers group discussions for survivors of all ages. 

Healing programs include a powerful twice-yearly experience for kids ages 6 to 17 

called Camp Erin. Children who have experienced the death of a loved one — usually 

a parent, but sometimes a sibling or best friend — can spend a weekend with 

other kids who are also working through their grief. Dozens of campers who arrive 

downcast participate in traditional activities like swimming, rock-climbing and 

campfires but also create skits and songs to express and share their feelings, enabling 

them to return home happier and better adjusted. The weekend is free for campers. 

“I learned about Our House, and my sister who lives in Northern California told 

me about Camp Erin,” says Boose-Welch. “We did an interview at Our House and 

found group support that was appropriate for her age group that she’s been attending 

for a year. She loves it, goes every other week and keeps me on track in taking her 

there. It gives her an opportunity to meet other children who understand what it’s 

like to lose a parent, and I love that she loves it and it’s something where I never have 

to say, ‘Come on, let’s go.’ 

“This is her second year attending camp and I’m so grateful that kids can go and 

have just a little away time, feel special and realize that they’re not the only one,” she 

continues. “She’s made some good friends here. For me, it helps because I know that 

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Our House

she loves it and it’s comforting to her. A lot of times it’s hard for me to find the words 

since Michael’s passing was so tragic and unexpected.” 

Camp Erin’s most recent session took place the second weekend of June (the next 

one runs Sept. 6–8) at the nonprofit residential Camp Bob Waldorf, a bucolic spread 

of land in the hills above Glendale with a pool, children’s play areas, trails and cabins. 

Boose-Welch was with a large crowd of parents and family members who came to 

the camp’s arts center to watch the 81 campers perform a series of original songs 

and skits. On the wall behind the stage, a memory board of photos spotlighted the 

loved ones who had passed, along with notes handwritten by the kids. The notes were 

heartbreaking yet life-affirming at the same time, distillations of the sadness around 

those who had passed while also serving as warm remembrances of their best qualities. 

A camp leader told the audience that “your kids will look 100 percent different 

than before” — that is, they’d be smiling rather than overcome with grief and fear. 

Soon, the youngest girls marched onstage wearing “unicorn horns” for the first skit, 

followed by dozens of other kids and teens who smiled and waved at their families 

and friends — most of them delighted and surprised to see their young ones happy 

again. The unicorn girls reenacted their weekend’s dance party, grief hike, pool party 

and plate-smashing session to vent their frustrations. A boys’ group performed a 

Spider-Man skit in which the webbed wonder battled a villain called Griefer-Man to 

crush the sadness he spreads. Another group of girls called the Sassy Snakes sang a 

satire of the classic song “My Favorite Things,” while boys’ groups spoofed The Avengers 

or Ghostbusters, morphing into “Griefbusters.” 




The skits were mostly silly, but they were clearly effective in making the kids feel 

better about themselves, bringing numerous parents to tears. “I loved my daughter’s 

skit, but I really enjoyed all of them,” says Boose-Welch. “I loved seeing her participate 

with the other girls. She can be a little shy so it warms my heart to see her 

interacting with girls with a similar experience. I enjoyed seeing them learn coping 

mechanisms like breathing and punching the air.” 

According to camp director Lauren Schneider, Camp Erin is the largest national 

bereavement program for grieving youth, with more than 40 camps across the 

country. The camps were created by the philanthropic Eluna Network and named 

after Erin Metcalf, a young friend of Major League Baseball pitcher Jamie Moyer 

and his wife, Karen, who lost her battle with liver cancer at age 17. The Moyers, who 

launched the first Camp Erin in 2002, also oversee the foundation. Camp Erin – 

L.A. was the subject of the Emmy-winning HBO documentary One Last Hug. 

Our House Grief Support Center itself has offices in, Woodland Hills, West L.A. 

and Koreatown, serving adults and children ages 4 and up. “We were invited to do 

Camp Erin by the Eluna foundation in 2009,” says Schneider, clinical director of 

child and adolescent programs for Our House. “We came to this particular location 

here in Glendale after renting Camp Bloomfield in Malibu, which burned down in 

the Woolsey Fire in December. 

“We had to really quickly move to find a new location,” adds Schneider. “I had 

worked for Jewish Big Brothers [Big Sisters of Los Angeles, which owns and operates 

Camp Bob Waldorf] earlier in my career, and I knew of this location. I called them 

on Monday first thing after we knew the fire had taken out the camp, and we got 

approved.” 

Many campers are referred by their school counselor or therapist, and most are involved 

with the Our House Grief Support program, which is the largest in California 

and serves more than 800 kids in L.A. County alone. The camp program includes 

swimming, DJ dance parties, therapy dogs and tie-dying T-shirts, all in an effort to 


educe the isolation the children experience elsewhere in their lives. “We make sure 

they exchange contact information, because one of their biggest problems is they 

feel cut off from other children and lose a lot of friendships,” says Schneider. “They 

may go home with at least one friend they’ll stay in touch with, and we have three 

camp counselors this year who were children here at camp and came back. 

“Last night we had a beautiful ceremony, featuring luminarias, floating lanterns 

that the kids placed in the pool after dark,” she continues. “As they placed it in 

the pool they said something out loud they wanted the person that died to know, 

whether it’s ‘Goodbye’ or ‘I love you.’ They express something in front of the entire 

group of 150 adults and kids. When the lanterns were all in the pool, singer Jonah 

Platt sang four songs for us while we watched the floating candles in the dark. It 

also serves as a chance in the grieving process to verbalize unspoken things.” 

Perhaps the best proof of Camp Erin’s success lies in the attendees who come 

back and volunteer as “cabin buddies” years later. Coby Hilborne, 23, was a camper 

for two years at ages 16 and 17 after a brain aneurysm cut short his father’s life in 

2011. He’s now spending his second summer helping oversee this summer’s camps. 

“I always say that without Camp Erin and Our House, I wouldn’t be the person 

I am today,” says Hilborne. “I would have gone down a totally different path. It’s 

such a great environment that the kids come into. They come in and they’re so sad 

and down — they lost a father, mother, sibling, best friend, and they’re in a totally 

sad space. They come to have a good time but also do different activities that help 

them [deal] with their grief. I love the structure this place has. 

“I remember how much this camp gave me and how good I felt when I left,” he 

adds. “I met my current roommate from the camp, and it was such a different bonding 

level than most friends, because he lost his mom and I lost my dad. We were in 

same cabin last year both volunteering, and in different ones this year. These kids 

are in the same spot I was in seven years ago. I’m on such a high now. I ride this 

high for two weeks a month, thinking about camp. I thought last year I’d have to 

wait a whole other year to come back.” |||| 

Camp Erin resumes from Sept. 6 through 8 at Camp Bob Waldorf in Glendale. 

Camper applications are available at ourhouse-grief.org/camp-erin-la-oc/; completed 

applications must be submitted by Aug. 14 for the September session. To 

attend, volunteer or donate, visit the website or call (888) 417-1444. 


KITCHEN 

CONFESSIONS 

Floating 

Some Ideas 

ROOT BEER FLOATS ARE THE ULTIMATE 

SUMMER REFRESHER. 

BY LESLIE BILDERBACK 

Even though I have been studying the National Day Calendar all year, I am still 

surprised when I find a theme. I know that the people who declare these days are 

not consulting with each other — or anyone else for that matter. Surely, if someone 

had been in charge, they would have realized that pairing National Woman’s Equality 

Day with National Dog Day on Aug. 31 was ill-advised. I think it is more aptly paired 

with National Work Like a Dog Day on Aug. 5. 

As the traditional month of vacation, August naturally features days that encourage 

enjoying the summer season — such as National Park Service Founders Day (Aug. 25), 

National Trail Mix Day (Aug. 31) and National S’mores Day (Aug. 10). If the great 

outdoors isn’t for you, the calendar has National Lazy Day (Aug. 10) and National 

Relaxation Day (Aug. 14). For those of you looking for a National Day that is less 

committal, there is National I Love my Feet Day (Aug. 17), National Wiggle Your Toes 

Day (Aug. 6), National Friendship Day (Aug. 4) and National Happiness Happens Day 

(Aug. 8), instituted by an honest-to-God-real organization called the Secret Society 

of Happy People — which I find problematic. Are they a group that meets secretly for 

smiling and laughing parties? Or is their happiness a secret and they are pledged to walk 

around looking grumpy and stern — yet secretly inside they are bubbling over with joy? 

Not surprisingly, this warm month features a plethora of ice cream holidays. National 

Ice Cream Sandwich Day is Aug. 2, National Frozen Custard Day (frozen custard is an 

East Coast thing — it’s just ice cream; please don’t send me letters) is Aug. 8, National 

Spumoni Day is Aug. 21 and Banana Split Day is Aug. 25. And, to my delight, Aug. 6 is 

the National Day of my favorite ice cream treat of all time — the root beer float. 

I love a good root beer float. (To be fair, I also love a bad root beer float.) It has always 

been my favorite. When I was pregnant it was all I craved, and my husband dutifully 

prepared it for me on request. It is cool and tangy, and there is something magical about 

the transformation of the ice cream as it reacts to the spicy soda. It starts off with a little 

icy crust on the vanilla scoop, but as you slurp away, creaminess takes over. 

Ugh…now I want one. 

Root beer has always been my preferred soda. I never really understood the appeal of 

cola. Why would anyone pick cola over the sweet complexity of root beer? (You do know 

they took the cocaine out years ago, right?) Root beer was a thing long before cola, or 

soda, or even America. Native tribes made a medicinal tea from sassafras root, bark and 

stems. Its culinary delights were quickly recognized, as sassafras, a tree that grows in 

the eastern United States, tastes pretty good. When the colonists arrived, they brought 

the tradition of brewing small batches of aromatic beers, because water sources were not 

always safe. Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) and sarsaparilla (Smilax ornata) were particularly 

flavorful and were blended with additional herbs and berries, including wintergreen, 

birch, juniper, hops, burdock, licorice and eventually more exotic flavors, like nutmeg, 

anise, molasses, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, black cherry and ginger. 

Charles Elmer Hires was the first to market a sassafras-root tea at the Centennial 

International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. His tea included 25 herbs, berries and 

roots. Early competitors included Barq’s, created in Mississippi, and St. Louis–based IBC 

(Independent Brewing Company), brands that are still sold today. Dad’s Root Beer was 


created in Chicago in the 1930s and was the first product to be sold in a six-pack. In 1919 

Roy Allen opened his root beer stand in Lodi, California, where he innovated serving root 

beer in frosty mugs. The next year he partnered with Frank Wright and named the drink 

after their combined initials; then in 1924, Allen obtained the A&W trademark. Just the 

right time market-wise — with Prohibition, root beer sales skyrocketed. 

A&W is the most nostalgic for me. You could drive up to restaurant, get a tray hooked 

onto your car window and order a burger created specifically for your age group — Papa, 

Mama, Teen or Baby. The root beer mugs came in sizes too. As a little kid, getting a tiny 

burger and a tiny mug of root beer — just for me — was thrilling. Years later, I discovered 

that my husband had worked at his local A&W as a teenager, rotating between grill duty, 

root beer mixing (making it “fresh” in-house is still their claim to fame) and dressing up 

as the A&W Great Root Bear to wave people over from the highway. (I’m pretty sure that 

last bit is why I married him.) 

For me, a float is the best way to enjoy root beer. Sometimes called a Black Cow, its 

creation is credited to the Colorado mining camp of Cripple Creek. Frank J. Wisner, 

owner of Cripple Creek Brewing, was inspired to add a scoop of vanilla to his root beer 

after watching the full moon rise over Cow Mountain. True or not, it’s a great visual. 

Wisner would not approve of A&W using soft-serve vanilla. Personally, I’m a purist. I 

need a round scoop that floats and bobs amidst the effervescence. (But to be honest, I’d 

take an A&W float right now, if offered.) 

Like all great culinary inventions, the creation of ice cream floating in soda is 

claimed by many. And like all great culinary inventions, it arrived via some kind of fair 

or celebration and was created because they ran out of something — in this case, ice. 

(Common alternative origin stories involve trying to one-up the competitor.) As far as 

I’m concerned, using ice cream to cool a flavored soda is the single greatest idea since the 

steam engine. 

There are many international versions of this concept, all claiming to be the first. In 

Australia it’s called a Spider (because of the way the foam grows, I guess). In the U.K. it’s 

a Floater. In Puerto Rico it’s a Black Out and in Costa Rica it’s Vaca Negra. In Mexico 

it’s Helado Flotante, preferably made with cola and lemon sherbet. The Boston Cooler is 

a ginger ale float (named for Boston Street in Detroit), the Snow White is a 7-Up float 

and the Purple Cow is a grape soda float (popularized by the Arkansas restaurant chain). 

Friendly’s restaurants popularized the Sherbet Cooler (vanilla seltzer with orange sherbet), 

and the Green Giant (lime sherbet and Sprite) makes regular appearances at summer 

potlucks across the country. 

Here are some interesting, if not traditional, float ideas for you to try. Just remember 

to save the original root beer float for Aug. 6. |||| 

Lemonade Stand Float 

Sparkling pink lemonade 

Lemon sorbet 

Finish with a sprig of chopped mint. 

Tropic Thunder Float 

Pineapple juice 

Seltzer water 

Mango sorbet 

Top with toasted coconut. 

Ladies Who Lunch Float 

Prosecco 

Fresh strawberries 

Blood orange sorbet 

Finish with a chocolate-dipped 

strawberry and grated orange zest. 

The Happy Leprechaun 

Guinness Stout 

Coffee ice cream 

Clotted cream 

Top it off with grated chocolate 

or jimmies. 

Dulce de Leche Float 

Vanilla soda (a.k.a cream soda) 

Darkest chocolate ice cream 

Cajeta (goat milk caramel) 

Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and 

nutmeg, and serve with a churro. 

Michelangelo Float 

Cherry cola 

Spumoni (a blend of chocolate, cherry 

and pistachio ice cream) 

Whipped cream 

Sprinkle the top with chopped 

pistachios. 

Apple Pie Float 

Sparkling cider 

Praline pecan ice cream 

Whipped cream 

Top with chopped pecans and a drizzle 

of caramel sauce. 

ORANGE GROVE 

Mi Piace in Old Pasadena is celebrating 30 years in business, and though 

better known for Italian wine that pairs with its Italian menu, the 

restaurant is proud of the dedicated cocktail program it launched about 

10 years ago. “It was time, we needed it,” says manager Nikolas Baltas. “We make 

our cocktails specifically for our food.” 

Splashed by light from large windows overlooking Colorado Boulevard, the 

place has a sophisticated feel, with crisp white linen tablecloths, black chairs and 

shiny warm-toned lacquered walls. Mi Piace’s cool and refreshing Orange Grove 

cocktail is perfect for these summer months. There is a slight bitterness from the 

Campari but the grapefruit pops on the midpalate, adding acidity and a light 

fruitiness. This complements food because it lacks the dominant sweetness typical 

of so many cocktails, allowing it to harmonize with the flavors on the plate. Have 

this with the ahi tuna tower with jalapeňo and soy sauce, or the beef carpaccio 

with honey–dry mustard vinaigrette. |||| 

INGREDIENTS 

STORY AND PHOTO BY MICHAEL CERVIN 

1½ ounces Grey Goose Orange Vodka 

½ ounce Campari 

¾ ounce simple syrup 

ORANGE GROVE 

¾ ounce fresh grapefruit juice 

½ ounce fresh lemon juice 

4 basil leaves 

METHOD 

Muddle 3 basil leaves in the base of shaker and add simple syrup, grapefruit juice 

and lemon juice. Add vodka, Campari and crushed ice. Shake well and strain 

over ice cubes in a large wine glass. Garnish with remaining basil leaf. 


THE LIST 

COMPILED BY JOHN SOLLENBERGER 

Trains and Tracks 

at Muse/Ique 

Concerts 

Doors open at 6 p.m. 

and concerts start at 

8 p.m. Tickets cost $50 to $130. 

Aug. 3 — This month’s fi rst concert, 

“Train/Glory,” celebrates that vehicle of 

change, progress and dreams, which 

has been featured in numerous fi lms and 

popular songs. Guest vocalist is soprano 

leggero Liv Redpath. 

Aug. 24 — The concert “Band/Together” 

examines the fi lm scoring techniques 

of modern composers and compares 

the different musical choices for various 

scenes while reimagining well-known 

soundtracks. The goal is to offer audiences 

a deeper appreciation for the 

impact of fi lm music. Guest performers 

are the piano duet of Anderson and Roe 

(above) and American Ballet Theatre 

dancers Arron Scott, Skylar Brandt, Stella 

Abrera and Cory Stearns. 

The Huntington Library, Art Collections 

and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151 

Oxford Rd., San Marino. Call (626) 539- 

7085 or visit muse-ique.com/museiquessummer. 

A Chance to Meet 

the Real Twain 

Aug. 3 — The Pasadena 

Public Library’s 

Central Branch 

screens the Ken Burns documentary 

Mark Twain about the writer considered 

the funniest man of the late 19th century. 

Twain, born Samuel Clemens, used 

humor to attack hypocrisy, greed and 

racism. The documentary, which starts 

at 2 p.m., delves beneath the legend 

to discover the true Twain, revealing his 

extraordinary life, his adventures, literary 

pursuits, successes and defeats. Admission 

is free. 

The Pasadena Public Library Central 

Branch is located at 285 E. Walnut St., 

Pasadena. Call (626) 744-4066 or visit 

pasadenapubliclibrary.net. 

Pops Salutes Cole 

Porter, Elton John 

Concerts take place 

at the L.A. County Arboretum 

and Botanic 

Garden. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and 

concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost 

ARTISAN FAIR IN 

CENTAL PARK 

Aug. 2, 3 — Jackalope Indie Artisan Fair comes to Pasadena’s Central Park, 

featuring more than 200 booths with handmade artisan items, plus live acoustic 

music, artisanal food and drink and a beer garden. It runs from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday 

and 3 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. 

Central Park is located at 275 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. 

Visit jackalopeartfair.com. 

$10 to $95. 

Aug. 3 — Pasadena Pops’ Michael Feinstein 

(below left) sings Cole Porter hits, 

including “Night and Day,” “Begin the 

Beguine,” “Can Can,” “I Get A Kick Out 

of You” and others. Larry Blank conducts. 

Aug. 24 — The concert features 

Grammy- and Tony-nominated vocalist 

and pianist Michael Cavanaugh singing 

Elton John songs, including “Tiny 

Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “Crocodile 

Rock,” “Benny and the Jets” and others. 

Larry Blank conducts. 

The L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic 

Garden is located at 301 N. Baldwin 

Ave., Arcadia. Call (626) 793-7172 or visit 

pasadenasymphony-pops.org. 

Comedy On 

Tap at the Alex 

Theatre 

Aug. 3 — Stage 

Therapy Entertainment 

presents I’m Already Professionally 

Developed, a night of comedy by Houston 

native Eddie B, who is changing the 

comedy game with his unique brand of 

humor. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets 

are $25 to $55. 

The Alex Theatre is located at 216 N. 

Brand Blvd.., Glendale. Call (818) 243- 

2539 or visit alextheatre.org. 

Classic Guitar, 

French Fashion at 

Norton Simon 

Events are included in 

Norton Simon admission 

of $15, $12 for seniors 62 and up; 

free for members, students and visitors 18 

and younger. 

Aug. 3 — Norton Simon summer concerts 

tie musical performances to works in 

the collections. This concert explores 

common themes and insights into artists 

promoted by Walter Hopps, a noted curator 

at the Pasadena Art Museum in the 

1960s. Pianist Greg Reitan (above) and 

his trio perform original works and music 

by notable jazz composers in a concert 

running from 6 to 7 p.m. 

Aug. 17 — The Odeum Guitar Duo traces 

the development of the golden age of 

guitar in Spain and Italy by performing 

examples of the specifi c compositional 

form in music known as the Theme and 

Variations, with selections by famous 

guitarists and composers of the guitar 

epoch — from the 16th-century Spanish 

Renaissance to the 19th-century Romantic 

era. It runs from 6 to 7 p.m. 

Aug. 24 — Fashion historian Kimberly 

Chisman-Campbell lectures on “Fashioning 

the Feminine in 18th-Century France: 

Dress, Desire and Domesticity,” focusing 

on three French works on loan from the 

Frick Collection, from 4 to 5 p.m. She 

discusses how the sumptuous fashions of 

the mid-18th century inform our interpretations 

of the paintings. 

The Norton Simon Museum is located at 

411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call 

(626) 449-6840 or visit nortonsimon.org. 

Mt. Wilson String Concert 

Highlights Schubert 

Aug. 4 — Mt. Wilson Concerts Under the 

Dome take place at 3 and 5 p.m. inside 

the dome of the observatory’s 100-inch 

Hooker Telescope. This month’s program 

features Schubert’s String Quintet in C 

major, performed by the Lyris Quartet, 

which includes violinist Alyssa Park and 

Shalini Vijayanm, violist Luke Maurer and 

cellists Timothy Loo and Cécilia Tsan. 

Tickets are $50 for each concert and 

must be ordered in advance on the 

website. Proceeds benefi t the Mt. Wilson 

Institute. 

The Mt. Wilson Observatory is located on 

Mt. Wilson Road, La Cañada Flintridge. 

Visit mtwilson.edu/concerts. 

California 

Ranches, Garden 

Tips at the 

Huntington 

Aug. 5 — The 

Huntington Library, Art Collections and 

Botanical Gardens presents a lecture, 

“California Ranches: Lands in Transition,” 

by architect Marc Appleton, author of 

Ranches: Home on the Range in California, 

starting at 7 p.m. in Rothenberg 

Hall. Appleton discusses the history of 

cattle ranching in the state, a way of life 

now succumbing to suburban sprawl. As 

ranches fail, there is renewed debate 


THE LIST 

FOODIE BOOK TALK AT 

VROMAN’S 

Aug. 6 — Esquire food and drink editor and New York Times contributor Jeff 

Gordinier, in conversation with author/filmmaker Marc Weingarten, discusses and 

signs his new book, Hungry, at 7 p.m. It tells the story of Danish chef René Redzepi 

(above), owner of Copenhagen restaurant Noma. Believing growth only comes 

with change, the chef closed Noma, even though it was deemed the world’s best 

restaurant, to seek out new opportunities. He traveled the world to find the richest 

flavors the world had to offer. 

Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 449- 

5320 or visit vromansbookstore.com 

on how these lands might transition to 

other uses. A book signing follows the 

talk. Admission is free; no reservations 

are required. 

Aug. 17 — Lora Hall of Full Circle 

Gardening discusses the importance 

of pruning fruit trees in a hands-on workshop 

from 9 a.m. to noon. The fee is $45 

($35 for members). Advance registration 

is required at huntington.org/calendar. 

Aug. 31 — A succulent plant symposium 

features a group of international experts 

discussing topics ranging from West 

Indian cacti to endangered species 

legislation. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

in the Ahmanson Room. The cost is $85. 

Preregistration is required by calling (626) 

405-3504. 

The Huntington Library, Art Collections 

and Botanical Gardens is located at 1151 

Oxford Rd,, San Marino. Call (626) 405- 

2100 or visit huntington.org. 

Cal Phil Focus on 

Film Scores 

Concerts take place 

at Walt Disney Concert 

Hall. Concert talks with 

Maestro Victor Vener 

(above) start at 1 p.m. and concerts at 

2 p.m. Tickets cost $37.50 to $140. 

Aug. 11 — “Carmen Goes to the Movies” 

features excerpts from Bizet’s Carmen and 

film music from Ennio Morricone hits The 

Mission and Cinema Paradiso, with guest 

vocalists Audrey Babcock, Cedric Berry, 

Annalise Staudt and the Cal Phil Chorale. 

Aug. 18 — “The Emperor’s Roundup” 

includes a performance of Beethoven’s 



THE LIST 


Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” with 

All About Fruit 

membership with the national organization. 

Sierra Madre Playhouse at 8 p.m. It tells the 

pianist Daniel Lesneer, Jerome Moross’ 

Aug. 16 through 18 

Friday check-in time is 7:30 a.m. at the Arbo- 

story of four Chinese-American mothers and 

“The Big Country,” Elmer Bernstein’s “The 

— TThe L.A. County 

retum; events run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On 

their four American-born daughters and the 

Magnificent Seven,” Aaron Copland’s “Billy 

Arboretum and 

Saturday, check-in is 8 a.m.; events run from 

complexities of family ties and history, as the 

the Kid” and Ferde Grofé’s “Grand Canyon 

Botanic Garden, The 

8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Sunday, tours at various 

women bridge a seemingly impossible divide. 

Suite.” 

Huntington Library, Art 

locations run from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Visit 

It opens at 8 p.m. today and continues at 8 

Walt Disney Concert Hall is located at 111 S. 

Collections and Botanical Gardens and 

the website for a full schedule. 

p.m. Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 

Grand Ave., L.A. Call (323) 850-2000 or visit 

Cal Poly Pomona host the annual Festival of 

The L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic 

2:30 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 28. Tickets 

calphil.com. 

Fruit, the Foothill Chapter of California Rare 

Garden is located at 301 N. Baldwin Ave., 

are $25 to $45. 

More of the Roar 

at L.A. Zoo 

Fruit Growers' (CRFG) fruit-centered event. 

The festival is targeted at novice gardeners, 

the scientifically minded, plant breeders, 

Arcadia. Visit festivaloffruit.org. 

Playing with Fire 

The Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 

W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. Call (626) 

355-4318 or visit sierramadreplayhouse.org. 

Aug. 16 — The L.A. Zoo 

hosts another Roaring 

those seeking water and soil conservation 

techniques and those looking for interesting 

Aug. 17 — A Noise 

Within opens its 2019–20 

Fun With Tech at Arcadia Festival 

Night, its after-hours summer event series 

fruits to grow in their backyards. Activities 

season, titled “They 

Aug. 24 — Tech is fun at the family-friendly Ar- 

for guests 21 and older. Adults can observe 

include tours of the above-mentioned 

Played with Fire,” with 

cadia Steam + M Festival, which runs from 5 to 

special animal feedings and pop-up zoo 

locations and home gardens and nurseries, 

Nick Dear’s adaptation 

8 p.m. at the Arcadia Library Outdoor Prom- 

talks while savoring food truck fare, cock- 

plus expert lectures, a banquet, fruit-tasting 

of the chilling Mary Shelley story Frankenstein. 

enade. The event includes the Jedi Training 

tails, lawn games, live music and disc jock- 

and a fruit-related vendor fair. Registration 

The play opens at 8 p.m. today and continues 

Academy, music, tech booths, an invention 

eys, from 6 to 10:30 p.m. August entertainers 

is required to participate in the activities, 

through Sept. 8. Tickets are $25 and up. 

showcase, science workshops, crafts, games, 

include DJ Avi Bernard, Pulp ’90s, DJ Johnny 

except for the vendor fair at the Arbore- 

A Noise Within is located at 3352 E. Foothill 

Kona Shaved Ice and tacos. Admission is $5, 

Hawkes, The Detroit Nights and Hush Silent 

tum, which is included in regular Arboretum 

Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 356-3100 or visit 

free for children 5 and under; donate a new 

Disco. Tickets cost $21 ($16 for members). 

admission. CRFG members’ early registra- 

anoisewithin.org. 

book to the library for a free raffle ticket. 

The L.A. Zoo is located at 5333 Zoo Dr., 

Griffith Park. Visit lazoo.org/roaringnights. 

tion price is $85; 

nonmembers' early registration price is $115, 

Play Explores Family Fissures 

The Arcadia Library is located at 20 W. Duarte 

Rd., Arcadia. Call (626) 941-6418 or visit arca- 

which includes the cost of an annual CRFG 

Aug. 24 — The Joy Luck Club opens at the 

diapaf.org. ||||

August 19

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