The woeful selection of PCC leadership

As one who taught at PCC for 40 years, I was personally involved in the establishment of state-mandated shared government procedures (AB 1725) which require that faculty, staff and students be significantly involved in matters that affect them, including the presidential hiring process — and...

Lost, found wallet strikes a chord

Re: “Father’s wallet found after 66 years,” May 5. What a perfectly written story! I really enjoyed reading it today. I live in Burbank but friends give me the Pasadena...

Wallet detective job pays off

Re: “Father’s wallet found after 66 years,” May 5.

Miramontes would be poor choice for board

Very soon after the new Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education is installed, it will be confronted with a significant decision of who to appoint to fill the remainder of Kim Kenne's at-large seat.

Reviewing PUSD meeting's 'messy outcome'

I wanted to respond to both the article and editorial about the Pasadena Unified School District budget cuts which appeared in the April 7 Pasadena Sun.

Something is seriously wrong at PCC

My husband read part of the editorial of the Pasadena Sun to me (“The ridiculous impasse at PCC,” March 24). It made me feel ashamed to be a faculty member of PCC. Is this how anyone...

Fight at PCC is not in the schoolyard

Newspaper editorials are entitled to their own opinions but not to their own facts. This editorial asserts that PCC “students and Union leaders need to act like adults” and accept President Rocha’s unilateral decision to cancel winter intersession permanently, despite available...

Understanding the immorality of torture

This could almost be the start of a joke. Two ministers, a rabbi, and an atheist walk into a discussion on torture — but the joke doesn't end well (“Are we ignoring the morality of torture?” In Theory, March 24). The men of the cloth, with a little haggling here and there on...

Caltech and an abundance of caution

Re: “Arden residents fight against Caltech plan,” March 3. Ruffled homeowners should take approach used for Los Angeles Unified School District’s Belmont Learning Center: Hire a Caltech geology professor who finds a bedrock fault (not so hard to do) and declare the site seismically...

Sun editorial had it wrong

The Sun editorial of March 24 (“The ridiculous impasse at PCC”) sounds like it's been written by the president of PCC himself — or a journalist that goes exclusively to his...

She'll shop where she chooses

Shirlee Smith calls her Pasadena Sun column “Common Sense,” but the one on March 17 about Walmart made little sense, common or otherwise. Instead, it was a confusing, negative riff on America's leading — and most successful — discount retailer.

JPL should be a better neighbor

On the morning of Wednesday, March 13, signs were placed on the trail that skirts the east fence of JPL (west of the stream), announcing a temporary closure while a new parking structure is built. The signs indicate that the closure will extend through the summer of 2014 and advises trail users to...

Editorial: Turnout at polls is a paltry effort

Fair-trade goods are well worth it

It can feel nearly impossible as individuals to affect issues like human rights and the health of our environment on a global scale.

Running space needs redevelopment

First of all, allow me to congratulate Pasadena for its commitment to beautiful green spaces, vast tree and flora diversity and overall beauty. These were all factors in my decision to first move to Pasadena, and I appreciate it to this day.

One endorsement was way off

Thank you for the article on the impact of Latino voters published on Sunday, Feb. 17 (“Latino voters in Pasadena will have a major say in the March 5 election”...

Too many people go unrepresented

Taxation without representation.

Rose Bowl trouble bares incompetence

As a Pasadena resident and taxpayer, I was disgusted with the incompetence evident in the overrun related to stadium renovations.

Fair-trade goods are well worth it

It can feel nearly impossible as individuals to affect issues like human rights and the health of our environment on a global scale.

Rose Bowl Running space needs redevelopment

First of all, allow me to congratulate Pasadena for its commitment to beautiful green spaces, vast tree and flora diversity and overall beauty. These were all factors in my decision to first move to Pasadena, and I appreciate it to this day.

One endorsement was way off

Thank you for the article on the impact of Latino voters published on Sunday, Feb. 17 ("Latino voters in Pasadena will have a major say in the March 5 election").

Too many people go unrepresented

Taxation without representation.

Rose Bowl trouble bares incompetence

As a Pasadena resident and taxpayer, I was disgusted with the incompetence evident in the overrun related to stadium renovations.

South Pas needs to explain chief move

I have been scanning the headlines to see about the spike in crime in South Pasadena, the harassing of the citizens during traffic stops, the uncovering of rampant corruption at City Hall and the overcompensation of department heads. Unfortunately I could not find any headlines covering the above.

Griem's answer was spiteful, thuggish

I was saddened to read the Rev. Bryan Griem's views on homosexuality in Sunday's “In Theory” question, “Will...

Pastor's efforts come up short

Your "In Theory" column is a very interesting part of the newspaper. The thoughts conveyed by those responding to your question of the week are sometimes challenging.

Modesty Week is a terrific effort

Kudos to the young ladies who started the Modesty Week (“Modesty Week stemmed from teen’s school club,” Dec. 9, Mailbag). This day and age, we have to be counter-cultural. We have to learn to think and do what is right, not just follow what everybody thinks is cool.

Housing should be kept back from freeway

Pasadena’s draft General Plan proposes focusing future residential growth in the city around “transit villages,” including three Gold Line stations on the 210 Freeway. Although encouraging transit-oriented development is generally a good idea, doing so along congested highways is...

Public comment should matter in master plan

On Oct. 29, City Engineer Dan Rix remarked during a discussion with the Pasadena City Council that the environmental impact report (underway since Oct. 17, 2011 at a cost of $389,000) for the Hahamongna Multi-Use/Multi-Benefit Project will be restarted. This means that all of the public comment, the...

Keep the ficus trees on Huntington

I am disappointed to learn of San Marino City Council's plan to chop away the green swath lining its civic center retail area along Huntington Drive. It’s not the miscellaneous storefronts, but the green that makes this retail piece of town visually attractive.

Police helicopter policy needs evaluation

The tragic accident at the heliport on Saturday, Nov. 17, underscores why it is absolutely necessary that Pasadena reconsider the Police Department's policies regarding these aircraft.

The ups and downs of ficuses

I can identify with your article (“Ficuses on the chopping block,” Nov. 18). As a 9-year-old boy I found 109 ficus trees in a box, thrown out by a local nursery. I...

Altadena Junction: Cellist's life story inspires new composition

Altadena resident Cécilia Tsan has a good reason to be proud today.

Portantino thanks residents for support

It has been an amazing honor to represent so many great communities in the state Assembly over the past six years. The support I received on election night six years ago and during my entire time in office since then has filled my whole family with encouragement and inspiration. You have welcomed me...

Closing the 710 gap wouldn't improve traffic

Those in support of closing the 710 Freeway gap must not travel the 210 very often because this freeway has its share of daily bumper-to-bumper traffic, particularly during weekday mornings eastbound. This is without the heavy truck traffic that would instantly materialize with the gap's closure....

Freeway extension would affect safety

I've been reading a lot about the proposed extension of the 710 Freeway to the 210, and everyone is concerned about pollution and traffic impact, but no one is talking about the crime element that it would bring into our cities. It is a well-known fact that criminals travel the freeways and target...

Disposing of a threat to democracy

Three months ago, in a decision all but lost in the tumult over the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act, the justices overturned a century-old Montana law that prohibited corporate spending in that state's elections.

Closing the 710 gap would not improve traffic

Those in support of closing the 710 Freeway gap must not travel the 210 very often because this freeway has its share of daily bumper-to-bumper traffic, particularly during weekday mornings eastbound. This is without the heavy truck traffic that would instantly materialize with the gap's closure....

Just buy the houses and move them

Although I agree with Assemblymember Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada) that a tunnel for the 710 extension is wrong (“Caltrans can't be trusted with the 710,” Sept....

Gatto does not support 710 extension

A recent article (“Leader: Stop 710-gap plans,” Aug. 23) implied my support of the 710 extension. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have been, and continue to be, opposed to the extension of the Long Beach (710) Freeway in any form. In fact, one of the reasons I co-authored SB...

In favor of closing the 710 gap

Much of the Aug. 15 edition of the News-Press was devoted to coverage of the impassioned negative reaction of some local residents to a presentation by officials from the L.A. Metropolitan Transportation Agency who explained various proposals for an extension of the Long Beach (710) Freeway.

Op-Ed: What the numbers really look like

Regarding a recent claim of “devastating reductions” to the Pasadena Unified School District: Over the three years from 2007-08 to 2010-11 that coincide with a national recession and fiscal crisis, our state base revenue did decrease by more than $18 million. But more than $8 million...

Worried about debris at canyon mouths

As long as Rep. Adam Schiff is asking questions of a federal agency related to the Station fire (“We need answers from Forest Service,” July 15), perhaps he can direct another question toward the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Does the USGS consider Los Angeles County's Department of...

Obamacare may help poor get care

This is in reply to David Wilcox's letter to the editor, “Get rid of Obama and Obamacare.” I think how very fortunate he and his family are to have such a splendid healthcare plan.

Schiff should add his name to resolution

It has been a little over two years since the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, gave us Citizens United. This decision held that, for purposes of freedom of speech, corporations are deemed to be “persons” and that the limitation on political contributions provided for in the McCain-...

In Theory comments missed a point

All of the commentators to the Feb. 19 In Theory question, “Should the military test spirituality?” — even those who correctly pointed out that such testing makes a travesty of our Constitution’s separation of church and state — missed a vital point.