It’s an eerie Monday morning here in Pasadena. The car is covered with ash, and the sunlight filters weird yellow through the dense smoky clouds. For coverage on the Sierra Madre fire, try Sierra Madre 91024 and The FC Blog. See also Flickr photo set here via Yausser.
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It pains me to state the obvious, but sometimes the little things matter. Sometimes the things that seem little are actually more important than one would think.
The good news? Councilmember Jacque Robinson is hosting a District 1 Community Meeting on Thursday, May 8, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
The bad news? The meeting is not being held in District 1. It’s not even being held in Pasadena. No, the meeting will be at Odyssey Charter School (Auditorium) at 725 W. Altadena Drive in Altadena. This little section of Altadena Drive is technically in Pasadena.
(Click to embiggify.)
It seems that District 1 meetings should be held in District 1. That would encourage folks to participate. That would make the meeting easier to get to. That would engender a sense of place.
(Ow, ow, ow – I’m stating the obvious.)
We have plenty of suitable locations to hold a meeting – La Pintoresca Library, the Jackie Robinson Center, Washington School, John Muir H.S. We have several nonprofits with decent-sized meeting rooms. Were none of these options available?
Picking a central location in District 1 would be ideal. Picking ANY location in District 1 for a community meeting about city government should be de rigueur.
Getting to the May 9 meeting via public transportation is akin to getting to Dodger Stadium via public transportation. In other words, take your car or get a ride with someone else. Your big option is MTA Bus 267 which runs along Lincoln Avenue. All ya’ll who live far east of Lincoln—walk or take the ARTS bus over. Good luck getting home.
While I’m being nit-picky:
1. Is this meeting really being held at the same exact time as the Northwest Commission meeting?
2. Why isn’t this meeting listed on the community calendar?
3. The District 5 meeting got a mention at the City’s Public Affairs website. Why not this one? Oh heck, I’ll send Ann an e-mail myself.
4. The meeting isn’t listed here on the District 1 Announcements page either. (Click on “Announcements” tab.)
5. The meeting announcement gives no indication if transportation assistance is available, or if translation services will be available.
Oh yeah, I’m moaning and groaning. Too bad I won’t be there. But I have a good reason. More on that later.
West Coast Grrlie Blather 