Share: Just 15,000 years ago redwood trees were common in the Los Angeles basin. The climate was cool and moist, and saber tooth cats, dire wolves, giant ground sloths, and coyotes roamed the forests. By about 1970 when the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) was planted in the quad at PCC, the climate in Southern California was considerably warmer and drier, and much less hospitable to the tree whose natural habitat is now limited to a slice of Northern California and southern Oregon where it receives …
Three PCC trustee seats up for grabs in March election
Share: Three members of Pasadena City College’s Board of Trustees (BOT) are up for reelection on the March 2024 ballot, where voters in areas two, four, and six from Altadena to Rosemead will have the opportunity to elect their trustee. Prior to Board Member John Martin from district six announcing his decision to not run for another term after serving as a PCC Trustee for over 40 years, he was facing off against PCC alum Ryan Liu. In area six, after Martin dropped out, Liu …
The Courier celebrates Thanksgiving the only way we know how… in writing!
Share: The napkins are folded. The candles are lit. The staff of the Courier have brought their favorite dishes to the table. Cheers. Let’s start with reporter Machu Suh’s tomatillo soup. “It’s a dish my family always makes when it gets colder,” he said. “It brings me home with its fragrance.” While I definitely have aspirations to learn to harvest and process acorns, I recently impulse-bought a bag of acorn flour at a Korean grocery store, and so I’m going to make these acorn shortbread …
Do campus attempts to stifle protest violate the 1st Amendment?
Share: Colleges around the country have been dealing with increasing risks for students due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, while some have banned protesting altogether citing students safety, PCC vowed to protect free speech as it is staying vigilant. “PCC safety personnel are aware of the need for increased awareness during this time of international conflict,” PCC spokesperson Alex Boekelhide said in an email. “There have been no changes to PCC Police policies or procedures, and the college will adapt its approach …
New college program takes practical learning outside the classroom
Share: Eight California community colleges are preparing to pilot a new competency-based education (CBE) program to offer select degrees without letter grades or any time in a classroom beginning next fall. The schools are designing direct assessment associate degree paths in high demand fields like technology and logistics and early childhood education and automotive technology. With completely flexible online schedules, the programs will be geared towards working adults with some experience in the field. “What education needs to do is really prepare learners to be …
Lancers sauce up Tartars in scrappy 1-0 victory
Share: “Vamos! Let’s go!” shouted the supporters of PCC’s men’s soccer team from under an assortment of colorful umbrellas as the sun blazed down on the metal bleachers last Friday afternoon at Robinson Stadium. The team fought hard for a 1-0 win over Compton City College. After a first half full of near misses, the Lancers worked together to get the ball in the net with two and a half minutes to spare. The second half was heated, with Compton struggling to even up the …
Something new under the sun: PCC Observatory sheds light on partial eclipse
Share: At 8:30 a.m. last Saturday morning, 9-and-a-half year old Nathan and his aunt, Lorena, hung out on the roof of Lot 4 at PCC. They perched on a cement curb and gazed at a tiny shape on a square of paper. Nathan explained what he was looking at. “You basically just want to line it up, and you’ll be able to see the curving,” he said. Armed with a simple pinhole camera that he had made downstairs with the help of volunteers from the …
Some grass at PCC may soon be outlawed
Share: A bill that will restrict irrigation of non-functional turf with potable water on commercial, industrial, and institutional properties like PCC has passed both houses of the state legislature and is expected to be signed into law in the coming weeks. Co-authored by assembly member Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), AB1572 aims to reduce California’s reliance on water piped from the Sacramento River Delta and the Colorado River Ecosystems in the most painless way possible, by cutting off water to parking lot medians, lush strips outside malls, …
BLOTTER: Football player suffers spinal injury
Share: Monday, September 18, 2023: 6:37 a.m.: Officer escorted a person off campus from the second floor of the IT building. 7:22 a.m.: At the Community Education Center on Foothill, a man became agitated when he was asked to stop digging through area trash cans before entering the cosmetology building and yelling at students and staff. He was gone by the time officers arrived, but a report was taken. 8:25 a.m.: Staff members reported that a suspect wanted by PCCPD was in the GM building. …
Local movement sprouts up to protect endangered black walnut tree
Share: Up the tidy dirt path lined with laurel sumac and bush sunflowers that still bore a few yellow blossoms, two human-sized Mexican free-tailed bats in purple satin capes held aloft a painted paper whale skeleton and led a small parade. Accompanied by cetacean song amplified from a portable speaker, the procession of Eastside neighbors, city nature fans, land use activists, and children in paper bat masks marched up the path to the Ascot Hills Park Amphitheater in observation of the second annual Black Walnut …