Authorities investigate hazardous materials at library, find baking soda

Share: Update 2:15 p.m.: According to the Pasadena Police Department the suspected hazardous materials ended up being baking soda, and no further action was taken.   Original Story:  On Wednesday Jan 25 the Pasadena Fire Department responded to a hazardous materials report at 55 South Hill Avenue at 12:15 p.m.  According to the Pasadena Fire Department on scene it was supposedly a “white” substance in the book drop-off, and multiple response teams from a number of local fire fighting agencies are responding to the incident.  The …

PCC community gathers to mourn the 11 lives lost in the Monterey Park shooting

Share: On Jan 24, four days after the deadliest mass shooting in LA county history and three days after the start of Lunar New Year celebrations, PCC students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Circadian Lounge to honor the 11 lives lost in the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Hall.  The event, organized and hosted by CAPE – the Coalition of Asian Pacific Employees, a collaborative group of current and former Asian and Pacific Islander PCC employees – aimed to provide people with a …

PCC set to hire 58 new faculty members

Share: Pasadena City College will be hiring 58 new faculty members in the coming year funded by the schools annual hiring budget.  Funding for the new hires comes from the allotted state funds that the school receives each year. The amount of funding is determined by the number of students enrolled. Positions will include professors, counselors and librarians.  “It is 58 faculty positions, this is something that the college goes through every year,” PCC’s Spokesperson, Alexander Boekelheide said.”In State regulations require us to hire a …

Community colleges won’t face the brunt of California budget cuts

Share: PCC and other California Community Colleges are facing possible spending cuts due to the budget deficit in California. “Right now we are in pretty good shape but there are storm clouds in the horizon,” said board of trustees member Jim Osterling. “the state has given us a heads up and plenty of lead time to be able to do our best we can and adjust for that.” The run of budget surpluses California has been enjoying in recent years has come to end. Recent …

What’s cooking at the Piazza: School searches for new food vendor

Share: The Piazza, PCC’s main cafeteria, is undergoing changes to adopt a new food vendor as early as March— following the termination of food services on campus by the current contracting company, Sodexo, in December of 2022.  Even though the replacement vendor has not yet been decided, preparation to make changes is currently ongoing. Four potential food vendors— Primo Nosh, PFD Management, Inc., Thomas Cuisine, and Genuine Foods attended a mandatory pre-proposal conference and job-walk. The vendors are encouraged to present their business proposals to …

Jaywalking is now legal! Is it the right thing to do?

Share: On Jan 1. 2023, the Freedom to Walk Act that was passed and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year which makes jaywalking in California legal.  According to the leading sponsor Assembly member Phil Ting, The law states it does not ticket individuals for jaywalking “unless a careful reasonable person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision with a moving vehicle or other device moving exclusively by human power like a bike”.   Calbike.org, who supported the legislation, stated that the jaywalking …

Monterey Park mass shooting hits close to home for PCC officials

Share: A gunman opened fire into Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park Saturday night during a Lunar New Year festival killing ten and injuring 10 others in the largest mass shooting in the United States since Uvalde, TX.  Elizabeth Yang, a lawyer and local resident of Monterey Park, was home with her family during the shooting and said she began to receive texts from friends to see if she was alright.  “They’re usually retired ladies who are looking for something to do and have …

In ‘stunning’ ruling labor board overturns decertification election at PCC

Share: A ruling by the California Public Employment Relations Board last week upheld an injunction filed by the Pasadena City College Faculty Association in the summer of 2022 and invalidated the results of the October secret ballot election held at PCC. The ruling by PERB and its board on Jan. 11 found that the use of “electronic proof of support to trigger a decertification petition” could not legally be used to measure support for a decertification election. “While this ruling was both a huge surprise …

BLOTTER: Missing recyclables and D-building alarm activations

Share: Monday, January 02, 2023 Nothing to report Tuesday, January 03, 2023 A woman was reported to be upset due to her recyclables going missing from the D-building. A report was taken regarding an annoyance through social media. Wednesday, January 04, 2023 D-Building was checked after alarm activation Thursday, January 05, 2023 A sleeping transient was escorted off campus Skateboarders were escorted of campus Friday, January 06, 2023 A transient was escorted off campus after disturbing the peace in the mens restroom A transient was …

Campus cadet corps enrollment down, but trend is reversing

Share: In recent years, police recruitment numbers have diminished significantly at Pasadena City College as college enrollment numbers have decreased and national efforts to defund and disarm the police become increasingly popular.  “I will try to go out there, you know, I’ve gone to things like the Veterans Resource Center,” PCC police officer Tyler Robbins said. “If I have an opportunity to go to different groups and speak, then I try to recruit at those, or at least just get the information out there.” Police …