Second Year Event Clean-Air Car Show Coming to South Pasadena Sunday

 

To help the public learn more about clean-air cars and other eco-friendly options for transportation, the city of South Pasadena, in association with State Senator Gilbert Cedillo and Assembly member Anthony Portantino, is making final preparations for its second Clean-Air Car Show and Film Festival on Sunday.

The free event will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on El Centro St. between Fair Oaks and Mound avenues.

 The show will be part of an effort to promote cleaner, more efficient alternatives to the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine by showcasing emerging alternatives like Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid, Electric, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), PZEV (Partial Zero Emission Vehicles) and Biodiesel vehicles.

“The city of South Pasadena is proud to once again partner with Senator Cedillo and Assembly member Portantino to share this free Clean-Air Car Show and Film Festival with our friends and neighbors throughout Southern California,” said South Pasadena City Councilman Michael Cacciotti, and governing board member of the South Coast Air Quality Management District representing the Cities of Los Angeles County, Eastern Region. 

“The success of last year’s inaugural event demonstrated that the public is eager to learn about the new technologies that can lead to cleaner, more healthful air for people and pets, help reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, address growing concerns over global warming, and strengthen our national and economic security," Cacciotti added.

The South Pasadena Clean-Air Car Show and Film Festival will feature:

•Nearly 30 state-of-the-art and next-generation technology vehicles, many of which are already commercially available; 

•Free movies shown on the big screen in the historic Rialto Theatre;

•Informational exhibits from environmental, health, energy, automotive and transportation organizations;

•Mini-seminars on topics like climate change, harmful effects of vehicle emissions on people and pets, tax incentives for alternative fuels, and mass transit options;

•Visits from local dignitaries, elected officials, and community leaders;

•Free water, free snacks, and free give-aways (while supplies last), as well as food for purchase;

•Free kids’ activities, and fun for the whole family!                       

Free Movies

Another component to Sunday’s show is free film festival in the Rialto Theatre adjacent to the event site at 1023 Fair Oaks Avenue.

Special Exhibits

A unique exhibit will be the first high school-designed hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in the United States, the "Infusion".  A project of the Los Altos Academy of Engineering at Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, the "Infusion" won first place in the hydrogen fuel cell category at last year's Shell Eco-marathon Competition by attaining mileage of 1038 miles per gallon.

Another display will be the "Super Eagle II", a super mileage vehicle built by engineering students at California State University at Los Angeles.  With a carbon-fiber body and frame, and a modified fuel-injection engine, the "Super Eagle" was just named "Best Looking Vehicle" at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Super mileage competition in Marshall, Michigan.

In addition to the clean-air vehicles, the California Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repair will display a gas-powered Acura Integra illegally modified for street racing that causes greatly increased pollution.

A special highlight will be a visit (11 a.m. – 3 p.m.) from the Pasadena Humane Society’s Mobile Outreach Unit, which will bring a selection of adoptable dogs and cats as well as information on the harmful effects of air pollution on pets. 

In addition, the South Pasadena Police Department will be demonstrating their new T3 Personal Transporter Vehicles.

City’s Special Counsel Set to Fully Examine SB 1350

Antonio Rossmann, special legal counsel to the city of South Pasadena on Long Beach (710) Freeway issues, will conduct a full analysis of  Senate Bill 1350, which could allow the extension of the 710 freeway with a tunnel someday.

Rossmann has been asked to scrutinize the bill to enable the South Pasadena City Council to make an informed decision on the city’s position on the key transportation bill.

Senate Bill 1350 dominated much of the conversation last Thursday during a  special meeting at City Hall designed to update the public on the status of the proposed Long Beach (710) Freeway extension.

During the meeting, Councilman Michael Cacciotti proposed an amendment that was accepted for Rossmann to address environmental and procedural issues raised by the Planning and Conservation League.

The majority of Council members made it known that they oppose the bill in its current form. However, some council members expressed willingness to work with the author, State Senator Gilbert Cedillo, on amendments to the bill.

The council also approved a suggestion made by Rossmann that whatever amendments are developed should also meet the needs of other communities in the corridor.

Private dollars to fund a tunnel underneath South Pasadena could someday be used if state lawmakers get their way, according to the bill that was passed June 23 by the Assembly’s Transportation Committee.

Local transit agencies could go after private funds to complete a proposed 710 extension tunnel under South Pasadena if SB 1350 gets final approval someday.

Before it reaches the Assembly floor, the bill must now go to the Appropriation Committee for a vote.

Meanwhile, a comprehensive feasibility study to examine the possibility of constructing an underground freeway system under parts of South Pasadena is currently underway.

Rossmann made a presentation to the council on the legal and strategic status of opposition to the freeway/tunnel and described three arenas in which the future of the 710 is still at large. The three include: One, the recent adoption the Southern California Association of Government’s (SCAG) Regional Transportation Plan. Two, Metro’s postponed consideration of its Long-range Transportation Plan, and three, the introduction of Senate Bill 1350.

He said the city was not able to have SCAG remove the freeway from its constrained (funded) list of projects. Rossmann added that the city’s legal team, consisting of himself, Jan Chatten-Brown and South Pasadena resident Steve Friedman, agree that it is not rational for the proposed tunnel to be on the list.

Rossmann also said the project could not be built without a public-private partnership. He noted that a victory has been achieved because the surface freeway is not listed in the Transportation Plan, although it is listed in the sub-element of the plan. So the surface freeway, in the operative document, he said, under federal law, is now removed. “However, the short-term plan still refers to the 710 surface freeway,” he said.

In regards to Metro, Rossmann said the Long-range Transportation Plan does not include the project in its draft-constrained plan.

He spoke at length about SB 1350, saying the bill provides for the use of a public-private partnership for the construction of the 710 Tunnel and authorizes the use of tolls.

City Council members asked him to conduct a complete analysis of the bill, which Rossmann said the city could oppose categorically, support categorically or oppose unless amended or support amended. Rossmann said an amendment could meet the following three needs, repeal of the Martinez legislation, provide a redefinition of the 710 Freeway in the Streets and Highways Code to state that north of Valley Boulevard, near the point where the freeway now ends, the 710 will not be a surface or above-surface route, and provide a provision that Caltrans return approximately 500 houses and properties it owns along the proposed freeway corridor in El Sereno, South Pasadena and Pasadena.

Rossmann stressed that whatever the city of South Pasadena does, it must not make it worse for someone else. The challenge to the proponents, he said, is to include in Senate Bill 1350 the elimination of the surface freeway and to deal with the interests of those affected. Rossmann is expected to submit a report to the council with his findings regarding the bill in early August.

City Councilman Michael Cacciotti explained after Thursday’s meeting that the Martinez legislation took away the city’s “home rule,” he said.  “In the past, before Caltrans could build any roadway, freeway, state highway through our city, they had to enter into an agreement with us.”

Cacciotti says efforts should be made to incorporate into SB 1350 repeal of state legislation that took away the city’s ability to say no to Caltrans. The way it’s written currently, Caltrans can build a freeway/roadway without an agreement from the city, explained Cacciotti. “We want to repeal that state legistlation called the Martinez bill,” he said.“We want our power back to say no to Caltrans.”

Meanwhile, in related action, the council directed city staff through the efforts of a sub-committee to obtain names of public relations firms to help convey the city’s position regarding 710 issues.

In addition, the city is looking at retaining tunnel expert Dr. Gary Brierley to review the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) expanded tunnel feasibility study. If retained, Brierly will keep the council and public informed of developments regarding the study and issues pertinent to the proposed tunnel.