Our Arroyo Seco is part of the city of Pasadena and home to the Rose Bowl. It runs 22 miles from the San Gabriel Mountains to join the Los Angeles River near Elysian Park & Dodger Stadium. I focus on the central Arroyo Seco, between the Devil’s Gate dam and the Colorado Street Bridge.  I also cover the upper Arroyo north of the dam and the Lower Arroyo extending from the 134 to the Pasadena City limits and beyond. These parts are mostly outside the city limits, but are very important to us. I have many goals, I want a healthy and sustainable city and Arroyo. All parts of the Arroyo need protection. We’ll discuss inequality in Pasadena, health and exercise, professional sports and their exploitation of taxpayers.

I’ll review the proposed temporary presence of the NFL in the Rose Bowl and historical disputes over priorities for the Arroyo. The Arroyo is unique; its long-term preservation is not simple. City of Pasadena officials have been pushing  Arroyo priorities one way, with neighbors & preservationists pushing the other way, for decades. This issue waxes and wanes, with periodic flare-ups, as happened with the proposals to bring the NFL to the Rose Bowl in 2003-2006, terminated by the November 2006 election.  Although 72% of the voters voted no, there has been no specific long-term agreement about what is the best use of the Arroyo.   The balance of power shifts, depending on current crises and publicity, and times change. There’s no magical answer; change and improvement involves trade-offs, costs and benefits. I believe that this temporary Rose Bowl/NFL idea would do more harm than good; some compromise may be possible. Without compromise, the stand off is likely to continue.

Place is important; Pasadena has a complex and interesting history. It’s also California’s most unequal city, far more so than its neighbors such as Glendale, South Pasadena, and Arcadia.  See a tale of two cities, http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/pasadena_s_tale_of_two_cities/9617/. How can we strengthen the good and overcome the bad? Easy to say, hard to do. History helps us understand the world. History has objective and subjective parts, it’s rarely neutral. I use history as a framework for most topics. I’ll include some conservation material from others. Send me your photos of the Arroyo for posting and your comments- short comments may be posted.