Ben Tansey
Ben Tansey is a journalist and author. He grew up in the South Bay and is a graduate of Evergreen State College. He worked in Washington State as a reporter in a rural timber community and for many years as an editor for a Western electric energy policy publication based in Seattle.
A Win For Fire Victims: Eaton Fire Victim Helps in Battle to Halt Consumer...
Testimony from an 82-year-old Altadena resident whose home burned down in the Eaton wildfire helped win a reprieve last week in a lawsuit filed...
Interview with Sean Joyce | ‘New’ Interim City Manager for South Pasadena
In fall of 2020, the last time Sean Joyce walked into South Pasadena City Hall to serve a stop-gap leadership role during a tumultuous...
New Interim City Manager: South Pasadena Welcomes Back Sean Joyce – for Now
South Pasadena City Council Meeting Preview
Still struggling to find a permanent city manager six months after the departure of Arminé Chaparyan, South Pasadena City...
South Pasadena Finance | City May Again Face Delayed Budget Adoption
Finance South Pasadena: City management is prepared to blow past the normal June 30 deadline for a new budget if that’s what it takes...
South Pasadena Commissions Overhaul: Council Revs-Up for Commission Clean Up, Consolidation
The City Council last week discussed a renewed effort to broach the always-sensitive issue of city commission consolidation. The city currently has about a...
City Council Meeting Report | First Full Meeting With South Pasadena Voter’s Newly Elected...
South Pasadena experienced at least $2.89 million in damages during last week’s windstorm and fire, a “very rough” estimate that is likely to rise,...
Fire in South Pasadena | The ‘Teresa’ Fire Tues. Jan 7 in Monterey Hills...
Even as Southern California residents mourn the devastating losses of their fire-ravaged neighbors, many Los Angeles County residents cannot escape a profound sense of...
CalTrans Homes South Pasadena | City Closing Sales on the First Historical Properties
The City of South Pasadena has already closed escrow on one of the unoccupied historic former CalTrans-owned houses on which it recently accepted purchase...
CalTrans Homes SOLD | The First 5 South Pasadena Homes Sold Off – for...
Two Northern Californians with ties to Silicon Valley’s tech world were among the five bidders whose offers to purchase historic former Caltrans-owned houses in...
CalTrans Home Sales: As Bidder List Narrows, Council To Consider Selling Historic Homes to...
About a third of the parties offering to buy historic former Caltrans-owned houses in South Pasadena have dropped out of the bidding. Only one...
Elections South Pasadena | Fresh Leadership For City Council: Omari Ferguson & Sheila Rossi...
Next month, the South Pasadena City Council will swear in two new council members—the winners of this weeks elections. Both Sheila Rossi and Omari...
CalTrans Homes South Pasadena Report: Historic – First Batch of Home Purchase Offers on...
In a major historical milestone, the South Pasadena City Council during a closed session Wednesday night is set to consider offers for five historic...
ELECTIONS South Pasadena | Who’s Running For City Council & The Major Issues
South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer will face a challenge for her District 1 City Council seat during the November 5 from Public Works Commission...
City Manager Position South Pasadena | Don Penman Hired as Interim
The South Pasadena City Council voted 5-0 Friday to approve an agreement with Donald E. Penman to serve as Interim City Manager, starting July...
South Pasadena City Manager Resignation Accepted | Police Chief, Community Services Director Appointed ‘Co-Acting...
During a closed meeting this evening, the South Pasadena City Council voted to accept the resignation of City Manager Arminé Chaparyan and agreed to...
South Pasadena to Appoint New Acting City Manager | Bungled Budget Work Sinks Chaparyan
Frustrated with ongoing budget struggles, the South Pasadena City Council will hold a closed meeting Tuesday to appoint a new acting interim city manager,...
CalTrans Home Sales South Pasadena | Confusion & Poor Communication Over Status of Caltrans...
Confusion about the status of historic Caltrans homes blew up this week when the city’s contracted realtor published a press release suggesting they were...
City Council South Pasadena | Primuth Apologizes, Finance Ad Hoc Reauthorized
In another dramatic reversal, the South Pasadena City Council last Wednesday unanimously voted to re-instate the financial advisory board it abruptly dissolved only six...
New Interim Finance Director Deal in the Works | South Pasadena Finance Dept. Pushing...
Scott Miller, a retired municipal finance official with four decades in the field, is being considered to serve as South Pasadena's new finance director...
Crisis Response Program ‘CARE’ | City Council Seeks Better Utilization & Outreach
Frustrated with the chronic under-utilization and constrained outreach of the city's experimental alternative to police responses for mental and behavioral health crises, the City...
Wednesday Night Council Meeting: Re-Establishing Finance Ad Hoc Committee is On The Agenda
Responding to pressure from citizens, South Pasadena City Council on Wednesday May 1 will decide whether to bring back the controversial Finance Ad Hoc...
Important CalTrans Homes Hearing in South Pasadena: FRIDAY APRIL 26th at SPHS 5pm~8pm
As the curtain draws near on final acts in Caltrans' ill-fated, 70-year attempt to build a freeway through South Pasadena—disposition of the properties it...
City Finance Director Exits South Pasadena After 13 Months
Only days before the April 17 kickoff of the city's accelerated budget process and four months since formally taking over as South Pasadena's permanent...
Electric Bills South Pasadena | Clean Power Alliance (CPA) Arrangement is on The Chopping...
South Pasadena, which four years ago opted to rely solely on renewable power for city operations under the Clean Power Alliance’s (CPA) “100 percent...
City Finance Commission Meeting | Finance Panel Pushed for ‘Corrected’ Answers, Defined Issues, as...
With the caveat that Finance staff will provide City Council a “high level understanding” of requested budget data, the South Pasadena Finance Commission on...
City Council South Pasadena | The Twisting 7-Hour March 20 Meeting Ended With Turmoil
In a wide-ranging and at times contentious seven-hour session, South Pasadena City Council members on Wednesday evening: killed a panel reviewing details of the...
City Finance Issues: The Brown Act Called to Question & Finance Ad Hoc Committee...
In a de facto acknowledgment it acted illegally, the South Pasadena City Council tonight is set to rescind the finance ad hoc committee it...
CalTrans Homes | Newly Signed Real Estate Sales Rep. Responds to Concerns
The Keller Williams DTLA and The Dave Knight Real Estate Team, selected last week by the South Pasadena City Council to resell the 19...
Caltrans Homes Sales | City’s Prospective Real Estate Rep is With Keller Williams: KW...
The real estate firm the City of South Pasadena intends to hire to resell properties it is buying from Caltrans is affiliated with one...
CalTrans Homes Purchases | Broker Contract Set For Council Approval
The City of South Pasadena says it intends to purchase unoccupied properties in town offered to it by Caltrans in the former SR 710...
