Ben Tansey

Ben Tansey
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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.

City Council | Community Advocates Push for Racial Bias Assessment

Public speakers on Wednesday demanded the city include racial bias as part of an assessment City Manager Arminé Chaparyan intends to commission on the city’s police department. The demand was echoed in written statements,...

Caltrans Properties | City’s Plan to Acquire Homes Now Requires Governor Approval

The City of South Pasadena’s grand plan to take control of Caltrans’ properties in town is on the verge of fruition after a flurry of last minute legislative activity. In less than 24 hours,...

$80 Million Credit Deal Signed | CPA to Add More Solar

The Clean Power Alliance this month added over 300 megawatts of solar generating capacity to its growing profile of long-term renewable power resources. Directors said the community choice aggregator, the largest in the state,...

Animal Commission | City Council to Discuss Future at Next Meeting

The South Pasadena City Council on Wednesday will take on the controversial subject of the future of its moribund Animal Commission. Staff has not made a recommendation, but is looking for guidance from the...

South Pasadena Care Center Lawsuit | New Claims Allege Enrichment Scheme Injured Residents

In the latest lawsuit filed against the South Pasadena Care Center, the family of the late Michael Steven Paz says he suffered “injuries and death” as a “direct result of the chronic understaffing” at...

City Repurposes Grant Money for Traffic Work

The City Council on Wednesday approved spending $65,000 for a traffic study of Mission St. and Meridian Ave. It also authorized spending up to $168,000 on a “slow streets” program. Another $150,00 was at...
Attorney Highsmith South Pasadena

Teresa Highsmith Steps Aside | South Pasadena City Attorney Changes

After nearly two years of controversy surrounding its City Attorney, South Pasadena’s City Council on Wednesday is set to re-designate Teresa L. Highsmith to the role of Assistant City Attorney and to promote current...
Caltrans homes South Pasadena

Caltrans Housing Bill | SB-381 Heads to Assembly Floor for Approval

The city of South Pasadena’s bill to encourage the sale of up to 68 Caltrans properties in town was unanimously approved without amendment Thursday by the Assembly’s Appropriations committee. "The City is pleased that SB-381...

City’s Legal Billings Significantly Increased | Invoices Reviewed

South Pasadena Council Member Jon Primuth during Wednesday’s Council meeting expressed confidence the city is getting good value for the money it is spending for legal services from the firm of city attorney Teresa...

New Stop Signs on Oak & Meridian Intersection | Neighbors Rejoice Over Installation

After lobbying for two decades, neighbors celebrated Tuesday, August 10, when the city at last installed stop signs for both north and southbound traffic along Meridian Ave. at Oak St.. It’s the only place along...

UPDATE: ‘Clean Power Alliance’ Battle Ongoing | Disagreement Over Millions in Electric Rates

Originally published on August 6, 2021. Updated to include statements from Mayor Diana Mahmud. South Pasadena’s electric ratepayers, its mayor, state senator and assembly member are at the center of an ongoing battle in the...

Police Dog Incident | SPPD Chief Solinksy Addresses the Issue

A legally blind, 5-year boy was bitten in the face by a police narcotics dog Tuesday evening just before a SouthPasadena Police Department canine demonstration at Orange Grove Park during the annual National Night...

South Pasadena City Attorney Highsmith Absent from Council Meetings

Over the past few months, South Pasadena City Attorney Teresa L. Highsmith has been conspicuously absent from the City Council’s regular meetings. Her last appearance was May 5, and in each of the five...

20 Years in The Making | A Stop Sign on Oak & Meridian

Audience applause broke out when the South Pasadena City Council voted unanimously Wednesday evening to install stop signs at the three-way intersection of Meridian Ave. and Oak St. The seemingly minor action was the...

City Finances | Auditor Finds Fewer Material Weakness, Significant Deficiencies for South Pasadena

There were three “material weaknesses” and two “significant deficiencies” in the City of South Pasadena’s fiscal 2019-20 financial documents, the city’s auditor said in a letter July 15. The City agrees with the findings...

City Council Plans Next Step in $6.3 Million Caltrans Property Takeover

Anticipating success in its ambitious strategy to take control over the future of up to 68 Caltrans properties in South Pasadena, the City Council on Wednesday is poised to authorize the next step. If...
CalTrans

Caltrans Properties | 350 Agencies Contacted: “Request for Interest” in Purchasing

UDPATED 7-19-2021: After nearly six months, Caltrans has yet to respond to a dozen public and private housing developers who answered the agency’s request for ideas on how to deal with 47 properties it owns...

South Pasadena Planning Department Gets Some Crucial Attention

The South Pasadena City Council approved multiple actions last Wednesday to help address chokepoints in the processing of Planning Department procedures that have become an increasing source of complaints from residents and developers. Last month...

626 Prospect Ave Sale | Court Blocks Caltrans Sale to Pasadena Church

The City of South Pasadena on Thursday won a preliminary injunction preventing Caltrans from selling its 12-unit residential property at 626 Prospect Avenue to a church in Pasadena. LA Superior Court Judge Mary H. Strobel...

626 Prospect Ave Sale | Caltrans’ ‘Misleading’ of Transportation Commission Draws Rebuke

South Pasadena’s push to claw back the right to purchase Caltrans’ 12-unit residential property at 626 Prospect gained momentum June 24 when state Transportation Commissioners, annoyed about being “misled” by the agency over terms...
Budget South Pasadena 2021

City Adopts $31.9 Million Budget | What Passed for South Pasadena

The South Pasadena City Council last week adopted a $31.9 million balanced general fund budget that restores services and programs suspended due to COVID-19; sets aside $200,000 in the police budget for a “crisis...
PHOTO: Staff | The South Pasadenan News | South Pasadena City Hall on Mission Street

City of South Pasadena’s Wrongful Termination of Firefighter | Supreme Court Denies Review

South Pasadena reached the end of the appeal road Wednesday when the state Supreme Court denied its petition for review of a lower court ruling under which it must reinstate fire engineer Owen Cliff...

Caltrans Properties | City Asks Court to Rescind Prospect Ave Sale

In an escalation of the battle over who should have the right to purchase a 12-unit Caltrans property in South Pasadena, the City has asked a court to rescind Caltrans’ deal to sell the...

City Council Hears Pleas to Restore Library Position

A half dozen supporters of the South Pasadena Library implored the City Council Wednesday not to go through with a plan to reject the Library’s request to retain a full-time position needed to fix...

BLM Spitter Joe Richcreek Convicted | Hate Crime Definition Disputed Over Claims

UPDATED ON JUNE 1 TO INCLUDE STATEMENT FROM DDA, CHERYL GAINES. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MAY 28. Joseph Luis Richcreek, who spat at Black Lives Matter protestors during a demonstration last July in South Pasadena, accepted...

Police Department Investigations | City Says Law Prevents Public Discussion

Outgoing South Pasadena City Manager Sean Joyce on Thursday put the kibosh on public demands that the City Council place on its agenda a public discussion about the results of investigations the city commissioned...

West Side Reservoir Near-Collapse | Replacement to Cost Millions of Dollars

“A ticking time-bomb.” That’s how South Pasadena City Council Member Evelyn Zneimer described the condition of the city’s 2-million-gallon West Side Reservoir during a city council meeting May 5. It could cost over $10 million...

CalTrans Properties | Two Councilmembers to Lead New Subcommittee in South Pasadena

South Pasadena City Council Members John Primuth and Michael Cacciotti were named last week to serve on a new Council Subcommittee whose task will be to implement plans for the city’s disposition of Caltrans...

Investigation of the South Pasadena Police Department | Nine Officers Found in Violation of...

After nearly six months of investigating, the city has sustained 21 of the 53 complaints filed by nearly a dozen residents against South Pasadena police officers stemming from events starting with last summer’s Black...

New Police Chief Selected | Brian Solinsky Appointed for South Pasadena Police Department

Brian Solinsky, a 27-year veteran of the South Pasadena Police Department who is currently serving as acting chief, has been appointed to be the department’s permanent chief commanding 36 sworn officers, 15 full-time, non-sworn...
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