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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.
New City Manager Search | List of Community Members Named for Input
Thirty-one South Pasadena residents have been invited to sit on one of four focus groups that will offer input on the experience, style and personal qualities the city will look for in its search...
South Pasadena Resident to Serve on LA County Redistricting Commission | Priya Sridharan
South Pasadena resident Priya Sridharan has been selected to serve as one of 14 members of the LA County Redistricting Commission (CRC). After the 2020 census is complete, the CRC will be responsible for...
$70 Million Dollar Project | New City Council Sidelines Commission’s Recommendation
The South Pasadena City Council raised eyebrows Wednesday Dec. 16 when, against the express recommendation of its five transportation commissioners, it unanimously approved a revised scope and $200,000 appropriation for a study of alternatives...
South Pasadena | City to Make Permanent Eviction Ban for Unpermitted Renovation
South Pasadena’s moratorium on evictions triggered by unpermitted renovation work will has been extended through mid-January, when the City Council will adopt an ordinance making the prohibition permanent. At its last meeting of 2020,...
City Council Preview Dec 16 | What’s on the Agenda
The South Pasadena City Council on Wednesday evening is set to adopt its first-ever Climate Action Plan (CAP). The plan reviews the city’s 2016 baseline Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory; sets emission reduction targets; lists...
City Council | New Members Sworn In, Diana Mahmud Named Mayor
The South Pasadena City Council said goodbye Wednesday to Mayor Robert Joe and Council members Richard Schneider and Stephen Rossi, remotely swore in newly elected members Jack Donovan, Evelyn Zneimer and John Primuth, and...
City of South Pasadena | Final Election Results
The LA County Registrar late Monday issued the final certified results of the Nov. 3 election, in which a record 4,338,191 voters took part. At 76 percent, voter turn out was also high, up...
UPDATED REPORT: Man Killed in South Pasadena After Attacking Residents
Just before 10 am Saturday morning, a white man in his 40s entered the home of his estranged girlfriend on the 500 block of Five Oaks Dr. in South Pasadena by throwing a paving...
State Mandated Affordable Housing Units | Major Pushback on Quotas
Nearly a quarter of the of 197 municipal and county members of the Southern California Association of Governments have appealed the number of affordable housing units the state is ordering them to plan for...
Large Development in South Pasadena | Moffat St Decision Punted to New City Council
Confronted by what is arguably the most controversial decision of the year, the South Pasadena City Council last week unanimously agreed to delay a final decision on the hillside building and tree removal permits...
South Pasadena Police Chief Joe Ortiz Retires | On Administrative Leave Until March
South Pasadena Police Chief Joe Ortiz “has announced his intention to retire effective March 1, 2021,” according to a city press release. Interim City Manager Sean Joyce has appointed Deputy Police Chief Brian Solinsky...
Planning Commission | Seven Patios Approved Without Affordable Units
While lamenting the failure to include any affordable housing units, the five-member South Pasadena Planning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved Odyssey Development Services’ 57-unit, mixed-use Seven Patios development. It will be located on a...
New Interim Finance Director for South Pasadena | City Hires Familiar Face, Marcie Medina
The City of South Pasadena on Nov. 4 executed a temporary employment agreement with Maricela (“Marcie”) Medina to serve as the city’s Interim Finance Director. Medina, a retired government employee, will get a flat...
Bob Joe Concedes to Zneimer for District 1 Seat | 2020 City Council Election...
Evelyn Zneimer, South Pasadena’s elected City Clerk since 2013, has won a close race to become the new City Council representative from District 1, which includes the entire west end of the city including...
City Council | South Pasadena Adopts Eviction Moratorium
Pending adoption of a more throughgoing ordinance to close another loophole in the state’s Tenant Protection Act, the South Pasadena City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a 45-day moratorium on “no fault” evictions predicated...
2020 Election Update | Two City Council Seats Still Up in Air for South...
It’s unclear how much longer South Pasadenans will have to wait to learn the final results from Tuesday night’s undecided local races.
Evelyn Zneimer, South Pasadena’s elected City Clerk, was leading by only 15 votes...
Shaving the Town | Ben Miranda’s 55 years of Barbering
Ben Miranda has been shaving heads for over 55 years. The owner of Ben’s Barber Shop in the Ace Hardware shopping mall at 444 Fair Oaks has been quietly going about his business for...
An Interview with Steve Rossi | Councilmember Insights on City’s Current Affairs
When Stephen Rossi applied Sept. 2 to fill out the remaining three months of former Councilmember Marina Khubesrian’s term, he did so to help the city clean up its considerable financial management problems and...
Richcreek Pleads Not Guilty to Attacks on BLM Protestors During Arraignment
Joseph Luis Richcreek, 55, the Monterey Park man charged with two counts of battery against South Pasadena Black Lives Matter protestors, pled not guilty at an arraignment Oct. 23 at the County Courthouse in...
South Pasadena Ready to Fight Back | RHNA State Mandate Crossed the Line
South Pasadena will file a full-throated appeal of the number of housing units it must plan for over the eight-year period starting in 2021 under the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). Local officials...
Vanessa Marquez Shooting Was ‘By the Book’ | South Pasadena Police Department Report
The South Pasadena police shooting which resulted in the death of 49-year-old actress Vanessa Marquez on Aug. 30, 2018 complied with SPPD’s use of force policies, according to a report commissioned by the Department. The rules,...
Police Reform Recommendations Approved Unanimously by Public Safety Commission | City Council Recommended to...
In a short meeting Monday, the South Pasadena Public Safety Commission gave its blessing to both a new commission charter and a long set of operational and policy updates for the South Pasadena Police...
Public Safety Commission Looks to Finalize Police Reform Recommendations
The South Pasadena Public Safety Commission on Monday Oct. 19 will work to reach consensus on long list of police reform recommendations including tweaks to the police department’s use-of-force policy.
Other areas to be discussed...
Finance Ad Hoc Committee Expanded, Members Named | City of South Pasadena
Five members of the community were named at the South Pasadena City Council’s Oct. 7 meeting to serve on the newly created Finance Ad Hoc Committee (FAHC) aimed at facilitating the city’s work to...
Police Chief Ortiz Takes More Heat Over Cancelled Prayer Event
Community angst continues to broil over South Pasadena Police Chief Joe Ortiz’s granting permission for and promoting a prayer vigil at the police station by a controversial group that opposes social policies such as...
Councilmember Rossi Disputes City Attorney’s Refusal to Provide Legal Information
The South Pasadena City Council will discuss asking the State Attorney General for an opinion on whether City Attorney Teresa Highsmith can share information with District 2 Councilmember Stephen Rossi about legal action taken...
CITY FINANCE | South Pasadena Finance Director Karen Aceves Resigns
Karen Aceves, appointed South Pasadena Finance Director seven months ago, has resigned. Aceves, who in late August left on an indefinite family leave, sent the city a message Tuesday announcing her decision to resign...
FINANCE REPORT | South Pasadena’s Finance Situation is Severe
The City of South Pasadena’s auditor has prepared a draft giving the city a clean audit for fiscal 2018-19. But in a letter to city management, Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott (RAMS) reported findings...
South Pasadena Finance Commission: Audit Lacks Findings Memo | City Releases Claro Report
As of June 30 2019, according to the much-delayed draft opinion from South Pasadena’s auditor, the city’s financial statements “present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position” of the city. That’s the...
HIRED | New Interim City Manager for South Pasadena is in Place
During a short mid-day special meeting Sept. 23, the South Pasadena City Council unanimously voted to appoint Sean Joyce, its former long-time city manager, to serve as Interim City Manager starting Sept. 24. Joyce...
