SEPTEMBER 2008

Keep Your Address Visible

Ready for Your Closeup?

Keep Your Address Visible

We’re going to have to ask you to step outside. Is your address painted on your curb? If so, is a vehicle parked in front of it and blocking it from view?

In an emergency, police officers, firefighters and paramedics will have trouble finding your location if they can’t see the address. It’s fine to have it painted on the curb, but also make sure it’s visible on your house, fence or mailbox and easily readable from the street.

Canning Hunger, a non-profit food relief organization, is the only company with a permit to repaint curb addresses in Pasadena. For a $10 donation or $10 worth of canned goods, the non-profit food relief organization paints black numbers on white backgrounds in neighborhoods that are due for a fresh coat. No murals, emblems, photos or illustrations are allowed. A donation is not required for the service.

For more information call 744-4720.

Ready for Your Closeup?

Does your Pasadena home or other local property belong in the movies? Does it have a great look, good bones? Is it lovingly restored in all its glory?

If so, the Film Office of the Planning and Development Department may want to include your hidden gem on our online location library. Location scouts and city staff search this popular site every day to connect Pasadena properties with film projects.

Film hosts earn an average of $1,500 a day in tax-free income for a small bungalow and up to $10,000 per day for a large mansion (the first 14 days are exempt from federal and state taxes).

To upload photos of your Pasadena property or for more information, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/film and click on Register Your Property. For more information call 744-3964.

Your Vote Is Your Voice

The consolidated City of Pasadena and Pasadena Unified School District primary nominating election will be on March 10, 2009, and the general (runoff) election will be on April 21.

Voters will be electing representatives for the Pasadena City Council in Districts 3, 5 and 7, and Pasadena Board of Education Seats 1, 3, 5 and 7.

For detailed election information visit www.cityofpasadena.net/cityclerk/election or call 744-4124. Candidates may file nomination papers with the City Clerk’s Office from Nov. 17 to Dec. 12; the website will be updated whenever new filings are submitted and if local measures are placed on the ballot.

Poll workers and accessible polling sites are needed for both dates, and there is a special need for Armenian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog or Vietnamese speakers.

Volunteers are critical to the election process! If you’d like to help, call 744-4124.

Earthquake Rattles Us to Attention

The 5.4 earthquake on July 29 reminded us once again to be prepared! Do you know what to do during a major quake? Follow these tips from the Pasadena Fire Department:

• Drop, cover and hold on! If you need to, move just a few steps to a nearby safe place. Most injuries happen when people move while the ground is shaking, and it’s especially dangerous to try to leave a building. Many deaths occur when people run outside, only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. In U.S. buildings, you’re safer to stay put.

• Stay away from windows, which may shatter with such force that you can be injured from several feet away.

• If you’re in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow. Many people have been injured by broken glass when they’ve rolled to the floor or tried to get to doorways.

• Stay indoors until the shaking stops and you're sure it's safe to exit. If you do go outside, move quickly away from the building to avoid falling debris.

• In a multistory building, expect fire alarms and sprinklers to go off during a quake, even if there is no fire. Check for and extinguish small fires. If you exit, use the stairs – not the elevator!

• If you’re outdoors during the quake, find a clear spot away from buildings, trees, street lights and power lines, which could fall and injure you. Drop to the ground and stay there until the shaking stops.

• If you’re in a vehicle, pull over to a clear location, stop and stay there with your seatbelt fastened until the shaking has stopped. Trees, power lines, poles, street signs and other overhead items may fall during earthquakes, and a hard-topped vehicle will help protect you from flying or falling objects. Once the shaking has stopped, proceed with caution. Avoid bridges or freeway onramps and offramps that might have been damaged by the quake.

For more disaster preparedness tips, call 744-7276 or visit www.cityofpasadena.net/disaster.

Protecting Pets from Harm

When buildings catch fire, humans aren’t the only ones affected. Cats, dogs and other animals are often hurt or even killed by smoke inhalation during house fires. In Pasadena, where 60 percent of households have one pet and 80 percent have two or more, the risk is significant.

To protect our furry loved ones, the Pasadena Fire Department has teamed up with the Pasadena Humane Society/SPCA to provide emergency care to pets. Each Pasadena engine company now carries innovative, reusable rescue masks to provide oxygen to injured cats, dogs, birds, hamsters and other animals that are victims of house fires.

The Humane Society has donated all training, equipment and maintenance to make sure the masks are carried and used properly by our firefighters and paramedics.

As always, the Pasadena Fire Department is at your service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For complete details on Pasadena fire services, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/fire or call 744-4655.