Officials say due to the $313 million cuts to the state’s community colleges and $102 million in “triggered cuts”, it was announced that more cuts are on the way. Representatives say statewide colleges will face an additional $149 million during the current fiscal year. Despite the downturn, Pasadena City College officials say these cuts will have a minimal affect on them compared to other state colleges. They say for PCC, the new cuts will amount to an additional $2.85 million in budget shortfall.

The institution says they were forced to reduce some of its class offerings, while trying to accommodate their students in other ways. They say they are offering 2,333 sections for the spring semester, which continues to be significantly above the state-ordered enrollment-funding limit for class offerings.

PCC says consideration will be given to students near completion of a certificate, degree, transfer requirements, or have been affected in terms of financial aid qualification. They say a special “Spring Forward to Completion” project will be available first to those students who would have completed their degree or certificate by spring or summer.

PCC officials say on Friday, February 24 the college’s Budget Resource and Allocation Committee will meet to discuss recommendations for the fiscal year of 2012-2013 budget. The college says their plan is to prepare for next year’s budget cuts and to address the crisis in a realistic manner.

Pasadena city officials say free tax preparation assistance is available on Wednesday, February 22 at La Pintoresca Library located at 1355 N. Raymond Ave., from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. They say all qualifying residences must have a maximum household income no greater than $50,000.

Appointments are required, officials say, as taxpayers are asked to bring a Photo ID, Social Security card (or individual taxpayer ID number for each family member), all earnings statements (W-2s, 1099s, Social Security Income), copy of prior year tax return, bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit, tuition fees and expenses, and child care expenses.

This free event is sponsored by the office of Pasadena City Councilmember Jacque Robinson, the office of State Controller John Chiang, Women at Work, and Pasadena Public Library.   To make an appointment, please call (626) 796-6870, ext. 0.

Pasadena officials announced this week that more layoffs of city employees are necessary to maintain the city’s fiscal stability. According to a recent statement, fourteen city staff members were notified that their positions are being considered for layoff in March.

“In order to maintain fiscal responsibility and stability, additional staffing reductions have unfortunately become necessary”, said Pasadena City Manager Michael Beck. “We understand that we’re not just talking about numbers on a page, but about real people, good employees, losing jobs.”

According to the city, the elimination of these fourteen, mostly mid-level management positions, is expected to save the city nearly $1.7 million dollars per fiscal year.

The city said that since 2009, when it unveiled a new plan to balance the city’s budget within five years, it has already cut nearly 300 positions. The effects of the recession on local tax revenue, as well as growing pension costs, the dissolution of local redevelopment agencies, and other factors, make the elimination of these positions necessary to ensure the city meets its planned goals to balance the budget.

The statement also said that the city must absorb the nearly $17 million dollars in windstorm recovery costs since the state and federal governments did not provide any aid to the city.

Beck said, “We’re hopeful that the difficult work we’ve done to make long-term budget corrections, along with positive economic trends, will mean that the worst of this is behind us.”

South Pasadena Police officials are asking for the public’s help in finding a sexual predator who broke into a South Pasadena home early Wednesday morning and sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman.

According to Police, the man broke into the woman’s home in the 600 block of Monterey Road while she was sleeping at around 2:50am and sexually assaulted her. Police say a preliminary investigation revealed that the man had forced entry into the victim’s residence.

According to a report from ABC7, the man was threatening the woman with a knife when her father entered the home while returning from work early that morning.

Police are now looking for a man similar to the rendering in the picture above who is described as a 40-50-year-old white male with brown eyes, curly, dark brown hair, 5’11″-6’1”, 180-200 lbs., and facial hair. The main was also said to have been wearing a red hooded sweatshirt at the time, according to Police.

South Pasadena Police, as well as forensic detectives from the Pasadena Police Department, were able to recover evidence from the crime scene and ask anyone with more information on this case to call the South Pasadena Police Department at (626) 403-7270.

Pasadena Police say they will enforce a DUI Checkpoint on Friday, February 10th. They say funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Authorities say they want to send a clear message to those who are considering driving after taking alcohol or drugs. They say their community goal is to find and arrest these drivers that are under the influence.

Police say the DUI Checkpoint’s hours of operation will be between 6:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m. They say the public is encouraged to call 911 whenever you see a suspected impaired driver in the community.

ALPR technology allows officers to see the license plates their car captures on a display within their vehicle. (CCN File)

Pasadena Police Officials announced this week that they have made their first arrest using new automated license plate recognition system (ALPR) technology, a new system which allows Police Officers to scan thousands of plates every shift via cameras mounted on their patrol cars.

According to the Pasadena Police Department, Christopher Castillo, 24, was arrested last Friday night at around 10:00pm when a Police Officer’s in-car computer alerted him with a notice that the car was stolen.  Castillo is an active parolee of Pasadena and was subsequently arrested for driving a stolen vehicle.

According to Police Chief Phillip Sanchez, “The Pasadena Police Department continues to explore technology systems that increase our capacity to protect the community. When combined with skilled law enforcement officers, the ALPR is an effective crime fighting tool and enhances proactive patrols.”

The ALPR system Pasadena uses also has the capability to interface with other local law enforcement databases, including those from other cities, to enable more collaborative police work.

The Pasadena Police Department’s ALPR system was purchased with grant funds from the Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program. Additional funding also came from the Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, which former Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian now administers.

City officials say the Villa-Parke Community Center is offering a free monthly Saturday reading assistance program for students in 1st – 6th grade. They say the program which is affiliated with the non-profit organization, Kids Reading to Succeed, is designed to help children improve their reading skills and to develop a love for reading. Officials say one-on-one tutoring is also available the first Saturday of each month from 8:50 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

To register or for more information please visit Villa-Parke Community Center at 363 E. Villa St. or call them at (626) 744-6530. Parents are encouraged to sign up their children for the program at least one week in advance, but drop-ins are welcomed; as well.

California Public Utilities Commission officials say Edison’s handling of last year’s windstorm that happened on November 30 and December 1 was “botched” in complying with the necessary regulatory rules.

CPUC say findings from an  investigation detected that at least 20 of the 200 or more Edison power poles did not meet safety standards because they were loaded with cables and other components. They say these poles were in this condition before the windstorm happened last year. Authorities say that some of the 205,000 Edison customers in the San Gabriel Valley didn’t have power for more than a week. They says if these issues were tended to on a regular basis than customers wouldn’t have been in the dark for so long.

Officials say a joint legislative hearing which will include testimony from Edison, Pasadena Water and Power, and others involved in this matter, will be held on Friday between the hours of 2:00p.m. to 5:00pm at Alhambra City Hall.

The City of Pasadena’s Public Works Department is seeking the help of local residents to develop the City’s Zero Waste Strategic Plan. According to the City, its goal is to have Pasadena create zero waste by 2040, meaning no waste would go into landfills and all waste would be recycled.

The City says as part of the goal, local residents and businesses are being asked to weigh in on recycling as well as the policies and practices needed to achieve this goal.

The meetings will be held this morning and evening at the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Pasadena Central Library, located at 285 East Walnut Street in Pasadena. A meeting from 9:30-11:30am will focus on the business community while a later evening meeting from 6-8pm will focus on residents.

Anyone who wishes to get more information on these meetings is encouraged to call Gabriel Silva at (626) 744-4721.

Following the collection and grounding up of debris from local streets during the Southern California Windstorm of 2011, the City of Pasadena will soon begin providing free mulch for local Pasadena Residents.

Beginning on Wednesday, February 1st at 7am, residents will be able to pick up the mulch from the Robinson Park parking lot on Morton Street in Pasadena. Residents collecting the mulch however will have to bring their own shovel and method for transporting it away, according to the City.

Mulch collection is free to local, noncommercial Pasadena residents and goes until 3pm each day. For more information, contact the City of Pasadena’s Public Works Department at (626) 744-4087.