Fans of Texas Hold ’em signed up for the 8th annual Main Event Poker Tournament on Saturday, March 11. The event was hosted in the War Memorial Building by the South Pasadena Middle School Athletic Boosters Club and the South Pasadena D.U.D.E.S. More than150 players filled the tables, which were manned by professional dealers, in hopes of raising $20,000 for the SPMS athletics program and the Middle School Chapter of D.U.D.E.S. In the process, attendees competed to win the tournament’s top prize, the Deetjen Cup. This year’s winner, Ernest Gacutan, also received two tickets to an upcoming Clip ..read more

October 9, 1959 – March 14, 2023 Kathryn (Kathy) Elaine Luck Kathryn (Kathy) Elaine Luck passed away peacefully at home on March 14, 2023, surrounded by her family. Kathy was born in Port Angeles, Washington, on October 9, 1959, to John and Norma Somers. She attended Washington State University and studied abroad in Bonn, Germany, where she met her husband of 38 years, Christopher Luck. They settled with their five children in South Pasadena in 1996. Kathy loved to have fun, filling her life with her family, work, and many projects. She enjoyed traveling (she set foot on all seven continents ..read more

Many Jews remember that as children they dressed up as characters found in the story of the holiday of Purim, which celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia.   Chabad Jewish Center of South Pasadena will re-kindle those memories — and in some cases start new memories — as it sponsors a Purim celebration on March 7 at the South Pasadena Community Room, at 1115 El Centro St., beginning at 4 p.m.   The actual holiday begins the evening of March 6 and ends the evening of March 7.   Rabbi Dovid Harlig said that the story — read in what is called a “me ..read more

The South Pasadena High School varsity softball team routed visiting Mayfield Senior School of Pasadena, 12-2, in a nonleague game last Wednesday. Tigers freshman Lucia Atencio pitched a six-inning complete game with 11 strikeouts while allowing two earned runs on six hits and four walks. Sophomore Natalie Kan went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, three RBIs, three runs and a stolen base. Sophomore Emma Becerra went 2-for-2 with a triple, three RBIs, a stolen bases, two runs and a walk while freshman Ava Dawson tripled, scored once and added an RBI. Junior Caitlyn Colmenares recorded a doubl ..read more

The South Pasadena High School varsity baseball team lost to Warren High of Downey, 5-1, in its Adelanto Saints Tournament opener on Monday. Senior Quinn Stirling crushed a solo home run while senior Jason Yipp went 2-for-3. Junior Nolan Adams pitched six innings with four strikeouts while allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk. The Tigers (4-1 overall) will finish competing in the Adelanto Saints Tournament today before visiting Pasadena Poly for a nonleague game on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 3:15 p.m. SPHS 5, LINCOLN 1 The Tigers defeated visiting Lincoln High of Los Angeles in ..read more

The recent SB 381 Implementation Committee meeting on Feb. 16 brought news of progress regarding the Caltrans properties and their potential integration back into the South Pasadena community. Senior Management Analyst for Housing Programs Leah Demarest explained that “for next steps, after hearing community members’ input this evening, we’ll continue to develop the policy options to be discussed at an Ad Hoc meeting or City Council meeting later this month or early next month. “Once the city receives the sales contracts from Caltrans, the city will make a decision on the unoccupied properties ..read more

An organizational assessment of the city’s police department prioritizing the identification and implementation of procedural improvements and best practices within the law enforcement industry is expected to be completed and reviewed by City Council in the summer; however, an external analysis by a local coalition provides possible insight into the need for the assessment of SPPD. On Jan. 18, City Council approved a contract amounting to $99,500 or less to Raftelis, a local government management consulting firm, to conduct the assessment of the police department and give recommendations to ci ..read more

The spotlight was on financial transparency at the South Pasadena City Council’s Feb. 15 meeting. Staff and finance committee members were able to show progress made in recent years, hoping to turn the corner on previous financial woes that resulted in the departure of former City Manager Stephanie DeWolfe. “It hurts to be transparent when you’ve made mistakes and that is absolutely important that we need to do that,” Mayor Jon Primuth said. “I see that in our team and I commend you for it.” The finance department’s status update and organizational assessment, along with a presentation of the ..read more

Albert Simmons — unhoused since 2009 — has been seeking stable housing from various local agencies and case workers for some time, furthering his skepticism about the reliability of housing programs and agencies. Simmons is in South Pasadena often and sometimes stays around the city’s public library. “We were promised things and every time we’ve been promised something it disappeared as quickly as it was promised,” Simmons said about he and his friend’s past experiences working with homeless service providers. Simmons’ friend asked to remain anonymous for personal reasons. Simmons mentioned th ..read more

At its last scheduled meeting of the year, the South Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education welcomed a new member, acknowledged a departing colleague and picked a new president of the panel. The Dec. 13 session began with praise for Dr. Ruby Kalra, who had served on the board since 2018. During her four-year term on the school board, Kalra served a year as board president. She did not seek reelection. Kalra received two awards — from the state Senate and the school district — at the meeting. Board member Michele Kipke took the podium to highlight Kalra’s past roles and applaud the ..read more