#1 negative - disparity between rich and poor

august will be the last month of the sky is big in pasadena.  

i have accepted a position at salford mennonite church in harleysville, pennsylvania.  we will be moving in september, so august will be my farewell month to the city of pasadena.  when we moved here from virginia i posted a list of the ten things i would miss most about harrisonburg.  i figured that would be a good way to end our time here, so each day i will be doing one final rundown of life in this great city.  i have prepared two lists - ten things i won't be sad to leave behind, and twenty of my absolute favorite things about pasadena.  today is the final installment of things i won't be sad to leave behind.

#1 negative - disparity between rich and poor

today's photo is of one of the many people who stand on our streets and beg for money.  disparity exists around the world - pasadena is not unique in this fact.  yet here in pasadena, we have one of the largest gaps between the wealthiest and poorest of any american city.  we have neighborhoods featuring incredible wealth and lavish expansive mansions, and we have families that are struggling to pay their rent and put food on the table (in fact our local shelters often run out of space and food).  peter drier, professor at occidental college, has written extensively on this issue.  you can find one of his recently published articles right here.

but you don't have to take his word for it.  just look at our local schools - some of the best private schools in the country, and on the flip side, some of the worst public schools.  old town pasadena is home to incredible high end restaurants, and just south of old town is a soup kitchen that is always filled with people looking for food.

fortunately, pasadena does have an incredible group of people dedicated to fighting this injustice.  if you are interested in learning more, this recent pasadena star article is a good place to start.


finally, here's a brilliant clip on the gap between the rich and poor from the daily show...

The Daily Show
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more of green street

at the corner of green street and lake

enjoy your summer sunday!

the new vons

today we are skywatching at the sight of the old vons grocery store, where a new vons is currently being built.  if you want a better rundown of this project (and a fabulous shot of the sky - not overcast and washed-out like mine is), check out brigham yen's blog.

pasadena

as my time at fuller seminary draws to a close i find myself growing more nostalgic about our experience in southern california.  this photo was taken in 2007 on our last day of the four day journey from virginia to california.  we snapped this photo as we got on the 210 freeway for the last bit of driving before we arrived at our new home.

we still don't know what our future holds, but for this stage of life, pasadena has exceeded our expectations.

the land of the freeway

pasadena's really not that bad compared to the rest of los angeles county, but we do have a few massive freeway interchanges in town - this one being no exception.

north lake avenue

looking down on altadena, and further down pasadena.

colorado blvd (four years ago)

this was the first picture of pasadena that i ever took.  just over four years ago we flew from virginia to california so that we could have a nice california vacation and for me to check out fuller seminary (although at the time, i wasn't seriously considering it as an option).

we left behind cold winter weather, and arrived to sunny so-cal - much like what we've been experiencing lately.

we ended up falling in love with fuller seminary and with this city, and decided on the flight home that we might actually be crazy enough to load up our things and move all the way across the country.  we ended up making a decision that would change our lives, and we sure are happy we did that.

sidewalking

this sidewalk has glass embedded in the pavement.  i'm sure there is a reason - in fact i feel like petrea over at pasadena daily photo has mentioned this before.  regardless, this is a pretty interesting feature of our walkable city.

snow-peaked mountains and storm clouds

this one was taken during last weekend's storm.

more skywatch friday photos can be found right here (as usual).

parking garage

rose parade aftermath haze

as pasadena's biggest celebration of the year comes to a close, the streets are filled with trash, and the clean up is about to begin.  i'll post a few photos of the parade over the next few days, but in the meantime, you can check out a few perspectives from some local bloggers (i'll post more as they arrive).

brian and kelly
kchblog 
brigham yen 
east of allen
mixed meters

it was a crazy day of precipitation

see

i've held off talking about our recent wet weather because...  well, i wasn't sure i had anything special to add.  but wednesday afternoon's downpour was so amazing that i figured i better take some pictures.

i want you to take a close look at the above photo - see that white stuff in the grass?  that is hail (additional photo below).  see that gray matter where the sidewalk should be?  yeah, that's a river.  see the van that is waiting to turn out into the road?  yeah, water is pouring through his front wheels.

i can't imagine what is going on up in our mountains, and in the communities at the foot of the mountains.  i haven't heard anything too terrible yet, but if the rain keeps coming, who knows what will happen.

certainly there is cause for concern at our various runoff basins and water channels across los angeles county.

looking up marengo

we're taking a trip for a few days.  

i'll tell you all about it when we get back.  behave yourselves while i'm gone!

drive me crazy

busy traffic on an evening in pasadena along the 210 freeway. 

i hope your weekend is traffic free!

all saints

i've mentioned all saints church on this blog before a few times.  it is tucked in next to our beautiful city hall.  palm trees and sunshine.  a pretty lovely spot.

november theme day: public transportation

 los angeles county isn't exactly known for its public transportation system, but it is getting better.  pasadena is linked in by several bus lines and the metro gold line, pictured above, a light rail system that runs to union station.  plans are in motion to run the line further east - eventually all the way to azusa.

as usual, on the first of the month, hundreds of bloggers from the city daily photo world are working with this theme.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

summer haze and construction delays

the title pretty much sums it up.  oh, there are supposed to be mountains in this picture, but the summer haze blocks them out.

more skywatch friday can be found right here.

looking up raymond

a tall photo for skywatch friday.

think blue

the major league baseball season kicks off today with a single game between the yankees and red sox.

tomorrow our beloved los angeles dodgers kick off the 2010 season as they look to defend their national league west title. lets go dodgers!