By Alex Cordero Longtime San Gabriel Valley residents Tony Fong and Leonard Wang recently made local business history by opening Varda, the first licensed and only locally-owned cannabis dispensary in Pasadena. Wang and Fong are the founders of this 3,000-square-foot store designed to give a multigenerational line of customers an amiable experience when shopping for…
American Legion Post 13 Responds to Calls for Help from Local Veterans
By Alex Cordero So far this year, American Legion Post 13 has received a high number of calls from local veterans seeking immediate assistance for basic essentials like groceries and funds for gas or safe housing. Legion members answered by creating a new resource: the Veterans Assistance Program (VAP). “While Pasadena Post 13 cannot provide…
Growing Wildfires are Placing Increasing Pressure on California’s Finances and Environment
By Alex Cordero California’s annual fire season seems to be starting earlier and ending much later in the year — burning a breaking number of acres, causing poor air quality, costing billions of dollars and threatening the future of the state. Thousands of fires have blazed across California so far this year, destroying or damaging…
Former Rose Queen Launches New Cannabis Brand
Camille Roistacher, a former Rose Queen turned entrepreneur, is launching a new cannabis flower brand, Wyllow, that is pioneering products with a feminine appeal while being intended for all. According to an article by Green Entrepreneur, more women seem to be influencing the cannabis industry as entrepreneurs and consumers. The report describes that women are…
Feedback During Virtual Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan Will Impact Final Proposal
Pasadena residents are encouraged to attend the live webinar scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 27 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. that will focus on featuring collective details on the Lincoln Avenue Specific Plan (LASP). The virtual open house is now live and residents are able to navigate through a series of different stations, interactive maps and…
Union Station’s Lorena Ruiz Helps House Homeless in the San Gabriel Valley
Union Station’s Lorena Ruiz, interim project coordinator for Project RoomKey (PRK) at several locations across the San Gabriel Valley, and her on-going efforts to safeguard the most vulnerable during the pandemic have earned her the title of “hero” in her field. Ruiz has worked for Union Station for the past four years but has advocated…
Local Filmmaker Features Pasadena Repair Café In Latest Short Documentary
Local film Director Brett Nicoletti has featured another hidden Pasadena gem in his new short documentary film titled, “Repair Café ‘Building Resilience.’” Repair Café is an international nonprofit organization that helps communities become more sustainable by holding meetings where people can have items repaired for free to reduce waste and improve the environment. There are…
Newsom Announces $600M Grant Funding to House Californians Experiencing Homelessness During Pandemic
Building on the success of Project Roomkey in California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced last Thursday the immediate release of $600 million in funding for Homekey — a project set forth to protect Californians that are at high risk for serious illness and or have been impacted by the pandemic and are in need of safe…