City Hall Scoop

Concerts scheduled for Jan. 16 and Feb. 6 organized by the Restoration Concerts Series are canceled due to the recent coronavirus surge. Ticketholders can receive a refund or donate the cost of the tickets to the Restoration Concerts Committee of the sponsoring nonprofit group, the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library. Or concertgoers can be guaranteed reserved seats if the events are rescheduled. Programs for the remaining performances in the 2021-22 season are at www.friendsofsopaslibrary.org/restoration-concerts. Email restorationconcerts@gmail.com for more information.

1/10/22

The Responding Together at Work and in the Community Health Officer Order has been updated.  Updated definitions for mega events effective as of 1/15/22.  The masking requirements are effective no later than 1/17/22.  Changes include:

• Masks must be worn at all times while indoors at Cardrooms.  Patrons may remove masks only when actively eating or drinking in designated dining areas and may not consume food or beverage while playing or gaming.
• As soon as possible, but no later than January 17, 2022, employers are required to provide their employees, who work indoors and in close contact with others or the public, with and require them to wear a well-fitting medical grade mask, surgical mask or higher-level respirator, such as an N95 filtering facepiece respirator or KN95, at all times while indoors at the worksite or facility.
• In alignment with the State Public Health Officer’s December 31, 2021 Order, beginning January 15, 2022, attendance thresholds are lowered to 500 attendees for Indoor Mega Events and lowered to 5,000 attendees for Outdoor Mega Events.
• Recognizing the protection provided by masking while indoors and in crowded settings, there is a strong recommendation that at Mega Events, Performance Venues, Movie Theatres and Entertainment Venues, food and drink only be consumed, where possible, in designated dining areas.
• Mega Events, Performance Venues, Movie Theatres and Entertainment Venues are responsible for messaging, signage, and compliance with masking requirement unless spectators/customers are actively eating or drinking.

Please see the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health COVID-19:  Frequently Asked Questions for information on COVID-19.  Both the Health Officer Order and FAQ are attached below.

 HOO_SaferReturnWorkCommunity1.6.22.pdf  

FAQ.pdf

Other pertinent information and resources can be found on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

1/6/22

Emergency Broadband Benefit recipients fully enrolled as of December 31, 2021 will automatically continue to receive their current monthly benefit until March 1, 2022. You can learn more the program transition and steps you may need to take to stay enrolled after March 1st, by visiting fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more.

The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

Click the link to learn more about the program’s eligibility and enrollment: https://www.fcc.gov/acp

The COVID-19 Exposure Management Plan Guidance in Early Care and Education Sites has been updated as of 1.4.22.  Recent changes include:

• Updated quarantine, testing, and masking guidance for persons exposed to COVID-19 in ECE facilities to align with new California Department of Public Health isolation and quarantine guidance for the general public.  
• Added a testing requirement for close contacts who are exempt from quarantine in order to remain in the ECE facility after an exposure.  

A targeted public health response to contain COVID-19 exposures at a community-level can help maximize the impact of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) COVID-19 response.  

ExposureManagementPlan_ECE .pdf

Other pertinent information and resources can be found on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

1/5/22

On January 1, 2022, the City of South Pasadena implemented the food scrap collection for single-family home residents as required by state mandate, SB1383.

Residents will be required to separate their food scraps and food-soiled paper and discard them with their yard waste instead of their regular trash. The food scraps and food-soiled paper will be picked up by Athens as usual, but instead of it going to a landfill, these organics will be recycled into compost which will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions!

There are no additional changes to waste disposal or trash rates at this time. No new containers are required or will be provided and backyard service will continue as usual. At this time, food scrap collection applies to single-family homes only; organics collection requirements for multifamily and commercial accounts will be implemented in the following months.

By recycling your organics, you are a part of the solution in helping to protect the environment and future generations.

To find out more, visit http://www.southpasadenaca.gov/organicsrecycling.

1/5/22

Over the New Year holiday, the State of California lowered the threshold for what is considered a Mega Event:

• Events including 500 participants or more are considered Indoor Mega Events (prior threshold was 1.000)
• Events including 5,000 participants or more are considered Outdoor Mega Events (prior threshold was 10,000)

This means that all the state requirements for Mega Events now apply to these smaller events, such as checking for proof of full vaccination or recent negative test.  Please review the state requirements.  The State asks venues to comply immediately, but must be in full compliance by no later than January 15, 2022.   

Our LA County Health Officer Order will be updated soon to include this change and will be sent out.

Other pertinent information and resources can be found on the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health website at http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

1/5/22

Over the next few weeks, Southern California Edison (SCE) will be conducting aerial inspections across South Pasadena utilizing drones and/or helicopters.  SCE inspectors are using drones and helicopters to inspect equipment in hard-to-reach areas and from difficult angles, including electrical assets, structures and right-of-ways that support SCE assets. These inspections are just one part of SCE’s broader wildfire prevention and mitigation program focusing on keeping communities like South Pasadena safe. The amount of time it takes to conduct aerial inspections varies. For more information on these efforts, please see this article: Drones, Helicopters Help Mitigate Wildfires From the Sky.

1/4/22

In response to the increased COVID-19 case numbers throughout Los Angeles County, the City of South Pasadena will be scaling back operations to ensure the health and safety of both residents and employees. See the attached Press Release for more information.

1/3/22

The South Pasadena Senior Center is accepting donations of new blankets as well as notes or letters to be distributed to senior residents.

Blankets can be dropped off until January 21, 2022 at the South Pasadena Senior, located at 1102 Oxley St., between 8:00am and 5:00pm.

For more information or to confirm a drop off, call the South Pasadena Senior Center at (626)403-7360.