When I was a student at Fuller Seminary I was involved in a minor traffic accident in Pasadena CA due to the other driver running a red light. I ended up face down with several police officers on my back, resulting in permanent injury & pain. They over-reacted, bullied, used excessive force, failed to “de-escalate” , & made several significant errors of judgment & discretion. And yet despite being a college graduate with honors & having never been in “trouble” before, all the blame was aimed at me, without apology. This was at the time that a guy named Melenkian was chief. As a Christian I do believe in “turning the other cheek” but also in appropriately addressing wrongs so that they don’t happen again. I took action against them, & I am fairly certain those specific police officers will never do what they did to me to anybody else again. Nonetheless, the damage they caused to me was permanent (chronic pain for life, among other things).

ppd

KEEPING AN EYE ON PASADENA PD: WHAT THEY SAY VERSUS WHAT THEY DO

Rose 🌹 Bowl is old & boring. UCLA better off at SoFi 🏈 🏟️

" Commit your way to the Lord and he will establish your plans." — Proverbs 16:3


Pasadena is a great city one single day of the year: New Year's . Otherwise avoid. 


What's going on:
Rose Bowl Stadium and the city of Pasadena have filed a lawsuit against UCLA (the university's football program) over an alleged plan to relocate its home games from the Rose Bowl to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. 

Key facts:

UCLA has a lease to play its home football games at the Rose Bowl through 2044. 

The Rose Bowl and the city claim UCLA's discussions about moving games to SoFi constitute a breach of that lease agreement. 

The lawsuit says the potential move could cause more than $1 billion in economic and reputational damage to the city of Pasadena and to the stadium. 

UCLA has responded that while it is "evaluating the long‑term arrangement for UCLA football home games," no decision has been made. 

Attendance for UCLA's home games this season has averaged about 35,000 in a stadium that seats roughly 89,000. 

SoFi Stadium, opened in September 2020, is about 12 miles from UCLA's campus; the Rose Bowl is about 26 miles away. 


Why this matters:

The Rose Bowl is an iconic, historic venue (a National Historic Landmark) with deep ties to UCLA and Pasadena. 

A relocation would impact the local economy of Pasadena (businesses, tourism, tax revenue) and disrupt traditions tied to the stadium and UCLA's fanbase.

For UCLA, the move could be driven by attendance challenges, modernization, or strategic changes (especially since the football program recently changed conferences).

For Pasadena and the Rose Bowl, it's about protecting their contractual rights, investments (they mention $150 m+ renovation contributions and $130 m in bonds) and preserving the legacy of the venue. 



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