News

Thursday, May 18, 2017

In a May 11 letter to Duarte City Councilman John Fasana, chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors, Assemblyman Chris Holden asked the group to remove plans for a 6.3-mile tunnel connecting the Long Beach (710) Freeway in Alhambra to the Foothill (210) Freeway in Pasadena from a list of traffic improvements for the region.

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Thursday, May 18, 2017

An ad hoc committee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors on Wednesday voted to recommend the Metro fund an alternative to the 710 Freeway Tunnel when the full Board meets next week.

Metro Board of Directors Ad-Hoc Congestion, Highway and Roads Committee, chaired by Metro Board Chairman John Fasana and composed of five members, voted Wednesday, 3-2, to recommend the TSM/TDM alternative that’s designed to upgrade existing local street systems instead of recommending to proceed with the Tunnel concept.

Reacting, Assemblymember Chris Holden told Pasadena Now he is encouraged by Chairman Fasana’s Motion.

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Monday, May 15, 2017

(CBM) – During his presentation of the 2017-18 revised budget proposal, Gov. Jerry Brown warned Californians lean times were ahead. According to Brown, state residents should prepare for future budget cuts. The May budget revision has adjusted the shortfall from more than $5 billion in January to $3.3 billion.

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Friday, May 12, 2017

An important $1 million allocation to The Pasadena Playhouse previously cut from the State’s budget was officially restored Thursday in Governor Jerry Brown’s May revisions.

The money had earlier been promised to fund the Playhouse’s extensive renovations being undertaken as the venue prepares for its 100th anniversary.

Last year, when California’s fiscal outlook was cloudy, Brown had originally pulled back on the funding. At the time Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represents Pasadena in the California Legislature, said the cut would have been very deep.

Yesterday, Holden was upbeat after the money was back in the budget.

“I applaud Governor Brown for restoring the one million in funds for the Pasadena Playhouse renovation projects that were cut in January’s budget proposal,” he said. “Since that time, I worked directly with the Pasadena Playhouse and the Governor’s office to secure the original funding amount.”

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Friday, May 12, 2017

Pasadena Playhouse funds have been restored; one million dollars in total. Recently, Gov. Jerry Brown announced his proposed May Revision Fiscal Year 2017-18 Budget.  Revenues in Brown’s May Revision are up $2.5 billion dollars while the Rainy Day Fund grows to $8.5 billion. Assembly member Chris Holden released the following statement:

“I applaud Governor Brown for restoring the one million in funds for the Pasadena Playhouse renovation projects that were cut in January’s budget proposal. Since that time, I worked directly with the Pasadena Playhouse and the Governor’s office to secure the original funding amount. Thankfully our work led to the Playhouse receiving $413,000 earlier this month to pay off the money already spent. I’m proud to support the Playhouse, the official State Theater of California, as it celebrates its 100th Anniversary.”

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Thursday, May 11, 2017

Four months ago, Gov. Jerry Brown took back $1 million in funding promised to the Pasadena Playhouse as part of a budget-balancing move, sending the theater company scrambling for loans to pay for ongoing renovations to the 93-year-old building.

On Thursday, Brown restored the funding into his $124 billion general fund budget after local Democrats in the Assembly and Senate convinced the governor and the state Department of Finance that the take-away amounted to a broken promise.

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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) has been trying to get a bill creating a transit pass program through the legislature for a couple of years. Last year, his A.B. 2222 died in the Assembly when no source of funding was found for it. The recent passage of the transportation funding bill changes that calculation, though, making it more likely that funding could be found. A.B. 17, the current incarnation of the idea, would create a program under which a transit agency could apply for state funding to create a low- or no-cost transit pass for low-income youth between 13 and 17.

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