Share: As a college student, the chance to meet someone who’s reached legendary status in their field is a dream. Some of the music majors of PCC were able to live that dream on April 3 in the Westerbeck Recital Hall, when legendary saxophonist Ernie Watts came to PCC and performed with the PCC Jazz Faculty (Gary Fukushima, piano, Steve Cotter, guitar, Zac Matthews, bass, Brian Carmody, drums) to play the sounds of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. “It was like being able to step …
How one student became a voice for others and found her own
Share: Darya Derakhshani was walking into a restaurant just off of the Pasadena campus last year when suddenly she encountered a man inside who noticed her race and spoke to her inappropriately. As a Muslim immigrant from Iran, stares were not something Derakhshani was unused to. But in a situation like this in a country where people who look like her are hated on sight, she was unsure of what she could do to escape and not have the encounter end in a violent way. …
NARCAN training teaches students the cookie method to drug testing
Share: Greeted with a big basket of chocolate chip cookies, a table filled with Naloxone, a generic brand for Narcan, Fentanyl test strips, and drink covers, make sure to grab a cookie to commence your Narcan training. This training session is for students and staff who want to be prepared and take advantage of the free opportunity to learn to use the emergency treatment of opioid overdose provided by the Student Health Services at Pasadena City College. Few drug users know it is important to …
Behind the seams: The class that stitches the fashion and theater departments together
Share: Pasadena’s theater arts department has put on several productions, such as Dracula, Lysteria, and Urinetown: The Musical. Most of the time, after the performances, the cast and tech crew are showered with praise by the audience; however, one group is overlooked and underfunded: the costume crafts class. Despite the budget cuts, the curriculum allows both the professor and the students to think outside the box and avoid limiting their creativity. The class is taught by Professor Angela Eads, a self-proclaimed Renaissance lady who has …
My Territory: Legacy Comics is where everyone feels like superheroes
Share: The city of Glendale has always been an enigma to me. I’ve never quite seen the appeal with the questionable driving, the unpredictable jaywalking, and the large crowds residing in The Americana. However, Glendale is where I spend the majority of my free time. No matter what the circumstances may be, I will always find a way to stroll over to Legacy Comics on North Orange Street. It’s a microscopic historical landmark in Glendale, established in 1990, and has been significant to me and …
The Gamble House sweetens up garden for hummingbird preservation
Share: Pasadena residents and birding enthusiasts gathered March 14 at the Gamble House to celebrate the opening of the Hummingbird Cantina, a newly restored garden designed to support wildlife displaced by the Eaton Fires. Just behind the Gamble House gift shop, the newly restored garden unfolds with thoughtful detail, featuring bright red hummingbird feeders suspended from slender poles. Volunteers refill the feeders daily with a simple mixture of sugar and water, ensuring a consistent source of nourishment. More than just a garden, the space serves …
My Territory: Thank you Upward Bound for all the memorable summers
Share: Dear Upward Bound, When I started high school I was forced by my brother to join a program that took up most of my Saturdays with hour-long workshops. The Occidental College Upward Bound program serves five local high schools, helping underclassmen prepare for high school exams and classes and helping seniors prepare for their college transition. Although it sounds like an extremely helpful program, to a fourteen year old the amount of excuses I had thought of to not attend could fill up three …
PCC ‘Democracy v. Tyranny Teach-In’ fights a dying empire
Share: Congressman and Civil Rights Activist John Lewis once said, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to build a more just society.” Given the current political climate in the United States, this quote is needed more than ever. This generation needs opportunities to learn from previous democracy activists, and Madalyn Lauterbach, the Vice President of External Affairs for the ASPCC, is ensuring PCC gets those opportunities by hosting events such as the Democracy vs. Tyranny …
Pasadena residents confront ICE: “We need to be together to resist”
Share: In the Mojave Desert, where an immigrant concentration camp lies isolated from even rural society, the quiet sands are broken by hundreds of footsteps. On that bright, windy day, Patrick Briggs, vestry member of the All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, and synonymous co-leader of the San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible Chapter, heads the march towards the detention center with hundreds of volunteers following directly behind him. On Saturday, March 14, 2026, the National Day Laborers Organizing Network combined forces with Indivisible chapters across LA …
ArtNight bridges Pasadena through culture
Share: On Friday, March 16, 2026 art and cultural organizations all over Pasadena came together at Pasadena City Hall to share art in all its form with the community during cultural event ArtNight. Art is an activity everyone has done before, in some shape or form. Whether it was scribbling with markers as a child, dancing alongside friends on a night out, or singing your heart out to your favorite song on the radio; art is all around us. In Pasadena, for two days every …