SGV Connect

During Melanie's sabbatical, we thought it would be fun and interesting for our readers to have a chance to meet the Board of Directors of the California Streets Initiative, the non-profit that publishes Streetsblog California, Streetsblog Los Angeles and Streetsblog San Francisco. Our first interview is with Jon Weiss (Streetsblog author's page, here .) Weiss, a longtime supporter of bringing rai...

In this week's podcast, Kris Fortin speaks with City of Alhambra Vice Mayor Jeff Maloney about " Advancing Alhambra " the city's plans for its roads after the 2017 decision to not move forward with extending the 710 Freeway. While Alhambra had been one of the cities most vocal in support of extending the 710 up to the 210 for decades, the cancellation of the project has led to new opportunities fo...

In this week's SGV Connect, Damien follows up on his story from last month about the ongoing efforts to transfer ownership of properties owned by Caltrans in what was the project area for the now defunct 710 project near Pasadena. Following that, Kris gets an update on some changes coming to ExpressLanes in the I-110 area. First, Damien interviews Timothy Ivison and Angels Flores, both members of...

Welcome to the first SGV Connect of April. This week's episode is a solo-interview with Damien and Felicia Friesema at Foothill Transit for a regular check-in about the agencies efforts to provide access to vaccinations, the rollout of its electric double-decker bus fleet and how a transit agency can celebrate poetry month. If you want to use Foothill Transit to help plan a trip to get your vaccin...

This week SGV Connect checks in on the community of Alta Dena in unincorporated Los Angeles County and on how changes at the California Transportation Commission are leading to big changes in how the state funds transportation projects. First, Kris talks with Dorothy Wong, Altadena town council member about building partnerships and using tools like UC Berkeley's SafeTREC Street Story  to advance...

On this week's SGV Connect, Kris interviews Dan Lafferty, Deputy Director and Paul Alva, Assistant Deputy Director at the L.A. County Department of Public Works about the Bassett High School Stormwater Capture Project . Currently, DPW is reaching out to the community about the project and is encouraging residents and other stakeholders to complete a survey to help them best prioritize what the pro...

Welcome to this week's SGV Connect. It's a long podcast, so let's get right into it! The Los Angeles County Flood Control District is currently working on a plan to open up more than 138 miles of SGV waterways to bicyclists and pedestrians . With the plan expected to be completed by Fall 2021, and the environmental review process being completed by Summer 2022, the San Gabriel Valley Greenway Stra...

Welcome to the first SGV Connect Podcast of 2021. In this week's episode, Kris speaks with Alhambra Mayor Sasha Renée Pérez before Kris and Damien give a preview of what to look forward to in 2021. On November 3rd, 2020, Sasha Renée Pérez was elected to Alhambra's City Council. Because she beat the incumbent Mayor, she took over her predecessor's term as mayor making her at 28 years old the younge...

Goodbye 2020! Man, I've been waiting a long time to type that, and it felt good. This week's SGV Connect features a look back at the best and worst of our coverage in the San Gabriel Valley in 2020. Kris gives a surprising answer to "what was your favorite story" while Damien gives a hopeful look forward to 2021. But first, Damien interviews Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval. Sandoval is taking leadership...

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter , coming to your inbox on Fridays. Everyone is talking about the results from this week's election, and SGV Connect is no different. Our usual team brought back Streetsblog LA editor Joe Linton and Streetsblog California editor Melanie Curry for an in-depth election special that is almost twice the size of a regular episode. First, Melanie breaks down the dis...

If you're looking for a distraction from the deluge of election related messaging and media, this week's SGV Connect is for you. If you're looking for more news, views, and insights into the election, you should check out our last episode which covers the Streetsblog L.A. endorsements. In our first interview this week, Kris talked with Araceli Hernandez, a program organizer with  Nature For All ,...

Welcome to this week's SGV Connect, a special edition where we discuss some of the state and county ballot propositions that were endorsed or opposed by Streetsblog last week. This week, Damien speaks with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles, about the endorsement process and what ballot measures we think you should support, and another you should oppose. You can read our endorsement...

In this week's SGV Connect, we get an update on Metro projects in the SGV including the 210 traffic barrier and how faulty dog bones were causing trouble on the Gold Line. But first, Damien talks to Philip Fine with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) about how to keep your lungs safe as the Bobcat Fire rages. Fine points out that most of the masks that people are wearing to s...

This week, SGV Connect looks at studies that examine how Pasadena is reimagining parking in its city and a community spurred project to upgrade and improve Parkway Drive in El Monte.   Pasadena has recently launched a study of its parking throughout the city. The study, which will wrap up in early 2021, is looking to create a multi-leveled policy that will address the needs of residents, businesse...

Welcome to SGV Connect. In this week's episode, Kris Fortin interviews Paul Alva with the county's Department of Public Works about East L.A. Sustainable Median Stormwater Capture Project. After that, Damien talks to Streetsblog USA editor Kea Wilson about the state of transit during the ongoing pandemic.   L.A. County Department of Public Works is upgrading medians Unincorporated East LA to bette...

In our first interview, Damien reconnects with Teresa Eilers and Shawn Morrissey who appeared on the podcast last fall . Morrissey works with Union Station Homeless Services, a support and housing provider based in Pasadena while Eilers is a coordinator for the Everyone In! Campaign in San Fernando Valley. If someone wants to get involved in their community, sign up at  Everyone In's "Get Involved...

In this week's SGV Connect, Kris Fortin marches with protestors in cities throughout the San Gabriel Valley and brings us their voices direct from the rallies and marches. Kris also discusses his experience at the protests with his broadcast partner, Damien Newton, and how activism is changing in the San Gabriel Valley. You can read, and see, more of Kris' experiences at an article published at St...

This week, SGV Connect talks to government executives that are overseeing some of L.A. County's largest departments as they respond to COVID-19 and do long-term planning for the future. First, Kris talks to Norma Garcia, the Acting Director of the L.A. County Department of Parks. Fortin and Garcia discuss the county's plans to continue to re-open public space, should the numbers support greater op...

This week, SGV Connect goes macro and micro with a look at the just started public process on the county's water plan and studies why Pasadena is resisting the call to eliminate pedestrian crossing buttons before allowing people to legally cross the street at most intersections. Kris spoke with Matt Frary, Acting Principal Engieneer at Los Angeles County Public Works, about the County Water Plan....

A new BRT line connecting San Bernadino County to a series of cities in the San Gabriel Valley is expected to be approved at the May 6 meeting of San Bernadino County's regional transit agency's Board of Directors. Phase 1 of the BRT line, known as the "Miliken Alignment" of the West Valley Connector BRT will reach from the Pomona Downtown Metrolink station to Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga....

This week's SGV Connect focuses on how the Coronavirus is impacting planning and transit throughout not just San Gabriel Valley, but all of Southern California. First up, Kris speaks with Demi Espinoza of the Safe Routes Partnership about the upcoming approval of SCAG's Connect SoCal document. Connect SoCal is a long-range plan that seeks to balance future mobility and housing needs with economic,...

For anyone who lives in the SGV, and frankly throughout Los Angeles County,  coyotes are a regular reality. Whether hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains or walking down Valley Boulevard, hearing a coyote's yelp or spotting its thin frame crossing a street is common. But how we should interact with these wildlife neighbors isn't always clear. On part two of this week's SGV Connect, we spoke with Nat...

April 1 is Census Day! Every ten years, the United States government sends out a questionnaire to ask people living in America where they live and other questions about their lives. The final count of where people lives helps determine how the federal government allocates its money. So, the more people that fill out the census, the more money will flow into their community. Today, we broadcast thi...

This week, SGV Connect continues our coverage of the Coronavirus and our regional response. First, Kris speaks with Laura Raymond of ACT-LA and Jessica Meaney of Investing in Place about transit agencies' (especially Metro) response to the Coronavirus. Like many groups and organizations, transit agencies find themselves learning as they go along and trying their hardest to react to and learn from...

Following Damien's interview with Foothill Transit earlier today, Kris speaks with Rick Jager at L.A. Metro about the region's flagship transit agency's response to the Coronavirus. As we heard with Foothill Transit, Metro is working to transit clean and service running on time. There has been no talk of discontinuing or modifying service, although things remain fluid. Metro holds dozens of public...