Friday 5-8 pm and Crazy Amount of Police Helicopter Activity...why?

A quiet Friday happy hour in old pasadena other than the constant police helicopters circling around.  What could possibly be going on that necessitates that kind of police presence?  The disconnect is astonishing.  Walking around and it was people shopping, drinking, and otherwise enjoying a beautiful Friday evening.  No signs of violence, anarchy, theft, jaywalking, and no cats in trees as far as I could tell.  Keep up the good work Pasadena PD!  Making the streets noisy for residents and tourists alike!!!

Contact City Hall. Write the local media.

For everyone who stumbles onto this blog and would like to affect change, the best thing you can do is contact the Mayor and/or your City Councilperson.  http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/Mayor/   http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/Council/  Also, write to the local media. http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/writealetter Let them know how you feel.  Pasadena's use of police helicopters is a bad policy, but one that is very entrenched into the system.  The easiest thing for the Mayor and City Council to do is continue with business as usual, unless enough people make their voices heard and business as usual starts to look like a politically bad option. Death by a thousand cuts as they say.

Helicopters Flying Too Low?

It occurred to me that another reason for the severity of the helicopter noise is that they fly much lower in Pasadena compared to elsewhere. The new "quiet knight" helicopters , which the city council has blindly put their faith in b/c some marketing guy came up with a slick name, seem to create even more vibration than the standard vietnam era copters.

So in addition to less helicopters, higher flight patterns Capt. Mulhall!

Organizations Involved with this Issue

For those of you looking to join forces with other Pasadenans on this issue, I am aware of 2 groups organized around this issue. Pasadena DMZ, which has a facebook page at PasadenaDMZ@groups.facebook.com, is focused primarily on helicopter noise in NW Pasadena, but covers the whole city. Pasadenans Against Helicopter Noise is a new meetup group centered on this issue. Their next meeting is scheduled for April 27, 2011 at 7:30 pm at Sabor Coffee Shop on Colorado Blvd. http://www.meetup.com/Pasadenans-Against-Helicopter-Noise/

Helicopter circling for the fourth time tonight

Still Tuesday evening and a police helicopter is circling for the 4th time tonight. I had a late meeting so I didn't get home until 8 pm. It's currently 10:50. By my sketchy math that equals over 1 helicopter circling an hour, and therefore I can only conclude that I live in the most dangerous neighborhood in America. Thanks again PPD.

More Unnecessary Helicopter Noise

I have to laugh. It's an otherwise quiet tuesday night and a police helicopter has been circling my neighborhood for nearly an hour. I have no idea what it could possibly be looking for that can't be accomplished by a ground patrol. Thanks again PPD. I give you a 1 on effectiveness and a 9 on annoyance.

Moved to Madison Heights Adjacent...Helicopters Followed

So I'm now living on Euclid Ave just north of California. Relaxing at home after work for an hour and my apartment was buzzed by 6 pasadena police helicopters between 6:30 and 7:30! Luckily none of them stopped to circle....lot's of crime going on for a Monday night :)

Later in the evening I went out for a 20 minute walk, and amazingly no helicopters overhead, what a nice neighborhood and city, blah, blah, blah. Am I going to make it home helicopter free.....oh, almost! Right as I'm walking up to my door I hear the background vibrations starting.....building for 10 seconds....and then the loud, ear piercing roar...feel those vibrations! And then the familiar fading of the monstrosity for another 15 seconds into eventual silence. Pasadena could be a really great city if the ppd and city council would stop pissing all over it with their police helicopters....someday maybe.