Rose Bowl job fair draws residents vying for jobs

PASADENA – The unemployed and the underemployed arrived in
droves Thursday to the Pasadena First Source Buy Local Opportunity Fair at the
Rose Bowl.

There were a few smiles, some winces and plenty of frowns on
the faces of the residents who worked the room vying for one-on-one time with
employers.

All hoped to land work, but many described the current job
market as the worst any had ever seen.

“If 10 is the toughest job market you can imagine, this
is a 10.5,” said Robert Williams, 38, of Altadena.

Others had similar complaints.

“It’s been so hard I lost my house in
foreclosure,” said Michael Knapp, 51, of Altadena.

The event held in a Rose Bowl locker room was designed to
reach out to those in Pasadena and Altadena looking for work.

“We always hope that when we put people together with
employers they can get a job,” said Andrew Green, Pasadena’s chief
financial officer. “We just want to get people face time.”

City workers decked out in yellow shirts welcomed job
seekers and guided them to the locker room, where booths lined all four walls
and an island of tables were set in the middle of the room with more employers.

Some had secured work on the Rose Bowl stadium renovation,
others planned to bid on work and some booths seemed to have no connection to
the Rose Bowl (there were booths from area colleges and a culinary arts
program).

Meanwhile, unemployment remains above 18 percent in
Northwest Pasadena, according to a county report. Residents in Northwest
Pasadena and the adjacent community of Altadena have been pushing for jobs on
the $152 million Rose Bowl renovation project.

“(The Rose Bowl project) is our stimulus, our way of local
job creation,” said Ishmael Trone, Pasadena business owner, community
activist and member of the Rose Bowl Local Hiring Oversight Committee.

The results have been mixed at best, according to Trone.

For more of the story: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_18571464