By Joe Lusnia

Things are feeling different, somewhat back to normal, and some of us maybe venturing out to
places we haven’t been in a while, rediscovering what we once lost and maybe some new
things along the way. The Gold Line is a great way to explore this “new” world and to feel a part
of something again.

​On a sleepy stretch of Fair Oaks Avenue populated by construction supply outfits and utility plants, a tiny kitchen attached to a liquor store is producing some of Pasadena’s most reliably excellent Mexican food. The venerated Yuca’s Tacos and Burritos, which the Herrera family has been been operating out of a former shoeshine booth in a Hillhurst Ave parking lot since 1976 (Wrightson), opened their new Pasadena walk-up shortly after their outpost on Hollywood Blvd closed in 2017 (Elliott). Eighty-year-old Socorro Herrera, who goes by “Mama”, opened the original Yuca’s to pay for her daughters’ education. Today, Dora and Margarita run the business while Mama greets new customers, regulars, and fans at the old hut on Hillhurst (Wrightson).

By: Genova Linde

​The first book that I recall that most changed my view of the universe was; Is There Life After High School? I read this book when I was sixteen years old and living in Geneva, Nebraska. Prior to reading this book I held the belief that all people in this small town stayed there since no one ever seemed to move away. In my opinion, they lived shallow, boring, and mechanical lives. Most married other local people, had 2.5 children and worked in dead end jobs that most of them hated. Every day they lived the same endless cycle of existence. I felt doomed. Then I read this amazing book! It showed me a way out. Other people in similar situations shared their high school experiences and demonstrated how they broke free!