I live 50 feet from a blind intersection in Pasadena, California.
In March 2025, I installed a surveillance camera on my own — because I was certain something terrible was going to happen. Eight months later, that camera recorded a fatality.
Kenny Lau was 36. A Caltech cosmologist. He had cochlear implants, traveled to the South Pole twice, received a Congressional Medal. He was crossing the street near his home. The City had been warned about this intersection before he died. They were warned again after.
The answer, both times: not enough data.
I've filed formal requests, attended public meetings, submitted engineering proposals, and written letters with specific solutions. The response has been silence — or worse, written objections to the proposed fixes.
So I built a page.
cordova-safety.tervahagn.com
In March 2025, I installed a surveillance camera on my own — because I was certain something terrible was going to happen. Eight months later, that camera recorded a fatality.
Kenny Lau was 36. A Caltech cosmologist. He had cochlear implants, traveled to the South Pole twice, received a Congressional Medal. He was crossing the street near his home. The City had been warned about this intersection before he died. They were warned again after.
The answer, both times: not enough data.
I've filed formal requests, attended public meetings, submitted engineering proposals, and written letters with specific solutions. The response has been silence — or worse, written objections to the proposed fixes.
So I built a page.
cordova-safety.tervahagn.com
It has everything: the timeline, the videos, the photos, the numbers. It has Kenny's story, with his family's blessing.
And it has a petition — because the City responds to names on paper more than to one resident's emails.
I moved to Pasadena from Yerevan and Moscow. I know what it looks like when institutions ignore people. I didn't expect to find the same pattern here.
I still believe this city can do better.
But I'm done waiting quietly.
And it has a petition — because the City responds to names on paper more than to one resident's emails.
I moved to Pasadena from Yerevan and Moscow. I know what it looks like when institutions ignore people. I didn't expect to find the same pattern here.
I still believe this city can do better.
But I'm done waiting quietly.