A Guide to Getting By In The Pasadena Area

We're talking daytime hours:

The Central Public Library - open  M-Th 9am-9pm Fri-Sat 9-6pm  1pm-5pm Sun

Heated in the colder months, A/C during the summer, the library is not just a haven for folks with nowhere else to go, it's also a place residents flock to - free wifi, access to electric outlets to charge laptops and phones, and free desktops offering internet access are available to those who get a Pasadena library card - which you should get if you have any documentation supporting the claim you have a local address. While eating is forbidden in carpeted areas, they allow patrons to eat at the tables in the main lobby.

There are smaller branches of the library in various Pasadena neighborhoods but they're all open fewer hours. On the flip side, a only few regulars use these branches.

But even if you have a place, if the heating is inadequate, you might want to consider one of the following options before the library opens:

Starbucks: again, free wifi and electric outlets. The down side: the least expensive beverage is about $2 - and you can't use your EBT benefits. However, there *is* a Starbucks located in the Vons in east Pasadena on Colorado Blvd.; you can purchase a *cold* prepared item using EBT and then eat in the area next to the Starbucks.

There are other fast food options:

McDonalds: Pros: great wifi service Cons: no access to electrical outlets in Pasadena/Altadena, but there are outlets at franchses located in LaCanada, South Pasadena, Alhambra  if you have access to a car. Also, they do NOT accept EBT.

Burger King (the one on Lake): Wifi: yes Electrical Outlets: No  EBT: Yes
Burger King (the one on Fair Oaks): Wifi: yes Electrical Outlets: NO  EBT: NO

Carl's (on Lake): Electrical outlets: yes EBT: yes Wifi: no (BUT with an antenna $15 on ebay, you can pick up the wifi from KFC or from Burger King across the street). So I've no reason to try the Rosemead location.

Jack in the Box (near PCC): I find little to recommend this location beyond the fact that they take EBT.  The location in Altadena on north Lake Ave. however, accepts EBT, offers wifi AND electrical outlets. This place attracts quite a few folks, and their food is the most expensive. But it's not a bad breakfast option. So again, I've had little reason to explore the Rosemead location.

El Pollo Loco: EBT yes (though it's frequently not working at the Rosemead location) wifi: yes, but no working electrical outlets.

Another consideration: The meth heads in Pasadena tend to congregate in eastern Pasadena; a few people have told me that they avoid going east of San Gabriel Blvd. on Colorado which quickly becomes unincorporated LA county falling under the jurisdiction of the sheriffs department instead of the Pasadena police.
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Regularly scheduled meals (dinner):

Sunday (Memorial Park) there's a gentlemen who's been bringing food to the park for quite a while now.

M-W-F (church on Washington just west of Los Robles) around 6pm

Tues: Central Park 6:45pm by yours truly

Wed: Central Park someone brings pizza to the park.

Thurs: the Presbyterain church offers dinner


Sat: (Central park) around 4pm a lady brings meals packed in styrofoam.