ROSE BOWL SECURITY BOOSTED.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

With the nation on a heightened state of alert since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the 113th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena will have unprecedented security, from additional FBI agents and weapons screening to community volunteers on the lookout for suspicious activity.

Security concerns are not expected to have much impact on turnout, with 1 million people expected to watch the New Year's Day parade, which will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday and wind through Old Town Pasadena.

``We feel it could be down slightly - but not more than slightly,'' said Ron Okum, president of the Tournament of Roses Association. ``We feel very comfortable that this is going to be an outstanding parade, and we're going to serve Southern California extremely well (again).''

Okum said tickets have moved briskly for the Rose Bowl game, which will be Thursday, and the parade's 100,000 grandstand seats. One organization - a band from Japan - pulled out in late September amid security fears, but all others have remained, he said.

No threats have been made against the parade or the Rose Bowl, according to the FBI and Pasadena police.

``There is absolutely no threat against the parade and the game,'' said Cmdr. Mary Schander of the Pasadena Police Department. ``We are in daily contact - or more often, sometimes - with the FBI. The parade and the game will be the safe and secure events they have been in the past, and we are taking every precaution to make sure that is true.''

FBI spokeswoman Cheryl Mimura said there are some bureau employees, such as bomb technicians, at the parade each year, and on Tuesday there will be more than usual.

For security reasons, she declined to elaborate.

``We do have some sort of presence at the parade every year,'' Mimura said. ``Obviously, the level's going to be different.'' Pasadena police said changes will include:

--The main viewing area, centered at Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards, will be closed to those without tickets. In the past, while the grandstands were open only to ticket holders, everyone else could freely walk around the area. Now only ticket holders may enter that half-mile stretch of the route. The rest of the parade's five-mile route will remain open to the general public.

Also, ticket holders who do enter that restricted area will be subject to search. Pasadena police advise people not to bring large bags or other bulky items, as it will slow the admission process, and there is not likely to be room for them.

--The only aircraft allowed to fly above the parade route will be law enforcement helicopters and the Goodyear blimp, with a pool camera providing a video feed to the media.

--Pasadena police have instituted a program called Parade Watch, loosely modeled on the Neighborhood Watch concept, in which neighbors and motor-home owners are asked to keep an eye out for anything suspicious along the parade route and notify the police.

--An increased law enforcement presence - not all of it visible. Pasadena police are receiving assistance from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Included will be plainclothes officers, dogs and metal detectors. Normally, the police estimate, there are about 1,000 law enforcement personnel on hand. This time, they said there will be more, but won't be more specific.

--Although city officials have suspended enforcement of an overnight- parking ordinance before previous parades, they will not do so this time. The ordinance will be enforced within a block of the parade route, ``which means we can ticket and tow,'' Schander said. ``We do not want any unattended motor homes within a block of the parade route.''

Traditionally, the biggest factor that keeps people home is the weather, she said.

The National Weather Service forecasts a partly cloudy day with temperatures from the mid-40s to the mid-60s. It could rain Monday but is expected to clear out by New Year's Day.

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ROSE PARADE ROUTE