Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Signs Executive Order to Begin Dismantling Dept. of Education

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Local union demanding congress ‘step up to protect local students at this critical time’

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an Executive Order to begin dismantling the Department of Education.

The move creates a myriad of questions for parents, school administrators and student loan holders.

“The executive order dismantling the U.S. Department of Education creates uncertainty for all school districts, including PUSD,” said Hilda Ramirez Horvath. “It is too soon to say exactly how this will impact our students, but we are closely monitoring to evaluate any potential effects on our schools.”

According to Horvath, last week, a district team met with the U.S. Department of Education’s Disaster Recovery Unit on the campuses of Altadena Arts Magnet and Eliot Arts Magnet to discuss support for schools following the Eaton fire.

The future of that assistance is unclear, according to Horvath.

“We are committed to providing a quality education for every student and continuing to meet their learning needs,”

Friday, March 21, 2025

LeVar Burton Beams Into the Altadena Library Saturday for Community Celebration

Special event marks reopening after Eaton Fire closure

The Altadena Library District will welcome the community back to its Main Library with a special reopening celebration on Saturday, March 22, following a temporary closure due to the Eaton Fire. The event, running from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will feature a reading by actor and author LeVar Burton, support for local businesses, music, and family-friendly activities.

“We’ve been partnering with local agencies and organizations to support our community,” said Nikki Winslow, District Director. “Now that we’ve reopened Main, we can provide much-needed resources directly to Altadenans. Our libraries are gathering places for people to come back together and connect with friends and neighbors. We want to be a symbol of hope and recovery for our community as it rebuilds.”

Burton will read his children’s book, “The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm,” at 11 a.m., which offers an important message for families to talk about trauma and healing. He has also donated copies of the book for an entire grade of Altadena students.

Friday, March 21, 2025

Fire Debris Removal Right Of Entry Forms Due in 10 Days

Property owners must submit Right of Entry forms by March 31 to participate in free cleanup

Property owners affected by the catastrophic Los Angeles County wildfires that began in January have just over one week (until March 31)  to submit Right of Entry (ROE) forms to participate in the debris removal program. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting the cleanup at no out-of-pocket cost to eligible property owners, but can only proceed once owners opt in by completing the required paperwork.

“The collection of ROEs is a critical component of recovery operations because work cannot begin until a property owner opts into the program by submitting a completed form to the County,” states the official announcement.

Debris cleanup for the Los Angeles Hurricane-Force Firestorm began in January when the Federal Emergency Management Agency assigned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USACE to survey, remove, and dispose of debris from properties burned by the wildfires.

Phase 2 of the debris removal program began on February 11,

Friday, March 21, 2025

Instacart Delivers Essential Supplies To Local Schools Affected By Wildfires, Starting Friday

Initiative aims to support over 15,000 students recovering from natural disaster

Instacart will launch the first delivery of its ‘Classroom Carts’ initiative with an event at Altadena Arts Magnet Elementary on Friday, March 21, bringing essential school supplies to students affected by the Los Angeles fires. The delivery marks the final phase of a nationwide donation campaign supporting 28 impacted schools across the region.

The truckload of supplies includes colored pencils, art supplies, notebooks, water bottles, craft paper, charging ports, and backpacks for the elementary school that serves more than 450 students from TK through 5th grade.

Altadena Arts Magnet is temporarily located at the Allendale Campus in Pasadena as communities work to recover from the fires.

Powered by the generosity of Instacart users nationwide, the Classroom Carts program encourages people to donate essential supplies to the impacted LA area public and charter schools through the Instacart App. The initiative supports more than 15,000 students across Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Pasadena,

Friday, March 21, 2025

After the Fire: Tenants of Fire-Damaged Altadena Apartments Demand Urgent Action from Landlords and Officials

By EDDIE RIVERA

Months after Eaton Fire, tenants claim ‘lack of basic necessities’

“We are here to ask for basic empathy for basic necessities—necessities that have been neglected for three months,” said Brenda Lopez, a resident of 403 Figueroa Drive in Altadena, at a press conference held Thursday to demand immediate action on ongoing health and safety hazards in their fire-damaged apartment complex.

Tenants of the fire-damaged building were joined by a host of community organizations, including the Comité de Inquilinos 403, in partnership with the Pasadena Community Job Center and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), along with local allies. 

The tenants, many of them immigrant workers, said they returned to unsafe homes after the Eaton Fire, having no other way, alternatives, and have faced neglect from building management and insufficient cleanup by authorities. 

“We had to go all the way to their office to ask questions, to ask them what their plan was,” Lopez said.

Friday, March 21, 2025

LA County Sheriff Robert Luna Challenges Subpoenas from Oversight Body

CITY NEWS SERVICE

In a heated discussion, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna Thursday refused to comply with subpoenas issued by an oversight body that requested information related to possible deputy misconduct and use of force.

The county’s Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission issued subpoenas demanding records related to three cases in which deputies allegedly beat, shot, and used excessive force on young men. Luna said the department has “nothing to hide,” but county counsel instructed him not to send the information.

“As you’re aware, we filed a declaratory relief action to go to court so that we can get clarification for all of these requests,” Luna said. “This isn’t an issue of trying to hide any information. We just want clarification so we can follow the law.”

“What you’re asking us to do right now violates the law, according to county counsel.”

Earlier this week, Luna filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, asking a court to decide whether the LASD should comply with the COC’s request.

Friday, March 21, 2025

Recent Rains Boost Stormwater Capture in LA County

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The series of late-winter storms that brought much- needed rain to the region last week raised the total volume of stormwater captured by Los Angeles County to 11.9 billion gallons just weeks before the end of storm season on April 15, but officials said dire drought conditions persist Friday.

To date, downtown Los Angeles has received only 6.5 inches of rainfall since Oct. 1, 2024, less than half the annual average of 15.4 inches, according to L.A. County Public Works.

By contrast, downtown L.A. received 21.2 inches of rain last year, enabling the county to recharge its groundwater aquifers with more than 117 billion gallons of stormwater — enough to meet the needs of nearly 2.9 million people for a year, according to the county.

The unusually dry winter underscores the need for continued investments in stormwater management and water conservation, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.

“While recent storms have boosted our local water supply,

Friday, March 21, 2025

Harnessing Sunlight to Make Sustainable Fuels

By Kimm Fesenmaier, CALTECH

Increasing energy demands and problems associated with burning fossil fuels have heightened interest in more sustainable energy sources, such as sunlight. But there are still areas where carbon-based fuel remains the standard, such as in the aviation industry. To address this need, scientists have been working to devise a way to use sunlight to generate solar-thermal heating that could then drive the chemical reactions that are needed to make jet fuel with net-zero carbon emissions.

Now, a team at Caltech that is part of a Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Innovation Hub known as the Liquid Sunlight Alliance, or LiSA, has developed such a solar-thermal heating system on a small scale and demonstrated that it can successfully drive an important reaction for jet fuel production. Completely powered by solar energy, the so-called photothermocatalytic reactor incorporates a spectrally selective solar absorber to maximize the generation of solar-thermal heating. The modular design of the reactor takes advantage of current fabrication technologies and existing silicon solar panel production infrastructure.

Friday, March 21, 2025

Guest Opinion | United Teachers of Pasadena President Jonathan Gardner: Congress Needs to Step Up and Protect Students

Dismantling the Department of Education, laying off thousands of dedicated Department of Education staff, appointing someone who has never spent a day teaching in a classroom to be our Secretary of Education…these are more than just headlines. They are direct threats to public education and the future of students and families across our community.

The Trump/Musk Administration is betraying public school students and educators. Education is a nonpartisan issue. Students in poverty and students with special needs deserve resources and support in our schools — we can all agree on that.

The Trump/Musk Administration is targeting students and families in our communities with these vicious plans to dismantle public education. It’s unacceptable and we and our state and federal affiliates to our union are fighting back.

We need more resources for special education. This administration is showing us that we can’t trust them to deliver what Pasadena students deserve. We demand that members of Congress do their jobs and step up to protect our students at this critical time.

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Tenants Return to Fire-Damaged Apartments in Altadena, Seek Help with Toxic Cleanup

Comité de Inquilinos 403 highlights environmental dangers faced by residents living in aftermath of Eaton Fire

Tenants who have returned to live in fire-damaged apartments in Altadena said they are seeking urgent help from government officials and landlords to address toxic contamination and safety concerns in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire.

The Pasadena Community Job Center, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) and allied organizations will join the a tenants’ rights group called Comité de Inquilinos 403 on Thursday at 5 p.m. on Figueroa Drive to highlight the environmental hazards that the residents face.

“We were forced to return to our apartments, even though we knew they might be contaminated, because we have nowhere else to go,”said Brenda Lopez-Ardon, a tenant representative of the Comité de Inquilinos 403.

“We know we are putting our health at risk, but we don’t have the resources to do anything else. What’s most heartbreaking is that the company that owns the building is lying to us and offering no help.