Friday, March 20, 2026

State Senator Joins Local Tenants Calling for Audit of Caltrans Home Sales Along 710 Corridor

Residents in Pasadena and South Pasadena say a program meant to provide affordable homeownership has instead blocked them through opaque pricing

California State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) announced she will join tenants and community leaders Friday to call for an independent audit of how Caltrans has administered the sale of homes along the defunct 710 Freeway corridor, which includes properties in Pasadena, South Pasadena and El Sereno.

The call follows a late 2025 lawsuit filed by three residents — including Pasadena’s Julia Cox — who allege Caltrans determined they had “negative” calculated affordable prices that rendered them ineligible to purchase homes they had maintained for decades, according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. It comes 14 years after a state audit found Caltrans wasted millions mismanaging the same properties, and weeks after Pasadena sold 13 vacant former Caltrans homes for $19.6 million to fund affordable housing, according to the Pasadena Weekly.

Caltrans acquired approximately 460 parcels beginning in the 1950s for a freeway extension that was legislatively killed in 2019.

Friday, March 20, 2026

Free Poetry Workshops for Eaton Fire Survivors Continue Friday in Altadena

Glendale’s poet laureate uses $50,000 national fellowship to fund writing sessions, anthology, and scholarships at the Collaboratory

A free poetry workshop for people affected by the Eaton Fire will be held Friday at the Eaton Fire Collaboratory in Altadena, the second in a three-part series funded by a $50,000 Academy of American Poets fellowship.

The March 21 session, led by poet and literary advocate Linda Ravenswood, runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 540 W. Woodbury Road. A third workshop on April 25 will be led by Carla Sameth, who served as Altadena’s Co-Poet Laureate from 2022 to 2024. Both sessions are free and open to anyone directly or indirectly affected by the January 2025 fire, according to a press release from the organizers.

The San Gabriel Valley Phoenix Poets project was founded by Raffi Joe Wartanian, Glendale’s inaugural Poet Laureate and a UCLA Writing Programs lecturer who received the fellowship from the Academy of American Poets in 2025,

Friday, March 20, 2026

Fire-Displaced Pasadena Mosque Holds Eid Prayer at Church Across From New Temporary Home

THERESE EDU

New Horizon School redirects toy drive and marketplace to support children and businesses affected by the Eaton Fire

Masjid Al-Taqwa, the first mosque in the Pasadena-Altadena area, will hold its Eid al-Fitr prayer Friday morning in the gymnasium of a church across the street from the temporary space it has rented since last summer—14 months after the Eaton Fire destroyed the congregation’s building in Altadena.

The board chose Pasadena Covenant Church for the holiday prayer because of its proximity to the masjid’s new temporary location, said Kameelah Wilkerson, a board member. The decision was “very intentional,” she said—an effort to use the energy of Ramadan to bring the congregation back together after members had to disperse.

Wilkerson said the board viewed this Ramadan as “a time for people to come home—a return to home because after the fires, so many people had to disperse because we no longer had a physical structure.”

The Eaton Fire began January 7,

Friday, March 20, 2026

Altadena Chamber Sends $500 Gift Cards to 450 Fire Survivors, Directing Spending to Local Businesses

The cards, issued through an LA County program, aim to couple household relief with commercial recovery in the burn area

Four hundred fifty residents who lost homes, businesses, or property in the Eaton Fire received $500 gift cards this month from the Altadena Chamber of Commerce — money that can only be spent at fire-impacted small businesses in the community.

The cards, delivered electronically on March 12 through the Los Angeles County Shop Local LA program, represent roughly $225,000 in directed relief.

The chamber designed the distribution to serve a dual purpose: provide immediate financial help to displaced and damaged households while steering that spending into Altadena’s commercial corridors, where businesses continue to struggle with reduced foot traffic more than 14 months after the January 2025 fire.

“Supporting our local businesses is vital to rebuilding our community,” said Judy Matthews, president of the Altadena Chamber of Commerce, in a statement. “By providing these gift cards, we are not only offering immediate financial relief to those affected,

Friday, March 20, 2026

Altadena School Lost to Eaton Fire Holds Art Auction to Fund Rebuilding

Fair Oaks School’s March 27 event at a Pasadena church features works by local artists and students

A small Altadena private school that lost its campus in the Eaton Fire will hold an art auction next Friday at a Pasadena church, raising money to rebuild with the same tool that has defined its identity for more than four decades: art.

Fair Oaks School, which operated at 2704 N. Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena for more than 45 years before the January 2025 fire destroyed its building, according to the school’s website, will host the fundraiser March 27 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Pasadena New Thought Center.

The school is currently operating from a temporary location in Pasadena while working toward rebuilding in Altadena.

The auction will feature original artwork including paintings, pottery, and objet d’art by local artists and students, according to promotional materials for the event. Live music and food will also be available. Organizers have described the event as free and kid-friendly,

Friday, March 20, 2026

California’s $20 Fast Food Wage Yields Higher Prices, Fewer Jobs, More Automation

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

Two years ago, a hotly contested law imposing a $20-per-hour minimum wage on franchised fast food outlets took effect.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 1228, emerged from months of intense political conflict, pitting fast food behemoths such as McDonalds against service worker unions, arguing not only over the wage itself but what the industry saw as an effort to undercut its business model.

Eventually the industry agreed to a higher wage in exchange for unions leaving the franchise system unmolested and the creation of a commission to oversee wages and working conditions.

Ever since, fast food corporations and labor interests have jousted over the law’s impact, with both waving economic reports to bolster their positions.

The industry warned that the FAST Act, as it was dubbed, would push fast food prices upward and employment opportunities downward. Unions and their allies contended it would benefit fast food workers with few,

Friday, March 20, 2026

Pasadena Unified School District Refocuses Chávez Day Activities Amid Abuse Allegations

Superintendent directs families to mental health resources after New York Times investigation details sexual abuse by late labor leader

The Pasadena Unified School District said Thursday it will change how it observes César Chávez Day this year, shifting the focus from the late labor leader to the broader civil rights movement after a New York Times investigation detailed allegations that Chávez sexually abused girls and women during his decades leading the United Farm Workers.

Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco said in a statement that the District is “adapting planned activities to honor the collective work for civil rights rather than the individual.” She pointed students, staff, and families to district mental health resources, including the Pasadena Unified School District’s Student Wellness and Support Services (SWSS), Daybreak Health, and Hazel Health, as well as the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Sexual Assault Awareness page.

“The information shared by Dolores Huerta and other survivors is a painful reminder of our responsibility as educators to uphold the safety,

Friday, March 20, 2026

Sheriff’s Department, Victim’s Dad Seek Tips in Unsolved 2023 Shooting Death of Altadena Man

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Sheriff’s officials and the father of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Altadena during an attempted burglary nearly three years ago appealed to the public Thursday for help bringing whoever is responsible for the homicide to justice.

Daniel Ursitti, who had advertised online that he had psychedelic mushrooms for sale, was shot at his home in the 700 block of West Owen Court about 2:35 a.m. March 22, 2023, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies from the Altadena Sheriff’s Station found Ursitti wounded after responding to a reported burglary in progress and a man who had been shot.

Ursitti was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The loss of Daniel Ursitti was compounded when the family’s home was subsequently destroyed in January’s deadly Eaton Fire.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide detectives, who have been investigating the case since the killing but have not been able to make any arrests,

Thursday, March 19, 2026

Edison CEO’s Pay Rose 20% After Eaton Fire; Pasadena Legislator Vows Action

Assemblymember Harabedian says fire survivors should not subsidize executive compensation as state report nears April deadline

After it was reported that Edison International gave its chief executive a raise in 2025, Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena), who represents the fire-devastated 41st Assembly District, said the disparity between Edison’s financial performance and his constituents’ ongoing struggles demands legislative action. He pointed to a state report on the California Wildfire Fund, due to the Legislature by April 1, as the vehicle for change.

“My constituents are fighting every day just to stay off the street as they try to put their lives back together from the damage Edison’s equipment likely caused,” Harabedian said in a statement issued Wednesday.

The statement came one day after the Los Angeles Times reported on Edison’s executive compensation, drawn from a new SEC proxy filing. The filing showed that Edison International’s net income surged to $4.5 billion in 2025, up from $1.3 billion the prior year — a gain of more than 200% in the company’s GAAP earnings.

Thursday, March 19, 2026

Eaton Fire Recovery Coalition Names First Executive Director

Michael Ocon, a Pasadena High School graduate, was chosen from 37 applicants to serve as the Collaborative’s first paid executive

The Eaton Fire Collaborative has selected Pasadena native Michael Ocon as its first Executive Director to lead long-term recovery coordination across Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre, the organization announced March 13.

Ocon, a Pasadena High School graduate who previously worked at Pasadena-based Collaborate PASadena, was chosen from 37 applicants through a competitive process that included multiple rounds of interviews and presentations to the full governing board, according to a press release from the Collaborative.

The appointment establishes the organization’s first paid executive position approximately 14 months after the January 2025 Eaton Fire.

The Collaborative serves as the region’s Long-Term Recovery Group, bringing together more than 200 community groups, nonprofits, and civic agencies to coordinate recovery services.

It operates The Collaboratory resource center at 540 West Woodbury Road in Altadena, which opened in October 2025 and offers case management,