Sunday, June 29, 2025

Rebuilding Eliot Arts Magnet Academy Begins Monday

District plans transformative reconstruction of campus destroyed by Eaton Fire

Pasadena Unified School District will begin demolishing portions of Eliot Arts Magnet Academy on Monday, marking the first step in rebuilding the campus after the Eaton Fire devastated the school.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will oversee removal of the auditorium and north wing while stabilizing remaining structures. The fire caused significant damage to the campus, forcing the relocation of students to McKinley School.

Board President Jennifer Hall Lee described the project as an opportunity for renewal.

“Our entire community is heartbroken by the devastation of our historic Eliot Arts campus, but we will rise above this,” she said. “This is an opportunity to create a new space that captures the spirit of our school and serves as a beacon of hope and resilience for our students, staff, and the entire Pasadena community.”

Schools Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco highlighted the district’s commitment to community involvement.

“Eliot Arts is an integral part of our community,

Saturday, June 28, 2025

A ‘Poison Pill’ In California’s Budget Deal Ties State Spending To Construction

By Alexei Koseff, CALMATTERS

After days of confusion in which a deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened to unravel over his demand to include new housing and infrastructure regulations, the California Legislature passed an updated state budget on Friday.

With the start of a new fiscal year looming on July 1, budget negotiations — already challenged by a $12 billion and growing deficit — dragged on this week as Newsom and legislative leaders struggled to reach an agreement on waiving state environmental reviews for priority projects.

The details of that proposal were only made public Friday morning, hours before the budget vote, despite a poison pill that would invalidate the entire $321 billion spending plan if the Legislature does not also approve the infrastructure proposal, Senate Bill 131. Lawmakers are expected to take it up on Monday, alongside the housing measure Newsom sought, Assembly Bill 130, which was unveiled and then amended this week following fierce blowback from organized labor.

Friday, June 27, 2025

Will California Ban Ultra-Processed Foods In School Meals?

By Kristen Hwang, CALMATTERS

During the school year, kids attending schools in the Tahoe region are served cafeteria meals of ground turkey tacos, chicken or tofu bowls with brown rice, a salad bar filled with locally grown produce and other healthy items.

About 80% of breakfasts and lunches served at Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District are made from scratch without food additives such as dyes and preservatives, and nutrition workers have worked to eliminate prepackaged foods and serve minimally processed meals.

“The health of your entree is your ingredients, so we control those ingredients by cooking or making our own,” said Kat Soltanmorad, food and nutrition services director with the district.

Tahoe-Truckee Unified is part of a small but growing group of school districts in California trying to make the billion meals served in public K-12 schools every year healthier and less processed. The schools have relied on nearly $15 billion in state and federal funding over the past few years to begin making some of these changes.

Friday, June 27, 2025

Hundreds Build Hope For Eaton Fire Victims At Brookside Park Event

Video Courtesy PASADENA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

As many as 400 volunteers and donors gathered at Brookside Park on Thursday to construct wall panels and framing components for homes destroyed in the devastating Eaton Fire, as part of a community rebuilding effort following a major foundation grant.

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity hosted and organized the “Walls of Hope: Altadena Strong” event, following a record $4.55 million grant from the Altadena Builds Back Foundation to rebuild homes over three years, announced June 23.

The Altadena Builds Back Foundation, established in March as a subsidiary of the Pasadena Community Foundation, awarded the grant to support the rebuilding of homes for fire victims.

The partnership between San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity and The Foothill Catalog Foundation brought together hundreds of community members to build walls, shelves and cabinets for 22 homes for Altadena residents.

The volunteer effort included fire survivors who lost their own homes but continue helping others.

Friday, June 27, 2025

County Offers Final Free Blood Lead Testing for Fire-Impacted Residents Today

Health officials provide free screenings for community members affected by recent wildfires

Los Angeles County health officials will host a final community blood lead testing event Friday, providing free screenings for residents affected by recent wildfires, officials said Wednesday.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will conduct the free walk-in testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday at the Altadena Community Center in Altadena, at 730 E. Altadena Drive.

Since launching the testing initiative following the Palisades and Eaton fires, public health workers have screened more than 1,500 adults and children. Nearly all test results have been below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s blood lead reference value of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.

Of those tested, only seven individuals showed results of potential concern, according to county health officials.

Residents who cannot attend Friday’s event can still receive free blood lead testing through December by two additional methods: consulting their medical provider or scheduling a free test at a Quest Lab by calling 1-800-LA-4-LEAD.

Friday, June 27, 2025

Sheriff’s Station Denies Immigration Enforcement in Altadena Vendor Contact

The Altadena Sheriff’s Station is pushing back against reports that immigration enforcement was involved in a recent incident with food vendors in the area.

The sheriff’s station said in a social media post that the individuals who contacted vendors were public health officials, not immigration authorities.

“There have been false reports circulating that immigration enforcement was involved in a recent incident with food vendors in Altadena. This is not true,” the statement read.

The public health officials were responding to what the sheriff’s station referred to as serious health and safety violations. These included allegations of unsanitary food handling and unpermitted vending.

The sheriff’s station said the goal was “to protect public health and ensure the food being served is safe for everyone.”

The statement encouraged all vendors to follow health and safety regulations. It also called for an end to misinformation about the incident.

“We encourage all vendors to follow health and safety regulations to keep our communities safe and thriving,”

Friday, June 27, 2025

Guest Opinion | Brandon Lamar: Pasadena Must Remove Permitting Fees for Eaton Fire Survivors

By Brandon D. Lamar, President, Pasadena NAACP

In the wake of the devastating Eaton Fire, our community continues to grapple with the painful  and costly process of recovery. Homes have been reduced to ashes, lives have been uprooted,  and families—many of whom have lived in this region for generations—now face an uphill  battle to rebuild. As the flames subsided, the long road to restoration began. But instead of being  met with open arms and support from every level of government, many Pasadena residents are  being burdened with another fire: the cost of rebuilding.

The City of Pasadena must immediately remove all permitting fees for properties damaged or  destroyed by the Eaton Fire.

Our neighbors in Altadena, just across the city line, have already received this kind of support.  Supervisor Kathryn Barger led the charge to waive these fees for unincorporated areas, ensuring  residents aren’t penalized for trying to rebuild their lives. In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass  took similar action for the Palisades following disaster.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Board of Education Faces Deep Budget Cuts Amid Financial Crisis at Thursday Meeting

District board confronts $37.9 million deficit with sweeping stabilization plan

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will address a $37.9 million operating deficit on Thursday, voting on a fiscal stabilization plan that could dramatically reshape the district’s educational landscape.

The board’s most critical agenda item involves adopting the budget and an $83.1 million stabilization plan that includes cutting 120 staff positions by the 2026-27 school year and reducing central office expenses.

The plan’s objectives are to prevent county or state intervention and address financial challenges from declining enrollment, expired COVID-19 funds, and rising operational costs.

In what would be a significant facilities response to recent infrastructure damage, the board could authorize a $17.53 million reconstruction of Franklin Elementary School, which was devastated by the Eaton Fire. The project will rebuild the destroyed school and create a “swing space” campus to accommodate Madison Elementary during its 2026 modernization.

Additional capital improvement projects include modernization efforts at Longfellow Elementary,

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Guest Opinion | PUSD Board Member Dr. Yarma Velázquez: From Classrooms to Crackdowns: How Immigration Enforcement and Climate Trauma Threaten Pasadena Students

By Dr. Yarma Velázquez, PUSD Board Member

In Captivity Beyond Prisons: Criminalization Experiences of Latina (Im)migrants, Martha D. Escobar unearths the roots of a system that has long treated migration not as a humanitarian condition but as a crime. She illustrates how the U.S. legal and carceral frameworks have been mobilized to contain, surveil, and discipline Latinx immigrants, through detention, policing, and bureaucratic suspicion. Escobar’s work compels us to look at our current policies and practices through the lens of racialized captivity, showing us that what we’re witnessing today is not new, but rather an extension of a much older logic of state violence.

We’re seeing that story unfold in Pasadena right now. In recent days, ICE agents have been spotted at bus stops and transit centers, detaining people in broad daylight. At least six individuals were taken on Orange Grove Boulevard, a place where day laborers and working families wait each morning. These images send a chilling message: fear walks alongside our children as they head to summer school.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

School Board to Review Ambitious $300 Million Capital Improvement Program Tonight

District presents comprehensive facilities modernization plan focusing on infrastructure, safety, and educational enhancements

The Pasadena Unified School District will unveiled a comprehensive Capital Bond Program tonight in an update to the Board of Education.

Currently, the district has $76.2 million in active construction projects, according to the report. It will break ground in 2026 on $135.5 million worth of additional projects. And the report said  the district also has over $86.8 million in projects currently in the design phase.

Active construction projects include a $52 million renovation of the John Muir High School pool and gym, $4.2 million in restroom and utility upgrades at five campuses, $15 million for emergency relocations across five campuses, $1.4 million in health and safety improvements at three school sites, and $3.6 million for the second phase of shade structure installations.

The report said these projects were designed to address critical needs related to health, safety, athletics, and student dignity.

Looking ahead,