Thursday, July 30, 2026

Families From Altadena’s New Rebuilding Documentary Will Be Onstage With It

A free county-produced premiere at Loma Alta Park pairs the film with a panel of families from it, the Altadena Historical Society’s president and the Altadena NAACP’s president

When a new documentary about four Black Altadena families screens at Loma Alta Park tonight, families from the film will be onstage afterward to take questions.

“Reclaiming Home: Black Altadena Rebuilds” is the County of Los Angeles’ own account of what the Eaton Fire did to a community where Black families spent generations buying houses and keeping them. The county is screening it free, outdoors, in the neighborhood it is about, then turning the evening over to the president of the Altadena Historical Society, the president of the Altadena NAACP and families from the film.

A Small Business Vendor Marketplace opens at 6:00 p.m. and the program begins at 7:00 p.m. on the lower Loma section of Loma Alta Park, 3330 North Lincoln Avenue, according to the county’s announcement.

Admission is free,

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Students Will Choose New Backpacks in UCLA’s Locker Room at the Rose Bowl

Organizers say Sunday’s third annual Dena giveaway will include a youth soccer clinic and a roster of elected officials, 15 days before Pasadena Unified reopens

The line for a free backpack on Sunday will run through the UCLA Bruins’ football locker room.

Organizers of the third annual Dena Community Backpack Giveaway say students who have registered will pick out their supplies inside the locker room at Rose Bowl Stadium, then walk through the players’ tunnel onto the field — the route the Bruins charge out every game day.

The free event runs Sunday, August 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., about two weeks before Pasadena Unified School District opens the school year.

The giveaway will reach thousands of students and will offer up live entertainment, games, complimentary food and snacks, resource booths, and a youth soccer clinic and tournament on the north side of the field, along with dozens of nonprofit organizations and community partners.

Organizers describe the event as a way to connect families with educational and community resources and to ease the financial burden of back-to-school costs.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Pasadena Unified Ramps Up for Back to School

Pasadena Unified School District has emailed families across Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre a 2026-27 Welcome Kit and a message from the superintendent, about two and a half weeks before students return to classrooms on Monday, Aug. 17.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone back on the first day of school,” wrote Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco.

The email did not mention any delays in reopening campuses due to contaminated soil remediation work.

In her message to the PUSD community, Blanco said many schools begin registration next week, when students can receive class schedules, take yearbook and ID photos, meet new teachers and reconnect with friends.

“PUSD schools are also hosting welcome events to help families and students connect, meet staff, and kick off the year together,” Blanco wrote.

A list of school welcome events is posted at https://canva.link/dbspk03w6nocinq.

Blanco wrote that the district is embracing the theme “the Power of PUSD: Forward Together,”

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Decline-in-Value Review Forms Available Now

Los Angeles County property owners may now file an application for a Decline-in-Value Review (DIV) if they believe the market value of their property has fallen below its current assessed value.

Decline-in-Review applications are accepted annually from July 2 through November 30. To file, complete the Decline-in-Value Review Application (Form RP-87), which is available on our Decline-in-Value webpage under the Forms tab beginning July 2. The application may be submitted online for your convenience.

What Is a Decline-in-Value Review?

If you believe your property’s market value as of January 1 is lower than its assessed value, you may qualify for a temporary reduction in your assessed value under California law.

California’s Proposition 13 established a property’s base year value for property tax purposes and generally limits annual increases in assessed value to no more than two percent unless ownership changes or new construction occurs.

In 1978, California voters approved Proposition 8, which allows for a temporary reduction in assessed value when a property’s market value falls below its assessed value.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Kenne Qualifies for PUSD Re-Election Race as School Board Field Takes Shape

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Incumbent Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board member Kimberly Kenne has officially qualified for the Nov. 3 general election, becoming the first incumbent in this year’s school board races to secure a place on the ballot.

Kenne, who represents District 1, filed her nomination papers July 22 and qualified for the ballot July 24, according to nomination records released by the City Clerk’s office.

She is expected to face challengers Felita R. Kealing, who was issued nomination papers July 13, and Dianne Lewis, who pulled papers July 22.

As of the latest filing report, neither Kealing nor Lewis had qualified for the ballot.

In District 7, Dennis J. McNamara has also qualified for the election after filing and qualifying July 27. McNamara is seeking the seat being vacated by Yarma Velazquez, who announced she will not seek reelection.

The remaining races are still taking shape.

In District 3, incumbent Michele Richardson Bailey and challenger Veronica Elias have both been issued nomination papers,

Thursday, July 30, 2026

LA Fire Survivors Say Newsom Is Trying To Help Utilities Reduce Their Wildfire Costs Again

By Levi Sumagaysay, CALMATTERS

If you live in California, chances are you’ve seen the ads that say “Home insurance rates skyrocket” and “The FAIR Plan is broken.”

They urge you to contact your state representative to ask them to “fix our wildfire problem to make California more affordable.”

Those ads are connected to what Los Angeles fire survivors, consumer advocacy groups and the insurance industry say is a secretive, last-minute attempt by Gov. Gavin Newsom to help utilities reduce how much they pay for wildfires they cause.

With the legislative session set to resume next week and run through the end of the month, the governor’s staff has been talking with state lawmakers about addressing challenges around wildfire recovery and rising catastrophic risk in California, a spokesperson for his office confirmed.

Lawmakers have not released the text of the proposals. Newsom spokesperson Anthony Martinez would not say whether the legislation will do the following, as alleged by fire survivors and a consumer advocacy group:

• Limit compensation for fire victims’ pain and suffering.

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Former, Current Caltech Scientists Find Evidence “Something Catastrophic” Happened to Neptune

By Katie Neith, CALTECH

In 1989, the Voyager 2 mission discovered six new moons orbiting Neptune, including five tiny ones that orbit just outside the planet’s main rings. Because of their small sizes and locations, these satellites have been difficult to study from Earth. Now, using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of Caltech researchers has observed Neptune’s rings and three of those moons—Larissa, Galatea, and Proteus—and found that their composition is unique among outer solar system bodies.

These findings point to the existence of an original moon system that was demolished when Triton, Neptune’s biggest moon, was likely captured by the planet’s gravity after it formed elsewhere in the solar system. The researchers believe remnants left behind from this smashup then came together to form the inner moons seen today.

“If Neptune once had a system of moons that looked something like what we see at Uranus today, we expect it would’ve been completely destroyed by the process of Triton getting captured,”

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Housing Market Holds Steady As Fed Pauses, And Iran War Drags On

By EDDIE RIVERA

Economists watch a fragile balance between resilience and risk

The nation’s housing market is showing quiet resilience even as a widening war in the Middle East and a divided Federal Reserve complicate the outlook for the rest of the year.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 3.5% to 3.75% for a fifth straight meeting, according to the Fed’s postmeeting statement. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh described the internal debate as a “good family fight,” CNN reported. Three regional bank presidents, Beth Hammack of Cleveland, Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis and Lorie Logan of Dallas, dissented in favor of a quarter-point increase, citing inflation that has stayed above the Fed’s 2% target for more than five years, the Fed said. It was the first three-way dissent on a single policy direction since September 2016, CNBC reported.

The split reflects a broader anxiety running through the economy. Fighting between the United States and Iran resumed in early July after a ceasefire collapsed,

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Red Cross Grant to Fund Altadena Home Rebuilds Through San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity

The American Red Cross has awarded San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity a $5 million grant to pay for long-term rebuilding of Altadena-area homes destroyed in the January 2025 Eaton Fire, according to the Red Cross and media reports.

The grant is intended to expand the nonprofit’s capacity to help homeowners rebuild and return home, as part of the Red Cross’s national Long-Term Recovery Program.

The money will provide resources for “eligible homeowners facing financial barriers” to rebuilding. The homes involved are in Altadena and neighboring unincorporated Los Angeles County communities inside the Eaton Fire burn area.

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity senior director of development Michael Bridges said in the release that the money would broaden the organization’s reach.

“We are deeply grateful to the American Red Cross for this generous investment and partnership in wildfire recovery,” Bridges said in the press release. “As families continue to rebuild after the Eaton Fire, this support expands our capacity to help homeowners restore stability and regain a sense of home.

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Blood Drive at Altadena’s Collaboratory Comes as Red Cross Declares National Crisis

Pasadena Village and the Eaton Fire Collaborative partner with the Red Cross for an August 3 donation event open to all

The nation’s blood supply has dropped to levels the American Red Cross calls a crisis. On August 3, a partnership between three organizations will bring a donation site to Altadena, where a single hour in a chair could help reverse it.

Pasadena Village, the Eaton Fire Collaborative, and the Red Cross are co-hosting a blood drive at the Collaboratory from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Organizers say they need 25 donors to make the drive a success, according to the Pasadena Village event listing.

The drive comes as the Red Cross confronts what it calls only the second national blood supply crisis in its history. The national supply fell nearly 25% in June, and donations have reached a four-year summer low, according to a Red Cross press release issued July 27.