Friday, August 22, 2025

Defendants Face New Hearing in Altadena Fire Looting Case

Four men charged with residential burglary during Eaton Fire evacuation

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Friday for Pierre Obannon and three co-defendants in a residential burglary case stemming from alleged looting during the Eaton Fire in Altadena. 

Obannon, 19, along with Roy Sims, Ryan Sims, and Naquan Dewey Reddix, will appear in Pasadena Courthouse’s Department H to face charges of first-degree residential burglary. Prosecutors allege the men entered an evacuated home during the January 8 fire and stole multiple items, including an Emmy Award. 

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, all four defendants were charged on January 10 and pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Each faces up to six years in state prison if convicted. 

Court documents reveal the alleged crime occurred at approximately 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. during mandatory evacuations for the Eaton Fire. Notably, Obannon was released on bail, while co-defendants Roy and Ryan Sims remain in custody with bail set at $50,000 each.

Friday, August 22, 2025

California Lawmakers Vote for Special Election on Redrawn District Maps

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A redrawn congressional district map aimed at shifting five U.S. House seats to Democrats will go before California voters this November, a move some Republican state legislators — including Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach — said violates the state constitution.

State lawmakers voted Thursday to put the newly proposed California congressional map — a direct counter to legislative redistricting efforts in Texas to increase the number of GOP House seats there — before voters in a Nov. 4 special election.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement shortly after the vote, “The People of California will be able to cast their vote for a congressional map. Direct democracy that gives us a fighting chance to STOP Donald Trump’s election rigging. Time to fight fire with fire.”

Just before Thursday’s vote, California Republican legislators accused their Democratic counterparts in Sacramento of pushing a redistricting plan without proper oversight or notice to the public.

During a Thursday morning news conference on the steps of the Capitol,

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Across U.S., Cooperation with ICE Grows Despite Pasadena’s Resistance

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

While Pasadena police reaffirmed that they do not perform the work of immigration officials —a stance highlighted at a recent Police Oversight Commission—many cities and states nationwide have been deepening their collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Last week, Deputy Chief Art Chute told commissioners that officers will not detain or arrest people solely for immigration violations, nor will the department honor civil detainers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also emphasized that ICE is not permitted to use city facilities for staging or parking.

Chute reported that in the past year Pasadena police booked only two individuals on federal judicial warrants tied to criminal immigration violations, which he said are required by law. Civil detainer cases, he explained, are processed and released under the city’s standard procedures without alerting federal authorities.

While acknowledging community concerns about transparency, Chute said the department will not broadcast alerts about ICE operations, citing risks to federal agents’ safety.

Thursday, August 21, 2025

California’s Finances Face A Perfect Storm. It Could Eventually Lead To Another Tax Hike

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

A perfect storm of economic, fiscal and political trends is battering California’s already deficit-ridden state budget, leading public employee unions and other interest groups dependent on money from Sacramento to explore hefty tax increases.

The budget has what fiscal authorities call a “structural deficit,” meaning that its revenue system, dominated by personal income taxes, cannot generate enough income to fully finance all services and programs in current law.

Estimates of the chronic shortfall range from $10 billion a year to as much as $30 billion. Last fall, the Legislative Analyst’s Office calculated that state spending was increasing by about 6% a year while revenue was rising by only 4%.

The current budget, enacted in June, had a $20 billion deficit that was closed by tapping into the state’s emergency reserves, borrowing from special funds, postponing some payments and adopting some bookkeeping gimmicks.

Thursday, August 21, 2025

LA County Seeks Partners for Toy Loan Program

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services was seeking sought community partners Wednesday to help expand its Toy Loan Program for children in underserved areas.

DPSS called upon organizations such as youth centers, parks and schools to participate in the program and serve as toy lending centers, where children can borrow free toys the same way books are checked out from a library. The program is based on the idea that every child regardless of their family’s income level deserves a toy and playing is an essential component of a child’s development, according to the department.

Children who participate in the program and return borrowed toys on time and in good condition earn points toward “honor borrower” status, meaning they can pick out rewards from the program’s “honor cabinet.”

The department recently opened a lending center in Lincoln Heights, following the closure of several locations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. DPSS previously had 50 community lending services that served more than 30,000 children annually —

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Gascon Chief of Staff Sues LACo Over Demotion, Termination

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Former District Attorney George Gascon’s chief of staff sued Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and another prosecutor Wednesday, alleging she was demoted for her support of Gascon’s reform policies and because of her race, age and gender.

Former Deputy District Attorney Tiffiny Blacknell, who is Black, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the county, Hochman and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin. The latter previously filed and settled his own lawsuit against the county in which he maintained he suffered a backlash over his criticisms of Gascon’s reforms.

Blacknell seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A representative for the District Attorney’s Office said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Blacknell, 48, is a former deputy public defender who was hired by the county in 2002. Her suit states that her transfer to the District Attorney’s Office by Gascon and her filling of various roles there, including chief of staff,

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Los Angeles County Fire Safe Council Meets Today, Focusing on Altadena

The meeting will spotlight wildfire safety and preparedness efforts tied to Eaton Fire recovery.

The Los Angeles County Fire Safe Council will spotlight wildfire safety and preparedness efforts tied to Eaton Fire recovery during its monthly meeting Thursday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m.

The virtual session, part of the Council’s regular efforts to promote wildfire awareness across Los Angeles County, will address regional wildfire safety concerns, including those related to the Eaton Fire.

While specific agenda items have not been released, the Council typically shares updates and preparedness strategies relevant to affected communities throughout the region.

The meeting will be accessible via Zoom (Meeting ID: 873 8818 6735).

More information about the Council’s work and future meetings is available on the California Fire Safe Council website by clicking here.

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Eaton Fire Cleanup Outpaces Paradise, Mirrors Maui Recovery

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Less than a year after the wind-driven Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena, the Army Corps of Engineers has removed debris and ash from personal property lots in the area, moving homeowners closer to rebuilding.

The eight-month turnaround is a significant increase over the Paradise Fire.

The Eaton Fire burned more than 9,000 acres in January, leveling neighborhoods in the foothills above Pasadena.

With the debris removal program now complete, county leaders say rebuilding could kick into high gear before the one-year anniversary of the blaze — a milestone unthinkable for Paradise residents in the first years after their catastrophe.

Locally, the Army Corps of Engineers, working in tandem with the EPA and Los Angeles County, hauled away more than a million tons of burned concrete, twisted metal and contaminated soil from hundreds of homes.

Crews also recycled large portions of the material — crushing concrete for reuse in construction, sending scrap metal to mills,

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Army Corps Says Altadena Golf Course Restoration on Track for Year-End Completion

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed debris removal from private properties in Altadena and is moving on to the restoration of the Altadena Golf Course, with a projected handover to Los Angeles County by the end.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cleared property of wildfire debris in the wake of the deadly Eaton Fire.

The fire, one of the deadliest in the state’s history, decimated Altadena, killing 19 people, destroying more than 9,000 structures and scorching more than 14,000 acres.

Major Todd Ober told community members at an Aug. 18 meeting that the Corps has finished the private parcel debris removal program and has only two special inclusion parcels left before the cleanup effort concludes.

At the golf course, where crews had used the site for debris processing, Ober said all reduction operations have ceased, equipment has been removed, and soil potentially affected by the work has already been replaced.

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

After Wildfire Destroyed Their School, Children Found Their Voice Through Disposable Cameras and Poetry

By THERESE EDU

Healing through art: How a local charter school helped young students process trauma after losing so much in the devastating Eaton Fire

When the Eaton Fire swept through in Altadena in January, destroying the Aveson Charter School’s TK-5 campus, educators developed an innovative trauma recovery program combining mindful photography with creative writing workshops.

“I chose to really zoom in on the idea of how powerful that their voice is,” said Amelia Weinstock, Fifth Grade Advisor at the campus known as ‘Aveson School of Leaders.’ “That became kind of like the theme of the whole project was the power of their story.”

The project, “The Rise From The Flashes,” provided fifth-grade students with 35mm disposable cameras limited to 24-26 shots, supported by the Greater Los Angeles Foundation. The intentional limitation forced students to carefully consider each image, transforming the process into a mindful emotional exercise.

Byron Flitsch, Coordinator of Community Engagement,