Sunday, July 26, 2026

LA County Gas Prices Increase For 11th Consecutive Day

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose for the 11th consecutive day Saturday, increasing 3.8 cents to $5.683.

The average price has risen 27.8 cents over the past 11 days, including 2.2 cents Friday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 17.6 cents more than one week ago, 17.4 cents more than one month ago and $1.208 more than one year ago.

The average price has increased 98.9 cents since the start of the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28, which sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.

The national average price rose for the 11th consecutive day, increasing six-tenths of a cent to $4.111. It has risen 25.2 cents over the past 11 days, including 1.4 cents Friday. The national average price is 11.9 cents more than one week ago, 19.3 cents more than one month ago and 95 cents more than one year ago.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Two Pasadena Demonstrations Set for Saturday Over ICE Shootings of Immigrant Workers Across U.S.

Separate groups will gather in Old Pasadena and at an East Walnut Street Home Depot to mourn two men shot by federal officers in Texas and Maine

Two separate demonstrations are planned in Pasadena on Saturday by two organizations protesting the deaths of two immigrant men shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers this month in Texas and Maine.

San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible will gather from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue in Old Pasadena. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a national nonprofit advocacy organization for day laborers and immigrant workers, will hold a vigil at 2:15 p.m. at the Home Depot at 2881 E. Walnut St.

Both actions center on the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national shot in Houston on July 7, and Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old man from Colombia shot in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13. The two shootings occurred six days apart.

The organizations describe their events as part of a national day of action.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Fire Danger Raised to ‘Very High’ in Angeles National Forest Above Altadena and Pasadena

The U.S. Forest Service has raised the fire danger level to “Very High” across the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument — the federal lands that rise directly above Altadena, Pasadena, and neighboring foothill communities — effective July 24 and continuing through Dec. 31, according to a Forest Service alert.

The Angeles National Forest Supervisor’s Office announced the change under Forest Order No. 05-01-26-12. Officials cited rising temperatures and drying vegetation that increase the probability of wildfire, the alert said.

“Very High” is one of six levels on the Forest Service’s fire danger scale, which runs Low, Moderate, High, Very High, Extreme and Critical. The forest had already been elevated to “High” on June 12 under a separate order.

The Forest Service said the escalation does not add new campfire restrictions beyond those already in effect at the “High” level. Open wood and charcoal fires remain permitted in developed campgrounds and picnic areas that have agency-provided fire rings or stoves.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

LA County Community Grant Applications Open

Community organizations were invited Friday to apply for funds through the fifth round of grants being offered by Los Angeles County as part of a voter-approved effort to prevent and provide alternatives to incarceration.

The county Justice, Care and Opportunities Department announced the fifth round of Care First Community Investment Care Grants. The program is a result of voters’ passage in 2020 of Los Angeles County charter amendment Measure J, which requires the county to allocate 10% of locally generated, unrestricted revenue to community programs and alternatives to “traditional justice system responses.”

Funding is available in 30 different program areas spread across five major categories — diversion, behavioral health and wellness; economic opportunity and sustainability; education access and youth development; housing stability; and re-entry and community reintegration.

According to the county, more than $350 million in grants have been provided to community organizations under the program since it was created.

Detailed information and applications are available online; click here.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Pasadena Expert-Witness Firm Opens Free Consultations to Wildfire Survivors

Supervisor Janice Hahn’s motion passed unanimously, but the new seat still needs approval from lawmakers in Sacramento

A Pasadena-based expert-witness firm says it has broadened a free consultation program to people recovering from last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.

ForensisGroup connects attorneys, insurers and other organizations with engineering and technical experts.

The firm said it traditionally offers one-hour consultations across all specialties to legal and institutional clients but extended the offer to wildfire survivors so locals could get technical guidance related to their recovery.

According to the firm, many of the technical questions tied to that kind of rebuilding — including structural integrity, fire damage, soil stability, environmental contamination, utility infrastructure, construction methods and insurance coverage only began to surface as reconstruction picked up pace.

In its statement, ForensisGroup said that construction disputes are frequently more complicated than they first appear and often require several engineering disciplines to determine what went wrong.

A claim that begins with a cracked foundation,

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Metro Board Advances a Voting Seat for the Riders Who Fill Local Trains and Buses

Supervisor Janice Hahn’s motion passed unanimously, but the new seat still needs approval from lawmakers in Sacramento

For decades, the board that runs the light-rail trains and buses through Pasadena and Altadena has set fares, schedules and service without a single guaranteed seat for the people who actually ride them. On Thursday, that began to change.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors voted unanimously to move toward a dedicated voting seat for an everyday transit rider. The change still needs approval from state lawmakers before it can take effect, and it advanced alongside a separate, competing proposal leaving the board’s final shape unsettled.

The stakes are local. Pasadena sits on the Metro A Line, with six stations from Fillmore to Sierra Madre Villa, and Metro’s buses and Metro Micro service reach into both Pasadena and Altadena. 

The add-a-seat-for-the-riders motion was authored by County Supervisor Janice Hahn and co-authored by Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval.

Friday, July 24, 2026

Judge Denies PUSD Bid For Injunction to Block Pasadena Tree Ordinance Enforcement

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Judge issues ruling after City says it will not enforce tree ordinance at district classroom facilities

On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner denied the school district’s request for an injunction that would have stopped the City from enforcing its tree protection ordinance while a lawsuit proceeds.

In his ruling Lipner said he denied the request for a temporary restraining order on the basis that there is no irreparable harm to the school district in light of positions taken by the City.

The ruling states the City said it will not be enforcing the tree ordinance at “classroom facilities.”

“Specifically, the City has stated that, after the Petitioner passed Resolution 2896, ‘the City is no longer enforcing the stop work orders for classroom facilities exempted from the City’s zoning ordinance subject to the Board adopted Resolution 2896.”

The district filed its petition last week seeking a writ of mandate,

Friday, July 24, 2026

PUSD Seeks Court Order to Halt Tree Permit Enforcement at Fire-Damaged Campuses

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

The already contentious relationship between the city and the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) continues to worsen.

The PUSD has filed a lawsuit against the city, asking a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to block the city from enforcing its tree protection ordinance at campuses undergoing Eaton Fire soil remediation.

In the lawsuit, lawyers for the PUSD argue the district is immune from local zoning regulations and that the city’s actions are jeopardizing the reopening of schools.

PUSD wants to cut down nearly 200 trees on campuses across the city. District officials claim the trees must be cut down in order to remove approximately 8,000 cubic yards of fire-contaminated soil from 11 campuses before the start of the 2026-27 school year, and claim it can do so without permission from city officials.

The city claims the district must comply with its tree ordinance.

“The city does not believe the petition is appropriate at this time and declines to comment further on this pending litigation,”

Friday, July 24, 2026

H&R Block to Pay $515,000 to Settle LA County Claims It Shared Tax Data Without Consent

A restitution fund reaches eligible Pasadena and Altadena filers who used the company’s online preparation tools

The income figures, education credit claims, and health savings account details that Los Angeles County residents typed into H&R Block’s online tax software were, the County alleges, quietly passed to outside advertising companies through tracking code embedded in the company’s website.

H&R Block has now agreed to a pre-litigation settlement with the County of Los Angeles that bars the practice and sets aside a $367,540 fund to repay certain customers, according to a statement from the County. The deal resolves consumer protection claims against HRB Digital LLC and HRB Tax Group, Inc.

The settlement covers consumers across the county, extending to those in Pasadena and Altadena.

The County said the case grew out of H&R Block’s disclosure of confidential taxpayer information made without customers’ consent — to third-party advertisers through tracking devices such as Meta pixels placed on the company’s site.

The fund is limited to a specific group.

Friday, July 24, 2026

Homelessness – Slightly Down in Pasadena – Rises in LA County, City

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Pasadena, which reported its count in June, showed a slight decrease in homeless numbers

Following two straight years of decreases, homelessness increased by 3.4% in the city of Los Angeles this year, with the number of unsheltered individuals jumping by 7.9%, according to reports published Thursday, with Mayor Karen Bass blaming federal government service cuts for the rise.

Fox11 and the Los Angeles Times both reported the increases in homelessness, citing sources familiar with figures from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which is scheduled to officially release the numbers on Friday.

Sources, who asked the outlets to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the data, told the outlets that homelessness increased by 1.2% across the county’s Continuum of Care, which includes most cities.

Pasadena’s 2026 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, released earlier on June 22, went the other way. Volunteers counted 577 people on the night of Jan. 21,