Friday, December 12, 2025

Altadena Fire Victims Warned of Unlicensed Contractors; Felony Charges Filed

[UPDATED] Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced felony charges against five unlicensed contractors accused of illegally operating in Altadena following the Eaton Fire, warning residents to remain vigilant as they rebuild.

Hochman, joined by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, said at a news conference that unlicensed contractors have been preying on victims of the January wildfires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. Watch the news conference.

“My office is cracking down on criminal contractors who prey on residents who have already lost so much and cannot afford to lose more,” Hochman said. “I urge the communities impacted by the wildfires to stay vigilant and report unlicensed contractors who are taking advantage of this disaster and putting your safety and property at risk. This is important: You are still the victim of a crime even if you knowingly hired an unlicensed contractor and should alert authorities.”

The Consumer Protection Division filed felony charges Dec. 4 against five defendants accused of contracting without a license in the Eaton Fire disaster zone.

Friday, December 12, 2025

Pasadena Unified Establishes Facilities Advisory Council to Coordinate Bond and Facilities Planning

The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) announced Thursday it is establishing the Superintendent’s Facilities Advisory Council (SFAC) to provide coordinated, transparent oversight of long-range facilities planning and bond programs.

The council will serve as the Superintendent’s leadership body to align voter-approved Measure O and Measure R bond programs, capital outlay planning, insurance recovery, asset management, and long-term facilities strategies. It will ensure decisions are transparent, data-driven, fiscally responsible, and aligned with the Facilities Master Plan (FMP), Educational Master Plan (EMP), and the district’s energy and sustainability goals. The council’s charter was presented at the Board of Education retreat on Nov. 6, 2025.

“The Eaton Fire destroyed or significantly damaged five of our district sites, and it is vital that we align our bond and facilities planning to this new reality,” said Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco, Ed.D., in the statement. “This council ensures that every decision we make moving forward is transparent, data-driven, fiscally responsible, and aligned with our mission and community values.”

The Superintendent’s Facilities Advisory Council will begin meeting in January 2026.

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Altadena Fire Victims Targeted: DA, Supervisor to Announce Contractor Felony Charges

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger will hold a joint news conference today to announce criminal charges against allegedly unlicensed contractors accused of contacting victims of the Eaton Fire.

The announcement comes nearly a year after the January blaze. Officials say the felony charges involve contractors who contacted survivors, particularly elderly residents and those with insurance payouts.

The suspects are charged on a specific law making it a felony to contract without a license at a property damaged by a natural disaster for which a state of emergency is declared, under CA Bus & Prof Code § 7028.16.

Hochman, elected in November 2024, has positioned himself as a prosecutor focused on fraud and exploitation. He previously charged nine individuals with looting and arson in Altadena during the fire’s early evacuation phase and announced a broader crackdown on wildfire-related crimes.

“My Office unequivocally stands with survivors, not greedy opportunists who profit from others’ pain,” Hochman said in earlier remarks.

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Guest Opinion: Kiley Grombacher | The Hidden Toll of Wildfire Smoke: It’s Time Insurers and Lawmakers Treat Smoke Damage as Deadly

By Kiley Grombacher, co-founder of the California Fire Victims Law Center

Our client, Luis Cazares, thought he was lucky.

When the Eaton Fire tore through the foothills of Altadena, his home—unlike many of his neighbors—was still standing. But relief didn’t last. The air inside was thick with chemicals, ash, and toxins. Within minutes, he felt sick. Smoke had soaked into walls, furniture, and ventilation system, rendering the house unlivable.

Luis isn’t alone. Thousands of Californians returned to homes spared by flames but poisoned by smoke. A  2025 JAMA study found that Los Angeles County experienced over 440 excess deaths following the Eaton and Palisades fires, far beyond the 31 official fatalities. And analyses summarized by the Salata Institute at Harvard link wildfire smoke to dramatic spikes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, in some cases reaching 70% above baseline during heavy-smoke periods.

Community testing is beginning to show why. Eaton Fire Residents United, working with independent labs,

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Pasadena Board of Education to Consider School Size Standards, Potentially Setting Stage for Campus Closures

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday will consider enrollment standards that would be used to identify schools for potential closure or consolidation as the District grapples with declining enrollment.

Resolution 2852, scheduled for approval at the Board’s regular meeting, establishes minimum, optimal and maximum enrollment thresholds for schools at each grade level. Elementary schools would have a minimum of 300 students and a maximum of 750, middle schools a minimum of 400 and maximum of 900, and high schools a minimum of 900 and maximum of 1,800. Schools that fall below the minimums for two consecutive years beginning with the current 2024-25 school year would be flagged for review.

The District’s total enrollment stands at approximately 13,219 students, according to the resolution.

Under the proposed policy, the superintendent would be required to present a draft District Transformation Plan to the Board by February 2026. Any recommendations for school closures or reconfigurations, along with required equity impact analyses, would be due by October 2026.

Thursday, December 11, 2025

On Eve of County Deadline, Pasadena School Board to Vote on Financial Health and Launch School Consolidation Study

Four days before a critical deadline that will determine whether it retains local control or faces a state takeover, the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will vote Thursday night on a financial report that declares the District fiscally healthy, while simultaneously taking its first formal step in over six years toward potentially consolidating and closing schools.

The two votes represent a high-stakes session for the District.

The Board will be asked to approve its First Interim Financial Report, certifying its own finances as “positive” despite a massive underlying operating deficit masked by one-time disaster funds.

Moments later, it will vote on a resolution establishing criteria for “optimal school size,” launching a study process that could lead to school closures in a District that has lost over 3,000 students in seven years.

This dual strategy—projecting financial confidence while acknowledging the need for painful structural change—is the District’s final effort to satisfy the Los Angeles County Office of Education. The County agency,

Thursday, December 11, 2025

L.A. County to Bury 2,308 Unclaimed Decedents in Common Grave Thursday

More than 2,300 people who died in Los Angeles County but whose bodies remain unclaimed will be laid to rest Thursday in a common grave during an interfaith ceremony in Boyle Heights that has taken place annually for well over a century.

The Ceremony to Commemorate the Unclaimed Dead will be held at 10 a.m. at the Los Angeles County Crematory and Cemetery.

Local faith leaders will preside over the ceremony, which is held by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, along with the Department of Health Services’ Office of Decedent Affairs and the Los Angeles General Medical Center Chaplains.

The people being buried — 2,308 in all, some of whom were homeless or had no next of kin who could be contacted — died in 2022.

Bodies are held for three years between the year of death and burial, to allow family members to claim cremated remains.

The Office of Decedent Affairs, which manages cremation and burial for indigent/unclaimed individuals who die within L.A.

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Pasadena Students Impacted by Eaton Fire to Attend Dodgers Holiday Event

Pasadena Unified School District students displaced or affected by the Eaton Fire earlier this year will be among 600 children hosted Wednesday at Dodger Stadium for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ annual holiday party.

The Dec. 10 event, organized by the Dodgers’ Community Relations Department, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and national nonprofit Baby2Baby, begins at 10:30 a.m. and features a “Winter Wonderland” on the stadium field. Students will sled down a constructed snow hill, run the bases, take part in fielding drills in the outfield and pose for photos with Santa Claus.

Lunch will be served in the Pavilion Bleachers, and each student will receive a gift bag with winter coats, warm clothing, toiletries and toys. Organizers said the distribution is intended to support families still navigating temporary housing and economic recovery following the 2025 wildfire season.

Pasadena Unified students were invited in direct response to the Eaton Fire, which burned 14,000 acres on Jan. 7, destroyed nearly 9,000 structures in Pasadena and Altadena,

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Commission Will Learn About Regional Center That Serves Over 400,000 Californians With Developmental Disabilities

Pasadena commission to hear about system that transformed care since 1960s

A regional system serving more than 400,000 Californians with developmental disabilities will be the focus of a presentation on Wednesday before the Pasadena Human Services Commission.

The Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center will provide an overview of California’s regional center network at 6 p.m. in the Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 North Fair Oaks Avenue.

The presentation comes as the Lanterman Center, one of 21 such facilities statewide, continues serving families across North Los Angeles County. The center covers areas including Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank and parts of central Los Angeles.

California launched two pilot regional centers in 1966. The program expanded three years later with passage of the Lanterman Mental Retardation Services Act.

Before the Lanterman Act, families faced only two options: keep a child with disabilities at home or pursue institutionalization.

The legislation aimed to help individuals with developmental disabilities live more independently. It sought to approximate everyday living patterns available to people of the same age without disabilities.

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

CSArts-SGV Creative Writing Students Take Center Stage at Vroman’s for Annual Literary Reading

High school writers from California School of the Arts, San Gabriel Valley will showcase their emerging talent Friday at Vroman’s Bookstore, Southern California’s oldest independent bookstore founded in 1894.

The Creative Writing Conservatory Student Reading features students reading from poetry, fiction and nonfiction selections. CSArts-SGV’s Creative Writing Conservatory is one of 11 arts conservatories offered within the school, operating under a rigorous college-preparatory academic model combined with pre-professional arts training. The conservatory produces “Sugar Pine,” the school’s award-winning annual literary journal.

CSArts-SGV is a tuition-free, donation-dependent nonprofit charter school operating in partnership with Duarte Unified School District. The school was modeled after the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in Santa Ana, which has operated for more than 30 years. According to the school, its mission statement reflects its dual focus: “We provide an unparalleled arts and academic education in a creative, challenging and nurturing environment to a diverse student body passionate about the arts, preparing them to reach their highest potential.”

Vroman’s Bookstore hosts more than 400 free community events annually and maintains partnerships with schools and nonprofit organizations like Friends in Deed through its “Vroman’s Gives Back”