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”

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Free Holiday Craft Program Offers Teens a Creative Way to Display Holiday Photos

Altadena Library invites teens to make personalized felt photo holders this Friday

Teenagers in Altadena have a free opportunity to create personalized holiday decorations this week. The Altadena Library District is hosting a DIY Felt Photo Holders workshop for teens ages 13-18 on Friday, December 12, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Altadena Library at Loma Alta Park.

The program offers participants a chance to “make some DIY Felt Photo Holders” that can “be turned into magnets for your fridge or ornaments for the holidays,” according to the event description. The workshop is completely free and requires no prior crafting experience.

The event will take place at the library’s Loma Alta Park location. However, interested teens should note that supplies are limited, so early registration is recommended.

For more information or to register, teens and their families can contact the Altadena Library District or visit the library’s event calendar.

DIY Felt Photo Holders for Teens will run on Friday,

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Two Curators Invite Visitors to Explore What ‘Sanctuary’ Means in Their Lives

Danielle A. Hill and Lauren Miller open philosophical conversation about refuge, transformation, and collective care through contemporary art

This Friday, co-curators Danielle A. Hill and Lauren Miller will guide visitors through their vision of sanctuary—not as a simple concept, but as a lived experience of protection, transformation, and collective care.

The two curators are opening the “Sanctuaries” exhibition at the Armory Center for the Arts to public conversation, hosting a curatorial walkthrough where they will share insights into how they selected 18 contemporary teaching artists and the collaborative process that shaped the show. The exhibition explores sanctuary through painting, textile, ceramic, photography, risography, and mixed media.

Hill, a Cleveland-born artist and curator now based in Pasadena, centers her work on “interdependency, love, connection, and familial practices.” She “collaborates with collectives and organizations that prioritize and invest in the thriving of artists of color while abstaining from colonial practices.” As Exhibition Manager at the Armory, Hill also serves as the City of Pasadena’s District 3 Arts &

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Pasadena Announces Its 2026 One City, One Story Selection, The Dream Hotel

STAFF REPORT

Pasadena Public Library is proud to announce its book selection for Pasadena’s 2026 One City, One Story community reading celebration: The Dream Hotel by author Laila Lalami. A 19-member selection committee led by Senior Librarian Christine Reeder and made up of community volunteers worked for many months to determine this year’s One City One Story honoree.

Now in its 24th year, One City, One Story is designed to broaden and deepen an appreciation of reading and literature and to promote tolerance and understanding of differing points of view by recommending a compelling book that engages the community in conversation.

The Dream Hotel is a riveting and utterly original novel about one woman’s fight for freedom, set in a near future where even dreams are under surveillance. In this dystopian novel Sara is detained by agents from the Risk Assessment Administration who have determined she will soon commit a crime using data from her dreams and an algorithm. At the retention center,

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

LA County Board Looks to Protect Paychecks of Detained/Deported Immigrants

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors directed its staff Tuesday to develop an ordinance that would allow a designee of workers in the county to collect their final paycheck if the person is unable to do so, including if the worker has been detained or deported by federal immigration authorities.

“In these unprecedented times, the county must continue exploring every opportunity to support our most vulnerable residents,” Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement after the vote. “This motion is about ensuring we provide a pathway for families and workers to receive their hard-earned last paycheck, regardless of immigration status.”

The motion asks county staff to report back to the board in 90 days on the feasibility of an ordinance that would require employers to provide workers with a “designation form,” identifying a person authorized to collect a workers’ final paychecks in the event of the employee’s unavailability. It would also require employers to deliver the final paycheck to the worker’s designee.

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Tina Fredericks Elected First Asian American Woman to Lead PUSD Board

Tina Fredericks was elected Monday as the first Asian American woman to lead the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education, joining Dr. Yarma Velázquez and Patrice Marshall McKenzie to form an all-women-of-color officer team at the helm of the district.

“The election of Pasadena’s first Asian American woman as president of the board marks a profound milestone for the district,” Velázquez said during the annual reorganization meeting. “Her leadership honors the presence, contributions and resilience of Asian American communities in Pasadena, expanding the horizons of who is seen.”

The new officer lineup pairs Fredericks with Velázquez, a Latina, and McKenzie, who is Black, serving as clerk. Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco serves as board secretary.

“It is important and significant, not just for the community, but for all of the Asian, Asian American students, women that we have in our schools,” Velázquez continued. “Your presidency will be a powerful affirmation of what our students can do and how they can also belong to the highest levels of service.”

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Agency Again Declares No-Burn Day for Much of Southern California

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a No-Burn Alert for Tuesday, prohibiting wood burning in fireplaces and in all indoor or outdoor devices across four Los Angeles-area counties.

The alert covers the South Coast Air Basin, including large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, except the High Desert and Coachella Valley.

“South Coast AQMD reminds residents in these areas that burning wood in their fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device is prohibited at any time on No-Burn Days,” the alert said.

Smoke from wood burning can cause health problems, according to the AQMD. Fine particulate matter called PM2.5 can get deep into the lungs to cause asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

This is the eighth No-Burn Day the South Coast AQMD has issued in the 2025-2026 season from September through the end of April for ozone, and from November through the end of February for fine particle pollution when air quality is forecast to be poor.

Monday, December 8, 2025

Altadena to Commemorate One-Year Anniversary of Eaton Fire

The Coalition for Altadena Recovery (CCAR) will host a community commemoration on Jan. 7, 2026, marking the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire, according to a statement from the organization. The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Grocery Outlet parking lot at 2270 Lake Ave. in Altadena.

The Eaton Fire forever changed the landscape of Altadena. Organizers said the gathering is intended to bring residents together in resilience and solidarity, to reflect on what was lost, celebrate what has been rebuilt, and look ahead with hope.

The program will feature music, remembrances, and light refreshments. The event is open to all community members, rain or shine.

“This disastrous event forever changed Altadena and Altadenans,” Altadena Town Council Chair Victoria Knapp said in the release. “We wanted to create an opportunity for the community to come together to heal, support, and rally around each other. These milestones are important for marking our collective grief and also our recovery.”

Altadena Historical Society President Veronica Jones added: “We pause to remember the lives lost,

Monday, December 8, 2025

Guest Opinion: Jennifer Hall Lee | Retrospective: My Year as School Board President

This year as Board President of the Pasadena Unified School District has been one I will carry with me for a long time. I began the year with deep respect for our students, families, and staff. I end it with admiration for their resilience and determination. Serving in this role has afforded me a close view of what it means to lead in times of uncertainty and hope. Recovery continues, and we have built a foundation for healing and renewal.

Prior to the fire, I did what incoming presidents do: I set goals for the board. The Eaton fire was devastating. Through this challenging year, I am proud of the work we have all done together.

The first is the adoption of new Board goals to ensure accountability and raise student achievement. These goals were set by the whole board and they are bold, visionary, centered on children, and grounded in data and community voice.

The Board also completed a first: the Governance Handbook.