Friday, May 29, 2026

Eaton Fire Lawsuits Return to Court, With Pasadena’s Jewish Temple Among The Plaintiffs

A century-old Pasadena congregation is one of nearly 1,000 plaintiffs pressing claims against Southern California Edison as pre-trial proceedings advance

When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena on January 7, 2025, members of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center raced to save what they could. The sanctuary was already burning. They got out with the Torah scrolls. Everything else — the sanctuary, the preschool, the community buildings that had stood on Altadena Drive for more than eight decades — was gone.

On Friday morning, the congregation joins nearly 1,000 plaintiffs in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where a motions hearing is scheduled before Judge Laura A. Seigle in the consolidated civil litigation against Southern California Edison. The 10 a.m. proceeding in Department 17 of the Spring Street Courthouse advances a mass tort that has grown to encompass Altadena homeowners, businesses, and institutions — all alleging that Edison’s transmission equipment ignited the blaze.

The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, founded in 1921 and described as the only Conservative Jewish synagogue in the western San Gabriel Valley,

Friday, May 29, 2026

PUSD Board Halts School Closure Plan, Two Trustees Served With Recall Notices

The Pasadena Unified Board of Education halted its school consolidation process Thursday night in a stormy meeting that also saw the in-person delivery of formal recall notices to Board President Tina Fredericks and Trustee Scott Harden.

The board rejected the $230,000 equity analysis that had put Blair, Thurgood Marshall, Don Benito, McKinley, Webster, and Norma Coombs on a potential closure or merger list.

Any future closure recommendation will require the district to start over with a new analysis, the board’s legal advisor at the meeting told trustees. No school is closing under the current process.

The vote followed more than seven hours of meeting time, more than 60 commenters at the opening public comment period and dozens more during item-specific public hearings, including the AB 1912 consolidation hearing, and the in-person delivery of formal notices of intent to circulate recall petitions to Fredericks and Harden.

The rejected consolidation-related document, presented to the board as Resolution 2882, was the work product of Total School Solutions,

Friday, May 29, 2026

LA Metro Board Approves $9.7B Budget for 2027

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Metro Board of Directors Thursday approved a $9.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-27, representing a $223 million, or 2.4% increase, over the prior year’s spending plan.

Michelle Navarro, Metro’s interim chief financial officer, described the budget as balanced though it was difficult to do so because of uncertainty related to federal transit funding, inflation and other economic challenges. Nevertheless, they were able to implement a 3% reduction in spending and prioritize funding in the most efficient way, according to Navarro.

“We took what we heard through our outreach efforts and prioritized bus service, safety and cleanliness,” Navarro said. “With our limited operating eligible dollars available, we developed a budget that provides the best possible service to our riders and the public.”

The board voted 9-0 to approve the budget with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, L.A. City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, Inglewood Mayor James Butts and Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian absent during the vote.

Friday, May 29, 2026

Displaced Eaton Fire Couple Sue Former Landlords Over Alleged Excessive Rent

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A family displaced from their Altadena home by the 2025 Eaton Fire Thursday sued the landlords who allegedly charged them nearly three times the maximum rent permitted under state and local law.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges that Terrence and Catalina Chow continued to collect the allegedly illegal rent from plaintiffs Randall and Candy Renick for nearly 10 months after receiving written notice from both the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and Los Angeles County that their conduct was illegal. The plaintiffs’ attorneys stated during a news conference Thursday outside the downtown civil courthouse that the case is the first private civil action brought by a wildfire-displaced family to enforce the rental price-gouging protections.

The lawsuit seeks restitution of the unlawful overcharges, compensatory damages, civil penalties of up to $30,000 per violation as well as   attorneys’ fees and costs. A representative for the Chows could not be immediately reached.

“The state and the city’s price-gouging laws exist because we know people will be taken advantage of without them,”

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Parents to Rally at PUSD Headquarters Thursday Ahead of First Public Hearing on School-Closure Analysis

Parents and students opposed to potential school closures plan to rally outside Pasadena Unified School District headquarters at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, ahead of a 6:45 p.m. Board of Education meeting at which the district’s outside consultant is scheduled to present the draft Equity Impact Analysis required before any campus can be closed.

The rally at 351 S. Hudson Ave. converges multiple parent-led campaigns —the broader Save Our Schools coalition and groups focused in specific campuses— ahead of the board’s first public hearing on consolidation since the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee voted May 11 against all six closure scenarios it had been asked to consider. The session also falls amid Brown Act allegations against four trustees and a recall campaign targeting Board President Tina Fredericks.

The Save Our Schools rally series began with a March 31 demonstration that drew nearly 100 participants outside the district office.

Warren Bleeker, president of the Thurgood Marshall Secondary School Parent-Teacher-Student Association and a principal organizer of that earlier rally,

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Guest Opinion | Elbie J. Hickambottom Jr.: Turning Al Lowe’s Legacy Upside Down

Sierra Madre Mayor Kristine Lowe, niece of Al Lowe, who served as PUSD Board President during the 1970s conflict over busing, invoked his legacy at last week’s PUSD Board meeting. Mayor Lowe presented herself as in tune with her uncle’s legacy as she leads the charge to recall current PUSD President Tina Fredericks. The irony is that Mayor Lowe turns her uncle’s legacy upside down from what he stood for.

What Al Lowe stood for

When Al Lowe passed away, Larry Wilson in the Pasadena Star-News described him as “the man who saved Pasadena.” Al Lowe deserves that accolade because he was Board president at the most difficult time in PUSD history. PUSD was the first northern school district ordered by federal courts to integrate its schools through busing. Reactionary forces in the district’s constituency wanted to follow the George Wallace recipe for resisting racial integration.

Without hesitation, Al Lowe made the hard choice to assemble a board majority, implement a plan to integrate through busing and comply with the court order.

Thursday, May 28, 2026

New California Law Bans Law Enforcement from Interfering in State Elections

By Maya C. Miller, CALMATTERS

Law enforcement officers will be banned from interfering with California elections under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Wednesday, just in time for the June 2 primary election.

The law, which takes effect immediately, criminalizes the act of taking cast ballots from the custody of a local election official, as gubernatorial candidate Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco did earlier this year when he seized more than 600,000 ballots from his own county’s registrar of voters. Although Bianco claimed he was checking for proof of fraudulent voting, there was no evidence to suggest any ballots were cast improperly.

“We have to step up, and we have to draw the line. We have to clarify the rules of engagement,” Newsom told reporters before signing the legislation. “It’s a warning to the folks out there that think they can do the bidding of the Trump administration.”

State lawmakers originally introduced the measure, Senate Bill 73,

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Who’s Ahead In The California Governor Race?

By Lynn La, CALMATTERS

Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton are holding on to the lead in the latest poll ahead of the California governor election.

That’s according to the Public Policy Institute of California, which surveyed 986 likely voters earlier this month. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed (23%) said they’d vote for Becerra, followed by Hilton at 20%, Tom Steyer at 15%, Chad Bianco at 13% and Katie Porter at 12%.

Some Californians are watching governor polls in part to decide how they’ll vote. The state’s open primary allows the top two vote-getters to advance to November regardless of party, and for several months Republicans Hilton and Bianco appeared to have a shot at locking Democrats out of the ballot.

Becerra, the former state attorney general and health secretary to former President Joe Biden, began to pull ahead after U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Latino Eaton Fire Survivors in Pasadena, Altadena the Focus of New Outreach Effort

A coalition of wildfire attorneys says many Latino survivors in Pasadena and Altadena still have not sought compensation — and time is running out. 

LA Fire Justice, a coalition of wildfire attorneys, fire–origin experts and insurance specialists, will hold a Thursday press conference at El Portal Restaurant in Pasadena to reach Latino families who lost homes, income or stability in the January 2025 blaze. 

The event will take place in the dining room of owner and Eaton Fire survivor Abel Ramirez, whose popular restaurant sits near the Pasadena Playhouse. 

The outreach effort — titled “No Te Hemos Olvidado” (“we have not forgotten you”) — is meant to reach Latino survivors who, more than a year later, have not asked whether they may be owed compensation. 

LA Fire Justice is led by Chris Holden, a former Pasadena mayor and state Assemblymember, and has represented Eaton Fire clients and operated a Pasadena office since shortly after the fire. 

Latino families disproportionately affected,

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Blair Supporters Rally Today as PUSD Board Moves School Closures Process Forward

The advisory committee voted down all six consolidation proposals, but the board retains authority to act before a June 25 vote

Blair High School parents and students plan to rally at 4:30 p.m. outside PUSD headquarters at 351 S. Hudson Ave. before the board’s regular meeting, urging the board to keep Blair High and Middle Schools open amid deliberations on campus closures.

The rally is organized by Save Blair, a parent-led campaign not officially affiliated with the school or its administration, according to the group’s website.

Organizers say they are hoping for 100 supporters to attend and speak during the board meeting’s public comment period.

The campaign has also circulated a Change.org petition that it says has gathered more than 1,500 signatures. The campaign is urging the board to reject closure proposals, pause major decisions, and explore alternatives that preserve programs.

At the meeting, the district will present the School Consolidation Advisory Committee’s findings and a draft equity impact analysis on potential campus closures.