Thursday, December 18, 2025

Sharp Spike in ER Illness After Eaton Fire Smoke, Cedars-Sinai Study Shows

Emergency room visits surged for heart attacks, lung illness and systemic symptoms following January wildfires

Emergency room visits for heart attacks, lung illness and severe systemic symptoms rose sharply among Pasadena-area residents exposed to smoke from the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire, according to a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center study that has a key clarification to its reported findings.

The study, published Dec. 16 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found a 46% increase in acute myocardial infarction, a 24% increase in acute pulmonary illness, and a 218% increase in abnormal blood chemistry encounters during the 90 days after the Jan. 7 fire ignitions.

Cedars-Sinai said general illness encounters rose by about 118% over the same period, while the 218% statistic applies specifically to the increase in abnormal blood chemistry encounters, which rose at a rate ratio of 2.18, meaning the frequency more than doubled.

Although Cedars-Sinai is located roughly 20 miles from Pasadena,

Thursday, December 18, 2025

New Flu Variant Spreads as Holiday Season Begins, Raising Concerns

Subclade K strain hits U.S. as nearly 3 million already infected; health officials urge vaccination despite vaccine mismatch

As Pasadena residents prepare for holiday travel and gatherings, flu season is hitting harder and earlier than last year. A new variant is circulating that could make more people susceptible to infection.

The variant, called subclade K, has spread rapidly across Europe and several countries in East Asia, the Pan American Health Organization said. Health authorities warn the timing couldn’t be worse as families come together for celebrations.

Nearly 3 million Americans have already caught the flu this season, according to CDC estimates. An estimated 30,000 people have been hospitalized, and 1,200 have died from flu complications, the agency reports.

Five jurisdictions are already experiencing high or very high levels of influenza-like illness, the CDC reports. They include New York City, New York state, Louisiana, Colorado and New Jersey.

Lab-confirmed flu hospitalization rates are higher now than at this time last year,

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Republicans Ask Federal Court To Overturn California’s New Prop. 50 Maps

By Maya C. Miller and Mikhail Zinshteyn, CALMATTERS

Just last week California’s secretary of state officially certified that nearly two-thirds of Californians voted to pass Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to temporarily gerrymander the state’s congressional maps in favor of Democrats.

Nevertheless, Republicans and the Trump administration are hopeful that a federal district court panel meeting in Los Angeles this week will intervene to bar the state from using the new maps next year.

California Republicans, who sued Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber the day after the election, are staking their challenge on the argument that California’s primary mapmaker illegally used race as a factor in drawing district lines, giving Latino and Hispanic voters outsize influence at the expense of other racial and ethnic groups, including white voters.

This, the Republicans argue, means the maps amount to an illegal racial gerrymander and a violation of the 14th and 15th amendments. Although Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act allows for race-conscious redistricting,

Thursday, December 18, 2025

No-Burn Order Extended Again, Now Through Thursday, for Much of Southern California

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a No-Burn Alert through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, prohibiting wood burning in fireplaces and in all indoor or outdoor devices across four Los Angeles-area counties.

The updated alert now in effect until midnight Thursday includes the South Coast Air Basin, covering 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 agency 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.

Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service are exempt from the requirement.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Festival of Lights Rolls Through Pasadena During Today’s Menorah Car Parade

Chabad of Pasadena’s annual Menorah Car Parade and Chanukah celebration will light up the city Thursday afternoon

Chabad of Pasadena will celebrate Hanukkah with its annual Menorah Car Parade on Thursday, December 18. The parade will begin at Chabad of Pasadena, 1090 East Walnut Street and end at Playhouse Village Park, 701 Union Street.

Line-up at the starting point is scheduled for 4:15 p.m., with the parade ‘rolling off’ at 5:00 p.m. Once the procession arrives at Playhouse Village Park, the celebration continues with a menorah lighting at 6:00 p.m. The evening will feature live music, hot latkes, donuts, and Chanukah crafts.

This free event promises an evening of festivity and togetherness, inviting everyone to share in the spirit of the Festival of Lights. It marks the 5th night of Chanukah and calls on the community to “Light up the city with our Jewish pride” and “Share the light!”

The parade ends at Playhouse Village Park with a Chanukah party and menorah lighting.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Tournament of Roses Offers Free Parade Tickets to Fire-Affected Residents

More than 1,000 free grandstand-seating tickets will be offered to residents impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires, along with thousands of tickets to the post-parade float viewing event, the Tournament of Roses announced Wednesday.

“As our neighbors continue the hard work of recovery, we want to offer moments of joy, connection and celebration during the New Year’s festivities,” Tournament of Roses Association President Mark Leavens said in a statement. “These tickets are a small but heartfelt gesture of support and solidarity.”

The free tickets for the parade will be provided to various community organizations, which will in turn distribute them to fire-impacted residents. The participating groups include the Altadena Town Council, Black Freedom Fund, California Community Foundation, Community Women Vital Voices, Eaton Fire Collaborative, Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation, Partnership for Children, Youth & Families, Pasadena Community Coalition, Pasadena Community Foundation and YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles.

Distribution details will be provided by each organization.

The Tournament of Roses will also be providing 10,000 free tickets to Floatfest: A Rose Parade Showcase,

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Los Angeles County Opens Emergency Rent Relief Program Portal

The program will distribute more than $23 million to landlords and homeowners impacted by wildfires and emergencies

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs announced Wednesday that the application portal for the LA County Emergency Rent Relief Program is now open. The Emergency Rent Relief Program will distribute more than $23 million in financial assistance to landlords and homeowners impacted by the wildfires and other emergencies.

Eligible landlords may review eligibility requirements, access multilingual resources, and submit applications for financial assistance directly at LACountyRentRelief.com. . The deadline to apply is Friday, January 23, at 4:59 p.m. Tenants who have experienced emergency-related rent debt may also review eligibility requirements and submit an interest form to refer their landlord to apply for the program.

Directed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and administered by the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs in partnership with The Center by Lendistry (TCbL), the Emergency Rent Relief Program provides financial assistance to:

Eligible Landlords whose tenants were unable to pay rent due to emergency-related hardship,

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

No-Burn Order Extended Through Wednesday for Much of Southern California

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a No-Burn Alert through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday evening, prohibiting wood burning in fireplaces and in all indoor or outdoor devices across four Los Angeles-area counties.

The updated alert now in effect until midnight Wednesday includes the South Coast Air Basin, covering 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 agency 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.

Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service are exempt from the requirement.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

For Some Eaton Fire Survivors, a Season of Grief

By THERESE EDU

Nearly a year after flames swept through Altadena, mental health professionals are seeing an epidemic of holiday depression as families face celebrations without homes, possessions or traditions

The holidays arrived in Altadena this year like an uninvited guest, bearing gifts nobody asked for: the pressure to be festive when everything feels broken, the expectation of joy in places where homes once stood, the weight of traditions that no longer have a place to happen.

Nearly a year after the January Eaton Fire destroyed homes and displaced families across Altadena and Pasadena, mental health professionals in the area are witnessing what they describe as an epidemic of holiday depression. The timing is particularly cruel: The first major holidays fall just weeks before the fire’s one-year anniversary, creating what therapists call a double burden of anniversary grief and seasonal expectation.

“Anniversaries are deeply tied into grief and trauma. Our brain remembers when,” said Dr.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

United Teachers of Pasadena President Disputes School District’s Labor Bargaining Report

The president of United Teachers of Pasadena is pushing back against a Pasadena Unified School District update emailed Tuesday to the school district community about ongoing labor negotiations, disputing key claims about bargaining session topics, the district’s financial outlook, and the cost of union proposals.

Jonathan Gardner, UTP president, said the district’s Dec. 16 communication mischaracterized the Dec. 15 bargaining session and overstated the district’s fiscal challenges.

“Even though they spent half of their update on the health and welfare proposals, we did not talk about that this past Monday at all,” Gardner said. “For them to have spent half of that update on referencing that is really not appropriate.”

The district’s update stated that the fourth bargaining session of the 2025-26 negotiation season took place Dec. 15, and devoted substantial space to health and welfare benefit discussions.

Gardner challenged the district’s assertion of a $30 million structural deficit and warnings that unrestricted reserves could turn negative by 2027-28 without a fiscal stabilization plan.