Tuesday, March 25, 2025

If Zero-Emission Cars Cut Gasoline Sales and Tax Revenue, How Will California Replace Them?

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

When California motorists fill their tanks, they are often paying the nation’s highest gas prices, an average of $4.65 a gallon currently and about $1.50 above the national average.

One component of California’s high gas prices is the state’s gas tax, which ranges between 60 and 70 cents a gallon and is also the nation’s highest. The 10-cent range reflects differences on how indirect levies for climate change policies are calculated.

Eight years ago, the Legislature and then-Gov. Jerry Brown enacted a big increase in gas taxes and license fees that raises more than $5 billion a year for rehabilitation and maintenance. However, Californians drive nearly a billion miles a day, and conditions of the state’s more than 400,000 lane-miles of highways, streets and roads remain among the nation’s worst — 49th among the states, according to a recent study by a libertarian think tank.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Cal Fire Releases Revised Fire Hazard Zones for LA County

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Cal Fire released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Los Angeles County Monday, using various criteria to identify wildfire hazard areas and ranking them on a three-tiered scale.

The maps, generally updated every decade, can impact building and clearance requirements in areas deemed to be in particular hazard areas.

According to Cal Fire, the determination of “hazard” is based “on the physical conditions that create a likelihood and expected fire behavior over a 30- to 50-year period, without considering mitigation measures such as home hardening, recent wildfire or fuel reduction efforts.”

Identified hazard zones are divided into three levels — moderate, high and very high. The determination is made based on a variety of factors, including terrain, fire history, weather patterns and the presence of fire fuels such as thick vegetation.

Once the hazard zone maps are released by the state, local jurisdictions can adopt them or amend them by increasing the hazard level for particular areas.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

As Temperatures Rise, So Do Concerns About Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes

Vector control officials warn about mosquito risks in Eaton fire burn area

The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District has issued an urgent warning about unmaintained swimming pools in the Eaton fire burn area becoming potential breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes as temperatures warm across the region. District officials are taking proactive measures to prevent a public health crisis, emphasizing that a single unmaintained pool can produce up to 3 million adult mosquitoes in just one month.

“After a wildfire, pools and other large water sources may become stagnant, creating conditions for mosquitoes to grow,” according to District officials. “These mosquitoes can spread quickly throughout the community and can spread diseases such as West Nile virus and dengue, posing an additional risk to the community.”

Beginning March 17, vector control technicians started to directly treat identified sources of standing water within the burn area. The treatments included larvicides, other mosquito control products, and the distribution of mosquitofish where appropriate.

Monday, March 24, 2025

Cal Fire Releases Newly Updated Wildfire Hazard Maps for Altadena and Pasadena

Maps reflect increased fire risks following January’s devastating Eaton Fire

California officials are releasing updated fire hazard maps for Southern California counties on Monday, expanding areas classified as high and very high risk zones in the first such revision in over 14 years.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) maps identify areas most vulnerable to wildfires over the next several decades based on vegetation, terrain, fire history and local weather patterns. The timing is particularly relevant following January’s destructive Eaton and Palisades fires, which devastated Altadena.

“We are living in a new reality of extremes. California’s resilience means we will keep updating our standards in the most fire-prone areas,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

The maps cover eight southern counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, Mono and Inyo. They categorize wildfire vulnerability into moderate, high and very high risk zones, with the updated designations expected to more than double the land area subject to stricter building codes.

Monday, March 24, 2025

With LaVar Burton, Books, and Cotton Candy, Altadena Library Reopens in Storybook Style

By EDDIE RIVERA

Community celebrates their gathering place

The only thing missing from the Altadena Main Library’s grand reopening on Saturday was a rainbow to read under, and a special visor to see with.

Hundreds of community members packed the library grounds to celebrate its post-fire resurrection — and to see actor and literacy hero LaVar Burton, who brought a touch of “Reading Rainbow” magic to a town still recovering from the Eaton Fire. 

State Assemblymember John Harabedian introduced Burton with an audience sing-along of the theme from “Reading Rainbow.” 

“I can’t sing, but you all can!,” he said. 

Burton, who played Giordi La Forge on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” (and wore that weird cool visor to see things), called Altadena a “very, very special place” and drew cheers as he read to a crowd of eager kids and grateful parents. “The American dream is alive and well in Altadena,” he said. “Today,

Monday, March 24, 2025

California Considers More Homeless Shelter Oversight after CalMatters Investigation

By Lauren Hepler, CALMATTERS

A new state bill would add more oversight to California homeless shelters after a CalMatters investigation exposed that many taxpayer-funded facilities are plagued by violence, mismanagement and low sucess rates.

The bill would build on an existing state law that was supposed to add basic checks on homeless shelter safety and sanitation. Previous CalMatters reporting found all but a handful of cities and counties have ignored the law.

Under the new proposal, local governments would be required to perform annual inspections of taxpayer-funded shelters, and cities and counties could lose state funding if they fail to correct code violations or keep neglecting to file mandatory reports. Shelter operators would also have to do more to inform residents of their rights to file complaints.

The oversight push comes amid a statewide boom in homeless shelters. California governments have spent at least $1 billion to more than double the state’s emergency shelter beds since 2018, 

Monday, March 24, 2025

Post-Wildfire School Plan, Bond Oversight Top PUSD Board Agenda Thursday

District to address Altadena Arts Magnet reopening criteria following devastating Eaton Fire

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will consider a plan Thursday outlining safety requirements before Altadena Arts Magnet School can return to its home campus following January’s devastating Eaton Fire.

The meeting, scheduled for March 27 at the Elbie J. Hickambottom Board Room, will address three important matters: the post-wildfire recovery plan, an oversight consolidation proposal for school bonds totaling over $1.4 billion, and a mid-year academic performance update.

Resolution 2811 establishes conditions for reopening Altadena Arts Magnet, which was spared direct fire damage but remains surrounded by approximately 75 burned properties within 250 yards of the campus.

“Dozens of families and staff from Altadena Arts Magnet School lost their homes or were displaced as a result of the Eaton fire,” according to the resolution, which calls the wildfire “the second most destructive in California history, destroying over 9,000 homes and buildings.” The school subsequently saw the highest number of student withdrawals in the District post-fire.

Monday, March 24, 2025

County’s Mental Health Department Will Launch ‘2025 Take Action’ Campaign Benefiting Pasadena Residents

The nation’s largest mental health department will kick off the initiative today with events planned throughout May

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) will launch its 2025 Take Action for Mental Health L.A. County campaign today, an efoort which will offer important services to residents across the County, including Pasadena. The campaign begins with a kickoff event at St. Anne’s Conference and Event Center in Los Angeles at 1 p.m. on Monday and will preview nine countywide events scheduled throughout May for Mental Health Awareness Month.

“LACDMH has a special emphasis on addressing co-occurring mental health disorders and other health problems such as addiction,” notes Dr. Lisa H. Wong, Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, who will be present at the upcoming campaign launch.

As the nation’s largest public mental health department, LACDMH directly operates more than 85 programs and contracts with numerous providers throughout Los Angeles County. With an annual budget exceeding $4 billion and over 7,400 budgeted positions,

Monday, March 24, 2025

Hearing Date to be Set for Man Charged in Fatal Pasadena Hit-and-Run

Altadena resident faces multiple felony counts after crash that killed two

A preliminary hearing date is scheduled to be set on Tuesday, March 25 for Jeffrey Butler, an Altadena man charged in connection with a hit-and-run crash that killed two people in Pasadena last year.

Butler, 30, faces two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and one felony count of hit-and-run driving resulting in death or serious injury. He is also facing a parole violation charge. Butler has remained in custody since his arrest in October 2023.

Authorities allege Butler was driving a stolen Lincoln Navigator SUV that collided with a Nissan Versa at the intersection of North Raymond Avenue and Penn Street on October 18, 2023, at approximately 9:17 p.m.

The crash killed Antonio Mendoza-Hernandez, 63, of Los Angeles, who was pronounced dead at the scene. A second victim, Veralice Yanira Membreno Orellana, 33, of Altadena, later died at a hospital from injuries sustained in the collision.

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Parents Can’t Figure Out How California Schools Are Doing. Newsom’s Plan To Fix That Stalls

By Adam Echelman, CALMATTERS

In his first year as governor, Gavin Newsom made the creation of a comprehensive, statewide education data system one of his top priorities, but its debut is behind schedule.

In 2019, he launched the Cradle-to-Career Data System, a multi-year initiative to collate data from preschools, K-12 districts, colleges and job training programs, culminating in a series of public dashboards that track students’ progress. A few years later, during his 2022 re-election campaign, “cradle to career” was the tagline of his education platform.

“This was a signature initiative by the governor,” said Alex Barrios, the president of the Educational Results Partnership, an education data nonprofit. “You’d think taxpayers would be asking: “Where is this thing?’”

The Cradle-to-Career team initially said the public would have access to some of the data by the spring of 2024, mostly through a website that would show the progress of specific school district students through college and their first few years of employment.