Thursday, June 25, 2026

FEMA Extends Housing Aid for Eaton, Palisades Fire Survivors

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires will continue receiving federal housing assistance as they rebuild after FEMA approved an extension of disaster aid requested by California officials, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

With FEMA’s approval, the Individuals and Households Program housing assistance period for eligible homeowners was extended through July 9, 2027. The agency also approved a three-month extension of assistance for eligible renters through Oct. 9 2026, according to the governor’s office.

State officials said the extension follows months of advocacy by Newsom, members of California’s congressional delegation, local elected officials and community organizations.

According to FEMA, more than 35,000 households had received assistance through the Individuals and Households Program as of June 12, with more than $177 million awarded to eligible survivors.

Federal officials cited ongoing challenges facing survivors, including unresolved insurance claims, underinsurance issues, housing shortages, contractor shortages and rebuilding delays.

“Recovery doesn’t end when the headlines fade,”

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Backpacks and School Supplies to Return to the Rose Bowl for Pasadena and Altadena Families

A third annual giveaway will aid local students, including fire survivors, ahead of the new school year

Thousands of Pasadena and Altadena students will be able to pick up free backpacks and school supplies at the Rose Bowl Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 2, when the third annual Dena Community Backpack Giveaway returns from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The free event, hosted by the Rose Bowl Institute and the Rose Bowl Stadium, will offer backpacks, school supplies, family resources, food, entertainment and youth activities to families across Pasadena, Altadena and surrounding communities, according to a stadium press release. Organizers say the giveaway will support fire survivors as they prepare for the school year.

Four organizations are partnering on the event: Neighborhood Servants, the Pasadena Educational Foundation, Project Passion and Shriners Los Angeles.

At last year’s event, more than 2,500 backpacks filled with school supplies and resources were handed out, the stadium said. Families were welcomed into the stadium’s locker rooms and onto the field,

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Insurance Pays Off as Altadena Water Company Rebuilds Fire-Damaged Reservoir

Rubio Cañon breaks ground on $2 million restoration funded by a statewide safety net it helped create

Nearly 18 months after the Eaton Fire swept through this foothill community, one Altadena water company that kept its systems running during the blaze is putting shovels in the ground to rebuild what the flames took.

Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association, a nonprofit mutual water company that has served Altadena shareholders since 1886, plans to break ground Wednesday on a more than $2 million restoration of the Maiden Lane Reservoir at 2663 Maiden Lane. The reservoir was damaged in the January 2025 fire.

The funding comes largely from insurance proceeds through JPRIMA, a statewide joint powers authority that Rubio Cañon said it helped establish, according to a press statement announcing the ceremony.

The insurance backstory stretches back nearly two decades.

In 2007, the Association of California Water Agencies stopped providing pooled insurance coverage to mutual water companies statewide, according to an AB 656 legislative fact sheet,

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

County Governance Task Force Brings Measure G to Altadena

Residents of the unincorporated community can weigh in Wednesday on reforms that will reshape the only government that directly serves them

The body charged with guiding the implementation of the most sweeping overhaul of Los Angeles County government in more than a century holds a special public meeting Wednesday at the Altadena Community Center — placing its work squarely in front of residents who have no city hall, no mayor and no council of their own.

The 13-member Governance Reform Task Force will convene at 5:00 p.m. at the center, 730 East Altadena Drive, to discuss implementation of Measure G, the charter amendment L.A. County voters narrowly approved in November 2024. The session is open to the public and includes time for community comment, according to the county’s official Measure G website.

Measure G sets in motion a series of structural reforms with milestones extending through the mid-2030s. An independent Ethics Commission and Office of Ethics Compliance must be operational by the end of this year.

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Under a Telescope Dome, a French Cellist Has Helped Build a Concert Series That Sells Itself

By EDDIE RIVERA

Sunday Mt. Wilson Observatory shows are a delicious Pasadena secret

In 2017, Dan Coney, then a trustee at Mount Wilson Observatory, had a little idea. He invited a French cellist named Cécilia Tsan to climb the mountain, stand inside the dome that once housed the most powerful telescope in the world, and play.

He shot the video on his iPhone. They posted it to social media. Within a week it had 12,000 views.

“And I said, ‘Okay, let’s try to launch a series,’” Tsan recalled in a recent interview.

Nearly a decade later, the Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome has become one of the more unlikely success stories in Southern California classical music. No advertising budget. No corporate sponsor. Sold out for two consecutive seasons. Tsan, who now serves as the series’ artistic director, programs each season and performs in select concerts herself.

The dome in question sheltered the 100-inch Hooker Telescope,

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Last Day to Enroll: Altadena Small Businesses Can Sign Up Today for Free Marketing Support Program

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is urging Altadena business owners to take advantage of the free “Shop Local Marketing Lab+” initiative before enrollment closes tomorrow, June 24.

Marketing Lab+ is a free business support initiative led by the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), in partnership with Google and SoCal Grantmakers. The program is designed to help small businesses impacted by the Eaton Fire rebuild their visibility, strengthen their customer base, and accelerate their economic recovery.

“Small businesses are the heart of Altadena, and they deserve ongoing support as they work to recover from the Eaton Fire,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “This program delivers customized marketing assistance, the kind that helps businesses attract customers and build toward a stronger future. If you own a small business in Altadena, today is the day to sign up.”

Participating businesses receive individualized support across two tracks. Digital marketing services include website development, social media content creation, video marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, search engine optimization,

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Altadena Town Council Schedules Emergency Meeting on Housing Density Debate

Altadena Town Council Chair Nic Arnzen will lead an emergency community meeting in Altadena on Wednesday, June 24 on the latest developments around housing density in the community and the discussion of SB 1090, according to a Council announcement.

The session, titled “Balancing a Reasonable Rebuild,” is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. at The Collaboratory, 540 W. Woodbury, Altadena.

The meeting notice lists three focus areas: “discussion and debate of SB 1090,” coordinating “our pressure campaign for a Governor’s Emergency Executive Order,” and a “call to action.”

“This is a working session focused on strategy, advocacy, and next steps.” the announcement information said.

Topics listed in the announcement include:

• Discussion and analysis of SB 1090
• Coordinating a community pressure campaign for a Governor’s Emergency Executive Order
• Immediate actions survivors and allies can take

The announcement encourages residents to participate and to “invite friends, neighbors, and fellow survivors.”

For those unable to attend in person on Wednesday,

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

A Pasadena Entrepreneur Seeks a World Cup Moment — and $20,000 for His Students

By THERESE EDU

Founder Michael Allen is one of five Los Angeles semifinalists in Verizon’s Super Pitch; if he wins the grand prize, he said, students go home with the equipment

Michael Allen has three minutes Wednesday afternoon to convince a panel of Verizon judges that the yoga breathing techniques he turned to during a difficult stretch in a corporate job belong in the hands — and on the mats — of elementary schoolers in Pasadena, Altadena and across Southern California.

Allen, founder of Pasadena-based Mindful Roots Athletics LLC, is one of five Los Angeles regional semifinalists in the Verizon Small Business Super Pitch, a national competition tied to the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Los Angeles regional pitch event is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, June 24, at the Verizon Innovation Lab at 13031 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Playa Vista.

The regional winner advances to a July 17 national final in New York/New Jersey,

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Pasadena, Regional Agencies Seize 10,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks Ahead of Fourth of July

By EDDIE RIVERA

Four arrested as investigators tie cache to a criminal street gang smuggling operation

Pasadena police and fire investigators, working with regional agencies, seized approximately 10,000 pounds of illegal explosive fireworks from a storefront on Whittier Boulevard in Los Angeles on Friday, June 19, and arrested four people in what officials called the largest illegal fireworks seizure ever recorded in the Pasadena area.

The cache — which investigators say was tied to a criminal street gang that smuggled the fireworks from Nevada — was intended for distribution across Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley cities and was intercepted just over two weeks before the Fourth of July, the Pasadena Police Department said.

Officials estimated the street value of the seized fireworks at more than $120,000.

Along with the fireworks, investigators recovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs), an unregistered firearm with high-capacity magazines, a large quantity of marijuana products, and documentation indicating the sale of illegal fireworks.

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Tax Audit Measure Qualifies for November Ballot

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Southern California voters will have a chance in November to weigh in on a proposed constitutional amendment that would require audits of programs funded by new state special taxes and restrict certain future tax increases.

Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber announced Tuesday that the initiative has gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Under the proposal, statewide special taxes approved after Jan. 1, 2026, would be subject to recurring audits, while special tax measures proposed through the initiative process would require a pre-election audit of programs slated to receive funding.

The measure would also prohibit new state taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026, from being excluded from California’s existing voter-approved state spending limit, including taxes appearing on the same ballot as the measure.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, the initiative needed 874,641 valid petition signatures to qualify. Election officials determined it exceeded the threshold through a random sampling process.