Sunday, July 26, 2026

Edison Says More Than 12,000 Have Sought Eaton Fire Compensation Directly

Attorneys and survivor advocates continue to object to the program’s terms

More than 12,000 individuals, trusts and legal entities have sought compensation directly from Southern California Edison for Eaton Fire losses, the utility said Friday. More than 2,300 claimants have been paid, with many more in process, Edison said.

Edison opened the voluntary Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program in October 2025 and says it resolves claims faster than litigation. Plaintiffs’ attorneys and survivor advocates say Edison’s terms cost claimants too much.

Edison reported nearly 4,000 claims have been filed, with 38% filed by attorneys or authorized representatives, and more than 2,200 offers extended to over 5,400 claimants, totaling more than $750 million.

Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said the participation reflects the importance of “a fair and accessible path to compensation.”

Offers are delivered on average within 35 days and many claimants are paid within two to three weeks, Edison said.

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Altadena’s Clothing Swap Rack Gets a Reprieve Through Aug. 8

The Altadena Library-sponsored rack at Loma Alta Park runs six days a week; no donation is required to take something home.

The rules are refreshingly short. Bring up to three clean, gently used adult clothing items. Browse what your neighbors left. Or bring nothing at all and shop the rack anyway — participation does not require a donation.

The Summer Clothing Swap Rack, sponsored by the Altadena Library, has been extended through Aug. 8 at Loma Alta Park. It operates Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday and Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

For a town where thousands of households lost everything in the Eaton Fire and thousands more have moved repeatedly between rentals since, a free clothing exchange in a public park is less a novelty than infrastructure. It sits at a park that has itself become the community’s default gathering place since reopening in May 2025 — a site that also serves as a designated cooling center.

Sunday, July 26, 2026

San Gabriel Valley Mosquito District Begins Releasing Sterile Male Mosquitoes in Bassett

The agency that serves Pasadena and Altadena is deploying non-biting males carrying Wolbachia bacteria to curb disease-spreading Aedes aegypti

The mosquito-control agency that protects Pasadena, Altadena and two dozen other San Gabriel Valley communities began releasing tens of thousands of non-biting male mosquitoes last week in the community of Bassett, launching a new effort to shrink the population of an invasive species that can spread dengue, Zika and chikungunya.

The program, called SGV Mosquito Match, is the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District’s first use of the sterile insect technique against Aedes aegypti.

The district said it will release more than 30,000 male mosquitoes a week from cardboard tubes within a 25-acre section of Bassett for 16 weeks, from July through October. The males carry Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacterium that, according to the district, makes them unable to produce viable offspring when they mate with wild females — a mismatch the district says will gradually reduce the biting population.

Sunday, July 26, 2026

Applications for LA County’s Independent Ethics Commission to Close Sunday

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Sunday is the deadline for residents to apply to serve on Los Angeles County’s first-ever independent Ethics Commission.

Residents across the county have until Sunday to file an application at measureg.lacounty.gov/ethics-commission-application. The county also has a website where interested parties can find out more about the commission, responsibilities and other information.

The commission is one of the earliest changes to take effect under Measure G, the governance overhaul county voters approved in 2024.

The county is looking for a diverse range of members, including community leaders, and people with both traditional and non-traditional expertise. At least one member of the seven-member commission will be a resident of an unincorporated community.

Members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a proposed ordinance last Tuesday to place a measure on the November ballot for the creation and operation of the commission and Office of Ethics Compliance. A second and final vote on the matter is set for this Tuesday.

Sunday, July 26, 2026

LA County Gas Prices Increase For 11th Consecutive Day

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose for the 11th consecutive day Saturday, increasing 3.8 cents to $5.683.

The average price has risen 27.8 cents over the past 11 days, including 2.2 cents Friday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 17.6 cents more than one week ago, 17.4 cents more than one month ago and $1.208 more than one year ago.

The average price has increased 98.9 cents since the start of the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28, which sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.

The national average price rose for the 11th consecutive day, increasing six-tenths of a cent to $4.111. It has risen 25.2 cents over the past 11 days, including 1.4 cents Friday. The national average price is 11.9 cents more than one week ago, 19.3 cents more than one month ago and 95 cents more than one year ago.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Two Pasadena Demonstrations Set for Saturday Over ICE Shootings of Immigrant Workers Across U.S.

Separate groups will gather in Old Pasadena and at an East Walnut Street Home Depot to mourn two men shot by federal officers in Texas and Maine

Two separate demonstrations are planned in Pasadena on Saturday by two organizations protesting the deaths of two immigrant men shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers this month in Texas and Maine.

San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible will gather from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue in Old Pasadena. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network, a national nonprofit advocacy organization for day laborers and immigrant workers, will hold a vigil at 2:15 p.m. at the Home Depot at 2881 E. Walnut St.

Both actions center on the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national shot in Houston on July 7, and Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old man from Colombia shot in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13. The two shootings occurred six days apart.

The organizations describe their events as part of a national day of action.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Fire Danger Raised to ‘Very High’ in Angeles National Forest Above Altadena and Pasadena

The U.S. Forest Service has raised the fire danger level to “Very High” across the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument — the federal lands that rise directly above Altadena, Pasadena, and neighboring foothill communities — effective July 24 and continuing through Dec. 31, according to a Forest Service alert.

The Angeles National Forest Supervisor’s Office announced the change under Forest Order No. 05-01-26-12. Officials cited rising temperatures and drying vegetation that increase the probability of wildfire, the alert said.

“Very High” is one of six levels on the Forest Service’s fire danger scale, which runs Low, Moderate, High, Very High, Extreme and Critical. The forest had already been elevated to “High” on June 12 under a separate order.

The Forest Service said the escalation does not add new campfire restrictions beyond those already in effect at the “High” level. Open wood and charcoal fires remain permitted in developed campgrounds and picnic areas that have agency-provided fire rings or stoves.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

LA County Community Grant Applications Open

Community organizations were invited Friday to apply for funds through the fifth round of grants being offered by Los Angeles County as part of a voter-approved effort to prevent and provide alternatives to incarceration.

The county Justice, Care and Opportunities Department announced the fifth round of Care First Community Investment Care Grants. The program is a result of voters’ passage in 2020 of Los Angeles County charter amendment Measure J, which requires the county to allocate 10% of locally generated, unrestricted revenue to community programs and alternatives to “traditional justice system responses.”

Funding is available in 30 different program areas spread across five major categories — diversion, behavioral health and wellness; economic opportunity and sustainability; education access and youth development; housing stability; and re-entry and community reintegration.

According to the county, more than $350 million in grants have been provided to community organizations under the program since it was created.

Detailed information and applications are available online; click here.

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Pasadena Expert-Witness Firm Opens Free Consultations to Wildfire Survivors

Supervisor Janice Hahn’s motion passed unanimously, but the new seat still needs approval from lawmakers in Sacramento

A Pasadena-based expert-witness firm says it has broadened a free consultation program to people recovering from last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.

ForensisGroup connects attorneys, insurers and other organizations with engineering and technical experts.

The firm said it traditionally offers one-hour consultations across all specialties to legal and institutional clients but extended the offer to wildfire survivors so locals could get technical guidance related to their recovery.

According to the firm, many of the technical questions tied to that kind of rebuilding — including structural integrity, fire damage, soil stability, environmental contamination, utility infrastructure, construction methods and insurance coverage only began to surface as reconstruction picked up pace.

In its statement, ForensisGroup said that construction disputes are frequently more complicated than they first appear and often require several engineering disciplines to determine what went wrong.

A claim that begins with a cracked foundation,

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Metro Board Advances a Voting Seat for the Riders Who Fill Local Trains and Buses

Supervisor Janice Hahn’s motion passed unanimously, but the new seat still needs approval from lawmakers in Sacramento

For decades, the board that runs the light-rail trains and buses through Pasadena and Altadena has set fares, schedules and service without a single guaranteed seat for the people who actually ride them. On Thursday, that began to change.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors voted unanimously to move toward a dedicated voting seat for an everyday transit rider. The change still needs approval from state lawmakers before it can take effect, and it advanced alongside a separate, competing proposal leaving the board’s final shape unsettled.

The stakes are local. Pasadena sits on the Metro A Line, with six stations from Fillmore to Sierra Madre Villa, and Metro’s buses and Metro Micro service reach into both Pasadena and Altadena. 

The add-a-seat-for-the-riders motion was authored by County Supervisor Janice Hahn and co-authored by Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval.