Monday, October 27, 2025

Community Colleges as Crisis Anchors: PCC’s Role in Post-Fire Recovery Gains Spotlight

The Future of Work Conference will explore how education institutions can lead long-term disaster response

As Pasadena City College prepares to host the 7th Annual Future of Work Conference on Tuesday, Oct. 28, the spotlight is turning toward a deeper question: What role should community colleges play in disaster recovery?

The conference, themed “Mobilizing for Recovery and Regional Renewal,” will not only launch a new regional coalition but also examine how institutions like PCC can serve as anchor points in times of crisis. The event runs from 8 a.m. to noon at Westerbeck Recital Hall in Pasadena and is free to attend.

The concept of community colleges as “anchor institutions” — entities with deep local roots and sustained civic influence — is gaining traction nationwide. PCC’s response to the Eaton Fire, which scorched over 14,000 acres and displaced more than 50,000 residents, offers a case study in how educational infrastructure can be rapidly repurposed for community aid.

In the months following the fire,

Monday, October 27, 2025

California’s Gerrymander and Generational Rift Could Shake Up Its Democratic Hierarchy

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

Democratic politicians throughout California — those already in office and those who want in — assume that voters will rearrange the state’s 52 congressional districts next month and create new career opportunities.

The assumption is well grounded. A recent CBS News poll found 62% of the state’s likely voters, driven by disdain for President Donald Trump, will enact Proposition 50, a plan to shift five more congressional seats to Democrats even though they already have 43.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s gerrymander would offset pro-Republican redistricting schemes in Texas and other states that Trump seeks to retain, or perhaps expand, the GOP’s paper-thin majority in the House next year.

With Prop. 50 seemingly a slam-dunk, current Democratic congressional members and wannabes are trying to sort out who will run for what — no small feat. To create the new seats, the Democrats’ political cartographers have to spread the party’s 10.4 million voters more thinly,

Monday, October 27, 2025

21 Candidates to Face Altadena Voters in Virtual Forum Tuesday Night

Community gathering on Zoom offers residents first comprehensive look at historic slate seeking eight council seats

Twenty-one candidates are scheduled to make their case to Altadena voters Tuesday evening in a virtual forum that organizers hope will draw residents from across this scattered community as they prepare to elect eight members of the Altadena Town Council.

The forum, hosted by Neighbors Building a Better Altadena, will run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the organization’s Facebook page, with this Zoom also link posted on the NBBA Facebook group page: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3383057874?omn=85946412876 .

The event marks the second major candidate gathering in about a week, following an emotional in-person session during last Tuesday’s Town Council meeting where the candidates introduced themselves to voters.

Tuesday’s virtual format will feature candidate presentations followed by a novel approach designed for community engagement: breakout groups organized by census tract, allowing residents to question candidates specific to their neighborhoods.

NBBA,

Sunday, October 26, 2025

County Reports First West Nile Virus Death on Heels of Pasadena’s First Human Case of 2025

Los Angeles County health officials on Friday, Oct. 24, confirmed the first local death of the year due to West Nile virus, days after Pasadena recorded its first human case of the virus since 2022.

The fatality involved a San Fernando Valley resident who died of neurological illness caused by severe West Nile virus, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. No additional details about the individual were released.

According to the Pasadena Public Health Department, the city’s first human case of West Nile virus for 2025 was confirmed on Oct. 9. It marked Pasadena’s first reported infection since 2022. Pasadena operates its own health department and reports cases independently from Los Angeles County.

While no positive mosquito samples have been detected in Pasadena this year, the virus has been found in nearby San Gabriel Valley communities. The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District began detecting virus activity in July through surveillance traps. Positive mosquito samples were collected in El Monte (July 22),

Sunday, October 26, 2025

Feds to Monitor Polling Places in Los Angeles County on November 4

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to monitor polling sites in five California counties — including Los Angeles and Orange — during the Nov. 4 election in which voters will decide whether to approve a temporary statewide redistricting aimed at adding more Democrat representation in Congress.

Monitors will also be stationed in Riverside,  Fresno and Kern counties. The DOJ will also monitor polling places in Passaic County, New Jersey.

“Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this Department of Justice is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “We will commit the resources necessary to ensure the American people get the fair, free, and transparent elections they deserve.”

DOJ officials said the monitoring effort is designed “to ensure transparency, ballot security and compliance with federal law.”

The announcement came days after the California Republican Party requested that polling places be monitored in select counties due to “reports of irregularities”

Saturday, October 25, 2025

25-Year-Old Man Reported Missing in Altadena

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs’ Department’s Missing Persons Detail Saturday are asking for the public’s assistance in locating an at-risk 25-year-old man who was last seen in Altadena.

Luis Fernando Hoyos was last seen Friday at 10:50 a.m. on the 400 block of Figueroa Drive between Lincoln and Olive avenues, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Hoyos is Latino, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds, has scruffy brown hair and brown eyes, the LASD said. He has a black beard, a black mole on his right cheek and a Pokemon tattoo on his left foot.

Authorities say Hoyos drives a 2002 gray Acura TL with California license plate Number 9TWS506.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts was asked to call the Sheriff’s Missing Persons Detail at 323-890-5500. Callers who wish to remain anonymous may call 1-800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppersla.org.

Friday, October 24, 2025

Eaton Fire Survivors Face Budget Cuts, Class Size Spikes at Pasadena Unified Schools

Nearly ten months after the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena, displaced families are confronting a second crisis: teacher transfers that have ballooned some class sizes and affected the staffing of specialized programs at the very schools serving fire survivors.

A coalition of parents from five Northwest Pasadena schools submitted a resolution Thursday night demanding a three-year moratorium on involuntary teacher reassignments and class size increases. But their plea collided with harsh fiscal reality — the district must cut $30-35 million from its budget, and Los Angeles County Office of Education officials warned the school board that any action restricting staffing flexibility could trigger a state takeover.

“9,000 homes vanished overnight, and every day I take my kids a different way to school so I don’t have to drive down Lincoln and look at the shell of what used to be in our neighborhood,” said Matt Schneider, a Jackson Elementary parent representing the coalition. “The last thing we should be doing as a public school district is talking about what we can do to get away with less for our kids.”

Friday, October 24, 2025

Deshmukh Named New General Manager of Metropolitan Water District

By ANDRÉ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

The board of directors for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has selected Shivaji Deshmukh as the agency’s next general manager.

Deshmukh, who currently serves as general manager for Inland Empire Utilities Agency, one of Metropolitan’s 26 member agencies, will officially assume leadership of Metropolitan Water District on Jan. 1. He is set to begin a transition period with outgoing General Manager Adel Hagekhalil Upadhyay on Nov. 3, to ensure a smooth change in leadership.

A longtime figure in Southern California water policy, Deshmukh has been an active participant in the Member Agency Managers Group, which advises Metropolitan Water District’s board on regional water issues.

Metropolitan Water District serves as a water wholesaler, and about two-thirds of Pasadena’s water comes from it. This is a supplemental supply, as Pasadena also relies on its own local sources.

The City, one of Metropolitan’s founding member agencies, congratulated Deshmukh on his appointment, stating that it “looks forward to meeting him in the future.”

Friday, October 24, 2025

Voting Centers Now Open for Nov. 4 Special Election

By ANDRÉ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Local voters can now cast their ballots early in the Nov. 4 statewide special election.

Vote by Mail ballots can either be returned by mail, no postage required, or deposited in any of the eight ballot drop box locations currently open across Pasadena, including one in front of City Hall. In addition, four in-person vote center sites — at Rosemont Pavilion, Villa-Parke Community Center, First United Methodist Church on Colorado Boulevard, and Armenian Cilicia Evangelical Church — will open for four days beginning on Saturday, November 1.

Voters will decide on Proposition 50, a legislative constitutional amendment that would authorize temporary changes to California’s congressional district maps in response to Texas’s mid-cycle partisan redistricting.

Governor Gavin Newsom and state Democratic leaders say the measure is intended to counter Republican efforts in other states that redrew congressional maps to gain additional U.S. House seats. Newsom has framed Proposition 50 as a defense of national democracy and California’s role in it,

Friday, October 24, 2025

Altadena Cookie Co. Marks Grand Reopening With Ribbon Cutting

Community bakery celebrates resilience and renewal with public event in Altadena

Altadena Cookie Co. will celebrate its grand reopening on Tuesday, Oct. 28, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and press preview aimed at highlighting community recovery following the Eaton Fire. The event marks the debut of the bakery’s first brick-and-mortar location, providing a new gathering space in an historically underserved and recently fire-ravaged neighborhood.

“Everyone in the broad and diverse community of Altadena deserves a bit of joy. We are here to continue bringing it, one cookie at a time,” said owners, Jessica Christopher and Michelle Taylor, both of whom suffered personal loss in the fire.

The reopening is the culmination of more than two years of planning, dedication, and commitment to their town, they said.

The ribbon cutting, scheduled for 11:15 a.m., will include participation by local students from a neighborhood school and brief remarks from the owners.

Following the ceremony, attendees will be invited to tour the bakery’s kitchen and dining room while enjoying light refreshments.