Sunday, March 15, 2026

Summit Today Brings Turnkey Builders to Altadena Fire Survivors Under One Roof

Five organizations partner with Supervisor Barger to offer free workshops and vetted rebuilding options at Loma Alta Park

Fourteen months after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures across Altadena, a free summit on Sunday will give survivors a single destination to meet vetted turnkey builders and explore streamlined options for getting back into their homes.

The Altadena Turnkey Rebuild Summit, organized by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and five partner organizations, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Loma Alta Park’s gym, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave. The event targets fire survivors who are underfunded or overwhelmed by the complexity of reconstruction — offering speaker presentations, practical workshops, and face-to-face meetings with housing professionals, according to a press release from Barger’s office.

The summit’s focus is turnkey rebuilding, a model in which a single builder handles design, permitting, and construction so the homeowner receives a move-in-ready home. For survivors navigating fragmented contracts and unpredictable costs more than a year after the Jan.

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Altadena Senior Center Extends Arts Programming Through May

Loma Alta Park satellite campus offers creative workshops and chair yoga for seniors

Altadena seniors seeking to engage their creative spirit and maintain physical well-being have an extended opportunity this spring, as Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office has prolonged arts programming at the Altadena Senior Center’s satellite campus at Loma Alta Park through May. This initiative, in collaboration with the Center for the Empowerment of Families, Inc., underscores a commitment to fostering community engagement and healthy living for older adults in Altadena and neighboring areas. The programming, which includes gardening art, chair yoga, and creative art workshops, provides a vital hub for learning and socialization, building on the center’s mission to serve seniors of all socio-economic levels.

The Altadena Senior Center (Satellite) at Loma Alta Park, which reopened in May 2025 after the Eaton Fire, has become a cornerstone of community recovery and continued service. Supervisor Kathryn Barger notes, “These classes are a wonderful way to empower older adults and foster creativity in Altadena.” The Center for the Empowerment of Families,

Sunday, March 15, 2026

La Viña Families Begin Rebuilding Together After Eaton Fire

By EDDIE RIVERA

Six Altadena homeowners among first participants in Builders Alliance initiative helping wildfire survivors rebuild

Six families from Altadena’s La Viña neighborhood who lost their homes in last year’s Eaton Fire have begun rebuilding together, moving forward on a coordinated construction effort designed to simplify the rebuilding process.

Working with Brookfield Residential, the homeowners are rebuilding simultaneously, using pre-designed home plans matched to their homesites. Early trenching and site preparation are now underway for all six properties, and the families expect to return to their rebuilt homes in fall 2026.

The La Viña homeowners are also among the first participants in the Builders Alliance, a not-for-profit initiative created in response to the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires. The alliance brings together homebuilders who are working collaboratively, to help fire survivors rebuild more efficiently while reducing both time and cost.

A central component of the program is a free online portal that allows homeowners to explore rebuilding options based on their specific property.

Saturday, March 14, 2026

High School Law Academy Students Tour Pasadena Courthouse, Police Headquarters

More than three dozen students met with judges and Chief Harris as part of the school’s four-year career preparatory program

More than three dozen Pasadena High School students enrolled in the school’s Law and Public Service Academy toured the Pasadena Courthouse and Police Department Headquarters on March 4.

The visit gave students in the four-year college preparatory program direct exposure to the professionals and institutions of the local justice system. The academy prepares students for careers in law, government, and public service, according to the Pasadena Unified School District.

At police headquarters on North Garfield Avenue, students toured the community relations, detective, and emergency communications divisions, the City Manager’s office said. The tour highlighted both sworn and professional career opportunities within the department.

Pasadena Police Chief Gene Harris shared insights about leadership, public safety, and the responsibilities of serving the community, according to the newsletter. Harris, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, became Pasadena’s police chief in January 2023 after serving as San Gabriel’s police chief since 2016.

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Five Altadena Business Owners Take the Stage Tonight for Mariposa Night’s Return

A smaller venue and a sharper focus mark the storytelling series’ second installment, 14 months after the Eaton Fire

Five Altadena business owners will share personal stories of community and recovery Saturday evening at the Eaton Fire Collaboratory, as the Mariposa Night storytelling series returns in a smaller format than its 600-person debut last summer.

The storytellers are Adriana Molina, owner of Sidecca, which the Altadena Chamber of Commerce named its 2024 Business of the Year; Steve Salinas, owner of Steve’s Bike Shop; Scott Uriu of Uriu Architecture; Alfred Haymond of Observational Photography; and Joey Galloway of Summit Enterprises, whose family has owned the Mariposa Junction building for more than 40 years.

Mariposa Night 2 is free and produced by Leadership Pasadena, a Pasadena-based nonprofit, with sponsorship from the Altadena Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with dinner catered by Fair Oaks Burger for the first 150 registered guests, live music from the Rhythms of the Village Family Band,

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Indigenous Poets Take the Stage at Altadena’s Post-Fire Healing Gathering

Academy-funded laureate program centers voices tied to ancestral land in free Loma Alta Park event

Altadena’s Poets Laureate will host a free outdoor poetry gathering centered on Indigenous voices on Saturday, March 28, at Loma Alta Park, continuing a nationally funded initiative to help the community heal through creative expression more than a year after the Eaton Fire.

The event, titled “When We Gather, We Heal: Indigenous Voices in Poetry,” is part of “After the Fires: Healing from Histories,” a project backed by $50,000 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowships awarded to co-laureates Sehba Sarwar and Lester Graves Lennon. The initiative prioritizes participation by Altadena residents who experienced displacement or loss from the fire, which began January 7, 2025, killed at least 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings.

The gathering will include a poetry reading and open mic at Loma Alta Park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave. A specific start time had not been posted as of Saturday; details are available at altadenapoetryreview.com.

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Pasadena Appellate Panel Rules Elementary Schoolers Have Free Speech Rights

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A federal appeals court in Pasadena has ruled that elementary students have First Amendment free-speech rights in school, reviving the lawsuit of a first-grader who alleges she was punished for giving a drawing referencing the Black Lives Matter movement, and suggesting that “any life” matters, to a Black classmate, according to court papers obtained Friday.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned a lower court’s grant of early judgment for Capistrano Unified School District and Jesus Becerra, the principal at Viejo Elementary School. The defendants had argued that the drawing was not protected by the First Amendment.

The episode began with a 2021 class lesson about Martin Luther King Jr., when the girl identified in court papers as B.B. drew a picture of herself and her friends holding hands, writing “Black Lives Mater” (sic) and “any life” on the drawing. She gave it to a classmate as a gesture of friendship,

Friday, March 13, 2026

Verdugo Dispatch Center To Receive $1.3 Million Federal Upgrade

By EDDIE RIVERA

Pasadena and regional fire agencies to benefit from federal investment in emergency communications

A regional emergency dispatch center in Glendale which plays a key role in coordinating fire and emergency medical responses for Pasadena and a dozen neighboring cities will receive a major technology upgrade following the announcement Thursday of a new $1.3 million federal grant, secured by U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman.

Speaking at a press conference at the Oak Street fire station in Glendale, where the Dispatch center is housed, Friedman announced the $1,031,000 federal investment to modernize the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, a centralized system that coordinates emergency response across 13 cities in Los Angeles County, including Pasadena.

“The Verdugo Fire Communication Center is the nerve center for emergency response across 31 cities in L.A. County,” Friedman said. “Today I’m announcing a major federal investment to bring this center into the 21st century while making life more affordable for the people of Los Angeles.”

The center serves more than 944,000 residents across a 150-square-mile region and coordinates response for 140 frontline emergency vehicles across 49 fire stations.

Friday, March 13, 2026

Turnkey Rebuild Summit Offers Eaton Fire Survivors One-Stop Path Home

A free event brings vetted builders and housing professionals to Altadena for residents still navigating the rebuilding process

Fourteen months after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures across Altadena, a free summit on Sunday will give survivors a single destination to meet vetted turnkey builders and explore streamlined options for getting back into their homes.

The Altadena Turnkey Rebuild Summit, scheduled for March 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Loma Alta Park’s gym, is designed for fire survivors who are underfunded or overwhelmed by the complexity of rebuilding, according to a press release from Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office. Attendees will be able to meet home builders and housing professionals, attend speaker presentations, and participate in workshops aimed at simplifying the decisions that come with rebuilding after a disaster.

“The road to recovery after a disaster can feel overwhelming,” Barger said in the statement. “Even though it’s been over a year since the wildfires,

Friday, March 13, 2026

Pasadena Unified Again Certifies “Positive” Budget but Officials Warn Financial Pressures Remain

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday certified the district’s second interim financial report as “positive,” indicating that the district can meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and the following two years, even as administrators cautioned that the system remains financially fragile.

District officials said the report reflects that Pasadena Unified is projected to meet its financial obligations for the 2025-26 fiscal year and the two subsequent fiscal years. Trustees voted 7-0 to approve the certification during a special board meeting Thursday evening.

However, administrators and board members said the district’s financial position still depends on a delicate balance of recent budget reductions, uncertain state funding and enrollment trends that continue to affect school revenue.

The report reflects the district’s financial position as of Jan. 31, officials said, and does not include several actions and potential revenues that have emerged since that date.

For example, district officials said the additional reductions approved by the board on Feb.