Thursday, December 18, 2025

Holiday Travel Crunch Expected to Ramp Up Saturday

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The year-end holiday travel season is expected to ramp up beginning Saturday, with a record 10.2 million Southern Californians expected to voyage at least 50 miles from home.

According to the Auto Club of Southern California, the anticipated number of travelers is a 2.8% increase from last year’s volume of 9.9 million SoCal travelers. The Auto Club defines the holiday period as Saturday, Dec. 20, through Jan. 1.

“Year-end travel brings together everything from family road trips and friends’ getaways to tropical escapes,” Auto Club spokesman Doug Shupe said in a statement. “Each household celebrates the season differently, but the common thread is a shared desire to travel — whether heading home or discovering someplace new.”

The vast majority of SoCal travelers, roughly 8.9 million, are expected to reach their destinations by automobile, while 945,000 will fly and 332,000 will use other means, such as train, bus or cruise ship. The most popular destinations for Southern Californians are expected to be San Diego,

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Metrolink Offers $10 SoCal Day Pass for Upcoming Holiday Travel

STAFF REPORT

Unlike previous years, Metrolink will not be offering special early morning service for the Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1

Metrolink, Southern California’s regional rail agency, announced Thursday it will offer $10 holiday day passes providing unlimited rides throughout the region on Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The SoCal Day Pass permits unlimited rides across Metrolink’s 545-mile rail system and six-county network — including the Arrow service, which connects San Bernardino and Redlands.

On both holidays, trains will operate a weekend schedule on all lines except the Riverside Line, which does not run on weekends or select holidays.

Unlike previous years, Metrolink will not be offering special early morning service for the Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1.

Metrolink officials also provided a few tips for holiday train travel:

• The SoCal Day Pass is available for purchase on the day of travel via the Metrolink mobile app or at any station ticket machine;

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena Launches New Dena Teen Center with Grand Opening

STAFF REPORT

Teens, families, and supporters celebrated the new space with free food, activities, and ribbon cutting led by the Mayor of Pasadena

On Saturday the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena (BGCP) proudly celebrated the grand opening of its new Dena Teen Center, a dedicated 10,000sf space for teens from Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre. As a major milestone in the Club’s Future Ready work, the Dena Teen Center officially opened its doors at the BGCP Clubhouse at 2020 North Fair Oaks Avenue, featuring a newly designed, fully separate entrance and space created specifically for high school youth.

The December 6 community launch event drew an enthusiastic turnout of teens, families, and local supporters who gathered for an afternoon of food, fun, and celebration. A highlight of the day was the ribbon-cutting ceremony led by the Mayor of Pasadena, Victor Gordo & Board Chair, Melina Montoya, marking the official opening of this exciting new resource for local high school teens.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Sharp Spike in ER Illness After Eaton Fire Smoke, Cedars-Sinai Study Shows

Emergency room visits surged for heart attacks, lung illness and systemic symptoms following January wildfires

Emergency room visits for heart attacks, lung illness and severe systemic symptoms rose sharply among Pasadena-area residents exposed to smoke from the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire, according to a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center study that has a key clarification to its reported findings.

The study, published Dec. 16 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found a 46% increase in acute myocardial infarction, a 24% increase in acute pulmonary illness, and a 218% increase in abnormal blood chemistry encounters during the 90 days after the Jan. 7 fire ignitions.

Cedars-Sinai said general illness encounters rose by about 118% over the same period, while the 218% statistic applies specifically to the increase in abnormal blood chemistry encounters, which rose at a rate ratio of 2.18, meaning the frequency more than doubled.

Although Cedars-Sinai is located roughly 20 miles from Pasadena,

Thursday, December 18, 2025

New Flu Variant Spreads as Holiday Season Begins, Raising Concerns

Subclade K strain hits U.S. as nearly 3 million already infected; health officials urge vaccination despite vaccine mismatch

As Pasadena residents prepare for holiday travel and gatherings, flu season is hitting harder and earlier than last year. A new variant is circulating that could make more people susceptible to infection.

The variant, called subclade K, has spread rapidly across Europe and several countries in East Asia, the Pan American Health Organization said. Health authorities warn the timing couldn’t be worse as families come together for celebrations.

Nearly 3 million Americans have already caught the flu this season, according to CDC estimates. An estimated 30,000 people have been hospitalized, and 1,200 have died from flu complications, the agency reports.

Five jurisdictions are already experiencing high or very high levels of influenza-like illness, the CDC reports. They include New York City, New York state, Louisiana, Colorado and New Jersey.

Lab-confirmed flu hospitalization rates are higher now than at this time last year,

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Republicans Ask Federal Court To Overturn California’s New Prop. 50 Maps

By Maya C. Miller and Mikhail Zinshteyn, CALMATTERS

Just last week California’s secretary of state officially certified that nearly two-thirds of Californians voted to pass Proposition 50, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to temporarily gerrymander the state’s congressional maps in favor of Democrats.

Nevertheless, Republicans and the Trump administration are hopeful that a federal district court panel meeting in Los Angeles this week will intervene to bar the state from using the new maps next year.

California Republicans, who sued Newsom and Secretary of State Shirley Weber the day after the election, are staking their challenge on the argument that California’s primary mapmaker illegally used race as a factor in drawing district lines, giving Latino and Hispanic voters outsize influence at the expense of other racial and ethnic groups, including white voters.

This, the Republicans argue, means the maps amount to an illegal racial gerrymander and a violation of the 14th and 15th amendments. Although Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act allows for race-conscious redistricting,

Thursday, December 18, 2025

No-Burn Order Extended Again, Now Through Thursday, for Much of Southern California

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended a No-Burn Alert through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, prohibiting wood burning in fireplaces and in all indoor or outdoor devices across four Los Angeles-area counties.

The updated alert now in effect until midnight Thursday includes the South Coast Air Basin, covering large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, except the High Desert and Coachella Valley.

“South Coast AQMD reminds residents in these areas that burning wood in their fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device is prohibited at any time on No-Burn Days,” the agency said.

Smoke from wood burning can cause health problems, according to the AQMD. Fine particulate matter called PM2.5 can get deep into the lungs to cause asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, increases in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service are exempt from the requirement.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

Festival of Lights Rolls Through Pasadena During Today’s Menorah Car Parade

Chabad of Pasadena’s annual Menorah Car Parade and Chanukah celebration will light up the city Thursday afternoon

Chabad of Pasadena will celebrate Hanukkah with its annual Menorah Car Parade on Thursday, December 18. The parade will begin at Chabad of Pasadena, 1090 East Walnut Street and end at Playhouse Village Park, 701 Union Street.

Line-up at the starting point is scheduled for 4:15 p.m., with the parade ‘rolling off’ at 5:00 p.m. Once the procession arrives at Playhouse Village Park, the celebration continues with a menorah lighting at 6:00 p.m. The evening will feature live music, hot latkes, donuts, and Chanukah crafts.

This free event promises an evening of festivity and togetherness, inviting everyone to share in the spirit of the Festival of Lights. It marks the 5th night of Chanukah and calls on the community to “Light up the city with our Jewish pride” and “Share the light!”

The parade ends at Playhouse Village Park with a Chanukah party and menorah lighting.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Tournament of Roses Offers Free Parade Tickets to Fire-Affected Residents

More than 1,000 free grandstand-seating tickets will be offered to residents impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires, along with thousands of tickets to the post-parade float viewing event, the Tournament of Roses announced Wednesday.

“As our neighbors continue the hard work of recovery, we want to offer moments of joy, connection and celebration during the New Year’s festivities,” Tournament of Roses Association President Mark Leavens said in a statement. “These tickets are a small but heartfelt gesture of support and solidarity.”

The free tickets for the parade will be provided to various community organizations, which will in turn distribute them to fire-impacted residents. The participating groups include the Altadena Town Council, Black Freedom Fund, California Community Foundation, Community Women Vital Voices, Eaton Fire Collaborative, Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation, Partnership for Children, Youth & Families, Pasadena Community Coalition, Pasadena Community Foundation and YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles.

Distribution details will be provided by each organization.

The Tournament of Roses will also be providing 10,000 free tickets to Floatfest: A Rose Parade Showcase,

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Los Angeles County Opens Emergency Rent Relief Program Portal

The program will distribute more than $23 million to landlords and homeowners impacted by wildfires and emergencies

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs announced Wednesday that the application portal for the LA County Emergency Rent Relief Program is now open. The Emergency Rent Relief Program will distribute more than $23 million in financial assistance to landlords and homeowners impacted by the wildfires and other emergencies.

Eligible landlords may review eligibility requirements, access multilingual resources, and submit applications for financial assistance directly at LACountyRentRelief.com. . The deadline to apply is Friday, January 23, at 4:59 p.m. Tenants who have experienced emergency-related rent debt may also review eligibility requirements and submit an interest form to refer their landlord to apply for the program.

Directed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and administered by the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs in partnership with The Center by Lendistry (TCbL), the Emergency Rent Relief Program provides financial assistance to:

Eligible Landlords whose tenants were unable to pay rent due to emergency-related hardship,