Thursday, January 29, 2026

Fifth-Graders Bring “The Lion King Jr.” to South Pasadena Stage

Annual SPEF musical features fifth-grade performers from all three SPUSD elementary schools

Fifth-grade students from Arroyo Vista, Marengo and Monterey Hills elementary schools will bring Disney’s “The Lion King Jr.” to the South Pasadena High School Auditorium stage Feb. 6-8 in the South Pasadena Educational Foundation’s annual fifth grade musical.​

Presented by SPEF in partnership with Upstage Theatre Schools, the production features two casts to give more students a chance to shine in featured roles.​

Students began rehearsing their lines, songs and dance numbers in October in preparation for the performance weekend.​

“The Lion King Jr.” follows curious cub Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destiny as king, ultimately confronting his wicked uncle Scar.​

The show includes beloved songs with music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice and a book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, based on the Broadway production directed by Julie Taymor.​

SPEF, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1979,

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Bilingual Tech Support Comes to Altadena’s Fire Recovery Hub

High school students will offer free one-on-one help in English and Spanish at Saturday event

Pasadena Village, a nonprofit serving adults over 55 in the greater Pasadena area, is partnering with ATM (Ayuda Técnica para Mayores), a student-founded organization that provides bilingual tech support.

The IT Cafe runs from 10:00 a.m. to noon at 540 W. Woodbury Road.

High school students will offer free technology assistance to older adults Saturday at The Collaboratory, the community hub established for Eaton Fire survivors in Altadena.

Student volunteers will provide one-on-one help in English and Spanish for laptops, smartphones, watches and other devices. The event is free and open to the public. Coffee and light refreshments will be available.

The event brings technology assistance directly to Altadena, where the Eaton Fire destroyed the Altadena Senior Center and thousands of structures in January 2025. The Collaboratory opened in October 2025 as a central space for survivors to access recovery resources.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Congresswoman Chu Says Trump’s LA Rebuilding Order Misses Fire Survivors’ Main Concern: Money

Pasadena congresswoman calls for $34 billion in disaster aid as Altadena marks one year since Eaton Fire

Rep. Judy Chu on Wednesday criticized President Trump’s executive order on wildfire rebuilding, saying it does nothing to address the primary obstacle facing survivors in her district: whether they can afford to rebuild.

The Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures in Altadena one year ago. Chu, who represents California’s 28th Congressional District, which includes Altadena and northern Pasadena, said Trump’s order focuses on permitting — when what survivors actually need is money.

“The number one concern I hear from wildfire survivors in my district is whether they can afford to rebuild, and this Executive Order does nothing to address that,” Chu said in a statement. “In fact, it will do nothing to accelerate rebuilding.”

Trump signed the executive order Friday. The White House announced it Tuesday.

The order directs federal agencies to consider preempting state and local permitting processes and orders a 60-day audit of California’s use of federal hazard mitigation funds.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Thousands of Kaiser Permanente Nurses Continue to Strike

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care workers in the Los Angeles area joined their counterparts across the state and in Hawaii on Wednesday for the third day of an open-ended strike alleging unfair labor practices amid prolonged contract talks.

Roughly 31,000 members of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals vowed to stay on strike until a fair contract agreement is reached. UNAC/UHCP members include registered nurses, pharmacists, nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, midwives, physician assistants, rehab therapists, speech language pathologists, dietitians and other specialty health care professionals.

The strike began at 7 a.m. Monday.

“We’re not going on strike to make noise,” said registered nurse Charmaine S. Morales, president of UNAC/UHCP. “We’re striking because Kaiser has committed serious unfair labor practices and because Kaiser refuses to bargain in good faith over staffing that protects patients, workload standards that stop moral injury and the respect and dignity that Kaiser caregivers have been denied for far too long.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Anti-ICE Protest Scheduled Before Mayor’s State of the City Speech Tonight

An anti-ICE protest is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today at Robinson Park Recreation Center, 90 minutes before Mayor Victor Gordo delivers his State of the City address at the same venue.

The rally has been publicized by an organization called Grupo Auto Defensa Dena.

The planned “ICE OUT OF DENA” rally would highlight three weeks of escalating tensions over federal immigration enforcement in Pasadena.

Those tensions intensified on January 7 when José Madera, director of the Pasadena Community Job Center, was arrested and cited by Pasadena Police after following and documenting an ICE vehicle’s movements through northwest Pasadena. When the ICE agent drove to the Pasadena Police Department at 207 N. Garfield Avenue., Madera followed. There, Madera was approached by Pasadena police as he sat in his car.  He was arrested and cited for misdemeanor obstructing a peace officer related to an incident that occurred during the police contact.

That same day, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen named Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Guest Opinion | School Board Member Jennifer Hall Lee: Inside Pasadena Unified School District’s Digital Classroom: The Growing Role of Education Technology

Technology has revolutionized the classroom and Pasadena Unified School District has met the challenge. The latest advancement in education technology is the Interactive Flat Panel or as most of us refer to them, the smart board. Pasadena Unified School District has one in every classroom.

EdTech is a game changer

What is a smart board? Imagine a digital white board on steroids. These boards enhance student achievement and engagement. What is needed with smart boards? They need an Information Technology department (known as IT) and an Education Technology Coach.

Rebekah Black is the Pasadena Unified School District Education Technology Coach and she is the link between the IT department and the classroom. She is referred to as the EdTech. She is a certified teacher and has worked in the District since 2003 at both Roosevelt Elementary and Altadena Arts. She has also worked in our IT Department. Black said, “The purpose of my role is to connect IT with academics. I am able to work with both places.”

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Beneath the Ashes: A Community Confronts Its Burning Question

A documentary premiere examines Altadena’s legacy as a rare Black homeownership haven threatened by fire, delayed evacuation warnings, and corporate land acquisition

On February 1, “Beneath the Ashes: The Past Reimagined” will premiere, posing the uncomfortable question defining Altadena’s moment: Can a community built as a rare haven for Black homeownership survive the fire that destroyed nearly half its Black homes and killed 18 of 19 victims in predominantly Black neighborhoods?

Directed by Pasadena-based filmmaker Hrag Yedalian and produced by Brandon D. Lamar, President of the NAACP Pasadena Branch, the documentary arrives one year after the Eaton Fire claimed 19 lives, destroyed 9,414 structures and burned 14,000 acres. Today, 59 percent of all Altadena home purchases since the fire were made by corporate entities, while 80 percent of residents remain displaced.

The film features voices from across the community: community artist Keni Arts, whose 40 years of paintings were incinerated; Pastor Thomas Bereal, whose church was destroyed; former Assemblymember Chris Holden;

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

A Historic Theater’s Jazz Gambit: How One California Venue Found Its New Voice

A 99-seat landmark transforms with world-class artists at accessible prices

When Matt Cook arrived at the Sierra Madre Playhouse in September 2023, the historic 99-seat venue in the San Gabriel Valley faced a reckoning: new labor legislation had doubled production costs, and the old nonprofit theater model no longer worked. The board made a bold pivot—transform into a multi-genre performing arts center.

This February, that vision debuts its jazz series with guitarist-composer Greg Porée and his quintet. Built in 1910 and converted to a silent movie house in 1924, the Playhouse has hosted performances for a century, earning the Los Angeles Times’ praise as “theater from the heart.” In 2024, it achieved formal recognition as a local historic landmark. The venue has earned multiple Ovation and NAACP Awards and was named a “Nonprofit of the Year” by Representative Judy Chu in 2023.

Porée’s career spans Motown legends, serving as musical director for Sonny & Cher and Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Stories in the Afternoon: How a Children’s Book About Corona, California, Found Its Home at the Norton Simon Museum

A father’s motorcycle. A daughter’s love. A California neighborhood frozen in time before gentrification erased it.

This Sunday, the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena invites families to experience “My Papi Has a Motorcycle,” an acclaimed children’s book that has become one of the most honored picture books of recent years. The event pairs author Isabel Quintero and illustrator Zeke Peña’s 2019 collaboration with Diego Rivera’s “The Flower Vendor (Girl with Lilies),” creating an ambitious program that transcends typical children’s entertainment.

The book follows Daisy Ramona through her beloved Corona, California neighborhood as she rides her father’s motorcycle past tortilla shops, raspado stands, and murals depicting citrus groves and immigrant history. But beneath this simple premise lies something deeper: Quintero’s love letter to her father and to a rapidly changing city, acknowledging gentrification and displacement without heavy-handedness.

The book has swept the literary world, earning the Pura Belpré Illustration Honor, the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, and recognition as one of The New York Times’

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Two Pasadena Congresswomen On Wednesday Will Call for the Impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

Reps. Friedman and Chu will join colleagues in Los Angeles demanding accountability for ICE killings in Minneapolis

Two congresswomen who represent Pasadena will join colleagues Wednesday at a Los Angeles press conference calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, following two fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month.

Rep. Laura Friedman, whose 30th Congressional District includes parts of Pasadena, and Rep. Judy Chu, whose 28th Congressional District includes Pasadena and Altadena, are both cosponsors of H.Res.996, the House resolution seeking Noem’s removal. They will be joined by Reps. Brad Sherman of the 32nd District and Gil Cisneros of the 31st District at 11:00 a.m. at Pan Pacific Park, 7600 Beverly Boulevard., in Los Angeles.

The event comes four days after Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents on January 24. Pretti was a U.S. citizen with a lawful permit to carry a firearm.