Friday, July 10, 2026

Political Gumbo: Not a Good Look

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Stop me if you heard this one.

A school board, already struggling with money and unpopular at best, decides to cut down trees on local campuses in a town full of tree huggers and climate activists.

Couple that with the fact that four of that same board have been accused of corruption and two of them, including the board president, face serious recall efforts.

The problem is there is no punchline.

Or at least there shouldn’t be.

On one side the city says the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) must comply with its tree protection effort before any trees are removed.

On the other side, the school board is saying it is a state’s rights issue and the trees are a threat to local students and 8,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil must be removed to guarantee the health and safety of those same students.

If that’s the case though,

Friday, July 10, 2026

Eaton Fire Lawsuits Against Edison Set for Status Conference in Downtown LA

Pasadena’s Jewish congregation and school district join nearly 1,000 plaintiffs in the consolidated case

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge was scheduled to hold a status conference Friday in the consolidated lawsuits against Southern California Edison over last year’s Eaton Fire, a case that has grown to include the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center and the Pasadena Unified School District among nearly 1,000 plaintiffs.

The 10 a.m. hearing was scheduled before Judge Laura A. Seigle in Department 17 of the Spring Street Courthouse, 312 N. Spring St., in downtown Los Angeles.

It is the latest step in a mass tort alleging that Edison’s transmission equipment sparked the January 7, 2025, fire that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 structures in Altadena. The consolidated case is anchored by a lawsuit filed by Altadena homeowner Jeremy Gursey, whose Lake Avenue home was destroyed in the blaze.

Gursey’s complaint, filed January 13, 2025, alleges that at approximately 6:18 p.m. that evening,

Friday, July 10, 2026

Fire Department to Offer Free Disaster-Preparedness Training on July 18

The Pasadena Fire Department will hold a free Prepared Pasadena disaster-preparedness training on Saturday, July 18 teaching residents hands-on skills to help save and sustain lives after a catastrophic event,

The session’s topics include personal preparedness, fire-extinguisher training, basic first aid, light search and rescue, and the Map Your Neighborhood program, the newsletter said. Registration is required, and the training is open to City of Pasadena residents.

‘Prepared Pasadena‘ is the Fire Department’s free, roughly four-hour community course, typically held at the Jefferson Training Center at 1500 East Villa Street, with seating that has been capped at about 30 per session. It teaches residents how to operate a fire extinguisher, administer basic first aid, and perform light search and rescue.

The program has drawn steady interest since the Eaton Fire. The disaster made basic readiness skills a priority for many residents still rebuilding.

Residents can claim a spot by registering through this link.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Fire-Damaged New York Drive Medians Restored as City Presses Wider Eaton Recovery

The Parks department has replanted a corridor that serves as a 9/11 memorial, one small piece of recovery from a fire that killed at least 18 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

The City has completed the replanting of the fire-scarred landscaped medians along New York Drive, restoring a corridor on Pasadena’s northeastern edge that burned in the Eaton Fire and that has long served as a living memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Koko Panossian, director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, said the fire damaged the existing landscape and the underground drip irrigation system along the medians. Crews assessed the damage, removed the ruined irrigation and installed a new water-efficient drip system with new valves, lateral lines and emitters, then replanted the medians with trees, shrubs, perennials and mulch, working alongside the City’s landscape maintenance contractor.

New York Drive, which runs along the boundary between Pasadena and Altadena near Eaton Canyon, was planted as a Sept.

Friday, July 10, 2026

4,000 LA County Households to Avoid Losing Housing Assistance

CITY NEWS SERVICE

More than 4,000 Los Angeles County households receiving emergency housing vouchers will remain housed after local housing agencies announced plans Thursday to transition participants into another rental assistance program before federal funding expires later this year.

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Development Authority said they have sufficient resources to move all eligible participants in the Emergency Housing Voucher program into the Housing Choice Voucher program.

The transition will affect approximately 2,700 households assisted through HACLA and another 1,500 families served by LACDA, according to the agencies.

The Emergency Housing Voucher program was created under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to provide housing assistance to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. The program was originally expected to continue through 2030, but the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced plans to end the funding earlier than anticipated because of rising program costs nationwide.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Soccer Park, Learning Center Opens for Fire-Affected Families in Altadena

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A soccer park and learning center aimed at supporting families affected by the Eaton Fire opened Thursday in Altadena, offering year- round youth programming, mentorship and educational services.

The UNIQLO Street Soccer Park & Learning Center opened at St. Elizabeth Parish School, where officials from UNIQLO, Street Soccer USA and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles planned a grand opening celebration Thursday evening.

The facility includes two artificial turf soccer fields and a classroom built from a converted shipping container that will host homework assistance, mentorship programs and financial and digital literacy instruction, according to officials.

The site is intended to serve children and families in neighborhoods affected by the 2025 wildfire and is expected to reach approximately 1,000 young people during its first year of operation, officials said.

The center will offer free soccer programming and youth development services through Street Soccer USA, a nonprofit organization that operates similar facilities in Watts and South Gate.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Six Comics, One Stage, Zero Excuses

Friday night in Pasadena has a lineup problem — too many good options, one very reliable fix. Enter the Ice House, where headliner James Davis (HBO, Netflix) leads a bill stacked with Renee Percy, Leslie Liao, Dante Gonzalez-Abreu, Kyle Erby, and Eeland Stribling — six comics, zero filler. Grab a seat on Mentor Avenue and let the pros handle the punchlines.

This particular 7:30 show is the second-stage booking at the oldest continuously operating comedy club in the country, which sounds like a technicality until you look at who’s on it. Davis anchors the night with credits that don’t need translating — HBO, Netflix, the kind of resume that makes “headliner” mean something. Behind him, the bill reads less like an undercard and more like a preview of next year’s marquee names.

Percy is the veteran of the group, a Canadian-American road warrior with Kimmel, the Laugh Factory, the Improv, and Flappers on her résumé, plus tours through the US, Canada, and Europe — and she was on this same Ice House stage as recently as earlier this year.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Youth Cast Brings ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ to the Fremont Centre Stage

South Pasadena camp culminates two-week session with four performances July 18-19

A cast of young performers will take the stage at the Fremont Centre Theatre later this month for four performances of “Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.,” closing out the first session of Young Stars Theatre Academy’s summer camp.

Performances are set for 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on both July 18 and July 19, according to the academy’s website. Tickets are sold through the group’s online box office, and the shows can also be streamed for those who can’t attend in person. Streaming access closes 15 minutes before each showtime, and all online ticket sales are final, with no refunds or exchanges, the academy’s website states. A ticket is required for every audience member regardless of age.

The production caps a two-week day camp that runs July 6 through July 19, with campers rehearsing weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to a Los Angeles summer-camps directory listing for the program.

Friday, July 10, 2026

Guest Opinion | Denise Robb, Ph.D.: PUSD Board President Takes a Page From the Donald Trump Playbook

By DENISE ROBB, Ph.D.

“The chilling effect doctrine is the concept of government unduly deterring free speech and association rights through laws, regulations or actions that appear to target activities protected by the First Amendment.” Free Speech Center

Whenever Donald Trump is backed into a corner, when judges rule against him or felony charges are filed against him – he denies the behavior. But further, he seeks punishment against the people who investigated him, the judges who ruled against him and even civil service (protected) employees who carried out their job in a legal manner.

This is what I thought about when I read in this morning’s news from Pasadena Now and ColoradoBlvd.net that Board President Tina Fredericks was filing what appears to be a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) against those who sought to recall her.

The recall petition contends that Fredericks violated the Brown Act by coordinating school consolidation plans through private meetings,

Thursday, July 9, 2026

Crews Resume Tree Removal at John Muir Despite City Stop-Work Orders

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

City threatens fines after attempts to garner cooperation with PUSD

Crews resumed removing trees Thursday at John Muir High School despite City-issued stop-work orders and an escalating legal dispute between Pasadena officials and the Pasadena Unified School District over whether the work violates the City’s Tree Protection Ordinance.

“We are aware of active tree felling activity at Muir High School,” Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian said. “We sent City officials to the site where they were told to leave. Fines can result in thousands of dollars for continuing operations and additional legal implications. We have made several attempts to gain cooperation via PUSD leadership.”

The renewed tree removal came one day after the Pasadena City Council met in closed session to discuss potential litigation involving the dispute. The Council reported no action following Wednesday’s special meeting.

The City Council has other options. The City Council provides millions of dollars to the school district every year through Measure J.