Saturday, February 14, 2026

Cold Tofu Brings Lunar New Year Laughs to Sierra Madre Playhouse​

Pioneering Asian American improv troupe returns Feb. 21 with “made up shenanigans”​

Cold Tofu, the nation’s first and longest-running Asian American improv and comedy troupe, is set to perform at Sierra Madre Playhouse on Saturday, February 21, at 8:30 p.m. as part of the theater’s multi-week Lunar New Year celebration.​

Founded in Los Angeles in 1981 by Marilyn Tokuda, Denice Kumagai, Judy Momii, and Irma Escamilla, the nonprofit troupe has been described as “the nation’s first – and longest-running – Asian American improv and comedy troupe.”​

“We are THRILLED to be back performing @sierra.madre.playhouse on Saturday, February 21, at 8:30 p.m.! It’ll be a night of made up shenanigans…,” the group announced in a social media post.​

Historical accounts say Cold Tofu offers “an alternative comedic narrative to mainstream stereotyping” of Asian Americans, and co-founder Tokuda recalled, “I think they were hungry for it. People were starving to see funny Asians, to see comedy.”​​

The troupe’s shows “blend short-form and long-form improv,

Saturday, February 14, 2026

LA-Area Cases Highlight Statewide Retail Theft Crackdown

CITY NEWS SERVICE

California’s effort to crack down on organized retail theft has led to more than 29,000 arrests statewide over the past two years, with Los Angeles-area investigations playing a major role in recovering millions of dollars in stolen goods, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday.

From October 2023 through September 2025, law-enforcement agencies made 29,060 arrests tied to organized retail crime and referred nearly 22,900 cases for prosecution, according to state officials.

Authorities said more than $226 million in stolen merchandise has been recovered during that period.

“We are sending a clear message: organized retail crime has no place in our communities,” Newsom said in a statement. “Through strong partnerships with local law enforcement, we are disrupting criminal enterprises, protecting small businesses, and making sure those responsible face consequences for their actions.”

State officials said several major cases unfolded in Los Angeles County, where sheriff’s deputies arrested suspects linked to cargo theft rings, including a $340,000 Kohl’s warehouse theft,

Friday, February 13, 2026

PUSD Board Reaches Consensus on Four Goals for School Consolidation Committee

Trustees split on key factors as advisory panel prepares to evaluate possible campus closures in Pasadena and Altadena; formal approval decision set for February 26

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education reached consensus Thursday night on four desired outcomes to guide an advisory committee that could recommend school closures across Pasadena and Altadena. The board failed to agree on all the items raised, however, in a special meeting that lasted late into the night.

The outcomes, which will be brought back for formal approval at the board’s February 26 regular meeting, will frame the work of the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee. The committee holds its first of seven scheduled meetings on February 23 and will evaluate whether to close schools in a district that has seen enrollment decline for years and approved $24.5 million in budget cuts last fall. The board is scheduled to vote on any consolidation recommendations on June 25, with closures taking effect for the 2027-2028 school year.

Friday, February 13, 2026

Construction Start/Stop Hours, Land Use Top Altadena Town Council Agenda Tuesday

The council will also hear updates on Charles White Park’s $10.5 million renovation and Eaton Fire recovery funding

Construction hours in Altadena’s fire zone will return to the Town Council agenda Tuesday, months after a county survey asked residents whether to allow building work beyond the current 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. window as post-fire rebuilding accelerates.

The presentation, listed as a special item on the February 17 agenda, will be delivered by Charlene Contreras of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive.

Contreras addressed the council in October 2025 to introduce a community survey on extending construction hours. At that meeting, she told the council that the county wanted to gauge residents’ tolerance for earlier mornings or later evenings as the pace of rebuilding picked up, according to Pasadena Now. The county currently prohibits construction noise between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Friday, February 13, 2026

Stronger Together: A Solutions Summit Marks One Year Since the 2025 Wildfires

Free Pasadena event brings residents, builders, nonprofits and local leaders together for healing, resources and long-term rebuilding after the 2025 wildfires

February 21, 2026, will mark one year since the Eaton and Palisades fires swept through Southern California, damaging communities from Altadena and Pasadena to Pacific Palisades and leaving families to confront loss and uncertainty.

On that anniversary, residents, neighbors, local leaders, builders, nonprofits and recovery partners will gather at the Pasadena Convention Center for “Stronger Together: A Solutions Summit,” a full-day, in-person event centered on healing, learning and rebuilding.

Organized by Rebuilding California, the summit is described as “about people first,” creating space for survivors to share experiences, access trusted resources and reconnect while rebuilding homes and lives.

Throughout the day, organizers say conversations will focus on “the things that matter most after loss: health and well-being, humanity and connection, community involvement, financial recovery, and rebuilding homes.”

Attendees are expected to hear from people with lived experience and from experts working on the ground,

Friday, February 13, 2026

Viola Davis to Receive Chairman’s Award at NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena

The EGOT winner will be honored for public service at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Feb. 28, adding to her nine previous Image Awards

Viola Davis, one of the most decorated performers in American entertainment, will receive the Chairman’s Award at the 57th NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 28 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the NAACP announced Thursday.

The Chairman’s Award honors individuals who “excel in public service and leverage their unique platforms to ignite and drive meaningful change,” according to the NAACP. Davis was recognized specifically for her activism beyond the screen, including her work with programs to eradicate childhood hunger and the recent launch of the Davis-Tennon Foundation.

Davis holds EGOT status — an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and two Tony Awards — and has collected nine NAACP Image Awards for her performances in “How to Get Away With Murder,” “The Woman King,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Fences,” “Won’t Back Down” and “The Help,” as well as for her 2022 memoir “Finding Me,”

Friday, February 13, 2026

Altadena’s Sold-Out History Book Returns, Reissued With Post-Fire Images

The author and a fellow novelist — both of whom lost homes in the Eaton Fire — will discuss the new commemorative edition Monday at Vroman’s

The award-winning history of Altadena, out of print and in high demand since the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of the homes and personal libraries that once held it, is back. 

Author Michele Zack will discuss and sign a new commemorative hardcover edition of “Altadena: Between Wilderness & City” at 7 p.m. Monday, February 16, at Vroman’s Bookstore. 

Zack will be joined in conversation by Altadena-born novelist Michelle Huneven, a friend since their first day of ninth grade at John Muir High School. The two have been neighbors in west Altadena for more than two decades. Both lost their homes in the January 2025 Eaton Fire — as did many of the residents whose stories fill the book’s pages. 

The event is co-presented by Vroman’s and the Altadena Historical Society, which commissioned Zack to write the book

more than 20 years ago.

Friday, February 13, 2026

Weekly Protest Series Will Mark Valentine’s Day With ‘Fight Back With Love’ Theme

Organizers position Saturday rallies at Colorado and Fair Oaks as local lead-up to March 28 national demonstration

A local activist group returns to the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue on Saturday for its fourth consecutive weekly protest, this one carrying a Valentine’s Day theme the organizers call “Fight Back With Love.”

San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible, a chapter of the national Indivisible network that serves communities from Monrovia to Sunland-Tujunga, launched its “Save U.S. Saturdays” series on Jan. 24.

The group describes the protests as a local bridge leading up to No Kings Day 3.0, a nationwide demonstration planned for March 28 that will include a flagship march in Minneapolis-St. Paul, according to the No Kings Coalition website.

The protests run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday at the Old Pasadena intersection. A separate event listing on Mobilize.us states the demonstrations run until 2 p.m.

Promotional materials for the Feb. 14 event encourage attendees to “come ready to show your love for Democracy,

Friday, February 13, 2026

Radio Episode Honors Pasadena-Raised Activist Michael Zinzun on His Birthday

KBLA’s “Altadena Rising” program will feature Dr. Melina Abdullah and archival audio of the late organizer

Michael Zinzun, who was raised in Pasadena, ran an auto repair shop in Altadena and co-founded a policing accountability organization that challenged law enforcement practices across Los Angeles, will be the subject of a special radio episode first airing Saturday on what would have been his 77th birthday.

“Conversation Live: Altadena Rising,” the weekly program hosted by James Farr on KBLA Talk 1580 AM, will broadcast an episode titled “Love as Resistance: Michael Zinzun’s Message to the Grassroots – Agape” on February 14 at 10 a.m. PT, with a rebroadcast on February 15 at 11 a.m. PT, according to a statement issued by the show.

The episode will feature Dr. Melina Abdullah, a professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and Black Lives Matter Grassroots, where she serves as director. Listeners will also hear archival audio of Zinzun,

Friday, February 13, 2026

Federal Cases Surge Nationally Against People Accused of Following ICE in Their Vehicles

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Federal authorities have sharply increased arrests of people accused of following immigration enforcement agents in their vehicles, according to a Reuters review of court records and interviews.

One recent case involved Becky Ringstrom, a 42-year-old Minnesota woman who was arrested after following federal immigration officers in her SUV.

Ringstrom said she was boxed in by unmarked vehicles and taken into custody by masked agents before being transported to a federal building, where she was issued a citation alleging she impeded law enforcement, Reuters reported.

Her arrest is among hundreds of cases brought under a federal statute that makes it a crime to assault, resist or interfere with federal officers performing official duties.

Reuters found the Trump administration has prosecuted at least 655 people under the law since immigration crackdowns intensified last summer — more than double the number during the same period a year earlier.

Last month a local activist was arrested by Pasadena police after an ICE agent drove to the police station when several cars began following him.