Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Film Review: When Altadena’s Walls Came Down

Eight months after the Eaton Fire destroyed her Altadena home and claimed the lives of 19 fellow Altadenans, award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner has premiered a documentary chronicling the community’s response to the disaster.

“All The Walls Came Down,” a 39-minute Interloper Films production, is screening daily at Laemmle Glendale through Sept. 19. The film, which debuted at the Telluride Film Festival on Aug. 31, has drawn sold-out weekend audiences, post-screening Q&A sessions, and community gatherings.

Yale-educated Timoner, a two-time Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, said the project was driven by her desire to “transmute the experience to turn it into something that might be a positive.” The documentary explores how residents mobilized in the absence of effective emergency services, offering a portrait of resilience and grassroots recovery.

Producer Maggie Contreras, Eli Timon, and Elle Schneider joined Timoner in the production. Schneider began filming immediately after returning to her fire-ravaged home, capturing raw footage that anchors the film’s emotional core.

Timoner frames All The Walls Came Down as a transformation story: a private catastrophe that becomes a public instrument.

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Pasadena Run Club Becomes Lifeline for Eaton Fire Survivors

After the deadly Eaton Fire displaced dozens of residents across Altadena and Pasadena in early January, the Pasadena Run Club has emerged as a vital support network for survivors, including its own members.

At least 12 club members lost their homes in the blaze, according to CBS News confirmed. Many initially sheltered in cars or with relatives before the club mobilized to meet urgent needs. Co-founders Ronnie Ferraz and Lidia Garcia led daily coordination efforts, checking on food, clothing, and lodging for newly affected members.

“Every day, we would learn that there was somebody new affected by the fire,” Ferraz said in an interview with CBS News. “Do they have food? Do they have clothes? Like, what do they need?”

The club’s grassroots response included supply drives and volunteer housing offers. The group has transformed from fitness collective to community lifeline.

Garcia, who co-founded the club alongside Ferraz, played a central role in coordinating aid and maintaining contact with displaced members,

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Pasadena Unified Spotlights Student Honors, Heritage Month Events, and Looming Fiscal Challenges

Email to families highlights academic achievements and warns of fiscal realities while previewing cultural celebrations

In an email to families Monday evening, Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco highlighted academic achievements and upcoming cultural events while warning of difficult financial decisions ahead.

Blanco opened her message by acknowledging recent national events that have weighed on students and communities. She said the District remains committed to creating safe, supportive spaces where students can learn restorative practices and engage in respectful dialogue.

Student and School Highlights

Five Pasadena High School seniors — Maria Karapetyan, Jacob Monson, Zachary Nash, Zalea Nunes, and Megan Sinclair — were named 2025 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, putting them in the running for scholarships to be awarded next spring.

Pasadena schools will celebrate Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, with classroom activities and a culminating Latino Heritage Festival set for Oct. 11. In addition, high school students will take part in California High School Voter Education Weeks through Sept.

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

California’s Insurer Of Last Resort Would Face More Scrutiny Under Bill Heading To Newsom’s Desk

By Levi Sumagaysay and Nadia Lathan, CALMATTERS

In the closing days of the legislative year, California lawmakers sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill that is meant to toughen scrutiny of the state’s embattled fire insurer of last result by insisting that two of their leaders join its governing committee.

Assembly Bill 234 would put the state’s two top lawmakers — currently Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas — on the governing committee of the FAIR Plan, the insurer that’s mandated by law to sell policies to homeowners who can’t get them from other insurance companies. But the lawmakers or their representatives would be non-voting members of the committee, raising concerns about the bill’s effectiveness.

The FAIR Plan, which is an alliance of insurers that do business in the state, has grown to more than 610,000 policies as of June, a 154% increase since September 2021. It has become one of the largest insurers in California as other insurance companies have canceled or stopped issuing new policies here,

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

California’s Sky-High Living Costs Afford It The Nation’s Highest Poverty Label — Again

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

Last year’s presidential election underscored, particularly to Democrats, that the costs of living were a major factor in the outcome.

Inflation had increased sharply during Joe Biden’s presidency, and voters’ angst about rising prices worked against Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign to succeed him in the White House.

Not surprisingly, therefore, when the California Legislature opened its 2025 session, its dominant Democrats declared that they would focus on taming the state’s notoriously high costs for housing, fuel, utilities and other necessities of modern life.

The session ended last week and as it did, by happenstance, the Census Bureau reported that California once again has the nation’s highest “supplemental” rate of poverty when its living costs are included in calculations over a three-year period.

California’s rate, 17.7%, means that nearly 7 million of its residents are impoverished, 5 percentage points higher than the national rate and tied with Louisiana.

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

LA County to Consider Rent Relief for Wildfire-, Immigration-Impacted Residents

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider creating a nearly $20 million emergency rent-relief program to assist people still dealing with income or home loss from the January wildfires, and those financially affected by recent federal immigration-enforcement actions.

The county had previously established eviction-protection measures and a rent relief program for people affected by the wildfires, identifying $10 million to fund the effort.

But according to a motion by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis set to go before the board Tuesday, initial demand for the rent-relief funds was lower than anticipated among wildfire victims, but the need for relief is expected to continue as residence exhaust earlier support they received through FEMA or their insurance carriers. Small landlords are also in need of continued mortgage assistance as they work to repair fire-damaged properties so their tenants can return, according to the motion.

“Additionally, our region is bearing the brunt of volatile federal actions,”

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Altadena Town Council Opens 2025 Election Season, Invites Candidates and Volunteers

The Altadena Town Council, which has served the community since 1975, has officially launched its 2025 election cycle, inviting residents to run for office and volunteer at polling sites across the unincorporated community. One seat from each of Altadena’s eight census tracts is up for election, ensuring broad representation across the region.

Candidate applications are now open and must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17. Prospective candidates may apply online or in person with a $35 filing fee, payable by check, money order or Zelle. Cash will not be accepted. Each applicant must submit a one-page candidate statement, which will be published in the official Candidate Booklet and shared with voters.

“This election is about ensuring every voice in Altadena is heard — especially those still rebuilding their lives,” Election Chair Isis Moulden said in a statement. “By expanding polling locations, updating our rules, and offering clear pathways for displaced neighbors to participate, we’re building a more inclusive and representative process for our community.”

Eligibility to run or vote includes current residency in Altadena or displacement due to the Eaton Fire.

Monday, September 15, 2025

California Lawmakers Deliver Major Democratic Climate, Housing And Labor Wins To Newsom

By Yue Stella Yu and Jeanne Kuang, CALMATTERS

Three days before the scheduled end of the legislative session this week, Sen. Lena Gonzalez introduced legislation to limit Los Angeles’ controversial recent “mansion tax” on high-value real estate deals. She backed down just a day later.

“We wanted more time,” she said. “We wanted to do more due diligence … There were so many other issues on the docket.”

The California Legislature slogged through a marathon final week this week, extending its session into Saturday to push through a major package of climate and energy policies. The Saturday vote was needed because Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire didn’t finalize their privately negotiated deal on how to extend the state’s cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions program until early Wednesday, past the normal legislative deadline for introducing bills.

Lobbied heavily by interest groups across the state,

Monday, September 15, 2025

Eaton Fire Survivors Have Pathways to Register on National Voter Registration Day

Displaced residents in Altadena and Pasadena can still register to vote despite temporary homelessness

Tuesday marks National Voter Registration Day, an annual observance that takes on special significance this year for thousands of residents displaced by the Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena. California’s voter registration laws provide multiple pathways for fire survivors to maintain their voting rights even while temporarily homeless or relocated.

Observed annually on the fourth Tuesday in September, National Voter Registration Day encourages eligible Americans to register to vote.

For Eaton Fire survivors facing displacement and uncertainty about permanent housing, California law specifically protects their right to participate in elections.

“Disaster victims should not be disenfranchised because of circumstances beyond their control,” according to the legislative intent behind California’s elections law, which includes several provisions designed to accommodate voters affected by natural disasters.

California offers several solutions for displaced fire survivors who need to register or update their voter registration. The state allows individuals without fixed addresses,

Monday, September 15, 2025

Altadena Town Council to Hear From County Assessor, Review Broad Community Updates

Sept. 16 meeting to feature public safety briefings, wildfire recovery updates and remarks by Jeffrey Prang

Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang is expected to deliver prepared remarks when the Altadena Town Council convenes on Sept. 16, headlining a meeting that will also feature reports from law enforcement, fire officials and local agencies.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive. The session will be streamed live on Pasadena Media’s YouTube channel.

Assessor Prang’s address appears under the meeting’s special presentations. His office is responsible for assessing the value of more than 2.5 million properties in Los Angeles County, work that underpins the county’s property-tax system.

Public safety updates are scheduled to precede his remarks, with reports from the Altadena Sheriff’s Station, the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Fire officials are expected to present both a Division 3 update and a forestry report by Ranger Raymond Kidd.