Monday, January 12, 2026

After Bear ‘Evicted’ from Altadena Home, Nearby Resident Has Same Problem

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Just days after the paintball-induced eviction of a 500-plus-pound bear who took up residence beneath an Altadena home, residents of a house about a half-mile away are reporting that a bear has moved into the space under their home.

It’s unclear if the new case involves the same bear, who spent weeks under the home of Ken Johnson after squeezing through a seemingly too-small crawlspace entry.

The outfit that sent that bear packing the first time says it’s already been contacted about repeating the successful ouster. The second resident sent images of the bear beneath the home to KTLA5 anonymously, according to the station.

Last week, the animal under Johnson’s house was chased off by the Tahoe-based animal-advocacy group BEAR League after the bruin had moved into the crawlspace some time last year.

Around Thanksgiving, a camera captured the unthinkable — the massive black bear backing into the narrow crawlspace entryway. Efforts to remove the bear all fell flat,

Monday, January 12, 2026

A Year After the Eaton Fire, Altadena Residents Face the Question: How Do You Build a Home That Won’t Burn?

Marketplace Tech explores fire-resistant construction as thousands navigate the costly, complicated path to rebuilding

The oaks and eucalyptus that lined David Brancaccio’s street are gone. So is his cottage—1,100 square feet of English Tudor charm, purchased two months before the Eaton Fire reduced it to ash and cracked stucco.

A year later, Brancaccio, who is a radio host, stands on an empty lot in Altadena, one of 15 neighbors on his block who lost everything when the fire tore through on January 7, 2025. The fire killed 19 people and destroyed 9,414 structures according to Cal Fire, making it the deadliest in modern Los Angeles County history.

Marketplace Tech, a weekday public radio program and podcast produced by American Public Media,  turned its attention to a question Brancaccio and his neighbors are wrestling with: How do you build a home that won’t burn next time?

That’s the subject of a Marketplace Tech segment airing January 12 titled “Building a home with future fires in mind.”

Monday, January 12, 2026

As California’s Drought Ends, Pasadena Weighs Future of Its Underground Water Reserve

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

As the Municipal Services Committee gears up to discuss the Raymond Basin at its next meeting, a new wrinkle has developed that will impact the discussion.

California is drought-free for the first time in decades after a powerful winter brought heavy rain and snow.

While the short-term relief is welcome, water officials caution it does not erase longer-term risks, particularly for cities like Pasadena that depend heavily on imported water.

The majority of Pasadena’s water is imported through the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which delivers water across Southern California using a blend of Colorado River supplies, State Water Project deliveries, and local sources.

The federal government is preparing to reset how the Colorado River is managed after 2026. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has released a draft plan outlining potential operating rules for Lake Mead and Lake Powell once current guidelines expire at the end of next year and if the seven Colorado River Basin states fail to reach an agreement.

Monday, January 12, 2026

Sawmill Founder: Altadena’s Burned Trees Can Help Rebuild Neighborhoods

Presentation Monday includes visit to log storage site where fire-damaged trees await milling

Heaps of oaks and pines that were burned in the Eaton Fire a year ago are gathered at a storage site on Lake Avenue, waiting and ready to be milled into the floorboards and trim of homes that will replace the ones they once shaded.

On Monday, the founder of the sawmill transforming those trees will explain how Altadena residents can put that lumber to use.

Jeff Perry of Angel City Lumber will speak in the Altadena Library Community Room at 600 E Mariposa St, in Altadena, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. about the Altadena Reciprocity Project, which is milling fire-damaged trees into finish-grade lumber to be sold at discounted prices to fire survivors. The presentation comes five days after the one-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed 9,414 structures and killed 19 people.

After the presentation, Perry will invite attendees to visit the log deck in Altadena where the salvaged trees are stored.

Monday, January 12, 2026

A Year After the Fire, Odyssey Charter Students Return to a Campus of Their Own

The Altadena school opens its new South Campus on Monday, ending a year in borrowed classrooms

Five days after Altadena gathered to remember the Eaton Fire, Odyssey Charter Schools will open the doors of a new campus. 

For 375 students who spent a year learning in borrowed spaces at ArtCenter College and Boys & Girls Club facilities, the day marks something they lost in January 2025: a school they can call their own. 

The school was to host a tour of its new South Campus at 575 West Altadena Avenue on Monday, January 12, at 7:30 a.m., as the spring semester begins. 

The Eaton Fire destroyed the original South Campus at 119 W. Palm Street on January 7-8, 2025. At Odyssey, the losses were specific and personal: four and a half buildings gone, 80% of classrooms reduced to char, and 40% of the school’s families also lost their homes. 

“It was gone,” Principal Bonnie Brimecombe said in an interview with CalMatters last year,

Sunday, January 11, 2026

Pasadena Protest Draws Hundreds in Saturday Action Targeting ICE

CITY NEWS SERVICE and PASADENA NOW

Several hundred protesters gathered at Garfield Avenue and Colorado Boulevard from around noon to 2 p.m. Saturday as part of a nationwide “ICE Out for Good” weekend of action responding to recent ICE-involved shootings.

The Pasadena demonstration was one of multiple California rallies connected to fatal shootings involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including the deaths of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Kevin Porter in Northridge, California.

Local organizer San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible emphasized their call for ICE accountability and urged the demonstrators to be peaceful.

Chants heard at the Pasadena gathering included “No ICE, No KKK, No Fascist…,” reflecting broad anti-ICE sentiments tied to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies and recent incidents.

The arrest of a Pasadena immigrant advocate fueled additional ire amid national tensions over ICE’s urban presence.

The Pasadena demonstration was peaceful. A similar gathering in Sierra Madre reportedly drew 300.

In Los Angeles,

Sunday, January 11, 2026

Altadena Candlelight Vigil to Mark Eaton Fire Anniversary at Venue That Burned, Reopened

The Altadena Town & Country Club, a 116-year-old institution whose clubhouse was destroyed in the Eaton Fire and which partially reopened in September, will host a community candlelight vigil Sunday evening marking one year since the disaster.

The program, organized by the Altadena Chamber of Commerce & Civic Association and community partners, will be emceed by 94.7 The Wave morning host Greg Mack and feature performances by a children’s choir and the Benn Family Band, an Altadena family who lost their home in the fire and later appeared on “America’s Got Talent.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with food and beverages; the ceremony begins at 7 p.m. Free shuttle transportation will be available from Lake Avenue and Mendocino Street.

The event is also being coordinated by Connect 2 Rise Inc., Kinfolk Helping Hands, and Intentional Talk Radio Network, according to organizers.

“Altadena Town & Country Club may have burned, but our community’s unshakeable bonds cannot be broken,” organizers said in an invitation to residents.

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Mayor Addresses Arrest of Job Center Director, Condemns ICE Presence in Pasadena on Eaton Fire Anniversary

Mayor Victor Gordo issued his first official remarks Saturday about the arrest of Pasadena Community Job Center Director Jose Madera by Pasadena police on Jan 7.

Madera was detained and questioned at Pasadena Police Dept. Headquarters on N. Garfield Avenue Wednesday following allegations raised by a federal ICE agent.

Pasadena officers arrested Madera for  misdemeanor obstructing a peace officer, issued him a citation, and released him.

Gordo said he was concerned that ICE had chosen the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire, a day of remembrance, to come into Pasadena.

The mayor committed to a thorough investigation of the incident and the actions of Pasadena police.

Here is Mayor Gordos’ statement in full:

“On January 7, José Madera, a beloved community leader and the Director of the Pasadena Community Job Center was questioned and detained by Pasadena Police following allegations raised by a federal ICE agent who had entered our community that day. While José was released immediately after processing,

Saturday, January 10, 2026

A Moment to Connect: Muir High School Students Gather for One-Year Eaton Fire Commemoration

By EDDIE RIVERA

On a sunlit campus carrying the emotional weight of loss, students at John Muir High School gathered Wednesday for what school leaders intentionally avoided calling a memorial.

Instead, the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire was marked with a community resource fair — one of several events held across Pasadena and Altadena that day — offering school supplies, handmade gifts, food, and, perhaps most importantly, a chance to reconnect.

“This was really more about the community,” said Principal Dr. Lawton Gray, noting that many students at Muir were directly affected by the fire.

Hundreds of students were displaced, their lives disrupted by evacuations, temporary housing, and loss. Rather than speeches, the campus front lawn was filled with booths and laughter and informal conversations. “We wanted to give the kids a chance to get together, see people they know, and just be together,” Gray said.

The event was organized with help from retired art teacher Cynthia Lake,

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Saturday Fundraiser at Fire-Victim-Owned Wine Bar Supports Altadena Rebuilding

Three days after the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire, a local wine bar whose owner lost their home in the blaze is helping to raise money for Altadena recovery efforts, placing the venue at the center of a pattern of local business owners personally affected by the January 2025 disaster who continue serving their communities.

The event, hosted by owner Lucy Tarin, starts Saturday at 2 p.m. and plans to feature musical performances by Gerardo Morales, a flamenco guitarist with more than 20 years of professional experience who studied at Pasadena City College and the Pasadena Conservatory and serves as a teaching artist at the Neighborhood Music School in Boyle Heights. He performs from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Alex Sanchez, a Los Angeles-based jazz-pop cellist trained at Berklee College of Music, performs from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Open mic, poetry, and raffle segments fill the intervals between performances, with a final music slot from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. featuring performers to be announced. Pasadena’s ‘favorite band,’ the NextDoors will close the evening at 7:30 pm.