Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Four Harabedian Wildfire Recovery Bills Clear Legislature and Await Newsom’s Signature

Four wildfire recovery bills written by Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, cleared the California Legislature and now await Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, Harabedian announced Tuesday.

The package grew out of the January 2025 Eaton Fire in Altadena, which Harabedian represents.

AB 1642 directs the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt regulations on lead and asbestos testing and remediation after a wildfire by Dec. 31, 2028. It becomes operative only if AB 1795, the Smoke Damage Recovery Act by Assemblymember Mike Gipson, takes effect on or before Jan. 1, 2027; that bill also passed.

AB 1842, the California Mortgage Relief Act, would require servicers to offer forbearance of up to 12 months for homes made uninhabitable by a disaster. AB 1847 extends the deadline for Eaton and Palisades fire survivors to request forbearance to Jan. 7, 2029. AB 2038 amends the Insurance Code section on post-disaster cancellations and nonrenewals.

Financial industry groups opposed the mortgage bills. The California Bankers Association, the California Chamber of Commerce and California’s Credit Unions were among eight organizations registered against AB 1847,

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Pasadena Unified Says Effort to Save Six Mature Longfellow Trees Failed; Parents Dispute Account

By THERESE EDU

[UPDATED] The Pasadena Unified School District has told families at Longfellow Elementary Magnet School that contractors and arborists tried but could not avoid the need to destroy six mature trees on the school’s Washington Boulevard front lawn, and about a dozen parents, neighbors and tree advocates gathered outside the empty campus Tuesday morning to challenge the district’s version of the efforts it had taken to save the trees.

The district’s Monday night announcement email closed out a summer during which its board directed staff to evaluate, tree by tree, whether as many as 57 protected trees in Eaton Fire soil remediation work zones could be saved from destruction. It arrived while the district’s authority to remove trees at all remains before a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, with a trial setting conference scheduled for Oct. 30 and no trial date set.

A second demonstration at Longfellow was called for Wednesday morning at the same location.

In its Aug.

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Guest Opinion: Dianne Lewis: What Would School Closures, Consolidations, or Program Relocations Mean for Students With Disabilities?

I agree with Elizabeth Pomeroy that if Pasadena Unified School District is serious about “transformation,” the community must have a meaningful role in defining what that transformation means.

But there is another question that must be answered before the conversation moves any further:

What will school closures, consolidations, or program relocations mean for students with disabilities?

That question is particularly urgent because Special Education has already undergone a major restructuring. Parents were told that the restructuring would be transformative. We were promised a new structure and better services.

We are still waiting to see those results.

What is increasingly difficult to ignore is the loss of institutional knowledge — the experience of people who understood why programs were created, what had been tried, what worked, what did not, and what particular students needed.

And now, at the beginning of a new school year, parents are reporting problems.

During the first week of school, I received calls from multiple parents who said their children were not receiving services or were in placements they believed did not meet their needs.

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Altadena Music Theatre Closes Its Rebuilt Season With “Little Shop of Horrors” Thursday

Altadena Music Theatre opens “Little Shop of Horrors” at 8 p.m. Thursday on the outdoor stage it built at Mountain View Mausoleum, 2300 N. Marengo Ave., closing the first season the company has staged since the Eaton Fire destroyed its Farnsworth Park home.

The production runs Thursdays through Sundays through Sept. 13, eight performances in all, and it ends a summer the company spent on borrowed ground. Rather than wait for the county to rebuild the Charles S. Farnsworth Park Amphitheatre, Altadena Music Theatre put up a temporary outdoor venue with a custom-built stage and seating a little more than a mile away.

The musical, with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, follows a florist’s assistant whose life changes after he grows a plant that feeds on blood. Sarah Azcarate, the company’s founder and producing artistic director, directs, with Chris Wade as music director and Noel Bajandas as choreographer.

Ruby Lewis, who played Sandy in the company’s “Grease”

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Southern Californians Urged to Report Monarch Butterfly Sightings

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Southern California residents were encouraged Wednesday to report sightings of western monarch butterflies as part of an effort to help scientists track the species’ sharply declining population during California Biodiversity Day activities.

The California State Parks Foundation is asking residents to photograph monarch butterflies or caterpillars and upload the observations using the free iNaturalist app. California Biodiversity Day will be observed from Saturday through Sept. 13.

Information collected through the observations will help scientists determine where western monarchs are at different times of the year and contribute to the upcoming 30th annual Western Monarch Count.

Millions of western monarchs once returned to coastal California each year, but their population has fallen dramatically in recent decades because of factors including climate change, habitat loss, pesticides and disease, according to the foundation.

The most recent Western Monarch Count found a peak population of 12,260 butterflies, the third-lowest overwintering population recorded since tracking began in 1997.

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

CHP Plans Labor Day DUI Crackdown in Southern California, Across State

CITY NEWS SERVICE

California Highway Patrol officers in Southern California and across the state will increase enforcement over the Labor Day weekend, focusing on impaired drivers during a 78-hour holiday enforcement period, the agency announced Tuesday.

The CHP’s Labor Day holiday enforcement period will begin at 6:01 p.m. Friday and continue through 11:59 p.m. Monday, with officers statewide focusing on removing impaired drivers from the road and educating motorists about the dangers of driving under the influence.

The enforcement period will coincide with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which began Aug. 19 and will continue through Monday.

“There is no excuse for driving impaired. If you choose to drink or use a substance that affects your ability to drive, make a plan and stay out of the driver’s seat,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. “Your decision could be the difference between everyone getting home safely and a tragedy that can change lives forever.”

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

LA County Invests $1.27 Million in Aerospace Workforce Training

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County announced Tuesday it is investing $1.27 million to expand a manufacturing and automation training program for residents seeking careers in the aerospace, defense and advanced manufacturing industries.

The funding will allow Rio Hondo College to enroll 48 participants across two cohorts in its Advanced Manufacturing & Automation Accelerated Training Program, including community members who were waitlisted following an earlier round of the program, according to the county.

“Los Angeles County’s aerospace and manufacturing sectors have a long history of leading the world, and this partnership represents an investment in more of that for the future,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said. “We have some of the best workers and brightest minds in the nation right here, and with this investment we’re betting on that hometown talent and on some of the industries that make our economy great.”

Through the program, participants will receive college-level technical instruction, industry-recognized credentials, career counseling, supportive services, employer engagement and job-placement assistance,

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

LA County Urges Residents to Prepare for El Niño

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County emergency officials Tuesday outlined preparations for what could be an unusually wet El Niño storm season, urging residents to begin preparing for an increased risk of flooding, landslides and debris flows.

County crews are inspecting and maintaining dams, debris basins, channels, storm drains and pump stations while monitoring burn areas, hillsides and other locations considered vulnerable to flooding and debris flows, according to Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office.

Officials are also preparing for possible evacuations, emergency shelter operations and assistance for people experiencing homelessness, older adults and others who may need additional help during severe weather.

“After fires, floods, and landslides, we know exactly what is at stake when heavy rain hits Los Angeles,” Horvath said. “L.A. County crews have been doing the work year-round; now we’re making sure every part of County government is ready to move together when conditions change. The time to prepare is now, and Los Angeles County is here to make sure our communities have the information,

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

County Supervisors to Debut New Public Comment Sign-Up System Tuesday

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday with a new public comment registration system in place, changing how Altadena and Pasadena residents sign up to address the five supervisors who govern unincorporated Altadena.

Altadena has no city council of its own, so the Board decides its fire recovery matters, and two are on Tuesday’s agenda. The county announced the change in a news release Monday, describing a system supported by the vendor PublicInput that replaces call-in access codes with online registration, a text message when an item comes up and a voice announcement of the speaker’s name.

A speaker registers once, whether commenting on one item or several, chooses to appear in person or by phone, selects the items and marks For, Against or Neutral on each. Callers dial in from the number they gave at registration. Speakers appearing in person check in at a kiosk. A caller who is disconnected keeps their place in line, according to the county. Speakers have one minute per item,

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Pasadena Unified Says Longfellow Front-Lawn Trees Must Come Down to Complete Soil Cleanup

Pasadena Unified School District says several mature trees on the front lawn of Longfellow Elementary School will have to be removed to finish clearing lead-contaminated soil, the outcome of the preservation analysis its board ordered in June.

Six mature or protected trees remain on the front lawn, the district said in a written statement.

Contractors and arborists used air knifing, which uses compressed air and vacuum excavation to expose soil and roots, on all six, reaching about six inches deep and in some places as much as a foot. Soil tested at those depths still showed elevated lead, the district said.

District arborists concluded that removing more soil from around the root systems would destabilize structural roots and make tree failure likely, according to the district.

One of the six, identified as Tree 98, was not listed as protected in the tree inventory the district was given; the district said it applied the same preservation standard to that tree as to the others.