Thursday, June 18, 2026

First World Cup Knockout Match at SoFi Falls on a Pasadena Sunday

Where Old Pasadena fans can watch Match 73, and how to get to Inglewood if they’re going

The FIFA World Cup 2026 enters new territory on Sunday, June 28. The tournament’s new Round of 32 — a knockout stage added to accommodate the expanded 48-team field — reaches SoFi Stadium in Inglewood for the first time, as Match 73 kicks off at 12 p.m.

For Pasadena and Altadena fans, this one belongs to the bars. The City of Pasadena’s only official World Cup watch party of the tournament took place June 12 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium Plaza for the U.S. opener against Paraguay. Nothing comparable is scheduled for Match 73, which means the principal local viewing venues are private. Visit Pasadena, the Pasadena Convention & Visitor Bureau, identifies several of them in its official World Cup guide.

The two named most prominently sit in Old Pasadena. Lucky Baldwin’s Pub, at 17 S. Raymond Ave., is described by the bureau’s guide as having “a proven track record of legendary World Cup watch parties.”

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Team USA Returns to SoFi to Face Turkey in World Cup Group Finale

Pasadena promotes Metro A Line route and local watch spots as transit gateway for the June 25 match

Thirteen days after dismantling Paraguay in front of a thunderous crowd in Inglewood, the United States men’s national soccer team will take the same field against a Turkish side that needs a result to keep its World Cup alive.

The Group D match is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, at 7:00 p.m. at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood — the Americans’ third and final group-stage game. The Pasadena Convention and Visitor Bureau has published a “Pasadena Football World Championship Guide” promoting the city as a transit and lodging base for fans heading to any of the eight World Cup matches being played 25 miles to the southwest.

The United States opened the tournament on June 12 with a 4-1 win over Paraguay at the same venue. Folarin Balogun scored twice and Christian Pulisic overwhelmed the Paraguayan defense. “All in all, just an incredible start,” Pulisic told reporters after the match,

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Altadena Walk Club to Host Father’s Day Community Celebration on Sunday, June 21

The Altadena Walk Club will host a special Father’s Day Community Celebration on Sunday, June 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Altadena.

Founded by Mathew Rahban, the Altadena Walk Club is a post-fire community walking group focused on recovery through movement and connection. The group meets at Unincorporated Coffee on the third Sunday of every month and welcomes people of all ages and fitness levels.

This month’s walk will feature a special Father’s Day celebration hosted by the Rahban Family in partnership with Unincorporated Coffee and Altadena Cookie Company. Participants will gather at Unincorporated Coffee at 9:30 a.m. before taking a casual 30–40 minute round-trip community walk through Altadena and returning to Unincorporated Coffee for the celebration.

Following the walk, attendees will receive a complimentary drink from Unincorporated Coffee and a cookie from Altadena Cookie Company. Local Altadena DJ Shane Burns will provide music, and Park on the Move will host games and activities for children.

“Our family is honored to host this Father’s Day celebration and create an opportunity for neighbors,

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

School District Warns Cleanup Sites Are Off-Limits

Pasadena Unified says entering the contaminated work areas is trespassing — as a teen’s tree-sit raises concerns

The Pasadena Unified School District is telling residents not to enter its Eaton Fire cleanup sites — and warning that walking onto them is trespassing.

The soil there, the district said in a June 16, 2026 statement, is contaminated at levels harmful “to the health and safety of our school communities.” It asked the public to “allow our environmental and safety teams the space to do their work.”

The warning came a day after one such unauthorized entrance came to light at Pasadena City Council.

Paloma Muñiz Ochoa, 17, told the council she had spent the day — about eight and a half hours, her mother said — sitting in one of the oaks marked for removal. “Being in that oak tree, I connected with it,” she said, adding that it “means a lot to the environment and to the animals and plants living in it.”

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Bill to Shield Altadena From Developers Takes Center Stage at Town Council

Senate Bill 1090 would bar dense rebuilding projects on burned lots — but affordable-housing nonprofits say the blanket ban would shut them down too, and other residents warn it arrives too late to matter.

A state senator brought her bill to curb developer-driven density in Altadena to a packed town council meeting Tuesday, June 16.

State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez presented Senate Bill 1090, her proposal — co-authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian — to exempt Altadena from two state housing laws that have allowed outside investors to buy fire-scarred lots and pack them with new units.

An estimated 450 residents turned out, filling the council’s meeting room and overflowing into the parking lot, where as many as 300 people followed from outside.

Senate Bill 1090 would bar the use of Senate Bill 9 — the state’s lot-split and accessory dwelling unit law — and Senate Bill 1123, which permits lot splits of up to 10 units, within Altadena. The protection would apply by zip code,

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Barger Backs Fiscal Discipline, Urges ‘Even Hand’ on County Fees

The Fifth District supervisor’s statement comes six days before the Board of Supervisors acts on Final Changes to the county budget

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Tuesday she supports the fiscal discipline urged by the county’s chief executive officer but said any fee increases must account for the economic pressures already facing small business owners, property owners, and working families.

Her Fifth District includes Pasadena and Altadena, where residents depend on county-administered health, social, and public safety services. The statement came the same day Chief Executive Officer Joseph M. Nicchitta delivered a budget update to the Board of Supervisors projecting a $402 million excess fund balance deficit and signaling that the countywide hiring freeze will likely remain in place through fiscal year 2026-27. The Board is scheduled to act on Final Changes to the FY 2026-27 budget on June 22.

In her statement, Barger said Nicchitta’s report “delivered a sobering assessment of Los Angeles County’s fiscal outlook, including projected budget deficits that are expected to grow in the years ahead.”

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Harabedian’s Resolution Urging Federal Fire Aid Clears Key Senate Committee

The bipartisan measure, which urges Washington to deliver supplemental disaster relief to Eaton and Palisades fire survivors, now heads to the Senate floor

Nearly 18 months after the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena and left more than 9,400 structures in ruins, California’s Legislature moved one step closer Tuesday to issuing a formal call on the federal government to deliver the disaster aid fire survivors are still waiting for.

Assembly Joint Resolution 27, authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D–Pasadena), passed the state Senate Committee on Emergency Management on a unanimous 9-0 vote on June 16, according to a press release from Harabedian’s office and confirmed by California legislative records. The bipartisan tally — seven Democrats and two Republicans — sends the resolution to the full Senate floor, where it will appear on the Consent Calendar.

Harabedian represents the 41st Assembly District, which includes Pasadena, Altadena, La Cañada Flintridge, and Sierra Madre — communities at the center of the Eaton Fire’s devastation. The fire killed 19 people and burned 14,021 acres beginning January 7,

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Two Months On, LA County Has Not Responded to Altadena Town Council’s Edison Undergrounding Demands

Southern California Edison tells the Town Council it has no new funding for homeowners facing $30,000 to $40,000 connection costs and warns it could lose three of 20 miles planned for 2026 over unsigned access agreements

Two months after the Altadena Town Council unanimously demanded that Southern California Edison’s utility undergrounding program be paused until tree protections are in place — and that AT&T and Spectrum be required to join it — the county has not responded, and an Edison representagive told the council on June 16 it has no new funding to help homeowners facing tens of thousands of dollars in costs to connect to the new lines.

Edison’s update came near the end of a heavily attended meeting at the Altadena Community Center, where council members and residents pressed the utility on costs, trees and telecom participation.

The council’s April 21 letter delivered to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called for the undergrounding program to be paused until tree-protection measures were in place and for AT&T and Spectrum to be required to join.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Pasadena Unified Halts Tree Removal at Education Center After Active Bird Nest Is Reported

Pasadena Unified School District has paused tree removal work at its Education Center after a community member reported an active bird nest in a tree scheduled for removal, according to a district statement issued Tuesday.

The district said tree removal at the Education Center was stopped immediately after the report was received. Pasadena Unified said it has retained a qualified wildlife biologist to inspect the identified tree and evaluate other trees within the fire-affected contaminated soil area at the site. The review will also be expanded to other campuses where tree removal is planned.

“Following a report from a community member identifying an active nest at the Education Center, tree removal at that site was immediately paused,” the district said in its statement.

The Education Center, located at 351 S. Hudson Ave. in Pasadena, is among district properties undergoing work related to the removal of fire-affected contaminated soil following the Eaton Fire.

The district said the wildlife biologist will review the identified tree as well as other trees within the contaminated soil area at the Education Center and at additional campuses where tree removal is planned.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Guest Opinion | Adam Frankel: Altadena Fire Survivors Desperately Need Help. Time is Running Out for California to Act.

California leaders have less than two weeks left to finalize this year’s state budget. Even in the face of massive federal funding cuts and a major state deficit, lawmakers have rightfully fought to secure more than $1.5 billion to address California’s homelessness and housing affordability crisis. But strikingly, no money has been allocated to protect the most vulnerable survivors of last year’s devastating L.A. wildfires, including many who risk falling into homelessness or facing permanent displacement from their communities.

These realities are especially pressing in Altadena, a historically Black and middle class community that was ravaged by the Eaton Fire and is still struggling to recover. In the absence of meaningful federal support—and with widespread insurance industry malfeasance—the financial barriers to rebuilding and the challenges of returning safely home are growing increasingly difficult, especially for renters, low-income people, and people of color. Thousands of Altadena fire survivors remain displaced,