Wednesday, April 16, 2025

California Sets Aside $170 Million To Thin Vegetation, Forests To Help Prevent Wildfires

By Alejandro Lazo, CALMATTERS

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday, April 14 signed new legislation that will provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work by easing environmental permitting.

The funding — which the Democratic governor said was part of a broader effort to better protect communities ahead of peak fire season — comes as the state is under extraordinary pressure after the January infernos that devastated Los Angeles communities.

California has already experienced its second most destructive fire year on record, with more than 16,000 homes and other buildings damaged or destroyed by the two major fires in the Los Angeles area. Most of the destruction occurred in neighborhoods where development meets wildland, a high-risk area known as the wildland-urban interface.

The money comes from a $10 billion bond measure for environmental projects approved by California voters last year.

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

School Board President Addresses Recovery from Eaton Fire, Budget Challenges in Annual State of Schools

Hall Lee highlights community resilience, academic achievements and fiscal strategies while confronting lead contamination concerns and declining enrollment

In a powerful State of the Schools address delivered Tuesday evening at Pasadena High School, PUSD Board President Jennifer Hall Lee detailed the district’s response to January’s devastating Eaton Fire that displaced staff and affected thousands of students. 

Speaking to a packed auditorium, Hall Lee shared her personal evacuation experience while outlining the district’s coordinated response to both fire recovery and recently discovered lead contamination in soil near schools. 

Despite these challenges, Hall Lee celebrated significant academic achievements, including an 88% graduation rate and 70% of students completing career technical education pathways. She highlighted successful programs including dual language immersion offerings in four languages, international baccalaureate curricula, and the student-led “Think Tank” initiative. 

The address also confronted serious financial hurdles, with Hall Lee acknowledging $12 million in reductions for the 2025-26 school year amid declining enrollment and rising costs. She noted the district’s Local Control Funding Formula allocation was approximately $193 million for the 2024-25 school year.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Pasadena Unified Reaffirms Immigration Policy After DHS Incidents At LA Schools

District emphasizes commitment to safe, inclusive environment regardless of immigration status

Pasadena Unified School District reissued its policy statement on immigration enforcement to community members on Monday, days after a Los Angeles incident in which Department of Homeland Security agents attempted to enter two Los Angeles elementary schools.

The April 14 PUSD email restated the District’s policies regarding immigration enforcement on school campuses.

“At the Pasadena Unified School District, we are committed to providing a safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning environment for every student, regardless of immigration status,” the District stated in its email. “We believe that schools must be places where all students feel secure, supported, and can focus on learning without fear.”

The policy reissuance came days after an April 7 incident where agents from the Department of Homeland Security attempted to enter Russell Elementary School and Lillian Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles. School administrators denied the agents access by following District protocols. According to multiple reports,

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

School Board President to Address State of the Schools Tonight

Annual presentation comes amid proposed staffing cuts, ongoing fire recovery, budget challenges

Amid ongoing recovery efforts from the devastation wrought by January’s Eaton Fire and with the District facing stormy financial seas, Pasadena Unified School District Board President Jennifer Hall Lee will deliver the annual State of the Schools address today.

This year’s annual presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Pasadena High School Library, with a livestream available at pusd.us/stateofschools.

Hall Lee, elected to the Board in 2020, is expected to address several critical challenges facing the District, including significant budget constraints and ongoing recovery from the Eaton Fire that struck earlier this year.

The address, required under the Pasadena City Charter, typically covers district finances, student achievement data and strategic goals for the coming year.

Education observers anticipate Hall Lee may discuss the district’s proposed staff layoffs and may also share updates on student performance in English language arts and mathematics.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Eaton Fire Recovery, Renters Protection Top Packed Agenda for This Week’s Altadena Town Council Meeting

Councilmembers will address ongoing Eaton Fire recovery efforts and new renter protection measures during the Altadena Town Council’s virtual meeting on Tuesday, April 15.

The meeting will address a large number of important subjects.

Southern California Edison representatives including Karla Sayles, Vice President of Local Public Affairs, and Robert Lloyd, Principal Manager, will deliver a special presentation.

Additionally, the Eaton Fire Collaborative, represented by Jill Hawkins, Darryl Qualls, and Robert Lloyd, will provide updates related to fire recovery efforts.

The Council’s Renters Protection and Recovery Committee, chaired by Darlene Greene, will present its latest initiatives. This committee was formed following the Eaton Fire to address displacement and housing insecurity among affected residents.

The Committee will report on current protection measures and recovery resources available to renters in the community.

Milissa Marona, who serves both as Treasurer and Co-Chair of the Altadena Eaton Fire Recovery Fund Advisory Committee, will provide updates on financial resources allocated for recovery efforts. The advisory committee oversees the distribution of funds to residents impacted by the fire.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Tuesday ‘No Tax’ Day: IRS, State Extend Tax Deadline to October for County Residents

Los Angeles County residents affected by January wildfires and straight-line winds receive six-month filing postponement

This April 15 isn’t the usual “Tax Day” in Los Angeles County. Both the Internal Revenue Service and the State of California have extended deadlines for all federal and state tax returns until October 15, and no extension filing is necessary.

However, the postponement does not apply to information returns in the W-2, 1094, 1095, 1097, 1098, or 1099 series; Forms 1042-S, 3921, 3922, or 8027; or to employment and excise tax deposits outside the specified January period.

“Following the disaster declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), individuals and households that reside or have a business in Los Angeles County qualify for tax relief,” the Internal Revenue Service stated in its earlier announcement. “The declaration permits the Internal Revenue Service to postpone certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area.”

The IRS clarified that qualified wildfire relief payments made to Los Angeles County taxpayers are excluded from income,

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

KBLA Talk 1580 To Host Town Hall On Eaton Fire 100 Days After Disaster

Radio station continues coverage with public forum featuring survivors, experts and community leaders

KBLA Talk 1580 announced it will host a free community town hall titled “The Eaton/Altadena Fire: 100 Days and Counting” on Wednesday, April 16 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Robinson Park Recreation Center in Pasadena.

The event is planned to bring together survivors, community leaders, activists and experts to reflect on the aftermath of the fire and address questions about recovery efforts.

“I’m looking forward to hearing from our beloved Black Altadenians and learning how KBLA Talk 1580 can continue to support their efforts to find justice and accountability to make them whole,” said Tavis Smiley, founder of SmileyAudioMedia, Inc. and Chief Visionary Officer for KBLA Talk 1580.

The town hall will be co-moderated by KBLA personalities Tavis Smiley, Dominique DiPrima and Nii-Quartelai Quartey. A panel of ten participants will join the discussion, including Jeffrey N. Boozell and Crystal Nix-Hines (Partners at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &

Monday, April 14, 2025

Pasadena Schools Address Elevated Lead Levels Following Eaton Canyon Fire

District launches soil testing after county finds contamination near campuses

The Pasadena Unified School District is implementing additional safety measures after soil tests revealed elevated lead levels near some schools following the recent Eaton Canyon Fire, Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco announced Sunday.

In a letter to the school community, Blanco said the District learned Friday evening that Los Angeles County Department of Public Health soil sampling detected high lead concentrations at locations near several District schools.

“We are working with the Pasadena Public Health Department, which is analyzing the results and developing guidance for schools,” Blanco wrote. “We are also urgently seeking similar guidelines from the County for schools outside of Pasadena.”

The District has contracted with an environmental consultant to conduct soil sampling at campuses potentially affected by windborne ash and debris from the fire. Blanco stated that Pasadena Unified School District will “replicate sampling conducted at residences by the LA County Department of Public Health.”

No schools will close at this time,

Monday, April 14, 2025

City Council, Barger to Hold Joint Meeting on Eaton Fire Recovery, Olympics, Housing

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

The Pasadena City Council will hold a special joint meeting with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on April 16 to discuss a range of regional issues, with a primary focus on recovery efforts related to the Eaton Fire, which severely damaged homes in both Altadena and Pasadena.

City officials confirmed that Phase 1 of the recovery effort—hazardous materials removal conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—has been completed. Phase 2, involving debris removal managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, is currently underway.

Local homeowners have just one more day to submit their Right to Entry forms that allow the Army Corps of Engineers to remove debris from their property.

The Eaton Fire killed 17 people, destroyed 9,000 homes and scorched 14,000 acres,

The meeting will also address several major policy items requiring City-County coordination, including a report on the proposed mixed-use development of the former Kaiser property at 434–470 North Lake Ave.

Monday, April 14, 2025

California Lawmakers Quietly Sideline Bills In Secretive Suspense Process

By Ryan Sabalow, CALMATTERS

In just 24 minutes and without any debate, the most powerful committee in the state Senate last week moved 33 bills from public view into a secretive process that will decide whether the measures live or die.

Two days later, its sister committee in the Assembly moved 82 of its bills in under two minutes to the same secretive, uncertain future.

If history is any guide, between a quarter to a third of those bills will be killed next month. For most of the bills, no one but lobbyists, a handful of capital staffers, lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s policy team will know exactly why.

So it goes with the Senate and Assembly’s appropriations committees, the gatekeepers for bills proposing to spend taxpayer money. The committees’ “suspense files” are where hundreds of bills die quietly each year. The fates of the bills that were moved to the file last week – along with dozens of others that will be added later – will be announced in a single hearing on what’s known as “suspense day” scheduled for May.