Tuesday, March 17, 2026

County Board Mulls Extending Rent Protections, Approving Pasadena Humane Deal for Altadena

Nearly $5 million in state homebuyer aid and continued fire-recovery contracts also on Tuesday’s agenda

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on extending anti-price-gouging protections for wildfire-displaced renters and formalizing a no-cost agreement with Pasadena Humane to continue animal care and control services in Altadena and surrounding unincorporated communities.

The items are among several on the March 17 agenda that directly affect Altadena residents still contending with the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, which destroyed more than 9,400 structures beginning January 7, 2025. The Board will also consider accepting nearly $5 million in state funds for homebuyer downpayment assistance, adopting new street sweeping traffic regulations in Altadena, and continuing emergency fire-recovery contracts.

The price gouging extension, submitted by Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, would push protections through April 28, 2026, under California Penal Code Section 396. The provision caps rent increases at 10 percent above pre-emergency levels and prohibits excessive hotel and motel rates. The motion also proposes raising the rental price formula for housing not rented within one year before the emergency from 160 percent to 200 percent of fair market rent set by the U.S.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Whistleblower Complaint Alleges Emergency Management Employee Slept During Eaton Fire Response

STAFF REPORT

A whistleblower complaint filed by a Los Angeles County emergency management employee alleges that a colleague assigned to a key leadership role during the early hours of the Eaton Fire response was asleep for portions of the shift, according to a report by Eyewitness News Channel 7.

The complaint centers on activity inside the county’s Emergency Operations Center during the first night of the wildfire that erupted Jan. 7, 2025, in Altadena.

The Emergency Operations Center coordinates the county’s overall response during disasters, bringing together officials from multiple departments to monitor conditions and support field operations.

The employee who filed the complaint told Eyewitness News that the individual assigned to serve as Emergency Operations Center director overnight had a crucial responsibility to monitor the operational picture during the unfolding wildfire response. According to the complaint, staff members working overnight said the director was asleep at times or absent from the operations floor during portions of the shift.

The whistleblower told the station he arrived early the following morning to take over the role and was informed by staff that the director had been sleeping during the overnight activation.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom Keynotes Women’s History Month in Pasadena Unified

Thurgood Marshall Secondary School hosts the ninth annual Pasadena Unified School District Women’s History Month Assembly on March 25.

Thurgood Marshall Secondary School hosts the ninth annual Pasadena Unified School District Women’s History Month Assembly in the Pasadena Unified School District on March 25 at 6 p.m. The event is free. We are excited to announce that the keynote is California’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Additional addresses to the assembly will be from former Cornell Women’s Basketball Player and Senior Marketing Director for the Center for Healing and Justice through Sport (CHJS) Claire Perry, LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco. The theme of this year’s event is “The Power of Teamwork”. The event is live and will also be livestreamed.

Created in 2018 by Principal Lori Touloumian and Pasadena Unified School District Trustee Jennifer Hall Lee, the Women’s History Month Assembly has a yearly prompt for essays and art for middle school and high school participants.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Tax Relief Session Offers Vital Support for Fire Victims in Altadena

Altadena Community Center to host expert-led information session on disaster-related tax relief.

Altadena residents grappling with the financial aftermath of natural disasters and wildfires have a crucial opportunity to gain clarity on available tax relief. This Thursday, the Altadena Community Center will host an information session led by Deanna S. Newton, a distinguished attorney specializing in low income tax matters. The session aims to demystify the complexities of tax implications following such devastating events, offering practical guidance and support to those most affected in the community.

Newton, an Associate Professor of Law at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, brings a wealth of expertise to this critical topic. Her extensive background includes a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, a J.D. from Pepperdine Caruso Law School, and an LL.M. in taxation from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Her previous work at KPMG’s International Tax Group further underscores her deep understanding of tax law, making her an invaluable resource for attendees seeking assistance. The session is particularly timely given California’s ongoing vulnerability to wildfires,

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Black Family Wellness Expo Will Offer Free Screenings, Workshops and Mindfulness Activities Saturday at Robinson Park

A free wellness expo Saturday in Pasadena will offer health screenings, mental health workshops and women’s health programming, with a particular focus on children and families affected by the January Eaton Fire.

The Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of The Links, Incorporated will host the annual Black Family Wellness Expo from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Robinson Park Recreation Center, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

The event is part of a nationwide initiative by The Links — an organization of professional women of African descent founded in 1946 — that unites chapters across the country for a Black Family Wellness Expo National Impact Day of Service focused on health and economic outcomes for Black families, according to the chapter’s media advisory.

The Expo is open to all community members regardless of race, color or national origin.

The chapter said this year’s Expo will place special emphasis on the mental health and overall well-being of children and families, particularly those impacted by the wilfire disaster.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Equip Yourself: Protecting Seniors from the Evolving Landscape of Fraud

Altadena event offers crucial insights into safeguarding against modern scams

In an era where digital threats constantly evolve, the fight against fraud targeting older adults has never been more critical. A forthcoming event in Altadena aims to arm the community with essential knowledge, bringing together experts to demystify the sophisticated tactics employed by scammers, from impersonation schemes to the alarming rise of AI and deepfake technology. This timely gathering underscores the urgent need for proactive education in protecting vulnerable populations.

Lisa Carroll, a Certified Fraud Examiner with over 25 years of experience, will lead the discussion. Carroll, whose expertise in uncovering fraud and managing financial records has supported countless legal cases and business operations, is certified in fraud examination by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and in bookkeeping by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB). Her presentation promises to be an engaging session designed to heighten awareness about the most common scams prevalent today. Attendees will gain practical strategies to recognize and defend against these pervasive threats.

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

LA County Assessor Touts Effort to Capture Taxes from Unassessed Aircraft

CITY NEWS SERVICE

An effort launched in January identified nearly 1,000 previously unassessed aircraft, which represent a combined $3.5 billion in new assessments for the 2026 tax year, Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang announced Monday.

Prang is responsible for valuing all taxable property, both real and personal, which includes commercial aircraft such as those operating at Los Angeles International Airport, as well as privately owned planes used for general aviation that are based or regularly operated in the county.

In recent years, it’s been a challenge to accurately identify taxable aircraft. Additionally, Federal Aviation Administration rules have made it more difficult for local government agencies to identify aircraft activity and ownership, according to Prang’s office.

Some aircraft owners have exploited the complex registration process and data gaps to avoid detection — and taxes.

California law maintains that aircraft are taxable based on where they are primarily located and operated and not where they are registered,

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

LA County Looks to Boost Tenant Protections by Raising Eviction Threshold

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday is expected to consider an ordinance that would make it harder for tenants in unincorporated areas to be evicted, by requiring that renters be at least two months behind in fair market rent before landlords can begin eviction proceedings.

The current county eviction threshold is one month.

“I understand that with this proposal, I am going to face pushback from both sides — tenants advocates who don’t believe I am doing enough, and landlords who think I have gone too far,” Supervisor Janice Hahn, who introduced the motion, said in a statement after the board in February asked staff to draft the ordinance. “This is a modest but necessary increase. With this additional month, I hope we can give families some breathing room while not putting the entire burden on landlords who depend on rental income to pay their own bills.”

The ordinance would amend the Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance enacted in 2022 in an effort to reduce homelessness.

Monday, March 16, 2026

Pasadena’s State Senator Presses State’s Top Librarian Over $649,000 Gap in Dolly Parton Book Program

Senate hearing reveals nonprofit created to administer children’s literacy funds submitted one report instead of four and cannot document its spending

State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, whose district includes Pasadena, demanded answers Thursday from California’s top librarian after lawmakers discovered that roughly $649,000 spent by a nonprofit tied to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library cannot be supported by receipts or bank records.

Pérez, who chairs the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education, pressed State Librarian Greg Lucas at a March 12 hearing in Sacramento over a gap between the nonprofit’s claimed spending and its documented expenditures. The nonprofit, called the Strong Reader Partnership, reported spending approximately $1.2 million in state funds, but bank statements provided to Senate budget staff showed only about $555,000 in expenditures — a discrepancy of $649,351, according to the subcommittee’s agenda packet.

“I find this to be incredibly concerning,” Pérez said during the hearing, according to Fox News Digital. “There’s $650,000 that’s been unaccounted for in a program,

Monday, March 16, 2026

A County Report Ranked Altadena’s Well-Being Among L.A.’s Best. Then the Eaton Fire Destroyed It.

Before the Eaton Fire, Altadena was one of the most livable communities in Los Angeles County — a racially diverse, well-educated foothill neighborhood where residents earned above-average incomes, lived longer than most Angelenos, and had made some of the largest educational gains of any county community in the region over the past eight years.

That Altadena no longer exists. The January fire destroyed half the homes in the community, killed residents, displaced thousands of families, and left behind a toxic landscape dotted with ash, asbestos, lead, and arsenic that continues to impact people more than a year later. A community that had been steadily building toward a better future was, in the span of days, physically decimated.

A sweeping new Los Angeles County report released March 11 captures both sides of that story — the Altadena that was, measured in data collected through 2023, and the catastrophe that followed.

The juxtaposition is staggering. The same report that assigns Altadena a Human Development Index score placing it among the county’s highest-performing communities also warns that the gains those numbers represent may have been wiped out along with the homes,