Sunday, May 24, 2026

Defy Gravity for Altadena Tonight

Fifteen months is a long time between curtains.

When the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena last January, it took the Charles S. Farnsworth Park Amphitheater with it — along with the neighborhood that surrounded it. The open-air stage had been the home of Altadena Music Theatre, the company Sarah and Oliver Azcarate had spent four years building from a pandemic-era hunch into a full professional season. Their house went too.

Tonight, the company makes its move back. Enter Stephen Schwartz, the three-time Academy Award winner behind Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell, headlining a benefit gala at the AGBU Manoukian Performing Arts Center in Pasadena. He’ll share the stage with Joey McIntyre of New Kids on the Block, The Voice winner Alisan Porter, Vintage Trouble’s Ty Taylor, and original-Broadway-cast Wicked alum Brian Justin Crum.

Some context on the headliner: three Academy Awards, four Grammys, and a back catalog — Wicked, Pippin, Godspell — that has held Broadway stages for the better part of five decades.

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Whooping Cough Spreads Through Pasadena Schools, Hitting a Third Campus With Six New Cases

The Pasadena Public Health Department is investigating an outbreak of six confirmed pertussis cases at Sequoyah School’s high school campus, the third school cluster of whooping cough confirmed in the city since late April.

The Sequoyah outbreak extends a citywide pertussis surge, with the department reporting 17 confirmed cases identified in Pasadena since the start of 2026, compared with an annual average of about three.

“Pertussis is a serious and highly contagious illness,” said Manuel Carmona, director of public health. “Staying home when sick is the key to stopping the spread of this preventable illness in our community. Parents should be on the alert for persistent or unusual coughs and seek medical care promptly if symptoms arise.”

Health Officer Parveen Kaur urged clinicians to confirm suspected cases with laboratory testing.

“Timely testing and treatment is essential for stopping the spread of pertussis,” Kaur said. “Healthcare providers who suspect pertussis should conduct confirmatory testing using a nasal swab for a PCR test and follow proper treatment guidelines.

Saturday, May 23, 2026

LA County Unemployment Rate Up Slightly in April

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased slightly to 5.5% in April, up a revised 5.4% in March, according to figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department.

The 5.5% rate was below the 5.7% rate from April 2025, according to the EDD.

In Orange County, the April unemployment rate was 3.7%, down slightly from 3.8% in March.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.3% in April, the same rate as March but down from 5.4% in April 2025. The comparable estimates for the nation were 4.3% in April, 4.3% in March and 4.2% a year ago.

Between March and April, total nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County increased by 5,400 to reach roughly 4.6 million jobs. The leisure and hospitality sector posted the largest gains, adding 4,700 positions. The information sector saw the largest drop, shedding 4,200 positions.

Friday, May 22, 2026

Fredericks: PUSD Board Evaluating Allegations of Brown Act Violations

Board president announces the board is evaluating the claims and determining next steps

The Pasadena Unified School District released a statement Friday afternoon by Board of Education President Tina Fredericks addressing allegations that four board members violated California’s open-meetings law. The allegations are connected to board deliberations and actions about the District’s ongoing school consolidation process.

“We understand this process has raised strong feelings and important questions in our community,” Fredericks said in the statement, released at approximately 2 p.m. on May 22. “Furthermore, we respect the concerns that have been raised and remain committed to a thoughtful process as the Board considers school consolidation.”

The allegations center on potential violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act, a California law that requires public bodies to conduct their business openly.

Four of the seven board members, including Fredericks, are the subjects of the allegations.

Fredericks said the Board is taking the matter seriously. “…the Board is evaluating the allegations and determining appropriate next steps to ensure continued transparency in the governance process,”

Friday, May 22, 2026

California FAIR Plan Customers Face Sharp Insurance Premium Increases in Wildfire Areas

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Homeowners in wildfire-prone parts of California insured through the state’s FAIR Plan could soon face steep increases in insurance premiums.

The FAIR Plan — formally known as the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan — serves as the insurer of last resort for homeowners who cannot obtain coverage on the private market, often because their properties are located in areas with elevated wildfire risk.

Beginning in October, FAIR Plan policyholders are expected to see some of the largest rate increases in recent years, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Among the hardest-hit communities is Orinda, where average premiums are projected to rise by about 31%.

For some homeowners, the increases could translate into hundreds or even thousands of dollars in additional annual insurance costs.

A spokesperson for the California FAIR Plan Association said the increases will vary by customer, but homes facing the greatest wildfire exposure are expected to experience the sharpest premium hikes.

Friday, May 22, 2026

California Bill Moves to Make Cheaper Alternative Fuel Available to More Drivers

By Alejandro Lazo and Yue Stella Yu, CALMATTERS

In the face of the nation’s highest gas prices, California lawmakers approved a bill to ease restrictions on E85 conversion kits — devices that let conventional gasoline cars run on a cheaper, mostly ethanol fuel blend.

Assembly Bill 2046, dubbed the “Access to Affordable Gas Act” by its author, Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, a Stockton Democrat, advanced through the Assembly on a 59-0 vote with no debate or opposition.

The measure is the latest example of Sacramento lawmakers scrambling to respond to gas costs that have soared amidst the Iran-Israel war, which has rattled global oil markets and pushed California pump prices above $6 a gallon. It now heads to the California state Senate and would need Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval before it becomes law.

“Californians consistently pay more at the pump than drivers from other states, and gas prices are once again climbing across the state,” Ransom said on the Assembly floor Thursday.

Friday, May 22, 2026

Resource Fair Targets Artists Who Lost Tools, Studios, and Livelihoods in Eaton Fire

A free daylong event at Altadena’s Collaboratory will offer workshops, wellness services, and networking for fire-impacted creatives on May 30

The Eaton Fire took more than homes. It took cameras, ceramics, computers, woodworking tools, paint supplies, production equipment, and entire studios — the physical infrastructure of creative lives built over years and sometimes decades.

On Saturday, May 30, a free resource fair called Creative Workers Rising will bring fire-impacted musicians, dancers, storytellers, filmmakers, and visual artists together at the Collaboratory, the Eaton Fire Collaborative’s recovery hub at 540 W. Woodbury Road in Altadena. The event, organized by the Arts & Culture Coalition of Altadena and the Eaton Fire Collaborative, responds to what organizers describe as persistent, unmet needs among the region’s creative workers nearly 17 months after the January 2025 fire. Family and friends of affected creatives are also welcome, according to the organizers.

A survey conducted by the coalition in March 2026 found that many artists are still struggling without financial support,

Friday, May 22, 2026

Vote Centers Open Saturday in Pasadena for June 2 Primary

Two locations begin in-person voting May 23, with nine more across the city opening May 30

Two Pasadena Vote Centers will open Saturday for the June 2 Statewide Direct Primary Election, the first of 122 sites that Los Angeles County is opening countywide for 11 days of in-person voting.

The centers will accept in-person ballots, voter registrations, and Vote by Mail returns daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. through June 1.

On Election Day, June 2, all sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Pasadena ballot includes three Pasadena City Council seats, the California governor’s race, and Measure ER, the Essential Services Restoration Act — a countywide half-cent sales tax increase for five years, projected to generate an estimated $1 billion per year to offset federal cuts to Medi-Cal.

The two Pasadena sites opening Saturday are the Armenian Cilicia Evangelical Church (Derian Hall) at 339 S. Santa Anita Ave. and Morning Star Christian Church (Robinson Hall A-C) at 980 E.

Friday, May 22, 2026

Stephen Schwartz Headlines Pasadena Benefit for Altadena Music Theatre’s Comeback

The “Wicked” composer leads a one-night gala Sunday at the Manoukian Performing Arts Center to help rebuild a company that lost its stage in the Eaton Fire.

Sarah Azcarate built her theater company in a nearly 90-year-old outdoor amphitheater in Altadena. The Eaton Fire took both. On Sunday, May 24, Altadena Music Theatre stages “An Evening with Stephen Schwartz,” a benefit gala headlined by the three-time Academy Award-winning composer and lyricist of “Wicked,” “Pippin” and “Godspell” at the AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, with the goal of funding the company’s return.

The January 7, 2025 blaze destroyed the Charles S. Farnsworth Park Amphitheatre, the home of Altadena Music Theatre since 2022, and burned through the Altadena neighborhood where Azcarate and her co-director and husband, Oliver Azcarate, had built their lives. Their home was gone. So was the stage. Fifteen months later, the Azcarates have lined up a one-night Broadway summit to help bring back the company.

Schwartz,

Friday, May 22, 2026

Five Pasadena Councilmembers Endorse Becerra for Governor

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo and Councilmembers Rick Cole, Justin Jones, Jason Lyon and Steve Madison jointly announced their ‘enthusiastic endorsement’ of Xavier Becerra as the next Governor of California.

“Xavier has dedicated his life to public service, fighting for working families, expanding opportunity, and standing up for our communities when it matters most. His integrity, experience, and steady leadership make him the right person to lead California forward,” declared Mayor Gordo.

Becerra, the former California Attorney General, Secretary of Health and Human Services and Congressman, is the leading choice among Democrats in the race, according to recent polls.

Councilmember Jones declared, “California needs steady, experienced leadership, and Xavier Becerra has spent his career fighting for working families, health care access and communities that too often get left behind. I’m proud to endorse Xavier because he understands that government has to deliver real results: safer neighborhoods, stronger infrastructure, climate action and affordable communities that work for everyone.

Councilmember Lyon noted, “Xavier Becerra’s record of service to the people of California is long and diverse.