Saturday, May 16, 2026

PUSD to Conduct Full Environmental Review Before Deciding Fate of Fire-Damaged Eliot Tower

Pasadena Unified School District will conduct a full Environmental Impact Report and treat the fire-damaged Eliot tower as a historic resource under California law before deciding whether to demolish the Altadena landmark, Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco announced in an email to the district community on Friday, May 15.

The commitment left open the possibility that the tower, deemed unsafe by structural engineers after the Eaton Fire, could be preserved or adaptively reused rather than torn down.

In the letter to the PUSD community,  Blanco addressed the community directly, acknowledging the grief surrounding the tower’s uncertain future and describing the structure as a symbol of identity, belonging, and resilience for students, families, alumni, staff, and neighbors who have watched the tower rise above the neighborhood for generations

Blanco said the District will complete a full review under the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, before any redevelopment planning occurs or decisions are made for the campus. She described the Environmental Impact Report, or EIR, as the most comprehensive level of environmental review available under California law and said it will take many months to complete.

Friday, May 15, 2026

State Report Finds Deputies Justified in Fatal Altadena Shooting

CITY NEWS SERVICE

California Attorney General Rob Bonta Friday released a report concluding that criminal charges were not warranted against Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies involved in a 2023 fatal shooting in Altadena.

The report, issued under Assembly Bill 1506, examined the Jan. 22, 2023, shooting in which deputies opened fire after Charles Towns, 47, of Pasadena allegedly attacked several people while armed with a knife or scissors near Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road.

According to the California Department of Justice, deputies responded to multiple 911 calls reporting that Towns was moving through Altadena streets attempting to stab people.

Authorities said Towns fled from deputies and approached a family exiting a vehicle, stabbing one person in the mouth before deputies fired.

The report said deputies fired again when Towns continued moving toward them after being struck. He died at the scene.

After reviewing the evidence, the Department of Justice concluded prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the deputies acted unlawfully or without a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary to protect themselves or others from imminent death or serious bodily injury.

Friday, May 15, 2026

Pasadena Foundation Steers Nearly $600,000 to Nonprofits Rebuilding Their Capacity After the Fire

Capital grants fund freezers, fleet vans, tech upgrades, and a fifth family shelter across 29 organizations still absorbing Eaton Fire demand

Sixteen months after the Eaton Fire, the nonprofits that fed displaced families, sheltered the homeless, and connected survivors to resources are still at it. Now the Pasadena Community Foundation is putting money into what keeps them going: the buildings, the equipment, and the infrastructure behind the services.

PCF announced this week that it has awarded nearly $600,000 in capital grants to 29 Pasadena-area organizations — funding directed not at programs or staff but at the physical plant. A new food pantry freezer for Friends In Deed. A replacement van for Five Acres to transport youth and families across its programs. Technology upgrades at Stars to support its Wellness Center and Eaton Fire Collaborative Office. Safety and security upgrades at Huhuunga, the Altadena site of deep cultural significance to the Tongva people. The grants, PCF’s largest annual investment, land in a community where nonprofits have been running hard since January 2025.

Friday, May 15, 2026

Odyssey Charter Schools Hosts Run-for-Fun Fundraisers at Both Altadena Campuses

A year after OCS South reopened on West Altadena Drive, the annual tradition brings students and families together one block apart

For the first time since the Eaton Fire scattered its students across borrowed classrooms in Pasadena, Odyssey Charter Schools will hold its annual Run-for-Fun fundraiser with both campuses operating from permanent homes on the same Altadena block.

The school is hosting simultaneous events Friday at its two West Altadena Drive campuses: “Stronger Together: Run For Fun 2026″ at Odyssey Charter School, and “Bounce to the Future,” an obstacle course, at OCS South. Both events run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are open to students, families and community supporters, according to the school.

The two campuses sit roughly one block apart — Odyssey Charter at 725 W. Altadena Drive and OCS South at 575 W. Altadena Drive. That proximity is new. The Eaton Fire destroyed OCS South’s original campus at 119 W. Palm Street on January 7-8, 2025, displacing 375 students and gutting four and a half buildings on the site.

Friday, May 15, 2026

Altadena’s Little League Refused To Fold After the Fire. A New Film Shows What Happened Next.

The kids had no field. Most had no gear. Their families were scattered across Los Angeles County, living in temporary rentals and relatives’ spare rooms. But when Central Altadena Little League announced it would hold its 2025 season anyway — just weeks after the Eaton Fire destroyed Farnsworth Park and more than 9,000 structures across Altadena — hundreds of children signed up.

What happened over the next nine months is the subject of “Going for Home,” an 82-minute documentary by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Eric Simonson that will screen free at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Loma Alta Park in Altadena.

The film follows the league through a season played in the shadow of the fire, capturing both the on-field action and the off-field struggles of families navigating displacement, insurance battles and soil contamination scares that nearly shut the season down.

The season was made possible in part by West Pasadena Little League, which opened its fields so Central Altadena’s nearly 20 teams could practice and play.

Friday, May 15, 2026

Barger Backs Newsom’s Proposed $100 Million Wildfire Rebuilding Fund

The Los Angeles County supervisor whose district includes Altadena says the proposal — which requires legislative approval — could help Eaton Fire survivors access construction financing

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Thursday endorsed a $100 million Disaster Rebuilding Fund proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom, saying it could help Eaton Fire survivors access the construction financing many need to rebuild homes destroyed more than 16 months ago.

Barger, whose 5th District includes Altadena, issued the statement the same day Newsom released his revised 2026-27 state budget. The proposed fund would not provide direct cash to homeowners. Instead, it would facilitate private financing through an interest-rate buy-down program and a loan-loss guarantee program — tools designed to encourage banks to issue construction loans to rebuilding homeowners. The proposal requires approval from both houses of the California Legislature and would move forward as a trailer bill accompanying the state budget, according to reporting by Tribune News Service.

The Eaton Fire, which ignited January 7,

Friday, May 15, 2026

Sierra Madre Mayor Demands Pasadena School Board President Resign, Threatens Recall Over Alleged Brown Act Violations

Public records release seems to expose possible backroom coordination between four trustees, prompting calls for resignation and possible litigation

The mayor of Sierra Madre, a veteran public school educator, opened public comment at a Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education special meeting Thursday night by demanding that Board President Tina Fredericks resign immediately, warning that she and other community members would mount a recall campaign if she refuses to step down.

Standing before a packed boardroom on May 14, Mayor Kristine “Kris” Lowe — who said she has spent 27 years as a public school educator — accused Fredericks and three fellow trustees of “illegal coordination” that produced a 4-3 vote approving the District’s “Consolidation 2027″ plan before the public engagement process was complete.

She named Trustees Yarma Velázquez, Kim Kenne, and Scott Hardin as the other three members of what she called a conspiring scheme, and alleged the four had violated California Government Code Section 54950 — the Ralph M.

Friday, May 15, 2026

A Century After Myron Hunt Built It, Five Acres’ Altadena Campus Throws a Party

The child welfare nonprofit survived the Eaton Fire and now marks 100 years at its headquarters with a 1920s gala and a new youth mental health push

The building that Myron Hunt designed for children in crisis opened on a five-acre lot off Mountain View Street in 1926, the same decade he was finishing the Rose Bowl and the Huntington Library. A hundred years later, it is still standing which, after January 2025, is not something the neighbors can say.

Five Acres, the Altadena-based child and family services nonprofit whose campus survived the Eaton Fire that destroyed 9,418 structures around it, will celebrate the centennial of its headquarters with the Golden Five Acres Gala on June 6. The 1920s-themed evening complete with period cocktail attire, live music, and what the organization describes as “tantalizing fare from the 1920s” doubles as a fundraiser for an agency that has operated continuously since 1888 and now serves more than 7,000 children and family members annually across six counties,

Friday, May 15, 2026

Guest Opinion | Francesca Mariani: Schools Do Not Flourish Without Community

Change Requires Legitimacy

As the Pasadena Unified School District board considers major school closure and restructuring decisions, one thing has become increasingly clear: families are not resisting change simply because change is difficult. They are resisting a process that has asked communities to absorb enormous consequences without meaningfully including them in shaping the future.

Schools are not simply facilities or enrollment charts. They are communities where children develop identity, belonging, relationships, and confidence over many years. When trust in schools erodes, the damage extends far beyond enrollment numbers. Families disengage. Teachers leave. Students internalize instability.

Effective change requires legitimacy.

The Process Has Lost Public Confidence

From the beginning, the district’s restructuring effort has been top-down rather than being community-led. The community has been presented with scenarios and spreadsheets but have been excluded from the larger conversation about what kind of district Pasadena wants to become.

The installation of the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee (SCAC) itself increasingly reflected those concerns.

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Online Panel to Examine Stalled Rental Recovery in Altadena After Eaton Fire

UCLA researchers, state senator and tenant organizers to discuss new data showing about three-quarters of fire-zone rentals show no rebuilding activity

A community panel discussion examining why rental housing recovery has stalled in Altadena nearly 500 days after the Eaton Fire will be held online Thursday, May 21, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., according to event co-hosts.

The session, titled “Who Gets to Come Back? Tenants and the Future of Altadena After the Eaton Fire,” is co-hosted by the Altadena Tenants Union and the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute. It will pair newly released research with a panel of elected officials, community organizers and housing experts, organizers said in a press release.

The discussion centers on a policy brief published Feb. 25 by UCLA LPPI, which found that about 74% of identified rental units within the Eaton Fire perimeter remain on properties with no public record of rebuilding permits, sales or active listings. The institute reported that more than 1,500 rental units — roughly 70% of Altadena’s identified rental stock — were located within the fire perimeter,