Thursday, April 30, 2026

Whooping Cough Outbreak Reported at Pasadena Elementary School

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Pasadena Public Health Department is investigating four confirmed cases at Don Benito Fundamental School

The Pasadena Public Health Department announced Wednesday it is investigating an outbreak of whooping cough involving four confirmed cases at Don Benito Fundamental School.

The department is working with the Pasadena Unified School District and others to monitor for any additional infections and to guide response efforts, according to a statement from the Pasadena city manager’s office.

Health officials have notified close contacts and provided instructions for testing, treatment when appropriate, and staying home if symptoms develop, the statement said.

The city manager’s office said whooping cough, or pertussis activity, has been elevated in the community, and health officials are urging residents to ensure they are up to date on their vaccinations.

Health department officials recommend that anyone who develops a persistent cough or other respiratory symptoms contact a health care provider and that people remain home when ill to reduce transmission.

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Pasadena Urges Mpox Precautions as Cases Rise

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Pasadena Public Health Department Wednesday urged residents to take precautions against mpox and consider vaccination as cases increase in California.

Health officials said vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness, particularly for individuals at higher risk of exposure.

Mpox, a viral disease, is currently circulating in two strains, known as clade I and clade II. Clade I cases are typically linked to international travel, while clade II has been spreading at low levels in California since 2022, primarily through close physical contact.

A recent clade I case was confirmed in San Francisco involving an unvaccinated individual with travel-related exposure, while statewide data show a rise in clade II infections, officials said.

“With summer travel and large events approaching, now is the ideal time to protect yourself if you or your sex partner may be at risk for mpox,” Pasadena Health Officer Dr. Parveen Kaur said in a statement.

Health officials said the virus spreads through close contact with infected individuals,

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Parents Blast PUSD School Closure Process at Final Town Hall

Parents at a Pasadena Unified School District town hall Tuesday sharply criticized the district’s school-closure process, arguing that ‘flawed data,’ a rushed timeline and the absence of the full school board have eroded trust as the district moves toward a June 25 vote.

During nearly an hour of public comment at Pasadena High School, speakers challenged the credibility of the School Consolidation Advisory Committee, the outside consultant guiding the work, and the board members who will decide whether to close schools. 

Parent Kate Nixa asked from the floor, “Board here? Is anyone from the board here?” noting the lack of the full board while thanking those who did attend.

Several parents targeted Total School Solutions and its representative, Joseph Pandolfo. TJ Teams, an 18-year PUSD parent, said he emailed Pandolfo about errors in public data and never received a response. Teams called the survey that launched the process “biased and irresponsibly written” and said committee members were given faulty data and only minutes to review it before voting.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Pasadena, Altadena Residents Eligible for $2,000 Electric Cargo Bike Vouchers

San Gabriel Valley agency announces $950,000 in new funding to put 475 families on two wheels

For the price of a used dishwasher, a Pasadena parent could haul two kids and a week’s worth of groceries up Colorado Boulevard — no gasoline required.

The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments announced $950,000 in funding for a new round of its GoSGV E-Cargo Bike Voucher Program, which will provide 475 residents with $2,000 point-of-sale vouchers toward electric cargo bikes. Residents of Pasadena and Altadena are among those eligible to apply when spring 2026 pre-applications open, according to the agency.

Officials made the announcement at a news conference in San Dimas at 9:30 a.m., followed by an e-bike demonstration and tour, according to a SGVCOG news release.

Electric cargo bikes — two- or three-wheeled bicycles with pedal-assist motors and frames built to carry children, groceries, or heavy loads — typically cost between $3,000 and $6,000. The voucher covers a significant share of that cost and is applied directly at the point of sale through approved retailers.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill to Shield Eaton Fire Settlements From Federal Taxes

Pasadena congresswoman calls the vote a victory for survivors still struggling to rebuild more than a year after the January 2025 blaze

Eaton Fire survivors who accept settlement payments from Southern California Edison would not owe federal income taxes on that money under a bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed Monday by voice vote.

The measure matters urgently in Pasadena and Altadena, where more than 9,400 structures were destroyed and 19 people killed when the Eaton Fire swept through foothill neighborhoods on January 7, 2025. A previous tax exemption on wildfire-related compensation expired December 31, 2025, leaving thousands of families uncertain whether settlement checks would shrink on arrival.

Rep. Judy Chu, a Pasadena Democrat who represents California’s 28th Congressional District and sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, called the vote “a major victory for natural disaster survivors nationwide, and especially for survivors of the Eaton Fire in my district,” according to a statement released by her office on April 28,

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Pasadena Surgeon Honored by Supervisor Barger As Armenian History Month Draws to Close

“We honor the strength and resilience of the Armenian people, while celebrating leaders in our own communities whose work uplifts lives locally and across the globe,” Barger said

In 2015, Dr. Andre Panossian traveled to Haiti with a team of pediatric surgeons and helped perform what Partners in Health, the nonprofit that organized the trip, described as the country’s first conjoined twin separation.

That career — running from a practice steps from one of the region’s largest hospitals to surgical missions across multiple countries — is what Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger recognized Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors public hearing, presenting Panossian with a commemorative scroll of commendation as Armenian History Month drew to a close.

Panossian, a board-certified plastic surgeon whose practice at 39 Congress St. is affiliated with Huntington Hospital, has spent nearly two decades in Pasadena treating patients with facial paralysis, cleft lip and palate, and vascular birthmarks. According to a press release from Supervisor Barger’s office,

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Guest Opinion | Liliana Coronado: The Future of PUSD Requires a Shared Vision

As a member of the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee and a parent in Pasadena Unified, I have spent the past several months reviewing data and participating in conversations about school closures. What has become clear is that we are being asked to make high-stakes decisions based on large volumes of raw information, much of it only recently analyzed, and on a compressed timeline. What we need instead is a true visioning process.

A visioning process brings together students, families, educators, and community members to define what we want for our schools and our children over the long term. It asks: What should a PUSD graduate know and be able to do? What kinds of schools do we want in our neighborhoods? How do we align resources to those goals? Districts like San Francisco and Long Beach have taken this approach—engaging their communities over time to build shared visions that then guide difficult decisions, which sometimes includes consolidation. Vision comes first. Decisions follow.

Pasadena Unified has already closed 11 schools,

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

LA County Launches $2.1 Million Eviction Diversion Pilot Program

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Landlords and tenants in parts of Los Angeles County Tuesday can access a $2.1 million pilot program aimed at helping resolve rent disputes and avoid evictions before cases reach court.

The Eviction Diversion Pilot Program began Monday and will serve eligible households in the Compton Courthouse service area, offering free mediation and up to $10,000 in rental assistance for unpaid rent, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA).

The program was developed in partnership with the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and will be administered with Community Legal Aid SoCal and FORWARD Program Management.

“This program is about supporting property owners and their tenants in reaching an agreement for rent-related issues before the matter goes before a judge, saving time and money for everybody,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said in a statement.

Officials said the program is voluntary and requires both landlords and tenants to agree to participate in mediation.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Average LA, Orange County Gas Prices Rise To Highest Amounts Since 2023

By STEVEN HERBERT, City News Service

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose Tuesday to its highest amount since Oct. 6, 2023, increasing 1.8 cents to $6.059.

The average price has risen six consecutive days, increasing 13.9 cents, including six-tenths of a cent Monday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. The streak of increases follows a 14-day streak of decreases totaling 12.8 cents.

The average price is 13.7 cents more than one week ago, 8.8 cents higher than one month ago and $1.268 above what it was one year ago. It is 43.5 cents less than the record $6.494 set on Oct. 5, 2022.

The streak of rising prices began one day after the end of a run of 12 decreases in 13 days totaling 13.2 cents. The Orange County average price is 10.8 cents more than one month ago and $1.275 higher than one year ago.

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Altadena Renters Can Apply for $36,000 in Fire Recovery Cash Starting May 11

Tenant-led program offers two years of unrestricted monthly payments; only 30 Altadena households can be funded now

More than 15 months after the Eaton Fire burned through Altadena, a new privately organized cash assistance program is offering something most fire-relief efforts have not reached: unrestricted monthly payments to displaced renters and tenants, sustained for two years.

The program — called Direct Cash for Altadena Fire Recovery, and led by the Altadena Tenants Union, the Altadena Community Land Trust, and the National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles — will provide $36,000 to each of 30 income-eligible renter households selected by lottery, according to the groups’ announcement.

Applications open May 11 and close May 25. The organizing groups say they have assembled $1.5 million in funding and intend to expand to at least 300 families as additional funding is secured.

Each selected household will receive $2,000 per month for the first six months, $1,500 per month for the following 12 months,