Friday, April 17, 2026

Unemployment Rate in LA County Holds Steady

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 5.5% in February compared to January, but was below the 5.8% rate from the same month a year earlier, according to figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.4% in February. That was the same rate as January and the same as February 2025. The comparable estimates for the nation were 4.4% in February, 4.3% in January and 4.2% a year ago.

Between January and February, total nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County increased by 9,700 to reach more than 4.58 million jobs.

The professional and business services sector led the way in the county by adding 7,600 positions, while professional, scientific and technical services added 4,400 jobs, particularly in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services.

The trade, transportation and utilities sector saw the biggest decline, shedding 7,900 jobs.

Friday, April 17, 2026

Free Rides on Pasadena Transit This Saturday for Earth Day Celebration at Brookside Park

Route 51 will run fare-free to the April 18 Earth Day event, which features 800 goats released into the Arroyo Seco for wildfire fuel reduction. All Pasadena Transit routes go free on April 22.

Pasadena Transit will offer free rides on Route 51 this Saturday, April 18, to the city’s Earth Day celebration at Brookside Park, 360 N. Arroyo Blvd., where the City of Pasadena and the One Arroyo Foundation will release more than 800 goats into the Arroyo Seco as part of a new wildfire prevention initiative.

The free, family-friendly event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and features goat yoga sponsored by the Rose Bowl Stadium, a goat petting zoo, educational activities with the goat herder, and interactive booths hosted by City departments and local nonprofit organizations. Participating city departments include Parks and Recreation, Public Works, Transportation, Public Health, and Water and Power.

Joaquin T. Siques, Director of Transportation, announced the free fare in the City Manager’s April 16 weekly newsletter.

Friday, April 17, 2026

Assemblymember Harabedian’s Factory-Built Housing Bill Clears First Committee Hurdle

A bill by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) that would streamline inspections and permitting for factory-built housing in California passed the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development on Thursday, April 16.

AB 2058 targets what its sponsors describe as redundant local inspection requirements, disassembly mandates, and excessive permitting fees that currently slow the delivery and raise the cost of factory-built homes — units constructed in a controlled factory environment and then transported to a building site for installation. The bill would remove those barriers by standardizing the inspection and permitting process, according to a press release issued by Harabedian’s office on April 16.

The measure is one piece of a broader legislative effort in Sacramento this year to promote factory-built construction as a response to California’s housing shortage, which state officials have estimated at approximately 3 million units. The California Department of Housing and Community Development has reported that the state produces fewer than 80,000 new homes annually, well short of the 180,000 additional homes it needs each year.

Friday, April 17, 2026

Five Years Later, an Altadena Murder Case Returns to the Pasadena Courthouse

Robert Cotton, charged in the 2021 stabbing deaths of his mother and uncle, faces a pretrial hearing Friday

The man charged with killing his mother and uncle at their Altadena home in 2021 — an attack that a Zoom call made impossible to ignore — is scheduled to return to a Pasadena courtroom this week.

Robert Anderson Cotton, now 37, faces a pretrial hearing Friday, April 17, at 8:30 a.m. in Department B of the Pasadena Courthouse, 300 E. Walnut St. He has been held in Los Angeles County custody since his arrest, on $4.02 million bail, as the case moves through the courts more than five years after the killings.

Cotton is charged with two counts of murder in the March 22, 2021 stabbing deaths of his mother, Carol Anne Brown, Ph.D., 67, and her brother, Kenneth Wayne Preston, 69. The two were killed at the 3100 block of North Marengo Avenue in Altadena — a home they shared with Cotton.

Friday, April 17, 2026

LA County Launches Mental Health Awareness Campaign

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Thursday launched its annual “Take Action for Mental Health L.A. County” campaign, marking the start of a monthlong series of events tied to Mental Health Awareness Month.

The campaign includes nine large-scale events and more than 130 community-based activities scheduled throughout May, organized in partnership with dozens of local groups, according to organizers.

The department will host events on May 28 at Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, and various eight other locations around the county.

Officials said the effort is aimed at promoting mental health awareness, reducing stigma and connecting residents with resources and support services.

“Mental Health Awareness Month provides a vital opportunity for us to connect with communities across Los Angeles County and elevate the importance of mental health and wellbeing,” LACDMH Director Lisa Wong said in a statement.

The department said it is partnering with 84 community-based organizations to host free events that include wellness activities such as meditation,

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Earth Day Altadena Returns with a Message of Resilience and Renewal

Altadena’s annual celebration of community and environmental stewardship promises an afternoon of music, art, and healing at Solvang Garden

Altadena is set to host its third annual Earth Day celebration, a vibrant community gathering dedicated to fostering resilience and connection through environmental awareness. This year’s event, themed “Making Change Where We Stand,” invites families and individuals to Solvang Garden on Sunday, April 19, 2026, for an afternoon filled with engaging activities, live performances, and opportunities to connect with local eco-conscious initiatives. The free event, presented by a coalition of community organizations including Soul Force Project, United Nations Association Pasadena, Dena Hive Consortium, and Dena United, aims to transform collective grief into growth and isolation into connection, embodying a powerful declaration of renewal for the Altadena and Pasadena communities.

The celebration will feature a diverse lineup of musical talent, showcasing both local and international influences. Attendees can look forward to a performance by Mayeya, a dynamic ensemble led by Peruvian percussionist Diana Andrea Soto Teixeira,

Thursday, April 16, 2026

County Budget Proposes $9.9 Million to Fix the Emergency System That Failed Altadena

Supervisor Barger, absent for Deputy Vargas’s funeral, issues written endorsement of county’s proposed $48.8 billion spending plan

Less than 16 months after evacuation failures cost 19 lives in Altadena, the county that oversees those alert systems is proposing to spend $9.9 million to overhaul them.

Los Angeles County’s recommended $48.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-27, presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, includes funding to expand the Office of Emergency Management by 44 positions — a step Acting Chief Executive Officer Joseph M. Nicchitta’s office described as part of a multi-year plan to rebuild the agency, which a landmark independent review found had only 37 staff members serving a county of 10 million people.

Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and was absent from Tuesday’s meeting to attend the funeral of Sheriff’s Deputy Levi Vargas, issued a written statement calling the investment “a meaningful step toward strengthening our emergency preparedness” that reflects “our commitment to implementing key improvements identified in the McChrystal Group After-Action Report — particularly in alerts,

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Bill to Extend Insurance Moratorium for Eaton Fire Survivors Clears Assembly Committee

A bill authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) that would give wildfire survivors in Altadena and other fire-affected areas more time before insurers can drop their coverage passed the Assembly Committee on Insurance this week.

AB 2038, jointly authored by Harabedian and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood), would lengthen the period during which insurance companies are prohibited from canceling or declining to renew residential policies after a declared disaster. According to a press release from Harabedian’s office, the bill would extend the current one-year moratorium to two years for homes located in a fire perimeter ZIP code, and to three years for homes declared a total loss.

The legislation comes as Altadena residents face mounting uncertainty more than 15 months after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 19 people in January 2025. The existing one-year moratorium on nonrenewals — established under a 2018 law authored by then-state Sen. Ricardo Lara — expired in early January 2026 for areas affected by the Eaton and Palisades fires.

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Altadena Nonprofit That Lost Offices in Eaton Fire Launches Free Music Series for Children

Children of One Planet, an Altadena-based nonprofit that lost its headquarters in the January 2025 Eaton Fire, is launching a three-part music program for children and families returning to the community. The first session of Music for Hope Altadena begins Thursday, April 17, at the Loma Alta Park Gymnasium.

The series, which runs from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the park at 3330 N. Lincoln Ave. in Altadena, will continue on May 15 and June 12. Each session is free and open to the public. According to the organization’s event announcement, activities will include music, dancing, snacks and refreshments, giveaways, and educational booths.

The event is presented in partnership with the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation, according to promotional materials from Children of One Planet.

The nonprofit, founded in 2000 by Azita Milanian, promotes the well-being of children through performing arts programs. The organization has been a partner with LA County Parks and Recreation and previously provided music and dance instruction at Loma Alta Park and the Farnsworth Park community center through the county’s Parks After Dark program,

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Two Altadena Neighbors Return to Their Block in Free Modular Homes, 15 Months After Eaton Fire

Two neighboring families who have lived side by side in Altadena for more than 30 years move into new temporary modular homes on their own properties Thursday, marking what organizers described as the first no-cost housing units delivered to Eaton Fire survivors through a collaborative nonprofit initiative.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned this morning, April 16, to be followed by a community block party welcoming residents Ana Robles and Carolyn Smith back to their block.

Both women lost their homes when the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena on Jan. 7, 2025.

The modular accessory dwelling units were provided at no cost through the Dena Forward Alliance, a collaborative of five nonprofit organizations: Shared Harvest Foundation, the SoLa Foundation, MODEL/Z, the Southern California chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SoCal NOMA), and the Pasadena-based Greenline Housing Foundation.

The alliance was formed to help displaced families return to their properties while their permanent homes are rebuilt.

The two households were the first recipients in the program to be assigned a Shared Harvest Disaster Care Manager.