Friday, October 10, 2025

Newsom Signs Sweeping Housing Bill

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Despite objections from Los Angeles city leaders who deemed it an infringement on local development control, Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday signed state legislation allowing more rapid — and more dense — housing projects near major public transit stops.

Senate Bill 79, introduced earlier this year by Sen. Scott Wiener, D- San Francisco, overrides local zoning standards, allowing taller and more dense housing near specific transit stops in eight counties across the state — Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Mateo.

The bill was originally intended to be enacted statewide, but it was narrowed through a series of amendments as it wound through the Legislature, limiting it to the eight counties and applying only to major transit stops — such as subway and light rail stations and heavily used stops on major bus lines.

“All Californians deserve an affordable place to live — close to jobs, schools, and opportunity,” Newsom said in a statement announcing his decision to sign the bill.

Friday, October 10, 2025

Millions to Practice ‘Drop, Cover and Hold On’ in Global Earthquake Drill

Altadena Sheriff’s Station promotes International ShakeOut Day as registration tops 51 million

More than 51 million people worldwide have registered to participate in earthquake safety drills on Oct. 16, said Shakeout.org, the organizers.

The Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills will take place at 10:16 a.m. local time. Participants include schools, workplaces and homes across earthquake-prone regions.

In California alone, more than 9.5 million people have signed up for the drills. Registration figures are current as of Thursday.

International ShakeOut Day allows people to rehearse earthquake response procedures. The drills can be conducted at any time and in multiple locations through video conferencing.

Organizers said the event provides an opportunity to update emergency plans. Participants can also check supplies and secure their spaces to prevent damage and injuries.

To register to join, visit ShakeOut.org.

Friday, October 10, 2025

UCLA Survey: 20% of Californians Concerned About Ability to Pay Housing Costs

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Nearly 20% of California adults worried about their ability to pay their rent or mortgage during 2024, prompting some of them to either take a second job, cut back on health care or stop saving for retirement to help make ends meet, according to data from a UCLA survey released Thursday.

According to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research’s California Health Interview Survey, roughly 5.9 million California adults, or 19.9%, said they worried very often or somewhat often about paying their monthly housing costs in 2024. That’s up from 18.8% in 2023 and up from 15.1% in 2021.

About 15.6% of adults said they took a second job or performed additional work at their existing job to help pay their housing costs. About 14.2% said they stopped saving for retirement, while 15.9% racked up more credit card debt, 12.2% cut back on health food and 5.8% cut back on health care, according to the survey data.

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Jenny Pizer of Lambda Legal to Launch All Saints Church Forum Series on National Coming Out Day

All Saints Church will mark National Coming Out Day on Sunday, October 12, by launching its 2025–2026 Forum Speaker Series with Jenny Pizer, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Lambda Legal, the nation’s oldest and largest legal organization representing the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

Pizer’s presentation will take place from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. in the All Saints Forum at 132 N. Euclid Ave., directly across from Pasadena City Hall. The event is free and open to the public, with a livestream available at https://allsaints-pas.org/livestream.

“Jenny has been a leading national voice for ending discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in employment, education, health care, and family law including marriage, and against the use of religion and free speech rights to license discrimination,” said All Saints priest, Susan Russell.

“There is nobody better to come help us unpack what the legal landscape looks like for LGBTQ+ folks in general and Transgender/Non-Binary folks in particular in this challenging and critical moment in our history.”

“In this time of still-intensifying national catastrophe,

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Newsom Signs First-In-Nation Law To Ban Ultraprocessed Food In School Lunches

By Kristen Hwang, CALMATTERS

California is the first state in the country to ban ultraprocessed foods from school meals, aiming to transform how children eat on campus by 2035.

In the cafeteria of Belvedere Middle School in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a measure that requires K-12 schools to phase out foods with potentially harmful ultraprocessed ingredients over the next 10 years. The requirements go above and beyond existing state and federal school nutrition standards for things like fat and calorie content in school meals.

California public schools serve nearly 1 billion meals to kids each year.

“Our first priority is to protect kids in California schools, but we also came to realize that there is huge market power here,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat. “This bill could have impacts far beyond the classroom and far beyond the borders of our state.”

The legislation builds on recent laws passed in California to eliminate synthetic food dyes from school meals and certain additives from all food sold in the state when they are associated with cancer,

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Black Education Expo Draws More Than 1,000 to Pasadena

Event distributed 900 books, offered health screenings and career panels

More than 1,000 students, parents and educators gathered Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Pasadena Convention Center for the Black Education Expo.

The event drew families from across Southern California and from Atlanta and Northern California.

Victoria Williams, CEO of BWP Enterprises, founded and produced the expo which featured more than 70 exhibitors in an expo hall powered by Pasadena City College.

Exhibitors included SoLA Robotics, Special Needs Network, UCLA, Bank of America and IBEW Local 11.

The event distributed 900 free books through the BEE Literacy Initiative.

A dance procession led by Williams and Ghanaian artist Victor Agbeli opened the event, with traditional drumming and movement setting the tone for the day.

“It’s not just about access to resources,” Williams said. “It’s about creating spaces where K-12 families and community members can thrive, connect and be inspired.”

Speakers included Pasadena Councilmember Tyron Hampton and Mayor Victor Gordo.

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Smoke Remediation Crews Face Funding Crunch as 100 Families Wait for Help

Program reportedly cleaned 130 homes after January wildfire but needs donations to continue free services

More than 100 families remain on a waiting list for free smoke remediation services nine months after the Eaton Fire. A consortium of community groups announced it has cleaned 130 homes but now faces a funding shortfall.

The program, called Operation Bunny Suits, began in March. It serves Altadena and Pasadena residents whose homes survived the January blaze but were contaminated with toxic substances.

Professional remediation typically costs tens of thousands of dollars. Many families lack insurance coverage for the needed work.

Tests show homes in the fire zone contain hazardous materials including lead and arsenic. These substances pose serious long-term health risks.

Five organizations run the consortium: Fire Poppy Project, Pasadena Community Job Center, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, CORE and All Hands and Hearts.

Fire Poppy Project launched the effort after recognizing low-income families lacked options to address contamination.

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Eaton Fire Survivors Challenge Edison’s Compensation Plan

Group says utility’s draft proposal mirrors insurance industry tactics that courts have rejected

Some survivors of the Eaton Fire say Southern California Edison’s proposed compensation plan undervalues their losses and could leave thousands without adequate resources to rebuild.

The survivor group plans to release a 47-page response Thursday morning ahead of a press conference at The Good Neighbor Bar in Altadena.

The document criticizes Edison’s draft protocol for basing eligibility on a firefighter’s field map that Cal Fire warns should not determine recovery assistance.

“Edison has made that line the gatekeeper of recovery, excluding families whose homes have tested positive for toxic contamination,” the report says.

Attorneys representing plaintiffs previously called Edison’s plan “unfair, self-serving, and inadequate.”

The survivors’ analysis focuses on what they allege are eight major gaps in Edison’s Sept. 17 draft protocol.

The report includes testimony from survivors still-displaced nine months after the fire.

The survivor network compiled the response with input from hundreds of affected families.

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Businesses, Nonprofits Face Final Hours to Secure Federal Disaster Loans

Eaton Fire victims can access up to $2 million with deferred payments

Businesses and nonprofits affected by the Eaton Fire have until tonight (Wednesday) to apply for federal disaster loans.

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger issued an urgent appeal for eligible organizations to submit applications.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program offers financial assistance to businesses, private nonprofits, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and faith-based organizations.

Eligible organizations can receive up to $2 million at low interest rates.

Interest rates are as low as 3.625% for nonprofits and 4% for businesses. Repayment terms extend up to 30 years.

Borrowers face no payments for the first 12 months. Interest does not accrue during this initial period.

“Today is the final day to apply for critical federal assistance,” Barger said. The loans “can help our local businesses and nonprofits recover from the devastating Eaton Fire.”

Organizations experiencing economic losses directly related to the wildfires qualify for assistance.

Thursday, October 9, 2025

ArtNight Pasadena Returns Friday With Free Access to 18 Cultural Venues

ArtNight Pasadena offers free arts and culture citywide from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. with two new partners

ArtNight will return Friday night with free admission to 18 arts and cultural venues across the city, offering everything from haunted puppets to show tune sing-alongs.

The fall edition of the popular event runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on October 9 and includes two new partners: Fulcrum Arts and Pasadena Heritage. Highlights include a Mushroom Boat journey across the Catalina Channel with Fulcrum Arts, a spooky puppet showcase at Pasadena City Hall, and a Batchelder tile exhibition with storytelling at Pasadena Heritage.

Other attractions include interactive art from the Light Bringer Project, show tune sing-alongs at the Pasadena Playhouse, and a four-gallery series at the Art Center College of Design exploring subjects from Japanese car culture to deep sea mining. The Pasadena Conservatory of Music will host multi-cultural performances at its new campus, while the USC Pacific Asia Museum will showcase 1,300 years of cultural exchange along China’s Silk Road.