Monday, April 13, 2026

Guest Opinion | Calmatters’ Dan Walters: California Voters Will Face Dueling Ballot Propositions This Fall. Confusion is Likely

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

When California voters approved Proposition 13 in 1978, they forced a massive change in how government services are financed that continues to reverberate nearly a half-century later.

Prop. 13’s limits on property taxes that had financed public schools and other units of local government for many decades forced fundamental changes in fiscal responsibilities — the state assuming education costs being just one example.

California media extensively covered Prop. 13’s financial impacts at the time, and countless academic and journalistic analyses have done so since. But one aspect of its passage has been largely ignored.

California’s political leadership in 1978 — Gov. Jerry Brown and a Legislature controlled by his fellow Democrats — did their best to torpedo Prop. 13 by placing a rival measure on the same primary election ballot. The alternative, Proposition 8, promised property tax relief for owner-occupied homes but denied it to commercial property.

Prop. 13 passed overwhelmingly but Prop.

Sunday, April 12, 2026

A Family, a Volunteer, and a Life-Saving Journey at Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center

When Tracy Watson recently arrived at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center (LAMC) – which serves Kaiser Permanente members in Pasadena – on the morning of her husband’s heart surgery, the uncertainty felt overwhelming.

Her husband, Richard “Dick” Watson, a newly enrolled Kaiser Permanente member and school crossing guard, was scheduled for a triple bypass and valve replacement—procedures that all began with what they believed would be a standard checkup. “If it hadn’t been for that physical, we never would have known anything was wrong,” Tracy said.

Watson’s path to that day had moved quickly. After his primary care physician detected a heart murmur during his initial physical exam, he was referred for further testing at Kaiser Permanente Anaheim Medical Center.

A series of evaluations—including an EKG, a stress test and cardiac catheterization—found that Watson’s heart wasn’t functioning as it should, leading to a referral to the cardiac surgery clinic at LAMC for evaluation with Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Kwok Yun.

The coordinated communication between primary care,

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Pasadena Rabbi Among Speakers at Holocaust Museum Los Angeles’s Yom HaShoah Commemoration Today

Rabbi Joshua Ratner of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center is among the featured speakers at the museum’s annual remembrance ceremony

Rabbi Joshua Ratner of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center is among the featured speakers at Holocaust Museum Los Angeles’s annual Yom HaShoah commemoration being held today, Sunday, April 12, at 11 a.m. at the museum’s location at 100 The Grove Drive in Los Angeles.

The ceremony, titled “Yom HaShoah Commemoration: Remembrance and Responsibility,” focuses on preserving Holocaust memory and the obligation of future generations to carry forward the stories and lessons of the Holocaust, according to the museum’s event listing.

Ratner serves as senior rabbi of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, a congregation that has been holding services at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena since its own building was destroyed in the Eaton Fire earlt last year.

Other featured speakers at the ceremony include U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, and Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian. Holocaust survivor Henry Slucki will appear in conversation with CNN anchor Elex Michaelson and Slucki’s granddaughter,

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Huntington Health’s Top Nurse Adds Chief Operating Officer to Her Role

Jinhee Nguyen will oversee both nursing and hospital-wide operations at Pasadena’s largest medical center

Huntington Health has named its chief nursing officer, Jinhee Nguyen, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, to the additional role of senior vice president and chief operating officer, consolidating nursing and hospital-wide operations under one executive at Pasadena’s largest medical center.

The appointment, announced Thursday by the Cedars-Sinai affiliate, gives Nguyen responsibility for operations across the organization while she continues to lead nursing. She was selected through what the organization described as a highly competitive internal process.

“This appointment speaks to the exceptional depth of leadership within our organization and to the meaningful impact Jinhee has made since joining Huntington nearly two years ago,” John M. Corman, MD, president and chief clinical officer of Huntington Health, said in a statement. “Her leadership has driven measurable improvements in care quality, nursing engagement, financial performance, and operational readiness.”

Nguyen joined Huntington in July 2024 as chief nursing officer after spending approximately 20 years at Adventist Health Glendale Medical Center,

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Armenian Genocide Graphic Novel Author to Discuss Debut at Vroman’s Saturday

Bay Area illustrator’s critically acclaimed book arrives in Pasadena 13 days before the city’s April 24 remembrance observance

Author and illustrator Nadine Takvorian will discuss and sign her debut graphic novel “Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide” at Vroman’s Bookstore on Saturday, April 11, at 3 p.m.

The event occurs during April 2026, which the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has proclaimed Armenian History Month for the 10th consecutive year, according to a press release from Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office. Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day falls on April 24, marking the 111th anniversary. The 344-page book, published March 10 by Levine Querido, has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Foreword Magazine, according to the author’s website.

Takvorian will appear in conversation with Julie Fiveash, a Los Angeles-based Diné cartoonist and former Librarian for American Indigenous Studies at Harvard University, according to the Vroman’s event listing. Fiveash’s own debut graphic novel, “The Froggy Library,” publishes three days after the event through the same publisher,

Saturday, April 11, 2026

California State Golden Gloves Championship Opens Today at Victory Park

Two-day amateur boxing tournament brings top fighters from across the state to Pasadena

The City of Pasadena Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department and California Golden Gloves are hosting the Annual California State Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament this weekend at Victory Park Recreation Center, 2575 Paloma St.

Competition begins at noon today, Saturday, April 11, and continues at 11 a.m. Sunday, April 12. Top-level male and female amateur boxers ages 18 and older from across California will compete for state titles and a berth in the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, scheduled for May 11–16 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The California Golden Gloves operates through four regional branches — Northern California, Central California, Southern California and Cal-Border — each of which holds qualifying tournaments. Regional champions from all four branches advance to the state championship, which serves as the final gateway to nationals for Open division winners.

Among the competitors is Pasadena’s own Adriana Nuñez, a product of the city’s Villa Parke Boxing Program.

Friday, April 10, 2026

Pasadena Taxpayers Encounter New Refund Rules — and Eaton Fire Survivors Get a Break

Rep. Judy Chu’s pre-deadline advisory explains how the switch to electronic refunds may delay some payments, and why wildfire relief money received in 2025 is generally tax-free

If you filed your 2025 federal tax return without including bank account information, your refund may already be frozen — and the clock is ticking.

Pasadena Congresswoman Judy Chu is alerting constituents this week that the 2026 filing season marks the first year in which the federal government is delivering most tax refunds electronically, not by paper check. Taxpayers who did not provide direct deposit information when they filed will receive an IRS notice — called CP53E — giving them 30 days to supply banking details through their IRS online account. Those who don’t act in time will wait an additional six weeks for a paper check, according to Chu’s advisory. Tax Day is April 15.

Chu, who represents the 28th Congressional District including Pasadena, issued the guidance as part of pre-deadline outreach to her constituents.

Friday, April 10, 2026

Rent Relief Deadline Closes In: Altadena and Pasadena Applicants Have Until April 25 to Act

A software error left some landlords out of the loop on tenant applications — and county officials say no one has been denied yet, but the window to fix it is closing

Some landlords whose tenants applied for Eaton Fire rent relief never got the email telling them to finish the paperwork. Now they have until April 25 to find it — or the application dies.

The LA County Emergency Rent Relief Program is reaching out to applicants affected by a software error that disrupted Round 2 of the county program. The program can provide up to $15,000 per rental unit for wildfire- and emergency-related housing hardship, according to the City of Pasadena Rent Stabilization Department. The problem is specific: tenant-initiated applications submitted before the March 11, 2026 deadline sometimes failed to trigger the automatic email notification that prompts landlords to complete their required portion. Without both parts filled out, an application cannot be reviewed. The program covers Pasadena and Altadena residents directly — the City of Pasadena’s Rent Stabilization Department posted official notice of the program on its website,

Friday, April 10, 2026

On Dolores Huerta’s 96th Birthday, State Senator Pérez Says Farmworker Movement Was ‘Never About One Person

The state senator for Pasadena calls for truth-telling and a broader accounting of the movement’s history as the UFW co-founder turns 96

“The story of the farmworkers movement was never a story about one person,” California State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez said in an interview with Pasadena Now ahead of Dolores Huerta’s 96th birthday today.

Huerta is one of the most influential labor activists and civil rights icons of the 20th century. Born in 1930, she co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) union alongside César Chávez in 1962.

On March 18, Huerta revealed publicly she was sexually assaulted twice by Chávez in the 1960s. Her disclosure followed a New York Times investigation alleging widespread misconduct by Chávez.

“I’m grateful to Dolores Huerta and the survivors of sexual assault for their bravery in coming forward to share their stories,” Pérez told Pasadena Now. “Nobody should ever feel forced to hide their trauma to protect their abuser’s reputation.”

Huerta said she stayed quiet to avoid harming the farmworker movement she helped build.

Friday, April 10, 2026

Tournament of Roses Announces 8 Rose Scholars, Awards Them $20,000 in Scholarships

The ROSE Scholars program, now in its sixth year, has awarded $120,000 to PUSD graduates by asking applicants to show who they are, not what their transcript says

The Tournament of Roses didn’t ask its scholarship applicants for their grade point averages. It asks them to make something.

Eight graduating seniors from the Pasadena Unified School District have been named the 2026 ROSE Scholars by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and Citizens Business Bank, each receiving a $2,500 scholarship selected through a process built around creative expression rather than academic standing.

To apply, students submitted a creative piece representing their future aspirations, a one-page written reflection, and a recommendation from a teacher, coach, counselor, or community member — nothing more.

The program, now in its sixth year, has distributed $120,000 in total scholarship funds to PUSD graduates since Citizens Business Bank and the Tournament of Roses launched it in 2021.

The 2026 scholars are Giovanni Benitez of Pasadena High School,