Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Analysis: Fire-Safe Homes Could Reduce Losses by One-Third in LA Fire Zones

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Rebuilding homes to fire-safe standards in areas burned by the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires could reduce insurance losses by about one-third, according to an analysis cited Monday by consumer advocates backing proposed state legislation.

The analysis, released Friday by the California Department of Insurance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, found that meeting wildfire safety standards for roughly 30,000 homes within the Eaton and Pacific Palisades burn areas would significantly cut average annual losses.

“As Los Angeles continues to rebuild, local leaders face a pivotal choice: reconstruct to the same standards that left communities vulnerable, or seize this moment to build back with proven, science-based protections that will safeguard lives, property, and insurance access for decades to come,” Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement Friday.

Consumer advocates said the findings support SB 1076, a bill that would require insurers to offer coverage to homeowners who meet state fire safety standards.

“The evidence is indisputable: If L.A.

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Group Files Suit to Preserve LA County Criminal Justice Reform Measure

CITY NEWS SERVICE

An advocacy group filed a lawsuit Monday seeking a judicial declaration that voters’ approval of a Los Angeles County charter overhaul measure in 2024 did not inadvertently repeal a previous ballot item that required the county to annually set aside money for jail-diversion and other social service programs.

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit by Californians United for a Responsible Budget seeks a judicial review and declaration that Measure J — approved by voters in November 2020 — remains in effect and enforceable, despite the 2024 approval of the Measure G charter-reform package.

Measure J requires the county to set aside 10% of its locally generated, unrestricted money and spend it on jail-diversion programs and other social services aimed at preventing people from landing behind bars. The funds were intended to be used on programs such as job training, business development, housing services and youth development.

But last year, county officials discovered that the measure was never codified in the county charter after it was approved by voters. 

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Arizona Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Eaton Fire Relief Fraud

CITY NEWS SERVICE

An Arizona woman was sentenced Monday in downtown Los Angeles to one year behind bars for having submitted a fraudulent claim for wildfire relief funds, listing a nonexistent Altadena address as her primary residence that she claimed was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

Katrina Woods, 33, of Maricopa, Arizona, received more than $23,000 in disaster relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency based on her false claims. She also made reservations through FEMA to stay at two hotels — one in downtown Los Angeles, the other in Hawthorne — during February and March of 2025, paid for by the government, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Along with the prison term, Woods was ordered by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson to pay approximately $23,000 in restitution to FEMA, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Woods pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court in October 2025 to one count of fraud in connection with a major disaster or emergency benefits.

Monday, March 30, 2026

Pasadena Unified to Hold Virtual Town Hall as District Campuses Remain Under Consolidation Review

Tuesday’s online session and evening advisory committee meeting arrive days after 56 speakers opposed closures at the Board

The Pasadena Unified School District will hold a virtual town hall Tuesday morning on its school consolidation process, days after a packed Board of Education meeting where 56 speakers opposed school closures.

Fourteen campuses across Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre remain under review for possible closure or consolidation as PUSD confronts a projected budget shortfall of $30 million to $35 million for the coming fiscal year and an enrollment decline of roughly 23% over the past decade. The advisory committee guiding the process deferred further narrowing at its most recent meeting, and at the March 26 Board session, 56 speakers — parents, students, teachers, and staff — lined up to oppose closures.

The virtual town hall, scheduled from 9:30 to 11 a.m., will be livestreamed in English and Spanish at pusd.us/townhall and recorded for later viewing at the same address. A separate in-person meeting of the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Monday, March 30, 2026

Want Government Records? This California Lawmaker Wants You to Pay More for Them

By Yue Stella Yu, CALMATTERS

Want to know what your government is up to? Be prepared to pay up.

A California state lawmaker wants to let public agencies charge an unspecified, uncapped fee if it takes their workers more than two hours to search for records to fulfill a public records request. The proposal is raising concerns among transparency advocates that the fees could deter Californians from accessing records they are constitutionally entitled to.

Assembly Bill 1821, authored by Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, a Downey Democrat, would also allow the charge if government workers spend more than 10 hours within a month looking for documents requested by the same person. The proposal would apply to most people, with exemptions for journalists and educational or scientific institutions.

In a statement responding to CalMatters’ questions, Pacheco said public agencies have had to spend substantial time responding to a spike in the volume and scope of records requests.

Monday, March 30, 2026

Big Change for California Small Businesses: No More SBA Loans for Non-Citizens

By Levi Sumagaysay, CALMATTERS

Green-card holders no longer qualify for loans from the Small Business Administration, eliminating a longtime source of financing for immigrants that advocates say will discourage job creation and harm the economy.

The SBA limited access to its loans to U.S. citizens and nationals only starting in March, and expanded that policy to SBA-backed loans beginning in April. On top of that, any business that’s even partly owned by a permanent legal resident with a green card is no longer eligible for the loans.

California — which has the most small businesses and the largest immigrant population in the nation — could be most affected. SBA loans have been important to immigrant entrepreneurs because they typically are low-interest and available to those without an established credit history. The agency has also backed loans by private funders, providing a government guarantee for people banks may deem riskier. Now, all those loans are off the table for owners and would-be owners of restaurants,

Monday, March 30, 2026

Arizona Woman Faces Sentencing for Inventing Fake Altadena Address to Steal Eaton Fire Relief

Katrina Woods pleaded guilty to collecting more than $23,000 in FEMA disaster funds using a nonexistent North Lake Avenue address

An Arizona woman who fabricated a non-existent Altadena address in order to collect more than $23,000 in federal disaster relief meant for Eaton Fire victims is scheduled to be sentenced Monday afternoon in Los Angeles federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Katrina Marie Woods, 33, of Maricopa, Arizona, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits. She had claimed to be a renter at 2060 N. Lake Ave. in Altadena — an address federal investigators determined does not exist — and told the Federal Emergency Management Agency that the home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire, according to court records and a U.S. Department of Justice statement.

FEMA disbursed approximately $23,441 in disaster relief to Woods, according to the Justice Department. Woods also used FEMA’s transitional sheltering program to book stays at two hotels — one in downtown Los Angeles,

Monday, March 30, 2026

Today Is First-Ever Farmworkers Day, Public Schools and County Offices Are Closed

County of ices and schools close Monday; state of ices and courts close Tuesday — but City of Pasadena services run all week

Pasadena residents face a split holiday week as the newly-named March 31 Farmworkers Day triggers two separate rounds of closures: Los Angeles County offices and public schools shut down Monday, March 30, while California state offices, courts, and the Department of Motor Vehicles close Tuesday, March 31.

The City of Pasadena, which does not officially observe the holiday, will remain fully operational both days. 

The closures reflect the newly renamed state holiday, formerly known as Cesar Chavez Day, which California lawmakers officially renamed Farmworkers Day last week following sexual abuse allegations against the United Farm Workers co-founder. 

Federal government services like the U.S. Postal Service and federal offices remain open for Farmworkers Day, and so do federally regulated banks. 

Los Angeles County, which traditionally observes the holiday on the last Monday of March,

Sunday, March 29, 2026

The Man Who Runs Angels Flight Is Coming to the Foothills to Talk About the Neighborhood It Once Served

Historian Nathan Marsak brings Bunker Hill’s lost transit history to Lanterman House — a story about what gets saved and what gets razed

Nathan Marsak goes to work each day at Angels Flight, the century-old funicular railway tucked against the eastern face of Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles. He pulls the levers. He runs the cars. He ferries strangers up and down the same steep slope that Victorian-era Angelenos once climbed to reach their mansions — before the automobiles came, and the streetcars faded, and the redevelopment agency arrived, and the mansions came down.

That neighborhood — Bunker Hill — is what Marsak has spent nearly two decades writing about. It is also the subject of his free illustrated lecture at Lanterman House on Sunday, April 19, just minutes from the Altadena border in the La Cañada Flintridge foothills. The talk will trace how the horse-drawn world of one of Los Angeles’s most storied hilltop communities gave way to streetcars, then automobiles, and ultimately to a wholesale clearance that erased a neighborhood of Victorian Queen Anne homes and Edwardian apartment buildings from the city’s map.

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Palm Sunday Services Across Pasadena and Altadena Mark the Start of Holy Week

Churches throughout Pasadena and Altadena are preparing to observe Palm Sunday today, a day that holds central significance in the Christian calendar as it commemorates the biblical account of Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. The day marks the beginning of Holy Week, leading to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and is traditionally observed with palm processions, special liturgies, and readings of the Passion narrative.

The following directory provides a comprehensive listing of local worship services scheduled for Palm Sunday weekend, along with additional Holy Week observances, offering residents a detailed guide to services across denominations in the Pasadena and Altadena area.

Pasadena Now staff have done our utmost to provide well-researched information; we encourage local houses of faith to provide us with information regularly.

ALL SAINTS CHURCH (EPISCOPAL) 132 N Euclid Avenue, Pasadena (626) 796-1172  https://allsaints-pas.org — Tim Rich. Palm Sunday services: 7:30 a.m. (Chapel), 10:00 a.m. (Church, with palm procession and dramatic Gospel reading).