Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Guest Analysis: Homelessness Crisis Remains One of Newsom’s Biggest Political Liabilities

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

While delivering his final State of the State address and proposing his final state budget last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom clearly sought to neutralize an issue that has haunted his political career for more than two decades and could torpedo his hopes of becoming president: homelessness.

First, a bit of history.

Just months after being elected mayor of San Francisco in 2004, Newsom unveiled a plan he said would clear city streets of homeless people in 10 years. Fourteen years later, while running for governor, Newsom declared that homelessness in San Francisco had “never been worse.”

He said eradicating homelessness would be a high priority and promised to appoint a homeless “czar” who could cut through red tape and intergovernmental friction to get the job done. Later, when pressed by reporters over the czar pledge, he snapped, “You want to know who’s the homeless czar? I’m the homeless czar in the state of California.”

Despite that self-appointment and devoting almost all of his 2020 State of the State address to homelessness,

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Workshop at Altadena Library Offers Seniors Help With Technology Hurdles

For many older adults, the login screen has become a daily adversary. Remembering passwords, navigating government websites, and managing the paperwork that comes with digital services can feel overwhelming.

On Wednesday, January 22, the Altadena Library will host a free workshop aimed at helping seniors tackle these challenges. The session, titled “Passwords, and Portals, and Paperwork, Oh My,” will be led by Elisa Schwartz, who runs a consulting service called Elisa Can Help that focuses on assisting seniors with technology and paperwork.

The workshop is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the community room at the Altadena Main Library, 600 E. Mariposa St., Altadena, CA 91001.

According to research cited by the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, approximately 22 million American seniors lacked home broadband access in 2020. Even those who do have internet access often report frustration with the constant updates, complex passwords, and confusing interfaces that define modern digital life. Government services, banking, and healthcare have increasingly moved online, leaving older adults who struggle with technology at a disadvantage.

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Altadena Library Brings Movement and Story to Lunar New Year Celebration

Free interactive reading features dance educator Peggy Hongduc Nguyễn and her new children’s book inspired by Vietnamese Zodiac Calendar

One year after the Eaton Fire devastated Altadena, the library district welcomes families to celebrate Lunar New Year with two programs. On Thursday, January 29, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., storyteller Barbara G. Wong will share multicultural tales at Bob Lucas Library.

The centerpiece follows Friday, January 30, when dance educator and children’s book author Peggy Hongduc Nguyễn introduces her newly published book “Zodiac Animals for Movers” through an interactive reading combining movement-based activities inspired by the Vietnamese Zodiac Calendar.

“Peggy welcomes movers of all ages and backgrounds to engage in a community movement experience to charge into the Year of the Horse with intention and power,” according to the program description. Published in October, the 32-page hardcover is illustrated by Elliot Griffin and invites readers to embody the gifts of each zodiac friend through dynamic illustrations and movement concepts.

Monday, January 19, 2026

California Waives State Park Fees for MLK Day; Angeles District State Parks Free to Visit

More than 200 parks offer a free vehicle entry Monday, including sites accessible from Pasadena and Altadena

California will waive vehicle day-use fees at more than 200 state parks on Monday, January 19, giving Pasadena and Altadena residents free access to trails, beaches, and historic sites across the Angeles District. 

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the free entry day on Thursday. The California State Parks Foundation, a nonprofit, is funding the waiver — no taxpayer dollars are involved, according to the Governor’s press release. 

Parks accessible within an hour’s drive of Pasadena include Malibu Creek State Park, Topanga State Park, Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, Leo Carrillo State Park, and Point Mugu State Park. State beaches offering free entry include Santa Monica State Beach, Malibu Lagoon State Beach, Will Rogers State Beach, and Dockweiler State Beach. 

Free entry applies to one passenger vehicle with a capacity of nine people or fewer, or one highway-licensed motorcycle. Some parks will still charge fees,

Monday, January 19, 2026

Altadena Poets, Writers to Mark Eaton Fire Anniversary at Library Gathering

STAFF REPORT

Fifty-three weeks after the Eaton Fire tore through this foothill community and left it in ruins, the Altadena Library will host a gathering of local poets, writers, and community leaders on Tuesday evening to share reflections on memory, healing, and rebuilding.

The event, titled “Under the Stars: Voices of Resilience and Hope,” brings together 13 participants from across Altadena’s creative and civic landscape. Several of them lost their own homes in the January 2025 disaster, according to published reports.

Among the scheduled speakers will be Michele Zack, the historian and author of “Altadena: Between Wilderness and City,” who lost her 100-year-old home in the fire. Hans Allhoff, chair of the preservation group Altadena Heritage, will also participate; he lost his home on Sunny Oaks Circle. Sam James, CEO and co-founder of the Altadena Recovery Team, saw homes destroyed across her extended family, including part of her childhood home, according to UCLA.

James, a sixth-generation Altadena resident and first-year master’s student at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs,

Monday, January 19, 2026

Altadena Author Michele Zack to Appear on ‘Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman’

STAFF REPORT

Pasadena Media’s award-winning local TV talk show “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman” continues this Friday at 5 p.m., featuring guest Michele Zack, former Altadena Town Councilmember and author of Altadena: Between Wilderness and City. 

Zack is an award-winning historian, author, journalist, former Altadena Town Councilmember, and former chair of Altadena Heritage. 

As senior advisor to The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, she wrote federal grants and developed contextual programs to link local to national history and improve the teaching of American history. 

In the 1990s, she lived in Thailand working as an AsiaWeek correspondent and was a regular contributor to Far Eastern Economic Review. 

She authored a popular ethnography of the Lisu, a hill tribe in Southeast Asia, and was co-author of Fielding’s Guide to Thailand. Zack has written widely about Southeast Asia and worked as a speech writer for three Thai prime ministers and other officials,

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Area’s Longest-Running King Day Celebration Returns Monday With Message of Renewal

Martin Luther King Jr. Community Coalition president who lost home in the Eaton Fire drew on King’s example to continue organizing

Dr. Jackie Jacobs has moved four times since the Eaton Fire reduced her home to ashes one year ago. Undeterred by adversity, holding dear her personal memories of having met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and staying true to King’s teaching of staying strong and resolute, Jacobs organized Monday’s local King’s Day celebration in spite of her personal challenges.

The Coalition, which Jacobs founded in the 1980’s with her husband, David, will present the event at John Muir High School, continuing a tradition that has stretched more than three decades in this city.

The event is free, begins with a Teach-In at 8:30 a.m., and features a main program at 10 a.m. State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, the youngest member of the California State Senate, will deliver the keynote address.

The 2026 theme—”Resilience and Renewal: Social Justice, Equality, and Community Empowerment”—reflects current local realities.

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Three Pasadena- and Altadena-Based Nonprofits Earn Regional Recognition

Three nonprofit organizations based in Pasadena and Altadena were included among the 2025 “Nonprofits of the Year” honorees recognized across Los Angeles County, according to a published list of award recipients selected by state legislators.

The locally based honorees are Altadena Girls, a teen-focused nonprofit providing essentials, emotional support and community for teen girls, particularly during crisis, recovery and change; Door of Hope, a Pasadena-based nonprofit serving Los Angeles County that provides homelessness prevention and transitional housing with a focus on keeping families together in private units; and the Rotary Club of Altadena, a local service club that has supported school-based entrepreneurship education through Junior Achievement and has carried out local and international service projects.

Altadena Girls was honored by State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, who represents Senate District 25. Door of Hope was selected by State Sen. Bob Archuleta of Senate District 30. The Rotary Club of Altadena was honored by Assemblymember John Harabedian, who represents Assembly District 41.

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Sunday’s MLK Scholarship Service Pulls Focus on Pasadena and Altadena Students

Annual Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance event will see Bishop Terry Turrentine preside

The Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Greater Pasadena will host its annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Service on Sunday, Jan. 18. offering scholarship support to students from Pasadena and Altadena, according to an announcement from the organization.

The annual service honors the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and raises funds for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Program, through which IMA will award 10 scholarships to graduating high school seniors in the Class of 2026.

The service is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at First African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1700 N. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena.

This year’s scholarship service will feature Bishop Terry Turrentine, senior pastor of Tabernacle Community Church, as the keynote speaker. He is widely respected for his dynamic preaching, moral leadership and steadfast advocacy for justice, faith and community empowerment.

“The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Service is more than a commemoration—it is an investment in the future.

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Burned Altadena Trees Become Fender Guitars to Fund Home Rebuilding

Custom Shop Telecasters made from fire-salvaged cedar will be auctioned for San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity

The Deodar cedars that burned in Altadena are coming back—not as trees, but as Telecasters.

Fender’s Custom Shop in Corona is building four one-of-a-kind electric guitars from wood salvaged from trees damaged in the January 2025 Eaton Fire,

All auction proceeds will go to San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild homes for displaced families, according to Guitar World.

The first instrument—dubbed the Altadena Telecaster—was debuted by Taylor Goldsmith of the rock band Dawes at A Concert for Altadena at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on January 7, the fire’s one-year anniversary. The sold-out benefit concert raised $450,000 for the Altadena Builds Back Foundation.

Angel City Lumber is handling the wood salvage operation, according to Guitar World. The guitar’s body was carved from a Deodar cedar damaged in the fire. The neckplate is engraved with “We Are All Altadena”