Saturday, August 23, 2025

State Senator Takes Ceremonial Oath in Pasadena Saturday As Immigration, Housing Crises Escalate

Pérez brings progressive agenda to education committee leadership

When Senator Sasha Renée Pérez takes her ceremonial oath of office Saturday at Pasadena City College for California’s 25th State Senate District, she will do so as one of California’s most progressive voices on immigrant rights and housing reform, carrying legislation that would ban algorithmic rent manipulation at a time when many of her constituents are still reeling from January’s devastating Eaton Fire.

Her outspoken pushback against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions makes her among the most vocal of California’s elected officials.

Saturday’s ceremony, originally scheduled for January but postponed when Pérez pivoted to Eaton Fire disaster relief efforts, represents more than a symbolic gesture for the 32-year-old freshman senator who officially assumed office on December 2.

Chair of the powerful Senate Education Committee and author of 23 bills in her first legislative session, Pérez has positioned herself as a fierce advocate for renters, immigrants, and the unhoused—constituencies she knows intimately.

Saturday, August 23, 2025

CBS Developing Kenya Barris–Mike Epps Comedy Set in Post-Wildfire Altadena

The series will spotlight Altadena’s recovery after the Eaton Fire and explore themes of family and gentrification

CBS is reportedly developing a half-hour multi-camera comedy from Kenya Barris and Mike Epps, set in Altadena in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire. The untitled series will explore themes of family, displacement, and gentrification while spotlighting the community’s recovery.

Barris, creator of “Black-ish” (ABC, 2014–2022), returns to broadcast television as writer and executive producer. Epps will star and co-produce alongside his longtime collaborator Niles Kirchner. The series is being developed under BET Studios, where Barris is a principal, and co-produced by CBS Studios—both operating under Paramount Global’s TV Media division led by George Cheeks, chair of TV Media, who oversees CBS Network, CBS Studios, BET Studios and other television operations.

The show follows two estranged Black brothers who reunite to sell their late grandmother’s home to private developers. Their plans unravel when they discover the grandmother’s caretaker owns part of the property and refuses to sell,

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Sheriff’s Stations Holding “Bus Pull” To Raise Funds For Eaton Fire Victims

Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s stations will host a charity “bus pull” event Saturday to raise funds for residents affected by the deadly Eaton Fire that devastated Altadena earlier this year.

“Bus Pull 2025″ promises to be “a high-energy, family-friendly event aimed at uniting the community and raising critical funds for local charities that directly serve Altadena residents impacted by the recent Eaton Fire by pulling a 50,000-pound sheriff’s department transportation bus,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.

The event will take place on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at First City Credit Union on Woodbury Road in Altadena.

Teams will be made up of community members, first responders and local organizations.

“We are honored to announce the attendance of Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who will be joining us in support of this powerful effort to uplift and restore our Altadena community,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.

Proceeds will go to vetted charities and relief organizations working to provide shelter,

Friday, August 22, 2025

California Cities Lack Unified Response On Homeless Encampments

By Marisa Kendall, CALMATTERS

Clearing an encampment is one of the most complicated and fraught tasks any California city can take on when responding to homelessness.

How they handle that challenge varies widely.

CalMatters asked nearly three-dozen cities and counties throughout California for copies of their encampment management policies. Responses spanned a wide range, highlighting the lack of a unified strategy to address street homelessness across the state, even as Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing for more cohesive rules.

San Diego, for example, has a 10-page policy that spells out everything from when removals can take place (during daylight hours and not if there is a 50% chance of rain) to how much advance warning the city must give camp residents (at least 24 hours) and how to handle personal belongings confiscated during the removal (items must be photographed, logged and stored for 90 days).

But some smaller cities and counties have no rules, or only bare-bones guidelines.

Friday, August 22, 2025

Defendants Face New Hearing in Altadena Fire Looting Case

Four men charged with residential burglary during Eaton Fire evacuation

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Friday for Pierre Obannon and three co-defendants in a residential burglary case stemming from alleged looting during the Eaton Fire in Altadena. 

Obannon, 19, along with Roy Sims, Ryan Sims, and Naquan Dewey Reddix, will appear in Pasadena Courthouse’s Department H to face charges of first-degree residential burglary. Prosecutors allege the men entered an evacuated home during the January 8 fire and stole multiple items, including an Emmy Award. 

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, all four defendants were charged on January 10 and pleaded not guilty at their arraignment. Each faces up to six years in state prison if convicted. 

Court documents reveal the alleged crime occurred at approximately 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. during mandatory evacuations for the Eaton Fire. Notably, Obannon was released on bail, while co-defendants Roy and Ryan Sims remain in custody with bail set at $50,000 each.

Friday, August 22, 2025

California Lawmakers Vote for Special Election on Redrawn District Maps

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A redrawn congressional district map aimed at shifting five U.S. House seats to Democrats will go before California voters this November, a move some Republican state legislators — including Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach — said violates the state constitution.

State lawmakers voted Thursday to put the newly proposed California congressional map — a direct counter to legislative redistricting efforts in Texas to increase the number of GOP House seats there — before voters in a Nov. 4 special election.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement shortly after the vote, “The People of California will be able to cast their vote for a congressional map. Direct democracy that gives us a fighting chance to STOP Donald Trump’s election rigging. Time to fight fire with fire.”

Just before Thursday’s vote, California Republican legislators accused their Democratic counterparts in Sacramento of pushing a redistricting plan without proper oversight or notice to the public.

During a Thursday morning news conference on the steps of the Capitol,

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Across U.S., Cooperation with ICE Grows Despite Pasadena’s Resistance

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

While Pasadena police reaffirmed that they do not perform the work of immigration officials —a stance highlighted at a recent Police Oversight Commission—many cities and states nationwide have been deepening their collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Last week, Deputy Chief Art Chute told commissioners that officers will not detain or arrest people solely for immigration violations, nor will the department honor civil detainers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also emphasized that ICE is not permitted to use city facilities for staging or parking.

Chute reported that in the past year Pasadena police booked only two individuals on federal judicial warrants tied to criminal immigration violations, which he said are required by law. Civil detainer cases, he explained, are processed and released under the city’s standard procedures without alerting federal authorities.

While acknowledging community concerns about transparency, Chute said the department will not broadcast alerts about ICE operations, citing risks to federal agents’ safety.

Thursday, August 21, 2025

California’s Finances Face A Perfect Storm. It Could Eventually Lead To Another Tax Hike

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

A perfect storm of economic, fiscal and political trends is battering California’s already deficit-ridden state budget, leading public employee unions and other interest groups dependent on money from Sacramento to explore hefty tax increases.

The budget has what fiscal authorities call a “structural deficit,” meaning that its revenue system, dominated by personal income taxes, cannot generate enough income to fully finance all services and programs in current law.

Estimates of the chronic shortfall range from $10 billion a year to as much as $30 billion. Last fall, the Legislative Analyst’s Office calculated that state spending was increasing by about 6% a year while revenue was rising by only 4%.

The current budget, enacted in June, had a $20 billion deficit that was closed by tapping into the state’s emergency reserves, borrowing from special funds, postponing some payments and adopting some bookkeeping gimmicks.

Thursday, August 21, 2025

LA County Seeks Partners for Toy Loan Program

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services was seeking sought community partners Wednesday to help expand its Toy Loan Program for children in underserved areas.

DPSS called upon organizations such as youth centers, parks and schools to participate in the program and serve as toy lending centers, where children can borrow free toys the same way books are checked out from a library. The program is based on the idea that every child regardless of their family’s income level deserves a toy and playing is an essential component of a child’s development, according to the department.

Children who participate in the program and return borrowed toys on time and in good condition earn points toward “honor borrower” status, meaning they can pick out rewards from the program’s “honor cabinet.”

The department recently opened a lending center in Lincoln Heights, following the closure of several locations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. DPSS previously had 50 community lending services that served more than 30,000 children annually —

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Gascon Chief of Staff Sues LACo Over Demotion, Termination

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Former District Attorney George Gascon’s chief of staff sued Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and another prosecutor Wednesday, alleging she was demoted for her support of Gascon’s reform policies and because of her race, age and gender.

Former Deputy District Attorney Tiffiny Blacknell, who is Black, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the county, Hochman and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin. The latter previously filed and settled his own lawsuit against the county in which he maintained he suffered a backlash over his criticisms of Gascon’s reforms.

Blacknell seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A representative for the District Attorney’s Office said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Blacknell, 48, is a former deputy public defender who was hired by the county in 2002. Her suit states that her transfer to the District Attorney’s Office by Gascon and her filling of various roles there, including chief of staff,