Monday, March 16, 2026

Pasadena’s State Senator Presses State’s Top Librarian Over $649,000 Gap in Dolly Parton Book Program

Senate hearing reveals nonprofit created to administer children’s literacy funds submitted one report instead of four and cannot document its spending

State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, whose district includes Pasadena, demanded answers Thursday from California’s top librarian after lawmakers discovered that roughly $649,000 spent by a nonprofit tied to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library cannot be supported by receipts or bank records.

Pérez, who chairs the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Education, pressed State Librarian Greg Lucas at a March 12 hearing in Sacramento over a gap between the nonprofit’s claimed spending and its documented expenditures. The nonprofit, called the Strong Reader Partnership, reported spending approximately $1.2 million in state funds, but bank statements provided to Senate budget staff showed only about $555,000 in expenditures — a discrepancy of $649,351, according to the subcommittee’s agenda packet.

“I find this to be incredibly concerning,” Pérez said during the hearing, according to Fox News Digital. “There’s $650,000 that’s been unaccounted for in a program,

Monday, March 16, 2026

A County Report Ranked Altadena’s Well-Being Among L.A.’s Best. Then the Eaton Fire Destroyed It.

Before the Eaton Fire, Altadena was one of the most livable communities in Los Angeles County — a racially diverse, well-educated foothill neighborhood where residents earned above-average incomes, lived longer than most Angelenos, and had made some of the largest educational gains of any county community in the region over the past eight years.

That Altadena no longer exists. The January fire destroyed half the homes in the community, killed residents, displaced thousands of families, and left behind a toxic landscape dotted with ash, asbestos, lead, and arsenic that continues to impact people more than a year later. A community that had been steadily building toward a better future was, in the span of days, physically decimated.

A sweeping new Los Angeles County report released March 11 captures both sides of that story — the Altadena that was, measured in data collected through 2023, and the catastrophe that followed.

The juxtaposition is staggering. The same report that assigns Altadena a Human Development Index score placing it among the county’s highest-performing communities also warns that the gains those numbers represent may have been wiped out along with the homes,

Monday, March 16, 2026

Altadena Bicycle Club Consortium Wins National Grant for Post-Fire Trail Concept

The $2,000 award funds planning for a trail loop connecting West Altadena neighborhoods affected by the Eaton Fire

A consortium of Altadena bicycle advocacy groups has been awarded a $2,000 grant from the League of American Bicyclists to develop a concept for a continuous trail loop connecting fire-affected neighborhoods, the national organization announced last week.

The grant to TEAM SoCalCross, Altadena Bicycle Club, and Lotus Rising funds concept development for the Altadena Cultural Town Trail, a proposed network of trails and sidewalks that would connect residential areas in West Altadena, according to the League’s announcement.

The project was one of 10 selected from 197 proposals nationwide in the fifth year of the League’s Community Spark Grant program. The concept must be completed by December 31, 2026.

Dorothy Wong, founding member of the Altadena Bicycle Club and an Altadena Town Council member who chairs the Safe Streets – Traffic Safety & Mobility Committee, is leading the effort, according to the announcement.

Monday, March 16, 2026

California Passed a Law to Curb Spikes in Gas Prices. Why Isn’t it Using Those Powers Now?

By Alejandro Lazo, CALMATTERS

Three years ago, California built a first-in-the-nation system aimed at protecting drivers when oil markets turn calamitous. The Legislature passed it. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. He proclaimed “California took on Big Oil and won.”

Its author, then-Sen. Nancy Skinner called it a “landmark law” that “will allow us to hold oil companies accountable if they pad their profits at the expense of hard-working families.”

But the law — which gave regulators the power to cap refinery profits and penalize oil companies for price gouging — has never been used. Instead, last year, the California Energy Commission voted to delay the rules for five years. Skinner – who wrote the law as a Senator – was absent when her own commission voted to delay it.

Now, with gas topping $5.30 a gallon statewide, that decision is under a new spotlight. The Iran war has sent global oil prices soaring — but the war is only part of the story.

Monday, March 16, 2026

LA County Gas Prices Keep Rising

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose 3.5 cents Sunday to $5.597, its highest amount since Oct. 20, 2023.

The average price has risen 24 of the past 25 days, increasing 97.8 cents, including 10.3 cents Saturday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 37.6 cents more than one week ago, 98.5 cents more than one month ago and 93.7 cents more than one year ago.

Despite the recent increases, it is 89.7 cents less than the record $6.494 set on Oct. 5, 2022.

Prices were rising slightly in line with seasonal norms before the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28 sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.

“Oil prices spiked over $100 a barrel on Monday and continue to be volatile as this conflict continues,” Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s senior public affairs specialist,

Monday, March 16, 2026

Eaton Fire Legal Update Event Set for March 18 at Pasadena Civic Center

Pasadena residents and others affected by the Eaton Fire can attend a free public event Wednesday evening at the Pasadena Civic Center, where attorneys involved in lawsuits against Southern California Edison plan to outline their litigation strategy and provide recovery resources.

The event, titled “Inside the Negotiation Room: Outlining Our Edison Settlement Strategy,” is organized by LA Fire Justice, a legal coalition formed after the Eaton Fire that represents survivors pursuing claims against Edison. It is scheduled for 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. at 300 E. Green St.

According to a statement from the organizers, LA Fire Justice lead litigator Mikal Watts will present on the legal framework guiding Eaton Fire claims, including settlement pathways, proof standards, and the role of AB 1054, a California law that established a fund to compensate victims of utility-caused wildfires. The presentation will also draw on precedent from prior wildfire litigation, including cases related to the Bobcat Fire, Camp Fire, and Maui wildfires, according to the firm.

Watts will be joined by attorneys Doug Boxer and Maribel Medina.

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Construction Start/Stop Hours, Land Use Top Altadena Town Council Agenda Tuesday

The council will also hear updates on Charles White Park’s $10.5 million renovation and Eaton Fire recovery funding

Construction hours in Altadena’s fire zone will return to the Town Council agenda Tuesday, months after a county survey asked residents whether to allow building work beyond the current 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. window as post-fire rebuilding accelerates.

The presentation, listed as a special item on the February 17 agenda, will be delivered by Charlene Contreras of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The town council will meet at 7 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive.

Contreras addressed the council in October to introduce a community survey on extending construction hours. At that meeting, she told the council that the county wanted to gauge residents’ tolerance for earlier mornings or later evenings as the pace of rebuilding picked up, according to Pasadena Now. The county currently prohibits construction noise between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Summit Today Brings Turnkey Builders to Altadena Fire Survivors Under One Roof

Five organizations partner with Supervisor Barger to offer free workshops and vetted rebuilding options at Loma Alta Park

Fourteen months after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures across Altadena, a free summit on Sunday will give survivors a single destination to meet vetted turnkey builders and explore streamlined options for getting back into their homes.

The Altadena Turnkey Rebuild Summit, organized by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and five partner organizations, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Loma Alta Park’s gym, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave. The event targets fire survivors who are underfunded or overwhelmed by the complexity of reconstruction — offering speaker presentations, practical workshops, and face-to-face meetings with housing professionals, according to a press release from Barger’s office.

The summit’s focus is turnkey rebuilding, a model in which a single builder handles design, permitting, and construction so the homeowner receives a move-in-ready home. For survivors navigating fragmented contracts and unpredictable costs more than a year after the Jan.

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Altadena Senior Center Extends Arts Programming Through May

Loma Alta Park satellite campus offers creative workshops and chair yoga for seniors

Altadena seniors seeking to engage their creative spirit and maintain physical well-being have an extended opportunity this spring, as Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office has prolonged arts programming at the Altadena Senior Center’s satellite campus at Loma Alta Park through May. This initiative, in collaboration with the Center for the Empowerment of Families, Inc., underscores a commitment to fostering community engagement and healthy living for older adults in Altadena and neighboring areas. The programming, which includes gardening art, chair yoga, and creative art workshops, provides a vital hub for learning and socialization, building on the center’s mission to serve seniors of all socio-economic levels.

The Altadena Senior Center (Satellite) at Loma Alta Park, which reopened in May 2025 after the Eaton Fire, has become a cornerstone of community recovery and continued service. Supervisor Kathryn Barger notes, “These classes are a wonderful way to empower older adults and foster creativity in Altadena.” The Center for the Empowerment of Families,

Sunday, March 15, 2026

La Viña Families Begin Rebuilding Together After Eaton Fire

By EDDIE RIVERA

Six Altadena homeowners among first participants in Builders Alliance initiative helping wildfire survivors rebuild

Six families from Altadena’s La Viña neighborhood who lost their homes in last year’s Eaton Fire have begun rebuilding together, moving forward on a coordinated construction effort designed to simplify the rebuilding process.

Working with Brookfield Residential, the homeowners are rebuilding simultaneously, using pre-designed home plans matched to their homesites. Early trenching and site preparation are now underway for all six properties, and the families expect to return to their rebuilt homes in fall 2026.

The La Viña homeowners are also among the first participants in the Builders Alliance, a not-for-profit initiative created in response to the January 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires. The alliance brings together homebuilders who are working collaboratively, to help fire survivors rebuild more efficiently while reducing both time and cost.

A central component of the program is a free online portal that allows homeowners to explore rebuilding options based on their specific property.