Saturday, July 4, 2026

Neighborhood Traditions, Safety Warnings Shape Independence Day in Pasadena and Altadena

Pasadena, Altadena and nearby communities are set for a busy Independence Day on Saturday, with neighborhood parades, patriotic breakfasts, civic gatherings, a major Rose Bowl festival and drone show, and at least one scheduled political demonstration marking the nation’s 250th birthday.

The day’s local events begin early, with the Pasadena Farmers’ Market at Victory Park, a historical gathering at Owen Brown’s gravesite in Altadena, and the Pasadena Senior Center’s America’s 250th Birthday Breakfast. By late morning, several neighborhood traditions will be underway, including the Pepper Drive Parade in Altadena, the Historic Highlands celebration near the Pasadena-Altadena border, and the Madison Heights Fourth of July Parade and Picnic in Pasadena.

Old Pasadena will also see a July 4 edition of the “Save U.S. Saturdays” demonstration at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue, where organizers say participants will combine a holiday observance with a protest focused on defending American democracy. Later in the day, the Rose Bowl will host the FoodieLand Food Festival, with food vendors,

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Pasadena Writer and Radio Host Remembers Producing Tupac’s Last Concert, July 4, 1996

James Farr, who now reports on Altadena’s recovery from the Eaton fire, was 22 when he helped stage the House of Blues show that became the rapper’s final performance

James Farr, a Pasadena-based writer and radio host who now spends much of his time documenting Altadena’s uneven recovery from the Eaton fire, is marking an unlikely anniversary this Independence Day: 30 years since he helped stage what became Tupac Shakur’s final concert.

The performance took place on July 4, 1996, at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Farr was 22 at the time. He produced the show.

What he remembers, he said in the statement, was not a sense of history in the making.

“At the time, it wasn’t history,” Farr rembers. “It was load-in, credentials, production calls, making sure everything and everyone was where they needed to be. You don’t know what moments will carry forward.”

The concert has since been widely documented as Shakur’s last.

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Foodieland Turns the Rose Bowl Into a Parking Lot Buffet

By EDDIE RIVERA

No fireworks, but vendors, drones and dumplings define a new kind of Fourth of July

The parking lot at the Rose Bowl does not usually smell like garlic noodles and fried lumpia, but for three days this Fourth of July weekend, it does. Foodieland, the touring food festival that organizers call the nation’s largest, set up shop at the Arroyo Seco landmark through July 5, trading the usual fireworks-intensive chaos of the holiday for something a little more edible.

More than 200 vendors line the grounds, their banners stacked three deep in places, competing for attention with oversized inflatable mascots and hand-painted menu boards. At Lumpia Bucket, servers piled golden rolls into red-and-white checkered pails big enough to share, or not. Nearby, Big Baby Bottle has real fruit juice in comically oversized baby bottles, pink caps and all, a photo opportunity as much as a beverage. All Dat Noodle kept a steady line for its soup dumplings and chili garlic noodles.

Friday, July 3, 2026

Altadena Marks July Fourth With Tribute at Owen Brown’s Gravesite

Altadena Heritage is offering residents a livestream or a hike to the hilltop grave of the last survivor of John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry

Altadena Heritage will mark the Fourth of July with a morning ceremony at the hilltop gravesite of abolitionist Owen Brown, giving residents the choice of joining a livestream or hiking to the site where Brown has been buried since 1889, according to the organization.

The event, called the “Morning Celebration at Owen Brown’s Gravesite,” is presented by the Owen Brown Gravesite Committee to mark the nation’s 250th birthday this Fourth of July, according to Altadena Heritage, which is taking part as one of several community partners.

The program is built around the “Declaration of Liberty,” written by John and Owen Brown for July 4, 1859, which called for ending slavery and — unusually for its time—for universal rights including for women.

Owen Brown was the son of abolitionist John Brown and the last survivor of his father’s 1859 raid on the U.S.

Friday, July 3, 2026

Bill Shielding Altadena From Development Pressure Clears Two Assembly Committees

Pérez-authored measure would pause state density laws in the fire-scarred community

A bill that would pause two state housing density laws in Altadena passed two Assembly committees Wednesday, advancing an effort to keep real estate speculators from using those laws to develop the fire-damaged community in ways that could alter it as residents rebuild.

Senate Bill 1090, known as the Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act, would establish a temporary moratorium on SB 9 and SB 1123, state laws that allow increased residential density, including lot splits that permit construction of additional housing units on certain single-family properties. State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, authored the bill after Altadena residents raised concerns that, following the Eaton Fire, the laws were being used to acquire fire-damaged properties for higher-density development at a scale that could overwhelm the community’s infrastructure.

The bill passed the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on a vote of 11-1 and the Assembly Local Government Committee on a vote of 10-0,

Friday, July 3, 2026

Altadena Landlords Must Re-Register Rental Properties

With LA County Registration for the county’s 2026-27 rent stabilization program is open now, according to a county notice

Landlords in Altadena and other unincorporated pockets of Los Angeles County are required to complete annual registration for the 2026-27 Rent Registry cycle, according to a notice from the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA).

The registry applies to owners of rental units, rooms within rental units, and mobilehome spaces in unincorporated areas of the county, which includes Altadena. Property owners must register their properties annually under the county’s Rent Stabilization Ordinances, according to DCBA.

Existing users can log into the Rent Registry, update their unit or space information if needed, and submit their registration for staff review, according to the notice. First-time users must use their Assessor’s Parcel Number and a unique PIN to add the property, enter unit or space information into their account, and provide all required details before submitting the registration for staff review. Once a registration is submitted,

Friday, July 3, 2026

Sheriff’s Deputies, Pasadena Police Warn: Zero Tolerance for Fireworks This Fourth of July

In Altadena and Pasadena, every firework is illegal — and 17 months after the Eaton Fire, authorities say the stakes have never been higher

A charred hillside is a hard thing to forget. Seventeen months after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures and killed at least 19 people across Altadena and surrounding communities, the Altadena Sheriff’s Station is reminding residents of a law that predates the disaster but carries new weight in its shadow: all fireworks are illegal, and deputies will enforce a zero-tolerance policy through the Fourth of July weekend.

The warning, shared by the station on social media this week, echoes a broader push by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the County of Los Angeles. Their message is blunt, according to a department safety advisory: there is zero tolerance for the use and sale of illegal fireworks anywhere in Los Angeles County, and violators face significant fines and criminal prosecution. The advisory identifies cherry bombs, bottlerockets, skyrockets, mortars,

Friday, July 3, 2026

School Board President’s Plan Would Double to Nearly Quadruple Tree Canopy Shade Across Pasadena School Campuses

Pasadena Now receives preview copy of proposed Board resolution

Late Thursday night, Pasadena Now received a copy of a proposed Pasadena Unified School Board resolution from President Tina Federicks, which she said she “will be agendizing in an August Board meeting.”

The proposed resolution, which appears in full below, would roughly double to nearly quadruple existing shade provided by current tree canopy across Pasadena Unified schools, depending on the campus.

If passed, Pasadena Unified would commit to a binding goal of covering at least 30 percent of every campus’s outdoor learning, play and circulation areas with tree canopy by 2030, aligning the district with the state-backed California Schoolyard Forest System.

A 2023 equity study cited in the measure puts current canopy at district schools between 8 and 15 percent — meaning the target would expand existing shade, between two and four times.

The measure sets two deadlines. Within six months, the superintendent would launch a campus-by-campus audit — using satellite imagery,

Friday, July 3, 2026

Warm But Cloudy Independence Day Forecast

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

Pasadena residents can expect mild holiday weekend weather with temperatures in the mid-80s and gradual warming into the upper 80s by midweek, forecasters said Friday.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles/Oxnard reported that onshore flow will keep overnight and morning clouds along the coast and valleys, but afternoons will be mostly sunny. Temperatures will rise slowly, reaching near-normal levels by Wednesday.

Today’s forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a high near 85 degrees and light south winds shifting southwest at 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 59 degrees.

Independence Day will be mostly cloudy with a high near 84 degrees. Winds will remain calm, becoming light from the southwest in the afternoon. Saturday night will be mostly cloudy with a low near 61 degrees.

Sunday will bring mostly sunny skies with a high near 84 degrees. Overnight lows will hover near 60 degrees under partly cloudy skies.

Friday, July 3, 2026

Barger Urges Residents to Skip Fireworks as Altadena Rebuilds From Eaton Fire

County supervisor points to fines and professional shows ahead of July 4, citing wildfire risk

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is urging residents across Altadena and the rest of her Fifth District to avoid personal fireworks this Fourth of July, citing the ongoing recovery from the Eaton Fire, according to a news release from her office.

All fireworks — including “safe and sane” varieties — remain illegal in unincorporated Los Angeles County, which includes Altadena, as well as in many surrounding cities.

Residents caught violating the ban in unincorporated areas face fines of up to $1,000, the release said. State law carries its own separate penalty structure: anyone found in possession of unaltered dangerous fireworks can face fines ranging from $500 to more than $50,000, depending on the gross weight of fireworks involved. The two penalty schemes apply differently depending on the type and quantity of fireworks found, according to the release.

“We’ve seen firsthand what one spark can do,”