October 30 online meeting will give local business owners a forum to discuss rebuilding, permitting and economic recovery following the Eaton Fire

The Altadena Chamber of Commerce & Civic Association will hold its weekly Business Coffee Chat on Friday, Oct. 30, from 9:30 to 10 a.m., providing an online forum for local business owners navigating recovery from the January 2025 Eaton Fire.

The free meeting will take place on Zoom. According to the Chamber’s website, the recurring Friday sessions feature updates from the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity, which oversees several programs supporting Altadena’s economic recovery.

Organizers describe the Coffee Chat as an open forum where business owners and operators can share concerns, experiences and information about challenges facing the community.

The meeting comes as the county continues offering rebuilding and business assistance through its Altadena Commercial Concierge Program, announced by the Department of Economic Opportunity in a June 25 news release.

The program provides permitting assistance, individualized business consulting and connections to financial and technical resources for qualifying Altadena businesses, nonprofit organizations and commercial property owners.

Under its Altadena SmallBiz Permit Express component, eligible participants are assigned a dedicated representative to help navigate county permitting requirements, coordinate meetings with county departments and address issues that could delay commercial rebuilding projects.

The county has established a target of reducing permitting approval times by 25% across participating departments. That figure represents a program goal, not a documented reduction already achieved.

The program also provides individualized technical assistance through business consultants who assess participants’ recovery needs, develop action plans and offer continuing guidance on operations, finances and other business concerns.

According to the county’s program guidelines, applicants generally must have fewer than 100 employees and average annual revenue of no more than $19 million over the previous three tax years. Additional eligibility requirements depend on the service requested.

The Chamber is also encouraging local businesses to complete the county’s Altadena Commercial Recovery Survey, which it says will help inform continuing recovery assistance.

Friday’s Coffee Chat will be conducted virtually rather than at the Chamber’s office in the Altadena Community Center.

Participants can access the Zoom meeting through the Chamber’s website at www.altadenachamber.org. The meeting ID is 881 9070 5729.

The Altadena Chamber can be reached at (626) 794-3988.

Need to know: Altadena Chamber Business Coffee Chat, Friday, Oct. 30, 9:30–10 a.m. Online via Zoom. Admission is free.

Charles S. Farnsworth Park [photo credit: lacounty.gov]

County notice schedules an 11 a.m. ceremony as a $1.4 million project advances after the Eaton Fire

A groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 5 at Charles S. Farnsworth Park in Altadena will begin work on two new Dodgers Dreamfields, a $1.4 million baseball and softball restoration project.

The Los Angeles County Coordinated Joint Information Center announced an 11 a.m. to noon ceremony at the park, 568 E. Mt. Curve Ave. The project is a partnership between the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and the county Department of Parks and Recreation following the Eaton Fire, which damaged the park in January 2025.

The ceremony is expected to include a shovel dedication and a brief program with foundation leaders, county parks representatives and project sponsors, the foundation said in a Sept. 16 press release.

The fields, the foundation’s 69th and 70th Dreamfields, are planned for baseball and softball programs for children ages 5 to 12 and recreational access for youths and teenagers through age 18.

Planned work includes new irrigation, upgraded playing surfaces, fencing, shade structures and solar-powered scoreboards.

A planned science, technology, engineering and mathematics trail will link the park’s upper and lower fields. The foundation said the trail will use its Science of Baseball curriculum alongside features of the park’s natural landscape.

The Eaton Fire destroyed the park’s historic Davies Community Center and damaged other facilities, Los Angeles County said in January 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported the following May that crews were removing debris around the historic site, with archaeological monitoring to protect possible cultural artifacts.

The county’s longer-term restoration plans extend beyond the ballfields. In November 2025, Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced $5 million for a planned reflection garden and $4.1 million in funding for broader Farnsworth Park improvements. Those investments were described as part of the county’s recovery work at several Altadena parks.

“For generations, Farnsworth Park has been a place where families gather,” county Parks and Recreation Director Norma E. García-González said in the foundation’s September announcement.

The foundation said its plans followed community listening sessions involving the Community Coalition for Altadena Recovery, Central Altadena Little League and other local leaders. When the fields are finished, the county will oversee maintenance, reservations, scheduling, permits and programming.

NEED TO KNOW

Event: Charles S. Farnsworth Park groundbreaking ceremony. When: Thursday, Nov. 5. Time: 11 a.m. to noon, according to Los Angeles County. Where: Charles S. Farnsworth Park, 568 E. Mt. Curve Ave., Altadena. For more, visit https://www.mlb.com/amp/press-release/los-angeles-dodgers-foundation-to-support-altadena-s-ongoing-recovery-with-two-new-dodgers-dreamfields-at-farnsworth-park.html

County-funded pilot offers up to $60,000 in lead remediation services per approved property, with applications due Nov. 25

Homeowners in unincorporated areas of Pasadena affected by the Eaton Fire have until noon Wednesday, Nov. 25, to apply for county-funded soil testing and lead cleanup, but the program excludes renters, owners of vacant lots and homeowners whose residences are uninhabitable.

The New Roots Eaton Canyon Pilot Program, administered by the Los Angeles County Development Authority, has $1 million available for testing, remediation and administration. County officials expect the pilot to serve approximately 20 properties, with assistance capped at $60,000 per approved application.

The program, launched Oct. 21, covers eligible owner-occupied homes in designated areas of unincorporated Pasadena and Altadena. Applicants can use an online address checker to determine whether their property falls within the program’s boundaries.

Homeowners must certify that the property has been their primary residence since Jan. 7, 2025, when the Eaton Fire began. The home must remain habitable and owner-occupied when the application is submitted.

Multifamily and commercial properties are excluded, along with condominiums and townhomes where the land is owned by a homeowners association or another entity.

Applicants must submit government-issued photo identification, a utility bill issued within 60 days of applying, and their most recent property tax notice or recorded deed. The agency may request additional documentation. Applicants have a maximum of five business days to supply missing information or forfeit participation.

The county will evaluate applications based on detected lead levels in bare soil and household circumstances.

First priority goes to households with a pregnant member, followed by those with children younger than 6 and homes regularly visited by children in that age group. Households with a member who has elevated blood lead levels follow, then households with children ages 6 through 17 and those with an older adult or a person with disabilities.

Under the program, LACDA pays licensed and certified lead-abatement contractors directly for testing and cleanup. Participating homeowners pay nothing but must sign an agreement permitting access to their property.

Cleanup methods depend on contamination levels and site conditions. They may include removing six to 12 inches of contaminated soil and replacing it with clean soil or covering exposed areas with grass, rock or mulch. The agency says remediation generally takes one to 14 days, and replacement soil is tested afterward.

The program follows Los Angeles County public health findings that identified elevated lead levels in representative soil samples collected from intact properties downwind of the Eaton Fire. The county’s final findings, released in September 2025, cautioned that conditions vary by property and that testing results do not automatically establish a need for cleanup.

The Board of Supervisors approved the county funding in July. Officials say they are exploring additional resources to extend assistance beyond the approximately 20 properties targeted by the initial pilot.

NEED TO KNOW: New Roots Eaton Canyon Pilot Program applications close Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2026, at noon. Eligible homeowners in unincorporated Pasadena and Altadena can check their address and apply at https://newroots.lacda.org. Approved testing and remediation services are provided without charge. Questions may be directed to newroots@lacda.org.

[Shutterstock]

The observances at All Saints Church, an Episcopal parish downtown, and at two Catholic parishes, St. Andrew in Old Pasadena and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on East Orange Grove Boulevard, include remembering, by name, people who died in the past year. Clergy and staff at all three also described continuing support for people affected by the Eaton Fire, which began Jan. 7, 2025.

Remembering “isn’t just a private experience, but it’s something, again, that we practice together,” said Rodell Jefferson, director of public relations and communications at All Saints Church.

All Saints, at 132 N. Euclid Ave., observes All Saints Sunday as its parish feast day, when it traditionally honors relatives and friends who have died within the past year, according to the church’s announcement. At every service Nov. 1, a memorial book containing the names of loved ones will be placed on the altar, and worshippers are invited to look in it for the name of the person they love.

A spoken service begins at 7:30 a.m. in the chapel and is also offered on Zoom. At the 10 a.m. Eucharist, which will be livestreamed, the Coventry Choir and Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Weicheng Zhao, the church’s director of music, will offer Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. Incense will be used at that service, and incense-free seating is available outside on the lawn.

At 9 a.m. in the Guild Room, Jeannie Cobb will lead an introduction to the Requiem, a work the church’s announcement notes Fauré himself called a “lullaby of death.”

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sweetland Hall will host a Día de los Muertos art and culture workshop and exhibition of work by local artists and musicians, including a talk by church member Oscar Alcántara on customs such as ofrendas. All are invited, and the church asks guests to RSVP at carrilloc@sbcglobal.net.

At 5 p.m., a bilingual Spanish-English Día de los Muertos service will include prayer, music and an ofrenda where worshippers may place photos, mementos or names of loved ones who have died. Bishop Naudal Alves Gomes, a former primate of the Anglican church in Brazil who now serves as a bishop missioner in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, will preach, and the Rev. Tim Rich, the church’s priest-in-charge, will preside.

An ofrenda set up primarily through the leadership of the church’s Latino and Hispanic ministry already stands in the sanctuary, where people can leave flowers, photographs and other small items, Jefferson said. When people name someone, he said, they are “calling up a particular person with a particular life, a person that was loved, a person who loved and was loved in the world.”

At St. Andrew Catholic Church, 311 N. Raymond Ave., All Saints’ Day will be celebrated at the parish’s eight regular Sunday Masses, beginning with the 5 p.m. Saturday vigil. “Well, it’s a little bit different this year because All Saints Day falls on a Sunday,” said Father Marcos Gonzalez, the pastor, who said the parish normally adds Masses for the feast.

On Monday, Nov. 2, St. Andrew will hold its annual All Souls’ Day Memorial Mass in the evening, after the regular 8:15 a.m. Mass. The names of everyone in the parish who died over the past year will be read and included in the prayer of the faithful, and the Mass will be sung to Fauré’s Requiem by the parish’s full choir, Gonzalez said. He said he sends a personal invitation to every family that had a death this year.

The Mass is “a kind of a trilingual celebration because we have English and Spanish and then the mass parts are all in Latin, which binds everybody together,” Gonzalez said. Ofrendas and similar customs are fine as cultural traditions but are not part of the Catholic liturgy, so they are not part of the Mass, he said.

Attendance has grown every year, and the Mass is always full, Gonzalez said. “It amazes me how moving that is for people,” he said. “There’s no obligation for them to come, and yet everybody comes.”

The parish prayed at last year’s All Souls’ Mass for everyone who died and who was affected by the Eaton Fire, has prayed for them ever since and continues outreach to affected families, Gonzalez said. “We have, I think, 26 families in our school who lost their homes,” he said. “So we’re still working with them and a lot of them are rebuilding now, but it’s going to take quite some time.”

At Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, 2640 E. Orange Grove Blvd., the parish will celebrate All Saints’ Day at five Masses, beginning with a 5 p.m. Saturday vigil, said Father Michael Ume, the pastor. On Monday, Nov. 2, Masses will be celebrated at 8:15 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., he said.

The hours between the two Monday Masses give people time to go to cemeteries to visit their loved ones, Ume said. “So then they come back in the evening for another mass.”

Through November, the parish will display a banner in the church with the names of everyone who died since last November and is asking people to bring photographs of loved ones for display in a niche, Ume said. “So people can see their loved ones who passed away, we continue to pray for them.” On Monday, he said, children at the parish school will create a Día de los Muertos altar.

Since August, Assumption has held a monthly bereavement group for people who have lost loved ones, homes or anything else, Ume said. “We have one for women, we have one for men, because sometimes people grieve differently,” he said. Two members are close to finishing their homes, he said. “So we rejoice with them.”

Visitors are welcome at all three churches, clergy and staff said. “You don’t have to be a member of All Saints to participate,” Jefferson said, adding that people may bring a memento “or nothing at all, just bring them in your hearts.” At Assumption, the first thing visitors should know “is that they are welcome,” Ume said.

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, so clocks go back one hour Saturday evening. The City of Pasadena’s Día de los Muertos celebration runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Villa Parke Community Center, 363 E. Villa St., and community ofrendas are on display through Nov. 7 at the Hastings, La Pintoresca and Santa Catalina branch libraries.

Need to Know: All Saints Sunday at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., is Sunday, Nov. 1, with a 7:30 a.m. spoken service, also on Zoom; a 9 a.m. introduction to Fauré’s Requiem in the Guild Room; the Día de los Muertos Art & Culture Workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Sweetland Hall, with RSVPs to carrilloc@sbcglobal.net; the 10 a.m. Eucharist with Fauré’s Requiem, also livestreamed; and the 5 p.m. bilingual Día de los Muertos service. Call (626) 796-1172 or visit allsaints-pas.org/all-saints-sunday-november-1-2026. St. Andrew Catholic Church, 311 N. Raymond Ave., celebrates All Saints’ Day at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, and on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 6:30 a.m. (Spanish), 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. (Spanish), 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. (Spanish) and 5 p.m.; on Monday, Nov. 2, Mass is at 8:15 a.m. and the annual Memorial Mass is in the evening. Call (626) 792-4183 or visit saintandrewpasadena.org. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, 2640 E. Orange Grove Blvd., celebrates All Saints’ Day at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, and at 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m. (livestreamed), 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, with All Souls’ Day Masses at 8:15 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. Call (626) 792-1343 or visit abvmpasadena.org.

Seven families have reserved altar space for Pasadena’s free Día de los Muertos celebration Friday, Oct. 30, at Villa Parke Community Center, where the Pasadena Community Job Center’s altars will honor Eaton Fire victims, a city spokesperson said.

“The Job Center will be honoring fallen workers, victims of the Eaton Fire, and individuals who passed away in ICE detention centers,” Amanda Sin, a communications coordinator for the city’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, said in written responses. The center, where day laborers meet employers looking to hire, chose to add the Eaton Fire tributes to its altars, Sin said.

The celebration runs from 5 to 8 p.m. and features dance performances, arts and crafts, food for purchase and ofrendas, altars honoring the dead, according to a city news release. Performers include local folklórico groups Nahuatzen and Mexica, and the Aztec dance group Yankuititl will close the program, bless the altars and speak about the meaning of the holiday, Sin said.

As Indigenous communities in Mexico have practiced, Día de los Muertos commemorates the brief return of deceased relatives and loved ones, with festivities from the end of October into early November, according to UNESCO. UNESCO added the tradition, which blends pre-Hispanic rites with Catholic feasts, to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

Community members may bring a framed photograph of a loved one to place on a shared community altar at the event. “Everyone is welcome to attend,” Sin said.

“The City of Pasadena would like the public to know that this celebration is a deeply meaningful tradition that honors loved ones who have passed and brings the community together through culture, art, and remembrance,” she said.

Families who wanted to display their own altars had until Oct. 15 to reserve space, according to the release. The seven family reservations are consistent with participation in previous years, Sin said.

The Armory Center for the Arts will also take part, and the Armory and the Job Center partnered with the parks department on the 2022 and 2024 celebrations. The 2022 program included arts and crafts with the Armory, ballet folklórico by Mexica and Lupita and a performance by Yankuititl, according to a newsletter from the city’s District 6 council office.

The celebration is part of the city’s Latino Heritage Month programming, which the city says recognizes the histories and contributions of Americans with roots in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and Spain. Earlier in October, the series listed a pan de muerto baking workshop at Villa Parke, an ofrenda nicho box and flower-making workshop at the Hastings Branch Library and a free family screening of “Coco” at Madison Elementary School.

Community ofrendas remain on display through Nov. 7 at the Hastings, La Pintoresca and Santa Catalina branch libraries, where adults may add photos, messages or family mementos. La Pintoresca, 1355 N. Raymond Ave., and Santa Catalina, 999 E. Washington Blvd., list display hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Hastings, 3325 E. Orange Grove Blvd., is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Need to Know: Día de los Muertos is Friday, Oct. 30, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Villa Parke Community Center, 363 E. Villa St., Pasadena. Admission is free; food is available for purchase. For accessibility accommodations, email CSC@CityOfPasadena.net or call (626) 744-7311. Call (626) 744-6530 or visit cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/event/dia-de-los-muertos.

Haroula Baliaka working with equipment on the roof of the ASCENT site in Pico Rivera. [photo credit: CALTECH]

Researchers estimated that nearly 7 million people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area were exposed to 24-hour lead concentrations 80 times higher than typical values at the peak of the fire’s structural burning. The estimate was based on data from an air-monitoring station in Pico Rivera, about 11 miles south of Altadena, that tracked the fire plume.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, found that the urban plume contained more than 50 times as much lead, seven times as much chlorine and bromine, and three times as much arsenic as typical wildfire smoke.

“Smoke travels; it’s not just about the burn area,” lead author Haroula Baliaka said. “What does a plume mean for people who are miles away from a fire but receive the smoke? We evacuate for fire, but we don’t evacuate for smoke exposure.”

Baliaka and co-author Ryan Ward monitored the plume at the Pico Rivera station. Four instruments continuously measured the chemistry and physical properties of airborne particles, allowing researchers to track rapid changes that can be missed by standard sampling methods, which collect particles over 24-hour periods every few days and analyze them weeks or months later.

The researchers also compared the Eaton Fire data with measurements from the Airport Fire, which burned 24,000 acres of vegetation in Riverside County in September 2024.

As the Eaton Fire moved from developed areas into the San Gabriel Mountains, its chemical signature shifted toward that of a more typical wildfire, the study found.

“Essentially, this comparison between the two fires indicates how different and chemically distinct an urban fire is,” Baliaka said.

Lead levels spiked across eastern Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley on Jan. 8 and 9, with the highest readings downwind of Altadena. The ratio of potassium to lead in the plume increased as the fire moved into the mountains, approaching wildfire-like levels by Jan. 11 and rising further the next day, according to the study.

Researchers said the health effects of short-term exposure to high concentrations of lead and other toxic chemicals remain unknown. The findings could help improve models used to predict where smoke and pollutants will travel during fires and guide emergency responses, according to Caltech.

Dolores Huerta, the legendary labor leader and civil rights activist who helped transform the lives of American farmworkers and became one of the nation’s most influential voices for social justice, has died at 96.

Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers with César Chávez, was honored throughout California for her decades of activism, including in Los Angeles County, where supervisors moved to recognize her 95th birthday in April 2025 by proclaiming Dolores Huerta Day.

Huerta’s influence extended throughout the Pasadena area, where she received the Legacy Lifetime Commitment Award at the YWCA San Gabriel Valley’s 90th Anniversary Legacy Gala at the Hilton San Gabriel in August 2025. 

She was also named the organization’s 2026 YWCA Empowerment Award honoree, with events centered around South Pasadena and online initiatives aimed at ending cycles of violence. 

Her legacy continues to inspire local students through the Pasadena Sí Se Puede Essay Contest, which brings together community partners, including the Pasadena Media Foundation and Pasadena Unified School District, to celebrate her historic rallying cry, “Sí Se Puede” (“Yes, We Can”), coined in 1972, with annual essay awards and recognition during the Latin Grad Celebration.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved mother, Dolores Huerta, has passed away today at the age of 96,” her family announced on social media.

“As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficult time for us, and we ask for privacy as we grieve this incredible loss to our family,” the statement continued.

A family spokesman told The New York Times that Huerta died of cancer.

Born Dolores Clara Fernández on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, New Mexico, Huerta moved to Stockton, California, with her mother when she was 3.

Her experiences witnessing discrimination against Mexican Americans helped shape a lifetime devoted to civil rights, labor organizing and political empowerment.

After briefly working as a teacher in the 1950s, Huerta turned to activism after encountering children who came to school hungry because their farmworker parents struggled to earn a living.

In 1955, she founded the Stockton chapter of the Community Service Organization, which organized voter registration drives and advocated for economic opportunities for Latino communities.

She met Chávez through a fellow activist, and in 1962, the two established the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers.

Earlier this year, Huerta publicly revealed that she had been sexually abused by César Chávez, her longtime organizing partner and co-founder of the United Farm Workers. 

Huerta said Chávez pressured her into one sexual encounter and forced her into another during the 1960s, resulting in two pregnancies. 

She said she remained silent for approximately six decades because she feared the allegations would damage the farmworker movement they had built together. 

Her disclosure came as two other women, Ana Murguia and Debra Rojas, accused Chávez of sexually abusing them when they were minors during the 1970s. 

The allegations prompted the United Farm Workers to withdraw from César Chávez Day commemorations and acknowledge the seriousness of the accusations against its co-founder. Chávez, who died in 1993, was never tried on the allegations. 

As a union leader, Huerta negotiated labor contracts, organized consumer boycotts and fought for improved wages, health benefits and protections against dangerous pesticides.

Her organizing efforts helped build support for the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, landmark legislation that established collective bargaining rights for agricultural workers.

Huerta served as vice president of the United Farm Workers until 1999.

Her influence extended far beyond the agricultural fields of California. She became a prominent advocate for women’s rights, immigration reform, voter participation and greater political representation for Latinos.

Her contributions earned numerous honors, including the Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.

In April 2025, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis introduced a motion recognizing Huerta’s 95th birthday and her contributions to generations of activists.

“As founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she travels across the country fighting for equity and civil rights,” Solis wrote in the motion.

“Her contributions to California and Latinos across the country have inspired generations of leaders fighting for justice for all workers.”

The county had previously proclaimed April 10 Dolores Huerta Day in 2024.

Through the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she continued advocating for economic justice, education and civic engagement well into her 90s.

Her death marks the loss of one of the last towering figures of the farmworker movement that reshaped California politics and labor rights during the 1960s and 1970s.

Huerta leaves behind a legacy of organizing that helped bring farmworkers from the margins of American society into the national conversation about civil rights and economic justice.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger joined the former trustee’s campaign in Madison Heights on Sunday, the campaign said

Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo and five former mayors of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge have endorsed Geoff Baum in his bid to return to the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees, his campaign said, as the race for the Trustee Area 1 seat enters its final week before the Nov. 3 election.

The five former mayors are Bill Bogaard and Chris Holden of Pasadena and Michael Davitt, Gregory Brown and Stephen Del Guercio of La Cañada Flintridge. 

The campaign also lists Holden as a former Assembly member. It said the six mayors, who come from both ends of the district, may not share a political party but agree on this election. The campaign noted the race is nonpartisan.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who has also endorsed Baum, joined the campaign Sunday at the Madison Heights home of Liz and Andy Wilson, the campaign said. Some of the campaign’s student volunteers also attended. The campaign said they have spent weekends knocking on doors with Baum across the district.

The campaign said Barger offered advice it has followed throughout the race: “Just do the right thing and the politics will work out for themselves.”

The campaign’s endorsement list also includes Councilmember Steve Madison, among others, as well as the Sierra Club, the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters and the Los Angeles County Taxpayers Association.

“I served 12 years on the PCC Board of Trustees and 12 years on the California Community Colleges Board of Governors,” Baum said in a campaign message. “I know what a trustee can do for students, and I am ready to go back to work for them.”

The campaign said it is spending its final seven days knocking on doors in La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena and calling voters to remind them to return their ballots. It said many voters are still making decisions about the election, “so every conversation counts.” Several supporters are also contacting friends and neighbors in the district, the campaign said.

According to the campaign, Trustee Area 1 includes La Cañada Flintridge and the Pasadena neighborhoods of Linda Vista, San Rafael, West Pasadena, downtown Pasadena and Madison Heights. The campaign listed Pasadena ZIP codes 91103, 91105 and 91106 and La Cañada Flintridge ZIP code 91011 for the district.

Geoffrey “Geoff” Baum’s campaign has made experience its central theme. He served three elected terms on the PCC Board, including two terms as Board president, before leaving the Board in 2013, according to his campaign. He also served 12 years on the statewide California Community Colleges Board of Governors, where his colleagues twice elected him president, the campaign said.

According to the campaign, his professional background includes broadcast journalism, higher education administration at the University of Southern California and Claremont McKenna College, and philanthropic leadership. He is a co-founding partner of Linda Vista Communications in Old Pasadena. His campaign lists degrees from Claremont McKenna College, the University of Southern California and Fordham University, including an MBA.

Baum and his wife, Lisa, have owned a home in the district for more than 30 years, according to the campaign. He is a former president of the West Pasadena Residents Association and has been involved in advocacy on the Arroyo Seco, historic neighborhoods and the future of the State Route 710 stub.

Baum’s campaign platform pledges financial oversight through transparent budgeting, responsible use of taxpayer funds and accountability for PCC’s voter-approved facilities bond investment.

On affordability and access, the campaign platform calls for lower textbook and materials costs, stronger transfer pathways to four-year universities, expanded high school dual enrollment and support for working adults, student parents and first-generation students.

The campaign platform also proposes workforce training aligned with regional employers, including in the skilled trades needed to rebuild after the Eaton Fire. On artificial intelligence, it calls for responsible faculty use and for preparing students for AI’s effects on employment and education.

On board governance, the campaign calls for greater collaboration among trustees, administrators, faculty and staff, with a stated focus on students rather than politics.

Cell phone images of the first moments after the Eaton Fire ignited on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, on the mountainside opposite Midwick Drive’s terminus at N. Altadena Drive in Altadena. [Jennifer Errico]

Free Wednesday webinar will examine compensation options, payment timelines and legal fees ahead of a Nov. 30 claims deadline.

Two attorneys coordinating lawsuits brought by Eaton Fire victims against Southern California Edison will address Altadena survivors Wednesday evening during a free online forum examining the utility’s compensation program, litigation and mediation.

Every Fire Survivor’s Network, a Pasadena-based nonprofit, will host the two-hour webinar from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 28 as part of its “Beat the Clock” legal education series. Organizers said the session will include developments from a court hearing scheduled earlier that day.

The speakers are Jerry Singleton of Singleton Schreiber and Amanda Riddle of Corey, Luzaich, de Ghetaldi & Riddle LLP. Both serve as court-appointed liaison counsel coordinating attorneys representing individual plaintiffs in the Eaton Fire litigation.

The discussion will compare potential compensation through Edison’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program with outcomes that could result from lawsuits or mediation. Participants will also hear about attorney fees, payment timelines, legal deadlines and the possible effect of bellwether trials on settlements.

The webinar comes as Edison’s Nov. 30 deadline approaches for submitting claims through its voluntary compensation program.

In an Oct. 20 announcement, Edison reported receiving more than 5,300 claims representing over 16,250 individuals, trusts and legal entities. The utility said it had offered nearly $1.1 billion in compensation and paid more than $580 million.

Edison says submitting a claim or reviewing an offer does not waive a claimant’s legal rights. Accepting an offer, however, requires a settlement agreement and release. The company says it aims to issue offers within 90 days of receiving substantially complete claims, with payments following satisfaction of settlement conditions.

The Nov. 30 cutoff applies to the utility’s compensation program, not necessarily to lawsuits. Separate statutes of limitations govern court claims, and deadlines depend on the type of loss and individual circumstances.

The pending Eaton Fire litigation includes claims for deaths, injuries and property losses. The first bellwether trial has been scheduled for January 2027, although Edison has sought a postponement.

Every Fire Survivor’s Network says participants may submit questions during Wednesday’s session. The organization describes the program as general legal education, not individualized legal advice, and says participation does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

NEED TO KNOW: “Edison Compensation Program or Litigation? Know Your Rights, Deadlines and Choices” takes place Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. Pacific on Zoom. Admission is free. Registration information is available at https://www.efsurvivors.net/beat-the-clock.

Candidate Francis Pollara’s campaign announced the PCC Board candidate picked up a number of endorsements from local electeds in an announcement this week. [Courtesy photo]

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party, labor groups and La Cañada leaders also back the PCC alumnus ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Francis Pollara, a candidate for the open Area 1 trustee seat at Pasadena City College, has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, five of the college’s seven current trustees and the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, his campaign announced.

Area 1 represents La Cañada Flintridge and West Pasadena. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang, former State Senator Carol Liu, Pasadena Vice Mayor Jess Rivas and ACT Pasadena are also backing Pollara, the campaign reported.

“Francis Pollara has the experience, integrity, and commitment to help lead Pasadena City College into its next chapter,” Congresswoman Chu, a former community college professor, is quoted by the campaign as saying.

“Francis Pollara brings a rare combination of leadership experience, economic development expertise and a deep commitment to student success. He understands the responsibility is not simply to provide access to education, but to ensure students have the support, skills, and pathways they need to succeed,” said Senator Pérez, who chairs the Senate Education Committee.

Liu, who served on the Senate Education Committee and the Pasadena City College Foundation Board, said she is proud to endorse Pollara for Pasadena City College trustee “because he will be a thoughtful advocate for students, a strong steward of public resources, and a leader committed to keeping PCC accessible, innovative, and responsive to the needs of our community.”

The campaign said that five of PCC’s seven current trustees have endorsed Pollara: Board President Steve Gibson, Alton Wang, Kristine Kwong, James Aragon and Sandra Chen Lau, who currently holds the Area 1 seat. Student Trustee Jesslie Vega, Associated Students President Jesus Cuevas Sanchez and the PCC Faculty Association also support him, it said.

The campaign said Pollara has earned every endorsement from currently elected officials in La Cañada.

Democratic clubs supporting Pollara include the Pasadena Arroyo Democratic Club, the Democrats of Pasadena Foothills, the Cañada Crescenta Democratic Club, the Stonewall Democratic Club and the East Area Progressive Democrats.

His labor endorsements include the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the LA/OC Building & Construction Trades Council and IBEW Local 11. The Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters has also endorsed him.

“I want to protect the things that have made Pasadena City College one of California’s premier community colleges,” Pollara said.

The campaign said that as trustee, Pollara would build career training with employers in health care, engineering, advanced manufacturing and the skilled trades. He would also expand dual enrollment and transfer pathways, keep PCC affordable and hold the budget and bond to strict, public oversight.

Pollara is a PCC alumnus, a first-generation American and the father of two young children. He took classes at PCC while in high school, before dual enrollment existed.

He has led economic development work for the city of Los Angeles and served as the city’s entrepreneur-in-residence. He served four years as a La Cañada Flintridge city commissioner, chairing the Sustainability & Resilience Commission and serving as vice chair of the Design Commission. He also sits on the YMCA of the Foothills Board of Directors.