Friday, May 2, 2025

Newsom Jabs at Trump and Musk, But will AI Make California More Efficient?

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

Gov. Gavin Newsom staged a news conference in Los Angeles this week to tout the adoption of artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of state government.

That’s pretty dull stuff, so Newsom goosed its news value by contrasting California’s AI program with President Donald Trump’s slashes of federal services via his Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Newsom’s erstwhile pal, industrialist and inventor Elon Musk.

“I could have easily come in here with sunglasses and chainsaws — you know where I’m going — and gotten your attention,” Newsom told reporters. “We’re DOGE but better.”

He took another potshot at Trump and Musk, saying, “They haven’t come close to the savings they’ve asserted. I think it’s been very damaging.”

Newsom’s remarks on Trump, Musk and DOGE represent his latest political repositioning, from a harsh critic after Trump recaptured the White House, to making nice with Trump as the state sought $40 billion in wildfire recovery grants,

Friday, May 2, 2025

Golf Advocates Donate $30,000 to Pasadena-Area Youth Programs

Golf organization partners with Boys & Girls Club and First Tee to support community recovery following January wildfires

The Advocates Professional Golf Association (APGA) Foundation has donated $30,400 to support fire relief efforts in Altadena following January’s devastating wildfires that struck the community. The donation, announced during an event held at Brookside Golf Club in Pasadena on Thursday, May 1, will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena and First Tee – Greater Pasadena.

“This donation reflects the APGA’s commitment to using golf as a platform for change,” said Ken Bentley, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Co-Founder of the APGA. “Our hearts go out to the families impacted by the Altadena fires, and we’re proud to stand with these outstanding youth organizations that are making a difference.”

The donation originated from $9,300 raised through birdies and eagles made during the APGA Tour Farmers Insurance Invitational in January. Matching contributions from Farmers Insurance and Bentley, along with additional support,

Friday, May 2, 2025

Resilience and Unity Take Center Stage at Mayor’s Interfaith Breakfast

By EDDIE RIVERA

Against a backdrop of shared loss and collective strength, hundreds filled a ballroom Thursday morning at the Pasadena Convention Center for the 52nd annual Mayor’s Interfaith Breakfast, hosted by Friends In Deed.

The event, marked by heartfelt prayers, community tributes, and stories of resilience, reflected the deep emotional toll and inspiring response to January’s Eaton Fire, which devastated communities in Pasadena and Altadena.

“Flowers help people bloom,” said Rabbi Joshua Grater, executive director of Friends In Deed, in his opening remarks. He shared the story of how donated flowers from Trader Joe’s, arranged by unhoused women at the nonprofit’s Women’s Room, sparked healing and connection. “Some of these women hadn’t spoken in weeks — and yet through the simple act of arranging flowers, they found community again.”

The Interfaith Breakfast, which drew civic leaders, clergy, first responders, and community members, like many recent events, focused on the theme of resilience — spiritual, emotional, and structural — in the wake of the wildfire that displaced thousands.

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Arizona Man Arrested in Traffic Stop; Three Guns and Meth Seized

A 40-year-old Arizona man was arrested late Wednesday after Pasadena police recovered three firearms — including a “ghost gun” — and approximately 80 grams of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in Altadena, according to Lt. Matt Campeau of the Pasadena Police Department.

Campeau reported that officers observed a vehicle violation near Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road at about 10:48 p.m. on April 30 and initiated a traffic stop in the area of Fair Oaks Avenue and La Venezia Court in Altadena.

The driver, identified by Lt. Campeau as Tony Sandoval, an Arizona resident, allegedly admitted to possessing the firearm and marijuana, authorities said.

During a search of the vehicle, officers reportedly located a loaded P80 9-millimeter “ghost gun” under the driver’s seat, a Ruger .22-caliber firearm under the gear shift, and a loaded Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver in Sandoval’s waistband, Campeau said.

Only the P80 was determined to be a ghost gun, according to Campeau.

In addition to the firearms,

Thursday, May 1, 2025

New App Strikes a Chord for Fire-Impacted Musicians

‘Instrumental Giving’ connects donors with artists who lost gear in the 2025 LA fires

A new app is providing relief to musicians who lost instruments, recording equipment and music collections in the devastating Eaton Fire, offering a digital pathway to recovery and reconnection.

Instrumental Giving, launched on April 26 during a community gathering at A Noise Within Theater in Pasadena, is a registry platform created by Altadena Musicians. The app allows musicians who lost gear in the fires to post “Help Requests,” which donors can browse and fulfill – much like a wedding registry. All donations are tax-deductible.

“Thousands of musicians lost their musical instruments to the LA fires. We are doing something about it,” the Altadena Musicians team announced via a social media post.

Once musicians sign up for the app, they are verified by providing a driver’s license showing they lived in a fire-affected zone, or documentation such as an insurance or FEMA letter proving their loss.

Thursday, May 1, 2025

County Board of Supervisors Set to Review Dozens of County Programs

Regular meeting includes mental health services, marine mammal rescue funding, and 63 other agenda items

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, led by Chair Kathryn Barger (Fifth District), will tackle a packed agenda at their upcoming meeting on Tuesday, May 6, including a long-awaited report on mental health and substance use disorder beds, funding for stranded marine mammals affected by toxic algae blooms, and $47 million in contracts for parking management services.

Set for 11:00 a.m. as the first “Set Matter,” the Board will receive a report from the Director of Mental Health on the Continuum of Care for mental health and substance use disorder beds. This report has been continued from previous meetings held on September 17, December 10, 2024, as well as January 14, January 28, March 18, and April 15, 2025.

Following at 11:30 a.m., the second Set Matter involves a report on the County’s implementation of the people experiencing homelessness missions, though Supervisor Horvath has requested this item be continued to June 3,

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Seniors Rally for Safety Improvements at Altadena Apartment Complex, Recount Harrowing Eaton Fire Evacuation

Residents claim they were left without assistance during the emergency, now live in unsafe conditions, and seek accountability from management

Elderly residents of the Mirador Apartments in West Altadena held a rally Tuesday to voice concerns about their evacuation experience during the recent Eaton Fire, claiming they were left without proper assistance.

Several seniors at the gathering alleged they were forced to navigate the evacuation without functioning elevators or accessibility features when the building lost power during the fire, reportedly leaving them trapped on upper floors in complete darkness engulfed in thick smoke.

Niobe Recasens, 87, a Mirador resident, described her evacuation attempt during the rally.

“I fell down the stairs and hit between my shoulder blades and the pain was so severe. I thought I broke my spine,” Recasens said. “People were running by and screaming and I kept saying, ‘Don’t leave me, don’t leave me!'”

According to residents, some called emergency services as the fire approached but were told that West Altadena wasn’t in a mandatory evacuation zone and would have to wait for assistance.

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Guest Opinion | Suzanne York: It’s Time to Trade in Our Cynicism and Get Back to Work

By SUZANNE YORK

We live in a time when cynicism feels like a reasonable response. It’s easy to believe that nothing will change—that climate summits are just photo ops, that politicians will always chase donors over justice, that the powerful will never stop chasing more. But every once in a while, a voice cuts through the noise with uncommon clarity and moral courage. For me, Pope Francis has been that voice.

Since he became pope, Pope Francis has pushed the Catholic Church—and the world—to reckon with the brokenness of our systems. His 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, still reads like a revelation. In it, he dares to say what too many leaders won’t: that we are failing both the planet and each other, and that the climate crisis is not just about science or economics—it is about morality. We cannot destroy creation and ignore the poor and then claim righteousness. We are all responsible.

But Francis didn’t stop with the environment.

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

SoCal Edison Commits to Undergrounding 63 Circuit Miles in Altadena

Power company’s “build back better” initiative aims to improve infrastructure resilience following devastating Eaton fire

Southern California Edison announced plans to underground 40 circuit miles of power lines in Altadena’s high wildfire risk areas and an additional 23 circuit miles outside those zones. The announcement came during the Altadena Community Meeting held on Monday, April 28, part of ongoing recovery efforts following the Eaton fire.

“We just announced that we will be undergrounding 40 circuit miles in Altadena in a high wildfire area, an additional 23 miles of circuit miles outside of the high wildfire area,” said David Ford, a Southern California Edison representative at the meeting.

The undergrounding project is still in the design phase and moving toward implementation. Ford acknowledged the timeline for completion would be extensive due to the massive spread of the fire throughout the community.

“We’re still a long ways out from actually completing that project. It’s going to take a while to complete.

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

When California Politicians Ignore Policy Risks, Failure and Scandal Often Result

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

California’s governors and legislators have a very bad habit of enacting major programs and projects without fully exploring their downside risks.

The most spectacular example occurred in 1996, when a Republican governor, Pete Wilson, and a Democrat-controlled Legislature decided to overhaul California’s electric power industry.

The legislation was hammered out in lengthy and secret negotiations that participants dubbed the “Steve Peace death march” for the state senator who ramrodded the effort. It was enacted with only cursory public input.

As a 2003 autopsy of the ensuing disaster chronicled, “The act was hailed as a historic reform that would reward consumers with lower prices, reinvigorate California’s then-flagging economy, and provide a model for other states. Six years later, the reforms lay in ruins, overwhelmed by electricity shortages and skyrocketing prices for wholesale power. The utilities were pushed to the brink of insolvency and are only slowly regaining their financial footing. The state became the buyer of last resort,