Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Fire Survivor Group Says It Has Sued the Insurance Commissioner Over the State Farm Case

The network says no neutral decisionmaker has been provided to hear its request to join the state’s enforcement case

A Altadena-based network of Eaton and Palisades fire survivors said Tuesday it has sued Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to keep the state’s case against State Farm from being settled before survivors are heard.

Every Fire Survivor’s Network says its petition asks a court to order the California Department of Insurance to provide a neutral decisionmaker to hear the group’s request to join the enforcement case, and to bar the department and State Farm from settling, dismissing or narrowing that case until the request is decided.

The group says it is not asking the court to rule on whether State Farm broke the law, or to grant the intervention itself. 

The underlying case is the department’s own. On May 4, the department filed an Accusation and Order to Show Cause against State Farm General Insurance Company, the first step toward a public hearing before an administrative law judge.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Altadena Eaton Fire Survivors Say They Will Demand Edison Prosecution Wednesday

Eaton Fire survivors and Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles said they will demand Wednesday, Sept. 9, that District Attorney Nathan Hochman prosecute Southern California Edison over the fire that destroyed much of Altadena.

The press conference is set for 4 p.m. at the Hall of Justice, 211 W. Temple St. in Los Angeles, organizers said. It follows the Aug. 4 release of county fire investigators’ reports identifying an out-of-service Edison tower as the cause of the January 2025 blaze that devastated Altadena, and comes while the District Attorney’s own review of the evidence yet remains open.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Arson Fire Investigation Unit conducted that investigation jointly with CAL FIRE. After 18 months of review, working alongside retained electrical and metallurgical experts, investigators concluded that the cause of the fire was electrical arcing events on the out-of-service Edison tower. They placed the origin on the dry receptive fuel bed below the utility’s transmission towers on the spur ridge above the Eaton Wash.

The fire started Jan.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Metrolink Announces First Fare Increase in 13 Years

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Metrolink fares for one-way tickets and its SoCal Day Pass will increase beginning Oct. 5, marking the regional rail system’s first fare increase in 13 years.

One-way ticket prices will increase by an average of 14%, while the SoCal Day Pass will cost $19 on weekdays and $12 on weekends and holidays, according to Metrolink.

Nearly 80% of one-way ticket purchases will increase by no more than $1, while less than 1% will increase by more than $2, officials said.

The Metrolink Board of Directors approved the fare adjustments in June. Agency officials cited rising operating and maintenance costs, reduced post-pandemic ridership and declining state and federal funding.

“Metrolink has worked hard to keep fares affordable while the cost of operating and maintaining our regional rail system has continued to rise,” Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle said. “These pricing adjustments are one step in a broader effort we are taking to responsibly address those pressures and support Metrolink’s long-term financial sustainability,

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

What the Altadena Libraries Run on a Thursday, With the Main Library Still Closed

Altadena’s library service runs out of two buildings, a mobile van and an off-site notary desk this Thursday, Sept. 10, with the district’s Main Library at 600 E. Mariposa St. closed for renovation as of Feb. 1.

The Bob Lucas Memorial Library and Literacy Center at 2659 Lincoln Ave. is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., the latest closing of any Altadena Library District building as of Sept. 8. Its direct number is (626) 798-8338. The branch reopened in August 2025 after a 16-month renovation that expanded it by about 1,000 square feet and added a children’s area and a literacy center. The Altadena Library at Loma Alta Park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The district opened that site in May 2025 in the park’s Social Hall, a unit of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation system.

Three of the six programs on the district’s Thursday calendar run out of Bob Lucas. Baby Storytime and Play is set for 9:30 to 10:15 a.m.

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Fire-Displaced Altadena Church to Convene Rebuilding Funders in Pasadena Sunday

Lift International Church, the Altadena congregation that lost its building in the Eaton Fire, plans to gather funders, gap-assistance grants and legal help in Pasadena on Sunday for households whose rebuilds have not started.

Organizers said four funding entities are expected on site to work with at least 200 underinsured homeowners, and that more than 160 families supported by the church during the past 19 months have been invited. Recent assessments put the number of parcels without rebuilding applications on file at approximately 2,222, organizers said.

The initiative, called Come Back Home, is built to clear financial, administrative and technical obstacles to rebuilding, organizers said. Partners will also launch a centralized platform connecting survivors with state and municipal resources and grants.

The event offers disaster recovery funding allocated for more than 100 residences, gap assistance grants, legal filing deadline advisories and consultations, pro bono referrals through the Altadena CDC’s ALLY platform, and recovery updates from the Altadena Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, organizers said.

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Guest Opinion | Dianne Lewis: When Leadership Doesn’t Lead, School Board Is Left to Improvise — And Thursday Proved It

In a functioning school district, administration brings the board clear recommendations — supported by data, cost analysis and alternatives. The board questions them, weighs them and decides.

That is how governance is supposed to work.

Thursday night showed what happens when it doesn’t.

For roughly two hours, the Pasadena Unified Board of Education debated and line-edited a draft definition of “district transformation” — striking language, moving provisions and arguing over what belonged in the document.

No vote was taken. No date was set for one.

Yet Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco told the board the process is already “outlined in a resolution that the majority of the board passed” and can proceed alongside district goals through 2030.

If so, the obvious question is: Why did the board spend two hours defining it?

The problem was not simply that trustees disagreed. The problem was that they were left to work out basic questions of scope, process and direction in public,

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

California Could Be First In The Nation To Create Smoke-Damage Standards

By Levi Sumagaysay, CALMATTERS

Two smoke-damage bills awaiting the governor’s signature address a longstanding issue brought to the fore by the Los Angeles County fires: When is it safe for wildfire survivors to move back into their homes?

After the deadly January 2025 fires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures, the state Insurance Department estimates that more than 13,000 out of 40,000 claims involved smoke damage.

The fires burned for nearly a month. Debris and emissions contained a mixture of trees, brush and manufactured materials made up of  plastics, metals and more — raising concerns about toxic contents left in homes that are still standing but may be dangerous to live in.

Many survivors with homes that did not burn down have yet to return to them 21 months later. Their homes reeked of smoke and they found ash, soot and char inside. They await test results for things such as lead and asbestos. They wait for homes to be repaired,

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

PUSD Board President’s Lawsuit to Block Her Recall Goes Before Judge Today

A trial-setting conference in Tina Fredericks’ case against Los Angeles County election officials is set for 9:30 a.m. in downtown Los Angeles, six days after she struck the 124 recall signers from the filing

The lawsuit Pasadena Unified School District Board President Tina Fredericks filed to block the recall petition against her goes before a Los Angeles Superior Court judge this morning for a hearing to set a trial date.

The Trial Setting Conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday before Judge Tiana J. Murillo in Department 834 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles.

A trial-setting conference is a scheduling matter rather than a trial. The judge typically determines whether a case is ready to be placed on the trial calendar and works out the structure of any future trial — whether it will be tried to a jury or to the judge, and which claims will be tried. Witnesses are rarely called, and no evidence or testimony on the merits is normally given.

Monday, September 7, 2026

Early-Bird Pricing for the 2027 Altadena Forever Run Ends Monday Night

Early-bird registration for the second Altadena Forever Run closes at 11:59 p.m. Monday, after which the 10K entry fee rises from $59.30 to $64.60 and registration for the 5K closes and reopens at a new price tier.

The benefit race is hosted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Altadena Station in collaboration with the Sheriff’s Support Group of Altadena and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Athletic Association, and it returns to Mariposa Junction in Altadena on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2027, three days after the second anniversary of the Eaton Fire. Its first run delivered $148,485.84 to the Altadena Eaton Fire Relief Fund and the Sheriff’s Support Group of Altadena.

The 10K starts at 8 a.m., the 5K at 8:15 a.m. and the 1K Family Run at 10 a.m., all from Mariposa Junction at 849 E. Mariposa St., on Mariposa Street between El Molino and Lake avenues. Runners are asked to be at the start line by 7:30 a.m.

The 10K covers 6.2 miles,

Monday, September 7, 2026

Metrolink Runs Weekend Schedule, Offers $10 Labor Day Pass; Pasadena Transit Suspends All But One Route

CITY NEWS SERVICE with PASADENA NOW

Metrolink will operate on a weekend schedule Monday for Labor Day and offer passengers a $10 day pass for unlimited travel throughout its Southern California rail system.

Metrolink’s $10 SoCal Day Pass provides unlimited rides throughout the system on the day of purchase and is available through the Metrolink mobile app and station ticket machines, officials said.

The agency’s Rail2Rail program, which allows Metrolink Monthly Pass holders to ride eligible Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains at no additional cost, was suspended Friday and will remain suspended through Tuesday because of the holiday. The program will resume Wednesday.

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner codeshare trains that accept Metrolink tickets and passes between Los Angeles and Ventura could have limited availability if holiday ridership exceeds capacity, according to Metrolink.

Meanwhile, Pasadena Transit will suspend service on all but one of its bus routes Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in observance of Labor Day, according to the transit system’s published holiday-schedule notice,