Sunday, October 4, 2026

Arts Programming by Non-Arts Nonprofits Have Until Oct. 5 to Apply for Los Angeles County Grants

Pasadena arts nonprofits and other local groups running arts programs have until 11:59 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, to apply for two Los Angeles County arts grant programs, with internship-hosting deadlines Oct. 7 and 8.

Pasadena groups have drawn on the county’s Department of Arts and Culture before: in an earlier two-year round, 14 Pasadena arts organizations shared $307,000.

The Organizational Grant Program gives Los Angeles County nonprofit arts organizations two-year grants to address priority needs, and this round’s grants cover July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2029. Applicants may seek money to sustain existing work, build organizational or artistic capacity, or expand public access, and large-budget organizations must request accessibility projects. New applicants and organizations that were not funded the last time they applied must attend or review a program workshop.

The Community Impact Arts Grant is aimed at groups whose main work is actually not the arts but that operate arts programming. Recipients may include social service and social justice nonprofits, city departments,

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Vector District Sets Overnight Mosquito Treatments in Altadena This Week

The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District will treat part of Altadena for mosquitoes between midnight and 5:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 7 and 8, citing a significant public health risk.

The Altadena treatment area lies between Glenrose Avenue and Marengo Avenue, south of East Mariposa Street and north of West Woodbury Road.

West Nile virus activity in the district’s mosquito samples had surpassed its five-year average as of early September, the district said. Los Angeles County had also documented more human infections than its five-year average for the same period, according to the county Department of Public Health.

Crews working from trucks will use ultra-low volume adulticide and low volume larvicide applications to target mosquitoes at multiple stages of their life cycle, according to the district.

In both Altadena and Monterey Park (where a treatment is also scheduled for the same days and hours), specialists will apply AquaDUET to target adult mosquitoes. The district said the product contains Sumithrin and Prallethrin,

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Lumpia, Tacos and a Silent Auction at St. Elizabeth Parish’s Fall Fest in Altadena

The parish’s main fundraiser of the year runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in the Grotto

St. Elizabeth Parish holds its Fall Fest on Sunday, October 4, in the Grotto at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Altadena. The festival is the parish’s main fundraiser of the year.

The menu includes Mexican and Filipino food, among them lumpia and tacos. The day also brings live entertainment, local vendors, music, games and drinks at the bar.

A silent auction offers prizes including a Big Bear weekend getaway and a five-course Ugandan and Sri Lankan dinner.

Bring friends and neighbors, and come hungry. The festival runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1879 N. Lake Ave.

Fall Fest will run on Sunday, October 4 at 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 1879 N. Lake Ave., Altadena. For more information, call (626) 797-1167 or visit https://www.stelizabethaltadena.org/.

Saturday, October 3, 2026

PUSD Calls Latest Offer to Teachers Union ‘Best and Final’ as Salary, Class Size Remain Unresolved

District update cites county concerns over projected deficit spending; talks set to resume Oct. 29

The Pasadena Unified School District told United Teachers of Pasadena on Wednesday that its latest counterproposals represent its best and final offer after 10 bargaining sessions over nine months on the 2025-26 school year, according to a district bargaining update. Salary and class size remain unresolved.

The two sides are scheduled to return to the table Oct. 29, the district said.

The update was issued by the district after Wednesday’s session. It gives the district’s account of the talks, including how the district describes the union’s proposals and what effects the district says they would have.

According to the district, UTP continues to propose a 2.35% ongoing salary increase for 2025-26. The district said that increase would create additional ongoing financial obligations. The union has also proposed firm class size caps. The district said such caps could significantly reduce schools’ flexibility in developing student schedules and classroom assignments.

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Charles White Park Rebuild Breaks Ground This Morning, A Milestone in Altadena Recovery

A groundbreaking ceremony is set for this morning on the $10.5 million reconstruction of Charles White Park, the five-acre Los Angeles County park in Altadena that was extensively damaged in the Eaton Fire nearly 21 months ago.

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation plans to rebuild the park in three phases, with construction running from fall 2026 to fall 2027 and a grand opening projected for fall 2027, according to a department update dated July 21. In November 2025, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office said groundbreaking was planned for spring 2026.

The project is funded with $5.5 million from the State of California and $5 million from The Walt Disney Company. The department lists fundraising for the park as complete.

The state money comes from Proposition 4 climate bond funds that the 2025 state budget allocated to the park. That budget set aside $21.7 million for two Altadena park projects: $5.5 million for Charles White Park and $16.2 million for the Eaton Canyon Natural Area and Nature Center.

Saturday, October 3, 2026

State Report Affirms Failures of LA City, County Response to Jan 2025 Fires

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Findings released Friday of an independent investigation commissioned by Gov. Gavin Newsom affirmed key failures on the part of Los Angeles city and county agencies to plan, communicate and respond to the January 2025 fires that killed 31 people and destroyed 16,000 structures.

The UL Research Institutes’ Fire Safety Research Institute released the 724-page report Friday, which served to examine the conditions, decisions, actions and systems that influenced wildfire and community conflagration outcomes before and during the fires. The report represents the second phase of an independent analysis conducted by the institute.

While the analysis recognizes the California’s past and recent investments in fire prevention, preparedness and response programs, the scale and speed of the January 2025 fires exceeded many assumptions underlying those systems, the report found.

“The fires revealed implementation challenges, operational limitations and areas where policies and practices have not evolved at the same pace as the wildfire risk facing California communities,” the report reads.

Friday, October 2, 2026

Guest Opinion | Patrick Cahalan: PUSD’s Secondary Problem

One of the driving factors in operating any large organization, whether it be a K-12 educational facility or a university or a private corporation is the cost of overhead. In any organization, a certain amount of money needs to be spent to provide whatever services are the primary mission of the organization, and a certain amount of money needs to be spent on “keeping the lights on”. Utilities, support personnel who do IT work or work in HR, etc.

A certain amount of that overhead is inevitable, no matter what sort of organization you run, but there are others that are tied to decisions regarding where you put your facilities and how many of them you have.

In two decades of involvement in the district, as a parent, site volunteer, and then Board Member, it’s become undeniable to me that PUSD is spending too much of its money on too many locations, and it is impacting the student experience in many ways. That’s already true today,

Friday, October 2, 2026

Pasadena Unified Launches ‘All-Star Year’ With Rose Parade Band, Student ‘Les Misérables’

Pasadena Unified School District has launched what it calls an “All-Star Year,” with its All-Star Band set for the Jan. 1, 2027, Rose Parade and its All-Star Musical staging “Les Misérables” Feb. 17-21 at Pasadena High School.

The Pasadena Educational Foundation is sponsoring the All-Star Year, the district said in an Oct. 1, 2026, press release. The district said the two programs together involve more than 350 students from its high schools, including Blair High School, John Muir High School Early College Magnet, Thurgood Marshall Secondary and Pasadena High School. The district serves students in Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre.

“Our All-Star Year shows that, when a community invests in its students, they rise to meet the moment,” Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said in the release.

The All-Star Band is among the 21 bands the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association announced March 4, 2026, for the 138th Rose Parade. The Tournament says a committee of its volunteer members selects bands based on musicianship, marching ability and entertainment or special interest value.

Friday, October 2, 2026

Neighborhood Groups to Host School Board District 7 Candidate Forum Oct. 6

The Oct. 6 forum at Brookside Golf Club comes four weeks before voters fill the seat Dr. Yarma Velázquez steps down from office

Two Pasadena neighborhood associations will host a forum Tuesday, Oct. 6, for the two candidates seeking the open District 7 seat on the Pasadena UnifiedSchool Boardd, according to Councilmember Steve Madison’s office.

The forum, set for 7 p.m. at Brookside Golf Club, falls about four weeks before the Nov. 3 general election. District 7 is the only one of three contested Pasadena Unified School District races with no incumbent running, after Dr. Yarma Velázquez, the board’s vice president, did not seek reelection.

The San Rafael Neighborhoods Association and the Linda Vista-Annandale Association are hosting the event in the Arroyo Room at the club, 1133 Rosemont Ave., according to Madison’s office.

The candidates are Dennis McNamara and Cynthia Torres.

Justin Chapman, Madison’s District 6 field representative, will moderate. The newsletter said he is doing so in his personal capacity.

Friday, October 2, 2026

‘No Kings: Vote Early’ Rally Planned for October 17 in Old Pasadena

San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible plans to hold a “No Kings: Vote Early” rally from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Colorado Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, according to Indivisible.

The community-hosted event will focus on voter registration and early-voting information ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Organizers said they plan to help attendees check their voter registrations and find information about ballot drop boxes, voting centers and other voting options.

The event is also being promoted as a “Save U.S. Saturdays Vote Early Edition,” connecting it with San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible’s recurring Saturday gatherings at the Pasadena intersection. The organization says it holds weekly gatherings at Colorado and Fair Oaks from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Voting early is your super power!” organizers said. “We will help you prepare to Vote Early!”

Indivisible describes the Pasadena gathering as a rally but says the event is “not purely a protest” and will focus on voter participation. Organizers describe the event as nonpartisan and designed to increase participation among all eligible voters.