Friday, July 3, 2026

Drum Corps International Returns to the Rose Bowl on July 11

More than a dozen marching ensembles are listed for the touring summer competition in Pasadena

More than a dozen of the country’s competitive marching ensembles are scheduled to take the Rose Bowl field on Saturday, July 11, when Drum Corps International returns to Pasadena for its annual Southern California stop.

The show, “Drum Corps at the Rose Bowl,” gathers World Class and Open Class corps for an evening of field-show competition at the Pasadena stadium, which opened in 1922. Among those listed to perform is Pacific Crest, the City of Industry corps that has served as the event’s host in past years.

According to the Rose Bowl Stadium event listing, the alphabetical lineup — which the listing says is subject to change — includes The Academy of Tempe, Arizona; the Blue Devils of Concord, California, along with their “B” and “C” corps; the Blue Knights of Denver; Gold of San Diego; Golden Empire of Bakersfield; Impulse of Buena Park; the Mandarins of Sacramento;

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Historic Highlands’ Fourth of July Stays Small on Purpose, and Turns 32

In the year the nation marks 250, Historic Highlands organizers say they want a block party, not a production

There are no corporate banners at the Historic Highlands Fourth of July, no sponsored stage and no ticket app — and the volunteers who run it say that is the point.

As the country marks its 250th birthday, this Pasadena neighborhood will observe the holiday the way its organizers say it has since 1994: with a two-block parade of decorated bikes and wagons, a garage band playing patriotic songs, a potluck and a raffle, all put on by neighbors. Its co-presidents say the smallness is intentional.

“We don’t want businesses controlling what we do, or being indebted to businesses or taking donations from businesses,” said Jama Meyer, co-president of the Historic Highlands Neighborhood Association.

The 32nd annual celebration begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 4, at the Triangle, a small city pocket park where Chester Avenue and Howard Street meet.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Harabedian Housing Measure Takes Aim at California’s Permitting Delays in Eaton, Palisades Fire

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Continuing to pursue more affordable housing for Californians, Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) announced that AB 748, which would streamline the permitting process for single-family homes and small-scale multifamily housing, has passed the Senate Housing Committee.

“AB 748 speeds up the bureaucratic processes that prevent housing from being built quickly and efficiently,” said Assemblymember Harabedian (D-Pasadena). “Homeowners and developers navigate complex regulations and unpredictable timelines, AB 748 helps them clear these obstacles and focus on building homes.”

The Eaton and Palisades fires of 2025 aggravated California’s current housing crisis by displacing thousands of families. The current permitting process for new developments is slow, bureaucratic and inconsistent across jurisdictions.

These factors often create significant barriers to rebuilding efforts and new construction, compounding what was already one of the state’s most pressing challenges. Homeowners and developers are the ones ultimately being forced to navigate these complex regulations.

The bureaucratic tape of zoning ordinances, general plans and other regulatory frameworks contributes to excessive permitting delays that ultimately prevent communities from rebuilding efficiently.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Guest Opinion | John Williams: Democracy Requires More Than Celebration. It Requires Truth-Telling

As the nation prepares to celebrate its Semiquincentennial (try saying that three times really fast), Americans will gather beneath fireworks, wave flags, sing patriotic songs, and hear speeches about freedom, democracy, and the “wildly successful” American experiment.

There is nothing inherently wrong with celebration. Nations need rituals. People need moments of gratitude. But as the fanfare surrounding America 250 grows louder, I find myself wrestling with a different question: What happens when celebration becomes a substitute for truth?

The question is not whether America should celebrate. The question is whether America will ever be willing to celebrate honestly. For generations, Black writers, historians, artists, theologians, and activists have challenged the nation to confront this very question. Their challenge was never simply about the past. It was about memory. It was about freedom for all. It was about whether a nation can remain healthy when it tells itself only the stories it wants to hear.

I have been thinking about another national birthday.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Altadena Rebuilding-Protection Bill Advances Out of Assembly Housing Committee

Multi-year pause on state density laws in ZIP codes 91001 and 91003 draws support from fire survivors and opposition from a pro-housing group

A state bill that would shield fire-scarred Altadena neighborhoods from post-disaster real estate speculation cleared its first Assembly committee Wednesday, advancing legislation that Eaton Fire survivors have pressed lawmakers to pass before out-of-town investors reshape the community.

SB 1090 cleared the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and is expected to move next to the Assembly Committee on Local Government.

The measure, authored by Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, could impose a five-year pause on two statewide housing-density laws in Altadena’s 91001 and 91003 ZIP codes, blocking the lot splits and added units that fire survivors say speculators are using to acquire burned parcels.

The committee advanced the bill on an 11-1 vote, according to the Legislature’s official record. The moratorium would apply to applications filed between Jan. 7, 2025, and Jan. 7, 2030, suspending SB 9 and SB 1123 — laws that let homeowners split single-family lots or add units.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

California Lawmaker Rolls Back New Public Records Barriers After Fierce Opposition

By Kate Wolffe, CALMATTERS

Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco has once again rolled back her controversial proposal to amend California’s public records rules.

The Downey Democrat alarmed First Amendment advocates in March when she introduced a measure that would make it more expensive for some people to get public records from government agencies, which she said was intended to cut down on malicious or profit-driven requests.

Facing strong opposition, she scaled back the measure. Then, once it passed out of the Assembly, she inserted high fees for records requests and added new ways local governments could deny requests, such as if they were submitted through incorrect means or a court found the requester to have “malicious intent”. After another outcry, they’re out again.

In its current, reduced state, Assembly Bill 1821 would extend the amount of time an agency has to respond to a request from 10 calendar days to 10 business days.

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Two Copies of the Declaration of Independence Await Visitors at The Huntington This Fourth of July

The San Marino institution, adjacent to Pasadena, marks the nation’s 250th anniversary with a major exhibition and seasonal offerings — but reservations are required

The document that declared a nation turns 250 this week, and two early copies of it are on display 15 minutes from downtown Pasadena.

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens will be open on Independence Day, Saturday, July 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Its anchor exhibition, “This Land Is …,” brings together two rare, annotated July 1776 printings of the Declaration of Independence alongside Woody Guthrie’s 1936 guitar — inscribed with the words “This Machine Kills Fascists” — in an exploration of how land has shaped American life from before the founding to the present, according to the institution.

The Huntington, located at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino, sits directly adjacent to Pasadena and has served the San Gabriel Valley since it opened to the public in 1928. The institution encompasses more than 130 acres of botanical gardens alongside collections of art,

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Kathryn Barger Urges LA County Residents to Apply for Disaster Relief

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger Wednesday encouraged residents and small business owners impacted by the Eaton Fire to apply for federal disaster loans ahead of a final extended deadline to receive financial assistance.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has extended a timeline for its SBA Home Physical Disaster Loans and Business Physical Disaster Loans. Borrowers approved for the loans will now have 24 months from the date of their loan authorization agreement to draw down their approved funds.

The extension recognizes that many survivors continue to experience delays related to insurance claims and other rebuilding challenges, according to Barger.

“It’s encouraging that U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has recognized the significant progress being made to accelerate permitting and rebuilding in Los Angeles County,” Barger said in a statement. “While that progress is making a real difference, many wildfire survivors continue to face challenges that are beyond their control.”

She said the SBA extension provides much-needed flexibility,

Thursday, July 2, 2026

Behavioral Health Overhaul Takes Effect in LA County

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County officially transitioned Wednesday to California’s Behavioral Health Services Act, a voter-approved overhaul of the state’s behavioral health funding system that expands services for people with serious mental health and substance use disorders.

The transition implements Proposition 1, approved by California voters in March 2024, which replaced the Mental Health Services Act with the Behavioral Health Services Act, according to county officials.

The measure restructured existing mental health funding, expanded support for substance use disorder treatment and authorized $6.3 billion in bonds for behavioral health treatment facilities and housing.

County officials said the new law broadens collaboration between the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Public Health’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Bureau while prioritizing funding for intensive treatment, housing assistance and behavioral health services.

“Many of BHSA’s changes are administrative, which means consumers will experience a seamless transition to this new age of mental health care in Los Angeles County,”

Thursday, July 2, 2026

St. Mark’s in Altadena Files to Rebuild After Eaton Fire

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Saint Mark’s Church and School in Altadena announced Wednesday that it has begun the formal application process with Los Angeles County to rebuild its campus, marking a major milestone in its recovery from the Eaton Fire.

The application, submitted through the county’s Disaster Recovery Permit process, begins the formal review for reconstruction of the church and school campus, which has served the Altadena community for generations, according to church officials.

The proposed project would restore and modernize the campus while incorporating enhanced fire-resilient design, sustainability features, improved emergency access and updated facilities, officials said. The project would not increase school enrollment, and officials said they hope to reopen the campus in fall 2028.

“This submission represents far more than a planning milestone,” Saint Mark’s School Head Jennifer Tolbert said in a statement. “It represents the resilience of our students, families, faculty, parishioners, and neighbors who have carried this community forward through an incredibly difficult year.”

Church officials said the proposal will move through Los Angeles County’s public review process over the coming months,