Thursday, September 3, 2026

Pasadena’s Side Street Projects Opens Free Six-Week After-School Woodworking Series for Kids at Altadena’s Loma Alta Park Sept. 9

The artist-run nonprofit, which is searching for a new executive director as Emily Hopkins steps down after nearly 17 years, also sets a Sept. 13 community day with a mixed-media self-portrait workshop

Families can sign their children up for a free, six-week after-school woodworking series that Pasadena’s Side Street Projects will run on Wednesday afternoons beginning Sept. 9 at Loma Alta Park in Altadena, the temporary home of the Altadena Library, the artist-run nonprofit announced Thursday.

The series, offered in partnership with the Altadena Library, meets Sept. 9, 16, 23 and 30 and Oct. 7 and 14 at the park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave. Families can choose one of two hour-long slots, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. or 4:45 to 5:45 p.m., and children are expected to attend all six sessions, particularly the first, according to the organization’s September newsletter.

Working only with hand tools, students choose from project templates including cars, animals and planes and build them from scratch while learning to sand,

Thursday, September 3, 2026

West Nile Virus Activity Tops Five-Year Average in Mosquito District Serving Pasadena and Altadena

Public health officials urge residents to take preventative measures against mosquito bites over the Labor Day weekend as the year-to-date count of positive mosquito samples reaches 105.

The San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, whose service area includes Pasadena, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre and unincorporated Altadena, has detected 105 West Nile virus-positive mosquito samples so far this year, with disease activity surpassing the District’s five-year average, and is urging residents to take extra precautions against mosquito bites over the Labor Day holiday weekend, according to a press release the District issued Thursday.

Pasadena recorded its first positive mosquito sample of the year on Aug. 13, Altadena has logged three positive samples since July 23, and South Pasadena four since Aug. 4, according to the District’s detection table, last updated Aug. 31. The District’s release follows advisories issued Aug. 20 by the Pasadena Public Health Department, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the California Department of Public Health. The state health department said statewide activity had reached its highest level in five years.

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Eleven Pérez Bills Await Newsom’s Decision, Including an Altadena-Only Pause on State Density Laws

Eleven bills authored by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, have cleared the California Legislature and are awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto, according to her office. Six respond to the Eaton Fire, and one applies only to Altadena.

That measure, SB 1090, the Keep Altadena Land in Altadena Hands Act, would take effect the moment it is signed and would suspend the state’s ministerial-approval requirements for housing developments and subdivision maps in ZIP Codes 91001 and 91003, for applications filed on or after Oct. 1. Ministerial approval is the fast, non-discretionary track created by SB 9 and SB 1123, which allow lot splits and additional units on single-family parcels. The Assembly concurred in the final amendments Aug. 30 on a 36-0 vote. Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is sponsoring the bill, and Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, is a principal coauthor.

“The people of Altadena are demanding protection from speculators who are buying land from distressed fire survivors and trying to exploit the intent of existing laws,”

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Another Special School Board Meeting Scheduled for Thursday Night

Board will meet as a committee to edit a daft definition of the District Transformation Process

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education is scheduled to return Thursday evening to a discussion halted on Aug. 31, meeting once again as a Committee of the Whole to edit a draft definition of the “District Transformation Process” — after Monday’s meeting was declared to be in violation of the Brown Act and abruptly canceled midstream.

The process traces to Resolution 2894, which initiated the District Transformation Process and replaced Resolution 2852, the optimal-school-size resolution that began last school year’s school consolidation process.

The definition they approve would set the terms of a process that the draft describes as spanning the next five to 10 years and culminating in Board votes on existing assets, programs, and student opportunities, as well as campus consolidations.

No official decisions can be made at the session. Sitting as a Committee of the Whole, the Board cannot take official action,

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Hurricane Marie to Influence SoCal Weather Over Labor Day Weekend

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Hurricane Marie is expected to influence Southern California’s weather over the Labor Day weekend, with rain chances developing in Los Angeles County and larger-than-normal swells along the coast.

“The potential for Marie to directly impact Southwestern California as a tropical system remains VERY LOW,” the National Weather Service said. “However, there still will be impacts that the area should be aware of through the holiday weekend.”

Moisture from Marie is expected to begin moving into the region Saturday, bringing a chance of showers to Los Angeles County, forecasters said.

Orange County could also see showers beginning Saturday, with rain chances continuing through the Labor Day weekend.

Any rainfall through Saturday evening is expected to be very light, but chances of rain will continue through the holiday weekend and into Tuesday. Forecasts indicate a good chance of light rainfall and a low chance of moderate or heavy rain.

Thunderstorm chances are expected to remain low,

Thursday, September 3, 2026

District 3 School Board Member Michelle Richardson Bailey Launches Re-Election Campaign

The trustee, on the board since 2017, qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot on Aug. 3; District 3 is one of four seats up this year

Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education member Michelle Richardson Bailey laid out her case for re-election in a message to District 3 voters Wednesday, Sept. 2, citing the district’s five-year strategic plan, the student think tank and a balanced budget as accomplishments of her tenure.

“I’m running for reelection because District 3 deserves leadership that listens, follows through, and delivers,” Richardson Bailey said in the campaign message.

Richardson Bailey qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot on Aug. 3 after filing her nomination papers that day, and she faces challenger Veronica Elias, who qualified July 30.

The election, consolidated with the statewide general election, also covers Districts 1, 5 and 7.  Board seats are decided by plurality, so the candidate with the most votes wins even without a majority.

“If reelected, in addition to prioritizing our students,

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Retail Vacancy Eases Across L.A. Metro, Marcus & Millichap Reports, as Pasadena’s Tri-Cities Submarket Posts the Region’s Lowest Rate

Competing brokerage reports measure vacancy differently, from 5.6 to 7.3 percent, but agree new retail construction has nearly stopped and investment sales are up sharply

Retail vacancy across the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the market that includes Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, fell to 7.3 percent among multi-tenant properties in June as retailers moved into recently vacated big-box spaces and builders delivered the smallest first-half addition of new space in at least 19 years, according to a third-quarter report published Wednesday, Sept. 2, by commercial brokerage Marcus & Millichap.

The Tri-Cities submarket of Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank posted the lowest retail vacancy in the region, 4.6 percent, in the second quarter, according to a separate report by brokerage Matthews Real Estate Investment Services.

Multi-tenant vacancy declined 50 basis points, or half a percentage point, from a year earlier, Marcus & Millichap said. More than 600 lease commitments were signed at neighborhood and strip centers during the first half of 2026.

Thursday, September 3, 2026

L.A. County Breaks Ground on $63.7 Million Baldwin Lake Restoration at Arboretum, Summer Home of the Pasadena Symphony POPS

Dredging starts this month at a lake that has silted in to about 3 feet deep; the county says the work will be done by the end of 2027, ahead of the 2028 Olympics

Los Angeles County officials broke ground Wednesday, Sept. 2, on a $63.7 million restoration of Baldwin Lake and Tule Pond at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, the outdoor summer home of the Pasadena Symphony and POPS and a project the county says has been more than a decade in the making.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose Fifth District includes Pasadena and Altadena, joined county department heads, Arboretum leaders and community partners for the ceremonial groundbreaking, according to a news release from her office. A representative of the Gabrieleno San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians conducted a traditional land welcoming ceremony.

“This $63.7 million investment will protect a place that is part of the identity of the San Gabriel Valley and ensure it thrives for generations to come,”

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Pasadena Public Health Urges Updated COVID-19 Shots for Everyone 6 Months and Older as California Cases Climb

The city’s guidance tracks the state’s, which is broader than the federal approvals issued Aug. 27 for seniors and people with underlying conditions

The Pasadena Public Health Department is urging everyone 6 months of age and older to get the 2026-27 COVID-19 vaccine as the virus spreads more widely in California this season, the city said in a news release Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Hospitalizations remain low, the department said, but the share of tests coming back positive has reached a moderate level, and virus concentrations in wastewater are running higher in several parts of the state. The number of cases is lower than at this point last year, with the biggest increases among children ages 0 to 4 and 5 to 17, the department said.

“COVID-19 can still cause serious illness; especially in infants, pregnant people, older adults and individuals with weakened immune systems or certain medical conditions,” said Dr. Parveen Kaur, the city’s health officer, in the release. “Getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to protect yourself from severe illness.

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Altadena Native Opens the Mic Friday for a Night of the Town’s Own Stories

Altadena residents will spend Friday evening telling one another what they remember about their town, at a free three-hour gathering of storytelling, music and poetry at the building the community’s recovery organizations share.

The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at the Collaboratory, 540 W. Woodbury Road in Altadena, with the formal program beginning about 6:30 p.m. It is hosted by Nahshon Dion, the Altadena-born writer and emerging filmmaker who has spent the period since the Eaton Fire gathering firsthand accounts from residents, artists, historians, elected officials and community workers for an anthology titled “Our Beloved Altadena: Voices from the Aftermath of the Eaton Canyon Wildfire.”

The program includes storytelling, music, singing, poetry and an open mic, along with desserts and recognition of people with September birthdays, organizers said. There is no admission charge. The Department of Angels and Altadena Rising are named as supporters, organizers said.

Dion is also producing a documentary and writing a memoir, both titled “My Beloved Altadena.”