Sunday, August 23, 2026

Pasadena and Altadena Jobless Rates Stay Below County Level in July

CITY NEWS SERVICE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY

July estimates show both communities about a percentage point better than a year ago, while county payrolls fell 40,700 on an unadjusted basis

Unemployment in Pasadena fell to 4.7% in July and Altadena’s rate held at 4.6%, each about a percentage point below where it stood a year earlier, according to preliminary figures released Friday by the California Employment Development Department.

Both communities remained below Los Angeles County, where 5.2% of the labor force was unemployed in July on the same not-seasonally-adjusted basis. On the seasonally adjusted basis the state uses for its headline county figure, the county rate dipped to 5.3% from 5.4% in June and was down from 5.6% in July 2025.

In Pasadena, 3,600 residents were counted as unemployed out of a labor force of 76,500, with 72,900 working. A year earlier the city’s rate was 5.7%, with 4,500 unemployed in a labor force of 78,700.

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Small Business Assistance Program Launches in LA County

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A free program designed to help Los Angeles County entrepreneurs and small businesses pursue capital, reduce their debt and build long-term financial resilience launched Saturday.

The Los Angeles County Financial Clinic is the newest in a series of technical assistance programs and services available through the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity and the California Office of the Small Business Advocate.

Officials said the Clinic will help small businesses strengthen financial resilience through individualized coaching, financial education, capital readiness assistance and debt management support. Program components include financial assessments, educational workshops and in-depth one-on-one counseling. The program is delivered by the DEO’s Office of Small Business and regional partners as part of the Economic Mobility Initiative, launched by Supervisor Holly Mitchell and the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2024.

“When I introduced the motion to create the Economic Mobility Initiative, the goal was simple: ensure that every entrepreneur in LA County, regardless of zip code or banking relationship,

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Altadena Library to Release Limited-Edition Laufey Card Sunday at Bob Lucas Branch Today

The Altadena Library District will release a limited-edition library card at the Bob Lucas Memorial Library and Literacy Center from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23.

Laufey is an Icelandic-Chinese singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist, and a two-time winner of the Grammy Award for best traditional pop vocal album. She founded the Laufey Book Club in 2022 to build a global community of readers, and her first picture book, “Mei Mei The Bunny,” is a New York Times bestseller. A Very Laufey Day is the fan event she holds each August, and this year it falls on Sunday.

The card is tied to that book club and launches at libraries around the world the same day. Partner libraries in the program have put the number of collaborating systems at nearly 50 worldwide. In Altadena the card arrives at the branch that opens on Sundays, while the district’s Main Library remains closed for renovation.

Visitors will also receive a limited-edition bookmark, according to the district.

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Extreme Heat, Fire Danger Expected in SoCal all Week

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Southern California is in the grips of a long heat wave that will continue through at least next weekend, forecasters said Sunday.

The temperature is expected to reach at least 94 degrees in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, and above 100 in parts of the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

Similar numbers were expected to continue for several days, with overnight lows heating up as well, remaining in the 70s in the valleys, according to the National Weather Service. The heat wave is expected to peak Tuesday through Thursday, but temperatures will remain extremely hot next weekend.

“The combination of hot daytime temperatures, warm overnight lows and some monsoonal moisture at mid to upper levels will continue to feel uncomfortably warm,” the NWS advised.

An extreme heat watch was issued for Tuesday morning through at least Friday evening for the entire county, preceded by a heat advisory from 10 a.m. Sunday through 10 a.m.

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Wellness Lounge Opens for Teachers at Madison Elementary in Pasadena

By EDDIE RIVERA

Impact Fitness Foundation, iHeartMedia and Anthem Blue Cross convert a staff lounge, as LA Sparks players add new basketball courts for students

Two brand-new, state-of-the-art massage chairs now line the walls of what used to be an ordinary teacher’s lounge at James Madison Elementary School. The paint is lighter. Motivational quotes stretch across the walls, and a shelf holds healthy snacks that weren’t there a week ago.

The room is the school’s new relaxation and recharge lounge, built by the Impact Fitness Foundation with support from iHeartMedia and Anthem Blue Cross. On the same day, the LA Sparks were on campus dedicating new basketball courts for students, with players Rae Burrell, Tonie Morgan and Alissa Pili, taking part.

Chris Welsh, founder of the Impact Fitness Foundation, said the lounge was designed as a place for teachers to step away from the demands of the classroom.

“We have massage chairs in there, we have new healthy snacks in there,

Saturday, August 22, 2026

LA County Superior Court Warns Against Recent Jury Duty Scam

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Superior Court warned residents Friday about a jury duty scam involving callers falsely claiming that people missed jury service and could face arrest.

The scam involves callers claiming that a person failed to report for jury duty and has an outstanding warrant, according to the court.

Court officials urged residents to be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, emails or text messages regarding jury service, particularly communications that threaten arrest, claim a warrant has been issued, demand immediate action or seek personal or financial information.

The court does not call, text or email residents to threaten them with arrest, demand that they immediately report to a courthouse or request personal or financial information, officials said.

“The Court will never ask for Social Security numbers, credit card details, or bank information by phone or email,” according to a court statement.

Residents who receive suspicious jury-related communications were advised not to provide personal, 

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Registrar Mails Voter Outreach Materials to Millions Ahead of Nov. 3 Election

Postcards translated into 18 languages, plus a Language Access mailer to approximately 1 million newer registrants

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan announced Friday the mailing of voter outreach materials to millions of registered voters across the county as part of voter education efforts for the Nov. 3 General Election.

Approximately 4.8 million registered voters will receive a voter outreach postcard providing key information about voting options and important election dates, according to a news release from the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office.

The postcard is translated into 18 languages and serves as an early reminder for voters to begin planning how they will participate in the upcoming election.

The office is also sending a Language Access mailer to approximately 1 million voters who are newer registrants and are currently receiving election materials in English. The expanded mailer includes the same election information as the postcard, along with a Language Request Form that allows voters to request their ballot and election materials in their preferred language.

Saturday, August 22, 2026

A Noise Within Opens Pasadena Previews of ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ Sunday

A Noise Within begins previews of August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, at its theatre at 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. in Pasadena. The theatre lists that first performance as sold out.

The production opens the Pasadena company’s 35th anniversary season and is its seventh staging of a play from Wilson’s American Century Cycle. Three more previews follow before the Aug. 29 opening, and two of them are priced by the patron.

The Aug. 26 and Aug. 27 previews, both at 7:30 p.m., are Pay What You Choose performances. Tickets are $10 or $20 online from noon on the Monday before, and at the box office after 2 p.m. on the day of the performance. A third preview follows at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28.

Regular tickets start at $41.75 including fees, and student tickets start at $20.

Wilson set the play in a Chicago recording studio in 1927, where a blues singer and her band contend over money,

Friday, August 21, 2026

Altadena-Born Fire Survivor Network to Hold Pickleball Fundraiser Saturday in Arcadia

A pickleball group chat that turned into an evacuation network when the Eaton Fire reached Altadena in January 2025 will take over a public park in Arcadia on Saturday, this time to raise money.

The Every Fire Survivor’s Network will hold a Rally for Recovery at iPickle, a benefit for Eaton, Palisades and Malibu fire survivors still working through insurance claims and rebuilding in the second year after the fires.

Money raised supports the network’s survivor rebuilding work and its insurance reform advocacy, organizers said.

Festival and tournament play begins at 11 a.m., with friendly tournament finals at noon and an award ceremony with remarks from state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez at 12:40 p.m., organizers said. Pérez and Miguel Santana, president and chief executive of the California Community Foundation, are to take center court at 11 a.m. and will play in the festival’s exhibition match.

The tournament is open to all skill levels and includes a friendly bracket and a competitive bracket.

Friday, August 21, 2026

Historic-Site Bill by Pasadena’s Harabedian Clears Legislature, Awaits Newsom Decision

The California Legislature has given final approval to AB 2576, a measure by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) that would widen the historic-site exclusions cities may claim under SB 79 (Wiener), the state’s transit-oriented housing law.

The Senate passed it 38-0 on Aug. 19 and the Assembly concurred in the Senate’s amendments 76-0 the next day, sending the bill to engrossing and enrolling. Six Metro A Line stations sit among more than 100 designated local landmarks and roughly 130 National Register properties in Pasadena.

AB 2576 amends Section 65912.161 of the Government Code. Existing law lets a city adopt an ordinance excluding sites with a historic resource on a local register designated before Jan. 1, 2025.

As amended June 15, the bill adds contributing sites within historic districts on the State Historic Resources Inventory and parcels individually listed there, designated before that same date. It was amended again Aug. 10. The separate limit capping historic exclusions at 10 percent of a transit-oriented development zone under a local alternative plan is unchanged.