Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Guest Opinion | Calmatters’ Dan Walters: How California’s Midterm Election Could Shape National Political Conflicts

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

When a professional political operative describes an election as “nationalized,” it means the outcome could have consequences far beyond the locality in which it occurs and therefore is drawing outside attention and resources.

This year’s congressional elections in California are a prime example, with two distinct and unusual aspects.

First and most obviously, Democrats are hoping to gain as many as five California seats in the House of Representatives due to a partisan gerrymander of the state’s 52 districts last year. Thus the outcome in California could determine whether their party regains control of the House, where Republicans now hold a paper-thin majority.

Meanwhile, outside the five districts that Democrats hope to switch, there are safely Democratic districts where progressive candidates are jousting with mainstream rivals, a subset of the national party’s ideological conflict.

One example is the duel between progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez, president of the Bay Area Regional Transit board,

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Pasadena Schools Open With ‘The Power of Us’

By EDDIE RIVERA

Nearly 14,000 students walked onto 23 campuses across the Pasadena Unified School District Monday morning, the start of a school year built around a single line: “This is the Power of Us: Forward Together.”

PUSD Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco spent the morning moving between two campuses, beginning at Washington Elementary STEM Magnet School shortly after 7:30, where students filed into classrooms already stocked for a new year of lessons. The visit doubled as a preview of facilities upgrades planned for the school in the years ahead.

In Ana Vasquez’s first-grade classroom at Washington, students were already making first-day introductions and sharing fun facts about themselves with their new classmates. 

By 8:45, Blanco had made her way to John Muir Early College Magnet High School, where the district’s annual welcome turned the walkway into something closer to a parade route. ‘Rampage,’ the LA Rams mascot, PUSD Board members, alumni and civic leaders lined the path into campus,

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Pasadena Unified Acknowledges Unfinished Cleaning at San Rafael Elementary as Students Return

District says areas open to students are safe after families reported dust and dirt on the first day of the school year

Pasadena Unified School District acknowledged Monday night that some of the final general campus cleaning and restoration work at San Rafael Elementary School had not been finished before students returned for the first day of classes, hours after parents contacted Pasadena Now to report airborne dust and dirt in areas used by children.

In a message to San Rafael families at 7:20 p.m., Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco and Michael Dunning, the district’s director of facilities, maintenance, operations and transportation, wrote that parts of the campus did not look or feel as finished as families reasonably expected on the first day of school.

“The playground structure was dusty, portions of the front walkway were covered with dirt, and restoration work remains visibly incomplete in several areas,” they wrote.

The underlying remediation and safety work, they wrote, has been completed or secured where necessary.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Eaton Fire Survivors To Leave Pasadena for Sacramento Seeking $25 Million Rebuilding Fund

A coalition of Eaton Fire survivors is scheduled to hold a news conference and bus send-off at the Pasadena Community Job Center on Tuesday morning before traveling to Sacramento to press state leaders for $25 million for a proposed rebuilding fund.

The Dena Rise Up Coalition said in an announcement released Monday that more than 100 survivors, residents, workers, faith leaders and community advocates would make the trip. The send-off is set for 9 a.m. at 500 N. Lake Ave.

The coalition is seeking the money for the proposed Community Aid for Rebuilding Equity Fund, known as the CARE Fund. The coalition says the fund would provide rebuilding assistance for lower-income homeowners and preserve affordable housing opportunities for displaced renters and working families.

“Recovery cannot be measured by promises. It must be measured by whether families can come home,” said Florence Annang, a coalition spokesperson.

Five fire survivors are expected to speak at the Pasadena event, along with Heavenly Hughes,

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Altadena Couple to Break Ground on Eaton Fire Rebuild With Lakers Champion A.C. Green

HPP Cares says the family’s insurance had lapsed before the January 2025 fire, leaving them without coverage

An Altadena couple who lost their Taos Road home of more than five decades during the Eaton Fire are scheduled to break ground on a rebuilt house Tuesday, August 18, according to HPP Cares, the nonprofit housing counseling agency supporting the project.

HPP Cares announced the ceremony for 10:00 a.m. and said former Los Angeles Lakers forward A.C. Green will attend. Green played key roles in three NBA championships with the Lakers, in 1987, 1988 and 2000.

Emmanuel and Emma Alvarado have been married 65 years and raised five children in the Altadena house, according to the organization. HPP Cares said the couple married at 19 and 20, and that their family now includes grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The organization said the Alvarados’ insurance policy had been canceled before the fire over a roofing repair they were saving to complete, leaving them without coverage when the house burned.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Altadena Sheriff’s Station Urges Residents to Prepare for the Next Earthquake

A preparedness flyer points households to Los Angeles County resources as Altadena rebuilds near the Sierra Madre fault zone

The Altadena Sheriff’s Station is asking residents to build an earthquake plan before the next quake, issuing a preparedness flyer that lays out five basic steps for households and directs people to Los Angeles County’s readiness resources.

The flyer, headed “Altadena, Let’s Be Ready,” urges residents to make an emergency plan, assemble a supply kit with water, food, medications and other essentials, secure heavy items and identify safe spots in each room, sign up for emergency alerts, and check on neighbors — particularly seniors and people with access and functional needs. According to the flyer, residents should “drop, cover and hold on” during strong shaking and can find guides, checklists and family tips at the county’s earthquake page, ready.lacounty.gov/earthquakes.

The station’s message aligns with broader guidance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In a June 25 statement, the department reminded residents across the county that earthquakes can strike without warning and pointed them to the county’s preparedness resources at ready.lacounty.gov.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Guest Opinion | Calmatters’ Dan Walters: Interested In How California Pays For State Government? Here’s Where To Find The Data

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

The state budget is an obvious source for anyone interested in how California finances its programs.

However the budget, including the latest version enacted in June, is only a rough outline, a collection of suppositions and guesses, some educated, others politically motivated.

An obvious example is what happened four years ago when Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that California had a $97.5 billion surplus, bragging “no other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this.”

That number never appeared in the budget, but legislators immediately pumped up spending. The surplus turned out to be a mirage based on what officials later acknowledged was a $165 billion error in revenue estimates.

However, the spending increases were already in effect, leading to chronic, multibillion-dollar deficits ever since. Moreover, one piece of increased spending, the extension of health care coverage to undocumented immigrants, cost $6.2 billion more than assumed in the budget,

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Altadena Reservoir Damaged in Eaton Fire Returns to Full Service

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A 4.1-million-gallon reservoir in Altadena that was damaged during the Eaton Fire has been repaired and returned to full service, Pasadena officials announced Monday.

The Allen Reservoir, a concrete-lined, partially buried storage facility built in the 1930s, was restored to full functionality following repairs to structural components damaged during the fire, according to Pasadena Water and Power.

The utility kept half of the reservoir operating while repairs were underway to maintain water service.

Crews replaced structural members and rebuilt portions of the reservoir’s interior catwalk and handrail. Aging drain valves were also replaced.

Following construction, the reservoir was cleaned and disinfected before being returned to full service, officials said.

PWP operates 14 reservoirs across its service area and is the largest water provider in Altadena. The utility serves more than 165,000 residents across a 26-square-mile service area.

The Allen Reservoir restoration was among several water infrastructure projects highlighted Monday by the city.

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Home Prices, Sales Decline in LA, Orange Counties

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Home prices declined in Los Angeles and Orange counties last month, while sales also pulled back from June levels, according to figures released Monday by the California Association of Realtors.

In Los Angeles County, the median price of an existing single-family home fell to $888,120 in July, down 2.4% from $910,370 in June and 2.6% from $911,360 in July 2025. Sales declined 8.7% from June and 0.9% from a year earlier.

Orange County’s median home price fell to $1.475 million in July, down 1% from $1.490 million in June but 5.4% higher than the $1.4 million median recorded in July 2025. Sales dropped 4.1% from June but edged up 0.6% from a year ago.

The Los Angeles metro area’s median price was $849,450 in July, virtually unchanged from $850,000 in June and up 0.5% from $845,500 a year earlier. Sales in the metro area fell 8.8% from June and 0.8% from July 2025.

Statewide,

Monday, August 17, 2026

Pasadena Unified Opens School Year After Difficult Summer

Students return Monday to campuses where Eaton Fire soil remediation is still under way at some sites

About 13,800 Pasadena Unified School District students return to classrooms Monday for the first day of the 2026-27 school year, as Eaton Fire-related soil remediation remains unfinished at several affected campuses.

The district spent the summer removing fire-related contaminated soil from 11 campuses and district properties across Pasadena and Altadena. In a community email issued the week before classes began, PUSD told families that work would still be underway at some schools when students walked in.

“We have made significant progress, but some campuses will still have outdoor areas under remediation or restoration when school begins,” the district said in the email.

In a message to families dated Aug. 14, Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said summer crews added new fencing and playgrounds, cleaned all schools and carried out “environmental work at several of our sites.” She wrote that the district’s theme for the year is “The Power of Us: Forward Together.”

“Through every challenge,