Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Newsom Makes Last-Minute Push to Help California Utilities Facing Wildfire Bills

By Jeanne Kuang and Levi Sumagaysay, CALMATTERS

In the final few weeks of his last legislative session as California governor, Gavin Newsom is asking lawmakers to help reduce how much profit-making utility companies must pay out after wildfires.

His administration has for weeks floated to lawmakers a wide-ranging but still-vague package of bills to address the spiraling costs of wildfires that has made a slew of different interests unhappy.

Insurance companies have launched an ad campaign against what they call a potential “utility bailout,” that would leave them unable to recover from the power companies the costs of paying homeowners’ insurance claims. Attorneys representing fire survivors and other plaintiffs that sue utilities don’t want to see their fees reduced.

Wildfire survivors worry the governor’s proposal would prevent them from being made financially whole for suffering trauma. Local government leaders are demanding that they continue to be paid the full cost to rebuild incinerated infrastructure.

On the other side are the politically influential utilities,

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

One Pasadena Unified Board Election Candidate Faces 5 o’clock Qualifying Deadline Today; Balance of Field Set

Because District 7 incumbent Yarma Velázquez did not pull papers to run again, state law reopened that seat for five more days after the filing deadline for the rest — and that window shuts at 5 p.m. Wednesday

Candidate filing for the upcoming Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education election in November closed Aug. 7 in every race but one. In District 7, where incumbent Yarma Velázquez decided not to run for reelection, California election law reopened the seat for five additional days — and that extension expires Wednesday.

Applicant Cynthia Torres has filed but has not yet qualified. She has until 5 p.m. today to turn in the necessary signatures to qualify to run against newcomer Dennis McNamara, the only other candidate running for District 7.

Torres pulled nomination papers late last week.

At the other end of the filing calendar, one Pasadena Unified seat is set to be decided without a vote.

District 5 incumbent Patrice Marshall McKenzie will be appointed to another term in lieu of an election in November.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Want Your Child to Succeed in School? Start With These Healthy Habits

As families in Pasadena prepare for the new school year, parents can take a few simple steps to help their children start strong both academically and emotionally, according to a health expert.

“Getting ready for school is about more than buying supplies,” said Dr. Jerry Cheng, chief of pediatrics and assistant area medical director at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, which serves members in the Pasadena community, and is operated by Pasadena-based Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “Healthy habits, routine medical care and open communication with your child’s doctor can make a big difference in their success throughout the new school year.”

Reestablish Healthy Sleep Habits

One of the most important back-to-school adjustments is returning to a consistent sleep schedule after summer break. “Children learn and focus better when they’re well-rested,” Dr. Cheng said. “Aim for 9 to 12 hours of sleep each night and start adjusting bedtimes before school begins for elementary age children and encourage teenagers to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep.”

Adequate sleep supports learning,

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

LA County OKs Pilot Program to Speed Mental Health Crisis Response

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a pilot program to train emergency room physicians at five private hospitals to initiate involuntary psychiatric holds, a move intended to free county mental health crisis teams to respond more quickly to emergencies in the community.

The program, introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, follows the enactment of a 2025 state law allowing emergency room physicians at private hospitals to become certified to initiate 5150 holds for patients who may pose a danger to themselves or others.

County officials said psychiatric mobile response teams currently spend about 1,100 hours each month responding to private hospitals to conduct 5150 evaluations because many facilities do not have physicians authorized to initiate the holds.

“Every hour our crisis teams spend inside an emergency room is an hour they aren’t out in the community responding to someone who is having a mental health emergency in their home or on the street,”

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Pasadena Police Urge Drivers to Slow Down as Students Head Back to School

Department marks August’s Back to School Safety Month 10 days before Pasadena Unified classes resume

The Pasadena Police Department is asking all drivers to make safety a top priority in school zones during August’s Back to School Safety Month, in a reminder issued Friday, Aug. 7, as summer winds down and students prepare to return to class.

The appeal lands 10 days before Pasadena Unified School District students begin the 2026-2027 school year on Monday, Aug. 17, when activity around campuses across the city picks up sharply. The department put its message in six words: “A+ Driving Starts with Slowing Down.”

“This time of year brings increased activity around schools and it’s crucial to be mindful behind the wheel,” Pasadena Police Department Lieutenant Mathew Campeau said in a department news release. “Every driver plays a role in keeping children safe by slowing down and paying close attention in and around school zones. It is all our responsibility to ensure children get to and from school safely.”

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Supervisors to Consider Creating Office of Gender Equity

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider a motion calling for a study on the feasibility of establishing a county Office of Gender Equity based on United Nations principles aimed at eliminating discrimination against women.

The motion by Supervisor Lindsey Horvath would direct the county’s chief executive officer and director of public health, in consultation with County Counsel, to report back to the board in 60 days on the feasibility of creating the office.

The proposed office would be centered around principles of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, commonly known as CEDAW.

Under the motion, county officials would be asked to recommend where the office could be situated within the existing county government structure and identify programs and services that could support its work.

The report would include a “discussion of all existing resources, related programs and services, that could be leveraged to support the new Office”

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

New Leader Takes the Helm at Pasadena Education Network as Back-to-School Season Begins

By THERESE EDU

Jennifer Allan Goldman succeeds longtime executive director Nancy Rose Dufford as the family-engagement nonprofit marks its 20th anniversary

For the first time in nearly two decades, the nonprofit that thousands of Pasadena and Altadena families often rely on to navigate the public school system has a new person running it.

Jennifer Allan Goldman took over as executive director of the Pasadena Education Network on July 1, succeeding Nancy Rose Dufford, who retired after 18 years leading the organization known to most local parents simply as PEN.

This week is a sort of ‘Ground Zero’ for PEN — Pasadena Unified School District students return to class on Monday, August 17 — the precise moment when PEN’s school tours, fact sheets, and enrollment guidance are most in demand — and coincides with the nonprofit’s 20th anniversary year.

Goldman chaired PEN’s board of directors for six years and served on it for nine.

In an interview,

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Guest Opinion | Sandra Lowe: Minority Rule in California? How Proposition 43 Would Tie The Hands Of Local Governments

By Sandra Lowe, IN CALMATTERS

Sometimes things that sound simple are not.

Let’s take Proposition 43. Buried in the list of ballot questions this November that could shape our tax code and California’s progress is an effort to strike a blow to the most fundamental democratic principle which guides our local governments’ decisions: majority rule.

Local government is elected by majority, pass policy by majority, approve construction projects by majority and, yes, pass taxes by majority.

Prop. 43 raises the threshold for local tax measures from a simple majority to two-thirds, allowing the minority to win. It must be rejected.

In Sonoma County, one of the highest fire-risk areas in California, the citizens passed Measure H in 2024. Measure H raises revenue through a half-cent sales tax to support emergency services. The dedicated funding ensures sustainable fire response, expanded paramedic availability and aggressive wildfire prevention. In addition to my role as a Sonoma city councilwoman,

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Five Hard Years, Written Down: Pasadena Students Publish ‘The Learning Curve’

A student-run anthology, co-founded by a John Muir graduate, debuts in print at Octavia’s Bookshelf

The pandemic scattered Pasadena’s students to their bedrooms and their laptops. What some of them did there was write — and now that writing is a book.

The Learning Curve, known as TLC, is a student-written anthology produced through Pasadena Unified School District’s Student Think Tank. Its first print edition debuted July 17 at 6:00 p.m. at Octavia’s Bookshelf, 1353 North Hill Avenue, gathering into one volume five years of essays, poetry and artwork by students who lived through the COVID-19 pandemic, the presence of immigration enforcement in Pasadena, and the January 2025 Eaton Fire. The project is a collaboration among the district, the Pasadena Educational Foundation and the bookstore.

The project traces back to the earliest weeks of remote school, when Think Tank students began writing personal narratives and then invited peers across the district to submit their own, many of them anonymously. The result is a record of what students carried during years that reshaped their schools and their city.

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Frida Kahlo’s Childhood Comes to a 99-Seat Screen East of Pasadena

Sierra Madre Playhouse will show the 2024 animated film Hola Frida! on September 12 for $15, and reviewers say the polio scenes may unsettle the youngest viewers

Long before the self-portraits, Frida Kahlo was a girl in Coyoacán who climbed trees, befriended a neighborhood dog, and then got polio.

That girl is the whole subject of Hola Frida!, an 82-minute animated feature coming to the Sierra Madre Playhouse on Saturday, September 12, at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15. The film stops well before the bus crash and the paintings that made Kahlo famous.

Sierra Madre is a separate incorporated city on Pasadena’s eastern edge, and the Playhouse says its seasons draw audiences from Sierra Madre, Pasadena, Altadena, Arcadia and across Greater Los Angeles. Riders can reach it from the Metro A Line’s Sierra Madre Villa Station by transferring to the Metro 268 bus.

Karine Vézina and André Kadi directed the 2024 film, adapted from Frida,