Friday, July 17, 2026

Candidates Begin Pulling Papers for Pasadena Unified School Board Election

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Editor’s Note:  This article originally contained a serious error, which has been removed. The original version stated that the “district has acknowledged violating the Brown Act after discussing potential school closures,” which is not true. The district was accused of violating the Brown Act, nothing more. We sincerely regret this mistake.

The nomination period for candidates seeking seats on the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education is underway, with several prospective candidates already pulling nomination papers for the Nov. 3 general election.

Nomination papers became available Monday at the Pasadena City Clerk’s Office for four Board of Education seats representing Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7. Candidates have until 5 p.m. Aug. 7 to circulate nomination petitions and file the required paperwork.

According to the City Clerk’s Office, as of Tuesday afternoon, incumbents Kimberly Kenne and Patrice Marshall McKenzie pulled papers in Districts 1 and 5 respectively.

Friday, July 17, 2026

PUSD Board Authorizes Litigation, Exempts Itself From City Tree Protection Ordinance Rules

Trustees voted unanimously behind closed doors to initiate litigation over “interference” with the district’s campuses and the soil remediation project, then voted in open session to place district property beyond the reach of city zoning ordinances

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education voted 7-0 in closed session Thursday to initiate litigation to shield its campuses and its contaminated soil removal project from “interference,” then voted in open session to render City of Pasadena zoning ordinances inapplicable to district property — a move district counsel told the board would allow tree removals now affected by the city’s stop-work notices to proceed. 

The board did not identify the target of the litigation. 

The legal action was announced on the board’s return from closed session, before the evening session convened. 

The board “approved initiating litigation to protect against interference on the district’s all campuses and property and the approved and ongoing contaminated soil removal and remediation project,” board President Tina Fredericks said,

Friday, July 17, 2026

First United Methodist Church to Host Organizer Katy Hickman for Talk on Voters of Color

Pasadena’s First United Methodist Church will host Los Angeles organizer Katy Hickman for a discussion on empowering and protecting voters of color, according to an announcement from the church. The church’s Church and Society group has scheduled the talk for Sunday, July 26, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. in the Church Lounge.

Hickman is described in the announcement as a Los Angeles–based organizer and volunteer working in electoral empowerment, immigrant rights, and climate legislation. The church says she serves as a regional organizer for the Reclaim Our Vote campaign of the Center for Common Ground, which the announcement characterizes as a Black-woman-led voting rights organization. In that role, according to the church, she helps mobilize voters of color in states the campaign identifies as having prevalent voter-suppression tactics.

The Center for Common Ground, founded in 2018, describes itself as a nonpartisan, Black- and women-led voting rights organization. According to the organization, it runs Reclaim Our Vote — a grassroots, largely volunteer campaign to increase turnout among voters of color — through postcarding,

Friday, July 17, 2026

Pasadena Assemblymember Highlights Wildfire Mortgage Laws as Newsom Presses Lenders

Assemblymember John Harabedian, a Pasadena Democrat whose district includes fire-scarred Altadena, is highlighting state laws and pending legislation he authored to protect wildfire survivors, after Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 14 warned mortgage lenders not to deny or delay survivors’ access to the insurance proceeds they need to rebuild.

The response links a Sacramento policy fight to the heart of the San Gabriel Valley: Harabedian’s 41st District covers Altadena, where the Eaton Fire destroyed 9,418 structures, and neighboring Pasadena. More than 18 months after the January 2025 firestorms, financial barriers remain the most-cited obstacle to rebuilding, with 39% of surveyed survivors citing high out-of-pocket costs and 30% pointing to delayed or insufficient insurance payouts, according to state figures.

In a July 16 press release, Harabedian’s office said the Governor’s announcement reinforces the need for lenders to ensure homeowners have fair and timely access to insurance proceeds. Among the measures it cited is AB 493, which since taking effect August 29, 2025 requires financial institutions that make or purchase loans secured by one-to-four-unit homes,

Friday, July 17, 2026

At Villa Parke, Demonstrators Mourn Two Men Killed in ICE Shootings Across the Country

Organizers say about 100 people gathered within 12 hours of the call — and local groups will join a national day of action on July 25

The two men mourned at Villa Parke on Wednesday night were strangers here — one lived in Houston, Texas and the other in Biddeford, Maine. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo died July 7, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero died six days later. Within 12 hours of a call going out, organizers said, about 100 people came to the park to grieve for them.

Both men were fatally shot by federal immigration officers. The vigil, called by the Pasadena-headquartered National Day Laborer Organizing Network and the Pasadena Community Job Center, honored the two men and their families — and organizers said Pasadena will join a national day of vigils and coordinated actions on July 25. The local location still to be announced.

Wednesday’s local gathering came the same day President Trump reversed a one-day federal suspension of most ICE vehicle stops imposed after the two shootings.

Friday, July 17, 2026

The Huntington Adds a Twilight Craft: Clay Pendants From the Garden’s Own Leaves

A new drop-in activity joins the after-hours summer strolls, now open to the public

On Sunday evening, July 26, children and adults wandering The Huntington’s gardens after hours can make clay pendants using leaves and flowers gathered from the grounds they just walked.

The craft is new this summer, added to the institution’s Twilight Garden Strolls — after-hours garden evenings that were once reserved for members and are now open to the public. The stroll runs from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m., with the drop-in pendant-making offered from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m.

The gardens sit at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino, near Pasadena; The Huntington describes itself as “just minutes from Pasadena.” For local families, it is a familiar place seen at an unfamiliar hour.

According to The Huntington’s event listing, the pendants are shaped from leaves, flowers, and other bits of greenery collected on site. The institution’s listing describes the activity as family-friendly, and it shows no registration beyond a stroll reservation.

Friday, July 17, 2026

Author Michael Elias to Discuss, Sign ‘Bender’s L.A.’ at Vroman’s

Novelist and screenwriter Michael Elias will discuss and sign his new novel “Bender’s L.A.” at Vroman’s Bookstore at 7 p.m. Friday, July 17, in conversation with Howard Franklin.

The evening appearance brings the co-writer of “The Jerk” and creator of the ABC sitcom “Head of the Class” to Vroman’s, which calls itself Southern California’s oldest independent bookstore, for a talk and signing of a book set in the 1970s Los Angeles film world.

The event takes place at the store at 695 E. Colorado Blvd. and is listed as an adult event and book signing. Vroman’s says a purchase of the book from the store is greatly appreciated and helps make such events possible. The store can be reached at (626) 449-5320. “Bender’s L.A.” is available in paperback for $19.95.

The novel follows writer David Bender as he sets out to remake his life — romantically, professionally and spiritually — after his wife walks out on him. Set against the shadow of the Vietnam War,

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Newsom Announces Billions for Transportation Improvements, $257 Million Headed to LA County

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County is expected to receive $257 million in state funding to support its southwest mobility hubs, consisting of street improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles, it was announced Thursday.

On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said nearly $2.5 billion would be disbursed for various projects across the state, which includes funding for L.A. and Riverside counties. Riverside County will receive $64 million for the rehabilitation of Interstate 215 with new pavement and safety improvement on about nine miles.

About $547 million from the federal infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and another $736 million from California’s Senate Bill 1, also referred to as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, made the contribution possible. Additionally, the remaining $1.1 billion is funded through the State Highway Account, the general fund and other state and federal programs.

“Through repairing aging roads and bridges, creating world-class transit and freight systems, expanding public transit, and leading technological innovation —

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Altadena Landlords Face Sept. 30 Rent Registry Deadline as County Offers Free Help

The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs will hold a free workshop Thursday afternoon at the Altadena Community Center to help landlords and rental-property owners register with the County’s Rent Registry ahead of the Sept. 30 annual deadline.

Scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m., the session is aimed at owners in unincorporated Los Angeles County — which includes Altadena but not the separately incorporated city of Pasadena — who must register their rental units and mobilehome spaces with the County each year. Missing the deadline can bring penalties and bars owners who are not current on their fees from raising rents, giving registration direct financial stakes for area property owners.

The workshop is free, and the event listing asks attendees to register in advance because space is limited. Department staff are scheduled to explain how to register properties, update property information, pay annual registration fees and comply with the County’s two rent-stabilization laws — the Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance and the Mobilehome Rent Stabilization and Mobilehome Owner Protections Ordinance.

Thursday, July 16, 2026

PUSD Staff to Brief Board Tonight on Soil Remediation Project, 87 Trees Remaining

Pasadena Unified School District staff will brief trustees Thursday on Eaton Fire soil remediation at 11 campuses, in a presentation that does not address the district’s unresolved dispute with the City of Pasadena over who controls tree removals on school grounds.

In materials prepared for the meeting, the district acknowledged that the city “now disagrees with the District’s position on jurisdiction and process.” PUSD maintains that state-supervised removal of hazardous contamination is not subject to municipal land-use rules. The city maintains its Tree Protection Ordinance applies to protected trees on campuses within city limits. The question has not been decided by any court.

The 13-slide presentation, titled “Restoring Safe Outdoor Learning Spaces,” makes its case on public-health grounds. It states that the January 2025 fire destroyed five district schools, cost nearly 1,000 students and 120 employees their homes, and forced the evacuation of more than 10,430 students and 1,300 employees. The fire’s impact, the presentation says, extended beyond damaged buildings.

Following guidance from Pasadena Public Health and families’