Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Wildfire Relief Takes $9 Billion Off a Record County Property Roll

Altadena’s reduced assessments hold until owners rebuild, and 49 homes were finished as of May 19

More than $9 billion in taxable value came off Los Angeles County’s property rolls this year, written down for owners whose homes burned in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.

Even so, the county still set a record for total value. Assessor Jeff Prang announced on July 14 that the 2026 Assessment Roll closed at $2.272 trillion in net taxable value, up $96 billion, or 4.42 percent, over last year — the sixteenth straight year of growth. It will generate more than $27 billion in property tax revenue for public education, public safety, healthcare, libraries, parks and other local government services, he said.

But the record is a net figure, and the write-down sits inside it. Under state law those reductions are temporary. They come off the books as owners rebuild.

As of May 19, 2026, 49 Altadena homes had been completed and more than 1,400 were under construction,

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

County Orders a Hard Look at Its Own Earthquake Readiness, and Turns to Pasadena for Help

Supervisors set a September 29 deadline; the departments under review are the same ones that answer calls in unincorporated Altadena

The County’s plan to find out whether it can survive the next big earthquake runs through Pasadena.

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to require the County’s Office of Emergency Management to report back on September 29 with an assessment of Los Angeles County’s own earthquake readiness — its buildings, its staff, and its ability to keep serving residents after a major quake.

The motion, from Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district covers Pasadena and Altadena, directs County officials to engage seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones and researchers from Caltech and UCLA.

Jones has held an appointment at Caltech’s Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena since 1984. She ran the U.S. Geological Survey’s Pasadena office and originated the ShakeOut drill. Three of the four County departments named for that presentation — Public Works, Fire and the Sheriff’s Department — are the first responders in unincorporated Altadena.

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Bailey, Kealing for Pasadena Unified Board Races as Election Field Takes Shape

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Incumbent Michelle Richardson Bailey and challenger Felita R. Kealing have qualified for the Nov. 3 Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education election, further solidifying the field for four seats that will be contested this fall.

Bailey, who represents District 3, qualified Monday after filing her nomination papers Aug. 3. She will face Veronica Elias, who qualified July 30 after filing her nomination papers the same day.

“I’m happy to have the opportunity to continue representing the students and families of District 3 as their school board trustee,” said Richardson Bailey. “If reelected, in addition to prioritizing our students, I am committed to cultivating a culture of change on the school board and the district as a whole.”

In District 1, Kealing qualified Aug. 3 after filing her nomination papers July 29. She will challenge incumbent Kimberly Kenne, who qualified July 24 after filing on July 22. Another prospective District 1 candidate, Dianne Lewis,

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Metro Offers Up to $600 to Drive Less, Expands Driving Reduction Program

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Metro Wednesday was expanding its One Car Challenge pilot program countywide, offering Los Angeles County households up to $600 to reduce driving and use alternative forms of transportation.

The second phase of the program builds on a 2023 pilot in Santa Monica and will expand participation from 300 households to as many as 2,000 households across L.A. County, according to Metro.

Participants who keep at least one household vehicle parked at home for five weeks while using public transit, walking, bicycling, carpooling or other transportation options can earn up to $600, or as much as $120 per week, the agency said.

Metro officials said participants will use the GoCarma smartphone app to track odometer readings and travel behavior during the program.

“The pilot showed a significant behavioral shift away from solo car trips, with the most notable increases seen in walking and micromobility,” Metro said in a statement. “Data tracked during the initial phase revealed that participants were 2.6 times more likely to avoid driving an extra vehicle,

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

County Supervisors Approve $20,000 Reward for Information Leading to Jewish Center Mural Vandals

CITY NEWS SERVICE

County supervisors Tuesday approved a $20,000 reward offer for information leading to the person or people responsible for vandalizing a mural at the site of the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center that burned in last year’s Eaton Fire.

The mural in the 1400 block of North Altadena Drive was vandalized with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti sometime on July 24, according to the county sheriff’s department.

The mural, depicting an orange poppy as a symbol of hope, was produced by artist Miriam Hellmann, the Art Over Hate Collective, the Sparks of Kindness Youth Fund and religious school students, volunteers and community members. It was created earlier this year in response to an act of vandalism in which antisemitic graffiti was painted on a wall of the fire-damaged center.

“An attack motivated by hate against one community is an attack against us all,” Barger said in a statement after introducing her reward motion last week. “The antisemitic vandalism at the Pasadena Jewish Temple &

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

An Altadena Library Van Sets Up in Pasadena Friday, Issuing Cards Free to Any Californian

The weekly stop at Kidspace Children’s Museum runs from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and opening a card takes $3 off museum admission for up to four guests

The library pulling into Brookside Park on Friday afternoon is not Pasadena’s. It will sign up Pasadena residents anyway.

The Altadena Library District parks its Curiosity Connection Vol. 2 mobile library outside Kidspace Children’s Museum every Friday, and the card it issues is free to any California resident, according to the district’s borrowing policy. The district is running the stop while its own Main Library, at 600 East Mariposa Street, sits closed for renovation. The visit, listed as Altadena Libraries’ Mobile Library at Kidspace, runs Friday, August 7, 2026, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 480 North Arroyo Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91103 — inside Pasadena city limits, though the district that operates the van is not.

The two institutions co-present the visit as a community and family activity, and organizer information lists it as included with museum admission.

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Pasadena Humane Brings Its Longer-Stay Dogs to a Hastings Ranch Store

A quiet room inside PetSmart lets animals that may not show well in kennels meet visitors somewhere calmer, the shelter says

The dogs Pasadena Humane takes to a Hastings Ranch pet store on Wednesday evenings are the ones nobody has taken home yet.

Pasadena Humane, a nonprofit, lists the event as the Hidden Gems Pop-Up Dog Adoption Event, and the next one runs Wednesday, August 5, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at PetSmart Hastings Ranch on East Foothill Boulevard. Its listing describes the animals as “dogs who have been at the shelter longer than most other pups,” brought out each week by the organization’s mobile adoption team. The pool it draws from includes dogs that arrived during the Eaton Fire and were never reclaimed.

The program began in mid-October 2025. In a column published by Pasadena Humane and previously in the Pasadena Star-News, President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Ramon wrote that the idea came from Iri Di Vincenzo, then the shelter’s mobile adoptions manager,

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

LA County to Conduct Earthquake Preparedness Review

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors directed its staff Tuesday to conduct a thorough review of the county’s preparedness for a major earthquake, and to create a public outreach campaign to provide quake-readiness information to residents and businesses.

Without discussion, the board unanimously approved a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who cited recent studies showing that strain on portions of the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems has reached the highest point in at least 1,000 years.

The motion directs the county’s Office of Emergency Management to report back to the board on Sept. 29 with a comprehensive review of the county’s earthquake preparedness. That report, conducted in conjunction with Southland earthquake guru Lucy Jones, is expected to include a review of readiness at major county facilities — including medical centers — and infrastructure, along with preparedness to ensure continued government operations following a major quake.

The report will also identify gaps in need of addressing before a large temblor.

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

LA County Fire Department: SoCal Edison Electrical Tower Sparked Deadly Eaton Fire

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Fire Department concluded in reports released Tuesday that electrical arcing on an out-of-service Southern California Edison transmission tower sparked the January 2025 Eaton Fire.

Fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, the Eaton Fire killed at least 19 people in the Altadena area, while destroying roughly 9,000 structures as it raged over more than 14,000 acres.

SCE power lines have long been suspected as the source of the fire, with numerous lawsuits already filed against the utility. SCE officials have acknowledged in previous filings with state regulators that its equipment was a likely ignition source for the blaze.

“Our hearts are with the Altadena community, and we continue to support them as they recover and rebuild through our Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program,” SCE spokesman David Eisenhauer told City News Service Tuesday. “We received the L.A. County Fire report and are reviewing it. We have taken our potential role in the start of this fire seriously from the beginning.

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Eaton Fire Survivors’ Nonprofit Opens Zero-Interest Rebuild Financing to More Altadena Homeowners

Founders of Altadena Land Initiatives will take questions Tuesday at The Collaboratory as the Gap Rebuild Program widens beyond its pilot families

Altadena Land Initiatives will host a launch mixer for its Gap Rebuild Program, a zero-interest financing program for homeowners rebuilding after the Eaton Fire, at 4 p.m. Tuesday at The Collaboratory, 540 W. Woodbury Road, according to a media advisory from the nonprofit.

Co-founders Ursula Hyman and Manny Abascal, Eaton Fire survivors and longtime Altadena residents, are scheduled to speak, followed by media interviews.

The program is aimed at a shortfall that has kept many families from breaking ground: after insurance proceeds, many homeowners still face a gap of 40% to 50% of their rebuild costs, often hundreds of thousands of dollars, that FEMA assistance, SBA loans and other recovery resources cannot close, ALI said in materials announcing the program.

Without affordable financing, families are left choosing between high-interest debt, selling, or walking away from the community,