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,

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

SoCalGas Introduces Updated Uniforms to Help Customers Identify Workers

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Southern California Gas Co. announced Monday it is introducing updated employee uniforms intended to make it easier for customers to identify SoCalGas workers at homes and businesses.

The updated uniforms feature prominent company branding and employees’ first names embroidered on shirts and coveralls, according to the utility. Employees also carry company-issued photo identification badges and use marked SoCalGas vehicles.

Customers who have questions about whether someone is a SoCalGas employee can ask the worker to show a company-issued photo identification badge, officials said.

The uniforms will be phased into service throughout the company’s service territory beginning this month. Among the most visible changes will be a switch from SoCalGas’ traditional blue uniforms to gray.

“Our employees perform critical work every day to help safely deliver service to millions of customers across Southern California,” Rodger Schwecke, interim president of SoCalGas, said in a statement. “These updated uniforms provide enhanced safety features and functionality that support employees in the field,

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

California Credit Union Foundation Offers Grants to Local Teachers

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The California Credit Union Foundation announced Monday it is accepting applications from Southern California teachers for grants to fund classroom projects.

The foundation said it will award 10 grants of $500 each to help teachers pay for projects aimed at addressing classroom or academic needs and providing additional educational opportunities for students.

The program is open to full-time teachers in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as active teachers who are members of California Credit Union.

“Some of the most memorable learning experiences begin with a teacher’s creative idea,” California Credit Union Foundation President Marvel Ford said in a statement. “Through our Teacher Grant program, we are proud to help educators bring those ideas to life and give students new opportunities to explore, experiment and connect with learning in meaningful ways.”

The foundation said it has awarded $235,000 in teacher grants since the program began in 2012. Previous grants have supported projects including STEM-based water rocket experiments,

Monday, August 10, 2026

Altadena’s Free Concert Series Plays On, 29 Summers and One Fire Later

The Blue Breeze Band brings Motown and soul to Loma Alta Park on Saturday, the sixth of seven shows this season

Nearly 15 months after Loma Alta Park reopened, its lower lawn fills again on Saturday night — this time with folding chairs and Motown.

The Blue Breeze Band plays at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 15, covering Motown, R&B, soul, funk, jazz and blues. It is the sixth of seven free shows the Rotary Club of Altadena is staging this summer with Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, and the 29th season of a series that began in 1997.

One Saturday remains after this one. The season opened July 11 with Dream Like Taylor, a Taylor Swift tribute, then ran through Past Action Heroes, the all-female multicultural salsa band Las Chikas, the Beatles tribute Britain’s Finest and the steel drum reggae and soca band Upstream. Stevie Nicks Illusion closes it August 22.

The series has missed exactly one summer,