Friday, March 27, 2026

School-Closure Fears Dominate PUSD Board Meeting

With 56 public-comment cards submitted, parents, students and teachers warned that consolidating campuses after the Eaton Fire and pandemic could deepen trauma and accelerate the enrollment decline

More than 50 speakers lined up at the Pasadena Unified School District board meeting Thursday to plead against school closures, filling a lengthy public-comment period with accounts of children displaced by the Eaton Fire, disrupted by the pandemic, and now facing the prospect of losing yet another anchor in their lives.

The March 26 session drew 56 public-comment cards — so many that President Tina Frederick proposed reducing each speaker to one minute, which the board accepted without objection, to accommodate the crowd. The central message, repeated by students, parents, teachers and classified staff alike, was that a cost-cutting consolidation plan could worsen the enrollment decline it is designed to address.

“If Marshall closes, I don’t know where I would go or if I would even stay,” said Violet, a student who said she commutes an hour each way to Thurgood Marshall Secondary School after being displaced by the fire.

Friday, March 27, 2026

South Pasadena Masonic Lodge to Host Chili Cook-Off Fundraiser for Eaton Fire Victims

The fundraiser will feature a chili competition, live music, and special guests to benefit victims of the Eaton Fires

The South Pasadena Masonic Lodge will host a community chili cook-off fundraiser on Saturday, March 28 to benefit victims of the Eaton Fires. The free, all-ages event begins at 5:00 p.m. at 1126 Fair Oaks Avenue with live music scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.

The evening will feature a chili competition judged by members of the South Pasadena Fire Department, live performances by Sunday Best and Jackrabbit — the latter featuring actor Dermot Mulroney — and special guest appearances. Actor Phil Donlon, known for “Chicago Fire” and “High and Outside,” will serve as host.

The event flyer states: “To raise funds and support for communities impacted by the Eaton Fires, while bringing the South Pasadena community together for an evening of food, music, and philanthropy.”

Jackrabbit’s past performances have drawn notable attendees including John Stamos, Lori Loughlin,

Friday, March 27, 2026

Throngs Expected to March Through Pasadena Saturday for Third ‘No Kings’ Protest

Thousands of Pasadena and Altadena residents are expected to march from Pasadena City College to Pasadena City Hall on Saturday morning as part of a nationwide day of political action.

The demonstration, dubbed “No Kings 3.0,” is one of more than 3,000 protests planned across the United States this weekend.

Organized locally by the ACLU and San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible (SGFI), the event aims to voice opposition to the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement operations and the U.S. military’s month-long war in Iran.

National organizers project the combined demonstrations could draw millions of participants, possibly marking the largest single day of protests in U.S. history.

The Pasadena event will begin at 11 a.m. with a gathering at the Pasadena City College Reflecting Pool. At 11:15 a.m., participants are scheduled to march west along Colorado Boulevard, led by musicians from the National Day Laborers network. The march will conclude at Pasadena City Hall, where a rally featuring local band the NextDoors, DJ Richie C,

Friday, March 27, 2026

Tech Giants are Spending More Than Ever to Shape California Politics. See How Much

By Jeremia Kimelman, CALMATTERS

As California gears up for high-stakes elections this year, including an open governor’s race, major companies focused on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency invested more than $39 million to influence state politics in 2025, according to a CalMatters analysis.

The companies contributed that money to political campaigns, hired lobbyists to influence policy and donated to nonprofit organizations at the request of lawmakers. In all cases, critics say, the companies used their money to build relationships that give them outsized influence over the legislative process. The companies themselves say that they’re supporting candidates and policies who align with their corporate priorities.

Last July, Meta, which made $201 billion in revenue last year, transferred $20 million to a new political committee it created with the goal of supporting candidates in favor of fewer AI regulations. A month later, the company gave the California Democratic Party $150,000 and a bipartisan group of 20 incumbents in the California Legislature up to $5,900 each.

Friday, March 27, 2026

California Blew a Hole in Environmental Planning Law. Now, Lawmakers are Trying to Fix It

By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, CALMATTERS

Just south of downtown Los Angeles, the Exide battery recycling facility ??spent decades leaking lead and arsenic into the soil — sickening children, causing cancer, and creating a nearly billion-dollar liability for the state of California.

A flurry of last-minute reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act at the end of last year’s legislative session exempted a broad, poorly defined category of industrial facilities from environmental review – so broad that if Exide were proposed now, it might get a pass, critics say.

Now lawmakers are trying to figure out what they actually meant when they approved those exemptions.

State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat who represents coastal San Diego and Orange counties, introduced a bill this week seeking to more narrowly define what kinds of facilities are exempt from environmental review and to add protections for communities near developments.

But the bill deliberately leaves the hardest question unanswered: It doesn’t specify which facilities qualify.

Friday, March 27, 2026

César Chávez Day is No More. California Lawmakers Officially Scrap the Holiday Name

By Nadia Lathan, CALMATTERS

Just one week after damaging sex abuse allegations surfaced against the iconic labor leader César Chávez, California lawmakers unanimously passed a bill Thursday to rename the holiday named for him to Farmworkers Day, capping off a series of rapid-fire moves to expunge his legacy from public places.

The governor quickly signed Assembly Bill 2156. It takes effect immediately, in time for the March 31 holiday.

“Our farmworkers remind us that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect,” Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón said on the Senate floor. “Their days and their lives inspire us to push for a better California.”

The Senate voted 37-0, following an Assembly vote earlier this week.

It is the latest development in a nationwide backlash against Chávez, who Democrats and Republicans quickly renounced last week after a New York Times investigation found he sexually abused young girls while president of the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s and 70s.

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Displaced by Fire, Eliot Arts Students Take a Borrowed Stage for Bring It On

The Altadena middle school’s second spring musical since losing its campus opens tonight at Pasadena High School

The auditorium where Eliot Arts Magnet students rehearsed their musicals is gone — burned in the Eaton Fire along with their costumes, their sets, and much of the Altadena neighborhood they called home. Tonight, they take someone else’s stage.

The school’s drama and dance program opens Bring It On: The Musical at Pasadena High School, the second spring production the displaced middle schoolers have mounted since the January 2025 fire destroyed their campus at 2184 N. Lake Ave. in Altadena. Drama teacher Mollie Lief chose the show — a Tony Award-nominated musical about a cheerleader who builds a new squad after being forced to change schools — for reasons that hit close.

“It’s all about unity and coming together, and so it felt like the right next show for Eliot,” Lief said in a December interview with the Los Angeles Times.

The fire tore through Altadena on January 7,

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Michele Zack Explores Altadena’s Enduring Identity

Historian revisits her acclaimed work, “Altadena: Between Wilderness and City,” at the Pasadena Museum of History.

Altadena, a community nestled between the untamed San Gabriel Mountains and the bustling urban sprawl of Pasadena, possesses a unique spirit forged by its distinctive history. Two decades after its initial publication, Michele Zack’s nationally recognized local history, “Altadena: Between Wilderness and City,” continues to illuminate this singular identity. On Thursday, March 26, Zack will return to the Pasadena Museum of History for a compelling discussion, offering fresh perspectives on her acclaimed work and the forces that have shaped Altadena.

Zack, a recipient of the prestigious Pfleuger Award for best history writing in 2005, delves into Altadena’s evolution, placing its narrative within the broader context of Pasadena, the region, and the nation. Her meticulous research and engaging prose earned her praise from State Librarian Kevin Star, who lauded her work as “urban history at its best.” This special presentation promises an updated exploration of the unincorporated community’s past,

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Pasadena Unified School District Board Tackles Eaton Fire Recovery, Teacher Negotiations and Science Curriculum in Packed Thursday Agenda

District seeks contract for environmental testing at Altadena Arts Magnet ahead of campus reopening

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education convenes Thursday evening with a dense agenda that spans wildfire recovery, labor negotiations and a sweeping update to secondary science instruction across the District.

The Board will consider awarding a contract to Verdantas Inc. to conduct indoor environmental testing at Altadena Arts Magnet to assess potential wildfire-related contaminants prior to campus re-occupancy following the Eaton Fire. The District will also vote on funding allocations for construction management and program management services tied to ongoing wildfire recovery projects.

Two separate items ask the Board to reaffirm continuing local emergency declarations under Resolutions 2797 and 2798, which grant the District expanded contracting authority to speed recovery work. A related item seeks ratification of contracts already awarded under the delegated authority established by Resolution 2797.

A public hearing will open the floor to community input on the United Teachers of Pasadena’s reopener proposals for the 2026–2027 school year.

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Fire-Displaced Altadena Church Will Host Free Resource Event for Eaton Fire Survivors

LIFT International partners with the California Community Foundation and Altadena CDC to offer employment, health, and homeowner services in Pasadena

An Altadena church that lost its building in the Eaton Fire will host a free community event Sunday offering employment, financial, health, and homeowner resources to residents still navigating the aftermath of the disaster.

LIFT International Church, which has been operating from a borrowed campus at Westminster Presbyterian Church on North Lake Avenue since the January 2025 fire, is partnering with the California Community Foundation and Altadena CDC for the event, called “H2O: Help for Overcoming Obstacles.” The fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures in Altadena and surrounding communities, according to Cal Fire, and the event’s organizers say residents continue to face barriers to recovery more than 14 months later.

The event will take place March 29 from noon to 2:30 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N. Lake Ave. A complimentary breakfast will be provided. Admission is free and open to the public.