Friday, June 26, 2026

The Hammer Comes to Vroman’s: Five Latino Writers Read in Pasadena

An L.A. press founded in 2023 brings American Book Award winners and Pomona’s poet laureate to the city’s oldest bookstore

The hammer in El Martillo Press is not a metaphor the publisher hides. It is in the name, in the logo, and in the kind of writers it puts on a stage.

On Friday, June 26, 2026, five of those writers took the floor at Vroman’s Bookstore. El Martillo Press, the Los Angeles-based publisher founded in 2023, presents a free reading and signing at 7:00 p.m. at the store, 695 East Colorado Boulevard, pairing a founding member of the performance troupe Culture Clash with four poets whose honors include the American Book Award and the title of Pomona poet laureate. For Pasadena readers, it is a chance to hear an award-laden Latino roster in a single evening at the city’s oldest bookstore.

The playwright on the bill is Herbert Siguenza, a Culture Clash founder who recently served as playwright in residence at the San Diego Repertory Theatre.

Friday, June 26, 2026

Pasadena School Board Overrides Its Own Consultant to Protect Existing Linda Vista Park

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education on Thursday, June 25, 2026, named InSite Realty Advisers the preferred developer for the former Linda Vista Elementary School site and authorized negotiation of an exclusive negotiating agreement toward a proposed 99-year ground lease — then amended the action from the dais to require that the developer preserve the existing park in its current location and size, overruling the advice of the district’s own real estate consultant. 

The board approved Resolution No. 2895, which directs staff to negotiate an exclusive negotiating agreement, or ENA, with InSite Realty for the roughly 4.94-acre property at 1259 Linda Vista Ave. and declares the parcel exempt surplus land. 

Before the vote, Vice President Yarma Velázquez moved to attach a new Section 7 ordering that any agreement “shall require the proposed development to preserve the existing park footprint in its current location and size.” The motion was seconded and the resolution, as amended, passed. Board President Tina Fredericks presided. 

That condition runs directly counter to guidance from CBRE,

Friday, June 26, 2026

LA County Unveils Concierge Program to Speed Altadena Fire Recovery

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County announced Thursday a new concierge program to help Altadena businesses and commercial property owners rebuild faster after the Eaton Fire.

The Altadena Commercial Concierge Program will provide expedited permitting, one-on-one technical assistance and connections to recovery resources, according to county officials.

Businesses and commercial property owners who enroll will be paired with dedicated representatives to help navigate the county permitting process and coordinate with agencies including Public Works and Regional Planning. Officials said the program aims to reduce permitting approval times by 25%.

Participants also will be matched with business consultants who will conduct individual assessments, develop customized recovery plans and connect businesses with financing, technical assistance and training through a new Altadena Commercial Recovery Partnership, officials said.

“Altadena’s small businesses are anchors in this community, employing neighbors and offering commercial corridors that meet local needs,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement. “This program will help ensure business owners do not have to navigate recovery alone.

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Pasadena School Board to Weigh Developer for Former Linda Vista Elementary Site

[Updated]   The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education is scheduled Thursday to consider a resolution that would select InSite Realty Advisors to redevelop the long-closed former Linda Vista Elementary School site under a 99-year ground lease and authorize district staff to begin negotiating an exclusive negotiating agreement with the developer.

Resolution 2895 would also declare the roughly 4.94-acre Pasadena property “exempt surplus land” and clear the district to pursue long-term lease revenue from a campus that has sat closed for years.

The action would not finalize any deal. The resolution states that selecting the developer and authorizing negotiations “does not constitute final approval of any ENA, ground lease, or other final transaction documents, all of which shall be subject to further approvals required by the Board.”

The resolution carries out three steps: it selects the InSite proposal as the one that best fits the district’s needs, directs the superintendent or a designee to negotiate the agreement, and finds the site to be exempt surplus land under Government Code section 54221(f)(1)(L) because it is being disposed of under the Education Code provisions that govern school-district joint-occupancy leases.

Thursday, June 25, 2026

$82.99 Million Special Education Budget and Service Plan Up For Review Thursday

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education is set to consider approving the district’s special education spending blueprint for the coming year, a roughly $83 million annual budget and service plan that federal and state law require the district to adopt each year.

The item is on the agenda for the board’s regular meeting Thursday, June 25, at 5 p.m. at the district’s Education Center in Pasadena.

The Special Education Local Planning Area, or SELPA, plan sets out how Pasadena Unified expects to fund and deliver services to students with disabilities in 2026-2027. District staff recommend approval and report that the action itself carries “no financial impact,” because the board is being asked to adopt an estimated budget and services plan. The plan arrives as the district works to cut $30 million to $35 million from its overall 2026-27 budget under a county-monitored fiscal stabilization effort.

Pasadena Unified is a single-district SELPA, meaning it operates its own special education planning area rather than sharing one with neighboring districts.

Thursday, June 25, 2026

California Secretary of State to Headline Pasadena Event for Eaton Fire Survivors

A wildfire-litigation coalition gathers survivors June 25, where attorneys plan to revisit the blaze’s still-undetermined origin

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber is scheduled to deliver the keynote Thursday at a free dinner for Eaton Fire survivors in Pasadena, where attorneys also plan to present an updated 3D video analysis of how the January 2025 fire began.

The event, called the Community Rising Dinner, is being hosted by LA Fire Justice, a Pasadena-based coalition of wildfire attorneys, fire-origin experts and insurance specialists representing fire survivors. It is set for June 25 at the Pasadena Convention Center, Hall C, 300 E. Green St., and is open to survivors, community leaders and legal advocates at no cost, according to the organizers’ event listing.

Doors open and dinner service begins at 5:30 p.m., and the program starts at 6 p.m. The public can RSVP at: https://lafjcommunityrisingdinner.rsvpify.com/.

Weber, who in 2021 became California’s first Black secretary of state and won a full term in 2022,

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Altadena Shows Earlier Signs of Recovery Than the Palisades, County Report Finds

A 17-month economic update tracks rebuilding permits, transit use and displacement across the two 2025 fire areas

The Eaton Fire area around Altadena is showing earlier signs of recovery than Pacific Palisades on several measures, Los Angeles County reported Monday, even as fewer than 1% of destroyed homes have been rebuilt and displacement assistance runs out for thousands of survivors.

The finding comes from Los Angeles Wildfires: An Economic Update #3, released by the county Department of Economic Opportunity and the LAEDC’s Institute for Applied Economics. It is the third quarterly report tracking the Eaton and Palisades fires, which began January 7, 2025.

As of April 2026, the report says, 32.83% of homes destroyed in the Eaton fire had received rebuild permits, compared with 19.87% in the Palisades. Across both areas combined, 26.7% of destroyed structures had permits — a pace the report says resembles the fastest-recovering U.S. wildfires on permit issuance, including the Tubbs and Marshall fires. Completion tells a different story.

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Harabedian Bill to Expand Court Mediation Clears Senate Committee

A Pasadena lawmaker’s measure would expand court-ordered mediation in Los Angeles County

A bill that would expand the use of court-ordered mediation in Los Angeles County has passed the state Senate Judiciary Committee, advancing a measure its author says is aimed at easing congested trial calendars and improving timely access to justice.

Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena, announced that AB 1950 cleared the committee. The legislation would allow judges in the Los Angeles County Superior Court to refer any civil matter to mediation, regardless of the amount in dispute. It creates a temporary pilot program, scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2032, giving the court an opportunity to assess the program’s effectiveness.

“We must provide Los Angeles County courts with the proper tools needed to manage their increasing caseloads, so they can minimize costly delays for litigants and prioritize efficient resolutions for disputes,” Harabedian said in a statement. “This bill expands access to mediation, which will alleviate strain on the courts and provides a more efficient and fair justice system for the residents of Los Angeles County.”

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Chu Lauds Continued Eaton Fire Survivor Access to Federal Housing Aid Under Extended Deadlines

Homeowners in the Altadena burn zone can now draw FEMA assistance through July 2027, and renters through next fall

Federal disaster aid for survivors of the Eaton Fire will keep flowing well into next year and beyond, after the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Wednesday approved California’s request to extend its housing and financial assistance for people displaced by the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

Under the extension, eligible homeowners can receive assistance through July 9, 2027, and eligible renters through October 9, 2026 — a change that reaches directly into Altadena and Pasadena, where the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 19 people, according to Cal Fire.

The aid comes through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program, which provides direct housing and other needs assistance to disaster survivors. As of June 12, 2026, FEMA reported that more than 35,000 households had received assistance through the program, with more than $177 million awarded. FEMA also reported that more than 1,200 households have received Continued Temporary Housing Assistance since the disaster.

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Altadena Mutual Water Company Breaks Ground on Major Reservoir Reconstruction Project Following Eaton Fire

$2 million insurance-funded project marks a key milestone in Altadena’s recovery and honors the water operators who helped protect the community during the devastating wildfire

Rubio Cañon Land and Water Association on Wednesday celebrated the groundbreaking of a major reservoir reconstruction project that will restore and strengthen critical water infrastructure damaged during the 2025 Eaton Fire — a significant milestone in Altadena’s continuing recovery.

Held at the Maiden Lane Reservoir, the ceremony brought together community leaders, shareholders, water industry representatives, and local officials. 

The project invests more than $2 million in insurance proceeds to rebuild the damaged reservoir, plus nearly $1 million in additional capital improvements to strengthen pipelines, valves, and related infrastructure across the system.

“The groundbreaking of this reservoir is a symbol of Altadena’s resilience and determination to recover from the Eaton Fire,” said Dr. Janet Fahey, President of the Board of Directors of Rubio Cañon. “Our community has shown remarkable strength over the past year and a half,