Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Barger Tells Trump Officials: Lack of Money, Not of Permits, Blocks Eaton Fire Recovery

Supervisor says 53% of survivors haven’t rebuilt because insurance payouts remain delayed

More than half of Eaton Fire survivors have yet to begin rebuilding their homes, and the barrier isn’t permitting delays — it’s a lack of capital from stalled insurance payouts, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger told two top Trump administration officials Tuesday.

Barger met with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler to discuss recovery obstacles facing thousands of residents whose homes were destroyed when the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena and surrounding communities beginning January 7, 2025.

“Fifty-three percent of fire survivors have yet to take action on rebuilding — not because of permitting or regulatory delays, but because they lack the capital to move forward,” Barger said in a statement following the meeting. “Insurance payouts have been delayed, and many residents are still waiting for the funds they need to begin construction.”

The meeting came eight days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 27 directing federal agencies to identify state and local regulations for potential preemption,

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Assemblymember Harabedian Launches State Review of Mortgage Forbearance Law for Eaton Fire Survivors

The Pasadena assemblymember will evaluate whether lenders are complying with protections he authored for homeowners who lost their homes

Assemblymember John Harabedian is using a new legislative oversight tool to determine if the mortgage forbearance law he authored is actually protecting homeowners.

Harabedian and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced Tuesday the launch of an Outcomes Review of AB 238, the Mortgage Forbearance Act, which requires mortgage servicers to offer up to 12 months of forbearance to homeowners experiencing financial hardship due to the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. The review is part of a first-in-the-nation Assembly oversight program designed to evaluate whether enacted laws are delivering intended results.

The announcement comes after Harabedian’s office received reports that some mortgage servicers are not following the law. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has received 233 consumer complaints about mortgage forbearance since January 2025, with 92 percent resolved in favor of consumers, according to state data released last month.

“Wildfire survivors shouldn’t have to fight their mortgage company while they’re trying to rebuild their lives,”

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Congresswoman Chu, Senator Schiff Demand Answers From Insurers as Fire Survivors Struggle With Claims

Lawmakers cite reports of impossible documentation requirements one year after the Eaton Fire

Two Pasadena Congressional representatives — Rep. Judy Chu and Sen. Adam Schiff — have joined 14 California lawmakers in demanding that nine major insurance companies explain why Los Angeles wildfire survivors are still facing significant barriers to receiving fair compensation, one year after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures in Altadena.

The letter, sent Monday, cites reports from constituents who have been required to provide itemized receipts for every possession lost, including photographic proof of ownership—requirements the lawmakers call “an impossible task even for those who have not lost everything.” The companies have until Thursday to respond.

Chu represents California’s 28th Congressional District, which includes Altadena and Pasadena, the communities most devastated by the Eaton Fire. The January 2025 blaze killed at least 19 people and displaced an estimated 100,000 residents. According to the congressional letter, 70 percent of survivors remain displaced.

“Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires are facing mountains of paperwork and unanswered calls to their insurers,”

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Supervisors Approve $843 Million Homeless Budget with Nearly $200 Million in Cuts

Pasadena’s $1.32 million allocation from Los Angeles County’s Measure A homeless services fund appears protected under an $843 million spending plan approved unanimously Tuesday, but the plan slashes nearly $200 million from county programs that include outreach teams serving areas outside the City of Los Angeles.

The budget, approved 5-0 by the Board of Supervisors, cuts $92 million from the Pathway Home interim housing program—shrinking it from 20 sites to seven—and reduces $105 million from other services including street outreach and housing navigation. Pasadena is one of only three cities in the county, along with Long Beach and Glendale, that operates its own Continuum of Care and receives direct Measure A allocations rather than relying solely on county-administered programs.

“We have a gap between our projected revenue and what the status quo costs,” said Sarah Mahin, director of the county’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing, explaining that rising shelter operation costs and the expiration of federal and state COVID-era funding drove the cuts.

For Pasadena,

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Los Angeles County Adopts Heat Action Plan

CITY NEWS SERVICE

From bus stop shade to more trees to cooler apartments, a wide-ranging plan designed to combat extreme weather and heat was adopted by the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

The county’s Heat Action Plan was described as a blueprint for combating rising temperatures and extreme heat events, but supervisors said it represents much more.

“The county’s Heat Action Plan is not just a blueprint — it’s a commitment to support Angelenos as we navigate a rising trend in extreme heat events,” Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis said in a statement following the vote. “Now more than ever, the actions we take today to protect our residents will ensure we create cooler and healthier neighborhoods in the future, while advancing heat resilience.”

Among the items included in the action plan are an effort to install shade structures at all L.A. County bus stops by 2050, achieve a 20% tree canopy in unincorporated areas by 2050,

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Pension Giant’s Boards to Vote in Pasadena Wednesday on New President

LACERA’s joint boards will consider making Luis Lugo permanent chief after nearly a year as acting leader

The boards overseeing the nation’s largest county retirement system will vote Wednesday on whether to appoint Luis A. Lugo as permanent chief executive at an annual salary of $490,000.

The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, headquartered at 300 N. Lake Ave. in Pasadena, called a special joint meeting of its Board of Retirement and Board of Investments for 9 a.m. February 4. The sole action item: consider Lugo’s appointment and employment agreement.

Lugo has led LACERA as acting CEO since March 17, 2025, stepping in when his predecessor took medical leave. That predecessor, Santos H. Kreimann, resigned effective December 31, 2025. If appointed Wednesday, Lugo would formally take charge of an organization that manages more than $85 billion in pension assets and provides retirement and healthcare benefits to more than 200,000 active and retired Los Angeles County employees.

The proposed $490,000 salary represents a 9 percent increase from the $450,000 Lugo received as acting chief.

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

LA County Supervisors Move to Raise Rent Nonpayment Eviction Threshold in Unincorporated Areas

Proposed change would require tenants to fall further behind on rent before facing formal eviction proceedings in Altadena and other communities

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed County Counsel to draft an ordinance raising the threshold for non-payment evictions from one month to two months of Fair Market Rent in unincorporated areas, including Altadena.

The motion, authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn and co-authored by Board Chair Hilda L. Solis, would modify the county’s 2022 Rent and Tenant Protections Ordinance. For a two-bedroom unit in LA County, the threshold would rise from $2,601 to $5,202 based on current federal housing rates. County Counsel has 30 days to return with the proposed ordinance, which would then require Board approval.

The ordinance would apply to approximately 1 million residents in unincorporated communities — areas governed directly by the Board of Supervisors rather than city councils. Altadena, which has been recovering from the January 2025 Eaton Fire that destroyed more than 9,000 structures,

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

626-Area Native Launches Her Adult Fiction Debut at Vroman’s on the Book’s Publication Day

Christina Hammonds Reed, whose YA bestseller explored the 1992 LA riots, returns to Pasadena with a supernatural family saga

Christina Hammonds Reed grew up in the suburbs of the 626 area code. On Tuesday, she returns to discuss her adult fiction debut at Southern California’s oldest independent bookstore, on the day the book hits shelves.

Reed will sign and discuss “The Johnson Four” at Vroman’s Bookstore at 7 p.m. The novel follows three brothers and a ghost as they chase musical stardom in the 1960s, a story that spans decades and roves from the music industry’s exploitation to the war in Vietnam to the corridors of a mental institution. Reed’s debut YA novel, “The Black Kids,” was a New York Times bestseller, a William C. Morris Award finalist, and a California Book Award Silver Medalist.

Author Kelly McWilliams will lead the conversation. McWilliams, whose own novels include “Your Plantation Prom Is Not Okay” and “Mirror Girls,” also writes about Black American history.

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Pacific Oaks, Los Angeles County Partner to Train Teachers from Underserved Communities

By THERESE EDU

Three-year, $800,000 partnership targets first-generation college students already working in early childhood settings

They already know the children. They know the neighborhoods, the families, and the particular challenges of teaching in underserved communities. What they lack are the credentials and completed Bachelor’s degree.

This spring, 18 working adults employed in early childhood settings across Los Angeles County will begin a new pathway to becoming credentialed transitional kindergarten teachers. Most are first-generation college students. Many come from the same historically underserved neighborhoods where they hope to build careers.

“Most of the educators who are going through this program are actually the first person in their immediate family to go to college – first-generation students,” said Dr. Breeda McGrath, president of Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School. “There are folks, many of whom are coming from historically underserved communities.”

The three-year partnership between Pacific Oaks College and the Los Angeles County Office of Education, valued at $800,000 according to LACOE records,

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Eaton Fire Survivor Walt Butler Named Grand Marshal of Pasadena’s Black History Festival

The 83-year-old former PCC track champion lost his Altadena home of 60 years but vowed to help rebuild his community

Walt Butler spent six decades helping his neighbors in Altadena, donating shoes to kids who needed them, mentoring youth, assisting seniors and the unhoused. In January 2025, the Eaton Fire took his home. On February 21, his community will honor him.

The City of Pasadena and the Black History Planning Committee announced this week that Butler, 83, will serve as Grand Marshal of the 2026 Black History Festival. The former Pasadena City College track and field athlete and coach won the state championship in the 120-yard high hurdles in 1962 and later helped guide three consecutive PCC state champions.

“We are honored to have Walt Butler as our Grand Marshal for the 2026 Festival,” said Pixie Boyden, Co-Chair of the Black History Planning Committee, in a statement released by the city.

“He is a shining example of who we are as residents of Pasadena,