Friday, June 19, 2026

Pasadena Unified Board Votes to Continue Eaton Fire Soil Cleanup, Acts to Save Up to 57 Protected Trees

The Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to continue removing fire-contaminated soil at 11 district sites while authorizing staff to evaluate whether as many as 57 protected trees in the work zones can be spared.

The decisions came in a charged meeting during which a community member announced a lawsuit against the district and district parents, residents, and soil scientists voiced opposition to the remediation projects, during public comment.

The vote on the action item authorizes the district to press ahead with soil remediation tied to the Eaton Fire — work the district says state regulators have determined is necessary to protect public health — while adding two amendments that commit the district to weighing tree-retention alternatives site by site, except for protected trees the board said would disrupt the regular operations of schools and/or student life.

The actions came amid an unresolved dispute between the board and some members of the public over whether the toxic cleanup requires cutting down trees at all.

Friday, June 19, 2026

Juneteenth Weekend Events Planned Across Pasadena and Altadena

Juneteenth observances across Pasadena and Altadena on Friday, June 19, and Saturday, June 20, will include a community hike, scholarship luncheon, blues performance, outdoor night party, concert, comedy shows, festival, community fair and roller skating celebration. 

The events begin Friday morning in Altadena and continue through Saturday evening at Pasadena City Hall, with several programs free to attend and others requiring advance tickets or reservations. 

The Altadena Historical Society will open the Friday schedule at 8:30 a.m. with a Juneteenth hike on the El Prieto Trail. The 3.2-mile round-trip community hike will include the unveiling of a new public bench dedicated to the legacy of Robert Owens, described in the event listing as an early Black pioneer, and the region’s Indigenous people. The bench was created by Eagle Scout candidate Elias Silva. Participants will meet at the JPL East Parking Lot in Altadena. The event is free. 

At noon Friday, the Altadena Historical Society will hold its 6th Annual Juneteenth Celebration and Scholarship Luncheon at Loma Alta Park,

Friday, June 19, 2026

Crews Pour First Concrete Footings in Pasadena’s Central Library Retrofit

The city says the seismic project remains on schedule, with the closed landmark due to reopen in 2028

Construction crews poured the first concrete footings in the basement of Pasadena’s Central Library on Wednesday, June 10, according to a City of Pasadena project update reported by Tim McDonald, Director of Libraries and Information Services.

The pour, which the City called a major milestone, set the first new foundation concrete beneath a civic landmark that has been closed to the public since 2021. Voters approved $195 million for the work through Measure PL in November 2024, and the City says the project remains on schedule for completion in 2028.

The footings went into zones where excavation and rebar installation were already finished, according to the update, published June 17 by the Pasadena Public Library. Excavation, rebar installation and roof tile removal are all proceeding on schedule, the City said, describing the project’s momentum as steady and consistent. Crews are working through the 120,000-square-foot building zone by zone,

Friday, June 19, 2026

Pasadena, Altadena Face Dangerous Midweek Heat, National Weather Service Warns

Pasadena and Altadena residents should prepare for several days of dangerous temperatures next week, with the National Weather Service issuing an Extreme Heat Watch from Tuesday morning through Thursday evening for the San Gabriel Valley and the western San Gabriel Mountains.

The federal weather agency said in its statement that temperatures could reach up to 100 degrees, with the hottest conditions expected next Wednesday and Thursday.

Forecasters warned that the heat poses a high risk of illness, especially for young children, older adults, people without air conditioning, and anyone active outdoors.

According to the National Weather Service, the heat will build as a ridge from an upper high near the Arizona–New Mexico–Mexico border pushes into Southern California beginning Monday.

Atmospheric heights are expected to rise to about 594 decameters, roughly 8 decameters above normal, compressing the marine layer to 1,000 feet or less. This will greatly reduce low clouds in the valleys, including inland areas such as Pasadena and Altadena.

Friday, June 19, 2026

Juneteenth Commemorative Community Hike Planned for Friday on El Prieto Trail

A Juneteenth Commemorative Community Hike will set out at 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 19, 2026, leading participants along the El Prieto Trail in the Angeles National Forest for a 3.2-mile round-trip walk to a newly installed memorial bench honoring Robert Owens, one of the earliest Black landowners and entrepreneurs in Los Angeles County, and the Tongva people.

Hikers plan to gather at the JPL East Parking Lot on Explorer Road, near 2755 N. Windsor Ave., Altadena, the staging point for the Altadena Historical Society’s morning event. The lot sits just north of the I-210 Windsor Avenue/Arroyo Boulevard exit; drivers travel about one mile north before turning left into the parking area.

The out-and-back route follows the single-track El Prieto Trail, a moderate canyon path known for rocky stretches, stream crossings, steep inclines and intermittent shade. The full trail gains roughly 738 feet of elevation. Dogs are welcome. The trail is heavily used by mountain bikers. No restrooms are available at the trailhead.

The hike concludes at the El Prieto Canyon Trailhead area,

Friday, June 19, 2026

Norton Simon Museum to Host Free Tour of South and Southeast Asian Art Galleries Saturday

A docent-led walk through one of the museum’s signature collections returns to the Pasadena institution’s regular weekend programming

The Norton Simon Museum will offer a free docent-led tour of its South and Southeast Asian art galleries on Saturday, June 27, at 1 p.m., according to the museum’s online calendar.

The hour-long tour, titled “Art of South and Southeast Asia,” is a recurring program in the museum’s Tours and Talks series. According to the museum’s descriptor for prior identical sessions, the tour examines “intricate works from India, Cambodia, Vietnam and more” and explores “the history, imagery and symbolism” found in the museum’s South and Southeast Asian collection.

The museum, at 411 W. Colorado Blvd., houses one of the country’s most extensive permanent displays of art from the region. Sculptures from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Cambodia and Thailand are on permanent view, along with selected works from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), China, Vietnam and Indonesia. The collection spans more than 2,000 years and includes monumental stone sculpture from the Kushan and Gupta periods and a group of Chola bronzes from southern India.

Friday, June 19, 2026

Pasadena Museum Shows the Friendships Behind a Modernist Movement

A Norton Simon focus exhibition drawn from a 1953 Pasadena archive traces the letters and portraits behind Galka Scheyer’s mission to bring the Blue Four to America

A focus exhibition currently at the Norton Simon Museum offers a closer look at the woman whose archive helped make Pasadena an unlikely home for European modernism, and visitors have just over a month left to see it.

“Dear Little Friend: Impressions of Galka Scheyer,” organized by museum curator Gloria Williams Sander, runs through July 20. The show is drawn from a collection of 450 works and 800 documents entrusted in 1953 to the Pasadena Art Institute — which later became the Pasadena Art Museum and, after Norton Simon took over the institution in 1974, the Norton Simon Museum. Rather than display the Blue Four paintings for which the collection is known, the show turns to the portraits artists made of Scheyer and the letters they wrote her.

The Blue Four — Vassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee,

Friday, June 19, 2026

Pan-Asian Myth Meets Immigrant Story in 12-Room Exhibition at USC Pacific Asia Museum

“Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry,” curated by Korean American artist Dave Young Kim, is on view in Pasadena through September

A museum-wide exhibition that uses dragons, guardian spirits and a gold Jin Chan frog that dispenses coins as a vocabulary for the immigrant experience is on view at USC Pacific Asia Museum through Sept. 6.

Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry, a 12-room immersive show conceived and curated by Los Angeles-based Korean American artist and muralist Dave Young Kim, opened Feb. 14 in the museum’s East West Bank Galleries at the historic Grace Nicholson Building at 46 N. Los Robles Ave. According to materials issued by USC Pacific Asia Museum, the exhibition pairs approximately 100 objects from the museum’s permanent collection — which spans more than 5,000 years and includes art from East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and the Pacific Islands and their diasporas — with works by 24 contemporary artists, most commissioned for the show.

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Eaton Fire Survivors Credit E-Central With Providing Financial Assistance During Rebuilding Efforts

Several victims of the Eaton Fire say assistance from E-Central Credit Union helped them navigate financial challenges as they began rebuilding after losing their homes, according to information provided by the credit union.

The credit union highlighted the experiences of two members who were affected by the fire and described financial assistance and guidance provided during the recovery process.

Cassandra Sellers, who lost her home in the fire, said E-Central waived fees associated with financial transactions following the disaster.

“E-Central waived all service charges related to the disaster, including wire fees and other transactional costs,” Sellers said in a statement provided by the credit union.

Sellers also said she worked with Timothy Melton, a new accounts representative at E-Central with more than 30 years of experience in real estate and construction lending, as she began the rebuilding process.

According to Sellers, Melton provided guidance and support during the recovery effort and remained available after normal business hours when questions arose during the rebuilding process.

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Woman Who Falsely Claimed to Be Pasadena Resident Sentenced to Prison in LA for Wildfire, COVID Relief Fraud

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A Texas woman was sentenced Wednesday in Los Angeles to 21 months behind bars for fraudulently obtaining more than $28,000 in federal disaster relief money by falsely claiming she was a Pasadena resident living in a property damaged by the Eaton Fire, and for falsely obtaining more than $54,000 in jobless benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joyce Turner, 57, of Rosharon, Texas, was also ordered to pay restitution of $82,555.

Turner pleaded guilty in federal court last year to one count of fraud in connection with major disaster or emergency benefits and one count of mail fraud.

According to her plea agreement, Turner submitted a fraudulent disaster benefits application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, falsely claiming she lived in Pasadena in a rental property that had been damaged by the Eaton Fire. In fact, Turner did not live in California and did not qualify for the benefits.

FEMA, relying on Turner’s false and fraudulent claim,