Thursday, June 18, 2026

Altadena’s Oldest Historical Group Marks Juneteenth With Fire Survivors’ Voices, Scholarships

The stories that burned in January are being told again — not on paper, but aloud, by the people whose families lived them.

When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena in January 2025, it took more than 9,400 structures. It also took family photographs, heirlooms and history that no insurance claim could replace. On Friday, the Altadena Historical Society will debut recordings from survivors who are putting that vanished history back on the record, one voice at a time.

The organization’s annual Juneteenth celebration and scholarship luncheon begins at 12:00 p.m. June 19 at Loma Alta Park. 

The event, which the society’s programs page lists as its fifth annual Juneteenth celebration, will feature the Altadena Oral History Project presentation — documenting stories of resilience from the African American community devastated by the Eaton Fire — along with the Ellen Garrison Clark Scholarship Award ceremony for graduating seniors, a Juneteenth photography exhibit curated by documentarian photographer Alfred Haymond and a display of handcrafted quilts by local master quilters,

Thursday, June 18, 2026

State Workers Fight Newsom’s Return-to-Office Mandate

By Lynn La, CALMATTERS

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate for state workers to return to the office four days a week is back on, and many public employees are fighting to stop it with little time to spare.

Dozens of them showed up at a Senate hearing Wednesday to support a bill that would strengthen telework standards for state agencies and — they hope — result in more flexibility than Newsom would allow.

The Senate’s committee on labor, public employment and retirement advanced the proposal in a 4-1 vote. The measure itself would not stop the governor’s July 1 mandate, which Newsom argues would increase accountability, revitalize downtown Sacramento and improve government services.

Instead, the bill would enable agencies to shape their own policies. Citing a 2024 state audit, Assemblymember Alex Lee, the bill’s author, said that allowing state workers to work remotely would save the state money, reduce pollution and boost productivity and employee morale.

Thursday, June 18, 2026

AB 1847 Mortgage Relief for Fire Survivors Clears State Senate Committee

Pasadena lawmaker’s bill would extend forbearance to three years for Altadena and Palisades homeowners, and now advances to a second Senate panel

A bill that would let Eaton and Palisades fire survivors pause their mortgage payments for up to three years cleared the California Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee on Wednesday, advancing legislation written by the Pasadena assemblymember whose district absorbed the worst of the Eaton Fire.

AB 1847, authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian, a Pasadena Democrat, would extend mortgage forbearance for fire survivors from the current 12 months to as much as 36 months and let borrowers defer the paused payments to the end of their loans, according to the bill text. The measure now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee. For Altadena — where the Eaton Fire destroyed 9,418 structures, according to Cal Fire’s final report — the bill speaks to households still carrying mortgages on homes they cannot live in.

The bill builds on AB 238,

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Fire Survivor Homeowners’ Mortgage-Pause Bill Clears Key Senate Committee

A measure by Pasadena Assemblymember John Harabedian would let disaster survivors statewide halt payments on uninhabitable homes

A bill that would give homeowners across California a clear path to pause mortgage payments after a declared disaster cleared the state Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee on Wednesday, advancing legislation written by an Assemblymember whose own district was gutted by the Eaton Fire.

The committee voted 7-0 to approve AB 1842, the California Emergency Mortgage Relief Act, with amendments, and sent it to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is not yet law.

AB 1842 was authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena), whose 41st District includes Altadena, where the January 2025 Eaton Fire destroyed 9,418 structures, according to Cal Fire. State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena), who represents Pasadena and Altadena, is among the bill’s co-authors.

The measure would require a mortgage servicer to offer forbearance for an initial 180 days when the Governor or the federal government declares a state of emergency and a home is made uninhabitable.

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Peace Deal Won’t Completely Fix What Ails the American Economy

By EDDIE RIVERA

Easing of U.S.-Iran tensions may cool energy prices, but housing costs, regulatory burdens, and the Fed’s stubborn rates are keeping the economic squeeze on American households

The agreement to end the US-Israel imposed Iran war brought sighs of relief across financial markets and kitchen tables from coast to coast. Energy prices, which had been grinding household budgets and distorting inflation data for months, may finally find room to fall. But for millions of Americans still priced out of homeownership, strapped by elevated borrowing costs, and watching their neighborhoods lose affordable housing stock, the cease-fire changes little. 

The war also came with a significant price tag—$300 billion“ for the reconstruction and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” 

That message, embedded in the latest economic assessment from the California Association of Realtors (CAR), acknowledges the improved geopolitical picture while recognizing structural economic problems that no peace deal can quickly undo. 

“Conditions have improved,”

Thursday, June 18, 2026

First World Cup Knockout Match at SoFi Falls on a Pasadena Sunday

Where Old Pasadena fans can watch Match 73, and how to get to Inglewood if they’re going

The FIFA World Cup 2026 enters new territory on Sunday, June 28. The tournament’s new Round of 32 — a knockout stage added to accommodate the expanded 48-team field — reaches SoFi Stadium in Inglewood for the first time, as Match 73 kicks off at 12 p.m.

For Pasadena and Altadena fans, this one belongs to the bars. The City of Pasadena’s only official World Cup watch party of the tournament took place June 12 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium Plaza for the U.S. opener against Paraguay. Nothing comparable is scheduled for Match 73, which means the principal local viewing venues are private. Visit Pasadena, the Pasadena Convention & Visitor Bureau, identifies several of them in its official World Cup guide.

The two named most prominently sit in Old Pasadena. Lucky Baldwin’s Pub, at 17 S. Raymond Ave., is described by the bureau’s guide as having “a proven track record of legendary World Cup watch parties.”

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Team USA Returns to SoFi to Face Turkey in World Cup Group Finale

Pasadena promotes Metro A Line route and local watch spots as transit gateway for the June 25 match

Thirteen days after dismantling Paraguay in front of a thunderous crowd in Inglewood, the United States men’s national soccer team will take the same field against a Turkish side that needs a result to keep its World Cup alive.

The Group D match is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, at 7:00 p.m. at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood — the Americans’ third and final group-stage game. The Pasadena Convention and Visitor Bureau has published a “Pasadena Football World Championship Guide” promoting the city as a transit and lodging base for fans heading to any of the eight World Cup matches being played 25 miles to the southwest.

The United States opened the tournament on June 12 with a 4-1 win over Paraguay at the same venue. Folarin Balogun scored twice and Christian Pulisic overwhelmed the Paraguayan defense. “All in all, just an incredible start,” Pulisic told reporters after the match,

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Altadena Walk Club to Host Father’s Day Community Celebration on Sunday, June 21

The Altadena Walk Club will host a special Father’s Day Community Celebration on Sunday, June 21, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Altadena.

Founded by Mathew Rahban, the Altadena Walk Club is a post-fire community walking group focused on recovery through movement and connection. The group meets at Unincorporated Coffee on the third Sunday of every month and welcomes people of all ages and fitness levels.

This month’s walk will feature a special Father’s Day celebration hosted by the Rahban Family in partnership with Unincorporated Coffee and Altadena Cookie Company. Participants will gather at Unincorporated Coffee at 9:30 a.m. before taking a casual 30–40 minute round-trip community walk through Altadena and returning to Unincorporated Coffee for the celebration.

Following the walk, attendees will receive a complimentary drink from Unincorporated Coffee and a cookie from Altadena Cookie Company. Local Altadena DJ Shane Burns will provide music, and Park on the Move will host games and activities for children.

“Our family is honored to host this Father’s Day celebration and create an opportunity for neighbors,

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

School District Warns Cleanup Sites Are Off-Limits

Pasadena Unified says entering the contaminated work areas is trespassing — as a teen’s tree-sit raises concerns

The Pasadena Unified School District is telling residents not to enter its Eaton Fire cleanup sites — and warning that walking onto them is trespassing.

The soil there, the district said in a June 16, 2026 statement, is contaminated at levels harmful “to the health and safety of our school communities.” It asked the public to “allow our environmental and safety teams the space to do their work.”

The warning came a day after one such unauthorized entrance came to light at Pasadena City Council.

Paloma Muñiz Ochoa, 17, told the council she had spent the day — about eight and a half hours, her mother said — sitting in one of the oaks marked for removal. “Being in that oak tree, I connected with it,” she said, adding that it “means a lot to the environment and to the animals and plants living in it.”

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Bill to Shield Altadena From Developers Takes Center Stage at Town Council

Senate Bill 1090 would bar dense rebuilding projects on burned lots — but affordable-housing nonprofits say the blanket ban would shut them down too, and other residents warn it arrives too late to matter.

A state senator brought her bill to curb developer-driven density in Altadena to a packed town council meeting Tuesday, June 16.

State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez presented Senate Bill 1090, her proposal — co-authored by Assemblymember John Harabedian — to exempt Altadena from two state housing laws that have allowed outside investors to buy fire-scarred lots and pack them with new units.

An estimated 450 residents turned out, filling the council’s meeting room and overflowing into the parking lot, where as many as 300 people followed from outside.

Senate Bill 1090 would bar the use of Senate Bill 9 — the state’s lot-split and accessory dwelling unit law — and Senate Bill 1123, which permits lot splits of up to 10 units, within Altadena. The protection would apply by zip code,