Friday, June 5, 2026

California’s Population is Stagnating as Immigration and Birth Rates Decline

By Dan Walters, CALMATTERS

California’s population exploded during and immediately after World War II, from 6.9 million in 1940 to 19.9 million in 1970, thanks to waves of migrants from other states drawn to California’s surging economy and the famous postwar baby boom.

California absorbed its 13 million new residents by expanding its public infrastructure of schools, colleges, highways, parks and water systems and by welcoming immense private investment in new housing, new retail complexes, new factories and new office buildings.

Population growth slowed in the 1970s in the aftermath of the baby boom and as an economic evolution, from manufacturing to technology and services, changed the job market. The leading politician of the decade, Gov. Jerry Brown, declared that California had entered “an era of limits” and major infrastructure expansion was no longer needed.

However, the 1980s saw a new population surge, driven by immigration from other countries and a new baby boom. California’s population jumped by 6 million — 5-plus million of them babies — during the decade,

Friday, June 5, 2026

Dinosaurs Built From Bark and Branches Arrive at Descanso Gardens

The La Cañada Flintridge botanical garden opens a new installation of Cretaceous Period sculptures alongside its prehistoric plant collections

The dinosaurs have arrived at Descanso Gardens, and they are made of plants.

Life-sized sculptures of Cretaceous Period dinosaurs and early mammals — crafted from natural materials by the Kentucky-based studio Applied Imagination — went on display this week in the Train Garden and Ancient Forest at the 150-acre botanical garden in La Cañada Flintridge, about five miles from Pasadena. A three-day opening weekend running Friday through Sunday features fossil discovery tables, dinosaur puppet demonstrations from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and hands-on activities for children, all included with regular garden admission.

The sculptures will remain on display through the end of the year, according to the gardens’ event listing. But the opening weekend’s special programming — the puppet performances, the fossil tables, the Little Explorers children’s activities — runs only through Sunday.

Applied Imagination, which has been building what it calls “botanical architecture”

Friday, June 5, 2026

Altadena Community Center to Reopen Saturday With Free ‘New Beginnings’ Open House

Los Angeles County Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger and the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs will host a free community open house Saturday, June 6, to welcome residents back to the newly renovated Altadena Community Center at 730 E. Altadena Drive.

The event, titled “New Beginnings,” runs from noon to 4 p.m. and marks what DCBA describes in a press release as the reopening of a longstanding community gathering place being reimagined as a resident-focused service hub for Altadena. It is part of DCBA’s yearlong celebration of its 50th anniversary and is the first community open house at the Center under DCBA operations, which began January 1, 2025 — just days before the Eaton Fire.

According to the press release, visitors will be able to tour the facility, meet representatives from County departments and community organizations, receive free blood pressure and glucose screenings, enjoy complimentary refreshments, and learn about resources to support recovery and rebuilding efforts following the Eaton Fire. The event will also give residents an opportunity to share feedback that DCBA says will help shape the Center’s future programming and services.

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Over 700,000 Los Angeles County Primary Ballots Remain Uncounted

More than 700,000 ballots from Los Angeles County’s June 2 statewide direct primary election remain uncounted, the county’s elections office reported late Wednesday, meaning the count released so far is officially preliminary and any close contests could still shift as the remaining ballots are processed.

That’s not an issue when it comes to Pasadena City Councilmember races, which Pasadena Now called on election night itself. Incumbents Vice Mayor Jess Rivas and Councilmembers Justin Jones and Jason Lyon each won handily.

Dean C. Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, announced the update included 77,521 ballots processed since election night, and the total count now stands at 1,395,987 — 23.69 percent of registered voters, the office said.

But the count is far from over. The office put its preliminary estimate of outstanding ballots at 713,180 — roughly a third of the more than 2.1 million ballots received countywide so far, counted and outstanding combined. The overwhelming majority are mailed: an estimated 700,000 Vote by Mail ballots,

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Altadena-Raised Grammy Winner Joins Pasadena POPS for Summer Arboretum Series

Jazz vocalist Carmen Bradford headlines the July 25 Rat Pack concert as the POPS opens a five-show season under a new conductor

The Pasadena POPS opens its 2026 Rusnak Summer Concert Series on June 20 at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, launching five outdoor evenings of orchestral music under Resident Pops Conductor Larry Blank — the organization’s first season without Michael Feinstein leading the POPS after a tenure the Pasadena Symphony Association describes as spanning more than a decade.

Among this summer’s performers is Carmen Bradford, who grew up in Altadena and won a Grammy Award in 2024 as a featured vocalist on “Basie Swings the Blues” with the Count Basie Orchestra. Bradford performs July 25 in “A Toast to the Rat Pack,” alongside jazz vocalists Steve Lippia and Todd Murray in a program of songs associated with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Ella Fitzgerald.

Blank, a Broadway composer, conductor, and orchestrator who has been nominated three times each for the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award,

Thursday, June 4, 2026

PUSD Cancels June Meetings Tied to Schools Consolidation

The Pasadena Unified School District announced it has canceled several June meetings tied to its school consolidation process after the Board of Education voted against accepting a draft Equity Impact Analysis report in late May.

The district emailed the school community Wednesday, June 3 with information about changes to the upcoming school board meeting schedule.

At its May 28 meeting, the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education voted 6-1 against accepting the draft Equity Impact Analysis report presented as part of the school consolidation process.

As a result, previously scheduled public hearings, a board retreat related to the report and board action on the process will not proceed as previously planned, according to the district.

“The district and Board are taking time to consider the best path forward as we continue planning for our district’s long-term future,” the email said.

The June 11 public hearing on the draft Equity Impact Analysis Report has been canceled. The district noted that public hearings on the LCAP and the budget will take place as scheduled.

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Pasadena Nonprofit Seeks Backpacks and Supplies for 400 Students Before August Distributions

Friends In Deed’s annual drive serves families from its Food Pantry, with donation deadlines starting July 24

Friends In Deed is seeking donations to provide backpacks and school supplies to more than 400 students from its Food Pantry community, the Pasadena nonprofit said in a press release. Distributions are scheduled for two consecutive Saturdays August 1 and August 8 at the organization’s headquarters at 444 E. Washington Blvd.

The annual Back-to-School Backpack & Supply Drive targets children from low-income families in the Pasadena and Altadena areas, according to the press release. The supply list is recommended by schools in both communities. Last year, the organization distributed more than 400 backpacks and fully stocked supply bags, according to Friends In Deed; this year it is asking the community to match or exceed that number.

“There is nothing quite like handing a kid a backpack filled with everything they need for the year ahead,” said Tim Nistler, Director of the Food Pantry at Friends In Deed.

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Colonel Green’s Great-Great-Grandson Returns to Castle Green for Annual Spring Tour

The 127-year-old Pasadena landmark opens June 14 with Eaton Fire recovery art and a family reunion more than a century in the making

More than 127 years after Colonel George G. Green opened the doors to his Moorish fantasy of a hotel, his great-great-grandson will walk through them.

Scott Drake, a descendant of the Civil War veteran and patent-medicine entrepreneur who built Castle Green in 1898, will appear as special guest speaker when the Old Pasadena landmark opens for its annual spring tour on Sunday, June 14. It is, according to the Friends of the Castle Green, the first time a member of the founding family has been featured at the event.

The self-guided tour runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine, and includes access to the building’s original Moorish and Turkish rooms, Grand Salon, sunroom, grand staircase, and select private apartments spaces the public can enter only twice a year. Two historic talks will be offered during the afternoon.

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Pasadena, LA County Commissions to Host Virtual Forum on Disability Inclusion

City’s disability advisory body delivers on a formal FY 2025-2026 objective with a one-hour virtual session open to all residents

Most forms of bias have a name people recognize. Ableism — discrimination rooted in prejudicial assumptions about what people with disabilities can or cannot do — is less well understood.

A free webinar Wednesday morning aims to change that for Pasadena residents, educators, and employers.

The City of Pasadena’s Accessibility and Disability Commission, along with the Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities and Pasadena Civitan, is hosting “Ending Ableism Together: Creating Spaces Where Everyone Belongs,” a one-hour virtual session featuring Peter Mendoza, a Grants Program Analyst for the Self-Determination and Supported Decision-Making Technical Assistance Program at the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, according to the city’s official event announcement.

The commission approved a formal work plan for fiscal year 2025-2026 that set community education on anti-ableism as a specific objective under its Community Engagement priorities and Wednesday’s event is that objective in practice.

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

California Chooses Next Watchdog Amid Wildfire Insurance Crisis

By Levi Sumagaysay, CALMATTERS

Two Democrats may be duking it out on the November ballot for one of the toughest jobs in the state: insurance commissioner.

Jane Kim, the former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and state Sen. Ben Allen, who’s about to term out of the Legislature, were leading in early returns Tuesday night.

The commissioner is responsible for regulating the nation’s largest property insurance market that includes home and auto, plus health, pet, ride-hailing and life insurance, as well as workers’ compensation.

But the hot topic in the past few years as climate change has caused wildfire risk to rise has been home and fire insurance. The next commissioner will face many challenges that include trying to balance property insurance availability with affordability. Some insurance companies that had stopped renewing policies or writing new ones in the past few years are now taking advantage of new regulations that allow them to use new tools in setting their rates.