Wednesday, May 20, 2026

County Urges Residents to Participate in Health Survey

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County residents were being urged Wednesday to participate in the 2026 Los Angeles County Health Survey, a countywide effort examining health issues affecting local communities.

The survey, conducted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in partnership with RTI International, marks the 10th cycle of the ongoing health study and will continue through December.

Officials said randomly selected households throughout the county will receive mailed invitations to complete surveys online or by telephone covering health conditions, health care needs and other issues affecting residents and their communities.

“The health survey gives us an opportunity to hear from local residents about health issues affecting their communities,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “The survey results will help Public Health and our community partners throughout Los Angeles County develop policies and plan programs to improve the health of the 10 million people we serve.”

According to the department, the survey is available in English,

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

LA County Establishes Disaster Recovery Rebuild Authority

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday created a Disaster Recovery Rebuild Authority, which was billed as a “landmark step” in the region’s long-term recovery from the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires.

At the direction of Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath, the board approved a motion to officially establish the authority as the county’s unified coordinating body for recovery efforts.

The action builds on an earlier motion that commissioned a report on the legal and governance framework needed to establish the new entity. County officials noted the rebuild authority will work within the Department of Public Works.

The entity will have responsibility for integrating and aligning all recovery functions across county departments without superseding their individual operational authorities, officials said.

Effective immediately, county officials said they are launching “Phase 0,” which means they will staff the authority with a specialized team of 13 full-time positions. The team will finalize an operational plan, align with One-Stop Permitting Centers and advance an Infrastructure Master Plan with impacted fire-recovering communities.

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

LA County Declines to Extend Price Gouging Protections on Rental Housing

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A divided Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday refused to again extend price-gouging protections on local rental housing that were implemented following the Jan. 7, 2025, wildfires.

In January 2025, a state of emergency was declared in the county following the windstorm and deadly wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, activating price gouging protections that barred price hikes of 10% or more on critical goods and services, including housing.

The wildfires destroyed thousands of structures and displaced numerous residents and businesses.

Under the declaration, the price-gouging protections were put in place through July 1, 2025, but state law allowed the county to approve 30-day extensions — which the Board of Supervisors has OK’d each month since last summer.

Another proposed 30-day extension was the board’s agenda Tuesday, since the protections are set to expire May 28.

But the continued extensions have drawn increased opposition from landlords and other business groups,

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Whooping Cough Hits Second Pasadena School as City’s Cases Quadruple

Health officials confirm three pertussis cases at Blair Middle School, urge families to check vaccinations

Whooping cough has reached a second Pasadena school in a matter of weeks, with three confirmed cases at Blair Middle School prompting health officials to warn that the disease is spreading faster than usual across the city.

The outbreak at Blair is the latest sign that Pasadena is experiencing an unusual pertussis surge. Since the start of 2026, the city has confirmed 11 cases of the highly contagious respiratory illness — nearly four times its typical annual count of about three, according to the Pasadena Public Health Department. The local spike is notable because national pertussis cases have declined in 2026 after peaking in November 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The cases follow a separate outbreak at Don Benito Fundamental School, where health officials confirmed four cases on April 29. The health department issued a health advisory to clinicians on May 11,

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

School Board Scandal Continues to Grow as ‘Fredericks Consolidation Plan’ Published

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

Four school board members remain under fire for allegedly violating the state’s open meeting laws and for working with a consultant before the district had hired the firm to handle school closures.

According to emails obtained by a district parent and funneled to news outlets, Pasadena Unified School District Board President Tina Fredericks and board members Scott Harden, Kim Kenne and Yarma Velázquez allegedly coordinated privately with consultants and one another ahead of the district’s public school consolidation process, prompting accusations they violated California’s Ralph M. Brown Act.

“I always assumed they were doing the right thing,” said Denise Robb, whose child attends Blair High School. “But reading some of those messages made me feel like they didn’t really care much about the constituents and the families.”

On Sunday a presentation was released that appears to show Fredericks’ plan to close schools.

A presentation titled “Pasadena Unified School District Consolidation Plan,” outlining a sweeping restructuring proposal that would shrink the district from 13 elementary schools to 10,

Tuesday, May 19, 2026

LA28 Awards Grant Funding to Los Angeles Urban League Program Serving Pasadena/Altadena as Part of ‘Resilience Champions’ Initiative

FROM A STORY BY CITY NEWS SERVICE

A Los Angeles Urban League program that trains youth from fire?affected areas including Pasadena and Altadena is among the first eight projects selected to receive $100,000 grants from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Organizing Committee’s Resilience Champions Fund, LA28 announced Monday.

The initiative — part of LA28’s Impact and Sustainability Plan — is designed to invest in local nonprofits committed to building a more resilient Los Angeles for future generations. LA28 provided a total of $800,000 in this first round, supporting projects across three priority areas: wildfire resilience and nature restoration, ocean protection and cooling solutions.

The Los Angeles Urban League, which is training youth from fire?affected areas including Pasadena/Altadena in wildfire resilience and green construction, was named as one of the grant recipients.

In the aftermath of the January 2025 wildfires, LA28 said it especially wanted to support community projects addressing extreme heat, wildfire risk and environmental degradation.

“Resilience is built in communities and sustained through collective action,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said in a statement.

Monday, May 18, 2026

Probe Finds No Fault in West Altadena Evacuation Decisions in Eaton Fire

CITY NEWS SERVICE

An independent investigation did not identify any misconduct or delay in evacuation decision-making by the Los Angeles County Fire Department in response to the Eaton Fire in areas west of Lake Avenue, officials announced Monday.

Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said he initiated the independent investigation because the Altadena community deserves transparency. The Eaton Fire erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, destroying more than 9,400 structures, leaving thousands displaced and killing 18 people many of whom were residents in West Altadena.

“While the report provides an honest account of our operations, we recognize that no investigation can truly capture the horror and tragedy residents endured,” Marrone said in a statement. “My focus is to ensure that the lessons learned from the Eaton and Palisades fires are turned into lasting changes that will better protect our residents and neighborhoods into the future.”

The investigation was conducted by Citygate Associates, which examined evacuation decisions, incident communications and fire behavior during the critical overnight hours between 9 p.m.

Monday, May 18, 2026

Altadena Deputies Carry the Torch for Fallen Officers in 300-Mile Relay

The 51-year tradition’s final leg ends where it always does — at the Altadena station

The memorial torch arrived at the Altadena Sheriff’s Station on Sunday May 17 the way it has for more than half a century: carried on foot by deputies running the final leg of a 300-mile relay across Los Angeles County.

The station’s deputies joined approximately 2,000 LASD personnel in the department’s 51st Annual Memorial Torch Relay Run, a three-day event that traverses 56 legs through 23 sheriff’s stations, eight custody facilities, and multiple specialized units, according to the department. The relay, coordinated by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Athletic Association, begins at the historic Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. It ends in Altadena.

Countywide Services Division Chief Jason Wolak initiated this year’s relay, the department said. The event honors peace officers who died in the line of duty while serving communities across Los Angeles County.

The Altadena station, led by Captain Ethan Marquez, serves Altadena,

Monday, May 18, 2026

Wildfire Home Contamination Testing Bill Advances to Assembly Floor

AB 1642, authored by Pasadena Assemblymember and sponsored by Altadena-based group, faces opposition from insurance trade associations

Assembly Bill 1642, a measure that would create statewide testing standards for homes, schools and workplaces after wildfires, cleared the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday and will advance to the Assembly Floor, according to a press release from the bill’s author, Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena).

The bill, sponsored by Altadena-based Eaton Fire Residents United, would direct the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt emergency regulations by July 1, 2027 establishing science-informed, health-based standards for testing and removing lead and asbestos from structures in residential areas after a wildfire, according to the bill text. The measure would require additional regulations for other hazardous chemicals by July 1, 2028.

The bill, titled the Wildfire Environmental Safety and Testing Act, advances 16 months after the Eaton Fire ignited on January 7, 2025, burning more than 14,000 acres and destroying more than 9,400 structures in Altadena and surrounding communities,

Monday, May 18, 2026

Eaton Fire Survivors Plan Sacramento Bus Trip to Lobby State Lawmakers on Five Recovery Priorities

A Dena Rise Up coalition bus trip will leave Pasadena on Monday for a State Capitol press conference and legislator meetings

More than 80 Eaton Fire survivors and community advocates plan to board a bus at the Pasadena Community Job Center on Monday at 9 a.m. for an advocacy trip to Sacramento, where the group plans to hold a State Capitol press conference Tuesday followed by visits with legislators.

The trip is organized by Dena Rise Up, a coalition the group describes as local organizations advocating for what it calls a just and inclusive recovery led by survivors themselves. According to the coalition’s press release, the trip’s priorities include three bills now moving through the Legislature — AB 1642 by Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena), SB 878 by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) and SB 1301 by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) — along with a proposed CARE Fund and the Eaton Fire Survivors Network’s Urgent Housing Relief Proposal. The trip falls 16 months after the Eaton Fire,