California’s budget crunch is forcing the Legislature to scale back its agenda this session, with bills to legalize psychedelic therapy, offer reparations to the descendants of enslaved people, and require more transparency around who is paying for lawmakers’ sponsored travel among the early carnage. Facing estimated deficits of tens of billions of dollars over the next two years, leaders of the L... More »
Ares Rosakis, Caltech’s Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, has been named a foreign member of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s national academy of sciences. Founded in 1660 under the patronage of King Charles II, the Royal Society is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Rosakis is among 94 inductees to the society this year, including ... More »
Use of electric powered leaf blowers is increasing. More than half the landscapers that took part in a recent survey said they were now using electric leaf blowers, according to a City memo. “Staff conducted a citywide field survey on May 7, 2024, and based on a sample of 103 observations, found that 59 (57%) landscapers were utilizing an electric powered leaf-blower,” according to the memo. “It i... More »
“The greatness of America,” said Rev. Martin Luther King, “is the right to protest for right.” Pasadena is currently in the midst of an escalating controversy over that right. More than 100 housekeepers, cooks and other workers at the Pasadena Hilton have been striking and picketing since July in their battle for a contract that includes livable wages, adequate health care benefits, fair workloads... More »
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified Esrom Fessehaye, 22, as the third person killed in a solo Tesla crash in East Pasadena early Saturday morning. Fessehaye was riding as the front passenger in the vehicle, which carried a total of six young adults, when it struck a curb on near a slight curve on Foothill Boulevard, went airborne, and collided with a street light, power pole, and va... More »
Pasadena Transit and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will offer free rides on various public transportation services in celebration of Bike to Work Day. The initiatives by the agencies aim to promote bicycling as a healthy and sustainable mode of transportation. According to the Pasadena Department of Transportation, cyclists can take advantage of the bike rack... More »
The City announced the beginning of its hazardous vegetation mitigation on Wednesday. The Fire Department announced this year’s effort under overcast weather and colder temperatures at La Casitas Del Arroyo in the Arroyo Seco. “It’s cold,” said Fire Marshall Anthony James. “There’s moisture in the air, no winds, but it’s important that we’re not lulled into a false sense of security as everything ... More »
The much-revised 2024-25 state budget that Gov. Gavin Newsom released last week contains hundreds of spending reductions and other actions to close what he says is a $44.9 billion deficit. Exactly two years earlier, Newsom boasted as the state enjoyed a $97.5 billion budget surplus, thanks to surging revenues from the post-pandemic economic recovery. “No other state in American history has ever ex... More »
For aspiring musicians, the road to stardom can often feel long and winding. But this summer, a unique program at the Los Angeles College of Music (LACM) is offering a the chance for shortcuts, giving SoCal teenagers and music enthusiasts of all ages the chance to learn from the very hitmakers who have helped craft the careers of Ariana Grande, Usher, John Mayer and Michael Bublé. LACM’s “Summer a... More »
In 1993, visionary science fiction author Octavia E. Butler penned “Parable of the Sower,” a chilling dystopian novel set in the years 2024-2027, which we are now entering. Butler’s prophetic narrative, which explores themes of societal collapse, environmental degradation, and the resilience of the human spirit, has taken on an unsettling new resonance in our current era. The Huntington Library, A... More »
