Two educational bodies in Pasadena separately announced new permanent leadership over the weekend, after nearly year-long searches. During a special meeting on Saturday, April 27, the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD)’s Board of Education unanimously voted to appoint Elizabeth Blanco to be superintendent of schools. The details of Blanco’s contract will be negotiated and voted on during a meeting on Thursday, May 23, according to PUSD. Just a day before the PUSD announcement, the Pasadena City College (PCC)’s Board of Trustees revealed that it has selected José A. Gómez as the institutio ..read more

Parts of the funds from a proposed $900 million bond could be used to construct rental housing units for teachers, staff, as well as low-income students, the Pasadena Unified School District’s Board of Education said this week. The board convened Thursday to carve out the language of the bond and a proposed parcel tax, which the panel is considering submitting to voters for approval in the upcoming Nov. 5 election. Proponents said the two measures will help the cash-strapped district, which recently announced the layoff of 200 staffers, in providing quality education, improving school faciliti ..read more

  From left, Nicole Cavender, Telleen/Jorgensen director of the botanical gardens, and Aaron Hughes, curator of Asian Gardens, at The Huntington, pause before planting an oak tree at the North Vista of the gardens to celebrate a successful campaign in support of its trees. Some of the project’s donors stand and watch. (Photo courtesy of The Huntington)   All trees are Giving Trees. And the people who champion them are pretty cool, too. On the week between Earth Day on April 22 and Arbor Day on April 26, The Huntington gathered some of the more than 250 donors who supported its HARP c ..read more

When the state attached endangered species status to the iconic Southern California steelhead trout last week, it was like giving an aging Hollywood starlet new billing. But will the klieg lights bring attention, money and fame, or ready them for their final close-up? Known simply as Southern California steelhead, they once teemed in the tens of thousands in streams and rivers from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. But after rivers were mummified in concrete, dams were erected and habitat turned into roads and housing tracts, their numbers dwindled, with a recent survey verifying only 177 i ..read more

It was a day for laying down roots. The City of Industry on Friday, April 26, hosted an Arbor Day celebration in partnership with Workman High School and West Coast Arborists. Workman High School students were joined by city leaders and volunteers, and they planted 15 Oklahoma Redbuds trees. The goal was to bring more vibrant color along Temple Avenue. More than a dozen students gather are ready to help plant 15 Oklahoma Redbuds trees outside Workman High School on Friday, Apr. 26, 2024, in celebration of Arbor Day in the City of Industry. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photograph ..read more

Pasadena’s 15th postmaster raised his right hand to take the Oath of Office on Friday. Silven Zimmerman, a veteran of the postal service for 24 years, officially assumed his new role during a special ceremony that unfolded within the historic walls of the Pasadena Post Office, which was built in 1913. Guests look on during a swearing in ceremony for Pasadena’s 15th postmaster, Silven P. Zimmerman, April 26, 2024.(Photo by Andy Holzman, Contributing Photographer) Silven P. Zimmerman talks with guests after being sworn in as new Postmaster in Pasadena April 26, 2024.(Photo by Andy Holzma ..read more

  Sweet 4-month-old Dahlia (A514205) is looking for a new home. She’s one of many puppies available for adoption at Pasadena Humane. The shelter also offers training classes for puppies of all ages. Our classes are held in a state-of-the-art training facility where we follow strict sanitizing protocols to help keep puppies healthy and safe. Learn more at pasadenahumane.org (Photo courtesy of Pasadena Humane)   For many years, puppies were a rare sight in our kennels. When the occasional litter came into the shelter, the cutie pies were adopted within minutes. These days, it seems lik ..read more

Imagine repurposing underground fiber optic cables, typically used for delivering high-speed Internet to California residents, to detect and measure earthquakes. That is the focus of a recent research by scientists at the California Institute of Technology led by Zhongwen Zhan, who presented his findings to students and community members during a lecture on Wednesday evening, April 24. “California is the earthquake country, and we have a pretty good seismic network starting from more than 100 years ago now,” said Zhan, a professor of geophysics at Caltech. “We really want to have even denser i ..read more

REDWOOD CITY — A Pasadena radiologist was hearing footsteps and suffering from delusions about the nation’s fentanyl crisis, the war in Ukraine and the possibility of his children being kidnapped around the time his family’s Tesla — which he was driving — plunged off Highway 1 last year near Devil’s Slide, a psychologist testified Wednesday. Dharmesh Patel’s psychosis, and his potential recovery, took center stage at a hearing Wednesday to determine whether the doctor will be admitted into a mental health diversion program rather than face trial on charges of attempting to murder his wife and ..read more

While restaurants may come and go in the tough food business, there are some Los Angeles eateries that have defied the odds and stayed open for a century or more. Many of these places have rightfully become local icons often with generations of loyal customers dining at their tables. These long-running restaurants can range from fancy steakhouses to classic diners to sandwich spots to places serving international cuisines. But they are all Los Angeles culinary legends. Here are 10 of the county’s oldest restaurants, some of which have been serving hungry locals for more than a century. Joe ..read more