Anaheim Press_2/10/2025 by Beacon Media News

SCE concedes its equipment may have sparked Hurst Fire

SouthernCalifornia

Edison officials conceded in a regulatory filing Thursday that its equipment may be associated with the ignition of the Hurst Fire, which burned nearly 800 acres in the Sylmar area during the height of the January Southland firestorm.

The Hurst Fire, which erupted Jan. 7 and was fully contained on Jan. 16, did not result in any structures being destroyed or cause any deaths, unlike the region’s two other massive fires -- the Palisades and Eaton fires, which killed a combined 29 people.

In a filing with the state Public Utilities Commission,

Paul Pimentel of SCE wrote that while the Los Angeles Fire Department is continuing to investigate the cause of the fire, “Absent additional evidence, SCE believes its equipment may be associated with the ignition of the Hurst Fire.”

The filing notes that the fire originated in the vicinity of an SCE transmission tower north of Saddle Ridge Road. SCE concedes in the filing that a conductor failure occurred on the tower the night of Jan. 7, causing damaged equipment to fall to the ground at the base of the tower.

SCE has already been targeted in multiple lawsuits

accusing its equipment of sparking the Eaton Fire, which burned 14,021 acres in the Altadena and Pasadena areas. The cause of that fire is still under investigation, but attorneys have recently pointed to surveillance video that appears to show SCE power lines arcing in the vicinity of the fire’s origin on Jan. 7.

“While we do not yet know what caused the Eaton wildfire, SCE is exploring every possibility in its investigation, including the possibility that SCE’s equipment was involved,” Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of SCE’s parent company, Edison International, said in

a statement Thursday. “We have been fully engaged since the start of the fires in supporting the broader emergency response, containment, recovery and investigation efforts.”

SCE officials said its investigation into the fire’s cause is likely to take several more months.

“Our hearts go out to everyone who has suffered losses,” Pizarro said. “We are working with the local communities SCE serves to rebuild and emerge stronger. We understand the community wants answers, and we remain committed to a thorough and transparent investigation.”

FireAid concerts, Grammys raise $124 million for wildfire recovery

After fires, State Farm seeks 22% rate hike for homeowner policies

By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com

State Farm, the largest insurance company in California, asked the state Monday for an emergency 22% rate increase for homeowner policies in an attempt to prevent a “dire situation” for customers and the insurance industry in the state.

In the wake of the LA wildfires, the company has so far received more than 8,700 claims and has paid out more than $1 billion, State Farm officials said.

“We know we will ultimately pay out significantly more, as these fires will collectively be the costliest in the history of the company,” President and CEO Dan Krause and other company executives wrote in a letter to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “Although reinsurance will assist us in paying what we owe to customers, the costs of these fires will further deplete capital from (State Farm).”

Krause added that “with nearly three million policies in force, including more than one million homeowners customers, (State Farm) needs your urgent assistance in the form of emergency interim approval of additional rate to help avert a dire situation for our customers and the insurance market in the state of California.”

The company asked Lara to immediately approve interim rate increases effective May 1 — 22% for homeowners, 15% for renters and 38% for rental units.

In May 2023 State Farm announced it would stop writing new policies in California, and the following year it said it would not renew 72,000 policies, 29,000 of which were held by homeowner. The company said recently, however, it would offer renewals to homeowners recovering from wildfire losses.

“The high concentrations of risk covered by (State Farm) in the fire footprint will generate a direct loss many times larger than the company’s pre-event surplus,” Krause wrote. The company’s “already stressed financial position will be further weakened, even after accounting for billions of dollars

An aerial view shows a Palisades Fire-devastated neighborhood. | Photo courtesy of Army Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy/U.S. Department of Defense

The Hurst Fire burns a Sylmar hillside. | Photo courtesy of the Angeles National Forest/Facebook

LA City Council approves pause on evictions for extra occupants due to fires

By Jose Herrera, City News Service

The City Council Tuesday approved an ordinance that will temporarily prohibit landlords from evicting tenants for having unauthorized occupants and pets who have been displaced by the multiple fires that erupted in January.

In a 14-0 vote, council members backed the ordinance that is expected to be in effect for one year -- a measure that Councilwoman Traci Park sought to aid fire survivors.

Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, introduced an emergency motion seeking such protections on Jan. 14, a week after the fires started on Jan. 7.

Councilman Curren Price recused himself, as he is a landlord.

The council also approved amendments to the ordinance that will pause rent increases solely for additional occupants in rent-stabilized units during that one-year period. Council members instructed the Housing Department to create a standardized form that tenants can use to notify their landlords of new occupants and pets.

According to Park, thousands of Angelenos left their homes in a matter

of minutes to escape the Palisades Fire and the neighboring Eaton Fire in Altadena, forcing them to shelter across the city and the region.

“Acts of kindness and compassion should not be punished, and anyone who has opened up their home to provide shelter, peace and security should not have to worry about risking eviction for taking on additional pets or occupants,” Park said.

The councilwoman described the ordinance as a “targeted common sense measure” to keep impacted residents housed while they navigate the recovery process.

David Kaishchyan of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles argued against the measure, focusing on the issue of unauthorized pets.

“While we understand the intention behind promoting pet friendly housing, we believe the current proposal would create significant harm to existing renters and rental housing providers,” Kaishchyan said.

He warned that allowing unauthorized pets could force other tenants to

relocate to pet-free housing for health reasons such as allergies or asthma, or other

reasons. It could also lead to some housing providers losing their insurance,

Kaishchyan added.

The council voted on the matter almost a week after shooting down a separate proposal from council members Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez, who called for a more widespread set of tenant protections for residents who lost their homes and livelihoods as a result of the fires.

The council voted 10-3 to send back the proposal back to committee for further discussion that also sought a one-year rent-hike moratorium for all apartments in the city through Jan. 31, 2026.

More than 100 people -- a mix of landlords and renters -- showed up to Council Chambers to share their thoughts on the contentious policy.

Kaishchyan had argued against the rent-hike freeze and eviction moratorium, arguing that it would create “mountains of unpaid back rent.”

Carlos Singer, chief of policy for the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce, said the proposal would discourage investors from developing in the city during a time when Los Angeles needs to draw on historic amounts of

money to finance rebuilding efforts.

Tenant and housing advocate groups such as Strategic Actions for a Just Economy and ACCE, among others, supported the protections.

“Tenants were already struggling to pay rent, saddled with rent debt and one missed paycheck away from losing their homes,” said Christina Boyer, an attorney with Public Counsel and a member of Keep LA Housed. “The fires have only made this dire situation worse and people have a real risk of losing their houses.”

Meanwhile, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution on Jan. 21, similar to what Park has proposed, that enacted eviction protections for renters who opened their homes to people or pets displaced by the wildfires. It also promoted increased short-term rental availability.

Tenants in the unincorporated areas of the county are protected against eviction when hosting unauthorized occupants or pets displaced by the fires until May 31, 2026.

LA County to study establishment of human trafficking prevention body

By City News Service

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday to study the feasibility of establishing a human trafficking prevention body.

The county CEO, Office of Immigrant Affairs, District Attorney’s Office, Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force and other departments were directed to report back in 120 days with recommendations to house the body within the Department of Public Health.

The report will make recommendations on staffing and funding, integrating with existing countyrun human trafficking-related task forces and groups such as the LARHTTF, the Wage Theft Task Force and the County Child Trafficking Steering Committee, and coordinating with local, state and federal agencies that serve vulnerable communities.

Another study was

approved in the same motion Tuesday, with recommendations to be submitted in 120 days on the feasibility of the chief information officer leading data collection efforts and seeking resources and funding opportunities.

“January was National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and there is no better time than now to move forward with advancing Los Angeles County’s efforts to re-imagine its approach to addressing human trafficking as it continues to be an acute ongoing local and worldwide issue,” according to Tuesday’s motion, which was authored by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath.

The move follows suggestions from a previous report approved by the board in October 2023 and submitted in March 2024.

Two of those recommendations were to look into the feasibility of establishing

a countywide coordinating body for preventing human trafficking and establishing collaborative and systematic human trafficking data collection systems to be shared among County agencies.

“It (human trafficking) happens unfortunately, with the most vulnerable in our population and right now there’s so much fear going on with respect to where our government is,” Solis said.

Horvath and Board Chair Kathryn Barger said the county was committed to protecting its residents and supporting victims.

“The county has been involved with anti-human trafficking work for several years now,” Barger said, “We’ve been dedicated to providing training for identifying commercial sexual exploitation for children and we established the STAR and DREAM courts to provide collaborative interventions for youth trafficking victims.”

The report is expected to detail which departments to collect data from, the potential challenges, and how to safeguard immigration status.

“The current climate of our ICE raids particularly relates to safeguarding this data,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said. “Some of this data will probably reveal some are (members of the)

Photo by Michael Beener on Unsplash

undocumented immigrant community ... how are we going to safeguard that?” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the department was not collecting any unessential data.

| Photo by Imagens Evangélicas CC BY 2.0

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How Trump’s EPA threatens efforts to clean up areas affected most by dangerous air pollution

By Lisa Song, ProPublica

This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

MPRESS

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ore than three years ago,ProPublica spotlightedAmerica’s “sacrifice zones,” where communities in the shadow of industrial facilities were being exposed to unacceptable amounts of toxic air pollution. Life in these places was an endless stream of burning eyes and suspicious smells, cancer diagnoses and unanswered pleas for help.

The Biden administration took action in the years that followed, doling out fines, stepping up air monitoring and tightening emissions rules for one of the most extreme carcinogens. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency requested a significant budget increase in part to issue scores of hazardous air pollution rules and fulfill its obligations under the Clean Air Act. Had the effort been successful, experts said, it could have made a meaningful difference.

President Donald Trump threatens to dismantle the steps his predecessor took to curb pollution. In just over two weeks, the Trump administration has ordered a halt to proposed regulations, fired the EPA’s inspector general, frozen federal funding for community projects and launched a process that could force thousands of EPA employees from their jobs.

So ProPublica set out to understand what modest reforms are now under threat and who will be left to safeguard these communities.

Weaknesses of State Enforcement

The first Trump administration told EPA staff to defer more to state agencies on environmental enforcement. But ProPublica has documented a long history of state failures to hold polluters accountable — mostly in areas where support for Trump is

strong.

“States generally do not have the resources, experience, equipment, nor the political will to quickly and effectively respond” to serious pollution complaints, Scott Throwe, a former senior enforcement official at the EPA, said in an email.

In Pascagoula, Mississippi, complaints from residents rolled in to the state’s environmental agency for years as a nearby oil refinery, a shipbuilding plant and other facilities regularly released carcinogens like benzene and nickel, according to emissions reports the facilities sent to the EPA.

The futility of the complaints became apparent when the nonprofit Thriving Earth Exchange learned in early 2023 that the scientific instruments state contractors had used in the neighborhood to investigate recent complaints weren’t sensitive enough to detect some of the worst chemicals at levels that could pose health risks. The instruments were designed to protect industrial workers during eight-hour workdays, not children and medically vulnerable people who need greater protections at home.

“I don’t live in this house eight hours! I live here 24/7,” said resident Barbara Weckesser, who has complained to the state about the toxic air for more than a decade.

Jan Schaefer, communications director for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency uses “scientifically sound methods and tools” to address complaints and that looking at just one episode omits “critical context and broader actions taken by the agency to address air quality concerns in Mississippi.”

Before Trump’s inauguration, the EPA’s regional office

said the state agency had applied for a grant to install air monitors, and data collection should begin this spring.

The $625,000 long-term air monitoring effort could finally determine the source and scale of the pollution, but the data it produces isn’t “going to trigger something magical to happen,” said Barbara Morin, an air pollution analyst who advises the environmental agencies of eight northeastern states. Either the state or Trump’s EPA will need to analyze the data to see what’s causing the pollution and how to stop it, Morin said.

Almost immediately after taking office, Trump ordered a freeze on all federal grants, including those at the EPA, sparking a legal battle. Nevertheless, Schaefer said the project’s schedule is on track.

The EPA confirmed that similar activities in the tiny city of Verona, Missouri, where the agency had been cracking down on an industrial plant spewing a dangerous carcinogen, remain ongoing.

While making an animal feed additive, the plant releases ethylene oxide, a colorless gas linked to leukemia and breast cancer.

In response to a request from the city’s then-mayor, Joseph Heck, the state conducted a cancer survey of residents in 2022 and determined there wasn’t enough data for detailed analysis. That same year, the plant, operated by BCP Ingredients, leaked nearly 1,300 pounds of ethylene oxide, the EPA reported.

The EPA intervened, setting up air monitoring in the town, fining the company $300,000 and ordering it to install equipment to remove 99.95% of the ethylene oxide

coming out of a particular smokestack. (BCP Ingredients didn’t return a request for comment.) “The EPA has done a lot more than I think the state can ever do,” said Heck, whose partner died of cancer in 2022. Crystal Payne was in complete remission from breast cancer before they moved to Verona, Heck said, but within a year it came back and spread to her brain and her liver.

A spokesperson with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources said the EPA used its authority under the federal Clean Air Act to compel the company to update its pollution-cutting equipment after the spill. He said the state lacks the power to do that.

“Texas Is Extremely Industry Friendly” For years, a facility that sterilizes medical equipment in Laredo, Texas, released more ethylene oxide into the air than any other industrial plant in the country, according to emission reports the facility submitted to the EPA.

Nearly 130,000 nearby residents, including more than 37,000 children, faced an elevated lifetime cancer risk, a ProPublica and Texas Tribune investigation found. The parents of two children diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer linked to ethylene oxide exposure, recounted their ordeal and said they had no idea about the risks.

A statement from Midwest Sterilization Corporation, which operates the Laredo plant, said the company “meets or exceeds all federal and state law requirements” and performs the “important job” of sterilizing medical equipment, which “saves lives.”

Smog over the Inland Empire. | Photo by Bryan Ungard CC BY-SA 2.0

U.S. Small Business Administration

SBA disaster assistance for homeowners, renters, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes affected by the wildfires and straight-line winds in California.

See if your county is eligible for an SBA disaster loan.

Types of available disaster loans:

• Home Disaster Loans: Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles.

• Business Physical Disaster Loans: Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, nonprofit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities and other entities are also eligible.

• Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private, nonprofit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period.

Assessor’s disaster response

The Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office is supporting property owners during this difficult time. While a comprehensive damage assessment is underway, the agency is mobilizing resources to assist affected residents, including:

• On-the-ground support: Assessor staff will be present at the Local Assistance Centers to provide guidance and resources to property owners.

• Property tax relief: The county will process “misfortune and calamity” claims to provide property tax relief for damaged or destroyed properties.

“Misfortune and calamity” property tax relief

Property owners whose homes or businesses were damaged or destroyed by the wildfires may qualify for temporary property tax relief under the “Misfortune and Calamity” program.

Key Details:

• Eligibility: The damage must exceed $10,000 in current market value.

• Filing deadline: Claims must be filed within 12 months of the date of the damage.

• Benefits: Approved claims may result in temporary property tax reductions, with values adjusted until repairs or rebuilding are completed.

• For more information or to download the claim form ADS820, visit assessor.lacounty.gov/tax-relief/disaster-relief or call 213-974-3211.

Assessor’s Office updates

As of Jan. 13, all in-person operations at assessor offices have resumed. However, officials encouraged the public to use assessor. lacounty.gov to complete tasks online whenever possible.

It’s also recommended to request the United States Post Office to hold or reroute your mail. Please go here for more information.

e-Service account sign-up

Property owners were encouraged to sign up for an “Assessor e-Service Account” on the agency’s website to:

• Enroll in the Homeowner Alert Program, which sends email notifications within 48 hours of specific activities on your property records; and

• Access the e-File Program to handle property-related filings conveniently.

Visit assessor.lacounty.gov or call 213-974-3211 to learn more about filing a claim or to receive assistance.

Photo courtesy of Canva

After the EPA released a report in 2016 on the dangers of ethylene oxide, Texas’ environmental agency conducted its own review of the federal study. The state concluded that people could safely inhale the chemical at concentrations thousands of times higher than the EPA’s safe limit.

The state then passed a rule that meant that polluters didn’t need to lower their emissions.

Richard Richter, a spokesperson for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said the agency conducted an in-depth analysis that “led to the conclusion that there was inadequate evidence to support” a link between ethylene oxide and breast cancer.

Scientists told ProPublica that the state agency reached that verdict only after wrongfully excluding studies that linked ethylene oxide to breast cancer and using a flawed analysis of the data EPA relied on.

The state is the nation’s top ethylene oxide polluter and home to 26 facilities that emit ethylene oxide, according to ProPublica’s 2021 analysis of EPA data from 2014 through 2018.

“Texas is extremely industry friendly,” said Tricia Cortez, executive director of the nonprofit Rio Grande International Study Center.

Cortez said deferring more responsibility to the states “would be disastrous for normal everyday people. … Why should it matter how much you’re protected based on your state’s affiliation? People exposed to something so horrible and cancer-causing should have the same protection everywhere.”

Representatives for Trump’s transition team didn’t return a request for comment.

Hannah Perls, a senior staff attorney at Harvard’s

Air pollution

Environmental & Energy Law Program, said giving states more control over how they implement and enforce federal laws enables “legal sacrifice zones,” reinforcing or creating disparities based on geography.

Federal Rules in Danger

One important reform that promises relief for the residents of Laredo is an updated rule adopted by the EPA last spring.

Prompted by a lawsuit brought by Cortez’s group, the federal agency’s rule will eventually require facilities nationwide, including those in Texas, to conduct air monitoring for ethylene oxide and add equipment to reduce emissions of the chemical by 90%.

Facilities have until 2026 to comply and can ask for extensions beyond that.

But the attorney reportedly nominated to lead the Trump EPA’s air pollution efforts is a friend of the industry that depends on the chemical. Aaron Szabo recently represented the Advanced Medical Technology Association, an industry trade group that includes commercial sterilizers that use ethylene oxide. (His work for the group was first reported by Politico.) Last year, according to his lobbying report, Szabo lobbied the EPA on its “regulations related to the use of ethylene oxide from commercial sterilizer facilities.”

Szabo didn’t return a request for comment.

Trump and his key picks for important positions in his government have made it clear they intend to roll back environmental protections that burden industry.

How far they go will have lasting consequences for residents in the more than 1,000 hot spots ProPublica’s 2021 analysis identified as having elevated and often unacceptable cancer risks from industrial air pollution.

Another rule issued by the EPA last year offers a new way to tackle pollution in Calvert City, Kentucky.

Last June, a local chemical plant operated by Westlake Vinyls leaked 153 pounds of ethylene dichloride, a dangerous carcinogen, according to EPA records.

It was the latest in a series of problems at the factory that state and federal fines had failed to stop. From 2020 to 2023, the EPA had found 46 instances when the facility didn’t correctly operate controls for the chemical. During one inspection, the concentration of dangerous gases coming from a tank was so high that it overwhelmed the EPA’s measuring instrument, according to agency records obtained by ProPublica. Westlake did not respond to requests for comment.

The EPA’s updated rule will require more than 100 facilities, including Westlake and the refinery in Pascagoula, to install air monitors along the fence line, or perimeter. The monitors will measure up to six toxic gases, and the data will be posted online. (It’s unclear exactly which chemicals these two facilities would monitor, though the requirement could cover ethylene dichloride.)

Michael Koerber, a former EPA air quality expert, said the rule could finally give residents some much-needed transparency. Koerber said an earlier EPA rule, which required oil refineries to install fence line monitoring for benzene, led to a significant decrease in benzene from those facilities.

But the new rule doesn’t fully take effect until next year.

That leaves its enforcement up to the Trump administration.

Republished with Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

CA’s K-12 schools prepare for possibility of immigration authorities on campus

By Suzanne Potter, Producer, Public News Service

Californiaschool districts are working to reassure parents who may be scared to bring their kids to school - since the Trump administration made it clear that immigration authorities will no longer be discouraged from conducting raids in sensitive places such as schools, churches, and health-care facilities.

Data show that one in ten children in California has an undocumented parent.

Laura Fisher - the assistant superintendent of student support services with Desert Sands Unified School District, about 2 1/2 hours north of the border - said while the district does have to comply with a judicial subpoena, student safety comes first.

“We’d be asking for the officers’ credentials, contact information, the details of the request,” said Fisher, “and ask to see a copy of any reason for them being on the school grounds, and any documentation that authorizes their school access - before we would allow anything.”

DSUSD recently sent home a letter to all parents

reassuring them that the district has protocols in place and will protect the confidentiality of student data if ICE shows up.

Fisher said schools will work to minimize any disruption on campus, and provide mental-health counseling upon request.

So far, she said, the district has not seen a significant drop in attendance since the inauguration.

Luis Valentino recently retired as superintendent at Coachella Valley Unified School District.

He said the Trump administration’s new policy will

hurt teacher retention, and place undue pressure on staff, students, and families.

“It is creating an environment of fear that will make it very difficult for school systems to recover from,” said Valentino. “The amount of stress that is being placed on the students and on communities, it could be irreparable. It’s going to be as bad if not worse than COVID was.”

References:

Attorney General Bonta Issues Guidance on Educational Rights of Immigrant Students and Their Families CA Attorney General Bonta 1/6/25

| Photo by Peg Hunter CC BY-NC 2.0

How climate change could upend the American dream

By Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica

Houses in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades neighborhoods were still ablaze when talk turned to the cost of the Los Angeles firestorms and who would pay for it. Now it appears that the total damage and economic loss could be more than $250 billion. This, after a year in which hurricanes Milton and Helene and other extreme weather events had already exacted tens of billions of dollars in American disaster losses.

As the compounding impacts of climate-driven disasters take effect, we are seeing home insurance prices spike around the country, pushing up the costs of owning a home. In some cases, insurance companies are pulling out of towns altogether. And in others, people are beginning to move away.

One little-discussed result is that soaring home prices in the United States may have peaked in the places most at risk, leaving the nation on the precipice of a generational decline. That’s the finding of a new analysis by the First Street, a research firm that studies climate threats to housing and provides some of the best climate adaptation data available, both freely and commercially. The analysis predicts an extraordinary reversal in housing fortunes for Americans — nearly $1.5 trillion in asset losses over the next 30 years.

The implications are staggering: Many Americans could face a paradigm shift in the way they save and how they define their economic security. Climate change is upending the basic assumption that Americans can continue to build wealth and financial security by owning their own home. In a sense, it is upending the American dream.

Homeownership is the bedrock of America’s economy. Residential real estate in the United States is worth nearly $50 trillion — almost double

the size of the entire gross domestic product. Almost two-thirds of American adults are homeowners, and the median house here has appreciated more than 58% over the past two decades, even after accounting for inflation. In Pacific Palisades and Altadena, that evolution elevated many residents into the upper middle class. Across the country homes are the largest asset for most families — who hold approximately 67% of their savings in their primary residence.

That is an awful lot to lose: for individuals, and for the nation’s economy.

The First Street researchers found that climate pressures are the main factor driving up insurance costs. Average premiums have risen 31% across the country since 2019, and are steeper in high-risk climate zones. Over the next 30 years, if insurance prices are unhindered, they will, on average, leap an additional 29%, according to First Street. Rates in Miami could quadruple. In Sacramento, California, they could double.

And that’s where the systemic economic risk comes in. Not long ago, insurance premiums were a modest cost of owning a home, amounting to about 8% of an average mortgage payment. But insurance costs today are about one-fifth the size of a typical payment, outpacing inflation and even the rate of appreciation on the homes themselves. That makes owning property, on paper anyway, a bad investment. First Street forecasts that three decades from now — the term of the classic American mortgage — houses will be worth, on average, 6% less than they are today. They project that decline across the vast majority of the nation, affirming fears that many economists and climate analysts have held for a long time.

Part of the problem is that many people were coaxed into living in the very high-risk areas they call home precisely by the availability of insurance that was cheaper than it should have been. For years, as climate-driven floods, hurricanes and wildfires have piled up, so have economic losses. Insurance companies canceled policies, but in response, states redoubled support for homeowners, promising economic stability even if that insurance — required by most mortgage lenders — one day disappeared. It kept costs manageable and quelled anxiety, and economies continued to hum.

But those discounts “muffled the free market price signals,” according to Matthew Kahn, an economist at the University of Southern California who studies markets and climate change. They also “slowed down our adaptation,” making dangerous places like Florida’s coastlines and California’s fire-prone hillsides seem safer than they are. First Street found that today, insurance underprices climate risk for 39 million properties across the continental United States — meaning that for 27% of properties in the country, premiums are too low to cover their climate exposure.

No wonder costs are rising. Insurers are playing catch-up. But it means Americans are playing catchup, too, in terms of evaluating where they live. And that leads to the potential for large numbers of people to begin to move. First Street, in fact, correlates the rise in insurance rates and dropping property values with widespread climate migration, predicting that more than 55 million Americans will migrate in response to climate risks inside this country within the next three decades, and that more than 5 million Americans

will migrate this year. First Street’s analysts posit that climate risk is becoming just as important as schools and waterfront views when people purchase a home, and that while property values are likely to drop in most places, they will rise — by more than 10% by midcentury — in the safer regions.

There are many reasons to be cautious about these projections. Precise estimates for climate migration in the United States have remained elusive in large part because modeling for human behavior in all its diverse motives is nearly impossible. First Street’s economic models also don’t capture the immense equity many Americans have accumulated in those properties as home values have lurched upward over the past two decades, equity that gives many people a cushion larger than the relatively modest projected losses. The models assume that all the past patterns of reckless building and

zoning will continue, and they don’t account for the nation’s housing shortage, nor the difference between longtime homeowners and a new generation trying to buy now.

However imprecise, First Street’s work “plays the role of Paul Revere, of the challenge we could face if we fail to adapt,” Kahn said. Climatedriven costs and climate risk may drive sweeping change in both homeownership and migration, at the same time that both of those factors are expected to continue to increase.

It means that homeowners will need to be far wealthier, or renters will have to pay much more.

Like many aspects of the climate challenge, this one will also drive climate haves and have-nots further apart, especially as relatively safe regions emerge, and discerning buyers flock to their appreciating real estate markets.

No one is abandoning Los Angeles. Its wealth, density

and government support make it far more resilient than places like Paradise, California, the New Jersey shore or Florida. But it will be economically and physically transformed. Pacific Palisades will probably be rebuilt to its past splendor: Its homeowners can afford it. Altadena, a middle-class neighborhood, may face a different fate: Its properties are more likely to be snatched up by investors, gentrified and made unaffordable by both the cost of rebuilding, insurance and upscaling of new homes as they are rebuilt.

In that way, Altadena may prove to be the true harbinger — of a future in which no one but the rich owns their own homes, where insurance is a luxury good and where renters pay a monthly toll to large private equity landowners who may be better suited to manage that risk.

Republished with Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins Phase 2 of debris removal in Los Angeles wildfire recovery on Tuesday. | Photo courtesy of Mayra Beltra/Los Angeles County

Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration

To: [ x ] Interested Individuals

[ x ] State Clearinghouse

[ x ] County Clerk County of Los Angeles

From: City of Arcadia

240 West Huntington Dr. Arcadia, CA 91066

Project Title: CEQA Mitigated Negative Declaration City of Arcadia Goldring Well and PFAS Treatment Plant

Project Location: City of Arcadia

Applicant: City of Arcadia

240 West Huntington Dr. Arcadia, CA 91066

Project Description:

Background

The City of Arcadia (City) serves water to over 57,000 residents, primarily with water pumped from the Main San Gabriel Basin (Main Basin), the West Unit of the Raymond Basin (Pasadena Subarea), and the East Unit of the Raymond Basin (Santa Anita Subarea). The City’s water supply system consists of eleven (11) active wells with a combined capacity of over 12,000 gallons per minute (gpm), nine (9) booster pump stations, fifteen (15) active reservoirs, two (2) active water forebays, and over 168 miles of distribution pipelines distributing flows into nine (9) pressure zones to over 13,400 service connections.

To enhance the water supply for the City and the City of Sierra Madre (“Sierra Madre”), the City and Sierra Madre are partnering to design, permit, construct, and operate a new well in the Main Basin.

Project Description

The proposed project consists of the construction and operation of a groundwater production well, the construction and operation of a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) or Ion Exchange (IX) treatment system with pre-filters consisting of 2 pairs of vessels for the removal of Per and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the extracted groundwater, the construction and operation of a new 30,000 gallons backwash tank with a new 4-inch diameter sewer pipeline, and the construction and operation of a new 30-inch diameter Reinforced Concrete Pipe (RCP) storm drain pipeline approximately 1,400 feet in length connecting from the cul-de-sac at Kardashian Avenue and Goldring Road, going westerly on Randolph Street and connecting to the existing 57-inch RCP on Peck Road (Project). The City of Arcadia’s (City) Goldring Well will be located approximately 200 feet south of the intersection of Kardashian Avenue and Goldring Road, within the existing City’s Public Works Yard.

The proposed Project is located in an open, paved and graded property with a total size of approximately 5 acres owned by the City. The project construction site for the well, pipeline, and PFAS treatment plant is constrained to a designated area covering roughly 5,000 square feet, equivalent to 0.15 acres in total.

THIS NOTICE IS TO ADVISE INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS THAT the City of Arcadia has prepared a

[ x ] Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND)

For the project identified above. As mandated by State law, the minimum public review period for this document is:

[ x ] 30 days (MND was submitted to the State Clearinghouse for review)

For the project identified above. As mandated by State law, the minimum public review period for this document is:

[ x ] 30 days (MND was submitted to the State Clearinghouse for review)

Begins: February 10, 2025

Ends: March 11, 2025

Begins: February 10, 2025

Ends: March 11, 2025

This document is available for review at:

City of Arcadia City of Arcadia Office of the City Clerk Public Works Services Department

City of Arcadia City of Arcadia Office of the City Clerk Public Works Services Department 240 West Huntington Dr. 11800 Goldring Road Arcadia, CA 91066 Arcadia, CA 91066

240 West Huntington Dr. 11800 Goldring Road Arcadia, CA 91066 Arcadia, CA 91066

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council will hold a public hearing and consider the Public Works Services Department’s recommendation for the City of Arcadia Goldring Well and PFAS Treatment Plant project:

A. CEQA – Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND)

Project Description: The proposed project consists of the construction and operation of a groundwater production well (Goldring Well), the construction and operation of a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) or Ion Exchange (IX) treatment system with pre-filters consisting of 2 pairs of vessels for the removal of Per and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the extracted groundwater, the construction and operation of a new 30,000 gallons backwash tank with a new 4-inch diameter sewer pipeline, and the construction and operation of a new 30-inch diameter Reinforced Concrete Pipe (RCP) storm drain pipeline approximately 1,400 feet in length connecting from the cul-de-sac at Kardashian Avenue and Goldring Road, going westerly on Randolph Street and connecting to the existing 57-inch RCP on Peck Road (Project). The City of Arcadia’s (City) Goldring Well will be located approximately 200 feet south of the intersection of Kardashian Avenue and Goldring Road, within the existing City of Arcadia Public Works Services Department Yard.

P.O. Box 60021 Arcadia, CA 91066

A Notice of Intent to adopt the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration will be circulated for public review, for a period of 30 days ( February 10, 2025, to March 11, 2025) and posted at the L.A. County Recorder’s Office on February 10, 2025. This notice will be mailed and published in the Arcadia Weekly on February 10, 2025. Copies of the Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration will be available for review by the public at the City Clerk’s Office and the Arcadia Library. For further information, contact the City of Arcadia Public Works Services Department at (626) 254-2721 Monday through Thursday between the hours of 6:45 a.m. and 5:00

www.ArcadiaCA.gov/noticesanddecisions.

Publish February 10 & 17, 2025

请致电 (626) 574-5455，向市书记官办公室了解详情。

Probate Notices

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: TSUI GIA TANG CASE NO. 25STPB00788

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of TSUI GIA TANG.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by JENNIFER GO in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that JENNIFER GO be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

tative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administra-tion authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objec-tion to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

Contact Person: Tiffany Lee Senior Civil Engineer; (626) 254-2721

Contact Person: Tiffany Lee, Senior Civil Engineer; (626) 254-2721

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner JACK A. MARSH - SBN 150847 LAW OFFICES OF JACK A. MARSH

215 N. MARENGO AVE., FLOOR 3 PASADENA CA 91101

Telephone (626) 397-9990

A HEARING on the petition will be held on Feb. 27, 2025 at 8:30 AM in Dept. No. 5 located at 111 N. Hill St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your ap-pearance may be in person or by your attorney.

Written comments regarding the proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration must be submitted to the City prior to 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the 30-day public review/comment period (March 11, 2025). All written comments should indicate a contact person for your agency or organization, if applicable, and reference the project name. Responsible agencies are requested to indicate their statutory responsibilities in connection with this project when responding.

Signature:

Printed Name: Tiffany Lee

Title: Senior Civil Engineer

Publish February 10, 17, 2025

Date: February 10, 2025

The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 02/25/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 44 located at 111 N. HILL ST., LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court

2/3, 2/6, 2/10/25 CNS-3891339# ARCADIA WEEKLY

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF NORMA JANE McCORMICK

Case No. 25STPB00869

To all heirs, beneficiaries, cred-itors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of NORMA JANE McCORMICK

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by John Bowman in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that John Bowman be appointed as personal represen-

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowl-edgeable in California law. YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of

Case No. PGPA2119840

NOTICE IS HEREBYGIVEN:

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council regarding proposed amendments to the Glendale General Plan Safety Element. In compliance with recent State legislation (SB 1035, SB 1241, SB 99, AB 747, and AB 1409), the City is revising its 2003 Safety Element to include updated information on natural hazards such as wildfires and floods, as well as evacuation and emergency preparedness and response. The Draft 2025 Safety Element Update also addresses recent State Law (SB 379) requiring the Safety Element to identify how these and other hazards in Glendale are exacerbated by climate change, and what populations, locations, and community features are particularly vulnerable to climate hazards and changing climate conditions. The Draft 2025 Update includes two new appendices: a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (Appendix B) and an Evacuation Analysis (Appendix C).

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:

Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), staff has determined, and will recommend that the Planning Commission and the City Council find, that these proposed amendments contained in the subject Ordinance are exempt from CEQA.

In accordance with the State CEQA Guidelines, the proposed General Plan Safety Element update has been determined to be an exempt project pursuant to Section 15060(c)(2) in that the proposed amendments, which are primarily limited to policy modifications and updates in compliance with Government Code Section 65302(g)(1) through (g)(9) related to climate change, evacuations and wildfire risks, are not anticipated to result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, nor will the proposed changes have the potential for causing significant effect on the environment.

Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (b) and (f), the proposed amendments involve minor alterations to "Existing Facilities", specifically, publicly owned utilities used to provide electric power, natural gas, sewerage, or other public utilities. The actions also involve minor alterations to "Existing Facilities" for the addition of safety or health protection devices, either during construction or in conjunction with existing structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, including navigational devices.

The 2025 Safety Element Update is further anticipated to result in the reduction of potential short-and long-term community risks resulting from fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, climate change, and other related hazards. The Project is exempt from CEQA for the reasons outlined in the State CEQA Guideline sections cited above.

PUBLIC HEARING INFORMATION: The Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing in the Municipal Services Building, Hearing Room, 633 East Broadway, Room 105, Glendale, on March 5, 2025, at or after the hour of 5:00 p.m. The Planning Commission will be asked to make a recommendation to the City Council concerning the 2025 Safety Element Update.

The meeting can be viewed on Charter Cable Channel 6 or streamed online at: https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/management-services/gtv6/live-video-stream

For public comments and questions during the meeting call 818-937-8100. City staff will be submitting these questions and comments in real time to the appropriate person during the City Council meeting.

Information on the 2025 Safety Element Update can be obtained on the City’s websites at https://www.glendaleplan.com/safety-element and https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/community-development/planning/city-wide-plans/safety-element.

Copies of the materials will also be available for review prior to the scheduled Planning Commission hearing in the Community Development Department office, Room 103 of the Municipal Services Building, 633 East Broadway. Staff reports are accessible prior to the meeting through hyperlinks in the ‘Current and Upcoming Meetings’ section. Website Address: www.GlendaleCA.gov/agendas

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: If you desire more information, please contact Vilia Zemaitaitis, Deputy Director of Long Range Planning, in the Community Development Department at 818-548-2140 or via email at vzemaitaitis@glendaleca.gov.

Any person having an interest in the subject project may participate in the hearing, by phone as outlined above, and may be heard in support of his/her opinion. Any person protesting may file a duly signed and acknowledged written protest with the Director of Community Development not later than the hour set for public hearing before the Planning Commission. "Acknowledged" shall mean a declaration of property ownership (or occupant if not owner) under penalty of perjury. If you challenge the decision of this project in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City of Glendale, at or prior to the public hearing. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, please notify the Community Development Department at least 48 hours (or two business days) for requests regarding sign language translation and Braille transcription services.

Dated: February 10, 2025

Published February 10, 2025

GLENDALEI NDEPENDENT

Dr. Suzie Abajian The City Clerk of the City of Glendale

Public Notice

Housing Authority of The City of Glendale

Proposed PHA 5 Year Plan & Annual Plan

In accordance with Section 5A of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (USHA), as amended by Section 511 of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, the Housing Authority of the City of Glendale (Housing Authority) has prepared a draft PHA 5 Year Plan and Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 for public review and comment. The public hearing on the PHA 5 Year Plan and Annual Plan will be held before the Housing Authority of the City of Glendale. The public may be present in person or watch and participate from the safety of their homes. Meetings are broadcast live on Glendale TV, viewable on Spectrum Cable, channel 6, and AT&T U-verse, channel 99. Meetings are also streamed live in high definition (HD) on the city’s webpage, glendaleca.gov/live, on YouTube.com/myglendale, and on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire devices using a free app called Screenweave and choosing “Glendale TV” from the menu.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025 (Time TBD)

COUNCIL CHAMBERS

613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor Glendale, CA 91206

The proposed plan is available during a 45-day public review and comment period, from February 14, 2025, to March 31, 2025, and can be viewed online at the following webpage: https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/community-development/housing/ plans-reports-and-loan-forms You may also obtain a copy of the plan via email. The public is invited to submit written comments concerning the Plan to: City of Glendale, Department of Community Development, Attn: Edgar Akopyan, 141 N. Glendale Avenue, Room 202, Glendale, CA 91206 or via email eakopyan@glendaleca.gov.

Publish February 3, 10, 2025

GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE INVITING BIDS

NOTICE is hereby given that the City of Glendale (“City”) will receive sealed bids, until the bid deadline established below for the following work of improvement: Painting Street Light Standards on Rossmoyne Neighborhood and Honolulu Road Area for Glendale Water and Power

SPECIFICATIONS NO. 3995

Bid Deadline: Submit before 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5,2025

www.Notiecfiling.com

Bids to be submitted in Duplicate to: City Clerk Office 613 E. Broadway, Room 110 Glendale, CA. 91206-4393

Bids Opening: 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5,2025 at the City Council Chambers, 633 E. Broadway, Glendale, CA 91206 NO LATE BIDS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Bidding Documents Available: (Specifications and drawings) February 5, 2025, at 8:00

a.m.Office of Glendale Water & Power Electric Engineering, 141 N Glendale Ave, 4th Level, City of Glendale, CA 91206

Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting: Date/Time: February 12, 2025, at 9:00 AM– at least one week after publication of Notice Location: At the intersection of Mountain Street and Rossmoyne Avenue in the City of Glendale.

City of Glendale Contact Person: Catherine Babakhanlou: Project Manager Phone: 818-550-4583

E-mail:cbabakhanlou@GlendaleCA.gov

NO LATE PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

City of Glendale Contact Person for RFP Process: Mr. Sean Toro Public Works FMD Email: storo@GlendaleCA.gov. No phone calls please

Project Description: The City is soliciting written proposals from experienced Fire Systems firms to perform all aspects for services related to the Design Build of the Fire Systems Improvements at Various City Facilities Project.

The Consultant will perform the Services according to: • Specification No. 3961.

A potential Proposer should read this document in its entirety before preparing and submitting a Proposal.

Dated this ______ day of _____________, 2025, City of Glendale, California.

Suzie Abajian, Ph.D., City Clerk of the City

Published on January 10, 13, 2025

GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE INVITING PROPOSALS

NOTICE is hereby given that the City of Glendale (“City”) will receive Proposals until the deadline established below for the following project:

Design Build of the Fire Systems Improvements at Various City Facilities Project

Proposal Submittal Deadline: Submit before 4:00 p.m. on March 19, 2025

Proposal Submittal Location: 633 E. Broadway, Room 209, Glendale, CA 91206

A prospective Proposer may receive this RFP by mail, e-mail, in person or online at: https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/finance/purchasing/rfp-rfq-bid-page

Distribution of the RFP in no way represents the City’s acceptance of a Proposer’s qualifications, reputation, or ability to perform the Services.

Pasadena City Notices

NOTICE OF SOLICITATION OF APPLICATIONS TO FILL UPCOMING SCHEDULED END OF TERMS FOR MEMBERS ON THE PASADENA RENTAL HOUSING BOARD

Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Pasadena City Charter, Section 1811, a Pasadena Rental Housing Board has been established to administer and enforce Article XVIII of the City Charter, “The Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment”. The Board is comprised of eleven (11) members consisting of seven (7)Tenant Members, and four (4) At-Large Members. In addition, there are two (2) alternates, one serving as the alternate for the Tenant Members and one serving as the alternate for the At-Large Members.

The Pasadena City Council is now soliciting applications from candidates seeking consideration for appointment to fill scheduled term expirations occurring on May 24, 2025 for the following positions:

Brandon Lamar District 3/Tenant

Yaneli Soriano Santiago District 5/Tenant

Deborah Dunlop District 7/Tenant

Allison Henry At Large

Adela Torres At Large

Each of the above members listed are eligible for reappointment, at the discretion of the appointing authority. For PRHB Tenant Member positions representing Districts 3, 5, and 7, appointments or reappointments will be made by nomination of the Councilmember representing that district and ratified by the City Council collectively. For At Large PRHB Member positions, appointments or reappointments will be made by the City Council collectively.

Tenant members and members of their Extended Families may not have owned, managed, or had a 5% or greater ownership stake in rental units in Los Angeles County in the three years prior to applying to this position.

The Board’s duties include making rules and regulations to implement Article XVIII of the City Charter, setting allowable rent increases, determining and publicizing the Annual General Adjustment in rents, appointing hearing officers, conducting hearings on petitions for rent adjustments for individual properties, adopting a budget, pursuing civil remedies against those who violate Article XVIII of the City Charter, holding public hearings, establishing a schedule of penalties for violations of Article XVIII of the City Charter, and establishing and maintaining a registry of rental housing in Pasadena.

The City encourages interested residents of Pasadena to apply for appointment to the Board. In addition to a completed application, applicants must circulate a nomination petition and gather a minimum of 25 qualified signatures from residents living in the same Pasadena Council District as the applicant. A declaration of financial interests of the applicant, and of his or her Extended Family members, is required for those seeking appointment to the Tenant position and will be a public record. Nomination petitions and application materials are available in the City Clerk’s Office.

The application period for this appointment will open on Monday, February 10, 2025 at 7:30 a.m. with a deadline to submit forms by Monday, April 21, 2025 by 5:30 p.m. Application forms can be obtained by contacting the Pasadena City Clerk’s Office during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.:

City of Pasadena, Office of the City Clerk 100 North Garfield Avenue, Room S228 Pasadena, California 91101 (626)744-4124, cityclerk@cityofpasadena.net

Mark Jomsky City Clerk

Published and Posted: Monday, February 10, 2025 PASADENA PRESS

codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

JEAN UTLEY LAVINGER

CASE NO. 25STPB00960

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of JEAN UTLEY LAVINGER.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by VICTORIA ANNE LAVINGER in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that VICTORIA ANNE LAVINGER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s WILL ad codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The WILL and any

LEGALS

hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

Attorney for Petitioner

ROBERT R. BOWNE II - SBN 179960

4421 W. RIVERSIDE DRIVE BURBANK CA 91505

Telephone (818) 846-0170 2/6, 2/10, 2/13/25

CNS-3892443# BURBANK INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF STELLA QUIMIRO

Case No. 25STPB00963

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of STELLA QUIMIRO

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Daniel F. Quimiro in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that Daniel F. Quimiro be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held on Feb. 28, 2025 at 8:30 AM in Dept. No. 11 located at 111 N. Hill St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

9530 E IMPERIAL HWY STE J DOWNEY CA 90242-3041 CN113962 QUIMIRO Feb 6,10,13, 2025 WEST COVINA PRESS

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: MARIA DEL PRADO GREENWAY CASE NO. 25STPB01016

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of MARIA DEL PRADO GREENWAY.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by LEONARD FRANCIS GREENWAY in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that LEONARD FRANCIS GREENWAY be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act with limited authority. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 03/03/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 2D located at 111 N. HILL ST., LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

Attorney for Petitioner

MATTHEW C. YU ESQ. - SBN 256235

THE LAW OFFICE OF MATTHEW C YU 23001 HAWTHORNE BLVD. #210 TORRANCE CA 90505

tions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 03/05/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 5 located at 111 N. HILL ST., LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

Attorney for Petitioner

BRITTANY DUKE - SBN 279489

BARBARO, CHINEN, PITZER & DUKE LLP

301 E. COLORADO BLVD., #700 PASADENA CA 91101

Telephone (626) 793-5196

2/6, 2/10, 2/13/25

CNS-3893255# PASADENA PRESS

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: JANICE J. BROWNING CASE NO. 25STPB00891

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of JANICE J. BROWNING.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by BRENDA L. BROWNING in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that BRENDA L. BROWNING be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s WILL and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The WILL and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

Attorney for Petitioner

PATRICK A. LIDDELL - SBN 082320

MELBY & ANDERSON

550 N. BRAND BLVD., FLOOR 14 GLENDALE CA 91203

Telephone (818) 246-5644

2/6, 2/10, 2/13/25

CNS-3893488# GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: STEPHEN MARLIN SHIRLEY CASE NO. PROVA2500083

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of STEPHEN MARLIN SHIRLEY.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by NANCY ROSTKOWSKI in the Superior Court of California, County of SAN BERNARDINO. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that NANCY ROSTKOWSKI be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 03/11/25 at 9:00AM in Dept. F2 located at 17780 ARROW BLVD, FONTANA, CA 92335

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 02/28/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 4 located at 111 N. HILL ST., LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the

Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

Attorney for petitioner: RICHARD A LEHN

Telephone (310) 891-0016 2/6, 2/10, 2/13/25 CNS-3893197# GLENDALE INDEPENDENT

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF:

JANET RAE TEN EYCK

CASE NO. 25STPB01108

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of JANET RAE TEN EYCK.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by LISA ANN MILLSAP in the Superior Court of California, County of LOS ANGELES.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that LISA ANN MILLSAP be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. THE PETITION requests the decedent’s WILL and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The WILL and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many ac-

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 02/28/25 at 8:30AM in Dept. 5 located at 111 N. HILL ST., LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

LESLIE E. RILEY - SBN 265987

VARNER & BRANDT LLP

3237 E GUASTI RD STE 220 ONTARIO CA 91761

Telephone (909) 931-0879

2/6,

FireAid concerts, Grammys raise $124 million for wildfire recovery

By Staff

The Grammy Awards and the recent FireAid benefit concerts raised $124 million to help people affected by the Los Angeles wildfires, organizers said Tuesday.

The FireAid concerts on Jan. 30 at the Intuit Dome and Kia Forum in Inglewood raised $100 million from an estimated 50 million viewers across 28 streaming platforms, according to the Annenberg Foundation, which was among a number of philanthropic organizations and individuals and a variety of corporations that helped present the event. The $100 million total includes matching donations from Steve Ballmer, the concert venues’ owner, and his family, as well as donations from veteran music industry executive Irving Azoff and his wife Shelli, rock bands U2 and the Eagles and other donors.

“FireAid funds will support the Los Angelesregion’s immediate needs and long-term recovery from the recent wildfires made possible through the overwhelming generosity of those throughout Southern California and around the world,” according to a statement from the Annenberg Foundation.

“The FireAid Grants Advisory Committee, composed of longtime L.A.region philanthropic leaders with deep relationships in the non-profit community, have been working to identify key areas of need, for maximum impact,” FireAid organizers said. “Led by the Annenberg Foundation, the commit-

The FireAid lineup included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Katy Perry, No Doubt, Earth, Wind & Fire, Dr. Dre, Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Nicks, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Mike Campbell and Olivia Rodrigo. The concert also showcased Nirvana reunion of sorts that featured Dave Grohl on drums, bassist and original band member Krist Novoselic and guitarist Pat Smear performing the band’s songs with St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett providing lead vocals.

tee has been listening daily to affected communities, assessing local resource gaps to ensure aid reaches those most in need, and researching the handling of other fire disasters, such as those in Maui and Northern California. The first phase of grants are expected to be awarded by mid-February.”

The 2025 Grammys on Sunday and connected events raised $24 million to help fire victims, with $9 million generated on Grammy night and $15 million from MusiCares events during the week leading up to the Grammy Awards ceremony.

This year’s MusiCares Persons of the Year gala that honored the Grateful Dead was among several Grammy week events, the Recording Academy announced Tuesday.

The theme of the Grammys telecast was fire relief with scenes of the wildfires’ devastation in Altadena and Pacific Palisades accompanied by information on donating. Firefighters presented the album of the year award

LA County supervisor announces Altadena Recovery Commission

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Tuesday a new commission will organize and support the long-term rebuilding and recovery efforts in Altadena in the wake of the deadly, devastating Eaton Fire.

Barger will chair the Altadena Recovery Commission, which will include local community members and will advise the supervisor as she oversees rebuilding efforts.

County residents who want to joining the committee may contact the supervisor’s office via kathryn@bos.lacounty. gov.

“In this case, the ‘arc’ of rebuilding Altadena will bend towards a stronger and vibrant community,” Barger, whose 5th District includes Altadena and Pasadena, said in a statement. “As my constituents continue to feel fear and uncertainty about their

in anticipated recoveries from a prudently robust reinsurance program that includes State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company as the primary reinsurer.”

California Department of Insurance spokesman Gabriel Sanchez said in a statement that “State Farm General continues to collect insurance premiums paid by Californians and pay out claims

to its existing customers. There is no law or regulation that prevents an insurance company from continuing to bill customers for premiums in a wildfire emergency. The Commissioner’s moratorium authority only applies to cancellations and nonrenewals.”

Sanchez added that in an effort “to protect millions of California consumers and the

By Staff

futures, I want them to know I’m fully committed and invested in helping bring hope and support. That is my commitment, as your county supervisor. You are not alone.”

The committee will concentrate attention on rebuilding homes and infrastructure while supporting businesses and commercial corridors and restoring natural habitats, according to Barger’s office. Several county departments

are tasked with overseeing rebuilding efforts, but through the ARC, Barger said her aim also is to include private-sector experts in housing development, architecture, finance and government in the recovery effort.

“Our residents deserve nothing better than the incredible expertise and resources accessible to Los Angeles County so we can collectively create an affordable and sustainable return home,” Barger said.

State Farm

integrity of our residential property insurance market, the Department will respond with urgency and transparency to recommend a course of action for Commissioner Lara.

“The Department will investigate these rate applications thoroughly to ensure Californians are charged the appropriate justified rates as required under Proposition

103,” a 1988 voter-approved law that regulates insurance costs.

In June, State Farm submitted three rate filings seeking extraordinary “relief” from the Insurance Department’s complex rate-making formula based on an obscure, rarely utilized “variance,” which insurance companies use when they believe their solvency is threatened,

Sanchez said. Following the LA-area wildfires, State Farm has sent another request asking the Department of Insurance to approve an “interim rate” in those rate filings, Sanchez said. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will decide on the request and may order a public hearing on the matter.

“Upon receipt of the letter,

the Department’s staff is scheduling meetings with all of the parties involved — the Department’s rate review experts, State Farm General and the intervenor — and will make an urgent formal recommendation for action to the Commissioner under the requirements of Proposition 103 and longstanding Department practice,” Sanchez said.

to Beyoncé, and the event started with a performance by Los Angeles-based rock

band Dawes, members of which lost homes and studios in the Eaton Fire.

FireAid is still accepting donations via FireAidLA. org.

FireAid concerts raised $100 million to help victims rebuild and recover from the LA wildfires.

| Photo courtesy of the Annenberg Foundation

| Photo courtesy of Supervisor Kathryn Barger/X

Altadena resident honored for efforts during Eaton Fire

By City News Service

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, last week honored Altadena resident Edgar McGregor with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for his “quiet but dogged heroism” during the night the Eaton Fire erupted.

McGregor, a climate scientist, saw flames just blocks away from his home on Jan. 7. While evacuating his family, he also shared videos to alert his community and posted warnings on Facebook.

What began as a local weather page, Altadena Weather and Climate, with about 2,500 followers in early January, grew to 14,500 followers as McGregor tracked conditions during the Eaton Fire — one of the worst natural disasters in American history, according to Chu.

The Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures, left 20,000 people without a home and caused at least 17 deaths.

“I know that if it weren’t

for Edgar, many more people would have died that night,” Chu said during a ceremony held in her Pasadena office.

“So, Edgar McGregor is a true hero of our community,” she added.

McGregor, who has forecasted weather for the Altadena area for several

years, said Jan. 7 will remain in “our lives forever.”

He urged officials to improve communication systems to prevent similar tragedies.

“We have the technology to know that these conditions are approaching and we have the power to say,

Man suspected of spray painting building during immigration protest arrested

By City News Service

A22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly spray painting buildings during an immigration protest in downtown Los Angeles, police said Wednesday.

Antonio Florencio Castillo Duran was arrested Tuesday during an hours- long protest that occurred in the downtown area, primarily near City Hall, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Around 3:30 p.m., some people in the protest became unruly and began throwing

‘The

bottles at officers, police said. Officers issued a dispersal order, and protesters left the area, continuing to march southbound on Broadway, police said.

According to police, several demonstrators spray-painting and vandalized property, including a UPS truck and a Waymo vehicle.

Castillo Duran was identified as one of the suspects and he was taken into custody. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on suspicion of felony vandal-

ism, but was eventually cited and released, according to police and jail records.

Anyone with additional information regarding the vandalism or other related criminal activities from the protest was urged to contact Central Burglary Detective Murillo at 213-996-1862. Calls during non-business hours or weekends should be directed to 877-527-3247. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

seven days in advance, we need to be deploying our resources to these specific communities,” McGregor said.

The Altadena resident echoed what meteorologists have said about the conditions that led to the devastating fires. In the last two

years, the state experienced significant rainfall leading to an abundance of growth.

However, in the wake of a nine-month dry spell for Southern California, the overgrown brush and foliage dried up, serving as fuel for the Eaton Fire.

McGregor called for

more public safety power shutoffs to prevent future fires. He also encouraged the planting of more native plants and trees.

“In the Altadena area, Russian sycamores and the coast live oaks that we find all over our canyons that didn’t even burn, and those can really prevent fire from spreading from house to house,” McGregor said.

Nick Arnzen, a member of the Altadena Town Council, also presented McGregor with a certificate. Arnzen, who lost his home to the Eaton Fire, said he was grateful to have someone like McGregor in the community.

“The day before, when you said if there is a fire there will be no stopping it,” Arnzen said, speaking for his family. “We heard it, and we packed up a little box.”

The Arnzen family saved photos that weren’t digitized, among other items — decades-old memories preserved for the future.

Man charged with starting brush fire near Chatsworth Reservoir

Amanhasbeen charged with two felony counts in connection with a brush fire last week near the Chatsworth Reservoir, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Thursday.

Alejandro Martinez, 41, was allegedly restrained about 4:30 p.m. last week by a group of people until Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrived and took him into custody, according to the District

Magic in Teamwork’ to be Rose Parade theme

“ The Magic in Teamwork” will be the theme for the 2026 Rose Parade, newly installed Pasadena Tournament of Roses President Mark Leavens announced Tuesday evening.

“The greatest achievements we have in life are not done alone,” Leavens told the Pasadena Star-News

By City News Service

before the announcement at Tournament House in Pasadena. “I wanted a theme that would recognize those bonds that form when you’re working in a group.” The theme was chosen months ago and was planned to be announced Jan. 16, but delayed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena and

Pasadena.

Leavens told the StarNews people asked if he would change the theme, but said a headline over a column by Mirjam Swanson in the paper’s sports section about how athletes were responding to the Eaton and Palisades fires made him resolute.

“The theme would resonate with what was going on in the community,” Leavens said. “After the fires, it just felt appropriate.”

Leavens also unveiled the parade’s theme poster, which features team patches from public safety agencies, service organizations and other parade participants.

Attorney’s Office.

Martinez pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count each of arson of a structure or forest and attempt to burn, and is due back in a San Fernando courtroom Feb. 13.

He could face a maximum of six years and eight months in state prison if he is convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

“As we continue to recover from the devastation of recent wild -

fires, this case is a stark reminder of the grave threat alleged arsonists pose to our communities,” Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges. “We have seen firsthand the destruction, displacement, and loss of life caused by these senseless acts. Let me be clear -if you intentionally set fire to our land, endanger our residents, and threaten our first responders, we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

By City News Service

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, presents Edgar McGregor with a certificate honoring his heroism during the Eaton Fire. | Photo courtesy of Edgar McGregor/X

Pasadena Tournament of Roses President Mark Leavens reveals “The Magic in Teamwork” theme for next year’s Rose Parade. | Photo courtesy of the Tournament of Roses