The Brief

An effort to bring free clothes, toiletries and a sense of normalcy to girls displaced by January’s Eaton fire now has a permanent home in Old Town Pasadena.

Altadena Girls started as a donation-supported pop-up in Boyle Heights. Volunteers and partners then spent the past nine months transforming an 11,000-square-foot space in a historic bank building into the ultimate hangout, which opens Thursday.

Now-15-year-old co-founder Avery Colvert said the goal is to create a “third space” for girls affected by the Eaton Fire.

“It's not school. It's not home. It's somewhere where girls can go to … be calm within themselves,” Colvert said. “We are gonna have so many different opportunities here.”

Colvert, right, and her mom Lauren Sandidge, left, experienced a different flavor of natural disaster when they lost their Nashville home in a 2021 flood. “ It surprised me how much community is needed in order to get through hard times,” Sandidge said.

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There are studios for music and podcasting sponsored by Fender and another for dance and movement classes.

Altadena Girls hopes to collaborate with brands and other organizations to host pop-up events. One aspect that won’t change is the free boutique stocked with new clothes, shoes, toiletries and feminine hygiene products.

“ It's about feeling normal, whatever that means for you,” said Lauren Sandidge, Colvert’s mom and co-founder. “Whether it's like your favorite shampoo, face wash, whatever it is … it's about dignity.”

Altadena Girls’ origin story

On Jan. 10, Colvert posted a callout to Instagram asking for clothes, beauty and personal care products, “items that will help my friends feel confidence and like themselves again.”

She was then an eighth-grader at Eliot Arts Magnet, one of five Pasadena Unified campuses destroyed in the fire. Her family evacuated but eventually was able to return to their Pasadena home.

The post went viral. Celebrities and legacy media alike shared Altadena Girls’ story and donations flooded in.

Colvert and scores of volunteers coordinated a pop-up boutique where fire-impacted girls could replenish their closets with the help of a personal stylist and pick up other essentials — all free of cost.

Teen girls and their families shop donations to Altadena Girls in January.

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Altadena Girls estimates it’s reached more than 4,000 people through the boutique and other events.

Teenager Laurel Kleeger-Read, her mom and their cat evacuated their Pasadena home during the Eaton Fire and returned a few months later to a changed community. Her former middle school, the park where she played volleyball and a few of her friends' homes were reduced to ash.

“I just felt such an immense despair in me that I don't think I'll ever be able to feel [it] again,” Kleeger-Read said. “Well, hopefully I'll never feel again.”

Kleeger-Read attended the Altadena Girls prom in May. A stylist helped her choose a teal dress to wear.

“It just made you feel so special and so beautiful,” Kleeger-Read said. “I remember trying on the dresses and I was like, ‘Wow, this is freaking amazing.’”

How Altadena Girls found a physical home

Colvert said the idea for the space came from conversations she had with girls who visited the original shopping events and told her they wanted to come back the next day.

 ”I think when people were struggling so much in that time, they just wanted to have fun and wanted to feel like this kind of joy again,” Colvert said. “ I wanted that feeling to last forever.”

Altadena Girls got the keys to the Old Town Pasadena space Jan. 24 and will open to girls Oct. 23.

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Altadena Girls is on the ground floor of a Neoclassical building built in 1914 for Citizens Bank.

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They chose Old Town Pasadena because it’s near public transportation and accessible to families who have relocated elsewhere in the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.

Also, it’s cool.

“Old Town is, like, for teenagers, is more popular than the mall,” Colvert said.

Partners have donated everything from light fixtures to furniture. The realtor who helped Altadena Girls find this space worked pro bono.

The organization invited girls to help shape their space by sharing their ideas.

“To really put your input on the matter and then it be listened to seriously — I feel like that was really important for the girls who had just not been heard,” Kleeger-Read said.

Altadena Girls co-founder Avery Colvert stands in the work-in-progress version of the Pasadena space. The neon sign is a reference to Riot Grrrl Kathleen Hanna's callout during Bikini Kill shows.

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Sandidge flips through renderings of the first floor. “We really feel strongly ... helping the girls specifically is helping the entire family,” Sandidge said. For example, a family may have time to work on their insurance claims or rest knowing their child is safe at Altadena Girls.

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Altadena Girls prioritizes Eaton Fire-affected girls, 13-18, whether they’ve lost a home or school or had to relocate.

The first cohort will receive a free membership that gives them access to the entire building Thursday and Friday after school and all day Saturday. Sandidge said the hope is to extend the hours based on fundraising and feedback from the girls.

There are a lot of ideas for events: from shows by local musicians to a holiday market and a Rose Parade watch party.

“There's programming here, but it's optional,” Sandidge said. ”You can come and relax and just chill first. And then we wanna know from the girls, like, ‘Hey, what is it that you need right now?’”

Kleeger-Read, who now attends high school in downtown L.A., said she looks forward to catching up with her Pasadena friends in the space.

“There has to be moments where you can celebrate and be like, ‘Hey, this thing was terrible. But look at where we are now,’” Kleeger-Read said. “Look at how, how strongly we were able to bounce back and how much we're able to celebrate, even though we were faced with such a difficult situation.”

‘How do we keep the doors open long term?’

Altadena Girls’ lease lasts through January 2027.

“ Now we're tasked with the sustainability of a nonprofit,” Sandidge said. “Figuring out: How do we now keep the doors open long term so we can serve the girls?”

An organization called Creative Visions sponsors Altadena Girls while it goes through the process to become a nonprofit. A new executive director is joining the organization, and Sandidge plans to step back and return to working in recruiting and HR but will still be involved.

“ I think it's a little addictive to help people,” Sandidge said. “It's the best feeling.”

Colvert is now a freshman at a San Gabriel Valley arts high school but has been back to visit her alma mater Eliot Arts Magnet, which burned down in the January fire.

“ It's kind of surreal to see the place you used to hang out every day be destroyed,” Colvert said.

Colvert said what’s surprised her the most is the outpouring of support from people of all ages.

“ I only thought, like, teenage girls wanted this,” Colvert said. “Even people who are adults are like, 'This is something that's so cool.  I would've loved to have this when I was a teenager.'”

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an $843 million homelessness spending plan that includes nearly $200 million in reductions to programs and services in the next budget year.

Among those programs is Pathway Home, which helps move people from encampments into temporary housing. The county reduced funding for that program by $92 million, which will shrink it from 20 project sites to seven, officials said.

Supervisors also approved $105 million in reductions to other programs, including large cuts to street outreach teams, homelessness prevention programs and other supportive services.

County officials said they had to reduce spending in order to cover the rising costs of operating shelter beds and the loss of tens of millions in temporary state and federal funding, including some COVID-19 relief dollars.

“With federal neglect and state cuts, we have to do more with less,” Supervisor Lindsey Horvath told LAist. “And we will.”

The county’s new Department of Homeless Services and Housing has been warning about the looming shortfall since July. County officials solicited input on how to fill an initial $303 million gap.

Since then, the department adjusted the county’s homelessness spending plan, after finding some one-time state grants and cost-saving measures.

The budget year starts July 1.

Some funding restored

Last month, local homeless service providers urged county officials to restore all of the more than $200 million in proposed reductions to programs and services. Some supervisors raised concerns about specific cuts.

Since then, new revenue projections show the county stands to bring in $21 million more through Measure A than originally anticipated.

Measure A is a sales tax ordinance, approved by L.A. County voters in 2024, that funds homeless services and affordable housing initiatives. It is expected to generate about $1 billion annually, but exact revenues fluctuate with consumer spending.

The county’s slightly rosier revenue projections allowed the homeless department to roll back a fraction of the proposed reductions.

“It’s not a windfall and it doesn’t solve every challenge, but it does give us the ability to restore important programs that were on the chopping block,” Supervisor Janice Hahn said.

The board voted to use much of that $21 million to restore funding for two dozen full-time outreach workers and about 100 shelter beds that were previously on the chopping block.

The plan approved Tuesday also calls for $5 million in Measure A revenue to partially restore funding for interim housing in Long Beach, Pasadena and Glendale. It restored more than $1 million to operate family solution centers — hubs to connect unhoused families with services — and about $500,000 for a program that helps military veterans access government benefits.

Supervisor Holly Mitchell said she wishes Pathway Home funding could be maintained. She said it’s been crucial for helping people living in RV encampments in her district, which spans from Koreatown to much of the South Bay.

"These restorations don't expand encampment resolution operations,” Mitchell said Tuesday. “The services with the greatest impact in the Second District remain reduced, and the current plan does not replace what was cut."

County homelessness officials told supervisors the 100 shelter beds they saved will be prioritized for people living in encampments and will help make up for cuts to Pathway Home.

"The reduction to Pathway Home is not a reduced commitment to encampment resolution,” L.A. County Department of Homeless Services and Housing director Sarah Mahin said Tuesday. “It’s a recognition that it was built on one-time funding and we need to expand strategies to include more cost-effective resolution solutions."

New oversight push

The supervisors also voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve a new motion focused on accountability in homeless service contracting. The motion by Horvath and Kathryn Barger directs the homelessness department to work with the county auditor-controller to create strict oversight procedures for contracts, including random site visits, performance monitoring and provisions for termination.

They said the goal is to prevent the mismanagement that has plagued the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and the fraud that has resulted in recent arrests. Last month, federal authorities arrested Alex Soofer, director of a nonprofit called Abundant Blessings, on suspicion of embezzling tens of millions in dollars meant to serve unhoused Angelenos. Soofer pleaded not guilty to the charges this week.

"Public dollars intended to address homelessness have gone unaccounted for under LAHSA," Horvath said. “That is unacceptable and it ends now with the county.”

Last year, the board voted to divert more than $300 million in county homelessness dollars away from LAHSA and administer the funds itself with a new homelessness department.

“As the department launches, every contract, every dollar, and every outcome must withstand scrutiny,” Horvath told LAist in a statement. “We don’t have resources to waste or time to lose in addressing the homelessness crisis.”

Barger described instances of fraud within the homeless services sector as “moral failures” that cannot be tolerated.

“They represent theft from the most vulnerable people in our community,” she said.

She also argued that ethical service providers “should not have their reputations destroyed by the criminal actions of a few bad actors.”

Barger told fellow supervisors at Tuesday’s meeting it’s their responsibility to monitor how county homelessness dollars are being spent — and to defund programs that aren’t generating results.

“Setting the budget is the easy part,” Barger said. “We have to see results. And if we don’t, we have to have a debate at this board: is that the best use of these resources?”

The department must report back to the board in 60 days with their full plan for monitoring contractors and preventing fraud and misuse of public funds.

Auditor-Controller Oscar Valdez told supervisors his office would submit a plan to county homelessness officials Tuesday.

A crew of four moon-bound astronauts will remain on the ground for at least a month after NASA delayed the launch of the Artemis II mission. During critical pre-launch testing Monday, mission managers uncovered a number of issues that prevented the completion of the test.

NASA is now planning a March launch date for the four astronauts — three from the U.S. and one from Canada — on a ten-day mission to circle the moon and return to Earth, traveling farther than any humans have ventured into deep space.

Issues leading to that delay began about an hour into Monday's test, known as the wet dress rehearsal. As the team began fueling the rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sensors picked up a hydrogen leak. Super-chilled hydrogen is used as the fuel for the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

Hydrogen is an efficient propellant for rockets — but its molecules are so tiny and light they can escape even the tightest of seals. Launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said they had troubleshooted the initial leak, but when they began to pressurize the tank, another leak surfaced.

"And so as we began that pressurization, we did see that the leak within the cavity came up pretty quick," said Blackwell-Thompson.

(L/R) NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, NASA Associate Administrator Lori Glaze, launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, and manager of NASA's Space Launch System Program, John Honeycutt, hold a news conference on the Artemis II mission at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Tuesday.

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Hydrogen leaks plagued testing of NASA's Artemis I mission in 2022. Blackwell-Thompson said lessons learned from that uncrewed flight were utilized for Artemis II, but there's more investigation is needed.

The wet dress rehearsal uncovered other issues — including a problem with the Orion capsule, which will carry the crew to the moon. While no one was on board Monday, teams practiced preparing the spacecraft for its passengers. A valve that pressurizes the vehicle required additional attention and took more time to close the hatch than anticipated.

Teams also uncovered issues with cameras due to cold weather and audio dropouts across communication channels. "As always, safety remains our top priority, for our astronauts, our workforce, our systems and the public," said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman in a post on X, and that NASA will only launch when the agency is ready.

Work now begins to fix the issues. NASA will require another wet dress rehearsal before giving the "GO" to put astronauts on board. "All in all, a very successful day for us on many fronts," said Blackwell-Thompson. "Then, on many others, we got some work we've got to go do."

The earliest launch window for another attempt is March 6. NASA has additional launch opportunities on March 7, 8, 9 and 11.

The crew of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen were released from quarantine and will remain in Houston, Texas. They'll re-enter quarantine about 14 days ahead of the next launch attempt and make the trip to the Kennedy Space Center six days before liftoff.

Artemis II is testing key systems of the Orion spacecraft, like its maneuverability and life support systems, ahead of the planned Artemis III mission that will take humans to the lunar surface. The Artemis II will mark the first time humans have returned to the moon since the final Apollo lunar mission in 1972.
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A trial got underway Tuesday in a case alleging that Huntington Beach illegally dilutes the power of Latino voters with its at-large election system.

Cities across Orange County and elsewhere in California have faced similar challenges over the past decade. Most have settled out of court by adopting by-district elections, where voters only vote on a city council representative from their area, rather than requiring candidates to run citywide. A notable exception is Santa Monica — the city has been fighting a challenge to its at-large election system in court for nearly 10 years.

Now, Huntington Beach is following suit.

The case was brought by the nonprofit group Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and Victor Valladares, a Huntington Beach resident and Democratic Party activist. It’s being heard by Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig L. Griffin.

The argument against at-large city elections

The plaintiffs allege Latino voters can’t elect a candidate of their choice under the current system, in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. This alleged dilution of Latino voting power, they say, leads to poor representation and negative consequences for the city’s majority-Latino Oak View neighborhood.

“Their needs get ignored,” Kevin Shenkman, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said during his opening statement Tuesday. “It is a natural result of the at-large election system.”

Latinos make up about 20% of the population in Huntington Beach. Under a draft map of electoral districts drawn up by demographer David Ely, a witness for the plaintiffs, the district that includes the Oak View neighborhood would be 40% Latino. Plaintiffs argued this would give residents more power to elect a city councilmember who represents their interests.

The city’s defense of at-large elections

In their opening argument, lawyers representing Huntington Beach argued that Latinos in Huntington Beach are spread across the city and politically diverse.

The city’s lawyers also argued that recent elections of Latino city council members, including MMA star Tito Ortiz in 2020 and Gracey Van Der Mark in 2022, prove the city’s current at-large election system doesn’t impede Latino residents’ ability to participate in the local political process.

“The system works, it’s not broken, and the evidence will show that at trial,” said Anthony Taylor, one of the attorneys representing Huntington Beach.

The trial is expected to last into next week.

Go deeper

• Why were AI-equipped police cameras installed in this majority Latino Huntington Beach neighborhood?
• Huntington Beach's controversial voter ID law is illegal
• Voting by district gives Latino candidates a boost in Orange County
• District elections mean big governing changes for many California cities