Topline:
Eleven days after the Eaton Fire destroyed much of their community, residents converged in Altadena and Pasadena to find unity and offer support.
Why it matters: Numerous businesses and homes that make up Altadena are gone, flattened by the Eaton Fire literally overnight.
Keep reading... To see how the community is coming together after the tragedy.
On any other Saturday morning, central Altadena would come alive in its signature leisurely pace.
Early birds would be queueing up outside Cafe De Leche on North Lake for their cup of Mexi Mocha. At the Little Red Hen Coffee Shop on Fair Oaks, regulars would be sliding into the long counter for an order of buttery grits with spicy chicken.
Over on Mariposa, ever-patient staff at the Altadena Hardware would answer any question you throw at them about light bulbs, washers and bolts, this thingamajig or that.
All of those places are gone, flattened by the Eaton Fire literally overnight, their loss mourned by a community kept out by much of the blaze's perimeter by police tape and checkpoints 11 days later.
A phalanx of members from the National Guard, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol stand sentinel at intersections along Woodbury Road, only letting in emergency personnel, utility crews and media.
Across Woodbury, several donation centers have spontaneously sprung up to serve the Altadena residents who regularly visit the checkpoints to see if this is the day they are allowed entry to see their homes and beloved stomping grounds.
Some meander, in oversized clothes gifted by strangers, to the tables set up with everything from baby formula to medicine to dog food. Donated suitcases sitting in a corner invite them to start a new collection of belongings. Church volunteers handing out supplies offer to pray with the residents.
Law enforcement say the initial surge of Altadenans coming up to the checkpoints to get their homes has decreased. Many have evacuated to places that are too far away for daily checkups and instead rely on friends and emergency notification apps they downloaded for the first time just days ago.
About two-and-a-half miles south on Lake, hundreds of volunteers have converged in the parking lot of the Pasadena Community Job Center by mid-morning.
Some come pre-armed with rakes to clean up debris left by the windstorm and rid the streets of any potential kindle. Day laborers who use the job center lead the brigades into Altadena.
The job center doubles as a donation center, and SUV's are packed so tightly with goods the driver can't see out the rear-view mirror sidle up Lake, where volunteers, with the efficiency of an assembly line, unload cases of water bottles and hygiene kits.
No more used clothes for now, the center's coordinators plead. They've run out of space at the moment. And they've found the priorities for those displaced are shelter and food. Everything else comes later.
Across the street from the job center on Lake is an empty parking lot where city workers are handing out PPE and bottled water to residents pulling up in their cars.
The chain link fences that encloses the parking lot is lined with wooden crosses festooned with artificial flowers representing the 27 people who've died in the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Dallas artist Roberto Marquez nailed together the crosses which stand watch as he paints a mural with vibrant splashes of color that belie the devastation of the fires.
Marquez, who regularly visits national sites of tragedies to create places for people to commune, has painted the fire engines, a water hydrant, a donkey fleeing the fires, along with the enduring images of L.A. — a palm tree, mariachi musician and a movie camera. He plans to leave the mural behind for anyone who wants it when he goes home.
Protesters will gather in Downtown Los Angeles this afternoon in reaction to the overnight airstrikes launched by the United States and Israel across Iran this morning.
A coalition of organizations including the National Iranian American Council, the ANSWER coalition, and 50501 are holding an “emergency day of action” nationwide to protest the attacks and in opposition of a war with the country.
Locally, the demonstration is scheduled outside City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles beginning at 2 p.m.
A number of state and local lawmakers are weighing in on the attacks.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA28)
“President Trump has launched an unlawful war with Iran despite no imminent threat to the United States, no long-term strategy, no support from the American public, and no authorization from Congress.”
My statement on the Trump Administration’s War with Iran: https://t.co/kfFMVLbPDU pic.twitter.com/SElFR4b3rK
— Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) February 28, 2026
Rep. Young Kim (R-CA40)
“President Trump took decisive action in response to refusal by the Iranian regime to take diplomatic off-ramps, dismantle its nuclear program, & end its reign of terror against the United States & our allies. I stand with the Iranian people who have made their desperation & courageous struggle for freedom clear. I hope for a swift & decisive operation that will pave the way for a more peaceful Middle East & a safer world. My prayers are with our brave US service members risking their lives to protect our nation. I look forward to Congress being briefed on Operation Epic Fury.”
President Trump took decisive action in response to refusal by the Iranian regime to take diplomatic off-ramps, dismantle its nuclear program, & end its reign of terror against the United States & our allies.
— Young Kim (@RepYoungKim) February 28, 2026
I stand with the Iranian people who have made their desperation &…
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA)
“At a time when millions of hardworking families face higher costs of living and skyrocketing health care to pay for tax breaks for billionaires, Donald Trump is now pushing the country toward a war that risks American lives without presenting a clear justification to the American people or any plan to prevent escalation and chaos in the region.”
This decision to strike Iran without Congressional approval stands in stark contrast to a President who promised to put Americans first and end foreign wars. At a time when millions of hardworking families face higher costs of living and skyrocketing health care to pay for tax…
— Senator Alex Padilla (@SenAlexPadilla) February 28, 2026
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
“Trump is drawing our country into yet another foreign war that Americans don’t want and Congress has not authorized. The Iranian regime is a brutal and murderous dictatorship. But that does not give Trump the authority to unilaterally initiate a war of choice. Congress should immediately return to vote on the Kaine Paul Schiff Schumer War Powers Resolution.”
Trump is drawing our country into yet another foreign war that Americans don’t want and Congress has not authorized.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) February 28, 2026
The Iranian regime is a brutal and murderous dictatorship. But that does not give Trump the authority to unilaterally initiate a war of choice.
Congress…
Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA34)
“By launching this operation on his own, the president has put Congress and the country in the worst possible position. He started a war first, and now Congress is being asked to deal with the consequences instead of deciding whether the war should begin at all.”
The president’s own statement acknowledges this is war, yet he never came to Congress to ask for authorization to start it. The Constitution is clear that the decision to take this country to war does not belong to one person. That safeguard exists to protect the American people…
— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) February 28, 2026
Topline:
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday after weeks of threats from President Donald Trump over Iran's nuclear capabilities.
The goal: Trump announced what he called "major combat operations" that are "massive and ongoing" in Iran in a video posted to Truth Social at 2:30am ET. He said the objective was to "defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats" from Iran.
Keep reading... for what you need to know about the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday after weeks of threats from President Donald Trump over Iran's nuclear capabilities
Here's what you need to know about the US and Israeli attacks on Iran:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the goal of the joint US Israeli strikes is to quote "remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran."
Netanyahu said in a video: "Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands."
A person briefed on the operation told NPR it was expected to last a few days, with Israel's military focusing on targeting Iran's missile program.
President Trump announced what he called "major combat operations" that are "massive and ongoing" in Iran in a video posted to Truth Social at 2:30am ET. He said the objective was to "defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats" from Iran.
A third round of indirect negotiations between Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner failed to produce a diplomatic solution on Thursday.
The Israel strikes targeted Khamenei and the Iranian president, trying to assassinate them, a person briefed on the operation told NPR's Daniel Estrin. A person briefed on the matter told NPR that Israeli assessments are that Khamenei was hit.
Iran's news agency IRNA says the US-Israeli strikes hit a girls school, killing at least 53 young female students and wounding dozens more.
Trump encouraged innocent Iranians to "take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations" once what the Pentagon is calling "Operation Epic Fury" is over.
He previously said he was concerned about the Iranian regime's killing of protesters and has previously cited that as potential justification for US strikes.
Iran's foreign ministry has called the airstrikes by the U.S and Israel a "gross violation" of its national sovereignty, and vowed to respond decisively.
The UAE's Defense Ministry says Iranian ballistic missiles targeted the country, which hosts U.S. troops at several locations in the country
Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan have all been targeted by Iran. All of them have US troops present.
US Navy's Fifth Fleet service center in Manama, Bahrain was hit according to the government there. The other countries say the missiles were intercepted. The UAE says debris from a missile interception killed an Asian migrant worker. Loud booms have been heard over Dubai according to our correspondent there.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
News came this week that a buyer is in sight for the so-called "graffiti towers" in downtown L.A.
Why it matters: For the new owner, one of the first orders of business would be to strip away all the graffiti.
The backstory: Construction of the $1 billion luxury high-rise residential and hotel project began in 2015 with the aim to transform downtown Los Angeles. Four years later, the three towers sat skeletal after their Chinese developer ran out of money to finish the job.
So.. We talked to a graffiti removal expert about what it would take to get all that stuff off.
News came this week that a buyer is in sight for the so-called "graffiti towers" in downtown L.A. — known in its better days as Oceanwide Plaza before falling on hard times to become, to its critics, a landmark of shame.
The purchase, priced at $470 million, is subject to final court approval that could happen in a couple of months.
Construction of the $1 billion luxury high-rise residential and hotel project began in 2015 with the aim to transform downtown Los Angeles. Four years later, the three towers sat skeletal after their Chinese developer ran out of money to finish the job. The buildings gained worldwide notoriety in 2024 when a video of its thoroughly tagged up exteriors, sprouting hundreds of feet above ground, went viral.
For the would-be joint owners — KPC Group and Lendlease — one of the first orders of business will be to strip away all the graffiti.
Dustin Coad is the owner of Kaptive Construction and Preservation, a firm that mainly specializes in restoring the facades of historic buildings.
"So tile, brick stone, marble, terracotta, concrete, and then also any type of historic windows," Coad said.
Kaptive, which has been in the business for more than three decades, has done graffiti removal work on a number of architectural gems, including the Merritt building on Broadway in downtown L.A.
With Oceanwide Plaza, as with any other structures, graffiti removal methods depend on the building materials.
If the frames of the towers were made with poured concrete, Coad said you could apply a chemical stripping agent on the surface and leave it soaking overnight.
"And then you kind of peel them off," he said. " And that's hopeful."
Another option is to blast the paint off with tiny little beads of glass.
"[They] are pressurized and hit the building and kind of explode and would pull the paint off without damaging the concrete or the substrate," Coad said.
That's the method Kaptive used to remove decades-old graffiti from the marble facade of the Merritt building — a more damage-prone material than concrete.
"We deal with concrete all the time — but old concrete — newer concrete is more solid and should be easy to remove," he said.
While the exterior — if it is indeed poured concrete — is a relatively straightforward job, the windows are not.
"The vast majority of the graffiti is on the windows," he said. "I have no idea what films or elements or whatever [else] may be on that glass. The chemical agent may work poorly with whatever is applied to that glass."
So the first thing Coad would do is to call up the manufacturer for recommendations, and then test things out.
"Option 1 is to remove it. Option 2 is to replace everything," Coad said. "And Option 1 will be significantly cheaper, but it will not be cheap."
Another major consideration is safety. After all, each of the towers is more than 500 feet tall, with graffiti on multiple floors.
"Number one is looking at it from how would we access all of the panes of glass from the exterior of the buildings," he said, adding that he would work with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from the get-go to put in place the safest possible work environment for his crew.
"Everybody will be harnessed in. There'll be the main line, there'll be a safety line, and I think we would want to erect some sort of netting or railing," he said. "I want to make sure if they slip that nothing's going to happen to them other than maybe a bruise."
Coad said it's going to require spending time out at the towers, followed by mockups and sample strip tests to arrive at an accurate quote and timeframe for the project. Ballpark-wise, " hundreds upon hundreds of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not in the million range."
One thing he is certain about.
" It's not gonna be cheap," he said. "It will take a very long time."
Topline:
The Irwindale Brewery’s “Miller” beer sign along the 210 Freeway was replaced with a new sign by its current owners at the end of last year.
Why it matters: The 48-by-34-foot sign greeted commuters on the 210 Freeway for over 40 years and became a landmark for the city of Irwindale.
Why now: It took a while for the company to decide what to do with the sign because of its legacy in Irwindale, but a new sign finally started going up in December of last year.
The backstory: The sign was damaged by up to 90 mph winds during the same Santa Ana wind event that started the Eaton Fire in January 2025.
What it says now: The sign now says “City Brewing & Beverage Irwindale,” which is the name of the company that’s been operating it since 2021.
Read on ... to find the full history on why the legacy and importance of the Miller sign.
For decades, the Miller sign greeted drivers on the 210 freeway passing through Irwindale.
But, a year ago, during January’s wind storms, the crimson red and white “Miller” logo was damaged.
Then in December, a new sign — "City Brewing & Beverage” — went up, leading many commuters to wonder what happened.
To answer that question, let's go back to Irwindale's history.
Irwindale was once best known for its mining quarries, which were older than the city itself and were integral to the construction of L.A’.s freeway system.
Most of the quarries ceased operations in the 1970s, and with them, so went much of Irwindale’s industry.
Around that same time, the site of the old Irwindale Raceway, which used to be one of the few racetracks in the San Gabriel Valley, went up for sale.
And here came Miller beer.
“So Miller, according to legend, bought the property for a dollar and then they built the brewery,” said Anita Hernandez, communications manager for City Brewing who used to work for Miller.
As it turns out, the $1 land acquisition isn’t just a legend.
“No, that's actually true," said Iris Espino, assistant to Irwindale’s city manager. "So while it was just a dollar, the city thought it would build wealth over the next 30, 40, 50 years. And essentially, it did."
The Irwindale brewery under construction.
Miller purchased the lot in 1977. The deal included 230 acres of land to build the brewery, which opened in 1980.
Three years later, the sign overlooking the 210 went up. The 48-by-34-foot structure rolled into Irwindale on three separate rail cars.
It rotated until the late 1990s, but faulty gears led the company to make it stationary. It's been facing both sides of the 210 Freeway ever since.
Ownership of the brewery — which locals just called Irwindale brewery for convenience — changed hands over the years.
In 2021, City Brewing & Beverage moved in.
They decided to keep the “Miller” sign for all that it had brought to Irwindale.
“Over the last few decades, we have seen the jobs, the infrastructure and this economic identity that Irwindale is now this large industrial hub. And it started with Miller Brewery,” Espino said.
Other big manufacturers came in following Miller. Q & B Foods, which distributes Kewpie mayo in the U.S., moved there in 1986. Huy Fong Foods, the maker of
sriracha, broke ground on a new factory in 2010.
Ready Pac Foods moved there in 1993 and has become one of Irwindale's largest employers.
But Miller started it all.
“The sign, definitely iconic to residents, to just people that drive that 210 freeway every single day,” Espino said. “And we hear it. I can't tell you the amount of times we hear about that sign.”
For people in Irwindale, it’s still a point of pride to have worked at the business that started the economic boom.
Ben Maillete is plant manager for City Brewing. He started working at the brewery in 2014, back when it was owned by Miller. He said there was one easy way to explain to people where he was employed.
“I was like, ‘Well, you know that sign on the highway?’ " he said.
Employees at the Irwindale brewery debated on whether to restore the sign or make a brand new one when it was damaged during last year’s January wind and fire storms.
A third of the City Brewery's current employees worked for Miller and felt a connection to the original sign, so the company decided update the sign but keep the iconic structure and shape as a tribute.
“I don't think anybody knew that City Brewery and Beverage was operating here, and now they do,” Maillete said.
He said it’s their way of giving a nod to the past while also looking toward the future.
