The Brief

Many who lost homes in the Eaton and Palisades fires have been asking themselves whether they should rebuild or if it’s time to pull up stakes.

For some, rebuilding may be too costly, too time-consuming, too heartbreaking.

But if they sell — to whom? No shortage of developers are swooping in to buy properties. In Altadena, that’s stirred up concerns over whether the community will retain its socioeconomic diversity or a Black homeownership rate that at 81% was nearly double the national average.

Sell to a nonprofit

One nonprofit says sellers have other options.

This month, Greenline Housing Foundation in Pasadena made what’s believed to be the first Eaton Fire lot purchase by a community organization: a 6,800-plus sq. foot parcel on West Altadena Drive.

“We bought the property at $520,000, completely demolished and with a lot of debris on it,” said Greenline’s founder and president Jasmin Shupper.

Shupper said after seeing the listing, she had reached out to the seller’s agent, expressing interest in submitting an offer.

Shupper made her case to the agent: “Here's our mission. We're trying to keep land off the speculative market. We're trying to avoid mass purchases by developers who might not be community- minded.”

“And so we just started the conversation from there,” Shupper said. “And then he said, ‘Let me talk to my seller.’”

It was a smooth transaction that Shupper hopes to be a forerunner to future purchases in Greenline's bid to do more land banking for the social good.

Greenline’s start

Shupper founded Greenline five years ago to help remedy decades of racial housing discrimination by offering financial education and down payment grants.

Jasmin Shupper founded Greenline Housing Foundation in Pasadena.

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Courtesy Greenline Housing Foundation

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“It would only follow that we would show up consistent with our same mission in the Eaton fire recovery," Shupper said. “Specifically, that means home ownership preservation and wealth restoration to the Black and Brown communities.”

Greenline wants to rebuild on the burned-out property and sell it at a below-market price to a first-time homebuyer. Shupper said its mission seemed to resonate with the seller who had already been thinking about selling their house before the fires.

In February, the property was listed at $425,000 — covered in rubble. Still, Greenline came in nearly $100,000 over asking.

“We wanted to come in a little bit higher, to be competitive, and also to ensure that it wasn't a lowball offer and that people were compensated fairly,” Shupper said.

A partnership

Greenline was able to make the purchase because of a half million dollar grant from the Pasadena Community Foundation.

“We all want to keep Altadena in friendly hands,” said Sarah Hilbert, a spokesperson for the Pasadena foundation and an Altadena resident. “I think that's a paramount goal for all of us who are connected to the community.”

There’s a sense of urgency to act. Dozens of parcels have already been sold since the Eaton Fire. And dozens more are on the market.

The arrival of developers has sparked anxiety about real estate speculation.

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Mario Tama

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Getty Images

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“Lots of those housing parcels are being sold for cash only, and we know that a lot of them are being sold to speculative developers,” Hilbert said. “When that happens, we know that erodes the ability of people who have roots in the community to have a say and a role in that recovery, in that rebuild.”

Hilbert noted that in recent years gentrification has sped up in Altadena.

“It's a desirable place because it is so creative and so diverse and [there's] the beautiful natural setting,” Hilbert said. “So we know that those are the forces that we're kind of racing against the clock.”

Hilbert says the Pasadena foundation recognizes what Greenline wants to do by "land banking" is an important way to keep Altadena in community control and continues to be in conversation with Shupper about future partnerships. In the meantime, the Pasadena foundation is helping fund another Greenline initiative to get Altadena homeowners into interim housing until they can start to rebuild.

All hands on deck 

When time is of the essence, how can a nonprofit like Greenline bank more land while competing with all-cash buyers?

“You're kind of swimming against a flood, you know?” said Jon Christensen, who teaches and conducts research at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

Christensen says it will take multiple approaches – and more than philanthropy to protect Altadena from speculative developers.

“There are also investors who are not looking for the biggest profit [who say] 'I want investments to have some positive social impact,” Christensen said.

Christensen says these types of investors could help those who lost their homes stay in Altadena — by putting in, say, 20% of the capital needed to rebuild "with the expectation that [the investor] could get [their] capital out with some reasonable return that wouldn't be burdening the homeowner."

Next step: the build

Christensen says as outsiders come into Altadena to help, gaining the community’s trust will be key. That’s where a local organization like Greenline has an advantage.

And because of its work in the area, founder Jasmin Shupper knows of many potential buyers for its newly-acquired parcel.

“We already have a Rolodex of people that would be interested in purchasing this lot,” Shupper said. “Identifying people is not the problem.”

The more pressing issue at hand is what can Greenline afford to have built on the lot. That will depend on yet another round of funding the group is trying to raise.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.