The Brief

Pasadena and Altadena renters whose homes were covered in toxic ash during January’s wildfires are now suing local officials for allegedly failing to inspect their units and require landlords to carry out necessary cleaning.

Individual renters, along with two tenant unions, filed lawsuits Wednesday against the city of Pasadena and the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Citing previous LAist reporting, the complaints allege local officials have refused to enforce tenants’ right to a safe, habitable home.

Public health officials have warned residents that ash carried by the Eaton Fire contains levels of lead harmful to human health.

But the renters say that when they asked the city and county to intervene with landlords who refused to arrange for professional cleaning, they were told they needed to hire lawyers and pursue civil cases on their own.

“It felt like, because we weren't homeowners, we weren't really being taken seriously,” said plaintiff Brenda Lyon.

The other plaintiffs include the Pasadena Tenants Union, the recently formed Altadena Tenants Union and three other renters who allege Pasadena and L.A. County officials failed to uphold their legal obligation to enforce habitable housing conditions.

The city of Pasadena declined to comment on the lawsuits. County authorities have not yet responded to LAist’s request for comment.

Local officials told renters to take their issues to court

Lyon said she, her husband and their baby were forced to leave their duplex unit in Pasadena’s Bungalow Heaven neighborhood when the Eaton Fire ignited on Jan. 7.

After the fires died down and the family was able to return, Lyon said they found the home covered in ash and soot. When she asked her landlord about plans for cleaning, she said she was told no remediation work would be provided, and if she didn’t like it, she could move out.

Lyon said she pleaded with Pasadena officials to enforce her family’s right to a habitable home, but the city’s response was to tell her to pursue a civil case against her landlord.

“We were displaced for three months,” Lyon said. “We used our own personal money” to deal with smoke damage, she added.

Pasadena renter Brenda Lyon speaks at a podium in front of a downtown Los Angeles courthouse.

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How Pasadena and L.A. County are responding

In response to LAist’s questions about the lawsuit, Pasadena city spokesperson Lisa Derderian said in an email: “The city has not been served with the lawsuit so can’t comment at this time.”

Earlier this year, Pasadena officials told LAist that disputes over ash can lead to civil cases between landlords and tenants. They told tenants that the city will not get involved because the word “ash” is not specifically mentioned in the city’s building code.

LAist also reached out to the L.A. County Department of Public Health for comment. Officials did not respond in time for this story.

Looking ahead to future fires

Attorney Lena Silver with Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles, who is representing tenants in both lawsuits, said the goal is to obtain a court order requiring local officials to inspect rental housing and enforce habitability standards when it comes to wildfire smoke damage.

“No one here is seeking money — we're seeking enforcement of the law,” Silver said. “Unfortunately, we know that it's likely that there could be future urban fires in Los Angeles and in California. Our lawsuit would help future tenants clarify the law.”

The question of who is responsible for cleaning apartments coated in ash after a wildfire has been a source of much confusion for tenants, landlords and local government agencies.

For example, after a code enforcement director in the city of L.A. said tenants would be responsible for cleaning ash inside their own units, city housing officials later changed their guidance and said landlords are responsible for such work.

It’s standard for renters insurance policies to cover damage to a tenant’s personal property, such as their furniture and clothing. But damage to the actual home — including the walls, windows and HVAC systems — is typically addressed by landlords through their homeowners insurance policies.

However, some landlords have told tenants they fear that filing a smoke damage claim could cause their insurance costs to rise.

Where displaced renters have been staying

Landlord refusals have left some renters unable to return to their homes, forcing them to pay for temporary relocation costs on top of their usual rent.

“We hear from families who are living in their cars and edging closer to homelessness every single day,” said Katie Clark, an organizer with the Altadena Tenants Union. “Throughout all of this, Los Angeles County has been virtually silent.”

Clark said other renters have had no choice but to return to smoke-damaged units and suffer the negative health consequences.

Lyon, the Pasadena renter, was able to get her landlord to agree to finish cleaning after Neighborhood Legal Services sent the landlord a demand letter. But she said this lawsuit is needed because many tenants cannot afford an attorney or find free legal aid.

“[Renters] should feel comfortable saying, per the state of California, my property is not habitable,” Lyon said. “Their city should support them and say, ‘You know what, we're going to send someone to do a check on your property, and then if your landlord doesn't comply, we're going to do a citation.’

"That’s why we're here today — to protect tenants of the future.”

The lawsuits were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The post appeared first on LA Local.

Go past the dog walkers and strollers up the hilly street with the massive refinery. You’ll see an aerospace company’s moon buggy mural. Head toward a classic dingbat apartment and you’ll find a surfer-themed bar in a WWII-style Quonset hut.

Shh. There’s a secret comedy show happening in there where a comic is revealing secret techniques to make babies fart.

Don’t Tell Comedy shows like this one at Boardroom Brewery in El Segundo last month are happening all around Los Angeles County. They are stand-up shows where the crowd is only given venue clues ahead of time and only told where to be just hours before. The sites vary from parking lots, furniture stores, wine shops and other unconventional settings for stand-up comedy.

How to find a secret comedy show

• The first step is fairly simple. Visit the Don’t Tell Comedy website and look for a show in a city you don’t mind driving to.
• You’re going to have to buy tickets without knowing anything about the show. That means you won’t know who is performing or where the show is being held.
• The morning of the event, you will receive a text message or email with the address to the secret location.

What a typical show looks like

Go past the dog walkers and strollers up the hilly street with the massive refinery. You’ll see an aerospace company’s moon buggy mural. Head toward a classic dingbat apartment and you’ll find a surfer-themed bar in a WWII-style Quonset hut.

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Don Perez

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The LA Local

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Boardroom Brewery bartender Rick Mathiesen told The LA Local that the night started with folks “getting out of their Ubers with confused looks on their faces.” They were trying to figure out if they got the right place, especially when the beach town bar rolled down its see-through hangar door.

The secret comedy show organization started in 2017 with backyard and living room pop-up shows. It has expanded its clandestine comedy format to more than 200 cities, including areas across LA such as downtown, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Pasadena.

Griffin James, the emcee of the night and a local producer for Don’t Tell Comedy, was seen putting 80 chairs away by himself — hey, legendary comic Sam Kinison got his start as The Comedy Store’s doorman.

The 26-year-old Griffin said the gigs are still as competitive as landing a stage at The Laugh Factory, where he’s performed. There’s an added benefit for the audience: There is no mandatory two-drink minimum, which makes it more affordable than a night at a traditional comedy club.

Go past the dog walkers and strollers up the hilly street with the massive refinery. You’ll see an aerospace company’s moon buggy mural. Head toward a classic dingbat apartment and you’ll find a surfer-themed bar in a WWII-style Quonset hut.

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Don Perez

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The LA Local

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Most comics at Don’t Tell Comedy shows are up-and-coming locals, but a few big names like Ali Wong, Nikki Glaser and Michael Che have appeared.

Jenna Lewanda told The LA Local that she and her boyfriend, Manny Aguilar, decided to take a trip from their West Hollywood home to the mystery spot in El Segundo. Their usual haunts for live comedy are the Hollywood Improv and a friend’s show, Hambone Comedy.

Lewanda received a message at 9 a.m. that Saturday with the location details. She looked it up and committed the odd curved building to memory. She was happy that night’s headliner was a famous stand-up: Brad Williams. 

Williams — a comedian with dwarfism who has two Showtime specials and a Netflix stand-up episode under his belt — closed out the seven-comic show that night.

He got a lot of laughs recalling a camping incident where a park ranger told him to “get big” when confronted by a bear. The 4-foot-4-inch Williams’ response: “How?”

With less than three weeks until Election Day, outside groups are pouring millions of dollars into two types of state legislative races: purple districts featuring a Democrat and a Republican, and safely Democratic districts featuring Democrats of different ideological stripes.

Political action committees backed by politically powerful groups such as unions and business have spent over $100 million on California legislative races so far this election cycle, eclipsing 2024 spending. Groups can spend unlimited amounts on “independent expenditures” to boost or oppose a candidate, providing they don’t coordinate with the campaign.

Since they came on the scene in January, two new tech-backed groups have dominated spending in legislative races. Grow California, funded by cryptocurrency investor Chris Larsen and venture capitalist Tim Draper as a “counterforce” to union spending, has spent more than $20 million this cycle. California Leads, funded by Meta and Google, has spent close to $14 million this year to support candidates who are focused on “real-world solutions rather than ideological fights.”

Legislative Action PAC, which Republican strategists founded in 2025 at the request of Republican lawmakers amid frustration with the official state Republican Party, is also spending for the first time this cycle. It aims to help Republicans hold seats they flipped in 2024, and its major funders include Google, AT&T and oil and gas companies. The PAC and its offshoots, Legislative Action Victory PAC and Legislative Bipartisan Action PAC, have spent at least $6 million to support Republican candidates since April.

A CalMatters analysis of spending since the June 2 primary found that these are the nine most expensive competitive general election contests in the Legislature. Total spending in each race includes campaign spending from the primary through Sept. 19, the most recent reporting period, and independent expenditures from the primary through Oct. 13.

$5.6 million: David Penaloza (D) v. Jessie Lopez (D) – Assembly District 68

The priciest race so far is between two millennial Democrats who both serve on the Santa Ana City Council in Orange County. Lopez is the more progressive of the two: She helped pass a rent control ordinance in 2021 and faced a recall attempt by the local police union after she voted to create a police oversight commission in 2022. Tech money is flowing to help her opponent: In recent weeks, California Leads has spent $1.4 million and Grow California has spent $1.3 million on ads supporting Penaloza.

Several powerful unions, including those representing public employees, nurses and California State University faculty, have spent a combined $1.4 million on ads supporting Lopez and attacking Penaloza.

$5 million: John Erickson (D) v. Brian Goldsmith (D) – Senate District 24

In the battle to succeed Sen. Ben Allen, Brian Goldsmith, an entrepreneur and former senior adviser for the pro-Israel advocacy group Democratic Majority for Israel, faces John Erickson, a West Hollywood city councilmember. The coastal Los Angeles district includes Malibu and Santa Monica. The two candidates are sharply divided on renter protections. Erickson supports repealing both the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and the Ellis Act, which limit local rent control and allow landlords to evict tenants to leave the rental business. That’s likely driving the influx of money supporting Goldsmith from the California Apartment Association, which has spent $450,000 on independent ads attacking Erickson. The California Realtors Association is the main funder of a PAC that’s spent over $600,000 backing Goldsmith.

Criminal justice reform advocates and organized labor, including the carpenters and school employees association, have bankrolled ads supporting Erickson.

$4.7 million: Greg Wallis (R) v. Leila Namvar (D) – Assembly District 47

Republican Assemblymember Greg Wallis is again fighting hard to retain his seat representing a purple district that includes both deep-blue Palm Springs and Cathedral City as well as conservative suburbs around Redlands and Yucaipa. Wallis has a significant fundraising advantage over his opponent, Democrat Leila Namvar, a former local labor leader and city planner. His campaign has outspent hers 6-to-1 and independent expenditures supporting him are more than 5-to-1. A moderate with a pro-business record, Wallis has been a favorite of California Leads, which has spent $1.1 million supporting him. A PAC funded by oil and gas companies has spent about $450,000. Legislative Bipartisan Action PAC spent about the same.

Amid the flood of outside spending, the Democratic Party has backed Namvar. Since mid-September, the party and its county committees have given her committee about $1.8 million.

$4.6 million: Sara Hernandez (D) v. Sarah Rascón (D)  – Senate District 26

Two Democrats are vying to replace departing progressive Sen. María Elena Durazo in this deep blue Los Angeles-based district. Sara Hernandez, a community college trustee, faces Sarah Rascón, a planning commissioner for East Los Angeles. Grow California and California Leads are backing Hernandez to the tune of about $3 million, even though her campaign website says she will “fight for strict rules with real enforcement” on Big Tech profits. Cardrooms near this district, including Hawaiian Gardens Casino and Commerce Casino, which are in a perennial battle with tribal casinos over gaming rights, have spent about $500,000 on independent ads supporting Hernandez.

Rascón, whose top priorities include advancing environmental and social justice, has rejected corporate money. Her campaign had spent about $34,000 as of mid-September, and the Working Families Party and California Environmental Voters have spent over $100,000 on ads supporting her.

$3.8 million: Eric Lucan (D) v. Jackie Elward (D) – Assembly District 12

This seat, which encompasses all of Marin County and some of Sonoma County, is another target of Grow California. The group has spent about $1.8 million on ads supporting Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan. Lucan’s positions are more moderate than those of progressive Rohnert Park Councilmember Jackie Elward, who said in a KQED questionnaire that she supports moratoriums on “all things AI,” including data centers, and that “protecting workers is the priority.”

Elward’s support comes chiefly from the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, Consumer Attorneys of California and SEIU California State Council, which have spent over $1 million to support her race.

$3.2 million: Jeff Gonzalez (R) v. Ida Obeso-Martinez (D) – Assembly District 36

Outside groups have spent $2.7 million to back Republican Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMattersTraditionally Democratic, this Latino-majority district along the California-Mexico border voted for Trump by 1.3 percentage points in 2024. The same year, Republican Jeff Gonzalez flipped it. Democrat Ida Obeso-Martinez, a nurse practitioner and Imperial County councilmember, is now challenging him to take it back. Oil and gas companies, a California Chamber of Commerce PAC and Legislative Bipartisan Action PAC are among the outside groups that have spent $2.7 million on mailers, polling, and TV and digital ads supporting Gonzalez and attacking Obeso-Martinez.

No outside groups have spent on behalf of Obeso-Martinez, but the California Democratic Party and its central committees recently gave Obeso-Martinez over $1.5 million for the final weeks of the race.

$2.8 million: Josh Hoover (R) v. Amy Slavensky (D) – Assembly District 7

Incumbent Republican Josh Hoover faces Democrat Amy Slavensky, a retired teacher and superintendent, in this competitive Sacramento-area district, which shifted rightward after redistricting in 2022. Hoover’s allies, including business groups, cardrooms, and the Legislative Action PAC, have spent at least $2.3 million, chiefly on digital ads and mailers supporting him and opposing Slavensky.

No independent groups have spent to support Slavensky, but Democrats have contributed close to $1 million to Slavensky since mid-September.

$2.6 million: Leticia Castillo (R) v. Clarissa Cervantes (D) – Assembly District 58

Assemblymember Leticia Castillo at her desk during a floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 23, 2025. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMattersRepublican Assemblymember Leticia Castillo flipped this Latino-majority seat in Riverside County in 2024, defeating Democrat challenger Clarissa Cervantes by 596 votes. This year is a close rematch. Cervantes, a Riverside city councilmember whose sister is Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, received 54.5% of the vote compared to Castillo’s 45.5% in the June primary. In a rare move, Cervantes has outspent the incumbent Castillo in the general election. Much of her spending — close to $1 million — has been from her campaign account, compared to Castillo’s $80,000.

Legislative Action Victory PAC has spent about $650,000 on ads attacking Cervantes, and a coalition of unions spent about $530,000 supporting her. Both parties have been pouring in money to their respective candidates in the last few weeks.

$2.6 million: Guillermo Gonzalez (R) v. Melissa Hurtado (D) – Senate District 16

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Melissa Hurtado won this district by 13 votes in 2022 even as Gov. Gavin Newsom lost it by more than 10 percentage points, making her the only Democrat to represent a state Senate district that President Donald Trump won in 2024. She faces a challenge from Republican Guillermo Gonzalez, a small business owner and former aide to Rep. David Valadao. Legislative Action PAC has spent over $1.7 million supporting Gonzalez and opposing Hurtado.

The Democratic Party and various county central committees have donated $4.8 million to Hurtado’s campaign war chest this election cycle, allowing her to spend close to $1 million between the primary and mid-September’s filing deadline.

For the record: This story was corrected to reflect that Clarissa Cervantes received 54.5% of the vote in her June primary contest against Leticia Castillo.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Tucked away between a massage spa and pet wash on Fair Oaks Avenue is South Pasadena’s only new and used independent bookstore.

Outpost Books opened in September. And the name sets the tone for the just-under-1,000-square-foot space.

“I wanted it to feel obviously cozy [like] a bookstore,” said owner Nicole Novembrino. But also “like a trading post, where you just stop along the road, and there's stuff everywhere.”

The back of the shop's tiny "Kids Corral" where Outpost Books plans to have weekly story readings.

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Inside, custom corral doors open to a mural of a desert sunset. Hand-drawn signs guide you to each genre. Novembrino selects the books herself, from bestsellers to history books, including those that honor Route 66 — which Fair Oaks is part of. Some of the used books come from a local retirement home. The stickers for sale are for causes she supports such as keeping national parks public. A donation box to keep wild horses and burros free sits by the cash register.

How road trips shaped the store

Novembrino signed the lease in August and spent weekends road-tripping across Arizona gathering art to fill out the space. The western vibe is inspired by her childhood road trips from Southern California to New Mexico, where her mom grew up.

Novembrino got the corral doors custom made from a craftsman in Texas

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Why South Pasadena — and the rent worry

Novembrino picked South Pasadena because the city didn’t have a bookstore, but she’s aware of how difficult it is to run a small business. Nearby, longtime children's toy store Dinosaur Farm said in a September social media post a rent hike could lead to the shop shutting down.

“That's the one thing when you own a business is making rent. I hope not to feel that fear, but it's a very real thing,” Novembrino said.

Novembrino had her fiancé designed several of the stickers found in the shop

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A line out the door on opening day

So far, so good. On opening day, she was shocked to see a long line out the door, having done little outreach and promotion beforehand. Turns out, a South Pasadena social media influencer caught wind of the shop and posted about its grand opening date.

“I've gotten thank-yous for opening,” Novembrino, who lives in El Monte, said. “They're just excited to have a bookstore. I wasn't expecting that.”

Outpost Books is planning for its first events later this season, including kids' corral storytimes and book clubs. Novembrino is still settling into the dream of finally running a bookshop.

As for her second dream, that’s opening up a donkey rescue.

Conditions at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center have improved, but serious concerns remain, according to Rep. Robert Garcia, who represents Long Beach, and other members of Congress who visited the facility Friday.

At a news conference immediately following the visit, the representatives described unsanitary conditions in the showers and kitchen areas, food that looked inedible and inadequate access to medical care.

Improvements to water

Rep. Norma Torres of Pomona, who has visited Adelanto 25 times in an oversight capacity, said the only improvement she saw this time was that the facility installed water filtration systems in response to a July court order requiring ICE to ensure people held there have access to clean drinking water 24 hours a day.

Garcia told LAist he would leave it up to the independent monitors appointed by the court to determine if the facility was fully complying with the order. The monitor overseeing overall conditions at the facility released its first report, containing 12 recommendations for improvement, earlier this month. The federal government recently purchased the facility from the GEO Group Inc. for $950 million. GEO Group is still under contract to run day-to-day operations there.

The visit was unannounced

Garcia, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said officials at the facility kept the delegation waiting in the lobby for half an hour before starting the tour, despite a recent court order requiring the Trump administration to grant elected officials access to immigration detention facilities.

“We should have been allowed to visit immediately,” Garcia said. “That is the law.”

Garcia and other representatives said it appeared the facility had been cleaned just before the tour started. The representatives also said they were not allowed to speak with people detained at the facility because ICE officials said they were conducting a point-in-time count and people were confined to their cells.

What’s next?

The representatives said they will take recommendations back to the oversight committee and plan to continue unannounced visits to immigration detention centers, including Adelanto. Should Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in November, Garcia and other representatives said they will increase oversight of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. Attorneys representing people held at Adelanto in a class-action lawsuit have asked the court to enforce the July order requiring improvements to the facility based on the independent monitor’s first report and reports from people detained there.