Topline:
The annual Christmas Tree Lane lighting ceremony was held on Saturday, the first time since the Eaton Fire.
Why it matters: The lighting is Altadena’s kickoff to the holidays, a 105-year-old tradition that attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.
Why now: The event takes on extra significance for attendees after devastations from the Eaton Fire.
"3... 2... 1..."
Voices rang out in unison until the nearly mile-long row of cedar trees along Santa Rosa Avenue burst with color.
The Christmas Tree Lane lighting is Altadena’s kickoff to the holidays, a 105-year-old tradition that attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.
And it was all that on Saturday night.
After the Eaton Fire, though, the celebration was more for many who attended. Many things about the lighting remained the same: speeches by dignitaries, a performance by the high school drumline.
But so much was different. A tree just off the lane was lit in white with 19 green lights honoring every person who died in the fire.
And during the ceremony, a minute and 19 seconds of silence was observed, led by the night’s emcee, actor Edward James Olmos.
LAist was at Saturday night's lighting event.
Saturday marked longtime Altadena resident Megan Murdock's very first outing.
"I love Christmas Tree Lane, but I've never been to the lighting event," she said. " This felt like the year to show up and represent."
As the first anniversary of the Eaton Fire approaches, Murdock said it's been amazing to see the community rebuild, even though the scars are still raw.
"Through the rebuilding, there were really hard days, there's going be more really hard days," she said. "But today's a good day."
Seamus Bozeman will always call Altadena home.
He and his family lost their house in the Eaton Fire. But every chance he gets, Bozeman (a former LAist intern) can be found hanging out in his old haunts.
"I come back and shop at the shops as much as I can, eat from the restaurants here," he said. "I love this place so much."
He said the tree-lighting ceremony he grew up knowing was a quaint, neighborhood affair.
" With this whole festival and everything because of the fire, I don't know, it's not the same for me," he said.
But change, he knows, is inevitable.
" I'm hoping it's for the better," Bozeman said. "But one thing I do know is that we'll be closer as a community because of this fire."
For Patricia Valencia, who lost her home in the fire, Saturday night's event was a reunion.
"I saw my neighbor for the first time since we evacuated," she said. "It was emotional! I gave him a hug, and I was like, I think I'm gonna cry because I haven't seen you since that night that we left."
Greg Demus lives right on Christmas Tree Lane. For him, the event is an annual ritual.
" I've been coming here all my life," he said.
But after the fire, few things are a given.
" I wasn't quite sure what to expect," Demus said of this year's ceremony. "But it's good to see so many people come back to try to celebrate Altadena and keep Altadena strong."
Howard Raff and his wife Linella are renting outside of Altadena while their home is being remediated.
"Coming back, you just want it to be what it was, and you don't know what it's going to be like. So having this was kind of an anchor of something that you knew was going to be there," Linella said.
Marguerite Lockwood De Jauregui and her husband arrived at Christmas Tree Lane on Saturday in the early afternoon.
As soon as they were able to enter the area, the two set up their chairs at the corner of Santa Rosa Avenue and Mariposa Street.
The lot on that corner now sits razed and empty. But before the fire, it was the house where De Jauregui had lived for three years after college. A place where she built lifelong friendships with her roommates.
"It was such great memories and a great camaraderie," she said.
Altadena, she remembered, was vibrant and free-spirited.
"It was a really close-knit community," she said. "When you go further down Fair Oaks, you could go to the movies and dinner. You get together with friends in their historical homes, and we'd all sit around and play music."
She returned to Christmas Tree Lane on Saturday to honor those formative years — and brought along images and drawings of the house that burned down.
"It was almost like claiming a bit of my own personal history back," she said.
Topline:
A brothel operating from more than 30 locations in residences and hotels across California has been shut down, according to authorities.
Why now: On Friday, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of two Hacienda Heights residents, Kebin Dong and Wei Nie, on charges of pimping, pandering and conspiracy. The two allegedly owned and operated a website offering sex services. The investigation found more than 60 profiles of women posted on the site.
A brothel operating from more than 30 locations in residences and hotels across California has been shut down, according to authorities.
On Friday, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of two Hacienda Heights residents, Kebin Dong and Wei Nie, on charges of pimping, pandering and conspiracy.
The two allegedly owned and operated a website offering sex services. The investigation found more than 60 profiles of women posted on the site.
Earlier this week, law enforcement officials from multiple agencies searched several suspected brothel sites in both Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Bail for the two suspects is set at $200,000 each.
Topline:
Casey Wasserman, the embattled businessman and head of the organizing body that's bringing the Olympics to L.A., is putting his namesake talent agency up for sale.
Why it matters: Wasserman has been under fire for racy emails he exchanged decades ago with Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex trafficker and the ex-girlfriend of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The emails were revealed as part of the millions of documents related to Epstein released by the Justice Department in January.
Why now: In a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Wasserman told his staff that he had "become a distraction" to the work of the high-profile talent agency that he founded more than two decades ago.
In recent days, a number of artists — including musician Chappell Roan — have said they are cutting ties with the Wasserman agency.
Background: Critics have also called for Wasserman to resign as head of LA28, the nonprofit and organizing body behind the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028. Earlier this week, the board of LA28 expressed support for Wasserman.
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Topline:
Casey Wasserman, the embattled businessman and head of the organizing body that's bringing the Olympics to L.A., is putting his namesake talent agency up for sale.
Why it matters: Wasserman has been under fire for racy emails he exchanged decades ago with Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex trafficker and the ex-girlfriend of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The emails were made public as part of the release of millions of documents related to Epstein by the Justice Department in January.
Why now: In a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Wasserman told his staff that he had "become a distraction" to the work of the high-profile talent agency that he founded more than two decades ago.
In recent days, a number of artists — including musician Chappell Roan — have said they are cutting ties with the Wasserman agency.
Background: Critics have also called for Wasserman to resign as head of LA28, the nonprofit and organizing body behind the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
Earlier this week, the board of LA28 expressed support for Wasserman.
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Topline:
The Los Angeles Unified School District has unveiled key elements of a $1.4 billion “fiscal stabilization plan” that also involves a reduction in force, which could mean job transfers or layoffs.
What's in the plan? In meeting materials posted late Friday night, the district proposed issuing notices to 2,600 certificated and classified contract management employees and closing hundreds of additional positions at the central office. The move would save approximately $250 million.
What’s wrong with the budget? There are more than 40% fewer students in LAUSD compared to the early 2000s. At the same time, as costs have increased, the district has not closed schools or significantly reduced staff. LAUSD hired more staff to support students during the pandemic, and now the federal relief dollars that initially funded those positions are gone.
The Los Angeles Unified School Board will vote Tuesday on a plan to eliminate jobs as the district contends with several years of spending more money than it brings in.
The reduction in force (RIF) vote is the first step in a monthslong process that could result in layoffs at the district’s central office and schools.
In meeting materials posted late Friday night, the district proposed issuing notices to thousands of employees and closing hundreds of additional positions at the central office.
The move would save approximately $250 million, part of an overall $1.4 billion “fiscal stabilization plan.”
“Even with approval,” the plan states, “with available reserves already being fully utilized, further reductions will be necessary based on the multi-year projections.”
For the past two years, the district has relied on reserves to backfill a multi-billion-dollar deficit. That deficit comes as enrollment has declined steeply but expenses have not.
There are more than 40% fewer students compared to the early 2000s. At the same time, as costs have increased, the district has not closed schools or significantly reduced staff. LAUSD hired more staff to support students during the pandemic, and now the federal relief dollars that initially funded those positions are gone.
Reductions in force are proposed for several categories including “un-funded” positions, central office staff and at schools that support higher needs students.
The RIF proposal would:
“In total this represents less than 1% of the total Los Angeles Unified workforce,” the materials note.
It is unclear how many positions included in the proposed reduction in force will ultimately result in people being laid off. Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said in a previous board meeting that a RIF did not guarantee layoffs, as staff could be reassigned to other positions or given the opportunity to transfer schools.
The district's budget outlook could also change as employees retire or move to jobs elsewhere, etc.
LAUSD must vote on the reduction in force before March 15, the deadline for California school districts to notify staff they may be laid off. Decisions have to be finalized by the end of June.
In a letter sent earlier this month, the unions representing LAUSD teachers, support staff and principals asked the board to delay the RIF vote until there is more information available about state funding and the public has more time to understand the proposed cuts.
United Teachers Los Angeles members recently gave their leadership the power to call a strike if the union can’t reach a contract deal with the district.
The board meets Tuesday at 10 a.m. Registration for public comment opens Monday at 9 a.m. Speakers can comment by phone or in person and are generally limited to two minutes.
You can also email all board members here or find your individual representative below or leave a voicemail message at (213) 443-4472, by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting .
LAUSD board members can amplify concerns from parents, students and educators. Find your representative below.
District 1 includes Mid City, parts of South L.A. (map)
Board member: Sherlett Hendy Newbill
Email: BoardDistrict1@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6382 (central office); (323) 298-3411 (field office)
District 2 includes Downtown, East L.A. (map)
Board member: Rocío Rivas
Email: rocio.rivas@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6020
District 3 includes West San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood (map)
Board member: Scott Schmerelson
Email: scott.schmerelson@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-8333
District 4 includes West Hollywood, some beach cities (map)
Board member: Nick Melvoin
Email: nick.melvoin@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6387
District 5 includes parts of Northeast and Southwest L.A. (map)
Board Member: Karla Griego
Email: district5@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-1000
District 6 includes East San Fernando Valley (map)
Board Member: Kelly Gonez
Email: kelly.gonez@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6388
District 7 includes South L.A. and parts of the South Bay (map)
Board Member: Tanya Ortiz Franklin
Email: tanya.franklin@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6385
Topline:
In case you haven’t heard, a 3-year-old, female gray wolf was found last week near Lancaster.
Experts say it's the first time we’ve seen one of these carnivores in L.A. County in a century.
A new campaign called 'Wolf Crossing' aims to keep her safe.
Wolf crossing? Paula Ficara and Steve Wastell, the founders of local wolf sanctuary Apex Protection Project, are encouraging people to post homemade "wolf crossing" signs at wildlife corridors, trailheads and other places where roads meet wild.
Road dangers: A male gray wolf, OR93, traveled as far down as Ventura County in 2021. But sadly, the wolf was hit by a vehicle and killed along Interstate 5 in Kern County.
How you can participate: Check out Apex Protection Project's Instagram to see what "wolf crossing" signs people are making. They are encouraging participants to post their signs on social media.
In case you haven’t heard, a 3-year-old, female gray wolf was found last week near Lancaster.
Experts say it's the first time we’ve seen one of these carnivores in L.A. County in a century.
The young gray wolf is officially tagged as BEY03F. But Paula Ficara, executive director of the Apex Protection Project, has a better name.
“Everyone has decided to call her bae, which is really cute because that’s her number: B-E-Y. So for Valentines she can be your Bae: B-A-E,” Ficara said with a chuckle.
Ficara’s nonprofit has the mission of protecting captive-born wolves and wolf dogs, as well as wolves in the wild. They have a sanctuary in Acton, where 23 wolves live.
She said people have had a lot of questions about BEY: Is she sick? Is she a lone wolf?
“The truth is that ... the wolves are coming down. They’re migrating naturally back to their original habitat. ... She’s a young adult and she’s decided to go off in the hopes of starting her own family,” Ficara said.
It’s not impossible but unlikely that she’ll find a mate this far south. Ficara said she’s likely to go back home to Northern California if she can’t spot a partner within a couple weeks or so.
Steve Wastell, Ficara’s husband of 30 years and director of operations at Apex, explained their biggest concern while the wolf is in L.A. County.
“The last wolf that came down, almost this far, on his way back up, ended up being hit by a car. So that’s one of the biggest things that could happen to her,” Wastell said.
A male gray wolf, OR93, traveled as far down as Ventura County in 2021. But sadly, the wolf was hit by a vehicle and killed along Interstate 5 in Kern County.
It's part of the reason why Ficara and Wastell started the "Wolf Crossing" campaign. They’re encouraging people to post homemade wolf crossing signs at wildlife corridors, trailheads and other places where roads meet wild.
“Obviously, not everyone is going to slow down on the highway. But just to bring a little more awareness that there may be a wolf crossing,” Wastell said.
One of their first wolf crossing participants? A group of school-age kids who stopped by the sanctuary recently to learn about wolves and make a sign of their own to post in their area.
“They had just met most of our wolves here, face to face. And they were super excited about protecting and super excited about this wolf being down here. So they were like, 'Yeah, let's do it!'” Wastell said.
Wastell and Ficara are encouraging everyone to make a sign and post to social media in the hopes it will make L.A. a little more hospitable for our visitor from the north.
