One attendee at a recent fire remembrance procession in Altadena told organizers it was the first time they had been able to cry since losing their house – an experience that felt like “a welcoming back home” after months of displacement. Another described the gathering as a rare source of “joy and hope” in a recovery landscape dominated by information sessions and protests, but offering few spaces for collective grief.
More than a year after Mena Liu fled her Pasadena apartment building as the Eaton Fire bore down, she knows she’s not fully recovered. She’s sad. She’s anxious. She still avoids driving past burned out lots in her neighborhood.
A broad coalition of Los Angeles business leaders, labor groups, housing advocates and nonprofits is urging city officials to overhaul Measure ULA rather than repeal it, warning that without swift reforms the voter-approved tax could collapse under mounting political and legal pressure.
Hundreds of Altadena residents — many still displaced by the Eaton Fire — gathered recently at the town’s third annual Earth Day to reconnect, reflect and recommit to rebuilding their community with intention.
Carmen Guatzozon has always loved art – doodling as a child, painting her mother’s favorite orchids in middle school. But as a self-described “antisocial” youth, she never imagined she would grow into a leader equipped with confidence, public speaking skills, community connections and enhanced artistic techniques to help paint a significant public mural in Los Angeles.
Satisfaction with quality of life among LA County residents has fallen to its lowest point in over a decade, according to the 11th annual UCLA Quality of Life Index. The results reflect mounting strain from housing costs, education concerns and worsening traffic, according to the survey.