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VOL. 14,
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Altadena residents group slams state legislation on fire recovery By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com
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tate legislation aimed at expediting wildfire recovery has drawn support from Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles county officials, but a group of Altadena residents blasted the recently signed Senate Bill 782. The bill, which Newsom signed Oct. 10, allows cities and counties to create “disaster recovery financing districts” designed to raise and reinvest revenue directly into impacted neighborhoods, hastening recovery by eliminating long delays associated with other state funding sources, according to LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes fire-ravaged Altadena. “This bill was passed without community input, rushed through under the label of an ‘emergency,’ and it strips away our right to protest,” Shawna Dawson Beer from the group Beautiful Altadena said in a statement. “The Enhanced Infrastruc-
From left: Judy Matthew, Altadena Chamber of Commerce president; Christy Zamani, executive director of Day One; Gov. Gavin Newsom; Nic Arnzen, Altadena Town Council vice chair; state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena; Victoria Knapp, town council chair; event planner Jill Hawkins; and Supervisor Kathryn Barger. | Photo courtesy of Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office
ture Financing District (EIFD) is a tool the County already has access to under existing law. The only difference this bill makes is removing public protections — why?” Beer, a longtime community organizer who lost her
home located west of Lake Avenue, added, “Our town of 43,000 lost 9,000 homes and businesses. We are a community still in recovery. And we are a community that has been fighting years of County mismanagement, lack of
accountability, and neglect — most painfully seen in the total absence of a functional emergency plan during the Eaton fire. Now they want to silence us entirely while taking even more control.” According to Barger’s
office, SB 782 streamlines procedural steps that often slow disaster recovery efforts, making it easier for local governments to form infra-
structure financing districts and start work quickly. An EIFD enables local agencies to share incremental tax revenue more easily and fasttrack key planning steps. Money generated through disaster recovery districts must be spent within the affected area for repairing and replacing damaged housing and infrastructure, hardening buildings and landscapes against fire risk, supporting economic recovery and investing in “resilience upgrades” to better protect communities in the future, county officials said. Altadena Beautiful members said SB 782 “removes the public’s right to protest, and expands the district 120% beyond the fire zone — potentially including wealthier neighboring towns like La Cañada.” The group also observed that state law allows developers to split and build upon
See Fire recovery Page 24
5 ways the Department of Education is upending public schools By Megan O’Matz and Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
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n just over eight months, the second Trump administration has made a rapid succession of political hires and policy decisions at the U.S. Department of Education that could spur profound changes in the way schools are operated and children learn. After years of advocating to expand private and religious education and home-
schooling, using tax dollars, a cadre of conservative activists is in a position to push forward its agenda. Some of its policies are already undermining public schools, which it has denigrated as unsuccessful and out of step with Christian values, a ProPublica investigation found. In many communities, public schools are valued hubs for community life and
services, including meals, socializing and counseling. More than 80% of students are enrolled in traditional public schools, which must serve all children, including those with disabilities. The administration, however, views public schools as a monopoly that should be broken up. “Millions of young Americans are trapped in failing schools, subjected to radical
anti-American ideology,” Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon claimed immediately after taking office. She and others in the administration believe that progressive activists have led schools to focus too much on “woke” policies rather than on rigorous academic standards. Agency officials and spokespeople declined to
speak to ProPublica. Here are five ways the Education Department under McMahon is creating profound change in public schools. 1. Encouraging an exodus McMahon and President Donald Trump want to expand tax-funded school choice options, giving more See Public schools Page 03
families the financial means to leave public schools. Trump pushed Congress to pass, and signed into law, a new federal tax credit to finance the first national school voucher program, set to open to families on Jan. 1, 2027. The Education Department has also encouraged