Community Corner
🌱 Patch AM: Hear the latest award-winning podcast play recorded right in Altadena
You won't want to miss KW Pasadena Career DAY - KSCORE on the Altadena Patch calendar
What's up Altadena! Let's start this morning right by getting caught up on what's going on around town. Keep reading to stay in the loop. ☕️️
In today's newsletter:
- Hear the latest award-winning podcast play recorded right in Altadena
- How toxic is one Altadena family’s “surviving” Eaton Fire home?
- How an Altadena nonprofit turned “spicy” photos into wildfire relief
Also on today's calendar: A Christmas Carol and 5 more events.
Find out what's happening in Altadenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
📸 Have a great pic of holiday decorations from around Altadena? Post it to Altadena photos of the day! ☃️ 🟢-🟠-🟣-🔴-🟡-🔵 ☃️
Today's riddle: The doctor told me to drink carrot juice after a hot bath. - Did it help? 🤔 (Answer below!)
Find out what's happening in Altadenafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny and pleasant, with a high of 78 and low of 56 degrees.
- Thursday: Partly sunny and very warm, temps: high: 80, low: 54.
- Friday: Mostly sunny and pleasant, with a high of 75 and low of 51 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
1. Open-door Playhouse Will Release LATIN COMPOSITION As A Podcast Play (broadwayworld.com) — An Altadena-based recording studio is at the heart of Open-Door Playhouse’s latest audio drama, Latin Composition, debuting online December 17. Productions are recorded at The Oak House Studio in Altadena, where the nonprofit creates free, award-winning podcast plays and invites listener donations to support new work. 
2. For One Displaced Professor, Fire Research Is 'Cathartic' (insidehighered.com) — An Altadena family’s home, though still standing after January’s Eaton Fire, was left so contaminated with toxic ash and heavy metals that it’s likely uninhabitable, and they’re still battling insurance nearly a year later. Caltech stepped in with housing, mental health support, and research funding that let this Altadena-based professor study post-fire health risks and help guide community safety decisions.
3. AT&T Actress Milana Vayntrub Found An Unusual Way To Turn Risqué Photos Into Good Deeds (tvline.com) — An Altadena-based nonprofit, My Tribe Rise, received $350,000 from actress Milana Vayntrub’s unconventional online photo fundraiser to give direct grants to Los Angeles wildfire survivors. Her two 2025 campaigns together have generated more than $500,000 in relief, putting Altadena at the center of a creative new philanthropy model.
4. Los Angeles fires push insurers' disaster losses to $107 billion for 2025 (latimes.com subscription) — Massive January wildfires that tore through Pacific Palisades and Altadena generated about $40 billion in insured losses, making them the costliest wildfire event ever and a major driver of 2025’s $107 billion global disaster bill. For Altadena residents, the report underscores how vulnerable local neighborhoods are to extreme fire risk and how insurance markets are being reshaped by climate-fueled disasters.
📸 Around Altadena
Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!
🗓 Upcoming Events in Altadena
Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!
★ Featured events ★
- KW Pasadena Career DAY - KSCORE
Keller Williams Pasadena, 199 S Los Robles Ave Suite#130, Pasadena
11:00 am
Thursday December 18
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
- A Christmas Carol
A Noise Within Theatre , 3352 E Foothill Blvd , Pasadena
11:00 am - Dungeons and Dragons for High School
Playa Vista Branch Library
4:00 pm - December Monthly Meetup
Chao Doi Thai Restaurant , 680 N Los Robles Ave , Pasadena
6:30 pm - English Conversation With Ronnie
Playa Vista Branch Library
10:00 am - Bleep Comedy at Ice House Comedy Club - California Room
The Ice House , 24 N Mentor Ave , Pasadena
7:45 pm - Cinderella Story
Altadena Library , 600 E Mariposa St , Altadena
11:00 am - Knitting and Crochet Club
Harbor Gateway Branch Library Harbor City -
1:00 pm
Thursday December 18
Friday December 19
Saturday December 20
📣 Altadena Shout Outs!
Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!
🗓 Events Nearby
- Computer Classes
Harbor Gateway Branch Library Harbor City -
3:00 pm - Jumpin Joz at Edwin Mills in Pasadena - FREE - Wednesday 12/17 from 6-10pm
Edwin Mills by Equator , 22 Mills Pl , Pasadena
6:00 pm - Nurse John at Ice House Comedy Club
The Ice House , 24 N Mentor Ave , Pasadena
8:00 pm - Dungeons and Dragons for High School
Playa Vista Branch Library
4:00 pm
Wednesday December 17
Thursday December 18
Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.
Thank you 👏👏👏 to the local businesses for making Altadena PatchAM possible:
- LA Fire Justice — (626) 684-3315
Holding Southern California Edison Accountable
Click here to show your appreciation! 💚
Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.
💬 Chatter
What your neighbors are talking about on social media
- Rubio’s Ready - Altadena’s Stalwart Bear Now Sporting Holiday Hat!
It’s been a mostly-horrible year for so many of us, but Rubio the Bear has stood by us, incredibly enough unscathed by the fire. Now, he’s ready for… (Nextdoor Janes Village)
- Pacific Oaks College posted a job opening for Adjunct Professor - Human Development (HD) in Pasadena. Apply here.
- Casper Sleep, Inc. posted a job opening for Part Time Retail Sales Associate - S Lake Ave - Pasadena, CA in Pasadena. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Altadena here.
Ok Altadena! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don’t know. I can never finish drinking the hot bath!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!
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