🌱 Patch AM: How wildfire rebuilding could reshape Altadena’s homes and neighborhood character

Hi there, Altadena! We've got your morning read ready! Read on to stay connected. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• How wildfire rebuilding could reshape Altadena’s homes and neighborhood character
• Altadena artist turns Eaton Fire loss into a powerful record of recovery
• How Newsom’s wildfire rebuilding push could affect recovering Altadena residents

Today's riddle: My dog used to chase people on a bike a lot. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Tuesday: Sunny, breezy and pleasant, with a high of 77 and low of 55 degrees.
• Wednesday: Very warm with plenty of sun, temps: high: 81, low: 54.
• Thursday: Sunny, nice and warm, with a high of 79 and low of 54 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Post-Fire Rebuilding in Los Angeles Highlights Shifts in Residential Design - ProgramBusiness (programbusiness.com) — Altadena neighborhoods rebuilding after last year’s wildfires are seeing new home designs that aim to boost fire safety while preserving the town’s Craftsman and Midcentury character. Local efforts include relocating older homes for restoration, pre-approved Altadena-style house plans, and a Habitat for Humanity project expected in early 2026, alongside broader Los Angeles experiments with modular, concrete, and steel construction.
   

2. Artist Documents Community After Eaton Fire Through Watercolor Paintings (theportlandmedium.com) — Altadena is marking one year since the Eaton Fire as longtime watercolorist Keni “Arts” Davis documents both the ruins and the rebirth of familiar neighborhood spots. After losing his own home and many paintings, he’s now focused on capturing the new Altadena emerging from reconstruction and helping neighbors rebuild, while his work has also drawn recognition from the California African American Museum.
   

3. Newsom touts California's progress in annual address (sacobserver.com) — Altadena is highlighted as one of the communities hardest hit by the 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires, including the Eaton Fire that damaged local homes and displaced residents. In his State of the State address, Gov. Gavin Newsom touted rebuilding efforts and proposed a new fund to help close the gap between insurance payouts and reconstruction costs, while also outlining broader statewide priorities on housing, climate, and homelessness.
   

4. One Year Later: Top 10 Lessons from the 2025 LA Wildfires (independent.org) — Altadena’s Eaton Fire is spotlighted as a preventable disaster tied to long-neglected power lines and broader policy failures, from utility regulation to zoning. The piece argues that mismanaged public lands, high taxes with poor services, strict environmental laws, and insurance rules all worsened wildfire risk and must be overhauled to protect communities like Altadena.
   

📸 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!

Tuesday January 13

• Vroman's Bookstore: Denise Nicholas discusses & signs Finding Home: A Memoir
  Vroman's Bookstore , 695 E. Colorado Blvd. , Pasadena
  7:00 pm
• Boston Court: NT Live: The Fifth Step
  Boston Court Pasadena , 70 N. Mentor Ave. , Pasadena
  7:00 pm
• The Mixx: Salsa Mixx
  The Mixx , 443 E. Colorado Blvd. , Pasadena
  8:00 pm

Wednesday January 14

• Boston Court: NTL: Mrs. Warren's Profession
  Boston Court Pasadena , 70 N. Mentor Ave. , Pasadena
  8:00 am
• Walk-In Tutoring With Bo-Gay
  Playa Vista Branch Library
  10:00 am
• Walk-In Tutoring With Pat
  Playa Vista Branch Library
  10:00 am
• Walk-In Tutoring With Margie
  Playa Vista Branch Library
  10:00 am
• Walk-In Tutoring With Cheri
  Playa Vista Branch Library
  10:00 am

📣 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

Tuesday January 13

• Walk-in Tutoring With Dennis
  Harbor City - Harbor Gateway Branch Library
  12:30 pm
• Vroman's Bookstore: Denise Nicholas discusses & signs Finding Home: A Memoir
  Vroman's Bookstore , 695 E. Colorado Blvd. , Pasadena
  7:00 pm
• Boston Court: NT Live: The Fifth Step
  Boston Court Pasadena , 70 N. Mentor Ave. , Pasadena
  7:00 pm
• The Mixx: Salsa Mixx
  The Mixx , 443 E. Colorado Blvd. , Pasadena
  8:00 pm

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
• Mindsee.it — (646) 663-8317
  Teach your kids they can achieve the impossible!

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

🪧 Patch Classifieds

• Lvg Rm Couch
  Cream colored, modern, 90-inch L, 36-inch D, cushions, arm covers. $200 money order. Call Tori 626-318-6988. (More info)

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• A Heartfelt Wish for My Neighbors in Altadena
  As I've been poppifying properties, I wrap up each one with a dash of lupine seeds, and as those get tossed across the property, I now mentally say: … (Nextdoor Janes Village)
• Firefighters report an exterior fire at an abandoned cocktail lounge on 11th Ave & Broadway in San Diego, with additional medical personnel en route and trash cans on fire discovered at the rear of the structure.
  12:44AM on Jan 12: Thirteen units are responding to a structure fire in Downtown. (Nextdoor )

• Super King Markets posted a job opening for Assistant Store Manager in Altadena. Apply here.
• Dunkin' posted a job opening for Team Member 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 took its bike away.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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