All posts tagged: Altadena

Rebuilding permits in Altadena have picked up, but construction lags and financial woes loom

Rebuilding permits in Altadena have picked up, but construction lags and financial woes loom

Published by Sam Flores

A few weeks after the first anniversary of the Eaton fire, the number of homeowners who neither put up their home for sale nor moved toward rebuilding has dropped to fewer than half, as more have taken some action toward recovery, according to data released Thursday by UCLA’s Latino Policy & Politics Institute. That total is a significant drop from where it was last summer, seven months after the fire destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena and surrounding neighborhoods, when about 70% of homeowners who suffered severe fire damage had neither put their property up for sale nor made a move toward rebuilding. Though it’s the latest sign of progress in the Eaton fire’s aftermath, researchers say that recovery remains far from settled for most fire survivors, even if they’ve started on a path to rebuilding. The data show that there has been a new wave of people starting and advancing through the permitting process, but a widening lag after that point because of, among other reasons, financing. About 44% of homeowners have fully approved …

For Altadena families trying to rebuild, 5 months is average time to get permits

For Altadena families trying to rebuild, 5 months is average time to get permits

Published by Sam Flores

Among the many things Beatriz Coca did not know about building a house — and only learned as workers were laying rebar in her future basement — is that she would need a temporary power pole installed before the next phase of construction could begin. Coca was one of the dozens of applicants who drop in daily to Los Angeles County’s One-Stop Permit Center for Eaton fire rebuilding. Her mission on a recent day was to pay Southern California Edison the $425 power pole fee. Mixing with the contractors, architects and expediters who normally frequent building offices, novices like Coca, a retired psychologist, are showing up at the center to run errands for their builders, pursue their own applications or just try to understand the many roadblocks in their path to recovery. The first thing they are likely to learn is that nothing moves at a speedy pace. A Times analysis of Los Angeles County building permit records shows two distinct realities: Interest in rebuilding is high and progress is slow. At the end of …

Restaurants to support as Altadena rebuilds after the Eaton fire

Restaurants to support as Altadena rebuilds after the Eaton fire

Published by Sam Flores

The torta Chingona at Tacos Don Pillo is a beast of a sandwich, a tower of asada steak, jamon asado, tomato, onion, jalapeno, avocado and big slabs of salty, squeaky queso fresco. It’s enough to share, or satiate in a way that requires a nap shortly after. It is the star of the Tacos Don Pillo menu, an expansive list of tacos, quesadillas, burritos, salads, nachos and mulitas. Some days require the heft of the torta Chingona, others lean toward the tacos camarones. The trio of corn tortillas barely contain the plump, grilled shrimp, sweet and smoky grilled onions and slivers of avocado. Expect a perpetual line anywhere near an established meal time, but things move quickly. Show more Show less Source link

A mural of Altadena at Sidecca clothing shop symbolizes hope

A mural of Altadena at Sidecca clothing shop symbolizes hope

Published by Sam Flores

Every time Adriana Molina drives up Lake Avenue to her retro-style women’s clothing shop Sidecca in Altadena, she sees the new outdoor mural she commissioned for the store by muralist and illustrator Annie Bolding. It gives her hope. “I’m here to stay, and this mural solidified my decision to reopen my business,” said Molina on a recent winter day, sitting next to Bolding inside the boutique. “I grew up in Altadena. The community has motivated me this whole time, and I want them to drive by this mural and smile.” “ALTADENA.” The word — in big white letters, set against layers of blue — appears toward the top of the mural, on the store’s brick wall facing Lake. Above are the San Gabriel Mountains, painted a deep brown, California poppies and Mariposa Street and Lake Avenue street signs. Below are green grass, a monarch butterfly and Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane. A bright blue house is on a multicolored striped path in the middle of the mural. Next to it, on a hiking trail, a sign …

10 Black-owned restaurants to support in Pasadena and Altadena

10 Black-owned restaurants to support in Pasadena and Altadena

Published by Sam Flores

I’ve never lived in Pasadena, but the city that sits below the San Gabriel Mountains in northeast L.A. has always felt like home. As a kid, I’d run into my aunt’s neighbors and coworkers while shopping with my mom on Lake Avenue. I knew to expect a wait at now-closed Roscoe’s Chicken ’n Waffles after my cousin’s Sunday dance recitals. Years later, when I worked at an office off Fair Oaks Avenue, I’d pass my lunch breaks by walking around the neighborhood and admiring the Craftsman homes. It turns out, many Black Southern Californians have a similar relationship to Pasadena and Altadena, its neighboring hillside community that suffered tremendous losses in the Eaton fire. After the fire, restaurateur Greg Dulan of Dulan’s on Crenshaw spent months offering free meals to residents in collaboration with World Central Kitchen. Like me, he had fond childhood memories of traveling there from his South L.A. neighborhood to visit relatives. A year later, the Pasadena-Altadena area is still recovering, with grassroots efforts led by longtime locals and business owners, including …

In fire-scarred Altadena, displaced congregations remain ‘in the wilderness’

In fire-scarred Altadena, displaced congregations remain ‘in the wilderness’

Published by Sam Flores

LOS ANGELES (RNS) — To drive the streets of Altadena now, a little over a year after the Eaton Fire, is to be confronted by acres of dirt — and greenery. The last of the charred debris was removed in August, and thanks to record-breaking winter rainfall, weeds and wild grasses have claimed many of the cleared lots.  The Eaton Fire was among the most devastating fires in California history, killing 19 people and destroying more than 9,400 structures in this racially and economically diverse suburb of Los Angeles. More than a dozen of those buildings were houses of worship — like Masjid Al-Taqwa, Altadena’s first mosque. Jihad Abdus-Shakoor, whose parents helped found Masjid Al-Taqwa in the 1970s, spent much of his life within its walls. Today, all that remains of the mosque are its parking lot and street sign.  Abdus-Shakoor feels some relief at seeing rubble removed, but seeing the empty land is also “another blow,” he said. “You’re glad the city is cleaned up, but the finality of looking at dirt is a …

On fire anniversary, Palisades and Altadena residents mourn and protest

On fire anniversary, Palisades and Altadena residents mourn and protest

Published by Sam Flores

One year after two of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history erupted just hours apart, survivors commemorated the day in Altadena and Pacific Palisades with a mixture of anger and somber remembrance. At the American Legion veterans post in the Palisades, hundreds gathered at a military-style white-glove ceremony to pay respects to the 12 families who lost loved ones in the Palisades fire. Just down the street, an even larger crowd shouted the rally cry “They let us burn,” to demand comprehensive disaster planning, relief for families working to rebuild and accountability for government missteps that they say enabled the disaster and have slowed the recovery. Share via Close extra sharing options In Altadena, survivors congregated at the Eaton Fire Collaborative’s community center with a clear message: They are not backing down in the fight to return home. “This year has been the hardest year of our lives,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivor Network. “Unimaginable grief. The 31 people who died that day, and the hundreds who have died …