Good morning to you Altadena! Catch up on our news and events right here. Keep reading to stay in the know. ☕️️
In today's newsletter:
Also on today's calendar: Our Name Is Jonas Weezer Tribute.
Today's riddle: What is the difference between a jeweler and a jailer? 🤔 (Answer below!)
1. 'Call of Duty' Creator Vince Zampella Was Sober During Fatal Car Crash (tmz.com) — A high-speed December 2025 crash on Angeles Crest Highway in Altadena killed game developer Vince Zampella when his sports car hit a barrier and burst into flames. A newly released medical examiner's report confirms he was sober and died from smoke inhalation, burns, and trauma despite bystanders' efforts to pull him from the wreckage.
2. FPA Power Of Financial Planning Awardees Named (fa-mag.com) — Altadena residents affected by the 2025 wildfires recently benefited from free Wildfire Recovery Financial Decision-Making Clinics hosted locally by the Financial Planning Association of Los Angeles. Those clinics, which offered legal, housing, tax and mental health support plus personalized action plans, helped earn the chapter a national Power of Financial Planning Award recognizing its pro bono service to fire survivors.
3. What it takes to recover? (ucla.edu) — Altadena households' struggles to rebuild after the 2025 Eaton Fire are laid bare through 1,253 GoFundMe campaigns, revealing deep gaps in insurance, FEMA aid, housing, and mental health support. The report highlights especially severe impacts on Black homeowners and tenants and urges Los Angeles County and California to create faster, more equitable, and better coordinated recovery systems for future disasters.
4. Sacramento Bee – CA Senate issues its own utility wildfire proposal, sets up late negotiations (consumerwatchdog.org) — State lawmakers are negotiating how utilities will pay for wildfire damage, and Altadena's Eaton Fire survivors are at the center of the debate. Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, whose district includes Altadena, is backing proposals that reject Governor Newsom's bid to limit some compensation, while residents who lost homes press in Sacramento for stronger rights to sue Southern California Edison.
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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: A jeweler sells watches and a jailer watches cells. (Thank you Jean D. for sending it in!)
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