Community Corner
🌱 Patch AM: Medical examiner details fatal Altadena crash that killed Vince Zampella
Spotted on the Altadena calendar: Our Name Is Jonas Weezer Tribute
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:
- Medical examiner details fatal Altadena crash that killed Vince Zampella
- How free wildfire financial clinics in Altadena just won a national award
- How 1,253 GoFundMe pleas reveal Altadena's long road to recovery
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!)
- Thursday: Partly sunny and hot, with a high of 99 and low of 76 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
- Friday: Mostly sunny and hot, temps: high: 98, low: 73.
- Saturday: Warm with plenty of sunshine, with a high of 94 and low of 69 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
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.
📸 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 ★
- Our Name Is Jonas Weezer Tribute →
The Buccaneer, 70 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre
8:30 pm
Saturday August 29
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
- Movie Night @ Memorial Park
Sierra Madre Elementary School Pasadena, CA 91101
6:30 pm - Guns N Roses →
Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Dr, Pasadena
6:25 pm
Friday August 28
Saturday September 5
📣 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
- FB JV @ Santa Monica
La Canada High La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
4:00 pm - FB: Freshman vs Santa Monica
La Canada High La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
4:00 pm - Back to School Night
Huntington Middle San Marino, CA 91108
5:00 pm - Back To School Night (1, 3, 5)
Paradise Canyon Elementary La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
6:30 pm - Minimum Day
Huntington Middle San Marino, CA 91108
8:00 am - Chats and Snacks with A Housing Counselor
City of Pasedena NW Programs Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena, CA, 91103, United States
11:00 am - Water Polo Kick Off Event
San Marino High San Marino, CA 91108
5:00 pm - Movie Night @ Memorial Park
Sierra Madre Elementary School Pasadena, CA 91101
6:30 pm - FB v. Santa Monica
La Canada High LCHS Stadium
7:00 pm - Jay Badlani →
The Ice House, 24 N Mentor Ave, Pasadena
7:30 pm
Thursday August 27
Friday August 28
Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.
Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Altadena PatchAM possible:
- UCI DBA Unified Technology Advisors — (877) 824-8880
- Sunlight Media LLC — (323) 868-3581
- royal home construction and remodeling — (213) 662-5134
- The Gooden School — 6263552410
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
- Super King Markets posted a job opening for Grocery Clerk in Altadena. Apply here.
- Wedbush Securities, Inc. posted a job opening for Assistant Vice President, Threat Operations 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: A jeweler sells watches and a jailer watches cells. (Thank you Jean D. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!
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