🌱 Patch AM: How PCC students are beating UCLA’s daunting 9.5% admit rate

Hi Pasadena! We have the latest buzz right here. Let's keep you in the loop and get this morning started right! ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• How PCC students are beating UCLA's daunting 9.5% admit rate
• How a Pasadena teen outperformed NASA with a homemade AI

Also on today's calendar: Singer-Songwriter Sarah McQuaid and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What has a cap but no head? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Saturday: Near-record temperatures, with a high of 103 and low of 75 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
• Sunday: Very hot, temps: high: 103, low: 75.
• Monday: Very hot, with a high of 101 and low of 75 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Pasadena Community College beats every other transfer pipeline in California (localnewspasadena.com) — Pasadena City College is celebrating a decade of its transfer partnership with UCLA, which has helped more than a thousand students move on to four-year degrees. Local leaders praised PCC's success, noting partnership students enjoy a dramatically higher UCLA admit rate than average. Alumni stories highlighted how the program changes academic and career paths for Pasadena-area students.
   

• A High Schooler Taught an AI to Find 1.5 Million Things NASA's Own Scientists Missed (medium.com) — A Pasadena High School student, Matteo Paz, used AI to sift through NASA's NEOWISE data and uncover about 1.5 million previously unidentified astronomical objects. Working with Caltech mentors, he turned a summer project into published research, national awards, and a paid research role. His work shows how local students can contribute to cutting-edge space science from right here in Pasadena.
   

📸 Around Pasadena

Subscribe

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 Pasadena

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Sunday October 4
• Los Angeles CHOCOLATE SALON and FESTIVAL 2026 →
  Pasadena Center, 300 E Green Street, Pasadena
  10:00 am

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Saturday October 3
• Singer-Songwriter Sarah McQuaid →
  Knox Presbyterian Church, 225 S Hill Ave, Pasadena
  7:30 pm
Sunday October 4
• Earth School of Craft and Ecology →
  Arlington Garden in Pasadena, 275 Arlington Drive, Pasadena
  10:00 am
• Reese's Book Club: Big Little Truths →
  2057 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena
  11:00 am
• Pasadena at Alice's Dog Park →
  Alice's Dog Park, 3026 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena
  12:00 pm
• Croquet For Everyone →
  Robinson Park Recreation Center, 1081 N Fair Oaks Ave, Pasadena
  1:08 pm
• PCO Chamber Music Recital →
  Barrett Hall, Pasadena Conservatory of Music, 100 North Hill Avenue, Pasadena
  3:00 pm
Friday October 9
• Art Market →
  ArtCenter South Campus 950 Building, 950 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena
  6:00 pm
Saturday October 10
• Young & Healthy Pickleball Palooza →
  Arcadia County Park, 405 S Santa Anita Ave, Arcadia
  11:30 am
Monday October 12
• Monday Motivation: FREE Beginner Gracie Combatives Class 🥋 Pasadena →
  75 W Walnut St, Pasadena
  7:30 pm
Sunday October 18
• Free Women's Self-Defense Seminar in Pasadena | No Experience Needed →
  Gracie Jiu Jitsu Pasadena, 75 W Walnut St, Pasadena
  1:00 pm
Tuesday October 20
• Pasadena Professionals: Reset Your Lunch Break with 2 Jiu-Jitsu Classes for $20 →
  Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Pasadena, 75 W Walnut St, Pasadena
  12:00 pm

📣 Pasadena Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

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 Pasadena PatchAM possible:

• The Gooden School — (626) 355-2410

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

• Long term foster or forever home wanted for this gorgeous girl!
  She was saved from euthanasia at the last minute from the San Bernardino shelter, and is now searching for a loving family who will give her the life… (Nextdoor Southeast Pasadena)
• Available for adoption or foster.
  Female tortoiseshell kitten born on June 8th. She was in bad shape in the first few months of her life but she was nursed back to health and ready… (Nextdoor Caltech)

• J&J Family of Companies posted a job opening for Field Reimbursement Manager, Neuroscience (Los Angeles, CA) Patient Engagement & Customer Solutions (PECS) in Pasadena. Apply here.
• CVS Health posted a job opening for Store Manager in Training in Pasadena. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Pasadena here.

🗞 Nearby News

Altadena

• Altadena's Christmas Tree Lane lighting ceremony set for Dec. 5 (pasadenastarnews.com)
• New California law to prevent overdevelopment in Altadena as rebuilding continues (cbsnews.com)
• Rebuilding after the Eaton Fire: 3D-printed home in Altadena completes concrete printing phase (pasadenaweekly.com)

San Marino

• Girls' Volleyball: South Pasadena Edges San Marino in Dig Pink Matchup (outlooknewspapers.com)

Ok Pasadena! 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: "What has a cap but no head?" — A bottle (Thank you Glo M. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

👉 Help make Patch AM better

• Help us grow by suggesting local news sources.
• Shape this newsletter with your feedback.
• List items for sale or services offered

We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what's happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

Share to NextDoor     Share to Facebook