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Arts & Entertainment

Deborah Lindquist offers mentorship and online courses to aspiring designers, artisans, and anyone interested in eco-conscious fashion.

Lisa Pellegrene, Community Contributor

Deborah Lindquist, a classically trained fashion designer, launched her first brand in 1983. Inspired by her grandmother, a master seamstress, Lindquist's passion for eco-conscious clothing has shaped her career. Lindquist’s designs were featured on a segment of KTLA, Channel 5 last year, to include her sustainable and stylish parachute skirts, and upcycled jackets in August 2024; alongside Project ReWear, a sustainable kids’ wear studio in Thousand Oaks. She continues to inspire through her eco-fashion designs, and mentors those in the fashion industry as well.

Early Influences and Education Deborah Lindquist's journey began at the age of five, sewing on her mother's treadle machine. Growing up surrounded by nature, she developed a deep appreciation for the environment. Lindquist honed her skills in various crafts, including sewing, crochet, and embroidery. Her grandmother Ida, a skilled seamstress, provided mentorship and gifted her a sewing machine. Lindquist’s early exposure to sewing and her grandmother’s invaluable guidance instilled in her a profound respect for craftsmanship and resourcefulness. Lindquist pursued fashion design at the University of Minnesota and Parsons School of Design in NYC. Her experiences working for designer brands further fueled her passion for sustainable fashion. This formal education, coupled with her hands-on experience in the industry, solidified her commitment to creating clothing that is both stylish and environmentally responsible.

A Unique Design Philosophy Lindquist's design philosophy blends edginess with femininity, emphasizing well-made and flattering clothing. Her early years in New York City exposed her to the vibrant thrift store scene, where she discovered unique pieces that inspired her creative process. Lindquist’s ability to find beauty in unexpected places and transform discarded materials into wearable art is a testament to her ingenuity and artistic vision.

The Birth of a Brand In the 1980s, Lindquist launched her brand with a single belt made from vintage materials. This marked the beginning of her commitment to upcycling and using eco-conscious materials. Her innovative designs quickly gained recognition, leading her to expand into clothing. Lindquist’s pioneering spirit and dedication to sustainability set her apart in the fashion industry, paving the way for a new era of eco-conscious design.

A Resourceful Pivot Facing challenges in the competitive fashion industry, Lindquist made a resourceful pivot. She began creating one-of-a-kind jackets from vintage curtains, which became a hit among fashion-forward individuals and boutiques. This bold move showcased her ability to adapt and innovate, turning adversity into opportunity. To this day, she is creating unique one-of-a-kind jackets with upcycled vintage textiles.

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Empowering Artisans Through Mentorship and Coursework Lindquist's dedication to sustainability extends beyond her designs. She offers mentorship and online courses to aspiring designers, artisans, and anyone interested in eco-conscious fashion. Her courses cover topics like eco-design, fabric embellishment, and ethical business practices. Lindquist’s commitment to sharing her knowledge and empowering others is a testament to her belief in the power of collaboration and education.

Impact and Inspiration Lindquist's influence has resonated with students worldwide. Through her mentorship and courses, she has inspired a new generation of designers to embrace sustainable practices.

Deborah Lindquist’s online course information may be found here: Introduction to Eco Design and Fashion Embellishment Online, to include the extended nine-week program with mentorship, specifically "Creating Eco Conscious Fashion with Mentorship." Those interested in participating may sign up here via her website www.creatingecoconsciousfashion.com.

Through both programs Lindquist has received inspiring feedback where students have conveyed discovering the transformative power of upcycling and the inherent beauty of eco-conscious materials like organic bamboo silk, stating, “Deborah’s influence extends far beyond the studio walls. She has forever altered my perspective on retail, reshaping not only how I shop but how I live each day.” Lindquist’s courses not only provide students with practical skills, but her coursework and mentorship also inspire them to embrace a more sustainable and mindful approach to fashion, while fostering ingenuity and creativity.

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Los Angeles, CA (February 1, 2025) – Emergency responders were called to a crash with reported injuries at the intersection of W 85th St and S Normandie Ave on Thursday afternoon.

According to reports, a 911 caller alerted authorities to the incident just before 12:50 p.m. Los Angeles Fire and Rescue teams responded promptly, arriving at the scene to assist those involved. Details regarding the number of vehicles involved and the severity of injuries have not been confirmed at this time.

Firefighters and paramedics worked to assess and provide medical aid to the individuals hurt in the crash. Some victims were treated at the scene, while others may have required transportation to a local hospital for further care.

Authorities have not released additional information regarding the circumstances leading up to the accident. Local law enforcement is investigating the cause of the crash, and traffic in the area was temporarily impacted while crews worked to clear the scene.

Our thoughts are with those affected by this incident, and we hope for a swift recovery for all injured parties.

Car Accidents in California

Car accidents occur frequently on California roads, often resulting in injuries and significant traffic disruptions. Los Angeles, in particular, sees a high number of collisions due to its dense population and heavy traffic conditions. Intersections like W 85th St and S Normandie Ave can be hotspots for accidents, as they involve multiple lanes of traffic and pedestrian crossings.

Common causes of car accidents in California include distracted driving, speeding, failure to yield, and impaired driving. In many cases, victims suffer from injuries ranging from minor bruises to more severe conditions such as fractures, head trauma, or internal injuries. Seeking medical attention immediately after a crash is crucial to ensure proper treatment and documentation of injuries.

Those involved in an accident should also consider their legal options. In California, injured victims have the right to pursue compensation for their medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering if another driver’s negligence caused the crash. Consulting with a professional familiar with personal injury claims can help individuals navigate the complexities of insurance claims and legal proceedings.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a car accident, you may have legal options available. For more information or to receive assistance after a crash, contact Local Accident Reports.

What you need to know: Governor Newsom issued an executive order to maximize the capture and storage of additional water from upcoming storms in Northern California.

SACRAMENTO — In anticipation of a multi-day, significant atmospheric river in Northern California, Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an executive order that would make it easier to divert and store excess water from incoming winter storms. The Governor signed the order after he received a briefing on the latest forecast for the storm.

The executive order also directs the Department of Water Resources and other state agencies to take action to maximize diversion of those excess flows to boost the state’s water storage in Northern California, including storage in San Luis Reservoir south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. These actions will help California replenish above-ground and groundwater storage that remains depleted in many parts of the state following multi-year droughts.

“It is more important than ever that we maximize every opportunity to recharge our groundwater supplies. As we anticipate rain and snow in Northern California, we are also preparing to use every last drop to boost our water supply for communities and farms throughout the state. By storing these stormwaters, we are creating a literal rainy day fund to help us recover from a multi-year drought and prepare for our hotter, drier future.”

Governor Gavin Newsom

Read the executive order

Leveraging storms to capture more water

The National Weather Service is forecasting a moderate to strong atmospheric river to begin Friday and continue into next week. Prolonged periods of rain and mountain snow are expected, with the potential for flash flooding and rising creeks, rivers, and streams.

Recent above-average water years in 2023 and 2024 helped replenish the state’s reservoirs, but multi-year drought conditions continue to have significant impacts on communities with vulnerable water supplies, agriculture, and the environment. The latest science indicates that hotter and drier weather conditions could reduce California’s water supply by up to 10% by the year 2040. The frequency of extreme weather, including wildfires, in California demonstrates the need to continually adapt to promote resiliency in a changing climate. And today, the Department of Water Resources conducted the second snow survey of the season, which showed a snowpack well below average.

Governor Newsom is taking action now to ready the state and maximize the use of anticipated stormwater flows to help continue to boost the state water supply. Today’s executive order:

Ensures the Department of Water Resources and other state agencies are taking full advantage of upcoming winter storms. Although reservoirs in Southern regions remain at historic capacity levels, this action allows for more water to be stored in other reservoirs statewide and helps replenish aquifers for water use.

More groundwater, more water storage

California has invested more than $9 billion to boost California’s water supplies over the past three years, taking aggressive action to prepare for the impacts of climate-driven extremes in weather on the state’s water supplies. In 2024, for the first time since 2019, California’s groundwater storage increased – a direct result of state and local actions to capture and store more water underground during last year’s historic wet season.

Today’s announcement continues the effective work of prior years. Since 2019, the Governor has allocated $1.6 billion for flood preparedness and response, part of the historic $7.3 billion investment package and to strengthen California’s water resilience. During previous wet seasons, Governor Gavin Newsom and the state have taken strong action to help local communities, expanding groundwater recharge by 1.6 million acre-feet through:

Preparing the state for storms

Governor Newsom is deploying resources and thousands of personnel to communities throughout Northern California in anticipation of the storm system.

Newly deployed resources include swift water rescue crews and fire engines in El Dorado County and Nevada County, as well as fire engines in Glenn County, added overnight. More resources will be deployed to further help protect communities.

Yesterday, Governor Newsom directed the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to coordinate state and local partners to deploy emergency resources to support impacted communities. State officials are urging people to take precautions now before the storm arrives, and to stay informed.

Go to ready.ca.gov for tips to prepare for the incoming storm.

Jan. 31, 2025 Updated 2:35 PM PT

After an extraordinarily dry start to the year, three atmospheric river storms are expected to hit California over the next week — with one of them potentially bringing much-needed moisture to the still-withered Southland while packing a more powerful and prolonged punch up north.

The latest forecasting models are predicting rain totals will generally not exceed 1½ inches for much of Los Angeles County, though some areas could see considerably less. Such a soaking would benefit vegetation parched by a historically dry start to the water year and has the potential to finally end one of Southern California’s most destructive wildfire seasons.

This storm coupled with the last — which dropped a half an inch to 1½ inches across the L.A. Basin last weekend — could near a total above 2 inches of rain for the season. Experts say it will take 2 to 4 inches over the region to comfortably consider the wildfire season over.

“It could get us close to that,” said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. “There’s still somewhat of a range of outcomes [for rain totals]. ... It might not be widespread enough.”

Though that last storm, L.A.’s first major rainfall of the season, did ease some immediate fire threats, it didn’t quite pack the punch to finally mitigate lingering wildfire concerns. Downtown Los Angeles received a total of 0.54 of an inch of rain during that storm.

That rainfall also didn’t make a dent in worsening drought conditions across Southern California, which have only intensified over the last few weeks, according to the latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

At the end of December, much of Southern California had swung toward drought conditions for the first time in years, but the last few weeks have elevated those concerns, with much of L.A. County now considered in “severe” or “extreme” drought conditions. The only category worse is “exceptional” drought.

The state’s latest snow survey on Friday also found that the state’s snowpack has fallen well below average for this time of year, after a relatively dry January statewide.

Though the conditions may be concerning — drought monitor officials note that the area is seeing “significant short-term drought” that has intensified without considerable rainfall — the previous two wet years mean that the region’s water systems are not yet strained.

And these latest measurements are also nowhere near as dire as they were during the years-long drought that stretched through much of the early 2010s. In January 2015, almost the entire state was considered in extreme or exceptional drought; currently, just 11% of California has reached those levels.

However, the U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday did show drought conditions have extended into much of Central California and across the state’s major agricultural valleys, where “the water year has continued to be drier than normal,” the latest analysis said.

There’s a chance next week’s storms could help.

Moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast in Los Angeles and Ventura counties from Tuesday through Thursday, according to the weather service office. It could rain for many hours each day, with the highest chance of precipitation between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon.

Lewis said rainfall will stem from one of the atmospheric river storms that will more directly, with more intensity and moisture, hit the northern half of the state. The Southland will get only the remnants of that system as it lingers south.

“We’re on the edge of it,” he said.

However, forecasters warned that these rains could bring a minor-to-moderate risk for debris flows and mudslides in some of the recent burned areas, such as around the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County — a concern that was mostly alleviated during last weekend’s winter storm.

The wildfires have made soils repellent to water, and during heavy rains, water can easily flow across burn scars and pick up rocks, branches and sometimes massive boulders, sending debris flowing downhill quickly — with destructive and deadly consequences.

“There is some risk … there is likely to be a good amount of areas that will see periods of [rain falling at a rate of] a half inch an hour, and that is the threshold for debris flows,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Oxnard. “So we may see some impacts with this storm.”

Under the most likely scenario, L.A. and Ventura counties could see half an inch to 1.5 inches of rain from Tuesday to Thursday.

But there’s also a worst-case scenario, where downtown L.A., Long Beach and Redondo Beach could get more than 1.6 inches of rain, and Santa Clarita more than 1.8 inches, Santa Barbara more than 3 inches and Cambria nearly 4 inches.

But with the storm still far enough out, there’s also an underperforming scenario, where downtown L.A. could get one-third of an inch of rain. Both the worst-case and “low amount” scenarios have a 10% to 20% chance of occurring, forecasters said Friday.

The chance of rain is lower in the Inland Empire and San Diego and Orange counties. The National Weather Service said there was a slight chance of rain in that region on Tuesday and also on Wednesday.

There are chances of light rain in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties from Friday night through Monday. From Tuesday through Thursday, those counties have a 30% chance of high amounts of rain, and a 50% chance of moderate rainfall.

Wide swaths of Southern California have seen only one significant rainstorm in more than eight months — producing for many areas a record dry start to the water year, which began Oct. 1. In the lead-up to the Palisades and Eaton fires this month, the intense dryness kept vegetation tinder dry — a recipe for disaster when combined with strong Santa Ana winds and an ignition source.

Northern California did have a wet start to the rainy season but also experienced a dry January. After the area enjoyed robust rain in November and December, when precipitation in the Sierra Nevada was above average, precipitation there is now merely average.

The northern Sierra, for instance, has had 26.5 inches of cumulative precipitation. That’s 98% of the average for this date, but it’s the first time in months the region has dipped below 100%. The northern Sierra is a key piece of the state’s water supply, which relies on a natural reservoir of snow and ice in the mountains that slowly melts to refill reservoirs in the spring, summer and fall.

January is not quite over yet, but so far, downtown San Francisco has endured its third-driest January on record, with just 0.19 of an inch of rain so far this month, according to Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Monterey. That’s just 4% of the city’s average January rainfall of 4.4 inches.

But that dry spell looks set to end — and not with a whimper.

Northern California is primed to get three atmospheric river storms, according to Courtney Carpenter, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Sacramento office. Atmospheric river storms are long plumes of water vapor that can pour over from the Pacific Ocean into California. They carry so much water that they’re said to be like a river in the sky. Just a few atmospheric river events can bring California from one-third to one-half of its annual precipitation.

The first storm for Northern California started arriving Friday and could last through Sunday, with a second arriving Monday and a third not far behind on Wednesday, Carpenter said.

The first storm will probably bring accumulating snowfall to just the higher Sierra peaks, according to the weather service office in Reno. The second is expected to be colder, potentially bringing heavier mountain snow and more widely affecting travel, Carpenter said.

In the Sacramento Valley, given the dry weather, “we’re not expecting widespread major flooding impacts across our area, but do look for extended periods of moderate, heavy rain, significant rises on area waterways ... localized flooding in our usual trouble spots, and the potential for mud and rockslides in the mountains and foothills below the snow line,” Carpenter said.

Sacramento could get 2 to 3 inches of rain during this weekend’s storm, and Donner Peak could see 6 to 8 inches of snow. Sacramento could see another 2 to 3 inches of rain during next week’s storm, with potentially another 30 to 36 inches of snow falling at Donner Peak.

The area of the 429,603-acre Park fire, which burned through Butte and Tehama counties north of Chico, is not expected to see intense enough rainfall to trigger debris flows, Carpenter said, but “you can expect increased muddy and woody runoff,” which occurred in northern Chico neighborhoods in November.

At least six days of rain are expected for the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding areas, and there could be moderate effects in San Francisco, the North Bay and San Mateo County, as well as in Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.

The Bay Area has a better-than-even chance of 1 inch of rain for the first atmospheric river storm, hitting Friday through Sunday. More significant rainfall is expected next week.

The “main question is timing and extent of moderate-to-heavy rainfall,” the weather service office in Monterey said, which could cause elevated levels of water in creeks and streams and minor street flooding.

Young athletes learning difficult lessons about life's challenges both on and off the field and their families were among those who lost homes in the devastating Eaton Fire in Altadena.

Together, they are applying some of those lessons in the aftermath of one of the most destructive wildfires on record.

Watch "Altadena: Roots and Resilience" on the NBC4 News at 5 p.m.

"Probably 90% of what we teach on the field is sacrifice for one another bond together as a team is sacrifice for one another, so we're actually seeing that in reality," said Robert Milton, president of Alta Pasa Fastpitch Pasadena Girls Softball and Cal Thunder Milton Softball. "So, it's not just us saying it on the field. They're seeing it, so I don't even think we really want to shield them from it. We want them to be able to go through it and know that they have that strength the rest of their lives."

Milton had dropped off his family after his own home burned on the first terrifying night of the fire. He returned to the neighborhood with his brother, also a coach, and began helping others.

They saved a home that belongs to a family of one of the softball players in the Alta Pasa program.

Established in 2018, Alta Pasa Fastpitch is an independent youth sports organization that trains young athletes in the cities of Pasadena and Altadena. The organization is a stepping stone for aspiring athletes pursuing collegiate competition that includes recruiting camps, evaluations and contact with college programs.

In 2024, the organization included seven baseball teams, 17 softball teams with nearly 300 boys and girls participating.

After the Eaton Fire started Jan. 7 in the community northeast of Los Angeles, flames fanned by a Santa Ana windstorm destroyed entire neighborhoods in Altadena. The Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures, including 6,000 homes, and damaged nearly 650 homes, according to the most recent damage assessments.

Homes owned by families involved in the athletic program were among those burned to the ground. Many of their owners have family who have been part of Altadena for generations.

Abi Milton is one of the young members of the community whose family lost their house in the fire.

"For me, honestly, I did not think that my house is going to be taken by the fire," Abi said. "I saw the fire, but I thought that they were going to be able to handle it. Driving away, I was really feeling what was happening. Wow, my house is probably gone. I live next door to my uncle (Robert Milton) and my grandparents and all their kids and all my siblings in my house. It's just, I'm not going to live next door to my family anymore. What's going to happen? It was just it was kind of overwhelming. I didn't know how to feel."

As part of that effort, Alta Pasa Fastpitch is raising funds for scholarships for every participant who lost a home in the Eaton Fire. The goal is to cover participation costs moving forward, including registration, dues and equipment.

Click here for details about supporting the fire victims.

"They'll remember this and they'll really realize how strong they were then and how strong they're going to be," said Matthew Milton, a coach in the organization. "Through it and all the ones going to college next year, this is something they can remember. It's a stepping stone realizing, when in the classroom, I can fight through something else. I can grind through something else. The little ones they can look up to them.

"I think that's so important. They can look up to the parents to see how strong they are through this process of trying to find somewhere to live, trying to make sure there's food on the table. This is a grind that a lot of us haven't been through before."

This month, NBCLA's "Altadena: Roots and Resilience" will explore Altadena's rich history and the challenges the community faces after one of the most destructive wildfires on record in California.