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The politics of debris removal prove treacherous for L.A.-area leaders
Los Angeles Times ^ | Feb. 1, 2025 8 AM PT | David Zahniser, Laura J. Nelson

Posted on 02/01/2025 3:41:03 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum

One of the most emotionally charged issues facing Los Angeles-area political leaders since the deadly wildfires is also one of the most basic: How will the government get rid of all the debris?

When the week began, L.A. city and county elected officials were facing furious demands to haul it away more swiftly. By week’s end, they were hearing criticism that the process was moving too fast — and that the hazardous waste was being shipped to the wrong places.

President Trump first seized on the debris issue during his Jan. 24 visit to L.A. At an awkward roundtable discussion, he told Mayor Karen Bass that homeowners in Pacific Palisades, the part of Los Angeles hardest hit by the fires, were “devastated” to learn they would be “forced to wait 18 months” to get building permits. “I just think you have to allow people to go on their site and start the process tonight,” he told the mayor.

Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt piled on days later, telling reporters in Washington, D.C., that Pacific Palisades residents felt “as though their government has just gone insane.”

“Before President Trump showed up on the scene, Karen Bass was telling private property owners that they would have to wait 18 months to access their private property,” she said.

So where did that 18-month timetable come from? Apparently, the federal government itself.

On Jan. 23, a day before Trump’s arrival, Bass and other local elected officials took part in a post-wildfire Zoom call hosted by the Pacific Palisades Community Council — a packed session attended by hundreds of residents grieving over the loss of their homes. Among the speakers was Col. Eric Swenson of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who — along with L.A. County Public Works Director Mark Pestrella — explained the...

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Humor
KEYWORDS: california; davidzahniser; karenbass; laurajnelson; trumpmas

1 posted on 02/01/2025 3:41:03 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
By week’s end, they were hearing criticism that the process was moving too fast

Under the fast timetable, waste removal specialists aren't being properly vetted for their ability to provide lucrative kickbacks to Democrat political machine operatives and grifting non-profit orgs.

2 posted on 02/01/2025 3:45:27 PM PST by Drew68
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Trump said he would take care of the Federal Government aspect of this.


3 posted on 02/01/2025 3:45:51 PM PST by Parley Baer
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

RE: that the hazardous waste was being shipped to the wrong places.

Lookin’ For Love In All the Wrong Places
Song by Johnny Lee

And I was alone then, no pols in sight
And I did everything I could to get me through the night.

Don’t know where it started or where it might end
I turned to a stranger just like a friend.

I was lookin’ to dump trash in all the wrong places
Lookin’ for a site without many traces.

Avoidin’ their cameras
Lookin’ for spaces of what I’m dreaming of.


4 posted on 02/01/2025 3:55:23 PM PST by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
So where did that 18-month timetable come from? Apparently, the federal government itself.

 

Repeat a lie often enough... and it still remains a lie. If there is any element of truth to this - then it resides soley on Biden policies.

5 posted on 02/01/2025 4:05:15 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

These people are idiots. Work with the County, and/or neighboring counties. Identify a spot in the desert. Move the turtles. Dig a big hole. Dump it there. Cover it up. Plant some cactus and bring the turtles back. End of story.


6 posted on 02/01/2025 4:06:28 PM PST by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Repeat a lie often enough... and it still remains a lie.

The bigger the lie, the more they believe.

7 posted on 02/01/2025 4:06:55 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Fact is.... Even if it does take 18 months - to paraphrase what JD recently said....

“I don’t care.”

Thomas Jefferson was correct when he said... The government you elect is the government you deserve.


8 posted on 02/01/2025 4:10:03 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

In CA they consider cardboard as hazardous waste.


9 posted on 02/01/2025 4:10:12 PM PST by alternatives?
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To: alternatives?
In CA they consider cardboard as hazardous waste.

And dihydrogen oxide.

10 posted on 02/01/2025 4:11:29 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: monkeyshine

Funny enough- that’s exactly what we did with the dilapidated remains of my grandmas old house that was an eyesore.

Plenty of desert to make a hole and fill it up.


11 posted on 02/01/2025 4:11:40 PM PST by Redcitizen
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To: Responsibility2nd

There is a big difference in stating that total debris removal may take up to 18 months and telling people they can’t return to their homes/property for 18 months. The LA Times seems to think they are one and the same.


12 posted on 02/01/2025 4:17:53 PM PST by lastchance (Cognovit Dominus qui sunt eius.)
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To: Responsibility2nd
Thomas Jefferson was correct when he said... The government you elect is the government you deserve.

There is reasonable doubt that the government in California has much to do with who the voters "elect" in California. It looks more like a rigged game show.

The government you get is the government you will tolerate.

On that basis, the residents of California tolerate way too much crazy in their government.

13 posted on 02/01/2025 4:51:43 PM PST by flamberge (The times, they are a' changing.)
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To: flamberge

Don’t we all? Isn’t that why Trump won the election? I’m sorry for everyone who lost their homes and businesses in the fires. His press conference with the L.A. Mayor gave them a glimpse of what made Americans overwhelmingly choose this particular self-made businessman to run our country.


14 posted on 02/01/2025 5:10:08 PM PST by The Westerner
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Breathing that stuff can kill you. And it’s a greenhouse gas too.


15 posted on 02/01/2025 5:51:20 PM PST by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again," )
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