Free Republic

...Claims There Was “Nothing They Could Do,” Blames Residents Who “Lost Everything”; LADWP Project Manager Confesses the Pacific Palisades Reservoir Was Empty for "A Year" “Their yards were out of code. Like, nobody gave a f*ck.” “How long was the reservoir empty?” “Like a year.”

Last month’s massive Southern California wildfires have John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen debating whether or not they want to stay in the Golden State. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Legend revealed that the couple have considered moving back to New York following the “collective trauma” of the deadly fires. The “Get Lifted” singer said he and his family were returning home from vacation on Jan. 7, the day the Palisades Fire broke out, and they were shocked to see “the flames and billowing smoke.” Their “fears grew” when the Sunset Fire started in the...

You can’t rebuild the same. We have to rebuild with science. We have to build with climate reality in mind," California Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNN last week in an interview about rebuilding the burned-out Pacific Palisades. ... Whatever happened to Newsom's promise that he'd eliminate red tape and accelerate the rebuilding of one of L.A.'s nicest and most historic neighborhoods? The former homeowners of Pacific Palisades who were hoping to quickly rebuild from the ashes now understand to their very cores what Otter told Flounder in "Animal House": "You f***ed up, you trusted us." Anyone dumb enough to believe...

LOS ANGELES: The guy Mayor Bass hired as the Pacific Palisades Recovery Czar is getting paid $500,000 for three months of work. His job is to build the plan and she's going to hire additional consultants to do the rest of the work. Steve Soboroff is best known for his tweet about Trump's supporters being too white. Previously he ran the Parks and Rec Commission - expect good things Los Angelinos. 🤣

Gavin Newsom just appeared on CNN and explained that people ‘can’t rebuild the same.’ Newsom suggests that there is a new reality due to the ‘science’ and climate change, and that all of that has to be taken into account as people rebuild. In other words, Adam Carolla was right. Newsom and other authorities in California may be handing out building permits, but it’s pretty clear that there will still be red tape and new rules for rebuilding. Watch:

DEI: LA Mayor Karen Bass is hiring an ‘outside consultant’ to rebuild the Pacific Palisades in a more equitable and environmentally sustainable way. She intends to award the contract without authorization from the property owners. ... CORRUPTION: California updated the law to allow Mayors like Karen Bass to take contributions from contractors and consultants to the city if they are award via competitive bid starting on Jan 1, 2025. This exemption is significant because it means that vendors winning contracts through competitive bids can still donate to political campaigns of officials overseeing the contract process—potentially leaving room for continued influence...

Housing and land use experts say a Los Angeles city law could require the Pacific Palisades to include “affordable” housing to replace older buildings. Housing and land use experts say a Los Angeles city law could require the Pacific Palisades to include “affordable” housing to replace older buildings, and for new buildings where owners cannot definitively prove that their rental apartments had no low-income renters in the past five years. The new Resident Protections Ordinance taking effect soon requires that “In Higher Opportunity Areas and Moderate Opportunity Areas, units deemed or presumed to be occupied by persons or families above...

Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass made her big play this week to rebuild Pacific Palisades in her own image. Needless to say, it won't be pretty. ... Bass announced that the city plans to hire "an outside consultant to handle a significant rebuilding contract for areas devastated by this month’s Palisades fire," ... Pacific Palisades residents were not so much as consulted on the decision. "Locals have had virtually no input into any of the decisions currently being made by city and state officials .. Most were only able to access their property for the first time on Monday,...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has decided that fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades will be built by an “outside consultant.” The decision was made without any consultation with local residents or any process of input from those affected. Bass appeared in Pacific Palisades on Monday on an unannounced visit together with “chief recovery officer Steve Soboroff,” whom Bass appointed earlier this month — also without local consultation — and who had been absent. The Los Angeles Times reported that Bass announced her intention to hire a consultant to handle the rebuilding: The city of Los Angeles is planning to hire an outside...

Former ‘Million Dollar Listing’ star and Los Angeles real estate agent Josh Altman said Friday on Fox Business Network’s “Varney Co.” a lack of adequate home insurance was the main reason 70% of Pacific Palisades residents won’t return. Guest host David Asman said, “I heard a figure 70% of Palisades residents would not return after the fires there. What does that mean for the county?” Altman said, Yeah, David, thanks for having me again. I want to preface that statement and explain it a little bit. They’re not gonna not return because they don’t want to return. Of course, they...

Former and current DWP officials acknowledge that if the reservoir had held water, higher-elevation areas of the Palisades would have had more water pressure, but it’s unclear for how long. The saga traces back to January 2024, when a DWP property manager spotted a tear in the reservoir's floating cover after a series of rainstorms The cover is meant to prevent animals and debris from contaminating the water and to limit algae and bacteria. When a property manager saw the tear again two days later, it seemed to have grown larger, according to the emails. DWP policy calls for minor...

Dustin Nehl was previously convicted of arson in Woodburn; Jennifer Nehl was highlighted by federal NOAA for climate education for incarcerated youth in 2023 ... An Oregon couple was arrested Sunday for impersonating firefighters in the area burned by the Pacific Palisades near Los Angeles, California... the couple as Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44. Mr. Nehl’s social media accounts say he lives in Woodburn, Oregon; Mrs. Nehl’s say she lives in Jefferson or Scio, Oregon. The couple allegedly drove a full-size firetruck emblazoned with “Roaring River Fire” into the recently burned area, claiming they were volunteer firefighters. Police...

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – A man and a woman from Oregon were arrested over the weekend for reportedly impersonating firefighters as they attempted to enter a Palisades Fire evacuation zone in what appeared to be a legitimate fire engine, officials announced Sunday. In a news release, officials with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said the suspects, identified as 31-year-old Dustin Nehl and 44-year-old Jennifer Nehl, were spotted by LAPD patrol officers on Jan. 18. Not believing the fire truck was legitimate, police relayed the information to sheriff’s deputies, who caught up to the suspects. LASD said that when they contacted...

Domestic workers in Los Angeles say they're struggling to make ends meet after the houses they worked in burned down in the deadly wildfires. The Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Fire in Altadena forced thousands of people to evacuate. The fires destroyed more than 12,000 structures and 27 deaths have been confirmed by officials. According to Flor Martinez Zaragoza, founder and CEO of Celebration Nation, a non-profit organization that provides support and resources for the Indigenous and Latino community, many domestic workers now face a dire financial hardship because of their employment in areas where structures...

VIDEOThe world is watching in horror as Los Angeles burns to the ground. Personally, I used to live in Los Angeles. So, it pains me to see these neighborhoods, which I love, get destroyed. I am going to get to the bottom of this. We are going to go through what we know about the Los Angeles fires.

'We don't need a lesbian fire chief. We need someone competent.'

A Malibu resident is telling his story about how he captured a now-viral photo of a Volkswagen Bus that survived the deadly Palisades Fire. “Get out of the house, now! There’s a massive fireball heading your way,” Pacific Palisades resident Matt Baker said of a friend calling him to give him this urgent warning as the fire started. “I stayed in the danger zone far longer than I should have. I was determined to make sure all my neighbors safely evacuated,” Baker said about staying to fight the flames.

Josh Altman says a majority of the people are underinsured and will face challenges if they choose to rebuild in the Pacific Palisades.. "Million Dollar Listing" star Josh Altman predicts the Pacific Palisades will never be same because he doesn't expect the majority of families will return. .... He says his insurance agent told him that "90-plus percent of these people are heavily underinsured." Altman added, "I think 65-70% of the people do not go back to the Palisades or Malibu. ... Altman said people are "fed up" with the drama with various insurance policies. ... "There's a moratorium right...

Matt Himes is a writer and editor at Blaze Media who lost his Pacific Palisades home when the wildfires struck Los Angeles. A former liberal, he says the ineptitude shown by Democratic leaders like LA Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have made him — and many of his neighbors — more conservative. Want to cure a liberal? Ship them to California. One-party rule has been squandering California’s abundant talent and treasure for decades, turning a one-time exemplar of the middle-class American dream into a crumbling, crowded and crime-ridden hellhole. Los Angeles especially has suffered a steep decline....

Los Angeles police arrest an arsonist and share footage of alleged looters in a Pacific Palisades home. ... Arrested then released ... He is literally standing next to a fire he lit lol ... another illegal ... Unless his first and last name is Mr. Climate Change the left is pissing up a rope. It's called arson, NOT climate change. ... arsonist are climate change now ... It was all planned. It's terrible how they just don't care about anything but their own goals. ... they voted for open borders! let them eat cake!