Numerous homes in the Castellammare section of the Palisades were destroyed in the Palisades Fire.
(Editor’s note: I received this letter from Murray Levy, who responded to this editor’s query about the NORC Survey, sponsored by the Pacific Palisades Community Council. Levy, a Castellammare resident was a member of the PPCC for several years.)
I received and spent 15 minutes with the NORC survey. It was a complete waste of time, and I’m shocked that PPCC spent money on it. Question after question asked us, to rate on a scale, government officials and organizations. I think it’s obvious what the answer is–with the possible exception of Traci Park, government organizations and officials at City, County, and State levels were totally incompetent in their handling of the fire, before, during, and after.
Nonprofits have been equally incompetent and maybe even corrupt as your excellent reporting revealed. Sadly, those facts have not been widely reported in the mass media.
Only the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA provided immediate assistance directly to those of us whose homes were destroyed. Nowhere in the survey could I explain why I chose to leave the Palisades after living there for 51+ years.
Again, those reasons are pretty obvious, and you’ve reported on them–age, time, and money. Since the end of January we’ve been living in Aptos, an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County about six miles south of the city of Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz county faces many of the same issues confronting Los Angeles but somehow things seem to get done efficiently here. Streets and parks are clean, if you call the police on a non-emergency line you don’t wait an hour on hold, I’ve seen only one homeless encampment on the streets of Santa Cruz City and it’s rare to see individuals begging at freeway exits or intersections. Getting a building permit to install solar panels on the house we purchased was a very quick, simple process.
Recently I had to visit the Assessor’s office in order to transfer our old tax base to our new house. The staff was friendly and efficiently accomplished this task and the County office building in Santa Cruz provided free visitor parking! It’s been refreshing to see that local government can serve the needs of residents.
On a personal note, I’ve often wondered how obviously intelligent people could vote for Donald Trump. Now, having experienced the incompetence with which our state and local governments have dealt with this predictable emergency I can understand the allure of a candidate who says, “I can fix it.”
Sadly, Donald Trump is not able to “fix it.” On a local level I once thought that Mr. Caruso was someone who could “fix it” but now your reporting reveals that he sits on the board of one of the most inept and possibly corrupt organizations [FireAid] dealing with the fire. Another shattered hope. While I will always miss our Castellammare home, friends, and neighbors, I’m glad to be here in Aptos now.
Murray Levy
If you wonder how we got here, dust off your old copy of atlas shrugged.
Until the socialist / communists vacate the city Council and the mayors office,
nothings changing. For them, capitalism is evil. Unfortunately, the only road back in a timely manner for Pacific Palisades is capitalism. Socialist/communists holding office will never let capitalism build in a timely manner nor be successful. That’s why it’s so hard to get a permit they’re still working remote and that’s OK with them because it’s not about efficiency or being the best. If you want President Trump to release federal dollars to Los Angeles, instead of being nasty towards him, maybe try to attract the bee with a little honey instead.