Rick Caruso Vows to Breathe Life Back into Fire Ravaged Pacific Palisades
Rick Caruso Vows to Breathe Life Back into Fire Ravaged Pacific Palisades originally appeared on L.A. Mag.
Developer Rick Caruso - a longtime Pacific Palisades resident whose own home was damaged while his daughter's home was reduced to ash in the deadly and devastating wildfire that tore through his community - is vowing to breathe new life back into the beloved neighborhood perched above the ocean by reopening his shopping center. During a press conference in an active construction zone Wednesday, Caruso was flanked by fashion powerhouse Elyse Walker who lost her longtime flagship store to the wind-fueled flames as she announced she will rebuild at Palisades Village, the lifeblood of the neighborhood that was left largely unscathed by the January fires. Walker's announcement that her boutique empire - which began in the Pacific Palisades and now can be found on the trendiest streets of New York City and Newport Beach - will be a sprawling centerpiece in the revitalization and rebuilding of the area was a much-needed sign that the beloved community will make a strong comeback. One that Caruso believes could come as early as the start of 2026."I knew that I wanted a store to feel like a home base within the community," she said. "More than a store, it was where friends & family got together to connect, celebrate and of course, shop," she said. "We fully intend to recreate the elysewalker experience at the Village and cannot wait to be back in our beloved Palisades community.'
Caruso also announced that his company has already committed roughly $50 million to upgrade Palisades Village and improve the surrounding streets and sidewalks as residents who want to rebuild begin a return to their lives. He applauded Walker for her "shared determination to bring back the Palisades better and stronger." "When a retailer chooses to invest here, it is a powerful voice of confidence in a bright future," Caruso said. Reopening Palisades Village, a vibrant mecca of clothing, dining, and the arts, will be part of a dedicated effort to ensure that their "community remains a place where families flourish, businesses succeed, and neighborhoods thrive.'
The Palisades Fire devoured nearly 37 miles of the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, destroying thousands of homes and businesses and claiming a dozen lives. Corrine Verdery, the CEO of Caruso, said that the company has made a long-term commitment to making Palisades Village a symbol of "resilience and optimism for the future" of the neighborhood.
This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
WiSpa Suspect Not Guilty on All Nine Counts of Indecent Exposure
WiSpa Suspect Not Guilty on All Nine Counts of Indecent Exposure originally appeared on L.A. Mag. The not guilty verdict for Darren Merager was read aloud to an audience of one in the Los Angeles courtroom gallery. Gone were the leftist activists and black clad 'SoCal Antifa' militants who attacked conservative demonstrators outside WiSpa in the name of 'smashing transphobia.' Gone were the Christian conservatives and self-identifying trans-exclusionary feminists who found common cause, protesting for traditional women's spaces in July of 2021. Gone were all the other reporters. There were bombshells throughout the 4 week jury trial. An email from a WiSpa manager named Mr. Suh was entered into evidence. It instructed 'managers on duty' not to admit customer Darren Merager, the now 55-year-old heterosexual male who also identifies as transgender (referred to as he/him and she/her on the record). The ignored email referred to a customer only by an ID number. The prosecution submitted that the communication predated the night in 2021 that the embattled bather sat nude on the edge of the spa jacuzzi tub, legs akimbo, until female patrons complained… and then filed police reports weeks later. A woman recorded a viral video that night, objecting to a penis on the women's side of the 24 hour Korean spa. The public firestorm was followed by felony criminal charges. 'They let the defendant in,' the jury foreman commented after the final day of the four-week trial in May of 2025, which cleared Merager of indecent exposure charges at both the WiSpa near LA's Koreatown and a similar incident at the West Hollywood Aquatic Center in 2018. The author of the viral WiSpa video, a woman named Christina R. who went by 'cubana angel' online, did not even testify for the prosecution. It would have meant entering the selfie-video of Christina complaining at WiSpa into evidence. The defense wanted the video played– so the jury could hear the colorful reactions from those set against Merager that night. What's more, absent from the extended video was any mention of the key claim that might prove sexual intent: an alleged erection. Judge Joseph Burghardt ruled to the dismay of the defense that only a short section of the WiSpa kerfuffle could be played sans audio. Pronoun discipline was a Herculean task throughout the month of the trial. The defense attorney and judge constantly shifted between referring to Merager as 'he' and 'she' and Merager's attributes as 'his penis' and 'her penis.' Deputy Prosecutor Karen Montoya only slipped up once over the 4 week ordeal and quickly apologized, correcting herself after straying from genderless terminology. Merager was unoffended, as the defendant accepts being referred to by both sets of pronouns. The jury was asked to decide, by official language, if the defendant exposed 'himself/herself' with the intent of sexual gratification. Jurors came to a 'not guilty' decision in less than an hour and a half. The foreman summed up the prosecution's case to me in three simple words: 'It wasn't enough.' Testimony of an alleged erection was inconsistent, yet, a previous judge had ruled that the claim was sufficient pre-trial evidence to go forward. One woman, a mother at the spa with her two teenage daughters, changed her characterization of Merager over the years. The defense seized on the witness's account differing from the police report to the preliminary hearing and then at the trial. The woman's testimony escalated to claims of the defendant's 'hand on his thigh'– to then, via the court Spanish language interpreter, insinuations of more animated activity. A witness that jurors told me they found to be one of the most credible appeared on behalf of the defense. She was a psychiatric nurse practitioner who was also in the nude area of the spa with her two daughters. She admitted to concern over Merager's presence– but also could see Merager for the better part of a half hour through the window of the sauna, as the defendant remained at the jacuzzi pool. Doctor Natarajan testified Merager's demeanor was 'pleasant' and that there was no erection. Jurors told me that they were suspicious that two WiSpa complainants said they just happened to show up at the same time at an LA police station to file police reports, weeks after the WiSpa incident. Another prosecution witness dramatically took the stand at the very last minute. A woman named Tamra was upset that her autistic daughter had to bear witness to Merager's manhood in the women's showers of a Sherman Oaks pool. She offered up a litany of choice words in court and admitted to telling Merager 'I'll drag you out by your hair.' Jury members told me that the highly charged witness testimony did not help the prosecution. Amazingly, the Sherman Oaks incident took place during the actual trial, on what should have been the third day of jury selection at the end of April. Merager had gone to the ER to get physical ailments checked out. As a result, court proceedings were cancelled for the day. Then, Merager went to the Sherman Oaks pool where yet another incident of controversy played out. It all spectacularly came to the court's attention, as a sister of a jury candidate happened to be there. The juror researched and reported back to the court what she had learned (and was removed from the jury pool, naturally). If anything, the defendant was consistent, continuing to bathe in the women's section of pools and spas in LA, Orange County and Palm Springs, even after the headline-grabbing WiSpa incident of 2021. Merager seized on the right to do so as California's legislature passed gender self-identification in 2018. The Gender Recognition Act was brought forward by California legislators Scott Wiener and Toni Atkins before being signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2019. The first week that the law went into effect, Merager, who has an extensive rap sheet in Southern California from incidents of indecent exposure to motor vehicle theft to spearheading a multimillion-dollar art heist caper, registered with the DMV as female. Per the new law, no medical documentation was necessary. Merager acknowledged having had quite enough of male spaces following stints in men's prisons. Merager's origin story or 'gender journey' began with a 2017 car accident, after which a therapist brought up the possibility that Darren might lose his lower extremities. And– had Merager ever considered gender fluidity? 'It all clicked,' Merager characterized his first epiphany that he/she was androgynous male and female, a transgender designation Merager considers distinct from 'non binary.' But none of Merager's 'gender journey' or sexuality were part of the case. The jury was told it could consider Merager's 2003 plea deal for a public masturbation charge. But the jury could not convict on priors alone. So it didn't. Merager's driver's license with a female marker was projected on screen in the courtroom by Defense Attorney Elliot Tiomkin during the opening remarks. Deputy Prosecutor Montoya matched Tiomkin every step of the way, arguing that the driver's license had come into existence only after the West Hollywood incident, which upset parents of a girls' swim team. Two of the children at the public pool, now adults, testified that they were 'shocked' by Merager showering in the buff, no curtain drawn, while fellow swim team members giggled and scurried away in their swimsuits. Yet, jurors decided that Merager hadn't actually done anything except what others were doing. Merager showered, toweled off and changed clothes. He didn't stare at others or solicit their attention verbally. So it would all come down to the penis– an organ shrouded in reasonable doubt. Witness descriptions varied from 'slightly lifted' to 'not flat' to '45 degrees', as the prosecution interpreted an Eastern European mother's shape made with her hands to indicate the alleged offending angle. The women who were minors at the time of the incidents varied in their descriptions as well. But one summed up her emotional state on the stand by saying simply, 'I knew I shouldn't have been seeing that.' Merager's reaction? 'I'm relieved,' the defendant told me after the verdict was read, as the felony charges could have led to serious jail time given Merager's history. Merager plans to continue to use the women's side at facilities and says he still calls in advance to confirm the policy for transgender patrons. 'I'm something of a pioneer,' Merager marveled of his status, now innocent of all charges. That said, Merager is considering a possible move to Europe to live in a country with more 'evolved' attitudes towards nudity. Defense attorney Tiomkin evoked Clarence Darrow in his opening statements, casting Merager among the unjustly 'damned' given the multiple felony charges. Here in tolerant California, there had been much ado, with jurors deciding in the end that Darren Merager simply was behaving like any other woman in a shower, spa or changing room. One female juror approached Merager at the end of the trial that had taken up 4 weeks of her and everybody else's lives. 'You are a guest in a woman's space,' she told Merager. She then offered some words of advice for the now exonerated defendant, given his male attributes. 'You should please cover up,' she said. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Damaged engines didn't affect Palisades firefight. But they point to a larger problem
After the Palisades fire ignited, top brass at the Los Angeles Fire Department were quick to say that they were hampered by broken fire engines and a lack of mechanics to fix them. If the roughly 40 fire engines that were in the shop had been repaired, they said, the battle against what turned out to be one of the costliest and most destructive disasters in Los Angeles history might have unfolded differently. Then-Fire Chief Kristin Crowley cited the disabled engines as a reason fire officials didn't dispatch more personnel to fire-prone areas as the winds escalated, and why they sent home firefighters who showed up to help as the blaze raged out of control. The department, she said, should have had three times as many mechanics. But many of the broken engines highlighted by LAFD officials had been out of service for many months or even years — and not necessarily for a lack of mechanics, according to a Times review of engine work orders as of Jan. 3, four days before the fire. What's more, the LAFD had dozens of other engines that could have been staffed and deployed in advance of the fire. Instead, the service records point to a broader problem: the city's longtime reliance on an aging fleet of engines. Well over half of the LAFD's fire engines are due to be replaced. According to an LAFD report presented to the city Fire Commission last month, 127 out of 210 fire engines — 60% — and 29 out of 60 ladder trucks — 48% — are operating beyond their recommended lifespans. "It just hasn't been a priority," said Frank Líma, general secretary treasurer of the International Assn. of Fire Fighters who is also an LAFD captain, adding that frontline rigs are "getting pounded like never before" as the number of 911 calls increases. That means officials are relying heavily on reserve engines — older vehicles that can be used in emergencies or when regular engines are in the shop. The goal is to use no more than half of those vehicles, but for the last three years, LAFD has used, on average, 80% of the trucks, engines and ambulances in reserve, according to the Fire Commission report. "That's indicative of a fleet that's just getting older," said Assistant Chief Peter Hsiao, who oversees LAFD's supply and maintenance division, in an interview with The Times. 'As our fleet gets older, the repairs become more difficult,' Hsiao told the Fire Commission. 'We're now doing things like rebuilding suspensions, rebuilding pump transmissions, rebuilding transmissions, engine overhauls.' The problem stems from long-term funding challenges, Hsiao said in the interview, with the department receiving varying amounts of money each year that have to be divvied up among competing equipment needs. "If you extrapolate that over a longer period of time, then you end up in a situation where we are," he said. To make matters worse, Hsiao said, the price of new engines and trucks has doubled since the pandemic. Engines that cost $775,000 a few years ago are now pushing $1.5 million — and it takes three years or more to build them, he said. Read more: L.A. fire officials could have put engines in the Palisades before the fire broke out. They didn't The number of fire engine manufacturers has also declined. Recently, the IAFF asked the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate a consolidation in emergency vehicle manufacturers that it said has resulted in skyrocketing costs and "brutal" wait times. In a letter, the IAFF said that at least two dozen companies have been rolled up into just three main manufacturers. "These problems have reduced the readiness of fire departments to respond to emergencies, with dire consequences for public safety," the letter said. The IAFF is the parent organization of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, the local union representing LAFD firefighters. IAFF has been running the local labor group since suspending its top officers last month over allegations of financial impropriety. Hsiao said the LAFD's fleet is well-maintained, and engines don't often break down. But the age and condition of the fleet could deteriorate further, even with an infusion of cash to buy new equipment, because the wait times are so long. Mayor Karen Bass' office has previously said that she secured $51 million last year to purchase 10 fire engines, five trucks, 20 ambulances and other equipment. The 2025-26 budget passed by the City Council last month includes nearly $68 million for 10 fire engines, four trucks, 10 ambulances and a helicopter, among other equipment, the mayor's office said. "The Mayor's Office is working with new leadership at LAFD to ensure that new vehicles are purchased in a timely manner and put into service," a spokesperson said in an email. A majority of the Fire Department's budget goes toward pay and benefits for its more than 3,700 employees, most of them firefighters. Despite the city's financial troubles, firefighters secured four years of pay raises last year through negotiations with Bass. And firefighters often make much more than their base pay, with about 30% of the LAFD's payroll costs going to overtime, according to the city's payroll database. Firefighters and fire captains each earned an average of $73,500 in overtime last year, on top of an average base salary of about $140,100, the data show. Líma said that while new engines will be useful, "a one-year little infusion doesn't help a systemic problem that's developed over decades." Asked whether firefighters would defer raises, he said they "shouldn't fund the Fire Department off the backs of their salaries." The National Fire Protection Assn. recommends that fire engines move to reserve status after 15 years and out of the fleet altogether after 25 years. But many larger cities need to act sooner, 'because of the constant wear and tear city equipment takes,' said Marc Bashoor, a former fire chief who now trains firefighters across the country, in an email. 'In my opinion, 10 years is OLD for city apparatus.' Bashoor also noted that incorporating a variety of brands into a fleet, as the LAFD does, can increase repair times. Read more: Bass ousts L.A. fire chief, saying LAFD needs new leadership 'When a fire department doesn't have a standardized fleet, departments typically are unable to stock enough … parts to fit every brand,' he said in an email. 'They then have to find the part or use a 3rd party, which can significantly delay repairs.' Of the roughly 40 engines in the shop before the Palisades fire, three were built in 1999. Hsiao said engines that old are typically used for training and don't respond to calls. Those that are too old or damaged from collisions or fires to ever return to city streets sometimes remain in the yard so they can be stripped for parts or used for training. Some are kept as evidence in lawsuits. According to the service records reviewed by The Times, a work order was opened in 2023 for a 2003 engine burned in a fire, with notes saying "strip for salvage." A 2006 engine damaged in an accident was waiting for parts, according to notes associated with a work order from last April. Two 2018 engines were damaged in collisions, including one with 'heavy damage' to the rear body that had to be towed in, according to notes for an order from last July. Other orders noted oil leaks or problems with head gaskets. Almost 30 of the engines that were out of service before the fire — 70% on the list — were 15 or more years old, past what the city considers an appropriate lifespan. Only a dozen had work orders that were three months old or less. That included three newer engines — two built in 2019 and one in 2020 — whose service records showed they were waiting for "warranty" repairs. After the fire, LAFD union officials echoed Crowley's fleet maintenance concerns. Freddy Escobar, who was then president of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, blamed chronic underfunding. "The LAFD does not have the funding mechanism to supply enough mechanics and enough money for the parts to repair these engines, the trucks, the ambulances," Escobar told KTLA-TV. The issues date back more than a decade. A 2019 report showed that LAFD's equipment was even more outdated at the time, with 136 of 216 engines, or 63%, due for replacement, as well as 43 of 58 ladder trucks, or 74%. In a report from 2012, LAFD officials said they didn't have enough mechanics to keep up with the workload. 'Of paramount concern is the Department's aging and less reliable fleet, a growing backlog of deferred repairs, and increased maintenance expense,' the 2012 report said, adding that mechanics were primarily doing emergency repairs instead of preventative maintenance. LAFD's equipment and operations have been under heightened scrutiny since the Palisades fire erupted Jan. 7, destroying thousands of homes and killing 12 people, with many saying that officials were severely unprepared. A total of 18 firefighters are typically on duty at the two fire stations in the Palisades — Stations 23 and 69 — to respond to emergencies. Only 14 of them are routinely available to fight brush fires, The Times previously reported. The other four are assigned to ambulances at the two stations, although they might help with evacuations or rescues during fires. LAFD officials did not pre-deploy any engines to the Palisades ahead of the fire, despite warnings about extreme weather, a Times investigation found. In preparing for the winds, the department staffed only five of more than 40 engines available to supplement the regular firefighting force. Those working engines could have been pre-positioned in the Palisades and elsewhere, as had been done in the past during similar weather. Less than two months after the fire, Bass dismissed Crowley, citing the chief's pre-deployment decisions as one of the reasons. Bass has rejected the idea that there was any connection between reductions at the department and the city's response to the wildfires. Meanwhile, the number of mechanics on the job hasn't changed much in recent years, fluctuating between 64 and 74 since 2020, according to records released by the LAFD in January. As of this year, the agency had 71 mechanics. According to its report to the Fire Commission, the LAFD doesn't have enough mechanics to maintain and repair its fleet, based on the average number of hours the department said it takes to maintain a single vehicle. Last year, the report said, mechanics completed 31,331 of 32,317 work requests, or 97%. So far this year, they have completed 62%, according to the report. "With a greater number of mechanics, we can reduce the delays. However, a limited facility size, parts availability, and warranty repairs compound the issue," LAFD said in an unsigned email. Special correspondent Paul Pringle contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Karen Read's Defense Underway in Massachusetts Retrial Riveting the Nation
Karen Read's Defense Underway in Massachusetts Retrial Riveting the Nation originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Before presenting his first witness, Los Angeles defense attorney Alan Jackson argued to the judge overseeing his client Karen Read's retrial that the case should be thrown out of court because "there was no collision." Read, 45, a former adjunct professor at a Massachusetts university, has been on trial for six weeks in connection with the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, whose body was found in a snowbank on Jan. 29, 2022. Prosecutors say she backed into him during a blinding blizzard after a night of drinking, but her defense team insists O'Keefe died during an altercation with fellow law enforcement officers who were inside the house at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, the address where O'Keefe's remains were recovered. Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death. 'The Commonwealth has simply not proven, even in a light most favorable to them, that there was a collision on January 29th, 2022, at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts,' Jackson argued in his required finding for not guilty motion.'There was no collision proven to have occurred. There was no eyewitness presented. There was no video evidence, no audio evidence, and no evidence in the form of physical evidence at the scene by searches that were done by officers on the morning of January 29, 2022,' Jackson argued. 'The Commonwealth, through suspect experts based on circumstantial technical data, only sought to prove a backing event. And that's important. They sought to prove that at 34 Fairview, the SUV went backward. They did not prove. And every single one of their experts was asked this question. They did not prove that there was actually a collision associated with that backing event."The judge denied Jackson's motion, and the defense called its first witness to mark the 24th day of testimony in the controversial case, Matthew DiSogra, an engineer who specializes in accident analysis. He began his testimony by casting doubt on the timeline laid out by one of the prosecution's key witnesses, forensic scientist Shanon Burgess, who had to admit from the witness stand that his resume misstated his credentials. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
