Latest news with #JennyJarvie
Los Angeles Times
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
LA Times Today: DOGE cuts bring chaos, long waits at Social Security for seniors
Here in California and across the country, anxious seniors and others continue to protest the trump administration's plans to slash the Social Security workforce and shutter more than half of its regional offices. L.A. Times national reporter Jenny Jarvie joined Lisa McRee, with what it means to some of our local seniors.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Letters to the Editor: Where fire experts have told us for decades not to build
To the editor: In May 2022, some residents of Laguna Niguel lost their homes in the Coastal fire, which started in Aliso Canyon. It was as if they had witnessed a rerun of the L.A. Fire Department's film about the 1961 Bel-Air fire, "Design for Disaster," cited in Jenny Jarvie's excellent article. I first saw that film in the early 1970s at an Orange County Planning Commission hearing, where development was being considered for the ridgetops south of Aliso Canyon. A firefighter veteran of the Bel-Air inferno showed the film and pleaded with the commission to not approve development on the ridgetops. He said this was the most dangerous place to put homes and warned of the 'chimney effect,' where fires burning up slopes increase in height and danger. His warning was ignored. Ridgetop development was approved. Despite the promised 100-foot irrigated setback, the houses were built out to the edge. Thinning the vegetation on the slopes would supposedly reduce the fire danger, but it didn't prevent losses from the Coastal fire. Even a fire access road below the homes made no difference. The chimney effect pushed flying embers into the air, setting houses along the edge ablaze. Developers made a lot of money from having more lots to sell with better views. The buyers, unaware of the warnings and voided protections, relied on the government to approve safe building sites. The homeowners paid a terrible price. Political compromises with fire realities have proved tragic time after time. Ann Christoph, Laguna Beach The writer is a landscape architect and former mayor of Laguna Beach. .. To the editor: Like they did in Santa Rosa after their disastrous wind-driven fire in 2017, you can rebuild with non-flammable home materials and succulents. But driving through Bel-Air and Brentwood recently — and it's the same in many areas in SoCal — I noticed a plethora of palm, eucalyptus and pine trees that were dead or emaciated near homes. With climate change increasing the likelihood of wind-driven fires, what is the solution to avert an almost certain disaster? It's an unimaginable, unrealistic goal to simply remove all of these trees. Simply having clearance around these homes is not enough when there is a wind-driven fire storm. I wish I had a simple answer. John Szabo, Newport Beach .. To the editor: Please remind me why anyone thinks it is a good idea to encourage and promote the building of accessory dwelling units on properties in hillsides and canyons. In my humble opinion, less density, not more, is what we need in these areas. Emily Loughran, Los Angeles .. To the editor: How many times have we heard that there is a homelessness problem that can be solved by building more homes? We're told that the problem is so acute that we need to fast-track the permitting process. Get rid of those pesky environmental reports, ignore fire regulations and get those homes built! It's not a "failure to learn." Rather, it's political expediency fueled by greed (or is it the other way around?). Gregg Ferry, Carlsbad This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
11-02-2025
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: Where fire experts have told us for decades not to build
To the editor: In May 2022, some residents of Laguna Niguel lost their homes in the Coastal fire, which started in Aliso Canyon. It was as if they had witnessed a rerun of the L.A. Fire Department's film about the 1961 Bel-Air fire, 'Design for Disaster,' cited in Jenny Jarvie's excellent article. I first saw that film in the early 1970s at an Orange County Planning Commission hearing, where development was being considered for the ridgetops south of Aliso Canyon. A firefighter veteran of the Bel-Air inferno showed the film and pleaded with the commission to not approve development on the ridgetops. He said this was the most dangerous place to put homes and warned of the 'chimney effect,' where fires burning up slopes increase in height and danger. His warning was ignored. Ridgetop development was approved. Despite the promised 100-foot irrigated setback, the houses were built out to the edge. Thinning the vegetation on the slopes would supposedly reduce the fire danger, but it didn't prevent losses from the Coastal fire. Even a fire access road below the homes made no difference. The chimney effect pushed flying embers into the air, setting houses along the edge ablaze. Developers made a lot of money from having more lots to sell with better views. The buyers, unaware of the warnings and voided protections, relied on the government to approve safe building sites. The homeowners paid a terrible price. Political compromises with fire realities have proved tragic time after time. Ann Christoph, Laguna Beach The writer is a landscape architect and former mayor of Laguna Beach. .. To the editor: Like they did in Santa Rosa after their disastrous wind-driven fire in 2017, you can rebuild with non-flammable home materials and succulents. But driving through Bel-Air and Brentwood recently — and it's the same in many areas in SoCal — I noticed a plethora of palm, eucalyptus and pine trees that were dead or emaciated near homes. With climate change increasing the likelihood of wind-driven fires, what is the solution to avert an almost certain disaster? It's an unimaginable, unrealistic goal to simply remove all of these trees. Simply having clearance around these homes is not enough when there is a wind-driven fire storm. I wish I had a simple answer. John Szabo, Newport Beach .. To the editor: Please remind me why anyone thinks it is a good idea to encourage and promote the building of accessory dwelling units on properties in hillsides and canyons. In my humble opinion, less density, not more, is what we need in these areas. Emily Loughran, Los Angeles .. To the editor: How many times have we heard that there is a homelessness problem that can be solved by building more homes? We're told that the problem is so acute that we need to fast-track the permitting process. Get rid of those pesky environmental reports, ignore fire regulations and get those homes built! It's not a 'failure to learn.' Rather, it's political expediency fueled by greed (or is it the other way around?). Gregg Ferry, Carlsbad
Los Angeles Times
05-02-2025
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
After millions got false fire warnings, L.A. County's emergency alert system faces scrutiny
Good morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day. If you live in Los Angeles County, there's a good chance your phone blared and buzzed just before 4 p.m. on Jan. 9, informing you that an 'EVACUATION WARNING has been issued in your area' due to the fires burning across the region. I was on the phone with a climate scientist (who was explaining that we have to coexist with fire if we want to live in L.A.) when I got the alert. It was a shock, especially since I live about 15 miles from the closest blaze. 'Gather loved ones, pets, and supplies,' the alert advised. After a moment of panic, I looked out my office window, where I could see the smoke plume from the Eaton fire a good distance away. I quickly checked the county's evacuation map; no warning zones close to us. So I continued with the interview. Just as I finished, my phone lit up again: 'Disregard last EVACUATION WARNING. It was for Kenneth Fire Only.' That blaze was burning on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley near Woodland Hills and Calabasas. 'Well, someone screwed up,' I and millions of fellow county residents said in unison after a quick sigh of relief. The next day, county officials acknowledged the error. 'Our preliminary investigation indicates that an accurate, correctly-targeted alert went out from LA County's Emergency Operations Center at around 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 9,' the county said in a statement. 'However, after it left the EOC, the alert was erroneously sent out to nearly 10 million residents across the County.' Those false alarms sparked panic, but it wasn't the only issue that plagued L.A. County's emergency alert system while the firestorms raged last month. As embers rained down on western Altadena overnight Jan. 7 into Jan. 8, evacuation orders were delayed by several hours. All 17 people confirmed dead in that fire lived in western Altadena. 'When flames erupted from Eaton Canyon on Jan. 7, neighborhoods on Altadena's eastside got evacuation orders at 7:26 p.m.,' Times national correspondent Jenny Jarvie wrote this week. 'But residents on the westside did not receive orders until 3:25 a.m. — hours after fires began to blaze through their neighborhoods.' Now an inquiry by local U.S. House members, led by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), aims to understand what went wrong. Letters requesting information have been sent to L.A. County officials, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission and Genasys Inc., the software company contracted to issue the county's emergency alerts. More than a dozen members of L.A.'s congressional delegation signed the letters. 'In life-safety emergencies, appropriately timed, targeted, and clear emergency alert messages can mean the difference between life and death,' House Democrats wrote, according to an excerpt shared by Garcia's office. 'However, unclear messages sent to the wrong locations, multiple times and after the emergency has passed, can lead to alerting fatigue and erosion of public trust. In this time of intense grief, loss, and dislocation, we are working to learn all of the lessons of the past weeks, and to swiftly implement reforms to ensure they never happen again.' Though the letters don't mention the delayed alerts sent to some Altadena residents, Garcia told The Times that the issue will be part of the investigation. 'I don't think that we should underestimate how serious of a massive disaster this was in a moment of a serious emergency,' Garcia told Jenny. 'We know that other emergencies are going to happen again. ... We use this system for more than just fires. If there's another emergency, a natural disaster, and some type of notification that needs to go out, the public needs to know that the system is working correctly.' The day after the erroneous alerts were sent, L.A. County officials announced they had suspended their alert system managed by Genasys and switched to a system operated by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. The House investigation isn't the only probe in the works to scrutinize the fire response. Gov. Gavin Newsom last month called for an independent investigation into why fire hydrants lost pressure or ran dry in Pacific Palisades and Altadena, along with why the Santa Ynez Reservoir was offline and empty when the Palisades fire broke out. Demand for new electric vehicles has flattened in California What is USAID? And why do Trump and Musk want to end it? What else is going on Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here. 'My home has become a cemetery.' Amid cease-fire, Gazans unearth their dead from rubble. Like thousands of families all over Gaza, 38-year-old Samar al-Farra and her 17-year-old son are trying to recover the remains of loved ones buried under rubble — an agonizing collective effort that has swiftly gathered pace since a truce was reached last month between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Other must reads How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Going out Staying in Lawanda Riley writes: 'I'm nobody's Savior. You can love them and wear yourself down trying, but they HAVE to want it and work with you.' Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they're important to you. Today's great photo is from Times photographer Robert Gauthier at the 'A day without immigrants' protest in downtown Los Angeles. Have a great day, from the Essential California team Ryan Fonseca, reporterDefne Karabatur, fellowAndrew Campa, Sunday reporterKevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorHunter Clauss, multiplatform editorChristian Orozco, assistant editorStephanie Chavez, deputy metro editorKarim Doumar, head of newsletters Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
