Latest news with #LosAngelesAdministrativeCode
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Text messages reveal communication between LA mayor in Ghana and staffers in US as deadly wildfires ravaged Southern California
Frantic text messages reveal the communication between U.S.-based staffers and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass who was in Ghana as wildfires began to tear through Southern California. The mayor, who was heavily criticized at the time from both sides of the political spectrum, was blighted by technical problems while trying to communicate with her team on the other side of the world, the messages obtained by ABC7 Eyewitness News show. The mayor was informed of the severity of the wildfires at 11:48 a.m. PT on January 7, while she was seven hours ahead in the African nation. The Palisades fire started on January 7 and tore through nearly 24,000 acres. 'On phone with Chief Crowley now. 2 significant fires in the city now. She will call you mayor,' a message from her deputy chief of staff Celine Cordero said. After updating Bass that evacuations were taking place as winds hit 40mph, the mayor held a video call with staff late afternoon in Los Angeles and 11:23 p.m. in Ghana. 'I am listening don't know why you can't tell me,' she said, before correcting herself to 'Hear me!' Her team replied saying that they still couldn't hear the mayor. California Sen. Adam Schiff text Bass hours later offering support. 'The fires are just awful. Please let me know whatever I can do to help,' Schiff messaged. 'Thanks so much I'm actually in the air headed home from Ghana...I know disaster aid will be needed...I land in the AM and would like to be in touch by late afternoon after I've had a chance to see what is happening,' Bass replied. After the news outlet got hold of the messages, the mayor said she was 'glad' they were in the public domain. 'I am glad that they're now out there, and I hope that people can see exactly what I was doing,' Bass said at a press conference this week. Bass initially told the outlet that her messages were set to auto-delete when they originally requested them in the days following the outbreak of the fires. The outlet noted that public records, including texts from public officials, should be kept for at least two years, according to Los Angeles Administrative Code. Bass, a former physician and congresswoman, was hit with heavy criticism after it emerged she was on a different continent when the fires broke out earlier this year. She was selected by former President Joe Biden as one of his four-member presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of Ghana's incoming president, John Dramani Mahama. Elon Musk called her 'utterly incompetent' and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox 11 Los Angeles that the city had failed them after recent cuts to the department's budget. Despite being away on diplomatic duties, Bass was consistently posting updates on social media about fire, evacuation orders and emergency shelters.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Text messages reveal communication between LA mayor in Ghana and staffers in US as deadly wildfires ravaged Southern California
Frantic text messages reveal the communication between U.S.-based staffers and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass who was in Ghana as wildfires began to tear through Southern California. The mayor, who was heavily criticized at the time from both sides of the political spectrum, was blighted by technical problems while trying to communicate with her team on the other side of the world, the messages obtained by ABC7 Eyewitness News show. The mayor was informed of the severity of the wildfires at 11:48 a.m. PT on January 7, while she was seven hours ahead in the African nation. The Palisades fire started on January 7 and tore through nearly 24,000 acres. 'On phone with Chief Crowley now. 2 significant fires in the city now. She will call you mayor,' a message from her deputy chief of staff Celine Cordero said. After updating Bass that evacuations were taking place as winds hit 40mph, the mayor held a video call with staff late afternoon in Los Angeles and 11:23 p.m. in Ghana. 'I am listening don't know why you can't tell me,' she said, before correcting herself to 'Hear me!' Her team replied saying that they still couldn't hear the mayor. California Sen. Adam Schiff text Bass hours later offering support. 'The fires are just awful. Please let me know whatever I can do to help,' Schiff messaged. 'Thanks so much I'm actually in the air headed home from Ghana...I know disaster aid will be needed...I land in the AM and would like to be in touch by late afternoon after I've had a chance to see what is happening,' Bass replied. After the news outlet got hold of the messages, the mayor said she was 'glad' they were in the public domain. 'I am glad that they're now out there, and I hope that people can see exactly what I was doing,' Bass said at a press conference this week. Bass initially told the outlet that her messages were set to auto-delete when they originally requested them in the days following the outbreak of the fires. The outlet noted that public records, including texts from public officials, should be kept for at least two years, according to Los Angeles Administrative Code. Bass, a former physician and congresswoman, was hit with heavy criticism after it emerged she was on a different continent when the fires broke out earlier this year. She was selected by former President Joe Biden as one of his four-member presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of Ghana's incoming president, John Dramani Mahama. Elon Musk called her 'utterly incompetent' and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox 11 Los Angeles that the city had failed them after recent cuts to the department's budget. Despite being away on diplomatic duties, Bass was consistently posting updates on social media about fire, evacuation orders and emergency shelters.
The Independent
28-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Text messages reveal communication between LA mayor in Ghana and staffers in US as deadly wildfires ravaged Southern California
Frantic text messages reveal the communication between U.S.-based staffers and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass who was in Ghana as wildfires began to tear through Southern California. The mayor, who was heavily criticized at the time from both sides of the political spectrum, was blighted by technical problems while trying to communicate with her team on the other side of the world, the messages obtained by ABC7 Eyewitness News show. The mayor was informed of the severity of the wildfires at 11:48 a.m. PT on January 7, while she was seven hours ahead in the African nation. The Palisades fire started on January 7 and tore through nearly 24,000 acres. 'On phone with Chief Crowley now. 2 significant fires in the city now. She will call you mayor,' a message from her deputy chief of staff Celine Cordero said. After updating Bass that evacuations were taking place as winds hit 40mph, the mayor held a video call with staff late afternoon in Los Angeles and 11:23 p.m. in Ghana. 'I am listening don't know why you can't tell me,' she said, before correcting herself to 'Hear me!' Her team replied saying that they still couldn't hear the mayor. California Sen. Adam Schiff text Bass hours later offering support. 'The fires are just awful. Please let me know whatever I can do to help,' Schiff messaged. 'Thanks so much I'm actually in the air headed home from Ghana...I know disaster aid will be needed...I land in the AM and would like to be in touch by late afternoon after I've had a chance to see what is happening,' Bass replied. After the news outlet got hold of the messages, the mayor said she was 'glad' they were in the public domain. 'I am glad that they're now out there, and I hope that people can see exactly what I was doing,' Bass said at a press conference this week. Bass initially told the outlet that her messages were set to auto-delete when they originally requested them in the days following the outbreak of the fires. The outlet noted that public records, including texts from public officials, should be kept for at least two years, according to Los Angeles Administrative Code. Bass, a former physician and congresswoman, was hit with heavy criticism after it emerged she was on a different continent when the fires broke out earlier this year. She was selected by former President Joe Biden as one of his four-member presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of Ghana's incoming president, John Dramani Mahama. Elon Musk called her 'utterly incompetent' and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley told Fox 11 Los Angeles that the city had failed them after recent cuts to the department's budget. Despite being away on diplomatic duties, Bass was consistently posting updates on social media about fire, evacuation orders and emergency shelters.
Los Angeles Times
09-03-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Mayor Karen Bass is deleting her text messages, raising eyebrows and questions
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday. I'm your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here's what you need to know to start your weekend: Shortly after the Palisades fire erupted on Jan. 7, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hopped on a flight home. She was roughly 7,000 miles away on a diplomatic trip to Ghana and faced a roughly 24-hour return trip. During that time, her staff said they were in constant contact with the mayor. What was communicated, however, remains a mystery. My colleagues Julia Wick and Matt Hamilton discovered that Bass' text messages during this time were not saved. They had a simple question: Why? Tale of the text A city lawyer, David Michaelson, told The Times that Bass' phone is set not to save text messages, and there is 'no requirement that a city official or employee' do so. This is despite the fact that the city's own document retention policies require most records be kept for two years at least. How did the text issue come about? Times reporters filed a public records request with the city on Jan. 10. They specifically asked for all text messages sent and received by the mayor as she was returning from Africa on Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 that specifically mentioned fire response or travel plans. Bass left Accra, Ghana, at about 9 p.m. on Jan. 7, (1 p.m. local time) and traveled the first leg on a military plane, where she could make phone calls and communicate by text and email. The next morning, she flew commercial from Washington Dulles International Airport and would have been able to communicate only by email and text. She reached Los Angeles International Airport at 11:24 a.m. on Jan. 8, according to her itinerary and flight records. It took about two months, but Bass' office eventually responded to The Times' request, saying it had 'no responsive records.' Interpretation of text obligations Michaelson said Friday that Bass' phone auto-deletes text messages. He added that this wasn't new and the setting has been in place for at least two years. Michaelson contended that city administrative code regarding retention, particularly Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 12.3(b)(6), does not apply to texts. That statute dictates that most records 'shall be retained for a minimum of two years unless a shorter period is otherwise permitted by law or a longer period is otherwise required by law, or unless, consistent with state law, a different period of retention is established by order or resolution of the Council.' That interpretation received some push back, however. Other agencies and officials have released a multitude of records from the early days of the fire in response to public records requests. California law dictates the release of these kind of records, unless there is a specific exemption. First Amendment Coalition Legal Director David Loy argued that Bass' texts should be retained. 'As I read the plain language of L.A.'s own administrative code, the city imposed upon itself a more stringent record retention requirement than state law might otherwise require,' he told The Times. For more, check out the full article. Trump administration policies and reactions Los Angeles fires and recovery Final days of Gene Hackman South by Southwest and Entertainment News More big stories Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here. Column One is The Times' home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here's a great piece from this past week: In prison and seemingly unable to escape a destructive cycle that began when he was a child, Ahmed Bellozo spent hours watching investigative journalism shows, educational documentaries and Huell Howser's homespun travelogue, 'California's Gold.' It was a way, he said, to distract from his pain. Years later, out of prison and wanting a drastic change in his life, Bellozo turned to those shows for inspiration as he reinvented himself on social media as the star of 'On the Tira' — a video series that's part showcase of local landmarks, part investigative journalism and part hyperlocal news about fires and car accidents across the Inland Empire communities he's lived in for most of his life. More great reads How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Going out Staying in Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage. That evening outside Eaton Canyon, the fire spread without halting. First it was 400 acres without containment, then 800. She had loved the canyon. It offered a sanctuary after her divorce. It is a place where she built a life with her husband and child. Though her house did not burn, the scars from the Eaton fire run deep. Will she fall in love with Eaton Canyon again as she once did? Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team Andrew J. Campa, reporterLuke Money, news editor Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
