The last six months have been traumatic for Los Angeles. We’ve had natural disasters like the wildfires and we’ve had man-made crises like the ICE raids tear at the fabric of our city. While almost six months apart, both events have shown a city adrift, crying out for leadership, while yearning to be put back on track to stability and success. Los Angeles can not have one without the other. Can Los Angeles come back stronger from this after this adversity and usher in a new era of optimism and prosperity?
Since the fires, I have made it my mission, through Steadfast LA, a nonprofit I created, to help cut through red-tape to help Los Angeles rebuild faster and smarter. We’ve mobilized the private sector and had real results: Samara is donating high-quality, prefab homes for people who face devastating circumstances after the wildfires. Working with Governor Gavin Newsom, we launched a new AI tool to accelerate the approval of building permits. We announced a new public – private partnership to rebuild the Palisades Recreation Center. There is more to be done, but Steadfast LA has stepped up to help aid and accelerate the recovery.
Normally, a city reeling from these types of disasters – no matter what state or political leaning – has been able to rely on the federal government as a reliable partner in the rebuild. Unfortunately, Los Angeles has not had that. Instead, leaders in Washington have been busy playing politics with money we can be using to rebuild our city, help small businesses and get people back on their feet. To be clear, the request for $40 billion came in January and Congress has yet to act. This was not a partisan ask, in March, the full California delegation – Republicans and Democrats – asked for federal disaster aid. They’ve been met with a mix of talking points and silence. It is beyond overdue for Washington to step in and deliver the aid we desperately need. Los Angeles gives more to the federal government than we receive – not that it should matter for American cities – but this is a city that creates and builds.
Natural disasters are now a fact of life—hurricanes grow in strength each year, fire season has no end, we live in anticipation of the next big quake. Despite advances in technology and information sharing, the cost in terms of money and human life continues to grow. America’s electeds have a sacred duty to serve and protect our communities from inevitable, future disasters by learning from the failures of the past. There is no shortage of learnings and lessons we can derive here.
To start, there has been no after-action report, which would outline the cause of the fire, actions taken, what went wrong and what could have been done better. Clearly, lots went wrong and residents have a right to know not only what happened but how and why. This after action report needs to start at the top in City Hall and work its way down through the Department of Water and Power, Fire Department and more. At the same time, this report also needs to detail how and why city agencies failed to coordinate with each other – including the evacuation procedures, which were haphazard at best. This report is just the baseline for accountability.
In addition, it’s not clear just who is in charge of the recovery. On January 17th, Mayor Bass appointed Steve Soberoff as the Recovery Czar. He lasted 84 days, leaving in early April. As of July 7th, six months after the first fires, we will have been without a Recovery Czar for 87 days, or longer than Soberoff actually served. That begs the natural question, what is the status of the national search? How has no one been found yet? Where is the urgency to bring someone in so that the work can accelerate? The search work currently sits with a consulting firm, what are they doing? This is Los Angeles, a world-class city, how do we not have someone in charge yet? It’s truly mind-boggling that no one has been announced yet at a time when we need to be showing real urgency as we move further and further from the fires.
Furthermore, there is no detailed plan, timeline, cost or financing plan for under-grounding power lines. The Mayor committed to doing this, but there has been no meaningful movement on this. Why? We clearly know Los Angeles needs it and issues like wildfires and other disasters will only get worse. Doing this now will help us in the future.
Related Articles
Marcel Rodarte: CEQA reform deserved transparency, not a backroom deal We invested in mass transit. We should let Californians live near it Trump’s ‘giant win’ does not validate his unconstitutional birthright citizenship order From endless juvenile probation to endless incarceration California’s trial lawyer racket, and how to end it Finally, there is no transparency on the amounts of permits that have been issued. This is just basic – and should be something the city is constantly publishing. We have heard accounts of homeowners who have had previously approved pre-fire plans resubmitted to build the same home, rejected multiple times for reasons unknown. This is not how we recover, it’s how we display ineptitude.Squeezed between inaction at the local level, and a Washington that’s abdicated responsibility, Angelenos are finding themselves in the middle as political pawns. Angelenos are tired—of burned homes, and empty promises. We need results.
Los Angeles is hosting the 2028 Olympics, and that will be a state to show the world just how great a city we are. We are big, diverse, creative, tough, resilient and we have a strong moral center. But right now, we are being let down by our leaders who are not living up to the great promise of our city, or our nation. Los Angeles is a city poised to take off, all we need is the chance to do it with effective and competent leadership. We deserve better.
Rick Caruso is a Los Angeles businessman.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Los Angeles has a chance to become better and smarter about disasters and recovery )
Also on site :
- South Africa seeks US trade deal after Trump’s 30% citrus tariff
- Japan starts deploying Osprey fleet at a new base to beef up southwestern defense
- Josh O’Connor Goes Full Cowboy in ‘Rebuilding’ as Director Max Walker-Silverman Takes on Life After the Fires: ‘Loss Often Comes With Love’