Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Los Angeles County to Consider Increasing Price Gouging Penalty to $50,000

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote on a motion Tuesday to increase the penalty for price gouging to a maximum of $50,000 per violation.

In last week’s meeting, the board had directed the Office of County Counsel to draft the motion.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who introduced the motion, had said the recent L.A. County wildfires burned more than 16,000 structures, many residential, and displaced tens of thousands of people.

“Price gouging laws have been in effect limiting the amount of money that can be charged for goods and services including rent,” Horvath said, “Yet, there are bad actors who are taking advantage of this crisis.”

She cited a study by Rent Brigade that found thousands of potential violations, including in areas not affected by fires, in just the first 11 days since the blazes broke out Jan. 7.

Board Chair Kathryn Barger, who co-authored to the motion, said she had witnessed a disturbing trend of price gouging in the area preying on the most vulnerable communities.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Federal Agencies Set to Begin Fire Debris Cleanup on Private Properties Tuesday

By JOSE HERRERA, City News Service

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin removing fire debris starting Tuesday from private properties damaged or destroyed by the January wildfires, officials announced Monday.

The two federal agencies in partnership with L.A. County and impacted municipalities will enter the properties of survivors who submitted a form, known as Rights of Entry, to remove fire-damaged structures such as concrete and metal, ash and hazardous trees.

During a news briefing, federal officials noted the announcement represented a major milestone in the wildlife recovery process.

“Residents in impacted areas will notice an increase in truck traffic, equipment movement and work crews over the coming days, weeks and months,” said Col. Eric Swenson, commander of the USACE’s Recovery Field Office. “We do ask for your patience and understanding as we work to remove debris and reduce the long-term risk for the entire L.A. County community.”

Right of Entry forms are available at any FEMA Disaster Recovery Center and online at recovery.lacounty.gov/debris-removal/.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Black Man Who Lost His Altadena Home in Eaton Fire Alleges Racism at Anaheim Hilton Hotel

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Clarification Regarding Recent Hotel Chain Lawsuit Coverage:  An earlier version of this article included a photograph of the Pasadena Hilton. The article did not mention the Pasadena location, and the lawsuit only involves Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. of Delaware. We regret any confusion which may have been caused and appreciate the opportunity to provide this clarification.

A Black man who lost his Altadena home in the Eaton Fire sued Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Monday, alleging he was treated as a criminal and made a victim of racial profiling while temporarily staying at one of the upscale hotel chain’s properties.

The case was not filed against a specific Hilton location. However, on Tuesday morning, an attorney for Ramon Barry told Pasadena Now that the alleged incidents took place in Anaheim.

Barry’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include civil rights violations, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress,

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

This Valentine’s Day, Know the Importance of Why ‘Self-Love’ is Critically Important for Any Relationship to Succeed

With Valentine’s Day arriving on Friday, Feb. 14, according to mental health experts, we often think about how much and from whom we receive love. Sadly, we frequently forget that our love of ourselves is equally important, if not more, than the love we give and receive.

“It’s often said that we have to love ourselves first before we can love others,” said Dr. Ashley Zucker, a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “However, loving ourselves doesn’t always come naturally. We’re often our own worst critics, and how we treat and view ourselves can sometimes be far worse than how we interact with anyone else.”

According to Dr. Zucker, if you’re being self-critical, it can help you to pause and think, ‘What would I say to a friend or someone I cared about in the same situation?’ Why would we say anything different to ourselves?’

“Take the time to practice gratitude,” advised Dr. Zucker. “Think of three things you’re grateful for each day before you go to bed.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

What Data-Driven Science Reveals About the Twisted Saga of Western Water Rights

By Sabrina Pirzada, CALTECH

In the American West, water is a sacred and scarce resource plagued by pollution, shortages, and contentious fights over legal rights, often between Indigenous peoples and business groups. At Caltech, Laura Taylor, a postdoctoral instructor in the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, conducts data-driven research that combines satellite imagery with historical and economic analysis to point to policy solutions for fairer resource allocation and cleaner water.

Through her work, Taylor has demonstrated that the processes tribes must go through to have their long-established legal rights to water quantified and enforced may actually be contributing to the degradation of this resource.

Water shapes life, economy, and power, Taylor notes. But decades of overuse, drought, and inequitable allocation have made water a fiercely contested resource, particularly in the West.

Under the “first in time, first in right” doctrine, a principle of prior appropriation used in Western United States water law, the first person to divert water from a natural source and put it to “beneficial use” secures the legal right to that water.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Will Having ‘Too Many Cooks’ Complicate Recovery From Deadly Los Angeles Fires?

By DAN WALTERS, CALMATTERS

A proverb said to have arisen in 16th-century England postulates that “too many cooks spoil the broth.” When too many people are working on a project without clear accountability, it may produce a shoddy outcome.

In fact, research conducted at Princeton University 11 years ago appears to validate this. Iain Couzin, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the study’s senior author, said it undercuts the so-called “wisdom-of-crowds” theory that champions multiple inputs.

“It’s a starting point that opens up the possibility of capturing collective decision-making in a more realistic environment,” Couzin said in a statement at the time. “When we do see small groups of animals or organisms making decisions they are not necessarily compromising accuracy. They might actually do worse if more individuals were involved. I think that’s the new insight.”

Examples of spoiled broth abound in the political realm, but a very obvious and current example is California’s haphazard approach to its worst-in-the-nation homelessness crisis.

Monday, February 10, 2025

Insurance Interest from California Wildfire Claims Must Go to Homeowners Under New Bill

In a move to bolster financial support for disaster victims, California state officials introduced legislation Monday that would require lenders to pay homeowners the interest earned when insurance settlements are held in escrow accounts.

The measure, announced jointly by Assemblymember John Harabedian, Democrat of Pasadena, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, would amend state law to require lenders to pay homeowners the interest earned on insurance payouts while properties are being rebuilt.

“Homeowners, not insurance companies, should receive the interest earned on their insurance payouts. Many Angelenos devastated by these wildfires have lost nearly everything; they are struggling and need every bit of financial support. This bill puts people over profits, ensuring that rightful insurance payments go to those who need them most,” said Assemblymember Harabedian.

Under existing California law, lenders must pay homeowners the interest earned on escrow accounts holding property taxes and insurance payments. However, this requirement does not extend to insurance settlements after disasters, which can remain in escrow for months or years during reconstruction,

Monday, February 10, 2025

Parking Enforcement to Resume in Parts of Altadena on Tuesday

New rules include crosswalk safety measures starting March 1

Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, February 11, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will resume full parking enforcement in specific areas of Altadena, targeting violations ranging from red zone violations to abandoned vehicles.

“We will be focused on the areas to the West, west of Lincoln Avenue and to the South, south of Woodbury Road, covering Windsor Avenue to Lake Avenue and south of New York Drive from Lake Avenue to Altadena Drive,” an official wrote in Facebook.

“To avoid receiving a parking citation or having a vehicle towed, we urge drivers to be mindful of this change,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Parking Enforcement Detail announced.

Citations will be issued for multiple violations, including street sweeping infractions, expired vehicle registrations, blocked fire hydrants, red zone parking, fire lane violations, and vehicles disrupting traffic flow.

Vehicles with registrations expired more than six months will face towing.

The department said it will also enforce handicap parking violations,

Monday, February 10, 2025

Trump’s Executive Orders On Immigration: What You Need To Know About Them

By JEANNE KUANG, CALMATTERS

President Donald Trump returned to office last month with a major show of force on immigration, issuing numerous orders and directives to dramatically crack down on enforcement.

They’ve sparked glee from his supporters, condemnation from his opponents, fear from immigrant communities amid nationwide raids — and also plenty of false alarms.

The flurry of new policies — some pushing long-held legal boundaries — are part of a “shock and awe” strategy meant to amplify the promises of a military-assisted mass deportation, experts said. Among the administration’s goals is for fearful immigrants to “voluntarily depart.”

“The big issue is this basically full-court press (from the administration) on immigration enforcement and the fear it’s generated,” said UC Davis immigration law professor Kevin Johnson. “(The fear) probably is the biggest impact of all.”

The uncertainty over immigrants’ futures has led communities to question whether workers should continue to show up to businesses,

Monday, February 10, 2025

Sheriff’s Department Deploys Drones To Patrol Eaton Fire Burn Areas

Enhanced aerial surveillance system launches in fire-affected zones

The Altadena Sheriff’s Station, along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau, is deploying drones in County areas affected by the Eaton Fire, according to official Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department communications.

The Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau authorizes all unmanned aircraft system (UAS) deployments for the Department. These drones are restricted to emergency missions including fire response, search/rescue, and barricaded suspects.

Operating under Federal Aviation Administration visual line-of-sight requirements, the drones fly below 400 feet altitude and are equipped with non-recording cameras by default, with no payload capacity beyond sensors.

The current deployment allows deputies to cover larger areas in Altadena during ongoing emergency operations.

During the Eaton Fire response, drones have been deployed alongside helicopter patrols and a dedicated Looter Suppression Team in evacuated areas. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records show the systems also assisted in evacuating vulnerable residents from Kinneloa Mesa and other high-risk zones.