Harabedian launches LA wildfire audit
Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena, Altadena, Sierra Madre, Monrovia), chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, last week initiated an audit by the California State Auditor on the prevention and response efforts related to the Eaton and Palisades Fires.
The audit comes in light of the devastating fires that claimed 30 lives and destroyed over 18,000 buildings in LA County.
“Eighteen of my neighbors lost their lives in Altadena and countless more had their livelihoods upended in the Los Angeles Fires. They and their families deserve the truth about what happened. As Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, I believe it is my duty to push for transparency, accountability, and improved readiness before the next disaster strikes. Enough damage has been done to communities like West Altadena. We must ensure our neighborhoods are never left vulnerable again. This audit will help us build on what worked and fix what failed,” said Harabedian.
The audit will:
- Identify how many homes were destroyed, where deaths occurred, and who was most impacted, especially vulnerable populations.
- Analyze the timeline of the fires, evacuation orders, and emergency responses to assess whether systems functioned properly and in a timely manner
- Examine fire preparedness, including brush management, building codes, and resource planning, as well as whether critical information was shared with officials and the public.
- Investigate water availability, utility shutoffs, and whether firefighting and evacuation plans were adequate, especially under extreme conditions.
The audit request was approved by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and will be conducted by the California State Auditor, likely starting in the fall.
Bass Slams Vance
Los Angeles City Mayor Karen Bass on Friday blasted Vice President J.D. Vance after he visited Los Angeles Friday and criticized both her and Gov. Gavin Newsome in saying they are endangering the lives of law enforcement officers because of their opposition to federal immigration raids in Los Angeles and surrounding communities.
“Hello, everyone. Today, the Vice President of the United States spent three or four hours in L.A. before holding a press conference and spewing lies and utter nonsense in an attempt to provoke division and conflict in our city,” said Bass.
“Unfortunately, the Vice President did not take time to learn about our city and understand that our city is a city of immigrants from every country and continent on the planet. But then again, he did need to justify the hundreds of millions of wasted taxpayer dollars that were wasted in the performance of a stunt and an experiment in the city and using men and women of our armed services, whose mission it is to protect our country.
“He accused state leaders and myself as Mayor of this city of encouraging violence, of sicking mobs on ICE officers. We’re not sure who these armed men are. They show up without uniforms. They show up completely masked. They refuse to give ID. They’re driving regular cars with tinted windows, and in some cases, out-of-state license plates. Who are these people? And frankly, the vests that they have on look like they ordered them from Amazon. Are they bounty hunters? Are they vigilantes? If they’re federal officials, why is it that they do not identify themselves? You can imagine the fear and the terror that has been created in our city, when you have cars driving around, people jumping out of those cars with guns and rifles and pulling people off the street.
Whitesides fights against Lancaster Post Office closure
U.S. Rep. George Whitesides (D-Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Lancaster, portions of San Fernando Valley) last week sounded the alarm on the potential closing of the Quartz Hill Post Office, 42103 50th Street West in Lancaster after it received a notice of termination slated for September 30, 2025.
Following the news, Whitesides fired off a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner demanding answers on the scope, reasoning, and impact of this decision.
In the letter, Whitesides noted the post office services 20,000-30,000 residents in his district and that the proposed closure “would hinder the ability of my constituents to access prompt, reliable, affordable, and efficient postal services as guaranteed by the USPS’s Universal Service Obligation.”
“Closing a local, profitable post office that helps tens of thousands of my constituents is completely unacceptable, and will force Quartz Hill residents to travel to another city to access basic postal services, which will cost them time, money, and fuel,” said Whitesides. “It will also place a burden on the Palmdale and Lancaster post offices, leading to longer wait times and delayed services. We need answers now, which is why I asked the Acting Postmaster to explain why he chose to close this specific location, how many other post offices across the country are affected, and what the economic impact of closing this location will be.”
Mitchell on parks cuts
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell (D- Southwest/Central Los Angeles including Inglewood, Compton, Carson, Hawthorne, Culver City, portions of South LA) in her most recent newsletter stated she has been hearing from residents across my district who are deeply concerned about the immediate and long-term impacts of federal, state, and county budget cuts on critical services they rely on, and I share those concerns.
“Many of you have already seen signs on your neighborhood County Park, announcing that all County Regional Parks will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays beginning on June 30. This is just one example of how the Parks Department, along with nearly all County Departments, is fulfilling the need to reduce their budget by more than three percent to help stretch funding for vital services and programs,” Mitchell stated in the newsletter.
“These proposed cuts come at a time when the County is grappling with unprecedented financial challenges – from a $4 billion settlement for thousands of survivors of sexual assault, to the devastation caused by recent wildfires, our own labor county costs, to hundreds of millions in proposed federal cuts to vital County programs and services.
It’s not just our parks that are affected- the impacts will be far-reaching. For young people who rely on Youth @ Work to help break into industries for their first job to families who use the Department of Social Services call center for support accessing essential services like food, these are some of the many life-sustaining programs that will potentially see reductions.”
Mitchell urged residents to stay engaged in the budget process across all levels of government. For more information on the County’s budget process, visit: https://ceo.lacounty.gov/budget/.
