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The stunning wildfires driven by the raging Santa Ana winds in Southern California bring forth the best and the worse of our fellow man.
The brave fire fighters and other first responders sadly had to move from suppressing the fires to protecting life by getting residents to evacuate because there was no way they were going to stop the fire storm. The Palisades fire burned more than 15,000 acres in less than 24 hours.
Watching the pundits, I was struck by what poor staff work some of them were stuck with and that went for the politicians as well. The president-elect talking about rivers from Canada to Southern California on a podcast is one example. There are valid debates about using developed surface water in California and important questions about how the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power had adequate capacity in its reservoir tanks which went dry so firefighters had no water coming from hydrants.
That’s whacked priorities such as we’ve seen in Northern California from Pacific Gas & Electric. Incidentally, despite the record dry conditions (rainfall in Los Angeles is at just 3% of normal) and the hurricane-force winds, I haven’t heard anything about public safety power shutoffs. What do the Southern Cal utilities know that PG&E does not.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stepped into the embarrassing moments comparable to President Biden. She was part of a high-level delegation that the White House dispatched to Ghana to attend the installation of the new president. She was unfairly criticized for making the trip—like the dangerous winds could have been predicted when she accepted the invitation.
Where she joined Biden was at the airport after returning. She could not muster up a single word in response to questions—many of which were fair. She was mute before her staff led her away. It was strikingly similar to watching the president being led away by staff. In Bass’ case, what staff moron did not write out 3-4 sentences for her to read is someone who should be looking for work today.
The obituaries column contains way too many names that I’ve worked with professionally and otherwise over the past 50 years. The latest was the announcement that Jim Walker, Pleasanton city manager during the critical 1980s, had passed after being in hospice care in New Mexico. He ran the city during that pivotal time of updating the general plan, approving four business parks including the largest in Northern California (Hacienda) and thousands of housing units.
It also was the time that Walker and the City Council transitioned to seasoned professionals who could handle the additional demands that came with a larger city. Public Works Director Bob Warnick, City Attorney Pete MacDonald (who had a planning background and training) Planning Director Brian Swift and Police Chief Bill Eastman to name those who come readily to mind.
I recall writing an editorial arguing that the city manager needs to be paid more than the people he was supervising. The council did make that adjustment.
Walker never lost his New Mexico roots and returned there after retiring in 1990 and ran his own ranch for 20 years before moving into a city.
Speaking of bureaucrats missing it, consider former Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick. She was removed by the police commission during the tenure of Mayor Libby Schaff and she won $1.5 million in a wrongful termination suit. But she wasn’t a shining light in the New Orleans terrorist attack. Major efforts are underway to bolster security for the Super Bowl next month, but precautions on New Year’s Eve on Bourbon Street consisted of a police cruiser and road closed sign.
She said, “the terrorist defeated it.” You think. Compare her plan with that of New York City that shuts off gatherings with garbage and dump trucks at roadblocks. Just how Kirkpatrick and her department leaders thought their precautions were adequate is a mystery.
