One year ago today, in an act of stunning criminal negligence by politicians Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom, our brave firefighters stood helpless as the reservoir serving the Palisades was bereft of water. Ultimately 16,000 homes were burned to the ground and 29 Californians died in wildfires that spread to Alta Dena and across the county. The mayor was hobnobbing on a political jaunt in Africa after announcing the alarming news that Santa Ana winds were expected to threaten the more vulnerable fire areas in the state with unexpected ferocity, and then leaving the next day. Rebuilding in the damaged areas has ground to a halt, as permit approval and state insurance resolution has been agonizingly slow. Ironically corporate real estate vultures have been buying empty lots worth millions at (pardon the pun) “fire sale” bargain prices. Governor Newsom has threatened exhausted fire victims with the specter of low income housing scams as a way to get the dispossessed to “sell cheap.” This same parasite politician lies daily about phantom progress in the affected areas during his relentless photo op press conferences in his bid to become president some day, a reality only in his dreams. Meanwhile Karen Bass has ordered the Palisades reservoir to be emptied yet again during the Santa Ana winds fire season. I guess they missed a few houses.