It’s Friday, February 21, and the fire department drama is heating up.
(Sorry. It was too easy.)
On today’s L.A. Local podcast: Mayor Karen Bass has suddenly fired LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley after criticism of the mayor's response to the fires. We dig into the mayor's reasoning and its implications for her administration - and also get the response of the firefighters' union, which says the chief was fired for speaking the truth.
Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MAKERS
1. Mayor Bass fired LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley.
The move comes after a month of tension and finger-pointing over the city’s handling of the Palisades Fire. The firefighters’ union insinuated that the firing was an act of retaliation over Crowley’s public comments about the department’s lack of resources.
Councilmember Monica Rodriguez called the termination “baseless” and said she was “outraged by the scapegoating.”
California Dept. of Corrections via AP
2. DA Nathan Hochman will oppose the Menendez Brothers’ bid for a new trial.
Hochman challenged the admissibility of new evidence supporting the brothers’ allegations that they were sexually abused by their father, which their attorneys had hoped might allow their murder convictions to be overturned.
As far as a separate request for re-sentencing that might allow them to seek parole, Hochman said, “We have not finalized where we’re going to end up.”
Mario Tama/Getty Images
3. Malibu residents are urging officials to speed up the rebuilding process.
The Malibu Planning Commission got an earful last night from Palisades Fire victims who were outraged to hear that it might take up to three years to rebuild.
“It's imperative that Malibu City move quickly to get this town back and running as many of its residents [return] back in their homes, or else we're going to lose the culture and character of Malibu,” another resident said.
Getty Images
4. FEMA won’t test the soil in the fire burn zones. Local researchers will do it themselves.
Researchers from LMU, UCLA, and Purdue are teaming up to do free soil and water testing for property owners in the fire areas. The R&S Kayne Fund is organizing and funding the effort.
"Right now, we're in the process of enrolling individuals, homeowners who are interested in having their soil sampled,” LMU’s Brianne Gilbert told KNX News’ Karen Adams.
Wendy
Need something to cool you down after a long day of hearing about the fire department? Wendy’s now has a Thin Mints Frosty.
This isn’t an ad. We haven’t tried the new Frosty and can’t make any claims about whether it’s any good or not. This is just a public service announcement that Thin Mints Frosties are now something that exists. Thank us later.
