After the Ashes: A Beautiful Altadena Podcast

Episode 23: Eight Crazy Nights

• Shawna Dawson Beer

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Episode 23 of After the Ashes arrives in the season of light and at a moment when much of what we’ve been saying here for months is finally breaking into the broader news cycle. As Hanukkah begins this week, we reflect on what it means to light the candles this time of year. We move through a wide-angle media roundup—from national coverage echoing long-standing warnings, to Emecka of Rhythms of the Village on the cover of Inc. Magazine, to year-end conversations shaping how Altadena’s story is being told beyond the neighborhood. We also discuss what remains absent from much of that coverage, including the harder realities that resist seasonal framing.

We break down the recent County EIFD meeting on the new CRD and growing community pushback around governance without meaningful oversight or public input. We dip back into the issues brewing with our water mutuals, including a Las Flores Water Co shareholder meeting cancelled at the last minute and the quiet accumulation of power going on behind the scenes. 

We close with this episode’s Small Business Shout-Out: Little Red Hen, Altadena’s oldest running Black woman-owned business, operating continuously since 1946. Despite decades of service, community recognition, and media visibility, rebuilding after the fire remains uncertain. If you are able, please consider giving to Little Red Hen’s GoFundMe to support their rebuilding efforts, and follow @littleredhen_altadena on Instagram for updates and the latest. 

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome back to After the Ashes, your uh podcast for Altadina about the recovery and all the other wonderful things that were going on. And I'm your co-host Steve. I'm here with Steve, are you nervous today? No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00:

Steve's stuttering a bit. Oh my gosh. Steve. Well, I mean, Steve's a little camera shy. We're on camera this morning with a lovely background of Altadina behind us. And Steve is a little, I think Steve's a little shy and nervous, which I love for him. Um, I'm gonna read the title because you know I love a pithy title. And this one it goes to Steve, full credit. I was knocking around a thousand titles and Steve just blurted out eight crazy nights. So this is episode 23. We are recording on the 16th of December, and um, this is eight crazy nights. Welcome back.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, happy Hanukkah and Happy Hanukkah. I think tonight's night three.

SPEAKER_00:

It is night three. I don't know if um I think you had a chance. Did you read the post I shared?

SPEAKER_01:

You you that was beautiful.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. It was I felt like um the metaphor of the light and the darkness that is Hanukkah, yeah, and uh was just appropriate for the season that we are all in. And that picture and that picture is so poignant, especially not just with local events but world events and especially with what had happened in Australia. Yeah. And even frankly, the you know, Rob Reiner, which I think for any Angelino Gen X, or seeing Rob Reiner murdered by his it looks like his own kid, him and his stepmother or his um his wife, the kid's stepmother.

SPEAKER_01:

I thought it was his mother.

SPEAKER_00:

I thought it was it may have been his mother, but I know it's his the second wife anyhow.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know why that one, I think that one hit us uh Angelino uh Gen X kids a little harder than perhaps most, especially since he's someone who should have lived to a hundred, but anyhow. Um if you haven't read the post I wrote for Hanukkah, it's on Substack, it's in the Beautiful Alternate group, it's on our Instagram, it's on our public page, you can find it. I will not um make everyone listen to it now, but I will say, you know, even if that is not if Hanukkah is not your tradition, it's um a really kind of beautiful way to mark this time of year, and like I said, the season that we all find ourselves in. And um if you haven't, light a candle for yourself and your neighbors and um bring some light into the dark.

SPEAKER_01:

Indeed.

SPEAKER_00:

Steve, I wanted to ask, and and you may know, what's happening, speaking of you know, Judaism and Hanukkah, what's happening with our temple? It was one of the first structures to burn the night of the Eaton fire. I remember getting a uh message from one of our sheriff's deputies saying that the temple was on fire to paint paint the picture that you know that it was bad and to be prepared for what was coming.

SPEAKER_01:

I, you know, I I'm not exactly sure. At the uh Holly Dinah event, there was a contingent from the synagogue, and I was talking to one of the rabbis there, Rabbi Jill, and it sounds like they're in the rebuilding process. I mean, put it up there with the club and St. Mark's School and some of the other institutions. And you know, those processes do take longer because there's a lot of stakeholder um agreement needed, yeah, input required. So I mean, I get emails every now and again from the synagogue trying to figure out where we stand. So as of right now, um, it sounds like they're in the master planning stage because like so many of the institutions, I was at one for St. Mark's last night because my kids are alum, and as I said, I'm a recovering trustee there as well. Um there is it's a it's a way to reimagine these uh institutions, these, you know, these the campuses and everything, not for what was. And a lot of these decisions were made piecemeal, but now because it's like a complete revamp, where do you want these organizations to go and what is their future going to look like? And I and that complicates some of this process. And I think, you know, as we were talking with St. Mark's, it was interesting. A lot of the things that we were hearing and we were talking about in the community were things we could have said about Altadena. And, you know, one of the things we talked about in that meeting was where does St. Mark's fit in Altadina and the future of Altadena and the rebuild? And it was just a very interesting conversation because we are so into this conversation that we had a lot of insights. And so, you know, how do you capture what was? And that's so much about what St. Mark's was talking about. And I think the synagogue, country club, a lot of the organization, you know, Waldorf School, a lot of these institutions that were lost, how are they going to recapture that and maintain that? And that I think is a broader question for Altadena itself.

SPEAKER_00:

It is. I mean, I know in just a brief conversation with some people at St. Mark's, you know, some of what their concerns that they expressed off the cuff were, you know, who are we rebuilding for?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, yeah, that is a question.

SPEAKER_00:

They don't know who's going to come back, how many are going to come back, are they going to have the numbers that they need?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, and I was talking to actually talking to my wife about that this morning. And I mean, not to get too far into the weeds on that, but yes, it St. Mark's traditionally had been as a school had been a major part of the community. You know, a lot of the community send their kids there. Over the last few years, the the student body shifting because of St. Mark's, what it represents and how what a great program they have and what a great school it is, that we've been pulling from a lot outside the area. So it's it's different than it was. Like 20 years ago, probably 80% of the student body were from Altadina or Altadina adjacent. Now I think it's under 50%. But again, that was that's just me swagging it. I'm sure there are people at St. Mark's that'll say, Steve, you know, you don't know what you're talking about. But you know, because I saw it with my boys' class versus my daughter's class and the difference between the two.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, no, it's it's uh I think the only constant is change, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Indeed, indeed.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's that's where at it. I think about I'm gonna go back to the temple because I think about that in the context of it being, you know, in Pasadena in particular, you know, Pasadena has um historically been very Christian. Um, which is evidenced by hold the rose parade on Sunday. Yeah, correct. Which um has, you know, is evidenced in the number of churches everywhere, all over the area in Pasadena, East Pass, Sierra Madre, Altadena, you know, that we don't have temples. And I remember um, and so to have one temple, our temple is the only temple.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it was also the community center as well. So it was not only just the synagogue, but it was also the center of Jewish life.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. And the only one that existed really in the San, you know, not I wouldn't say San Gabriel Valley, because we do have some further out, but they're much smaller. But the only thing really in this area. Um, and uh, I really spoke to me because, you know, I go back to the conversation I had with um Bobby Chosen, the man who grew up in my home um a hundred years ago, and who was one of the only Jewish families in the community, and his, you know, sharing his story of there being no temple and them using a field, um, and and using even, you know, church grounds at times when they could. Um, but a lot of things really taking place in people's homes because they needed to. And um, you know, I I will just wrap on, you know, again, the image of, you know, hit after he shared the story of his brother being married in um our Jane's cottage and the arch for anyone who had a Jane's cottage or is it was in one, you know, the arches between rooms and between the living and dining areas, and that they turned that into their hoppah, and that's where they had their weddings because there was nowhere else to do that. So it um I just feel like we, you know, the community got set back in a lot of ways, the Jewish community got set back in a lot of ways of working so hard to have a home.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

For for Jewish life, and then not having that. And um again, it'll endure. It'll endure and come back.

SPEAKER_01:

6,000 years of tradition, Shada.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm I'm 100% with you. Um, but yeah, so that is that. Let's jump into our media roundup.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, I know our listeners love it. I wish we could do it like Saturday Night Live, does it, you know? I know me too.

SPEAKER_00:

I wish we were well, I don't know. Who would be who?

SPEAKER_01:

Who would be Che and who would be um I don't know I I go back to the old Dana Carvey days and Kevin Neal and I I mean I'm I I was gonna say um um Scarlett's husband, Chay and uh Michael Che.

SPEAKER_00:

And who's the other guy who does the the rant? Oh Steve, you fail me. I don't watch Saturday Night Live. Oh my gosh. It's Yoast. Uh uh anyhow, but Mrs. Mr. Scarlet Johansson.

SPEAKER_01:

Ah, okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Steve will Steve, I'm gonna share episodes of SNL with Steve later, and then we will retouch on this on another another day.

SPEAKER_01:

Yet again, I fail on my cultural so in the media.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, there's a lot to cover in the media. Some of it is, you know, feel good, some of it is good to see, some of it was interesting. I think um I it Steve, you were messaging me um last week, the end of last week, going Shauna, go read the headlines, because literally there were stories in LA Times, um, Real Politics.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Um that was a crazy day. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It it um what up Wall Street Journal. There were stories in every one of these publications that echoed the topics and takes that we have been covering on this podcast for months. And um, it made both of us kind of think well, either we have landed on something or we know who our listeners, some of our listeners are.

SPEAKER_01:

Um I think it's more the former than the latter. I mean, I'd like it if it was the latter, but you know, I'm not gonna presume media actually listens to us.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't presume that anyone has time to listen to us, but um, I think maybe a little of column A and column B. Um, and I found that to be kind of interesting. But yeah, that you know, the points that we are hitting are finally hitting some critical mass. I will say they're also hitting some critical mass with community orgs and groups um as they are starting to speak up on some of the things that we've been talking about for months. I've said before I felt like chicken little running around like everybody, the sky is falling skin, no one was listening and thought I was a couple of things.

SPEAKER_01:

Can I continue our our our theme of the Hanukkah celebration? I feel like I'm wandering in the desert all by myself. You know.

SPEAKER_00:

Will there be a burning bush in here? Or no? Sorry. You can always count on me to bring the 12-year-old to the table.

SPEAKER_01:

I I will say that it's funny. I I've talked to, you know, just as an aside, some folks in the electeds, and I've said, you know, it would be really interesting for in this day and age where we're really trying to find leaders that believe that it's almost like a Moses moment in some respects, where it doesn't, you know, there was a great article by James Carvel this week, and he was writing about uh Jasmine Crockett down in Texas and how she committed Cardinal Rule Number One in politics, which was she made the campaign about herself. And I feel like that's so up, it's happening so much now in politics that you know the those involved in causes are making about themselves, not about the cause itself.

SPEAKER_00:

And you know, sometimes we're gonna talk about that today and in the next episode.

SPEAKER_01:

But that's the thing about Moses is that Moses knew he was never gonna see the promised land. And sometimes right now, I feel like our country and our political environment, whether it's Al Tedina, whether it's California, whether it's federal, we need that Moses moment where you're not worried about actually going into the Promised Land. It's just about we just need that leadership.

SPEAKER_00:

We just have to get there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

It's the leadership to even try to get there.

SPEAKER_01:

And it's a metaphor, folks. I'm not talking about Moses literally wandering through the desert for 40 years. But it's a great parable because I think it it you think about some of the great historical figures in our country who never got to see the end of their cause. Think about Lincoln, think about Roosevelt, think about Kennedy. All three of them were never, and I'm not saying people need to be assassinated or killed or you know die in office, but I'm saying that we remember them for what was so great about them, which was they brought us to that point that we needed. And I think it's a humility that goes along with also the the confidence to do it. So anyway, that's an aside. I apologize.

SPEAKER_00:

Don't apologize. I think it's a very poignant take on where we are right now. It does feel like we've been wandering through the desert for um at least 20 years, and I think we've probably got at least another.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, I got a good one on this one. I just thought of this one. And what do they get in trouble for? Worshiping a golden calf who has everything decked out in gold.

SPEAKER_00:

Boom, Trump.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I just I couldn't help myself.

SPEAKER_00:

I know. We can't. It's true. It's too, it it just writes itself.

SPEAKER_01:

It lends itself to the exact.

SPEAKER_00:

It writes itself, so we can't help ourselves. Um, what else was in the media this week? Um, this week in particular, if anyone caught the cover of Ink magazine, if you don't know Ink Mag, Inc. Mag is really fantastic, you know, for business, especially if you're a small business.

SPEAKER_01:

INC, not INK for those tattoo-wearing people.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yes, yes, Inc. as an incorporated. Um, it is fantastic. Um, I've actually been featured in there many years ago. Of course, I was doing my thing when I was doing my my little entrepreneurial thing. But on the cover this month, um, which is amazing, is Amika from Rhythms of the Village. Um, and talking about community rebuilding and community building within rebuilding. Um, and I was really, really happy to see his face on the cover of the magazine representing the town. I couldn't think of uh a better person to do that uh on that stage. So that was really fantastic to see. And I think outside of that, you know, um, I know we've been both tackling a lot and a number of, you know, community organizers and leaders tackling all of the media interviews that are coming up.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because everybody is kind of getting their thoughts in order and organized around how to talk about the one-year anniversary and where we're at as a town, and where we're at as fire survivors and as community organizers, and what's happening and what isn't, and what's working, and what's not. Um, Steve knows I spent a couple hours yesterday with someone from The Economist having that conversation. I'm grateful that publications like that are still.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, especially if they want to go long form on this because I think I think that that's what's missing from a lot of this conversation. I think Justin Moreland did a great job in time, not because he featured us, but because I think that that was a great piece that gave a longer lens. And he sort of set the tone for these conversations that are coming. And the the fact remains, the Times, we've talked about this in our media discussions in the past, but the Times and the Times in particular has done a fantastic job here telling the day-to-day stories, but the newspapers are not really designed for long form. And we still need to have that long form narrative to look back at the year and say, okay, what what are the lessons learned? What are these things? How do we take what's been created by the Times, by politico, by these entities, and use that to tell see the arc of the history that's occurring, you know?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I agree.

SPEAKER_01:

And I think because that's what historians do is they look back and then they try to draw the the conclusions, figure out the patterns and the themes and use those themes to tell the story.

SPEAKER_00:

And exactly.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, and you're that is your primary document.

SPEAKER_00:

I wish we had Heather Cox Richardson.

SPEAKER_01:

You have me.

SPEAKER_00:

I know.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm not a PhD or a PhD. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00:

I just I love reading her, you know, on the days that I'm not gonna slip my wrists, or I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that with any kind of levity. Um, but you know, some of that material, oh, it's heavy, and it's when you dig too deep and read it daily, it's off mighty depressing. But um it is what we need right now. Uh so well, I was gonna say share with you and all of our listeners that when I went to meet The Economist, they'd wanted to meet at another coffee shop. And I was like, no, no, let's go to highlight coffee because I wanted to go to highlight. I haven't been there in a while, and I was very happy to see um the proprietor. Frank Kim was there. I've known Frank is another one I've known since long before Altadina from Another Life. But let me tell you that I had at Frank's suggestion the pineapple lime espresso tonic. And I'm one of those people who like the dirt, like kind of like the TikTok dirty coke thing. I um you don't Steve is looking at me blank, like he has no idea what I'm saying. Social media.

SPEAKER_01:

Social media is bad. I have to tell, I have to lead by example with my children.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm glad someone is doing it. One of us has to do the dirty work and be in the social media. It's me, at least sometimes because it fatigues me too. But um, oh my gosh, that thing was so good. It was amazing. Like, I don't get it.

SPEAKER_01:

Pineapple lime espresso tonic.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, and he will make it decaf or half calf so that if you don't get too wild with it, but it was delicious.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, come on, you got the pineapple and the lime. You gotta get wild.

SPEAKER_00:

It was so good. So I um, if you if you are over in that area, he has like a uh an orange coffee that is kind of the cult favorite there, but this is definitely a runner-up. It was so good, especially if you want something cool. In fact, I want it right now. I left my coffee at home today, guys, and it's all I can think about.

SPEAKER_01:

And you're this is her on no caffeine, folks.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't, I drink generally. Um, I drink half calf or decaf. I just enjoy coffee, but I don't need the caffeine. This is how I wake up, and I had nine hours of sleep last night, so watch out.

SPEAKER_01:

All right.

SPEAKER_00:

So I think it'll be really interesting to see how all these headlines wrap up.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, I'm really interested, interested to see come January what various publications and journalists take our takes are. Yeah. I know there's been a lot of focus on these kind of feel-good stories. Um, I've, you know, helped with a few and and sent a few of our small businesses in the direction of a few so they could be featured. But I'm really keen to see what happens post-January 7 when we can actually get back to some of the meteor stories, some of the things like what we've talked about on past episodes here of like the real death toll, for example, um, after the fire, and how many people have been lost, you know, who are not in that 19 official count here. Yeah. Um, because they've been lost, you know, to mental health nightmares and and sadly to suicides, or even to um, you know, uh associated illness, like the person in our community who we lost to uh COVID um uh or a complication of COVID because she contracted COVID while at an evacuation center. So yeah, I think um I look forward to seeing some of those heavier stories too, but for now, it's nice to have the nice level. A little levity.

SPEAKER_01:

Indeed.

SPEAKER_00:

A little levity. So um on the note of levity, let's move into something that is entirely not light. Let's talk about the county dropping their little CRD, EIFD, um, first financial meeting. Um this the on Monday night. Yes, on it is hocus pocus on Monday night um this week, and they did that um in downtown LA. I'm sorry, and I'm sorry I said Monday night, but it was actually Monday at 10 a.m.

SPEAKER_01:

10 a.m. in the middle of the workday.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep, when most people could not be there, and again, with very little um reference, very little promotion. Um, you know, it's one of those things, again, it's so frustrating that people are just starting to kind of figure out what's going on when it's already happened.

SPEAKER_01:

I we yes I know, I know.

SPEAKER_00:

You and I have been, you know, hollering about this for some time, but for a lot of people, they're just kind of um, you know, waking up and clueing into this. Um, it looks like the two people who have been tasked with being the quote unquote community representatives for community oversight are um Wilberta um from the local NAACP, and and she has also a fantastic uh background and um accolades of her own beyond that and her own her own work background. And then um John and I forget his last name, but John, who's the president of Las Flores Water. Right. And we'll talk about that when we talk about that shares of the CRD. Yeah. So but you know, again, to what degree those are community stakeholders in the truest sense, I think is very questionable. Well, it's you know, where are where are the fire survivors in this, you know? I know Steve's has a blank look on his face of like they're not here.

SPEAKER_01:

That's where well, look, you know, in this respect, Catherine or the supervisor protected Altadena because three of the five people involved in the CRD are going to be Altadino related or Altadina adjacent. So that's a good thing. Thank you, Supervisor, for doing so.

SPEAKER_00:

And to refresh, actually, for anyone who's listening and doesn't recall or if this is your first time popping in, the CRD is the climate resiliency district.

SPEAKER_01:

SRP CRD.

SPEAKER_00:

That's what it is. That um was voted in via, or well, or rather not voted in because there was no vote and it was done behind closed doors, which was has been a lot of the frustration ongoing. But um this was brought to us by 782. So and everyone is wondering what was 782.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, the bill that I was very much against.

SPEAKER_00:

We were both very much against. It's the bill I went up to Sacramento with Serena to try and, you know, at least um go on public record um that Altadina was not consulted, and this is not how we wanted to fund our recovery because it is woefully insufficient and unnecessary because there's no protest feature. Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

And just to refresh everyone, it's like the only thing this bill did was eliminate the protest vote and expand the the district by 20% because that was supposed to increase the tax base that we were supposed to pull from the right.

SPEAKER_00:

Well it was supposed to include Pasadena, La Cinata, Sierra Madre.

SPEAKER_01:

That's what everybody was sold, correct.

SPEAKER_00:

That's that's the bill that we were sold. And guess what? That's not what we got. So it's all Altadena rebuilding Altadena. So even though it is largely at least they safeguarded our money. Yeah. Um, largely and and not much of our money, because remind me, how much what is it supposed to pick up? Like 100 million between now and 20?

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, no, it's supposed to be two billion dollars.

SPEAKER_00:

But between now and 2070.

SPEAKER_01:

They have to get to the two billion. I mean, uh I've heard numbers in between 60 to 100 billion. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

60 to 100 million, not billion, sorry.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. It's not billion. 60 to 100 million, and that is again across the next 45 years.

SPEAKER_01:

I again uh I there are no comments.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

This is this is designed to go, this is one path. And those who have been reading my Substack know that we have other paths.

SPEAKER_00:

There are other paths to get there. But here's what I thought was kind of interesting. I had um a a group send me their comment because you know, even though people couldn't attend this meeting, those who are aware of it, um, some did sub um submit public comment. And one of those groups was the Altadena Village Partners. And um, for anyone who is not familiar with Altadena Village Partners, a relatively new group, um, a grassroots volunteer org of design and planning professionals advocating for community-led design of Altadena's commercial corridors. Um, so there the the they had a number, they have a multi-page comment here that was very well thought out and structured, but you know, they very specifically um spoke to the fact that there was no official design uh designee for questions and follow-up from the public, no individual named, no contact information for the public to call or email or visit with questions regarding this infrastructure financing plan. The meeting notice was posted, not posted 10 to uh days in advance, um, even though it was supposed to be the plan, the IFP, the the infrastructure financing plan was not posted 30 days in advance of the meeting as it was supposed to be. The details of each project, the location and cost were missing entirely. Um and so, you know, it was like therefore it's unclear if there's a draft plan because there are no project details. And you know, they go into cite um a number of um state um government sections that would pertain to all of this. They get into the fact that you know the boundary map is hard to read, um, the cost to build table one not the cost to build the EIFD, it is the amount being generated by the VLF property tax and IFD bonds over 45 years. Thank you so much for calling this out. So, again, I'm glad that people are finally starting to wake up. And this goes on for pages because there's there's just so much that is problematic with this as it stands right now.

SPEAKER_01:

But can you stop it?

SPEAKER_00:

Nope.

SPEAKER_01:

Nope. So the county can just take the hits and just keep on going.

SPEAKER_00:

And keep going because here we are. We still seem to have, you know, we exactly we allowed this, and we still have you know no real voice in any of this. Yep, yeah, and no leadership speaking on our few community groups. I know, I know. So that's it. That's the latest, and we'll continue to cover that as um as there as that develops, but that is it. And you know, speaking of um things that are developing, um, let's talk about the oncoming, the water wars, the ongoing water wars. So last week. We're not talking about the Colorado River, folks. Not yet. So last week we introduced um in one of our episodes, you know, the um three Altadina water mutuals and how those overlap and the Chinatown and the Foothills. It is Chinatown and the Foothills. And we were talking about specifically, you know, what the need for consolidation, their financial insolvency, the lack of infrastructure that is required for the coming, not just for the rebuild, but for the coming densification, and how this was actually going to all come together. So since we recorded that episode, um, I had a conversation with a couple of folks on the municipal water board off record that provided some very interesting background that perhaps one day I will be able to share in more depth. But um we also had a meeting scheduled, an emergency shareholder meeting on the quote unquote fire recovery charge that Las Flores Water in particular proposed to charge all of the homeowners to try and get themselves, you know, into some sort of solvency to make it through the next few years. So um, in a nutshell, what Las Flores is asking for is for every homeowner to pay$3,000. And I should add, this is the secondary plan. The primary plan was a property lien on everybody, and that would have been received so well. Um, so they shifted to this, which is a$3,000 charge. The$3,000 charge, um, in theory would be refunded to us if they have a recovery that is sufficient from the SCE lawsuit, which kind of um bother.

SPEAKER_01:

So you're you're fronting them money.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct. We're fronting the money because they have no other financial plan. And you know, they got into the fact that they're not eligible for any loans because they have, you know, terrible financials and their cash flow is terrible, because they're looking at approximately 20% of regular billpayers actually in the area paying bills right now. Um, I think this is largely not helped by the fact that some members of the community have already shared that they are receiving water and are not receiving bills because Las Flores is so wildly understaffed, because they are financially insolvent that they're not even correctly billing. And there are actually people in the community offering to volunteer their time to fix this. I can't get started on that, but that is where we are at. That is what a shit show this remains to be. And I don't mean specifically Las Flores or specifically the water situation, but just in general, everything about this rebuild is just by the seat of the pants, nobody knows what's going on, no one is in charge. It is a hot mess. So this meeting last week that actually got some pretty good traction and looked to be, you know, record attendance for a shareholder meeting because it was well publicized and it was being talked about within a number of community.

SPEAKER_01:

It was done in the community as opposed to downtown at correct. It was uh and you didn't have to pay for parking.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. Okay, so it was being held um at the Altadena Library. So we got word less than an hour prior to that meeting that it had been canceled. As I was getting in the car with my girlfriend who also lost her home in Altadena, who's currently displaced in Orange County, who had driven up for it. So we're getting in the car together to go. And I was like, guess what? It's not happening. So I was like, we're still going because all paths on that night were going to lead to Good Neighbor Bar and the Eagles Hall, but that is another, anyways. So we were, it was that that plan was not going to be diffused. But I was like, no, we're going by the library because I want to see if they're there and I want to see their faces when I ask some hard questions. You know, it's it's really easy to read, it's easy to be somewhat disingenuous in an email in writing, and far less so when someone's looking you in the eyes. So I um I just wanted to see for myself because the the party line that was delivered was that they um could not hold this meeting because of a uh scheduling issue with the library. I I work closely with the library, I'm the community at large member on you know a Measure Z, um, our our tax, you know, another um property tax that we all agree all um voted in. We did get to vote on that to re to um do uh capital improvements to our libraries, of which Bob Lucas has done. And um early next year um the main library will be closing and will be going under its major refurb, which of which the timing it turns out is quite good. Um, but anyhow, all of that to say, I couldn't believe that the library would fuck this up. But the library did actually, I I saw our library director, and um she said that in fact, yeah, that it was a newer staffer's error, that they were very apologetic for, that this was scheduled on a one night that they are not open late, and she was there only because you know she was missing another meeting to hang out to be sure that people that the water company could stay to meet and greet with people who, of course, didn't hear that this was canceled because who's gonna get that message um at the 12th hour like that? Um, and so we ended up having a little bit of a conversation, and it was interesting to learn, not surprisingly, that Las Flores was um, unlike a couple of the other wild uh mutual water mutuals, wildly underinsured. Um, that there's no plan for infrastructure for densification. They punted that to the county, but as we know, the county has no plan on that front either.

SPEAKER_01:

Um because Or maybe they do have a plan, we just don't know about it.

SPEAKER_00:

Maybe they do, who knows? And then they'll just tell us after they spring it on us, and it makes no sense. And we can take it.

SPEAKER_01:

We can protest it.

SPEAKER_00:

But um, you know, and outside of that, that they were very open to this concept of um consolidation with the other water companies, so is Lincoln. Lincoln is on board with them. It sounds like Rubio, who is far more financially solvent than the other two, um, and much more savvy if you look at their pretty print materials. Um, they're light years ahead of the other water companies that are kind of in the Stone Age. Um, I was telling, sharing privately with Steve that this is the only build in I've ever had in my adult life that I would blow. And because for years after I moved into my home, they had no online pay option, no auto pay option, nothing. It was take a check in every month. And guess what? A lot of months I blew that because nobody does that anymore. And I would be like, oh, it's time to pay when I get the notice on my door that I didn't pay, which is not the way, but that's just all to say they've these guys have been so kind of behind the times. And um, as I understand it, in part that's by design because it helps keep the water rates low, and that makes community members happy, and that's how they've operated.

SPEAKER_01:

But you know, we are now welcome to the 21st century.

SPEAKER_00:

And these guys need financing options and they need to get creative with it because all they're looking at is um loans, or oh, the party line when I when I spoke with them was like, oh, we'll get public money if we all consolidate. We can get money from the county and the state. And I was like, but what money? Because there's no money.

SPEAKER_01:

You mean the$18 billion deficit we're gonna have, and the county's$4 billion. I mean, either they have the money or they don't. Oh, but they can they don't have the money to spend, but they have the money to loan.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Look, the reality is this is I've said it from the start back in April, that the best course of action, I still think for the municipal water companies is some form of recapitalization. And there are ways to do that that don't require debt, don't require borrowing from the county or the state or any of that stuff, and then turning over your authority to them. And it's a question of whether or not they want to get creative and find other solutions. There are options, it's just a question of whether people want to go down those roads.

SPEAKER_00:

Indeed. And that is the question. You know, yeah, I I just they need to go down this road because what other road are they going down?

SPEAKER_01:

They can go down the road they're going down now, and they just continue to let the county take over the town, and that's just where it's going.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. Um, so let's on that cheery note, let's wrap it up with our small biz shout-out. I want to um um in our in our desperate attempt to keep this episode under an hour, we try so hard. Uh, we'll see how we do on the on the final time with this one. But I wanted to talk today about um Little Red Hen. For those who are not familiar with Little Red Hen, Little Red Hen was a fantastic little diner, yep, top of Fair Oaks, just south of um Aldina Drive, um, that was operated um by Barbara Shea. And, you know, they that has been a spot that's been in business since 1946. It is the longest running um black woman-owned business in Altadena, and one of the longest running, frankly, in the country. And um, it was a pretty incredible spot that we got to call part of our community, and it was obviously very important to our black community. Um, I used to love to pop in there for, you know, everybody loved the special, but I would go for the shrimp and grits, which were gluten-free. I loved them, they were fantastic. Um, as you can imagine, you know, that business was lost to the fire, like so many. Um, and uh there was a great spectrum news feature on them in August, um, going over the fact, you know, that they, like so many, do not have the funds required to rebuild. They are dependent upon and reliant upon grants and you know, crowdsource funds because, you know, for them to take, have to take a loan to rebuild would be catastrophic for them, they would be able to operate. Like so many food and beverage businesses, you're able to operate because you own the building and you have low overhead. Um, and if you don't, it's really tough to operate that kind of spot at the prices they were charging. Okay. Those kind of community places. It's nearly impossible. So if they had the added overhead of a loan, um, you know, that just it's like out of the frying pan and into the fryer. So they have um a GoFundMe that I was noticing had not had a donation in about five months. The last donation was five months ago. Like so many um GoFundMe accounts, so many people in the community, both individuals and businesses that are desperately underfunded, desperately need help, and there haven't been donations in months because everyone's moved on. And so many outside of our sphere believe that, you know, we got all this fire aid money that as we know we didn't get. And we'll just get me started. Yep. But um, you know, the bottom line is done that campaign, they're at 87,000 of 400,000 needed. Um, and they actually had a secondary campaign on Give Butter where they're at$1,000 of donations. So needless to say, that is, you know, they they probably got, you know, about 20% of what they need to get there, 20 to 25%. And they need a lot of community help. I believe they were, I saw something about them at the Rose Bowl recently, and I couldn't find anything, unfortunately, to share that it looked like there was another kind of um fundraising thing happening. But bottom line, you can go find their GoFundMe. And if you're uh, you know, a private donor looking for something good to do with your dollars at the end of the year, go drop them there because that is a neighborhood institution that we need to be able to have come back.

unknown:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. So on that note, um, one more episode. And then we're off before the holiday break and the anniversary mental health break. And um, yeah. Until next time.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. I'm Steve.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm Shauna.

SPEAKER_01:

Happy holidays, happy Hanukkah, beautiful Altadina. All right, oh, Altas Alta Policy Walk.

SPEAKER_00:

Indeed, you know where to find us. As always, questions, comments, any topics you'd like covered, beautiful Altadina O G at gmail.com. We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_01:

Bye now.