Latest news with #StatuesofLiberty
Los Angeles Times
10-07-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. has never experienced loss on this scale. Measuring progress is hard and painful
The signs of change are there, if you look hard enough. Hillsides along the Pacific Ocean, burned beyond recognition, are showing tentative signs of rebirth. The occasional flower is blooming next to a lost home. From the air, the grid of Altadena shows acres of neatly graded empty lots where the burned-out remains of homes and businesses stood. The fresh wood frame of a new home in Pacific Palisades has become a beacon of hope for some. But the six-month anniversary of the worst firestorm in Los Angeles County history still feels hard to measure. The feelings of loss — 30 deaths, thousands of homes gone, long-term plans derailed, battles with insurance companies, mental anguish — are still too raw. And evidence of progress still feels too fleeting to take much comfort in, especially for the thousands of victims. Modern Los Angeles has never experienced loss on this scale, so there are no easy roadmaps. There are the individual challenges: Struggling with the death of loved ones, determining whether to rebuild, and assessing the financial losses. Then there are the collective ones: Will my neighborhood ever feel like my neighborhood again? Can I afford to still live here? Do I still want to live here? For all the uncertainty, there have been some measurable changes since January. Thousands of lots have been cleared. Numerous lawsuits have been filed. Multiple investigations are underway and dozens of new building permits have been issued. Here's a review of where we are: Federal, state and local officials continued to tout the massive cleanup of Eaton and Palisades fire debris as the fastest wildfire recovery in modern history. At a news conference in Pasadena this week, public officials said the wildfire debris removal is 'months ahead of schedule,' with many parts of Altadena and the Pacific Palisades transitioning from debris removal to the rebuilding phase. Federal contractors hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have removed ash, rubble and contaminated soil from more than 9,000 parcels, with fewer than 1,000 properties still awaiting debris removal. The pace of the federal cleanup — 2,000 properties per month — is twice as fast as the state-managed 2018 Camp fire, which decimated Paradise and remains the state's most destructive wildfire. Crews have removed more than 2.5 million tons of ash, debris, metal, concrete and contaminated soil. The total removed from the Eaton and Palisades fire zones is equivalent to 92 Statues of Liberty and is twice the amount removed from ground zero after 9/11, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom's office. As workers gather up the wreckage, tons of highly toxic ash, contaminated soil and other wildfire debris have been taken to four local landfills: Azusa Land Reclamation Co. in Azusa, Calabasas Landfill in Agoura Hills, Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center in Simi Valley, Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Sylmar. Still, environmental researchers and residents have concerns about the quality of cleanup. Notably, FEMA has refused to pay for testing to confirm ash-covered portions of the property don't still contain lingering contamination after cleanup crews remove debris and a layer of soil. Soil testing by Los Angeles Times journalists, Los Angeles County and privately funded researchers have found lead levels in excess of state standards for residential properties that federal contractors have cleared. The owners of about 1,900 parcels have chosen to opt out of the federal cleanup and instead have private contractors clean properties. The cleanup effort has largely focused on single-family homes, schools and parks. But debris removal will likely shift to more complex multi-family buildings and commercial properties. Newsom said this week that 9,195 of the 9,873 properties enrolled in the federal government's debris removal program have been cleared. The figure doesn't include commercial buildings or the nearly 2,000 property owners who hired their own private contractors for debris removal. Hundreds of fire-destroyed properties have neither opted in for the federal cleanup nor opted for private contractors. Last month, Los Angeles city officials declared these properties a public nuisance because of their failure to take action to clean up debris. In the city of Los Angeles, more than 3,450 homes, nearly 80% of those in the city that were destroyed in the Palisades fire, have been cleared of debris. But most are still navigating the process to rebuild. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County leaders have pledged to streamline permitting for property owners who want to rebuild, a process that many residents who lost homes have criticized as too slow. The city and county opened one-stop permitting centers and waived certain zoning reviews for people who want to build homes that are roughly the same size as their prior residences. More than 650 plan check applications have been submitted to L.A.'s Department of Building and Safety. Of those, more than 220 have been approved and more than 165 permits have been issued, according to the city. A plan check is a review of building plans and documents by the city for compliance with building codes, a requirement for most construction projects. In the county's unincorporated areas, more than 1,000 applications to rebuild have been submitted and 90 building permits have been issued as of Tuesday, according to a county dashboard. It's taking an average of 51 business days for residents to get permits, according to the site. Officials have also unveiled a plan to use artificial intelligence to help city and county building officials review applications to speed up the process. As the fires raged in January, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sent more than 500 workers to Los Angeles County to deliver aid to residents during evacuations, including food, shelter, baby formula and help with medical expenses. More than 4,100 people were housed in FEMA-sponsored hotel rooms in the early days of the agency's response, according to an agency spokesperson. In the months that followed, according to the agency, it has dispersed grants for cleaning and sanitizing damaged homes, provided temporary housing and helped replace essential items people lost in the fires. As of this week, more than $3 billion in federal funds has been approved for individuals, families and businesses impacted by the fires, according to FEMA. More than 11,500 small business loans and nearly 35,000 FEMA grants have been approved. Nearly 3,600 families have received temporary rental assistance post fire, according to FEMA. The agency is still present in Los Angeles. FEMA said it is still processing fewer than 200 requests for assistance. 'As survivors of the L.A. wildfires continue their recovery, we encourage them to keep in touch with FEMA and update their application with changes to their situation,' a FEMA spokesperson told The Times in an email this week. 'If they have additional needs not met by insurance or other means, they may be eligible for additional assistance.' Six months after the firestorm, there is not a definitive cause from authorities for either blaze. But there are some theories. Sources with knowledge of the Palisades fire probe said there are two leading hypotheses: An 8-acre blaze, dubbed the Lachman fire, that firefighters thought they had put out on New Year's Day in the same area reignited and spread during intense winds, or a new fire was somehow sparked Jan. 7. There is growing belief that the Palisades fire was likely a rekindling of the Lachman fire. Sources stressed, however, that the investigation is still ongoing. The Lachman fire was reported about 12:17 a.m. on New Year's Day in the hillside above Pacific Palisades by a resident whose home is about two blocks from the popular Skull Rock trail. That fire was believed to be caused by fireworks. Shortly after 3:30 a.m., fire officials reported they had stopped forward progress of the blaze. A little over an hour later, LAFD reported that firefighters had 'completed the hose line around the perimeter of the fire and it is fully contained.' Some experts suspect the fire was not fully out and the intense winds Jan. 7 caused the fire to pick up and sweep through Pacific Palisades. Federal investigators have not said when they will determine an official cause. 'This remains an ongoing investigation. Until that work is completed and formally reviewed, we will not discuss preliminary findings or respond to speculation,' a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesperson told The Times this week. The investigation into the cause of the Eaton fire has from the beginning centered on power lines owned by Southern California Edison. In particular, the company has focused on an idle, unconnected transmission line that possibly reenergized on the day of the fire. Edison officials have acknowledged it is possible its equipment caused the Eaton fire, and the company is facing numerous lawsuits over the blaze. Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro told The Times in April that evidence including videos and data from the lines suggests the possibility that the idle equipment was reenergized through a phenomenon called induction and sparked the inferno. Investigators with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have yet to determine an official cause of the fire. The fires sparked a massive wave of litigation. Homeowners have filed lawsuits against insurance companies, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison. Los Angeles County, Pasadena and Sierra Madre all filed lawsuits in March against Edison over its alleged role in the Eaton fire. The county's suit alleges the fire began when the utility's equipment came into contact with vegetation or caused sparks that ignited the brush. Pasadena's complaint notes that Edison filed reports with the California Public Utilities Commission stating that a fault was detected on its transmission circuit about the same time the fire started. Residents have also filed dozens of lawsuits against the utility. Palisades residents have sued LADWP, alleging that one of the utility's electrical towers started a second ignition when it was knocked down at 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, about 12 hours after the Palisades fire began. The lawsuit also cites reporting from The Times that found the utility's Santa Ynez Reservoir, located in the Palisades, was empty during the inferno, having been closed months earlier for repairs. LADWP has dismissed the idea that it could be held responsible for the blaze. 'While our crews and system were prepared for situations that might strain the system, no urban water system is designed to combat a massive, wind-driven wildfire of the speed and scale presented by the historically destructive Palisades fire,' the utility said in a statement. Insurance companies have also been on the receiving end of several lawsuits filed by frustrated residents. In May, a Pacific Palisades couple filed a lawsuit alleging the California FAIR Plan Assn. delayed payments to fix their fire-damaged home. State Farm, USAA and two insurers affiliated with AAA have also been sued by policyholders who allege they were under-insured and didn't have enough money to rebuild their homes. State Farm said Tuesday that the company has handled more than 13,000 claims following fires and paid customers more than $4.2 billion. The company said it anticipates paying at least $2 billion more.
Indianapolis Star
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Tim Harmon, founder of Indianapolis's Teeny Statue of Liberty Museum, dies at 72
Tim Harmon, a community advocate and eccentric collector best known for curating one of the nation's largest personal collections of Statues of Liberty, died June 30, from congestive heart failure. He was 72. Over the years, Harmon became a fixture on Indianapolis's east side, where he owned and operated Another Fine Mess and Indy's Teeny Statue of Liberty Museum. Earlier in his life, he owned and ran Tim & Billy's Salvage on the near northside, which morphed into Tim & Avi's Salvage. Harmon's legacy lives on through both the money he'd hand out from his pocket stash to those less fortunate around him and the many people he met while running his businesses. One of Tim Harmon's proudest achievements, his son Avi Harmon said, was the creation of the Statue of Liberty Museum, home to more than 600 replicas of Lady Liberty in all sizes. 'It was definitely his dream,' Avi Harmon said. 'A place to display his personality." According to Avi Harmon, the museum plans to move from its current home on East 10th Street to the Factory Arts Design building on Massachusetts Avenue and open next April. Avi Harmon said the hope is that the museum will eventually be able to organize groups of inner-city kids to travel to New York to see the real statue. A tireless supporter of his community, Tim Harmon never hesitated to lend a hand, said Julie Cicada Crow, his partner of 15 years. She said that he often spoke his mind and could hold grudges when he perceived disloyalty, but he always remained incredibly generous. 'He had a crusty exterior and no filter,' she said. 'But he was a genuine lover of humanity. He always had a pocketful of $5 bills to give to the hungry people on the corner where we worked.' Born July 21, 1952 in Evanston, Illinois, Tim moved to Indianapolis at seven years old. When Avi Harmon was a child, his father took him on excursions every weekend, visiting The Children's Museum, the zoo, and other local attractions. 'He was more than just a dad,' Avi Harmon said. 'He was a friend, but also a parent, and he made it more than that. Every weekend with him was a new experience.' More recently Tim Harmon and Crow spent every Sunday evening watching movies. Before he passed, Julie said the two watched one final movie: The Life of Chuck. Harmon "was kind of famous for" writing movie reviews on Facebook, Crow said, and she could imagine what he would say. "He'd start out by saying, 'Julie really liked this movie, but I didn't understand it,'" she said. "He was a very, very simple and straightforward man. And so the complexity of (the movie), he resisted that." Avi said his father's reach spanned every circle because he didn't just tolerate difference, he embraced it. "He was very much a part of everyone's circle, no matter who you were, whether gay, straight, black, or white," Avi Harmon said. Tim Harmon was always lending his truck to someone. He would fix neighbors' windows. He supported local arts whenever he could. And he never hesitated to shoot local civic associations an email to stand up for what he believed. 'Everyone knew who Tim Harmon was and what he was about,' his son said. 'He fought for what he thought was right.' After decades living with heart failure, Tim was ready to let go, Avi Harmon said. And yet, even his final days carried his trademark thoughtfulness. He chose to spend his last days at home where friends and neighbors could visit. Julie said that about 30 people came by from between Saturday night to five in the afternoon on Monday to say their goodbyes. 'So many things were already taken care of. It was a good death. A good life and a good death, if there is such a thing,' Julie said. A memorial is planned for July 20 — one day before what would have been Tim Harmon's 73rd birthday.
New York Post
13-06-2025
- General
- New York Post
This is how NYC crushes gnawed apple cores and greasy pizza boxes into ‘black gold'
This is where trash turns into treasure. Millions of disgusting, leaking bags of rotting food collected from New York City streets every week are digested and spat back out as 'black gold' as part of the city's fast-growing compost initiative. The arduous process sees the apple cores, spoiled spinach bunches and greasy boxes squeezed, cooked and pummeled for months — all while being fiercely protected from hungry birds — until they are transformed into a fine, nutrient-rich dust that is returned to New Yorkers for their very own gardens. 9 Millions of pounds of food scraps, landscaping materials and food-soiled items are turned into compost every week at the Staten Island facility. Michael McWeeney The Post was offered on Thursday an up-close and personal view of how the Staten Island facility produces what it calls 'black gold' — which has been collected in record-breaking troves week after week since composting mandates went into effect in April. Last week, more than 5.4 million pounds of scraps, food-soiled paper and yard waste — equal in weight to 12 Statues of Liberty — were collected across the five boroughs. The surging collection rate is almost overwhelming for the Staten Island facility, which DSNY Assistant Commissioner Jennifer McDonnell said is fast approaching its compost capacity — which is a good problem to have. 'When you think about how much food waste there is all across the city, it would be very difficult to put ten more of these [facilities] so we have to have many diverse resources for a city as large as ours,' said O'Donnell, adding that the DSNY would partner with other facilities in the region to manage the load if it became too much. 9 It takes about three months for the materials to be turned into compost. Michael McWeeney 'It all depends on how much people participate … We always manage no matter what it is.' The Staten Island facility is one of two in the Big Apple, but handles the bulk of the city's spoiled scraps. After being plucked from curbside pick-up, the materials are piled into a massive shed, which laborers rifle through to remove any non-compostable trash that slipped through. Black bags — which make it nearly impossible for laborers to tell what's inside — are the bane of the DSNY's work and are swiftly ripped open. 'Sometimes we get crazy things like refrigerators. We think that happens sometimes when the trunk that was used to collect recycling didn't get everything out and sometimes it ends up coming out here instead, which is not great, but it happens,' said O'Donnell. 'And I understand this, but we've gotten entire planters because people say, 'Oh, I want to compost my plant,' but they don't actually take it out of the pot,' she continued. 9 The materials are kept in a storage shed before piled thrown into the shredder, which rips bags open, and screener, which separates compost from garbage. Michael McWeeney 9 'We always manage no matter what it is,' DSNY Assistant Commissioner, Jennifer McDonnell, said about the facility nearly reaching compost capacity. Michael McWeeney 'You never really know it's New York City, right?' A select few items that are clearly compostable — often spotted thanks to clear plastic bags — are taken to 'The Tiger,' a massive machine that squeezes the vile liquids out of the materials. Everything else is taken through a duo of machines, aptly named the 'shredder' and 'screener.' The massive conveyor belt with knives rips open remaining plastic bags and separates them from the materials, before pushing them through the screener, which is able to discern compost from garbage based on its density. All the compost taken from The Tiger, the shredder and the screener is next laid out in long, narrow rows on the grounds of the Staten Island facility, where they will spend weeks 'cooking' in the sun. 9 DSNY staff is constantly fending off birds and other animals who want to munch on the pre-compost materials. Michael McWeeney This process is to promote the growth of bacteria that consume the material, creating methane and carbon dioxide, which is key for transforming the scraps into compost, while also killing off unwanted pathogens. A fan is almost constantly churning beneath the piles to regulate the temperature, while a tarp above keeps out the elements — and the hungry birds that are looking to snack on the rescued trash. Landscaping materials like downed trees and old plants go through a similar process nearby, where they are whittled down to mulch, explained O'Donnell. Every once in a while, the piles need to be watered — otherwise, they could spontaneously combust. 9 Fans help regulate the temperature of the compost while its being 'cooked.' Michael McWeeney 9 The finished result is a sweet-smelling dirt that can be returned to New Yorkers for use in their own gardens. Michael McWeeney 'It can. It has. It was a while ago, but we haven't forgotten about it!' said O'Donnell. During these crucial few weeks, the DSNY is battling Staten Island's wildlife, which have been prowling the grounds for dinner since the grounds were a landfill. A constant blast of bird calls is echoed on speakers throughout the 33 acres, an original mix of five 'predators' overlaid on one another meant to keep the birds away. The agency has also scattered fake dead seagulls across the property to show their friends what might happen if they try to munch on the future 'black gold.' It's not just that the DSNY doesn't want the compost to be eaten, but the birds' excrement and bacteria would jeopardize the safety of the material, explained the compost facility's project manager, Mike LeBlanc. 9 Ground compost is being loaded onto a conveyor belt to be bagged at The Staten Island Compost Facility. Michael McWeeney 9 More than 2.1 million bag of compost have been doled out to New Yorkers for free since January. Michael McWeeney The measures seem to be working — there have been no reports of a bird, coyote or other animals getting sucked up into any of the compost machines. 'I haven't seen one yet. The good news is that if they do, they are organic,' said LeBlanc. At the end of the 'cooking' time, the landscaping mulch and food-soiled materials are put through the 'Star Screen,' which pummels the now-sweet-smelling combination into a fine dust that looks like healthy dirt. Much of the compost is doled out to parks and schools across the five boroughs, and plenty is sold off to contractors, but DSNY keeps a hefty amount in stock at all times to give back to New Yorkers at its weekly GiveBack sites — completely free of charge. Big Apple residents have claimed more than 2.1 million pounds of compost since January. All in all, it takes about three months for kitchen scraps to be collected at curbside pickup and returned in dirt form.
New York Post
01-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
NYC scrapped composting fines, but what happened next broke records anyway
Here's the dirt on the Big Apple's new composting effort. The city broke its composting record for the third week in a row — even after officials scrapped fines for its new mandate, The Post has learned. New Yorkers recycled a jaw-dropping 5.24 million pounds of food scraps, food-soiled paper and yard waste in the fourth week of the new program, even though they are no longer slapped with tickets if they toss compostable materials in the trash. Advertisement That's 2,620 tons of trash — equal in weight to 216 Rockefeller Christmas trees. The Big Apple composted a record-breaking 5.24 million pounds of trash in the program's fourth week. The stunning total marks a third consecutive week of record-breaking collections since penalties went into effect and were quickly scaled back. Advertisement A Sanitation Department spokesperson said in a statement that the program is reaching new heights because 'it's simple and easy to use and understand.' 'New Yorkers want to compost – they just want it to be straightforward,' said Joshua Goodman, deputy commissioner of public affairs. 'No more sign-ups, special rules, different days… just a free, weekly, regular service like anything else.' The 5.24 million pounds of recycled trash is more than a 500% increase from what New York was recycling this time last year, according to the agency. The new record is equal in weight to 216 Rockefeller Christmas Trees. Christopher Sadowski Advertisement The figure shattered the city's new record for composting, which had just been set the week before at 4.5 million pounds — when composting fines were still in effect for every resident in the five boroughs. The mandatory program enjoyed less than three full weeks before City Hall stepped in and threw violation fines in the incinerator, caving to widespread anger and confusion over the original guidelines. Under the new rules, only buildings with more than 30 units can be fined for refusing to compost. Even then, the fines are capped at $100. Previously, all New Yorkers could be charged for tossing compost in the landfill, with the punishments increasing in value for each subsequent violation. Advertisement Nearly 2,000 citations were handed out that first week, and the initial record-breaking compost pile came the following week — setting the standard at 3.8 million pounds, or eight and a half Statues of Liberty. The program is so successful that the city is opening a third compost giveaway site in Queens, which returns 40 pounds of garden-grade compost back to New Yorkers for free.
