Does Recall Effort Against Karen Bass Have Legs?

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass touted Friday’s lifting of the Pacific Palisades “Do Not Drink” notice as her communications team hailed what they said is a recovery tracking ahead of expectations.

A group that emerged this past week views things differently. The newly formed committee looks to lead a recall of Bass, accusing her of failed leadership, most recently in response to the fires and more broadly when it comes to the city’s direction.

Paperwork for the committee’s formation was filed with both the state and city, backed by major funding from former Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running mate Nicole Shanahan.

The mayor’s political strategist waved off the recall attempt as a “stunt” from right-wing extremists.

Time will tell if the effort has legs.

Caruso continues criticism of Bass at conference

Developer Rick Caruso piled on to what’s been a tough week for Bass, offering some choice words about the city’s leadership during a tech conference.

The 2022 mayoral hopeful offered on the subject of post-fires rebuilding, “If you’re the mayor of the city and you weren’t here to prevent the problem, it’s highly unlikely you’ve got the management skills and capabilities to solve this problem.”

Caruso evened out the critique with a more upbeat thought: he estimated some residents impacted by the Eaton Fire could be back home as soon as six months from now. That’s because the nonprofit he recently founded, called Steadfast LA, is working with prefab homebuilder Samara to give away 100 homes, according to statements Caruso made during the annual Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica.

“Unprecedented building boom” headed for LA: Permitting first maze to navigate

Sure, state and city leaders promised to cut the red tape on rebuilding in areas burned by the Palisades and Eaton fires, but homeowners will still face an uphill climb even before dirt begins turning over the next few years.

Part of Los Angeles County will see an “unprecedented building boom,” Marmol Radziner managing partner Leo Marmol said Feb. 27 during a Palisades community meeting.

Homeowners will be forced onto an accelerated track that makes them home builders in some ways, learning industry terminology in an abbreviated period while trying to understand how to navigate the city’s permit and building process.

DOGE hacks away at LA federal office leases with early exits

Los Angeles landlords Oaktree Capital Management, Jamison, Onni Group and more are in the crosshairs of the federal government’s bid to save taxpayer money. Over 125,000 square feet across eight California leases will be cut loose by the federal government with DOGE claiming $5.3 million in annual rent savings.

TRD Research shows two of those leases were already up this year. The remainder have one to four years left on their terms.