LA Times Ripped For Palisades Fire Rebuild Report After Permit Records Tell A Different Story
The Los Angeles Times was ripped online after publishing a story saying a home had been “rebuilt” in the Pacific Palisades since the fire, despite records showing the permit was first submitted two months before the…
The Los Angeles Times was ripped online after publishing a story saying a home had been “rebuilt” in the Pacific Palisades since the fire, despite records showing the permit was first submitted two months before the blaze broke out.
The Times ran the piece Saturday under the headline, “The first home has been rebuilt in the wake of the Palisades Fire.” The story reported that a two-story showcase home by developer Thomas James Homes (TJH) had received its certificate of occupancy from Los Angeles County. Shortly after the article went up, users on X accused the outlet of “lying.”
Former District Coalitions Director and U.S. House Communications Director Phil Hardy blasted the post, writing, “It’s not even true. It’s just all an absolute disgrace.”
“Plans were submitted on Nov 8 2024. Not a fire rebuild, just a developer spec from 2024,” former reality star and vocal advocate of the Pacific Palisades Spencer Pratt wrote.
Another user who fired back at the outlet was Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, who called the piece “pure propaganda.”
“If I carried water for the ruling party like this when I was Online Editor for the Daily49er, I would have been fired. It isn’t a rebuilt home, it is a totally different 3x larger development permitted a month before the fire. The fire saved demolition time,” Luckey added.
This LA Times article is an example of writing to manipulate rather than inform. Interesting that @jflem9 wrote about people trying to rebuild after the fires, but this featured home was permitted before the fires. The promise of ‘Helping those affected by the fires is top priority’ still hasn’t led to a post-fire home being rebuilt. A curious journalist would ask questions that inevitably lead to one conclusion: regulations make it near impossible to build housing in LA,” author Andy Boenau