The Inexorable Decline of California

[It_Is_My_Time]

This is not a surprise.

 

[budoslavic]

This is not a surprise.

Original source of the article on the Democratic Party's phony NGO organizations that received stole the FireAid money..

FIREAID Concerts Net $100 Million: Fire Victims Ask Where’s the Money?​

What do El Nido, Home Grown, Vision y Compromiso and L.A.’s Home for Native People have in common? They all received FireAid Grants.

On April 21, this editor received a query from a reader, “Do you have any information as to where one can apply for the Fire Aid Concert Funds? I never could figure out where to apply for those funds?”

To support those residents in Pacific Palisades and Eaton who had lost homes – and in some cases – all their earthly possessions in the January 7, 8 and 9 Fires, a Fire Aid Benefit Concert was held on January 30, 2025. FireAid raised an estimated $100 million – and, if they want, people can still donate at https://fireaidla.org.

The Annenberg Foundation was tasked with administering the funds. This editor emailed that organization after the reader’s inquiry and asked, “How much of the funds were spent specifically for the Palisades and which nonprofits in that community are receiving money?”

There was no reply. I sent several subsequent emails. Still no reply. CTN called the Annenberg on April 25, and repeated the request. The person answering the phone tried several extensions, but no one answered. She took down my information and said someone would call back.

No one did, so this editor called again. It was the same drill, someone thought it was Phillip I needed to talk, too, (no last name given), but he did not respond, nor did anyone at any of the other extensions. My information was once again taken down. No one called.

CTN phoned and emailed again, and on April 30, received the following email from Barbarra Chen, Annenberg Foundation Media Strategist.

“With apologies for the delayed reply – I want to provide you with details published previously by FireAid re: grantmaking. (See the screenshot included and button “See our grantees,” which will lead you to this: https://fireaidla.org/grants/)

“For further [stet], please contact Chris Wallace, Chief Communications Officer.”

CTN replied “Thank you for responding. I had gone to that website and saw the assortment of nonprofits that had received grants. It seemed like Pacific Palisades was mostly ignored or forgotten, which is why I reached out to the Annenberg and asked specifically for the grants awarded. Many of the nonprofits receiving money such as the People Concern or St. Joseph’s do not help Palisades families.

“I saw that the Chabad, KI, Metro YMCA, LAUSD and Palisades High received grants, but what about Palisadians who lived in apartments on rent control, or the nearly 700 people who lived in the mobile home parks, who received no aid?

“What about the middle class, who might have had high mortgages, lack of insurance coverage (due to no fault of their own – Fair plan), lost all of their belongings and have no money to rebuild on their property? And these people have either had to rent, borrow or buy furniture, and that includes dishes, pots/pans, bath rugs, towels–

“Of all the grants awarded, which ones targeted Pacific Palisades residents” and “Why were individuals not considered for fire aid?”

No response.

CTN asked Tim Campbell, who managed a municipal performance audit program and conducted an audit for the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights (homeless spending), if there was a way to see the amounts that nonprofit organizations (NPO) receive.

He responded “NPO’s don’t have the reporting requirements that government agencies do, but they should be able to give you a breakdown of how much went to each NPO for use in the Palisades. That seems like a reasonable request, and if I were their auditor, I’d expect them to be able to produce the data.”

Campbell concluded “It would certainly be in the community’s best interest to know where donations went.”

The FireAid website explains that with nonprofits “Our intention is to strike a balance, geographically and organizationally, assisting both large funds and organizations with longstanding experience navigating moments of crisis, and community groups with deep knowledge of impacted neighborhoods.”

The site noted that community nonprofits could apply for grants ranging from $10,000-$50,000.”

There are ten categories listed, and in each are the nonprofits that received grants. Below is a sample.

Children and Family:​

El Nido continues to build healthy families by providing community-based social services in some of the most underserved communities in Los Angeles County, including; Pacoima and surrounding communities, South Los Angeles, Compton, and the Antelope Valley.

Home Grown – Our mission is to build a more inclusive childcare system that values and supports home-based childcare (HBCC) as a quality option for families and children.

Pathways LA – based in downtown “works to make sure that children in our most vulnerable communities have access to high-quality and affordable childcare services. And on that site, the NPO recommend reaching out to L.A. County Emergency Services, American Red Cross and 211 L.A. County for fire aid.

Health and Housing:​

St. Josephs– In a 2022 Westside Current Story “Almost Half of $5M Venice Boardwalk ‘Encampment to Home’ Funding Used for Staffing, Operations” the money used by St. Josephs went to staffing, operations and indirect costs.

The People’s Concern also received a fire aid grant. People in Pacific Palisades had made donations to the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness. That group in turn gave the money to the People’s Concern to hire social workers to reach out to the homeless.

Another grant recipient was the L.A.’s Home for Native People, located at West Temple Street, whose mission is to promote and support the physical, behavioral, and spiritual well-being of American Indian/Alaska Natives in Los Angeles and Orange counties. If you go to the calendar of events, most are done Mondays and Thursdays on Zoom.

Pacific Clinics “offer a continuum of services for all ages, including behavioral health treatment and culturally responsive programs, such as the Asian Pacific Family Center, the Latina Youth Program and the Armenian Hye-Wap program,” and is at Western Avenue, New Hampshire Street and El Centro Ave. in Los Angeles and at three sites in Pasadena.

Visión y Compromiso “is committed to community well-being by supporting promotores and community health workers. And what is a promotore? Because they share the same language, culture, ethnicity, status and experiences of their communities, Promotores are able to reduce the barriers to health education and services that are common for native-born and immigrant communities.”

It appears that the FireAid concert was a boon to nonprofit organizations, but for the ordinary fire victim, they’re left to sift through the ashes.

FIREAID Concerts Net $100 Million: Fire Victims Ask Where’s the Money? | Circling The News

www.circlingthenews.com

 

[Moderately Lethal]

California is the most populous state in the USA.
There are problems, however, there huge differences within the state itself.

Let's also focus a bit on the positives of California.

-Landscape and nature: whatever your preference is- you can find it there.
The natural beauty found in California never ceases to amaze me to this day.

- Family law system
Yes, you heard that right. Believe it or not, California is a default 50:50 state when it comes to child arrangements and divorce settlements. A divorce may not necessarily bankrupt you, some judges can be very reasonable. Plus you would be surprised how many times fathers in CA are allowed to be the main carers for their children. California's legal system is way better than the one in England (I know that was a low bar). If in doubt, ask any attorney who works there, they would confirm this.

-Beautiful people
Whatever your preference is when it come to ethnicity, the percentage of stunningly beautiful women is insanely high in California - especially, but not exclusively, in Southern California. (As for finding your future wife there...as they say: your mileage may vary. Do your homework, choose well) .

-Good neighborhood/towns/cities - if you look for them
The LA metro area is very expensive- but you can still find good, safe family-friendly neighborhoods . Yes, they may be pricey but unlike similar-size metro areas elsewhere (NYC or London, UK) you actually feel you get real value for your money in the LA metro area.
San Francisco may be a center of immorality and the nearby Oakland one of the worst ghettos west of the Mississippi
...yet, Alameda County has some great , safe, family-friendly areas , if you look for them.
San Diego is good overall, albeit pricey.
Fresno can be OK-ish (the air quality can be bad during the summer, though), Sacramento can be alright, but you need to look for certain neighborhoods.
As for bad places in California - I'd suggest you to avoid Oakland ,San Bernardino, Stockton and Modesto. No offence if you already live in any of those cities.

-Education: some of the best universities in the US (and the world).

-Healthcare: the best medical care available to mankind, with the top doctors and medical researchers concentrated there is California.

-CA is an economic powerhouse: whatever your area/sector, whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur : California is the place to be. It may be competitive, but if you are good what you are doing, almost nothing would stop you from growing here - the sky is the limit.

 

[Caduceus]