Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, along with partners, will host a virtual town hall regarding “post-fire recovery efforts” on Thursday, May 8, beginning at 6 p.m.
The town hall is slated to address: air quality updates, latest lead testing results and testing program overview, needs assessment survey updates, and a Public Health dashboard overview.
“Experts will share recent findings, explain what the results mean for your health, walk through the new public health dashboard and discuss feedback collected from the community through the needs assessment survey,” according to Public Health. “Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions about how to stay informed and protect their families during recovery.”
Pacific Palisades optometrist Dr. Gary D. Polan reported that his office reopened on Thursday, April 24.
Located at 970 Monument Street in Suite 102, Polan said the space has been “completely remediated,” and has passed all air quality and mold tests after suffering water damage, Polan explained to the Palisadian-Post.
Polan said the office is entirely staffed and fully serviced.
“My entire staff was employed the entire time we were off,” Polan explained. “We spent our time fulfilling spectacle and contact lens orders for the people who lost those items in the fires.”
Polan said the response to the office’s reopening has been “awesome,” and the office is booked out a month in advance.
“I feel that reopening here gives our community hope and the beginning of a small sense of normalcy,” Polan said. “This is the town where I lived and built my practice from scratch 40 years ago. I never thought of moving my practice elsewhere … The Palisades has supported me all this time, and my gratitude is absolutely sincere.”
The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Police Department has asked individuals who believe they lost a firearm to the Palisades fire to contact the department’s Gun Recovery Unit.
“Since January, LAPD officers have been working through the painstaking process of recovering and rendering approximately 500 firearms safe,” LAPD Chief of Detectives Alan Hamilton said in a statement. “We recognize that these firearms may hold significant sentimental value to their owners, whether as family heirlooms, historical pieces or personal mementos, and we are doing our best to reunite them with their owners.”
During debris removal, LAPD personnel—in collaboration with local agencies and recovery teams—reported findings of roughly 500 firearms. LAPD said many sustained “severe fire damage,” making them difficult to identify.
“Despite the condition of these recovered weapons, the department remains committed to ensuring that these items are properly processed, identified and, when appropriate, returned to their rightful owners,” according to a statement on April 30.
To begin the process, individuals will need to provide personal identifying information, such as proof of residential address and a description of the firearm. Individuals can also make a lost property report at any LAPD area Community Police Station or online at lapdonline.org.
Los Angeles Fire Department and Santa Monica Fire Department resources responded on Friday, May 2, to a plane—of an unknown size—that landed at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
The plane diverted from Santa Monica Airport for an “unknown” reason,” according to LAFD.
“Three total passengers onboard were unharmed,” according to a statement. “LAFD and SMFD companies [worked] together to assess the aircraft for any damage.”
Photo courtesy of American Legion Ronald Reagan – Palisades Post 283
American Legion Ronald Reagan – Palisades Post 283 is the title sponsor for the inaugural Military Veteran Entertainment Awards, which will take place Saturday, May 24, at the Beverly Wilshire.
The event is being hosted to celebrate “the outstanding contributions” of military service members and veterans in the entertainment industry.
“The evening will feature a red-carpet reception, inspiring award presentations and heartfelt tributes to those who have dedicated their lives to service both in uniform and on screen,” according to We Are The Mighty. “The event serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience, talent and dedication of military personnel who have seamlessly transitioned into the world of entertainment.”
Some of the guests who are slated to be in attendance include Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, Palisadian actor and former Honorary Mayor Steve Guttenberg, Medal of Honor Gary Littrell, United States Army Green Beret Nate Boyer and reality TV host Maria Mendez Reed.
The event, hosted by Amy Forsythe and BJ Lange, will take place at the Beverly Wilshire, located at 9500 Wilshire Boulevard, beginning at 4:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, visit mvawards.org.
I loved to see that Prima Cantina has reopened! And Spruzzo! Thank you to our restaurants for doing so.
Driving
While driving PCH, I noticed a lot of cars and trucks being pulled over—some even from utility companies. The speed limit along PCH in the fire area is still 25 MPH and each light is flashing red, which means to stop.
Repopulating
I would like to see stories of what our neighbors’ experiences have been like if they have repopulated the area.
(Editor’s note: If you have repopulated Pacific Palisades and are willing to share your story, please reach to mypost@palipost.com.)
All-Stars
CONGRATS to the Pali Rec Center Minor All-Stars on a truly triumphant season!
Got something to say? Call 310-454-1321 or email 2cents@palipost.com and get those kudos or concerns off your chest. Names will not be used.
Rebuilding After Wildfire: Smarter, Safer, More Sustainable
The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a “green tip” to our readers in each newspaper. This edition’s tip was written by Erik Gonzales-Kramer.
In January 2025, Los Angeles County experienced the most devastating wildfire event in its history. At least 30 lives were lost. Over 16,000 structures were destroyed, and 180,000 residents were forced to evacuate.
Homeowners are understandably eager to begin rebuilding their cherished homes. But rebuilding should be more than replacing what was lost.
It’s critical to design and rebuild with the future in mind. Meeting the minimum building code is no longer enough. We need homes—and communities—that are built to withstand a changing climate.
That’s why the U.S. Green Building Council of California, in collaboration with Arup, created the California Wildfire Rebuilding Guide: usgbc-ca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-04-11-USGBC-x-Arup-Rebuilding-V1.pdf.
This free, easy-to-navigate resource is designed to support homeowners, community leaders and building professionals in navigating the early design decisions that shape resilient recovery.
A Resource Built for Recovery
The California Wildfire Rebuilding Guide offers practical steps, helpful tools and trusted guidance to everyone who is ready to move forward with the challenging process of rebuilding their more resilient home.
The guide answers commonly asked questions about city and county permitting policies around “like-for-like” rebuild requirements, and breaks down the costs and co-benefits of resilient strategies across every part of the home—from roofing and landscaping to wall materials and windows.
Beyond the edges of the property, the guide emphasizes community resilience. It explores how shared purchasing power and neighborhood-scale solutions can help us not only recover—but come back stronger, together.
Rebuilding isn’t just about structures—it’s about healing, connection and preparing our communities for a more resilient future.
Learn More at Upcoming Workshops
To help support LA’s rebuilding efforts, USGBC-CA is hosting a series of in-person workshops. The next workshop—organized in partnership with Resilient Palisades—will be on May 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Santa Monica Business Park, located at 3250 Ocean Park Boulevard.
This workshop will kick off with a brief overview of the guide from the experts who helped write it. Afterward, attendees will have the opportunity to meet directly with government agencies, experts in disaster recovery and industry professionals at an interactive resource fair designed to provide the community with the critical knowledge and resources needed for wildfire recovery and resilient rebuilding.
In short, these workshops are more than a presentation—it’s a space for connection, collaboration and moving forward together. RSVP at eventbrite.com/e/wildfire-recovery-rebuilding-community-workshop-tickets-1330253557199.
Together, we can turn this moment of hardship into an opportunity for lasting resilience. Let’s not just rebuild what was lost—let’s create a California that’s safer, healthier and more sustainable for generations to come.
Julia Wolinsky is Creating Pieces Featuring Palisades Past and Present After Losing Her Childhood Home in the Fire
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
After her childhood home was destroyed in the Palisades fire, Julia Wolinsky has turned to art to help her process the grief—while raising funds to support the community.
“It’s really emotional,” Wolinsky said of losing the home. “I think I took it for granted. I felt like this was a house that would always be and exist. I think the hardest part for me is to process and grapple with the fact that it’s truly gone. It’s not that it was sold to someone else or there’s another family living there … The hardest part is that it is truly to the ground—and there’s nothing left.”
The last time Wolinsky was in the neighborhood before the Palisades fire started was January 4—just three days before. She returned at the start of April to draw what the debris removal process looked like at the home.
“If I knew it was finite,” Wolinsky said, “I would have made more of an effort to be there and spend more time there.”
Wolinsky, now a freelance illustrator that specializes in food and botanical illustrations, grew up in the Via Bluffs on Beirut Avenue, which she described as “a really beautiful” and “lovely” place to grow up. She said that part of her hoped—“maybe like a fairy tale”—that she would move back to the home and raise kids there.
She said she thinks about “how hard” her parents worked to remodel the home to be “their dream home,” with the “little personalized touches they had in it.” It has also been hard to learn about her friends’ parents, many of which have also lost their homes, Wolinsky said.
Julia Wolinsky
“Some families have been in their homes more than 30 years,” Wolinsky said. “I would go on social media and learn about home after home that burned.”
These were the places Wolinsky said she went to birthday parties and playdates at.
“It still doesn’t really feel real,” Wolinsky said. “Even though I’ve gone and I’ve seen it—even though I was standing in front of it—you go to bed at night, you wake up, you almost forget that this really happened.”
Wolinsky attended Palisades Charter Elementary School—when she was old enough, she would walk to school—followed by Paul Revere Charter Middle School, eventually graduating from Palisades Charter High School. After graduating, she went to UCLA, which is when she moved out of the Palisades home.
“I’ve been living all over the place,” Wolinsky described. “I moved around a lot.”
Wolinsky lived in New Orleans, where she was a middle school teacher for reading and art. She moved to Boston to get a master’s degree in education before returning to New Orleans to teach. She moved to Chicago for an administrative role in the education realm.
“At that point, it was 2013 or 2014, I felt like I wanted to make a career change,” Wolinsky said, adding that she wanted to create art. “I’m a more creative person. I missed making art.”
She moved to San Francisco for six years to pursue a career in UX design.
“Then the pandemic hit,” Wolinsky said, “and I was, again, sort of like: ‘Well, where should I live?’”
Without needing to be in San Francisco for her work anymore, Wolinsky traveled to Los Angeles often to visit and work remotely. It was there where she met her then-future husband Gerald, who is from Altadena.
“We connected and I was like, ‘OK, I’m ready to move back down and prioritize my personal life,’” Wolinsky said.
She is currently living in the Mid-City area, which had afforded her the opportunity to visit the Palisades and her childhood neighborhood. Her parents—who still own the Palisades home and were renting it out to tenants who lost everything—relocated a few years ago to Dallas for work.
Following the fire, what has helped Wolinsky to process her grief and wrap her head around the devastation, has been creating Palisades-centric art.
“It’s been hard to believe it’s true,” Wolinsky said of the destruction caused by the fire. “I think when I put it on paper and make an image of it, it’s like saying, ‘Yes this is what happened.’”
For her, she said, it has helped her accept the reality and “mourn the loss.”
Photos courtesy of Julia Wolinsky
The pieces she has been creating include documenting what happened, as well as images that reflect “happier memories” of the Palisades, like the Business Building Block in the Village area when it was painted pink and Palisades Village Green, which is still standing.
“When the fires hit I immediately thought about all the small businesses and food restaurants I frequented that are now gone,” Wolinsky said.
She said another purpose is to commemorate the lost restaurants, including Cholada and Reel Inn, both of which she would eat at while attending Pali High.
“I found that it helps to do the sad reality, to acknowledge it, but then also think about the things that we loved about it and drawing those,” Wolinsky said. “It’s all, for me, a process of accepting what happened and grieving, because the only way I know how to express myself really very strongly is through art. For me, that’s been very helpful to come to terms with what has happened.”
As rebuilding efforts are underway in the community, Wolinsky shared hopes of continuing to create, including additional pieces of businesses that she used to frequent with her family that are no longer standing to help people “remember what the Palisades was like and what they loved about it,” describing the “unique charm” of the community with “a mom-and-pop feel.”
Further down the line, Wolinsky said she hopes to put a show together, but for now, she has reached out to her alma mater, Pali High. She will be selling prints of her drawing of a lifeguard tower with “100% of the proceeds” going toward the school’s rebuilding efforts.
“I see this as the beginning, I’m just starting these works,” Wolinsky said. “I hope to keep doing them and figure out a way to help connect with other folks from the Palisades to share those memories … for now, it’s just me processing as we go and trying to make sense of what happened.”
Palisades Beautiful hosts its first cleanup event on April 22. Photos courtesy of Noah Martin
Noah Martin Launches Local Nonprofit to Revitalize the Palisades by “Restoring Natural Spaces”
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
While rebuilding and recovery work is underway across Pacific Palisades, one resident with multi-generational roots is hoping to do his part to beautify public and private spaces.
Noah Martin is the president of Palisades Beautiful—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that he launched in February “dedicated to restoring natural spaces” in the community.
“We’re dedicated to revitalizing our neighborhood through native landscaping,” read the Palisades Beautiful website. “Our mission is to make the Palisades more beautiful and sustainable one plant at a time.”
Martin—who grew up in the Palisades and lived in El Medio Bluffs—explained that the nonprofit is a nod to a previous group of the same name that had formed in the 1970s.
“The original Palisades Beautiful planted over 1,500 trees in our community,” read the website. “Starting with the jacarandas on Northfield, it grew into a project that spanned across the Palisades.”
Longstanding board members included Barbara Marinacci, Michael Terry, and founders Dorothy Bissell and Hilda Sauer. In addition to planting trees, Palisades Beautiful maintained the Native/Environmental/Xeriscape/Temescal/Garden.
“We aim to bring its idea back with a focus on drought-tolerant, native or naturalized vegetation in the community,” the website continued. “Our focus now is on fire recovery and replanting efforts, and we hope to expand to more community events in the future.”
The first event Palisades Beautiful hosted was a trash cleanup on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, along Bowdoin Street near the Palisades Charter High School campus. Martin picked the spot because it was part of the path he used to take from his home to Noah’s Bagels to school each morning.
“I haven’t done that [walk] for months, but I did it a couple of weeks ago to see what that walk looks like now,” Martin said.
Martin described finding an area where “much of the vegetation burned,” which “left behind a layer of trash”—“mainly bottles and cans.” They also found a discarded chair, which they called the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation to pick up as a bulky item.
“Hopefully we made the area look better,” Martin said.
Eight volunteers—including Preston O’Connell, who attended Marquez Charter Elementary School with Martin and is now a firefighter who responded to the Palisades fire, and his 4.5-year-old daughter—gathered to collect what ended up filling 14 trash bags, as well as planting “native vegetation in parts of the median that burned.”
“Debris clearance is very important,” Martin said, adding that he is grateful for the work being done around the community: “The little bit I can help with is the stuff on the side of the road,” as debris clearance is underway.
Martin said that the nonprofit has plans to plant bigger items in public spaces, like trees, but is working with entities like the city of Los Angeles and Palisades Forestry Committee to ensure everything is properly permitted and well placed.
When it comes to private properties, Martin explained that the group has worked with a couple of homeowners to replace items that were burned in the fire, including shrubs at a house in El Medio Bluffs and an oak tree in Marquez Knolls.
The nonprofit’s board members include Martin, his sister, Rachel Martin, Chetan Munugala, Orestis Lykouropoulos and JJ Amis—a swim coach at Pali High.
“He and I met when we were both students at Pali and on the swim team,” Martin explained.
Martin described living in the Palisades most of his life, with his parents moving to El Medio Bluffs when he was 2 years old, down the street from his grandparents’ house, which they inherited and moved into in 2020.
The house his grandparents’ had owned was lost in the Palisades fire, but his parents’ original home is still standing—Martin shared hopes of returning to the neighborhood when it is safe to do so, but for now, he is splitting his time between the West and East coasts, working as a software engineer and studying for a computer science PhD in Boston. His family is currently living in Marina del Rey.
He has started a few companies prior to creating Palisades Beautiful—most recently Emerge Tools, which he described as an “enterprise software company” that he co-founded and currently has 10 employees.
Martin’s drive to volunteer dates back several generations: His late grandfather, Harry Sondheim, was an active member of Pacific Palisades Community Council and Pacific Palisades Library Association, as well as a past president of Kehillat Israel.
Palisades Beautiful will be participating in a Palisades Village Cleanup event on Saturday, May 10, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The event is being co-hosted by Gates Security, Palisades P.R.I.D.E., Palisades Village Green, American Legion – Ronald Reagan Post 283 and Palisades Garden Cafe.
“Join us for a morning of community service as we work together to clean up the Palisades,” read an event description. “While incredible work is being done to clear debris from the Palisades, we are helping to do our part by cleaning up the trash that has accumulated around community spaces.”
Those who want to participate can meet at Post 283 on La Cruz Drive, where people will “split into teams to cover as much of the Village” as possible. Lunch will be provided by Palisades Garden Cafe after the cleanup has concluded. A resident pass is currently required to reach the meeting spot.
“Please wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes,” read the description. “We’ll provide all the necessary cleanup supplies, but feel free to bring your own gloves if you have them.”
Palisades Beautiful also accepts donations to cover costs of items used to clean up, including trash bags and protective gear, as well as new plants and trees.
“Our work is made possible entirely by donations,” read the Palisades Beautiful website. “Your donations go directly to trees and other plants, supplies for community cleanups, and essential materials, including soil, mulch and nursery pots.”
Another way people can contribute is by providing suggestions for areas they believe new items could be planted.
For more information, including a link to sign up for the Palisades Beautiful newsletter and receive news about future events and ways to get involved, visit palisadesbeautiful.org.
Former Honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades and longtime Palisadian Steve Guttenberg will star in a new Lifetime film: “Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story.”
Based on a true story, Heather, who was raised in Illinois, had reportedly known that she had been adopted as an infant and grew up in a loving family. But in 2000, the then-15-year-old discovered the man she knew as her uncle—John Edward Robinson—was a serial killer, “accused of murdering multiple women in the Kansas City area, including her biological mother,” according to ABC News.
“After her uncle’s arrest, the true story of Heather Robinson’s adoption began to unravel,” ABC News reported in 2019.
Guttenberg will be depicting convicted serial killer John Edward Robinson in the upcoming film.
“Creating the character of John Robinson on screen required my attention to the darker side of humanity,” Guttenberg said to the Palisadian-Post. “It was an exciting role to play, as these aberrant personalities are psychologically fascinating and an actor has to pay attention to the details. As Robinson has affected many lives, I am respectful of those people who have to live with his actions. The story is compelling.”
Rachel Stubington (“Shrinking”) will join Guttenberg in the film, taking on the role of Heather. Jana Kramer (“One Tree Hill”) will portray an investigator working on the case, according to IMDb. Additional cast members include Ross Crain, Sarah Hudson, Rose Decker and Jackie Sanders.
Directed by Lee Gabiana, “Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story” is produced by Marwar Junction Productions and Allegheny Image Factory. Executive producers include Joseph Freed and Allison Berkley of Marwar Junction Productions, Jeffrey Tinnell and Robert Tinnell of Allegheny Image Factory, Melissa G. Moore of Redletter Media, and Maritte Lee Go.
Guttenberg—who served as honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades from 2002 to 2006—is an actor, author, businessman and producer. He made his acting debut in “The Boys From Brazil,” and is well known for roles in films from the 1980s and ’90s, “Cocoon,” “Police Academy,” “Three Men and a Baby,” “Diner,” “The Big Green” and more.
In 2023, he wrote and starred in an autobiographical comedic play—sharing his life story in “Tales from the Guttenberg Bible,” which held a several-week run in New York. He also wrote “Time to Thank: Caregiving for My Hero” about his time as a caretaker for his father, who was diagnosed with kidney failure.
“Kidnapped by a Killer: The Heather Robinson Story” is slated to premiere on Saturday, June 7.
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