By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Pacific Palisades Community Council met on Thursday, June 26, to discuss updates on the Pacific Palisades Pedestrian Trail, with project representatives outlining its current status.

When complete, the trail—formerly known as the Lateral Trail—will extend from the bottom of George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon to the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Temescal Canyon, in order to provide safe passage from the park to the beach, as required by the California Coastal Commission.

City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering Project Manager Kristen Ly and Project Consultant Goodwin Wharton of Geosyntec Consultants previously joined PPCC in 2024 to discuss the project, and heeded community feedback and concerns regarding the trail.

Ly and Wharton returned on June 26 to provide an updated presentation. Wharton explained that this project is “not high on anybody’s priority list right now,” but is a component of the rebuilding process after the Palisades fire. Construction of the project would continue at a later, more “appropriate time,” Wharton said.

“Right now, we are completing the Feasibility Study,” Wharton explained. “The purpose of this meeting is to present the preliminary recommendations that are going to go into our report … and also to solicit some feedback on that recommended alignment.”

At the start of the meeting, Wharton reviewed key points and takeaways from the August 2024 Community Meeting. During the 2024 meeting, three hypothetical examples of trail alignments were presented, and attendees were invited to offer verbal or written feedback. Concerns over potential safety issues were identified as the strongest sentiment, while trail maintenance and construction considerations were considered the lowest.

“Those concerns are well founded, so we did take that into consideration as we were developing our final feasibility criteria,” he said.

Wharton presented the Final Feasibility Criteria list, which included accessibility, separation from PCH and separation from Via de Las Olas, user experience, pedestrian safety, slope stability, neighborhood privacy, hours of use enforcement or security, and more.

Wharton also presented a map with proposed trail options that was divided into four regions: a Trail Region, a West Region, a Central Region and an East Region.

“Within those four main regions, we have evaluated two or three alternatives for how the trail might be aligned,” Wharton said. “Then they’re connected by lateral trails, such that you could mix and match, or combine any permutation of these that you want to come up with a final trail alignment.”

Wharton walked meeting attendees through the feasibility rankings of each region, as well as the lateral trails, explaining that all three lateral trails are feasible. The recommended trail route, based on the evaluation, was listed as Trailhead B, along Lateral-1 up to the West-A route, using the Lateral-2 route down to Central B—and a final recommendation for East-A or East-B is to be determined.

Wharton concluded his presentation by answering questions from PPCC board members and meeting attendees. The team is expected to return in the future with updates.

According to PPCC, next steps for the project include discussions between involved stakeholders, including the city of Los Angeles, Caltrans and the Coastal Commission.

“Geosyntec has a recommendation for trail alignment (based on the ratings), but it’s unclear at this point which route will eventually be decided on, whether any might be altered, and/or when construction may actually begin,” PPCC said.

A recording of the presentation is available at pacpalicc.org.

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Theatre Palisades Youth will present “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical,” which is set to open on Friday, July 11, at Paul Revere Charter Middle School.

Director Lara Ganz and Co-Director and Choreographer Rebecca Brancato Barragan spearheaded production of the show, leading a cast of 35 youth actors.

“Disney’s Descendants: The Musical” is a stage adaptation of Disney Channel original movies, featuring additional lyrics by Nick Blaemire, a score adapted by Madeline Smith and orchestrated by Matthew Tishler.

“‘Disney’s Descendants: The Musical’ is set on the Isle of the Lost—home of the most infamous villains who ever lived—where the teenaged children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil have been imprisoned, never venturing off the island … until now,” according to a statement. “When the four troublemakers are sent to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, they have a difficult choice to make: Should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good?”

Theatre Palisades Youth lost its performance space, Pierson Playhouse, in the Palisades fire. Ganz, despite losing her own home, ensured the program would continue, working with Barragan to secure a rehearsal space just four days later.

“Everyone is so scared of losing this community of love and performing arts that we built together,” Ganz said at the time. “We have had so many ‘what ifs?’ flooding our minds. But we decided to ask: ‘What if we do everything possible to ensure that the show will go on?’”

Theatre Palisades Youth then presented “Crazy For You: Youth Edition” during a two-weekend run beginning at the end of February at Paul Revere.

Performances of “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical” will take place on July 11 at 4 and 7 p.m.; July 12 at 12 and 3 p.m.; July 16 at 7 p.m.; July 17 at 7 p.m.; July 18 at 7 p.m.; and July 19 at 12 and 3 p.m.

Tickets are $17 for seniors and students, $22 for general admission, and $25 to $30 for VIP. Paul Revere is located at 1450 Allenford Avenue. Performances will take place in the school’s auditorium.

For more information, including a link to purchase tickets, visit theatrepalisades.org.

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Council District 11 hosted a virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, July 2, where Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was invited to present plans for undergrounding power, upgrading water lines and provide an update on the Santa Ynez Reservoir.

Councilmember Traci Park began the town hall by sharing that she has attended regular meetings with LADWP over the past several months, and there have been “many” conversations about infrastructure upgrades and planning for the future of the Palisades.

“I look forward to having DWP here with us this evening to share some of those big ticket items that they are working on,” Park said.

Park then handed the meeting over to Senior Assistant General Manager of the Water System for LADWP Anselmo Collins to break down the agency’s efforts to “restore, recover and rebuild” in the Palisades.

Collins presented pictures of the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Highlands, reporting that it returned to service on June 25. Collins explained that the Santa Ynez Reservoir is a drinking water reservoir, and is used to serve water to its customers for drinking purposes and to use around their homes. It can also provide water to the fire hydrants that are connected to the distribution system.

Collins spoke on short- and long-term plans.

“We have the floating cover fixed now, but our goal is to replace this cover with another floating cover as a short-term solution,” Collins said. “We recognize that this cover obviously has been patched up quite a bit. We want to make sure that we can continue to have the resiliency that we need in our system, so we’re working to expedite the replacement of this floating cover with a brand new one.”

Collins said the long-term solution involves finding a different type of replacement cover. There are four options they are currently considering—one option involves replacing the floating cover with a fixed cover, with either an aluminum roof or a concrete slab that is placed on top of the reservoir.

Lastly, Collins said they are considering a treatment plan that would allow LADWP to remove the floating cover, and as water leaves or exits the reservoir, it would be treated before entering the system.

“Now all these alternatives that I just described, we consider them long term,” Collins said. “Meaning that it would take us probably eight to 10 years to implement. That’s the reason why having a short-term solution makes sense, to ensure that we can have reliable water supply.”

Collins then presented mainline infrastructure plans for the Palisades. Collins said there are approximately 95 miles of pipe, and some of the pipe is aging. A plan has been devised to replace roughly 13 miles of pipe—some are being replaced due to age and wear, and others will be replaced with “earthquake-resilient pipe.”

“We actually … already have dedicated three mainline crews that are going to be exclusively working in the Pacific Palisades area to accomplish these projects,” Collins explained.

LADWP Senior Assistant General Manager of the Power System David Hanson then joined the meeting to discuss power distribution recovery and a rebuilding plan.

Hanson said Emergency Recovery was completed toward the end of March, with power being restored to all standing structures by March 21. Then LADWP shifted into a Temporary Rebuild, which is also complete as of July 1.

“We set the last pole and have completely rebuilt the power system back to its original design,” Hanson said. “Where it was underground, it’s still underground. Where it was overhead, it’s back overhead. Essentially we can’t come in and set temporary poles when we rebuild our system … So we refer to it as a [temporary] restoration but in actuality, it will look very similar to permanent construction because it has to be built that way.”

The next phase is a Permanent Rebuild, which is in progress and under development. This phase involves undergrounding, which Hanson said—at the time of the meeting—was being worked on along Sunset Boulevard.

“That work was already in the budget to be done in a few years,” Hanson explained. “We’re just taking advantage of the schedule now to accelerate that and start building.”

Hanson said there are plans to bring in a new distribution level voltage that was originally going to be piloted in the Valley, but LADWP has decided to roll out to the Palisades.

Hanson also said there are plans to underground all the residential circuits.

“Our goal is 100% underground, and anything that keeps us from doing that would be … terrain or some sort of complications out there,” Hanson said.

Hanson said the team will be going neighborhood by neighborhood to configure design and sequencing for the load-out of the project.

Hanson said the team will be “very transparent” with the community about where above-ground equipment will go and will actively work with the community.

In an update sent July 5, Park confirmed that a proposed distribution station near Marquez Charter Elementary School is no longer being considered by LADWP.

“After more than a decade of community advocacy, I’m pleased to share that the proposed Distribution Station 104 next to Marquez Elementary is not moving forward,” Park wrote. “We heard the update directly from LADWP during our town hall this week. Thank you to the parents, neighbors and residents—your persistence made all the difference.”

Park said CD11 plans to continue engaging with the community through ongoing meetings and discussions focused on infrastructure projects in the community.

A link to the recording of the July 2 Town Hall is available at pacpalicc.org.

The Palisadian-Post is seeking fall interns who will assist with reporting, proofreading, covering events and more for the paper.

Those who are interested in an internship are encouraged to send a resume and brief background (including interest in journalism and ties to the Palisades), as well as two or three writing samples, ideally non-fiction, to mypost@palipost.com.

Luxe Homecare—which provides in-home care services for seniors—has opened a new office in Brentwood at 11726 San Vicente Boulevard in Suite 240 after the Palisades fire destroyed its previous office building on Alma Real Drive.

“While our hearts remain deeply connected to the Palisades, a community that embraced us for so long, our new Brentwood location is a natural extension to provide care for our beloved clients who are displaced in the surrounding Westside areas,” Luxe Founder Fay Vahdani, a resident of the Highlands, said.

Luxe offers “comprehensive and personalized” care solutions for aging adults, with “dedicated and highly trained caregivers” who are able to provide 24/7 care. This includes assistance with daily living activities, home health, senior transportation and hospice care when needed.

For more information, visit luxehomecare.com or call 424-260-5150.

USC Center on Communication Leadership and Policy will host a wildfire community listening session on July 19 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Share your stories with high school reporters for an archive with the Los Angeles Public Library and USC podcasts and online media,” read a flyer. “Bring your memories, hopes and lessons learned from the fires, and tell us what you have lost—and found—in the last six months.”

The program is part of the Wildfire Youth Media Initiative, which includes 18 high school reporters from Pacific Palisades and greater Altadena.

The Palisades fire session will take place at KCRW, located at 1660 Stewart Street in Santa Monica. There will also be a listening session for the Eaton fire on July 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena.

“Anyone who was impacted is welcome: survivors, neighbors, friends, students, journalists, volunteers, community organizers and more,” according to the program.

RSVP to the Wildfire Community Listening Sessions at communicationleadership.usc.edu/wildfire-community-listening-sessions.