No Power or Telephone?
I live in the El Medio Bluffs area and on Friday, December 2, I had a complete power outage including cell phone, email, landline, texting and electricity for over two hours, from about 3 to 6 p.m. DWP confirmed that a cell tower and power lines were down and affected by strong winds.
I had to pick up my grandson from preschool in Santa Monica, but could not open my garage door by remote or manually. I could not call his parents or anyone to go in my behalf, nor could I advise the school of the problem. My neighbors were in the same dilemma. Both cell phones (Verizon) and landline (TWC) were down due to the power outage. I also could not call any emergency services such as police or the fire department or 911.
This raises an obvious concern: What is the community plan for emergency contacts if such a situation arises again?
Do police and private security services have a policy to cruise through communities to see if there is anybody in need of help? Could activist Lou Kramer and the Community Council develop some type of emergency notification plan, such as a special 911 or red HELP flag waved by a resident or staked along the resident’s driveway to notify emergency responders?
I also wonder, have cell towers been affected before in power outages? I will call Verizon to ask if there is any alternative communication method that works during cell outage. I also encourage neighborhood crime-watch groups to figure out a go-to person on their block, but this emergency contact would have to be physical, not a communications system.
Karen Ridgley
Watch for Packages
(Editor’s note: We received the following email from Woman’s Club President Haldis Toppel and thought the warning was timely.)
This is the time of year when many packages are dropped off at homes. This is also the opportunity for thieves to steal them right off the front porch. LAPD will soon go out with caution notices.
Pleases be advised that the delivery companies find it to be more cost effective to replace stolen packages than to take the time to return for delivery if the recipient is not home. They will drop off the package if not given instructions otherwise.
Please advise delivery companies to leave the packages with an identified neighbor, behind your backyard gate, or any other place where they are out of sight from the street and not easily accessible by a thief.
Haldis Toppel
Ryavec Interested in Dog Park
I just want you to know that I emailed Mark Ryavec, who is exploring a run for the District 11 City Council position in March, and let him know about my/our mission to get a dog park here in Pacific Palisades. He responded by calling me within minutes of my sending him an email!
I’ve been trying to get that kind of response from Councilman Mike Bonin for over a year, to no avail. Mark not only responded, he spent almost two hours one day with me and others, touring seven locations that could potentially become a park.
As we know, Measure A passed and although that put the green light on the Department of Recreation and Parks to grant us the money for a dog park adjacent to lower Potrero Canyon Park, it is not confirmed and it may take years to accomplish. I don’t want to wait that long and with a proactive Councilmember, we may just have a chance. It worked in Westwood this year with the enthusiastic influence of Councilman Paul Koretz; their Recreation Center is getting a dog park! With Mark Ryavec at the helm of our district, we might have a shot at this too (sooner than later).
Leslie Campbell
Opposed to a Special Bike Lane
I am a seventh grader who likes to ride my bike, but I don’t think there should be a special bike lane on Temescal Canyon Road. There are already bike lanes in both directions. In addition, hardly any people ride their bike on the road, probably because it’s really steep.
However, a lot of people drive theirs car on Temescal, especially at rush hour, since it is one of the main ways to get in and out of the Palisades. It makes no sense to reduce the number of car lanes in order to increase the width of the two existing bike lanes that are rarely used. I feel badly for the biker who got hurt on the bike lane, but I don’t think that should be a reason to make the bike lane bigger.
Will Walker
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