California Fires

[SemiSalt]

My son took this picture of the smoke from the Malibu fire (Woolsey Fire) from the beach at Santa Monica.

2018-11-10_2101.png

I've some other pictures that are even more dramatic.

Fun fact: Malibu and Santa Monica have combined school district even though they are not contiguous. To me, it seems like a people of a rich feather flocking together.

[BeauV]

Semi, I grew up in the area. Santa Monica was the ONLY school district within 20 miles back when this evolved (Santa Monica may still be the only school district); which is around the late 1950s. Neither Santa Monica nor Malibu were rich enclaves when the folks who lived in beach shacks way out of town decided to send their kids to the Santa Monica schools. Even now, the "rich folks" in both towns tend to send their kids to private schools. In the '50s Santa Monica was the home to numerous aircraft and aircraft parts manufacturing companies. I used have my aluminum castings done there right in downtown, sailboat parts in the '60s.

Frankly, the history of Santa Monica is a mirror of Palo Alto. Both were middle class working folk's towns in the '60s with plenty of light manufacturing and even some serious stuff, like building airplanes and helicopters. Then the economy boomed, microelectronics were invented, and all the working stiffs got moved out. (EG: when I was 23 I was a machinist who lived in Palo Alto and worked 3 miles up the road in Redwood City.) Both cities have very successful Universities quite nearby, which fueled much of the economic boom. Both cities are great places to live if you can afford it, nice weather etc..., but both have steadily moved the poor folks out through gentrification. From Palo Alto they got moved to East Palo Alto and are now being moved to the east side of SF Bay, from Santa Monica they were first moved down the coast to Redondo, Hermosa, and Venice Beaches; then pushed inland to Torrance etc... Now are being moved further inland where it's hot and smoggy.

Malibu is a funny one. As recently as the '70s it was still mostly small beach shacks. Then Hollywood decided it was a much nicer place to live than Hollywood, Bel Air, and Beverly Hills (which I completely agree with) and they started moving out to the "Beach". Homes on the Beach are so rare in CA and as a result so valuable that only folks with tens of millions can afford one. (I'm probably telling you stuff you already know. Sorry) The father of a good friend bought a house on the water in Newport Beach for $20,000 in the '60s. He died and the family sold that same house for $8.6 million. It has a dock - that's all it took. Supply and demand is a bitch in an area of constrained supply. I read recently that Barbara Streisand has bought at least three adjoining house on the beach in Malibu and uses one just for servants. Ah me.... it must be nice.

[SemiSalt]

At the start of the first Walter Mosley novel Devil In A Blue Dress, his protagonist Easy Rawlins is employed at an aircraft plant, plainly modeled after the Douglas Aircraft plant in Santa Monica.

My son and his family live in Santa Monica. They bought fairly ratty house for about 6 times the cost of 3-bedroom split level here in Stamford (and our housing is pretty expensive by national standards). They tore the house down and built a new one. I have no clue what that cost. My daughter-in-law is a professor and scientist at UCLA, and their older daughter goes to a trendy and controversial school run by the University. My son works for Google. His office is in Venice in a Frank Gehry designed building. (Search Google, Venice, Binocular for a picture.)

And the folks in upstate Connecticut call Fairfield County "the gold coast." They don't know from gold.

[BeauV]

Semi, LA has always had weird buildings. But that Google building is seriously ugly in my view. But, what do I know. Here's one of my favorite. I still stop for bite when I drive by.

[Olaf Hart]

Aussie fires

https://youtu.be/nTNCrETxAQo