The Brief

Tourists and residents strolling through Palisades Park in Santa Monica are greeted by a beautiful view of a sandy beach, the Pacific Ocean and the pier. Oh, and roughly 100 ground squirrels running across the lawn, and occasionally, directly toward you.

It almost looks like a scene out of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, just furrier.

As cute as they may seem, ground squirrels can cause serious environmental issues, and human visitors sharing their snacks aren’t helping.

How bad is it

Keira Powell and Corey Mooney, who were sitting on a park bench near the bluffs, told LAist they saw a squirrel crawl right up someone’s leg.

“Check your pockets before you go home,” Mooney said. “You might end up with a squirrel.”

Powell added that they’re nothing like the gray or red tree squirrels they’re used to back home in Boston.

“They eat the grass, almost like a grazing herd of, like, sheep or goats,” she said.

The squirrels seem to be everywhere, even on the paved paths for bicyclists.

Powell and Mooney had a hotel view of the park, and they said the little brown rodents seem to be on a set schedule — as soon as the sun and people come out, so do they.

Gwendolyn Fogel lives in Santa Monica and visits the nearby farmers market weekly, but she told LAist this is the first time she’s seen so many squirrels in the park.

A small sampling of the ground squirrel population across Palisades Park.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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An eager ground squirrel at Palisades Park in Santa Monica.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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“ One of them just chased us, which I've also never seen squirrels, like, run after people,” she said. “ We both lived in New York and … deal with squirrels all the time. They don't chase after you, they run away from you.”

Christian Bussgen, Fogel’s friend, said they remind her of rats, but our interview was quickly interrupted by an especially eager squirrel.

What Santa Monica says

The city has posted signs along the park asking people not to feed squirrels or birds. The red and white warnings say it “creates an imbalance in native ecology” and makes the animals more dependent on humans for food.

The city of Santa Monica has posted signs along Palisades Park asking people not to feed squirrels or birds.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Tati Simonian, public information officer with the city of Santa Monica, said Palisades Park gets a lot of foot traffic and is just on top of the natural bluffs — which the ground squirrels like to burrow in.

“As visitors come to enjoy the view, we remind them that the park is part of a greater natural environment and request their help in maintaining the environment as much as possible,” she said in a statement.

When LAist asked if it’s normal for the squirrels to chase people through the park around this time of year, Simonian declined to share additional information.

Experts say we’re to blame

Marcia Rybak, of Coast and Canyon Wildlife Rehabilitation, told LAist that the squirrels in Santa Monica are unique.

“The trouble Santa Monica has, and will always have, with those ground squirrels on the bluffs is the ground squirrels are well established and very happy there,” she said in an email. “The population will remain stable based on the food supply. If people don't feed them then they will only breed as much as the land will carry.”

So in short, if you’re noticing more squirrels around Palisades Park, it's because we’re feeding them more and inadvertently encouraging them to stay in the area. So it’s best to keep your snacks to yourself.

But it's also spring — which means baby season.

There were several burrows with ground squirrel babies in Palisades Park as well.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Officially known as California or Beechy ground squirrels, they live together in burrows and prefer to forage on the ground, according to an L.A. County Agricultural Commissioner / Weights & Measures report.

The ones in our area usually begin to breed in December. But by June, the squirrels’ average of seven to eight babies per litter start to scurry out on their own.

“A good way to explain the difference in movement of ground squirrels versus tree squirrels is that tree squirrels disperse,” Rybak said in an email. “On the other hand, ground squirrels spread where babies dig burrows adjacent to the one they were born in. Ground squirrels do not travel much farther than 150 feet from their burrows.”

There were several groups of young squirrels in various burrows when LAist visited Palisades Park in late April.

A word of warning

Ground squirrels can cause some serious damage.

Their burrows, which can be up to 30 feet long and several feet below ground, can affect roads, structures and dams, to name a few.

If the population becomes unnaturally high, the squirrels can make a grassy area look more like a “pockmarked moonscape,” according to the L.A. County report.

Further north in San Luis Obispo County, Pismo Beach officials say they’re dealing with a squirrel problem in some parks after the city stopped using poison baits to manage the population, which has since “exploded.”

Specifically, the tunnels are making the Shell Beach bluffs collapse faster.

Rosemarie Gaglione, the city's public works director, said in an April 15 City Council meeting that she’s seen people feed the squirrels and watched them approach others looking for a meal.

“While they look cute, they’re not a great thing for the park,” Gaglione said. “ FEMA made the comment … that we need to take care of the squirrel problem because it's impacting the bluffs.”

Pismo Beach officials supported a public campaign telling people not to feed the squirrels and educating them on the damage the population is doing.

“Feed a squirrel and the bluffs [are] going to go away,” said Mayor Ed Waage during the meeting. “You won’t be able to sit here anymore.”

Other California cities are dealing with a squirrel population problem, which has "exploded" in some parks.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

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Robert Garrova

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LAist

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Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

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Even Keel Imagery

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“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Destiny Torres

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.