The Brief

The long-vacant Hawthorne Plaza mall has been a problem in the South Bay for years, according to city authorities, residents and business owners near the sprawling property.

Instead of attracting shoppers, the mall in the city’s downtown is a magnet for trespassers, accumulated trash and occasional fires.

And now the city is forcing developers to do something about it.

This summer, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ordered owners of the 900,000-square-foot property to secure the site and step up safety measures while devising a plan to either turn it into something the community can use or demolish it.

The owner must break ground by late August 2026.

“With our luck, they'll build high-end condos, but they need to put units in there that people can afford,” said Ronald Robinson, an airline employee who used to live near the shuttered mall.

The latest turn in the story of Hawthorne Plaza highlights what’s happening in L.A. County and across the country as shopping centers that were once hives of commerce and social connection are abandoned and left to decay.

Often these properties turn into eyesores that can negatively affect the health, safety and property values of their neighborhoods.

“The mall property takes up several blocks of the city’s civic center and has a tremendous negative economic impact on a small city,” Hawthorne City Attorney Robert Kim told LAist, adding that some residents who live nearby say they fear going out at night.

West Hollywood-based property development firm The Charles Company owns the Hawthorne mall property. The firm also owns several abandoned buildings in North Hollywood's Valley Plaza shopping center, which L.A. officials recently declared a public nuisance, giving the city authority to demolish the dilapidated structures.

In 2021, the city of Hawthorne filed a lawsuit against the company, arguing it violated zoning laws by illegally renting out parking spaces to Tesla and Amazon, and failed to fix dozens of code violations, including health and safety hazards like missing floors, mold and human waste.

In legal filings, the mall owners denied most of the city's allegations and argued that Tesla and Amazon were legitimate tenants rather than illegal renters. The Charles Company blamed “unauthorized trespassers” for damage and safety issues.

A faded Hawthorne Plaza parking sign along Hawthorne Boulevard

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Aaron Schrank

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LAist

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Court injunction 

After a hearing this summer, Superior Court Judge Steve Cochran issued an injunction requiring the owners to secure the Hawthorne mall site and plan for next steps.

Work on the site has to begin by Aug. 31, 2026.

The judge ordered The Charles Company to put more fencing around the mall and to maintain on-site security and daily cleaning crews. Cochran also said the company has to test the buildings for asbestos.

“Aside from the injunction and court action, the city is limited in its authority on this particular site, because the property is privately owned,” Kim, the city attorney, said. “And historically, the owners have not worked with us to find solutions for the unhoused frequenting their site.”

In July, the company told the court it was working on several concepts for the Hawthorne Mall, including one that would make it into a modern retail center.

Property manager Yuri Martinez told LAist the company is “deeply committed to revitalizing underperforming sites” and looking forward to sharing its vision.

If the 2026 deadline passes without substantial progress at Hawthorne Plaza, the city can request a court-appointed receiver to take control of the property.

Status review hearings are scheduled for the judge to monitor The Charles Company’s compliance with the order. The firm’s co-founder, Arman Gabaee, is serving a four-year federal prison sentence for bribing an L.A. County real estate official between 2010 and 2017.

The scheme included attempting to secure a $45 million county lease for the Hawthorne Mall property itself, according to court documents.

According to prison records, Gabaee is scheduled to be released from a halfway house next month.

The parking garage at the former Hawthorne Plaza has been fenced off with barbed wire to keep out trespassers.

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Aaron Schrank

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LAist

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A once-popular mall

The Hawthorne Plaza mall opened in 1977 on what was previously a blighted commercial lot. In its heyday, the two-story enclosed shopping center was home to 130 retail stores.

“This was a shopping mecca for minorities,” said Robinson, who lived in the neighborhood in the 1980s. “This was one of the few malls that Latinos and Blacks could go to and feel comfortable they had some place to shop.”

Robinson, a 47-year employee at American Airlines, regularly visits his union office for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, right across the street from the now-empty mall.

When LAist visited the site recently, the 35-acre property was mostly desolate and boarded up. The sprawling parking garage is covered in barbed wire and large signs warning against trash dumping.

But there seemed to be little evidence of trespassing or other nuisance activity in and around the building — just an abandoned shopping cart and a few graffiti tags.

Several people hanging out near the train tracks told a reporter that the newly-constructed fencing near a portion of the mall deters most trespassers. That fencing went up within the past month, Hawthorne officials confirmed.

Nearby business owners said the dormant property had long cast its shadow on the block.

“It’s been like that for more than 20 years,” he said Juan Hernandez has owned a boots and western wear shop on the opposite side of Hawthorne Boulevard, called Botas Huentitan, for the past 18 years. “They really need to do something about it.”

His business survives mostly by selling leather goods to tourists staying at hotels near LAX, Hernandez said.

The street is often empty, aside from when one of the nearby schools or the city jail lets out.

“It’s really sad to have it like that,” he said of the mall. “We need to bring more business.”

The shopping center used to be a point of pride for the community, said Pamela Fees, vice president of the Hawthorne Historical Society.

“Back when that mall was built, community members felt like they wanted to spend their tax dollars in Hawthorne,” she said.

But circumstances changed for Hawthorne Plaza when more shopping centers emerged in the region as competitors. It also suffered from the downturn in the area’s aerospace industry and was damaged during the 1992 riots, according to news reports.

By the mid-1990s, nearly 1-in-4 storefronts at the mall were vacant. JCPenney left in 1998 and the mall closed altogether the next year.

A faded Montgomery Ward department store sign at Hawthorne Plaza. The department store shuttered in 1997.

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Aaron Schrank

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LAist

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Broken promises 

The Charles Company bought the property in 2001 for $7 million, according to property records.

Since then, several redevelopment proposals for Hawthorne Plaza have come and gone, Hawthorne officials said. The company proposed a mixed-use housing project there in 2008, but that plan fell apart after the owners changed their minds, city officials said.

“There had been numerous proposals from the owner that were accepted by the city but never materialized,” Kim said.

In late 2016, the firm filed new development plans with the city to begin work on a $500 million overhaul. The City Council approved them, but nothing happened. So in 2018, the city canceled the plans.

The Charles Company then leased the building to L.A. County, as part of the bribery scheme for which Gabaee was convicted.

Over the years, the mall’s interior was used as a filming location. In the 2002 film Minority Report, Hawthorne Plaza still looked onscreen like a functioning shopping center. But it’s been used for its dilapidated apocalyptic look in 2014’s Gone Girl, 2020’s Tenet and a host of music videos by artists, including Beyonce and Taylor Swift.

Skateboarders, graffiti taggers, photographers and others seeking a glimpse of a decaying mall have trespassed inside, some documenting the mall’s interior and posting videos on YouTube and social media platforms.

An unhoused person's belongings in a shopping cart outside of the Hawthorne Plaza parking garage.

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Aaron Schrank

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LAist

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Regional enforcement crisis

Throughout L.A. County, local governments are struggling to hold absentee landlords responsible for dilapidated nuisance properties. In Los Angeles, city leaders are pushing to streamline the city’s convoluted process they say involves too many departments.

“Our nuisance abatement process is among the most confusing and contradictory processes we have in the city,” council President Marqueece Harris Dawson said.

Early last year, the L.A. City Council asked the L.A. City Attorney’s Office to produce a report on the administration, enforcement, governance, implementation and oversight of nuisance abatement proceedings in city’s legal codes.

The City Attorney’s Office did not produce that analysis. So, last Wednesday, several council members introduced a motion demanding it be released within a week.

The city attorney did not meet that deadline, and the office did not respond to LAist’s requests for comment on the public nuisance report.

L.A. Councilmember Adrin Nazarian said the city’s current process involves too many people in too many offices and takes too much time.

“We need to simplify the process so the City can take action when these properties become a problem, not months or years later,” Nazarian said.

Nazarian led a recent move to declare abandoned Valley Plaza buildings in North Hollywood a public nuisance. The property is located in his council district.

“If we have to get a court injunction, we will, but we’ve chosen the route we think will get us the quickest results,” he said. “Different enforcement approaches work better in different situations.”

Earlier this year, a California state lawmaker introduced a bill that would place a vacancy tax on landlords who let commercial buildings sit empty for more than six months a year. Business and landlord groups have universally opposed the legislation.

In Hawthorne, the director of the historical society said the organization gives museum tours twice a week, and most guests ask about the future of the Hawthorne Mall.

“Many people either remember the mall or they’ll see it,” Fees said. “Either way, they ask what the status is and they’re all anxious to see something happen. We’re not sure if this will make something happen or not.”

Demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday in a number of communities across the L.A. region for the latest No Kings protests.

In Pasadena, hundreds of demonstrators started their march at Pasadena City College in the morning, which ended with a rally at Pasadena City Hall.

The energy was joyous, as a large truck with live musicians led people in protest. Many participants said they thought it was important to show up to voice their opposition against the actions of the federal government.

“Especially things like taking away rights from trans people and sending people to ICE detention,” said Tatiana Becker of Pasadena, who now lives in London, England. “This country is not one that I recognize, and I remain an American voter, an American taxpayer."

Before the start of the march, organizers stressed the importance of a nonviolent demonstration. Students, seniors, parents with their children and pets cheered as drivers along Colorado Boulevard honked in support.

“We're here to voice our opinion, and provide numbers," South Pasadena resident Irene Barry said. "We just need to come out in numbers, make sure everybody knows that most people aren't happy with the situation."

Downtown protest

Meanwhile, in Downtown L.A., between 50,000 and 100,000 people were expected in what No Kings organizers said was one of the largest demonstrations in the region.

Protesters met at Gloria Molina Grand Park and City Hall beginning at 2 p.m., with a march scheduled to loop back to the same location.

As the evening went on, some protesters continued to the Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda, between Aliso and Temple.

LAPD officials issued a dispersal order around 5:30 p.m. in that area, warning protesters to leave or be arrested. Less-than-lethal weapons were deployed.

An LAPD spokesperson told LAist they made a total of 75 arrests — including eight minors — with no reported injuries among those taken into custody.

The Department of Homeland Security claimed two federal officers were hit by cement blocks thrown by protesters and required medical attention.

By 8 p.m., the tactical alert was lifted after police cleared most demonstrators from the area.

High school seniors across California are anxiously awaiting word on their public university acceptances. But thousands of other soon-to-be graduates are virtually locked out. A key reason? Nearly half haven’t taken the required classes.

Statewide, 54% of high school students pass the classes minimally needed to enroll in the University of California or California State University systems as freshmen, according to a CalMatters analysis of traditional high schools. In recent years, the state has provided extra funding to help schools boost their numbers, but the readiness rate has only inched up.

Low-income, Black and Latino students have among the lowest class-completion rates. English learners and students with disabilities also have low rates, but the numbers have climbed slightly the past few years.

California’s two public university systems require all students applying for admission to earn a C or better in a suite of courses. The requirements are four years of English, three of math, two years each of science, social science and foreign language, and one year of art.

Known as the A-G requirements, they often dictate a student’s schedule beginning in ninth grade or even earlier. It’s easy for a student to fall off track — by getting a D or F in a class, for instance, or by skipping a tough class like chemistry or trigonometry, or by not taking a class if their school doesn’t offer it.

CalMatters looked at data from the 2024-25 school year for 1,468 public high schools, excluding about 800 alternative high schools, some specialized schools with high A-G rates, continuation schools and juvenile detention programs. The analysis shows that 222 of those schools posted A-G completion rates of less than 30%. More than 400 schools had A-G rates exceeding 70%.

Researchers weigh in

Schools may have few students completing the full suite of A-G courses for a variety of reasons, said Sherrie Reed Bennett and Michal Kurlaender, education researchers at UC Davis who wrote a 2023 analysis on the gaps in A-G rates across public high schools. Some schools may offer the courses, but students don’t enroll in them. Or students earn below a C in these courses and don’t retake them after school or during the summer. Next, teachers may not allow students to repeat assignments in order to avoid having to retake a class; some schools allow this.

Meanwhile, nearly a tenth of traditional high schools didn’t offer the needed courses, the researchers’ data show.

Ideally, all students should be enrolled in A-G courses, Bennett and Kurlaender said. It’s the only way to guarantee that all students have the option of enrolling in a four-year university after high school.

Within 16 months of finishing a traditional high school, 86% of students who graduated with the required UC and Cal State courses enrolled at a college or university. Among students who didn’t complete that A-G sequence, just 55% enrolled, with the vast majority entering a community college, according to the latest state data from 2023.

A Compton high school’s big leap

Last spring, Dominguez High in Compton Unified had among California’s highest percentage of students graduating who met the UC and Cal State requirements — 96% were A-G ready, according to the California Department of Education.

“To this day, you get that sense of, like, ‘Wait, who, Compton?'” said Jorge Torres, the district’s director of college and career readiness, on how the district’s recent turnaround is a constant surprise to people he meets at conferences. At Dominguez High, around 91% of students are eligible for a federal school meal waiver, making the campus’ student body among the poorest in the state.

Reaching the high A-G rate took about 10 years, said Torres, and is the result of a few key decisions the district and the school’s principal made. In 2015, the district created Compton Early College High School, which emphasized a college-going culture for its students and exposed many to a wide array of community college courses. By 2020, all of the school’s students were graduating on time and completing the necessary courses for UC and Cal State eligibility.

But the school is smaller than Compton Unified’s other comprehensive high schools. Could they scale their results across the district’s larger high schools?

This meant Dominguez no longer offered classes that didn’t meet the UC and Cal State standards, said principal Caleb Oliver. He added an extra period during the school day so students could retake an A-G course without staying late or enrolling in the summer.

The school also revised its student counseling model so that two counselors stay with the same cohort of students for all four years. Torres said that too made a difference. So did adding a counselor who focuses only on college admissions and preparation at all of Compton Unified’s traditional high schools.

The year the school adopted the A-G graduation requirement, about two-thirds of its seniors finished high school having met the UC and Cal State admission criteria. By 2024, when the first freshmen held to the higher standard were graduating, about three-quarters of students graduated A-G ready. The next year, the rate jumped more than 20 percentage points, to 96%.

The work that district and school staff put into Dominguez High School “seems like a strong example of best practices,” said Iwunze Ugo, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California who has published reports on A-G rates. Dominguez and several other schools at Compton Unified have earned state recognition this year as “distinguished” campuses.

Gisele Genovez, a Dominguez senior, will have taken 14 community college courses by the time she graduates this spring. She applied to UC and Cal State schools with nursing programs and earned acceptances to several. “This school has really shown the importance of taking college courses, how it will benefit you, and it’s not something that you’re going to regret in the future,” she said.

As a Dominguez freshman, Alexis Hernandez didn’t think he’d attend college because he assumed he’d be priced out as a low-income student. But the school’s A-G requirement prepared him anyway.

“Just going to work after high school” was the route for students from low-income families, he thought. By 11th grade, he was excited to apply to college the following year and live on a university campus that’s within driving distance of home.

Now a senior, Hernandez has taken one community college course and has been accepted to several Cal State and UC campuses while he awaits results from other campuses. How will he choose which nearby school to attend? Whichever awards him the most financial aid, he said.

According to state data, slightly more than half of Dominguez students head to college within 16 months of graduating, though the latest figures are from 2023. That’s a bit lower than previous years, but lately, fewer of the school’s college-bound students enroll in community college and more attend four-year universities.

Past a certain point, the school is limited in what its students choose to do after high school, Oliver said. Colleges play a role in attracting students as well.

Programs that expose admitted students to free summer courses and introduce research-tested study skills can be the determining factor for an admitted student deciding whether to enroll, he said. Oliver noted such a program at nearby Cal State Dominguez Hills, a university that enrolls about two dozen Dominguez High students annually.

But students benefit “if they sign up for it,” he cautioned. “Everything is if they sign up for it. We can offer, but we need you to take hold of it.”

‘D equals diploma, C equals college’

Schools with lower A-G completion rates tended to have higher numbers of English learners or students in special education. Plenty of those students enroll in A-G courses, but if they need extra support, such as speech therapy or language development, for a period or two a day, it’s difficult to complete all the required courses needed to gain admission to UC or CSU, school administrators said.

Bennett and Kurlaender at UC Davis said that’s a poor excuse, and that far more students in special education or who are English learners should be able to complete A-G courses. To help schools boost their numbers, the state provides grants for schools and districts to hire tutors, expand college counseling or take other steps.

At Mt. Diablo High and Ygnacio Valley High, both in Concord, nearly 90% of students are English learners or low-income. Both schools also have higher-than-average numbers of students with disabilities. And both schools had A-G completion rates under 25% last year.

“This is a huge priority that we’re working hard on,” said Heather Fontanilla, director of college and career readiness for Mt. Diablo Unified School District, which includes both schools. “Ultimately, we want students to have post-secondary choices, including the chance to go to a four-year college. We do not want their transcript making decisions on what options they have available.”

The district is trying to raise its numbers by changing more courses to be A-G eligible, although the tough part is getting students to pass those classes. Students have to earn a C or better in an A-G course for it to count toward college admission, but only need a D for the class to satisfy the graduation requirement.

“We tell the kids, D equals diploma, but C equals college,” said Fontanilla. “All it takes is for a student to get below a C and everything starts to spiral.”

That’s because students who get below a C have to retake the class if they still want to enroll at a 4-year college. Make-up classes are typically held after school, a potential conflict for students who have jobs or family responsibilities.

So the district has started offering tutoring for students who are struggling, in hopes of saving their A-G eligibility before their C slips to a D. The district is also expanding outreach to parents so they can better support their children’s college-preparation efforts.

Manteca High in San Joaquin County also has a low A-G completion rate, close to 30%.

“We have a great graduation rate,” said Clara Schmiedt, assistant superintendent, noting that Manteca High’s graduation rate is nearly 95%, and the school was recently named a California Distinguished School. “But raising our A-G rate is a priority for us.”

One issue at Manteca High has been chemistry. Many students have struggled to pass, so the district is introducing a new curriculum and adding a new science teacher. Another problem is foreign language. The school only offers a few French classes, so students taking French might not be able to fulfill the foreign language requirement for A-G.

The district is also trying to change the culture around college. It’s expanding its dual enrollment program at a local community college, and sends dozens of students every summer to an academic institute at University of the Pacific in Stockton.

“We’re really trying to innovate,” Schmeidt said, “so students have as many opportunities as possible.”

We already knew that Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire running for California governor, is rich. But how rich?

In 2024, Steyer and his wife, Kat Taylor, reported a total income of $39 million, thanks to the duo’s massive investments in the global stock market. That’s more than all nine of his major opponents in the governor’s race and their partners made that year combined, according to their federal tax returns released this week.

A 2019 state law, designed to better inform California voters, requires candidates for governor to release their federal tax returns to qualify for the June primary ballot. Among major candidates, only Chad Bianco, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter and Tony Thurmond have already filed their 2025 tax returns.

Here are some highlights:

Tom Steyer

Income: $39 million in 2024, primarily from massive investments in the global stock market. He and his wife also made $6 million in passive income in Luxembourg, Netherlands, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands in 2024. They collected $38,000 in royalties from other properties and earned $23,000 from TomKat Ranch, their 1,800-acre cattle ranch in Pescadero.

Federal taxes paid: $5.4 million in 2024 — 54 times the average annual California household income.

Their earnings swing with the market: In 2021, they reported $160 million in income from investments and paid $39 million in taxes. But in 2022, they made a paltry $8 million and paid $1 million.

The couple regularly files tax returns in dozens of states each year (19 in 2024) and pays taxes abroad, too. Steyer also has a United Kingdom bank account, which at one point had a balance of $61 million in 2024.

The pair is big on philanthropy, donating $18 million in 2024, including $3 million in stock to Yale University and $1.5 million in stock to TomKat Foundation, the couple’s philanthropic nonprofit.

Steve Hilton

Income: $7.5 million in 2024, including $250,000 from Fox News and $6.7 million his wife, Rachel Whetstone, made as chief communications officer at Netflix. The couple also earned $360,000 from global investments but reported a net $3,000 loss in capital gains.

The couple received another $25,000 that year in rent from three properties in London, including two flats in the trendy Camden area. Hilton, a Republican, reported losing more than $226,000 on his media company, CR Productions.

Federal taxes paid: $2.8 million in 2024.

Eric Swalwell

Income: $461,000 in 2024, including his $184,000 congressional salary and $247,000 from his wife Brittany’s consulting work. The couple had a $41,000 home mortgage interest deduction in 2024. Rivals have challenged the Democrat’s California residency, though he lists a Bay Area rental as his primary residence.

Federal taxes paid: $83,000 in 2024.

Katie Porter

Income: $300,000 in 2025, nearly all from her salary as a law professor at the University of California-Irvine. Porter, a Democrat, also collects royalties from book sales: She made $140,000 in 2023 from books she authored, including two textbooks and her memoir, I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan, published that year. She earned $18,000 in 2024 and $3,500 last year in royalties.

Federal taxes paid: $58,000 in 2025.

Chad Bianco

Income: $590,000 in 2025, jointly with his wife Denise Bianco. Bianco’s return doesn’t break down the Republican’s wages, but his base salary as sheriff was $348,000 in 2024, after the Riverside County Board of Supervisors gave him a 27% pay raise that May.

He was already the highest-paid sheriff in the state in 2023, earning more than $593,000 in total compensation, which includes benefits such as a pension and health care coverage.

Federal taxes paid: $127,000 in 2025.

Xavier Becerra

Income: $490,000 in 2024, jointly with his UC Davis physician wife Carolyn Reyes. That includes Becerra’s nearly $250,000 salary at the time as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary in the Biden administration. The couple leased out four single-family homes that made them a net profit of $110,000.

Federal taxes paid: $116,000 in 2024.

Tony Thurmond

Income: $309,000 in 2025 — $203,000 as superintendent of public instruction and $18,000 from Integrated Community Services, a San Rafael-based disability supportive service where he worked as a supportive living aide, one of several side jobs the Democrat has held. Wife Vanessa Wiarco earned $87,000 as community engagement manager with KVCR Public Media at San Bernardino Community College.

Federal taxes paid: $52,000 in 2025.

Antonio Villaraigosa

Income: $1.4 million in 2024, most of which came from Actum, a business consulting firm with offices worldwide, including Los Angeles and Sacramento, and his own firm, Antonio Villaraigosa LLC. He also collected a $125,000 pension as the former Democratic mayor of Los Angeles. He and his wife, Patricia, filed their taxes separately.

Federal taxes paid: $462,000 in 2024.

Betty Yee

Income: $211,000 in 2024, almost all of which came from pensions and Social Security benefits. Yee, a Democrat, reported $1,300 in consulting and teaching income, and her husband, Steven Jacobs, is a rabbi with no reported income. The couple received $54,000 from selling a timeshare in October 2024. In 2021, the couple also reported $3,400 in gambling income in 2021.

Yee, who was California's controller until January 2023, received an annual salary of roughly $157,000 in 2022 and $13,000 in 2023, when the job ended in January.

Federal taxes paid: $24,000 in 2024.

Matt Mahan

Income: $507,000 in 2025, including his San Jose mayoral salary of $226,000 and his wife Silvia Scandar Mahan’s salary of $267,000 as president of Cristo Rey San Jose High School. In 2024, the couple claimed $14,000 in clean energy credits for using solar-powered electricity.

Federal taxes paid: $99,000 in 2025.

CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang and Juliet Williams contributed reporting. 

At the end of last year, community newspaper the Palisadian-Post shuttered its doors after 97 years in operation.

Subscriptions evaporated after January’s fires, as did advertisers, according to a departing message from former owner Alan Smolinisky.

In the months since, a pair of longtime Palisades residents have stepped up to acquire the beloved community paper.

Under new management

“The Palisadian-Post was a part of the reason we moved to Pacific Palisades, because the paper's role in providing a part of the character of the community was that strong,” said Tim Schneider, co-owner of the new Palisadian-Post.

Schneider had tried to buy the paper before — 24 years ago, when he and his family first moved to the Pacific Palisades.

“We've chronicled our children growing up in the pages of the Palisadian-Post, like a lot of Palisadians,” said Laura Schneider, also co-owner of the newspaper.

The married couple comes from long careers in the publishing industry. When they heard about the paper shutting down last December, they sprang into action and began negotiating a purchase.

Tim says that despite the struggles the community faces, it’s a dream come true to have the chance to continue a nearly century-old tradition with the Pali-Post.

Laura (left) and Tim Schneider (right) , the new owners of the Palisadian-Post, pose for a picture.

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Suzanne Trepp

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Palisadian-Post

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Something old, something new

The paper’s relaunch is set for May 4, the paper's 98th anniversary.

“The first step in the relaunch process is going to be gathering community feedback,” said Laura.

The two have been making calls to former employees and residents of the Palisades, looking for input on what they want out of this new iteration. One thing they say they’d like to see is a sustained focus on the recovery.

“ He needs to hire a news reporter who's focused on the rebuilding of the Palisades. That's a huge theme, obviously, all the aspects of the rebuilding,” said Bill Bruns, editor emeritus with the Palisadian-Post. Bruns was a longtime editor who's been advising the Schneiders on the relaunch.

After January, Tim says people went to various sources to get information to track the Palisade Fire's chaotic aftermath. He thinks a newspaper like the Pali-Post is a better place to provide readers with authoritative and reliable information.

He says he wants the paper to be a central information hub for the thousands of Palisadians who have been displaced.

“ We have 5,000 Palisadians living in Santa Monica, more than 3,000 Palisadians living in Brentwood," he estimated. "So our approach with the Palisadian-Post is to use it as the connective thread that ties together Palisadians."

Former Pali-Post editor Bill Bruns stands in front of the old "Pacific Palisades Post" building on Via de la Paz. The building held the newsroom as well as the paper's printing press.

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Bill Bruns

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Bill Bruns

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Staging a comeback

In its new iteration, the paper will be strictly digital, with a new website, daily newsletter and community calendar to give readers a full range of events in the neighborhood — recovery-related or otherwise.

In time, the couple hopes to bring back a physical edition of the paper.

Several former advertisers the Schneiders have talked to are committed to coming back.

“ I'm happy to say, not only have all of them committed to supporting the new Palisadian-Post, but we've heard from dozens of businesses that have indicated an interest in getting involved for the first time,” said Tim.

Beloved favorite columns of the paper are returning too, like the local Two-Cents section written by residents.

The first event planned is going to be the "Pali Bee" — the local Spelling Bee that the newspaper sponsored in previous years.

Laura says that despite the last 15 months of difficulties, the sense of community in the Palisades remains strong. The two hope that strength will get the newspaper and the community back on its feet.

“ That's something very special about this town, and that's something that we hope that we can tap into as we bring the Palisadian-Post back," Laura said. "This town has tremendous heart. And that's a big part of the story that we wanna tell."