The Brief

Before the Crenshaw Wall became a canvas for artists to paint depictions of Black life in the mid-1970s, Mark Steven Greenfield remembers it as a place that gang members would tag regularly.

He recalls Alonzo Davis, the co-founder of the Brockman Gallery and a teacher at Crenshaw High School, getting a bunch of young artists together, including Greenfield, to start painting.

“Alonzo took a look at that and said, ‘Well, you know, let’s go see if we can spruce up that wall on Crenshaw because if we don’t do something, the graffiti is just going to get out of hand’.”

How it started

In the early days, Greenfield describes it as a guerrilla movement in the Crenshaw District: Several artists took turns painting images of Black culture on the wall, like The Brothers Johnson, lowriders and hip-hop. At first, the LAPD hit them with citations but, Greenfield says, L.A. City Councilmember Robert Farrell had the charges dropped and gave them stipends to work on the wall.

Then the community got involved.

“Sometimes people would bring us lunch,” Greenfield says. “We really felt that the community was validating what we had done.”

Greenfield, who says he was interested in Afro-futurism back then, decided his first painting would be of a Black man with big eyes full of knowledge and insight.

“I had this idealistic view of what Black people in the future could and should be,” Greenfield says.

Over the next three decades, dozens of artists would paint images on the wall with a focus on Black history and culture. Over time, the roughly 780-foot-long structure became a symbol of pride and self-determination in the historically Black neighborhood of Crenshaw.

Now, years later, the Crenshaw Wall is getting a makeover. The L.A. Department of Cultural Affairs last week gave its approval for the plans to fix up the wall and create a new painting.

It’s all part of a long-discussed multimillion dollar redevelopment project led by the city of L.A. and the private nonprofit Destination Crenshaw to create what’s been described as an open-air museum that will include parklets and art installations throughout.

The organizers of Destination Crenshaw say that with this project they hope to revitalize a neighborhood that many argue has long lacked investment.

“The history of disinvestment and displacement is a source of trauma for our community in Crenshaw," says Jason Foster, president and COO of Destination Crenshaw. "What we're working to do is to cement the culture and the identity of our community."

A call to restore the Crenshaw Wall 

Eric “Cre8” Walker, an artist with the graffiti collective Rocking The Nation (RTN), grew up in South Central in the ‘80s and dreamed of painting on the Crenshaw Wall as a teenager. He recalls seeing all kinds of artwork — from intense murals that reflected the horrors of the crack epidemic to vibrant art that wished passersby happy holidays. Ice-T’s Rhyme Pays album was featured on the wall with dollar bills floating around and a character with a gold chain. Some artists paid tributes to friends who had died. For Walker, the wall was also a gathering place for the community to hang out.

In the early 2000s, Walker finally got his big chance to paint when he and other artists gathered funds for a mural project: One large Black history timeline called “Our Mighty Contribution.” It was a fresh attempt to spruce up the appearance of the wall that still exists today.

“We came at it in the sense of a cultural historical presentation,” Walker says. “We talked about the beginning of time and what we perceived to be the future of the end of time. We knew about our culture and our roots in history.”

When you drive by the wall now, starting from 49th Street and Crenshaw, you’ll first see an image of a Black woman blowing wind, or "life," into the universe in the beginning of time. Throughout the next few blocks, you'll see depictions of Africa, enslavement and activists like Frederick Douglass.

For years, RTN artists called for restoration as the Crenshaw Wall started to fade and peel.

(

Aaricka Washington

/

LAist

)

“We can’t show the whole movie, so it was more like an edited version of our history as Black civilization,” Walker says.

Rocking the Nation finished the mural, but the collective struggled to gather funds to maintain the integrity of the wall and keep it from deteriorating. The weather has been harsh and so have the vandals. In 2018, swastikas were spray-painted on the faces of the Black Panthers by unknown suspects.

“Our mission was to beautify,” Walker says. “But throughout the many years, we had people that didn't care about preserving anything. There were many days and weeks that we had to go back once again and touch it up with our own materials that we were working with.”

As the wall started to really show its age, fading and peeling, RTN artists started calling for a bigger restoration almost 10 years ago. Now after several delays, it's finally starting to happen — and Walker and the RTN crew will once again have a hand in beautifying it.

The makeover begins

First, work needs to be done to reinforce the wall. Once that construction is finished, it’ll be up to RTN to paint a new mural. Now that The L.A. Cultural Affairs Commission has given its blessing to the new artwork, the group is excited to get started, Walker says.

“I think it's only fair and it's only right to be able to have us as artists from the first go round who really didn't get the proper support, to be able to manifest what we really wanted to do,” Walker says, “When people see the wall, they're gonna be even more blown away than the first time.”

The new mural, named “The Saga Continues," will include images of The Great Migration, Black Hollywood figures and the Rodney King Uprising of 1992.

The digital rendering of a new mural "The Saga Continues" on the Crenshaw Wall

A digital mockup featuring a section of the RTN Crew’s new proposed artwork on the site of the current Crenshaw Wall. Additional construction is planned for the Wall, including a viewing platform above it, as part of Destination Crenshaw.

(

Image by Perkins&Will

/

Courtesy of Destination Crenshaw

)

A digital mockup featuring a section of the RTN Crew’s new proposed artwork on the site of the current Crenshaw Wall. Additional construction is planned for the Wall, including a viewing platform above it, as part of Destination Crenshaw.

(

Image by Perkins&Will

/

Courtesy of Destination Crenshaw

)

All of this reconstruction is expected to last for six months as Destination Crenshaw installs a viewing deck and a pocket park. The stairs that go to the top of the wall are being redirected and strengthened. The organizers also say the new mural will be treated with a special coating to better protect it against stormy, windy weather.

Walker hopes that people would want to tape music videos, commercials and documentaries around the wall.

Joy Simmons, a senior art and exhibition advisor for Destination Crenshaw, says the project’s mission is to “revitalize” the wall and to keep it fresh.

“We want to keep people engaged with what's happening in the community and what's happening in the world,” Simmons says. “I think it has always been the plan that this mural would evolve.”

A Black cultural space for many generations

Ask most people in and around L.A. about Crenshaw and the first thing that probably comes to mind is that it’s the late rapper Nipsey Hussle's neighborhood. He’s remembered by many for his love of the area and how invested he was in having residents not only survive, but thrive.

But outside of Hussle’s relatively recent legacy, the Crenshaw District has been recognized as a culturally significant Black neighborhood for decades.

Starting in the 1960s, the now-closed historic nightclub Maverick's Flat, also known as the “Apollo of the West," hosted acts like The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. The L.A. Sentinel, the largest Black newspaper west of the Mississippi, has its headquarters on Crenshaw Boulevard. And for nearly 40 years, the Kingdom Day Parade, which celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King’s life, has been celebrated in the neighborhood.

But there’s been a lot of change.

The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, one of the largest shopping centers in the region and major economic hub for the Black community, was sold to a developer. Metro’s new K-Line, which will connect Inglewood to LAX, is now running and has created some concerns from community members about who will be coming in and out of the area. And now the Destination Crenshaw project is finally underway.

All this change has brought the inevitable worries over gentrification and community members getting priced out of the neighborhood. Property values in many historically Black neighborhoods in South L.A. have doubled in the last 10 years, which has led to shifting demographics.

L.A. has lost a significant amount of Black Angelenos, as they move to suburban areas outside of the city — a pattern that mirrors what’s happening in cities around the country.

Why gentrification is a worry

There’s been some distrust in the community. Construction on the wall was supposed to begin in August, but now it is scheduled to begin sometime in September, after Destination Crenshaw receives a final permit from Metro. It was also delayed, in part, because of conflicts between officials and the Bethesda Temple Church Apostolic Faith Inc., which is located directly behind the wall.

The issue, according to Shirley Green, an administrator at the church, was over the impact the reconstruction of the wall would have on the church parking lot. It's going to eat up 22 parking spots, leaving older people and children to walk longer distances to the church. But now a new plan has been proposed that'll hopefully satisfy everyone's needs: Members will be able to park at Crenshaw High School on Sundays. Once permits for all this are complete, the restoration of the wall will officially begin.

Still, not all concerns have been addressed, says Bethesda’s pastor Kyron S. Shorter. Shorter says he has been talking to Foster, the Destination Crenshaw CEO, about the project since 2020, but he was concerned about the lack of transparency. All he sees is that this is a huge sacrifice for his church.

“What it will do is it'll probably raise the property value for us to sell and move out of the community,” Shorter says.

In response to concerns, Foster and the other Destination Crenshaw officials say their goal is to cement and preserve Black culture with this project, promising a one-of-a-kind permanent arts and cultural landmark. Through this project, organizers also say they hope to boost Crenshaw’s economy by giving locals jobs and supporting neighboring small businesses.

City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the city official leading the project in his district, sees Destination Crenshaw as an opportunity for the area. He says for as long as Black people have lived in L.A., their communities have not had the same level of investment as other areas. This disinvestment, he says, affects not only the quality of health care and education for Black residents, but also how much money people can borrow to fix up their home or start a business.

“You see the long-term impacts everyday,” says Harris-Dawson. And as someone who grew up in South Central, he sees the redevelopment of Crenshaw as an effort to improve how investors see the area. “It’s the location where we express ourselves, where we make our contributions to the world,” he adds.

Back in 2016, when Harris-Dawson first started having meetings with other Black leaders in L.A., including Nipsey Hussle, to come up with a plan to revitalize the area, they looked to New York’s Harlem neighborhood as an example of what they imagined.

“When you get off the train in Harlem, you know you’re in Harlem,” Harris-Dawson says. “You still see Black folks there, you still see varying people of varying incomes. Part of the reason that scholars think Harlem held, is its cultural assets that were impossible to move.”

Greenfield, one of the Crenshaw Wall’s original muralists, says while the project’s success remains unseen and uncertain, he says he sees what Harris-Dawson and Destination Crenshaw are trying to do.

“I think to the city council person's credit, what he is attempting to do is actually put this cultural footprint down before the gentrification goes into full swing,” Greenfield says. “Because if what I've seen has been any indication in another 30 or 40 years, you'll never know Black people live there.”

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.

(

Suzanne Trepp

/

Palisadian-Post

)

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.

(

Bill Bruns

/

Bill Bruns

)

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."