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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Shake and Bake
While the rest of the country might jeer at our naïveté, we Southern Californians pride ourselves on our paradoxical relationship with nature. Proximity to the mountains and the sea are touted as a major regional advantage, but it was sheer human will in the face of ecological challenges that helped build this city. And the ever-present prospect of earthquakes makes living in Southern California even more, well, special.
The utter unpredictability (and potentially huge impact area of tremors) heightens the fear factor. Until now. So LAist doesn’t know which is worse—knowing credible evidence that one might be on the way, or complete blissful ignorance.
In the interest of keeping California citizens informed and safe, Senator Barbara Boxer’swebsite includes a page dedicated to earthquake preparedness. Senator Boxer also sent an email to remind her constituents that “one scientist, who has made other successful earthquake predictions, has forecast a quake for the desert portion of Southern California by autumn.” Between this forecast and the recent arrival of West Nile Virus in our midst, maybe it’s a good time to plan that late summer vacation. Those of heartier mind and spirit should resist the paranoia and stick it out.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
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