2025 at 3:22 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}A person's body was found on the shoreline below the cliff in the 2000 block of Paso Del Mar Friday morning CA — Police are investigating the death of a person whose body was found on the shore in Palos Verdes Estates Friday morning below the cliff in the 2000 block of Paseo del Mar according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Saadullah Sheikh first responders determined that the individual was deceased," said Palos Verdes Estates Police Department Acting Sgt "The county coroner's office responded to the scene and is leading the investigation into the cause and manner of death The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner's office is working to determine the person's identity in order to notify their next of kin "We appreciate the collaborative efforts of Los Angeles County coroner's office and the Los Angeles County Fire Department in assisting with this investigation," added Marino Shoreline death investigations are not entirely uncommon in Palos Verdes Estates a human leg was found on the shore by a family taking a walk That case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and it is not connected to Friday's investigation it's the treacherous cliffs that prove deadly in Palos Verdes Estates firefighters rescued a woman who fell 40 to 50 feet off a cliff in the area killing a 25-year-old man and critically injuring two women Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. 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Application link Are you a strategic financial leader looking to make an impact in a vibrant coastal community The City of Palos Verdes Estates is looking for its next Finance Director the executive team is seeking an innovative and collaborative leader who thrives in a team-oriented environment This ideal candidate will bring municipal financial experience technical expertise and the desire to serve as a mentor to their team candidates will be screened for qualifications If you require additional information or have questions please contact Christine Martin at 949-993-6531 apply now 2025-05-05T07:41:43-07:00May 5 2025-05-02T09:39:58-07:00May 2 2025-05-02T08:40:53-07:00May 2 2025-05-04T09:32:06-07:00April 30 2025-04-30T17:06:48-07:00April 30, 2025| Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article Print Days after a human skull and bones washed ashore on a beach in Palos Verdes Estates authorities are still trying to identify the decedent and the cause of death The Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the bones were human but have not determined the identity of the person or cause of death, according to acting Cpt. Aaron Belda with the Palos Verdes Estates police. There is no additional information regarding the discovery, but Belda added there is no threat to the general public. Officials are not ruling out homicide, but the investigation is ongoing. “The course of the investigation could change depending on the coroner’s report,” Belda said Thursday. Nathan Solis reports on breaking news with the Fast Break team at the Los Angeles Times. California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California used data from an airborne radar to measure the movement of the slow-moving landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County during a four-week period in the fall of 2024 land in the residential area slid toward the ocean by as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) per week which juts into the Pacific Ocean just south of the city of Los Angeles are part of an ancient complex of landslides and has been moving for at least the past six decades affecting hundreds of buildings in local communities and the active area expanded following record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and heavy precipitation in early 2024 and the four flights were planned to estimate the speed and direction of the landslides in three dimensions colors indicate how fast parts of the landslide complex were moving in late September and October with the darkest reds indicating the highest speeds The arrows represent the direction of horizontal motion The white solid lines are the boundaries of the active landslide area as defined in 2007 by the California Geological Survey we’re seeing that the footprint of land experiencing significant impacts has expanded and the speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk,” said Alexander Handwerger the JPL landslide scientist who performed the analysis Handwerger is also the principal investigator for NASA’s upcoming Landslide Climate Change Experiment which will use airborne radar to study how extreme wet or dry precipitation patterns influence landslides The investigation will include flights over coastal slopes spanning the California coastline The ARIA mission is a collaboration between JPL and Caltech to leverage radar and optical remote-sensing and seismic observations for science as well as to aid in disaster response The project investigates the processes and impacts of earthquakes UAVSAR has flown thousands of radar missions around the world since 2007 studying phenomena such as glaciers and ice sheets andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov NASA Airborne Sensor’s Wildfire Data Helps Firefighters Take Action Climate Change. NASA Takes to the Air to Study Wildflowers Earth. Next-Generation Water Satellite Maps Seafloor From Space Earth. NASA’s EZIE Launches on Mission to Study Earth’s Electrojets Earth. NASA Analysis Shows Unexpected Amount of Sea Level Rise in 2024 Earth. NASA-ISRO Mission Will Map Farmland From Planting to Harvest Earth. NASA Awards Launch Service Task Order for Mission to Study Storm Formation Technology. NASA Uses New Technology to Understand California Wildfires Earth. NASA-Led Study Pinpoints Areas Sinking, Rising Along California Coast Earth. How New NASA, India Earth Satellite NISAR Will See Earth Explore MoreImage. Image. AVIRIS-3 Sensor Captures Data on Wildfire Near Mount Vernon, Alabama Image. AVIRIS-3 Sensor Captures Data on Wildfire Near Castleberry, Alabama Image. AVIRIS-3 Sensor Captures Data on Wildfire Near Perdido, Alabama Image. Satellite Record of Sea Level Rise From 1993 to 2024 Image. NISAR in Orbit Over Northeastern India (Artist's Concept) Image. Image. NASA Radar Looks at Palos Verdes Landslides Image. Building an All-Sky Map With SPHEREx (Artist's Concept) Image. Print Human remains continue to be found on the coast around the Palos Verdes Peninsula A human body in a “state of decay” was found by a hiker Saturday on beach rocks off a trail in Rancho Palos Verdes The discovery follows recent discoveries of a human skull and bones two legs and a femur at various locations along the peninsula police and medical examiners have been unable to identify whose remains they are or a cause of death a small boat belonging to two missing fishermen was found upturned near the 800 block of Paseo Del Mar in Palos Verdes Estates a Coast Guard search was called off with the men presumed dead The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the body found Saturday had “probably been there for months .. 2024An earlier version of this article said a body was found Sunday Nov. 18: A human skull and a human bone were found near the 300 block of Paseo Del Mar Palos Verdes Estates police searched the beach area and found more bones Monday: Fishermen who apparently ignored a small craft warning went missing amid high winds and powerful waves Wednesday: A human leg washed up on the 800 block of Paseo Del Mar, near where the abandoned boat was found Thursday: Another human leg and a femur washed up near the same place. Palos Verdes Estates police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said their investigations continue. Russ Mitchell is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times who covered energy technology and policy from a California perspective, including the state’s ambitious transition to electric vehicles. 2025 at 4:22 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Nearly 1,000 goats will report for duty in Palos Verdes Estates​ over the next two weeks as part of an effort to cut back vegetation to reduce fire risk CA — Nearly 1,000 goats will report for duty in Palos Verdes Estates over the next two weeks as part of an effort to cut back vegetation to reduce fire risk The 900 goats will eat weeds and other overgrown vegetation in 37 acres of parkland with a focus on hard-to-reach hillside areas inValmonte Canyon and the Palos Verdes stables the hillside between Via Boronado and Espinosa Circle and the hillside below Via Pinzon and Mirlo Gate House — zones deemed extremely high priority by Los Angeles County officials Some 400 goats got to work in Valmonte Canyon Thursday The clearing effort there could take a week and a half to complete Additional goats will be deployed elsewhere next week The brush clearance is expected to be complete by the end of the month The city of Palos Verdes Estates contracted with Fire Grazers Inc. for the goats and brush clearance services The company has done similar goat-powered work on the peninsula in the past County Supervisor Janice Hahn's office will reimburse the city for the cost of the $67,000 contract "The natural canyons and hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula are beautiful but they put this area at greater risk for wildfires," Hahn said in a statement "Mayor Victoria Lozzi told me that her city needed help with brush clearance and I was happy to offer my office's support If you see the goats this month in Palos Verdes Estates know that they are hard at work making this community safer." Filters Close filters Neighborhood All Palos Verdes Estates Rancho Palos Verdes Rolling Hills Estates Torrance Filter all Canyon Trail Park Trail Urban Trail Coastal hike More Less Price All Easy Moderate Strenuous Length All < 1 mile 1 to 5 miles > 5 miles Sort by which has damaged homes and left hundreds without power and gas service has also impacted the most popular trails on the peninsula About 13.5 miles of trails in the Portuguese Bend Filiorum and Forrestal reserves are temporarily closed “for public safety due to land movement,” says Rancho Palos Verdes spokeswoman Megan Barnes There are no plans to reopen them anytime soon The good news is, there are plenty of trails on the peninsula that remain open and safe for hiking. The peninsula has more than 1,600 acres of open space within the four cities comprising it: Rancho Palos Verdes Some of the trails aren’t well-marked or require stretches of walking on residential streets a diverse array of native plants and even geological lessons that shed light on the peninsula’s unique terrain Bill Lavoie, a long-time trail leader for the Sierra Club’s Palos Verdes-South Bay group, regularly leads weeknight conditioning hikes in the area He and his cohorts miss the unique beauty and cardio-friendly elevation gains of Portuguese Bend but they have learned to embrace other trails in the area and happily shared some of their favorites Here are five Palos Verdes Peninsula hikes that are more than just worthy substitutes for the closed trails interesting scenery and a window into a fascinating often-overlooked area of Los Angeles County Keep in mind that trails within the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve typically close between dusk and dawn daily and for at least 48 hours after a rainfall. For updates on trail conditions and closures, go to rpvca.gov/trailalerts. Lifestyle But with championship games come accommodations, receiving city permission from the streetlight-less Palos Verdes Estates to host the Southern Section Division 5 championship Friday night. As the South Bay breeze swept into the stadium, hundreds of fans who were denied entry because of a sellout set up camp on the white stone wall and hill in between the stadium and Via Pacheco road. Camren Hughes gave them something to celebrate. The junior safety began a fourth-quarter run of 23 unanswered points to lead the Sea Kings to their first CIF championship since 2014, 23-7 over La Serna. Down 7-0 with just more than seven minutes to go in the game, Hughes tallied his second interception, hauling in an errant pass and returning the ball 85 yards to the end zone. After Giuseppe Virzi, a junior defensive lineman, forced a fumble on a strip-sack during the next drive, sophomore quarterback Ryan Rakowski evaded three defenders on his way to the end zone for an eight-yard score and a lead the Sea Kings (9-5) would not relinquish. “It’s heaven — heaven on earth,” Hughes said about his game-altering second interception. For a team that began the season 2-4 and battled for two overtime wins, coach Guy Gardner said he was proud of how his players scrapped their way through the season to claim hardware over La Serna (10-4). “It’s special, right?” he said. “It doesn’t happen all the time. I don’t know if we would have predicted this in the beginning.” Gardner praised his younger players for battling through the season after losing an effective senior class a year ago. One of the underclassmen, his sophomore quarterback, put the game away. Rakowski scored for good measure with 1:40 to go, bursting ahead for a 26-yard touchdown run, his second score, and certifying their entrance into regionals next week. At one point, however, the game was La Serna’s to lose. Lancers sophomore quarterback Grady Long tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Zeb Bontemps on fourth and five in the first quarter. The drive-salvaging play provided La Serna a lead it held until Hughes’ pick-six with 7:23 left in the game. La Serna, which won the Division 4 title a year ago, attempted to slow the game down, running an almost 10-minute drive to begin the third quarter. But after failing to capitalize with a score, it opened the door for the Sea Kings. “That got a little scary,” Gardner said. “I didn’t know if we were going to see the ball for quite a while. Just keep playing, play hard and we got some real fortunate turnovers — and that happens when you come out and play hard.” Sea Kings junior Nick Yakubik also had an interception, while linebacker Josh Williams earned a safety with 4:24 left to give Palos Verdes a 16-7 lead. Gardner, who personally greeted each of his players as they warmed up before the game, did the same afterward with a hug or pat on the back. Drenched from a Gatorade shower after hoisting the Division 5 title plaque alongside his team, he reflected on what was to come. “We’ll figure out what’s coming next,” he said. “It’s such a grind all of the time, so I think you want to enjoy this a little bit. Maybe for at least the next 36 hours.” High School Sports This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. Rancho Palos Verdes life is mostly idyllic and insular. Clifftop ocean views, scenic hiking trails and a thriving equine community mean residents rarely have to go “down the hill.” But in recent years, multi-million-dollar homes perched atop oceanside bluffs in the Portuguese Bend area have started to succumb to geological forces that — despite millions of dollars and years of efforts — cannot be stopped. In fact, those forces were accelerated by heavy rains in 2023 and 2024, pulling apart structures, cutting gas and power lines and severing roads. NASA imagery shows that land was sliding at a rate of 4 inches a week during a four-week period last year. Portuguese Bend is clearly on borrowed time. So how did this slow-moving disaster get to this point? Who’s responsible? And where does Rancho Palos Verdes go from here? According to research from Cal State Dominguez Hills, the Portuguese Bend landslide has been moving for more than 250,000 years. But the more aggressive movement started after World War II, when the peninsula experienced a housing boom. McNulty has since retired and is not available for interviews, a spokesperson for the university told LAist. At the time, Graham said, the roads were mostly dirt and to build a home on the peninsula, you had to pave your own. But in 1956, Graham said, the fragile geology keeping the bluffs relatively intact took a hit when L.A. County expanded Crenshaw Boulevard. “ The theory was that the blasting and the digging and the movement of dirt and all that had disturbed an ancient slide that had been at equilibrium,” Graham said. According to historical documents posted by the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, land moved roughly 22 feet from September 1956 to April 1957. In a report to city officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, geologists said a particularly wet winter in 1978 accelerated land movement, at one point up to 40 feet a year in the early 1980s. The city was later able to reduce that movement to 1 foot a year by installing dewatering wells, which pump water out of the ground, but the bluffs never recovered. In the geologists’ report, they said that since the landslide was reactivated in the 1950s more than 5.8 million cubic yards of sediment — or enough to fill over 200,000 football fields — had been deposited in the ocean since the land started moving in the 1950s. When the land movement started accelerating in 1978, city officials banned new construction in the Portuguese Bend area, saying they had to “conduct extensive geological studies to determine the stability of the land.” For years, the development moratorium held, until 15 property owners sued the city in 2002, arguing that development had become too restrictive over the years. The city’s position, city manager Ara Mihranian told LAist, was to allow improvements on homes built prior to the city’s incorporation. A trial followed, and the judge ruled in favor of the city, claiming the development moratorium was justified. But the property owners won on appeal, with the ruling stating that the moratorium was an “unconstitutional taking of property” and the city had to either allow the plaintiffs to build on their vacant lots or buy them at fair market value. This paved the way for the development now being slowly crippled and rendered uninhabitable for the landslide movement Mihranian said three of the homes built as a result of the court ruling are now red tagged. Today, unstable land movement has left hundreds of residents without power or gas after above average rainfall over the last two winters accelerated movement in the landslide complex rendered dozens of homes unliveable, according to officials. At one point last year, land was moving up to 1 foot a week in some areas. That has since slowed with around-the-clock dewatering wells, but experts say it can’t be totally stopped. Mihranian told LAist that the long term plan is for the city to look at opportunities through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant program to buy back homes in the landslide complex. As property owners wait for funding for the buyouts, others are trying the real estate market. On Zillow, a home on Vanderlip Drive is listed for more than $2 million with a note that states: “The home is offered for a fraction of its pre-movement value...and will offer a buyer a unique blend of elegance, comfort and breathtaking beauty, making it a true treasure to be loved by the next family lucky enough to call it home.” According to the listing, the homeowners have “fought back” against the land movement by installing helical piers, or foundations screwed into the ground. The listing agent, Charlie Raine, told LAist there's been interest in the place for its character and history. But in general, he said news of the landslides hasn't helped in generating prospects. " We've had people who have mentioned the fact that, you know, how close is it to the landslide? And these are houses that are nowhere near the landslides," he said. "It's something that's on buyers' minds, and it certainly must have a negative effect on some people that maybe won't look in the area." Another listing for a million-dollar home in the Seaview area states: “Don’t miss this opportunity to own a slice of coastal paradise in one of Southern California’s most desirable neighborhoods. Schedule your private showing today and experience the allure of seaside living at its finest. Property located in the neighborhood impacted by LAND MOVEMENT and affected by it.” Mihranian said the city can’t step in to halt those sales since they are privately owned parcels. Other property owners have filed lawsuits against the city. Two filed last year allege the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, L.A. County, CalWater and the Klondike Canyon Landslide Abatement District failed to properly manage the landslide or take adequate precautionary measures ahead of wet winter seasons. The lawsuits also allege that improperly maintained water and sewer lines contributed to the recent acceleration in movement. During the search of the shoreline, officers and coroner investigators recovered a second human leg and a femur, said Palos Verdes Estates Police Capt. Aaron Belda. He said the human leg was found by a hiker. No other details about the condition of the human parts were provided. The search was conducted after a human leg washed up along the shoreline in the 800 block of Paseo Del Mar on Wednesday, the same spot where a capsized boat belonging to two fishermen washed up earlier this week. The department said that a cadaver dog with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was used that day to thoroughly search the area for additional remains, but none were found. Belda said the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner will try to identify the remains that were found and if the limbs are connected to the capsized boat incident that occurred Dec. 23. County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the bones were human but have not determined the identity of the person or cause of death the men went fishing aboard a small boat Monday afternoon Weather forecasters had issued a small craft advisory that day warning boaters in Los Angeles County that there could be waves up to 10 feet high The men were reported missing the following morning after they didn’t return from fishing their overturned boat was discovered by a person along a stretch of a rocky shoreline in Palos Verdes Estates The coast guard conducted a search and rescue Christmas Eve for the two men but were forced to suspend the operation the next day amid dangerous surf and high winds The boaters’ disappearance came during a week when massive waves damaged the historic Santa Cruz Wharf and a man died after being trapped by debris in high surf at Monterey Bay The discovery of the legs and femur marks the second time that human remains have washed up in the same area. Last month a human skull and bones washed ashore in the same area. Belda said it’s unclear if the femur recently found is connected to that case. He said there are currently no plans to conduct any more searches operations in the area. Times staff writer Tony Briscoe contributed to this report. Ruben Vives is a general assignment reporter for the Los Angeles Times. A native of Guatemala, he got his start in journalism by writing for The Times’ Homicide Report in 2007. He helped uncover the financial corruption in the city of Bell that led to criminal charges against eight city officials. The 2010 investigative series won the Pulitzer Prize for public service and other prestigious awards. during a period of four weeks in the fall of 2024 is part of an ancient complex of landslides and has been moving for at least the past six decades The motion accelerated and the active area expanded following record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and another heavy-precipitation winter in 2024 To create this visualization, the Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team used data from four flights of NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) that took place between Sept The UAVSAR instrument was mounted to a Gulfstream III jet flown out of NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards The white solid lines are the boundaries of active landslide areas as defined in 2007 by the California Geological Survey The ARIA mission is a collaboration between JPL and Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA, to leverage radar and optical remote-sensing, GPS, and seismic observations for science as well as to aid in disaster response. The project investigates the processes and impacts of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, fires, subsurface fluid movement, and other natural hazards. UAVSAR has flown thousands of radar missions around the world since 2007 studying phenomena such as glaciers and ice sheets, vegetation in ecosystems, and natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides. News. News. News. News. News. News. News. News. News. NASA Radar Imagery Reveals Details About Los Angeles-Area Landslides Photo by: Michael WadeUSC Women’s Golf Takes Over Palos Verdes for Spring Opener February 01 The Women of Troy start up the spring season with the Therese Hession Regional Challenge at the Palos Verdes Golf Club 2025 at 2:29 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}In response to the burglaries PVEPD officers have been proactively patrolling the city in hopes of deterring and detecting criminal activity CA — Dinnertime burglaries are on the rise in Palos Verdes Estates four homes were hit during evening hours that police believe to be related including two at the same house and police arrested suspects both times According to the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department the suspects in each burglary gained entry through smashing windows or glass doors or breaking into a garage or door "Detectives are actively pursuing all leads and collaborating with several other law enforcement agencies around us. Also, we have additional officers working specifically for burglary suppression to keep your homes safe," police officials said on Facebook Eight homes were hit by burglars at the following locations: Print Southern California Gas Co does not have plans to reinstate gas service to homes on the peninsula that had been cut off More than two dozen homes in and around ongoing landslide movement in the western Palos Verdes Peninsula are set to have their electricity restored weeks — and months — after they were cut off from the vital utility But last week, Southern California Edison for the first time announced plans to restore electricity in the area, with 28 homes in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills set to regain electricity beginning as early as Friday. Officials still know little about the extent of the Portuguese Bend land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula as early as tomorrow we will be re-energizing some customers there in the Palos Verdes Peninsula,” Gabriela Ornelas a spokesperson for Southern California Edison Ornelas said the homes that were expected to have their power restored had been notified though she said it could take some time to repower some homes because of safety concerns with the equipment of homeowners who had installed off-grid power options an SCE spokesperson said the utility had begun the process of restoring power to the 28 homes others will have to wait until the work is complete which could be several days as the utility conducts safety inspections The spokesperson did not say how many homes have had their power restored The utility company had previously cited dangerous land movement as the reason it could no longer safely provide power to the area Ornelas continued to call it a dynamic situation “Future conditions could require us to turn power off again due to public safety,” she said But she said there was also the possibility that more homes in the area could regain power that still leaves more than 250 without power “We will be assessing future restorations where possible,” Ornelas said Ornelas said she wasn’t aware of any plans by the utility company to compensate residents for the weeks-long shutoffs or for any alternative power systems they may have installed in the meantime. Many residents have spent thousands on solar power systems — some still under construction — to remain in their homes without electricity Southern California Gas Co. does not have plans to reinstate gas service homes on the peninsula that have been without service. More than 220 homes have had their service indefinitely cut off, some since July. Many are the same homes that lost electricity. “Unfortunately, we do not know when it will be safe to restore service in these areas but will continue to evaluate our ability to serve impacted homes,” Brian Haas, spokesperson for SoCalGas, said in a statement. He said the company continued to coordinate with city officials, public safety agencies and others responding to the ongoing land movement. Mike Hong, a Portuguese Bend resident who has been living without electricity for almost two months, owns one of the homes that will be getting power back starting Friday. When he received the call from Edison, Hong said, it felt unreal, and although he feels jubilant from the news, he does feel guilty about neighbors who aren’t getting power back. “We get together every Sunday and talk about the issues and try to help each other,” he said. “There’s a great sense of community here,” he said of those in his homeowners’ association. Hong credits the re-energizing effort by Edison to the city. Patty Perkinson is not ready to give up on her Rancho Palos Verdes home — despite the active landslide causing untold damage and now the loss of vital utilities The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council this week called on utilities to figure out what movement would be considered manageable to restore service especially given that conditions in the area had — for the first time in months — started to dramatically improve In the last few weeks, the city installed six deep wells near the coastline to pump out groundwater — the impetus for landslide movement — which, combined have been pumping out 550 gallons per minute, the report said. Geologists this month found that the rate of movement was decreasing fastest around the new wells, according to the city’s latest staff report. The most dramatic improvement was from a rate of 9 inches a week on Sept. 4 down to 1.5 inches a week as of Oct. 7, the report found. The locations that saw the most dramatic slowdowns were closer to the toe of the Portuguese Bend landslide, near Klondike Canyon. The rate of land movement decelerated as much as 80% as of early October compared with the month prior at several monitoring sites, the report said. In other locations farther from the new wells, the movement rates saw decreases of about 30% to 50%. “With this new data from geologists, [the city] felt they could maybe talk to Edison and see if they could bring [utilities] back, and they actually came through,” Hong said, “so I’m very grateful for the city manager and city staff.” He said even though his home had suffered some damage from the landslide, he feels upbeat. “We feel very hopeful that things are moving in the right direction,” Hong said. Grace Toohey is a reporter at the Los Angeles Times covering breaking news for the Fast Break Desk. Before joining the newsroom in 2022, she covered criminal justice issues at the Orlando Sentinel and the Advocate in Baton Rouge. Toohey is a Maryland native and proud Terp. Karen Garcia is a reporter on the Fast Break Desk, the team that has a pulse on breaking news at the Los Angeles Times. She was previously a reporter on the Utility Journalism Team, which focused on service journalism. Her previous stints include reporting for the San Luis Obispo New Times and KCBX Central Coast Public Radio. Palos Verdes Estates on Friday agreed to open up the popular winter surfing spot Lunada Bay to out-of-towners, ending a years-long legal dispute over who has the right to use the beach. The city was accused of failing to prevent bullying and harassment to surfers not affiliated with the local group known as the Lunada Bay Boys, often described as a surf gang. Under the consent decree signed Friday, the city must improve the blufftop by installing drought tolerant plants; maintaining a trail for hikers, dog walkers and surfers; and adding signs making it clear that the blufftop and the shoreline are “open to everyone.” Palos Verdes Estates also has to add street signs directing visitors to Lunada Bay. Kate Huckelbridge, California Coastal Commission executive director, praised the resolution, saying it underscored that all beaches are “safe and welcoming for visitors regardless of their ZIP codes.” According to the lawsuit, the surf gang at one time posted a sign at the top of the bluff that read "Unlocals will be hassled." It also alleged city officials, including the police department, knew about the harassment and turned a blind eye. Kurt A. Franklin, a plaintiff's attorney, called it "a new day" and said they'd achieved "what we set out to do more than eight years ago." In a statement released to LAist he said of his clients: "They simply wanted the problem of well-known localism recognized and fixed.  The waves, beach and coast belong to all." The city of Palos Verdes Estates has agreed to a series of steps to improve public access to the bay and “vigorously enforce” coastal access laws to ensure that all surfers can shred in peace The agreement was reached between the city and two surfers — Cory Spencer and Diana Miernik — who filed a lawsuit in 2016 accusing the city of turning a blind eye to the bullying tactics employed by the surf gang to prevent nonmembers from accessing the waves These alleged tactics included slashing car tires throwing dirt clods at surfers descending the bluffs and full-on fistfights in the water Spencer alleged that while he was surfing in 2016 a member deliberately ran him over with a surfboard The lawsuit also named 12 alleged members of the surf gang as defendants Most of them have already reached separate settlements with the plaintiffs agreeing to stay away from the beach for a year or pay $35,000 to $90,000 in fines California The Bay Boys are a surfer gang in the Lunada Bay area of the Palos Verdes Peninsula that formed in the 1960s The city has agreed to make improvements to the pathway along the bluffs add signs indicating that beach access is available to everyone and install stone benches along the bluffs The decree also requires the city to perform regular sweeps of the area to ensure there are no unpermitted developments, such as the notorious rock fort the gang previously used as a base from which to rule the waves The city dismantled the fort in 2016 after significant pressure from the California Coastal Commission city staff must receive regular training in coastal access laws and all allegations of bullying must be reported to the city’s chief of police the Coastal Commission’s chief and its Southern California enforcement supervisor/manager Violations of the agreement could result in fines of up to $15,000 a day Friday’s settlement was applauded by the California Coastal Commission which has been urging the city to stand up to the Bay Boys for more than a decade “We are pleased and support any steps to make sure the public beach is clearly available to the public like the rest of California’s coast and ocean is safe and welcoming for visitors regardless of their ZIP Codes,” said Kate Huckelbridge executive director of the California Coastal Commission An illegal stone-and-wood shelter built by a group of territorial surfers at Lunada Bay on the Palos Verdes Peninsula is set to be demolished soon. Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Dawn Murdock had a more muted response, noting that some residents will be relieved and others frustrated by the agreement. “The City has been through a roller coaster of rulings on this lawsuit, and as we looked into the future, we simply saw nothing but more legal fees and uncertainty,” Murdock said in a statement. “Our focus needs to be on resident priorities and it’s good to no longer have this matter consuming valuable resources.” The city has agreed to pay $1 million to $4 million toward the plaintiffs’ legal fees. The precise amount will be determined at a future date. City representatives cited the potential cost of losing the lawsuit as a primary motivation for reaching the settlement. Palos Verdes Estates is a small municipality with about 13,000 residents and an annual budget of less than $40 million. In entering the agreement, the city did not admit to the plaintiffs’ claims. Attorney Christopher Pisano, who represented the city in the case, said Palos Verdes Estates was facing an “existential financial risk” if it lost. “This settlement achieves certainty, taking the risk of tens of millions of dollars in liability off the table and avoiding the high costs of continued litigation,” Pisano said. Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered politics and education for the L.A. Daily News. While at the Daily News, she published a series on fentanyl addiction that won a first-place investigative journalism award from the L.A. Press Club. Harter majored in political science and Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University. She loves surfing and, when not reporting, can most likely be found in the ocean. this uncompromising seaside mansion in Palos Verdes rises as a striking .. More departure from the wave of ‘cookie-cutter’ architecture that has swept across Los Angeles In this vast, sprawling melting pot of a metropolis, it’s as hard to agree on a definitive architectural vernacular as it is to meet a waiter who doesn’t harbor movie-star ambitions. Yet there’s one style, argues Lea Porter, one of LA’s most prolific realtors (she has closed more than $400m worth of real estate deals in the last 2.5 years), that now dominates all levels of the market up to $70m mansions. And that’s cookie cutter. blue views: from the elevated position of Palos Verdes More coastline are rivaled only by those found in Malibu Now imagine the screech of a needle being dragged across vinyl then swivel 180 degrees to think of the exact opposite First head out of the usual Westside zip codes that attract the rich and famous to a more under-the-radar spot just under an hour’s drive south of Los Angeles It's high-end, but not high-profile. Doctors and lawyers live here but not celebrities basking in the limelight. “People want peace and quiet, places that are out of the way. Palos Verdes is that neighborhood,” says Porter. And, she adds, “nothing is cookie cutter once you get into the hills.” Thoughtful consideration was given to each slab of marble selected More craftsmen who shaped and polished it to impeccable results picture a house that has torn up the recipe entirely A vast nearly 12,000-square-foot mansion that’s Tuscan palazzo from the outside A mansion built with no cap on the time taken or budget spent And a house in which every single element—from the intricately laid marble floors to every last piece of furniture—is custom-made The ornate details of the interior extend outside to the series of terraces and verandas that adorn .. “To recreate this now would be astronomical,” says Porter It’s one of the most intricately beautiful houses I’ve ever seen.” Palos Verdes is the final jewel in the Queen’s Necklace the coastline that sweeps from here to Malibu in the north and forms a necklace of lights when illuminated at night Graceful symmetry in the ornamentation creates a sense of grandeur while infusing balance throughout ... More the 12,000-square-foot interiors. This particular 38,600 sq ft lot—designed for families, with entertainment terraces, lawns, hiking trails for kids and a dog park—also claims the almost unheard-of triptych of being wide, deep and perched on a promontory that offers up bird’s-eye views over the entire L.A. basin. “The ocean view from the living room,” says Handa, who grew up in Palos Verdes, “is what I dreamt of for 25 years.” Porter puts the views in her top five in Los Angeles County, on a par with Montecito—only you’d pay $50m for a property like this in that starry enclave. The seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom property couldn’t be further from cookie cutter, either: exceptional attention to detail has been lavished on every bespoke feature. It’s no surprise it took seven years to build. Its owners traveled the world to source artisans, materials and furnishings, from one-off Murano-glass chandeliers from Italy to hand-crafted wooden objects from India. One of the few spaces in the home not draped in marble, the office's detailed woodwork is equally ... More impressive. Most people—even Bel Air’s multi-millionaires—play safe with their marble choices, according to Porter: it’s black, gray or white. In this house, there’s a rarely seen pale blue, in the office’s ensuite bathroom. And that’s another way in which this self-build bucks the trend, she adds. Many people will cut corners in some places in order to splash out in others. They use expensive marble in the spaces used by family and friends, then opt for a more economical solution in the rooms for kids and staff. “It’s how people bring things in on budget. You’re gonna fudge,” Porter comments. “Here, the same quality of marble and flooring is used throughout. There’s no compromise.” The palazzo grounds are punctuated by grassy lawns topiary landscaping and an infinity pool .. Jivrajka are now selling what was designed as their forever home after their offspring and grandchildren have flown the nest to West L.A.—so they’re doing the same Their new home is a 25,000-square-foot neo-classical mansion set on 1.5 acres in Holmby Hills—a $34.5m purchase also steered by Ram Handa The estate is already a movie star in its own right having featured in the TV mini-series The Dropout But it’s certain to be a given a meticulous an invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes From Tubes To Turns, Jai Glindeman's Surfing is a Treat to Behold Gerry Lopez Goes Deep With Justin Jay On The Plug Podcast Spot Guide: Rincon Queen, of the Coast NewsAll NewsEventsBig Wave NewsWorld Surf LeagueEnvironmentalIndustryWave PoolsPosts List Winners of SURFER's Emerging Brands Grant Announced New Water Quality Regulations in New York Won’t Necessarily Make Water Any Cleaner Ordered to Promote Coastal AccessCity to build trails and signs to promote beach access Last week the city of Palos Verdes Estates in Southern California agreed to a court ruling that requires the city to make the historically localized Lunada Bay a more welcoming place for surfers and even punish those who threatened violence According to the consent decree signed in Los Angeles Superior Court on September 20 the city must improve the blufftop overlooking Lunada Bay with a train for hikers install drought-tolerant plants and build signs stating the coast is “open to everyone.” The city is also charged with patrolling the beach at least every two months for the next five years to remove structures (like the stone hut locals had for many years) and equipment Palos Verdes Estates still has to pay $4 million to $1 million in attorneys’ fees which was filed in 2016 by two surfers who sued several local surfers and accused the city of failing to prevent bullying assault and harassment of out-of-town surfers not affiliated with the local group known in the unofficial vernacular as the Lunada Bay Boys The lawsuit also alleged local police did little to stop the harassment 13 of the Bay Boys agreed to stay away from Lunada Bay for at least a year or to pay settlements from $25,000 to $90,000 Fearing millions more in litigation and state penalties for not addressing California’s stringent coastal access laws the Palos Verdes Estates took this settlement as a way to get out of court sooner rather than later “The city was facing an existential financial risk if the case ultimately had gone against the city,”  Christopher Pisano the city’s legal counsel said in a statement “This settlement resolves the matter with the addition of modest amenities which will be designed to maintain the natural feel of the blufftop and a promise that the city will continue to vigorously enforce the laws protecting coastal access This is a win for the city given the structure of the beach access laws and the uncertainty of the legal outcome.” For the longtime Lunada Bay locals, the news must feel ironic and even a tragic twist of fate. By trying to keep the lineup clear and the wave underground through heavy-handed efforts bolded and put under a microscope by the city and the California Coastal Commission Whether you think local governments should have a hand in lineup politics or not the ruling is a potentially massive precedent that could force California cities to take similar measures when aggressive surfers get into the public eye This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page 2025 at 12:40 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}The storm is expected to bring 1.5 to 3 inches of rain across Los Angeles County with 3 to 6 inches expected in the mountains CA — The National Weather Service issued a flood warning on the Palos Verdes peninsula as the year's biggest rainstorm drenches the Southland this week The storm is expected to bring 1.5 to 3 inches of rain across Los Angeles County Flood watch will remain in effect through late Thursday night "A Flash Flood Watch means that conditions may develop that lead to flash flooding Flash flooding is a very dangerous situation," the weather service said in a statement "Local emergency services are monitoring the situation and will issue a public statement as conditions warrant Plan now so you will know what to do in an emergency." The greatest risk for mudslides and debris flow is in the burn scars of recent Los Angeles County fires, forecasters said. On Wednesday morning, a water main break in Pacific Palisades caused a sinkhole to open up in the burn area For Palos Verdes residents living in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding sandbags are available at the following locations: Residents are required to bring their IDs and can pick up a maximum of 10 bags Those collecting sand were also urged to bring their own shovel or tools Parts of the Los Angeles County peninsula “are part of an ancient complex of landslides and has been moving for at least the past six decades,” according to the news release The active area expanded after heavy rain drenched Southern California in 2023 and early last year The findings were from data collected by NASA’s Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar, an imaging radar instrument that was attached to a jet Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes — and Oct It comes as Southern California Edison announced in January that it’d be restoring power to specific areas in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Why did Newsom declare a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes?Last September, Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes in response to the accelerated land movement that disrupted many residents' utility services The loss of utility services triggered evacuation warnings for some residents Southern California Edison alerted properties within the landslide area in July 2024 that "considerable land movement" over the past 18 months put "utilities serving the area" at risk and that service could be discontinued “The ground movement affecting your neighborhood has created unsafe and hazardous conditions, which have already impacted SCE's infrastructure, causing power poles to lean and power lines to fail,” the July 30th update read “The impact on SCE's equipment caused by these hazardous conditions increases the risk of system failure In late August, a landslide collapsed a power line, leading to a small brush fire, USA TODAY reported Southern California Edison said in an update that the fire showed that they could not mitigate the public safety risk from land movement in the area the utility provider cut power to more than 200 homes and businesses Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com A Southern California coastal area long prone to landslides continues to inch toward the ocean at a rising speed posing danger to human life and infrastructure The Palos Verdes Peninsula, a Los Angeles County area that juts into the Pacific Ocean, shifted around 16 inches toward the ocean during last fall, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Portions of the peninsula are part of an "ancient complex" that have been susceptible to landslides for more than 60 decades The motion is also accelerating and impacting hundreds of buildings in local communities according to the analysis conducted by JPL landslide scientist Alexander Handwerger and the speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk," Handwerger said in the NASA report The lab shared an image created using the UAVSAR and illustrating the landslide direction gearing south into the Pacific Ocean within the four-week period The UAVSAR radar was used to estimate the landslide's speed and direction across three dimensions The team planted the instrument onto a jet flown four times out of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Kern County The image uses colors to indicate the landslide speed and direction with dark red representing the highest velocity per week and light yellow representing the lowest It also includes arrows showcasting the direction of horizontal motion as well as white solid lines representing the boundaries of the active landslide area defined by the California Geological Survey in 2007. NASA's Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis also used data by the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-1A/B satellites The NASA lab has provided the data with California officials addressing landslides as well as the general public online at NASA’s Disaster Mapping Portal The Palos Verdes Peninsula is a coastal area in Los Angeles County known for popular surfing spots and stunning ocean views in Southern California Watch today's top stories and most popular videos which provide you with features like past/future radar and customizable layers Trust us to help you plan the best day possible with the most accurate weather forecast available We recognize our responsibility to use data and technology for good We may use or share your data with our data vendors The Weather Channel is the world's most accurate forecaster according to ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast Accuracy Overview 2024 at 11:19 am PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}The resolution to the case will have the city add amenities at key points in Lunada Bay to make the space more accessible to the general public (Courtesy of Kurt Franklin)PALOS VERDES ESTATES CA — A decade-long lawsuit against the City of Palos Verdes Estates and the Lunada Bay Boys has been settled Originally filed in 2016, the lawsuit was revived in a California appeals court in 2023 when it ruled the city could be held liable for violating the Coastal Act for allegedly turning a blind eye as the group harassed and drove away beachgoers for decades The resolution to the case will have the city add amenities at key points in Lunada Bay to make the space more accessible to the general public “The City Council is committed to ensuring compliance with the California Coastal Act and public access to our beaches the City Council does not tolerate harassment bullying or any form of localism at any of the City’s beaches Based on the decade of legal action and court rulings that have wavered between supporting the City’s position and disagreeing with it we believe the best path forward for everyone is to resolve this matter,” said Kerry Kallman “Based on advice from legal counsel and direction from the City Council we are confident it is in the City’s interest to resolve this matter.” Improvements that the city will make include: Before the lawsuit, a rock fort stood on the sands of Lunada Bay for about 30 years that had a roof, stone table and a barbecue area. Residents and the Bay Boys were known to enjoy the fort. The Palos Verdes Estates City Council voted to dismantle the fort in 2016, despite community pushback The case is now officially closed and the City Council voted unanimously to accept the settlement terms “There is no doubt residents who have been tracking this matter for years will either be relieved or frustrated by this outcome The City has been through a rollercoaster of rulings on this lawsuit we simply saw nothing but more legal fees and uncertainty Our focus needs to be on resident priorities and it's good to no longer have this matter consuming valuable resources," Mayor Dawn Murdock said 2024 at 1:40 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Patch has compiled a list of nearby places where families can meet Santa this holiday season CA — Visits and pictures with Santa Claus are treasured traditions for many families on the Palos Verdes Peninsula kids have several chances to see jolly old St How it'll work: Gabriela Ornelas, a spokesperson for the utility company, said the company is working on energizing circuits. While some of the 28 homes will have power immediately restored, others will have to work with the utility company for additional inspections of the electric equipment in their homes so power can be restored in the coming days. The homes are located in the western area of Rancho Palos Verdes and the northernmost area of Rolling Hills. Ornelas said while SCE has identified some areas to restore power to, they are “continuing to explore additional solutions for other parts of the peninsula as we have been since the situation started.” Resources for residents still without power: The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council on Tuesday allocated $2.8 million — more than half of a $5-million grant from Los Angeles County — for direct relief to residents in the Portuguese Bend area facing landslide damage or a loss of vital utilities — or in many cases, both “These emergency grants will deliver long-overdue immediate assistance to those whose lives have been upended by land movement and utility shutoffs helping them cover essential costs like home repairs and temporary housing,” Mayor John Cruikshank said in a statement The city will distribute up to $10,000 to families most directly affected by the land movement and the shutoffs estimated to be about 280 homes in Rancho Palos Verdes have said they are facing costs closer to $100,000 from the last few weeks’ events which left them scrambling to fortify homes’ foundations switch to off-grid solar energy and convert natural gas lines to propane “These residents are going through hell and they have shouldered the financial burden of this landslide entirely on their own,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement “$10,000 may not be enough to cover the costs of what these homeowners are facing but I think it is important to get them this help.” The funds are not extended to residents in Rolling Hills, the nearby city where about 50 residents also recently lost power and gas service because of land movement in a few neighborhoods, which sit just up the hill from the Portuguese Bend landslides. City officials on Tuesday were grateful for Hahn’s support noting that other emergency resources — such as state or federal funding — have been almost impossible to secure even as the landslide disaster has escalated “The county of Los Angeles is the only [one] that has helped us at all,” Councilmember David Bradley said Tuesday night “The city cannot continue to fund everything because we will be broke.” In the absence of outside help, city officials are trying to find ways to respond to the growing emergency despite mounting expenses — ideally, before the rainy season. Rain and runoff are known to exacerbate and accelerate the land movement, as groundwater drives the geologic shifting. “We just need to stop the darn thing from moving,” Cruikshank said. “This is a nightmare.” City staff outlined about $26 million worth of projects that were recommended to try to mitigate land movement including efforts to keep water from entering the ground by filling fissures and improving drainage as well as projects to remove groundwater by installing additional deep wells and pumps The city typically operates on a yearly budget of less than $40 million city leaders approved $14 million for landslide emergency response and mitigation while making plans to revisit the projects soon if more money is necessary Dozens of residents testified at the City Council meeting some expressing concern about unnecessary red tape that could limit access to the $10,000 grants but most simply urging support for immediate winterization efforts and more groundwater pumping in light of the upcoming rainy season Accelerating landslides in Rancho Palos Verdes have continued to upend life But residents like Gordon Leon aren’t ready to give up which have been pumping out 600 gallons of water a minute Initial measurements have shown that the pumping appears to have helped slow the land movement “I feel like we’re turning a page here,” Mihranian said said that overall movement had started to naturally decelerate in August for the first time in months probably because there hadn’t been rain in the last five months after the activation of the new dewatering wells several areas showed a more dramatic decrease in movement “It’s a direct impact from the dewatering well activity,” Phipps said the almost 700 acres of landslide area moved about 8 inches a week on average still a disastrous amount but down from prior months The most active spots were shifting about 11 inches per week though that measurement was down from a high of about 13 inches a week this spring Officials are hoping that slower movement could allow utility companies which have pulled out indefinitely from about 300 homes both city and county leaders have called on Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas to provide more support for residents who abruptly lost utilities most without any compensation or backup plan “These utility companies are monopolies,” Hahn wrote this week in a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission “They have profited off these residents for decades as the chosen utility providers for this region these utilities should be responsible for providing alternative sources of power to their customers on the Palos Verdes Peninsula when they choose to shut off service.” Though many residents have been dealing with the fallout of the utility shutoffs for more than a month — many already paying out of pocket for off-grid solutions — Hahn urged the commission to hold the utilities accountable Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas both contributed $50,000 to a landslide relief fund started by the Palos Verdes Rotary Club. No funds have yet been distributed, however, and Rotary officials this week said they do not yet have a plan for doing so. After several days of power shutoffs in Rancho Palos Verdes Communities affected by accelerated land movement, Gov. Gavin Newsom declares a state of emergency Hahn called those amounts insufficient, given the hundreds of homes now without power and gas. “More robust financial assistance programs are needed to support displaced residents and those suffering from indefinite service outages,” Hahn wrote in the letter. Hahn and Rancho Palos Verdes officials plan to meet with the Public Utilities Commission next week. Gabriela Ornelas, a spokesperson with Southern California Edison, said the utility is aligned with the goal of restoring power to those affected by the land movement, “provided it can be done safely.” She didn’t directly respond to Hahn’s calls for more assistance for residents but called the situation “constantly evolving.” A spokesperson for Southern California Gas didn’t respond to a request for comment. “It still is 100% their responsibility to provide power and gas. … If they lose money doing it, tough break,” said Cruikshank, who will be at the meeting. “We’re going to continue to push that. ... Our residents need to be whole.” Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Eight years ago, two surfers said a surfing gang had taken over a local beach, harassing outsiders who tried to ride the waves. The lawsuit finally came to an end last month, with the city promising to improve access, Katie Hawkinson reports I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Palos Verdes Estates is home to picturesque beaches and multi-million residences It’s also home to one of the most unusual legal battles — one that involves surf gangs And a city accused of being complicit in all of it the idyllic town of Palos Verdes Estates outside of Long Beach has been at the center of a lawsuit where two surfers claimed a rival surfer gang had taken over iconic surfing spot Lunada Bay and blocked the public from riding the waves surfers Diana Miernik and Cory Spencer sued Palos Verdes Estates and 15 people who they claimed were members of the gang “Lunada Bay Boys.” Miernik and Spencer claimed the “Lunada Bay Boys” harassed outsiders who tried to surf there and built illegal The surfers further stated the city violated California’s Coastal Act by conspiring with the “Lunada Bay Boys” to keep outsiders away from the area The city has maintained it is committed to upholding the law which ensures the public can access the state’s coast The case was finally resolved in September when the city settled with Miernik and Spencer a sign will soon sit near the beach letting know anyone can use it - not just one “surf gang.” Both Miernik and Spencer testified in August after years of back-and-forth in the case Miernik told the court she visited Lunada Bay several times in early 2016 she was harassed by alleged members of the “Bay Boys,” she testified On her first visit, Miernik testified that men on the beach shouted at her, Courthouse News reports Miernik told the court that one man shouted you’re going to cut your pretty little face on the rocks.” She said another man approached her and shouted “I was absolutely terrified,” Miernik told the court Miernik also highlighted her fourth visit to the bay who was featured in a Los Angeles Times photograph testified that Johnston told her he “touched himself” while viewing her photo “Johnston said that he actually touched himself while looking at the L.A Times… [he was] suggesting that he masturbated to me,” she testified “I wasn’t sure if they were going to rape me Miernik then said Johnston began changing and exposed himself to her Everything — it’s really hard for me to talk about it Blakeman has since settled with the defendants his attorney Robert Cooper told The Independent Blakeman agreed to stay away from Lunada Bay for a set period as part of the agreement Johnston did not settle and is being dismissed from the case Johnston were proven to be without merit,” Safarian said in a statement to The Independent “What [Miernik] represented to the press over the years (and in the case) was vastly different than what the video of the alleged incident showed,” he added Miernik was impeached at trial repeatedly from the video evidence and by her own deposition testimony.” “It is no accident that after eight years of aggressive litigation these individual plaintiffs walk away emptyhanded with respect to their claims against Mr told The Independent that his clients “very much disagree with Mr Johnston’s attorney” and Miernik stands by her testimony if in the future Defendant Johnston or others bully people at Lunada Bay – or support others that do – Plaintiffs have confidence that their new partnership with the City will stop him,” Franklin told The Independent Spencer, an ex-cop, also testified that he experienced hostility and even violence from the defendants in 2016, Courthouse News reports The ex-cop told the court when he arrived at Lunada Bay eight years ago he told the court that a man surfing near him steered his board at him while he was paddling away Spencer said he had to roll off his board to protect himself and the back of his wrist got cut by the other man’s board Spencer also testified that he did not ask police to arrest the surfer or file a criminal complaint Thirteen of the 15 defendants settled with Miernik and Spencer Some agreed to stay away from the beach for a given period while others have agreed to pay fees One defendant chose to do both in their settlement agreement “[Miernik and Spencers’] goal in this case has always been to help solve the localism problem at Lunada Bay “With the new consent-decree partnership with the City [Miernik and Spencer] achieved their goal,” he added “They’re pleased.” The city settled with Miernik and Spencer last month “The City was facing an existential financial risk if the case ultimately had gone against the City,” Palos Verdes Estate’s attorney Christopher Pisano said in a statement. “This settlement achieves certainty, taking the risk of tens of millions of dollars in liability off the table and avoiding the high costs of continued litigation.” But Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Dawn Murdock said residents have mixed feelings about the improvements. While some are happy the matter is resolved, others are concerned about the resources and changes to the bay’s natural landscape. “People are frustrated that the city is going to need to make some meaningful changes, and we’re going to need to apply resources over the next five or 10 years in order to execute and monitor the terms of the settlement,” Murdock told The Independent. “The fact that now we’re going to do some landscaping has some people frustrated about that,” she added. “That’s why the city’s commitment is that we are going to maintain that natural look and feel, and that’s why we talk about rock seating instead of big, massive concrete benches like you might see in other cities.” Residents are especially frustrated that this case and the subsequent media attention has painted their small coastal town as uninviting. “I just want to reinforce that we aren’t this unwelcoming, privileged, bullying, harassing community that a lot of the surf-type magazines make us out to be,” Murdock said. “Residents here are very warm, very welcoming,” she added. “There’s lots of space for people to enjoy, and we can tell that they’re out there enjoying it by the amounts of trash that we have to pick up.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies {"adUnitPath":"71347885/_main_independent/gallery","autoGallery":true,"disableAds":false,"gallery":[{"data":{"title":"iStock-1302563099.jpg","description":"Palos Verdes Lunada Bay","caption":"Palos Verdes Estates’ Lunada Bay, which was at the center of an eight-year lawsuit over an alleged surfing gang that had taken over the beach Palos Verdes Estates’ Lunada Bay, which was at the center of an eight-year lawsuit over an alleged surfing gang that had taken over the beach two surfers said a surfing gang had taken over a local beach harassing outsiders who tried to ride the waves The lawsuit finally came to an end last month 2025 at 2:48 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}According to new data from NASA land in residential areas on the Palos Verdes Peninsula slid toward the ocean at a rapid speed (NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory)RANCHO PALOS VERDES CA — New radar imagery and data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory revealed additional information about the landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula land in the residential area slid toward the ocean by as much as 4 inches per week affecting hundreds of buildings in local communities," NASA officials said in a statement "The motion accelerated and the active area expanded following record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and another heavy-precipitation winter in 2024." To create the visualization of the land movement the Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis team used data from four flights that took place between Sept Researchers mounted a radar tool to a Gulfstream III jet that took the four flights to estimate the speed and direction of the landlines in three dimensions colors indicate how fast parts of the landslide moved during the time period with the darkest reds indicating the highest speed The arrows represent the direction of the land movement "JPL’s study confirms and validates what the City has been observing in its robust GPS survey monitoring of the landslide The landslide has significantly accelerated and expanded since spring 2023 due to the unprecedented rainfall of the winters of 2023 and 2024," the city said in a statement land movement in Rancho Palos Verdes has started decelerating due to drier weather conditions and the installation of productive deep dewatering wells The insights from the flights were part of a package of analyses NASA provided to California officials to support the state's response to the landsides and made available to the public at NASA's Disaster Mapping Portal 2025 at 12:19 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}So far this season the peninsula has gotten a total of more than 4 inches of precipitation beginning on Oct CA — The biggest storm to hit Southern California this year drenched the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Los Angeles County this week Rolling Hills got a total of 2.07 inches of rain and Point Vicente saw 1.2 inches according to LA County Public Works Most of LA County’s coastline saw between 1 and 3 inches of rain during the storm this week The San Gabriel Valley saw between 2 to 5 inches and downtown LA set a record for rainfall at 2.87 inches of rain breaking a record of 2.71 inches set in 1954 Mount San Antonio in the San Gabriel Mountains logged the most rain in the county The Eaton fire burn scar area saw around 4 inches of rain and the Palisades fire burn scar area saw around 2 inches The recent storm brought a variety of dramatic weather conditions throughout the county including a major mudslide that swept up an SUV into the ocean and a collapsed roof at a Smart & Final in Azusa LA County beaches were put under a health advisory as high levels of bacteria are expected for at least 72 hours after significant rainfall “Bacteria levels can increase significantly during and after rainstorms as contaminants within the runoff enters the ocean,” according to the LA County Department of Public Health “Elevated bacteria levels in ocean water may cause illness It shows the direction of the earthy movement — west toward the coast — as well as the velocity The analysis confirms what those of us who grew up on the superficially quiet Palos Verdes Peninsula have always known: It’s only a matter of time until the turbulent hillside crumbles into the ocean But it’s happening faster than I ever expected It was just last year when the sanctuary where my mother’s funeral was held, on a remarkably foggy June day in 2015, was dismantled. Piece by piece, the glass-and-wood Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes — designed by Lloyd Wright, son of Frank Lloyd Wright — was taken apart so that it might be saved The Earth is giving us plenty of notice to change where and how we build Across the road from the holy house’s bare foundation a onetime home of the writer Joan Didion is probably in similar danger of falling into the Pacific Ocean Didion, who died in 2021, was a Sacramento native who wrote about Palos Verdes with reverence. In the 1960s, when Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne, lived on the peninsula in a Spanish-style gatehouse Didion observed the “slump of the hill” making its strange descent into the ocean in her 2005 memoir “The Year of Magical Thinking,” about the aftermath of Dunne’s death The book’s final paragraph is about Abalone Cove the watery destination of the continuing landslide and Didion wrote of “the swell of clear water the swiftness and power it gained as it narrowed through the rocks at the base of the point.” “The Year of Magical Thinking” stands out as a paragon of unreliable narration Didion’s grief ripples backward and forward as she struggles to make sense of time But over the course of her inquisition into the events surrounding her late husband’s heart attack Didion emerges from the fog of mourning and arrives in Palos Verdes and the memory of Abalone Cove The landscape serves as a static yet dynamic vessel for her grief diaries and documents stashed in bankers boxes or file cabinets or kitchen drawers turned to ash in the Palisades and Eaton fires wide-mawed canyons and thick seasonal fogs I also ask myself how I can mourn my parents without the landscape where we created shared memories These questions apply more broadly and acutely to Southern Californians after the fires that took 29 lives and displaced more than 13,000 households. For many, the prospect of returning is not financially feasible; for those who are able to come back home, familiar landmarks and much more are gone. So what to make of this information — of communities irrevocably lost to the fires, of NASA’s confirmation that the hillside will be folding in on itself soon? After fires ravaged Malibu in 1978, Didion wrote in “The White Album,” that she drove to a nursery on the coast near Topanga Canyon. She found charred bushes, shards of glass and melted metal where once there were orchids. “I lost three years,” the owner told Didion. “And for an instant,” she writes, “I thought we would both cry.” With that final gesture, Didion experienced the catastrophe with her fellow Angeleno. A memory that no longer has a landscape to live in can be called up by sharing it with someone else. Without the places to return to — Moonshadows in Malibu, the Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes, our own homes — it is more important than ever to talk about what was lost. That is how we keep it alive. Ryan Nourai is a writer working on a memoir about his late mother’s shooting. Sports World & Nation 2025 at 12:20 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District the wildfires blazing through multiple areas are producing damaging smoke that can cause burning eyes Eaton and Hurst fires ravage Los Angeles County health officials warned residents on the Palos Verdes Peninsula about unhealthy air quality caused by smoke According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District People with respiratory or heart conditions children and the elderly are at higher risk and could experience more severe effects such as difficulty breathing Wildfire smoke is a mixture of small particles gases and water vapor and can pose health risks “Predicting where ash or soot from a fire will travel so it's important for everyone to stay aware of the air quality in your area and take action to protect your health and your family's health," said Muntu Davis and those with heart or lung conditions or weakened immune systems.” As of Wednesday morning multiple fires were decimating LA County from the coast to Pasadena two people have been killed and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated Print Tom Keefer can only describe the last few weeks in their Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhood as a nightmare Cut off from vital utilities for more than a month while living on the active landslide whose limits have yet to be determined Keefer and his wife have seen their lives upended by the escalating emergency in ways they never could have foreseen they have found themselves struggling to safely store food and secure stable power while running repeatedly to the gas station for more ice and propane to keep their house Amid the long list of challenges now accompanying daily life in their Portuguese Bend community the predominant feelings among many residents are mounting anxiety and frustration — and even anger — over a lack of responsibility answers or assistance from anyone in charge “The sad thing is there’s been literally no help “There’s been no funding.… It’s only through helping each other that we’re making progress.” The emergency has only escalated since the Keefers and their neighbors first lost natural gas in late July. Further gas and then electricity shutoffs have cascaded across four neighborhoods in two cities on the Palos Verdes Peninsula with almost 300 homes now without electricity and 224 without gas — indefinitely Utility companies have said the ongoing land movement has made it unsafe to continue providing gas and electricity in certain areas citing concerns about infrastructure breaks potential wildfires and other hazards that may come with system failures residents of 146 homes in the Portuguese Bend neighborhood — including Keefer and his wife — lost their landline internet connections when Cox Communications disconnected its service this month “It’s scary because it’s bigger than anything anyone imagined,” said Sallie Reeves, who has been trying to figure out how to safely remain on her Portuguese Bend property despite the lack of utilities — not to mention the massive fissure that runs through her home of more than 40 years she and her husband had never seen any landslide damage on their property but she is hopeful that with more people than ever affected it could bring more attention and action to help save their beautiful corner of Los Angeles County as it continues to slide toward the ocean Yet months into the burgeoning crisis, it’s still not clear from where that help would come. Also not yet clear is the full reach and capability of this complicated complex of landslides, which officials last month determined was deeper and probably larger than previously thought perhaps explaining the unprecedented movement across areas that had never before recorded shifts which were not previously considered vulnerable to the recent landsliding help cover costs the city of Rancho Palos Verdes incurs because of the power shutoffs including the generators and fuel used to keep the sewer system running The utility companies have not offered any specific plans for bringing back service they’ve said that more shutoffs are possible — albeit as a last resort — with a SoCal Edison spokesperson calling it a “fluid situation.” Rancho Palos Verdes officials are hoping to slow the land movement with the help of five new de-watering wells they’re in the process of installing at the deepest level yet The wells aim to relieve the pressure from groundwater on the newly discovered or the surface driving the landslide failure that they don’t know how effective the pilot project will be have been scrambling to respond to the crisis while also attempting to distinguish the city’s “notably different” land movement from the experience in Rancho Palos Verdes city officials reported this month that land movement had damaged three homes and a door at the local Los Angeles County fire station and caused several fissures and water main breaks — and they are now faced with utility shutoffs my family is struggling to deal with the serious consequences the actions ordered by SoCalGas and [Edison] have caused us,” Rolling Hills Mayor Leah Mirsch said in a statement “It is devastating on many levels for all of us.” Mirsch said the city had pursued all practical courses of action to prevent or delay these shutoffs She said the city is now committed to holding the utility companies accountable and “pushing them to implement solutions that will restore services both quickly and safely.” Sallie Reeves uses a generator to power her appliances (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) All the unknowns have left many in the area living on edge For Steven Barker it’s been literal: His home in Rancho Palos Verdes’ Seaview neighborhood sits on the brink of a growing sinkhole He has lost gas service but not electricity — yet He worries about losing electricity — something he’s been told could happen at any point — but he’s mostly concerned about the effects that rain could have on the sinkhole that has shot ripples through his street and is pulling on one side of his house “We are gonna be in big trouble if water flows into that thing right there,” Barker said shaking his head at the massive cracks that span the street in front of his house Barker has asked the city and public works officials for months to address the sinkhole he hasn’t even seen [the landslide damage] federal — we need Army Corps of Engineers.” His fear about upcoming rainstorms is echoed across the communities that have been fighting the land movement for months It’s undisputed that the landslide activity is caused by increasing groundwater which officials have linked to the back-to-back years of heavy rainfall in Southern California Many residents also worry it’s been exacerbated by poor drainage and repeated water main breaks Rancho Palos Verdes’ Seaview neighborhood has lost some utility service (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) “Do you know how scared everybody is for the first rain?” Keefer’s wife “Nothing is being done to prevent a major catastrophe She said they feel abandoned, left behind to figure out a way to stop the landslide and survive off grid without help from experts, engineers or officials. She’s turned much of her energy to a community-run art auction, which aims to raise money to respond to the growing emergency and save their beloved homes. Jan Seal, who lives in a Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhood above the Portuguese Bend Reserve, said she and her husband have been closely following the landslide developments and are glad they don’t live on one of the many cliffs overlooking the slide area, though they’re not too far. “When you hear it happening in areas that didn’t have an issue, and they say this is moving faster than it ever has in the past … I think people always get nervous,” she said. For Barker and his family, it’s been weeks of taking cold showers, eating takeout and Crock-Pot meals and grappling with the impossible math of which investments — installing a large propane tank, converting gas-powered appliances, switching to solar panels — are feasible or even possible for a house on the edge of disaster. “If I lose my house … I don’t have the money to buy another,” Barker said. “Are they just gonna let the neighborhoods go and let people go homeless?” Print The federal government plans to give Rancho Palos Verdes $42 million to finance buyouts for the homeowners hardest hit by the ongoing landslides in the Portuguese Bend area with the properties eventually converted into lower-risk open space Applying for a buyout is voluntary; no one will be forced to sell their home to the city “This buyout program provides a viable pathway forward for our most vulnerable community members, offering the opportunity to relocate and rebuild with meaningful compensation,” Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank said in a statement. He said dozens of residents had endured unimaginable losses from the recent land movement, “with some facing the real prospect of losing their homes entirely.” Rancho Palos Verdes allocates $10,000 grants for residents dealing with damage and utility loss due to land movement This announcement comes months after residents have pleaded for state and federal assistance amid escalating land movement that has ruined homes required almost incessant roadway repairs and forced out utility providers only a fraction of the damaged and threatened properties in the area can be approved for the buyout About 260 homes across three Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhoods have been affected by the landslide in recent months who designed and built his Portuguese Bend home on property he bought in 2014 is hoping the buyout will be available to him and his wife “What they’re offering is a lifesaver for most people although he is concerned about how much the offer would be “It’s bittersweet — it gives us a chance to save our family’s finances but you’re seeing the labor of love destroyed.” Hong estimates that his home would have been worth about $3.6 million two years ago — probably on the higher end of neighborhood property values because it’s relatively new — but he says he’ll wait and see what is offered The announcement of the buyout program follows some of the first positive news in months about the landslide. City officials reported this month that the rate of land movement had decelerated as much as 80% in some locations compared with the month prior deep dewatering wells that the city installed from August to October The wells have pumped out millions of gallons of groundwater that drives the area’s landslide movement Hong said that even if they weren’t accepted for the buyout program, the slowing land movement — which led to his home being one of about two dozen that recently regained electricity — was welcome news. “We could still ride it out, we could take our chances if this doesn’t work out,” Hong said. “Regardless, we will go ahead and put the application in.” who have lived in their Portuguese Bend home since 1982 “We’re pretty financially committed now.” They are weeks into a major renovation after a fissure forced apart rooms in their home they have put their home up on steel beams and adjustable supports which she feels confident can now withstand any future land movement But Reeves said she understood why some people might be ready to take a reasonable offer to leave and start over “There are people here who feel trapped,” she said “I’m excited for those who can take advantage of it.” though she notes that her home has thankfully suffered far less damage But cracks continue to show up along her walls especially now that they have installed solar power — a major investment “We couldn’t afford to move anyplace that would be anywhere comparable to this,” Hunter said “There’s no way that we would find property that was as serene as this can be — when it’s not moving And for those planning to stay or who aren’t approved for a buyout city officials said the program would not affect any ongoing landslide mitigation or winter preparedness work “The council wants no one to feel that this program that is being proposed to you is any indication that the city is walking away from any of its winterization or stabilization efforts,” said Ara Mihranian The city has installed 10 new dewatering wells and approved more than $13 million in recent weeks to prepare roads drainage systems and other infrastructure for the rainy season the city will prioritize the eight homes that have been red- or yellow-tagged — officially deemed unsafe to enter or unlivable Next on the priority list will be properties with significant damage that officials believe could soon require residents to move out consideration will be given to the about 250 additional homes that remain cut off from electricity the city will purchase the property for 75% of what an appraiser determines to have been the fair market value of the land and improvements on Dec minus some of the transaction and demolition costs Although the buyout program is historically used for property owners in flood-prone areas the California governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the city have worked together to customize it for this landslide situation Properties that are acquired by the city will be converted to open space The city would be in charge of demolishing any structures or improvements and it would be deed-restricted for open space in perpetuity,” Mihranian said Interested property owners must request a property inspection from the city by Nov Another point that has tripped up some residents is that upon approval for the buyout, the property owner would be required to release the city and all other agencies of liability. That’s an issue for many who have sued or plan to sue for losses related to the land movement. Homes built on land with past landslide activity are on the market Here’s how homebuyers can assess a property’s risk to land movement Mihranian said at a town hall this week that the city was running out of money, and FEMA recently denied the majority of its $61.4-million request for reimbursements for storm- and landslide-related costs. Just this fiscal year, the city is expecting to spend $32 million in landslide-related projects, much more than it spent on them in the last two years combined. Mihranian said the city planned to appeal FEMA’s decision, and is still exploring other funding sources. Print Good morning Here’s what you need to know to start your day The Palos Verdes Peninsula features pricey homes and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean residents there have contended with a geological fact: The land they live on is sliding toward the sea What had long been treated as a slow-moving crisis has accelerated in recent months as the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills face an active complex of landslides The increasing landslides have left hundreds of homes in the city of Rancho Palos Verdes without electricity gas or both as utility companies shut off service over concerns of ruptured pipes “Amid the long list of challenges now accompanying daily life in their Portuguese Bend community, the predominant feelings among many residents are mounting anxiety and frustration — and even anger — over a lack of responsibility, answers or assistance from anyone in charge,” my colleagues Grace Toohey and Karen Garcia reported (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) What is the city doing about this Officials are working to slow the landslide which has accelerated due to increased groundwater made possible by two straight winters of heavy rain after years of drought All that water is putting pressure on the deep landslide plane So the goal now is to relieve that pressure by drilling dewatering wells and pumping out the groundwater. Two wells have already been installed, according to city officials pumping about 200 gallons of water per minute combined Three more wells are expected to be drilled in the next week The technology has helped slow other landslides but it’s unclear what effect these wells will have Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Rancho Palos Verdes this month which provides funding for the groundwater mitigation efforts and support for local authorities But some residents feel the state and local government aren’t doing enough resident Steven Barker told Karen and Grace A huge crack forms along Palos Verdes Drive South in Rancho Palos Verdes where a landslide has accelerated at the end of August (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Portuguese Bend has been sliding for over half a century The area is part of the larger ancient landslide zone that comprises the southern section of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It had been dormant for thousands of years but was reactivated in 1956 by human development The building continued with pricey hillside homes going up in what would become the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills were moving parts of the peninsula up to 8.5 inches each year “Landslides are common, but what makes Portuguese Bend’s extraordinary is how slowly but surely it persists — the Aesop tortoise of natural disasters,” Times reporter Jack Flemming wrote in March 2023 “Scientists and geologists have flocked to the area over the years to study the slide because of its rare combination of size and scope.” But now, some areas are seeing more movement than that each week — up to 13 inches, Grace reported last month But with the situation growing worse in recent weeks it begs the question: Is their resolve fueled more by hope or hubris Jack unpacked that in a story last year exploring why Californians continue to live in places prone to disaster. “I’ll be here until I can’t be here anymore,” one longtime resident told him shortly after several Rolling Hills Estates homes collapsed into a canyon in July 2023, a slide that was unrelated to the slower-moving, ongoing landslide movement in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills. “I’ll slide away with the land.” 12:57 p.m. Sept. 24, 2024A previous version of this newsletter said a quick-moving 2023 landslide happened in Rolling Hills. It occurred in Rolling Hills Estates, a different city. The newsletter also conflated that 2023 slide with with the slow moving ongoing slide at nearby Portuguese Bend. The two slides are not related. Plastic is loaded onto a conveyor belt at ExxonMobil’s chemical recycling plant in Baytown (Sergio Flores / AFP/Getty Images) California sued ExxonMobil for allegedly misleading the public about plastic recycling A new COVID subvariant poses a potential threat heading into winter California’s underground puppy trade ‘raises serious alarms’ and demands for state action The world’s first AI art museum will open in L.A Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here. (Alida Alequin) A boy abducted in Oakland more than 70 years ago was found living on the East Coast. Luis Armando Albino was 6 years old when he was abducted from a park in West Oakland where he had been playing with his older brother The Mercury News reported that Albino’s niece found her uncle using DNA testing and newspaper clippings — and with assistance from police How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you Today’s great photo is from Sandy Marschman of San Diego: Globe Rock which can be found along the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway Sandy writes: “We were visiting Yosemite National Park but took a day to explore the surrounding area The mountains and forests in central California are special to us for their beauty and hiking trails.” Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio SoCal Edison will shut off power indefinitely for 50 customers in the Quail Ridge area in the city of Rolling Hills starting Wednesday at 6 p.m This brings the number of residents on the Palos Verdes Peninsula without power to more than 240 Above average rainfall over two winters has led to increased land movement — destabilizing power lines SoCal Edison said in a statement that ground movement “has created unsafe and hazardous conditions” which “increases the risk of system failure fire ignition or other public safety hazards.” Newsom said his office has been working with the city of Rancho Palos Verdes to get federal money to help with capturing groundwater The emergency declaration also gives the city manpower and equipment from the state to help stabilize the area LAist has reached out to the city of Rolling Hills for comment on how they will address the growing landslide complex and how it is now affecting their residents But we’re not talking about the Earth shifting a smidge here the Palos Verdes Peninsula is experiencing a slow-moving landslide in which the peninsula is moving into the ocean as fast as four inches per week Researchers discovered this by compiling radar images at four different points in 2024 They measured the rate of movement in three dimensions and calculated that four-inch rate of movement (on average) between September 18 The area stretches from Abalone Cove to Portuguese Bend somewhere in the ballpark of about five miles from Lunada Bay According to a landslide scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory little to no infrastructure was built through this area but it still poses a threat to several homes nearby NASA’s UAVSAR airborne radar instrument captured data in fall 2024 showing the motion of landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula following record-breaking rainfall in Southern California in 2023 and another heavy-precipitation winter in 2024 “In effect, we’re seeing that the footprint of land experiencing significant impacts has expanded, and the speed is more than enough to put human life and infrastructure at risk,” Alexander Handwerger, the JPL landslide scientist who performed the analysis, said in a statement. the historic rainfall that came with Hurricane Hillary in 2023 accelerated the large landslide which now impacts hundreds of buildings in the area The Wayfarer’s Chapel was closed due to the shifting earth and City Council even voted to prohibit bicyclists and motorcyclists from using a section of road that’s shifted so much locals refer to it as a “ski jump.” Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker