This morning Duane did a deep dive into the massive incompetence at all levels of California government, the blame shifting and word salads coming from Gavin Newsom, and the unique challenges Angelinos will face because they live in the socialist state of California.

It is a great article well worth reading. 

I want to focus on one issue that Duane didn't have time to cover: how Gavin Newsom and the commies who run L.A. and California plan to rebuild the city in their image. 

Not sure how his current plan fits into this... but there was a Plan to prepare a smart city for the Olympics...

The LA Smart City plan, officially known as "SmartLA 2028", was published in 2021 by the Los Angeles Information Technology Agency (ITA), with a focus on preparing… pic.twitter.com/otIcdRvt5H

— kStarr (@starr11063) January 13, 2025

Angelinos had a choice between a moderate Democrat--Caruso--and an actual communist, Karen Bass. Bass, you may recall, cried when Fidel Castro died and is about as competent at managing an economy as he was. Of course, despite even some celebrities who are quite liberal endorsing Caruso, Bass won. 

As I have argued, Blue cities are so Blue and lefty not just because liberals love cities but also because a substantial percentage of the residents are government workers, nonprofit employees, or political activists of some kind or another. That means that a moderate or conservative has to get the vast majority of non-government or nonprofit employees to vote for the less lefty candidate, which never happens. Even very unpopular elected officials almost always win because they shower money on their constituencies. 

The middle class gets screwed, and in a few cases, such as in Los Angeles, where the upper crust wanted sanity, the lefty wins because they own a significant voting bloc. 

“What is going to be a journey to rebuild these communities back & rebuild them better than they were when we started this fire” - Director of LA County public works, Mark Pestrella, probably wishing he hadn’t said that out loud
pic.twitter.com/Rl6YBvBYTo

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) January 13, 2025

All this is a preview to this: with the exception of the richest Angelinos who can pull strings, the people of L.A. are going to be blocked from rebuilding their neighborhoods. Gavin Newsom and the 15-minute city crowd are already envisioning an L.A. 2.0, and rest assured it will not be the city that Angelinos grew up in. 

So far, the fires have hit the tonier parts of L.A., and you have probably heard about the many celebrities who saw their homes go up in flames. Chances are that people who can plunk down $20-$50 million for a home, insured or not, will not see an apartment building or mixed-use development rise up on their property. 

But for the Angelinos who may own an expensive home of a million dollars or more, no less the ones who couldn't afford the modest home that this buys in Los Angeles, the home they thought of as their castle will be "reimagined" by the city. 

The Gateway Pundit put together a transcript of the above conversation, and this stood out to me:

Gavin Newsom:
My humble position—and it’s not just being naively optimistic—is that this only reinforces the imperative to move quickly, doing so in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation. President of the United States, Donald Trump, to his credit, was helpful in bringing the Olympics to the United States, specifically to LA. We thank him for that. This is an opportunity for him to shine, for this country to shine, for California and this community to shine.

The opportunity with all of that—and the pride and spirit that come from hosting these three iconic events—is also the chance to rebuild at the same time. That’s why we’re already organizing a Marshall Plan. We already have a team working on “Reimagining LA 2.0,” ensuring everyone is included—not just the folks on the coast, but also those here who were ravaged by this disaster.

Jacob Soboroff:
You just said you’re organizing a Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of California. What is that Marshall Plan? Tell us about it.

Gavin Newsom:
We’re just starting to lay it out. While we’re still fighting these fires, we’re already talking to city leaders, civic leaders, business leaders, nonprofits, and labor leaders. We’re beginning to organize how we can bring together individuals in philanthropy for recovery, how we can organize the region, and how we can seek federal assistance—not only for the Olympics but also for recovery efforts.

We’re working to galvanize the community, engaging those who love this region, to develop a mindset that addresses this tragedy at scale. That means responding efficiently, as with the executive order I mentioned, by focusing on time-sensitive project delivery, addressing building codes, resolving permitting issues, and moving forward with resilience in mind.

Not sure how his current plan fits into this... but there was a Plan to prepare a smart city for the Olympics...

The LA Smart City plan, officially known as "SmartLA 2028", was published in 2021 by the Los Angeles Information Technology Agency (ITA), with a focus on preparing… pic.twitter.com/otIcdRvt5H

— kStarr (@starr11063) January 13, 2025

Newsom has already announced that he will be suspending a lot of the rules, regulations, and permitting requirements in order to speed up rebuilding, but don't assume that means that residents will be able to rebuild something like what they had before. They won't, for a lot of reasons.

• Because of the insane insurance regulations, a lot of people have no fire insurance, as insurers have been canceling unprofitable policies.  
• California property tax laws will reset the property tax rates to a much higher valuation, pricing middle- or upper-middle-class people out of the market. 
• Zoning laws have changed, restricting single-family housing. 
• The city has already started a plan, linked to the World Cup, Superbowl, and the Olympics to remake Los Angeles into a transit utopia

Put this all together, and one thing becomes clear: rebuilding L.A. into something better--L.A. 2.0--means that Angelinos can kiss the old L.A. goodbye. One of the largest and most spread out cities that defines car culture will be reimagined as a World Economic Forum Disneyland. 

I got $7.50 says when this all shakes out, the Governor, state legislators, the Coastal Commission, LA County, and the City Council are gonna pick and choose who gets to rebuild and who does not.

— ChairmanOohMowMow (@ooh_mow) January 13, 2025

No doubt a lot of people will look forward to that. After all, in New York City, there were actually people who went out to celebrate the night congestion pricing came to NYC. The bike lane-loving light rail fanatics who love childless cities where the alphabet ideology reins and everybody lives above commercial space will be over the moon. 

UPDATE: CA Fires

I just read a few interesting facts regarding recent law changes and how they could connect to Smart Cities.

I didn’t like what I found…

🔴 Housing Development and Zoning Changes

• California passed laws aimed at increasing housing density and streamlining…

— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) January 12, 2025

But the single-family homes and the people who wanted them will become a thing of the past. And any new single-family homes will become even more expensive as the supply will be even more restricted. 

California is the state that once birthed the American Dream; now, it is the state where the American Dream goes to die.