The new sound in Pacific Palisades: Hammers on nails

There’s a new sound in Pacific Palisades lately.The streets were quiet for so long, save for the rumble of excavators and dump trucks, hauling away the debris.But now, if you visit Palisades in the daylight hours, you’ll hear the thumping rhythm of hammers against nails.The wooden frames of new homes are finally going up. For weeks after the January 2025 fire, Palisades was a graveyard of chimneys, obelisks mournfully marking the ruins where homes had once stood.Then the Army Corps of Engineers swept through. LA Mayor Karen Bass had said it would take 18 months to clear the lots.With President Donald Trump in office, it took less than eight.Still, there was an eerie silence in town.The city bureaucracy was slow to approve permits for rebuilding.

And some of the insurance companies dragged their feet for months, leaving homeowners desperate for cash.But then, this past January, President Trump decided to get involved.I personally watched him sign the executive order in the Oval Office in which he took over the permitting processes for the Palisades and Eaton Fire burn zones.(I kept the pen.)Residents were stunned at the news.

Some pointed out that permits were no longer the limiting factor, and that the city had finally begun to get its act together.  California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story But what mattered most was that the president had taken responsibility for the rebuilding effort in a way that no state or local official had done.Finally, someone was accountable.

And there was nothing in it for Trump — no votes, not even a congressional seat to pick up. He did it because he has friends in the Palisades who — wealthy and successful though they might be — were at their wits’ end.And he did it, I believe, because he cares.Love him or h...