10/06/2026
Almost two years after the Eaton Fire, I am done waiting for someone else to come up with the recovery plan.
SB 1090 taught us something important. Survivor led pragmatic policy can win.
We were told it couldn’t happen. We organized. We went to Sacramento. We talked to Democrats and Republicans. We listened to opposition. We negotiated. We compromised. We got SB 9 removed. We protected Altadena from the worst of SB 1123. And the bill passed without a single no vote.
Now it’s time to think bigger. Much bigger.
The real question is not just housing policy.
It’s money.
Where are the billions needed to rebuild this community? And why are we still waiting for Washington, a Marshall Plan, or an economic development plan that clearly isn’t coming fast enough?
We need new thinking.
A Disaster Investment Fund capable of moving real capital into disaster communities while insurance, litigation and federal funding drag on. And what if Altadena became the model for how Opportunity Zones should work after a catastrophic disaster?
Prioritize local ownership. Legacy businesses. Minority owned businesses. Survivor owned businesses. Commercial corridors. Rebuilding rather than land flipping. Long term investment instead of extraction.
Use existing financial tools—but write the rules around the community we are actually trying to save.
And yes, that means working with Democrats, Republicans, private capital, utilities and anyone else willing to help us build something that works.
Neither political party is working well enough for us right now. We cannot afford ideological purity while our neighbors remain displaced.
We need survivors in the room.
We need transparency around recovery money.
We need capital.
We need solutions.
And we need them now.
There is a way if we are smart enough to take it. My ask is that everyone contact all of their representatives and tell them you want new financial recovery tools for Altadena— a Disaster Investment Fund, community centered Opportunity Zones, and bipartisan solutions that bring real capital into this town NOW.
New article on our Beautiful Altadena Substack.
📷Fall before the fire, ch*****ne at betsynotbetsys