The very first day dealing with the city for my fire rebuild and I am already livid. First, I try to find the damn building and all I see is a sign saying “Paragon,” or “ Miramar.” Then, a sign directing me to the senior center. Finally, a sign hidden behind a tree saying City Hall. Oh, boy.
Then, up the stairs searching for the special fire counter, waiting 25 minutes for the intern to show up. It’s 7:30 but the debris person is not going to be there until 9 because “he lives in Le Habra.”
There is no fire counter because that’s LA County, but they’re not available anyway because it’s Friday. They don’t work on Friday.
As I leave I see a jolly sign advising me to sign up for city alerts and I go into a rant about how if had waited for my city alert Nov. 9, I would be burnt to a crisp now. People look down and pretend to be highly busy at their empty counters.
Then on to Waterworks District 29, which adds another layer of difficulty I was not expecting: Because it’s behind the old courthouse I have to pass camped out homeless people and I am actually afraid for my life. I decide to try again another day with some security.
This was my experience so far with the fantastic expedited rebuild.
Jane Warden