According to several real estate websites the mean home price in Palos Verdes, CA is just under $1 million. The mean home price in Big Tujunga, CA is between $400,000 – $500,000.  If property taxes are assessed at around 1% we can easily see that between the two areas Palos Verdes is the big ticket item for the state.  A state in dire financial crisis I might add.

Right now you are saying “that can’t be!” How can a professor of business ethics jump on the accusatory bandwagon of alleging financial favoritism? Has the latest news story gotten to her head without doing the research? Have conspiracy theorists invaded her cerebellum? No. Quite the contrary. I am not jumping on a bandwagon, not a conspiracy theorist, but most importantly am speaking from personal observation.

What the residents of Big Tujunga are claiming rings true. Almost every other year now I have been evacuated from my own canyon home above Chatsworth, CA due to raging, out of control fires. I am not complaining about this fact because I accept the pitfalls of living in paradise. Four years ago we were evacuated and I attended an NBC news conference being held by Mayor Villaraigosa and the fire chief just below the canyon. They proudly announced to the crowd and the cameras how the water drops were taking place at that very moment in Bell canyon. Now, this would have been good, but the homes most in danger were in Box and Woolsey Canyons. The fire had not even reached Bell canyon at that point, but rest assured those homes were protected while not one water drop had occurred in Box or Woolsey. When I confronted the mayor about this he hemmed and hawed so I pressed the point and inquired as to whether the higher property taxes in Bell canyon had anything to do with why we were not receiving the needed water drops. While watching the television camera go from my face to his repeatedly he appeared to be a deer caught in the headlights then sputtered out that he would personally go check on our homes. To his credit he did just that, but I wanted water drops like Bell Canyon was getting not a mayoral visit. We did begin to get water drops just minutes after his trip up our canyon, and I am not saying definitively it was because of my confrontation, but I also don’t believe in coincidences.

So, when I saw Bert Voorhees, resident of a burnt out home in Big Tujunga Canyon, make his claims on the news today I gave a silent cheer and ran to my blog. After all, I have a blog on ethics and what could be more unethical than greed on the part of our government? Some may argue that it makes financial sense. I say garbage! It is not okay, nor is it ethical to decide whose home gets saved by the value of their property tax! Next thing you know the government will decide whose life is worth saving by how much money they have. Uh oh, they already do that. It’s called health care and war.

I have been to many frosty places during the winter months, such as Russia, Scotland and Japan, but have never been quite as cold as I was standing on The Wall. Granted, I am from Southern California, where 50 degrees is a cold snap, but this was beyond artic. Luckily, I had chosen to take the cable car to the wall rather than climb from the bottom, because I’m sure hypothermia and frostbite would have set in early.

My sister, who had never been outside the US, was with me because I’d decided it would be fun to watch a green traveler in a culture so harsh and different from ours. I was right about that, but it ended up being a lifesaver having another warm body. Despite two pairs of long johns, wool pants, ski outerwear, gloves and boots, we were still freezing. My little ski cap was in fact much like wearing a paper hat, for all the warmth it was providing, so before making the trek up the piece of wall we were dropped off at, we noticed a few Mongolian men selling fur hats. Being the conscientious person that I am, I asked what they were made of, and to my horror, they eeked out the word ”cat”. I happen to be quite the cat lover, so I indignantly refused. That is until I walked about 50 yards on. Teetering on an impending sub-zero demise, my sister reminded me that the cat was already dead and I should take advantage of its sacrifice. Growing up I rarely agreed with my sister, but at that very moment she seemed to have the wisdom of Confucius, so I ended up bringing new meaning to the Dr. Suess story of The Cat in the Hat.

All the icy weather and bone-chilling cold aside, it was one of the most magnificent sights to behold. I have been to many world wonders, and each one was awe-inspiring, but there was something unique about the wall. Perhaps it was the sheer size of the structure or the history that went along with it, but whatever it was, when we stepped foot on it for the first time the cold seemed to dissipate. It was as if it had a life of its own; or perhaps when one is standing in the presence of such an astounding human feat, it takes your breath away enough that you forget about your extremities turning blue. Whatever the case may be, it was indescribable.

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine

Yesterday, I hit those brakes, and I happened to have the opportunity to drive through the California desert just after doing so. I am from Southern California and have driven these roads hundreds of times. I rarely think about how striking it is because it is something to be driven through in order to arrive at one’s destination. This time, however, I took the time to notice things I hadn’t really paid close attention to before.

It was raining in the desert yesterday and the Joshua trees were such a deep golden green against the wet sand. In fact, whenever the sun would peek out the remaining droplets could be seen shining on their sturdy branches. And for those of you that have never been there, Joshua trees are unique to this part of the world. Not so much a tree as a cactus actually, but a stunning addition to what would otherwise be a barren landscape. Had they always been this beautiful?

Beyond the desert floor you could see the snow covered mountains with their white powder tops begging to be part of a fun winter’s day, and topping it off was the double rainbow; one hovering on either side of the highway as if to guide travelers through the storm. Mountain snow against the desert floor. Rainbows glistening in the sun. It was dazzling, a dream almost, but hadn’t it always been this way?

I suppose it is really nothing new. Things I have seen throughout my life I’m sure but never really paid much attention to. The California desert is really such an amazing place, and I highly recommend a jaunt through it, especially in winter, but I also urge you to stop and look around today wherever you may be. Whether something makes you stop in your tracks or not, take a minute or two and try to catch a glimpse of some things you may have been missing. They’ve probably been right in front of you all along, but never quite as beautiful as when you take the time to enjoy them.

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine

Yes, we have earthquakes, mudslides and fires. Every year this time we hold our breath as the famous Santa Ana devil winds come through. A client asked me the other day why we keep rebuilding and moving back and I have a simple answer. After all is said and done, we love this place and feel so lucky to have it. People all over the world dream of coming here to visit or live; they dream of Hollywood, Malibu, San Diego and everything that comes with it.

Yes, we’re a bit quirky when the lights are shining on us, but we’re also real people. I would love to tell you all of the stories about how the people of Southern California stand side by side and help one another during times of need, but there just simply isn’t enough room here. I will, however, tell you two small stories. One is about a good friend of mine that was evacuated and had nowhere to go with her five dogs. A complete stranger found on the Internet handed her and her mother the keys to his motor home and told her to feel free to move it if she wanted to. He had never even asked for her last name, much less identification. He just knew he had to help. The next one is about the brand new Radisson Rancho Bernardo. A friend of mine from Sony told me about how the hotel, due to have already opened, kept closed to house any employees from Sony Electronics in Rancho Bernardo that had been evacuated or even just wanted to store cars. So, you see, we are no different than Kentucky, Mississippi or New York on 9-11. You probably don’t see us as anything more than a giant movie set, but we’re no different. Houses lost are homes, memories and so much more.

I also want to take the time to thank firefighters from all over the western US for rushing to our aid. You will never know how much we wish we could repay you for your brave and selfless work.

My hope now is that you all come and visit us sometime and help us rebuild our beautiful place. Come here on vacation. Hang out on Hollywood Boulevard, or the beaches in Malibu and San Diego. Go to Disneyland, Sea World, Magic Mountain. We may be a little down right now, but I promise we’ll show you a great time.

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine