“When a series of dangerous, wind-driven fires broke out on Tuesday in the Los Angeles area, Mayor Karen Bass was on the other side of the globe, part of a delegation sent by President Biden to Ghana for the inauguration of its new president,” the New York Times reports.
“The mayor’s absence has drawn criticism from some Angelenos. Many said there was insufficient warning from officials about the likelihood of devastating fires, even as weather forecasts predicted extreme danger this week.”
The Bulwark: “Bass has faced heavy criticism both for seemingly approving millions of dollars in cuts to the city’s firefighting budget last year—though Politico reports that the overall funding for the department actually increased in a later, separate bill—and for an ill-timed trip to Ghana this week. She took that trip even as warnings came in that a dangerous fire could break out in and around the city. Once gone, she was left to coordinate the initial response from thousands of miles away.”
