Palisades Barber Shop—one of the oldest businesses in Pacific Palisades—announced it will be “permanently closing its doors” following its destruction in the fire, but the team said they are now available for house callsuntil they find a new location.
“Palisades Barber Shop will be permanently closing its doors due to the devastating wild fires that destroyed our beloved Palisades,” the shop said in a statement signed by Owner Joe, JR, Lucy and Tomás Almaraz. “We deeply appreciate your patronage over the years and are grateful for the opportunity to have served you all. We are saddened by this decision as we feel this barber shop, which has been in the same location since 1940, was a huge part of the Palisades community, and we will miss you.”
The shop has been widely recognized as a fixture in the community—with a list of customers who frequented 15322 Antioch Street over the last eight decades. The shop still had its original cabinetry and a sturdy clock on the wall—used to time appointments.
Joe was honored in 2022 as parade marshal on Fourth of July. In making this decision, Palisades Americanism Parade Association said that it sought individuals or pairs who were active in the community.
“As a longtime business owner and resident of Pacific Palisades, it was an absolute joy to be honored as a parade marshal,” Almaraz said to the Palisadian-Post in 2022. “With the constant hard work I put into my business and my dedication to the community, it was a surreal moment … and one that I won’t forget.”
Joe and his family aimed to cultivate an atmosphere that welcomed both first-time and longtime patrons. Notably, many famous customers frequented the shop, including retired LA Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully, Christian Bale, Tom Brady, John Mayer, Larry David and more.
“It’s hard for some people to believe it opened in 1940,” Tomás, the youngest of Joe’s three children who worked at the shop, said to the Post in 2020. “My dad applied for a job there in 1962 when he was 20 and eventually bought it from Bill Parker in 1984. He was looking into plumbing but was drawn to barbering.”
Palisades Barber Shop reported that the team is available for house calls until “we find a new location.”For more information or to contact the shop, call 424-789-9495 or email palibarber@yahoo.com.
Steinfeld at the Village
Green in 2014 Photo courtesy of Post archives/Rich Schmitt
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
When Jake Steinfeld, former honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades, helped distribute checks to families in need after the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, he was able to connect with them on a personal level: He, too, lost his home of more than 30 years.
“The people, the tears, the joy, the disbelief—thinking, ‘Is this real?’” Steinfeld said of handing the 10 checks for $5,000 each to families from Los Angeles Kings’ sponsor Mercury Insurance. “It’s so amazing to be able to do something nice.”
The charity games on Sunday, February 23, were hosted by the National Hockey League and Luc Robitaille, president of the Kings and a longtime friend of Steinfeld’s. Four teams had rosters that included celebrities, NHL alumni and hockey dignitaries, as well as first responders from Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department.
For Steinfeld, he has been watching ongoing fundraising efforts that are underway across the city, including donations from the National Basketball Association, the FireAid concert on January 30 and others.
“Everyone’s heart is in the right spot here,” Steinfeld said of the efforts. “People don’t really know, ‘How do we take the money that’s committed and how do we get it to the people who need it most?’”
Steinfeld said that when handing the checks to the families, he felt “immediate kinship” after telling them he lost his home as well. He said this was a “beautiful way” to get the money to families in need.
“Like everybody else, we’re completely heartbroken,” Steinfeld said. “We’re one of the folks, unfortunately, that lost our home. It sickens me. It’s psychologically challenging. I mean, when you think about it, every species on the planet has a place to call home—whether it’s a crevasse or a beehive or a nest or a cave or an apartment, a house, a condo, you name it.”
While speaking about the loss of his home with various media outlets, Steinfeld said he was feeling inspired to do something for his community, raising funds and then designating them to a local cause in town. The answer came from his time as honorary mayor, beginning in 2014.
Steinfeld hangs the flag at his property Photo courtesy of Jake Steinfeld
Steinfeld, who launched a campaign with the Palisadian-Post more than a decade ago to solicit designs for the Palisades flag while raising money for charities, has partnered with Anthony and Sue Marguleas of Amalfi Estates to reprint copies of the flag that are now on sale for $40 to raise funds for Palisades Recreation Center.
Proceeds from the sales of the flags, along with matching donations from the Marguleas and Steinfeld families, will be given to the rec center.
The flag was originally available in 2014, with a design by Sean Lim and Will Dintenfass—who met at Palisades Charter Elementary School—chosen out of more than 230 entries. Marguleas has since reprinted the flag in 2020 and 2023.
“It was really meant to show a sign of camaraderie, to show a sign of community, to show a sign of togetherness,” Steinfeld said of the flag. “There’s not a lot of places that you can say resemble a neighborhood and the Palisades is just that—it is a neighborhood, the greatest of all time.”
The flag has been reprinted with Steinfeld’s trademark at the bottom: “DON’T QUIT!” which is inspired by a poem on a plaque he received when he was 14 years old, struggling in school and at the precipice of his journey into the fitness world that changed the course of his life. The plaque hung in his home office until it burned in the Palisades fire.
Steinfeld described picking the plaque up to put in his duffel bag while evacuating, but thinking to himself that if he put it in his bag, it meant he was not going home. He put the plaque back on his desk, where it eventually burned, along with “everything else”—“the memories” and “the mementos.”
“It becomes more important, more poignant, those words: DON’T QUIT!” Steinfeld said. “Not just for me and my Steinfeld family, but for every family in the Palisades. DON’T QUIT! is not a catchy slogan. It’s a mantra. It runs through my blood.”
It is the same poem that was read by Kings’ players Darcy Kuemper and Mikey Anderson, along with Robitaille and Steinfeld, during the broadcast of the NHL charity games.
While his own rebuilding efforts are underway for the home where he raised his four kids and resides now with his wife, Tracey, Steinfeld is looking for the next way to give back to his community, which includes engaging with area doctors with expertise in mental health to connect with people who are in need of services.
“There’s so many people who are really struggling and just need a little help,” Steinfeld said. “I’m working on interesting things with some pretty amazing doctors.”
Pacific Palisades Community Council hosted its first regular board meeting of the year on Thursday, February 13, inviting local officials to provide updates and discuss the road ahead for the Palisades following the fire.
Board of Public Works President Vahid Khorsand reported on what different teams have been doing, to ensure community members get what they need “while recovery is underway.”
“Overall, a lot of questions have come up, what’s the state of the infrastructure in the Palisades post fire?” Khorsand said. “The bureaus are still assessing the infrastructure. City teams are assessing streets, utilities, the drainage systems … and of course, there are immediate repairs that need to be done, so crews are already fixing some of those urgent issues.”
Because of the rain that week, Khorsand reminded attendees that there will be moments that will further test the community, city services and infrastructure in place. Khorsand said Los Angeles Sanitation had over 50 crews in the area that day, responding to flooding and sewer storm drain calls.
Khorsand also said the Bureau of Street Lights was putting up solar lights in the area, and Streets LA was working with Clean Harbors to conduct debris removal.
“We’re here to help,” Khorsand said. “We want to make sure we get the Palisades back up and running as quickly as we can.”
Assistant Director of LA Sanitation Julie Allen also joined the meeting and provided updates on facilities in the area. Allen said sewer pump stations and water pump stations have sustained fire damage, and LA Sanitation is working on making sure the infrastructure is functional.
She also explained that there is work being done in regard to flood control of the area.
“We’ve been ensuring that we meet the mission of protecting life, property and the environment,” Julie said.
Following Julie, Ted Allen of the Bureau of Engineering spoke to attendees of debris removal. He explained that he is serving as lead of the Debris Removal Task Force. He spoke of the debris removal program and progress being made.
“We’ve had a lot of great movement this past week,” Ted said. “Progressing to actually seeing things removed, which is great.”
The first phase—Household Hazardous Waste Removal—is managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under executive orders. It involves “assessing and safely removing hazardous materials,” including paints, cleaners, pesticides, fuel, propane tanks, batteries and more from impacted parcels.
As of February 13, Ted said EPA was more than halfway through properties as part of Phase 1. Crews had reached 99% completion on February 25, according to a statement from Governor Gavin Newsom.
Phase 2—Comprehensive Debris Removal Program—can begin at a parcel when Phase 1 is complete. Residents have two options for Phase 2: opting-in to the county’s debris removal program, which is being led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Colonel Eric Swenson, or opting-out of the county-run program and hiring a private contractor.
Ted said the Army Corps is working through Phase 2 and clearing properties “rapidly.”
PPCC will host its next regular board meeting on Thursday evening, February 27. A link to the agenda and the Zoom are available at pacpalicc.org.
Los Angeles Sanitation released guidance for managing swimming pools in fire-impacted areas, including Pacific Palisades.
Residents should not use their swimming pool until it is in accordance with guidance from the LA County Department of Public Health, according to LA Sanitation.
Debris removal steps will depend on whether or not residents are eligible for Phase 2 of the Debris Removal Program.
For residents who opt in to county-run removal program for Phase 2, it is not advised to proceed with draining the pool—the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the removal program, will remove debris and may utilize water in the pool for dust control.
For residents opting out of Phase 2 and hiring a private contractor, an authorized contractor is responsible for proper removal and disposal of debris from the pool.
For residents who are not eligible for Phase 2 of the removal program (if their home is still standing), it is not advised to drain the pool if it can be properly cleaned, in accordance with Public Health.
This process includes cleaning the pool’s skimmer baskets of debris and the surface of the pool with a net to remove floating debris; brushing the sides and bottom of the pool to loosen contaminants, then vacuuming the pool; checking pH levels and adjusting them to fall between 7.2 and 8.0; checking chlorine levels and adjusting the level to a minimum of 2.0 ppm for a pool and 3.0 ppm for a spa; and ensuring the recirculation system is operating by checking the filter pressure and/or flow meter.
If it is necessary to drain the pool, residents are asked to call 323-342-6268 or 323-342-6201 prior to drainage, to schedule an approved drainage start date. Residents will receive a confirmation with details on when the drainage is approved within one business day, according to LA Sanitation. Pool draining reservations will not be issued within 24 hours of forecasted rain or 48 hours after it rains.
Residents are asked to not discharge pool water to the driveway, gutter or storm drain system because the contaminated water would “discharge directly into the ocean with no treatment.”
To drain the pool, LA Sanitation requires a submersible pump, a hose that connects to the submersible pump and is long enough to reach from the pool to the sewer clean-out, and a filter basket or screen with openings no larger than one-quarter of an inch.
“Open the cover of the sewer clean-out and cover the opening with the screen/filter basket,” LA Sanitation explained. “Lower the pump into the deepest area of the pool, near the drain and place the hose discharge into the sewer clean-out. As you drain, monitor flow into the clean-out port to ensure water doesn’t back up into your home’s sink and shower drains.”
If back-up does occur, a plumber should be contacted.
Pacific Palisades Democratic Club will host its Annual Meeting on Sunday, March 2, via Zoom from 2 to 4 p.m.
“After the profound losses from the Palisades fire we rescheduled the 2025 PPDC Annual Meeting originally set for February 2 at Palisades Charter High School and on Zoom,” organizers wrote. “We’re lining up as many elected officials as possible.”
At press time, Councilmember Traci Park, Congressmember Brad Sherman, Senator Ben Allen, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, Mayor Karen Bass, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Nick Melvoin and Senator Adam Schiff were all slated to appear. Governor Gavin Newsom has been invited, but not confirmed, by PPDC.
RSVPs for the Annual Meeting can be made at palidems.org.
Canyon Square will host “Return to the Canyon” on Saturday, March 1, from 4 to 7 p.m.
“Reunite with your fellow canyon neighbors this Saturday from 4 to 7, celebrating community with focus on recovery, relief and resilience,” read a post about the event.
There will be music, refreshments and food available from Canyon Square vendors. There will be an exhibit: “Mapping the Canyon for Recovery.”
Jimmy Dunne hit the nail on the head with his outstanding 2/13 poem. Brightness and joy in a very dark and sad time.
Casa Nostra
Palisadians who have been displaced to the Thousand Oaks/Conejo Valley area: Casa Nostra has a location in Westlake Village people can consider supporting.
Music
It is music to my ears to see that various concerts have found temporary venues to be performed. Bravo!
HiberTec
It is an interesting idea to build a house that lowers underground.
Monsignor Liam Kidney and Cantor Chayim Frenkel Photos courtesy of Sue Kohl
Palisadian Neighbors Gathered at St. Monica at an Event Coordinated by Sunset Mesa Resident Anne Plechner
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
If there is one sentiment that continues to ring true, it’s that Palisadians are “Stronger Together.”
This was the idea behind an event that Sunset Mesa resident Anne Plechner planned for the community to gather at St. Monica on Monday, February 17, following the town’s displacement from the Palisades fire.
Billed as an “interfaith community event for neighbors to gather in support of each other,” more than 200 people attended, Plechner explained to the Palisadian-Post.
“We’re bringing the Palisades fire neighbors together for a community gathering—an opportunity to reconnect, share time together and enjoy each other’s company,” read the event description. “This is purely a social gathering—no town halls, just good company. We hope to see you there.”
To bring the event to fruition, Plechner said she worked with her fiancé, Mike Dwyer, as well as her longtime friend Darya Allen-Attar and her husband Michael. Darya had said to Plechner: “Wouldn’t it be lovely if we had a community get together?”
Plechner described calling St. Monica Catholic Community in Santa Monica to request the use of its space for the event. Before she could even finish the thought, she said, her contact had offered the Grand Pavilion.
“They could not have been more supportive,” Plechner said, explaining that they were able to offer a date just a couple of weeks out at the time of the conversation. A representative from St. Monica set up the Eventbrite page, and within five days, 150 people had registered to attend.
Those who attended were able to check in with neighbors, while sipping wine and eating pizza. Extra pizza was given to Palisadians to take to their temporary living spaces.
Monsignor Liam Kidney from Corpus Christi Catholic Church said a few words toward the beginning of the three-hour event, while Cantor Chayim Frenkel from Kehillat Israel “brought the house down,” Plechner said.
Having served in the Palisades for more than 40 years, Frenkel said he “lives, loves and breathes the community.” He referenced the quote, “Life is best lived and most fulfilling when lived in community.”
“Right now, that statement couldn’t be more apropos and true and on the spot in terms of how people are desperate for community,” Frenkel said to the Post. “I saw that Monday.”
Frenkel said that on Monday, he shared with attendees about how in Jewish culture, when a loved one dies, there is a mourning ritual called Shiva.
“There’s no mourning ritual to recite when you lose a home, but it’s a death of sorts,” he described.
But during the event, he explained, he saw “people’s eyes open wider and their shoulders were taller—their heads weren’t down”—and attendees were catching up with each other.
“We are creatures not meant to be alone,” Frenkel said. “We’re just not meant to be alone … The Palisades, that’s really what—I don’t want to say died, because it’s going to come back—but that’s really what we lost. We lost community, among so many other things.”
Plechner said that people drove from all over Southern California to attend, including Ronny Naidoo of Ronny’s Cleaners in Marquez Knolls and Pacific Palisades Community Council President Sue Kohl.
“It was just one of those rooms that was so filled with love and so filled with people reconnecting,” Plechner said. “I can’t even describe how amazing it was … I’m so grateful to St. Monica and the people of the Palisades who showed up for no other reason than to see each other.”
Lower Bienveneda resident of 34 years Marc Birenbaum attended the gathering and expressed his gratitude to St. Monica for hosting.
“It was a wonderful interfaith event where I could talk with so many Palisadians I hadn’t seen since before the wildfire,” Birenbaum said. “Kudos to St. Monica Catholic Community for hosting the event. And there was lots of food offered, including excellent pizza.”
Kohl shared a similar sentiment—thanking the organizers for providing the community with the opportunity to attend.
“It was such a pleasure to see and connect with Palisades friends in such a festive, friendly environment,” Kohl described.
Plechner has deep roots in the community, having graduated from Palisades Charter High School and returning to live in Sunset Mesa over two decades ago.
“I’ve been living in wonderful Sunset Mesa,” she described. “Somehow your hometown calls you back.”
When asked if there would be events like this in the future, Plechner said she was open to planning something, perhaps even coordinating with St. Monica again.
“St. Monica has really stepped up for the fire victims from both fires,” Plechner said. “After they said ‘yes absolutely’ [to hosting the event], their next question was: ‘What else can we do?’ … St. Monica is delighted, as am I, to figure out a second event.”
Kian Elyashar coaches the girls basketball team at Revere. Photo courtesy of Orly Elyashar
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Known around town as the “teen mayor of the Palisades,” Kian Elyashar has been coaching and refereeing at Palisades Recreation Center for several years—that is until January 7, when his life, and the lives of many friends, co-workers and neighbors, changed forever.
The Palisades fire inflicted severe damage to the rec center big gym, where Elyashar spent most of his time mentoring local children.
“When I saw on the news my place of work … in flames, I just couldn’t believe it,” the 18-year-old said. “I didn’t sleep that night. I hadn’t cried like that in four or five years. I watched this video of the Palisades village completely torn apart … wiped off the map.”
Though his house on Sunset near The Riviera Country Club survived, the smoke damage forced his family to be displaced. They are living in an apartment in Brentwood and were told it would be a year before they can return to their home.
“Luckily our house is OK, but the people behind us had their house burn down along with most our neighborhood,” Elyashar said. “I was sneaking around the Palisades with a couple of buddies when we saw that a house was smoking, so we hosed it down and got the fire department to come, and they were able to save it.”
Since then, he was transferred to Oakwood Recreation Center in Venice—along with many of the players he has come to know so well. He is trying his best to provide athletes, and their families, comfort and a sense of normalcy, knowing a lot of them are living with relatives or in hotels.
“At Pali Rec I was there five days a week but [at Oakwood] I’m only there on Saturdays, but I coach two basketball teams, boys and girls Juniors, and do reffing and scorekeeping,” said Elyashar, whose favorite pre-fire hangouts were Cafe Vida and Will Rogers State Beach. “It’s a sense of giving back because I played at the Pali Rec Center myself and I want to leave these kids with something. My dad Benny was my coach and we got to the finals every year but lost.”
Now Elyashar coaches his younger sister Hailey on the Aces, who have won four Rec League titles in a row (two in the Major Division, two in Junior).
“It’s ironic how I never won as a player but as a coach we’ve got a dynasty going,” he said with a laugh. “My boys team won too, so actually it’s five in a row for me.”
Elyashar, a student at Santa Monica College, played beach volleyball and basketball at Palisades Charter High School before graduating last spring. He is already a sophomore at SMC, having earned 30 college credits while still at Pali High, and plans to transfer to USC or UCLA next fall and major in real estate development.
In addition to his job as recreation assistant at the rec center, where he started in October 2023, he has been Paul Revere Charter Middle School’s junior varsity and varsity girls basketball coach for the last seven months.
“The fires [changed] our season and schedule in a major way,” he said. “We started out with 11 players but lost all five of our starters for various reasons—some lost their homes, another girl broke her finger, so by our last game in January, we were down to six players.”
Hailey, a sixth-grader, is on the team and played “up” in the Rec League.
Elyashar also coaches for Vice Elite, a Westside-based club program that used to practice at Calvary Christian School but since the fires has been on the outdoor courts at Revere and Memorial Park in Santa Monica. He heads the 12U team and will be coaching the new 11U and 14U girls squads beginning in March.
Fighting the fire from their Highlands home Photos courtesy of Nora Golling
Golling Brothers Recall the Day the Palisades Fire Began, Their Efforts Saving the Family’s Highlands Home
By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor
When the Palisades fire began on January 7, siblings Evan and Lucas Golling put in all their effort to save their family’s Highlands home.
When Evan first got news of the fire, he was in class at Pacifica Christian High School—where he is currently a senior. After class, he noticed the number of missed calls he had from his family and rushed home from Santa Monica.
“I parked the car at Vons and ran all the way up the hill,” Evan said to the Palisadian-Post. “I caught a ride up with a photographer … then my brother picked me up halfway up the hill, and we went straight home. We had our generator running the pool pump, and we were soaking the hill in front of [our] house and getting the house wet so nothing would burn down.”
Lucas, who currently attends school on the East Coast, was home for winter break when he and his family saw the fire, and learned it was closing in on their neighborhood from both sides.
“I thought it was going to be a repeat of the Skirball fire … I thought the fire would affect us, but wouldn’t be as bad as it actually was,” Lucas said. “But as it continued throughout the day, it kept getting closer to the house.”
When the fire started, the brothers said that their main goal was to get their water pump out and saturate the surrounding vegetation. With the winds picking up throughout the day, the brothers tried to limit the spread of ambers and avoid them igniting the house.
“While we were at the house and using the fire pump from our pool, a whole tree caught on fire,” Evan recalled. “We put it out before it got bad, but our backyard caught on fire like three different times … It was crazy.”
Evan said he returned to the house for four days following the fire—putting out any hot spots, protecting their home and surrounding areas.
The brothers explained that their father got the generator equipment months ago. They credited a science teacher for their preparation.
“The only reason my dad was able to learn about the fire pumps [and] technology, is because of this science teacher,” Lucas explained. “He advocates for wildfire awareness and actually came to our house one time. He took a 10-minute walk around the house, and pointed out all of the weak points, and showed us different plants and vegetation that would catch fire easily. I think the reason that he is willing to talk and learn from others is a big reason why the house is still standing. It’s little actions like that that can go a long way.”
“I’m so happy that my dad had that idea because without that, our house would have been gone that first night the fire started,” Evan said.
The Golling brothers spoke about memories in the Palisades—recalling time spent around town and what they enjoy most.
“I liked the amount of local establishments we had,” Evan said. “Everything was very personal.”
“Hanging out in the Village with friends and family, being able to get dinner … being able to do anything, it felt like a community,” Lucas added. “It just felt like home wherever you were, no matter what you were doing.”
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