The billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times has criticized the city's mayor, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, for cutting the budget for the city's crippled fire department as it works to quell devastating wildfires. He criticized the company's “poor planning” and “poor judgment.” The whole neighborhood.
“The mayor wanted $23 million. [cut]as I understand it, she got $17.8 million. But I think that's kind of a really, really bad decision, especially with water and fire, and you can see the end result of that devastation.''Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong he told Fox News Channel on Thursday.
Firefighters fighting the blaze that killed at least 10 people faced empty hydrants and insufficient water pressure, limitations they attributed to budget cuts that hampered the city's emergency response capabilities. It is being
Soon-Shiong said the paper's reporting focused on “the whole leadership issue.”
“Part of our reason for being is to hold those in power accountable,” he said.
Bass, who was elected mayor in 2022, is under fire for approving a $17.6 million cut to the Los Angeles Fire Department budget.
These funds were redirected to combat the city's homeless epidemic, but a subsequent study found that nearly half of the reallocated funds were unused.
Mr Basu was also criticized for traveling to Ghana to attend the presidential inauguration, despite weather officials warning that unusually strong winds would increase the risk.
The mayor's absence during the early stages of the crisis is believed to have delayed key decision-making on the ground.
Bass evaded reporters on Thursday when asked about the city's preparedness for the devastating wildfires that occurred while he was in Africa.
When a CBS News reporter asked the mayor why it took “several hours” for fire trucks to respond while bystanders were directing traffic, Bass deflected, saying: ”
Soon Siong, a South African-born doctor who made his fortune in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, blocked the newspaper's editorial board from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris before the election.
In response to this move, some of the newspaper's reporters resigned from the editorial board in protest.
Since then, he has sought to diversify the newspaper's op-ed pages by adding more conservative voices.
Mr. Soon-Shiong recently announced that former George W. Bush aide and CNN commentator Scott Jennings has been added to the editorial board.
