Palisades Rathouse: Unchallenged by Health Officials, Elderly Twins Fed Local Vermin Population

That's the craziest thing I've ever heard...it's so completely looney, so completely irresponsible on the part of local government, I would sue each government agency as well...what a bunch of idiots...I guess unless they were knee deep in dead rats it wouldn't hit home to these agencies who hide behind any policy to avoid taking a stand in order to do the 'right' thing.

That is one bizarre story. Whoa.

Are they voting for Obama?

Say there - How local is that "Mobile" station that the teens were buying booze at?

Some may feel sad for those two old crazy ladies but I sure don't. If these two lived next to me their house would burn down real quick.

What kind of sick weirdo's are these old ladies?? I hope the Denhams win their case.

This situation just confirms the WACKO PEOPLE. Who thrive in smelL.A. Like no other place. BURN THE PLACE & F_ _ _ everyone.

I feel really, really bad for the new (ex?) homeowners in this story. Especially since I recently finished reading a book by Robert Sullivan titled "Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants."

In fact, after reading this book- I feel pretty bad for that whole darn neighborhood. It ain't over yet, folks!

are the 2 legged rats counted?

When Obama's President there won't be no more rats

Outstanding article and very diligent research.

Max Taves has done America a small - but significant - service. This horrific story of bureaucratic negligence is all any sensible citizen needs to demand an accounting from local governing fools.

This was the Palisades. Think of a poor family having to face anything remotely similar. Months of inaction by Palisades "authorities" would extend to years and, eventually, a surrender out of desperation from the less advantaged families trying to address a rat problem.

I have seldom held pity for well off people, but my heart is with the Denhams. My congratulations is with them, too, for their unremitting pursuit of justice.

Obama is king of the scum sucking rats.

The fact that a store sign out of ordinance is a bigger affront to the sensitivities of the locals in Pacific Palisades than health-engandering vermin infestation is surprise to me. Large portions of the moneyed class in California have long ago lost all sense of proportion or reality...

Wow - I kept reading this story waiting to see someting positive. I thought I had a problem with an abundance of red squirrels. These two wacko's should be locked up. I don't care how old or sweet they are, they are also crazy. The Dedhams exercised remarkable restraint. I'd sue them out of the house then I'd sue the city and every agency that did not do the job they were being paid to do. The scary thing is where do the rats go when they either stop feeding them or the house is torn down. Instead of adog maybe a couple of Maine Coon Cats might help.

It sounds like it's pretty much resolved now, but a much quicker - and therefore safer - way to end the problem would have been to shoot any sighted rats on either property with a .22 rifle.

And if the DA prosecuted for doing so, it would have made a lovely case for presentation to a jury:

"The defendant did wilfully, maliciously and intentionally open fire on a rat population that merely endangered the safety of his family".

How that would fly with a jury today is almost anyone's guess - the legal system has become THAT crazy.

But have we really reached the point in America where we would put up for even one day with an openly breeding health hazard that threatens both adults and children because of legal fears?

This is a prime example of why we should NEVER allow government to run our health care. If they can't fulfill a simple task like protecting people from rats, how are they going to run a complicated and vastly more important system?

i agree with the cat idea! get several good hunters and don't feed them (plenty of food elsewhere, obviously).. to answer the question of "what do the rats do when the house is empty and they are no longer fed?" well hopefully, for the PUBLIC SAFETY they are exterminated before the locals start getting bubonic plague!!

The local gov is just as responsible as those old ladies. GOOD GRIEF! thats ridiculous the local officials don't do anything! i'd see about sueing each and every gov organization involved and the individual gov reps involved.

6 Pages!!!!! Dear Lord, edit edit edit!!!!

I BET IF THE SISTERS TRIED TO CUT DOWN A FEW TREES ON THIER PROPERTY THE CITY WOULD THROW THEM IN JAIL

We had a similair problem with a elder lady feeding rats that were as bad as these two women's. Several agencys got involved. The mental health people, the health department, and city government inspectors. She was removed from the house and the rats were killed. It wasn't that hard after all. People just have to care. Gosh and you California people think Kentucky is backward. Ha!

Feinstein is the biggest RAT

I bet they find Cheney and Rove are behind this.

How dare they attack the relatives of Nancy Pelosi!

This appears to be a scoop. Nobody else in LA wants to touch this story with a ten-foot pole. Why is everyone except the Denhams looking the other way?

I hope that the rats can be safely relocated.

Damn, what a bunch of asshats in PP. If there were thousands and thousands of rats running around--for YEARS--why weren't the other neighbors involved? The article makes it seem only the Denhams were affected, but that simply cannot be the case because the rats would spread throughout the environment. If they were crawling up the drains next door they'd be doing that throughout the neighborhood. So what happened?

OMG!! Crazy story!! WTF kind of person is Natalie Garner??!! She couldn't stand living there, but she'd pass that on to other people??! How would she feel if those rats harmed the Denham's children?? Creepy!! And I can't believe the various LA govt entities virtually did Nothing!! Again, WTF?? It is Amazing to me that this situation went on for SO Long!! Good for the Denhams for pursuing these wingbats to a solution!! Crazy old Coots!! Amazing they didn't just stay in Santa Ynez - pple like this absolutely need 20 acres to insulate them from the rest of the world!! And, I thought LA's cockroaches were Bad!!!

Absolutely creepy. It's like something out of a horror movie. Not only the core of the story, the women living with rats, but the fact that everyone except the Denhams are looking the other way. I don't blame the wife for saying that she hopes the ladies are in the house when they tear it down. I would have moved out the first day. CA seems so whacked.

OMG

darling you have to read this article, it's sick!

you have to read this about these crazy ladies

Public servants are busy tending to their retirement jackpot.

And unfortunately, the newspaper which is the people's voice, is being shut down by the Internet.

I agree with the other posters who said the entire neighborhood is responsible for ignoring this situation-the neighbor who would 'hold her nose' when she walkes by!!!!Incredible tale of a community of morons and rodents.

Whoo-eee! Oh Papa Tuney, we got a looney!
Shame on LA's Adult Protective Services! These women are in obvious need of mental health services.

Are these people completely helpless? There is such a thing as "self-help". Who needs an exterminator or the city. A trip to the hardware store for rat poison would have cut into this problem. And yes, modern poisons are pretty specific for rodents and would not poison the neighborhood cats, etc.

Was this article a satire on illegal immigration?

I do like tree rats. They're shy and absolutely keep out of site. Here in CA, unlike in other cities, the rats eat tree bark, etc. These misguided sisters messed with a pefect co-existence and then caused them to be destroyed. And because the sisters caused their neighbors to stumble, they were not walking in love. Pray.

Creepy!

What sort of family buys a $2 million home without meeting their next door neighbors? This would not have been a surprise or even an issue had some basic human interaction taken place during one of their 8 pre-escrow visits to the property. Very sad all 'round, especially the punchline of the nephew who finally steps in to "help" the loony twins, so long as he gets their home when they die.

'Rat people' Forced to Beg on Pakistan's Streets

breitbart.com — Outside a Muslim shrine in this dusty Pakistani city, a "rat woman" with a tiny head sits on a filthy mattress and takes money from worshippers who cling to an ancient fertility rite. Nadia, 25, is one of hundreds of young microcephalics -- people born with small skulls and protruding noses and ears because of a genetic mutation.

You point to a great problem in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County of Public Health is useless. If you think it is only in the case of problematic neighbors, you're wrong. I reported my former landlord to them. They sent him a letter. He replied. I requested they come. An inspector round and found health and safety violation. My landlord was notified and given time to correct. He did not. I was evicted. Other people were afraid to complain or even testify. Because records are not kept, it is harder to prove that a landlord is habitually violating health and safety standards. I believe that most people in Los Angeles County do not own houses. They rent. My landlord wasn't even fined. If California needs more money, raise the fines and put some bite in those health code violation laws.

Back in my day in PP, we never would have stood for such nonsense (just guessing here). Of course that's when our house on Erskine went for $49,500-- you're right if you're guessing ca. 1970. It's now up at about two mill or more, easily, and I surely couldn't afford to live there. Good job, Max. I don't think our two cats could have done much about that problem. Now wash your hands and move on to a somewhat less repugnant story. --Bob Wilson

Please forward this to Barak Lurie.

In the early 2000's or late 90's a USC Professor lost her house in Huntington Beach. She had aparently had one too many cats and it was a filty stinky mess. The neighbors took her to court and got her evicted. The house wasn't worth much because of the condition it was in. The Professor had to serve time in jail. I think it was a mental ward. The Plaintiffs seemed to have less problems and more city and county assistance than the Denhams. Lurie should check into that case for some clues to help the Denhams.

What are the rest of the Barthel's neighbors doing? It seems to me that if I was a Barthel neighbor I'd be working on eradicating the Rat's permanently!

Palisades Rathouse: Unchallenged by Health Officials, Elderly Twins Fed Local Vermin Population

While I am not authorized to speak for the Pacific Palisades Community Council, I am well aware of many of the facts concerning this story. Contrary to the reporting of Max Taves, Mr. Denham was given a courteous reception by the Pacific Palisades Community Council when he appeared before it. Since his concerns were aired during the Public Comment period, and were not an Agenda item, the Council, under its rules, could not take action other than to note his problem. Because I am the elected Area Representative for the Alphabet Streets where Mr. Denham resides, the Chair referred the matter to me. I talked to Mr. Denham briefly after the meeting and later on the telephone. I visited the Barthel sisters home twice but no one answered the door even though their car was parked in the driveway. I contacted the Council office by both E-mail and by phone to discuss the matter and received replies that the Council office had contacted both the City Attorney and the County Health Department. I also contacted the City Attorney by phone and E-mail pointing out the serious nature of the problem and requesting immediate action be taken to remedy the situation. I also contacted the County Health Department requesting that they respond as soon as possible and received assurances that the Department was acting on the matter.

The hangup however, seemed to be in the County which is the agency that has jurisdiction over such matters. Until the County acted, the City had no authority to act. For the Denhams it was pure hell and Mr. Denham told me that he had lost any confidence that the County would act and that he felt that he would have to at his own expense, sue the Barthel sisters and get an injunction. Unfortunately, I had to agree with him. Often the Community Council is successful in helping residents with problems they are having with public agencies but this was one case where bureaucratic indifference was just as frustrating to us as it was to the Denhans.

That's disgusting. And by that I mean the Denhams' behaviour, moving into a neighbourhood and then expecting your neighbours to adhere to your small-minded, small-town standards. I hope the Denhams get run out of town, tar and feathers included.

This is horrific, like something out of H.P.Lovecraft (The Rats in the Walls?)
I'm surprised the Denhams survived such a nightmare - I wouldn't have

It's so odd that nobody could get in that house, even with a cop. On those Animal Planet shows where they have animal control people visiting animal abusers or hoarders, they walk right in (short of breaking and entering) even if nobody's home and take whatever they want. What's so different about this stupid place?

Garner could recoup her money by producing a movie. This story could make Pacific Heights (the movie) seem like Sesame Street. Coming soon to a cineplex near you.

these sisters should be hung out to dry. kill the rats and the sisters w them

And where was Princess Chunky when so desparately needed?

Man. WHY is this even an issue? One word.. VERMIN.

These sisters should be gassed - we have 5 billion people on the planet - we shouldn't have to abide defective ones.

Man, oh man. The Denhams showed more restraint than I think I would be capable of. It would have been a toss up, for me, between erecting an electrified fence around my property, and burning that rat house to the ground.

You are all totally off-base. This is a very simple case where the "twins" are hiding their worship of the Other Gods behind a false front of Christianity. They are using those rats in eldritch rituals, in an effort to re-instantiate Nyarlathotep. Chtulhu f'tagn!! Oh, also, neither of the twins are truly alive -- they are rats dressed up as people. Come on, you didn't see that coming? They also died in 1963, but through blood rituals maintain the semblance of life in order to further their dark designs.

Cap'n Crunch and Mayor McCheese are rats. Don't vote for them.

for god's sake, hire writers. this, an ostensibly interesting story, has been shat upon by a feeble and painful stab at prose. Dudes, get it together.

Only in California?! If this were any midwestern state, this would have been dealt with quickly and fairly to the sisters. Note the comment from Cyn in Kentucky (Thursday, July 31, at 5:04 a.m.) where a situation like this was dealt with a minimum of fuss and bother.

I would like to play these twins in a solo show, simply titled, RATS.

To those who say this is a California problem: no it is a law-isn't-enforced-as -severely-against-the-rich problem. Nobody wants to bother a couple of rich old ladies. If this happened in Watts or in East LA, I guarantee somebody would have found a way to get the old ladies out, and destroy the rats. But two rich white ladies? They aren't crazy they are loveable eccentrics and nobody wants to be the mean officious government guy messing with loveable eccentrics.

1. adopt every stray cat from the SPCA and let them loose.

2. start setting rat traps, but don't kill them. then take them to the city government offices and let them loose.

3. have a neighborhood block party... give prizes to the kids who can kill the most rats with their BB guns, baseball bats, and other implements of destruction.

4. call gov. schwarzenegger and ask him to reprise his role as "(ex)terminator."

5. lock these women up in the looney bin... and get that rene robinson woman evaluated too.

6. if all else fails, make palisades our next "preemptive war." who needs california anyway? clearly, they are all insane.

7. don't ever pay $1.8 million for a house in a neighborhood that looks like a sewer... of course, there will be rats. the place is a dump.

ugh. disgusting.

If I lived next to that infestion, first thing I would do is make some money renting out pellet guns for 10 dollars an hour.

Urban hunting.

JACK ALLEN, I seriously hope that was a joke post, because otherwise what it says is "I passed responsibility along, so it's not my fault."

Here are the basic facts. There is a house that, for whatever reason, is a breeding ground for rats. They live in the basement, they pour out of the eaves. Maybe the sisters who live there think they're the Goddesses of Ratdom. Who knows what they think? Is that really important? The fact is that, over the years, human beings have classified rats as vermin. Unvaccinated, they carry rabies, and even without rabies they are still pests outside a controlled environment.

Oh, you are "the elected Area Representative for the Alphabet Streets where Mr. Denham resides"? Well you must have jockeyed a bit for that job, right? That election must have been a feather in your cap. So, how about you stop patting yourself on the back for being elected "Area Representative" and actually do something? I'm sure that you intended to do nothing more than enforce paint colors or some such BS, but you have a RAT BREEDING GROUND in your neighborhood. Stop passing the buck.

Actually, I find this funny as Hell because I don't live there. I deal with neighborhood associations who are control freaks over what I think are small issues. I can't have a clothesline in my backyard because air-drying ones clothes is frowned upon.

Frankly, I'd like to import these two sisters next door to the head of my home-owner's committee and let them fight it out. May the best rat win!

This story is so biased and crazy. My husband brought home this copy of the magazine and I could not believe how one neighborhood could gang up on these to aged sisters because the next door neighbor sued them for having mice on their property. I live in Ventura County and we are inundated with sewer rats. I’m sure these two sisters have not been anywhere near my area. Vector Control states the reason that these vermin become so prolific is the birdseed left for the birds, or dog and cat food left out for the animals. The rats became such problems that they would nest in adducts and then die due to lack of water. The smell was nauseating. Rats are everyone’s problem and have been since the beginning of time. Until I actually see these sisters feeding these rats with my own eyes or ever see them with a piccolo and our children, I will be suspicious of just one more neighbor finding a way to take the valuable property of a neighbor who worked their entire lives for. I Googled the name Margaret Barthel and found that she once won teacher of the year award. If it is the same Margaret, shouldn’t we be standing next to her helping her and her sister so their slimy nephew can’t take their home? When is the last time a neighbor came to ask if they may need help? Be careful, if you are on the older side and you have young neighbors, next door. IT COULD BE YOUR HOME NEXT! Find out all the facts before you condemn them. FEAR (F)alse (E)vidence (A)ppearing (R)eal. I think that is what we are all seeing here. Shame on you LA Weekly this is not fair or balanced reporting.

I grew up in the alphabet streets in the 70's . I lived on Galloway Street the block behind the "rat house".
We had a rat problem. I remember my brother woke up with about 4 rats on the floor in his bedroom. My Mom still lives in the alphabet streets and many a night I have spent in the backyard being creeped out watching the rats scurry along the power lines. I am horrified that these women have been feeding the rats for so long.
I can not even imagine what the inside of their homes look like. I can not believe the Adult Protective Services has not stepped in to investigate. It would seem that living in such squalor would pose a danger to themselves.
I just can not see how their privacy rights are so protected that the rest of the neighborhood should have to live with this awful rat infestation.
I hope this article will help get things changed.

This is one of the "jewels" of CD11/ Bill Rosendahl, that ridiculous old leftie who's more concerned with screeching in that gay-indignant voice of his about the war in Iraq and illegals' demands for a living wage at carwashes, and their demands for "affordable housing" in his district, than he is with safeguarding the public health and safety of his constituents who are paying the huge bulk of his salary via taxes on their pricey property.

-- Amazing that his people are stupid enough to have voted for him over a much better candidate, and consider him a "rockstar" just because he makes all the "right" PC noises.
But they overlook that his public policy decisions range from out of the jurisdiction of the city, to favoring the "poor and downtrodden" as long as they're illegal car wash and hotel workers or the families of gangbangers, while utterly ignoring the law-abiding, high-taxpaying residents whose don't afford him the Photo Ops he craves to earn brownie points with the lefties.
BUT he's among the first to screech blame on any unfortunate apartment owner whose tenants create slum conditions by crowding way more people in than signed for on their lease, or throwing trash in their hallways or alleys.
Rosendahl and his office have "a lot of 'splainin' to do."

"...putting the Palisades in the top 0.001 percent of American zip codes"

There are only about 60,000 zip codes. 0.001% is 1 in 100,000.

WOW!!! MAXX T. YOU HAVE MISSED YOUR CALLING YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PLAYWRITER OR A HISTORY TEACHER.THIS IS OLD AND TAKEN OF CARE BACK 10 MONTHS AGO. BY THE VERY CARING ELDER LADYS AND THE HEATH DEPT. AND YOU PUTTING THIS OUT HERE FOR LIZ AND SCOTT D.FOR THERE LAW SUIT. IS A VERY CURL WAY OF AGAIN TRYING TO BE DAMMING TO THESE LADY FOR WHAT THEY HAD TO DO.SHAME ON YOU AND SHAME ON LA WEEKLY FOR NOT BEING MORE "ACTURATE" IN PUTTING THIS TO PRESS.:( RENEE' R.

I'm not going to be happy until they leave their entire fortune to my scurrying brethren.

Take that, Leona Helmsley!

Bravo to Max Thaves. Great story. Despite the twins being mentally ill, they're still pretty savvy and I have little sympathy for them since they kept winning their crazy battle. Shame on all the city departments involved who let this problem fester. As to the City Council meeting - any one who has attended one knows that what Max writes is business as usual. You could lift the dialog from a Hooterville town meeting from an episode of Green Acres and drop it in here and no one would likely be able to tell the difference.

Welcome to L.A.! The rat situation and the way it seems to being dealt with, by "Council" and other City Officials, sounds a bit like the "drug dealer" problem in Venice. It's all "rats" to me. Unfortunately, problems like this are then exacerbated by people like Debra Reed (See posting Sunday, August 3, at 5:48 am) who believe that it is everyone else's fault and in conspiracy theories.(Her comments were hilarious!) Just another kind of rat...... "victicrat?"

This is marvellous! Seeing how poor people who the super-rich screw every minute of every day have to live in rat infested neighborhoods, it's class justice that the super-rich get their share of rats also. Every super-rich neighborhood needs rat feeders - and homeless shelters, methadone clinics and public mental health outpatient clinics.

No war but class war!

Its a bad situation. But the fact that the new owner of this alphabet house was a New York City apartment inspector takes some of my sympathy away from his case. He should have been more experienced in the signs of an udesirable place to live.

The money hungry,revenge seeking Denhams are the true villians in this story and let me tell you, that's all they want $$$$$. This problem was taken care of months ago but they continue to seek a half million dollars, through what these people know best, a big fat law suit. What happened to having compassion?? Leave these ladies alone, they have done what they needed to do so let them live out the rest of their life in peace. And to the money mongers go back to the hole you crawled out of.

With due respect,
LHB

It's a Republican convention, hosted by that ol' Phantom of the Opera himself, AKA John McCain.

gay

I'm sorry -- while there are definitely precedents to thinking of rats as disease-carriers, but does the tone of this article have to be so hysterical and biased? Could someone who doesn't have an obvious fear or rodents have possibly written the article? "...egregiously ineffective inspectors..." "...packs of probably diseased rats..." "...skin crawling images..." Are these opinions or facts? Is this a newspaper or someone's blog? And why bring religion into it? Jeez.

Great article, you made it a point how our governmental issues go unnoticed until we get the media & attorneys involved. Good for you Denhams for taking the proper steps. im the biggest chicken s***t when it comes to rodents, I personally wouldve began to slaughter, thats just me!!!

When everyone is responsible, nobody is. A 2 billion dollar year agency, castrated by rats.

As another poster said, for you people who never seem to figure this connection out...government, crappy job...wait till these guys are put in charge of your health care district.

What I find unbelievable is the number of (awfully stupid?) people who are siding with the old ladies and their rats. I imagine if they were living next door they might change their tune. If not, then they are mentally disturbed as well. Furthermore, all those people who want to turn this into a political arena and posting their views on the presidential candidates...WTF? Do you all have ADD or something and can't stay on topic? This is a very sad and disturbing story, and I hope it is resolved and soon. To purposely feed rats, and to want to live with them despite the fact they are destroying one's house is simply sick. Those ladies are mentally ill by any definition, and need to be taken into custody for their own safety, not to mention the safety of their neighbours. Please.

just reading this story made my skin crawl. If I had lived next door to these ladies I would have gone CRAZY!!! and to think that their pleas were largely ignored is even SCARIER!!

Rat terriers (and other terriers) are often better than cats at killing rats because of their strength and their ability to be trained. In Victorian England, these dogs were bred to kill large amounts of rats in a pit for sport, called "rat-baiting." People bet on how many rats could be killed and how fast they were killed. For more info-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_baiting
It seems like this problem requires the services of a few good dogs!!

I couldn't stop reading this article. Margaret Barthel was my 5th grade teacher in Redondo back in 1982. She was into saving animals back then. She had actually hired my dad & uncle to do some work on their house back then. I was told they had a lot of animals then and the house had a really bad odor to it. I was shocked to hear that they have been feeding rats. However, it would not surprise me that they were hoarding animals.

I live in the PP and for two years in the alphabet streets. Now I totally understand the rat problems over there. Why the Denhams didn't go public with this in the Post I don't quite understand. The community outrage at the sisters would have been (and i feel will be when the story hits the local paper tomorrow) overwhelming! Speaking for myself i would have helped make daily phone calls to the city and whoever else they needed to get help from. Unfortunately, and i speak from experience, getting any City official to help you when you live in the PP is like moving a mountain.

And i highly doubt the Community Council was as unhelpful as portrayed. They are a group of volunteer individuals that take their job very seriously!

I can't even begin to imagine the ramifications of what those two sisters have done.

I did the dead animal removal at this house and am available for an interview 310-848-0144
the guys in the orange suits are my men

Rats

I can't stop reading about this story as I lived across the street from those sisters a few years ago and then lived about a block away several years later. I never saw anyone leave or enter that house. While the Palisades has become a ridiculously yuppy enclave there are people who have lived there for over fifty years and there are some really strange looking houses that look like they could have their own rat stories or worse.

Un friggin believable.
No wonder my cats catch so many rats.
I gotta go down the block and take pictures. Thanks K for sending this to me.
One horrified Palisadian thinking about moving.

The article was so disturbing and terrifying -- great work, Max!!! But some of the comments are more frightening than the story. Poor, misguided Debra Reed and RENEE, they need some serious therapy, baby!

Absolutely nutty. So what is to become of the twins and what was done about the house?? I must know more.

I am writing the following as a private citizen and as a long-time resident of Pacific Palisades.

I am appalled by the sensationalized and misleading treatment of the rat-feeding issue at the center of the article in your publication. It can at best be described as irresponsible reporting. Why read the National Enquirer when I can get it right here: false and unverified information, designed to sell newspapers by sensationalizing an event and by discrediting an organization for the sake of sensationalism.

I was present as a member of the audience at this October 25, 2007 PPCC Board meeting. The Board and the public agreed that the conditions described by the Denhams were deplorable.

The Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC) and its volunteer Board members care deeply for the community and for each and every resident. The Board members are either elected by the residents or appointed by the various community organizations.

Taves did not mention that the PPCC can only operate one hour past the library closing time until 9:00 p.m. because a caring librarian is staying for an additional hour on his own time. As a courtesy to that individual the Board makes every attempt to close on time.

Taves did not mention that the Board members and the many guests that evening were shocked at the disclosure of the rats and discussed the issue along with the Councilman's representative in the parking lot outside of the library for quite some time after the closure of the Library.

Taves did not mention that the City's Neighborhood Councils were modeled after the PPCC and that the PPCC is self funded by the residents. Therefore, the $50,000 it would receive annually as a certified council is available for other City services. The PPCC books are wide open for anyone to review.

Taves did not mention that the primary reasons for the PPCC to remain uncertified have nothing to do with money but rather with the continued ability to potentially oppose the City of Los Angeles' "broken" bureaucracy as well as the ability to negotiate with surrounding communities such as the State (beaches and mountains) and the Cities of Santa Monica and Malibu. Such actions are disallowed as part of the certification.

Taves did not mention that the PPCC does operate under the guidelines of the Brown Act, even though it is not mandated to do so in its uncertified status. According to the Brown Act and the PPCC Bylaws, the Board is prevented from making decisions or acting on any item that is not on its published agenda 72hrs prior to the meeting.

Taves did not mention that the Denhams never contacted the Chair of the PPCC or any other member of the Board prior to the meeting, asking that the item be placed on the agenda.

Taves did not mention that the Chair encouraged the Denhams to contact him to place the item on the agenda in the future if they cannot get resolution from the City.

Taves did not mention that the PPCC is a forum for the discussion of community issues and a liaison with the local government's enforcement agencies. It does not have enforcement powers in itself. It can therefore not enter the twins' residence and collect the rats.

The one thing that Taves did get right is that "much of local government is broken." And that is exactly what the PPCC is trying to address.

Haldis Toppel

Max Taves is a gifted writer who knows how to craft professional, objective work. Regrettably, his recent piece in LA Weekly about a so-called Pacific Palisades "rat house" can best be described as a hatchet job of cheap shots and shoddy, gotcha journalism.

Taves relishes skewering local Community Council members (I am one) as either clueless, petty, indifferent, or worse, too old. Judgments about character and abilities are better left to those who actually know the persons in question, but as to the "old" charge, I assume even Taves would agree that neither Maria Shriver nor Meryl Street (two examples of persons who are close in age to me and, I believe, others on the Council) should be put out to pasture. Since I strongly believe in enforcement of our zoning ordinances, Specific Plan restrictions and community standards, I regard his mocking sobriquet "code-enforcement fetishist" as a badge of honor.

I was present at the particular Council meeting which Taves sophomorically disparages. Here is what really happened (I write this in my individual capacity, not on behalf of the Council): Unaware of any rat problem in the Palisades when the meeting began, the Council spent the bulk of its time, as always, discussing actual agenda items, including a sign which may violate the Palisades' Specific Plan for commerical areas of the community. Notwithstanding Taves' scorn for this discussion (perhaps he's in favor of illegal, large store signs and other urban clutter?), I and other Council members are committed to protecting the Palisades from the type of over-commercialization rampant in other parts of Los Angeles.

After the agenda discussion, Council members first learned about rats at the Fiske St. residence when Scott Denham brought this alarming problem to our attention during the brief public comment period shortly before the meeting's 9 pm closing. Taves outrageously suggests that somehow, the Council should have or could have taken Mr. Denham's claims seriously, but didn't, preferring instead to hurriedly close up shop rather than face this disturbing issue in our midst. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Having covered Council meetings for some time while he was a reporter for the Palisadian-Post, surely Taves knows that the Council strictly adheres to the closing time as a courtesy to the library staff, which graciously stays an hour later than the library's normal 8 pm closing in order to allow the Council to use the facility for its meetings. Moreover, had Taves actually done a thorough investigation or been interested in getting at the truth, he would have learned that while the Council chooses to forego "official" status with the City -- the better to remain independent from a broken municipal bureaucracy against which members do not hesitate to do battle when necessary -- the Council voluntarily follows Brown Act rules requiring 72 hours notice of agenda items before public discussion and action can be taken on any issues. (The Fiske St. rat problem would fall within this requirement; since it was not on the agenda the night of the meeting in question, consistent with the Brown Act the Council could not have conducted a full discussion or taken action at that time.)

I was personally appalled to hear of the conditions described by Mr. Denham, and I know other members were as well. It was for this reason that some members actually stayed late after the meeting to meet with Mr. Denham in the parking lot and discuss the matter further. (Taves apparently missed this conversation in his own rush to leave as soon as possible that evening.) Members urged Mr. Denham to request that the matter be placed on the agenda of an upcoming meeting for full public discussion and action by the Council as warranted. For whatever reason, he never did so. Curiously, as Taves does report, Mr. Denham also "abruptly" withdrew a demand that the Palisadian-Post print an article about the rat situation. (I am also a board member of Pacific Palisades Residents' Association, a respected and long-standing community organization; to the best of my knowledge Mr. Denham did not bring the matter to the attention of PPRA or otherwise request its assistance.) The Denhams seem to have decided to pursue litigation on their own without eliciting public support.

Even if the Council had been actually asked to intercede by Mr. Denham (which it had not), it is doubtful whether such an intercession would have moved the City to take rapid or forceful action to address the problem -- particularly if the serious neglect, inattention or indifference of City officials described by Taves is accurate. Judging from Taves' article, the rat problem at the Fiske St. residence appears to have been mitigated to some degree by fumigation; however, according to "experts" cited by Taves there could be 500,000 or more of the rats' progeny now swarming the area. I would note that I have never seen a rat on my property, let alone heard of a rat infestation in my neighborhood (about a mile from Fiske St.) in 17 years of living in the Palisades. Having previously lived in New Orleans, where rats are rampant, I know them when I see them. Perhaps the rats have made a beeline for other Westside areas, finding the rarified air of such a "rich enclave" no longer hospitable. I expect that Taves will be on the case -- ridicule at the ready -- if hordes of rats eventually show up elsewhere in Los Angeles, being fed by disturbed elderly ladies with "animal hoarding" syndrome or otherwise.

Christina Spitz
Pacific Palisades, CA

This article helps to explain why L.A. is plagued with "clown houses" -- houses stuffed to the rafters with illegal aliens and their smugglers. If the code enforcement authorities practice dereliction of duty toward a house infested with thousands of rats, it's so much easier to bury their collective heads in the sand over houses stuffed with humans. Yep, the system of local government is definitely broken. I guess the only solution would be for citizens, on a mass scale, to quit paying taxes until major reforms are implemented. It seems all these bureaucrats, from the mayor on down, just want to put their phones on "voicemail" (never respond to the caller), place their feet up on the desk, twiddle their tunmbs and count off their days to retirement. What a joke.

I live a few blocks away from the house, so I was of course interested in this story. It's truly gross that this could have gone on for so many years without anyone following up on their macabre life until now.

What of the neighbors on the other side of the house of rats? How did they deal with all the rats? Why didn't the Denhems contact the Palisades Post immediately when they realized that fear of publicity was the sisters tender spot? Shaming has worked for centuries, why didn't they try it in this case? It is a very small community and believe me if the Rat Sisters had been in the paper action would have been taken.

After reading htis article I took a quick drive by the house to see what was going on there now. The house looks empty with thin lace curtains in the front window and from what I could see from the safety of my car a house without furniture. All the plants have been cut back and thankfully I didn't see any rats.

Where are the ladies?

I really enjoyed the article but would appreciate another article addressing these questions.

what is more disturbing, this article or the incredibly long rambling comments from people who claim the scandal is the article's authors covering up the awesome work they did? or could have done? or something. no one cares the librarian has to go home at 9pm and that's why you end the meetings. the point is the entire meeting is pointless because no one is responsible for anything apparently. i eagerly await your 5000 word response.

That car has been there for quite a while. Google saw it on StreetView:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1014+Fiske+St,+Pacific+Palisades,+Los+Angeles,+California+90272,+United+States&sll=34.07312,-118.552265&sspn=0.01733,0.033045&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=0,34.047686,-118.522230&ll=34.047948,-118.522254&spn=0.002167,0.004131&t=h&z=19&lci=lmc:panoramio&layer=c&cbll=34.047769,-118.522271&panoid=C5_0KuKzrAqckL0YWxDf4g&cbp=1,68.27906994277726,,0,0.35005084778462064

I know this is serious business, but if all the Palisades associations, L.A County and The City of L.A. can't solve this real problem, maybe the Palisades Chamber of Commerce or some local good samaritan should hire a Pied Piper. We had heard there was a rat "situation" in The Palisades long before we moved here twenty five years ago. Look - it's beach, urban, wilderness - some of the many conditions in which rats will thrive, even without the help of the twins. Whew!!

Just think each one of those female rats can reproduce up to 1,000 rat babies per year and this has been going on for the last six year? Do the math.
YIKES!

Classic City Attorney behavior: Delgadillo's office cites Paris for driving w/o a license while Mrs. Delgadillio does the same while damaging city vehicles; they do NOTHING--the feds had to prosecute the hapless ad man paying to play in city hall; the CA hadn't a clue; what DO they do anyway? the CA can't even handle a rat infestation. What a bunch of chair warmers!

***BREAKING NEWS**** The two old ladies where John McCain tricks back in the 1920's.

I just heard your interview on your story about the rat twins. I must say, not are you articulate and well spoken; but you had me laughing out loud about how "your seeing rat's when they are not even there," and how you are now buying every kind of trap...great story and great interview.

www.MoroFilms.com

It seems very sad to me that this two women have obviously had some"issues " for a while, and yet a neighborhood didn't rise to look into it.

It is all very sad for two women whose best friends are rodents and a neighborhood that has had to smell for years! I had a rat in the house once for three days.... 1 rat. Their scent is strong and noxious.

It seems to me that we cannot turn our eyes away from our elder citizens, nor our younger citizens. It would appear that the city, neighbors, neighborhood have collectively done so rather than address this increasing problem in a timely manner.

Hopefully this is a heads up for all of us. Don't assume, look into it, and if you can, get help.

Boo-f___ing-hoo! to the Denhams. Why the hell isn't the weekly complaining about the trash that's never picked up in South LA?

This article is serious, but some of the reactions to it are simply hilarious. Rats attacking children, a devastating health threat.... did this article mention a single person - even the sisters themselves - who actually got sick from, or attacked by, a rat? To whoever mentioned rabies... rats (and rodents in general) very rarely contract or transmit the rabies virus - cats, foxes, skunks, bats, and raccoons are by far the biggest culprits there. And I'm a bit confused as this being ONLY a health issue. Why is this not considered animal cruelty if there were thousands of dead rats removed from the home? Because they're rats? They can certainly still suffer. As someone who has kept domestic rats as pets for the last 7 years, I know that a lot of what people believe about rats is not true. Rats (wild and domestic) are clean, social, highly intelligent animals that very rarely show aggression toward humans except when cornered or threatened.

Rats have been around for millions of years, far longer than humans, and I have little doubt that they will outlast us as a species. So don't blame the rats, who are more victims in this than anything else.... and also maybe ask yourself why, if this infestation was such a huge health threat, nobody was mentioned to have gotten sick. Lastly, educate yourselves before tossing out cliche untruths about other species.

I am the only opponent of Mr Rosendahl for city council dist 11. How do we differ? Let me count the ways. I am for Jamiel's Law, he is not. I want to erase Spl Order 40, he does not. I want a moat on the border with alligators and machine guns and Marines and trained guards, he does not. He is in bed with developers from Dubai and elsewhere who care not one whit about our quality of life, I am not. I do not know any developers. He favors allowing people to live and sleep in their cars or RVs parked in front of your house. I do not. This will lead to prostitutes in RVs and meth labs in RVs in front of your house. Please print this. I could go on and on but space does not allow. Learn more about me and Walter Moore. WalterMoore for Mayor.com or google Craig Wilson for city council or electcraigwilson@gmail.com Craig Wilson 310 568 0263 cell is 213 798 5893 my address is 7728 Toland Ave Westchester 90045 Born in Chinatown Los Angeles 1951. Raised in So central LA. I say take back America on Sanctuary city at a time!