Three best friends dreaming big, two decades of time. How do we stay old friends?

Merrily we roll along from composer Stephen Sondheim and director Maria Friedman, starring Jonathan

Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, now playing only in movie theaters.

Support for Aleas comes from Pasadena Humane, a community-supported animal shelter and resource center

that is leading the way towards a more compassionate and caring community for all animals. To help a pet in need,

you can adopt, foster, volunteer, or donate at Pasadenaumain.org. This is in Perfect Paradise. I'm

your host, Nerida Moreno, filling in for Antonia Serejido.

This episode is about the struggle to rebuild and return after the January fires that devastated

Southern California. The nightmare, many are still navigating and the triumph and resilience of a

community. And it's all told through the story of two women,

Felisa and Francisco. Up until January 2025, they ran child care businesses in Altadena

in the homes where they lived. Then the Eaton Fire burned down their houses, taking their livelihoods

with it. The last year for them has been spent mired in bureaucracy,

and they've each tried to find a home and reestablish their businesses. And in the process,

they've revealed that when there's a disaster, the federal and state's social safety net have a

child care-sized hole. And that raises serious questions about how we care for the people who

care for our children, especially when they're needed the most. Joining us now to break it all down is

LA a senior early childhood reporter, L.E.U. And reporter Libby Rainey. Hello.

Hi. Hi. Okay, so let's start by going back to January 2025 when the Eden Fire burned up huge parts of Altadena.

Felisa Wright and Francisco Gournardina were among those who lost their homes.

It was really shocking to me. I couldn't even speak for like a few seconds.

The memory, especially we had it with the children and even with my kids.

...