Chimp change

Good morning, it's Thursday May 28 and you can expect another day of overcast skies in the fifth month of the Gregorian calendar.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that LA Rises, a private-sector initiative to help rebuild Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, would receive up to a $100 million donation from The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and from the family foundation of Dodgers owner Mark Walter.  

But more than a year later, only $7.8 million of that generous pledge has made its way to recovery efforts — $2.8 million to Pasadena City College and $5 million in grants to impacted people, small businesses, and non-profits, as Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times reported. No timeline for delivering the rest of the funds has been announced. 

The total allocated so far by Walter’s charities to L.A. fire recovery is notably less than the Walter Family Foundation has given in recent years to a different cause: chimpanzee rescues. 

Between 2018 and 2020, the foundation donated a total of $10,000,001 to Chimp Haven, a 200-acre sanctuary outside of Shreveport, Louisiana that more than 300 chimpanzees call home — including Austin Powers, Tina Fey, and Charity. (Austin Powers loves hanging out with his best friend Chester, Tina Fey enjoys the outdoors, and Charity is a touch moody, according to the Chimp Haven website.)