January 7, 2026 • 25 mins
In this first episode of 2026, Knowa marks the one-year anniversary of the Los Angeles wildfires with none other than Mayor Karen Bass. Discussing topics from the wildfires' connection to climate change, misinformation spread, and rebuilding efforts, Mayor Bass provides valuable insights. The conversation also delves into broader themes like urban policy, homelessness, and Los Angeles culture, alongside Mayor Bass's stance on ICE and her thoughts on the ongoing situation in Venezuela. Tune in for Mayor Bass's candid insights on these critical issues and her plans to combat homelessness, misinformation and keep LA the entertainment capital of the world.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now you know, and No de Brosso is a production
of iHeartMedia and partnership with Resent Choice Media. Well, folks,
one year ago today were the Los Angeles wildfires, which
Mayor Bass believes is one hundred percent due to climate
change in the climate crisis. Well, we saw those wildfires,
(00:20):
and alongside with it, we saw something that is as bad,
which is massive misinformation spread across everywhere the media, people,
social media, everything like it just massive misinformation. And folks,
you know I don't let misinformation slide. So today we
had Mayor Bass herself to talk about misinformation on the
(00:40):
Los Angeles wildfires, because these people out here know that
I am not gonna let misinformation just slide like this. Well, folks,
this is a very crucial episode because today marks one
year since the Los Angeles wildfires, and today we have
none other than Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to speak
(01:01):
all about it. Not only that, but we spoke about
Venezuela ice and everything like Los Angeles culture and my
potential move to Los Angeles. Mayor Bass was the perfect
guest for this occasion, and I am so thankful to
Mayor Bass. And you will see exactly why in today's episode.
You're gonna love this. It's Mayor Baths.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
How are you? You know what I'm doing? Fine? And
I am so excited to meet you. I know about you,
I know what you've done, and I just think it
is amazing you got.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Your own show.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
And how old are you?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Dow fourteen, just like you were fourteen when you jumped
into politics exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
That was my first campaign.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
What'd your campaign on?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Oh, it was a long time ago. Bobby Kennedy, he
was running for president and UH. And you know I
used to ride my bike to the to the UH
campaign headquarters and knock on doors and I did it
on I actually had signed up my mother to be
the pre but I went around and did the work
so good. I am really, really really big on young people,
(02:06):
and to me, I really don't care how young you
are when that light bulb goes off and you want
to get involved, and I have been involved ever since.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yes, ma'am, Well it Mayor Baths. It's crazy we're doing
this interview because I'm currently going back and forth to
Los Angeles a lot. Like at this point, it is
a second home and it's perfect.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Time's special. Where's your Atlanta?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Atlanta? That might change, mayor baths that might change because
you're great leadership.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, let me just tell you when you come Downla
I want to meet you in person. You gotta be
to the city hall and do my office O.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Good, yes, ma'am. So it's actually perfect timing, not only
because I'm going back and forth a lot, but because
it's one year since the Los Angeles wildfires. I want
to ask you. This show all comes down to combating misinformation.
So I want to ask, if there's any piece of
misinformation regarding the La Wall fires, what would you like
to combat.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, I would like to communicate the progress and how
things are going and where we are. So we just
left the Palisades and over four hundred homes are currently
being constructed. And you know that is faster than any
other place. If you look at the fires that happened
(03:23):
in Hawaii that was two years ago and they still
have about the same number of homes under construction that
we do, or if you look at some of the
fires that have happened in the state of California. So
things are moving along. There's still thousands of people that
are not in their homes. But one of the main
(03:44):
reasons is because of insurance and finances and reasons like that,
as opposed to they haven't been able to get through
the city process because I've been doing everything I can
to move all of the obstacles out of the way
and get people back in their homes.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Looking back one year later, what did your administration that,
What did your administration do right? And what do you
think you could have done better?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Well? First of all, I think in terms of what
went on with our fire department and being able to
deploy people in advance, we could have been better prepared.
I think in terms of the afterwards and the rebuilding,
there were a lot of lessons that we applied that
(04:31):
we had learned when we were trying to house people
over homelessness. And it's a tough thing because you want
people to rebuild back, but to rebuild back better. But
you can't really dictate to people how they're going to
build because out of five thousand homes that burned, they're
probably about four thousand opinions about ways that things should
(04:53):
be done and shouldn't be done.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, when he said build back better, I thought of
Joe Biden, who you've got that's screwed absolutely, And for
someone who does not yet live in Los Angeles, help
me understand this. So do people who lost their houses,
do they lose it forever? What does the city do well?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
First of all, it's important for you to know that
the Pacific Palisades is the only neighborhood in the city
of Los Angeles. Malibu is a separate city. Altadena is
actually not a city. It's an unincorporated area. So within
my jurisdiction in the Palisades, that's the area that you know,
I am in charge of. There was a lot of
(05:33):
criticism right after the fires, and some of that has changed.
One thing that has been really unfortunate. You know, if
you are in that situation and you lose your home,
it's like losing a family member in the sense that
you are grieving. And there have been people that have
(05:53):
deliberately put out misinformation and prayed and profited upon peace
people's grief. And so some of that criticism is caught
up into misinformation, and I think that's first of all,
one of the most important things. And so some celebrities
(06:14):
were caught up in that as well, getting information that
was bad information, especially information regarding the city. A lot
of controversy for example around the money the fire aid
money that was millions of dollars that was raised through philanthropy.
That money has nothing to do with the City of
Los Angeles. It's a completely separate organization. So there's been
(06:37):
a lot of controversy about where that money went, how
it was used, how much was raised. So a lot
of things, anything that's kind of suspicious or went wrong
because people were so angry with me gets attached to me,
whether I had anything to do with it or not.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
What role do you think climate change played in these wildfires?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Everything? Everything, It was all about climate change in the
sense that what you will learn when you move to
Los Angeles is that we are not used to extreme
changes in our weather. You know, we kind of are
a seventy degree city and if it's below seventy degrees,
we think it's cold. We're not used to heavy rain.
(07:17):
We have never experienced one hundred mile an hour when
that's hurricane strength win. So you had hurricane strength wind
and no water. So usually, of course of the hurricane
you have rain. There was no rain, but the winds
were there, and so that was something that was completely well,
(07:38):
was unexpected, and that was connected to climate change. So
the big lesson for Angelino's is that weather events that
we see take place around the country, we're no longer
renewed from them.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And what do you what is your administration done to
combat climate change or try to prevent climate change at least.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, that's something else that you will be really proud
of when you moved to l is that we are
on the front lines in terms of climate change. For example,
we are the first city in the country that I'm
aware of. You might prove me wrong, but now has
no dependency on coal. You know, Los Angeles is so big.
We owned coal plants and we decommissioned our last plant
(08:19):
about two months ago. So we are very much committed
to renewables. We're committed to being completely on renewables within
the next ten years. And that is a real difference,
you know, in Republican states where people debate whether climate
change or is an issue, in the state of California
and the city of Los Angeles, we're all about focusing
(08:43):
on the climate and we have very measurable results to
demonstrate absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And what is your closing message on climate change on
the wildfire?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Well, my closing messages is that you know, in Los Angeles.
We have to be prepared for events that we would
have never imagined happening in our city, and that we
have to rally. We're all committed to climate change, but
we really didn't focus on the consequences of the climate
changing and how it's going to impact us. That's out
(09:15):
of our control. The only way to really manage the
climate is for the entire world to lock arms and
do it together, which is something that the world was
doing before this current president was elected the first time.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, go with Governor knew Some a good partner with you.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Oh yeah, I mean he's he's been one of the
national and international leaders on climate change.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Well, Mayor Bass, I want to ask you, what is
your reaction to the ongoing events in Venezuela and what's yours?
And I want to ask you about that.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Well, I think it is very, very tragic. We just
flew over arrested a president of a country and are
now claiming that we are running that comtry. Venezuela is
a sovereign, independent nation. I do not believe that that
should have ever happened, nor do I believe that it
(10:08):
was for a genuine reason. I think the president has
been very clear he's interested in their oil, and I
think that's shameful. I know there's millions of people that
hate Maduro, there's millions of people that love Maduro. But
that's Venezuela's business. And I think it was an artificial
reason for us to go in and do that. Why
(10:29):
is it that the president pardoned the president of Honduras
who was a convicted drug trafficker. How do you let
him out two months ago and then go seize another
president last week.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I'm gonna take that line. I'm gonna take that line
when I do interviews with people ask you about that.
I appreciate that you take any line you want, and
I want to ask you, what is your message to
Venezuela and Americans that are happy about the capture.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Well, my lesson is is that I understand that you
did not like I. You're president. I understand that, but
let's see how this all works out with us running Venezuela,
and I wish you nothing but the best. I wish
you peace and prosperity. I think that our track record
of bringing peace and prosperity after we invade the country
(11:15):
has not been really good. Twenty four years later, We're
still struggling in Iraq twenty four years later, long before
you were born. When we invaded Iraq, we were told,
shock enough, it's only gonna last for a few days.
We're going to take over the country, and everybody in
Iraq is going to celebrate us. That never happened. We're
(11:36):
still trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Well, mare Bath, let's have some fun now. So I
want to ask you. I was just in I was
in Beverly Hills to support Erik Swalwell for governor. What
made you endures Antonio Viagosa for California.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well, Antonio the Aragosa and I have known each other
for fifty years and it worked together. Yes, we were
young activists, and you remember I told you I got
started at Urie after we met each other when we
were very very young, and we have worked together ever since.
(12:20):
I have supported every campaign he's run, and he has
supported me. But aside from that, put all that aside.
I know he will be a good governor. And the
reason I say that is because he was the Speaker
of the Assembly. He's run Sacramento before, he knows how
the legislature works. You talk about climate change. He was
(12:42):
one of the first mayors that really laid the foundation
that I get to take advantage of. He laid the
foundation that to extend our public transit system. I get
to cut the ribbon because of work that he did.
So it's about his track record and his ability to
deliver very concrete results, but it's also about a lifelong
(13:06):
relationship and collaboration.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I understand and above everyone, I really wanted you to
leave California. Why did you decide not to run for governor?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I was never even thinking about Okay, I understand.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Okay, it never crossed my mind. I am here. This
is the city I was born and raised in and
I've been dedicated to. And you may or may not
know this. I know you know we have a homeless problem. Yeah,
but we're gonna get know that. Well. Do you know
that black people are only nine percent of the population
in LA and we're in it thirty We're over thirty
(13:40):
percent of the people on the street. And I've always
been dedicated to South LA, the community I came up in,
and I feel it's my responsibility to address our people
who are dying on these streets. Four or five of
them did not wake up this morning.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I thought there was a lot more of us in
Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I know people always do.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Well, how do you feel about Kamala Harris's decision, speaking
about black history, not to run for governor.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Well, honestly, I was surprised, but I can certainly understand.
I mean, coming off of a grueling presidential campaign. I
think it'll be interesting to see where she goes in
the future. I don't think she's done when she was
in office, when she was Attorney General, when she was
a District Attorney of San Francisco, at all. She was
(14:30):
Northern California. One thing that you'll learn about California is
where about three states, and the culture and the population
of northern California is very, very different. So her presence
in Northern California was much greater when she was in
southern California. She was the Senator. So you know, I mean,
what can I say? People love her. Everybody was excited
(14:52):
about her, excited that she lives in Los Angeles, except
for when she was vice president. I know she caused
a lot of traffic jams.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Well, I didn't know she lived in Los Angeles. It
was only San Francisco.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
No, she was in Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Now, oh, oh, Angelino's she is an Angelino. There you
go and it will be too there we go. I
was thinking, I have a big goal is to never
go to San Francisco. It doesn't look great.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Oh no, San Francisco beautiful. Really, yes, I think it's
one of the most beautiful cities in our country.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Did you read one hundred and seven Days?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I didn't finish it. I haven't finished it yet. And
I went to her first book signing here in La.
It was exhilarating. Well, it was wonderful to see all
the people there and the way she was greeted and welcomed, celebrated,
it was it was great.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Well, something I'm passionate about, Mayor Bath is ensuring that
Los Angeles remains the entertainment capital of the world. What
are you doing to ensure LA keeps that spot?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Well, First of all, we needed the text credits that
were finally passed to a substantial amount. When I was
in Sacramento, I also served as Speaker of the House,
and I was able to get the first major tax
initiative through the legislature. Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor when I
was speaker a lot of stories there heavy, and so
(16:19):
I was able to get that done. But what I've
done specifically in Los Angeles is we asked the film industry,
what do you need to make filming easier in LA
and so I passed, using my mayoral authority executive directives
to expedite permitting so building so filming would be easier
(16:42):
and also reduce the costs. We also are helping people
build sound stages and expand their production capacity here.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Yeah, how.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
By facilitating the process. In other words, we don't want
them to have reg take. We want them to be
helped them identify properties where they can open up a
sound stage and then expedite their building process.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
One hundred percent. And what has your administration brought to
Los Angeles entertainment?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Well, that's what I was describing. We didn't have to
bring anything. What we had to do was make it
easier so that the industry doesn't leave. But I will
tell you that when the text credits were making their
way through the state legislature, over twenty TV shows came
back to loss housiness. So it's a collaborative effort between
(17:34):
state legislators and local legislators.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Were they leaving to places like Georgia, because I'm thinking, only.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
You guys are taking our industry. Yes you are, we.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Go back give it back.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
But one thing about your state is that your state
has extremely generous tax packages. But your state also doesn't
provide very well for its citizens. So in terms of
your health care, cost, education, all of that, we invest
far more. So I always tell people, Yeah, George is great,
(18:09):
but what about the health of their population?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Absolutely, I don't disagree with you in the slightest.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
By the Way album, One other thing that we do
that's drastically different than Georgia is we embrace our immigrant
population and we've expanded healthcare by the way. Now, of
course it gets us in trouble with this administration, but
we expanded healthcare and education benefits for people who are
not documented because to us, a Californian and an Angelino
(18:36):
is a Californian and an Angelino. We all care where
you came from, when you got here, or why you're here.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Yeah, how do you feel about criticism to people saying
that the providing healthcare to undocumented people because all people
are people, But how do you what was your official
response to that?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
So you need to know that in another life, I
was a healthcare professional. So it is insanity to provide
health care for part of your population and not the
other part. Just think of infectious diseases. So you send
your kids to school, and half to school has health care.
Half to students do it, half the students don't. Well,
(19:16):
your kid's going to get sick. So it is insanity.
And you probably know, because you're very smart, that we
are the only industrialized country on planet earths that does
not provide universal health care. Now we are the richest
country in the history of the world. We know how
to do it. We just refuse to do it because
(19:36):
our health care industry is exactly that. It's a for
profit business. And if profits are your bottom line, then
you don't care so much about the health of people.
Do you support Medicare for all? I support health care
for all, whatever way it happens. Some people are single pairs,
some people are Medicare for all. Whatever vehicle is going
(19:58):
to get health care universally to everyone from burst till death.
That's what I support absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
And we spoke about how Georgia is treating immigrants. I
want to ask you what all has your administration done
to stop ICE ICE criminals.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Frank Frankly, Well, let me just tell you that we
were on the front lines. We were the first ones
I knew they were experimenting with us. I was very
very clear that they were starting in LA and they
were going to go around the country. So we mobilized
in our city and we resisted. I think we set
the you know, the agenda for how to do that
(20:36):
resistance and thinking about back to your state, and thinking
of about the civil rights movement and the legacy of
king and all. You know, We've tried to help people
understand the non violent protests and raising things on a
moral level is the way to go. And that's what
led to the end of what I call us apartheid,
other people called Jim Crow. And that's the kind of
(20:59):
resistance that we need here. They want the resistance to
be violent, so then they have an excuse to deploy
the military on us.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Not a fan of ICE. I'm Mayor Baths, not one iota.
Will be right back with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
We're back with Mayor Baths. Let's get back into everything
(21:29):
Los Angeles. So my first question, this is my favorite
topic to talk about. Literally everyone, yet alone the mayor.
So my first question is what are you doing to
address the cost of living for people that want to
go in Los Angeles and for people who live in
Los Angeles Already.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
The largest expense is housing, and we do not have
enough affordable housing here. Our city used to be affordable,
but it's no longer affordable. So that's the number one issue.
The most extreme example of how unaffordable is the fact
that we have forty six thousand people who are unhoused.
(22:05):
So I ran for office to address homelessness and housing
and I've done that every day that I've been in office.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, thirty seconds, I got how do you feel about
Mayor Mom Donnie's approach to affordable housing?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Well, we'll see. I mean, I'm you know, I mean,
his campaign was historic, absolutely historic. I'm very excited for
his leadership and very hopeful that he'll be able to
do the things he's talking about. The rent freeze. Clearly,
New York has far more public housing than we do.
The other thing that is very, very different with New
York versus Los Angeles is we are divided here in
(22:43):
terms of Los Angeles is a city and it is
a county. But it's two separate governments New York, there's
just one government. The city and the county are the same. Yeah,
so he's able to provide you know, education and healthcare
and all of that. And Los Angeles is not a structured.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Really quick, I want to ask you what piece of
misinformation about Los Angeles as a whole would you like
to combat?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Well, that Los Angeles is a city that is in disarray.
I mean, if you listen to Trump, I don't know
what he's describing. Like when the ice rays were happening,
he was talking about riots and we were all like, where.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
There you go. Well, Mayor Baths, I really appreciate your time.
And this is the question I've been waiting to ask. So,
Mayor Baths, I will be in Los Angeles at the
end of the month, and when I go, can I
please come to the Mayor's office and meet you.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
You If you don't come to the Mayor's office and
meet me, I will be offended.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I really appreciate it. Well, I can't wait to see you.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I can't waitee you.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
I feel like I run la now, so I will
be there. I can't wait.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Well, you know what I'm going to introduce you to
two young women who I met when they were about
your age, and now they are running a whole department
within my administration. And of course now they're in their forties,
but I met them when they were your age.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Thank you, Mayor Baths.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I can't wait. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
There is no mayor like Mayor Baths, and I am
forever thankful for her leadership in Los Angeles. Well, folks,
it is the new year, but twenty twenty six does
not come alone. It's also a midterm year, and with midterms,
like all elections, comes massive misinformation, disinformation, misinformation, everything like it.
And everyone knows that I do not play when it
(24:36):
comes down to misinformation. So twenty twenty five we had fun,
we launched the show, and now in twenty twenty six,
we are ten toos down on combating misinformation at all costs.
If you have any further questions, you can tag me
on social media at Noahdevasso okay and O WA D
E B A R A S O. And I need
(24:57):
to keep my job, so if you can review on
whatever you are listening to and download the episode, I
owe you for life. So thank you so much for watching.
In Happy twenty twenty six,
Now you know, and No de Brosso is a production
of iHeartMedia and partnership with Resent Choice Media. Well, folks,
one year ago today were the Los Angeles wildfires, which
Mayor Bass believes is one hundred percent due to climate
change in the climate crisis. Well, we saw those wildfires,
(00:20):
and alongside with it, we saw something that is as bad,
which is massive misinformation spread across everywhere the media, people,
social media, everything like it just massive misinformation. And folks,
you know I don't let misinformation slide. So today we
had Mayor Bass herself to talk about misinformation on the
(00:40):
Los Angeles wildfires, because these people out here know that
I am not gonna let misinformation just slide like this. Well, folks,
this is a very crucial episode because today marks one
year since the Los Angeles wildfires, and today we have
none other than Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to speak
(01:01):
all about it. Not only that, but we spoke about
Venezuela ice and everything like Los Angeles culture and my
potential move to Los Angeles. Mayor Bass was the perfect
guest for this occasion, and I am so thankful to
Mayor Bass. And you will see exactly why in today's episode.
You're gonna love this. It's Mayor Baths.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
How are you? You know what I'm doing? Fine? And
I am so excited to meet you. I know about you,
I know what you've done, and I just think it
is amazing you got.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Your own show.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
And how old are you?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Dow fourteen, just like you were fourteen when you jumped
into politics exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
That was my first campaign.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
What'd your campaign on?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Oh, it was a long time ago. Bobby Kennedy, he
was running for president and UH. And you know I
used to ride my bike to the to the UH
campaign headquarters and knock on doors and I did it
on I actually had signed up my mother to be
the pre but I went around and did the work
so good. I am really, really really big on young people,
(02:06):
and to me, I really don't care how young you
are when that light bulb goes off and you want
to get involved, and I have been involved ever since.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yes, ma'am, Well it Mayor Baths. It's crazy we're doing
this interview because I'm currently going back and forth to
Los Angeles a lot. Like at this point, it is
a second home and it's perfect.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Time's special. Where's your Atlanta?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Atlanta? That might change, mayor baths that might change because
you're great leadership.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Well, let me just tell you when you come Downla
I want to meet you in person. You gotta be
to the city hall and do my office O.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Good, yes, ma'am. So it's actually perfect timing, not only
because I'm going back and forth a lot, but because
it's one year since the Los Angeles wildfires. I want
to ask you. This show all comes down to combating misinformation.
So I want to ask, if there's any piece of
misinformation regarding the La Wall fires, what would you like
to combat.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, I would like to communicate the progress and how
things are going and where we are. So we just
left the Palisades and over four hundred homes are currently
being constructed. And you know that is faster than any
other place. If you look at the fires that happened
(03:23):
in Hawaii that was two years ago and they still
have about the same number of homes under construction that
we do, or if you look at some of the
fires that have happened in the state of California. So
things are moving along. There's still thousands of people that
are not in their homes. But one of the main
(03:44):
reasons is because of insurance and finances and reasons like that,
as opposed to they haven't been able to get through
the city process because I've been doing everything I can
to move all of the obstacles out of the way
and get people back in their homes.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Looking back one year later, what did your administration that,
What did your administration do right? And what do you
think you could have done better?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Well? First of all, I think in terms of what
went on with our fire department and being able to
deploy people in advance, we could have been better prepared.
I think in terms of the afterwards and the rebuilding,
there were a lot of lessons that we applied that
(04:31):
we had learned when we were trying to house people
over homelessness. And it's a tough thing because you want
people to rebuild back, but to rebuild back better. But
you can't really dictate to people how they're going to
build because out of five thousand homes that burned, they're
probably about four thousand opinions about ways that things should
(04:53):
be done and shouldn't be done.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, when he said build back better, I thought of
Joe Biden, who you've got that's screwed absolutely, And for
someone who does not yet live in Los Angeles, help
me understand this. So do people who lost their houses,
do they lose it forever? What does the city do well?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
First of all, it's important for you to know that
the Pacific Palisades is the only neighborhood in the city
of Los Angeles. Malibu is a separate city. Altadena is
actually not a city. It's an unincorporated area. So within
my jurisdiction in the Palisades, that's the area that you know,
I am in charge of. There was a lot of
(05:33):
criticism right after the fires, and some of that has changed.
One thing that has been really unfortunate. You know, if
you are in that situation and you lose your home,
it's like losing a family member in the sense that
you are grieving. And there have been people that have
(05:53):
deliberately put out misinformation and prayed and profited upon peace
people's grief. And so some of that criticism is caught
up into misinformation, and I think that's first of all,
one of the most important things. And so some celebrities
(06:14):
were caught up in that as well, getting information that
was bad information, especially information regarding the city. A lot
of controversy for example around the money the fire aid
money that was millions of dollars that was raised through philanthropy.
That money has nothing to do with the City of
Los Angeles. It's a completely separate organization. So there's been
(06:37):
a lot of controversy about where that money went, how
it was used, how much was raised. So a lot
of things, anything that's kind of suspicious or went wrong
because people were so angry with me gets attached to me,
whether I had anything to do with it or not.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
What role do you think climate change played in these wildfires?
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Everything? Everything, It was all about climate change in the
sense that what you will learn when you move to
Los Angeles is that we are not used to extreme
changes in our weather. You know, we kind of are
a seventy degree city and if it's below seventy degrees,
we think it's cold. We're not used to heavy rain.
(07:17):
We have never experienced one hundred mile an hour when
that's hurricane strength win. So you had hurricane strength wind
and no water. So usually, of course of the hurricane
you have rain. There was no rain, but the winds
were there, and so that was something that was completely well,
(07:38):
was unexpected, and that was connected to climate change. So
the big lesson for Angelino's is that weather events that
we see take place around the country, we're no longer
renewed from them.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
And what do you what is your administration done to
combat climate change or try to prevent climate change at least.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Well, that's something else that you will be really proud
of when you moved to l is that we are
on the front lines in terms of climate change. For example,
we are the first city in the country that I'm
aware of. You might prove me wrong, but now has
no dependency on coal. You know, Los Angeles is so big.
We owned coal plants and we decommissioned our last plant
(08:19):
about two months ago. So we are very much committed
to renewables. We're committed to being completely on renewables within
the next ten years. And that is a real difference,
you know, in Republican states where people debate whether climate
change or is an issue, in the state of California
and the city of Los Angeles, we're all about focusing
(08:43):
on the climate and we have very measurable results to
demonstrate absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
And what is your closing message on climate change on
the wildfire?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Well, my closing messages is that you know, in Los Angeles.
We have to be prepared for events that we would
have never imagined happening in our city, and that we
have to rally. We're all committed to climate change, but
we really didn't focus on the consequences of the climate
changing and how it's going to impact us. That's out
(09:15):
of our control. The only way to really manage the
climate is for the entire world to lock arms and
do it together, which is something that the world was
doing before this current president was elected the first time.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Yeah, go with Governor knew Some a good partner with you.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Oh yeah, I mean he's he's been one of the
national and international leaders on climate change.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Well, Mayor Bass, I want to ask you, what is
your reaction to the ongoing events in Venezuela and what's yours?
And I want to ask you about that.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Well, I think it is very, very tragic. We just
flew over arrested a president of a country and are
now claiming that we are running that comtry. Venezuela is
a sovereign, independent nation. I do not believe that that
should have ever happened, nor do I believe that it
(10:08):
was for a genuine reason. I think the president has
been very clear he's interested in their oil, and I
think that's shameful. I know there's millions of people that
hate Maduro, there's millions of people that love Maduro. But
that's Venezuela's business. And I think it was an artificial
reason for us to go in and do that. Why
(10:29):
is it that the president pardoned the president of Honduras
who was a convicted drug trafficker. How do you let
him out two months ago and then go seize another
president last week.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I'm gonna take that line. I'm gonna take that line
when I do interviews with people ask you about that.
I appreciate that you take any line you want, and
I want to ask you, what is your message to
Venezuela and Americans that are happy about the capture.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Well, my lesson is is that I understand that you
did not like I. You're president. I understand that, but
let's see how this all works out with us running Venezuela,
and I wish you nothing but the best. I wish
you peace and prosperity. I think that our track record
of bringing peace and prosperity after we invade the country
(11:15):
has not been really good. Twenty four years later, We're
still struggling in Iraq twenty four years later, long before
you were born. When we invaded Iraq, we were told,
shock enough, it's only gonna last for a few days.
We're going to take over the country, and everybody in
Iraq is going to celebrate us. That never happened. We're
(11:36):
still trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Well, mare Bath, let's have some fun now. So I
want to ask you. I was just in I was
in Beverly Hills to support Erik Swalwell for governor. What
made you endures Antonio Viagosa for California.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well, Antonio the Aragosa and I have known each other
for fifty years and it worked together. Yes, we were
young activists, and you remember I told you I got
started at Urie after we met each other when we
were very very young, and we have worked together ever since.
(12:20):
I have supported every campaign he's run, and he has
supported me. But aside from that, put all that aside.
I know he will be a good governor. And the
reason I say that is because he was the Speaker
of the Assembly. He's run Sacramento before, he knows how
the legislature works. You talk about climate change. He was
(12:42):
one of the first mayors that really laid the foundation
that I get to take advantage of. He laid the
foundation that to extend our public transit system. I get
to cut the ribbon because of work that he did.
So it's about his track record and his ability to
deliver very concrete results, but it's also about a lifelong
(13:06):
relationship and collaboration.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
I understand and above everyone, I really wanted you to
leave California. Why did you decide not to run for governor?
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I was never even thinking about Okay, I understand.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Okay, it never crossed my mind. I am here. This
is the city I was born and raised in and
I've been dedicated to. And you may or may not
know this. I know you know we have a homeless problem. Yeah,
but we're gonna get know that. Well. Do you know
that black people are only nine percent of the population
in LA and we're in it thirty We're over thirty
(13:40):
percent of the people on the street. And I've always
been dedicated to South LA, the community I came up in,
and I feel it's my responsibility to address our people
who are dying on these streets. Four or five of
them did not wake up this morning.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I thought there was a lot more of us in
Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I know people always do.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Well, how do you feel about Kamala Harris's decision, speaking
about black history, not to run for governor.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Well, honestly, I was surprised, but I can certainly understand.
I mean, coming off of a grueling presidential campaign. I
think it'll be interesting to see where she goes in
the future. I don't think she's done when she was
in office, when she was Attorney General, when she was
a District Attorney of San Francisco, at all. She was
(14:30):
Northern California. One thing that you'll learn about California is
where about three states, and the culture and the population
of northern California is very, very different. So her presence
in Northern California was much greater when she was in
southern California. She was the Senator. So you know, I mean,
what can I say? People love her. Everybody was excited
(14:52):
about her, excited that she lives in Los Angeles, except
for when she was vice president. I know she caused
a lot of traffic jams.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Well, I didn't know she lived in Los Angeles. It
was only San Francisco.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
No, she was in Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
Now, oh, oh, Angelino's she is an Angelino. There you
go and it will be too there we go. I
was thinking, I have a big goal is to never
go to San Francisco. It doesn't look great.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Oh no, San Francisco beautiful. Really, yes, I think it's
one of the most beautiful cities in our country.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Did you read one hundred and seven Days?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I didn't finish it. I haven't finished it yet. And
I went to her first book signing here in La.
It was exhilarating. Well, it was wonderful to see all
the people there and the way she was greeted and welcomed, celebrated,
it was it was great.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Well, something I'm passionate about, Mayor Bath is ensuring that
Los Angeles remains the entertainment capital of the world. What
are you doing to ensure LA keeps that spot?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Well, First of all, we needed the text credits that
were finally passed to a substantial amount. When I was
in Sacramento, I also served as Speaker of the House,
and I was able to get the first major tax
initiative through the legislature. Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor when I
was speaker a lot of stories there heavy, and so
(16:19):
I was able to get that done. But what I've
done specifically in Los Angeles is we asked the film industry,
what do you need to make filming easier in LA
and so I passed, using my mayoral authority executive directives
to expedite permitting so building so filming would be easier
(16:42):
and also reduce the costs. We also are helping people
build sound stages and expand their production capacity here.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
Yeah, how.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
By facilitating the process. In other words, we don't want
them to have reg take. We want them to be
helped them identify properties where they can open up a
sound stage and then expedite their building process.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
One hundred percent. And what has your administration brought to
Los Angeles entertainment?
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Well, that's what I was describing. We didn't have to
bring anything. What we had to do was make it
easier so that the industry doesn't leave. But I will
tell you that when the text credits were making their
way through the state legislature, over twenty TV shows came
back to loss housiness. So it's a collaborative effort between
(17:34):
state legislators and local legislators.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
Were they leaving to places like Georgia, because I'm thinking, only.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
You guys are taking our industry. Yes you are, we.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Go back give it back.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
But one thing about your state is that your state
has extremely generous tax packages. But your state also doesn't
provide very well for its citizens. So in terms of
your health care, cost, education, all of that, we invest
far more. So I always tell people, Yeah, George is great,
(18:09):
but what about the health of their population?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Absolutely, I don't disagree with you in the slightest.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
By the Way album, One other thing that we do
that's drastically different than Georgia is we embrace our immigrant
population and we've expanded healthcare by the way. Now, of
course it gets us in trouble with this administration, but
we expanded healthcare and education benefits for people who are
not documented because to us, a Californian and an Angelino
(18:36):
is a Californian and an Angelino. We all care where
you came from, when you got here, or why you're here.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Yeah, how do you feel about criticism to people saying
that the providing healthcare to undocumented people because all people
are people, But how do you what was your official
response to that?
Speaker 2 (18:54):
So you need to know that in another life, I
was a healthcare professional. So it is insanity to provide
health care for part of your population and not the
other part. Just think of infectious diseases. So you send
your kids to school, and half to school has health care.
Half to students do it, half the students don't. Well,
(19:16):
your kid's going to get sick. So it is insanity.
And you probably know, because you're very smart, that we
are the only industrialized country on planet earths that does
not provide universal health care. Now we are the richest
country in the history of the world. We know how
to do it. We just refuse to do it because
(19:36):
our health care industry is exactly that. It's a for
profit business. And if profits are your bottom line, then
you don't care so much about the health of people.
Do you support Medicare for all? I support health care
for all, whatever way it happens. Some people are single pairs,
some people are Medicare for all. Whatever vehicle is going
(19:58):
to get health care universally to everyone from burst till death.
That's what I support absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
And we spoke about how Georgia is treating immigrants. I
want to ask you what all has your administration done
to stop ICE ICE criminals.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Frank Frankly, Well, let me just tell you that we
were on the front lines. We were the first ones
I knew they were experimenting with us. I was very
very clear that they were starting in LA and they
were going to go around the country. So we mobilized
in our city and we resisted. I think we set
the you know, the agenda for how to do that
(20:36):
resistance and thinking about back to your state, and thinking
of about the civil rights movement and the legacy of
king and all. You know, We've tried to help people
understand the non violent protests and raising things on a
moral level is the way to go. And that's what
led to the end of what I call us apartheid,
other people called Jim Crow. And that's the kind of
(20:59):
resistance that we need here. They want the resistance to
be violent, so then they have an excuse to deploy
the military on us.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Not a fan of ICE. I'm Mayor Baths, not one iota.
Will be right back with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
We're back with Mayor Baths. Let's get back into everything
(21:29):
Los Angeles. So my first question, this is my favorite
topic to talk about. Literally everyone, yet alone the mayor.
So my first question is what are you doing to
address the cost of living for people that want to
go in Los Angeles and for people who live in
Los Angeles Already.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
The largest expense is housing, and we do not have
enough affordable housing here. Our city used to be affordable,
but it's no longer affordable. So that's the number one issue.
The most extreme example of how unaffordable is the fact
that we have forty six thousand people who are unhoused.
(22:05):
So I ran for office to address homelessness and housing
and I've done that every day that I've been in office.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Yeah, thirty seconds, I got how do you feel about
Mayor Mom Donnie's approach to affordable housing?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Well, we'll see. I mean, I'm you know, I mean,
his campaign was historic, absolutely historic. I'm very excited for
his leadership and very hopeful that he'll be able to
do the things he's talking about. The rent freeze. Clearly,
New York has far more public housing than we do.
The other thing that is very, very different with New
York versus Los Angeles is we are divided here in
(22:43):
terms of Los Angeles is a city and it is
a county. But it's two separate governments New York, there's
just one government. The city and the county are the same. Yeah,
so he's able to provide you know, education and healthcare
and all of that. And Los Angeles is not a structured.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Really quick, I want to ask you what piece of
misinformation about Los Angeles as a whole would you like
to combat?
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Well, that Los Angeles is a city that is in disarray.
I mean, if you listen to Trump, I don't know
what he's describing. Like when the ice rays were happening,
he was talking about riots and we were all like, where.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
There you go. Well, Mayor Baths, I really appreciate your time.
And this is the question I've been waiting to ask. So,
Mayor Baths, I will be in Los Angeles at the
end of the month, and when I go, can I
please come to the Mayor's office and meet you.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
You If you don't come to the Mayor's office and
meet me, I will be offended.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
I really appreciate it. Well, I can't wait to see you.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I can't waitee you.
Speaker 1 (23:49):
I feel like I run la now, so I will
be there. I can't wait.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
Well, you know what I'm going to introduce you to
two young women who I met when they were about
your age, and now they are running a whole department
within my administration. And of course now they're in their forties,
but I met them when they were your age.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Thank you, Mayor Baths.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
I can't wait. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
There is no mayor like Mayor Baths, and I am
forever thankful for her leadership in Los Angeles. Well, folks,
it is the new year, but twenty twenty six does
not come alone. It's also a midterm year, and with midterms,
like all elections, comes massive misinformation, disinformation, misinformation, everything like it.
And everyone knows that I do not play when it
(24:36):
comes down to misinformation. So twenty twenty five we had fun,
we launched the show, and now in twenty twenty six,
we are ten toos down on combating misinformation at all costs.
If you have any further questions, you can tag me
on social media at Noahdevasso okay and O WA D
E B A R A S O. And I need
(24:57):
to keep my job, so if you can review on
whatever you are listening to and download the episode, I
owe you for life. So thank you so much for watching.
In Happy twenty twenty six,
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