January 18, 2026 • 35 mins
Developer Rick Caruso says he won’t seek a rematch with LA Mayor Bass in 2026; Federal immigration agents return to LA’s Fashion District sparking outrage from city officials; LA County seeks to bar ICE agents from using county property; and LA City Hall says it wants clarity on the federal government’s role in planning the 2028 Olympics here.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is Michael Monk's reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News.
I'll be with you for the next couple of hours.
Happy to be with you on this weekend in southern California.
And boy, and you think about, why do I pay
all these taxes here? Why do I pay for this
expensive gas here? Why am I willing to step in
human feces in downtown Los Angeles. Well, it's because it's January.
(00:30):
And my goodness, you just can't beat the weather. You
can't beat it there. It trumps everything else, I suppose
for many of us. And I guess that's why we stay.
You just can't beat the California sun. And boy, have
we had plenty of it this week. My understanding from
the forecast is that we will have our equivalent of
(00:50):
winter returning by next weekend when temperatures are back to
normal in the sixties. But my goodness, to be in
the eighties in the middle of January, it's been nice.
I've officially been in Los Angeles for three years now,
and I thought I might miss the seasons. That was
(01:10):
my biggest concern about living here.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Was just yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I love the fall. I love the changing of the leaves.
I love a little bit of snow. When you live
in a place that gets snow in the winter, it
can be a lot. And then you're you're over it.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You like the snow at Christmas time it's romantic and
it's holiday oriented. But after Christmas passes and it's January,
it's just a big sloppy mess and it's cold for
the next four months. Man, we just don't have that here.
I don't miss that sloppy mess at all. I'm so
glad to be here. I'm especially glad to be here
with you. Big big news coming out late Friday about
(01:48):
the Los Angeles may oral race. A guy who's been
flirting with running for the better part of a year
has decided not to run again. Of course, I'm talking
about developer Rick Caruso, famous for The Grove and other
major developments here in southern California, and the runner up
in the Los Angeles mayoral election in twenty twenty two.
(02:09):
He has been very critical of the woman who defeated
him four years ago, Karen Bass, the Mayor of Los Angeles,
over her handling of the fire in the Palisades. That
seemed to be a key issue, a key plank of
what would have been his campaign, his rematch campaign with
the mayor at this time around. But he announced Friday
(02:30):
afternoon he's not going to be seeking that office, and
he's not going to be seeking the office of governor either.
He'd been rumored as a potential candidate for the gubernatorial race.
Of course, that field is wide open. It's crowded, a
couple of Republicans leading the polls, but the numbers are
so low that those polls don't seem to matter too
much right now. Members of Democratic Members of Congress, other
(02:50):
Democratic figures are in that race, but Ricruso is not.
So he's not running for mayor. He's not running for governor.
He put out his statement saying he was deeply go
rightful to the people who encouraged him to seek public office.
He says, throughout these conversations, two questions have guided my thinking.
Where I can make the greatest impact and how a
possible campaign for public office would affect my family. After
(03:13):
much reflection and many heartfelt conversations with my family, I've
decided not to pursue elected office at this time.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
He says, it is.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
A difficult decision and I am deeply disappointed to step
back from an election I believe is so critical to
California's future. He'll basically be focusing on Steadfast La, the
organization that he started up to support victims of the
Palisades and Eaten fires. He also says he'll continue his
work with his company and family foundation efforts to strengthen
(03:43):
communities in need. But here's the thing about Rick Caruso's
potential candidacy. When you think back to twenty twenty two,
it was an interesting campaign for mayor. Was an open race.
There was no incumbent on the ballot. You had Karen Bass,
a longtime Democratic memor of Congress, a former of state
lawmaker and Sacramento, and a longtime community advocate and activist
(04:07):
here in Los Angeles, running against Rick Caruso head to
head after the two escaped the primary together. Karen Bass
won that race very comfortably. It was not a particularly
close race. Again, it was an interesting race, but Mayren
Bass won that election by almost ten points. So is
(04:29):
she so wounded this time around because of the city's
response and handling of the Palisades fire that the race
would have been closer. Likely, that's likely. Is there an
element of the electorate that voted last time around looking
for an alternative to Karen Bass. They may have cast
a ballot for her four years ago and regretted not
(04:52):
pulling that lever for Rick Caruso last time. Possibly, but
ten points is quite a victory margin. That's not a
close race, and so I always thought it was interesting
not that Rick Caruso would consider a second run for mayor,
especially considering the political landscape in the aftermath of the fires,
(05:13):
but to have him floated as a potential candidate for
governor I thought was a bit of a stretch. He's
a very accomplished businessman. He looks good, he looks professional,
he looks the part. But to run for a statewide
election after basically being creamed and a local election seemed
a bit far fetched to me. But it doesn't matter
(05:36):
now because he's not running, and that means that there's
not much time left for anybody else to jump into
this race. I think folks who are anticipating any additional
high profile candidates to run for mayor in Los Angeles
would be looking in the direction of La County Supervisor
Lindsay Horvath. You know, before she was on the Board
of Supervisors, she was the mayor of West Hollywood, which
meant she lived in West Hollywood, which of course is
(05:58):
a city and is not part of Los Angeles. She
has moved into the city of Los Angeles recently, and
so that only further fueled speculation that she was looking
to run. She did appear on CNN a couple of
weeks ago with Alex Michaelson, who used to be on
Fox and now has that late night show on CNN,
and she did not rule out a run for mayor
(06:22):
and said to Alex Michaelson that she does not think
the candidate list the field for mayor is finalized yet,
so we'll be waiting to see if she jumps in.
But what would that mean for this race. Basically what
we have right now is Ellie Mayor Bass running for reelection.
It seems that her toughest opponent so far would be
(06:46):
Austin Butener, who was the former superintendent of the La
Unified School District was also a deputy mayor. He's been
involved in LA politics and government for a very long time.
He's definitely running a campaign. He's got the campaign infrastructure,
he's speaking to media, he's holding events, and looks like
he's going to mount a serious opposition to Mayor Bass.
(07:07):
You have Spencer Pratt, the former reality television personality who
lost his home in the Palisades fire and has been
an outspoken advocate on behalf of others who lost their
homes in the Palisades fire. He announced his candidacy a
couple of weeks ago. You could expect that anybody planning
to vote for Spencer Pratt likely would not consider voting
for Mayor Bass in the first place. I don't see
(07:29):
a lot of crossover potential there. He'll also be challenged
in developing a more city wide focused campaign platform. Obviously,
rebuilding from the fires is going to be a huge
part of the election this year, but he's going to
have to learn a lot about everything else that's facing
(07:49):
la and it has many many problems. So how serious
will his campaign get. That's going to be something to watch.
There's also a woman named Ray Huang who is described
as a housing advocacy executive. She is certainly running to
the left of Mayor Bass, but she doesn't seem to
have a ground swell of support yet so what does
(08:12):
the race look like? Is it? Is it a head
to head between Mayor Bass and Austin Butener or will
Supervisor Horvath jump in the race? And if Supervisor Horvath
does that, where does the electorate fall? Because what type
of daylight is there between La Mayor Bass and Supervisor Horvat.
They certainly have had very public disagreements about the fire response,
(08:35):
They've had very public disagreements on the local response to homelessness.
Beyond that, not sure, but the filing deadline is approaching
in February, so this field will be finalized very soon.
But with Rick Caruso bowing out of the race before
jumping in again, not sure who the front runner is.
(08:57):
Eli Mahor Bass is certainly politically wounded by the Palisades fire.
But one area where she has found her footing, where
she seems confident in speaking, is any time that she
gets to go up against the Trump administration. And nowhere
has that been more obvious than in conversations about immigration enforcement.
That's what we're getting into next. ICE agents back in
(09:19):
Los Angeles in a big way, a big shake up
in the Fashion district this week, and that drew a
response from Mayor Bass and LA City Hall. That's what
we will get into next a little bit later. LA
County has also moved to ban federal immigration agents from
accessing county property for their operations. That's all coming up
ahead on Michael Monk's reports.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
LA County District Attorney Nathan Hoffman has written the Trump
administration complaining that an employee within his department was quote
wrongfully detained by US immigration officials. He says, a member
of our office was wrongfully detained by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement ICE. He says, I can thankfully report that shortly
(10:08):
after our employee was released and is safe. This incident
is unacceptable. Our employee is a dedicated public servant who
serves the people of Los Angeles County with professionalism and integrity.
This troubling situation caused great distress to our colleagues, our
co workers' family, and our entire office family. Now, he
(10:30):
is not the only local official to say that ICE
has targeted county workers. Supervisor Hilda Sali says two La
County Park workers were accosted and questioned. Those are her
words by ICE agents at Whittier Narrow's recreation area. According
to a statement from Salise, she says ICE agents allegedly
(10:52):
racially profiled and physically assaulted to Latino Los Angeles County
Park staff at Whittier Narrow's Recreation era employees wearing county uniforms,
driving county vehicles and clearly identifying themselves as county personnel
and question them about their citizenship status. This action is
completely unacceptable and violates the constitutional rights of US citizens.
(11:17):
Now we'll get into what the county is doing to
keep ICE agents off county owned property in our next segment.
They have taken a vote this week to keep county
property free of ICE agents. Whether that will hold up
in court is another story, but one thing is very clear.
Federal immigration agents have returned to the Fashion District. When
(11:40):
you think back to when federal immigration enforcement actions really
ramped up here in the second Trump administration in Los Angeles,
the Fashion District was ground zero for the start of it.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
All.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Of course, there were high profile cases all around southern California,
but it was the Fashion District with all of those
shot down. There, Santi Alli being hit and business went
down dramatically, and then this week agents returned, as reported
by our friends at NBC four.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
The ones who did speak to us said they were
just recovering, and now people seem afraid to come to
the Fashion District. They're afraid to open their stores. People
are afraid to shop.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
It seemed as if we're in an active war zone
for no reason.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
Joscelyn Brotheros family owns a jewelry store in the Fashion District. Yesterday,
she says, ICE agents pointed a gun at her brother.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
They were asking if he had his papers, and my
bother said yes, if you want, you can come and
check me, and they just kept cleaning.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
The gun at him. Business was just starting to pick
up again after the last ICE operations, but now, she says,
they're suffering.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Everyone's afraid to come. Our main audience of people who
buy from us are all Hispanics. They're afraid to come.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Some shops have closed for the day to afraid to open.
After yesterday, Joscelyn is determined her family's shop will stay open.
Speaker 6 (13:05):
I have to.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
It's my store. We've been here. I've been here in
the Fashion District since I was twelve years old.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And she says, in many cases it's a younger generation
stepping up to help their parents who are too afraid
to continue with business as usual. But that doesn't mean
she's not afraid.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I've never experienced anything like that at all. And I
have a sister that's in the military. She's like, dude,
they don't even do that when we're going on rounds
and we're like, what the well, it's it's.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Insane Mayor Bass's reaction today.
Speaker 7 (13:37):
This administration needs to stop negatively impacting the city of
Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
I highly doubt they.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
Were after any hardened criminals in the fashion district and
from LA City Council Member Isabelle Herrado.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
People are afraid to go out and go to work,
and it's really impacting not just so small businesses, but
their ability to make rent.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
This month, with the way things are going, I don't
think we're gonna last long now.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I live in the Fashion district in downtown LA and
when these immigration enforcement actions started in June, it was
very quiet down there for a couple of weeks. Shops
certainly did shut down, but then it slowly started to
come back, and lately it's looked like normal. In fact,
it looked normal for months all through the holiday season.
(14:24):
It was very crowded, the weekends, very busy, the same
old traffic that we have to deal with down there
because people come down to shop looking for cheap goods
and that sort of thing. Santi Ali, Los Angeles Street,
all that area very very busy again. But what happens
now that immigration agents appear to be back targeting that area. Well,
the question came up at LA City Hall in the
(14:47):
wake of this new enforcement effort that took place near
Santi Ali. Councilwoman Isabelle Herado represents downtown Los Angeles and
northeast LA. Her district does include the fashion district in
Santi Ali. She brought some merchants in the city hall
to speak. They represent a group called Somos Las Callones.
We are the Alleys. Is what that translates to. And
(15:09):
here is what Councilwoman Isabelle Herado said at Friday's city
council meeting.
Speaker 8 (15:14):
But yesterday our office receiver ports of ice activity and
raids near the Sante Alley, a place where immigrant families
go every day to work, to shop, and to support
one another. A place built by small business owners, vendors
and workers who open early work long hours and hold
the heart of this community. These raids have left the
people shaken, afraid to open their storefronts afraid to go
(15:35):
to work, afraid to walk down the streets. In fact,
when the raids first started last summer, we went on
a walk through through Sante Alley. Those folks that operate
those small businesses, they're also renters, and they told us
about how one of their kids now when they're at home,
and it was during the summer break, always looks out
(15:56):
the window because they're looking to see if someone's going
to come and get their parents or to come and
get them, and how they can't sleep at night safely.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
And Council President Marquis Harris Dawson framed the immigration enforcement
actions as anti business, basically saying the Trump administration is
anti business.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
One of the many problems with this set of events
is the anti business, aggressively anti business implications of the
Trump administration do not get covered by the media. If
this Council does something to help workers or somebody, there'll
be lots of talks on all the business publications about
the impact that it has on business. But this is
(16:38):
literally shut down commercial districts in our city. And around
the country and now.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
The La City Council discussed this at length. They also
talked this past week about the federal government's role in
the Los Angeles Olympics coming in twenty twenty eight. Some
members expressed concern about what that means for immigration enforcement
in Los Angeles in southern California. We'll get into that
in a little bit this hour, but coming up next.
(17:06):
La County Board of Supervisors also talked about immigration enforcement.
You heard me just mention Supervisor Solesa's concerns that allegedly
a couple of County parks workers were accosted and asked
for a proof of citizenship by federal agents. We've heard
from La County DA Nathan Hoffman, who says one of
his workers was detained by federal immigration agents. They're not
(17:29):
happy about that. We're going to get into these ice
free zones next, what that means about county property and
how the Board of Supervisor says it wants to keep
federal immigration officers from using county property for their enforcement actions.
That's coming up next.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
We started this hour talking about developer Rick Caruso saying
he's not going to run for La Mayor. He's also
not going to run for California governor. He's not running
for anything. Focus on his work, his foundations, and the
help he's providing in rebuilding the Palisades after last January's
devastating wildfires. He's also helping folks affected by the Eton
Fire in Altadena and Pasadena as well. I mentioned that
(18:15):
that leaves La Mayor Karen Bass in a much better
position in her re election bid this year. She did
easily defeat Rick Caruso in twenty twenty two, winning that
race by ten points, but the Palisades fire, in the
city's response to it and the work done afterwards, is
really her biggest weakness heading into this reelection campaign. There
(18:39):
are probably plenty of others that other candidates will seek
to exploit, but one area where she appears most confident
is taking on the Trump administration. She goes on a
lot of the national networks now to speak about immigration,
a lot LA's experience with immigration enforcement and LA standing
up against the Trump administer in that respect. And this
(19:03):
is a response that we got from listener Joyanne.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
Michael. I listened to all the tak shows all day
now on KI and all I see is that the
only way Caring Baths and Newsom are getting ahead, since
they're such screw up, the only way they get ahead
is by Trump. Let's say, nobody cares about what they're doing,
(19:34):
just about.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Trump, and it appears to be the topic that that
gives these local electeds, particularly Democrats, the most gravitas when
they're speaking. They're very passionate about immigration enforcement in this community,
and it's able it's enabled them to maybe get a
(19:56):
bit away from some of those weaknesses, not just the fires,
but think about issues like homelessness and taxation and city
or county services.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Well.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
LA County has also done its fair share of fighting
against the Trump administration, and the most recent maneuver is
to keep federal immigration agents off of La County owned property.
They've asked County Council to develop a draft ordinance for
consideration at an upcoming meeting that would disallow federal agents
(20:27):
from using any county property to stage or to conduct
any of their operations or to hold people that they
might detain. And what we will hear now is from
County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath speaking about why she thinks this
is necessary.
Speaker 9 (20:43):
Our federal government is freely without cause, murdering its own
citizens in broad daylight, in front of witnesses and cameras.
Our federal government is partaking in illegal actions as we
bear witness, and we pay the price. Over the course
of the last year and even just this month, federal
(21:04):
immigration enforcement has too often escalated into extreme violence. People
have been shot, people have been killed, Families have been shattered.
Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, was killed by
an ICE agent last week while acting within her full
rights as a legal observer. Days after her death, Luis
(21:28):
David Nico Mancata and jor Lenis Betsabeth Zambrano Contreras were
shot during another ICE operation in Portland. Here in my
own district, Keith Porter Junior was killed by an off
duty ICE agent on New.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Year's Eve, and Supervisor Hilde Salz, who was the chair
of the Board of Supervisors this year, said this, but.
Speaker 7 (21:51):
I think it's really important for our communities to understand
what we're saying is you don't have the right to
come in and harass people well without a federal warrant.
And if you use our property to stage then you
need to show us documentation as to why if you
have a federal warrant to back that up and if not,
this ordinance that we're going to be beginning the process
(22:15):
of adopting will have the force of the county law
behind us, and what does that result in? Possibly going
to court? Absolutely, and I would hope other jurisdictions are
also doing the same.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Supervisor Hill, to excuse me, Jennis Hahn was not to
be left out in this discussion. This is what she
said about it.
Speaker 10 (22:34):
It's so disturbing that we've come to this point where
our own federal government has essentially invaded our cities and
is actively creating dangerous situations for our communities. And we
cannot allow our county property to be a tool for
the work they're doing, because I believe the work they
(22:56):
are doing is dangerous and unsafe for the people of America.
What they're doing is not making us safer, It is
putting residents, citizens, children in danger.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
This motion that the Board has approved directs county attorneys
to return to the Board of Supervisors within thirty days
with a draft of an ordinance that prevents any county
property from being used for anything other than county purposes.
It would specify that no county owned property can be
used as a staging area, of processing location, or operations
(23:36):
base for unauthorized civil law enforcement actions, including civil immigration enforcement.
The ordinance would also call for signs to be posted
at county facilities making it clear the property is owned
by the county and cannot be used for non county operations.
It would have language noting that the ordinance does not
restrict or interfere with the execution of lawful judicial warrants
(23:59):
or the enforcement of criminal law, nor does it limit
the rights of any person or entity under state or
federal law. So those are the ice free zones that
could be on the way to Los Angeles County. So
we've talked about LA City trying to fight the Trump administration,
La County trying to fight the Trump administration. Well, the
(24:21):
state of California has also gone to battle, maybe more
against the Trump administration. Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed
i believe now more than fifty lawsuits, some of them
have been successful. Now that's not just immigration stuff that
had to do with you. Recall the government shutdown last
fall and the food stamps, the cow fresh the EBT stuff.
(24:44):
They went to court over that and many other issues,
but one issue related to federal immigration in the state
of California is a state law that would ban federal
agents from wearing masks and requiring them to show identification
while conducting the operations here in California. These laws passed
the state legislature, they were signed by Governor Newsom Well.
(25:07):
Some attorneys from the Department of Justice have asked a
federal judge here in Los Angeles to pause the new
law banning masks on federal officers. That judge heard those
arguments just this past week. US Attorney General Pam Bondi
says state laws like this are unconstitutional. They endanger federal officers.
(25:29):
We've heard a lot from local officials about federal agents
wearing masks and how they should have to identify themselves
as scaring people. And the argument from the federal government
is these are tense operations. We've seen the protest here,
we see what's happening currently in Minneapolis as it relates
to protest over immigration enforcement. The federal government and the
(25:52):
federal agents have concerned about being what's now called docst
having their information blasted all all over the internet. But
these laws made California the first state in the nation
to prohibit federal law enforcement, including agents of US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, from hiding their identities and requiring non
uniformed federal law enforcement to visibly display identification information, including
(26:17):
agency name or badge number, during enforcement duties. Because conversely,
while federal agents are frankly rightfully scared about being docksed online,
there have been few instances of folks pretending to be
ICE agents. If these agents are going to be showing up,
whether they're from ICE or Border Patrol or some other
immigration enforcement agency, and they're not wearing clearly marked uniforms,
(26:40):
that's got to be scary, I would imagine, because how
do you confirm that they are who they say they are.
They're not in marked vehicles, they don't have a badge on.
Senior US District Judge Christina Snyder, who was appointed to
the court by President Clinton, heard those arguments for preliminary
injunction just this week. The LA Times reported after that
(27:00):
initial hearing that this judge appears to be skeptical on
ICE agents wearing mask and what she has said so
far is excuse me, what one of the attorneys Tiberius Davis,
representing the USDJ, says, why wouldn't California say every immigration
officer needs to wear pink, so it's super obvious who
(27:23):
they are. The idea that all fifty states can regulate
the conduct and uniforms of officers flips the Constitution on
its head. But the judge responded to Judge Snyder says,
why can't they perform their duties without a mask? They
did that until twenty twenty five, did they not? How
in the world do those who don't mask manage to operate?
(27:44):
Now there has not been a ruling yet on this,
but it was expected that such a ruling could have
come as early as this week. It did not, so
that's something to keep an eye on for the week
of week ahead, whether any comes down from that judge.
The Olympics are coming to Los Angeles in twenty twenty eight.
(28:06):
The federal government will be very involved in that. And
now here in LA we have this weird relationship with
the federal government, and LA City Hall has asked for
clarifying information on President Trump's Olympics task force, citing fears
over immigration enforcement. That's what we'll get into next. As
Michael Monks reports continues.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
The relationship between Southern California, really California in general, but
maybe especially the City of Los Angeles and the County
of Los Angeles with Washington, DC and the Trump administration
is just not good. But we have this thing coming up,
and it's now just two and a half years away.
It's called the Olympics. Maybe you've heard of it, and
(28:59):
all of these into are going to have to work
together very very closely. The entire world will be watching,
and goodness knows, we have a litany of issues here
in southern California that need to be dealt with in
order for us to put our best foot forward. As
all these cameras start rolling and people from all around
the world are not just here but are watching from
(29:19):
wherever they are and seeing what this place looks like.
But local officials are very very concerned about immigration enforcement.
What that might mean for the Olympics as well. What
does it mean for visitors coming to town, What does
it mean for athletes themselves, What does it mean for
the relationship between this country and other countries. The La
(29:40):
City Council has called for LA twenty eight. That's the
local organizing committee that's handling a lot of the logistics
for the planning of the Olympics. They've asked for clarity
on the relationship with President Trump's Olympics Task Force. Now.
President Trump announced this task force last August. He's the
chair of this task and he says that this task
(30:04):
force will oversee the federal government's role in security and
transportation and visas and those sorts of things. I mean,
it all makes sense. Of course, the federal government is
going to be very, very involved in those things. But
apparently the La City Council was under the assumption that
the LAPD would be the lead agency on a lot
(30:25):
of the security things. They're not so sure anymore so.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez introduced emotion last August that was voted
on just this past week, asking LA twenty eight to
provide a detailed presentation on the new Federal Olympics Task
Force and what it's supposed to be doing here.
Speaker 11 (30:42):
I know we all have increasing concerns about their involvement
and their influence around what policing will look like. But frankly,
even far in advance of the Games, coming what their
influences in our preparation for the LA twenty eight Games.
It's for that reason that I introduced this motion seeking
to get greater insight as to what their planning and
(31:04):
role of activities are with respect to the planning of
the LA twenty eight Games. We're in a very tragic
moment where we're continuing to find ourselves in a reactive
mode to the activities that are being brought on to
citizens in this country. And I say citizens intentionally because
(31:25):
it's no longer this idea that there is lawful processes
that are in place with respect to how people in
this country are being treated. And we've seen that happen
here in our city and cities across the country. And
so given that we are going to be hosting the
world to come to Los Angeles, I think it's increasingly
(31:48):
more important for us to get greater insight and transparency
from LA twenty eight around the role of the federal
task force that has now been tied to planning of
these games.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
So that report has been asked for very soon. She
wants to hear from LA twenty eight officials directly. When
President Trump announced this federal task force last August. LA
twenty eight President and chairman Casey Wasserman was there as
President Trump signed that executive order. And meanwhile, the board
of LA twenty eight has some fresh additions from last fall.
(32:24):
Former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican who served
as chief of staff during the first part of President
Trump's first term. Billionaire Trump donor Diane Hendrix, Trump's former
banker Ken Mollis, and Patrick Dumont, the son in law
of Trump donor Miriam Addelson, have also joined LA twenty
eight's board of directors. So we'll see that is something
(32:48):
to watch. This is a major event coming to Los Angeles.
LA has done it before nineteen thirty two, nineteen eighty four,
but never under a circumstance where it has had such
an adversary aerial relationship with the federal government, particularly the
White House. And this is just twenty twenty six. We're
(33:09):
not even at the one year mark of President Trump
returning to office. That'll be January twentieth, or you know,
that'll be next week, early next week. But it's already
rough going. And we got two and a half years
before the Olympics show up. So anybody have any optimism
over whether the relationship between the state, county and city
(33:29):
government in LA is going to improve with Washington. Meanwhile,
Olympic tickets are very close to being available. The Olympic
ticket draw registration has opened and you can now just
search for it online and you'll pull up the appropriate website.
But you have to send in your email address, and
(33:51):
then I guess at some point the Olympics organizers are
going to draw your email address, maybe if you're lucky,
and give you a time slot where you can purchase tickets.
And people who live in most counties here in southern
California will will get preferential treatment. So I signed up
for this because you know how often you get to
(34:12):
go to the Olympics, We're gonna be very fortunate if
they happen to get to go to some of these events.
So I've tried it out. It did take a while.
I did it as soon as it opened, and it
did take a while to get my chance to fill
in my information. But it's done. I'm in there and
now I'm just waiting to see what happens. Apparently, you
can register through March eighteenth, and they will ask you
(34:37):
for like your top five sports that you're targeting and
wish you would like to see. Doesn't guarantee anything, but
all of that is open. So this stuff is getting real.
The Olympics coming to town. Time slots to purchase tickets
will run during what they are calling Drop one, April
ninth through the nineteenth, and fans will be notified by
(34:58):
email from March thirty first to April seven if they've
been assigned a time slot. Fingers crossed, but you can
sign up. Just a search online for the LA twenty
eight ticket registration and it will direct you to that link.
You throw in your email address and then you.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Wait and see.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
So good luck, We'll see you at the games. We
got another hour ahead here on Michael Monks Reports. And
you might be paying more in taxis in the city
of Los Angeles in support of the fire Department, which
says it's underfunded, understaffed, and under equipped. But there's also
something you might be paying more for, and that has
(35:32):
to do with a major transportation project that was presented
as one price and is now balloon. And this is
not the high speed rail project. This is something local
to Los Angeles, a new path along the La River. Wait,
you hear the price tag on this thing that's coming
up in our next hour of Michael Monks reports KFI
AM
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
This is Michael Monk's reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News.
I'll be with you for the next couple of hours.
Happy to be with you on this weekend in southern California.
And boy, and you think about, why do I pay
all these taxes here? Why do I pay for this
expensive gas here? Why am I willing to step in
human feces in downtown Los Angeles. Well, it's because it's January.
(00:30):
And my goodness, you just can't beat the weather. You
can't beat it there. It trumps everything else, I suppose
for many of us. And I guess that's why we stay.
You just can't beat the California sun. And boy, have
we had plenty of it this week. My understanding from
the forecast is that we will have our equivalent of
(00:50):
winter returning by next weekend when temperatures are back to
normal in the sixties. But my goodness, to be in
the eighties in the middle of January, it's been nice.
I've officially been in Los Angeles for three years now,
and I thought I might miss the seasons. That was
(01:10):
my biggest concern about living here.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Was just yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
I love the fall. I love the changing of the leaves.
I love a little bit of snow. When you live
in a place that gets snow in the winter, it
can be a lot. And then you're you're over it.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
You like the snow at Christmas time it's romantic and
it's holiday oriented. But after Christmas passes and it's January,
it's just a big sloppy mess and it's cold for
the next four months. Man, we just don't have that here.
I don't miss that sloppy mess at all. I'm so
glad to be here. I'm especially glad to be here
with you. Big big news coming out late Friday about
(01:48):
the Los Angeles may oral race. A guy who's been
flirting with running for the better part of a year
has decided not to run again. Of course, I'm talking
about developer Rick Caruso, famous for The Grove and other
major developments here in southern California, and the runner up
in the Los Angeles mayoral election in twenty twenty two.
(02:09):
He has been very critical of the woman who defeated
him four years ago, Karen Bass, the Mayor of Los Angeles,
over her handling of the fire in the Palisades. That
seemed to be a key issue, a key plank of
what would have been his campaign, his rematch campaign with
the mayor at this time around. But he announced Friday
(02:30):
afternoon he's not going to be seeking that office, and
he's not going to be seeking the office of governor either.
He'd been rumored as a potential candidate for the gubernatorial race.
Of course, that field is wide open. It's crowded, a
couple of Republicans leading the polls, but the numbers are
so low that those polls don't seem to matter too
much right now. Members of Democratic Members of Congress, other
(02:50):
Democratic figures are in that race, but Ricruso is not.
So he's not running for mayor. He's not running for governor.
He put out his statement saying he was deeply go
rightful to the people who encouraged him to seek public office.
He says, throughout these conversations, two questions have guided my thinking.
Where I can make the greatest impact and how a
possible campaign for public office would affect my family. After
(03:13):
much reflection and many heartfelt conversations with my family, I've
decided not to pursue elected office at this time.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
He says, it is.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
A difficult decision and I am deeply disappointed to step
back from an election I believe is so critical to
California's future. He'll basically be focusing on Steadfast La, the
organization that he started up to support victims of the
Palisades and Eaten fires. He also says he'll continue his
work with his company and family foundation efforts to strengthen
(03:43):
communities in need. But here's the thing about Rick Caruso's
potential candidacy. When you think back to twenty twenty two,
it was an interesting campaign for mayor. Was an open race.
There was no incumbent on the ballot. You had Karen Bass,
a longtime Democratic memor of Congress, a former of state
lawmaker and Sacramento, and a longtime community advocate and activist
(04:07):
here in Los Angeles, running against Rick Caruso head to
head after the two escaped the primary together. Karen Bass
won that race very comfortably. It was not a particularly
close race. Again, it was an interesting race, but Mayren
Bass won that election by almost ten points. So is
(04:29):
she so wounded this time around because of the city's
response and handling of the Palisades fire that the race
would have been closer. Likely, that's likely. Is there an
element of the electorate that voted last time around looking
for an alternative to Karen Bass. They may have cast
a ballot for her four years ago and regretted not
(04:52):
pulling that lever for Rick Caruso last time. Possibly, but
ten points is quite a victory margin. That's not a
close race, and so I always thought it was interesting
not that Rick Caruso would consider a second run for mayor,
especially considering the political landscape in the aftermath of the fires,
(05:13):
but to have him floated as a potential candidate for
governor I thought was a bit of a stretch. He's
a very accomplished businessman. He looks good, he looks professional,
he looks the part. But to run for a statewide
election after basically being creamed and a local election seemed
a bit far fetched to me. But it doesn't matter
(05:36):
now because he's not running, and that means that there's
not much time left for anybody else to jump into
this race. I think folks who are anticipating any additional
high profile candidates to run for mayor in Los Angeles
would be looking in the direction of La County Supervisor
Lindsay Horvath. You know, before she was on the Board
of Supervisors, she was the mayor of West Hollywood, which
meant she lived in West Hollywood, which of course is
(05:58):
a city and is not part of Los Angeles. She
has moved into the city of Los Angeles recently, and
so that only further fueled speculation that she was looking
to run. She did appear on CNN a couple of
weeks ago with Alex Michaelson, who used to be on
Fox and now has that late night show on CNN,
and she did not rule out a run for mayor
(06:22):
and said to Alex Michaelson that she does not think
the candidate list the field for mayor is finalized yet,
so we'll be waiting to see if she jumps in.
But what would that mean for this race. Basically what
we have right now is Ellie Mayor Bass running for reelection.
It seems that her toughest opponent so far would be
(06:46):
Austin Butener, who was the former superintendent of the La
Unified School District was also a deputy mayor. He's been
involved in LA politics and government for a very long time.
He's definitely running a campaign. He's got the campaign infrastructure,
he's speaking to media, he's holding events, and looks like
he's going to mount a serious opposition to Mayor Bass.
(07:07):
You have Spencer Pratt, the former reality television personality who
lost his home in the Palisades fire and has been
an outspoken advocate on behalf of others who lost their
homes in the Palisades fire. He announced his candidacy a
couple of weeks ago. You could expect that anybody planning
to vote for Spencer Pratt likely would not consider voting
for Mayor Bass in the first place. I don't see
(07:29):
a lot of crossover potential there. He'll also be challenged
in developing a more city wide focused campaign platform. Obviously,
rebuilding from the fires is going to be a huge
part of the election this year, but he's going to
have to learn a lot about everything else that's facing
(07:49):
la and it has many many problems. So how serious
will his campaign get. That's going to be something to watch.
There's also a woman named Ray Huang who is described
as a housing advocacy executive. She is certainly running to
the left of Mayor Bass, but she doesn't seem to
have a ground swell of support yet so what does
(08:12):
the race look like? Is it? Is it a head
to head between Mayor Bass and Austin Butener or will
Supervisor Horvath jump in the race? And if Supervisor Horvath
does that, where does the electorate fall? Because what type
of daylight is there between La Mayor Bass and Supervisor Horvat.
They certainly have had very public disagreements about the fire response,
(08:35):
They've had very public disagreements on the local response to homelessness.
Beyond that, not sure, but the filing deadline is approaching
in February, so this field will be finalized very soon.
But with Rick Caruso bowing out of the race before
jumping in again, not sure who the front runner is.
(08:57):
Eli Mahor Bass is certainly politically wounded by the Palisades fire.
But one area where she has found her footing, where
she seems confident in speaking, is any time that she
gets to go up against the Trump administration. And nowhere
has that been more obvious than in conversations about immigration enforcement.
That's what we're getting into next. ICE agents back in
(09:19):
Los Angeles in a big way, a big shake up
in the Fashion district this week, and that drew a
response from Mayor Bass and LA City Hall. That's what
we will get into next a little bit later. LA
County has also moved to ban federal immigration agents from
accessing county property for their operations. That's all coming up
ahead on Michael Monk's reports.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
LA County District Attorney Nathan Hoffman has written the Trump
administration complaining that an employee within his department was quote
wrongfully detained by US immigration officials. He says, a member
of our office was wrongfully detained by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement ICE. He says, I can thankfully report that shortly
(10:08):
after our employee was released and is safe. This incident
is unacceptable. Our employee is a dedicated public servant who
serves the people of Los Angeles County with professionalism and integrity.
This troubling situation caused great distress to our colleagues, our
co workers' family, and our entire office family. Now, he
(10:30):
is not the only local official to say that ICE
has targeted county workers. Supervisor Hilda Sali says two La
County Park workers were accosted and questioned. Those are her
words by ICE agents at Whittier Narrow's recreation area. According
to a statement from Salise, she says ICE agents allegedly
(10:52):
racially profiled and physically assaulted to Latino Los Angeles County
Park staff at Whittier Narrow's Recreation era employees wearing county uniforms,
driving county vehicles and clearly identifying themselves as county personnel
and question them about their citizenship status. This action is
completely unacceptable and violates the constitutional rights of US citizens.
(11:17):
Now we'll get into what the county is doing to
keep ICE agents off county owned property in our next segment.
They have taken a vote this week to keep county
property free of ICE agents. Whether that will hold up
in court is another story, but one thing is very clear.
Federal immigration agents have returned to the Fashion District. When
(11:40):
you think back to when federal immigration enforcement actions really
ramped up here in the second Trump administration in Los Angeles,
the Fashion District was ground zero for the start of it.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
All.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Of course, there were high profile cases all around southern California,
but it was the Fashion District with all of those
shot down. There, Santi Alli being hit and business went
down dramatically, and then this week agents returned, as reported
by our friends at NBC four.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
The ones who did speak to us said they were
just recovering, and now people seem afraid to come to
the Fashion District. They're afraid to open their stores. People
are afraid to shop.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
It seemed as if we're in an active war zone
for no reason.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
Joscelyn Brotheros family owns a jewelry store in the Fashion District. Yesterday,
she says, ICE agents pointed a gun at her brother.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
They were asking if he had his papers, and my
bother said yes, if you want, you can come and
check me, and they just kept cleaning.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
The gun at him. Business was just starting to pick
up again after the last ICE operations, but now, she says,
they're suffering.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Everyone's afraid to come. Our main audience of people who
buy from us are all Hispanics. They're afraid to come.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
Some shops have closed for the day to afraid to open.
After yesterday, Joscelyn is determined her family's shop will stay open.
Speaker 6 (13:05):
I have to.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
It's my store. We've been here. I've been here in
the Fashion District since I was twelve years old.
Speaker 5 (13:13):
And she says, in many cases it's a younger generation
stepping up to help their parents who are too afraid
to continue with business as usual. But that doesn't mean
she's not afraid.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I've never experienced anything like that at all. And I
have a sister that's in the military. She's like, dude,
they don't even do that when we're going on rounds
and we're like, what the well, it's it's.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Insane Mayor Bass's reaction today.
Speaker 7 (13:37):
This administration needs to stop negatively impacting the city of
Los Angeles.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
I highly doubt they.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
Were after any hardened criminals in the fashion district and
from LA City Council Member Isabelle Herrado.
Speaker 8 (13:52):
People are afraid to go out and go to work,
and it's really impacting not just so small businesses, but
their ability to make rent.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
This month, with the way things are going, I don't
think we're gonna last long now.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I live in the Fashion district in downtown LA and
when these immigration enforcement actions started in June, it was
very quiet down there for a couple of weeks. Shops
certainly did shut down, but then it slowly started to
come back, and lately it's looked like normal. In fact,
it looked normal for months all through the holiday season.
(14:24):
It was very crowded, the weekends, very busy, the same
old traffic that we have to deal with down there
because people come down to shop looking for cheap goods
and that sort of thing. Santi Ali, Los Angeles Street,
all that area very very busy again. But what happens
now that immigration agents appear to be back targeting that area. Well,
the question came up at LA City Hall in the
(14:47):
wake of this new enforcement effort that took place near
Santi Ali. Councilwoman Isabelle Herado represents downtown Los Angeles and
northeast LA. Her district does include the fashion district in
Santi Ali. She brought some merchants in the city hall
to speak. They represent a group called Somos Las Callones.
We are the Alleys. Is what that translates to. And
(15:09):
here is what Councilwoman Isabelle Herado said at Friday's city
council meeting.
Speaker 8 (15:14):
But yesterday our office receiver ports of ice activity and
raids near the Sante Alley, a place where immigrant families
go every day to work, to shop, and to support
one another. A place built by small business owners, vendors
and workers who open early work long hours and hold
the heart of this community. These raids have left the
people shaken, afraid to open their storefronts afraid to go
(15:35):
to work, afraid to walk down the streets. In fact,
when the raids first started last summer, we went on
a walk through through Sante Alley. Those folks that operate
those small businesses, they're also renters, and they told us
about how one of their kids now when they're at home,
and it was during the summer break, always looks out
(15:56):
the window because they're looking to see if someone's going
to come and get their parents or to come and
get them, and how they can't sleep at night safely.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
And Council President Marquis Harris Dawson framed the immigration enforcement
actions as anti business, basically saying the Trump administration is
anti business.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
One of the many problems with this set of events
is the anti business, aggressively anti business implications of the
Trump administration do not get covered by the media. If
this Council does something to help workers or somebody, there'll
be lots of talks on all the business publications about
the impact that it has on business. But this is
(16:38):
literally shut down commercial districts in our city. And around
the country and now.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
The La City Council discussed this at length. They also
talked this past week about the federal government's role in
the Los Angeles Olympics coming in twenty twenty eight. Some
members expressed concern about what that means for immigration enforcement
in Los Angeles in southern California. We'll get into that
in a little bit this hour, but coming up next.
(17:06):
La County Board of Supervisors also talked about immigration enforcement.
You heard me just mention Supervisor Solesa's concerns that allegedly
a couple of County parks workers were accosted and asked
for a proof of citizenship by federal agents. We've heard
from La County DA Nathan Hoffman, who says one of
his workers was detained by federal immigration agents. They're not
(17:29):
happy about that. We're going to get into these ice
free zones next, what that means about county property and
how the Board of Supervisor says it wants to keep
federal immigration officers from using county property for their enforcement actions.
That's coming up next.
Speaker 1 (17:45):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
We started this hour talking about developer Rick Caruso saying
he's not going to run for La Mayor. He's also
not going to run for California governor. He's not running
for anything. Focus on his work, his foundations, and the
help he's providing in rebuilding the Palisades after last January's
devastating wildfires. He's also helping folks affected by the Eton
Fire in Altadena and Pasadena as well. I mentioned that
(18:15):
that leaves La Mayor Karen Bass in a much better
position in her re election bid this year. She did
easily defeat Rick Caruso in twenty twenty two, winning that
race by ten points, but the Palisades fire, in the
city's response to it and the work done afterwards, is
really her biggest weakness heading into this reelection campaign. There
(18:39):
are probably plenty of others that other candidates will seek
to exploit, but one area where she appears most confident
is taking on the Trump administration. She goes on a
lot of the national networks now to speak about immigration,
a lot LA's experience with immigration enforcement and LA standing
up against the Trump administer in that respect. And this
(19:03):
is a response that we got from listener Joyanne.
Speaker 6 (19:07):
Michael. I listened to all the tak shows all day
now on KI and all I see is that the
only way Caring Baths and Newsom are getting ahead, since
they're such screw up, the only way they get ahead
is by Trump. Let's say, nobody cares about what they're doing,
(19:34):
just about.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Trump, and it appears to be the topic that that
gives these local electeds, particularly Democrats, the most gravitas when
they're speaking. They're very passionate about immigration enforcement in this community,
and it's able it's enabled them to maybe get a
(19:56):
bit away from some of those weaknesses, not just the fires,
but think about issues like homelessness and taxation and city
or county services.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Well.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
LA County has also done its fair share of fighting
against the Trump administration, and the most recent maneuver is
to keep federal immigration agents off of La County owned property.
They've asked County Council to develop a draft ordinance for
consideration at an upcoming meeting that would disallow federal agents
(20:27):
from using any county property to stage or to conduct
any of their operations or to hold people that they
might detain. And what we will hear now is from
County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath speaking about why she thinks this
is necessary.
Speaker 9 (20:43):
Our federal government is freely without cause, murdering its own
citizens in broad daylight, in front of witnesses and cameras.
Our federal government is partaking in illegal actions as we
bear witness, and we pay the price. Over the course
of the last year and even just this month, federal
(21:04):
immigration enforcement has too often escalated into extreme violence. People
have been shot, people have been killed, Families have been shattered.
Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, was killed by
an ICE agent last week while acting within her full
rights as a legal observer. Days after her death, Luis
(21:28):
David Nico Mancata and jor Lenis Betsabeth Zambrano Contreras were
shot during another ICE operation in Portland. Here in my
own district, Keith Porter Junior was killed by an off
duty ICE agent on New.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Year's Eve, and Supervisor Hilde Salz, who was the chair
of the Board of Supervisors this year, said this, but.
Speaker 7 (21:51):
I think it's really important for our communities to understand
what we're saying is you don't have the right to
come in and harass people well without a federal warrant.
And if you use our property to stage then you
need to show us documentation as to why if you
have a federal warrant to back that up and if not,
this ordinance that we're going to be beginning the process
(22:15):
of adopting will have the force of the county law
behind us, and what does that result in? Possibly going
to court? Absolutely, and I would hope other jurisdictions are
also doing the same.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Supervisor Hill, to excuse me, Jennis Hahn was not to
be left out in this discussion. This is what she
said about it.
Speaker 10 (22:34):
It's so disturbing that we've come to this point where
our own federal government has essentially invaded our cities and
is actively creating dangerous situations for our communities. And we
cannot allow our county property to be a tool for
the work they're doing, because I believe the work they
(22:56):
are doing is dangerous and unsafe for the people of America.
What they're doing is not making us safer, It is
putting residents, citizens, children in danger.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
This motion that the Board has approved directs county attorneys
to return to the Board of Supervisors within thirty days
with a draft of an ordinance that prevents any county
property from being used for anything other than county purposes.
It would specify that no county owned property can be
used as a staging area, of processing location, or operations
(23:36):
base for unauthorized civil law enforcement actions, including civil immigration enforcement.
The ordinance would also call for signs to be posted
at county facilities making it clear the property is owned
by the county and cannot be used for non county operations.
It would have language noting that the ordinance does not
restrict or interfere with the execution of lawful judicial warrants
(23:59):
or the enforcement of criminal law, nor does it limit
the rights of any person or entity under state or
federal law. So those are the ice free zones that
could be on the way to Los Angeles County. So
we've talked about LA City trying to fight the Trump administration,
La County trying to fight the Trump administration. Well, the
(24:21):
state of California has also gone to battle, maybe more
against the Trump administration. Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed
i believe now more than fifty lawsuits, some of them
have been successful. Now that's not just immigration stuff that
had to do with you. Recall the government shutdown last
fall and the food stamps, the cow fresh the EBT stuff.
(24:44):
They went to court over that and many other issues,
but one issue related to federal immigration in the state
of California is a state law that would ban federal
agents from wearing masks and requiring them to show identification
while conducting the operations here in California. These laws passed
the state legislature, they were signed by Governor Newsom Well.
(25:07):
Some attorneys from the Department of Justice have asked a
federal judge here in Los Angeles to pause the new
law banning masks on federal officers. That judge heard those
arguments just this past week. US Attorney General Pam Bondi
says state laws like this are unconstitutional. They endanger federal officers.
(25:29):
We've heard a lot from local officials about federal agents
wearing masks and how they should have to identify themselves
as scaring people. And the argument from the federal government
is these are tense operations. We've seen the protest here,
we see what's happening currently in Minneapolis as it relates
to protest over immigration enforcement. The federal government and the
(25:52):
federal agents have concerned about being what's now called docst
having their information blasted all all over the internet. But
these laws made California the first state in the nation
to prohibit federal law enforcement, including agents of US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, from hiding their identities and requiring non
uniformed federal law enforcement to visibly display identification information, including
(26:17):
agency name or badge number, during enforcement duties. Because conversely,
while federal agents are frankly rightfully scared about being docksed online,
there have been few instances of folks pretending to be
ICE agents. If these agents are going to be showing up,
whether they're from ICE or Border Patrol or some other
immigration enforcement agency, and they're not wearing clearly marked uniforms,
(26:40):
that's got to be scary, I would imagine, because how
do you confirm that they are who they say they are.
They're not in marked vehicles, they don't have a badge on.
Senior US District Judge Christina Snyder, who was appointed to
the court by President Clinton, heard those arguments for preliminary
injunction just this week. The LA Times reported after that
(27:00):
initial hearing that this judge appears to be skeptical on
ICE agents wearing mask and what she has said so
far is excuse me, what one of the attorneys Tiberius Davis,
representing the USDJ, says, why wouldn't California say every immigration
officer needs to wear pink, so it's super obvious who
(27:23):
they are. The idea that all fifty states can regulate
the conduct and uniforms of officers flips the Constitution on
its head. But the judge responded to Judge Snyder says,
why can't they perform their duties without a mask? They
did that until twenty twenty five, did they not? How
in the world do those who don't mask manage to operate?
(27:44):
Now there has not been a ruling yet on this,
but it was expected that such a ruling could have
come as early as this week. It did not, so
that's something to keep an eye on for the week
of week ahead, whether any comes down from that judge.
The Olympics are coming to Los Angeles in twenty twenty eight.
(28:06):
The federal government will be very involved in that. And
now here in LA we have this weird relationship with
the federal government, and LA City Hall has asked for
clarifying information on President Trump's Olympics task force, citing fears
over immigration enforcement. That's what we'll get into next. As
Michael Monks reports continues.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
The relationship between Southern California, really California in general, but
maybe especially the City of Los Angeles and the County
of Los Angeles with Washington, DC and the Trump administration
is just not good. But we have this thing coming up,
and it's now just two and a half years away.
It's called the Olympics. Maybe you've heard of it, and
(28:59):
all of these into are going to have to work
together very very closely. The entire world will be watching,
and goodness knows, we have a litany of issues here
in southern California that need to be dealt with in
order for us to put our best foot forward. As
all these cameras start rolling and people from all around
the world are not just here but are watching from
(29:19):
wherever they are and seeing what this place looks like.
But local officials are very very concerned about immigration enforcement.
What that might mean for the Olympics as well. What
does it mean for visitors coming to town, What does
it mean for athletes themselves, What does it mean for
the relationship between this country and other countries. The La
(29:40):
City Council has called for LA twenty eight. That's the
local organizing committee that's handling a lot of the logistics
for the planning of the Olympics. They've asked for clarity
on the relationship with President Trump's Olympics Task Force. Now.
President Trump announced this task force last August. He's the
chair of this task and he says that this task
(30:04):
force will oversee the federal government's role in security and
transportation and visas and those sorts of things. I mean,
it all makes sense. Of course, the federal government is
going to be very, very involved in those things. But
apparently the La City Council was under the assumption that
the LAPD would be the lead agency on a lot
(30:25):
of the security things. They're not so sure anymore so.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez introduced emotion last August that was voted
on just this past week, asking LA twenty eight to
provide a detailed presentation on the new Federal Olympics Task
Force and what it's supposed to be doing here.
Speaker 11 (30:42):
I know we all have increasing concerns about their involvement
and their influence around what policing will look like. But frankly,
even far in advance of the Games, coming what their
influences in our preparation for the LA twenty eight Games.
It's for that reason that I introduced this motion seeking
to get greater insight as to what their planning and
(31:04):
role of activities are with respect to the planning of
the LA twenty eight Games. We're in a very tragic
moment where we're continuing to find ourselves in a reactive
mode to the activities that are being brought on to
citizens in this country. And I say citizens intentionally because
(31:25):
it's no longer this idea that there is lawful processes
that are in place with respect to how people in
this country are being treated. And we've seen that happen
here in our city and cities across the country. And
so given that we are going to be hosting the
world to come to Los Angeles, I think it's increasingly
(31:48):
more important for us to get greater insight and transparency
from LA twenty eight around the role of the federal
task force that has now been tied to planning of
these games.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
So that report has been asked for very soon. She
wants to hear from LA twenty eight officials directly. When
President Trump announced this federal task force last August. LA
twenty eight President and chairman Casey Wasserman was there as
President Trump signed that executive order. And meanwhile, the board
of LA twenty eight has some fresh additions from last fall.
(32:24):
Former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican who served
as chief of staff during the first part of President
Trump's first term. Billionaire Trump donor Diane Hendrix, Trump's former
banker Ken Mollis, and Patrick Dumont, the son in law
of Trump donor Miriam Addelson, have also joined LA twenty
eight's board of directors. So we'll see that is something
(32:48):
to watch. This is a major event coming to Los Angeles.
LA has done it before nineteen thirty two, nineteen eighty four,
but never under a circumstance where it has had such
an adversary aerial relationship with the federal government, particularly the
White House. And this is just twenty twenty six. We're
(33:09):
not even at the one year mark of President Trump
returning to office. That'll be January twentieth, or you know,
that'll be next week, early next week. But it's already
rough going. And we got two and a half years
before the Olympics show up. So anybody have any optimism
over whether the relationship between the state, county and city
(33:29):
government in LA is going to improve with Washington. Meanwhile,
Olympic tickets are very close to being available. The Olympic
ticket draw registration has opened and you can now just
search for it online and you'll pull up the appropriate website.
But you have to send in your email address, and
(33:51):
then I guess at some point the Olympics organizers are
going to draw your email address, maybe if you're lucky,
and give you a time slot where you can purchase tickets.
And people who live in most counties here in southern
California will will get preferential treatment. So I signed up
for this because you know how often you get to
(34:12):
go to the Olympics, We're gonna be very fortunate if
they happen to get to go to some of these events.
So I've tried it out. It did take a while.
I did it as soon as it opened, and it
did take a while to get my chance to fill
in my information. But it's done. I'm in there and
now I'm just waiting to see what happens. Apparently, you
can register through March eighteenth, and they will ask you
(34:37):
for like your top five sports that you're targeting and
wish you would like to see. Doesn't guarantee anything, but
all of that is open. So this stuff is getting real.
The Olympics coming to town. Time slots to purchase tickets
will run during what they are calling Drop one, April
ninth through the nineteenth, and fans will be notified by
(34:58):
email from March thirty first to April seven if they've
been assigned a time slot. Fingers crossed, but you can
sign up. Just a search online for the LA twenty
eight ticket registration and it will direct you to that link.
You throw in your email address and then you.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Wait and see.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
So good luck, We'll see you at the games. We
got another hour ahead here on Michael Monks Reports. And
you might be paying more in taxis in the city
of Los Angeles in support of the fire Department, which
says it's underfunded, understaffed, and under equipped. But there's also
something you might be paying more for, and that has
(35:32):
to do with a major transportation project that was presented
as one price and is now balloon. And this is
not the high speed rail project. This is something local
to Los Angeles, a new path along the La River. Wait,
you hear the price tag on this thing that's coming
up in our next hour of Michael Monks reports KFI
AM
Speaker 1 (35:52):
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