October 5, 2025 • 37 mins
A massive fire at the Chevron Refinery in El Segundo has analysts predicting higher gas prices for Southern California; a new economic forecast from UCLA shows California's economy has weakened with unemployment much higher than the national average; the LAX People Mover project has been delayed again and pushed back to three years after its original planned opening; and primatologist Jane Goodall dies during a visit to SoCal in a week that saw a long list of strange animal-related news.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Don Michael Monks from KFI News with you for another
hour as we talk about the week's news and next
week's news. Tonight's news was pretty good for Los Angeles.
The Dodgers five to three winners at Philadelphia, beating the
Phillies coming from behind win that game the first game
of the National League Division series. They'll play again on Monday,
(00:30):
but this best of five series, now we can anticipate
at least one, maybe a couple games at the Phillies
still the next one here in Los Angeles. The Dodgers
will host the Phillies here on Wednesday, so next game
is Monday at three o'clock.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The UCLA Bruins also won their first game of the
season on the football field. For starting zero to four
and firing their head coach, they bounce back in a
big way at the Rose Bowl by knocking off seven
ranked Penn State and a thriller. That was good news
for UCLA. We talked about all of this at the
top of the previous hour, so if you missed anything
(01:11):
from that, pull up the iHeartRadio app at your leisure
and listen to the Michael Monks Reports podcast, or go
to KFIAM six to forty dot com and look for
Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Because I talked a bit about the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Beating the Cincinnati Reds pretty easily this week despite a
couple of threats that the Reds made, they couldn't pull
it off, pull off the upset. And I'm from northern
Kentucky Sinnati area, and I shared with our good buddy
Eric scar technical director here that there's a trade imbalance
between Los Angeles and Cincinnati and Kentucky when it comes
to sports stars the way that either the state of
(01:49):
Kentucky or Cincinnati have sent figures to LA like John
Wooden mc cronin, pat Riley, Sandy Kofax, Nick Van Exel,
and LA gets all this glory and all the sports
and Cincinnati is just such a struggling sports sports city
right now. I also want to share some feedback from
(02:12):
one of our listeners who heard that part of the segment.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
When you guys mentioned LA championships, Why do you guys
never mentioned ELI Galaxy did all time winning this MLS
team in MLS history, I believe was six elifc only
got two. Don't forget about the LA Galaxy when you're
mentioning LA Championships.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, as I directed you to the podcast version, I
hope you will pull it up and listen to it again.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Friend.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Although we do thank you for listening, you did miss
that part. We did give a shout out to the Galaxy.
Eric Sclor was sitting right here. I've got it on
my list. The Galaxy and Los Angeles FC both got
shout outs for their MLS Cup titles, and I mentioned
that LA Galaxy have the most MLS championships. Yeah, we
gave them some laws as we were just up the
(03:00):
winds from Los Angeles area professional and college sports teams
that this is a city of championships, as Eric mentioned,
and other cities are not as good. But if you
missed that part of the conversation, it's the top of
the previous hour, seven o'clock hour, and you can hear
that as the first hour on the podcast version. Big
big scene in El Segundo this week, pretty scary and
(03:22):
while no one was hurt, we may be hurting at
the gas pump because of the fire at the Chevron
refinery in El Segundo. I have put together some sound
from witnesses from news reporters there. As all of this
was going down in El Segundo this week.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
The inferno could be seen for miles.
Speaker 6 (03:45):
That blasts so strong residents say they thought it was
an earthquake or a plane crash.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Yeah, I was terrible explosion, very loud to shop the house.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
Those residents were told to stay indoors and shelter in
place after concerns about the air quality. Times it seemed
like the fire was under control, and then it would
flare back up again, the smoke traveling to nearby lax
blanketing the planes on the tarmac. Firefighters rushing to the
scene in El Segundo, California, around nine point thirty last night,
(04:15):
trying to tackle that gigantic blaze. Several fires burning within
the facility.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Hell, we have heavy flames showing from the.
Speaker 6 (04:22):
Refinery, towering flames and billowing smoke, turning the night sky red.
Speaker 7 (04:28):
This refinery is so large here they have their own
fire department and they had their hands full overnight taming
these gigantic flames that send people scrambling to evacuate. Other
people told the shelter in place, and officials now are
monitoring the hotspots here and also the air quality here
in the surrounding area.
Speaker 8 (04:45):
Flames shooting out of the building, thick plumes of smoke everywhere,
the explosion illuminating the sky around Los Angeles. No one
was hurt, All refinery personnel are accounted for, and no
residents were a accuated. Now an investigation is underway to
determine the cause.
Speaker 9 (05:04):
Because we rehearsed so regularly with Chevron, they typically know
what they're going into, what the shot up procedures look like,
where the flares will come from. Certainly, no fatalities, no
injuries of note, and everyone was accounted for. Kyl Osha
is on site on the lead right now. There's always
an investigation whenever there's a mechanical issue.
Speaker 10 (05:21):
Pretty much the whole sky was orange, so pretty alarming.
Immediately started packing a bag kind of in a panic,
and then hopped in my car and drove around a
little bit to kind of assess the situation and see
if I really needed to find a place to stay
for the night.
Speaker 11 (05:35):
Hopefully no one was in there.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Hopefully everyone's safe. But it was pretty scary.
Speaker 10 (05:39):
I mean, it's insane right now, but it looks like
it's not.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
As a wild and huge as it was.
Speaker 10 (05:46):
I was at home, heard something that sounded like a rumble,
like a little bit like someone was in my apartment.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Sitting at home watching the TV.
Speaker 12 (05:53):
And then all of a sudden, it's kind of sounded
like sort of like plane engines, like almost the plane
about to crash. And then a big woosh and the
curtains all flipped up, the windows were slightly open. Almost
felt like an earthquake because the house shook, so I
didn't know what was going on. It was like a
really really brighter than the moon on a really bright day,
(06:13):
because even when we were headed south, the light from
the flames was lighting up the buildings that we saw
on the way out of town. There was another fire
here a while back, but it was way more east.
It wasn't really threatening. But anything in that refinery is
threatening because everything in there is flammable. It's just ready
to can go it any second. Not a burnoff, because
we've seen burnofs here before. Burnofs are loud and they're scary,
(06:38):
but this was a whole other level.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
This was something different.
Speaker 12 (06:40):
This is three hundred foot flames four hundred yards from
our house.
Speaker 8 (06:44):
Experts are expecting a price increase in gas, One analys
saying West Coast drivers could see a five to fifteen
cent jump in the coming days.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Now.
Speaker 8 (06:53):
As for the extent of that price hike, experts say
it will depend on the habits of California drivers. If
there's a run on, gas will go up rapidly just
because of natural supply and demand. And let's not forget
California already has the highest gas prices in the nation.
The average right now is four dollars and sixty three
cents a gallon.
Speaker 11 (07:11):
Earlier fears at gas prices on the West Coast could
spike ninety cents a gallon in the coming days because
of the explosion and fire have been eased a bit
now that Chevron is indicating the damage is not as
severe as initially believed and mainly impacted jet fuel production.
But gas Buddy petroleum analyst Matt McLean says with such
a large refinery impacted, gas prices will go up along
(07:33):
the West Coast.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
There's really no way that there won't be somewhat of
an impact.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
But as of this moment, five to fifteen cents is
what our fingers are crossed on.
Speaker 11 (07:40):
The refinery producers about twenty percent of California's gasoline at
like Stone, Abcnews, Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
So there is some reaction, some reporting, some witness observations
from that big fire in El Segundo at the Chevrolet refinery.
It's a great fortune that no one was hurt. But
what a scene that was. I'm sure you've seen images,
maybe you were watching some of the live footage. It
(08:07):
was a situation that could have gotten out of hand
quite rapidly. But what may linger are the unanswered questions? One,
what was the cause of this? They may find that out. Two,
what is the effect of this for us? You heard
in some of the reporting there that California's gas prices
(08:29):
are already the highest in the country.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
You don't need me to tell you that. And we've heard.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
That the guy over at Matt McClain over a Gas Buddy,
which analyzes petroleum and shares prices, estimates five to fifteen
cent per gallon increase. He had said earlier that it
could be thirty five to ninety five cents. So let's
hope that he as is more correct now than he
was before in his projections. But that's going to be
(08:56):
something to monitor in the immediate aftermath of this fire,
So starting to look in the coming days whether you're
paying more at the pump because of that fire and Elsigundo. Meanwhile,
the fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaten fire that
burned Altadena and surrounding areas, there is a report out.
(09:19):
We talked about this before, and the La County Board
of Supervisors has now taken action because of that report.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
So at this week's meeting, the.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Board has unanimously voted to adopt multiple recommendations from what
has been called the McCrystal Report. That's because this after
action review was conducted by the McCrystal Group. That's a
consulting firm that is owned I've retired General Stanley McCrystal.
The Board of Supervisors has agreed to update policies and
(09:51):
county code to clarifyed decision making responsibilities for issuing evacuation
warnings and orders. And that's because the report found that
the evacuation orders is particularly for older residents in Altadena,
were a little bit halphazard or delayed or inconsistent. We
also saw evacuation warnings go to parts of the county
(10:12):
that were not in the line of fire. The board
also voted to standardize and enhance evacuation specific training for
all county departments and their partner agencies. They planned a
restructure and increase staffing for the Office of Emergency Management
to strengthen its capacity to manage large scale emergencies. They
(10:35):
want to modernize technology systems and integrate communications under a
unified platform, and they want to create a robust and
consistent public education campaign to increase community preparedness. One of
the key takeaways from that report nobody seemed to know
(10:57):
for sure who was in charge. There were so many
different agencies. There's fire agencies, police, law enforcement, emergency management, folks.
That's the other key to this restructuring that the Board
of Supervisors adopted this week. They're going to make sure
that's clear moving forward. Up next, UCLA is out with
(11:17):
its latest economic forecast. What it's saying about the economy
in California. Also ahead this hour, the high speed rail project.
It's not the only train that's delayed. All that's coming
up next on Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
You can always join the conversation by opening up the
iHeartRadio app and clicking on that talkback button like this listener.
Speaker 13 (11:48):
Hey Michael, it's vern in Ridondo. Heyn regards to the
convention Center. You know, these projects never pay for themselves.
They never did two point five billion dollars. I mean,
the conventions that I can think of are the LA
Auto Show, the Adult Video Awards, and Adult cop I
(12:10):
don't know, maybe we can get the Undertakers Association to
have a convention.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And proclaim the death of Los Angeles. Is that what
you're suggesting their vern I didn't know the Adult Video
Awards were in downtown Los Angeles. I see a lot
of things scarier than pornography awards. As a resident of
downtown LA, I can tell you that one thing to
remember about the cost of the Convention Center as they
start this thirty year financing is they just paid off
(12:40):
the last thirty year financing to expand the convention Center
from back in the nineties. That project just got paid off,
and as it does, they say they need to do
it again.
Speaker 14 (12:52):
Wondering don't they have any insurance for these refineries to
cover or offset additional cost to the consumer for gas.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Thanks thank you Elaine for listening and taking the time
to send the message I would I would certainly declare
that Chevron has insurance for its refinery, so the damage
to them will be covered by that insurance. The situation
in the immediate term, as far as consumers and gas
(13:25):
prices goes, seems to be a supply issue. So even
if there were such a thing as insurance to help consumers,
which I don't think would exist, it can't be deployed
immediately because there's not going to be gas available like
it was a week ago because of the fire at
(13:46):
this refinery, which produces a lot of gas in California
is already losing refineries has already seeing higher gas prices
across the state. So we'll have to take it on
the chin for a while. How much not clear pay
it tension over the next couple of weeks. What the
gas prices look like in your part of southern California.
Maybe we'll talk about it again next week to see
(14:08):
what we've seen out there. But the economy is certainly
struggling in southern California and California overall. UCLA comes out
with this quarterly forecast. It's always very interesting. These are
smart people who they may not always be exactly accurate,
but they present very interesting findings from their research. They're
smart and this is the UCLA Anderson Forecast that has
(14:31):
released relatively frequently over the course of a year. We've
had them on this program before. But they say that
there are worries about a recession, although not a guarantee
that one will happen. The problem with California is this
high unemployment rate. One of the problems in California. It's
been over five percent for nineteen months as of August,
(14:56):
and in August it was five and a half. The
forecast says in the first eight months of this year,
there has been a decline of twenty one two hundred
payroll jobs. That is the first sustained decline in payroll
jobs since the pandemic. And the forecast includes information that
(15:20):
another measure of employment is a survey of households, which
includes independent contractors in gig workers, and that shows an
increase in employment. So maybe more people driving for uber,
maybe more people showing up to fix a bathroom vanity,
(15:41):
but it's not enough, according to this forecast, to keep
up with labor force growth. So employment growth in California,
according to this forecast, in twenty twenty five has not
only slowed to a crawl, but is likely declined. The
California unemployment rate is one point two percentage points higher
than the national average. The report is determined that approximately
(16:07):
half of the remaining.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Let me take this back.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
As of August, the California unemployment rate was one point
two percentage points higher than the US. Okay, so we're
higher than the national average. Recent forecast reports found that
a zero point three percentage point difference is typical because California,
on average, is more entrepreneurial, younger than the average for
the nation. But the report determined that approximately half of
(16:32):
the remaining can be traced to the decrease in employment
in the entertainment industry. They found that the balance is
mostly due to the cutback and employment in big tech,
a reduction endurable goods manufacturing employment, and a reduction in
courier employment after COVID and one other key thing also
(16:57):
after the increases in minimum wages. The forecast says for
the California economy to grow faster than the American economy,
as it is accustom to doing durable goods manufacturing like
aerospace and technology sectors will have to rebound strongly. The
other big impact on the California economy something else we've
(17:20):
been talking about many times on this program, including earlier
in this episode, the Trump administration's deportation policy. The forecast
writes that it is expected to have continued impacts in California,
along with cuts and federal health care funding. And the
two areas in California's economy most impacted by deportations or
(17:43):
food processing in agriculture. The report says these will be
disproportionately felt in the inland parts of the state, in
the agricultural coastal valleys. The report wrote that during the
deportations of the nineteen fifties, a guest worker program was
up to bring in seasonal farm workers. No sign from
(18:05):
the Trump administration that there is interest in bringing back
illegal immigrant agricultural workers. So what the report says is
it is believed that US residents with legal status will
take jobs in the fields and in the meat processing
plans that are now occupied by undocumented workers. Although temporary
(18:27):
worker visas could make up for some of the loss
of labor, the visas would likely be available only for
the subset of workers who are seasonal. Temporary worker programs
are designed for partial gear entry into the US. Now,
this report does have a bit of good news. It's
not all doom and gloom. While we are apparently going
to continue to feel some pain for the remainder of
(18:48):
this year, the UCLA forecast predicts a recovery late next year,
with economic growth picking up more steam the year after that,
twenty twenty seven. It found that once the state is
past its current weakness, which is expected to happen later
(19:10):
this year, still there should be a resurgence in those
afore mentioned sectors like tech and durable goods, manufacturing and construction.
We shall see. I'll tell you one thing that's not
getting built and you talk about it a lot or
hear about it a lot on KFI.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
It's a high speed rail project.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
But did you know there's a rail project closer to
home that's also not taking any passengers yet, even though
it's supposed to have been.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
That's next on Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
This is Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I'm Michael Monks from KFI News, spending this Saturday night
with you as we do every week. Love spending Saturday
nights with the KFI audience. So glad that you're on
the weekend and listening to the news. Still, we appreciate that.
Always so much to talk about in Los Angeles, and
I know a lot of you have thoughts about this
convention center project downtown, including Chris.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Hey, Michael. Why don't they look for a sponsorship for
the call of the LA convention Center, you know, the
Coca Cola Los Angeles Convention Center, or the you know,
Microsoft La Convention Center, or or multiple companies kind of
like it did Staples and then it's the cryptowever dot
(20:34):
com arena look for a sponsorship.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
What about the KFI Los Angeles Convention Center.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I like it. It's interesting that you bring that up. Chris.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
For one, I'm sure if the naming rights could be
sold that they would, But there is an advertising component
to the revenue. They are planning to have more digital
signage around the convention center in order to bring in revenue.
(21:07):
But even that revenue projection had to be revised because
there's like a state law. It was a little glory
for me, but there is a state law that bans
certain signage and certain locations because the convention centers it
is close to a freeway there, and I think that's
the relationship where the signage can be in relation to
(21:29):
a freeway. There was a piece of legislation in Sacramento
that would have changed those rules, allowing the city to
capitalize on that prime real estate, to be able to
advertise to more drivers and make those billboards more expensive
for advertisers. But that law, even though the Assembly I
(21:52):
believe passed it, it didn't make its way through the
entire process, so it's the law has not changed. He
was hoping to bring in tens of millions of dollars
in advertising, and even though that revenue had to be
revised now and they've still moved forward with this project.
So interesting question, Chris. While the naming rights, as far
(22:16):
as I know, have not been sold yet, advertising at
the convention center is a key method for the city
to pay for it. We have talked a ton about
the high speed rail project between Los Angeles and San Francisco,
or what is supposed to be connecting Los Angeles to
San Francisco, but still does not. In fact, the soonest
(22:39):
you'll ride the high speed rail, it won't be from
Los Angeles to San Francisco. It may be from areas
near Bakersfield to areas near Merced. The project years late,
billions overdue. A frustrating project for taxpayers, of course, and
really frustrating for people like me, like the Jews. I
(23:01):
like to get on a train. I like public transit.
But that project is just so doomed. And what it
does when it fails like it has, it dissuades people
from being supportive of the next project. And then when
you add on to the fact that LAX's automated people
(23:24):
mover has also been delayed again, how are you supposed
to be a proponent for rail projects at all? This
people mover, this little light rail train that is supposed
to be connected right to the metro train line and
(23:46):
to get you all around. LAX was supposed to be
open in twenty twenty three, but it was pushed back,
and it was pushed back, and it was pushed back,
and we were reported earlier this year that it was
supposed to finally open later this year. I mean it's
already later this year, right, We're in October, so maybe
(24:07):
by Christmas we would be writing this thing. No, they
have delayed it again until mid twenty twenty six, and
by the way this thing was originally priced at one
point nine billion dollars, It's almost nine hundred million dollars
more expensive at this point.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
So what now? What has caused this delay? Now?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
We have reported before on some of the labor issues
involving some contractors and La World Airport and the board
out there that governs LAX and that sort of thing.
This is also a city project technically, that's what this is.
A report out in August has blamed continued construction delays
(24:52):
and prolonged dispute resolution and difficulties in the party's working relationship.
June twenty twenty six is the next projected opening for
the LAX people mover. And that's the type of stuff
that scares me about this convention center project, because everything
(25:16):
is so complicated here. Everything ends up costing more than
you expect. Whether it's a massive project like a train
or a convention center, or just going to the grocery
store or.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Just filling your car with gas. It's always a little
more than you expect.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
I always tell people back home, you can't leave your
home in Los Angeles without a hundred bucks falling out
of your pocket.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
There's no cheap night out.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
But when I come to work, I have a list
of tasks to complete, and I complete them. And yes
there are occasional deletes, they're not months long. All of
these ideas sound exciting and great. A high speed train
from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Let's do it, a
(26:08):
little train route around LAX to help us move around
that massive airport more effectively and efficiently, and connect it
to the public transit so that I can go right
from Union Station to the airport. But when they don't
work out the way they're supposed to, it makes people
(26:29):
distrust the system. Metro is, however, moving forward on its
light rail project that is going into the East San
Fernando Valley. In fact, it is known as the East
San Fernando Valley light Rail Transit Project. The Metro board
voted recently unanimously to authorize some imminent domain of a
(26:54):
recycling facility located in Van Nuys to help get this
thing moving. Metro is moving right along with its expansion projects.
You'll be able to get to bore places on Metro,
which is great. And they've also announced this week that
you can use your cell phone on the k Line
now and the k Line is important as it relates
to Lax and the people mover, because that's the one
(27:16):
that will help get you there. And before I guess
there was some difficulty, but the La County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority known as Metro, has announced it has expanded cellular
service to the K Line underground sections. It's a public
private partnership agreement with American Tower which will allow customers
(27:36):
of AT and T, T Mobile, and Verizon to have
full cell service coverage at the Expo, Crenshawn Martin, Luther King,
and Lahmert Park stations and the tunnels that connect them.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Some good transportation news.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
We're going to wrap up tonight's show with a laundry
list of animal stories and not just random ones from
the internet, right here in Southern California. I know you
know by now that primatologist Jane Goodall died, but died
here in Southern California the same week that we had
(28:13):
a shark attack, hawks stolen from a stadium, a sighting
of Jackie and Shadow out in Big Bear, a python
spotted in a drive through lane, and a fake animal
stolen from a gas station, and a very fine neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
We'll wrap things up next.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News wrapping
things up with you on this Saturday night in Southern California,
sad week as famed animal researcher and animal rights proponent
Jane Goodall passed away at ninety one. After we learned
of her death, we learned that she died here in
(29:01):
Southern California. She was to speak to children about ecology
and replanting trees in the fire ravaged areas around Altadena.
ABC's Alex Stone filed this report that captures some of
the moments from inside this presentation that Jane Goodall was
(29:23):
supposed to attend. People were already there. Let me start
that again for you.
Speaker 8 (29:30):
My role now is to introduce doctor Jane Goodall.
Speaker 11 (29:34):
Moments before Jane Goodall was set to take the stage,
her death was announced on stage, she was introduced and
the children in the crowd were told she couldn't be there.
Good to unforeseen serious circumstances followed by this announcement.
Speaker 9 (29:48):
Has passed away due to natural causes.
Speaker 11 (29:50):
Then a video message from Goodall was played for the children,
trying to make this bet followed by a moment of silence.
Speaker 10 (29:56):
You're the beneficiaries of the last message of a giant
at like Stone.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
ABC News, we Sancheles.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Imagine being a young person excited to meet this woman
that you associate with monkeys, and you're excited to hear
from her, this globally influential scientist, and that's the announcement.
It's not like, you know, the seventies and you're at
a George Jones concert and they come out and say, sorry,
(30:27):
he's drunk, possum's drunk, go home.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
This is Jane Goodall's dead.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Sorry, very very sad, but perhaps a more profound lesson
for the children because they did still have a video
message from Jane Goodall, so hopefully they have something to
take from that. But this was a wild week for animals,
(30:54):
not just Jane Goodall's death and her association with chimpanzees.
We had a shark attack, hawk stolen, the Big Bear,
eagles were spotted, a python was found outside a fast
food drive through, and somebody stole a Sinclair dinosaur from
a gas station in Brentwood. A swimmer lucky to be
(31:17):
alive after earlier this week attacked by a shark while
swimming between Catalina Island and the mainland. Apparently this guy
was part of a marathon, but this was like at
one in the morning, and there was a boat crew
next to this guy, and so he was able to
(31:41):
be rescued quickly. But I'm telling you, I I'm afraid
of the ocean. I'm willing to admit that I love
looking at it, I love seeing it.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
I'm not going to get in it.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
But I'm especially not getting in it for the purpose
of swimming between Santa Catalina Island and the mainland at
one o'clock in the morning. I feel like you're inviting trouble.
It's like being in a bad neighborhood the wrong time
of night. I mean, it's sort of like getting on
(32:19):
a plane. It's always in the back of your mind, right,
something horrible, you shake it off. But sharks are kind
of in the back of your mind when you go
to the ocean. For it to really happen, how do
you ever return to the water? Two hawks that work
(32:43):
at Sofi Stadium by the way stolen how la is
that they're at so Fi for a football game and
they're kept on one of those motorized carts I think
referred to as a gator, and a guy drives off
(33:03):
with the gator, wants to steal the gator and apparently
realizes after the fact because the gator was recovered that
there were a couple of professional hawks aboard, and they're
missing still, and the owner earlier this week, and the
timeline has already passed because he said, we really need
(33:25):
to find them within three or four days because we
need to know that they're eating correctly. And they found
some dead quails, so the hawks apparently ate the quails,
but that's the only sign and then those those hawks
continue to be missing. But who's not missing anymore? Jackie
(33:48):
in Shadow. I know we spent a lot of time
earlier in the year talking about them, but the friends
of Big Bear posted on social media that yesterday after
this would have been several days ago last Friday. In fact,
in the afternoon of last Friday, Jackie and Shadow touched
down Jackie first, followed right behind by Shadow for a
(34:09):
beautiful joint arrival at the nest. They have both obviously
finished their summer molting, and their feather coats look absolutely stunning.
Even Jackie's black spot of sap on her forehead from
last season is gone, so we have seen them as
I guess they start to prepare for next season when
(34:32):
we get back on pip Watch again. Obviously they had
a very successful one this time, and it was very
exciting for all of us in Southern California, tens of
thousands of people watching around the clock that live stream
of Jackie and Shadow who successfully hatched three eglets, one
of which died and the other two made it out
of the nest. Jackie and Shadow back home together again,
(34:58):
maybe ready to make some more eggs. How about the python?
You pull into an in and out restaurant and you
see a four year old python. This python had apparently
escaped from a home in San Bernardino and was spotted
fifty miles away in Monrovia weeks later at the in
(35:22):
and out drive through. The snake was taken to the
Pasadena Humane Society, which got a lot of press, and
so the owner of the escaped python recognized it and
has been reunited from San Bernardino to Monrovia. Slithering about.
(35:45):
That's scary too, and even neighborhoods in LA like Brentwood
not safe, not safe from theft you know the iconic
dinosaur logo that Sinclair gas stations use, Well, there is
a statue of one at a location in Brentwood, and
surveillance video caught a guy stealing it and the neighbors
(36:08):
are really upset. Don't let the status symbols in Brentwood
fool you. They are charmed by these little things too.
They love seeing the Sinclair dinosaur wearing a Dodger's cap
or dressing up for Halloween, and now it's gone.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
John is very upset about this. I heard him.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I know he's always raising hell about what's going on
in West La and I heard it.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
On Cobalt this week.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
He's not happy, and according to that promo of his
that we just heard in my ear, he's not gonna
be happy on Monday either. So hopefully they find the
dinosaur and bring him some joy. Always a pleasure to
spend Saturday night with you. My thanks to Eric and
Mario in the control room keeping it down for us,
Regita in the news room, and thanks to all of
(36:54):
you for listening to another edition here of Michael Monks Reports.
I'll be back here next week to recap the weekend news,
and you can always catch.
Speaker 4 (37:02):
Me during the week in the news and on.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Your favorite weekday shows right here on KFI AM six
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Forty, KFI AM six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Don Michael Monks from KFI News with you for another
hour as we talk about the week's news and next
week's news. Tonight's news was pretty good for Los Angeles.
The Dodgers five to three winners at Philadelphia, beating the
Phillies coming from behind win that game the first game
of the National League Division series. They'll play again on Monday,
(00:30):
but this best of five series, now we can anticipate
at least one, maybe a couple games at the Phillies
still the next one here in Los Angeles. The Dodgers
will host the Phillies here on Wednesday, so next game
is Monday at three o'clock.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The UCLA Bruins also won their first game of the
season on the football field. For starting zero to four
and firing their head coach, they bounce back in a
big way at the Rose Bowl by knocking off seven
ranked Penn State and a thriller. That was good news
for UCLA. We talked about all of this at the
top of the previous hour, so if you missed anything
(01:11):
from that, pull up the iHeartRadio app at your leisure
and listen to the Michael Monks Reports podcast, or go
to KFIAM six to forty dot com and look for
Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
Because I talked a bit about the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Beating the Cincinnati Reds pretty easily this week despite a
couple of threats that the Reds made, they couldn't pull
it off, pull off the upset. And I'm from northern
Kentucky Sinnati area, and I shared with our good buddy
Eric scar technical director here that there's a trade imbalance
between Los Angeles and Cincinnati and Kentucky when it comes
to sports stars the way that either the state of
(01:49):
Kentucky or Cincinnati have sent figures to LA like John
Wooden mc cronin, pat Riley, Sandy Kofax, Nick Van Exel,
and LA gets all this glory and all the sports
and Cincinnati is just such a struggling sports sports city
right now. I also want to share some feedback from
(02:12):
one of our listeners who heard that part of the segment.
Speaker 5 (02:16):
When you guys mentioned LA championships, Why do you guys
never mentioned ELI Galaxy did all time winning this MLS
team in MLS history, I believe was six elifc only
got two. Don't forget about the LA Galaxy when you're
mentioning LA Championships.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Well, as I directed you to the podcast version, I
hope you will pull it up and listen to it again.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Friend.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Although we do thank you for listening, you did miss
that part. We did give a shout out to the Galaxy.
Eric Sclor was sitting right here. I've got it on
my list. The Galaxy and Los Angeles FC both got
shout outs for their MLS Cup titles, and I mentioned
that LA Galaxy have the most MLS championships. Yeah, we
gave them some laws as we were just up the
(03:00):
winds from Los Angeles area professional and college sports teams
that this is a city of championships, as Eric mentioned,
and other cities are not as good. But if you
missed that part of the conversation, it's the top of
the previous hour, seven o'clock hour, and you can hear
that as the first hour on the podcast version. Big
big scene in El Segundo this week, pretty scary and
(03:22):
while no one was hurt, we may be hurting at
the gas pump because of the fire at the Chevron
refinery in El Segundo. I have put together some sound
from witnesses from news reporters there. As all of this
was going down in El Segundo this week.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
The inferno could be seen for miles.
Speaker 6 (03:45):
That blasts so strong residents say they thought it was
an earthquake or a plane crash.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Yeah, I was terrible explosion, very loud to shop the house.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
Those residents were told to stay indoors and shelter in
place after concerns about the air quality. Times it seemed
like the fire was under control, and then it would
flare back up again, the smoke traveling to nearby lax
blanketing the planes on the tarmac. Firefighters rushing to the
scene in El Segundo, California, around nine point thirty last night,
(04:15):
trying to tackle that gigantic blaze. Several fires burning within
the facility.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Hell, we have heavy flames showing from the.
Speaker 6 (04:22):
Refinery, towering flames and billowing smoke, turning the night sky red.
Speaker 7 (04:28):
This refinery is so large here they have their own
fire department and they had their hands full overnight taming
these gigantic flames that send people scrambling to evacuate. Other
people told the shelter in place, and officials now are
monitoring the hotspots here and also the air quality here
in the surrounding area.
Speaker 8 (04:45):
Flames shooting out of the building, thick plumes of smoke everywhere,
the explosion illuminating the sky around Los Angeles. No one
was hurt, All refinery personnel are accounted for, and no
residents were a accuated. Now an investigation is underway to
determine the cause.
Speaker 9 (05:04):
Because we rehearsed so regularly with Chevron, they typically know
what they're going into, what the shot up procedures look like,
where the flares will come from. Certainly, no fatalities, no
injuries of note, and everyone was accounted for. Kyl Osha
is on site on the lead right now. There's always
an investigation whenever there's a mechanical issue.
Speaker 10 (05:21):
Pretty much the whole sky was orange, so pretty alarming.
Immediately started packing a bag kind of in a panic,
and then hopped in my car and drove around a
little bit to kind of assess the situation and see
if I really needed to find a place to stay
for the night.
Speaker 11 (05:35):
Hopefully no one was in there.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
Hopefully everyone's safe. But it was pretty scary.
Speaker 10 (05:39):
I mean, it's insane right now, but it looks like
it's not.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
As a wild and huge as it was.
Speaker 10 (05:46):
I was at home, heard something that sounded like a rumble,
like a little bit like someone was in my apartment.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Sitting at home watching the TV.
Speaker 12 (05:53):
And then all of a sudden, it's kind of sounded
like sort of like plane engines, like almost the plane
about to crash. And then a big woosh and the
curtains all flipped up, the windows were slightly open. Almost
felt like an earthquake because the house shook, so I
didn't know what was going on. It was like a
really really brighter than the moon on a really bright day,
(06:13):
because even when we were headed south, the light from
the flames was lighting up the buildings that we saw
on the way out of town. There was another fire
here a while back, but it was way more east.
It wasn't really threatening. But anything in that refinery is
threatening because everything in there is flammable. It's just ready
to can go it any second. Not a burnoff, because
we've seen burnofs here before. Burnofs are loud and they're scary,
(06:38):
but this was a whole other level.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
This was something different.
Speaker 12 (06:40):
This is three hundred foot flames four hundred yards from
our house.
Speaker 8 (06:44):
Experts are expecting a price increase in gas, One analys
saying West Coast drivers could see a five to fifteen
cent jump in the coming days.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Now.
Speaker 8 (06:53):
As for the extent of that price hike, experts say
it will depend on the habits of California drivers. If
there's a run on, gas will go up rapidly just
because of natural supply and demand. And let's not forget
California already has the highest gas prices in the nation.
The average right now is four dollars and sixty three
cents a gallon.
Speaker 11 (07:11):
Earlier fears at gas prices on the West Coast could
spike ninety cents a gallon in the coming days because
of the explosion and fire have been eased a bit
now that Chevron is indicating the damage is not as
severe as initially believed and mainly impacted jet fuel production.
But gas Buddy petroleum analyst Matt McLean says with such
a large refinery impacted, gas prices will go up along
(07:33):
the West Coast.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
There's really no way that there won't be somewhat of
an impact.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
But as of this moment, five to fifteen cents is
what our fingers are crossed on.
Speaker 11 (07:40):
The refinery producers about twenty percent of California's gasoline at
like Stone, Abcnews, Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
So there is some reaction, some reporting, some witness observations
from that big fire in El Segundo at the Chevrolet refinery.
It's a great fortune that no one was hurt. But
what a scene that was. I'm sure you've seen images,
maybe you were watching some of the live footage. It
(08:07):
was a situation that could have gotten out of hand
quite rapidly. But what may linger are the unanswered questions? One,
what was the cause of this? They may find that out. Two,
what is the effect of this for us? You heard
in some of the reporting there that California's gas prices
(08:29):
are already the highest in the country.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
You don't need me to tell you that. And we've heard.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
That the guy over at Matt McClain over a Gas Buddy,
which analyzes petroleum and shares prices, estimates five to fifteen
cent per gallon increase. He had said earlier that it
could be thirty five to ninety five cents. So let's
hope that he as is more correct now than he
was before in his projections. But that's going to be
(08:56):
something to monitor in the immediate aftermath of this fire,
So starting to look in the coming days whether you're
paying more at the pump because of that fire and Elsigundo. Meanwhile,
the fire in Pacific Palisades and the Eaten fire that
burned Altadena and surrounding areas, there is a report out.
(09:19):
We talked about this before, and the La County Board
of Supervisors has now taken action because of that report.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
So at this week's meeting, the.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Board has unanimously voted to adopt multiple recommendations from what
has been called the McCrystal Report. That's because this after
action review was conducted by the McCrystal Group. That's a
consulting firm that is owned I've retired General Stanley McCrystal.
The Board of Supervisors has agreed to update policies and
(09:51):
county code to clarifyed decision making responsibilities for issuing evacuation
warnings and orders. And that's because the report found that
the evacuation orders is particularly for older residents in Altadena,
were a little bit halphazard or delayed or inconsistent. We
also saw evacuation warnings go to parts of the county
(10:12):
that were not in the line of fire. The board
also voted to standardize and enhance evacuation specific training for
all county departments and their partner agencies. They planned a
restructure and increase staffing for the Office of Emergency Management
to strengthen its capacity to manage large scale emergencies. They
(10:35):
want to modernize technology systems and integrate communications under a
unified platform, and they want to create a robust and
consistent public education campaign to increase community preparedness. One of
the key takeaways from that report nobody seemed to know
(10:57):
for sure who was in charge. There were so many
different agencies. There's fire agencies, police, law enforcement, emergency management, folks.
That's the other key to this restructuring that the Board
of Supervisors adopted this week. They're going to make sure
that's clear moving forward. Up next, UCLA is out with
(11:17):
its latest economic forecast. What it's saying about the economy
in California. Also ahead this hour, the high speed rail project.
It's not the only train that's delayed. All that's coming
up next on Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
You can always join the conversation by opening up the
iHeartRadio app and clicking on that talkback button like this listener.
Speaker 13 (11:48):
Hey Michael, it's vern in Ridondo. Heyn regards to the
convention Center. You know, these projects never pay for themselves.
They never did two point five billion dollars. I mean,
the conventions that I can think of are the LA
Auto Show, the Adult Video Awards, and Adult cop I
(12:10):
don't know, maybe we can get the Undertakers Association to
have a convention.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And proclaim the death of Los Angeles. Is that what
you're suggesting their vern I didn't know the Adult Video
Awards were in downtown Los Angeles. I see a lot
of things scarier than pornography awards. As a resident of
downtown LA, I can tell you that one thing to
remember about the cost of the Convention Center as they
start this thirty year financing is they just paid off
(12:40):
the last thirty year financing to expand the convention Center
from back in the nineties. That project just got paid off,
and as it does, they say they need to do
it again.
Speaker 14 (12:52):
Wondering don't they have any insurance for these refineries to
cover or offset additional cost to the consumer for gas.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Thanks thank you Elaine for listening and taking the time
to send the message I would I would certainly declare
that Chevron has insurance for its refinery, so the damage
to them will be covered by that insurance. The situation
in the immediate term, as far as consumers and gas
(13:25):
prices goes, seems to be a supply issue. So even
if there were such a thing as insurance to help consumers,
which I don't think would exist, it can't be deployed
immediately because there's not going to be gas available like
it was a week ago because of the fire at
(13:46):
this refinery, which produces a lot of gas in California
is already losing refineries has already seeing higher gas prices
across the state. So we'll have to take it on
the chin for a while. How much not clear pay
it tension over the next couple of weeks. What the
gas prices look like in your part of southern California.
Maybe we'll talk about it again next week to see
(14:08):
what we've seen out there. But the economy is certainly
struggling in southern California and California overall. UCLA comes out
with this quarterly forecast. It's always very interesting. These are
smart people who they may not always be exactly accurate,
but they present very interesting findings from their research. They're
smart and this is the UCLA Anderson Forecast that has
(14:31):
released relatively frequently over the course of a year. We've
had them on this program before. But they say that
there are worries about a recession, although not a guarantee
that one will happen. The problem with California is this
high unemployment rate. One of the problems in California. It's
been over five percent for nineteen months as of August,
(14:56):
and in August it was five and a half. The
forecast says in the first eight months of this year,
there has been a decline of twenty one two hundred
payroll jobs. That is the first sustained decline in payroll
jobs since the pandemic. And the forecast includes information that
(15:20):
another measure of employment is a survey of households, which
includes independent contractors in gig workers, and that shows an
increase in employment. So maybe more people driving for uber,
maybe more people showing up to fix a bathroom vanity,
(15:41):
but it's not enough, according to this forecast, to keep
up with labor force growth. So employment growth in California,
according to this forecast, in twenty twenty five has not
only slowed to a crawl, but is likely declined. The
California unemployment rate is one point two percentage points higher
than the national average. The report is determined that approximately
(16:07):
half of the remaining.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Let me take this back.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
As of August, the California unemployment rate was one point
two percentage points higher than the US. Okay, so we're
higher than the national average. Recent forecast reports found that
a zero point three percentage point difference is typical because California,
on average, is more entrepreneurial, younger than the average for
the nation. But the report determined that approximately half of
(16:32):
the remaining can be traced to the decrease in employment
in the entertainment industry. They found that the balance is
mostly due to the cutback and employment in big tech,
a reduction endurable goods manufacturing employment, and a reduction in
courier employment after COVID and one other key thing also
(16:57):
after the increases in minimum wages. The forecast says for
the California economy to grow faster than the American economy,
as it is accustom to doing durable goods manufacturing like
aerospace and technology sectors will have to rebound strongly. The
other big impact on the California economy something else we've
(17:20):
been talking about many times on this program, including earlier
in this episode, the Trump administration's deportation policy. The forecast
writes that it is expected to have continued impacts in California,
along with cuts and federal health care funding. And the
two areas in California's economy most impacted by deportations or
(17:43):
food processing in agriculture. The report says these will be
disproportionately felt in the inland parts of the state, in
the agricultural coastal valleys. The report wrote that during the
deportations of the nineteen fifties, a guest worker program was
up to bring in seasonal farm workers. No sign from
(18:05):
the Trump administration that there is interest in bringing back
illegal immigrant agricultural workers. So what the report says is
it is believed that US residents with legal status will
take jobs in the fields and in the meat processing
plans that are now occupied by undocumented workers. Although temporary
(18:27):
worker visas could make up for some of the loss
of labor, the visas would likely be available only for
the subset of workers who are seasonal. Temporary worker programs
are designed for partial gear entry into the US. Now,
this report does have a bit of good news. It's
not all doom and gloom. While we are apparently going
to continue to feel some pain for the remainder of
(18:48):
this year, the UCLA forecast predicts a recovery late next year,
with economic growth picking up more steam the year after that,
twenty twenty seven. It found that once the state is
past its current weakness, which is expected to happen later
(19:10):
this year, still there should be a resurgence in those
afore mentioned sectors like tech and durable goods, manufacturing and construction.
We shall see. I'll tell you one thing that's not
getting built and you talk about it a lot or
hear about it a lot on KFI.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
It's a high speed rail project.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
But did you know there's a rail project closer to
home that's also not taking any passengers yet, even though
it's supposed to have been.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
That's next on Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
You're listening to KFI Am six forty on demand.
Speaker 4 (19:48):
This is Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I'm Michael Monks from KFI News, spending this Saturday night
with you as we do every week. Love spending Saturday
nights with the KFI audience. So glad that you're on
the weekend and listening to the news. Still, we appreciate that.
Always so much to talk about in Los Angeles, and
I know a lot of you have thoughts about this
convention center project downtown, including Chris.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Hey, Michael. Why don't they look for a sponsorship for
the call of the LA convention Center, you know, the
Coca Cola Los Angeles Convention Center, or the you know,
Microsoft La Convention Center, or or multiple companies kind of
like it did Staples and then it's the cryptowever dot
(20:34):
com arena look for a sponsorship.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
What about the KFI Los Angeles Convention Center.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I like it. It's interesting that you bring that up. Chris.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
For one, I'm sure if the naming rights could be
sold that they would, But there is an advertising component
to the revenue. They are planning to have more digital
signage around the convention center in order to bring in revenue.
(21:07):
But even that revenue projection had to be revised because
there's like a state law. It was a little glory
for me, but there is a state law that bans
certain signage and certain locations because the convention centers it
is close to a freeway there, and I think that's
the relationship where the signage can be in relation to
(21:29):
a freeway. There was a piece of legislation in Sacramento
that would have changed those rules, allowing the city to
capitalize on that prime real estate, to be able to
advertise to more drivers and make those billboards more expensive
for advertisers. But that law, even though the Assembly I
(21:52):
believe passed it, it didn't make its way through the
entire process, so it's the law has not changed. He
was hoping to bring in tens of millions of dollars
in advertising, and even though that revenue had to be
revised now and they've still moved forward with this project.
So interesting question, Chris. While the naming rights, as far
(22:16):
as I know, have not been sold yet, advertising at
the convention center is a key method for the city
to pay for it. We have talked a ton about
the high speed rail project between Los Angeles and San Francisco,
or what is supposed to be connecting Los Angeles to
San Francisco, but still does not. In fact, the soonest
(22:39):
you'll ride the high speed rail, it won't be from
Los Angeles to San Francisco. It may be from areas
near Bakersfield to areas near Merced. The project years late,
billions overdue. A frustrating project for taxpayers, of course, and
really frustrating for people like me, like the Jews. I
(23:01):
like to get on a train. I like public transit.
But that project is just so doomed. And what it
does when it fails like it has, it dissuades people
from being supportive of the next project. And then when
you add on to the fact that LAX's automated people
(23:24):
mover has also been delayed again, how are you supposed
to be a proponent for rail projects at all? This
people mover, this little light rail train that is supposed
to be connected right to the metro train line and
(23:46):
to get you all around. LAX was supposed to be
open in twenty twenty three, but it was pushed back,
and it was pushed back, and it was pushed back,
and we were reported earlier this year that it was
supposed to finally open later this year. I mean it's
already later this year, right, We're in October, so maybe
(24:07):
by Christmas we would be writing this thing. No, they
have delayed it again until mid twenty twenty six, and
by the way this thing was originally priced at one
point nine billion dollars, It's almost nine hundred million dollars
more expensive at this point.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
So what now? What has caused this delay? Now?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
We have reported before on some of the labor issues
involving some contractors and La World Airport and the board
out there that governs LAX and that sort of thing.
This is also a city project technically, that's what this is.
A report out in August has blamed continued construction delays
(24:52):
and prolonged dispute resolution and difficulties in the party's working relationship.
June twenty twenty six is the next projected opening for
the LAX people mover. And that's the type of stuff
that scares me about this convention center project, because everything
(25:16):
is so complicated here. Everything ends up costing more than
you expect. Whether it's a massive project like a train
or a convention center, or just going to the grocery
store or.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
Just filling your car with gas. It's always a little
more than you expect.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
I always tell people back home, you can't leave your
home in Los Angeles without a hundred bucks falling out
of your pocket.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
There's no cheap night out.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
But when I come to work, I have a list
of tasks to complete, and I complete them. And yes
there are occasional deletes, they're not months long. All of
these ideas sound exciting and great. A high speed train
from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Let's do it, a
(26:08):
little train route around LAX to help us move around
that massive airport more effectively and efficiently, and connect it
to the public transit so that I can go right
from Union Station to the airport. But when they don't
work out the way they're supposed to, it makes people
(26:29):
distrust the system. Metro is, however, moving forward on its
light rail project that is going into the East San
Fernando Valley. In fact, it is known as the East
San Fernando Valley light Rail Transit Project. The Metro board
voted recently unanimously to authorize some imminent domain of a
(26:54):
recycling facility located in Van Nuys to help get this
thing moving. Metro is moving right along with its expansion projects.
You'll be able to get to bore places on Metro,
which is great. And they've also announced this week that
you can use your cell phone on the k Line
now and the k Line is important as it relates
to Lax and the people mover, because that's the one
(27:16):
that will help get you there. And before I guess
there was some difficulty, but the La County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority known as Metro, has announced it has expanded cellular
service to the K Line underground sections. It's a public
private partnership agreement with American Tower which will allow customers
(27:36):
of AT and T, T Mobile, and Verizon to have
full cell service coverage at the Expo, Crenshawn Martin, Luther King,
and Lahmert Park stations and the tunnels that connect them.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Some good transportation news.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
We're going to wrap up tonight's show with a laundry
list of animal stories and not just random ones from
the internet, right here in Southern California. I know you
know by now that primatologist Jane Goodall died, but died
here in Southern California the same week that we had
(28:13):
a shark attack, hawks stolen from a stadium, a sighting
of Jackie and Shadow out in Big Bear, a python
spotted in a drive through lane, and a fake animal
stolen from a gas station, and a very fine neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
We'll wrap things up next.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News wrapping
things up with you on this Saturday night in Southern California,
sad week as famed animal researcher and animal rights proponent
Jane Goodall passed away at ninety one. After we learned
of her death, we learned that she died here in
(29:01):
Southern California. She was to speak to children about ecology
and replanting trees in the fire ravaged areas around Altadena.
ABC's Alex Stone filed this report that captures some of
the moments from inside this presentation that Jane Goodall was
(29:23):
supposed to attend. People were already there. Let me start
that again for you.
Speaker 8 (29:30):
My role now is to introduce doctor Jane Goodall.
Speaker 11 (29:34):
Moments before Jane Goodall was set to take the stage,
her death was announced on stage, she was introduced and
the children in the crowd were told she couldn't be there.
Good to unforeseen serious circumstances followed by this announcement.
Speaker 9 (29:48):
Has passed away due to natural causes.
Speaker 11 (29:50):
Then a video message from Goodall was played for the children,
trying to make this bet followed by a moment of silence.
Speaker 10 (29:56):
You're the beneficiaries of the last message of a giant
at like Stone.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
ABC News, we Sancheles.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Imagine being a young person excited to meet this woman
that you associate with monkeys, and you're excited to hear
from her, this globally influential scientist, and that's the announcement.
It's not like, you know, the seventies and you're at
a George Jones concert and they come out and say, sorry,
(30:27):
he's drunk, possum's drunk, go home.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
This is Jane Goodall's dead.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Sorry, very very sad, but perhaps a more profound lesson
for the children because they did still have a video
message from Jane Goodall, so hopefully they have something to
take from that. But this was a wild week for animals,
(30:54):
not just Jane Goodall's death and her association with chimpanzees.
We had a shark attack, hawk stolen, the Big Bear,
eagles were spotted, a python was found outside a fast
food drive through, and somebody stole a Sinclair dinosaur from
a gas station in Brentwood. A swimmer lucky to be
(31:17):
alive after earlier this week attacked by a shark while
swimming between Catalina Island and the mainland. Apparently this guy
was part of a marathon, but this was like at
one in the morning, and there was a boat crew
next to this guy, and so he was able to
(31:41):
be rescued quickly. But I'm telling you, I I'm afraid
of the ocean. I'm willing to admit that I love
looking at it, I love seeing it.
Speaker 4 (31:56):
I'm not going to get in it.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
But I'm especially not getting in it for the purpose
of swimming between Santa Catalina Island and the mainland at
one o'clock in the morning. I feel like you're inviting trouble.
It's like being in a bad neighborhood the wrong time
of night. I mean, it's sort of like getting on
(32:19):
a plane. It's always in the back of your mind, right,
something horrible, you shake it off. But sharks are kind
of in the back of your mind when you go
to the ocean. For it to really happen, how do
you ever return to the water? Two hawks that work
(32:43):
at Sofi Stadium by the way stolen how la is
that they're at so Fi for a football game and
they're kept on one of those motorized carts I think
referred to as a gator, and a guy drives off
(33:03):
with the gator, wants to steal the gator and apparently
realizes after the fact because the gator was recovered that
there were a couple of professional hawks aboard, and they're
missing still, and the owner earlier this week, and the
timeline has already passed because he said, we really need
(33:25):
to find them within three or four days because we
need to know that they're eating correctly. And they found
some dead quails, so the hawks apparently ate the quails,
but that's the only sign and then those those hawks
continue to be missing. But who's not missing anymore? Jackie
(33:48):
in Shadow. I know we spent a lot of time
earlier in the year talking about them, but the friends
of Big Bear posted on social media that yesterday after
this would have been several days ago last Friday. In fact,
in the afternoon of last Friday, Jackie and Shadow touched
down Jackie first, followed right behind by Shadow for a
(34:09):
beautiful joint arrival at the nest. They have both obviously
finished their summer molting, and their feather coats look absolutely stunning.
Even Jackie's black spot of sap on her forehead from
last season is gone, so we have seen them as
I guess they start to prepare for next season when
(34:32):
we get back on pip Watch again. Obviously they had
a very successful one this time, and it was very
exciting for all of us in Southern California, tens of
thousands of people watching around the clock that live stream
of Jackie and Shadow who successfully hatched three eglets, one
of which died and the other two made it out
of the nest. Jackie and Shadow back home together again,
(34:58):
maybe ready to make some more eggs. How about the python?
You pull into an in and out restaurant and you
see a four year old python. This python had apparently
escaped from a home in San Bernardino and was spotted
fifty miles away in Monrovia weeks later at the in
(35:22):
and out drive through. The snake was taken to the
Pasadena Humane Society, which got a lot of press, and
so the owner of the escaped python recognized it and
has been reunited from San Bernardino to Monrovia. Slithering about.
(35:45):
That's scary too, and even neighborhoods in LA like Brentwood
not safe, not safe from theft you know the iconic
dinosaur logo that Sinclair gas stations use, Well, there is
a statue of one at a location in Brentwood, and
surveillance video caught a guy stealing it and the neighbors
(36:08):
are really upset. Don't let the status symbols in Brentwood
fool you. They are charmed by these little things too.
They love seeing the Sinclair dinosaur wearing a Dodger's cap
or dressing up for Halloween, and now it's gone.
Speaker 4 (36:22):
John is very upset about this. I heard him.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
I know he's always raising hell about what's going on
in West La and I heard it.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
On Cobalt this week.
Speaker 2 (36:32):
He's not happy, and according to that promo of his
that we just heard in my ear, he's not gonna
be happy on Monday either. So hopefully they find the
dinosaur and bring him some joy. Always a pleasure to
spend Saturday night with you. My thanks to Eric and
Mario in the control room keeping it down for us,
Regita in the news room, and thanks to all of
(36:54):
you for listening to another edition here of Michael Monks Reports.
I'll be back here next week to recap the weekend news,
and you can always catch.
Speaker 4 (37:02):
Me during the week in the news and on.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Your favorite weekday shows right here on KFI AM six
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Forty, KFI AM six forty on demand
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