June 15, 2025 • 36 mins
Michael Monks continues covering the fallout from LA’s ICE raids and protests, sharing listener talkbacks that reflect the city’s raw mood. He’s joined by Cassie Horton and Leslie Ridings of the Downtown LA Residents Association to discuss the financial devastation hitting neighborhoods like the Fashion District, the toll of curfews on small businesses, and what it feels like living in a city center that’s becoming a ghost town. Monks also reflects on the emotional and personal weight of the Father’s Day weekend in a city under siege.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
We've got another hour together till four o'clock on this
beautiful Sunday afternoon. It is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day
to all of you. Hope you've got to spend some
time enjoying your fathers and your family and thinking about
what's important, because goodness knows, in spite of all the sunshine,
we've had a little bit of cloudiness metaphorical cloudiness over
(00:27):
southern California recently ongoing immigration enforcement efforts, protests against them,
a lot of videos circulating on social media of families
wailing as loved ones are taken away, a lot of
rhetoric coming out from local politicians, politicians in Washington. It's
(00:49):
been a lot. It's been a lot. This is the
tenth day of all of this going on right now.
Not a lot of action in the streets of Los Angeles.
But what does the late afternoon and early evening hold.
We do expect for the curfew in Los Angeles to continue,
which means eight o'clock tonight until six o'clock tomorrow morning.
(01:12):
But according to an email from the Downtown Residence Association,
it looks like they're trying to get some support from
residents down there to ask the city to call that
off either tomorrow or have tomorrow Monday be the last
time that they use this curfew. The curfew has been
pretty effective. There hasn't been any widespread vandalism or looting
(01:34):
like we saw a week ago. It was last Sunday
night into Monday when things got really crazy downtown. But
things have been crazy since, you know, in a different way.
It's like the aftermath of it. There's so many boarded
up buildings, and these aren't empty buildings. Behind those boards
(01:55):
our doors that lead to businesses that typically are functioning.
It's not the case right now. And nearly every single
wall around the Civic Center and in parts of the
Fashion District, Little Tokyo and Downtown La covered in graffiti.
The curfew has quelled a lot of that, but it's
(02:16):
not sustainable. We're talking restaurants and bars. I mean nighttime
is their time and people can't come down. And meanwhile,
with the fear of the immigration enforcement, a lot of
folks who may be here illegally, they're not opening their
shops at all their food trucks or the businesses in
the fashion districts was complete ghost town down there. And
(02:37):
our question for the rest of the hour to you is,
how does it all end? With the expectation that immigration
enforcement is going to continue as a signature policy of
the Trump administration, and the demonstrations against them to continue
here in La, how does it end? I promise we'd
get to some of your comments here at the top
of this hour, and that's what we're going to do
(03:00):
right now. Thanks for all of you who have been
submitting your comments.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Let's go to Steve. Mister Monks two days in a row.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
What a gift, Oh, Steve, that's very kind of you
to say, wait, we've got another message from from Steve.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
That wasn't sarcasm.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
I really is a gift.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Thank you, Steve. If we do appreciate you listening. It's
always a gift to be on the airwaves at KFI.
We have such thoughtful and smart listeners and I'm grateful
for those of you who participate. I don't have a
name on this comment, but let's hear.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Hey, Michael, I would like all illegal immigrants here that
commit any crime, including like DUIs to be deported. If
you can't come here and keep your nose clean, then
you don't deserve to be here.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
All right, appreciate the call very much, Thanks so much
for participating here. And and let's hear from Paul Hype.
Speaker 6 (04:03):
Speak to the facts. The Democrats have a sixteen percent
approval rating. Do you ever talk to that? No, you
talk about the phony thousands of people.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Paul's right, the Democrats are polling pretty poorly, just in
general national polls. I mean, it doesn't look good for
the party as a national brand. But Paul, those figures
that came out of downtown thousands and thousands of people,
those numbers are just They're not phony. Those are real.
(04:35):
Whether you like what they're standing for or not. That
many people were there. Let's hear from Gary.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, I don't care what a person's politics are.
Speaker 7 (04:46):
They don't deserve a shot in the bills like that.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I mean out, Thanks for that. Gary.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
That's a reference to our last segment a couple segments
ago about the guy who was protesting in downtown LA
and got hitting the PI bills, as Gary says, by
a rubber bullet fired by the police. It seems like
it was a very unpleasant experience there. Let's hear now
from Angela.
Speaker 8 (05:10):
Hey, Michael, Angela here, I am a legal immigrant. It
wasn't always like that. But I want to say is
I would like to know what percentage of the people
that they have detained are criminals. I would like to
know the percentage of the tenees that have criminal records.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I think that's a fair question, Angela.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I think a lot of people would like to answer
that question because we know that the administration, the Trump administration,
originally said that they're going to be focusing on criminals,
and they have found some people with some pretty serious charges,
and so you know, there might be an initial narrative
or reaction from a neighborhood, like I can't believe they
took that grandfatherly man across the street. He didn't never
(05:59):
do anything. And then then you find out from federal
officials that I don't know, back in nineteen seventy seven,
the guy massacred a small village outside of Caracas, and
you know, how were you to know that? But we
don't know every single circumstance. I mean, you're seeing guys
picked up a car wash, You're seeing guys picked up
a fruit stand, a swamp meat and you only know
(06:23):
those people as the guys you buy things from. Of course,
there is a crime committed by coming to the country illegally,
but that's not what the Trump administration emphasized. At first,
it was people who are here illegally and have committed crimes.
And then it seems that some other people are getting
swept up because they're there at the same time. But
(06:44):
it's unclear. We know the Trump administration, according to national reports,
want to get their numbers up each day to three
thousand deportations, are three thousand detainments leading to deportation, and
I can't imagine that three thousand people a day have
committed those types of serious crimes. I mean mass deportation
(07:05):
means mass deportation. So that's why people are scared. They
don't know, we don't know who they're coming from. We
heard the President this week say, not so sure, we
should be going after the farms so hard. Not so
sure we should be going after hotels and restaurants so hard.
So what is the real message? That's the uncertainty?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
All right. I don't have a name on this comment,
but let's hear.
Speaker 9 (07:27):
It coming from someone who was born, raised and lived
in southern California for fifty five years. Everyone that I've
spoken to that still lives there are grateful and thankful
that the National Guard and the Marines are present because
there are no repercussions for criminals in this state and
(07:50):
it's become very scary.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Thank you for that comment as well.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Again, the National Guard, they are patrolling outside of federal buildings,
and that's also the mission of the Marines that have
been sent here to protect federal property and federal staff,
So you don't see them often in the streets doing much,
if at all. But I think just from my observation,
I could tell that the tactics of the LAPD in
(08:14):
the Sheriff's Department local law enforcement became more aggressive, shutting
down these protests earlier, putting those dispersal orders out earlier,
arresting people who fail to disperse curfew violation citations once
the National Guard got here, because I don't think they
felt very good about being blasted by the President of
(08:35):
the United States of not having the city under control.
So there is perhaps some truth in that comment about
feeling good about the National Guard being here, because I
do think it changed the pace of things dramatically. I've
got more comments to play. I want more from you.
Open up that iHeartRadio app. Click on the talk back button.
(08:57):
We're going to play more in our last segment this hour.
Up next, I've got an interview that I first did
last night live on the air. I'm gonna play it
again because it's the the two folks who founded the
Downtown La Residents Association. What has it been like living downtown?
What's it like working downtown when you have I mean,
(09:19):
you have pretty consistent chaos anyway, but this is a
different level, the violence, the looting that took place, and
now the curfew that has really hurt businesses in an
already fragile economy. We're gonna have that interview coming up
after this break, and then at the end of the
hour more of your comments, So get them in. We're
gonna play them.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
S Michael Monks reports.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
We're always on Saturdays at seven at night, but we're
here on Sunday for continuing coverage of the ongoing immigration
enforcement activity and the demonstrations against them. Downtown LA businesses
continue to face the brunt of the fall out. The
Fashion district is a ghost town and the curfew is
keeping people out of bars and restaurants, not to mention
(10:06):
the damage to the properties graffiti looting. This interview first
aired last night. I got a couple of people living
in that curfew right now who are joining us from
the Downtown Residents Association, a group that they co founded,
Cassie Horton and Leslie Ritings. Cassie, thanks for being with us.
Speaker 10 (10:24):
Yeah, thank you for having us. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
And Leslie my thanks to you also.
Speaker 11 (10:30):
Thank you very much for having this.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Michael, Cassie.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
My question to the audience tonight that I've been asking
them to open up the talkback button on the iHeartRadio
app and share their thoughts is how does this end?
And I think before I pose that question to you two,
give us the lay of the land about how it
is right now, living, working, breathing in downtown LA.
Speaker 10 (10:53):
Yeah, so good question about how this ends. I'll start
with the second question. It is uh, you know, I
think the past week has been pretty difficult. Monday night
in particular was really challenging. I live on eighth and Olive,
which is just a couple blocks up. That's two blocks
(11:14):
up from Broadway and Eighth where the Apple Store and
the Adidas store are. So, you know, Monday night, middle
of the night, we had a line of squad cars
piled up just right below us, and they were getting
ready to go intersect the looting that was happening at
those specific stores, and things were loud, and things were tense,
(11:37):
and uh, you know, that's definitely a difficult experience of
somebody living in the neighborhood who loves the neighborhood, who
wants more people to be excited about moving downtown and
spending time downtown. It's definitely not indicative of your everyday
experience downtown, you know. But I think that that night,
that Monday night, was really tough for folks living in
(11:58):
the neighborhood. And since then we've kind of transitioned into
this you know curfew that residents frankly had a lot
of concerns with. There was a curfew administered in twenty
twenty during the George Floyd protests, and a lot of
folks there was a lot of lack of communication about
(12:19):
exactly what the policies were and how it would be applied,
and residents had a really difficult time with that, so
we were able to advocate for and we actually advocated
against the curfew, but we were able to secure kind
of a resident carve out, which has given folks in
the neighborhood the flexibility, you know, to go to the
(12:39):
grocery store, to go to CVS, to you know, go
pick up a pizza for dinner or whatever it is,
and so that's given us a little bit of normalcy.
Things have definitely been really quiet throughout the middle of
the week as the curfew's been in place, but our
bars and restaurants are really struggling.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, I mean, if you wanted to go out and
get a pizza, it's it's really difficult.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
A hard time.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Last night, I'm a resident down there as well, and
thought I would go out and get something taking advantage
of that resident carve out, and it was rough. And
let me bring Leslie in because this afternoon, which was
a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, I was
walking over to cover the big protests in downtown LA
earlier this afternoon, and as I walked through the fashion
(13:23):
district across Los Angeles Street from end to end, basically,
oh boy, even in the daytime, all those doors are closed,
all those street vendors appear to be gone. I mean,
very few businesses were open in the fashion district. I
would imagine that a lot of that has to do
with fears over immigration enforcement and people's status. But what
(13:44):
could be the lingering impact of the downtown La economy
because of what we're seeing tonight again and because of
this curfew.
Speaker 11 (13:55):
Yeah, I mean that's a very good question. And that's
a difficult question. I mean that's extreme because it ties
in really the president's politics. Right, these are national politics
that have been brought into our city and now we
have to deal with them, like we're basically being used
as a testing ground or whatever metaphor you want for
(14:18):
political battles much bigger than us. Right. The long term implications,
I don't know. I mean I think that it depends
the way that these things sort out. Like if there's
some sort of deal struck and the federal courses are withdrawn,
the ice raids are you know, there's sort of cool
down or stop, and I think we can go back
(14:40):
to something that we had, sort of a status quo.
If the enforcement continues, the ramp up enforcement continues, then
I think we're looking at a very different, very different
world in Los Angeles, and I'm not sure what that
looks like.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Cassie, I want to ask you about the characterization of
downtown and some of the mayor's remarks. It seems like
local officials are emphasizing that LA is not on fire.
LA's not incomplete chaos. It's just one tiny part of
the city where we're dealing with this. But it happens
to be our part of the city. And I felt
a little weird about it when I brought it up
here in the studio on U Gary and Shannon earlier
this week.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I kind of got made fun of.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I even got some talkbacks from listeners like I grow
up or whatever. But it feels like a downplaying of
what It seems like they're downplaying what is hurting our
little sliver of downtown LA.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Am am I wrong for feeling.
Speaker 10 (15:30):
This way, No, not at all. I mean it's it's
been a real experience over the past week to kind
of compare you know, what's in the media, what's on
people's social media feeds, and what the lived experiences as
a resident in the neighborhood. So I think we've gotten
a lot of feedback from folks who feel the same
(15:50):
as you, and we're always, you know, fighting to help
folks understand a lot of people don't realize that there
are ninety thousand people who live in downtown. That's as
many people as the city of Santa Monica. So you know,
imagine if the whole city of Santa Monica is shut down,
like I think people would maybe talk and think about
that a little differently. And that's what we're experiencing. Things
(16:13):
have been really difficult, you know, both in terms of
some of the on rest, like you know, folks out
on Monday night and then things shutting down after that.
So totally totally agree. But then on the flip side
of that, I took you know, I took the train
up to Highland Park on Friday for an appointment, and
you would it was a totally different experience than what
(16:36):
it feels like in our neighborhood right now. And that's
not to say like after the curfew is in place,
a lot of you know, some of some of the
mischief and rabble rousing and taking advantage of the police
tending to the protests and things like that. That's really
tampered down. So you know, I do not feel like
Downtown is on fire right this minute. But last weekend
(16:59):
things were really differ Colton to downplay that, you know,
and to show videos of folks in Beverly Hills, you know,
walking their dogs like versus what we experienced. Like I
think there's I think we need to be honest about
what's going on. But also, you know, it's kind of
goes to your point about uh people, people just not
really recognizing downtown as a neighborhood. And I said that
(17:21):
earlier this week when we were talking to some elected officials,
I said, you know, if if this was going on
in Eagle Rock or if this was going on in
Shrman Oaks, people might be thinking about it really differently.
A lot of people have the impression that we're kind
of this empty you know, Civic Center where you go
and you you know, you demonstrate or you walk through
the Dodgers parade and like nothing nobody's really dealing with
(17:44):
the impact of that. And that couldn't be farther from
the truth. So it's been a real thing to wrap
your head around.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
This week, for sure. We're joined by Cassie Horton and
Leslie Ritings. Leslie, I'll get your thoughts on that in
just a moment. There with the Downtown Residence Association obviously
Downtown the epicenter of the ongoing demonstration against immigration enforcement,
we'll continue this conversation.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
This is Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
You can catch us every Saturday night from seven to nine,
but we are here for our continued special coverage on
this Sunday afternoon. Let's continue now with Cassie Horton and
Leslie Writings from the Downtown Residence Association and the impact
of the demonstrations and the curfew, as first heard on
this program last night. Right now we're joined by Downtown
(18:28):
Resident Association leaders Cassie Horton and Leslie Writings, who are
talking about what it's like in Downtown LA in the
midst of these demonstrations, in the midst of the immigration
enforcement and now in the midst of this curfew, and
already fragile economy obviously being damaged even further by this. Leslie,
let me bring you back in because you know this
(18:50):
afternoon I mentioned that I walked through tumbleweeds in the
fashion districts. When on a beautiful Saturday like this, it
would typically be so loud, so different to walk across
the street because there are so many people. That was
not the case today, a complete ghost town. The massive protest,
the No King's protest brought a ton of people downtown.
(19:12):
I noticed that a lot of the retail shops given
in the historic Broadway section were closed, but Grand Central
Market was open and it was hopping. And it struck
me that these are folks who might not come to
downtown maybe ever, but downtown does have a lot of
positive things to offer. Is there anything good that might
come for Downtown Los Angeles based on this current struggle?
Speaker 11 (19:36):
Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, I think definitely.
Let me exactly what you just pointed out today, right,
fifty thousand people came into Downtown Los Angeles today that
otherwise might not have. And I think to Cassie's point
before the break, I think one of the biggest struggles
that downtown has is that many people in our city,
including unfortunately a lot of our elective leaders, don't understand
or view downtown as a residential hub. With almost one
(19:58):
hundred thousand people in it that has you know, awesome
like world class eateries, civic amenities, museums and all that
kind of stuff. So getting all those folks down there,
even if it's you know, for fighting to protests, you know, not,
great decisions by our federal administration opens their eyes to that.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
And hope is and what we reconnect with Leslie there
in case we lost them, Cassie, let me bring you back.
Downtown is part of a council district number fourteen, now
represented by a council member Isabelle Herrado, who unseated incumbent
Kevin Daleyon. This is a district as influential as Downtown is.
Even though people don't seem to realize that you mentioned
(20:38):
the population, it's a pretty good sized population. It's a
very diverse population compared to other neighborhoods. It's pretty evenly
split across multiple demographics. It's the economic engine of Los Angeles.
But in this council district, it is connected to the
Northeast LA neighborhoods Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, those types of neighborhoods,
which are all lovely places in the her own right
(21:00):
of course, but it does seem like Downtown hasn't always
been emphasized by whoever's representing that district. And I think
even in a recent press conference this week, I heard
Isabelle Herrado say, I may be new to Downtown or
something along those lines, do you feel like we're being
represented at the city level in events like this?
Speaker 10 (21:20):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I actually would
pivot back to your whole point. I don't think that,
you know, I'm I'm not a huge fan of finding
the silver lining and really challenging moments, but there's definitely
a silver lining I think to this moment ore and
we've been working really hard with council Member Grado to
(21:43):
try to build a relationship where you know, she understands
and is supportive of the community, and to her credit,
I you know, she certainly has acknowledged that Downtown is
not the neighborhood that she comes from. She during this
moment during the convention Center vote talking about lighting. There's
a lot of issues where she's been very enthusiastic to
(22:07):
jump in and support what residents downtown and what the
business community are asking for. And so I'm actually optimistic
about how we can continue to work together. The gravity
of the opportunity and challenge downtown definitely takes a level
of sophistication and you know, commitment. We need a champion downtown.
(22:28):
But you know, even the mayor, like I've heard Mayor
Bass really talking about downtown this week in a way
that usually downtown doesn't get that much attention or focused.
So I'm hopeful that the city can rally behind our neighborhood.
And I have some thoughts about how this ends, but
that might be the silver lining, you know, folks realizing
(22:49):
this is the heart of the city.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Well, thanks for previewing.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
My question is as we finish up here, I'll go
to Leslie and I'll come back to you because I
do want to ask you both this as I've asked
our listeners tonight, and we'll share more our listeners' comments
coming up, and there's still time to get those in.
Open up the iHeartRadio app, click on the talkback button.
It's clear that the immigration enforcement is going to continue
in some capacity. We did see the President back pedal
a little bit, not officially yet, no action taken, but
(23:14):
maybe we shouldn't be going so hard after the farms
and the hospitality industry. But these enforcement actions were followed
by the demonstrations. The demonstrations escalated, It brought in both
agitators and then criminals who took advantage of the police
being distracted. And now we've got a curfew. So it's
been layer after layer after layer of just things that
(23:37):
have disrupted downtown Los Angeles. The question is, how does
this end? Leslie any idea how this all ends?
Speaker 11 (23:48):
Yeah, I means so hard. I mean, we've got to
find some of these work. But in the curfew is
not a viable long term option. If the ICE rates,
if that kind of immigration, that level of intirash enforcement
can take news, you've got to find I mean, and
I hope it does not to be clear for various reasons.
We've got to find some sort of viable option because
(24:09):
the curfew is just that kills downtown, right, it's not viable.
I'm hoping that what happens is that there's some sort
of political bargain struck or you know, some sort of
legal actions brought against administration that stops the current level
of ICE enforcement.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
That's my hope, I think, Cassie, your thoughts on that,
How does it end?
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (24:30):
So I disagree a little bit with Leslie in that
I don't I don't necessarily think that how we get
out of our current curfew or this you know, situation
is depends on what's happening at the federal level. From
my perspective, the reality is Los Angeles, California are probably
(24:50):
going to be in some sort of you know, uh,
combative tussle with the president for the next four years,
especially with the Olympics and the World Cup and the
Super Bowl being here. There's just a real eye on
Lost Angeles specifically, where I think we're going to get
a lot of attention that we might not want, and
there's going to be a lot of protesting. There's going
(25:13):
to be a lot of folks voicing their First Amendment rights,
and that's okay. That is actually a beautiful thing. In
Downtown is usually the place that folks show up in
that way. We need to be able to manage that
without you know, this negative kind of tail spin after
dark where there is a totally different criminal element element.
(25:33):
I personally have seen and believe that it's folks taking
advantage of the situation. So we've got to figure out
how to mitigate that, anticipate that, and to Leslie's point,
the curfew is it needs to end. I don't want
to do anything that's going to, you know, meaningfully jeopardize
public safety. But if we get out of tonight in
a way that feels okay tomorrow morning, and even if
(25:57):
we don't, the hours need to be pushed back. I
feel like this is way too heavy handed for us
to live with as a neighborhood in a long term,
both from a resident perspective. But our businesses cannot afford this.
They're already kind of hanging on by a shoestring after
the fires, COVID, the writers strike, all of that. So
you know, safety is paramount, but it's got to be
(26:18):
a balance. We can't be heavy handed, and this is
going to need to either move back in terms of
hours or be rolled back entirely very soon. We can't
afford it.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Well, I'll tell you the one good thing about the
curfew tonight is that neither of you had any other options.
You had to join me right here on KFI, and
I'm really grateful for being your neighbor, and you two
founded this organization. I've got some others involved now to
you know, be civic boosters and also to advocate for
residents in downtown because there are a lot and listen.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
We appreciate you taking the time to join us.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
I know there are a lot more stories to come
out of downtown La very soon, and I hope that
we get to talk again.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
You're listening to KFI AM SIG on demand.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
This is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI
News wrapping up this Father's Day Sunday, a beautiful day
in southern California. Thanks for spending the past couple of
hours with us. You can usually hear me live on
Saturday nights from seven to nine. Happy to be with
you today on this Sunday as well, and for all
of you participating in our conversation. We've been talking, of
(27:23):
course about the ongoing immigration enforcement, the demonstrations against it,
the impact on the local economy. By the way, the
La City Controller, Kenneth Mahea has announced publicly that the
cost to the city.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
When it comes to.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Protecting the city and patrolling the city and the wake
of these demonstrations is now over eleven million dollars. That's
a lot in the city already having very serious financial problems.
I told you we get to some of your comments
about what we've heard, and maybe if you wanted to
(28:02):
answer my question about how does it all end right
here in La. Well, thanks for participating. We're going to
hear from Kimberly now.
Speaker 12 (28:14):
Michael, so grateful that you're on this afternoon. We know
that you'll tell us what it's like, how it's going,
and what to expect and in layman's terms so that
we can understand it. Fully, have a great day. You
work hard, you deserve time off that you've been busy,
(28:36):
and we appreciate all you do.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Kimberly, thank you so much for that very kind message.
I do appreciate it. Yes, it has been a busy time,
but that is what we are here for. When the
city falls into chaos, you can turn to KFI and
we will happily bring you all of the latest.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Let's hear this comment.
Speaker 13 (28:53):
Now, Yeah, you mentioned graffiti, but you didn't mention anything
about the tagging on the church down there, The cathedral
of Our Lady of Angels all tagged up.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Yeah, they've they've they've hit everything down there. I mean
it has been.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Pretty bad.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I mean nearly every single wall has been covered in
some form of graffiti down there.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Let's hear from Michael.
Speaker 14 (29:29):
Hey, Michael, this is also Michael. I just heard about
that man that was shot in the nether regions. That
is freaking nuts. I'm sorry the devil made meet call.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
All right, Hill Right, thank you so much for listening.
I know we should laugh. I mean, the guy's in
serious pain. I mean, he says one of his one
of his testicles, has been shattered by that. We don't
know all the circumstances, but he talked to Katla and
says it's a pretty big deal.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Let's from Jeff.
Speaker 15 (30:01):
Hey there, yep. You know, my parents were immigrants, but
they came through the legal way.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
They did everything.
Speaker 15 (30:08):
It took them years, and it cost them a bunch
of money, but they were so happy. And I'm going
to agree. You know, it's shameful that the last administration
just allowed anybody who wanted to just to come across
our borders. So I'm with the president. Man, if you're
here illegally, you got to go. End of story.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
All right, Jeff, thanks so much for the call and
sharing your perspective with us as well. Again, we do
appreciate everybody who took the time to call in like
this caller, I'd like to.
Speaker 7 (30:39):
See the cities from the people that get arrested at
the protests.
Speaker 14 (30:42):
That's where they come from, and how many of them
are actually from LA I think.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
We get when you get a crowd as large as
what we're seeing down there, you can assume that folks
are coming from elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
I don't know from how far.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I mean, they may be coming from all over LA County,
maybe from other counties here in southern California, but that
much is is pretty much unclear.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Let's hear this comment.
Speaker 9 (31:07):
Yeah, I really wish somebody could make sense of it
or answer the question so that we all understand why
once protesters start throwing bricks at the police and vandalizing property,
that they don't get arrested in that moment and go
(31:30):
to jail.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
I think that's that's kind of what I mean by
maybe the LAPD and other local law enforcement agencies sort
of changing their approach a little bit since the National
Guard was called in, because you know, it seemed to
be a bit of a free for all over the
weekend last week, certainly into Sunday night and Monday morning
when things got really bad and the stores downtown were
(31:53):
vandalized and looted, and now it seems like they're trying
to nip it in the butt a little more quickly.
The disperse orders are coming a little earlier in the day,
and people are being arrested for failing to disperse, and
people are being cited for violating the curfew. Let's hear
from Wayne.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
Trump administration said that they were target illegal aliens with
criminal records, but that any illegal alien that was found
would also be deported. I blame allow of this on
Biden administration and sanctuary cities. That's caused a great problem
(32:30):
and a great hindrance to detaining illegal aliens with criminal records.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
All right, Wayne, thanks so much for the call.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
We appreciate you participating in the show today as well.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
And now we'll go to Chris.
Speaker 16 (32:45):
It's a tough issue in southern California. I don't know
if a lot of the nation can really identify or
understand how it is here. We are so over lady.
It pays so much for auto insurance, health insurance. A
lot of the illegal aliens in on citizens. They don't
even pay for health insurance. They don't carry car insurance.
(33:07):
We're over regulated. Business owners, they can still the same
thing out of their car and on people parking lot
and not be regulated.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Thank you for the call, Chris. We do appreciate you
as well. Valid points. Indeed, let's hear Vernon now.
Speaker 17 (33:22):
Hey Michael, it's Vernon Redondo again, and hey, I was
thinking about your question about why are they talking about
this little sliver? So I have a ring camera and
my neighborhood app for Ring has been going bonkers for
more than a week now of people talking about ice
spotted here, I spotted there, and protests that are going
(33:44):
on at many of those sightings here in the South Bay.
So it's not a little sliver. They just don't want
it out.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
All right. Thank you for that observation. Vernon.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
We appreciate you listening as well, and I am grateful
for all of you listening. I think I got time
for one more. Here's the quick glance to make sure
I can broadcast this one. Looks like it's okay. Let's
hear from Evan.
Speaker 18 (34:08):
Hey, this is for Michael Monks. This is Evan from
San Diego about the Immigration ICE enforcement. Seems like the
ICE enforcement is just rounding up guys that have no money.
They should be going after cartels and people that actually
make an impact on society. But the random, small time
(34:30):
ice immigrants should be left alone and cartels should be
They should go after cartel leaders.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
All right, Evan, thanks for the call. Thanks to all
of you for joining me here on Michael Monks Reports.
I am suddenly joined by a legend in the radio world.
His name is Mark Thompson. Well, it's going to be
teaching the seat. That's very extraordinary. I should walk in
more frequently.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Absolutely, it's always great to see.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
New intros like that we're coining of We're a company.
It's great seeing you, but even more fun actually to
listen to you. I've been listening to you all through
your show and just just been great, really really great.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
And one of the great.
Speaker 7 (35:04):
Things is that you've i think, established a framework from
which we can figure out what is really happening in
Los Angeles, what's really happening nationwide. And then the voices
of la I love that you got so many of
them on the air, because I think it's true that
we have things under control, and I'd love to see
(35:26):
an area that's already been put upon in so many ways.
I'm talking about downtown Los Angeles have a chance to flourish.
And it's hard to flourish when there's a curfew the
way there is, and it's hard to flourish when there
are agitators who are showing up when you know, when nightfall,
it makes itself known.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
There are people that just live for this chaos exactly,
and they want it and they want more of it
when it gets dark.
Speaker 7 (35:52):
You know, bad stuff happens, but our cops can handle it,
and I think the downtown area has to be given
a chance true to come back.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Well, you're going to continue our coverage. I know that
you will do it. I am great steering this. I said, no, no,
you have to do a full shift. No, no, no,
it's not just a cameo.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
I thought it was a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
It's not a cameo. No, we got nobody else. Man,
it's all you today. Mark Thompson, the man is coming
up next to steer you through the rest of this
beautiful afternoon in southern California. And let's hope things stay
calm out there for today and they don't get too
hairy for him. While he's on the air, Mark Thompson
coming up next My Things, so you can catch me
every Saturday night from seven to nine here on KFI,
(36:32):
as well as doing the news throughout the week and
in all your favorite shows.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
KFI AM six on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
We've got another hour together till four o'clock on this
beautiful Sunday afternoon. It is Father's Day. Happy Father's Day
to all of you. Hope you've got to spend some
time enjoying your fathers and your family and thinking about
what's important, because goodness knows, in spite of all the sunshine,
we've had a little bit of cloudiness metaphorical cloudiness over
(00:27):
southern California recently ongoing immigration enforcement efforts, protests against them,
a lot of videos circulating on social media of families
wailing as loved ones are taken away, a lot of
rhetoric coming out from local politicians, politicians in Washington. It's
(00:49):
been a lot. It's been a lot. This is the
tenth day of all of this going on right now.
Not a lot of action in the streets of Los Angeles.
But what does the late afternoon and early evening hold.
We do expect for the curfew in Los Angeles to continue,
which means eight o'clock tonight until six o'clock tomorrow morning.
(01:12):
But according to an email from the Downtown Residence Association,
it looks like they're trying to get some support from
residents down there to ask the city to call that
off either tomorrow or have tomorrow Monday be the last
time that they use this curfew. The curfew has been
pretty effective. There hasn't been any widespread vandalism or looting
(01:34):
like we saw a week ago. It was last Sunday
night into Monday when things got really crazy downtown. But
things have been crazy since, you know, in a different way.
It's like the aftermath of it. There's so many boarded
up buildings, and these aren't empty buildings. Behind those boards
(01:55):
our doors that lead to businesses that typically are functioning.
It's not the case right now. And nearly every single
wall around the Civic Center and in parts of the
Fashion District, Little Tokyo and Downtown La covered in graffiti.
The curfew has quelled a lot of that, but it's
(02:16):
not sustainable. We're talking restaurants and bars. I mean nighttime
is their time and people can't come down. And meanwhile,
with the fear of the immigration enforcement, a lot of
folks who may be here illegally, they're not opening their
shops at all their food trucks or the businesses in
the fashion districts was complete ghost town down there. And
(02:37):
our question for the rest of the hour to you is,
how does it all end? With the expectation that immigration
enforcement is going to continue as a signature policy of
the Trump administration, and the demonstrations against them to continue
here in La, how does it end? I promise we'd
get to some of your comments here at the top
of this hour, and that's what we're going to do
(03:00):
right now. Thanks for all of you who have been
submitting your comments.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Let's go to Steve. Mister Monks two days in a row.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
What a gift, Oh, Steve, that's very kind of you
to say, wait, we've got another message from from Steve.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
That wasn't sarcasm.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
I really is a gift.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Thank you, Steve. If we do appreciate you listening. It's
always a gift to be on the airwaves at KFI.
We have such thoughtful and smart listeners and I'm grateful
for those of you who participate. I don't have a
name on this comment, but let's hear.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Hey, Michael, I would like all illegal immigrants here that
commit any crime, including like DUIs to be deported. If
you can't come here and keep your nose clean, then
you don't deserve to be here.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
All right, appreciate the call very much, Thanks so much
for participating here. And and let's hear from Paul Hype.
Speaker 6 (04:03):
Speak to the facts. The Democrats have a sixteen percent
approval rating. Do you ever talk to that? No, you
talk about the phony thousands of people.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Paul's right, the Democrats are polling pretty poorly, just in
general national polls. I mean, it doesn't look good for
the party as a national brand. But Paul, those figures
that came out of downtown thousands and thousands of people,
those numbers are just They're not phony. Those are real.
(04:35):
Whether you like what they're standing for or not. That
many people were there. Let's hear from Gary.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, I don't care what a person's politics are.
Speaker 7 (04:46):
They don't deserve a shot in the bills like that.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
I mean out, Thanks for that. Gary.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
That's a reference to our last segment a couple segments
ago about the guy who was protesting in downtown LA
and got hitting the PI bills, as Gary says, by
a rubber bullet fired by the police. It seems like
it was a very unpleasant experience there. Let's hear now
from Angela.
Speaker 8 (05:10):
Hey, Michael, Angela here, I am a legal immigrant. It
wasn't always like that. But I want to say is
I would like to know what percentage of the people
that they have detained are criminals. I would like to
know the percentage of the tenees that have criminal records.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I think that's a fair question, Angela.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I think a lot of people would like to answer
that question because we know that the administration, the Trump administration,
originally said that they're going to be focusing on criminals,
and they have found some people with some pretty serious charges,
and so you know, there might be an initial narrative
or reaction from a neighborhood, like I can't believe they
took that grandfatherly man across the street. He didn't never
(05:59):
do anything. And then then you find out from federal
officials that I don't know, back in nineteen seventy seven,
the guy massacred a small village outside of Caracas, and
you know, how were you to know that? But we
don't know every single circumstance. I mean, you're seeing guys
picked up a car wash, You're seeing guys picked up
a fruit stand, a swamp meat and you only know
(06:23):
those people as the guys you buy things from. Of course,
there is a crime committed by coming to the country illegally,
but that's not what the Trump administration emphasized. At first,
it was people who are here illegally and have committed crimes.
And then it seems that some other people are getting
swept up because they're there at the same time. But
(06:44):
it's unclear. We know the Trump administration, according to national reports,
want to get their numbers up each day to three
thousand deportations, are three thousand detainments leading to deportation, and
I can't imagine that three thousand people a day have
committed those types of serious crimes. I mean mass deportation
(07:05):
means mass deportation. So that's why people are scared. They
don't know, we don't know who they're coming from. We
heard the President this week say, not so sure, we
should be going after the farms so hard. Not so
sure we should be going after hotels and restaurants so hard.
So what is the real message? That's the uncertainty?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
All right. I don't have a name on this comment,
but let's hear.
Speaker 9 (07:27):
It coming from someone who was born, raised and lived
in southern California for fifty five years. Everyone that I've
spoken to that still lives there are grateful and thankful
that the National Guard and the Marines are present because
there are no repercussions for criminals in this state and
(07:50):
it's become very scary.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Thank you for that comment as well.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Again, the National Guard, they are patrolling outside of federal buildings,
and that's also the mission of the Marines that have
been sent here to protect federal property and federal staff,
So you don't see them often in the streets doing much,
if at all. But I think just from my observation,
I could tell that the tactics of the LAPD in
(08:14):
the Sheriff's Department local law enforcement became more aggressive, shutting
down these protests earlier, putting those dispersal orders out earlier,
arresting people who fail to disperse curfew violation citations once
the National Guard got here, because I don't think they
felt very good about being blasted by the President of
(08:35):
the United States of not having the city under control.
So there is perhaps some truth in that comment about
feeling good about the National Guard being here, because I
do think it changed the pace of things dramatically. I've
got more comments to play. I want more from you.
Open up that iHeartRadio app. Click on the talk back button.
(08:57):
We're going to play more in our last segment this hour.
Up next, I've got an interview that I first did
last night live on the air. I'm gonna play it
again because it's the the two folks who founded the
Downtown La Residents Association. What has it been like living downtown?
What's it like working downtown when you have I mean,
(09:19):
you have pretty consistent chaos anyway, but this is a
different level, the violence, the looting that took place, and
now the curfew that has really hurt businesses in an
already fragile economy. We're gonna have that interview coming up
after this break, and then at the end of the
hour more of your comments, So get them in. We're
gonna play them.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
S Michael Monks reports.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
We're always on Saturdays at seven at night, but we're
here on Sunday for continuing coverage of the ongoing immigration
enforcement activity and the demonstrations against them. Downtown LA businesses
continue to face the brunt of the fall out. The
Fashion district is a ghost town and the curfew is
keeping people out of bars and restaurants, not to mention
(10:06):
the damage to the properties graffiti looting. This interview first
aired last night. I got a couple of people living
in that curfew right now who are joining us from
the Downtown Residents Association, a group that they co founded,
Cassie Horton and Leslie Ritings. Cassie, thanks for being with us.
Speaker 10 (10:24):
Yeah, thank you for having us. We really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
And Leslie my thanks to you also.
Speaker 11 (10:30):
Thank you very much for having this.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Michael, Cassie.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
My question to the audience tonight that I've been asking
them to open up the talkback button on the iHeartRadio
app and share their thoughts is how does this end?
And I think before I pose that question to you two,
give us the lay of the land about how it
is right now, living, working, breathing in downtown LA.
Speaker 10 (10:53):
Yeah, so good question about how this ends. I'll start
with the second question. It is uh, you know, I
think the past week has been pretty difficult. Monday night
in particular was really challenging. I live on eighth and Olive,
which is just a couple blocks up. That's two blocks
(11:14):
up from Broadway and Eighth where the Apple Store and
the Adidas store are. So, you know, Monday night, middle
of the night, we had a line of squad cars
piled up just right below us, and they were getting
ready to go intersect the looting that was happening at
those specific stores, and things were loud, and things were tense,
(11:37):
and uh, you know, that's definitely a difficult experience of
somebody living in the neighborhood who loves the neighborhood, who
wants more people to be excited about moving downtown and
spending time downtown. It's definitely not indicative of your everyday
experience downtown, you know. But I think that that night,
that Monday night, was really tough for folks living in
(11:58):
the neighborhood. And since then we've kind of transitioned into
this you know curfew that residents frankly had a lot
of concerns with. There was a curfew administered in twenty
twenty during the George Floyd protests, and a lot of
folks there was a lot of lack of communication about
(12:19):
exactly what the policies were and how it would be applied,
and residents had a really difficult time with that, so
we were able to advocate for and we actually advocated
against the curfew, but we were able to secure kind
of a resident carve out, which has given folks in
the neighborhood the flexibility, you know, to go to the
(12:39):
grocery store, to go to CVS, to you know, go
pick up a pizza for dinner or whatever it is,
and so that's given us a little bit of normalcy.
Things have definitely been really quiet throughout the middle of
the week as the curfew's been in place, but our
bars and restaurants are really struggling.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, I mean, if you wanted to go out and
get a pizza, it's it's really difficult.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
A hard time.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Last night, I'm a resident down there as well, and
thought I would go out and get something taking advantage
of that resident carve out, and it was rough. And
let me bring Leslie in because this afternoon, which was
a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles, I was
walking over to cover the big protests in downtown LA
earlier this afternoon, and as I walked through the fashion
(13:23):
district across Los Angeles Street from end to end, basically,
oh boy, even in the daytime, all those doors are closed,
all those street vendors appear to be gone. I mean,
very few businesses were open in the fashion district. I
would imagine that a lot of that has to do
with fears over immigration enforcement and people's status. But what
(13:44):
could be the lingering impact of the downtown La economy
because of what we're seeing tonight again and because of
this curfew.
Speaker 11 (13:55):
Yeah, I mean that's a very good question. And that's
a difficult question. I mean that's extreme because it ties
in really the president's politics. Right, these are national politics
that have been brought into our city and now we
have to deal with them, like we're basically being used
as a testing ground or whatever metaphor you want for
(14:18):
political battles much bigger than us. Right. The long term implications,
I don't know. I mean I think that it depends
the way that these things sort out. Like if there's
some sort of deal struck and the federal courses are withdrawn,
the ice raids are you know, there's sort of cool
down or stop, and I think we can go back
(14:40):
to something that we had, sort of a status quo.
If the enforcement continues, the ramp up enforcement continues, then
I think we're looking at a very different, very different
world in Los Angeles, and I'm not sure what that
looks like.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Cassie, I want to ask you about the characterization of
downtown and some of the mayor's remarks. It seems like
local officials are emphasizing that LA is not on fire.
LA's not incomplete chaos. It's just one tiny part of
the city where we're dealing with this. But it happens
to be our part of the city. And I felt
a little weird about it when I brought it up
here in the studio on U Gary and Shannon earlier
this week.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
I kind of got made fun of.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I even got some talkbacks from listeners like I grow
up or whatever. But it feels like a downplaying of
what It seems like they're downplaying what is hurting our
little sliver of downtown LA.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Am am I wrong for feeling.
Speaker 10 (15:30):
This way, No, not at all. I mean it's it's
been a real experience over the past week to kind
of compare you know, what's in the media, what's on
people's social media feeds, and what the lived experiences as
a resident in the neighborhood. So I think we've gotten
a lot of feedback from folks who feel the same
(15:50):
as you, and we're always, you know, fighting to help
folks understand a lot of people don't realize that there
are ninety thousand people who live in downtown. That's as
many people as the city of Santa Monica. So you know,
imagine if the whole city of Santa Monica is shut down,
like I think people would maybe talk and think about
that a little differently. And that's what we're experiencing. Things
(16:13):
have been really difficult, you know, both in terms of
some of the on rest, like you know, folks out
on Monday night and then things shutting down after that.
So totally totally agree. But then on the flip side
of that, I took you know, I took the train
up to Highland Park on Friday for an appointment, and
you would it was a totally different experience than what
(16:36):
it feels like in our neighborhood right now. And that's
not to say like after the curfew is in place,
a lot of you know, some of some of the
mischief and rabble rousing and taking advantage of the police
tending to the protests and things like that. That's really
tampered down. So you know, I do not feel like
Downtown is on fire right this minute. But last weekend
(16:59):
things were really differ Colton to downplay that, you know,
and to show videos of folks in Beverly Hills, you know,
walking their dogs like versus what we experienced. Like I
think there's I think we need to be honest about
what's going on. But also, you know, it's kind of
goes to your point about uh people, people just not
really recognizing downtown as a neighborhood. And I said that
(17:21):
earlier this week when we were talking to some elected officials,
I said, you know, if if this was going on
in Eagle Rock or if this was going on in
Shrman Oaks, people might be thinking about it really differently.
A lot of people have the impression that we're kind
of this empty you know, Civic Center where you go
and you you know, you demonstrate or you walk through
the Dodgers parade and like nothing nobody's really dealing with
(17:44):
the impact of that. And that couldn't be farther from
the truth. So it's been a real thing to wrap
your head around.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
This week, for sure. We're joined by Cassie Horton and
Leslie Ritings. Leslie, I'll get your thoughts on that in
just a moment. There with the Downtown Residence Association obviously
Downtown the epicenter of the ongoing demonstration against immigration enforcement,
we'll continue this conversation.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
This is Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
You can catch us every Saturday night from seven to nine,
but we are here for our continued special coverage on
this Sunday afternoon. Let's continue now with Cassie Horton and
Leslie Writings from the Downtown Residence Association and the impact
of the demonstrations and the curfew, as first heard on
this program last night. Right now we're joined by Downtown
(18:28):
Resident Association leaders Cassie Horton and Leslie Writings, who are
talking about what it's like in Downtown LA in the
midst of these demonstrations, in the midst of the immigration
enforcement and now in the midst of this curfew, and
already fragile economy obviously being damaged even further by this. Leslie,
let me bring you back in because you know this
(18:50):
afternoon I mentioned that I walked through tumbleweeds in the
fashion districts. When on a beautiful Saturday like this, it
would typically be so loud, so different to walk across
the street because there are so many people. That was
not the case today, a complete ghost town. The massive protest,
the No King's protest brought a ton of people downtown.
(19:12):
I noticed that a lot of the retail shops given
in the historic Broadway section were closed, but Grand Central
Market was open and it was hopping. And it struck
me that these are folks who might not come to
downtown maybe ever, but downtown does have a lot of
positive things to offer. Is there anything good that might
come for Downtown Los Angeles based on this current struggle?
Speaker 11 (19:36):
Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, I think definitely.
Let me exactly what you just pointed out today, right,
fifty thousand people came into Downtown Los Angeles today that
otherwise might not have. And I think to Cassie's point
before the break, I think one of the biggest struggles
that downtown has is that many people in our city,
including unfortunately a lot of our elective leaders, don't understand
or view downtown as a residential hub. With almost one
(19:58):
hundred thousand people in it that has you know, awesome
like world class eateries, civic amenities, museums and all that
kind of stuff. So getting all those folks down there,
even if it's you know, for fighting to protests, you know, not,
great decisions by our federal administration opens their eyes to that.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
And hope is and what we reconnect with Leslie there
in case we lost them, Cassie, let me bring you back.
Downtown is part of a council district number fourteen, now
represented by a council member Isabelle Herrado, who unseated incumbent
Kevin Daleyon. This is a district as influential as Downtown is.
Even though people don't seem to realize that you mentioned
(20:38):
the population, it's a pretty good sized population. It's a
very diverse population compared to other neighborhoods. It's pretty evenly
split across multiple demographics. It's the economic engine of Los Angeles.
But in this council district, it is connected to the
Northeast LA neighborhoods Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, those types of neighborhoods,
which are all lovely places in the her own right
(21:00):
of course, but it does seem like Downtown hasn't always
been emphasized by whoever's representing that district. And I think
even in a recent press conference this week, I heard
Isabelle Herrado say, I may be new to Downtown or
something along those lines, do you feel like we're being
represented at the city level in events like this?
Speaker 10 (21:20):
Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I actually would
pivot back to your whole point. I don't think that,
you know, I'm I'm not a huge fan of finding
the silver lining and really challenging moments, but there's definitely
a silver lining I think to this moment ore and
we've been working really hard with council Member Grado to
(21:43):
try to build a relationship where you know, she understands
and is supportive of the community, and to her credit,
I you know, she certainly has acknowledged that Downtown is
not the neighborhood that she comes from. She during this
moment during the convention Center vote talking about lighting. There's
a lot of issues where she's been very enthusiastic to
(22:07):
jump in and support what residents downtown and what the
business community are asking for. And so I'm actually optimistic
about how we can continue to work together. The gravity
of the opportunity and challenge downtown definitely takes a level
of sophistication and you know, commitment. We need a champion downtown.
(22:28):
But you know, even the mayor, like I've heard Mayor
Bass really talking about downtown this week in a way
that usually downtown doesn't get that much attention or focused.
So I'm hopeful that the city can rally behind our neighborhood.
And I have some thoughts about how this ends, but
that might be the silver lining, you know, folks realizing
(22:49):
this is the heart of the city.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Well, thanks for previewing.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
My question is as we finish up here, I'll go
to Leslie and I'll come back to you because I
do want to ask you both this as I've asked
our listeners tonight, and we'll share more our listeners' comments
coming up, and there's still time to get those in.
Open up the iHeartRadio app, click on the talkback button.
It's clear that the immigration enforcement is going to continue
in some capacity. We did see the President back pedal
a little bit, not officially yet, no action taken, but
(23:14):
maybe we shouldn't be going so hard after the farms
and the hospitality industry. But these enforcement actions were followed
by the demonstrations. The demonstrations escalated, It brought in both
agitators and then criminals who took advantage of the police
being distracted. And now we've got a curfew. So it's
been layer after layer after layer of just things that
(23:37):
have disrupted downtown Los Angeles. The question is, how does
this end? Leslie any idea how this all ends?
Speaker 11 (23:48):
Yeah, I means so hard. I mean, we've got to
find some of these work. But in the curfew is
not a viable long term option. If the ICE rates,
if that kind of immigration, that level of intirash enforcement
can take news, you've got to find I mean, and
I hope it does not to be clear for various reasons.
We've got to find some sort of viable option because
(24:09):
the curfew is just that kills downtown, right, it's not viable.
I'm hoping that what happens is that there's some sort
of political bargain struck or you know, some sort of
legal actions brought against administration that stops the current level
of ICE enforcement.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
That's my hope, I think, Cassie, your thoughts on that,
How does it end?
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Yeah?
Speaker 10 (24:30):
So I disagree a little bit with Leslie in that
I don't I don't necessarily think that how we get
out of our current curfew or this you know, situation
is depends on what's happening at the federal level. From
my perspective, the reality is Los Angeles, California are probably
(24:50):
going to be in some sort of you know, uh,
combative tussle with the president for the next four years,
especially with the Olympics and the World Cup and the
Super Bowl being here. There's just a real eye on
Lost Angeles specifically, where I think we're going to get
a lot of attention that we might not want, and
there's going to be a lot of protesting. There's going
(25:13):
to be a lot of folks voicing their First Amendment rights,
and that's okay. That is actually a beautiful thing. In
Downtown is usually the place that folks show up in
that way. We need to be able to manage that
without you know, this negative kind of tail spin after
dark where there is a totally different criminal element element.
(25:33):
I personally have seen and believe that it's folks taking
advantage of the situation. So we've got to figure out
how to mitigate that, anticipate that, and to Leslie's point,
the curfew is it needs to end. I don't want
to do anything that's going to, you know, meaningfully jeopardize
public safety. But if we get out of tonight in
a way that feels okay tomorrow morning, and even if
(25:57):
we don't, the hours need to be pushed back. I
feel like this is way too heavy handed for us
to live with as a neighborhood in a long term,
both from a resident perspective. But our businesses cannot afford this.
They're already kind of hanging on by a shoestring after
the fires, COVID, the writers strike, all of that. So
you know, safety is paramount, but it's got to be
(26:18):
a balance. We can't be heavy handed, and this is
going to need to either move back in terms of
hours or be rolled back entirely very soon. We can't
afford it.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Well, I'll tell you the one good thing about the
curfew tonight is that neither of you had any other options.
You had to join me right here on KFI, and
I'm really grateful for being your neighbor, and you two
founded this organization. I've got some others involved now to
you know, be civic boosters and also to advocate for
residents in downtown because there are a lot and listen.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
We appreciate you taking the time to join us.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
I know there are a lot more stories to come
out of downtown La very soon, and I hope that
we get to talk again.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
You're listening to KFI AM SIG on demand.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
This is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI
News wrapping up this Father's Day Sunday, a beautiful day
in southern California. Thanks for spending the past couple of
hours with us. You can usually hear me live on
Saturday nights from seven to nine. Happy to be with
you today on this Sunday as well, and for all
of you participating in our conversation. We've been talking, of
(27:23):
course about the ongoing immigration enforcement, the demonstrations against it,
the impact on the local economy. By the way, the
La City Controller, Kenneth Mahea has announced publicly that the
cost to the city.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
When it comes to.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Protecting the city and patrolling the city and the wake
of these demonstrations is now over eleven million dollars. That's
a lot in the city already having very serious financial problems.
I told you we get to some of your comments
about what we've heard, and maybe if you wanted to
(28:02):
answer my question about how does it all end right
here in La. Well, thanks for participating. We're going to
hear from Kimberly now.
Speaker 12 (28:14):
Michael, so grateful that you're on this afternoon. We know
that you'll tell us what it's like, how it's going,
and what to expect and in layman's terms so that
we can understand it. Fully, have a great day. You
work hard, you deserve time off that you've been busy,
(28:36):
and we appreciate all you do.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Kimberly, thank you so much for that very kind message.
I do appreciate it. Yes, it has been a busy time,
but that is what we are here for. When the
city falls into chaos, you can turn to KFI and
we will happily bring you all of the latest.
Speaker 3 (28:52):
Let's hear this comment.
Speaker 13 (28:53):
Now, Yeah, you mentioned graffiti, but you didn't mention anything
about the tagging on the church down there, The cathedral
of Our Lady of Angels all tagged up.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Yeah, they've they've they've hit everything down there. I mean
it has been.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Pretty bad.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
I mean nearly every single wall has been covered in
some form of graffiti down there.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
Let's hear from Michael.
Speaker 14 (29:29):
Hey, Michael, this is also Michael. I just heard about
that man that was shot in the nether regions. That
is freaking nuts. I'm sorry the devil made meet call.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
All right, Hill Right, thank you so much for listening.
I know we should laugh. I mean, the guy's in
serious pain. I mean, he says one of his one
of his testicles, has been shattered by that. We don't
know all the circumstances, but he talked to Katla and
says it's a pretty big deal.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Let's from Jeff.
Speaker 15 (30:01):
Hey there, yep. You know, my parents were immigrants, but
they came through the legal way.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
They did everything.
Speaker 15 (30:08):
It took them years, and it cost them a bunch
of money, but they were so happy. And I'm going
to agree. You know, it's shameful that the last administration
just allowed anybody who wanted to just to come across
our borders. So I'm with the president. Man, if you're
here illegally, you got to go. End of story.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
All right, Jeff, thanks so much for the call and
sharing your perspective with us as well. Again, we do
appreciate everybody who took the time to call in like
this caller, I'd like to.
Speaker 7 (30:39):
See the cities from the people that get arrested at
the protests.
Speaker 14 (30:42):
That's where they come from, and how many of them
are actually from LA I think.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
We get when you get a crowd as large as
what we're seeing down there, you can assume that folks
are coming from elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
I don't know from how far.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
I mean, they may be coming from all over LA County,
maybe from other counties here in southern California, but that
much is is pretty much unclear.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Let's hear this comment.
Speaker 9 (31:07):
Yeah, I really wish somebody could make sense of it
or answer the question so that we all understand why
once protesters start throwing bricks at the police and vandalizing property,
that they don't get arrested in that moment and go
(31:30):
to jail.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
I think that's that's kind of what I mean by
maybe the LAPD and other local law enforcement agencies sort
of changing their approach a little bit since the National
Guard was called in, because you know, it seemed to
be a bit of a free for all over the
weekend last week, certainly into Sunday night and Monday morning
when things got really bad and the stores downtown were
(31:53):
vandalized and looted, and now it seems like they're trying
to nip it in the butt a little more quickly.
The disperse orders are coming a little earlier in the day,
and people are being arrested for failing to disperse, and
people are being cited for violating the curfew. Let's hear
from Wayne.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
Trump administration said that they were target illegal aliens with
criminal records, but that any illegal alien that was found
would also be deported. I blame allow of this on
Biden administration and sanctuary cities. That's caused a great problem
(32:30):
and a great hindrance to detaining illegal aliens with criminal records.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
All right, Wayne, thanks so much for the call.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
We appreciate you participating in the show today as well.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
And now we'll go to Chris.
Speaker 16 (32:45):
It's a tough issue in southern California. I don't know
if a lot of the nation can really identify or
understand how it is here. We are so over lady.
It pays so much for auto insurance, health insurance. A
lot of the illegal aliens in on citizens. They don't
even pay for health insurance. They don't carry car insurance.
(33:07):
We're over regulated. Business owners, they can still the same
thing out of their car and on people parking lot
and not be regulated.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Thank you for the call, Chris. We do appreciate you
as well. Valid points. Indeed, let's hear Vernon now.
Speaker 17 (33:22):
Hey Michael, it's Vernon Redondo again, and hey, I was
thinking about your question about why are they talking about
this little sliver? So I have a ring camera and
my neighborhood app for Ring has been going bonkers for
more than a week now of people talking about ice
spotted here, I spotted there, and protests that are going
(33:44):
on at many of those sightings here in the South Bay.
So it's not a little sliver. They just don't want
it out.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
All right. Thank you for that observation. Vernon.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
We appreciate you listening as well, and I am grateful
for all of you listening. I think I got time
for one more. Here's the quick glance to make sure
I can broadcast this one. Looks like it's okay. Let's
hear from Evan.
Speaker 18 (34:08):
Hey, this is for Michael Monks. This is Evan from
San Diego about the Immigration ICE enforcement. Seems like the
ICE enforcement is just rounding up guys that have no money.
They should be going after cartels and people that actually
make an impact on society. But the random, small time
(34:30):
ice immigrants should be left alone and cartels should be
They should go after cartel leaders.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
All right, Evan, thanks for the call. Thanks to all
of you for joining me here on Michael Monks Reports.
I am suddenly joined by a legend in the radio world.
His name is Mark Thompson. Well, it's going to be
teaching the seat. That's very extraordinary. I should walk in
more frequently.
Speaker 3 (34:50):
Absolutely, it's always great to see.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
New intros like that we're coining of We're a company.
It's great seeing you, but even more fun actually to
listen to you. I've been listening to you all through
your show and just just been great, really really great.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
And one of the great.
Speaker 7 (35:04):
Things is that you've i think, established a framework from
which we can figure out what is really happening in
Los Angeles, what's really happening nationwide. And then the voices
of la I love that you got so many of
them on the air, because I think it's true that
we have things under control, and I'd love to see
(35:26):
an area that's already been put upon in so many ways.
I'm talking about downtown Los Angeles have a chance to flourish.
And it's hard to flourish when there's a curfew the
way there is, and it's hard to flourish when there
are agitators who are showing up when you know, when nightfall,
it makes itself known.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
There are people that just live for this chaos exactly,
and they want it and they want more of it
when it gets dark.
Speaker 7 (35:52):
You know, bad stuff happens, but our cops can handle it,
and I think the downtown area has to be given
a chance true to come back.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Well, you're going to continue our coverage. I know that
you will do it. I am great steering this. I said, no, no,
you have to do a full shift. No, no, no,
it's not just a cameo.
Speaker 3 (36:09):
I thought it was a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2 (36:10):
It's not a cameo. No, we got nobody else. Man,
it's all you today. Mark Thompson, the man is coming
up next to steer you through the rest of this
beautiful afternoon in southern California. And let's hope things stay
calm out there for today and they don't get too
hairy for him. While he's on the air, Mark Thompson
coming up next My Things, so you can catch me
every Saturday night from seven to nine here on KFI,
(36:32):
as well as doing the news throughout the week and
in all your favorite shows.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
KFI AM six on demand
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!