April 21, 2025 • 34 mins
The John Kobylt Show Hour 2 (04/21) - Fox 11 anchor Elex Michaelson fills in for John. LA County Board of Supervisor Kathryn Barger comes on the show to talk about Altadena Fire recovery efforts and the homeless problem in LA. Jovan Buha from The Athletic comes on the show to talk about the Lakers playoff game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Marla Tellez comes on the show to talk about what it is like to be a new mom.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can't. I am six forty. You're listening to the John
Cobel podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
No, this is not John Cobelt.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
This is Alex Michaelson from Fox eleven News weeknights five,
six ten o'clock, the statewide political show. The issue is
filling in doing my first ever live talk radio show.
On this show, Deborah Mark, this is so much fun.
It goes by so fast. It's amazing what you guys
do every day.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I gotta say it's seamless you're doing Honestly, I don't
have to say anything. No, seriously, you're doing a great job.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Well, it's been great because we've had great guests that
really carried the load. I've just sort of sat here
and we're going to continue that now as we've got
lots of big things to talk about with the chair
of the La County Board of Supervisors is Katherine Barger.
And when we started our six and seven o'clock talk
show with Doctor Drew, we brought Catherine Barger on at
(00:57):
the beginning and that show is still going in one form.
So I see her as good luck to start a show.
So on my first ever radio show, I wanted to
include Jared Catherine Barger, and she's kind enough to come on.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Thanks so much for joining.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
Well if she make me laugh, You're funny. You're doing
a great job. I agree you You're a natural, whether
it be on radio or TV.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
All right, Well, enough about that, let's let's get to
the news, the stuff that matters. Obviously, you're essentially the
mayor of Altadena because there is no mayor of Altadena
as the supervisor for that district, and we've seen you
day after day helping to lead the effort to rebuild
that area. We've now passed the one hundred day mark.
(01:41):
You know, Mayor bass is talking about the state of
the city today. How do you see the state of
Altadena right now?
Speaker 5 (01:47):
I see the state of Alcadena obviously. You know in
your news you talked about the Army corpus saying that
they are ahead of schedule. So we're looking at June
as completion of the clean up effort. As it relates
to the homes that were lost. Now it's up to
the county to streamline the process. It relates to permitting
something that I passed emotion now it's going to be
two weeks ago. We're going to be on target to
(02:10):
streamline focus on self certification, meaning if you hire an
architect to end or an engineer with a license, that
you're going to get the approval with the checks and
balances being you know, the checking and the framing and
the electric, electrical and plumbing as it goes along. So
we're going to we're going to make sure that we
not only talk it, but we walk it. And so
(02:30):
I'm confident we're going to get it done.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
How many permits have been issued so far?
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Well, now you see, that's that's why I brought into motion.
The first permit that was issued was Habitat for Humanity.
Actually that was a home that I was involved with
and was there when they when they cut the ribbons,
so that was open less than a year ago. So
they just literally took the plans and brought it back
out and stamped them. Another another issue was a permit
(02:57):
was issued last week. But that's not that that is acceptable.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And two are we now at two permits and.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
That's it and it's unacceptable, Alex. I'm embarrassed to even
say it. So that's why I brought in the motion.
It was unanimously approved by our board, and quite frankly,
I'm hoping that this is a template moving forward for
all permitting that we do in the county because one
of the things that I tell people is this fire
really did highlight just how little inventory we have on
(03:24):
the housing side. There were people scrambling to find housing,
and the cost to rent was absolutely ridiculous because the
supply does not meet the demand.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
So I mean, is there are there other ways though
to speed up the permitting process? I mean, because I mean,
what should we expect from a timeline even if we
get this motion pass in terms of is there the
capability to actually do this?
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, the motion did pass, and absolutely it should take
under thirty days. The Director of Public Work stated that
actually at the press conference when we were talking about rebuilding,
it should not take more than thirty days. And we've
got a one stop up in Altadena. It shouldn't be fragmented.
Where Public Works gets it for two weeks, Regional Planning
(04:08):
gets it for two weeks, fire gets it for two weeks,
and Public Health gets for two weeks, all under one roof.
Get it done in real time. Act like it is
your house. Act like it's money coming out of your
pocket for every day that you don't get it done.
And I'm given the advancement on AI, given the ability
to do the self certification with the license that architects engineers.
(04:30):
There's no reason it should take any more than thirty days,
pure and simple.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
And so that will be the standard.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Basically, if I app for repurnmit, you need to it
needs to be approved within thirty days.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
You are darn right, And I will tell you I
will be out there. I'm monitoring and I get updates,
and I was doing once a week, I'm gonna do
every day so that they know I'm watching closely. I
want to see how many are in the quy right now,
and then I'm going to follow it all the way through.
There is no reason it should take any longer, none,
especially when a lot of people are doing like for like,
(05:03):
meaning they're building to the same square footage as prior.
There is no excuse. And you know, we talk about
you know, streamlining, we talk about efficiencies. We will need
to be a part of that as it relates to
the rebuild effort. And I am confident, especially given the
fact that Public Works Mark Ostrella said it can be
done it can and it will.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
And to that point, like to like, should we do
what like to like, should this be a time to
rethink how to do alta dina And how are you
thinking about that?
Speaker 5 (05:35):
So when I talk like to like, I'm talking square footage.
So if you had a thousand square foot home, you're
building rebuilding a thousand square foot home. No on the
hardening is what they call it at homes. Recognizing that
that we are living year round in fire zones and
a fire region. And while this on the new Firemouth
by the state wasn't in the high fire severity area,
(05:59):
we know that there are things, as it can and
should be done in the rebuilding up to make sure
that the homes are hardened in a way that God
forbid something like that's happened again, there's at least not
a guarantee, but things in place that will protect structures.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
You know, you're the only Republican on the Board of Supervisors,
so you're often the sort of the conduit to the
Trump administration. You also seem to have a fairly good
working relationship with Governor Newsom. How's everybody getting along? Are
you satisfied with what you're seeing from the federal government
from the state government can sort of take us behind
the scenes on what's really happening.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Hey, this has been a textbook on what I as
a voter, but more importantly my confisuals would expect. The
state has been an incredible partner. The governor has been
down here, he's been an altadenat countless times, and we
talked about the permitting process. So I heard he went
in there and I immediately reached out to him to say,
(06:59):
I am on it. So he is very engaged. And
then of course, you know, when the President came out,
the governor talked to him. The Governor subfintely followed through
went back to DC and met with him. The fact
that the Army Corps announced that they're going to be
probably done in June reflects the additional resources that the
President had it When he heard that it was going
(07:20):
to take eighteen months, he said that is unacceptable. So
he frontloaded on the EPA side, which was at Phase one,
to get rid of the hazardous materials, and then he
frontloaded on the phase two the Army Corps to make
sure that we had contractors in place so that in
real time we could get it done. So this has
been a textbook on all levels of government working together.
(07:41):
Doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat. Sociitus want
to know that you are working for them, especially in
a time of crisis, which obviously this is.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
And obviously there's some lessons that can be learned on
other things from this sort of thing as well. You've
agreed to stick with us to the next segment. So
when we come back, I want to talk about the
other big issue that we think about and talk about
so much, which is homelessness and where we at on that.
So Katherine Barger, a chair of the La County Board
of Supervisors, stay with us for that.
Speaker 6 (08:09):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I am happy that Supervisor Katherine Barger, the chair of
the La County Board of Supervisors, is back with us
for another segment. Thanks so much, Oh my pleasure. So
let's talk about homelessness. There was this new poll that
just came out from Politico and UC Berkeley Citron Center
that said it is by far and away the number
one area of concern for California voters and they are frustrated.
(08:40):
Thirty seven percent of California and support the idea of
arresting homeless people, which is something that the mayor of
not so liberal San Jose has proposed, the idea of
if you continually refuse shelter, we need to arrest you.
We need to get people off the streets if they're
not going to take our shelter. What do you think
about that, about the idea of doing something radically different
(09:02):
to try to change things.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
Well, I think people are frustrated because it's not like
we haven't put a lot of money into it. We
have skin in the game as voters and as tax players.
So I think the frustration is where are we and
why are they still encampments throughout our communities. We're not
going to arrest our way out of this. I believe
that housing alone is not going to address it. It's
alcohol and drug and you know, I think Prop thirty
(09:27):
six the way it was written enabled and created even
more people that ended up on our streets that are
addicted to drugs. So we need to do more to
force them either treatment or jail, which was lost at
Prop thirty six when they said no longer it's a misdemeanor.
(09:48):
We used to have drug courts where the judge would
say you're either going to go to treatment or you're
going to go to jail, and most picked treatment, and
so I think we have to do more on the
social service side. I also needed to do more with enforcement.
You can hide behind the Grant pass which said that
you have to have a bed for every single homeless
person before you can do enforcement of encampments or camping
(10:10):
out in public. We can't ride by man anymore. So
I truly have in my district taken the position that
enforcement plays an important role in cleaning up the streets.
And that's what I've done, because you know, people have
a right to quality of life, public safety. For taxpayers
who live in communities that are impacted by this deserve
(10:32):
to feel safe and deserve to be able to walk
the street. Stop being concerned about walking around tents that
have taken over the sidewalks.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
What do you say to people who feel like we
don't trust you, not necessarily you specifically, but you as
the county or you as the state, that this has
just been an abject failure, and we keep talking about
spending more money and the problem. You know, maybe it's
a little marginally better, but not dramatically better, and in
(11:00):
many cases worse.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
QUES seen it. I mean I've had the I would
say honor, but it's something that it's absolutely discussing to
walk skid row with Judge Carter. So I've seen the
worst of the worst on our streets. But I've also
seen what we can do when we really do focus
working with our cities. And La City is one of
(11:25):
eighty eight in La County. I point to the Analyt
Valley where we have put in We've taken what we're
motels that were full of prostitution, drugs, etc. We purchased
them with the city, work for a nonprofit. We've put
in programs that are unbelievable that have been transformational, especially
for single moms with children. So it can be done.
(11:47):
But one of the things we haven't done is empower
our cities. We in the county. It's not a one
size fits all. So I say, who better understands what
the city needs than the city manager the city council.
So let them tell us what they need in terms
of resources. And it may not be housing for such
moves that you can come in off the street, whether
(12:08):
you're using or not it may be a different model,
but we haven't done that in the past. It's been
here's how you have to do it. And I truly
do believe if you shove something down someone's throat long enough,
it's not going to stay down there.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Thanks for the imagery.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
So La County is now planning to shift more than
five hundred million dollars in funding away from LASA, which
has been the.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Housing Services Authority.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
What does that actually do, like specifically, what are we
going to see differently?
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Now, well, I'll tell you what it's going to do. Ultimately,
it's up to this Board of Supervisors to make sure
that money is used the way that voters expected when
they voted to increase the quarters and Sales tax. And
that means that we are going to bring it in house.
We're going to have a data driven The buck's going
(12:59):
to stop with the board. And that's what hasn't happened.
You know, when I went into Judge Carter's courtroom and
listened to the auditor that was hired by the courts
and the and the auditors were saying that they couldn't
get backup information on contracts for millions of dollars that
went out and they couldn't get any backup, they couldn't
get proof that the services were provided. I thought my
(13:20):
head was going to explode. I mean, it's like, what
is unacceptable?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Right?
Speaker 5 (13:24):
And so that was a final that was a final
nail in the coffin for me, the supervisor horrorbat. Then
I had already talked about it, we had drafted the motion.
But it was a no brainer for me because if
I'm going to walk into a courtroom of a federal
judge and I'm going to find out that an agency
that oh, by the way, I have an appointee on
that commission, and they're not providing back up information, you
know what, that is unacceptable. So it's brought back in.
(13:47):
And you know, when you talk about people not trusting government,
they're going to pulp at five of us because at
the end of the day, we five are they going
to be the gatekeepers? And so the buck is going
to stop with us something that has not been done.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I mean, do you feel like there's a sort of
homeless industrial complex that makes money on making money off
of homelessness issues, not making money off of getting people
off the streets.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Well, you tell me, when I brought in emotion to
support putting in a meekest brief into the Supreme Court
regarding Grant's Pass, which was the Boise decision, and I
figured Governor k Newsom supports it, London breed from San
Francisco supports it. This is like mom and apple Pie.
You know who came down to testify it against it?
(14:30):
All the providers. What does that tell you? I was shocked.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I was shocked.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
Yeah, it disappointed me, but I thought, maybe that's part
of the problem if they are supporting, which, by the way,
they don't have to criminalize, but it gives us a tool.
It's been and even the Governor said it, Grant's Pass
has been a distraction and actually an excuse for people
not to get out there and do more. And no
(14:56):
longer is that excuse in place. And long before the
Stream four overruled it, I believed in asking for forgiveness
versus permission. So we were doing it, but we were
doing it in a compassionate way, going out offering beds,
and we went out there for a couple of days
and they didn't accept it. Sorry, you got to move.
And the encampments that I removed that I drive by drove.
By this weekend, all gone have not come back.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Well, let's hope it stays that way.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
And real quickly before we let you go the loss
of Pope Francis. I know you study leaders from around
the world. Obviously LA has one of the largest Catholic
dioceses in the country, the largest. What are the leadership
lessons you take away from Pope Francis?
Speaker 5 (15:38):
First of all, up until yesterday, he was still giving
people hope. He was still sending the message, especially surrounding Christmas,
about the need to do better as the world as
a whole. And my takeaway from him is you lead
by example, and that's what he did. He led by example.
(16:00):
You saw that with where he lived on the grounds
of the Vatican in very simple quarters, and you're seeing
it where he's going to be buried, because he is.
He truly was a pope for the people and felt
that if you want people to believe and live by
what you say, you have to walk it, and he did.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Katherin Barger, thank you so much for calling in and
for whatever. We know that there's supporters of you and
critics of you. I just like a politician that talks
straight and gives answers whether you agree with him or not,
and you're always willing to take the tough questions and
always willing to explain your perspective, and we need more
of that in politics.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
So thank you so much for doing what you do.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Thank you, Alex. You take care all.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Right, coming up, there's all this heavy news. We're going
to take a bit of a break to talk about
what I really want to talk about, which is the
Lakers and what happened this weekend and what's going on.
So Jovann Buja is the staff writer for the athletics.
He knows more about them than just about anybody who
was out at practice with them today talking to the guys.
(17:04):
So we're going to talk some Lakers basketball. Coming up
here on KFI.
Speaker 6 (17:09):
You're listening to John Cobelts on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Alex Michaelson filling in for John cobelt here on the
John coblt Show. Deborah Mark, are you a big Lakers fan?
Speaker 4 (17:24):
I wouldn't say I'm a big Lakers fan. I used
to be a huge Clippers.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Fan, though, WHOA. I know, what's that about? You know
what's wrong with you?
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I remember when Blake Griffin right in Chris right joined
and that that was just the height of my excitement
on about the Clippers. But of course I like the Lakers.
I'm just I'm not a huge sports fan.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
All right.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
There's a certain contrarian nature to you. I like that
because the people that are Clippers fan, that's a certain
personality type.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
What kind of personality type is that?
Speaker 3 (17:54):
And it's a bit of a contrarian You like to
go against the grain. You're you're choosing something else, oh
I see, or you're you know, because you know, it's
interesting for people that there's one team that has seventeen
titles and a bunch of retired jerseys, and there's another
team that has no titles and no retired jerseys, and
yet people choose that team. Back years ago, was always
also like a cheaper ticket to go to the Clippers,
(18:15):
so that was more accessible, and they've got more personality.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
And the Clippers have a good shot.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
You know, people aren't really talking about them in this town,
but they're really good. Well, I want to bring on
one of the smartest guys I know to talk Lakers
because this is my real passion, not politics. It's really
just talking Lakers and Jovonne Boja, who used to be
the staff writer for the athletic for the Clippers, is
now the last couple of years been the staff writer
for the Lakers. He's the host of the Boojas Block podcast,
(18:44):
which you can listen to in podcast form and also
live on YouTube after the games. And I was always
just a big fan of Jovonn's writing and followed him
on social media, and I invited him on my show
on Fox eleven, and right before the commercial he told
me that he too had gone to a Gora High
school and a USC So I really like him now.
(19:04):
And so we're going to start this the way that
we start off his podcast, which is saying, Yovan yo.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
Yo, how's it going, Alex, thank you for having me
give us a yo yo yo yo.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
There we go.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Okay, now we can start. Thank you very much the guy.
Next hour, it's ding Dong with you. This hour it's
yo yo. So a lot of people listening to this
right now are freaking out about the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
They watched that game.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
It was pretty dispiriting to see basically from the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter on Minnesota took
over you were just out at Lakers practice today. You
got a chance to see the guys, talk to the guys.
What's the vibe. Take us behind the scenes of what's
happening in the Lakers world right now.
Speaker 8 (19:47):
Yeah, Well, they are optimistic that it is going to
be better in Game two. JJ Redick said after watching.
Speaker 7 (19:53):
The film, he felt like two things stood out.
Speaker 8 (19:56):
One they need to play with more intensity, and two
they need to be more organ the more organized. Specifically
on the offensive end, he felt like their spacing principles
were poor. They didn't play with enough pace, and he felt.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
Like, you know, with fifteen seconds left on the shot clock.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
There'd be three or four guys just around half court
and not already set up.
Speaker 7 (20:15):
Within their offense.
Speaker 8 (20:17):
So I think for them, there's a lot of low
hanging fruit. I think there's some things defensively they could
do better. They were overhelping a bit away from shooters,
giving up open threes. On the offensive end, they didn't
really get Lebron or Austin going, and I think that's
something they need to try to do.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
Earlier in the game. Luca was really the only one
who got into any.
Speaker 8 (20:37):
Rhythm against the Wolves defense, So I think for them
if they'd play more like the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Honestly, I think they should be fine in the series.
Speaker 8 (20:45):
But the Wolves punched them in their mouth in Game
one and sent a certain message that they're not, you know,
despite being the quote unquote underdogs in this series. They're
not afraid of the Lakers, and I think the Lakers
now to come out and respond in Game two.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Wolves also proved to be younger, faster, and more physical
and bigger, I mean just from a matchup perspective. You know,
when the Lakers traded away Anthony Davis, they were left
with Jackson Hayes, who was never intended to be a
starting center in the NBA. They only played him for
eight minutes in this game, and the Wolves got a
lot of big guys, including Rudy Gobert, and they were
(21:21):
able to sort of push around the Lakers.
Speaker 8 (21:24):
Yes, and if you want to take the glass half empty,
look at Game one. The Wolves just look to be
in a different weight class in terms of literally physically
different weight literally, you know, and the Lakers had actually
done well against bigger teams recently because they've gone to
this smaller lineup where they don't have a center and
it's Storian Finney Smith, Ruey Hotchemoor, Lebron, James Austin Reeves
(21:48):
and Luka Doncic, and that lineup has been dominant. And
they've gone up against big front courts, teams that play
two big together, teams that have you know, seven foot
plus centers, and the Lakers have ran those teams off
the floor. They have shot them off the floor and
spaced them off the floor and made those teams downsize
to try to match up better with the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (22:10):
They were not able to do that in Game one.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
And if the Lakers are not able to get Minnesota
to have to adjust to their lineup, I think that's
where I think there is some concern for LA. So
just looking at it, like if they're going to keep
Rudy Gobert out there, he's by far bigger than anybody
on the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (22:26):
And just up and down the roster.
Speaker 8 (22:28):
They are younger, they are taller, they are faster, they
are more athletic, and they beat the Lakers to loose balls,
They beat them the offensive rebounds. They got out in
transition twenty five to six in fast break points, which
is just a thrashing.
Speaker 7 (22:40):
So it depending on how you look at it.
Speaker 8 (22:42):
Right, like, I think the Lakers can play much better,
and there is some things to be optimistic about. But
certainly I think this is more of a dog fight
than initially anticipated, and I think Minnesota does have a
real shot to win the series.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
And it's hard to imagine Minnesota shooting as well from
three as they did as well. That was They're amazing
to watch what was happening there. We're talking to Jovann
Buja of The Athletic, the Lakers beat writer here in
the John coblt Show. So, Lebron James has played in
more game ones than anybody else in NBA history, He's
played in more a lot of things than anybody else
in NBA history, and he oftentimes views it sort of
(23:18):
as a feeling out game. Where do you see Lebron's
thinking right now?
Speaker 8 (23:25):
I think that that's exactly how he viewed it. You know,
I asked him about just adjusting to their size and
if he felt like he needed, you know, kind of
a game to feel that out, and he essentially agreed
with that.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
Premise and just that maybe it took them.
Speaker 8 (23:42):
You know, three or four quarters too, because that was
something that really stood out, was just that there'd be
times the Lakers have seemingly an open three and then
Timberwolf would would come in and block the shot or
alter the shot, and it was just like it felt
like the Lakers really struggled to adapt and adjust to
their lengths and just how much ground they could cover defensively.
So Lebron is famous for the feel out game one.
(24:06):
His teams are twelve and eleven one, you know, coming
off a loss in game one, So he does have
a history of even when it looks like maybe the
series is over or the series is tilting towards the
other team, Lebron's teams are above five hundred in those instances.
And you know that that record was even better before
the lakers last couple of series losses to Denver. So
(24:27):
I think the Lakers are still in a good spot,
but certainly I think we will have a better idea
of where they're at in like the first quarter of
Game two, because if they come out again with another slow.
Speaker 7 (24:38):
I mean, actually got it a good start, but but
you know, another big run for the Wolves.
Speaker 8 (24:41):
Minnesota starts hitting threes, they're getting out in transition, they're
puffing their chests out. That's where the Lakers might actually
be in some trouble.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
And lastly, Jova and you have this amazing gig where
you travel with the team, you spend time in the
locker room, you talk to them afterwards. You get to
see a lot of moments that the rest of us
don't get to see on TV or even on social media.
What are they like behind the scenes and are they
different than some of what we see when when you
see them away from the cameras.
Speaker 7 (25:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (25:10):
Well, so the first thing I would say is this
is now my fifth season covering the Lakers, and this
is definitely the closest.
Speaker 7 (25:17):
Group I have observed.
Speaker 8 (25:19):
I think there's a real connectivity within that locker room
and within this group, and I think everybody genuinely likes
each other, which I can attest is not always.
Speaker 7 (25:28):
The case locker room Westbrook. You know, maybe another player
was traded to see it. And yeah, just even.
Speaker 8 (25:38):
Covering the Clippers, I had a couple of big chemistry
articles on like their locker room dynamic, And so it's
not always a guarantee that the players are going to
like each other or get along maybe, but you know,
so I think that's one thing. But but to like
this is a relatively quiet locker room. I will say,
(26:00):
like outside of Lebron and Dorian Finney Smith, and you know,
there's a couple of guys that are a bit chatty
or loud, but it is a more introverted group and
it is something that JJ's talked about that he has
tried to coax out of them, you know, them to
be vocal and just to communicate more. And I think
at times when they're looking their worst, it's because a
(26:20):
lot of these guys are not natural communicators. They're not
used to calling each other out or you know, just
just kind of being on top of each other in
that sense. But I think it is a fun locker room.
Like Dorian Finney Smith to me, was the guy who
really changed the season. Of course, Luca is the headline
and he changed the trajectory in the future of the
Lakers as well as the president. But Dorryan Finney Smith
(26:43):
came in and he set I think a certain tone defensively,
and he also set a tone from the locker room
perspective because he is a guy who has a dynamic
with everyone in that locker room. He will crack jokes,
but he'll also call people out and.
Speaker 7 (26:56):
Hold them accountable. So I think for a group that
didn't always have that and hasn't always.
Speaker 8 (27:01):
Had that outside of Lebron, and of course Lebron is
doing that, but like that voice can only carry so
much weight, but when you're hearing it from the same person,
sometimes you need a new voice to come in. I
think we've seen that with JJ Reddick, but we've also
seen that with Dorian Phinney Smith.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
So I would say, you know, Luca is.
Speaker 8 (27:15):
Another guy who he's relatively quiet, but he's always cracking jokes.
Speaker 7 (27:19):
He has good.
Speaker 8 (27:19):
Relationships with Dorian and Maxi Kliba and some of the
assistant coaches on the staff that.
Speaker 7 (27:26):
He previously worked with. So it's a fun group.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
Again, relatively quiet, I would say by typical NBA standards,
but I definitely you can see the connection among them.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Well, really interesting stuff there. The DODO stands that are
listening are going to love that. That's about as much
Dorian Finney Smiths stuff as you're going to get anywhere
in LA media. And you can check out Jovan's podcast
Boojas Block, which you can subscribe to, and after every
Laker game he's on live on YouTube for a long
time getting into it, responding to the commenters, which I'm
(28:00):
sure he'll be doing tomorrow night for Game two.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Of the NBA Playoffs for the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Yo yo, yo, Ban, Thank you so much. Can keep
up the great work, buddy. Proud of you.
Speaker 7 (28:11):
Appreciate you. Alex, thank you so much for having.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Me up next. Marla Teas my colleague at Fox eleven.
We check in with her on her maternity leave and
we get an update on what's going on with her.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
You're listening to the John co Belt Show with Alex
Michaelson filling in today, and usually you'll hear me on
Fox eleven at five, six and ten. My co anchor
for the six o'clock news every night is Marla Teaz,
who is now out on maternity leave. You often hear
Marla right here on KFI AM six forty filling in
(28:49):
on all the different shows. So she's part of my
inspiration for wanting to do this, which is why I
wanted to have her be a part of my first
ever time hosting a radio show. Marla joins us. Now, Marla, Welcome,
Elli You're.
Speaker 9 (29:04):
Doing a fantastic job. It's so fun to listen to you.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Oh, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
So for people that follow you on TV, they know
you just had baby Sloane. You can also check out
her pictures in social media. Deborah Mark got to visit
baby Sloan. Deborah, what was it like at Marla's house?
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Oh, my gosh, Baby Sloane is so cute. She's so tiny.
Marla I still talk to people about how tiny her
ears are.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
She's adorable.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
And Marla looks amazing. I have to say, which I
did not look that amazing at all after I had
my two kids.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
I just had to say that.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
But no, Marla seems so happy and her husband John
as well, and her baby's so cute. Oh, I was
so happy to meet her.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah is how is motherhood? How's it going?
Speaker 7 (29:58):
Well?
Speaker 9 (29:58):
Let me just say this, first of all, thank you
having me on. Thank you Devera for your kind words.
Your ears are adorable, little button nose.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
How's it going?
Speaker 9 (30:08):
How about this? Let me paint a picture. I'm sitting
in the backseat of our car with baby flown next
to me, of course in her car seat. We are
road tripping from the Bay area where we spent Easter
with my mom and family, and we're tripping back to
Los Angeles right now. We're just outside the grape Vine.
We pulled over at a rest stop. I fed her
(30:28):
and then we thought we can just change her here
on me with the changing pad, and she proceeded to
once we got the diaper off of her, she proceeded
to pee all over me, all over me, wet from
my daughter's pea. And I've been christened into motherhood and I.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
Love every second. Are you loving the smells?
Speaker 5 (30:51):
Though?
Speaker 9 (30:51):
I mean, you know what, just great question. Actually her
boots not so much elicks. You're in no smell, no smell.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
And I got to say, you know, you've been talking
up this talk radio thing for a long time and
it's so much fun.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I mean, it's a whole different deal.
Speaker 9 (31:13):
Yes, yeah, I've been listening since you started at one
o'clock and Harvey and I said the same thing, right,
because you and I were texting earlier. You know how
is radio? You've heard me say this over and over.
We love our jobs, don't get me wrong. I love
Box eleven, we love doing live TV. But radio that
is just so different. It is so freeing and I
(31:34):
love That's what I love about it, and I'm glad
that you're being able to experience it too.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Yeah, you got it. You got it so right. So
we when are we getting you back on TV and
on the radio?
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Well?
Speaker 9 (31:47):
So radio, great question. I think you and I should
pitch a show together. But TV, I'll be back on
the Tube in June. I don't have a return date yet. Okay,
I still got to work that out, but mid June.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Well, we miss you, and you know I asked you
this on TV, but I'll ask you here. How do
you think motherhood has has changed you?
Speaker 9 (32:12):
Oh? It has made me less selfish. It is nothing
is about me, It's all about her. One of the
things you know about me, Alex is I'm very regimented.
I live by a routine, and so my routine is
out the window.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Uh sprinter, well right, exactly.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (32:30):
I wish I could spread a marathon. But my learning
how to navigate my new routine, Swan's new routine, has
been the most challenging but also the most rewarding. So
to all the mothers out there, you have the hardest
job in the world. So I'm proud to be a part.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of the clubs and Deborah, what's the most important lesson
you can teach her about motherhood?
Speaker 4 (32:50):
I think just making sure that you spend as much
time with your children as you can when they're young,
because it, oh my gosh, Marla, it goes by so fast.
I mean, my daughter is graduating law school in just
a few weeks, and my son's engaged to be married,
and I can't believe it. I look in the mirror
and I go.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
How can I have kids that old?
Speaker 4 (33:12):
Where did the time go? So I would say, just
enjoy every minute of it, because it does.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Go by so fast.
Speaker 9 (33:19):
Slowe turned four weeks old yesterday for her first Easter,
so she's already a month old. And yes to your points, ever,
that flew by, and so I already said, we got
eleven months to plan her one year birthday party.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
And the sixth week is another milestone because usually they smile.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
It's so cute.
Speaker 9 (33:38):
Well, speaking of God, yeah, when she smiled, now I
think she's just pooping.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Yeah, you'll get a real smile around the sixth week
and six weeks.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
And you know, thirty eight years later, I still smile
when I poop. So there you go, Marla, Marla speaking
of going by fast. This segment went by fast, and
this show is going by fast but safe drives and
travel up the Grapevine. Send our love to John and
to Sloan and thanks for calling in.
Speaker 9 (34:05):
Okay, we'll be listening to the last hour. Great job, Alex, Yes, Hi, Deborah, Bye, Marla.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
And in our next hour, we're gonna have Bill Mallusion
from Fox News talking about the issue of immigration. We'll
have Melanie Mason from Politico talking about Mayor Bass's state
of the city and also the governor's race. And we'll
be talking with the man himself, Tim Conway Junior ding Dong.
But now back to Deborah Mark in the KFI twenty
(34:30):
four hour newsroom.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
You can always hear the show live on KFI Am
six forty from one to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course, anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Can't. I am six forty. You're listening to the John
Cobel podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
No, this is not John Cobelt.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
This is Alex Michaelson from Fox eleven News weeknights five,
six ten o'clock, the statewide political show. The issue is
filling in doing my first ever live talk radio show.
On this show, Deborah Mark, this is so much fun.
It goes by so fast. It's amazing what you guys
do every day.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I gotta say it's seamless you're doing Honestly, I don't
have to say anything. No, seriously, you're doing a great job.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Well, it's been great because we've had great guests that
really carried the load. I've just sort of sat here
and we're going to continue that now as we've got
lots of big things to talk about with the chair
of the La County Board of Supervisors is Katherine Barger.
And when we started our six and seven o'clock talk
show with Doctor Drew, we brought Catherine Barger on at
(00:57):
the beginning and that show is still going in one form.
So I see her as good luck to start a show.
So on my first ever radio show, I wanted to
include Jared Catherine Barger, and she's kind enough to come on.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Thanks so much for joining.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
Well if she make me laugh, You're funny. You're doing
a great job. I agree you You're a natural, whether
it be on radio or TV.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
All right, Well, enough about that, let's let's get to
the news, the stuff that matters. Obviously, you're essentially the
mayor of Altadena because there is no mayor of Altadena
as the supervisor for that district, and we've seen you
day after day helping to lead the effort to rebuild
that area. We've now passed the one hundred day mark.
(01:41):
You know, Mayor bass is talking about the state of
the city today. How do you see the state of
Altadena right now?
Speaker 5 (01:47):
I see the state of Alcadena obviously. You know in
your news you talked about the Army corpus saying that
they are ahead of schedule. So we're looking at June
as completion of the clean up effort. As it relates
to the homes that were lost. Now it's up to
the county to streamline the process. It relates to permitting
something that I passed emotion now it's going to be
two weeks ago. We're going to be on target to
(02:10):
streamline focus on self certification, meaning if you hire an
architect to end or an engineer with a license, that
you're going to get the approval with the checks and
balances being you know, the checking and the framing and
the electric, electrical and plumbing as it goes along. So
we're going to we're going to make sure that we
not only talk it, but we walk it. And so
(02:30):
I'm confident we're going to get it done.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
How many permits have been issued so far?
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Well, now you see, that's that's why I brought into motion.
The first permit that was issued was Habitat for Humanity.
Actually that was a home that I was involved with
and was there when they when they cut the ribbons,
so that was open less than a year ago. So
they just literally took the plans and brought it back
out and stamped them. Another another issue was a permit
(02:57):
was issued last week. But that's not that that is acceptable.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And two are we now at two permits and.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
That's it and it's unacceptable, Alex. I'm embarrassed to even
say it. So that's why I brought in the motion.
It was unanimously approved by our board, and quite frankly,
I'm hoping that this is a template moving forward for
all permitting that we do in the county because one
of the things that I tell people is this fire
really did highlight just how little inventory we have on
(03:24):
the housing side. There were people scrambling to find housing,
and the cost to rent was absolutely ridiculous because the
supply does not meet the demand.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
So I mean, is there are there other ways though
to speed up the permitting process? I mean, because I mean,
what should we expect from a timeline even if we
get this motion pass in terms of is there the
capability to actually do this?
Speaker 5 (03:48):
Yeah, the motion did pass, and absolutely it should take
under thirty days. The Director of Public Work stated that
actually at the press conference when we were talking about rebuilding,
it should not take more than thirty days. And we've
got a one stop up in Altadena. It shouldn't be fragmented.
Where Public Works gets it for two weeks, Regional Planning
(04:08):
gets it for two weeks, fire gets it for two weeks,
and Public Health gets for two weeks, all under one roof.
Get it done in real time. Act like it is
your house. Act like it's money coming out of your
pocket for every day that you don't get it done.
And I'm given the advancement on AI, given the ability
to do the self certification with the license that architects engineers.
(04:30):
There's no reason it should take any more than thirty days,
pure and simple.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
And so that will be the standard.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Basically, if I app for repurnmit, you need to it
needs to be approved within thirty days.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
You are darn right, And I will tell you I
will be out there. I'm monitoring and I get updates,
and I was doing once a week, I'm gonna do
every day so that they know I'm watching closely. I
want to see how many are in the quy right now,
and then I'm going to follow it all the way through.
There is no reason it should take any longer, none,
especially when a lot of people are doing like for like,
(05:03):
meaning they're building to the same square footage as prior.
There is no excuse. And you know, we talk about
you know, streamlining, we talk about efficiencies. We will need
to be a part of that as it relates to
the rebuild effort. And I am confident, especially given the
fact that Public Works Mark Ostrella said it can be
done it can and it will.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
And to that point, like to like, should we do
what like to like, should this be a time to
rethink how to do alta dina And how are you
thinking about that?
Speaker 5 (05:35):
So when I talk like to like, I'm talking square footage.
So if you had a thousand square foot home, you're
building rebuilding a thousand square foot home. No on the
hardening is what they call it at homes. Recognizing that
that we are living year round in fire zones and
a fire region. And while this on the new Firemouth
by the state wasn't in the high fire severity area,
(05:59):
we know that there are things, as it can and
should be done in the rebuilding up to make sure
that the homes are hardened in a way that God
forbid something like that's happened again, there's at least not
a guarantee, but things in place that will protect structures.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
You know, you're the only Republican on the Board of Supervisors,
so you're often the sort of the conduit to the
Trump administration. You also seem to have a fairly good
working relationship with Governor Newsom. How's everybody getting along? Are
you satisfied with what you're seeing from the federal government
from the state government can sort of take us behind
the scenes on what's really happening.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Hey, this has been a textbook on what I as
a voter, but more importantly my confisuals would expect. The
state has been an incredible partner. The governor has been
down here, he's been an altadenat countless times, and we
talked about the permitting process. So I heard he went
in there and I immediately reached out to him to say,
(06:59):
I am on it. So he is very engaged. And
then of course, you know, when the President came out,
the governor talked to him. The Governor subfintely followed through
went back to DC and met with him. The fact
that the Army Corps announced that they're going to be
probably done in June reflects the additional resources that the
President had it When he heard that it was going
(07:20):
to take eighteen months, he said that is unacceptable. So
he frontloaded on the EPA side, which was at Phase one,
to get rid of the hazardous materials, and then he
frontloaded on the phase two the Army Corps to make
sure that we had contractors in place so that in
real time we could get it done. So this has
been a textbook on all levels of government working together.
(07:41):
Doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat. Sociitus want
to know that you are working for them, especially in
a time of crisis, which obviously this is.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
And obviously there's some lessons that can be learned on
other things from this sort of thing as well. You've
agreed to stick with us to the next segment. So
when we come back, I want to talk about the
other big issue that we think about and talk about
so much, which is homelessness and where we at on that.
So Katherine Barger, a chair of the La County Board
of Supervisors, stay with us for that.
Speaker 6 (08:09):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I am happy that Supervisor Katherine Barger, the chair of
the La County Board of Supervisors, is back with us
for another segment. Thanks so much, Oh my pleasure. So
let's talk about homelessness. There was this new poll that
just came out from Politico and UC Berkeley Citron Center
that said it is by far and away the number
one area of concern for California voters and they are frustrated.
(08:40):
Thirty seven percent of California and support the idea of
arresting homeless people, which is something that the mayor of
not so liberal San Jose has proposed, the idea of
if you continually refuse shelter, we need to arrest you.
We need to get people off the streets if they're
not going to take our shelter. What do you think
about that, about the idea of doing something radically different
(09:02):
to try to change things.
Speaker 5 (09:04):
Well, I think people are frustrated because it's not like
we haven't put a lot of money into it. We
have skin in the game as voters and as tax players.
So I think the frustration is where are we and
why are they still encampments throughout our communities. We're not
going to arrest our way out of this. I believe
that housing alone is not going to address it. It's
alcohol and drug and you know, I think Prop thirty
(09:27):
six the way it was written enabled and created even
more people that ended up on our streets that are
addicted to drugs. So we need to do more to
force them either treatment or jail, which was lost at
Prop thirty six when they said no longer it's a misdemeanor.
(09:48):
We used to have drug courts where the judge would
say you're either going to go to treatment or you're
going to go to jail, and most picked treatment, and
so I think we have to do more on the
social service side. I also needed to do more with enforcement.
You can hide behind the Grant pass which said that
you have to have a bed for every single homeless
person before you can do enforcement of encampments or camping
(10:10):
out in public. We can't ride by man anymore. So
I truly have in my district taken the position that
enforcement plays an important role in cleaning up the streets.
And that's what I've done, because you know, people have
a right to quality of life, public safety. For taxpayers
who live in communities that are impacted by this deserve
(10:32):
to feel safe and deserve to be able to walk
the street. Stop being concerned about walking around tents that
have taken over the sidewalks.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
What do you say to people who feel like we
don't trust you, not necessarily you specifically, but you as
the county or you as the state, that this has
just been an abject failure, and we keep talking about
spending more money and the problem. You know, maybe it's
a little marginally better, but not dramatically better, and in
(11:00):
many cases worse.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
QUES seen it. I mean I've had the I would
say honor, but it's something that it's absolutely discussing to
walk skid row with Judge Carter. So I've seen the
worst of the worst on our streets. But I've also
seen what we can do when we really do focus
working with our cities. And La City is one of
(11:25):
eighty eight in La County. I point to the Analyt
Valley where we have put in We've taken what we're
motels that were full of prostitution, drugs, etc. We purchased
them with the city, work for a nonprofit. We've put
in programs that are unbelievable that have been transformational, especially
for single moms with children. So it can be done.
(11:47):
But one of the things we haven't done is empower
our cities. We in the county. It's not a one
size fits all. So I say, who better understands what
the city needs than the city manager the city council.
So let them tell us what they need in terms
of resources. And it may not be housing for such
moves that you can come in off the street, whether
(12:08):
you're using or not it may be a different model,
but we haven't done that in the past. It's been
here's how you have to do it. And I truly
do believe if you shove something down someone's throat long enough,
it's not going to stay down there.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Thanks for the imagery.
Speaker 3 (12:22):
So La County is now planning to shift more than
five hundred million dollars in funding away from LASA, which
has been the.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Housing Services Authority.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
What does that actually do, like specifically, what are we
going to see differently?
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Now, well, I'll tell you what it's going to do. Ultimately,
it's up to this Board of Supervisors to make sure
that money is used the way that voters expected when
they voted to increase the quarters and Sales tax. And
that means that we are going to bring it in house.
We're going to have a data driven The buck's going
(12:59):
to stop with the board. And that's what hasn't happened.
You know, when I went into Judge Carter's courtroom and
listened to the auditor that was hired by the courts
and the and the auditors were saying that they couldn't
get backup information on contracts for millions of dollars that
went out and they couldn't get any backup, they couldn't
get proof that the services were provided. I thought my
(13:20):
head was going to explode. I mean, it's like, what
is unacceptable?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Right?
Speaker 5 (13:24):
And so that was a final that was a final
nail in the coffin for me, the supervisor horrorbat. Then
I had already talked about it, we had drafted the motion.
But it was a no brainer for me because if
I'm going to walk into a courtroom of a federal
judge and I'm going to find out that an agency
that oh, by the way, I have an appointee on
that commission, and they're not providing back up information, you
know what, that is unacceptable. So it's brought back in.
(13:47):
And you know, when you talk about people not trusting government,
they're going to pulp at five of us because at
the end of the day, we five are they going
to be the gatekeepers? And so the buck is going
to stop with us something that has not been done.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I mean, do you feel like there's a sort of
homeless industrial complex that makes money on making money off
of homelessness issues, not making money off of getting people
off the streets.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Well, you tell me, when I brought in emotion to
support putting in a meekest brief into the Supreme Court
regarding Grant's Pass, which was the Boise decision, and I
figured Governor k Newsom supports it, London breed from San
Francisco supports it. This is like mom and apple Pie.
You know who came down to testify it against it?
(14:30):
All the providers. What does that tell you? I was shocked.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I was shocked.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
Yeah, it disappointed me, but I thought, maybe that's part
of the problem if they are supporting, which, by the way,
they don't have to criminalize, but it gives us a tool.
It's been and even the Governor said it, Grant's Pass
has been a distraction and actually an excuse for people
not to get out there and do more. And no
(14:56):
longer is that excuse in place. And long before the
Stream four overruled it, I believed in asking for forgiveness
versus permission. So we were doing it, but we were
doing it in a compassionate way, going out offering beds,
and we went out there for a couple of days
and they didn't accept it. Sorry, you got to move.
And the encampments that I removed that I drive by drove.
By this weekend, all gone have not come back.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Well, let's hope it stays that way.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
And real quickly before we let you go the loss
of Pope Francis. I know you study leaders from around
the world. Obviously LA has one of the largest Catholic
dioceses in the country, the largest. What are the leadership
lessons you take away from Pope Francis?
Speaker 5 (15:38):
First of all, up until yesterday, he was still giving
people hope. He was still sending the message, especially surrounding Christmas,
about the need to do better as the world as
a whole. And my takeaway from him is you lead
by example, and that's what he did. He led by example.
(16:00):
You saw that with where he lived on the grounds
of the Vatican in very simple quarters, and you're seeing
it where he's going to be buried, because he is.
He truly was a pope for the people and felt
that if you want people to believe and live by
what you say, you have to walk it, and he did.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Katherin Barger, thank you so much for calling in and
for whatever. We know that there's supporters of you and
critics of you. I just like a politician that talks
straight and gives answers whether you agree with him or not,
and you're always willing to take the tough questions and
always willing to explain your perspective, and we need more
of that in politics.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
So thank you so much for doing what you do.
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Thank you, Alex. You take care all.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Right, coming up, there's all this heavy news. We're going
to take a bit of a break to talk about
what I really want to talk about, which is the
Lakers and what happened this weekend and what's going on.
So Jovann Buja is the staff writer for the athletics.
He knows more about them than just about anybody who
was out at practice with them today talking to the guys.
(17:04):
So we're going to talk some Lakers basketball. Coming up
here on KFI.
Speaker 6 (17:09):
You're listening to John Cobelts on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Alex Michaelson filling in for John cobelt here on the
John coblt Show. Deborah Mark, are you a big Lakers fan?
Speaker 4 (17:24):
I wouldn't say I'm a big Lakers fan. I used
to be a huge Clippers.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Fan, though, WHOA. I know, what's that about? You know
what's wrong with you?
Speaker 4 (17:33):
I remember when Blake Griffin right in Chris right joined
and that that was just the height of my excitement
on about the Clippers. But of course I like the Lakers.
I'm just I'm not a huge sports fan.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
All right.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
There's a certain contrarian nature to you. I like that
because the people that are Clippers fan, that's a certain
personality type.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
What kind of personality type is that?
Speaker 3 (17:54):
And it's a bit of a contrarian You like to
go against the grain. You're you're choosing something else, oh
I see, or you're you know, because you know, it's
interesting for people that there's one team that has seventeen
titles and a bunch of retired jerseys, and there's another
team that has no titles and no retired jerseys, and
yet people choose that team. Back years ago, was always
also like a cheaper ticket to go to the Clippers,
(18:15):
so that was more accessible, and they've got more personality.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
And the Clippers have a good shot.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
You know, people aren't really talking about them in this town,
but they're really good. Well, I want to bring on
one of the smartest guys I know to talk Lakers
because this is my real passion, not politics. It's really
just talking Lakers and Jovonne Boja, who used to be
the staff writer for the athletic for the Clippers, is
now the last couple of years been the staff writer
for the Lakers. He's the host of the Boojas Block podcast,
(18:44):
which you can listen to in podcast form and also
live on YouTube after the games. And I was always
just a big fan of Jovonn's writing and followed him
on social media, and I invited him on my show
on Fox eleven, and right before the commercial he told
me that he too had gone to a Gora High
school and a USC So I really like him now.
(19:04):
And so we're going to start this the way that
we start off his podcast, which is saying, Yovan yo.
Speaker 7 (19:09):
Yo, how's it going, Alex, thank you for having me
give us a yo yo yo yo.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
There we go.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Okay, now we can start. Thank you very much the guy.
Next hour, it's ding Dong with you. This hour it's
yo yo. So a lot of people listening to this
right now are freaking out about the Lakers.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
They watched that game.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
It was pretty dispiriting to see basically from the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter on Minnesota took
over you were just out at Lakers practice today. You
got a chance to see the guys, talk to the guys.
What's the vibe. Take us behind the scenes of what's
happening in the Lakers world right now.
Speaker 8 (19:47):
Yeah, Well, they are optimistic that it is going to
be better in Game two. JJ Redick said after watching.
Speaker 7 (19:53):
The film, he felt like two things stood out.
Speaker 8 (19:56):
One they need to play with more intensity, and two
they need to be more organ the more organized. Specifically
on the offensive end, he felt like their spacing principles
were poor. They didn't play with enough pace, and he felt.
Speaker 7 (20:08):
Like, you know, with fifteen seconds left on the shot clock.
Speaker 8 (20:11):
There'd be three or four guys just around half court
and not already set up.
Speaker 7 (20:15):
Within their offense.
Speaker 8 (20:17):
So I think for them, there's a lot of low
hanging fruit. I think there's some things defensively they could
do better. They were overhelping a bit away from shooters,
giving up open threes. On the offensive end, they didn't
really get Lebron or Austin going, and I think that's
something they need to try to do.
Speaker 7 (20:33):
Earlier in the game. Luca was really the only one
who got into any.
Speaker 8 (20:37):
Rhythm against the Wolves defense, So I think for them
if they'd play more like the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (20:42):
Honestly, I think they should be fine in the series.
Speaker 8 (20:45):
But the Wolves punched them in their mouth in Game
one and sent a certain message that they're not, you know,
despite being the quote unquote underdogs in this series. They're
not afraid of the Lakers, and I think the Lakers
now to come out and respond in Game two.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
Wolves also proved to be younger, faster, and more physical
and bigger, I mean just from a matchup perspective. You know,
when the Lakers traded away Anthony Davis, they were left
with Jackson Hayes, who was never intended to be a
starting center in the NBA. They only played him for
eight minutes in this game, and the Wolves got a
lot of big guys, including Rudy Gobert, and they were
(21:21):
able to sort of push around the Lakers.
Speaker 8 (21:24):
Yes, and if you want to take the glass half empty,
look at Game one. The Wolves just look to be
in a different weight class in terms of literally physically
different weight literally, you know, and the Lakers had actually
done well against bigger teams recently because they've gone to
this smaller lineup where they don't have a center and
it's Storian Finney Smith, Ruey Hotchemoor, Lebron, James Austin Reeves
(21:48):
and Luka Doncic, and that lineup has been dominant. And
they've gone up against big front courts, teams that play
two big together, teams that have you know, seven foot
plus centers, and the Lakers have ran those teams off
the floor. They have shot them off the floor and
spaced them off the floor and made those teams downsize
to try to match up better with the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (22:10):
They were not able to do that in Game one.
Speaker 8 (22:12):
And if the Lakers are not able to get Minnesota
to have to adjust to their lineup, I think that's
where I think there is some concern for LA. So
just looking at it, like if they're going to keep
Rudy Gobert out there, he's by far bigger than anybody
on the Lakers.
Speaker 7 (22:26):
And just up and down the roster.
Speaker 8 (22:28):
They are younger, they are taller, they are faster, they
are more athletic, and they beat the Lakers to loose balls,
They beat them the offensive rebounds. They got out in
transition twenty five to six in fast break points, which
is just a thrashing.
Speaker 7 (22:40):
So it depending on how you look at it.
Speaker 8 (22:42):
Right, like, I think the Lakers can play much better,
and there is some things to be optimistic about. But
certainly I think this is more of a dog fight
than initially anticipated, and I think Minnesota does have a
real shot to win the series.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
And it's hard to imagine Minnesota shooting as well from
three as they did as well. That was They're amazing
to watch what was happening there. We're talking to Jovann
Buja of The Athletic, the Lakers beat writer here in
the John coblt Show. So, Lebron James has played in
more game ones than anybody else in NBA history, He's
played in more a lot of things than anybody else
in NBA history, and he oftentimes views it sort of
(23:18):
as a feeling out game. Where do you see Lebron's
thinking right now?
Speaker 8 (23:25):
I think that that's exactly how he viewed it. You know,
I asked him about just adjusting to their size and
if he felt like he needed, you know, kind of
a game to feel that out, and he essentially agreed
with that.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
Premise and just that maybe it took them.
Speaker 8 (23:42):
You know, three or four quarters too, because that was
something that really stood out, was just that there'd be
times the Lakers have seemingly an open three and then
Timberwolf would would come in and block the shot or
alter the shot, and it was just like it felt
like the Lakers really struggled to adapt and adjust to
their lengths and just how much ground they could cover defensively.
So Lebron is famous for the feel out game one.
(24:06):
His teams are twelve and eleven one, you know, coming
off a loss in game one, So he does have
a history of even when it looks like maybe the
series is over or the series is tilting towards the
other team, Lebron's teams are above five hundred in those instances.
And you know that that record was even better before
the lakers last couple of series losses to Denver. So
(24:27):
I think the Lakers are still in a good spot,
but certainly I think we will have a better idea
of where they're at in like the first quarter of
Game two, because if they come out again with another slow.
Speaker 7 (24:38):
I mean, actually got it a good start, but but
you know, another big run for the Wolves.
Speaker 8 (24:41):
Minnesota starts hitting threes, they're getting out in transition, they're
puffing their chests out. That's where the Lakers might actually
be in some trouble.
Speaker 3 (24:49):
And lastly, Jova and you have this amazing gig where
you travel with the team, you spend time in the
locker room, you talk to them afterwards. You get to
see a lot of moments that the rest of us
don't get to see on TV or even on social media.
What are they like behind the scenes and are they
different than some of what we see when when you
see them away from the cameras.
Speaker 7 (25:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (25:10):
Well, so the first thing I would say is this
is now my fifth season covering the Lakers, and this
is definitely the closest.
Speaker 7 (25:17):
Group I have observed.
Speaker 8 (25:19):
I think there's a real connectivity within that locker room
and within this group, and I think everybody genuinely likes
each other, which I can attest is not always.
Speaker 7 (25:28):
The case locker room Westbrook. You know, maybe another player
was traded to see it. And yeah, just even.
Speaker 8 (25:38):
Covering the Clippers, I had a couple of big chemistry
articles on like their locker room dynamic, And so it's
not always a guarantee that the players are going to
like each other or get along maybe, but you know,
so I think that's one thing. But but to like
this is a relatively quiet locker room. I will say,
(26:00):
like outside of Lebron and Dorian Finney Smith, and you know,
there's a couple of guys that are a bit chatty
or loud, but it is a more introverted group and
it is something that JJ's talked about that he has
tried to coax out of them, you know, them to
be vocal and just to communicate more. And I think
at times when they're looking their worst, it's because a
(26:20):
lot of these guys are not natural communicators. They're not
used to calling each other out or you know, just
just kind of being on top of each other in
that sense. But I think it is a fun locker room.
Like Dorian Finney Smith to me, was the guy who
really changed the season. Of course, Luca is the headline
and he changed the trajectory in the future of the
Lakers as well as the president. But Dorryan Finney Smith
(26:43):
came in and he set I think a certain tone defensively,
and he also set a tone from the locker room
perspective because he is a guy who has a dynamic
with everyone in that locker room. He will crack jokes,
but he'll also call people out and.
Speaker 7 (26:56):
Hold them accountable. So I think for a group that
didn't always have that and hasn't always.
Speaker 8 (27:01):
Had that outside of Lebron, and of course Lebron is
doing that, but like that voice can only carry so
much weight, but when you're hearing it from the same person,
sometimes you need a new voice to come in. I
think we've seen that with JJ Reddick, but we've also
seen that with Dorian Phinney Smith.
Speaker 7 (27:13):
So I would say, you know, Luca is.
Speaker 8 (27:15):
Another guy who he's relatively quiet, but he's always cracking jokes.
Speaker 7 (27:19):
He has good.
Speaker 8 (27:19):
Relationships with Dorian and Maxi Kliba and some of the
assistant coaches on the staff that.
Speaker 7 (27:26):
He previously worked with. So it's a fun group.
Speaker 8 (27:29):
Again, relatively quiet, I would say by typical NBA standards,
but I definitely you can see the connection among them.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
Well, really interesting stuff there. The DODO stands that are
listening are going to love that. That's about as much
Dorian Finney Smiths stuff as you're going to get anywhere
in LA media. And you can check out Jovan's podcast
Boojas Block, which you can subscribe to, and after every
Laker game he's on live on YouTube for a long
time getting into it, responding to the commenters, which I'm
(28:00):
sure he'll be doing tomorrow night for Game two.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
Of the NBA Playoffs for the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Yo yo, yo, Ban, Thank you so much. Can keep
up the great work, buddy. Proud of you.
Speaker 7 (28:11):
Appreciate you. Alex, thank you so much for having.
Speaker 3 (28:13):
Me up next. Marla Teas my colleague at Fox eleven.
We check in with her on her maternity leave and
we get an update on what's going on with her.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
You're listening to the John co Belt Show with Alex
Michaelson filling in today, and usually you'll hear me on
Fox eleven at five, six and ten. My co anchor
for the six o'clock news every night is Marla Teaz,
who is now out on maternity leave. You often hear
Marla right here on KFI AM six forty filling in
(28:49):
on all the different shows. So she's part of my
inspiration for wanting to do this, which is why I
wanted to have her be a part of my first
ever time hosting a radio show. Marla joins us. Now, Marla, Welcome,
Elli You're.
Speaker 9 (29:04):
Doing a fantastic job. It's so fun to listen to you.
Speaker 2 (29:07):
Oh, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
So for people that follow you on TV, they know
you just had baby Sloane. You can also check out
her pictures in social media. Deborah Mark got to visit
baby Sloan. Deborah, what was it like at Marla's house?
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Oh, my gosh, Baby Sloane is so cute. She's so tiny.
Marla I still talk to people about how tiny her
ears are.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
She's adorable.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
And Marla looks amazing. I have to say, which I
did not look that amazing at all after I had
my two kids.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
I just had to say that.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
But no, Marla seems so happy and her husband John
as well, and her baby's so cute. Oh, I was
so happy to meet her.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Yeah is how is motherhood? How's it going?
Speaker 7 (29:58):
Well?
Speaker 9 (29:58):
Let me just say this, first of all, thank you
having me on. Thank you Devera for your kind words.
Your ears are adorable, little button nose.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
How's it going?
Speaker 9 (30:08):
How about this? Let me paint a picture. I'm sitting
in the backseat of our car with baby flown next
to me, of course in her car seat. We are
road tripping from the Bay area where we spent Easter
with my mom and family, and we're tripping back to
Los Angeles right now. We're just outside the grape Vine.
We pulled over at a rest stop. I fed her
(30:28):
and then we thought we can just change her here
on me with the changing pad, and she proceeded to
once we got the diaper off of her, she proceeded
to pee all over me, all over me, wet from
my daughter's pea. And I've been christened into motherhood and I.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
Love every second. Are you loving the smells?
Speaker 5 (30:51):
Though?
Speaker 9 (30:51):
I mean, you know what, just great question. Actually her
boots not so much elicks. You're in no smell, no smell.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
And I got to say, you know, you've been talking
up this talk radio thing for a long time and
it's so much fun.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
I mean, it's a whole different deal.
Speaker 9 (31:13):
Yes, yeah, I've been listening since you started at one
o'clock and Harvey and I said the same thing, right,
because you and I were texting earlier. You know how
is radio? You've heard me say this over and over.
We love our jobs, don't get me wrong. I love
Box eleven, we love doing live TV. But radio that
is just so different. It is so freeing and I
(31:34):
love That's what I love about it, and I'm glad
that you're being able to experience it too.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Yeah, you got it. You got it so right. So
we when are we getting you back on TV and
on the radio?
Speaker 5 (31:47):
Well?
Speaker 9 (31:47):
So radio, great question. I think you and I should
pitch a show together. But TV, I'll be back on
the Tube in June. I don't have a return date yet. Okay,
I still got to work that out, but mid June.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Well, we miss you, and you know I asked you
this on TV, but I'll ask you here. How do
you think motherhood has has changed you?
Speaker 9 (32:12):
Oh? It has made me less selfish. It is nothing
is about me, It's all about her. One of the
things you know about me, Alex is I'm very regimented.
I live by a routine, and so my routine is
out the window.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
Uh sprinter, well right, exactly.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (32:30):
I wish I could spread a marathon. But my learning
how to navigate my new routine, Swan's new routine, has
been the most challenging but also the most rewarding. So
to all the mothers out there, you have the hardest
job in the world. So I'm proud to be a part.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
Of the clubs and Deborah, what's the most important lesson
you can teach her about motherhood?
Speaker 4 (32:50):
I think just making sure that you spend as much
time with your children as you can when they're young,
because it, oh my gosh, Marla, it goes by so fast.
I mean, my daughter is graduating law school in just
a few weeks, and my son's engaged to be married,
and I can't believe it. I look in the mirror
and I go.
Speaker 9 (33:10):
How can I have kids that old?
Speaker 4 (33:12):
Where did the time go? So I would say, just
enjoy every minute of it, because it does.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
Go by so fast.
Speaker 9 (33:19):
Slowe turned four weeks old yesterday for her first Easter,
so she's already a month old. And yes to your points, ever,
that flew by, and so I already said, we got
eleven months to plan her one year birthday party.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
And the sixth week is another milestone because usually they smile.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
It's so cute.
Speaker 9 (33:38):
Well, speaking of God, yeah, when she smiled, now I
think she's just pooping.
Speaker 4 (33:42):
Yeah, you'll get a real smile around the sixth week
and six weeks.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
And you know, thirty eight years later, I still smile
when I poop. So there you go, Marla, Marla speaking
of going by fast. This segment went by fast, and
this show is going by fast but safe drives and
travel up the Grapevine. Send our love to John and
to Sloan and thanks for calling in.
Speaker 9 (34:05):
Okay, we'll be listening to the last hour. Great job, Alex, Yes, Hi, Deborah, Bye, Marla.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
And in our next hour, we're gonna have Bill Mallusion
from Fox News talking about the issue of immigration. We'll
have Melanie Mason from Politico talking about Mayor Bass's state
of the city and also the governor's race. And we'll
be talking with the man himself, Tim Conway Junior ding Dong.
But now back to Deborah Mark in the KFI twenty
(34:30):
four hour newsroom.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Hey, you've been listening to the John Cobalt Show podcast.
You can always hear the show live on KFI Am
six forty from one to four pm every Monday through Friday,
and of course, anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
The John Kobylt Show News
Host
John Kobylt
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