March 2, 2025 • 37 mins
Michael dives into the controversy surrounding the firing of LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, and the heated appeal process with Mayor Karen Bass at the center of it all. He replays a key moment from January 7th and breaks down the critical elements of Crowley’s upcoming hearing—including a recap of the fire-event timeline and Mayor Bass’s trip to Ghana. Michael also examines a new PPIC survey revealing California’s political divergence from the rest of the country, and he wraps up by discussing a FilmLA report that signals Hollywood’s declining role as a hub for film content creation as tax incentives lure opportunities to other states.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
This is Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm Michael Monks from KFI News with you till nine
o'clock tonight. I'm so glad that winter is back in
southern California after the horror of a brief visit of
summer this week. Not a fan, not a fan of that.
I like a full winter because it's so mild and wonderful.
Today was great. Love me some clouds like a cool breeze.
(00:31):
Had a great nat with the window open, needed it.
It was another busy news week, very tired, and we
got another busy news week ahead. Tuesday morning. La City
Hall ousted fire chief Kristin Crowley is going to plead
for mercy and her job back. It's been eight days
since Mayor Bas fired the veteran firefighter, saying Crowley had
(00:54):
not been well enough prepared to defend the Palisades against
the wildfire in January and that she did not informed
the mayor well enough about just how serious the threat was.
So these two have been kind of at it quietly
for a while, and since this public spat between Bass
and Crowley emerged shortly after the palisades were destroyed. Questions
(01:17):
have been raised about who knew what when, with a
lot of emphasis on the fact that just about all
of us knew there was a serious threat of fires
before Mayor Bass left for Ghana, where she was asked
to go to represent the US as that country's new
president was to be inaugurated.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
She is since said that trip was a mistake.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
We all know the mayor was halfway across the world
when the warnings became a reality and a crisis was
unfolding across La County. The timeline of warnings, what information
was shared when the fire department, excuse me, with the
fire department, by weather officials, and then in turn with
the mayor and other city leaders. That is likely going
(01:59):
to play a significant role in Tuesday's appeal hearing at
La City Hall. So we're going to do a run
through of that tonight. But before we go back to
the beginning of the warnings, which by the way, started
all the way back on December thirtieth, I want to
go to La City Hall now well City Hall on
(02:20):
January seventh, that's the day the fire in the Palisades
broke out, there was a city council meeting that day
was a Tuesday, after all, and this is what happened.
At the end of the meeting, where council members usually
just make some general announcements about what's going on in
their districts. You will hear council President Markquise Harris Dawson
call on council Member Tracy Park, who represents the West
(02:42):
Side and the Palisades. All right, with a cleared desk,
Are there any announcements members, any announcements?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Council Member Park.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Quick announcements on the developments on the Pacific Palisades fire.
This is growing very rapidly. It is now at over
two hundred acres. It is threatening homes and infrastructure and lives.
Voluntary evacuations are currently underway. We expect mandatory evacuation orders.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
To be following shortly.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
So my message to residents in the area is to
pack your bags, be ready to go. This is an emergency.
So thank you very much for that into all of
our partners at the Fire Department and the EOC for
springing into action.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
So there you go.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
On the day of the fires, that was the highest
sense of urgency. We heard at la City Hall there
was a fire. It was growing, it was spreading, it
was threatening. This is also important because Harris Dawson, as
council President, was acting mayor of the city that day.
Remember Mayor Bass is in Ghana. Council president is acting mayor.
He has come forward to say he called on Mayor
(03:48):
Bass to get rid of Crowley weeks before she finally
did it. He wasn't happy with what the chief had
to say about the fire department's budget. He also stood
behind Bass during the press conference a week ago where
the mayor dismissed Crowley, and he wasn't alone. Three other
council members were there too, and that is also important.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
We're going to get into that now.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It's not surprising that Harris Dawson is backing the mayor here.
He followed her as leader of the Community Coalition more
than twenty years ago. When Bass was first elected to
the State Assembly. She had previously led that organization, so
they go way back. But he is facing criticism too
because as council president, he gets to schedule when Crowley's
(04:34):
appeal takes place, and his first attempt was not well received.
When he took over as President of the council. Harris
Dawson responded to some requests from the community that we
need to have some council meetings in van Nis at
the City Hall and van Nis and yesterday Friday was
the second time they did that this year. But since
(04:57):
they were there, President Harris Dawson figured why not have
this high profile fire chief appeal hearing there too, but
not immediately after the council meeting, which usually ends around
one maybe two o'clock at the latest, but at five
o'clock in the afternoon on a Friday in the valley.
(05:20):
Think about traffic conditions, Think about people's availability. Think about
the council members themselves. They represent all of la Would
they hang out in van Nis for a few hours?
Would they be able to go home or to their offices?
Five o'clock on a Friday was the original announcement. So
some council members spoke against that decision. Firefighters certainly spoke
(05:40):
against it, and members of the community spoke against that decision.
So just as quickly as that meeting for yesterday was announced,
it was canceled and it has been rescheduled for the
regular city Council meeting that takes place on Tuesday morning
at ten o'clock in downtown La at La City Hall. Now,
(06:02):
there are three important things at play on Tuesday as
I see it, And what do I know? I don't know,
but this is what I see. Three things that are important.
We've got the timeline of the warnings and the fire itself.
(06:22):
So what was the Weather Service saying? What do they
tell the fire department and other emergency responders? And what
was explaining to the Mayor's office and other city leaders.
That's what The second important thing is the response itself.
We saw the palisades burned down, and again this isn't
(06:43):
erasure of the Eton fire. We're talking specifically about the
one in La City limits because of what's happening on Tuesday.
What about those thousand firefighters? Should they have been sent home?
Was there something more the fire department could have done?
The response is going to be important. And lastly, the
third item the math, the math of the whole thing.
(07:06):
There is a certain equation at play. Former Chief Crowley
will need ten of fifteen council members to say yes,
you can have your job back. So those three items
are what I see is the most important aspects of
the conversation that's going to take place Tuesday morning, maybe
afternoon at La City Hall, and that is what we're
(07:28):
going to dive into.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Next.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I'll explain a little more about those three things.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
This is Michael Monks Reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News.
We are with you till nine o'clock tonight. I will
be live at La City Hall on Tuesday right here
on KFI, covering the appeal by ex fire chief Kristen
Crowley to the La City Council as she asks for
(07:59):
her jomp back after being fired by Mayor mass eight
days ago.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Tune in. We will have this whole thing covered for you.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
That day before we took a break, I said, I
anticipate three things to be of the most importance at
Crowley's appeal on Tuesday. The timeline of the warnings in
the fire, the response to the fire, and the math.
I want to start this segment by talking about the timeline.
(08:27):
What did the government know, what did they know from
the Weather Service, and what did the Fire Department know
what does city leadership know? Bass says she didn't know
how serious it was going to get. She says Crowley
failed to tell her. Kay, if I has obtained the
full details from the National Weather Service forecast office leading
(08:49):
up to the fires, and so I want to do
a quick recap and explain how it may or may
not be as relevant to the facts, but it will
certainly be an important part of the conversation on Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
We're going to go back to Monday, December thirtieth.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
That was really the first major tickle that we had
in the back of our throats that something bad was happening.
It was one o'clock in the afternoon. The National Weather
Service did their fire call. They sent their summary notes
to regional fire departments and emergency responders with a note
that basically says, this growing potential for very warm and
(09:26):
gusty Santa Ana winds with a moderate threat for red
flag warnings for Tuesday, January seventh through January tenth. So
that was on December thirtieth that we get the first
inclination that we've got conditions that may be right for fires,
but that isn't necessarily significant in this region on its
(09:48):
face all by itself. We have these things around here.
On Wednesday the first, they update their notes at the
Weather Service and inform their partners at the fire departments
and the emergent z responders moderate to high risk of
red flag warnings over La in Ventura Counties from Monday night,
January sixth through Friday, January tenth.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
So they talk about how high.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
The winds could get at this point and what the
chances are of those wins reaching certain speeds. That's on Wednesday,
January first, that's sab seven days before the fire breaks out.
The next day they basically reiterate their point. Thursday, January second,
they send their notes out to the fire departments, the
emergency responders moderate to high risk of red flag warnings
(10:35):
over La in Ventura Counties, again concerning we want to
be aware of those things, but not unusual. On Friday
the third, the White House announces that La Mayor Bass
is going to represent the country in Ghana, where that
country is set to inaugurate a new president. On the
(10:56):
same day, the National Weather Service issues fire weather watches
for much of La in Ventura Counties.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Again not unusual.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
We're not screaming, We're not running for the hills, but
it's something we want to pay attention to. By that
afternoon on Friday, they've updated the fire departments, they've updated
the emergency responders. During their one o'clock fire call, Damaging
north to northeast winds. An extended period of red flag
conditions are likely over portions of southwest California next Tuesday
(11:28):
through Friday, they say. On Friday, January the third, they
emphasize the heavy winds that we might have and those
sorts of things. They also note that areas that do
not typically see strong winds will be more vulnerable with
this event due to strong and potentially long duration of
upper level winds support. That's National Weather Service type language,
but basically, if you don't usually get these big wins,
(11:50):
you're going to feel some of them during this week.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
That's what they are projecting.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
On Saturday, January fourth, Mayor Bass leaves La for Ghana
in the National Weather Service that afternoon updates their fire
summary to say damaging north to northeast winds, an extended
period of red flag conditions likely over portions of southwest
California next Tuesday through Friday. Fire weather watches and effect
for much of La and Ventura Counties. So really, what
(12:17):
was there to tell Mayor Bass before she left that
would have had her stay here and drive a fire
truck to the Palisades and put it out. That's going
to be an important piece of this conversation. What was known,
what needed to be known, what more could have been known?
These are concerning messages, right. We want to pay attention
(12:38):
to these forecasts, but are they any different than what
we might have any other time of year. On Sunday,
January fifth, Bass arrives in Ghana, and on that day,
red flag warnings are issued for much of La in
Ventura Counties, with fire weather watches still in effect Thursday
(13:03):
night into Friday. On their one o'clock afternoon fire call,
the National Weather Service notes widespread damaging north to northeast
winds and long duration of red flag conditions likely over
many portions of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties between Tuesday
and Friday. They emphasized some of the wins that we
might see in various parts of the region. Monday is
(13:27):
when things really got serious, when it was clearly something different.
If you had only been paying a little bit of
periphery attention. Monday was the wake up call that these
conditions look serious enough, because that is the day. At
three twenty four in the afternoon, the National Weather Service
(13:50):
upgraded the forecast to a particularly dangerous situation. They abbreviated PDS,
and it's a long title, but it is a very
rare issuance and obviously significant, particularly dangerous situation. Red flag
warning for portions of La and Ventura Counties, Life threatening,
(14:14):
destructive widespread windstorm Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday afternoon with
dangerous PDS. Red Flag Warning conditions for portions of La
and eastern Ventura Counties. That was just before three thirty
afternoon on Monday, and the LA City Emergency Alerts. This
is important. The City of Los Angeles their emergency Alerts
(14:38):
sent out the note about this situation by sharing a
link to the Fire Department detailing this stuff, and Mayor
Bass herself her social media also shares her first statement
about the conditions. Half an hour after that. Okay, so
(15:05):
the PDS is issued just before three point thirty on
Monday afternoon. LA City Emergency alert shares that information by
linking to the Fire department. At seven o'clock in the evening,
Mayor Bass shares her first statement about it all about
a half hour after that, albeit from Ghana, So it
(15:26):
wasn't until Monday, the day before the fires hit, that
we knew we were in a particularly dangerous situation, an
official term by the National Weather Service. And then, of
course we get to January seventh. By this point, the
fact that Bass is in Ghana is really irrelevant. The
argument that we've been hearing is whether she should have
(15:48):
gone did she have enough information? Did this city? Did
Marquis Harris Dawson, the council president, did the fire department?
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Did we?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
As for the response component of the appeal, Crowley will
have to defend her decision about the one thousand firefighters
who were reportedly sent home rather than being dispatched to
the Palisades. Firefighters say, look, we had nowhere to put
these guys and gals. Budget cuts have limited the number
of trucks and equipment there would have been nowhere to
put these firefighters.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Will that argument hold?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
That's what we're gonna have to see, because that's been
hit pretty hard to along with Crowley's statements about the
budget itself, which is directly related to this, and whether
she should have said what she said when she said
it to the media, and then there's the math. Crowley
needs ten city council members to vote in her favor
to reinstate her four members. We're at the press conference
(16:42):
with Mayor Bass announcing the firing, and a fifth has
since come forward to say he believes the mayors within
a right to fire department head, so she can't lose
anybody else. I'll be watching for city Councilmen Tracy Park
who represents the Palisades, and Councilmen Monica Rodriguez, who maybe
Rowley's potentially biggest allies on Tuesday, and I will be
(17:04):
at city Hall. We will have live coverage right here
on KFI from the scene of this appeal. Hope you'll
tune in for that. And up next, if you're supportive
of President Trump and you're against Governor Newsom and you
think all illegal immigrants should be deported, and you're a
California voter, you are any significant minority in the state
(17:25):
of California, we are gonna have details on this exhaustive
state wide poll.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Next, you're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
KFI AM six forty. We are live everywhere on the
iHeartRadio App. This is Michael Monks Reports. I am Michael
Monks from KFI News with you till nine o'clock tonight.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
If you want to join our conversation, whether it's about
what we expect to see on Tuesday or anything you
anything else you hear over the next hour and a half,
hit us up, open up that iHeartRadio app. Click on
the talk back button. We'll play some of your messages
throughout the duration of this show. How popular is President Trump? Well,
if you look at the rolling average the poll of
(18:08):
polls basically on five point thirty eight, which analyzes polsters
and combines polls along with their own algorithms to figure
out a broad sense of where the country is. Donald
Trump currently stands with a forty six and a half
percent favorable rating as of today, with forty eight point
(18:28):
three percent of the responsive public against him. Responsive meaning
responded to these polls that have been combined. And yes,
that has dropped. That has dropped in recent days. So
he is trending in the wrong direction. Maybe after yesterday.
(18:49):
I don't know how quickly they've got some polls in
after what happened in the Oval office. I know that
was a polarizing display. Depending on which side of the
aisle you are on, you probably saw something you liked
or something you didn't like. It looks like Californians in
general don't like that and don't like President Trump in general.
(19:12):
There is a new statewide poll that has come out
from the Public Policy Institute of Californians, their pPIC Statewide Survey,
and they've got a lot of information that really shows
California is still not in lockstep with much of the
country as it relates to what led to President Trump
being elected in the first place. So we just said
(19:35):
that President Trump himself nationally has a favorable rating and
approval rating, if you will, of about forty six and
a half percent. That is how many people respond favorably
to the question do Americans have a favorable or unfavorable
opinion of Donald Trump?
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Forty six and a half. Here in California, it's a
little bit lower.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
According to this survey, thirty percent of Californians the job
performance so far of President Trump, and that is about
the same has supported his job performance in twenty seventeen
after he took office for the first time, so not
much has changed in that respect, what I thought was
(20:18):
pretty interesting from this poll, this statewide survey was what
Californians deemed to be the top problem facing the United States,
Because leading up to the twenty twenty four election between
President Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris, the economy
seemed to dominate. People concerned about inflation, the cost of groceries,
(20:43):
their economic prospects, looking bad jobs, and also immigration.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Those were key issues.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And when you look at the top three in this
survey of what Californians say are the most important problems
in the United States right now, both of those are
in the top three, They're just not number one. Nineteen
percent say the economy unemployment in jobs is a top issue,
and fifteen percent say immigration is a top issue. But
thirty one percent, which is the top in this poll,
(21:18):
say political extremism threats to democracy the top problem facing
this country right now, although half of California's do say
the cost of living and inflation, housing costs, the availability
of housing, and also the environment are important issues for
(21:41):
the governor and the legislature to be working on this year.
And we should also note that a majority of the
respondents to the Public Policy Institute of California's statewide survey
do say the state is moving in the right excuse me,
in the wrong direction. Seven in ten expect that California
(22:03):
will be facing some financial problems over the next twelve months.
When we think about the state budget in California, lots
of conversations about that.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Right, what are the priorities?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Republican lawmakers have criticized the Democrat majority for focusing on
trump proofing California the directive of Governor Newsom while the
state is facing significant budget problems anyway. Four and ten
of California just think the state budget situation is a
big problem, so they name health and human services and
(22:43):
public education as their priorities for state spending. Fifty one
percent of adults and fifty percent of likely voters prefer
to pay lower state taxes and have fewer state services,
and the pPIC reports after reading a brief descript of
the budget, fifty eight percent of adults and fifty seven
(23:04):
percent of likely voters favor the budget plan. Seven to
ten favor spending two point seven billion dollars of the
ten billion dollars in proposition four state bond funds for
water and wildfire projects and fifty two percent of adults
and likely voters think that it is a bad idea
to use state reserve funds to balance the budget. When
(23:29):
we look at how Californians respond to this poll and
respond to the jaw performance of presidents, it's really not surprising.
This is obviously a Democratic stronghold as a state, but
Trump is particularly unpopular. I noted moments ago that at
both in twenty seventeen and here in twenty twenty five,
(23:50):
is approval rating in California is at thirty percent. Both
times thirty percent approval at the start of both of
his terms in office. When Joe Biden started his term
in office at this time in twenty twenty one, he
had a seventy percent approval rating in California. So did
Obama when he started in two thousand and nine. It
dropped a little bit. In twenty thirteen, for his second term,
(24:13):
Barack Obama had a sixty five percent approval rating. But
let's go back to George W. Bush. He wasn't very
popular among Democrats, especially at the start of his second term.
But in two thousand and five, at the start of
his second term, George W. Bush had a forty six
percent approval rating among California voters. That should show how
(24:39):
unpopular Donald Trump is statewide, that he's even that much
farther behind.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
George W. Bush.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
So what does that mean as the state legislature shapes
its priorities? Does that suggest that Republican lawmakers will have
a harder time getting some of their issues placed in
the budget, reining in some of the issues they're concerned
about because Democrats see that statewide, cumulatively, the Trump brand
(25:11):
is not very popular. You, as a listener may be thinking,
I like Trump, I don't like what nwsmance is doing.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
This survey says.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
You'ren't quite a minority. The other thing that I found
pretty interesting and maybe even sad out of this survey
is also not surprising. But think about those key campaign
issues from twenty twenty four, economics right, the price of eggs,
(25:50):
concerns about where the economy is headed. Maybe last year,
if you asked a random pool of twenty people, even
between Democrats and Republicans, how many people would you think
would say the economy's good. Things are good, We're moving
(26:10):
in the right direction. And what would be the political
makeup of those folks? While President Biden is in office,
and now that President Trump is in office, and you
asked that question to the same group, what is the reply?
Is it the same math but different people? Probably because
that's what this survey suggests. Folks who were optimistic about
(26:34):
the economy last year are not optimistic about it this year.
Folks who were pessimistic last year are optimistic this year.
Has anything changed other than the president? Are eggs cheaper?
Is your rent cheaper? Are we all just floating in
(26:55):
the political wins waiting for our guy to get back
into office? I find that very boring. Just as a journalist,
I wish we all paid a little more attention to
the issues that impact us directly and how those issues
become the issues that they are. And part of that
(27:17):
is on us as journalists to be better at explaining
those things without looking like you're running cover for one
politician or another.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
It's difficult.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
This is a weird environment we live in where a
tweet can go viral with all the wrong information. You've
already seen it, and you believe it, and you never
stop believing it. The tough environment we live in, and
that's how you get stats like that, That's how you
base your entire personality around an elected official.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Boring.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Let me know what you think about those results. Pull
out the iHeartRadio app, click on the talkback button. We'll
play some of your messages also if you'd like to
weigh in on what you expect to see on two
Tuesday at LA City Hall when ex fire chief Kristen
Crowley goes before the La City Council and asks them
to give them to give her her job back after
she was fired last week by Mayor Karen Bass. Up next,
(28:14):
you heard me talk last week about the Convention Center
in downtown LA and how it's an important part of
the twenty twenty eight Olympics and how they thought they
were going to spend a lot of money to make
it better before the Olympics before saying no, we can't,
we can't afford it. Well, some workers say you better
find a way to afford it because the jobs that
would be a part of it are important to us.
(28:34):
And also La Metro looking to make the subways safer.
They're expanding some of their security efforts. We'll talk about
that next week.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
I'm Michael Monks from KFI News and this is Michael
Monks Reports.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
We're with you till nine o'clock to night.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Last week we talked a lot about about the downtown
Los Angeles Convention Center and how it's going to play
a pretty significant role. It's hosting multiple events for the
twenty twenty eight Olympics. But the city had the idea
that maybe we could make it better before the Olympics
show up. This has been a problem in downtown for
a long time. Downtown civic boosters have said, look, this
(29:19):
convention center is just no longer competitive. We're losing out
to mid size cities in the middle of the country,
and we're Los Angeles and we are not getting the
types of conventions that we need to have here. And
so the city launched this exploration. Can we spend about
a billion dollars get this project going now and have
(29:41):
it finished in time for the twenty twenty eight Olympics.
Because if we start this thing and we find that
the Convention Center is under construction in twenty twenty eight
when the games are supposed to take place, we will
have to find different venues it will make us look bad.
So they were up against a very tight timeline. This
(30:01):
city administrator was very optimistic that this was a project
that could be accomplished with some borrowing and they would
make the money back in a variety of ways over
the next thirty years. Basically, but then the fires happened
and the city has already spent fifty four million dollars
as part of this analysis and basically the recommendation now
from the city administrator's offices, let's pause this. We don't
(30:25):
think that we can do this in time without disrupting
the Olympics. Well, some folks are upset about it, not
just the downtown boosters who pushed for it and hope
that it was going to come to attract more conventions,
maybe create some more jobs, have some significant economic impact
on downtown in the Greater Metro area. The union workers,
they are not happy about the pause in this project
(30:47):
LAOC Building Trades. They say they represent forty eight local
unions with one hundred and sixty thousand members. They want
this back on. This was a one point four billion
dollar proposed project, and the union say this would have
created more than seven thousand union jobs that would have
been created under a labor agreement, and without the project
(31:13):
moving forward, those jobs are not coming downtown, so they
want to see this go back on. They say that
they would be able not only to help build the
convention center, the renovation, but also fire recovery that was
(31:34):
one of the main issues here. The city said, look,
we don't think we can meet the timeline. It's not
just the staggering costs and the risk. It's the fact
that so many city workers, like engineers, their focus has
been shifted. We have a significant part of the city
to rebuild, and that's not really negotiable.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
The trades people say, do it all.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
They put out a press release and they say the
expansion made progress in the past few months with the
la City Council approving pre design work, and that it
would set the center nicely to hold the events for
the twenty twenty eight Olympics, where it was so host judo,
table tennis, taekwondo, wrestling and fencing. We're expecting another update
(32:26):
on this situation this month, but the trades union people
are going to be showing up to continue to push
that this project move forward. There have been some estimates,
and these are always a little Murky right. These are
numbers that come out and they're hard to quantify, but
(32:48):
they say the project would add one hundred and sixty
five million dollars in visitors spending every year and would
create more than two thousand jobs on an ongoing basis
of not just the seven thousand jobs that would work
in the con instruction area around it, but two thousand
jobs on an ongoing basis. We heard from all the
chamber types. We heard from hotel owners and small business
(33:08):
owners that this was something that was needed, would increase
foot traffic in downtown LA in area that needs it.
But now that project is on palls, the workers are unhappy.
It is not a final decision yet and this is
an issue that we will continue to monitor and update
as news on the progress or lack thereof of the
Downtown Los Angeles Convention Center moves forward or does not
(33:31):
move forward.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Speaking of Downtown.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
LA, at Union Station and Metro headquarters, this week, the
Metro Board of Directors, which is made up of county supervisors,
at least city council people, and other elected officials around
the area, they've decided to expand their security system that
allows for the detection of weapons keep in mind, speaking
(33:54):
of the Olympics, this is supposed to be the no
car Olympics in Laws Angeles. Obviously we're known for our traffic.
But city leaders, county leaders, they want the visitors coming
in for the Olympics to take the trains, to take
the buses, and they know that's going to take a
lot of infrastructure to make that happen, because you can't
(34:17):
even get Angelino's on those things right now, right because
it doesn't always feel safe, even if it is, even
if the stats say now there weren't there weren't any crimes,
this month still feels a little weird, right Well, they're expanding
this weapons detection. Metro began the pilot program last August
(34:38):
at Union Station and at the APU Citrus College station
to test the effectiveness of this screening system. One of
them had passengers walk through a set of sensors and
another used closed circuit video feeds to detect people carrying weapons.
And Janis Hahn, who is a county supervisor and the
(34:59):
current chair of the Metro board, she said neither system
detected any passengers carrying weapons during five months of testing,
but that both systems detected police officers and security officers
service weapons with one accuracy. And the guy who runs
(35:22):
Metro's security and law enforcement side, Robert Gummer, he's told
the board security officers witnessed some people leaving the Metro
stations when they saw or were told that the weapons
screening systems were in use. So he is saying that
that suggests that basically putting up a sign that we're
(35:43):
looking for your weapons is enough to deter people from
getting on. So now this pilot program is going to
expand to other high traffic transit stations for one year,
so they're going to test this for one year more.
And Han issued a statement after the board voted. She says,
you can't bring a weapon to a concert or a
(36:03):
Dodger game, and you shouldn't be able to bring a
weapon on Metro. The weapons detection technology we are already
testing at some Metro stations works and is showing promise
and deterring people from even attempting to bring guns and
knives onto Metro. Writer's safety needs to be our priority,
and it is time to put this technology in more stations.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
In our next hour, we are going to turn our
attention to Hollywood. It won't be an entertainment show in
the sense of an Oscar's reviews, so to speak. But
whether you like it or not, I haven't seen any movies, Heather.
I don't know anything about what's going on. I was
telling our producer Matthew Toffler, like, I can't really do
an Oscar segment because I haven't made it to the
(36:50):
theater in.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
A long time. You've been a little busy.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Well, I'll tell you. If it were the Emmys, I'd
be all over. I love television. I'm much more of
a TV guy because I can stream it. I don't
believe the house. It's it's perfect for me, but it's
neither here, aren't there? Regardless, Hollywood is important to Los
Angeles in a lot of ways. Hollywood is what people
think of outside of this area when you say Los Angeles,
and it is struggling, even though Sunday is going to
(37:15):
be a big night for Hollywood, the biggest night. In fact,
every year, Hollywood's not doing well here, fewer jobs, fewer productions,
and now local officials and state officials want to do
something about it, and that thing is to throw money
at Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Will it work?
Speaker 2 (37:32):
We're going to dive into that in our next hour
here on Michael Monks Reports on KFI AM sixty
Speaker 1 (37:40):
KFI AM six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
This is Michael Monks Reports.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm Michael Monks from KFI News with you till nine
o'clock tonight. I'm so glad that winter is back in
southern California after the horror of a brief visit of
summer this week. Not a fan, not a fan of that.
I like a full winter because it's so mild and wonderful.
Today was great. Love me some clouds like a cool breeze.
(00:31):
Had a great nat with the window open, needed it.
It was another busy news week, very tired, and we
got another busy news week ahead. Tuesday morning. La City
Hall ousted fire chief Kristin Crowley is going to plead
for mercy and her job back. It's been eight days
since Mayor Bas fired the veteran firefighter, saying Crowley had
(00:54):
not been well enough prepared to defend the Palisades against
the wildfire in January and that she did not informed
the mayor well enough about just how serious the threat was.
So these two have been kind of at it quietly
for a while, and since this public spat between Bass
and Crowley emerged shortly after the palisades were destroyed. Questions
(01:17):
have been raised about who knew what when, with a
lot of emphasis on the fact that just about all
of us knew there was a serious threat of fires
before Mayor Bass left for Ghana, where she was asked
to go to represent the US as that country's new
president was to be inaugurated.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
She is since said that trip was a mistake.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
We all know the mayor was halfway across the world
when the warnings became a reality and a crisis was
unfolding across La County. The timeline of warnings, what information
was shared when the fire department, excuse me, with the
fire department, by weather officials, and then in turn with
the mayor and other city leaders. That is likely going
(01:59):
to play a significant role in Tuesday's appeal hearing at
La City Hall. So we're going to do a run
through of that tonight. But before we go back to
the beginning of the warnings, which by the way, started
all the way back on December thirtieth, I want to
go to La City Hall now well City Hall on
(02:20):
January seventh, that's the day the fire in the Palisades
broke out, there was a city council meeting that day
was a Tuesday, after all, and this is what happened.
At the end of the meeting, where council members usually
just make some general announcements about what's going on in
their districts. You will hear council President Markquise Harris Dawson
call on council Member Tracy Park, who represents the West
(02:42):
Side and the Palisades. All right, with a cleared desk,
Are there any announcements members, any announcements?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Council Member Park.
Speaker 4 (02:50):
Quick announcements on the developments on the Pacific Palisades fire.
This is growing very rapidly. It is now at over
two hundred acres. It is threatening homes and infrastructure and lives.
Voluntary evacuations are currently underway. We expect mandatory evacuation orders.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
To be following shortly.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
So my message to residents in the area is to
pack your bags, be ready to go. This is an emergency.
So thank you very much for that into all of
our partners at the Fire Department and the EOC for
springing into action.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
So there you go.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
On the day of the fires, that was the highest
sense of urgency. We heard at la City Hall there
was a fire. It was growing, it was spreading, it
was threatening. This is also important because Harris Dawson, as
council President, was acting mayor of the city that day.
Remember Mayor Bass is in Ghana. Council president is acting mayor.
He has come forward to say he called on Mayor
(03:48):
Bass to get rid of Crowley weeks before she finally
did it. He wasn't happy with what the chief had
to say about the fire department's budget. He also stood
behind Bass during the press conference a week ago where
the mayor dismissed Crowley, and he wasn't alone. Three other
council members were there too, and that is also important.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
We're going to get into that now.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It's not surprising that Harris Dawson is backing the mayor here.
He followed her as leader of the Community Coalition more
than twenty years ago. When Bass was first elected to
the State Assembly. She had previously led that organization, so
they go way back. But he is facing criticism too
because as council president, he gets to schedule when Crowley's
(04:34):
appeal takes place, and his first attempt was not well received.
When he took over as President of the council. Harris
Dawson responded to some requests from the community that we
need to have some council meetings in van Nis at
the City Hall and van Nis and yesterday Friday was
the second time they did that this year. But since
(04:57):
they were there, President Harris Dawson figured why not have
this high profile fire chief appeal hearing there too, but
not immediately after the council meeting, which usually ends around
one maybe two o'clock at the latest, but at five
o'clock in the afternoon on a Friday in the valley.
(05:20):
Think about traffic conditions, Think about people's availability. Think about
the council members themselves. They represent all of la Would
they hang out in van Nis for a few hours?
Would they be able to go home or to their offices?
Five o'clock on a Friday was the original announcement. So
some council members spoke against that decision. Firefighters certainly spoke
(05:40):
against it, and members of the community spoke against that decision.
So just as quickly as that meeting for yesterday was announced,
it was canceled and it has been rescheduled for the
regular city Council meeting that takes place on Tuesday morning
at ten o'clock in downtown La at La City Hall. Now,
(06:02):
there are three important things at play on Tuesday as
I see it, And what do I know? I don't know,
but this is what I see. Three things that are important.
We've got the timeline of the warnings and the fire itself.
(06:22):
So what was the Weather Service saying? What do they
tell the fire department and other emergency responders? And what
was explaining to the Mayor's office and other city leaders.
That's what The second important thing is the response itself.
We saw the palisades burned down, and again this isn't
(06:43):
erasure of the Eton fire. We're talking specifically about the
one in La City limits because of what's happening on Tuesday.
What about those thousand firefighters? Should they have been sent home?
Was there something more the fire department could have done?
The response is going to be important. And lastly, the
third item the math, the math of the whole thing.
(07:06):
There is a certain equation at play. Former Chief Crowley
will need ten of fifteen council members to say yes,
you can have your job back. So those three items
are what I see is the most important aspects of
the conversation that's going to take place Tuesday morning, maybe
afternoon at La City Hall, and that is what we're
(07:28):
going to dive into.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Next.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I'll explain a little more about those three things.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
This is Michael Monks Reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News.
We are with you till nine o'clock tonight. I will
be live at La City Hall on Tuesday right here
on KFI, covering the appeal by ex fire chief Kristen
Crowley to the La City Council as she asks for
(07:59):
her jomp back after being fired by Mayor mass eight
days ago.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Tune in. We will have this whole thing covered for you.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
That day before we took a break, I said, I
anticipate three things to be of the most importance at
Crowley's appeal on Tuesday. The timeline of the warnings in
the fire, the response to the fire, and the math.
I want to start this segment by talking about the timeline.
(08:27):
What did the government know, what did they know from
the Weather Service, and what did the Fire Department know
what does city leadership know? Bass says she didn't know
how serious it was going to get. She says Crowley
failed to tell her. Kay, if I has obtained the
full details from the National Weather Service forecast office leading
(08:49):
up to the fires, and so I want to do
a quick recap and explain how it may or may
not be as relevant to the facts, but it will
certainly be an important part of the conversation on Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
We're going to go back to Monday, December thirtieth.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
That was really the first major tickle that we had
in the back of our throats that something bad was happening.
It was one o'clock in the afternoon. The National Weather
Service did their fire call. They sent their summary notes
to regional fire departments and emergency responders with a note
that basically says, this growing potential for very warm and
(09:26):
gusty Santa Ana winds with a moderate threat for red
flag warnings for Tuesday, January seventh through January tenth. So
that was on December thirtieth that we get the first
inclination that we've got conditions that may be right for fires,
but that isn't necessarily significant in this region on its
(09:48):
face all by itself. We have these things around here.
On Wednesday the first, they update their notes at the
Weather Service and inform their partners at the fire departments
and the emergent z responders moderate to high risk of
red flag warnings over La in Ventura Counties from Monday night,
January sixth through Friday, January tenth.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
So they talk about how high.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
The winds could get at this point and what the
chances are of those wins reaching certain speeds. That's on Wednesday,
January first, that's sab seven days before the fire breaks out.
The next day they basically reiterate their point. Thursday, January second,
they send their notes out to the fire departments, the
emergency responders moderate to high risk of red flag warnings
(10:35):
over La in Ventura Counties, again concerning we want to
be aware of those things, but not unusual. On Friday
the third, the White House announces that La Mayor Bass
is going to represent the country in Ghana, where that
country is set to inaugurate a new president. On the
(10:56):
same day, the National Weather Service issues fire weather watches
for much of La in Ventura Counties.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
Again not unusual.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
We're not screaming, We're not running for the hills, but
it's something we want to pay attention to. By that
afternoon on Friday, they've updated the fire departments, they've updated
the emergency responders. During their one o'clock fire call, Damaging
north to northeast winds. An extended period of red flag
conditions are likely over portions of southwest California next Tuesday
(11:28):
through Friday, they say. On Friday, January the third, they
emphasize the heavy winds that we might have and those
sorts of things. They also note that areas that do
not typically see strong winds will be more vulnerable with
this event due to strong and potentially long duration of
upper level winds support. That's National Weather Service type language,
but basically, if you don't usually get these big wins,
(11:50):
you're going to feel some of them during this week.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
That's what they are projecting.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
On Saturday, January fourth, Mayor Bass leaves La for Ghana
in the National Weather Service that afternoon updates their fire
summary to say damaging north to northeast winds, an extended
period of red flag conditions likely over portions of southwest
California next Tuesday through Friday. Fire weather watches and effect
for much of La and Ventura Counties. So really, what
(12:17):
was there to tell Mayor Bass before she left that
would have had her stay here and drive a fire
truck to the Palisades and put it out. That's going
to be an important piece of this conversation. What was known,
what needed to be known, what more could have been known?
These are concerning messages, right. We want to pay attention
(12:38):
to these forecasts, but are they any different than what
we might have any other time of year. On Sunday,
January fifth, Bass arrives in Ghana, and on that day,
red flag warnings are issued for much of La in
Ventura Counties, with fire weather watches still in effect Thursday
(13:03):
night into Friday. On their one o'clock afternoon fire call,
the National Weather Service notes widespread damaging north to northeast
winds and long duration of red flag conditions likely over
many portions of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties between Tuesday
and Friday. They emphasized some of the wins that we
might see in various parts of the region. Monday is
(13:27):
when things really got serious, when it was clearly something different.
If you had only been paying a little bit of
periphery attention. Monday was the wake up call that these
conditions look serious enough, because that is the day. At
three twenty four in the afternoon, the National Weather Service
(13:50):
upgraded the forecast to a particularly dangerous situation. They abbreviated PDS,
and it's a long title, but it is a very
rare issuance and obviously significant, particularly dangerous situation. Red flag
warning for portions of La and Ventura Counties, Life threatening,
(14:14):
destructive widespread windstorm Tuesday afternoon through early Wednesday afternoon with
dangerous PDS. Red Flag Warning conditions for portions of La
and eastern Ventura Counties. That was just before three thirty
afternoon on Monday, and the LA City Emergency Alerts. This
is important. The City of Los Angeles their emergency Alerts
(14:38):
sent out the note about this situation by sharing a
link to the Fire Department detailing this stuff, and Mayor
Bass herself her social media also shares her first statement
about the conditions. Half an hour after that. Okay, so
(15:05):
the PDS is issued just before three point thirty on
Monday afternoon. LA City Emergency alert shares that information by
linking to the Fire department. At seven o'clock in the evening,
Mayor Bass shares her first statement about it all about
a half hour after that, albeit from Ghana, So it
(15:26):
wasn't until Monday, the day before the fires hit, that
we knew we were in a particularly dangerous situation, an
official term by the National Weather Service. And then, of
course we get to January seventh. By this point, the
fact that Bass is in Ghana is really irrelevant. The
argument that we've been hearing is whether she should have
(15:48):
gone did she have enough information? Did this city? Did
Marquis Harris Dawson, the council president, did the fire department?
Speaker 3 (15:54):
Did we?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
As for the response component of the appeal, Crowley will
have to defend her decision about the one thousand firefighters
who were reportedly sent home rather than being dispatched to
the Palisades. Firefighters say, look, we had nowhere to put
these guys and gals. Budget cuts have limited the number
of trucks and equipment there would have been nowhere to
put these firefighters.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Will that argument hold?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
That's what we're gonna have to see, because that's been
hit pretty hard to along with Crowley's statements about the
budget itself, which is directly related to this, and whether
she should have said what she said when she said
it to the media, and then there's the math. Crowley
needs ten city council members to vote in her favor
to reinstate her four members. We're at the press conference
(16:42):
with Mayor Bass announcing the firing, and a fifth has
since come forward to say he believes the mayors within
a right to fire department head, so she can't lose
anybody else. I'll be watching for city Councilmen Tracy Park
who represents the Palisades, and Councilmen Monica Rodriguez, who maybe
Rowley's potentially biggest allies on Tuesday, and I will be
(17:04):
at city Hall. We will have live coverage right here
on KFI from the scene of this appeal. Hope you'll
tune in for that. And up next, if you're supportive
of President Trump and you're against Governor Newsom and you
think all illegal immigrants should be deported, and you're a
California voter, you are any significant minority in the state
(17:25):
of California, we are gonna have details on this exhaustive
state wide poll.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Next, you're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
KFI AM six forty. We are live everywhere on the
iHeartRadio App. This is Michael Monks Reports. I am Michael
Monks from KFI News with you till nine o'clock tonight.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
If you want to join our conversation, whether it's about
what we expect to see on Tuesday or anything you
anything else you hear over the next hour and a half,
hit us up, open up that iHeartRadio app. Click on
the talk back button. We'll play some of your messages
throughout the duration of this show. How popular is President Trump? Well,
if you look at the rolling average the poll of
(18:08):
polls basically on five point thirty eight, which analyzes polsters
and combines polls along with their own algorithms to figure
out a broad sense of where the country is. Donald
Trump currently stands with a forty six and a half
percent favorable rating as of today, with forty eight point
(18:28):
three percent of the responsive public against him. Responsive meaning
responded to these polls that have been combined. And yes,
that has dropped. That has dropped in recent days. So
he is trending in the wrong direction. Maybe after yesterday.
(18:49):
I don't know how quickly they've got some polls in
after what happened in the Oval office. I know that
was a polarizing display. Depending on which side of the
aisle you are on, you probably saw something you liked
or something you didn't like. It looks like Californians in
general don't like that and don't like President Trump in general.
(19:12):
There is a new statewide poll that has come out
from the Public Policy Institute of Californians, their pPIC Statewide Survey,
and they've got a lot of information that really shows
California is still not in lockstep with much of the
country as it relates to what led to President Trump
being elected in the first place. So we just said
(19:35):
that President Trump himself nationally has a favorable rating and
approval rating, if you will, of about forty six and
a half percent. That is how many people respond favorably
to the question do Americans have a favorable or unfavorable
opinion of Donald Trump?
Speaker 3 (19:50):
Forty six and a half. Here in California, it's a
little bit lower.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
According to this survey, thirty percent of Californians the job
performance so far of President Trump, and that is about
the same has supported his job performance in twenty seventeen
after he took office for the first time, so not
much has changed in that respect, what I thought was
(20:18):
pretty interesting from this poll, this statewide survey was what
Californians deemed to be the top problem facing the United States,
Because leading up to the twenty twenty four election between
President Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris, the economy
seemed to dominate. People concerned about inflation, the cost of groceries,
(20:43):
their economic prospects, looking bad jobs, and also immigration.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Those were key issues.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
And when you look at the top three in this
survey of what Californians say are the most important problems
in the United States right now, both of those are
in the top three, They're just not number one. Nineteen
percent say the economy unemployment in jobs is a top issue,
and fifteen percent say immigration is a top issue. But
thirty one percent, which is the top in this poll,
(21:18):
say political extremism threats to democracy the top problem facing
this country right now, although half of California's do say
the cost of living and inflation, housing costs, the availability
of housing, and also the environment are important issues for
(21:41):
the governor and the legislature to be working on this year.
And we should also note that a majority of the
respondents to the Public Policy Institute of California's statewide survey
do say the state is moving in the right excuse me,
in the wrong direction. Seven in ten expect that California
(22:03):
will be facing some financial problems over the next twelve months.
When we think about the state budget in California, lots
of conversations about that.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Right, what are the priorities?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Republican lawmakers have criticized the Democrat majority for focusing on
trump proofing California the directive of Governor Newsom while the
state is facing significant budget problems anyway. Four and ten
of California just think the state budget situation is a
big problem, so they name health and human services and
(22:43):
public education as their priorities for state spending. Fifty one
percent of adults and fifty percent of likely voters prefer
to pay lower state taxes and have fewer state services,
and the pPIC reports after reading a brief descript of
the budget, fifty eight percent of adults and fifty seven
(23:04):
percent of likely voters favor the budget plan. Seven to
ten favor spending two point seven billion dollars of the
ten billion dollars in proposition four state bond funds for
water and wildfire projects and fifty two percent of adults
and likely voters think that it is a bad idea
to use state reserve funds to balance the budget. When
(23:29):
we look at how Californians respond to this poll and
respond to the jaw performance of presidents, it's really not surprising.
This is obviously a Democratic stronghold as a state, but
Trump is particularly unpopular. I noted moments ago that at
both in twenty seventeen and here in twenty twenty five,
(23:50):
is approval rating in California is at thirty percent. Both
times thirty percent approval at the start of both of
his terms in office. When Joe Biden started his term
in office at this time in twenty twenty one, he
had a seventy percent approval rating in California. So did
Obama when he started in two thousand and nine. It
dropped a little bit. In twenty thirteen, for his second term,
(24:13):
Barack Obama had a sixty five percent approval rating. But
let's go back to George W. Bush. He wasn't very
popular among Democrats, especially at the start of his second term.
But in two thousand and five, at the start of
his second term, George W. Bush had a forty six
percent approval rating among California voters. That should show how
(24:39):
unpopular Donald Trump is statewide, that he's even that much
farther behind.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
George W. Bush.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
So what does that mean as the state legislature shapes
its priorities? Does that suggest that Republican lawmakers will have
a harder time getting some of their issues placed in
the budget, reining in some of the issues they're concerned
about because Democrats see that statewide, cumulatively, the Trump brand
(25:11):
is not very popular. You, as a listener may be thinking,
I like Trump, I don't like what nwsmance is doing.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
This survey says.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
You'ren't quite a minority. The other thing that I found
pretty interesting and maybe even sad out of this survey
is also not surprising. But think about those key campaign
issues from twenty twenty four, economics right, the price of eggs,
(25:50):
concerns about where the economy is headed. Maybe last year,
if you asked a random pool of twenty people, even
between Democrats and Republicans, how many people would you think
would say the economy's good. Things are good, We're moving
(26:10):
in the right direction. And what would be the political
makeup of those folks? While President Biden is in office,
and now that President Trump is in office, and you
asked that question to the same group, what is the reply?
Is it the same math but different people? Probably because
that's what this survey suggests. Folks who were optimistic about
(26:34):
the economy last year are not optimistic about it this year.
Folks who were pessimistic last year are optimistic this year.
Has anything changed other than the president? Are eggs cheaper?
Is your rent cheaper? Are we all just floating in
(26:55):
the political wins waiting for our guy to get back
into office? I find that very boring. Just as a journalist,
I wish we all paid a little more attention to
the issues that impact us directly and how those issues
become the issues that they are. And part of that
(27:17):
is on us as journalists to be better at explaining
those things without looking like you're running cover for one
politician or another.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
It's difficult.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
This is a weird environment we live in where a
tweet can go viral with all the wrong information. You've
already seen it, and you believe it, and you never
stop believing it. The tough environment we live in, and
that's how you get stats like that, That's how you
base your entire personality around an elected official.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Boring.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Let me know what you think about those results. Pull
out the iHeartRadio app, click on the talkback button. We'll
play some of your messages also if you'd like to
weigh in on what you expect to see on two
Tuesday at LA City Hall when ex fire chief Kristen
Crowley goes before the La City Council and asks them
to give them to give her her job back after
she was fired last week by Mayor Karen Bass. Up next,
(28:14):
you heard me talk last week about the Convention Center
in downtown LA and how it's an important part of
the twenty twenty eight Olympics and how they thought they
were going to spend a lot of money to make
it better before the Olympics before saying no, we can't,
we can't afford it. Well, some workers say you better
find a way to afford it because the jobs that
would be a part of it are important to us.
(28:34):
And also La Metro looking to make the subways safer.
They're expanding some of their security efforts. We'll talk about
that next week.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
I'm Michael Monks from KFI News and this is Michael
Monks Reports.
Speaker 3 (28:55):
We're with you till nine o'clock to night.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Last week we talked a lot about about the downtown
Los Angeles Convention Center and how it's going to play
a pretty significant role. It's hosting multiple events for the
twenty twenty eight Olympics. But the city had the idea
that maybe we could make it better before the Olympics
show up. This has been a problem in downtown for
a long time. Downtown civic boosters have said, look, this
(29:19):
convention center is just no longer competitive. We're losing out
to mid size cities in the middle of the country,
and we're Los Angeles and we are not getting the
types of conventions that we need to have here. And
so the city launched this exploration. Can we spend about
a billion dollars get this project going now and have
(29:41):
it finished in time for the twenty twenty eight Olympics.
Because if we start this thing and we find that
the Convention Center is under construction in twenty twenty eight
when the games are supposed to take place, we will
have to find different venues it will make us look bad.
So they were up against a very tight timeline. This
(30:01):
city administrator was very optimistic that this was a project
that could be accomplished with some borrowing and they would
make the money back in a variety of ways over
the next thirty years. Basically, but then the fires happened
and the city has already spent fifty four million dollars
as part of this analysis and basically the recommendation now
from the city administrator's offices, let's pause this. We don't
(30:25):
think that we can do this in time without disrupting
the Olympics. Well, some folks are upset about it, not
just the downtown boosters who pushed for it and hope
that it was going to come to attract more conventions,
maybe create some more jobs, have some significant economic impact
on downtown in the Greater Metro area. The union workers,
they are not happy about the pause in this project
(30:47):
LAOC Building Trades. They say they represent forty eight local
unions with one hundred and sixty thousand members. They want
this back on. This was a one point four billion
dollar proposed project, and the union say this would have
created more than seven thousand union jobs that would have
been created under a labor agreement, and without the project
(31:13):
moving forward, those jobs are not coming downtown, so they
want to see this go back on. They say that
they would be able not only to help build the
convention center, the renovation, but also fire recovery that was
(31:34):
one of the main issues here. The city said, look,
we don't think we can meet the timeline. It's not
just the staggering costs and the risk. It's the fact
that so many city workers, like engineers, their focus has
been shifted. We have a significant part of the city
to rebuild, and that's not really negotiable.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
The trades people say, do it all.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
They put out a press release and they say the
expansion made progress in the past few months with the
la City Council approving pre design work, and that it
would set the center nicely to hold the events for
the twenty twenty eight Olympics, where it was so host judo,
table tennis, taekwondo, wrestling and fencing. We're expecting another update
(32:26):
on this situation this month, but the trades union people
are going to be showing up to continue to push
that this project move forward. There have been some estimates,
and these are always a little Murky right. These are
numbers that come out and they're hard to quantify, but
(32:48):
they say the project would add one hundred and sixty
five million dollars in visitors spending every year and would
create more than two thousand jobs on an ongoing basis
of not just the seven thousand jobs that would work
in the con instruction area around it, but two thousand
jobs on an ongoing basis. We heard from all the
chamber types. We heard from hotel owners and small business
(33:08):
owners that this was something that was needed, would increase
foot traffic in downtown LA in area that needs it.
But now that project is on palls, the workers are unhappy.
It is not a final decision yet and this is
an issue that we will continue to monitor and update
as news on the progress or lack thereof of the
Downtown Los Angeles Convention Center moves forward or does not
(33:31):
move forward.
Speaker 3 (33:32):
Speaking of Downtown.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
LA, at Union Station and Metro headquarters, this week, the
Metro Board of Directors, which is made up of county supervisors,
at least city council people, and other elected officials around
the area, they've decided to expand their security system that
allows for the detection of weapons keep in mind, speaking
(33:54):
of the Olympics, this is supposed to be the no
car Olympics in Laws Angeles. Obviously we're known for our traffic.
But city leaders, county leaders, they want the visitors coming
in for the Olympics to take the trains, to take
the buses, and they know that's going to take a
lot of infrastructure to make that happen, because you can't
(34:17):
even get Angelino's on those things right now, right because
it doesn't always feel safe, even if it is, even
if the stats say now there weren't there weren't any crimes,
this month still feels a little weird, right Well, they're expanding
this weapons detection. Metro began the pilot program last August
(34:38):
at Union Station and at the APU Citrus College station
to test the effectiveness of this screening system. One of
them had passengers walk through a set of sensors and
another used closed circuit video feeds to detect people carrying weapons.
And Janis Hahn, who is a county supervisor and the
(34:59):
current chair of the Metro board, she said neither system
detected any passengers carrying weapons during five months of testing,
but that both systems detected police officers and security officers
service weapons with one accuracy. And the guy who runs
(35:22):
Metro's security and law enforcement side, Robert Gummer, he's told
the board security officers witnessed some people leaving the Metro
stations when they saw or were told that the weapons
screening systems were in use. So he is saying that
that suggests that basically putting up a sign that we're
(35:43):
looking for your weapons is enough to deter people from
getting on. So now this pilot program is going to
expand to other high traffic transit stations for one year,
so they're going to test this for one year more.
And Han issued a statement after the board voted. She says,
you can't bring a weapon to a concert or a
(36:03):
Dodger game, and you shouldn't be able to bring a
weapon on Metro. The weapons detection technology we are already
testing at some Metro stations works and is showing promise
and deterring people from even attempting to bring guns and
knives onto Metro. Writer's safety needs to be our priority,
and it is time to put this technology in more stations.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
In our next hour, we are going to turn our
attention to Hollywood. It won't be an entertainment show in
the sense of an Oscar's reviews, so to speak. But
whether you like it or not, I haven't seen any movies, Heather.
I don't know anything about what's going on. I was
telling our producer Matthew Toffler, like, I can't really do
an Oscar segment because I haven't made it to the
(36:50):
theater in.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
A long time. You've been a little busy.
Speaker 2 (36:54):
Well, I'll tell you. If it were the Emmys, I'd
be all over. I love television. I'm much more of
a TV guy because I can stream it. I don't
believe the house. It's it's perfect for me, but it's
neither here, aren't there? Regardless, Hollywood is important to Los
Angeles in a lot of ways. Hollywood is what people
think of outside of this area when you say Los Angeles,
and it is struggling, even though Sunday is going to
(37:15):
be a big night for Hollywood, the biggest night. In fact,
every year, Hollywood's not doing well here, fewer jobs, fewer productions,
and now local officials and state officials want to do
something about it, and that thing is to throw money
at Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
Will it work?
Speaker 2 (37:32):
We're going to dive into that in our next hour
here on Michael Monks Reports on KFI AM sixty
Speaker 1 (37:40):
KFI AM six forty on demand
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