March 23, 2025 • 33 mins
Karen bass Fire Deadline approaches for homeowners to choose debris removal program and LA city $1b budget shortfall. Trump admits he worries people will abuse his 'gold card' visa plan + 1k Gold Cards Sold for $5 Billion. Donald Trump's Impact on US Birth Rates + Here's how much the 'American Dream' costs in Los Angeles. What’s old is new again!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand, happy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
To be sitting behind the microphones here on a beautiful
afternoon as you've been hearing temperatures in the mid seventies.
We're going to talk about the weather and how it
impacts us here and do we have the right to
enjoy it or should we feel guilty because so many
of our fellow Southern Californians are suffering right now. I'm
mainly on Fox eleven News. I fill in here occasionally
(00:26):
on KFI, which I love doing because I'm a big
talk radio AM radio audio fan, always have been. And
then I'm not sure if you have the opportunity, but
our sister station at Fox eleven, which we've rebranded as
Fox eleven Plus but you may remember as Channel thirteen KCOP,
we've taken the unusual step and I want to pat
ourselves on the back of adding newscasts at an hour
(00:50):
at eight pm, an hour at nine pm. Not many
local stations are adding newscasts, others are cutting back. But
so if you get a chance to check those out
and remember Marla Teaz. You can know Marla Teaz from
her work filling inher at KFI as well as on
anchoring on Fox eleven, is the anchor person of the
(01:10):
Fox eleven Plus newscast. She is in the process of
having her baby. Do we have any updates on that?
I lean haven't heard anything about that, Robin. So we're
with you from two to four this afternoon. We have
a lot to discuss. I encourage you if you would
to pay attention. Obviously, I like to call it like
exercise for the mind, but I'm not just interested in
(01:33):
talking at you.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I'd love to hear what you think.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And as you know, you can if you're listening on
the app, the iHeartRadio app, you can click on the
microphone icon and record a fifteen second message, and we
hope to play some of those on the air. And
if you're really inspired, pick up the telephone or dial
your cell phone one eight hundred and five to two
oh one KFI. That's one eight hundred five two oh
one five three four. Going to ask you some specific
(01:58):
questions later on in the in the in the afternoon,
have you heard that story about the neighbor from hell
in West Hollywood. I'm interested to see whether any of
you have any particularly outrageous neighbor stories that you can
share with us. So we talked about the weather and
we you know, it's so it's it's such a cliche
(02:20):
to say this is one of the reasons we live
here right because of the weather's beautiful. That's why we
put up with the traffic and the fires and the
floods and the high cost of living and you know,
add to your.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
List of things. But it's a tough time right now.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Locally, obviously nationally, things are so divisive. It seems like
if you follow the news like we do, and if
you're listening here in KFI, then you're one of those
who follows the news and is engaged and pays attention.
And we appreciate that. But we're not just cruising. We're
fighting through hardships right now. The quality of life is
so dependent on where you live, your lifestyle. And if
(02:59):
you're in Big Bear and you're keeping an eye on
the Eaglitz and you're hiking every day, you're out on
the boat, or you're up skiing, fantastic. I mean, if
you're in Ventura and you near the beach and you're
surfing and you're fishing, fantastic. You're in Anaheim, you once
again the annual worry about like what are the Angels
gonna do? How long is Mike trub gonna be healthy?
But in Los Angeles, yes, we have the Dodgers to
(03:20):
look forward to. They open the regular season on Thursday.
But there's thousands of our friends, family members, fellow Angelinos,
and I include Alta Dina in this. Even though it's
La County technically, the fire recovery story is.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Still dominating the news.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And I know our leaders are elected leaders and others
are trying their best, they really are. But I just
feel that the people, the homeowners that we talk to
that we interview for the news, they.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Want more, They need more leadership.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Mayor Karen Best, who were credited after a very rocky start,
has been almost everywhere leading the charge for rebuilding, cutting tape.
She was out in the Palisades on Friday talking with
the news media about how if you rebuild with electrical
appliances and more energy efficient appliances and other things like
that you harden your home, then the permitting process will
(04:14):
be sped up if you use fire resistant materials. Of course,
all new construction is with fire resistant materials. But amidst
all this, there's a recall effort against Mayor Bass.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I'm not sure I support that. I don't know if
you do.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
We're going to talk more about her leadership or what
some might consider challenging challenges in her leadership, but first
let's get an update on what the latest is from
our friends at Channel seven.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
If you live in Pacific Palisades, you have less than
two weeks to opt in or opt out for fire
debris removal, but Mayor Bass says more than one thousand
residents haven't done either.
Speaker 6 (04:47):
If you do not take any action, properties will be
declared a nuisance and owners will be responsible for all
abatement costs without the possibility of FEMA reimburse and possibly
be subject to a lean on your property.
Speaker 7 (05:04):
Although there's progress in the Palisades two and a half
months after the fire, there's more lots that haven't been
cleared than those that have. According to the Army Corps
of Engineers, over three thousand residents have opted in and
five hundred and sixty four have opted out.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
The Army Corps of.
Speaker 7 (05:21):
Engineers will only clear the area of your property that burns,
so some lots have concrete slabs, driveways and retaining walls.
Left behind which will need to be addressed in order
to rebuild.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
All right, And that's a good compromise AABC seven. So
one of the obvious questions that I have is what's
the rush? What is with this this deadline? So Mayor Bass,
I mean, I get that at some point you have
to create a deadline. Can't be a year from now,
but March thirty first, I mean, people are still in shock.
That's why the numbers are what they are. Where the
(05:54):
three thousand residents have opted into this program, five hundred
and sixty four have opted out, but there's one thousand
or so more that haven't done anything. Yeah, because they're
still not sure like what their future is.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So it seems outrageous to me.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And again I don't know if you agree with this
or not, that she's essentially like, you better.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Do this by March thirty first.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
She's threatening people with like financial sanctions if they don't
do it when they're trying to recover from the worst
trauma of their lifetime. That seems totally tone deaf to me. Now,
I appreciate that she's out there. I appreciate that she's
leading the charge. I appreciate that she's cutting through red
tape and promising to speed up the permit approval process.
(06:36):
It's amazing that some permits have already been granted because
you know the long history of red tape and building
in California.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Agreed, disagree, let me know what you think, and then
we're gonna talk about this after we come back from
a break. But and then the next breath, the big
story out of the City of Los Angeles. And again,
not all of our listeners live in Los Angeles. If
you're living in one of the you know, eighty five
little communities that make up southern California, great because you're
(07:05):
not dealing with this directly. But now we have the
fire recovery, and now the City of Los Angeles is
talking about like a one billion dollar budget shortfall. That's
one billion dollars, and we have the city administrative officer
testifying about this in the city Council. We have the
city Controller, Kenneth Mahea, issuing his own press releases with
(07:27):
these dire warnings, demanding that everything is on the table.
Raises for firefighters and police that have previously been negotiated.
I mean, I guess I'm wanting more from our leaders.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
I want a unified approach. You know.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Mayor Bass love to use that term when it came
to the homeless, that we're all locking arms. Well, we're
not locking arms on the issues that affect us police
and firefighter hiring and raises, the rebuilding process, the deadline?
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Do we need a deadline? Mayor Bass's future herself?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Is she going to be recalled the prime I'm Maury
for the mayor's elections next year? What do we need
to recall for Who's going to challenge her? Is it
going to be Rick Caruso? Who will?
Speaker 8 (08:07):
So?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
If you're an engaged citizen of Los Angeles, you're forgive me,
But I think you're entitled to wonder like who's really
in charge? And I'll leave you this one thought. Right
before we do, we check in with Eileen Gonzalez. Whatever
happened to Steve sober Off the rebuildings are that was
appointed to oversee the Palisades. We haven't heard a word
(08:28):
from him in weeks. All right, I'm Phil Shuman with
it till four o'clock again. Let us know what you
think by dropping a comment on the iHeartRadio app microphone icon.
If you're really inspired give us a phone call and
one eight hundred one KFI one one hundred and five
to two oh one KFI and we'll talk.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'm Phil Schumann here with you from Fox eleven News
from Fox eleven Plus. As I mentioned, we started a
new newscast in the evening. To get a chance to
check it out. It's at eight pm and again at
nine pm. I understand if you're shying away from the
news because so much of it is almost overwhelming, whether
it's a local news here in southern California or of
(09:12):
course on the national front, where it seems like every
day there's some type of new conflict with President Trump
and co President Musk and the Democrats, and it's a lot.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
It's a lot to.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Deal with as we try to get through our day
to day life here and just you know, not let
the man get you down.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
It's a challenge.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So the last segment, we talked about the rebuilding process
for our folks out in the Palisades and to a
lesser degree in Alta Dina that hasn't gotten as much coverage,
but the stories out of both locations are just so compelling,
and I want to give a hat tip to the
journalists that are out there every day telling those stories,
(09:52):
in particular the La Times, which has the manpower to
devote to this manpower and quotes. So while Mayor Bass
is out there cheerleading for the rebuilding process and trying
to push things forward and avoid a recall, which probably
isn't going to happen because it's too expensive to gather
(10:14):
the votes, the signatures, and it's really not enough time,
the city's chief administrative officer, echoed by call an alarm
sounded by the city controller, is that, hey, even though
we have a thirteen billion dollar budget, bigger than some states,
(10:34):
the City of Los Angeles is looking at a likely
one billion dollar budget shortfall for the twenty five to
twenty six year which means layoffs for anybody, which means
cuts and services, which means more frustration for people that
live in the City of Los Angeles, who already pay
(10:55):
some of the highest taxes anywhere. Let's listen, get a
report on that, and then we'll talk more about it.
Speaker 9 (11:00):
Well, the City Controller says, his office and the city
want to do everything they can to avoid layoffs, and
while the one billion dollar budget shortfall had many people gasping.
The city controller says, we really should have seen this coming.
Speaker 10 (11:17):
A staggering one billion dollar budget deficit projected for the
City of Los Angeles. It took many by surprise, but
City Controller Kenneth Mahia says he's been sounding the alarm
for the past two years.
Speaker 11 (11:28):
We're going to be tough choices to be made, and
actually we already started last year because this is the
second year in a row where we suffered from a
budget deficit, so we've been in a hiring free since
January twenty twenty four.
Speaker 10 (11:39):
Mahia says the three biggest issues people are spending less.
Revenue from business taxes and hotel taxes are down more
than three hundred million dollars. The city is drowning in liabilities,
paying over three hundred million in lawsuits, and salary raises
to employees including police and fire. As a city on
the hook for two hundred and fifty million dollars all
(12:00):
right to close the gap.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Thank you that it's not great news. I mean, these
are bills that you don't even realize. You realize that
if you happen to have a single family home in
the City of la that you pay about seventy five
dollars BI monthly for trash pickup. They're saying that amount
could increase to one hundred and fifty dollars by twenty
twenty eight. By the way, the mayor is going to
(12:23):
be releasing her proposed budget next month, so that's going
to lead to more fireworks. So Mayor Bass, she loves
to talk in these broad generalities, like she's directed city
staff to leave quote no stones unturned to find cost
cutting measures to minimize layoffs. They're also going to consider
adjusting I mean, these are things you never think of
(12:45):
the city solid waste management program. Again, that will lead
to increased trash rates. So again it's an example of
a failure of vision, failure of leadership. And I'm not
as cranky as John Cobalt is about all this, and
you know, wants to get rid of everybody.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I just want them to do better.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
I mean, I've spent a lot of time with Mayor Bass,
you know, covering her from Fox eleven and the campaign
against Rick Caruso back in twenty twenty one, and her
heart is in the right place. And if you doubt that,
then I don't think you're dealing with the reality and
all of these elected officials, whether it's the mayor, whether
(13:27):
it's a city council person, whether it's one of the
five Los Angeles County supervisors. And this is true in
other cities beyond Los Angeles City and County. I mean,
these people work like seven days a week. They're incredibly dedicated,
and in most cases they're in.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
It for the right reasons.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
They want to help their community, they want to make
their corner of southern California a better place. But hey,
these are complicated times. I mean, the police department wants
more money, they deserve it. The fire department wants more money,
they deserve it. The trash collectors, I mean, the utility workers,
take your pick. And when we're in a time when
(14:06):
here's the three main sources of revenue you heard in
that report briefly, sales tax, hotel room tax, and our
share of property taxes from LA County, those were all
down costs her up and so we need leaders with
like vision how we're going to generate more money. I mean,
(14:28):
this sort of a segue into and was going to
save this for a whole other segment because it's like,
so outrageous. Is President Trump has launched the gold Card program.
Have you heard about this? You thought it was maybe
a credit card or but it isn't. It's the gold
Visa proposal, in which people would pay up to five
million dollars in fees for the right to obtain permanent
(14:50):
residents in this country. I mean, it seems outrageous. The
President announced this last month, the Golden Card program, offering
wealthy and vents, at a cost of five million dollars each,
the chance to again buy your permanent residency in this country.
We're talking obviously wealthy investors with large chunks of money.
(15:12):
One card costs five million dollars. Trump says the US
could sell one million of them. I mean, amidst all
the Doge controversy, we haven't heard too much about this,
but he's claiming that what he got like five billion
dollars already in these gold cards.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
I mean, is that fair? Obviously not so.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Is there like a local version of the gold Card
program that could help raise some money from the city
of Los Angeles. Again, we're going to hear this in
the news for the next month or so. There's going
to be threatened strikes, there's going to be labor groups upset,
there's going to be calls for a compromise. I mean,
it's just again going back to one of my central
(15:53):
themes and just navigating the day to day life here
in southern California is that nothing is easy. Nothing happened smoothly.
You can't just you know, pay your rent. Count on
they're being apartments available, pay the mortgage, count on, there
being loans available, whether you're in the Palasads or Altadena.
Counting on rebuilding without somebody threatening you with fines if
(16:16):
you don't apply by a certain deadline. I mean, just
going from A to B traffic, the Metro. They're talking
about expanding the metro out along the line from downtown
LA all the way out to Westwood. The streets and
Beverly Hills are closed down for construction. They announced that
the same day they're dealing with a stabbing on the
(16:37):
metro line at the Universal City station. So it's like
it makes you want to just sometimes like flee, right,
But I'm not.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I mean, I'm hanging in there. I hope you are too,
So let me know what you think.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Click on the radio on the microphone icon on the
iHeartRadio app here at KFIM six forty. If you're really inspired,
give me a phone call. Let's get some discussion going
the phone number. As I'm sure you know by now,
if you're a regular listener, one eight hundred and five
to one KFI. That's one eight hundred five to oh
one to five, three four. I'm particularly interested in. Later
(17:10):
on in the three o'clock hour, we're going to get
into this amazing story about this quote neighbor from hell
in West Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
If you have any of these outrageous stories.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand started
new newscasts.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
If you happen to like television news at an earlier
hour than wait till ten or eleven o'clock at night,
check it out at eight and nine. Our colleague and
friend Marla Teez will be mainly anchoring that show. But
first she's having a baby girl, which I'm sure you
know if you're following along her story on social and
from when she was here filling in on KFI.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Anyway, congrats, Stero. I'll keep you posted on that.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Haven't got any updates on that lately, which kind of
leads us into our next story, which was totally not
my plan. But I'll make it. I'll make it happen.
Do you happen to No?
Speaker 4 (18:00):
All?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Right, here's here's like a quiz I would I had
to look this up. How many people there are in
the world, how many people around the world. The population
of the of the entire world is about eight point
two billion. Three hundred and forty million of us are
here in the United States. So President Trump, as if
he doesn't have anything else to do or to worry about,
(18:22):
is concerned. This is a headline from newsweek dot com
and when we check sources far and wide for story
information and story ideas, the headline is we want more babies.
Donald Trump may have a notable impact on birth rates
because the United States is one of many major economies
that are facing population decline driven by low fertility rates.
(18:46):
So President Trump has spoken out on this issue several times,
including during a campaign speech, and hadn't gotten a lot
of attention compared to some of the other things he says.
But the quote is we want more babies, to put
it nicely, and last month he signed an executive order
expanding access to in vitro fertilization IVF for Americans. His
(19:09):
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy directed the Department of Transportation to
give precedents to quote communities with marriage and birth rates
higher than the national average. I mean, very controversial issue.
I mean, why our elected officials are in our bedroom,
so to speak. I mean, maybe that's why he loves
(19:29):
Elon so much, because if you know anything about Elon,
you know that. All right, we'll give him credit for
being brilliant in the genius scale. But the guy has
fourteen children. I think sadly one of them passed away
when they were very young. Fourteen children, I mean, who
has fourteen children? So, I mean Trump has five? Can
(19:54):
you name Trump's children? Donald Jr? Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and
of course Baron. With Milania? Where is Milania? By the way,
is she a real person?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Eileen?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
What do you think we never see We see Milani
at the inauguration, and we'll see her four years from now,
maybe at a state funeral. So Donald Trump is worried
that we don't we're not having enough enough babies here
in southern California, here in this country, and in particularly
in southern California. I did some research into what they
call the American Dream. Fox LA has been covering this
(20:29):
story also and how basically the American Dream is sort
of an umbrella headline for how much it costs a year,
how much you have to make a year to live
in like the top ten cities in Los Angeles, whether
it's New York, Chicago, Philly, La, DC, and so not
a surprise, the cost of the American dream is going up,
(20:51):
according to a new study released earlier this month by
an organization called Go Banking Rates Robin, Let's listen to that.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
You study reveals that achieved the American dream will cost
much more money than ever before. The new report from
Investopedia puts the price tag of getting married, buying a home,
raising children, and retiring at four point four million dollars.
The figure increased by almost one million dollars compared to
just last year. The report says rising costs for housing, education, healthcare,
(21:23):
and are primarily responsible for this big jump.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Okay, well that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
What did you say, four million, four hundred thousand in
your lifetime? So I'm about I'm only about three hundred
and ninety thousand dollars short, so I'm in good shape.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
So at a minimum.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The analysis found that someone would need to make one
hundred and two thousand annually to afford the quote American
Dream in the biggest cities across the United States. How
does Los Angeles stack up? According to this Go Banking
Rate analysis, the American Dream just costs just under one
hundred and sixty thousand in LA. That's the seventh highest
cost in the country. I would have thought it would
(22:04):
have actually been higher. So here are the full details.
Household income for the so called American Dream. This is
in Los Angeles one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. The
annual cost of living, which is essentially rant and slash.
Mortgage makes up about half of that eighty thousand. The
grocery cost per year. And you know, we don't calculate
(22:24):
this per year. We really think about it maybe per week.
But if you add it all up, about ninety five hundred,
the average monthly mortgage cost is six thousand dollars. You
have a six thousand dollars mortgage, and then childcare, which
is a huge number, is about thirty five thousand dollars
per year. So again this goes back to what we
(22:47):
were talking about earlier, is that's it's not easy to
get by here in southern California, and it seems like
it's getting more challenging rather than less challenging. You know,
jobs are harder to come by, Salary increases harder to
come by. The cost of living is going up, whether
it's rent, whether it's the mortgage, whether it's eggs, whether
(23:09):
it's steak. We had a story on the news about
the cost of beef has gone up like forty percent
of the past year. But then if you want to
look at you know what you might consider good news
for Angelino's that again we're not even the most expensive
city in the state. It's even more expensive than San Francisco,
San Jose, and Oakland. So again, all of these studies,
(23:30):
you know, you can look that look at them in
different ways. But without Los Angeles and San Francisco, Washington
d C is up there. I like Washington d C.
I often think to myself, if I was coming out
of college like today, rather than starting at a small
(23:52):
television station in Wichita Falls, Texas back in the nineteen
seventies to chase the television dream, I think I would
go to Washington d C.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
It just seems like there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
All the action is there now Trump not talking about Trump,
I'm just talking about in general.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
It seems like Washington, d C. Is where the action is.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
I think what I would do is I would probably
go to graduate school and then I would also join
the CIA and see the world.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
That seems like exciting to me.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
So if we could rewind the time machine to like
the late nineteen seventies, I would have never come to
southern California, and I'd never be here on KFI at
this moment. So funny how things work out. All right,
we have lots more to discuss again. I'm Phil Schumann
from Fox eleven Newes with you until four o'clock today,
still hoping you might chime in, leave a message on
(24:41):
the microphone icon in the iHeartRadio app if you've got
any horror stories about your neighbors, because we have a
good one for you coming up in the next hour.
You can also give me a phone call. And you're probably,
you know, thinking I've heard enough from him, so I
would to hear what you guys have to say about
all these issues, whether it's the com of living, whether
it's President Trump, whether it's may or Bass. I mean
(25:03):
coming up. We have lots more interesting things and interesting
things to talk about. You won't believe some of the
language that goes on in the La City Council at
the public comment session. Michael Monks is going to be
with us to talk about that. I mean, this is
just a shocking story, some of the recalls. It's not
just Tesla cyber trucks, but what else is being recalled.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Determine the level of services and so forth, and nobody
thinks it's really that accurate.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
It's a snapshot.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
And yes, if there's a decline fraction of a percentage,
then everybody pats themselves on the back, which you know,
it's better than an increase. But the fires have taken
away the focus on the homeless issue, I think from
the especially from the city of Los Angeles, who need
to keep that keep that up. Jamie Page frequent guest
(25:57):
here on on KFI the Westside Current dot com. It's
hyperlocal journalism. Check it out, support it with a donation
if you can. I've been talking about the request for comments.
You can click on the microphone icon and the iHeartRadio
app and tell us what you think, and apparently we've
(26:19):
gotten quite a few responses. Let's check one out.
Speaker 8 (26:23):
I forgot the part about what Marbach said, that it's
unfair for everyone else that's ready to go and reveal
to have to wait for the people that are supposed
to be on top of it and just dragging their feet,
and how no one can rebuild because they got to
wait for the stranger. You've conveniently forgotten that part of
what you say.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
So he's referring, I believe to the March thirty first
deadline to apply for federal assistance and clearing burned properties.
And I think what he's trying to say is that
if you don't clear your burned property, it's gonna delay
someone else from rebuilding their burned out house. I'm not
(27:06):
quite sure I make that connection, but I appreciate you
chiming in. Seems at a little angry there. Maybe am
I missing your point? If I am, I apologize, all right.
I'm looking at my iPhone seeing if anybody's texting me
like you sound great, you sound like an idiot, like
(27:28):
during the breaks, and I'm looking at my phone and
I'm embarrassed to say that I have an iPhone fourteen?
Is that possible? And what's the current what's the current
model sixteen?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
I believe sixteen.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Yeah, And so now I'm looking at news stories that
Apple is pushing the iPhone seventeen. And this is one
of my favorite subjects because unlike most companies or businesses
or products, it's like you create that I need a
new washing machine, I need a new car, I need
(28:05):
a new whatever it is blender.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
And but what Apple does is they tell you what
you need.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
You need an iPhone seventeen, Well, I get an iPhone fourteen,
and you know what.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
It seems to work fine.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
But there are those who are early adopters who have
to have the latest technology, which brings us into my
next subject, of which the headline is What's old is
New again? Nineties brands? Can you matter to the nineties?
What was the iPhone? Then the iPhone?
Speaker 3 (28:39):
Seven?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Iconic brands are making a comeback, like the Gap, Abercrombie
and Fitch and Old Navy, thanks to marketing to younger
audiences who apparently are longing for some nostalgia.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Robin, I'm just trying to go shop a Gap.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
That baby.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
The Gap is back to not sleep on old Baby.
Speaker 12 (29:04):
Along with Old Navy, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Levi's classic
brands all making big comebacks. Social media says, so when
did Abercommie become cool again? And now so do the numbers?
Experts say these brands, once mainstays of nineties fashion, lost
touch with their customer base in the two thousands, but
from twenty nineteen to now, Gap brands are up thirty
(29:26):
seven percent, Abercrombie and Fitch a whopping five hundred and
ninety four percent, and Levi's are bouncing back to style
Guru Zach Posen revitalizing and revamping Gap and its brand
offshoots Old Navy and Banana Republic, marketing to younger customers
through a mix of nostalgia and social media. The Gap
(29:48):
evolving from Kakia Go Go to Perker Posey putting modern
spins on its famous dance spots from the nineties and
early two thousands, Abercrombie attributing its revival to a complete
makeover from their culture to their brands to an increased
focus on customers. And then there's Levi's with the Ultimate
glow Up, revisiting vintage ads with style icon Beyonce, Can
(30:11):
You put into words, just how dramatic the comeback is
for some of these brands.
Speaker 13 (30:16):
What these brands are doing that's smart is a delivering
great merchandise that's exciting. Some of its quiet luxury, but
some of it is fun fashion that you can get
an affordable price.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
But the turnaround hasn't happened for everyone.
Speaker 12 (30:30):
In an industry often likened to a roller coaster, not
all retail brands are enjoying the ride. Forever twenty one
recently filed for bankruptcy for a second time and has
plans to close all of its stores in the US,
and Macy's is closing sixty six stores this year alone.
Speaker 13 (30:45):
And every time I checked the website sold out.
Speaker 12 (30:48):
But these stalwarts have once again nailed the alchemy.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Be all right?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Not everything old is new again. That was a report
from Good Morning America. Appreciate that. I remember the Gap
store right on Ventral Boulevard and Studio City that's been
gone for a long time, And I think, what's interesting?
And I lean field free to weigh in on this,
because when you shop now, everything ninety is online. I mean,
(31:14):
who goes to a store anymore? I guess if it's close,
you're more inclined to go to a store because you've
got to try them on.
Speaker 14 (31:20):
Right, I'm a thrift store gal. I like going to
thrift stores really yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And you get good quality things there, or you like
the bargain, or you like to define the undiscovered treasure.
Speaker 14 (31:31):
Go to Goodwill in Manhattan Beach. You get like brand name,
brand new things.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
It's incredible.
Speaker 14 (31:37):
People have all this money, they just put their stuff
into the thrift store.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Right, is there like when you talk about that, you
tell people that is there?
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Like? Are you embarrassed ever to say that?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Or is it more like I'm proud that I'm doing
that because look at all this money I'm saving.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
I mean, like when I go.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
To thrift stores, I look for like golf clubs and
like unusual golf clubs, especially putters and hats.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
I'm not like buying my shirts and pants and suits there.
Speaker 14 (32:04):
Yeah. I have friends that think it's disgusting, they won't
do it, But I have other friends that love it.
I mean, we'll go together and just we'll go hit
on the thrift stores.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
I mean it can be fun. What model iPhone do
you have? I have the sixteen? See there you go
and you're probably going to get the seventeen as soon
as it comes out, right.
Speaker 14 (32:19):
I used to be that person, but I just couldn't
keep up. I mean with the first iPhone, maybe for
the first three or four generations, I was like keeping up,
like I've got to have the new one.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Now.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
My last phone was a seven. Well then they say,
well it's faster. What does that mean.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
It means when you take a picture or when you
load a website, it's a millionth of a second faster
than the previous generation.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
So what are you going to do with that millionth
of a second that you save?
Speaker 14 (32:42):
I don't know, but I'm in it for the camera.
I can zoom in twenty five times.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
There have been improvements in the camera. I will grant you.
Speaker 14 (32:50):
That I took a full moon, the blood red moon.
I got amazing pictures of the moon. I couldn't do
that with any other phones.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
All right, when we come back, we're going to talk
with Michael Wanks, a familiar face, name and voice here
on KFI, to talk about the La City Council seeking
a crackdown on just some the language that the public uses.
I mean, ah'll it'll shock you.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
KFI AM six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand, happy.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
To be sitting behind the microphones here on a beautiful
afternoon as you've been hearing temperatures in the mid seventies.
We're going to talk about the weather and how it
impacts us here and do we have the right to
enjoy it or should we feel guilty because so many
of our fellow Southern Californians are suffering right now. I'm
mainly on Fox eleven News. I fill in here occasionally
(00:26):
on KFI, which I love doing because I'm a big
talk radio AM radio audio fan, always have been. And
then I'm not sure if you have the opportunity, but
our sister station at Fox eleven, which we've rebranded as
Fox eleven Plus but you may remember as Channel thirteen KCOP,
we've taken the unusual step and I want to pat
ourselves on the back of adding newscasts at an hour
(00:50):
at eight pm, an hour at nine pm. Not many
local stations are adding newscasts, others are cutting back. But
so if you get a chance to check those out
and remember Marla Teaz. You can know Marla Teaz from
her work filling inher at KFI as well as on
anchoring on Fox eleven, is the anchor person of the
(01:10):
Fox eleven Plus newscast. She is in the process of
having her baby. Do we have any updates on that?
I lean haven't heard anything about that, Robin. So we're
with you from two to four this afternoon. We have
a lot to discuss. I encourage you if you would
to pay attention. Obviously, I like to call it like
exercise for the mind, but I'm not just interested in
(01:33):
talking at you.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
I'd love to hear what you think.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And as you know, you can if you're listening on
the app, the iHeartRadio app, you can click on the
microphone icon and record a fifteen second message, and we
hope to play some of those on the air. And
if you're really inspired, pick up the telephone or dial
your cell phone one eight hundred and five to two
oh one KFI. That's one eight hundred five two oh
one five three four. Going to ask you some specific
(01:58):
questions later on in the in the in the afternoon,
have you heard that story about the neighbor from hell
in West Hollywood. I'm interested to see whether any of
you have any particularly outrageous neighbor stories that you can
share with us. So we talked about the weather and
we you know, it's so it's it's such a cliche
(02:20):
to say this is one of the reasons we live
here right because of the weather's beautiful. That's why we
put up with the traffic and the fires and the
floods and the high cost of living and you know,
add to your.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
List of things. But it's a tough time right now.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Locally, obviously nationally, things are so divisive. It seems like
if you follow the news like we do, and if
you're listening here in KFI, then you're one of those
who follows the news and is engaged and pays attention.
And we appreciate that. But we're not just cruising. We're
fighting through hardships right now. The quality of life is
so dependent on where you live, your lifestyle. And if
(02:59):
you're in Big Bear and you're keeping an eye on
the Eaglitz and you're hiking every day, you're out on
the boat, or you're up skiing, fantastic. I mean, if
you're in Ventura and you near the beach and you're
surfing and you're fishing, fantastic. You're in Anaheim, you once
again the annual worry about like what are the Angels
gonna do? How long is Mike trub gonna be healthy?
But in Los Angeles, yes, we have the Dodgers to
(03:20):
look forward to. They open the regular season on Thursday.
But there's thousands of our friends, family members, fellow Angelinos,
and I include Alta Dina in this. Even though it's
La County technically, the fire recovery story is.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Still dominating the news.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
And I know our leaders are elected leaders and others
are trying their best, they really are. But I just
feel that the people, the homeowners that we talk to
that we interview for the news, they.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Want more, They need more leadership.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Now.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Mayor Karen Best, who were credited after a very rocky start,
has been almost everywhere leading the charge for rebuilding, cutting tape.
She was out in the Palisades on Friday talking with
the news media about how if you rebuild with electrical
appliances and more energy efficient appliances and other things like
that you harden your home, then the permitting process will
(04:14):
be sped up if you use fire resistant materials. Of course,
all new construction is with fire resistant materials. But amidst
all this, there's a recall effort against Mayor Bass.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
I'm not sure I support that. I don't know if
you do.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
We're going to talk more about her leadership or what
some might consider challenging challenges in her leadership, but first
let's get an update on what the latest is from
our friends at Channel seven.
Speaker 5 (04:37):
If you live in Pacific Palisades, you have less than
two weeks to opt in or opt out for fire
debris removal, but Mayor Bass says more than one thousand
residents haven't done either.
Speaker 6 (04:47):
If you do not take any action, properties will be
declared a nuisance and owners will be responsible for all
abatement costs without the possibility of FEMA reimburse and possibly
be subject to a lean on your property.
Speaker 7 (05:04):
Although there's progress in the Palisades two and a half
months after the fire, there's more lots that haven't been
cleared than those that have. According to the Army Corps
of Engineers, over three thousand residents have opted in and
five hundred and sixty four have opted out.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
The Army Corps of.
Speaker 7 (05:21):
Engineers will only clear the area of your property that burns,
so some lots have concrete slabs, driveways and retaining walls.
Left behind which will need to be addressed in order
to rebuild.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
All right, And that's a good compromise AABC seven. So
one of the obvious questions that I have is what's
the rush? What is with this this deadline? So Mayor Bass,
I mean, I get that at some point you have
to create a deadline. Can't be a year from now,
but March thirty first, I mean, people are still in shock.
That's why the numbers are what they are. Where the
(05:54):
three thousand residents have opted into this program, five hundred
and sixty four have opted out, but there's one thousand
or so more that haven't done anything. Yeah, because they're
still not sure like what their future is.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
So it seems outrageous to me.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And again I don't know if you agree with this
or not, that she's essentially like, you better.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Do this by March thirty first.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
She's threatening people with like financial sanctions if they don't
do it when they're trying to recover from the worst
trauma of their lifetime. That seems totally tone deaf to me. Now,
I appreciate that she's out there. I appreciate that she's
leading the charge. I appreciate that she's cutting through red
tape and promising to speed up the permit approval process.
(06:36):
It's amazing that some permits have already been granted because
you know the long history of red tape and building
in California.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Agreed, disagree, let me know what you think, and then
we're gonna talk about this after we come back from
a break. But and then the next breath, the big
story out of the City of Los Angeles. And again,
not all of our listeners live in Los Angeles. If
you're living in one of the you know, eighty five
little communities that make up southern California, great because you're
(07:05):
not dealing with this directly. But now we have the
fire recovery, and now the City of Los Angeles is
talking about like a one billion dollar budget shortfall. That's
one billion dollars, and we have the city administrative officer
testifying about this in the city Council. We have the
city Controller, Kenneth Mahea, issuing his own press releases with
(07:27):
these dire warnings, demanding that everything is on the table.
Raises for firefighters and police that have previously been negotiated.
I mean, I guess I'm wanting more from our leaders.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
I want a unified approach. You know.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Mayor Bass love to use that term when it came
to the homeless, that we're all locking arms. Well, we're
not locking arms on the issues that affect us police
and firefighter hiring and raises, the rebuilding process, the deadline?
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Do we need a deadline? Mayor Bass's future herself?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Is she going to be recalled the prime I'm Maury
for the mayor's elections next year? What do we need
to recall for Who's going to challenge her? Is it
going to be Rick Caruso? Who will?
Speaker 8 (08:07):
So?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
If you're an engaged citizen of Los Angeles, you're forgive me,
But I think you're entitled to wonder like who's really
in charge? And I'll leave you this one thought. Right
before we do, we check in with Eileen Gonzalez. Whatever
happened to Steve sober Off the rebuildings are that was
appointed to oversee the Palisades. We haven't heard a word
(08:28):
from him in weeks. All right, I'm Phil Shuman with
it till four o'clock again. Let us know what you
think by dropping a comment on the iHeartRadio app microphone icon.
If you're really inspired give us a phone call and
one eight hundred one KFI one one hundred and five
to two oh one KFI and we'll talk.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I'm Phil Schumann here with you from Fox eleven News
from Fox eleven Plus. As I mentioned, we started a
new newscast in the evening. To get a chance to
check it out. It's at eight pm and again at
nine pm. I understand if you're shying away from the
news because so much of it is almost overwhelming, whether
it's a local news here in southern California or of
(09:12):
course on the national front, where it seems like every
day there's some type of new conflict with President Trump
and co President Musk and the Democrats, and it's a lot.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
It's a lot to.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Deal with as we try to get through our day
to day life here and just you know, not let
the man get you down.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
It's a challenge.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
So the last segment, we talked about the rebuilding process
for our folks out in the Palisades and to a
lesser degree in Alta Dina that hasn't gotten as much coverage,
but the stories out of both locations are just so compelling,
and I want to give a hat tip to the
journalists that are out there every day telling those stories,
(09:52):
in particular the La Times, which has the manpower to
devote to this manpower and quotes. So while Mayor Bass
is out there cheerleading for the rebuilding process and trying
to push things forward and avoid a recall, which probably
isn't going to happen because it's too expensive to gather
(10:14):
the votes, the signatures, and it's really not enough time,
the city's chief administrative officer, echoed by call an alarm
sounded by the city controller, is that, hey, even though
we have a thirteen billion dollar budget, bigger than some states,
(10:34):
the City of Los Angeles is looking at a likely
one billion dollar budget shortfall for the twenty five to
twenty six year which means layoffs for anybody, which means
cuts and services, which means more frustration for people that
live in the City of Los Angeles, who already pay
(10:55):
some of the highest taxes anywhere. Let's listen, get a
report on that, and then we'll talk more about it.
Speaker 9 (11:00):
Well, the City Controller says, his office and the city
want to do everything they can to avoid layoffs, and
while the one billion dollar budget shortfall had many people gasping.
The city controller says, we really should have seen this coming.
Speaker 10 (11:17):
A staggering one billion dollar budget deficit projected for the
City of Los Angeles. It took many by surprise, but
City Controller Kenneth Mahia says he's been sounding the alarm
for the past two years.
Speaker 11 (11:28):
We're going to be tough choices to be made, and
actually we already started last year because this is the
second year in a row where we suffered from a
budget deficit, so we've been in a hiring free since
January twenty twenty four.
Speaker 10 (11:39):
Mahia says the three biggest issues people are spending less.
Revenue from business taxes and hotel taxes are down more
than three hundred million dollars. The city is drowning in liabilities,
paying over three hundred million in lawsuits, and salary raises
to employees including police and fire. As a city on
the hook for two hundred and fifty million dollars all
(12:00):
right to close the gap.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Thank you that it's not great news. I mean, these
are bills that you don't even realize. You realize that
if you happen to have a single family home in
the City of la that you pay about seventy five
dollars BI monthly for trash pickup. They're saying that amount
could increase to one hundred and fifty dollars by twenty
twenty eight. By the way, the mayor is going to
(12:23):
be releasing her proposed budget next month, so that's going
to lead to more fireworks. So Mayor Bass, she loves
to talk in these broad generalities, like she's directed city
staff to leave quote no stones unturned to find cost
cutting measures to minimize layoffs. They're also going to consider
adjusting I mean, these are things you never think of
(12:45):
the city solid waste management program. Again, that will lead
to increased trash rates. So again it's an example of
a failure of vision, failure of leadership. And I'm not
as cranky as John Cobalt is about all this, and
you know, wants to get rid of everybody.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
I just want them to do better.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
I mean, I've spent a lot of time with Mayor Bass,
you know, covering her from Fox eleven and the campaign
against Rick Caruso back in twenty twenty one, and her
heart is in the right place. And if you doubt that,
then I don't think you're dealing with the reality and
all of these elected officials, whether it's the mayor, whether
(13:27):
it's a city council person, whether it's one of the
five Los Angeles County supervisors. And this is true in
other cities beyond Los Angeles City and County. I mean,
these people work like seven days a week. They're incredibly dedicated,
and in most cases they're in.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
It for the right reasons.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
They want to help their community, they want to make
their corner of southern California a better place. But hey,
these are complicated times. I mean, the police department wants
more money, they deserve it. The fire department wants more money,
they deserve it. The trash collectors, I mean, the utility workers,
take your pick. And when we're in a time when
(14:06):
here's the three main sources of revenue you heard in
that report briefly, sales tax, hotel room tax, and our
share of property taxes from LA County, those were all
down costs her up and so we need leaders with
like vision how we're going to generate more money. I mean,
(14:28):
this sort of a segue into and was going to
save this for a whole other segment because it's like,
so outrageous. Is President Trump has launched the gold Card program.
Have you heard about this? You thought it was maybe
a credit card or but it isn't. It's the gold
Visa proposal, in which people would pay up to five
million dollars in fees for the right to obtain permanent
(14:50):
residents in this country. I mean, it seems outrageous. The
President announced this last month, the Golden Card program, offering
wealthy and vents, at a cost of five million dollars each,
the chance to again buy your permanent residency in this country.
We're talking obviously wealthy investors with large chunks of money.
(15:12):
One card costs five million dollars. Trump says the US
could sell one million of them. I mean, amidst all
the Doge controversy, we haven't heard too much about this,
but he's claiming that what he got like five billion
dollars already in these gold cards.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
I mean, is that fair? Obviously not so.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Is there like a local version of the gold Card
program that could help raise some money from the city
of Los Angeles. Again, we're going to hear this in
the news for the next month or so. There's going
to be threatened strikes, there's going to be labor groups upset,
there's going to be calls for a compromise. I mean,
it's just again going back to one of my central
(15:53):
themes and just navigating the day to day life here
in southern California is that nothing is easy. Nothing happened smoothly.
You can't just you know, pay your rent. Count on
they're being apartments available, pay the mortgage, count on, there
being loans available, whether you're in the Palasads or Altadena.
Counting on rebuilding without somebody threatening you with fines if
(16:16):
you don't apply by a certain deadline. I mean, just
going from A to B traffic, the Metro. They're talking
about expanding the metro out along the line from downtown
LA all the way out to Westwood. The streets and
Beverly Hills are closed down for construction. They announced that
the same day they're dealing with a stabbing on the
(16:37):
metro line at the Universal City station. So it's like
it makes you want to just sometimes like flee, right,
But I'm not.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I mean, I'm hanging in there. I hope you are too,
So let me know what you think.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Click on the radio on the microphone icon on the
iHeartRadio app here at KFIM six forty. If you're really inspired,
give me a phone call. Let's get some discussion going
the phone number. As I'm sure you know by now,
if you're a regular listener, one eight hundred and five
to one KFI. That's one eight hundred five to oh
one to five, three four. I'm particularly interested in. Later
(17:10):
on in the three o'clock hour, we're going to get
into this amazing story about this quote neighbor from hell
in West Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
If you have any of these outrageous stories.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand started
new newscasts.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
If you happen to like television news at an earlier
hour than wait till ten or eleven o'clock at night,
check it out at eight and nine. Our colleague and
friend Marla Teez will be mainly anchoring that show. But
first she's having a baby girl, which I'm sure you
know if you're following along her story on social and
from when she was here filling in on KFI.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Anyway, congrats, Stero. I'll keep you posted on that.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Haven't got any updates on that lately, which kind of
leads us into our next story, which was totally not
my plan. But I'll make it. I'll make it happen.
Do you happen to No?
Speaker 4 (18:00):
All?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Right, here's here's like a quiz I would I had
to look this up. How many people there are in
the world, how many people around the world. The population
of the of the entire world is about eight point
two billion. Three hundred and forty million of us are
here in the United States. So President Trump, as if
he doesn't have anything else to do or to worry about,
(18:22):
is concerned. This is a headline from newsweek dot com
and when we check sources far and wide for story
information and story ideas, the headline is we want more babies.
Donald Trump may have a notable impact on birth rates
because the United States is one of many major economies
that are facing population decline driven by low fertility rates.
(18:46):
So President Trump has spoken out on this issue several times,
including during a campaign speech, and hadn't gotten a lot
of attention compared to some of the other things he says.
But the quote is we want more babies, to put
it nicely, and last month he signed an executive order
expanding access to in vitro fertilization IVF for Americans. His
(19:09):
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy directed the Department of Transportation to
give precedents to quote communities with marriage and birth rates
higher than the national average. I mean, very controversial issue.
I mean, why our elected officials are in our bedroom,
so to speak. I mean, maybe that's why he loves
(19:29):
Elon so much, because if you know anything about Elon,
you know that. All right, we'll give him credit for
being brilliant in the genius scale. But the guy has
fourteen children. I think sadly one of them passed away
when they were very young. Fourteen children, I mean, who
has fourteen children? So, I mean Trump has five? Can
(19:54):
you name Trump's children? Donald Jr? Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and
of course Baron. With Milania? Where is Milania? By the way,
is she a real person?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Eileen?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
What do you think we never see We see Milani
at the inauguration, and we'll see her four years from now,
maybe at a state funeral. So Donald Trump is worried
that we don't we're not having enough enough babies here
in southern California, here in this country, and in particularly
in southern California. I did some research into what they
call the American Dream. Fox LA has been covering this
(20:29):
story also and how basically the American Dream is sort
of an umbrella headline for how much it costs a year,
how much you have to make a year to live
in like the top ten cities in Los Angeles, whether
it's New York, Chicago, Philly, La, DC, and so not
a surprise, the cost of the American dream is going up,
(20:51):
according to a new study released earlier this month by
an organization called Go Banking Rates Robin, Let's listen to that.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
You study reveals that achieved the American dream will cost
much more money than ever before. The new report from
Investopedia puts the price tag of getting married, buying a home,
raising children, and retiring at four point four million dollars.
The figure increased by almost one million dollars compared to
just last year. The report says rising costs for housing, education, healthcare,
(21:23):
and are primarily responsible for this big jump.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Okay, well that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
What did you say, four million, four hundred thousand in
your lifetime? So I'm about I'm only about three hundred
and ninety thousand dollars short, so I'm in good shape.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
So at a minimum.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
The analysis found that someone would need to make one
hundred and two thousand annually to afford the quote American
Dream in the biggest cities across the United States. How
does Los Angeles stack up? According to this Go Banking
Rate analysis, the American Dream just costs just under one
hundred and sixty thousand in LA. That's the seventh highest
cost in the country. I would have thought it would
(22:04):
have actually been higher. So here are the full details.
Household income for the so called American Dream. This is
in Los Angeles one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. The
annual cost of living, which is essentially rant and slash.
Mortgage makes up about half of that eighty thousand. The
grocery cost per year. And you know, we don't calculate
(22:24):
this per year. We really think about it maybe per week.
But if you add it all up, about ninety five hundred,
the average monthly mortgage cost is six thousand dollars. You
have a six thousand dollars mortgage, and then childcare, which
is a huge number, is about thirty five thousand dollars
per year. So again this goes back to what we
(22:47):
were talking about earlier, is that's it's not easy to
get by here in southern California, and it seems like
it's getting more challenging rather than less challenging. You know,
jobs are harder to come by, Salary increases harder to
come by. The cost of living is going up, whether
it's rent, whether it's the mortgage, whether it's eggs, whether
(23:09):
it's steak. We had a story on the news about
the cost of beef has gone up like forty percent
of the past year. But then if you want to
look at you know what you might consider good news
for Angelino's that again we're not even the most expensive
city in the state. It's even more expensive than San Francisco,
San Jose, and Oakland. So again, all of these studies,
(23:30):
you know, you can look that look at them in
different ways. But without Los Angeles and San Francisco, Washington
d C is up there. I like Washington d C.
I often think to myself, if I was coming out
of college like today, rather than starting at a small
(23:52):
television station in Wichita Falls, Texas back in the nineteen
seventies to chase the television dream, I think I would
go to Washington d C.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
It just seems like there's a lot.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
All the action is there now Trump not talking about Trump,
I'm just talking about in general.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
It seems like Washington, d C. Is where the action is.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
I think what I would do is I would probably
go to graduate school and then I would also join
the CIA and see the world.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
That seems like exciting to me.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
So if we could rewind the time machine to like
the late nineteen seventies, I would have never come to
southern California, and I'd never be here on KFI at
this moment. So funny how things work out. All right,
we have lots more to discuss again. I'm Phil Schumann
from Fox eleven Newes with you until four o'clock today,
still hoping you might chime in, leave a message on
(24:41):
the microphone icon in the iHeartRadio app if you've got
any horror stories about your neighbors, because we have a
good one for you coming up in the next hour.
You can also give me a phone call. And you're probably,
you know, thinking I've heard enough from him, so I
would to hear what you guys have to say about
all these issues, whether it's the com of living, whether
it's President Trump, whether it's may or Bass. I mean
(25:03):
coming up. We have lots more interesting things and interesting
things to talk about. You won't believe some of the
language that goes on in the La City Council at
the public comment session. Michael Monks is going to be
with us to talk about that. I mean, this is
just a shocking story, some of the recalls. It's not
just Tesla cyber trucks, but what else is being recalled.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Determine the level of services and so forth, and nobody
thinks it's really that accurate.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
It's a snapshot.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
And yes, if there's a decline fraction of a percentage,
then everybody pats themselves on the back, which you know,
it's better than an increase. But the fires have taken
away the focus on the homeless issue, I think from
the especially from the city of Los Angeles, who need
to keep that keep that up. Jamie Page frequent guest
(25:57):
here on on KFI the Westside Current dot com. It's
hyperlocal journalism. Check it out, support it with a donation
if you can. I've been talking about the request for comments.
You can click on the microphone icon and the iHeartRadio
app and tell us what you think, and apparently we've
(26:19):
gotten quite a few responses. Let's check one out.
Speaker 8 (26:23):
I forgot the part about what Marbach said, that it's
unfair for everyone else that's ready to go and reveal
to have to wait for the people that are supposed
to be on top of it and just dragging their feet,
and how no one can rebuild because they got to
wait for the stranger. You've conveniently forgotten that part of
what you say.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
So he's referring, I believe to the March thirty first
deadline to apply for federal assistance and clearing burned properties.
And I think what he's trying to say is that
if you don't clear your burned property, it's gonna delay
someone else from rebuilding their burned out house. I'm not
(27:06):
quite sure I make that connection, but I appreciate you
chiming in. Seems at a little angry there. Maybe am
I missing your point? If I am, I apologize, all right.
I'm looking at my iPhone seeing if anybody's texting me
like you sound great, you sound like an idiot, like
(27:28):
during the breaks, and I'm looking at my phone and
I'm embarrassed to say that I have an iPhone fourteen?
Is that possible? And what's the current what's the current
model sixteen?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
I believe sixteen.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Yeah, And so now I'm looking at news stories that
Apple is pushing the iPhone seventeen. And this is one
of my favorite subjects because unlike most companies or businesses
or products, it's like you create that I need a
new washing machine, I need a new car, I need
(28:05):
a new whatever it is blender.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
And but what Apple does is they tell you what
you need.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
You need an iPhone seventeen, Well, I get an iPhone fourteen,
and you know what.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
It seems to work fine.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
But there are those who are early adopters who have
to have the latest technology, which brings us into my
next subject, of which the headline is What's old is
New again? Nineties brands? Can you matter to the nineties?
What was the iPhone? Then the iPhone?
Speaker 3 (28:39):
Seven?
Speaker 2 (28:40):
Iconic brands are making a comeback, like the Gap, Abercrombie
and Fitch and Old Navy, thanks to marketing to younger
audiences who apparently are longing for some nostalgia.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Robin, I'm just trying to go shop a Gap.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
That baby.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
The Gap is back to not sleep on old Baby.
Speaker 12 (29:04):
Along with Old Navy, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Levi's classic
brands all making big comebacks. Social media says, so when
did Abercommie become cool again? And now so do the numbers?
Experts say these brands, once mainstays of nineties fashion, lost
touch with their customer base in the two thousands, but
from twenty nineteen to now, Gap brands are up thirty
(29:26):
seven percent, Abercrombie and Fitch a whopping five hundred and
ninety four percent, and Levi's are bouncing back to style
Guru Zach Posen revitalizing and revamping Gap and its brand
offshoots Old Navy and Banana Republic, marketing to younger customers
through a mix of nostalgia and social media. The Gap
(29:48):
evolving from Kakia Go Go to Perker Posey putting modern
spins on its famous dance spots from the nineties and
early two thousands, Abercrombie attributing its revival to a complete
makeover from their culture to their brands to an increased
focus on customers. And then there's Levi's with the Ultimate
glow Up, revisiting vintage ads with style icon Beyonce, Can
(30:11):
You put into words, just how dramatic the comeback is
for some of these brands.
Speaker 13 (30:16):
What these brands are doing that's smart is a delivering
great merchandise that's exciting. Some of its quiet luxury, but
some of it is fun fashion that you can get
an affordable price.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
But the turnaround hasn't happened for everyone.
Speaker 12 (30:30):
In an industry often likened to a roller coaster, not
all retail brands are enjoying the ride. Forever twenty one
recently filed for bankruptcy for a second time and has
plans to close all of its stores in the US,
and Macy's is closing sixty six stores this year alone.
Speaker 13 (30:45):
And every time I checked the website sold out.
Speaker 12 (30:48):
But these stalwarts have once again nailed the alchemy.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Be all right?
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Not everything old is new again. That was a report
from Good Morning America. Appreciate that. I remember the Gap
store right on Ventral Boulevard and Studio City that's been
gone for a long time, And I think, what's interesting?
And I lean field free to weigh in on this,
because when you shop now, everything ninety is online. I mean,
(31:14):
who goes to a store anymore? I guess if it's close,
you're more inclined to go to a store because you've
got to try them on.
Speaker 14 (31:20):
Right, I'm a thrift store gal. I like going to
thrift stores really yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
And you get good quality things there, or you like
the bargain, or you like to define the undiscovered treasure.
Speaker 14 (31:31):
Go to Goodwill in Manhattan Beach. You get like brand name,
brand new things.
Speaker 3 (31:36):
It's incredible.
Speaker 14 (31:37):
People have all this money, they just put their stuff
into the thrift store.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
Right, is there like when you talk about that, you
tell people that is there?
Speaker 3 (31:46):
Like? Are you embarrassed ever to say that?
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Or is it more like I'm proud that I'm doing
that because look at all this money I'm saving.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
I mean, like when I go.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
To thrift stores, I look for like golf clubs and
like unusual golf clubs, especially putters and hats.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
I'm not like buying my shirts and pants and suits there.
Speaker 14 (32:04):
Yeah. I have friends that think it's disgusting, they won't
do it, But I have other friends that love it.
I mean, we'll go together and just we'll go hit
on the thrift stores.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
I mean it can be fun. What model iPhone do
you have? I have the sixteen? See there you go
and you're probably going to get the seventeen as soon
as it comes out, right.
Speaker 14 (32:19):
I used to be that person, but I just couldn't
keep up. I mean with the first iPhone, maybe for
the first three or four generations, I was like keeping up,
like I've got to have the new one.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
Now.
Speaker 3 (32:29):
My last phone was a seven. Well then they say,
well it's faster. What does that mean.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
It means when you take a picture or when you
load a website, it's a millionth of a second faster
than the previous generation.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
So what are you going to do with that millionth
of a second that you save?
Speaker 14 (32:42):
I don't know, but I'm in it for the camera.
I can zoom in twenty five times.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
There have been improvements in the camera. I will grant you.
Speaker 14 (32:50):
That I took a full moon, the blood red moon.
I got amazing pictures of the moon. I couldn't do
that with any other phones.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
All right, when we come back, we're going to talk
with Michael Wanks, a familiar face, name and voice here
on KFI, to talk about the La City Council seeking
a crackdown on just some the language that the public uses.
I mean, ah'll it'll shock you.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
KFI AM six forty on demand
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