March 8, 2025 • 39 mins
Tiffany Hobbs kicks off the show celebrating International Women’s Day with a special shoutout to her mom and the incredible women of KFI. She then discusses Former Chief Crowley’s new role and how LA homeowners are rebuilding smarter with fire-resistant homes, including the innovative ‘superadobe’ structures. Tiffany also covers a proposed bill that could change how lethal force is used in home burglaries. Later, Dr. Neal Patel joins to discuss the shocking deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, linked to hantavirus, diving into what the virus is and how it spreads.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand, Kissy I.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Am six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Tiffany Hobbs here with you from five to seven.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It's Saturdays with Tiffany on this beautiful International Woman's Day.
Happy International Woman's Day everyone. Even if you are not
a woman, you can absolutely celebrate this day as so
many do, to amplify the women in your life, the
girls in your life who you feel are deserving of
(00:33):
a special shout out. Now, of course I can get
on my soapbox and say that should be every day.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
And you might say, why do we have this stupid day?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We don't need any more stupid, frivolous days, wasteful. Yeah, well,
so what I'm claiming today it is our day, International
Woman's Day. So a big, beautiful shout out to all
of the women who are listening.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Just for the record, I didn't get any discounts at
any the stores that I go to this morning.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Rightfully, not rightfully not? How dare you try and hijack
our day?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
You man?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I was gonna celebrate it, I say, man like a
four letter word, right you man?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Oh you man?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
No celebrate it by buying a woman in your life. Hello, Hi,
Andrew's discounts.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Just send money, Oh, send money. When in doubt, send money.
I am a woman, I will accept your money.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Andrew Caravella, as a man, I would accept the money.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
To you man, celebrate me, you man. I'm surrounded by
men today. You could celebrate by giving me money.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
You already probably earn more because you're a man.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
You man.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Tis the season, you know, it is what it is.
But it's International Woman's Day.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm happy to work amongst some of the best women
in the radio business, and you can see them on
kfi's Instagram and Facebook accounts. Today we all got a
very special shout out. Not you, Andrew Caravella, I noticed that,
but the rest I'm glad you did. The rest of
us got a shout out. So you can go check
(02:09):
that out. Make sure you like the post, share the post.
But you'll get to see the long lineup of women
behind the scenes and in front of the scenes that
make KFI run. And let me tell you, I know
firsthand being a woman has its ups and its downs.
But on average it is a beautiful thing to be.
(02:30):
But it can sometimes be a bit uneasy. It can
be a little difficult, and being in a position of
authority or leadership as a woman is very tough, and
you gotta be tough. You gotta be a bad ass
to do these sorts of things. I think of my mom,
my mother, Connie Hobbes, the penultimate badass in real estate.
(02:53):
I think of my best friend, who is a first
time mother, has a six almost seventh month old bad ass.
Michelle Cube. You might have heard the name. You better
have heard the name.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Michelle Cube runs this thing.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
We could not do this, We could not be KFI,
would not be KFI without Michelle Cube. And then you
have Pastathon, which is all Michelle Cube.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Bad ass.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
All the women here, from news to the anchors, to
the hosts, to the producers, newswriters, traffic, the best in
the business, the women in your life amazing, all of
us amazing, My mother in law amazing. Know who else
I think is amazing? But some might argue I should
say that in the past, Tense I thought was amazing
(03:44):
and was the best in the biz. Former LAFD fire
chief Kristin Crowley. And the thing about Kristin Crowley is
we now know she's been ousted as chief.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
She is former chief.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Last Tuesday, she appealed that decision by Mayor Bass and
she appeared in front of the La City Council. She
lost that appeal, So Mayor Bass and the City Council
disagree with me. They don't think she's too bad ass
I do. For her to do what she did, to
stand up there at unprecedented times and man the La
(04:22):
Fire Department for the last three years, to endure what
she has done, seen and sight unseen, she has to
be something special and unfortunately again she lost that appeal,
but she's still in the department.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Question mark, Let's find out what she's up to now.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
Lafd's ousted chief has a new job. Christian Crowley will
still be with the department, but at a lower rank.
Her new title is Assistant Chief of lafd's Operations Valley Bureau,
covers the San Fernando Valley. This comes a day after
her appeal to save her position as chief was shot
down by the La City Council. La Mayor Karen Bass
fired Crowley last month, citing quote leadership failures related to
(05:06):
the Palisades fire.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So she still Kristin Crowley has a job with the LAFD.
But she's been demoted and that is their words. Those
are not my words. She has been demoted from Los
Angeles to the Valley. That tells you what they think
of the valley, right that this is a demotion for
Kristin Crowley. But again, as of Tuesday, her new title
(05:32):
is Assistant Chief of lafd's Operations Valley Bureau. And of course,
after the appeal, Kristin Crowley issued a statement. She said,
amongst many things, that she thanked people for the outpouring
of support. She thanked people for the love and the
kind words that they've said while she has endured this process.
(05:53):
She also went on to specifically think UFLAC President Freddie
Escobar and other union leaders and union members. But one
thing in her statement, which was almost eleven minutes, really
stood out to me, and I'll read it to you now.
Kristin Crowley said after her appeal was rejected. Quote, the
(06:16):
LAFD deserves to be properly funded, staffed, and resourced so
we can meet the ever changing needs of our communities.
We owe that to the LAFD and to those we
serve end Quote that's kind of scathing, that's an indictment.
(06:38):
It was a slick kind of indictment that she slid
in during this appeal process. But to say on record
right there again that the LAFD deserves to be properly funded,
staffed and resourced suggests implies directly the opposite was happening.
(07:00):
The LAFD, in fact, was not properly funded, was not staffed,
and was not resourced. And because of that, the LAFD
was not able and has not been able to meet
the quote ever changing needs of our communities. So she
got one little dig in, one last little dig, badass,
(07:22):
Kristin Crowley. There, one last little dig before she goes
on to assume her new title as Operations Valley Bureau
Assistant Chief. Don't know what that will entail, but we
will definitely, I'm sure here from Kristin Crowley in the future.
And now we have the interim Fire Chief, Ronnie Viennaweva,
(07:45):
And the weather will be warming up soon, and you
know what that means. People will be out, the crazies
will be out setting fires, the arsonists will be out
taking the opportunity of the weather changing and warming. The
winds will pick up. Our fire season, which does not end,
will ramp up, and we will start to see semblances
(08:06):
and signs again of what is to come when it
comes to the fires and what it is that we
can expect now all year round.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
People aren't too confident right now.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I don't know about you, but I'm not people many
people around this city of Los Angeles are not very
confident about their homes being protected from fire, especially after
all the infighting between the LAFD, the union, and the
city council. So homeowners are taking matters into their own hands.
(08:42):
Homeowners are standing up and saying, you know what, all
that drama over there, but something still has to happen
with my property and how do I protect my property
in the near future.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
So what are they doing.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
They're building fireproof home called super Adobees.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Go for it.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
We have an audio. It's okay, you were hung up
on that last part. Thank you, Raoul for listening and
being super hung up. So the audio you're going to
hear is a homeowner or a couple, a pair of
homeowners whose home survived the recent fire. They were one
of few homes standing in their neighborhoods. And they'll tell
(09:30):
you about that process to ensure that their home was
left standing after these fires.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Proud and happy and that our efforts paid off.
Speaker 5 (09:41):
But we never imagined a scene so stark.
Speaker 7 (09:46):
As this.
Speaker 8 (09:47):
Some of the features that the pair of belief helped
save their home include fire resistant cladding, a planted roof,
and sprinkler nozzles that disperse fire retardant on demand. In addition,
they incorporated what is called defensive space around their home
that minimizes the risk of flames jumping from one structure
to the next.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Building.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
Designing the house so close to nature and knowing the
history of southern California, we were acutely aware that at
some point in the house's life there would be a
serious fire, you know, nearby at the very least, and
so we designed the house to be both fire resilient
and sustainable, and happily those two systems are often one
(10:32):
and the same.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
When we come back, i'll tell you what these super
adobees actually consist, of what they look like, whether or
not you should be interested in building a property that
is within this configuration.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Also, i'll tell you about.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
What's going on if you are wanting to protect your home,
let's say, from a home invader, a home invasion a burn,
whether you're in this super Adobe or you're in your
other home that's not yet outfitted for fire protecting. But
what should happen if someone should come into your home
and you want to defend yourself. Well, there's a new
(11:14):
bill that is being proposed and it could complicate things
very much if you want to protect your home with
deadly force. And this did in fact happen in the
valley just last week. I'll tell you all about that.
And at five point thirty we have doctor Neil Patel
coming on. He's from Providence, Saint Joseph and Orange County
(11:37):
and he's going to talk to us about what's going
on with Gene Hackman, Betty Arakawa and this new virus,
the Handta virus, which is neither new, but it is
very dangerous and should we be concerned. Doctor Neil will
be on to talk to us about that. All that's
coming up right here on Saturdays with Tiffany KFI AM.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Tifny Hobbs here with you and that if you're listening
live on the radio. Is Tony Tony Tony a very
groundbreaking R and B group of musicians and singer songwriters,
And unfortunately one of the members passed away a couple
(12:26):
days ago.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
His name is Dwayne Wiggins. He was the lead guitarist
since nineteen eighty eight. It's a long time.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
He passed away from some form of cancer, so really
sad about that. It's definitely the music I grew up
listening to in the nineties and the late eighties, and
you know, may they endure. They were just performing up
until the i think late fall of last year. So
as these things go, they can come on quickly and
(12:56):
then you're gone. So rest in peace to Dwayne Wiggins.
And and you know, maybe make sure you listen if
you know that one song and rab Well, I'm sure
you'll play it at some point today about it never
rains in Southern California, or a song that happens to
talk about an anniversary. These are all songs that are
very popular and I'm sure you've heard them, and you'll
(13:18):
hear them tonight on Saturdays with Tiffany really quick. Also,
I'd be remiss if i didn't call my aunt a badass.
My aunt's listening, She's absolutely a bad ass. For International
Women's Day, Happy International Woman's Day to all of you
out there listening. We were just talking about super adobees
and how homeowners across the Southland are taking matters into
(13:40):
their own hands to fireproof their homes.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And we heard audio from one couple.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Whose home was left standing while every other home around
them burned during the ETN fire because they had outfitted
their home with fireproof materials and these super adobe. The
idea of a super adobe is both a kind of
a theory and an actuality. So let me tell you
(14:08):
a little bit about what these super adobees are. They
do not resemble the standard box like configuration for homes. Instead,
the structure consists of a sequence of vaulted domes nestled together.
It kind of looks like a cottage out of a
story book, and you think about old stories you might
(14:30):
have read picture kind of this flat almost looks like
it should be clay, right, kind of.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Like a clay structure.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
The walls are curved and the ceilings are tall and arched.
The entire building is constructed using only a few materials
those materials are soil, water, sandbags, barbed wire, plaster, and
a little bit of cement. The house is capable of
withstanding a colossal natural disaster, whether that be a tornado, hurricane, earthquake,
(15:05):
or fire.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
There you go. They look similar to where Luke Skywalker
grew up. Yes, yes, I think everybody knows what that
scene looks like by this point.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Thank you for that. That's what they do look like.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
And while we have not yet seen an influx of them,
this could very well be on the horizon. And it's
courtesy of an organization called Earth One. They're born out
of col Earth and they're a nonprofit organization based in
Hysperia that has been working on this building style, the
super Adobe for the last three or excuse me thirty years.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
I grew up, oh, in Hisparia, Well, in that area
in Apple Valley. It's the Yeah, Apple Valley's. I love Apple.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
There's a what is it called the Custard place that's
out there.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It's a steak and custard like a smash Burger place.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
I can't think of it. There's oh, yeah, Freddie's. Yeah,
Freddy's is there yet?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I love sta go all the way out there, just
to get a good steak burger, but nothing else where.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
You're talking about any anybody who's ever visited family or
grew up over there, they know, going down Bear Valley
Road in the Hesperia side because it divides Victorville and Asparia.
Those super adobees are right there off of Aye Avenue
and in Bear Valley Road though.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Oh so here you've seen them. I like to call
them desert igloos.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Oh okay, okay, well yeah, well cal Earth is saying
that this could be the architectural solution for fireproofing all
around Greater Los Angeles. So a little bit of Hysperia
and maybe some nostalgia for you, Andrew Caravella might be
making its way down this way.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Shout out to hysteria. Yeah, hysteria.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Hysperia's hysteria, especially on Sundays when people are coming back
from Vegas.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Oh my goodness, you're going to get a talkback for
calling it that. You know that, right, people? They know
people are very territorial. Well, if you're out there in Hysperia,
as Andrew calls it hysteria, then check out, like he said,
over there, just I believe what is that now? East
of Bear Valley or east on Bear Valley South. Thank
you where those adobees are. You can see these super
(17:07):
adobes because they may very well be coming to Los
Angeles again, because they are proven to withstand lots of
natural disasters, including fire. Something that's very unnatural, a home invasion. Unfortunately,
while unnatural, it these are prevalent, and we have seen
(17:29):
a resurgence of home invasions in the greater Los Angeles area,
especially out in our valleys. And unfortunately, just in San
Bernardino last Tuesday, a homeowner was startled, so to speak,
by a group of people who broke into his home.
Four people in fact, broke into his home, and the
(17:53):
homeowner actually opened fire on these four people. He didn't
know who he was firing at or how many are
the ages. He was just defending his property and in
this firing, in this armed exchange, one person was hit
and was killed. Also interesting about this story is that
(18:16):
there was a fifteen year old boy who was a
part of the group of four. There is a suspect
who remains at large as of last Thursday, but the
homeowner right now is saying that this was a reminder
that a home invasion can happen at any time, and
we're seeing that this is in fact the case.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
So let's say your home is broken into.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Unfortunately, there's a new bill that has been proposed by
Rick Chavez Zeeber, Los Angeles. He is an assemblyman out
of LA and this bill proposes to, under certain circumstances,
take away your self defense rights to be able to
(19:04):
protect your home, yourself, your property. Current state law says
homicide is justifiable when committed in defense of habitation, property,
or person. However, Representative Zeeber's bill would delete that protection.
And as you can imagine, there's been lots of pushback
about this bill. There's been outcry from both sides. The outcry,
(19:26):
the pushback is very bipartisan. And because of that, Zebra
responded on X because that's where you go, you go
to social media, and he said AB thirteen thirty three
was never intended to limit a crime victim's right to
defend yourself, your family, or your home. The goal is
to prevent wanna be vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse from provoking
(19:50):
violence and claiming self defense after the fact. We will
amend the bill to make this crystal clear. So thirteen
thirty three is going back to the drawing drawing board
courtesy of Rick Chaves Zeber out of Los Angeles, and
he is going to modify this proposal so that in
(20:12):
the case of a home invasion like what happened in
San Bernardino, you have the right, you retain the right
to defend your home, your habitation, your property, even when
deadly force is invoked and in fact used. And I
think we all should stay tuned for more updates on
that because it affects everyone in the city of Los
(20:32):
Angeles absolutely.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
When we come.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Back, we're going to talk to a doctor out of Providence,
Saint Joseph in Orange County. His name is doctor Neil Patel,
and we're going to talk about what happened with Gene Hackman,
his wife Betsy, these revelations that have come out in
the last couple of days, and what the heck is
Hanta virus or Hanta virus. Not only do we not
(20:57):
know what it is, we don't know how to pronounce it.
So hopefully doctor Patel, we'll be able to give us
some insight on that and let us know if this
is something yet again that we should be worried about
and protecting ourselves from all that when we come back,
and a lot more. On Saturdays with Tiffany, It's KFI
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Tiffany Hobbs here with you.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
It's Saturdays with Tiffany from five until seven. Remember, if
you miss any of this show, you can always go
back and listen online to our podcast at KFIAM six
forty dot com under special features, where you can again
stay up to date on everything that's being discussed with
(21:49):
all of your weekend hosts, including myself On Saturdays with Tiffany.
In a moment, we're going to talk to doctor Neo Patel.
He is a doctor with Prodent Saint Joseph Hospital in
Orange County. But let me tell you why why we're
bringing doctor Patel on to extract some of his expertise,
(22:10):
because we really do need it in the case of
this next story. Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, his wife
unfortunately now as we know, passed away from really sobering circumstances.
At first, there were thoughts about carbon monoxide poisoning, other
(22:30):
theories linked to their deaths. But in the event of
this now Medical Examiner's report, we have learned that Gene
Hackman likely died of cardiovascular disease with complications from Alzheimer's
and that his wife, Betsy Arakawa, most likely died due
(22:52):
to something called Hanta virus, which is a potentially fatal
virus transmitted by mice. Now, while both of these deaths
fall under natural causes, which can include things like heart disease, stroke, cancer,
respiratory failure, infections, and age related complications, there are lots
(23:13):
of questions specific to this hantavirus.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Should we be alarmed? Is this another epidemic that is looming?
And let me tell you a little bit about this virus.
Back in nineteen ninety three, there was an outbreak and
this outbreak occurred in the southwestern United States. The outbreak
was so severe that it was named and it was
(23:41):
called the Four Corners Hanta virus outbreak, the Four Corners
hand to virus outbreak, in which twenty seven people died.
There were over forty cases of this hand to virus,
but with twenty seven deaths, of course, it sent shockwaves
through not only the community, but also through the Western hemisphere.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
The community that.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Was most affected consisted of the Navajo Nation, and because
their community was pinpointed as a kind of patient zero situation,
a lot of prejudice, a lot of bias were born
out of what happened with this virus and this outbreak,
and many in the Navajo Nation were subjected to a
(24:29):
lot of cruel treatment as a result of this virus
spreading around the southwestern United States. And for the last
forty plus years, thirty plus years, it's largely been out
of our conversations, this hands to virus.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
No one's really talking about it.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
You might understand that rodents in your space can bring
forth disease. I think we all know that, but the
specificity of that disease, calling it the hantavirus, is new.
That is a novel concept for many, including myself. And
when I heard that Betsy A. Rakawa died from this
(25:10):
mouse born illness, from this rodent transmitted disease, it really
shook me to my core. I remember distinctly a few
months ago reporting about right here on KFI about a
list that was making its way around social media. It
was a legitimate list, and the list was about the
(25:31):
most rodent infested cities in the United States. Los Angeles
was in the top ten of that list. That led
us to understand that we have a huge rodent problem
here in the city of Los Angeles. And if you
live anywhere that is near woodlands, anywhere near the base
(25:52):
of a mountain area, in mountainous areas, if you live
anywhere where there are trees and foliage, if you live
anywhere where there are dumpsters, if you live anywhere where
there are restaurants or huge box stores, then you have
seen or have been victim to mice and other rodents.
And now with this revelation that hantavirus is back or
(26:16):
maybe even never left, we have a lot of questions, rightfully, so,
so I would like to welcome our expert, doctor Neil
Patel again from Providence Saint Joseph in Orange County and
hopes that doctor Patel can maybe clear up any misconceptions,
inform us about the Handa virus, tell us how to
(26:38):
pronounce hansa virus, because I really don't know if it's
Hanta or hansa. Doctor Patel, I'll let you be the
expert on that and also to just hopefully set us
at ease about this viral situation that occurred with one
of our beloved stars and his wife. So, doctor Neil Patel,
(26:58):
welcome to Saturdays with Tiffany. You welcome to KFI. Thank
you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Did we lose them? Doctor Patel? Are you with us?
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Hi, there you are.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Thank for having me.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Thank you so much for coming on. So first, before
we do anything, how do you pronounce it? Is it
hands to or hantavirus?
Speaker 5 (27:16):
The proverb pronouncing gen is hantavirus.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
I was right, Look at me, I was. I didn't
want to say it like the soda like fanta right.
That felt too easy, so I went with the hansa.
I'm glad I was right, because I would get a
lot of blowback if I wasn't. Hant to virus. Are
you familiar with this virus? Is this something that is
brought up in your training of viral transmissions, especially being
in this region of the United States?
Speaker 9 (27:42):
Right, so you know a little background regarding the virus.
First of all, is considered a zoo natic virus, which
means is transmitted from animals, particularly rodents, especially North America,
to humans. Incidentally, it's very rare for the virus you
transfer between a human to a human. You mentioned like that,
(28:02):
I'll break back in the early nineties. Interestingly, the name
hanta virus comes from a place in Korea where there
was a smell in like a rodents that they found
out was infecting some of the people during the Korean
War by the Hantan River in South Korea. So the
actual name comes from Hantan River in South Korea, south
(28:23):
the hantavirus. And to make it clear, I think, as
mentioned earlier, they started tracking the actual reported cases of
the hantavirus back in nineteen ninety three. As of twenty
twenty two, for the CDC, there's been a total of
only eight hundred and sixty four cases that have been reported.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Okay, so that puts me at ease, given how many
cases of say the flu are reported each year, which
go into the millions. But given that this is now
in the conversation, is now in the public sphere for discussion,
a lot of people are nervous, Doctor Neil, We're up
against the clock. But I love for you to comment
(29:05):
about those that anxiety that people may be facing, the symptoms,
the effects treatment should we Is.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
This really a thing?
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Can we continue to talk about that on the other
side of the break. I'd love to keep you on.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
Yeah, absolutely, we can talk about that.
Speaker 9 (29:24):
So yeah, real quickly, I'll just say that, Yeah, there's
a lot of different strategies, and I wouldn't put this
as a high.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Concern at this moment in terms of being a high risk.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Okay, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I'm sure a lot of people just did a collective
sigh of relief.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
I know I'm doing that. As soon as I turned
my mic.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Off, I'll be able to absolutely exercise that relief. We
are talking to doctor Neil Patel. He is a doctor
out of Providence Saint Joseph in Orange County, and we're
discussing the hantavirus in light of the revelations about Gene
Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa and their contributing factors
that resulted in their deaths the last few weeks, all
(30:04):
now coming to light this last week in the news.
We'll talk more to doctor Patel on the other side
of the break, So stay tuned for that. KFI AM
six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand kf.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Timmy Hobbs here with you, and we're talking to doctor
Neil Patel. He's a doctor at Providence Saint Joseph's in
Orange County, beautiful hospital out there, and we're talking about
the hantavirus. Because while we know that Gene Hackman unfortunately
died from cardiovascular disease, with a contributing factor being his
(30:45):
late stage Alzheimer's, the secondary revelation that was made is
that his wife, Betsy Arakawa, passed away due to something
called hantavirus, which is a virus transmitted by rodents, and
a lot of people, a lot of editorials, a lot
of social media comments are asking should I be nervous?
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Should I be concerned? What is the hantavirus?
Speaker 2 (31:11):
And doctor Neil has just put us at ease a
bit to say that there are fewer than nine hundred
cases per year just last year, fewer than eight hundred
and fifty cases in fact, and that this is something
that isn't necessarily to pandemic levels and it likely may
(31:31):
not get there. However, concern is valid and protecting yourself
is in fact key, doctor Patel. When we were talking,
we mentioned we talked about that this initial outbreak occurrding
it in nineteen ninety three in the southwestern portion of
the United States New Mexico, Texas, and at the time,
(31:54):
these societal implications were that if you come into contact
with this virraul, throw away all of your plates. If
you serve anyone who looks like they could have it,
or you are prejudicial about who you think may have it,
do not interact with those people. Sanitize everything, wear your masks.
(32:15):
Sounds very familiar, sounds very reminiscent of what we have
just come out of with COVID nineteen. When someone contracts hantavirus,
how preventative should people around them be. You say that
it is not necessarily transmitted from human to human, but
(32:36):
are there any precautions that people should take to keep
themselves safe.
Speaker 9 (32:42):
Yeah, So, as mentioned, you know, luckily, the good thing
about this virus, it's very rare that it is transferred
from human to human. The only knowns there's a certain
strain called the Andy string, which is found in South America.
There's been a few cases that have been reported for
human human transmission, but it's still considered rare.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
In terms of prevention and just being careful.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
Number one thing is you have to limit your rodent exposure.
So that includes, of course, in your house, you may
want to look for places where there's small gaps, small
holes that possible rodents can come through. And also on
the outside, you don't want to have any trees or
any bushes touching the side of your house because a
lot of times the rodents can actually jump from the
(33:28):
trees to the house. And in terms of cleaning certain
areas specifically like the attics, basements, maybe storage units where
there's a lot of dust sometimes a lot of these rodents,
you definitely want to wear a mask that's tight fitting,
you want to wear goggles, you want to wear gloves.
So you do want to take the proper precautions to prevent,
(33:51):
you know, to decrease your risks.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Basically, you know, I'm hearing you say that people should
remove trees and other sorts of folio that may touch
part of their property, and I know that that seems
to be a cornerstone of a lot of landscaping in
southern California. You know, we love our bushes, We love
our trees, our leafy green things, and you know, it
seems like the bigger the better. In light of the fires,
(34:15):
there's been a lot of clearing of that sort of
foliage and landscaping. But for those people who continue to
keep that, you're saying again, let me just reiterate that
those trees could very well be a kind of like
a super highway into your home.
Speaker 9 (34:33):
So in terms any tree techniquely can house nests. So
that's usually the way. But you know it's really simple
though a lot of houses. That's why that's what I'm saying,
you protect from both ends. You don't necessarily have to
cut down the beautiful trees in the backyard. But what
you do then is you do extra be extra careful
and making sure the inside side of your house is protected.
(34:55):
So any grates where there's vents, like maybe by the
basement or by the foundation the chimney for example, you
may want to put some type of like a covering
over it if you're not going to use it.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
And then of course, like.
Speaker 9 (35:06):
Buy your houses, all the doors, you just want to
make sure there's a like holes and gaps. So luckily,
like I mentioned in general, in terms of some statistics,
actually data shows about twelve percent of households in the
US report roadent problems.
Speaker 5 (35:21):
It's only about twelve percent.
Speaker 9 (35:22):
So even though that's still concerning, it's still not as
high as maybe some other things.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Doctor Patel, I don't think everyone's being honest. I think
people are lying. They're not necessarily wanting to be a
part of that survey because I know, again, I experienced
rodents living in an apartment, you know, and you get
them out of your place. But I lived in a
very a very nutrient rich area, so they loved to
(35:48):
go into the foliage at the net in the next building,
the shrubbery, the bushes, and I would find a few things,
you know, here and there that let me know that
I had a mouse problem.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
You clean up your area.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
And if you live in that sort of communal type environment,
an apartment, a condo, a town home community, or close quarters,
they go from one property to the next really easily.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
And I see a.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Lot of these apartment complexes or condo or town home communities,
and there are many there are many more being built
that have these dumpsters that they put out in the
front of the building, and these attract rodents, so it
almost feels kind of sick local, as if we can't
necessarily get ahead of it. But on the other side
(36:34):
of that, let's say, you know, you come into contact
with these mice, you do everything you can, you clean up,
you do the professional servicing.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
What does treatment look like?
Speaker 2 (36:46):
In nineteen ninety three when the initial outbreak happened, there
was not a cure. There was no treatment at the time,
which is why there were so many fatalities.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Has that changed? What does treatment look like now?
Speaker 9 (36:59):
You know? It's still the same concept remains. There's not
a specific type of medication or treatment that is designated
for hantavirus. However, there was an anti viral medication called
riboviron that has been shown to have some improvement with
patients who take it, but that's not been shown on
(37:19):
the larger scale studies. In general at this time, for
people who do have hantavirus, it's called supportive measures now. Usually,
because hantavirus can be severe at times, you sometimes have
to get admitted to the hospital where they may need
to administer oxygen, They might have to give you ivy fluids.
They may also have to give you certain medications, sometimes
(37:42):
like a steroid to calm down your immune system, especially
if it's kind of overreacting in general, though it's been
pretty well documented that there's no specific medication for that.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Okay, and really quickly, thirty seconds or less, what are
some symptoms that people can look out for should they
feel they might be compromised or have come into contact
with rodents in a problematic way.
Speaker 9 (38:09):
Right, so real quickly, it starts off like flu like symptoms.
So you may notice body aches, chills, headache, fevers, and
that's common. Now, if it's been a couple of days
and all of a sudden you start developing very like
shortens of bread sometimes chest pain, those types of symptoms,
then you definitely do want to go to the nearest
er to make sure you're not having something more severe. Luckily,
(38:30):
as I mentioned, actually the number of cases are very minimal,
and most people do have relatively cleaner areas where they
live that these mouths and rodents don't put a lot
of their excret and their waist there.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Doctor Neil Patel, Providence, Saint Joseph in Orange County, thank
you so much for joining us and clearing up some
of these misconceptions and giving us more information about hantavirus
Thank you so.
Speaker 5 (38:55):
Much, Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Take care you got it.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
On the other side of the braak, we're gonna get
into our new segment, Deeper Dives. Deeper Dives, We're gonna
talk about the Department of Education.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
What is the Department of Education? What does it do?
It's in the news.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Because it may very well be defunded or all together demolished.
Let's talk about it in Deeper Dives when we come back.
KFI AM six forty live everywhere, on the iHeartRadio app
Speaker 1 (39:27):
KFI AM six forty on demand,
You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand, Kissy I.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Am six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Tiffany Hobbs here with you from five to seven.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
It's Saturdays with Tiffany on this beautiful International Woman's Day.
Happy International Woman's Day everyone. Even if you are not
a woman, you can absolutely celebrate this day as so
many do, to amplify the women in your life, the
girls in your life who you feel are deserving of
(00:33):
a special shout out. Now, of course I can get
on my soapbox and say that should be every day.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
And you might say, why do we have this stupid day?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We don't need any more stupid, frivolous days, wasteful. Yeah, well,
so what I'm claiming today it is our day, International
Woman's Day. So a big, beautiful shout out to all
of the women who are listening.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Just for the record, I didn't get any discounts at
any the stores that I go to this morning.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Rightfully, not rightfully not? How dare you try and hijack
our day?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
You man?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I was gonna celebrate it, I say, man like a
four letter word, right you man?
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Oh you man?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
No celebrate it by buying a woman in your life. Hello, Hi,
Andrew's discounts.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
That's okay.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Just send money, Oh, send money. When in doubt, send money.
I am a woman, I will accept your money.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
Andrew Caravella, as a man, I would accept the money.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
To you man, celebrate me, you man. I'm surrounded by
men today. You could celebrate by giving me money.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
You already probably earn more because you're a man.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
You man.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Tis the season, you know, it is what it is.
But it's International Woman's Day.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I'm happy to work amongst some of the best women
in the radio business, and you can see them on
kfi's Instagram and Facebook accounts. Today we all got a
very special shout out. Not you, Andrew Caravella, I noticed that,
but the rest I'm glad you did. The rest of
us got a shout out. So you can go check
(02:09):
that out. Make sure you like the post, share the post.
But you'll get to see the long lineup of women
behind the scenes and in front of the scenes that
make KFI run. And let me tell you, I know
firsthand being a woman has its ups and its downs.
But on average it is a beautiful thing to be.
(02:30):
But it can sometimes be a bit uneasy. It can
be a little difficult, and being in a position of
authority or leadership as a woman is very tough, and
you gotta be tough. You gotta be a bad ass
to do these sorts of things. I think of my mom,
my mother, Connie Hobbes, the penultimate badass in real estate.
(02:53):
I think of my best friend, who is a first
time mother, has a six almost seventh month old bad ass.
Michelle Cube. You might have heard the name. You better
have heard the name.
Speaker 3 (03:04):
Michelle Cube runs this thing.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
We could not do this, We could not be KFI,
would not be KFI without Michelle Cube. And then you
have Pastathon, which is all Michelle Cube.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Bad ass.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
All the women here, from news to the anchors, to
the hosts, to the producers, newswriters, traffic, the best in
the business, the women in your life amazing, all of
us amazing, My mother in law amazing. Know who else
I think is amazing? But some might argue I should
say that in the past, Tense I thought was amazing
(03:44):
and was the best in the biz. Former LAFD fire
chief Kristin Crowley. And the thing about Kristin Crowley is
we now know she's been ousted as chief.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
She is former chief.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Last Tuesday, she appealed that decision by Mayor Bass and
she appeared in front of the La City Council. She
lost that appeal, So Mayor Bass and the City Council
disagree with me. They don't think she's too bad ass
I do. For her to do what she did, to
stand up there at unprecedented times and man the La
(04:22):
Fire Department for the last three years, to endure what
she has done, seen and sight unseen, she has to
be something special and unfortunately again she lost that appeal,
but she's still in the department.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Question mark, Let's find out what she's up to now.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
Lafd's ousted chief has a new job. Christian Crowley will
still be with the department, but at a lower rank.
Her new title is Assistant Chief of lafd's Operations Valley Bureau,
covers the San Fernando Valley. This comes a day after
her appeal to save her position as chief was shot
down by the La City Council. La Mayor Karen Bass
fired Crowley last month, citing quote leadership failures related to
(05:06):
the Palisades fire.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So she still Kristin Crowley has a job with the LAFD.
But she's been demoted and that is their words. Those
are not my words. She has been demoted from Los
Angeles to the Valley. That tells you what they think
of the valley, right that this is a demotion for
Kristin Crowley. But again, as of Tuesday, her new title
(05:32):
is Assistant Chief of lafd's Operations Valley Bureau. And of course,
after the appeal, Kristin Crowley issued a statement. She said,
amongst many things, that she thanked people for the outpouring
of support. She thanked people for the love and the
kind words that they've said while she has endured this process.
(05:53):
She also went on to specifically think UFLAC President Freddie
Escobar and other union leaders and union members. But one
thing in her statement, which was almost eleven minutes, really
stood out to me, and I'll read it to you now.
Kristin Crowley said after her appeal was rejected. Quote, the
(06:16):
LAFD deserves to be properly funded, staffed, and resourced so
we can meet the ever changing needs of our communities.
We owe that to the LAFD and to those we
serve end Quote that's kind of scathing, that's an indictment.
(06:38):
It was a slick kind of indictment that she slid
in during this appeal process. But to say on record
right there again that the LAFD deserves to be properly funded,
staffed and resourced suggests implies directly the opposite was happening.
(07:00):
The LAFD, in fact, was not properly funded, was not staffed,
and was not resourced. And because of that, the LAFD
was not able and has not been able to meet
the quote ever changing needs of our communities. So she
got one little dig in, one last little dig, badass,
(07:22):
Kristin Crowley. There, one last little dig before she goes
on to assume her new title as Operations Valley Bureau
Assistant Chief. Don't know what that will entail, but we
will definitely, I'm sure here from Kristin Crowley in the future.
And now we have the interim Fire Chief, Ronnie Viennaweva,
(07:45):
And the weather will be warming up soon, and you
know what that means. People will be out, the crazies
will be out setting fires, the arsonists will be out
taking the opportunity of the weather changing and warming. The
winds will pick up. Our fire season, which does not end,
will ramp up, and we will start to see semblances
(08:06):
and signs again of what is to come when it
comes to the fires and what it is that we
can expect now all year round.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
People aren't too confident right now.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I don't know about you, but I'm not people many
people around this city of Los Angeles are not very
confident about their homes being protected from fire, especially after
all the infighting between the LAFD, the union, and the
city council. So homeowners are taking matters into their own hands.
(08:42):
Homeowners are standing up and saying, you know what, all
that drama over there, but something still has to happen
with my property and how do I protect my property
in the near future.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
So what are they doing.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
They're building fireproof home called super Adobees.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Go for it.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
We have an audio. It's okay, you were hung up
on that last part. Thank you, Raoul for listening and
being super hung up. So the audio you're going to
hear is a homeowner or a couple, a pair of
homeowners whose home survived the recent fire. They were one
of few homes standing in their neighborhoods. And they'll tell
(09:30):
you about that process to ensure that their home was
left standing after these fires.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Proud and happy and that our efforts paid off.
Speaker 5 (09:41):
But we never imagined a scene so stark.
Speaker 7 (09:46):
As this.
Speaker 8 (09:47):
Some of the features that the pair of belief helped
save their home include fire resistant cladding, a planted roof,
and sprinkler nozzles that disperse fire retardant on demand. In addition,
they incorporated what is called defensive space around their home
that minimizes the risk of flames jumping from one structure
to the next.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Building.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
Designing the house so close to nature and knowing the
history of southern California, we were acutely aware that at
some point in the house's life there would be a
serious fire, you know, nearby at the very least, and
so we designed the house to be both fire resilient
and sustainable, and happily those two systems are often one
(10:32):
and the same.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
When we come back, i'll tell you what these super
adobees actually consist, of what they look like, whether or
not you should be interested in building a property that
is within this configuration.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Also, i'll tell you about.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
What's going on if you are wanting to protect your home,
let's say, from a home invader, a home invasion a burn,
whether you're in this super Adobe or you're in your
other home that's not yet outfitted for fire protecting. But
what should happen if someone should come into your home
and you want to defend yourself. Well, there's a new
(11:14):
bill that is being proposed and it could complicate things
very much if you want to protect your home with
deadly force. And this did in fact happen in the
valley just last week. I'll tell you all about that.
And at five point thirty we have doctor Neil Patel
coming on. He's from Providence, Saint Joseph and Orange County
(11:37):
and he's going to talk to us about what's going
on with Gene Hackman, Betty Arakawa and this new virus,
the Handta virus, which is neither new, but it is
very dangerous and should we be concerned. Doctor Neil will
be on to talk to us about that. All that's
coming up right here on Saturdays with Tiffany KFI AM.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
Six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Tifny Hobbs here with you and that if you're listening
live on the radio. Is Tony Tony Tony a very
groundbreaking R and B group of musicians and singer songwriters,
And unfortunately one of the members passed away a couple
(12:26):
days ago.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
His name is Dwayne Wiggins. He was the lead guitarist
since nineteen eighty eight. It's a long time.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
He passed away from some form of cancer, so really
sad about that. It's definitely the music I grew up
listening to in the nineties and the late eighties, and
you know, may they endure. They were just performing up
until the i think late fall of last year. So
as these things go, they can come on quickly and
(12:56):
then you're gone. So rest in peace to Dwayne Wiggins.
And and you know, maybe make sure you listen if
you know that one song and rab Well, I'm sure
you'll play it at some point today about it never
rains in Southern California, or a song that happens to
talk about an anniversary. These are all songs that are
very popular and I'm sure you've heard them, and you'll
(13:18):
hear them tonight on Saturdays with Tiffany really quick. Also,
I'd be remiss if i didn't call my aunt a badass.
My aunt's listening, She's absolutely a bad ass. For International
Women's Day, Happy International Woman's Day to all of you
out there listening. We were just talking about super adobees
and how homeowners across the Southland are taking matters into
(13:40):
their own hands to fireproof their homes.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And we heard audio from one couple.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Whose home was left standing while every other home around
them burned during the ETN fire because they had outfitted
their home with fireproof materials and these super adobe. The
idea of a super adobe is both a kind of
a theory and an actuality. So let me tell you
(14:08):
a little bit about what these super adobees are. They
do not resemble the standard box like configuration for homes. Instead,
the structure consists of a sequence of vaulted domes nestled together.
It kind of looks like a cottage out of a
story book, and you think about old stories you might
(14:30):
have read picture kind of this flat almost looks like
it should be clay, right, kind of.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Like a clay structure.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
The walls are curved and the ceilings are tall and arched.
The entire building is constructed using only a few materials
those materials are soil, water, sandbags, barbed wire, plaster, and
a little bit of cement. The house is capable of
withstanding a colossal natural disaster, whether that be a tornado, hurricane, earthquake,
(15:05):
or fire.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
There you go. They look similar to where Luke Skywalker
grew up. Yes, yes, I think everybody knows what that
scene looks like by this point.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Thank you for that. That's what they do look like.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
And while we have not yet seen an influx of them,
this could very well be on the horizon. And it's
courtesy of an organization called Earth One. They're born out
of col Earth and they're a nonprofit organization based in
Hysperia that has been working on this building style, the
super Adobe for the last three or excuse me thirty years.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
I grew up, oh, in Hisparia, Well, in that area
in Apple Valley. It's the Yeah, Apple Valley's. I love Apple.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
There's a what is it called the Custard place that's
out there.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
It's a steak and custard like a smash Burger place.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
I can't think of it. There's oh, yeah, Freddie's. Yeah,
Freddy's is there yet?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
I love sta go all the way out there, just
to get a good steak burger, but nothing else where.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
You're talking about any anybody who's ever visited family or
grew up over there, they know, going down Bear Valley
Road in the Hesperia side because it divides Victorville and Asparia.
Those super adobees are right there off of Aye Avenue
and in Bear Valley Road though.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Oh so here you've seen them. I like to call
them desert igloos.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Oh okay, okay, well yeah, well cal Earth is saying
that this could be the architectural solution for fireproofing all
around Greater Los Angeles. So a little bit of Hysperia
and maybe some nostalgia for you, Andrew Caravella might be
making its way down this way.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Shout out to hysteria. Yeah, hysteria.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Hysperia's hysteria, especially on Sundays when people are coming back
from Vegas.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Oh my goodness, you're going to get a talkback for
calling it that. You know that, right, people? They know
people are very territorial. Well, if you're out there in Hysperia,
as Andrew calls it hysteria, then check out, like he said,
over there, just I believe what is that now? East
of Bear Valley or east on Bear Valley South. Thank
you where those adobees are. You can see these super
(17:07):
adobes because they may very well be coming to Los
Angeles again, because they are proven to withstand lots of
natural disasters, including fire. Something that's very unnatural, a home invasion. Unfortunately,
while unnatural, it these are prevalent, and we have seen
(17:29):
a resurgence of home invasions in the greater Los Angeles area,
especially out in our valleys. And unfortunately, just in San
Bernardino last Tuesday, a homeowner was startled, so to speak,
by a group of people who broke into his home.
Four people in fact, broke into his home, and the
(17:53):
homeowner actually opened fire on these four people. He didn't
know who he was firing at or how many are
the ages. He was just defending his property and in
this firing, in this armed exchange, one person was hit
and was killed. Also interesting about this story is that
(18:16):
there was a fifteen year old boy who was a
part of the group of four. There is a suspect
who remains at large as of last Thursday, but the
homeowner right now is saying that this was a reminder
that a home invasion can happen at any time, and
we're seeing that this is in fact the case.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
So let's say your home is broken into.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Unfortunately, there's a new bill that has been proposed by
Rick Chavez Zeeber, Los Angeles. He is an assemblyman out
of LA and this bill proposes to, under certain circumstances,
take away your self defense rights to be able to
(19:04):
protect your home, yourself, your property. Current state law says
homicide is justifiable when committed in defense of habitation, property,
or person. However, Representative Zeeber's bill would delete that protection.
And as you can imagine, there's been lots of pushback
about this bill. There's been outcry from both sides. The outcry,
(19:26):
the pushback is very bipartisan. And because of that, Zebra
responded on X because that's where you go, you go
to social media, and he said AB thirteen thirty three
was never intended to limit a crime victim's right to
defend yourself, your family, or your home. The goal is
to prevent wanna be vigilantes like Kyle Rittenhouse from provoking
(19:50):
violence and claiming self defense after the fact. We will
amend the bill to make this crystal clear. So thirteen
thirty three is going back to the drawing drawing board
courtesy of Rick Chaves Zeber out of Los Angeles, and
he is going to modify this proposal so that in
(20:12):
the case of a home invasion like what happened in
San Bernardino, you have the right, you retain the right
to defend your home, your habitation, your property, even when
deadly force is invoked and in fact used. And I
think we all should stay tuned for more updates on
that because it affects everyone in the city of Los
(20:32):
Angeles absolutely.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
When we come.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Back, we're going to talk to a doctor out of Providence,
Saint Joseph in Orange County. His name is doctor Neil Patel,
and we're going to talk about what happened with Gene Hackman,
his wife Betsy, these revelations that have come out in
the last couple of days, and what the heck is
Hanta virus or Hanta virus. Not only do we not
(20:57):
know what it is, we don't know how to pronounce it.
So hopefully doctor Patel, we'll be able to give us
some insight on that and let us know if this
is something yet again that we should be worried about
and protecting ourselves from all that when we come back,
and a lot more. On Saturdays with Tiffany, It's KFI
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio apps.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Tiffany Hobbs here with you.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
It's Saturdays with Tiffany from five until seven. Remember, if
you miss any of this show, you can always go
back and listen online to our podcast at KFIAM six
forty dot com under special features, where you can again
stay up to date on everything that's being discussed with
(21:49):
all of your weekend hosts, including myself On Saturdays with Tiffany.
In a moment, we're going to talk to doctor Neo Patel.
He is a doctor with Prodent Saint Joseph Hospital in
Orange County. But let me tell you why why we're
bringing doctor Patel on to extract some of his expertise,
(22:10):
because we really do need it in the case of
this next story. Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, his wife
unfortunately now as we know, passed away from really sobering circumstances.
At first, there were thoughts about carbon monoxide poisoning, other
(22:30):
theories linked to their deaths. But in the event of
this now Medical Examiner's report, we have learned that Gene
Hackman likely died of cardiovascular disease with complications from Alzheimer's
and that his wife, Betsy Arakawa, most likely died due
(22:52):
to something called Hanta virus, which is a potentially fatal
virus transmitted by mice. Now, while both of these deaths
fall under natural causes, which can include things like heart disease, stroke, cancer,
respiratory failure, infections, and age related complications, there are lots
(23:13):
of questions specific to this hantavirus.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Should we be alarmed? Is this another epidemic that is looming?
And let me tell you a little bit about this virus.
Back in nineteen ninety three, there was an outbreak and
this outbreak occurred in the southwestern United States. The outbreak
was so severe that it was named and it was
(23:41):
called the Four Corners Hanta virus outbreak, the Four Corners
hand to virus outbreak, in which twenty seven people died.
There were over forty cases of this hand to virus,
but with twenty seven deaths, of course, it sent shockwaves
through not only the community, but also through the Western hemisphere.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
The community that.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Was most affected consisted of the Navajo Nation, and because
their community was pinpointed as a kind of patient zero situation,
a lot of prejudice, a lot of bias were born
out of what happened with this virus and this outbreak,
and many in the Navajo Nation were subjected to a
(24:29):
lot of cruel treatment as a result of this virus
spreading around the southwestern United States. And for the last
forty plus years, thirty plus years, it's largely been out
of our conversations, this hands to virus.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
No one's really talking about it.
Speaker 4 (24:48):
Now.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
You might understand that rodents in your space can bring
forth disease. I think we all know that, but the
specificity of that disease, calling it the hantavirus, is new.
That is a novel concept for many, including myself. And
when I heard that Betsy A. Rakawa died from this
(25:10):
mouse born illness, from this rodent transmitted disease, it really
shook me to my core. I remember distinctly a few
months ago reporting about right here on KFI about a
list that was making its way around social media. It
was a legitimate list, and the list was about the
(25:31):
most rodent infested cities in the United States. Los Angeles
was in the top ten of that list. That led
us to understand that we have a huge rodent problem
here in the city of Los Angeles. And if you
live anywhere that is near woodlands, anywhere near the base
(25:52):
of a mountain area, in mountainous areas, if you live
anywhere where there are trees and foliage, if you live
anywhere where there are dumpsters, if you live anywhere where
there are restaurants or huge box stores, then you have
seen or have been victim to mice and other rodents.
And now with this revelation that hantavirus is back or
(26:16):
maybe even never left, we have a lot of questions, rightfully, so,
so I would like to welcome our expert, doctor Neil
Patel again from Providence Saint Joseph in Orange County and
hopes that doctor Patel can maybe clear up any misconceptions,
inform us about the Handa virus, tell us how to
(26:38):
pronounce hansa virus, because I really don't know if it's
Hanta or hansa. Doctor Patel, I'll let you be the
expert on that and also to just hopefully set us
at ease about this viral situation that occurred with one
of our beloved stars and his wife. So, doctor Neil Patel,
(26:58):
welcome to Saturdays with Tiffany. You welcome to KFI. Thank
you for joining us.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Did we lose them? Doctor Patel? Are you with us?
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Hi, there you are.
Speaker 5 (27:07):
Thank for having me.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Thank you so much for coming on. So first, before
we do anything, how do you pronounce it? Is it
hands to or hantavirus?
Speaker 5 (27:16):
The proverb pronouncing gen is hantavirus.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
I was right, Look at me, I was. I didn't
want to say it like the soda like fanta right.
That felt too easy, so I went with the hansa.
I'm glad I was right, because I would get a
lot of blowback if I wasn't. Hant to virus. Are
you familiar with this virus? Is this something that is
brought up in your training of viral transmissions, especially being
in this region of the United States?
Speaker 9 (27:42):
Right, so you know a little background regarding the virus.
First of all, is considered a zoo natic virus, which
means is transmitted from animals, particularly rodents, especially North America,
to humans. Incidentally, it's very rare for the virus you
transfer between a human to a human. You mentioned like that,
(28:02):
I'll break back in the early nineties. Interestingly, the name
hanta virus comes from a place in Korea where there
was a smell in like a rodents that they found
out was infecting some of the people during the Korean
War by the Hantan River in South Korea. So the
actual name comes from Hantan River in South Korea, south
(28:23):
the hantavirus. And to make it clear, I think, as
mentioned earlier, they started tracking the actual reported cases of
the hantavirus back in nineteen ninety three. As of twenty
twenty two, for the CDC, there's been a total of
only eight hundred and sixty four cases that have been reported.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
Okay, so that puts me at ease, given how many
cases of say the flu are reported each year, which
go into the millions. But given that this is now
in the conversation, is now in the public sphere for discussion,
a lot of people are nervous, Doctor Neil, We're up
against the clock. But I love for you to comment
(29:05):
about those that anxiety that people may be facing, the symptoms,
the effects treatment should we Is.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
This really a thing?
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Can we continue to talk about that on the other
side of the break. I'd love to keep you on.
Speaker 5 (29:21):
Yeah, absolutely, we can talk about that.
Speaker 9 (29:24):
So yeah, real quickly, I'll just say that, Yeah, there's
a lot of different strategies, and I wouldn't put this
as a high.
Speaker 5 (29:30):
Concern at this moment in terms of being a high risk.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Okay, thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I'm sure a lot of people just did a collective
sigh of relief.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
I know I'm doing that. As soon as I turned
my mic.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
Off, I'll be able to absolutely exercise that relief. We
are talking to doctor Neil Patel. He is a doctor
out of Providence Saint Joseph in Orange County, and we're
discussing the hantavirus in light of the revelations about Gene
Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa and their contributing factors
that resulted in their deaths the last few weeks, all
(30:04):
now coming to light this last week in the news.
We'll talk more to doctor Patel on the other side
of the break, So stay tuned for that. KFI AM
six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand kf.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Timmy Hobbs here with you, and we're talking to doctor
Neil Patel. He's a doctor at Providence Saint Joseph's in
Orange County, beautiful hospital out there, and we're talking about
the hantavirus. Because while we know that Gene Hackman unfortunately
died from cardiovascular disease, with a contributing factor being his
(30:45):
late stage Alzheimer's, the secondary revelation that was made is
that his wife, Betsy Arakawa, passed away due to something
called hantavirus, which is a virus transmitted by rodents, and
a lot of people, a lot of editorials, a lot
of social media comments are asking should I be nervous?
Speaker 3 (31:08):
Should I be concerned? What is the hantavirus?
Speaker 2 (31:11):
And doctor Neil has just put us at ease a
bit to say that there are fewer than nine hundred
cases per year just last year, fewer than eight hundred
and fifty cases in fact, and that this is something
that isn't necessarily to pandemic levels and it likely may
(31:31):
not get there. However, concern is valid and protecting yourself
is in fact key, doctor Patel. When we were talking,
we mentioned we talked about that this initial outbreak occurrding
it in nineteen ninety three in the southwestern portion of
the United States New Mexico, Texas, and at the time,
(31:54):
these societal implications were that if you come into contact
with this virraul, throw away all of your plates. If
you serve anyone who looks like they could have it,
or you are prejudicial about who you think may have it,
do not interact with those people. Sanitize everything, wear your masks.
(32:15):
Sounds very familiar, sounds very reminiscent of what we have
just come out of with COVID nineteen. When someone contracts hantavirus,
how preventative should people around them be. You say that
it is not necessarily transmitted from human to human, but
(32:36):
are there any precautions that people should take to keep
themselves safe.
Speaker 9 (32:42):
Yeah, So, as mentioned, you know, luckily, the good thing
about this virus, it's very rare that it is transferred
from human to human. The only knowns there's a certain
strain called the Andy string, which is found in South America.
There's been a few cases that have been reported for
human human transmission, but it's still considered rare.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
In terms of prevention and just being careful.
Speaker 9 (33:06):
Number one thing is you have to limit your rodent exposure.
So that includes, of course, in your house, you may
want to look for places where there's small gaps, small
holes that possible rodents can come through. And also on
the outside, you don't want to have any trees or
any bushes touching the side of your house because a
lot of times the rodents can actually jump from the
(33:28):
trees to the house. And in terms of cleaning certain
areas specifically like the attics, basements, maybe storage units where
there's a lot of dust sometimes a lot of these rodents,
you definitely want to wear a mask that's tight fitting,
you want to wear goggles, you want to wear gloves.
So you do want to take the proper precautions to prevent,
(33:51):
you know, to decrease your risks.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Basically, you know, I'm hearing you say that people should
remove trees and other sorts of folio that may touch
part of their property, and I know that that seems
to be a cornerstone of a lot of landscaping in
southern California. You know, we love our bushes, We love
our trees, our leafy green things, and you know, it
seems like the bigger the better. In light of the fires,
(34:15):
there's been a lot of clearing of that sort of
foliage and landscaping. But for those people who continue to
keep that, you're saying again, let me just reiterate that
those trees could very well be a kind of like
a super highway into your home.
Speaker 9 (34:33):
So in terms any tree techniquely can house nests. So
that's usually the way. But you know it's really simple
though a lot of houses. That's why that's what I'm saying,
you protect from both ends. You don't necessarily have to
cut down the beautiful trees in the backyard. But what
you do then is you do extra be extra careful
and making sure the inside side of your house is protected.
(34:55):
So any grates where there's vents, like maybe by the
basement or by the foundation the chimney for example, you
may want to put some type of like a covering
over it if you're not going to use it.
Speaker 5 (35:05):
And then of course, like.
Speaker 9 (35:06):
Buy your houses, all the doors, you just want to
make sure there's a like holes and gaps. So luckily,
like I mentioned in general, in terms of some statistics,
actually data shows about twelve percent of households in the
US report roadent problems.
Speaker 5 (35:21):
It's only about twelve percent.
Speaker 9 (35:22):
So even though that's still concerning, it's still not as
high as maybe some other things.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Doctor Patel, I don't think everyone's being honest. I think
people are lying. They're not necessarily wanting to be a
part of that survey because I know, again, I experienced
rodents living in an apartment, you know, and you get
them out of your place. But I lived in a
very a very nutrient rich area, so they loved to
(35:48):
go into the foliage at the net in the next building,
the shrubbery, the bushes, and I would find a few things,
you know, here and there that let me know that
I had a mouse problem.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
You clean up your area.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
And if you live in that sort of communal type environment,
an apartment, a condo, a town home community, or close quarters,
they go from one property to the next really easily.
Speaker 3 (36:11):
And I see a.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Lot of these apartment complexes or condo or town home communities,
and there are many there are many more being built
that have these dumpsters that they put out in the
front of the building, and these attract rodents, so it
almost feels kind of sick local, as if we can't
necessarily get ahead of it. But on the other side
(36:34):
of that, let's say, you know, you come into contact
with these mice, you do everything you can, you clean up,
you do the professional servicing.
Speaker 3 (36:44):
What does treatment look like?
Speaker 2 (36:46):
In nineteen ninety three when the initial outbreak happened, there
was not a cure. There was no treatment at the time,
which is why there were so many fatalities.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Has that changed? What does treatment look like now?
Speaker 9 (36:59):
You know? It's still the same concept remains. There's not
a specific type of medication or treatment that is designated
for hantavirus. However, there was an anti viral medication called
riboviron that has been shown to have some improvement with
patients who take it, but that's not been shown on
(37:19):
the larger scale studies. In general at this time, for
people who do have hantavirus, it's called supportive measures now. Usually,
because hantavirus can be severe at times, you sometimes have
to get admitted to the hospital where they may need
to administer oxygen, They might have to give you ivy fluids.
They may also have to give you certain medications, sometimes
(37:42):
like a steroid to calm down your immune system, especially
if it's kind of overreacting in general, though it's been
pretty well documented that there's no specific medication for that.
Speaker 2 (37:57):
Okay, and really quickly, thirty seconds or less, what are
some symptoms that people can look out for should they
feel they might be compromised or have come into contact
with rodents in a problematic way.
Speaker 9 (38:09):
Right, so real quickly, it starts off like flu like symptoms.
So you may notice body aches, chills, headache, fevers, and
that's common. Now, if it's been a couple of days
and all of a sudden you start developing very like
shortens of bread sometimes chest pain, those types of symptoms,
then you definitely do want to go to the nearest
er to make sure you're not having something more severe. Luckily,
(38:30):
as I mentioned, actually the number of cases are very minimal,
and most people do have relatively cleaner areas where they
live that these mouths and rodents don't put a lot
of their excret and their waist there.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Doctor Neil Patel, Providence, Saint Joseph in Orange County, thank
you so much for joining us and clearing up some
of these misconceptions and giving us more information about hantavirus
Thank you so.
Speaker 5 (38:55):
Much, Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (38:57):
Take care you got it.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
On the other side of the braak, we're gonna get
into our new segment, Deeper Dives. Deeper Dives, We're gonna
talk about the Department of Education.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
What is the Department of Education? What does it do?
It's in the news.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
Because it may very well be defunded or all together demolished.
Let's talk about it in Deeper Dives when we come back.
KFI AM six forty live everywhere, on the iHeartRadio app
Speaker 1 (39:27):
KFI AM six forty on demand,
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