August 9, 2025 • 38 mins
Welcome to the remote! Live from Descanso's new restaurant in Los Angeles! Stories we're watching - Federal Agents Hid in Back of Rental Truck at Start of Raid Outside LA Home Depot. Thousands under evacuation orders as wild fires rage in California. Israel's security cabinet approves Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City. Live and Local News - Safety upgrade for LA intersection where boy was struck and killed has been planned for years. Game - Descanso Trivia pt 1. Interview with Zaire Calvin
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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 Saturdays.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It is time to one one. The week's been hot.
Time to is my mind? Sign on my radio? Just
inside Tiffany hows got feeling fun? Jes Saturday.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Okay five AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
It's Saturdays with Tiffany and it's the Little Show that
Could's first remote give it up. We are here at
Disconso Restaurant in the Miracle Mile on Wilshire. Two locations,
one right here you can still come out and there's
(00:47):
one in Orange County for those of you who want
to support Disconso. A fantastic restaurant, a lot of history,
a lot of inspiration, and we'll talk to the owner,
Rob Ariano, a little bit later top of the six
o'clock hour. We'll find out some interesting tidbits about Rob's past.
I dug very deeply into Rob's past for our Deeper
(01:10):
Dives segment that some of you have come to love.
So we have some trivia in which you'll be able
to win an assortment of prizes, and as you see
here on the table, we have a lot of branded prizes. Today.
We have for our giveaway stash. We have water bottles
with stickers of my new logo. I have a logo.
(01:31):
Now what the last show that could Our logo is
on the water bottles here filled with chocolate. If you
like chocolate, that's your thing. We have candles, we have notepads,
we have anything that you could potentially decide to use
or regift when Christmas comes. That's okay, I don't mind
if you do that. But we have a lot here
for you. Want to make sure that it's interactive and
(01:54):
that you have a good time. And of course we
have quite a bit of news as well, and we'll
get to that. Because today's show isn't going to be
primarily about news, We're going to make it, obviously a
bit more fluid and talk about the restaurant and talk
about some people who are making big impacts in the
city of Los Angeles, southern California. We have an interview
(02:16):
at five point thirty with Zaire Calvin. He's coming on.
He's a resident of Altadena, a former resident. He experienced
quite a bit of loss in the Altadena fires, not
just property, but the loss of his sister as well.
So we're going to talk to Zaire Calvin at five
point thirty about what's been happening with Altadena since the fires,
(02:38):
as well as what Alta Diena needs to keep going
from someone directly impacted. At six o'clock, like I said,
we're going to talk to Rob Ariano, the owner of
Diskamzo Restaurant, and we'll make sure that you have those
giveaways ready for yourselves. But before we do that, we
always start our show with kind of the major news headlines,
(02:59):
right major things that are going on. And if you
don't know by now, something happened to one of our
own family members, one of our own KFI family members,
and it is probably the biggest news story in all
of southern California. It was already a big story, and
then when we found out who was attached to the story,
(03:21):
it just compounded the issue. So let me walk you
through it a bit. At about nine pm on Thursday evening,
I was contacted by Sharon Bellio, Tim Conway's producer for
The Conways Show, and she said, Tiffany, have you talked
to Steph? Immediate red flag anytime anyone says have you
(03:43):
talked to someone? And you know it's after a certain
amount of time you wonder what's going on? Have you
talked to Steph? And I said, no, not since yesterday.
I do a segment on the Later with Mokelly's show
every Wednesday night called the Viral Loads. Some of you
might know that, Thank you very much. And I had
talked to Steph the night before. In fact, we were
talking about, as a side note, how just a couple
(04:05):
of weeks ago, on our Saturday show, we did kind
of a dating game, kind of an informal matchmaking game,
and we needed a candidate, and I said, well, Steph
is the eligible bachelor. Fush our fushie, our fushie bear right,
you're volunteering yourself. You'll be for the next round. Oh,
(04:25):
you'll fill in when Steph's not. Okay, there we go, ladies,
we have an eligible bachelor right there, waving from the bar. Okay.
But on the show, we talked about fush being eligible,
and we asked for his specifications, things that he wanted,
and Gary and Shannon do a dating game and it
was this a whole little fun thing. Out of that
fun and informal matchmaking event or conversation was born an
(04:49):
actual date. A woman contacted the show and said yeah,
I want to meet the Foush. They met, not to
get into the details. They had a good time, they
went out on a date. They hit it off. So
we were talking Wednesday night about them hitting it off
while we were at the latter with Mokelly's show. So Thursday,
(05:10):
when belly O contacts me and says, hey, have you
talked to Fush Red Flags, I'm like, oh my god,
I set this man up with a murderer. Oh my god,
now this is forensic files, right. So luckily that didn't happen,
but something did happen that was probably equally as horrendous.
The next couple of hours fleshed out with Tim Conway
(05:33):
leaving his show. The whole show was looking for Fush.
They're trying to figure out where Steph is, what's going
on because he never reported to work on Thursday, and
that's not like the Fush at all. He is very dedicated.
So later that night, Tim Conway goes to Fush's house,
they get the address, they figure out, you know, kind
of how to find this guy. Right, Tim shows up
at Fush's dad's house. They let him in. Nothing's awry.
(05:56):
It was said that Fush left for work. Earlier that
morning as normal, no issue here. Well, turns out, when
he left for work, he got on the one oh
five Freeway one oh five east and right where the
one oh five and the one ten interchange happens, someone
cut the Foush off and of course all of us
(06:18):
want to find out who this person is. But they
cut stuff off and it caused Steph to veer into
a median or a blockade of some sort. His car
rolled multiple times with him in it. He was knocked unconscious.
If it weren't for the very brave and quick thinking
and actions of three good Samaritans, we might not be
(06:41):
talking about Fooush the way we are today. They pulled
him out of the car, and a woman actually was there,
and she applied a tourniquit and was a team effort
and they just got Steph stable enough to be transported.
And when he was transported to the hospital, he was
transported as a John Doe. His id, everything thing else
had burned up in the car. The car was completely
(07:03):
engulfed in flames. Here's where the story is even more interesting.
Earlier that day, around two o'clock, I get an alert
on my phone from one of the neighborhood apps, Citizen.
Anybody have Citizen here. Familiar with Citizen, you should get it.
It definitely keeps you in tune with what's going on.
So I see this thing on Citizen about a car
(07:24):
on the one oh five freeway on fire, and I'm
drawn to it because whoa, there's a car on fire.
And I see the car and I said to myself,
that looks like Fousch's car. I had no reason to
think that. And this isn't about me in any way,
but it was just ironic that this became a story
before it was even a fully fleshed out story. So
(07:49):
Fush transported to the hospital, Tim goes to his house.
All these things are happening Thursday night. Through all of
the slew thing with Sharon Bellio, who is an expert spy.
At this point, they were able to find out that
Fush was at a hospital. They found the hospital, were
able to identify him, and he is still there and
he has had two surgeries at this point to repair
(08:12):
his mangled arm. Apparently his arm was outside of the
car when the car was tumbling. The arm is in
bad shape. He's had two surgeries, but he will survive
and again, if this were any different, that last sentence
might not be spoken. If any of you are compelled
(08:35):
to give, because Steph, the foush our Fushie Bear will
absolutely need our help. You can go on GoFundMe dot
com and type in the foush. They made it very easy.
You can type in the foush and it will immediately
connect you to Stefan Cabaz's GoFundMe campaign. As of right now,
(08:57):
over seventy thousand dollars has been raised since Thursday. We
know the KFI listeners are are great with raising money
the pastathon. Anytime we ask for you, you show up.
You showed up here. We need you to show up
for the Foosh as best as you can. When we
come back, I'll tell you a little bit more about
(09:20):
the schedule. Like I said, we'll get some of these
giveaways going and we'll jump into our show. But I
wanted to start with what's going on with Foosh. Give
you an update, good news. Keep him in your thoughts
and your prayers. Stephan, we love you. Can I get
a we love you Steph on one or on three
one two three?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
We love you.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
We'll make sure he hears that if he's not already listening,
he better be listening. I told him to. I said,
if you didn't want to come to the remote, you
could have just told me, Like he didn't have to
do this whole thing. He was supposed to be here.
When we come back, we'll continue with all of Saturdays
with Tiffany right here on KFI AM six forty live
from the Disconzo Restaurant.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You're listening to ka I AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
K I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Saturday is with Tiffany and we are here at Disconso
Restaurant on Wilshire, right here in the Miracle Mile, across
from the LaBrea tar Pits, down the street from Lakma,
right here in the heart of the Miracle Mile. Beautiful restaurant.
(10:26):
I mentioned when I was speaking with Neil, I've been
staring and I kept catching myself staring at the bar.
This bar, everyone is impressive in every sense of the word.
And even if you don't like to drink, just the
artistic design of this bar is amazing and it really
indicates how much thought was put into the design of
(10:49):
this restaurant. It is beautiful exposed brick hanging lights. The
staff is amazing. The owner rob Ariano, who will speak
to top of the six o'clock hour, is amazing, saying
it's just an incredible place, and I'm hoping that if
you're not here you will certainly come back and visit.
It is that type of restaurant. It's really really good.
Food is good too. Uh. Let's do some trivia. Let's
(11:12):
do some trivia. You guys like trivia. I want to
do some giveaways. Have some water bottles here with chocolate
and candles and things that you can give to other people.
If you don't want to use them, that's perfectly fine.
All right, So speaking about Disconso restaurant show. You can
raise your hand for this. We'll do it informally. How
many locations are there? Yes, two is correct. You may
(11:38):
come up and choose something from the giveaway section. Desconzo
has two locations. What are those locations again? Costa mesaid
here right on the Miracle mile. Come forward, young man,
and choose something from the giveaway sash here. Uh, No,
Kayla is not one of the prizes. Not to anyway,
(12:01):
that is an interesting request. This is a family show,
Sir number two. Disconso, You're welcome has a special late
night menu. When is it available? When is there special
late night menu available? Yes, after ten pm? Can you
(12:24):
be a little bit more specific? Ten pm until what
what is closing? Ten? He's saying, Clo, you're trying to
be vague an obtuse on purpose ten pm till twelve am.
Is that what you said?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
That's corrupt?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
That's what I heard. Come up and choose something from
the gift pile here. Disconso has a special late night menu.
They are open after ten pm until twelve am for
that special curated menu. Bonus points Friday and Saturday, that's
when that is available. Does anyone know question number three
(12:59):
for this trivia? When is national tequila months? Every day?
That would be when is National Tequila Day? But we're
looking for a month specifically, not that you're giving me
days and things that are not. You have to answer
the question correctly. I don't. You'll just yell out things.
You gotta raise your hand and I do this correctly.
(13:21):
Desconso has a vast tequila menu for those of you
who partake again. I keep staring at it because that's
where I'll be at seven oh one, maybe seven o'clock
and thirty seconds. But when is National Tequila Month? When
is it? July is correct? You can choose or you
can gift to someone else, totally up to you. July
(13:44):
is National Tequila Month, and Disconso celebrates National Tequila Month
with a special tasting menu. Lastly, for this round of trivia,
what special week did Disconso just PARTI paid in? What
very special week? A week? Not a day? A week
(14:06):
did Disconso participate in? You're saying food food, they serve food.
But what is the name of the week. You gotta
be a little bit more specific, Los Angeles. That's the
second part. What are you doing when you are sitting
at this table? You are if you don't do takeout,
(14:27):
you are doing what you are eating in. What's another
way of saying eating it dining in? So take in away.
What's the first word take the ing away? What's the
first word dine? And then what's the city dine la?
And what is this establishment called a? What a restaurant?
(14:49):
And then we're talking about what frame of time here
a what put it all togethere? Dine sign la restaurant?
Be very good? Tricia Saint George come up and choose
a prize from the giveaway table. Now we have a
(15:09):
lot more trivia. Make sure that you guys are brushing
up on your Disconso facts. You can find a lot
of these answers by going to the website. If you
google Disconso, not only will you get their vast menu
and locations, but you can find answers to this fun trivia.
I want to make sure that you guys know where
you are eating. Next to me, joining me is Zaire Calvin.
(15:34):
We're gonna speak to him after five thirty. He is
a resident of Alta Dina, a leader in Alta Dina,
and Zayeir is going to talk to us after five
thirty about his experiences since the January fire, since the
Altadena fire, what Alta Dina has gone through, what it
now needs, and how Zayir is becoming or has become
(15:57):
a very impactful member of the community, already being impactful
prior to the fires, and now kind of pivoting and
taking on a new role. Right, we'll do that after
five thirty. Are you guys enjoying Disconso restaurant? One person
enjoy two, three, four back? It is fantastic. I just
(16:19):
want to mention too, My eighth grade algebra teacher is here.
Can you believe that my eighth grade algebra teacher, Albert
Goodman is here? Raise your hand, mister Goodman. It's weird
to call him by his first name, even all this
time later. Albert Goodman is here, I see an assortment
of friends and family. Thank you so so much for
(16:40):
coming out. And when we come back, we're gonna speak
with Zaire Calvin about all things Out to Dina right
here on Saturdays with Tiffany live from the Disconso Restaurant
in Wilchair.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand kf I.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
AM forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. It's Saturdays
with Tiffany and we are broadcasting live until seven pm
right here from Disconso Restaurant on Wilshire in the Miracle Mile.
Still plenty of time for you to come out, enjoy
all that this wonderful restaurant has to offer. Tequila yes,
(17:25):
mes call, yes, great food, oh yes, ambiance, all of that.
Everything is included, not free for you, but included in
the experience. You still have to pay. Don't come here
thinking that everything is gonna be calmed. And you say,
Tiffany has it. Tiffany's paying. I'm not paying. I work
in radio. Okay, you'll understand what that means. At some point.
(17:48):
Sitting next to me is a very special guest. His
name is Zaire Calvin. Now, those of you who listen
to the Fork Reporter might remember Zaire appearing on Fork
Report last week, right, Kayla, last week? Yes, we had
him on. Yet Zayir was on last week and I went,
wait a minute, I know that name. So I go
(18:08):
to social media, I type in Zaire Calvin unique name,
and up pops this Facebook friend that I've never met
in person, but that I've been watching and following and
admiring for his leadership. And that was prior to January.
Now here's the thing about Zaire. He's been a leader,
(18:29):
a digital creator, a coach, and involved community member. But
now he is and I would describe you Zaire as
being a literal phoenix rising from the ashes of what
is now known as the Altadena Fire because Zaiyir lived
in Altadena. Family lived and for a long time generations
(18:51):
in Alta, Dina, and they were victims of the fire
in many, many different ways. Now many people have known
Zaire before January seventh, Like I said, dedicated community member.
But now I would beg to say that Zayre is
nationally known because his story, his advocacy, the work he's
done has gone nationwide and that name is synonymous now
(19:14):
with the city of out Tadna. So on the hills
of being recognized at the Visionary Gala, which you were,
he's very humble. Please welcome Zayre Calvin.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Hello, everyone, pleasure to be here.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Thank you Zayre. And this is you know. We got you,
We tracked you down. I was trying everything I could, like, hey,
I heard you, and I really want you to come on.
And I know you did one show, but I really
want to continue to amplify your cause. So thank you
for being willing to do that on such short notice,
with everything that you have going on.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
He got it. So it's been a very big and
long eight months for you. Yeah, I would say understatement
of the century.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Well eight months feeling like feels like ten years.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Can you walk us through what happened from the beginning
to now. You don't have to give all the details,
and now you've done that, probably more than you care to.
But what happened January seventh, January sixth, and where are
you now?
Speaker 2 (20:13):
So from the fires and you know, everybody losing everything
in the community. There was a in they call to
action right after the fires to make sure that you know,
our whole community was seen and a lot of times
African American community gets lost in that. So there was
an immediate call to action to explain about redlining and
(20:37):
you know the generation of wealth that we living in Altadena,
that we created and been there for generations. So at
that point, yeah, it was not trying to go into
all the grave details, as you say, just being supportive
(21:01):
of the community. Knowing that there was a lot of
elders in the community that were affected by the sixty
percent of the community who owned homes in Altadena or
over the age of seventy. So my immediate call to
action was to protect the elders and my whole community.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
So you went out there as the fires were going
on and we're trying to actively do what you could
to so that.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
So that was after the fires. Everything was after the fires.
There was nothing during the actual fires that could happen.
The most devastating part about the fires is the whole
city was kind of left by themselves to find for themselves.
We don't talk much about that because we try to
keep everything in perspective, but the whole city, meaning the
(21:51):
whole diverse city, and it was an African American strong community,
and the whole city was left to fin for them
themselves to get out of the fires that night.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
How many houses did your family actually own? Because I
was reading up it seems like you guys had a
lot of property at Altadina.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Yes, when we say my family immediate family, we own
five five houses on two properties. When you talk about
all the cousins and relatives, if I went into all that,
it would probably be up to about fourteen properties. I
(22:31):
never even mentioned that outside of this, but I have
other cousins that have houses that are up the street
that I haven't spoken about. And I have a cousin
who had a karate studio Twin Dragons miss sher Lane,
that is my cousin, and she lost her karate studio
(22:52):
along with her home. So it would be about fourteen.
But on my properties that I personally own would be
two properties with five homes on it.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Okay, now there's a lot of visible work happening in Alsadina.
We're talking with Zaire Calvin, Altadena resident community leader coach
multi hyphen It and we're talking about Altadena sends the
fires from the ground up. If you would, uh, there's
a lot of visible work happening in Alsadina. We see
the clearing of the lots, We see kind of the
community galvanizing around to support each other. If you could
(23:25):
share one thing with the public that we don't know
about what's happening behind the scenes, one or two things,
what would those be?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I guess it would be the predatory things that are
going on, the disaster capitalism that this has brought for
is the fact that you know, there were fifty percent
of the lots that have been bought were bought by
developers already, so so stats like that. That's what sent
(23:56):
me to Sacramento where I start lobbying on bill and
I lobbied on AB eight point fifty one to pass
legislation to help against the predatory wonderful the predatory things
that were going on, and that bill passed for Altadena
and Palisades. So it was to protect you know, the
(24:18):
whole community plus the Palisades.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Community now with that bill passing, are there next steps
that we as the public can take to vote when
it shows up? What does that look like? How does
that do?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
No, that one is already in place like that, Yeah,
that one's done, so it's actually cleared, so that this
one is just more so the support. So a lot
of what's going on that you're speaking about has to
do with people taking advantage of the people. So I've
been traveling from place to place to learn about all
(24:51):
everything fire, so everything from the Woodsy fire to the
coffee fire. I even went down to New Orleans to
learn about their disaster so I could be educated in
everything disaster and learn the disaster economic part, because everything
that happens with this goes back to economics. So once
you learn that, all of this is almost a shell
(25:14):
game to steal money and steal properties, and you'll see
that on every single level, protecting that and fighting for
that has been the hardest thing. It's been so bad
to the point where the day after the fire, one
of my friends literally his ground was still smoking and smoldering,
(25:38):
and there was a guy who came and asked if
you want to sell his property?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So it's that type of stuff going on. The next
level of that that they don't talk about is the
insurance companies and everything that they're doing. So they're running
around and taking advantage and they're denying claims on purpose,
and it's a tactic. And this is all and disaster
capitalism that people aren't aware of. All these are tactics,
(26:04):
all based on finances to make sure that you get frustrating,
you mad, and you're literally having people fight after they've
lost everything and it wasn't their fault. It's not like
this is one of those cases where you left an
iron on and burnt down your house or something like that.
This is something that you were not in control of.
So for that to be said, and the predatory parts
(26:28):
of the insurance companies, that's another stage. And then there's
the predatory part about construction and even lawyers. So construction
is a bigger part that's coming that's coming up that
people don't aren't aware of. I'm very aware of it
because I literally just had built my house from scratch,
so I literally know what it is to build back
(26:49):
from scratch. And there that's going to be the biggest
obstacle in this process is the build back part.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
And that's at Altadena has passed, or excuse me, in
the Palisades as well. When we come back, we're going
to continue the conversation with Zaire Calvin, community member, activist
leader in every single way, and we're going to continue
talking about what's happening in Altadena in terms of progress.
Is there any what does progress actually look like? And
(27:20):
how can we as the public continue or begin to
support the efforts in reconstructing this very vital community. So
can you hang out with us? Ayr?
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Yes, I can.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Wonderful it's Saturdays with Tiffany. We're right here at Desconzo Restaurant.
Oh yes, thank you Neil Savedra for hanging around a
little bit longer. We got a celebrity in the house,
snake pork reporter and his mom. Oh and his mom,
Oh my god, she's just amazing. When we come back,
(27:51):
we'll continue all of the conversation right here. Okay, if
I am six forty, life everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Now to Heather Brooker, are you there? I'm here, guys,
Hi have hi?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
I cannot believe the universe has kept us apart till
the one time I'm here.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
But I feel intentional.
Speaker 4 (28:07):
I just I know, but I'm so enjoying hearing you
out live. It sounds like you guys are having a
great time, and I'm jealous. I wish I was there, wish.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
You were here. I love you, guys to No one
else is listening. It just us, It just does.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Sixty live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app Saturdays with Tiffany
here till seven at Disconso Restaurant on Wilchure. What a
lovely turnout. Thank you all those of you who are here.
It has been so much fun hanging out with Neil
Savandra and the Fork Reporter and the now our show,
and you guys have certainly turned up and been supportive.
(28:49):
Just love to direct your attention again to our Fushi bear,
our Steph if you feel so inclined to support him
as he recovers from this horrific accident that he's survived
by the grace of God in miracles like this is
a miraculous survival story and you can catch it on KTLA.
They ran a segment last night. Rick Chambers gave the
(29:12):
details of Steph's accident. You can go on GoFundMe dot
com and in the search bar you can just type
in foush f oo s H and that will take
you directly to Stephan Cabeza, the FUSH. We know, the
FUSH technical Director, board op extraordinaire, good friend of mine.
I have stories about how this man has supported me
(29:35):
in so many ways. He is the most deserving of
all of the support from us. You can give whatever
you are feeling, whatever you feel inclined to give. He
needs it, as his recovery will be long and he
needs to feel our support. So go on go fundme
and type in the foush and you'll be able to
support Stephan as he recovers. I know it's hard to
(29:56):
talk about. When we talk about it, we it's it's
a lot. We get. It's yeah, yeah, I'm not trying
to cry today, not on air. It's lo Kelly or Crozier.
And I'm kidding. I think it's starting to sink in
for everyone the magnitude of what happened, because the initial
shock has worn off and now we are dealing with
(30:18):
the reality of the situation. But he survived, He is surviving,
and that is huge, and he will be okay, and
that is all we need to focus on, all right,
we aren't focusing right now on our very special guest,
Zayre Calvin. Zayere is an Alta dina resident, lifelong Alta
Diena resident, born, and there are very few of those
(30:39):
in this city born and raised anything, right, but he
is born and raised Outa dina e en Altadeni in Oltadeenian.
We're coming up with stuff, and he experienced quite a
bit of loss, he and his family did during the
Altadena fires. So we're talking about what that looked like
as a person living there and now as an advocate,
(31:01):
a leader in the community who's trying to help literally
rebuild Altadena from the ground up. So let's jump back
into the progress. What has progress been like? Is their progress?
Can you measure it by any sort of standard?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Are you satisfied with the progress?
Speaker 2 (31:21):
No, not at all, but you can measure some of
the progress. The Army Corps of Engineers did a great
job of getting all of the lots cleared in record time.
So you know, I give credit to whoever's doing the work,
and they did the work, and they cleared all the lots.
Ninety eight percent of the lots are cleared. It's just
(31:41):
some business lots that they'll be following up to do.
The progress is we have stood up a long term
recovery group to combine with the community, and I'm over
the leadership board of that community.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
Of look at You and look at You.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
They Eating Fire Collaborative. So that's going to be one
of the long term recovery groups that has almost two
hundred orgs up under it.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
So that that yes, I'm I'm just something he just does.
He's over a two hundred organization group.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
There's a leadership board. I'm just one of the people
guiding the ship, one of the people guiding. The greatest
part about our community is how involved our community is.
And when I'm speaking, I'm always speaking for thousands of
Altadenians who have tasked me to speak, and that's huge
(32:40):
for the whole community to have one voice. And so
during this process of recovery, the only recovery that can
actually be had is everyone coming back and being able
to rebuild their homes. So that is how everything is
going to be monitored and said what the success of
(33:03):
what recovery is. One part I was able to do
is with the community led and help put together a
plan of recovery is called the Alta Native Rebuild where
the community builds back together along with government philanthropy in
the whole community, where we lead the charge of the
(33:25):
rebuild back and that part has been put into the
county Supervisor, Catherine Barger, the governor. Everybody has this plan
and it's a collective plan that I've heard them speak
about collectively, us all working together because of this plan,
and that's been exciting to hear. So that progress of hope,
(33:47):
to know that we can all come together in this
plan is exciting.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
One of the best ways to revitalize a community, especially
a community that is on the heels of such a
major disaster, is to pump money into the economy. Yes,
there are lots of small businesses in Altadena, many of
which survived, many of which did not. In the last
eight months, we've seen those businesses change shape, move to
(34:15):
other places, rebrand themselves, whatever it may be. Are there
businesses that you would like to highlight right now for
our listeners and everyone here at Wisconzo Restaurant so that
we can go put money into this economy.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Yes, Fair Oaksburger because they've been at the hub.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Of Failing talks about fara Olksburger. I've never had far Oaksburger,
but everyone is like, you have to go. What makes
it so special?
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Their food is amazing. The people since the fires, they
literally have been providing for the whole community. They never
stopped business at all, and they literally were the front line,
just like as part of the community. The other part
people don't know is as and that's my aging community.
(35:00):
When I say I love everybody, that is my Asian community.
They were frontline and working hard and they happen to
be my neighbors on top of that. So they lost everything,
so for them to be frontline, and this is what
you hear a lot of the stories. It's a lot
of frontline people who have lost everything and they're the
main ones who are working the hardest to get everything back.
(35:23):
They're the wame ones giving back to the community. There's
an Altadena Dining Club that is a lot of the
Altadena residents where they all come together and pick different
restaurants to patron to give money back to to make
sure that the businesses stay aligned also, so that's been
(35:44):
a beautiful thing. Some of the locals. There's a Hutch's Barbecue.
It's a truck that's usually out there on Sunday. Very good,
very good. They used that and they've been there and
they need they need help. Also Touches Barbecue, Touches Barbecue.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah, and of course we have l Patron which is
also connected with Kingsburger. Okay, So to give just a
few local businesses that that still are there and still
need help. Those those are the main ones. And then
we have Yardbird Chicken along with Yeah, that'll be those
(36:28):
be the main ones.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Okay, that's a pretty good list. Yes, that's a definite
start for people who want to go out to eat
their way, throughout to drink their way.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
I heard.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
And then how can people stay up to date with
what you're doing? Zaire? How can people contact you for
more information?
Speaker 2 (36:44):
I'm all over social media. I get zire for Altadena
on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Now zire for Altadena. Does that mean that there are
further leadership sites or anythings in your site? Are we
talking mayor city?
Speaker 2 (37:01):
The councils they have called me the unofficial mayor of Altadena.
The further part about this is leadership beyond this. Just
as in the state of what our whole economic future
is as a community and as people, so that leadership
(37:23):
role will be extended. I can already tell that because
of the platforms that I'm on and what I'm speaking
about to just have a just society. So at this
point is just learning how altiden to use Altadena as
a microcosm of a diverse community and bringing that back
will show how a diverse community can thrive across the
(37:47):
United States of America.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Well in there, and we have to end it there
because I are for Altadena. I feel like you have
so much more to share, but I want people to
come to your social media so they can find out
more about what you're doing. Don't give them all everything right.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Now, Extreme Athletics dot org no e.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
Let them come to you. Sire Calvin, thank you so
very much for coming on Saturdays with Tiffany. Yes, you
are doing amazing work. Keep it up. We are rooting
for you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Thank you so much, and I appreciate all the love
it's needed and all the prayers.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
You're welcome back anytime. When we come back, We're going
to talk to Rob Ariano, the owner of Disconso Restaurant
where we're broadcasting live right here on KFI AM six
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio
Speaker 1 (38:33):
App, KFI AM six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand Saturdays.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It is time to one one. The week's been hot.
Time to is my mind? Sign on my radio? Just
inside Tiffany hows got feeling fun? Jes Saturday.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Okay five AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
It's Saturdays with Tiffany and it's the Little Show that
Could's first remote give it up. We are here at
Disconso Restaurant in the Miracle Mile on Wilshire. Two locations,
one right here you can still come out and there's
(00:47):
one in Orange County for those of you who want
to support Disconso. A fantastic restaurant, a lot of history,
a lot of inspiration, and we'll talk to the owner,
Rob Ariano, a little bit later top of the six
o'clock hour. We'll find out some interesting tidbits about Rob's past.
I dug very deeply into Rob's past for our Deeper
(01:10):
Dives segment that some of you have come to love.
So we have some trivia in which you'll be able
to win an assortment of prizes, and as you see
here on the table, we have a lot of branded prizes. Today.
We have for our giveaway stash. We have water bottles
with stickers of my new logo. I have a logo.
(01:31):
Now what the last show that could Our logo is
on the water bottles here filled with chocolate. If you
like chocolate, that's your thing. We have candles, we have notepads,
we have anything that you could potentially decide to use
or regift when Christmas comes. That's okay, I don't mind
if you do that. But we have a lot here
for you. Want to make sure that it's interactive and
(01:54):
that you have a good time. And of course we
have quite a bit of news as well, and we'll
get to that. Because today's show isn't going to be
primarily about news, We're going to make it, obviously a
bit more fluid and talk about the restaurant and talk
about some people who are making big impacts in the
city of Los Angeles, southern California. We have an interview
(02:16):
at five point thirty with Zaire Calvin. He's coming on.
He's a resident of Altadena, a former resident. He experienced
quite a bit of loss in the Altadena fires, not
just property, but the loss of his sister as well.
So we're going to talk to Zaire Calvin at five
point thirty about what's been happening with Altadena since the fires,
(02:38):
as well as what Alta Diena needs to keep going
from someone directly impacted. At six o'clock, like I said,
we're going to talk to Rob Ariano, the owner of
Diskamzo Restaurant, and we'll make sure that you have those
giveaways ready for yourselves. But before we do that, we
always start our show with kind of the major news headlines,
(02:59):
right major things that are going on. And if you
don't know by now, something happened to one of our
own family members, one of our own KFI family members,
and it is probably the biggest news story in all
of southern California. It was already a big story, and
then when we found out who was attached to the story,
(03:21):
it just compounded the issue. So let me walk you
through it a bit. At about nine pm on Thursday evening,
I was contacted by Sharon Bellio, Tim Conway's producer for
The Conways Show, and she said, Tiffany, have you talked
to Steph? Immediate red flag anytime anyone says have you
(03:43):
talked to someone? And you know it's after a certain
amount of time you wonder what's going on? Have you
talked to Steph? And I said, no, not since yesterday.
I do a segment on the Later with Mokelly's show
every Wednesday night called the Viral Loads. Some of you
might know that, Thank you very much. And I had
talked to Steph the night before. In fact, we were
talking about, as a side note, how just a couple
(04:05):
of weeks ago, on our Saturday show, we did kind
of a dating game, kind of an informal matchmaking game,
and we needed a candidate, and I said, well, Steph
is the eligible bachelor. Fush our fushie, our fushie bear right,
you're volunteering yourself. You'll be for the next round. Oh,
(04:25):
you'll fill in when Steph's not. Okay, there we go, ladies,
we have an eligible bachelor right there, waving from the bar. Okay.
But on the show, we talked about fush being eligible,
and we asked for his specifications, things that he wanted,
and Gary and Shannon do a dating game and it
was this a whole little fun thing. Out of that
fun and informal matchmaking event or conversation was born an
(04:49):
actual date. A woman contacted the show and said yeah,
I want to meet the Foush. They met, not to
get into the details. They had a good time, they
went out on a date. They hit it off. So
we were talking Wednesday night about them hitting it off
while we were at the latter with Mokelly's show. So Thursday,
(05:10):
when belly O contacts me and says, hey, have you
talked to Fush Red Flags, I'm like, oh my god,
I set this man up with a murderer. Oh my god,
now this is forensic files, right. So luckily that didn't happen,
but something did happen that was probably equally as horrendous.
The next couple of hours fleshed out with Tim Conway
(05:33):
leaving his show. The whole show was looking for Fush.
They're trying to figure out where Steph is, what's going
on because he never reported to work on Thursday, and
that's not like the Fush at all. He is very dedicated.
So later that night, Tim Conway goes to Fush's house,
they get the address, they figure out, you know, kind
of how to find this guy. Right, Tim shows up
at Fush's dad's house. They let him in. Nothing's awry.
(05:56):
It was said that Fush left for work. Earlier that
morning as normal, no issue here. Well, turns out, when
he left for work, he got on the one oh
five Freeway one oh five east and right where the
one oh five and the one ten interchange happens, someone
cut the Foush off and of course all of us
(06:18):
want to find out who this person is. But they
cut stuff off and it caused Steph to veer into
a median or a blockade of some sort. His car
rolled multiple times with him in it. He was knocked unconscious.
If it weren't for the very brave and quick thinking
and actions of three good Samaritans, we might not be
(06:41):
talking about Fooush the way we are today. They pulled
him out of the car, and a woman actually was there,
and she applied a tourniquit and was a team effort
and they just got Steph stable enough to be transported.
And when he was transported to the hospital, he was
transported as a John Doe. His id, everything thing else
had burned up in the car. The car was completely
(07:03):
engulfed in flames. Here's where the story is even more interesting.
Earlier that day, around two o'clock, I get an alert
on my phone from one of the neighborhood apps, Citizen.
Anybody have Citizen here. Familiar with Citizen, you should get it.
It definitely keeps you in tune with what's going on.
So I see this thing on Citizen about a car
(07:24):
on the one oh five freeway on fire, and I'm
drawn to it because whoa, there's a car on fire.
And I see the car and I said to myself,
that looks like Fousch's car. I had no reason to
think that. And this isn't about me in any way,
but it was just ironic that this became a story
before it was even a fully fleshed out story. So
(07:49):
Fush transported to the hospital, Tim goes to his house.
All these things are happening Thursday night. Through all of
the slew thing with Sharon Bellio, who is an expert spy.
At this point, they were able to find out that
Fush was at a hospital. They found the hospital, were
able to identify him, and he is still there and
he has had two surgeries at this point to repair
(08:12):
his mangled arm. Apparently his arm was outside of the
car when the car was tumbling. The arm is in
bad shape. He's had two surgeries, but he will survive
and again, if this were any different, that last sentence
might not be spoken. If any of you are compelled
(08:35):
to give, because Steph, the foush our Fushie Bear will
absolutely need our help. You can go on GoFundMe dot
com and type in the foush. They made it very easy.
You can type in the foush and it will immediately
connect you to Stefan Cabaz's GoFundMe campaign. As of right now,
(08:57):
over seventy thousand dollars has been raised since Thursday. We
know the KFI listeners are are great with raising money
the pastathon. Anytime we ask for you, you show up.
You showed up here. We need you to show up
for the Foosh as best as you can. When we
come back, I'll tell you a little bit more about
(09:20):
the schedule. Like I said, we'll get some of these
giveaways going and we'll jump into our show. But I
wanted to start with what's going on with Foosh. Give
you an update, good news. Keep him in your thoughts
and your prayers. Stephan, we love you. Can I get
a we love you Steph on one or on three
one two three?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
We love you.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
We'll make sure he hears that if he's not already listening,
he better be listening. I told him to. I said,
if you didn't want to come to the remote, you
could have just told me, Like he didn't have to
do this whole thing. He was supposed to be here.
When we come back, we'll continue with all of Saturdays
with Tiffany right here on KFI AM six forty live
from the Disconzo Restaurant.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
You're listening to ka I AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
K I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Saturday is with Tiffany and we are here at Disconso
Restaurant on Wilshire, right here in the Miracle Mile, across
from the LaBrea tar Pits, down the street from Lakma,
right here in the heart of the Miracle Mile. Beautiful restaurant.
(10:26):
I mentioned when I was speaking with Neil, I've been
staring and I kept catching myself staring at the bar.
This bar, everyone is impressive in every sense of the word.
And even if you don't like to drink, just the
artistic design of this bar is amazing and it really
indicates how much thought was put into the design of
(10:49):
this restaurant. It is beautiful exposed brick hanging lights. The
staff is amazing. The owner rob Ariano, who will speak
to top of the six o'clock hour, is amazing, saying
it's just an incredible place, and I'm hoping that if
you're not here you will certainly come back and visit.
It is that type of restaurant. It's really really good.
Food is good too. Uh. Let's do some trivia. Let's
(11:12):
do some trivia. You guys like trivia. I want to
do some giveaways. Have some water bottles here with chocolate
and candles and things that you can give to other people.
If you don't want to use them, that's perfectly fine.
All right, So speaking about Disconso restaurant show. You can
raise your hand for this. We'll do it informally. How
many locations are there? Yes, two is correct. You may
(11:38):
come up and choose something from the giveaway section. Desconzo
has two locations. What are those locations again? Costa mesaid
here right on the Miracle mile. Come forward, young man,
and choose something from the giveaway sash here. Uh, No,
Kayla is not one of the prizes. Not to anyway,
(12:01):
that is an interesting request. This is a family show,
Sir number two. Disconso, You're welcome has a special late
night menu. When is it available? When is there special
late night menu available? Yes, after ten pm? Can you
(12:24):
be a little bit more specific? Ten pm until what
what is closing? Ten? He's saying, Clo, you're trying to
be vague an obtuse on purpose ten pm till twelve am.
Is that what you said?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
That's corrupt?
Speaker 3 (12:38):
That's what I heard. Come up and choose something from
the gift pile here. Disconso has a special late night menu.
They are open after ten pm until twelve am for
that special curated menu. Bonus points Friday and Saturday, that's
when that is available. Does anyone know question number three
(12:59):
for this trivia? When is national tequila months? Every day?
That would be when is National Tequila Day? But we're
looking for a month specifically, not that you're giving me
days and things that are not. You have to answer
the question correctly. I don't. You'll just yell out things.
You gotta raise your hand and I do this correctly.
(13:21):
Desconso has a vast tequila menu for those of you
who partake again. I keep staring at it because that's
where I'll be at seven oh one, maybe seven o'clock
and thirty seconds. But when is National Tequila Month? When
is it? July is correct? You can choose or you
can gift to someone else, totally up to you. July
(13:44):
is National Tequila Month, and Disconso celebrates National Tequila Month
with a special tasting menu. Lastly, for this round of trivia,
what special week did Disconso just PARTI paid in? What
very special week? A week? Not a day? A week
(14:06):
did Disconso participate in? You're saying food food, they serve food.
But what is the name of the week. You gotta
be a little bit more specific, Los Angeles. That's the
second part. What are you doing when you are sitting
at this table? You are if you don't do takeout,
(14:27):
you are doing what you are eating in. What's another
way of saying eating it dining in? So take in away.
What's the first word take the ing away? What's the
first word dine? And then what's the city dine la?
And what is this establishment called a? What a restaurant?
(14:49):
And then we're talking about what frame of time here
a what put it all togethere? Dine sign la restaurant?
Be very good? Tricia Saint George come up and choose
a prize from the giveaway table. Now we have a
(15:09):
lot more trivia. Make sure that you guys are brushing
up on your Disconso facts. You can find a lot
of these answers by going to the website. If you
google Disconso, not only will you get their vast menu
and locations, but you can find answers to this fun trivia.
I want to make sure that you guys know where
you are eating. Next to me, joining me is Zaire Calvin.
(15:34):
We're gonna speak to him after five thirty. He is
a resident of Alta Dina, a leader in Alta Dina,
and Zayeir is going to talk to us after five
thirty about his experiences since the January fire, since the
Altadena fire, what Alta Dina has gone through, what it
now needs, and how Zayir is becoming or has become
(15:57):
a very impactful member of the community, already being impactful
prior to the fires, and now kind of pivoting and
taking on a new role. Right, we'll do that after
five thirty. Are you guys enjoying Disconso restaurant? One person
enjoy two, three, four back? It is fantastic. I just
(16:19):
want to mention too, My eighth grade algebra teacher is here.
Can you believe that my eighth grade algebra teacher, Albert
Goodman is here? Raise your hand, mister Goodman. It's weird
to call him by his first name, even all this
time later. Albert Goodman is here, I see an assortment
of friends and family. Thank you so so much for
(16:40):
coming out. And when we come back, we're gonna speak
with Zaire Calvin about all things Out to Dina right
here on Saturdays with Tiffany live from the Disconso Restaurant
in Wilchair.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand kf I.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
AM forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. It's Saturdays
with Tiffany and we are broadcasting live until seven pm
right here from Disconso Restaurant on Wilshire in the Miracle Mile.
Still plenty of time for you to come out, enjoy
all that this wonderful restaurant has to offer. Tequila yes,
(17:25):
mes call, yes, great food, oh yes, ambiance, all of that.
Everything is included, not free for you, but included in
the experience. You still have to pay. Don't come here
thinking that everything is gonna be calmed. And you say,
Tiffany has it. Tiffany's paying. I'm not paying. I work
in radio. Okay, you'll understand what that means. At some point.
(17:48):
Sitting next to me is a very special guest. His
name is Zaire Calvin. Now, those of you who listen
to the Fork Reporter might remember Zaire appearing on Fork
Report last week, right, Kayla, last week? Yes, we had
him on. Yet Zayir was on last week and I went,
wait a minute, I know that name. So I go
(18:08):
to social media, I type in Zaire Calvin unique name,
and up pops this Facebook friend that I've never met
in person, but that I've been watching and following and
admiring for his leadership. And that was prior to January.
Now here's the thing about Zaire. He's been a leader,
(18:29):
a digital creator, a coach, and involved community member. But
now he is and I would describe you Zaire as
being a literal phoenix rising from the ashes of what
is now known as the Altadena Fire because Zaiyir lived
in Altadena. Family lived and for a long time generations
(18:51):
in Alta, Dina, and they were victims of the fire
in many, many different ways. Now many people have known
Zaire before January seventh, Like I said, dedicated community member.
But now I would beg to say that Zayre is
nationally known because his story, his advocacy, the work he's
done has gone nationwide and that name is synonymous now
(19:14):
with the city of out Tadna. So on the hills
of being recognized at the Visionary Gala, which you were,
he's very humble. Please welcome Zayre Calvin.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Hello, everyone, pleasure to be here.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Thank you Zayre. And this is you know. We got you,
We tracked you down. I was trying everything I could, like, hey,
I heard you, and I really want you to come on.
And I know you did one show, but I really
want to continue to amplify your cause. So thank you
for being willing to do that on such short notice,
with everything that you have going on.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
He got it. So it's been a very big and
long eight months for you. Yeah, I would say understatement
of the century.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Well eight months feeling like feels like ten years.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
Can you walk us through what happened from the beginning
to now. You don't have to give all the details,
and now you've done that, probably more than you care to.
But what happened January seventh, January sixth, and where are
you now?
Speaker 2 (20:13):
So from the fires and you know, everybody losing everything
in the community. There was a in they call to
action right after the fires to make sure that you know,
our whole community was seen and a lot of times
African American community gets lost in that. So there was
an immediate call to action to explain about redlining and
(20:37):
you know the generation of wealth that we living in Altadena,
that we created and been there for generations. So at
that point, yeah, it was not trying to go into
all the grave details, as you say, just being supportive
(21:01):
of the community. Knowing that there was a lot of
elders in the community that were affected by the sixty
percent of the community who owned homes in Altadena or
over the age of seventy. So my immediate call to
action was to protect the elders and my whole community.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
So you went out there as the fires were going
on and we're trying to actively do what you could
to so that.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
So that was after the fires. Everything was after the fires.
There was nothing during the actual fires that could happen.
The most devastating part about the fires is the whole
city was kind of left by themselves to find for themselves.
We don't talk much about that because we try to
keep everything in perspective, but the whole city, meaning the
(21:51):
whole diverse city, and it was an African American strong community,
and the whole city was left to fin for them
themselves to get out of the fires that night.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
How many houses did your family actually own? Because I
was reading up it seems like you guys had a
lot of property at Altadina.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Yes, when we say my family immediate family, we own
five five houses on two properties. When you talk about
all the cousins and relatives, if I went into all that,
it would probably be up to about fourteen properties. I
(22:31):
never even mentioned that outside of this, but I have
other cousins that have houses that are up the street
that I haven't spoken about. And I have a cousin
who had a karate studio Twin Dragons miss sher Lane,
that is my cousin, and she lost her karate studio
(22:52):
along with her home. So it would be about fourteen.
But on my properties that I personally own would be
two properties with five homes on it.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Okay, now there's a lot of visible work happening in Alsadina.
We're talking with Zaire Calvin, Altadena resident community leader coach
multi hyphen It and we're talking about Altadena sends the
fires from the ground up. If you would, uh, there's
a lot of visible work happening in Alsadina. We see
the clearing of the lots, We see kind of the
community galvanizing around to support each other. If you could
(23:25):
share one thing with the public that we don't know
about what's happening behind the scenes, one or two things,
what would those be?
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I guess it would be the predatory things that are
going on, the disaster capitalism that this has brought for
is the fact that you know, there were fifty percent
of the lots that have been bought were bought by
developers already, so so stats like that. That's what sent
(23:56):
me to Sacramento where I start lobbying on bill and
I lobbied on AB eight point fifty one to pass
legislation to help against the predatory wonderful the predatory things
that were going on, and that bill passed for Altadena
and Palisades. So it was to protect you know, the
(24:18):
whole community plus the Palisades.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Community now with that bill passing, are there next steps
that we as the public can take to vote when
it shows up? What does that look like? How does
that do?
Speaker 2 (24:28):
No, that one is already in place like that, Yeah,
that one's done, so it's actually cleared, so that this
one is just more so the support. So a lot
of what's going on that you're speaking about has to
do with people taking advantage of the people. So I've
been traveling from place to place to learn about all
(24:51):
everything fire, so everything from the Woodsy fire to the
coffee fire. I even went down to New Orleans to
learn about their disaster so I could be educated in
everything disaster and learn the disaster economic part, because everything
that happens with this goes back to economics. So once
you learn that, all of this is almost a shell
(25:14):
game to steal money and steal properties, and you'll see
that on every single level, protecting that and fighting for
that has been the hardest thing. It's been so bad
to the point where the day after the fire, one
of my friends literally his ground was still smoking and smoldering,
(25:38):
and there was a guy who came and asked if
you want to sell his property?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
So it's that type of stuff going on. The next
level of that that they don't talk about is the
insurance companies and everything that they're doing. So they're running
around and taking advantage and they're denying claims on purpose,
and it's a tactic. And this is all and disaster
capitalism that people aren't aware of. All these are tactics,
(26:04):
all based on finances to make sure that you get frustrating,
you mad, and you're literally having people fight after they've
lost everything and it wasn't their fault. It's not like
this is one of those cases where you left an
iron on and burnt down your house or something like that.
This is something that you were not in control of.
So for that to be said, and the predatory parts
(26:28):
of the insurance companies, that's another stage. And then there's
the predatory part about construction and even lawyers. So construction
is a bigger part that's coming that's coming up that
people don't aren't aware of. I'm very aware of it
because I literally just had built my house from scratch,
so I literally know what it is to build back
(26:49):
from scratch. And there that's going to be the biggest
obstacle in this process is the build back part.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
And that's at Altadena has passed, or excuse me, in
the Palisades as well. When we come back, we're going
to continue the conversation with Zaire Calvin, community member, activist
leader in every single way, and we're going to continue
talking about what's happening in Altadena in terms of progress.
Is there any what does progress actually look like? And
(27:20):
how can we as the public continue or begin to
support the efforts in reconstructing this very vital community. So
can you hang out with us? Ayr?
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Yes, I can.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Wonderful it's Saturdays with Tiffany. We're right here at Desconzo Restaurant.
Oh yes, thank you Neil Savedra for hanging around a
little bit longer. We got a celebrity in the house,
snake pork reporter and his mom. Oh and his mom,
Oh my god, she's just amazing. When we come back,
(27:51):
we'll continue all of the conversation right here. Okay, if
I am six forty, life everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Now to Heather Brooker, are you there? I'm here, guys,
Hi have hi?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
I cannot believe the universe has kept us apart till
the one time I'm here.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
But I feel intentional.
Speaker 4 (28:07):
I just I know, but I'm so enjoying hearing you
out live. It sounds like you guys are having a
great time, and I'm jealous. I wish I was there, wish.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
You were here. I love you, guys to No one
else is listening. It just us, It just does.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Sixty live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app Saturdays with Tiffany
here till seven at Disconso Restaurant on Wilchure. What a
lovely turnout. Thank you all those of you who are here.
It has been so much fun hanging out with Neil
Savandra and the Fork Reporter and the now our show,
and you guys have certainly turned up and been supportive.
(28:49):
Just love to direct your attention again to our Fushi bear,
our Steph if you feel so inclined to support him
as he recovers from this horrific accident that he's survived
by the grace of God in miracles like this is
a miraculous survival story and you can catch it on KTLA.
They ran a segment last night. Rick Chambers gave the
(29:12):
details of Steph's accident. You can go on GoFundMe dot
com and in the search bar you can just type
in foush f oo s H and that will take
you directly to Stephan Cabeza, the FUSH. We know, the
FUSH technical Director, board op extraordinaire, good friend of mine.
I have stories about how this man has supported me
(29:35):
in so many ways. He is the most deserving of
all of the support from us. You can give whatever
you are feeling, whatever you feel inclined to give. He
needs it, as his recovery will be long and he
needs to feel our support. So go on go fundme
and type in the foush and you'll be able to
support Stephan as he recovers. I know it's hard to
(29:56):
talk about. When we talk about it, we it's it's
a lot. We get. It's yeah, yeah, I'm not trying
to cry today, not on air. It's lo Kelly or Crozier.
And I'm kidding. I think it's starting to sink in
for everyone the magnitude of what happened, because the initial
shock has worn off and now we are dealing with
(30:18):
the reality of the situation. But he survived, He is surviving,
and that is huge, and he will be okay, and
that is all we need to focus on, all right,
we aren't focusing right now on our very special guest,
Zayre Calvin. Zayere is an Alta dina resident, lifelong Alta
Diena resident, born, and there are very few of those
(30:39):
in this city born and raised anything, right, but he
is born and raised Outa dina e en Altadeni in Oltadeenian.
We're coming up with stuff, and he experienced quite a
bit of loss, he and his family did during the
Altadena fires. So we're talking about what that looked like
as a person living there and now as an advocate,
(31:01):
a leader in the community who's trying to help literally
rebuild Altadena from the ground up. So let's jump back
into the progress. What has progress been like? Is their progress?
Can you measure it by any sort of standard?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (31:18):
Are you satisfied with the progress?
Speaker 2 (31:21):
No, not at all, but you can measure some of
the progress. The Army Corps of Engineers did a great
job of getting all of the lots cleared in record time.
So you know, I give credit to whoever's doing the work,
and they did the work, and they cleared all the lots.
Ninety eight percent of the lots are cleared. It's just
(31:41):
some business lots that they'll be following up to do.
The progress is we have stood up a long term
recovery group to combine with the community, and I'm over
the leadership board of that community.
Speaker 3 (31:57):
Of look at You and look at You.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
They Eating Fire Collaborative. So that's going to be one
of the long term recovery groups that has almost two
hundred orgs up under it.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
So that that yes, I'm I'm just something he just does.
He's over a two hundred organization group.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
There's a leadership board. I'm just one of the people
guiding the ship, one of the people guiding. The greatest
part about our community is how involved our community is.
And when I'm speaking, I'm always speaking for thousands of
Altadenians who have tasked me to speak, and that's huge
(32:40):
for the whole community to have one voice. And so
during this process of recovery, the only recovery that can
actually be had is everyone coming back and being able
to rebuild their homes. So that is how everything is
going to be monitored and said what the success of
(33:03):
what recovery is. One part I was able to do
is with the community led and help put together a
plan of recovery is called the Alta Native Rebuild where
the community builds back together along with government philanthropy in
the whole community, where we lead the charge of the
(33:25):
rebuild back and that part has been put into the
county Supervisor, Catherine Barger, the governor. Everybody has this plan
and it's a collective plan that I've heard them speak
about collectively, us all working together because of this plan,
and that's been exciting to hear. So that progress of hope,
(33:47):
to know that we can all come together in this
plan is exciting.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
One of the best ways to revitalize a community, especially
a community that is on the heels of such a
major disaster, is to pump money into the economy. Yes,
there are lots of small businesses in Altadena, many of
which survived, many of which did not. In the last
eight months, we've seen those businesses change shape, move to
(34:15):
other places, rebrand themselves, whatever it may be. Are there
businesses that you would like to highlight right now for
our listeners and everyone here at Wisconzo Restaurant so that
we can go put money into this economy.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Yes, Fair Oaksburger because they've been at the hub.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Of Failing talks about fara Olksburger. I've never had far Oaksburger,
but everyone is like, you have to go. What makes
it so special?
Speaker 2 (34:39):
Their food is amazing. The people since the fires, they
literally have been providing for the whole community. They never
stopped business at all, and they literally were the front line,
just like as part of the community. The other part
people don't know is as and that's my aging community.
(35:00):
When I say I love everybody, that is my Asian community.
They were frontline and working hard and they happen to
be my neighbors on top of that. So they lost everything,
so for them to be frontline, and this is what
you hear a lot of the stories. It's a lot
of frontline people who have lost everything and they're the
main ones who are working the hardest to get everything back.
(35:23):
They're the wame ones giving back to the community. There's
an Altadena Dining Club that is a lot of the
Altadena residents where they all come together and pick different
restaurants to patron to give money back to to make
sure that the businesses stay aligned also, so that's been
(35:44):
a beautiful thing. Some of the locals. There's a Hutch's Barbecue.
It's a truck that's usually out there on Sunday. Very good,
very good. They used that and they've been there and
they need they need help. Also Touches Barbecue, Touches Barbecue.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah, and of course we have l Patron which is
also connected with Kingsburger. Okay, So to give just a
few local businesses that that still are there and still
need help. Those those are the main ones. And then
we have Yardbird Chicken along with Yeah, that'll be those
(36:28):
be the main ones.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Okay, that's a pretty good list. Yes, that's a definite
start for people who want to go out to eat
their way, throughout to drink their way.
Speaker 2 (36:36):
I heard.
Speaker 3 (36:37):
And then how can people stay up to date with
what you're doing? Zaire? How can people contact you for
more information?
Speaker 2 (36:44):
I'm all over social media. I get zire for Altadena
on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
Now zire for Altadena. Does that mean that there are
further leadership sites or anythings in your site? Are we
talking mayor city?
Speaker 2 (37:01):
The councils they have called me the unofficial mayor of Altadena.
The further part about this is leadership beyond this. Just
as in the state of what our whole economic future
is as a community and as people, so that leadership
(37:23):
role will be extended. I can already tell that because
of the platforms that I'm on and what I'm speaking
about to just have a just society. So at this
point is just learning how altiden to use Altadena as
a microcosm of a diverse community and bringing that back
will show how a diverse community can thrive across the
(37:47):
United States of America.
Speaker 3 (37:49):
Well in there, and we have to end it there
because I are for Altadena. I feel like you have
so much more to share, but I want people to
come to your social media so they can find out
more about what you're doing. Don't give them all everything right.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Now, Extreme Athletics dot org no e.
Speaker 3 (38:06):
Let them come to you. Sire Calvin, thank you so
very much for coming on Saturdays with Tiffany. Yes, you
are doing amazing work. Keep it up. We are rooting
for you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Thank you so much, and I appreciate all the love
it's needed and all the prayers.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
You're welcome back anytime. When we come back, We're going
to talk to Rob Ariano, the owner of Disconso Restaurant
where we're broadcasting live right here on KFI AM six
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio
Speaker 1 (38:33):
App, KFI AM six forty on demand
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