WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.200 You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 2 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:09.240 KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 3 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:13.039 This is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI News. 4 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:15.679 We're with you till nine o'clock tonight. We got a 5 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:19.640 lot of news to get through, but first a quick update. 6 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:22.879 Third quarter just started in downtown LA. The Lakers are 7 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:24.640 down right now in the first round of the playoffs 8 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.960 against the Timberwolves. It's sixty two to forty eight there. 9 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.839 The Clippers went down in ot in Denver one twelve 10 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:35.079 to one ten. The Dodgers lost today two at the 11 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:38.799 Texas Rangers, four to three. Angels right now in Anaheim, 12 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:42.000 bottom of the second the Giants are leading the Angels 13 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:44.280 two to nothing. And of course, the Kings and the 14 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:47.880 Oilers kickoff their first round NHL Playoffs. 15 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:49.679 Game on Monday night. 16 00:00:49.759 --> 00:00:52.119 Lots going on in LA's sports right now, and that 17 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:57.520 is your KFI Sports Report. It has been just over 18 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:01.920 one hundred days since we first saw the smoke rising 19 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:06.760 up in the Palisades. It's been just over three months 20 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:09.920 since we first saw the fire spark in the Palisades, 21 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:12.400 and of course, that same day a big fire with 22 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:17.280 spark in the Altadena area, forever changing the landscape, the 23 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.239 literal landscape, the political landscape, the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. 24 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:25.879 And what do we have to show for it since 25 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:29.439 Well depends on who you ask. If you talk to 26 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:33.799 government officials, they like to use the phrase cutting red tape. 27 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:36.239 They've been cutting red tape. Governor Newsom himself put out 28 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:40.640 a news release this week saying, in one hundred days 29 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:43.719 since the fire, we've been cutting red tape to help 30 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.480 rebuild Los Angeles faster and stronger. Some of the stats 31 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:50.799 he puts out, sixteen thousand VERST responders and recovery personnel 32 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:53.560 were deployed here, two and a half billion dollars in 33 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:58.760 small business administration assistants one hundred million dollars, and individual 34 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:01.120 assistance has been dispersed. All of this sort of thing, 35 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:03.920 twelve thy five hundred right of entry forms submitted. 36 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:06.480 Eight schools out of eight. 37 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:10.400 Have been back in in person instruction, and eight out 38 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:13.520 of nine water systems have been reactivated. If you talk 39 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:18.000 to La Mayor Bass, things are going well, cutting red tape, 40 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:23.360 cutting through bureaucracy, getting the city back on its feet 41 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:29.599 after this massive disaster in the Palisades, But if you're 42 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:34.319 on the ground and you're talking to residents, it's quite 43 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:39.280 a different thing. In fact, some people who are working 44 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:43.960 on the rebuilt effort are disputing what Mayor Bass has 45 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:48.000 had to say about the recovery and its speed and 46 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:50.759 the processes that are in place to make it faster. 47 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:52.879 Let's hear this report from Fox eleven. 48 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.719 LA's disaster recovery is on track to be the fastest 49 00:02:57.719 --> 00:02:59.439 in modern California history. 50 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.280 All smiles, but things are going slowly. I know we've 51 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:04.520 brought things to her attention. 52 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:07.879 Luke Melcher, a contractor working in the Palisades and even 53 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:11.840 fire zones one hundred days in and crews like his 54 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.080 continue clearing burn debris on some lots while others look untouched. 55 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.280 According to the LA Department of Building and Safety last week, 56 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.599 of the nearly seven thousand buildings destroyed in the Palisades, 57 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:26.360 twelve permits have been issued to rebuild the main issues. 58 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.199 I would say, we're our closing out inspections just waiting 59 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:31.840 on the city to get out close out our fire 60 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:36.439 debris permits. Although they published a guideline, each inspector seems 61 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:38.120 to have a different criteria that he's. 62 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.199 Following twelve permits to rebuild have been issued, that's all. 63 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.280 And there were many more than twelve houses that were destroyed. 64 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:48.639 And that's what you keep hearing from the residents on 65 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:54.520 the ground is, man, this is not going well. They're 66 00:03:54.520 --> 00:04:01.120 also facing challenges with insurance. California has already had difficulty 67 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:04.479 with insurance companies, and there's been a lot of criticism 68 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:09.319 lately towards State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who has missed 69 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.919 some important meetings, who's been traveling a lot on the 70 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:15.439 taxpayer done when he's the point person, he's the guy 71 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.519 who's supposed to be helping regulate these companies, helping to 72 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:22.639 make insurance more affordable for Californians. Of course he would 73 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:25.600 say that's what he is doing. He was also in 74 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:28.879 the Palisades recently. Let's hear this report from Fox eleven. 75 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:33.160 Are you seeing one main particular complaint among residents now? 76 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.319 I think the issues that we hear over and over 77 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:39.439 again are now like it goes in stages right immediately 78 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:41.879 after the fires. We want to focus on getting those 79 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:43.040 claims paid immediately. 80 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:47.439 Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Laura in the Palisades says, California is 81 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:51.759 having an insurance crisis as race increased for homeowners statewide, 82 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.439 essentially build for natural disasters. 83 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.399 This is why we need to focus on mitigation. Bring 84 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.800 the price down, bring competition back into the areas, and 85 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:02.759 bring the insurance rates down. Eventually. 86 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:04.480 What do you think the city could be doing better? 87 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:06.480 Well, I think we could always do things better. 88 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.120 I mean, the one issue that we're grappling with now, 89 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:13.879 as we talk about regularly, is waving fees, and so 90 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:16.319 we're working on that now to see what that. 91 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:19.560 Would mean to the budget, what that would mean to 92 00:05:19.639 --> 00:05:22.839 the budget, and that is a significant question right now because, 93 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:25.399 of course, the City of Los Angeles faces about a 94 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:31.199 billion dollar budget shortfall, and in the upcoming week next week, 95 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:36.759 Mayor Bass on Monday, in fact, will present her proposed budget. 96 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.680 It's not looking good. In fact, in our next hour, 97 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:43.680 we'll have some audio from a Friday night appearance she 98 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:46.600 made to Black Lives Matters Los Angeles where she flat 99 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:50.959 out said yes, she is going to propose layoffs in 100 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.360 that budget. She says she hopes there's remedies for it. 101 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:55.600 She hopes it doesn't happen, but it will be part 102 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:00.399 of her proposal. These fires have played a significant role 103 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:05.959 in the city's financial situation, but they've also played a 104 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:09.000 more significant role in the direct, everyday lives of people 105 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.199 who live in the Palisades and people who live in Altadna. 106 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:16.959 There was a couple of weeks ago a Palisades Community 107 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:22.399 Council meeting. It was hosted on Zoom and one of 108 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:26.439 their special guests was from an organization called Haggarty Consulting. 109 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:29.920 This is a group that Mayor Bass used executive authority 110 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.600 to hire on a ten million dollar one year contract 111 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:37.079 to help speed up to help cut that red tape, 112 00:06:37.680 --> 00:06:40.560 to get people in the process of rebuilding their homes 113 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:44.959 more quickly. But people in the Palisades would say, and 114 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:49.319 in fact did say during this meeting, that's not happening. 115 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:56.079 In fact, Haggarty, why don't you tell us what exactly 116 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:01.279 you do here? And the answer, I'm this consulting firm. 117 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:08.319 It's pretty deflating. It's a lot of consultants speak, but 118 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:12.759 it's also not an answer really at all. These folks 119 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.800 who live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, 120 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:19.839 who saw their homes go up in flames, who saw 121 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:26.279 their entire community disappeared asked what are you doing here, 122 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:29.680 and could not get a response from an organization that 123 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.680 has been brought into the city to help facilitate the 124 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:36.600 process of rebuilding the price tag of ten million dollars 125 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:41.639 possibly now the city says, look, it's a contract that 126 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:45.000 says up to ten million dollars and we're paying them 127 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:46.480 by the hour, and we're only paying them for the 128 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:50.120 work that's done. Well, it makes you curious to know 129 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:53.040 how much has been paid up to this point, because 130 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:57.240 what has been done they could not say. In our 131 00:07:57.240 --> 00:07:59.759 next segment, I'm going to bring to you some sound 132 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:03.399 from that meeting. It's a pretty shocking meeting where these 133 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:09.519 frustrated residents ask this consultant what are you doing? And 134 00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:14.519 the consultant really could not give a good answer. And 135 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:16.519 after that, we're going to have a longer interview with 136 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:19.560 a resident of the Palisades to dive a little deeper 137 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:24.360 into the frustration that they're feeling. Why is it taking 138 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:28.160 so long to get things moving there? Why is the 139 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:32.240 messaging from city hall so different from the experiences on 140 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:35.480 the ground. And by the way, you don't have to 141 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:39.559 live in the Palisades or an Altadena, Pasadena Malibu to 142 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:42.559 feel frustration right now about living in La and living 143 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:47.000 in La County. In fact, there is clear evidence that 144 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.080 people all over the county are not feeling good about 145 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.679 living here right now. The tenth Annuel UCLA Luskin School 146 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:56.480 Quality of Life Index, it's a survey of LA County 147 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:05.000 and it shows that we're at our lowest feeling about 148 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:11.399 living here, same as last year, lowest feeling ever, tied 149 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:14.120 with last year and tied again with twenty twenty two 150 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:16.799 for the lowest rating. We're going to dive into what 151 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:20.279 that survey found about why people feel this way about 152 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:23.519 living here right now, and then we got a big 153 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:25.720 eight o'clock hour as well. I hope you'll stick around 154 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:27.799 for the whole thing. We got a lot to get 155 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:30.720 through because the city budget is going to be proposed 156 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:35.720 on Monday, and they are facing serious headwinds on their finances, 157 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:38.519 and Mayor Bass said Friday night layoffs are going to 158 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:42.799 be part of her proposal. The LAPD is out with 159 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:45.799 a new ad campaign. They're down about fifteen hundred officers 160 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:47.399 from their goal of ten thousand. 161 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:50.200 They think a new YouTube video is going to turn 162 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:50.720 that around. 163 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:54.840 And then why aren't Canadians coming to California anymore. Take 164 00:09:54.879 --> 00:10:00.000 a guess, will a new campaign help bring Canucks back 165 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:03.200 to La, back to California. We'll take a look at 166 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:06.360 what's going on with that as well. Big two hours 167 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:09.320 ahead here on Michael Monk's Reports. Stick around with us 168 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.919 on this beautiful Saturday night here in southern California. 169 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:19.879 You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand. 170 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:21.639 KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 171 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:24.320 This is Michael Monk's Reports on Michael Monks from KFI 172 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:26.840 News with you till nine o'clock tonight. Boy, the bottom 173 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:29.759 has really fallen out in downtown LA. The timber Wolves 174 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.120 have opened up a twenty four point lead on the 175 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:35.360 Lakers towards the end of the third quarter, now eighty 176 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:38.440 five to sixty one. Don't know what's happened there. The 177 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:41.039 Clippers have already lost in overtime, the Dodgers lost to Day, 178 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:42.799 the Angels are losing. We just might have one of 179 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:47.840 those days in LA sports. We're definitely having one of 180 00:10:47.879 --> 00:10:52.000 those periods of time in Pacific Palisades and the residents 181 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:55.039 there who are hoping to rebuild their homes and their 182 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:59.000 community and the vibe that they had there are really 183 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:03.679 ticked off. And there was a community council meeting last week. 184 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:08.279 It was hosted online, so I peeped it and they 185 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:11.399 had invited a representative from Haggarty Consulting. This is the 186 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:14.840 private consulting firm that La Mayor bast happed to help 187 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:18.440 lead the recovery effort, help facilitate the cutting of red 188 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.159 tape so that we could move quickly. And this poor 189 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:25.519 guy named Harrison Newton, who's just a guy who works 190 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:29.360 at this firm, represented Haggerty on this call. He spoke 191 00:11:29.399 --> 00:11:33.159 for about thirty five minutes, but after he was finished talking, 192 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:36.600 those residents were scratching their heads. They were not sure 193 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:40.159 what they heard. Let's hear a little bit of the frustration. 194 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:44.759 Give me a concrete example of something you did in 195 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:50.639 a prior disaster such as Lehina or Paradise or wherever 196 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:55.519 you guys go to do this, that is not just 197 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:59.279 another layer of bureaucracy, because that's what it feels like 198 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:03.200 at the moment. I'm looking for a concrete example of 199 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:07.720 something that you did that moved things forward and moved 200 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:11.639 the needle, and I'd appreciate hearing it now, not later. 201 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:19.399 Silence. Okay, take that back, Harrison and respond at. 202 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:19.919 Some point. 203 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:22.039 Silence. 204 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:24.360 Hello. 205 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:29.840 Yeah, you know, I don't mean to be sussful, and 206 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:33.919 I do intend to provide that information. We also have 207 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:36.679 a website that has a lot of examples of our work. 208 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:41.480 You know, I what I I want. 209 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:43.480 To off the top of your head, just something that 210 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:45.799 you did. I mean, it's got to be a memorable 211 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:48.720 moment for you. If this is what you specialize. 212 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:55.399 In, silence? Can you believe that? Go to our website 213 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:59.240 and see what we do. Well, he does, start to 214 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:02.799 formulate some form of an answer, and this minute clip 215 00:13:02.919 --> 00:13:05.840 will give you an idea of what the entire presentation 216 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:06.240 was like. 217 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.799 You know, so, I mean I think you know, I 218 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.720 want to go down that road. You know, every community 219 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.559 that we work in their recovery and what we do 220 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:17.080 with them is kind of unique. 221 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:20.320 Okay, just one thing though, Just one thing. 222 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:23.720 So you know, in communities we've worked in where we've 223 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:27.279 worked on long term recovery, we've done work to make 224 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:31.559 sure that loan processing is faster and more effective and 225 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:36.440 more communicated to communities we've made well. See, so if 226 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:38.759 I give an example of apologies, but if I give 227 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:40.240 an example I could give. 228 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:40.960 I mean, this is. 229 00:13:40.919 --> 00:13:43.639 Literally what we do all day, every day. So when 230 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.279 you talk about opt in and out opt out processes 231 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:48.639 and making sure the community is aware of those and 232 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:52.000 trying to leverage all the assets to making sure that 233 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:54.039 as many people can go through that process as they can, 234 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.919 those are all things we're supporting. So I would really 235 00:13:56.919 --> 00:14:01.679 suggest that you know, in this case, almost everything that 236 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:06.960 is happening when there's augmentation support, it's happening with the 237 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.960 augmentation support. That's the point of it. 238 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:15.559 Leverage the assets, augmentation support, that's the point of it. 239 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.720 So if you're scratching your head wondering what that means, 240 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:22.639 you're not alone because these residents didn't really know what 241 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:25.360 he was talking about either. Let's hear that, and. 242 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.840 We're trying to make this What that means, I don't 243 00:14:27.879 --> 00:14:30.720 even know what is augmentation support what it means. 244 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:34.320 It just means more people working on the recovery every day, 245 00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:39.360 so that the missions and the work of the recovery 246 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.759 can happen more fast, can happen more effectively and efficiently. 247 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.840 So you're bringing more people to bear so they're less 248 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:49.600 thinly stretched and you're achieving work faster. 249 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:51.399 That's just a little taste. 250 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:54.600 There were more than two hundred people on this call 251 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:57.759 listening to this presentation, including city council woman Tracy Park, 252 00:14:58.039 --> 00:15:01.759 who was not there the whole time. But man, these 253 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:05.200 people were angry about it, including a guy named David Howard. 254 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:10.399 He works here at iHeart Los Angeles and lives in 255 00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:13.879 the Palisades. His family lost their home in the fire, 256 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:18.399 and he did not mince words when he addressed Haggarty Consulting. 257 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:22.840 I'm angry, really angry, because I spent twenty five minutes 258 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:26.159 listening to you speak and I don't know what you said. 259 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:28.919 Oh yeah, okay, And. 260 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:31.320 It's not great. It's not to rip you or go, 261 00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:34.159 but you got to start providing answers. And when you 262 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:36.519 tell us you're alignment the Mayor's office, that's a problem 263 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:39.799 because she has not been there for us before the fire, 264 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:43.840 and she's not here for us right now. So the 265 00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:46.440 lip service and the holding hands and the kumbaya it's over. 266 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:47.600 It's over. 267 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:47.919 Now. 268 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:53.519 You got to start producing ten million dollars, ten million dollars, 269 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:55.440 Pay me ten million dollars, and I'll do exactly what 270 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:56.039 you just did. 271 00:15:56.480 --> 00:16:01.200 Say nothing ooh, and that it gives you another indication 272 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:05.720 that they're not happy with La Mayor Bass either. He 273 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:07.840 says she wasn't there for us before the fires. She's 274 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:13.159 not been there for as afterwards. He's quite angry. A 275 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:17.240 lot of residents in the Palisades are angry, and at 276 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:20.720 this opportunity for Haggarty Consulting to come in and explain 277 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:24.840 what they do, it seems like they blew it because 278 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:28.320 these residents are not satisfied. And I know that because 279 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:32.039 I had a longer conversation with David Howard, and he 280 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:35.960 explained where this frustration is coming from, not just at 281 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:40.080 the lack of clarity from this presentation by Haggarty, but 282 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:44.440 through the whole thing, the fire itself and the aftermath 283 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:46.919 of it that they are still dealing with. And he 284 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:50.879 paints a completely different picture than what we hear from 285 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.519 our elected officials and the consultants that they hire. And 286 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:56.600 you're going to hear more from David Howard, whom I 287 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:57.960 spoke with at length. 288 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:02.159 You're listening to KFI on demand. 289 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:06.079 KFIAM six forty five everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. 290 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.519 This is Michael Monks Reports. 291 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:10.079 I'm Michael Monks from KFI News We're with you till 292 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:12.720 nine o'clock tonight and every Saturday night. 293 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:13.720 Thanks for being with us. 294 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:16.279 If you heard our last segment, you heard some very 295 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.720 frustrated residents of Pacific Palisades talking to a consultant hired 296 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:23.359 by Mayor Bass the City of Los Angeles to help 297 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.720 oversee the recovery process to help things go more smoothly. 298 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:31.039 Those residents say things aren't going more smoothly and they 299 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:33.599 don't know what these consultants are doing. I told you 300 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:35.440 I caught up with one of the residents to talk 301 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:37.880 a bit more about that experience. Here's my interview with 302 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.920 David Howard. This meeting looked like a lot of people 303 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:44.920 were frustrated. We're one hundred days after the fire. Why 304 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:47.119 are people still frustrated? What's taking so long? 305 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.519 Well, we're frustrated because there's no answers. Right. We sat 306 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:53.640 there for thirty five minutes in that last meeting, and 307 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:56.880 the chat room is blowing up because this person that 308 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:01.039 was speaking, mid level manager, which quite honestly shouldn't have 309 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:03.759 been the one that was representing because he's way over 310 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:07.640 his skis, just didn't provide any insight, answers, plans, nothing 311 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.359 to that effect. So we're all sitting there kind of 312 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:10.279 shaking our heads. 313 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:12.039 What did you expect from that meeting? 314 00:18:12.119 --> 00:18:14.559 I mean, if they tell you Haggarty consulting is coming on, 315 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:16.839 you must have thought this was a good opportunity to 316 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.880 get a better understanding of what they were supposed to 317 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:20.319 be doing. 318 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:23.839 Yeah, great question. So what we expected was some sort 319 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.279 of plan after being in the Palisades for ninety days, 320 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:30.759 analyzing kind of where everything was based on the different 321 00:18:30.759 --> 00:18:33.680 phases of debris removal, and what kind of was phase 322 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:36.039 three even though it's not defined as phase three, Like 323 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.960 what's the solution, what's the plan, and how we're going 324 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:42.440 to move forward with all the different elements that go 325 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:46.759 into the rebuild, both on an individual basis for individual 326 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:48.000 homes and also for the town. 327 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:52.200 I got the sense that people were kind of chomping 328 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:55.119 at the bit before this meeting even started to ask 329 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:58.200 those questions of Haggarty, like what have you done now? 330 00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:00.720 Maybe they were being generous, thinking they were going to 331 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:03.200 get an answer without having to prompt, But was that 332 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:05.440 the sense that people had been talking behind the scenes 333 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:07.720 or to neighbor to neighbor, what are these guys doing? 334 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:10.839 Well, that's the great, that's the question of the day, right, 335 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:14.519 They're getting paid a lot of money. And I think 336 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:17.519 the thing that's set everybody off really was at the 337 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:21.480 end of his you know, him giving his speech, which 338 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:24.519 again I think I compared with you a couple of 339 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:28.559 days ago that it made Kamala Harris's Dorito's speech sound 340 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:32.519 like I had a dream from MLK. Nobody understood what 341 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:35.640 was being said. And at the very end of the speech, 342 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.160 instead of having hands come up and saying, hey, we're 343 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:40.400 going to take some questions, we were told that we 344 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:43.119 would not be allowed to ask any questions, and then 345 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:44.839 all the questions that did be put into a chat 346 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.039 or to an email address and they would vet those 347 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:49.000 questions and then get back to us. That was the 348 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:50.759 breaking point. 349 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:52.319 You said on the call. I mean, it's there for 350 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:56.400 everyone to see in public. Now you're angry. What are 351 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:57.839 you angry about? 352 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:03.559 Well, we're angry about the incompetence, the ineptitude, the lack 353 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:08.400 of communication, the cover up, all the things that you know, 354 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:11.960 if someone's going to pay a lot of money, taxpayer 355 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:15.680 dollars to provide a solution, that provide that solution has 356 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:17.880 not been discussed and quite Frankly, I don't think they 357 00:20:17.880 --> 00:20:21.799 have a solution, and it was an embarrassing moment. It 358 00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:25.680 was insulting. It was insulting to us as residents of 359 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:29.200 the city, to us as taxpayers, to us who are 360 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:33.920 just basically looking for guidance and answers in leadership. None 361 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:36.000 of those none of that was displayed at all. And 362 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:40.480 the fact that this gentleman that was speaking referred to 363 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:43.880 the fact that they're aligned with Karen Bass was probably 364 00:20:43.960 --> 00:20:46.000 not the best thing to say to a bunch of 365 00:20:46.079 --> 00:20:49.200 people who are not really feeling super competent or kind 366 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:52.000 of comfortable with the fact that Karen Bass is going 367 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.480 to lead us through this disaster, knowing that we feel 368 00:20:54.599 --> 00:20:55.880 she was a big part of the reason why we 369 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.039 got put in this position in the first place. 370 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:00.240 That was exactly what was going to ask next, because 371 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:03.240 that was a moment in the meeting where you criticized 372 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:05.119 him for saying, you know that they're aligned with the 373 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:06.440 mayor's office. We know that you have a lot of 374 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:09.319 ongoing frustrations with the mayor's office, but we've also seen 375 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:12.480 the mayor spending more time in the palisades and directing 376 00:21:12.599 --> 00:21:14.640 or at least alerting the media that hey, I'm going 377 00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:16.000 to be here for this thing, and we all show 378 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.680 up to see what's going on. Is the relationship not 379 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:20.119 good between the neighborhood and the mayor. 380 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:24.720 I would say that there's a lot of distrust. And 381 00:21:24.759 --> 00:21:29.759 I would say that these kind of moments of you know, 382 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:32.680 the moment, the press moments, when the cameras are coming 383 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:34.559 out and she's out in front of telling the story, 384 00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:37.880 there's a lot of things happening behind that story that 385 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:41.200 people don't know about. For instance, when they showed the 386 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:44.319 first home being built on Depaw and the palisades, you know, 387 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:48.640 starting to be rebuilt, that house by itself to get 388 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:53.160 that permit pulled was actually pulled by Bass's office because 389 00:21:53.160 --> 00:21:55.279 they had to do a press conference. It was not 390 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:58.440 easy for the contractors. Matter of fact, the contractor was 391 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:01.480 a kind of surprised by all of the hooplet around 392 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:04.039 it because of everything he had gone through, the builder, 393 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:07.279 the architect had gone through, and the landlord had gone 394 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:10.200 through to even have that moment. And so what it 395 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:13.400 may look like at a press conference is not what 396 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:14.920 it really looks like behind the scenes. 397 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:17.799 What does it look like behind the scenes now, I mean, 398 00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:20.480 obviously you and your neighbors are in a pretty rough spot. 399 00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:23.519 It's still pretty raw. I imagine there's been a little bit 400 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:25.960 of progress. What's going on in the Palisades. 401 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:29.000