Speaker 1: And we continue at two h five in the afternoon
Speaker 1: on the John Phillips Show, mister Randy Weggs in Culver City, John.
Speaker 2: We have the latest poll coming out from the California
Speaker 2: Democratic Party. This is the poll they commissioned to try
Speaker 2: to get the lower polling candidates to drop out. And
Speaker 2: this poll all but confirms the Bakaia bump is real.
Speaker 1: Scrub it.
Speaker 2: Messerah tied for first place with Steve Hilton at eighteen
Speaker 2: percent and who's coming in third Bianco at fourteen. Then
Speaker 2: he got Styre at twelve, Porter at eight, may Hen
Speaker 2: at seven, Via Goose at two, Tony thurmot at Ion,
Speaker 2: Betty Ee, and Swallwell still at one.
Speaker 1: Well, that still shows what four or five of them
Speaker 1: within the margin of air of one another.
Speaker 2: It still could be anybody's race. But we have definitely
Speaker 2: seen in several polls, and this is a poll where
Speaker 2: it tracks the same people over the course of weeks
Speaker 2: that people are moving to Bessera. Why couldn't tell you,
Speaker 2: but they're moving to Bessara.
Speaker 1: I would say, And you and I sat in the
Speaker 1: front row for the last debate. To my eye, Besserah
Speaker 1: was the least impressive candidate on stage.
Speaker 2: You're assuming everybody watched that debate, but of.
Speaker 1: Those who did, wasn't Was that your impression too, or
Speaker 1: was there someone else you thought did a worst job?
Speaker 2: No, I think Besarah was the most embarrassing person on
Speaker 2: that stage, and I'm not. Yeah, I will say for
Speaker 2: sure that's how I feel about it. I also don't
Speaker 2: think that Bianco had a very good night. Now, when
Speaker 2: you look at this poll originally in March seventeenth, the
Speaker 2: first time they pulled these people, three percent were for Bessara.
Speaker 2: By April fifth, four percent were for Bessara by April seventeenth,
Speaker 2: after Swallwell News eighteen percent and May second eighteen percent.
Speaker 1: So if that poll is correct and those numbers hold,
Speaker 1: we could be looking at a Hilton versus Besera November ballot,
Speaker 1: in which case Besera would be a huge favorite. However,
Speaker 1: we don't know if he's going to be indicted before
Speaker 1: that November election, because when we did the story on
Speaker 1: Dana Williamson last week, it certainly looked like there is
Speaker 1: a money laundering operation going on, and his name appeared
Speaker 1: in those federal documents literally thousands of times.
Speaker 2: If you have any of those documents, Xavier. Yeah, might
Speaker 2: want to scrub it.
Speaker 1: Just be careful you don't get caught, because sometimes the
Speaker 1: cover up's worse than the crime. So that's what's going
Speaker 1: on in the governor's race. Then let's shift gears here
Speaker 1: for a second, because California is in the middle of
Speaker 1: an insurance crisis where people are dropped from their policies
Speaker 1: right and left. California homeowners and small business owners are
Speaker 1: having a very difficult time finding companies who are willing
Speaker 1: to sell them a policy. In addition, people whose homes
Speaker 1: have burned down in the fires and Pacific Palisades and
Speaker 1: Alta Dina are having the very difficult time getting their
Speaker 1: insurance companies to pay them what they are owed. From
Speaker 1: top to bottom, the state of California is experiencing an
Speaker 1: insurance crisis. As all of this is going on, the
Speaker 1: state Insurance Commissioner, instead of sticking around here in California
Speaker 1: and trying to get to the bottom of a lot
Speaker 1: of these problems, he's traveling around the world, going from
Speaker 1: hotspot to hotspot, from resort to resort, and being entertained
Speaker 1: by DJ Kitty glitter.
Speaker 3: Child Basing is rarely comfortable, you.
Speaker 1: But thankfully he's turned out and we get to replace
Speaker 1: him in the next election. What we have to do, however,
Speaker 1: is replace them with someone better, because if we replace
Speaker 1: them with someone worse, none of us are going to
Speaker 1: be able to buy insurance in the future either.
Speaker 2: What's interesting is this may be the first election where
Speaker 2: people actually are paying attention to who is running for
Speaker 2: insurance commissioner, because it affects everybody in the state, whether
Speaker 2: you're a property owner or a renter. Part of the
Speaker 2: reason things have gotten so expensive is because of the
Speaker 2: cost of insurance.
Speaker 1: Yes, and in California. Again, I made the point before,
Speaker 1: I'll make it again because I think it's an important one.
Speaker 1: It's not just homeowners who are having a hard time
Speaker 1: finding insurance policies. How often do we do crime blodder
Speaker 1: stories about small businesses, including jewelry shops, where they're uninsured
Speaker 1: because it's just too expensive. For more on the race
Speaker 1: to replace Ricardo Laura, I'm very kind of sketch.
Speaker 2: Here is a report from KPIX.
Speaker 4: And we're about a month ano from the June primary,
Speaker 4: and there's still a lot of uncertainty about the race
Speaker 4: for the governor's office. Polling shows twenty six percent of
Speaker 4: voters are still undecided, but as John Ramas reports, it's
Speaker 4: not the only heated race to watch.
Speaker 5: It's been a long time since there was this much
Speaker 5: uncertainty in a California governor's race, and the sheer number
Speaker 5: of undecided voters shows that many people still have no
Speaker 5: idea who they're going to vote for. When Eric Swollwell
Speaker 5: made his swift and unexpected exit from the race, it
Speaker 5: meant this wasn't going to be business as usual. California
Speaker 5: instituted its top two primary system in twenty ten as
Speaker 5: a way to give more moderate candidates a better chance.
Speaker 2: That hasn't happened at all.
Speaker 1: No, No, in fact, the opposite has taken place.
Speaker 2: Then you want to add in rank choice voting, and
Speaker 2: you get a complete disaster. If you're ever I'm wondering
Speaker 2: how my girl became.
Speaker 3: Mayor absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 2: Ranked choice voting.
Speaker 1: That tells you everything you need to know.
Speaker 5: The baraucracy is real, but because of the weird circumstances
Speaker 5: of this election, most of the more marginal contenders have
Speaker 5: stayed in the race, and now, with one fourth of
Speaker 5: voters indicating that they are still undecided, there simply is
Speaker 5: no leading contender Democratic strategist Roger Salazar says, things haven't
Speaker 5: been this murky since nineteen ninety eight.
Speaker 6: Closest to what we're experiencing here, when Al Checkie and
Speaker 6: Jane Harmon were duking it out and beat each other
Speaker 6: up so much that allowed Gray Davis to sort of
Speaker 6: rise up from the ashes of those two and get
Speaker 6: elected governor. So it kind of feels a lot like that.
Speaker 2: It feels like the Gray Davis.
Speaker 5: Sarah Salazar says, with Swalwell's departure, tom Stier's attacks on
Speaker 5: Javier Bessera have actually elevated the former state attorney general
Speaker 5: from single digit support to be becoming a genuine threat
Speaker 5: to become the Democratic candidate on the November ballot. Professor
Speaker 5: Caroline Heldman.
Speaker 2: From isn't that an interesting strategy? Is it possible that
Speaker 2: when they're tracking all the people that are looking at
Speaker 2: the polls, there is probably a certain portion of people
Speaker 2: that want to support whoever Tom Steyer is spending money
Speaker 2: against because they don't like Tom Steyer that much. Well,
Speaker 2: what's wild is after Swawell dropped out, you would assume
Speaker 2: that Stier would have started attacking Katie Porter because she
Speaker 2: was the one that was next in line, but he's
Speaker 2: just essentially ignored her and he went right after Besserra.
Speaker 5: Professor Caroline Heldman from Occidental College says this was nothing
Speaker 5: the party could have imagined.
Speaker 7: It's a really terrible place for the Democratic Party. This
Speaker 7: is not where they expected to be, with about one
Speaker 7: in four voters still undecided.
Speaker 2: Well, they thought Padilla was going to get in or
Speaker 2: Harris before.
Speaker 7: Him, and it's neck and neck with.
Speaker 2: I still can't figure out if Harris doesn't go in
Speaker 2: and Padia doesn't go in, why the hell did a
Speaker 2: lady can of Lockis stay out of this race?
Speaker 1: For Californians, There's got to be something there because it
Speaker 1: made no sense.
Speaker 7: And it's neck and neck with Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton,
Speaker 7: and Javier Visera having this meteoric rise. It's really a
Speaker 7: three way race between them.
Speaker 3: She says.
Speaker 5: The lack of a front runner may actually cause a
Speaker 5: low turnout. In normal primaries. The other down ballot offices
Speaker 5: are an afterthought for most voters, but there is one
Speaker 5: job that has become something of a hot seat. In
Speaker 5: years past the position of State Insurance Commissioner has been
Speaker 5: a safe, quiet seat for those with other political ambitions.
Speaker 2: Yes, it didn't matter if you had any experience. But
Speaker 2: if you were termed out of the state Senate, well
Speaker 2: you can go run for that.
Speaker 1: You don't need to be a lawyer like you do
Speaker 1: to be attorney general. You don't need to have any
Speaker 1: kind of background or expertise like you do to be
Speaker 1: the state superintendent of public instruction. For insurance commissioner, it's
Speaker 1: one of these statewide constitutional offices that under normal circumstances
Speaker 1: people don't pay attention to, and you can operate in
Speaker 1: the shadows. But not anymore.
Speaker 5: The insurance crisis has put the position in the political crosshairs,
Speaker 5: and current Commissioner Ricardo Laura expressed that at an oversight
Speaker 5: hearing this year, I.
Speaker 8: Don't want to say this, but I wanted you ought
Speaker 8: to experience the daily challenge that the insurance Commissioner faces, right, trying.
Speaker 2: To be referring to yourself from the third person.
Speaker 8: Oh, yes, challenge that the insurance Commissioner faces, right, trying
Speaker 8: to balance the consumer protections and strengthening the market.
Speaker 2: You're not doing any of that.
Speaker 1: Well, trail blazing is tough.
Speaker 3: Trail blazing is rarely comfortable.
Speaker 8: You trying to balance the consumer protections and strengthening the market.
Speaker 2: Let's not forget Ricardo Laura implemented all of his stupid
Speaker 2: things that were supposed to save the insurance industry a
Speaker 2: year ago. Nobody's come back. The Fair Plan's bigger than ever.
Speaker 1: Well that was the metric which he said you should
Speaker 1: judge him by, that if he enacted his reforms, people
Speaker 1: would move off the fair Plan and onto private policy
Speaker 1: because the insurance companies would come back and they'd go
Speaker 1: back to selling policies again. Well, that hasn't happened, and
Speaker 1: the number of people who used the Fair Plan has ballooned.
Speaker 2: And this is why. And this was a big part
Speaker 2: of the debate that we witnessed when Julie Watts was
Speaker 2: asking them about insurance. Every single candidate on that stage
Speaker 2: had a bad answer, including Steve Hilton, who's like, well,
Speaker 2: all these things, Ricardo Laura is already doing them.
Speaker 1: They didn't work. Yeah, what is crazy to me is that.
Speaker 1: And it wasn't just Hilton. Other candidates look at Ricardo
Speaker 1: Laura as if he has some kind kind of elder
Speaker 1: statesmen on the subject, Who in the hell trust him?
Speaker 8: Trying to balance the consumer protections and strengthening the market
Speaker 8: with trying to entice insurance companies to remain in this market.
Speaker 5: The position was created by Prop oneh three in nineteen
Speaker 5: ninety eight, and Harvey Rosenfield, who wrote the initiative, says,
Speaker 5: it's been a pretty sedate job since then.
Speaker 9: Who was never a big deal and people really didn't
Speaker 9: pay attention to the Office of Insurance commission because Proposition
Speaker 9: one to three seemed to be working.
Speaker 1: Good people were saving money. Wasn't a crisis anymore.
Speaker 5: But since then, the major carriers began dropping coverage for
Speaker 5: hundreds of thousands of Californians.
Speaker 2: Partially because Ricardo Lara tipped them off that he was
Speaker 2: going to give them everything they wanted, and they were
Speaker 2: incentivized to drop people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, when he travels around the globe, he's not doing
Speaker 1: it on his own dime. He's doing it to attend
Speaker 1: these conferences and educational seminars and those sorts of things
Speaker 1: that the insurance companies put on.
Speaker 5: Just as mega wildfires began devastating communities, Heldman says, when
Speaker 5: it comes to people's pocketbooks, the insurance commissioner may have
Speaker 5: a bigger impact than even the governor.
Speaker 7: I do think that this particular jem that was one of.
Speaker 2: The more fun parts of the debate, where Bessarah's big
Speaker 2: platform is I'm going to freeze insurance rates, and Julie
Speaker 2: Watt tod to say the governor has no authority to
Speaker 2: do that, and he's.
Speaker 1: A lawyer who's been in state politics for a very
Speaker 1: long time. He doesn't know the basics.
Speaker 2: If you're just going based on the intelligence of the
Speaker 2: people that are speaking of the eight people that were
Speaker 2: on that stage last week, Bessarah is at the bottom.
Speaker 1: Oh, he was certainly the dumbest. We know that Katie
Speaker 1: Porter is emotionally unbalanced, but she's not dumb. Tom Steyer
Speaker 1: was able to make a billion dollars he's aloof but
Speaker 1: he's not dumb.
Speaker 2: Sarah is dumb.
Speaker 7: I do think that this particular job plays a more
Speaker 7: direct role in the everyday lives of Californians than just
Speaker 7: about any other role in state politics.
Speaker 5: The political experts have no idea who will square off
Speaker 5: in November, but right now their money is on Basera
Speaker 5: and Republican Steve Hilton. But at a time when the
Speaker 5: stakes feel so high, they seem just as uncertain as
Speaker 5: the voters themselves.
Speaker 4: Coming up in less than two weeks. We'll hear from
Speaker 4: the candidates who are running for governor on Thursday, May fourteenth.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there's going to be yet. So there's two
Speaker 2: debates this week and then there's another debate on the
Speaker 2: fourteenth on CBS.
Speaker 1: Again. Okay, so CNN's doing it this week. Alex Michaelson
Speaker 1: and Caitlin Collins correct that.
Speaker 2: One's tomorrow on Cinco de Drinco. You can watch the
Speaker 2: California candidate's debate on national television. And then on Thursday,
Speaker 2: NBCLA is going to have a debate. I'm sure it
Speaker 2: will be on all the NBC stations, but it's going
Speaker 2: to be a combo platter. It's going to be an
Speaker 2: LA mayor's debate and then a governor's debate, and then
Speaker 2: apparently I think there's no debates next week, but the
Speaker 2: week after we've got more debates.
Speaker 1: And I also believe there's a debate that's going to
Speaker 1: be going on in Sacramento involving the candidates for insurance Commissioner.
Speaker 2: There have been a few of those, but yes, I
Speaker 2: don't think they're going to get any kind of television presence.
Speaker 2: But they're happening, CBS.
Speaker 1: I believe we're going to have one of the candidates
Speaker 1: for Insurance Commissioner on the program.
Speaker 4: Later in the week, CBS California will host another debate
Speaker 4: in partnership with the San Francisco Examiner, and we'll have
Speaker 4: live coverage that begins at five point thirty.
Speaker 2: So there you go. That's the latest on the governor's
Speaker 2: race and the race to replace Ricardo Lara.
Speaker 3: Chill Basing is rarely comfortable.
Speaker 1: You here's an interesting wrinkle to this story. Typically, what
Speaker 1: happens for politicians, particularly state politicians, politicians who run for
Speaker 1: offices that have term limits, is when they get to
Speaker 1: the end of the road, when they're at the last
Speaker 1: stop on the subway, they're termed out of the Assembly,
Speaker 1: they're termed out of the Senate, they're turned out of whatever.
Speaker 1: What they do is they start raising money to run
Speaker 1: for something else, because if you don't continue to run,
Speaker 1: your career is over. And the jobs that they all want,
Speaker 1: they all want jobs that don't involve term limits. So
Speaker 1: if you get elected to the House of Representatives, you
Speaker 1: can stay there until you die, which many of them do.
Speaker 1: If you get elected to the United States Senate. You
Speaker 1: can stay there forever. There are some local offices depending
Speaker 1: on where you live, where there are no term limits,
Speaker 1: and you can be on your county board of supervisors forever,
Speaker 1: or mayor of your city forever, whatever. Ricardo Laura, who
Speaker 1: is work in politics his entire life. Before he was
Speaker 1: insurance commissioner, he was in the state Senate. Before he
Speaker 1: was in the state Senate, he was in the state Assembly.
Speaker 1: Before that, he worked for members of the legislature as
Speaker 1: a staffer. He's never really done anything else. He's not
Speaker 1: running for any other office. He's not running for lieutenant governor,
Speaker 1: he's not running for La County Board of Supervisors. He's
Speaker 1: not running for anything, which means he must be aware
Speaker 1: that his performance as insurance commissioner was so bad and
Speaker 1: cut through the noise, he is unelectable even in a
Speaker 1: deep blue state like California.
Speaker 2: I mean, he pretty much said as much in that
Speaker 2: speech last year.
Speaker 8: And I may be criticized and dragged through the mud
Speaker 8: for it and get my wig snatched as the gig.
Speaker 1: I say, maybe he is more self aware than we
Speaker 1: thought he was. I wonder what he's going to do next.
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sure there will be some kind of consulting gig,
Speaker 2: although he doesn't have any more political powers. So what
Speaker 2: are the insurance companies need him for?
Speaker 1: Yeah, if you're the insurance companies, at this point, you've
Speaker 1: gotten all the juice out of the squeeze and he's
Speaker 1: lived like a king for eight years. So that's the payoff.
Speaker 1: You don't owe him a six figure income. You don't
Speaker 1: owe him lifetime employment, you don't owe him continued travel.
Speaker 1: Your business with him is done when he turns out.
Speaker 1: Maybe he believes that he's made genuine friendships in that
Speaker 1: industry and they're going to take care of him. But
Speaker 1: I wouldn't bet on it, would you.
Speaker 2: I don't think there are any local politicians who are
Speaker 2: going to appoint him to anything. I'll tell you that
Speaker 2: he is toxic.
Speaker 1: Eight hundred two two five two two two is a
Speaker 1: telephone number one eight hundred two two two five two
Speaker 1: two two. If you'd like to email the show, you
Speaker 1: can do so at Johnny don't like show at gmail
Speaker 1: dot com. That's Johnny don't like show at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1: And Randy, if you missed my eulogy to Spirit Airlines
Speaker 1: the twelve o'clock hour and you want to find out
Speaker 1: what you missed out on. That's easy to do.
Speaker 2: John Phillips had some choice words for the downfall of
Speaker 2: Spirit Airlines, who went out of business over the weekend,
Speaker 2: stranding passengers all around the country. And if you want
Speaker 2: to give that a listen, search for the John Phillips
Speaker 2: Show wherever you get your podcast, whether that's the Apple
Speaker 2: podcast app, iHeart Spotify, search for the John Phillips Show,
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Speaker 2: two two is telephone number one eight hundred two two
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Speaker 2: the show, you can do so at Johnny don't like
Speaker 2: show at gmail dot com.
Speaker 1: That's Johnny. Don't like show at gmail dot com? Well, Randy.
Speaker 1: It was yet another tough weekend in the city of Dumby.
Speaker 2: The City of Oakland is losing yet Another business in downtown,
Speaker 2: a wine bar that only opened three years ago, is
Speaker 2: Colin at quits because, according to the owner, downtown is
Speaker 2: a ghost town.
Speaker 10: It's a lot of crime.
Speaker 2: Now for more here is kpix in the Bay.
Speaker 4: Utation as a destination for food and culture. A slow
Speaker 4: downtown Oakland economy means many small businesses are struggling. According
Speaker 4: to a report from the commercial real estate firm Kushma
Speaker 4: on Wakefield, about thirty eight percent of Oakland's downtown office
Speaker 4: space sad empty at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 2: Thirty eight percent.
Speaker 4: That's ridiculous and that's led to hard times for small
Speaker 4: businesses that rely on office workers and visitors. Doland reports
Speaker 4: on a downtown wine bar, it's now going to be
Speaker 4: closing down.
Speaker 11: Oakland is known for its amazing food scene and culture.
Speaker 11: In fact, a travel magazine named Oakland the best food
Speaker 11: city for the past two years.
Speaker 2: Well, it was a voter submitted survey, so there may
Speaker 2: have been some I'm sure the food scene in Oakland
Speaker 2: is great, but how you put that up against New
Speaker 2: Orleans or Santa Fe. I don't understand it.
Speaker 1: How much do you want to bet that the local
Speaker 1: leaders are blaming all of this on COVID.
Speaker 11: Still oh they are Yeah, Downtown still struggles to draw
Speaker 11: visitors to spend money here. Great one, amazing hospitality and
Speaker 11: even better company. But this is the final chapter for
Speaker 11: the three and a half year old wine bar. Coco Newah.
Speaker 10: I have to close the doors on July fifth. I
Speaker 10: cannot sustain anymore.
Speaker 2: You sure it's not Coco Noir like Pino Noir.
Speaker 1: I think you're onto something.
Speaker 11: Coco Newah.
Speaker 10: I have to close the doors on July fifth. I
Speaker 10: cannot sustain anymore. Downtown right now, very low foot traffic.
Speaker 11: Owner and Somalia Alicia Kidd worked long hours and tried
Speaker 11: innovative ideas to attract customers.
Speaker 2: The innovative idea was karaoke.
Speaker 1: Huh, maybe the Dong family is having a celebration over there.
Speaker 11: But the Oakland native says, it's tough when downtown feels
Speaker 11: like a ghost town.
Speaker 10: I can only throw so many events. It's dead downtown.
Speaker 10: We have to get more foot traffic, we have to
Speaker 10: create more engagement. I had plans. I wanted to do
Speaker 10: something with the World Cup, meaning like host block parties.
Speaker 10: I had big plans. But if I'm not able to
Speaker 10: sustain and get support from my city.
Speaker 2: It is really sad to see. I saw a graft
Speaker 2: today and it's just when you see it in you
Speaker 2: realize ten years ago Oakland had three major sports teams.
Speaker 1: Well. It was also a huge food scene too, because Oakland,
Speaker 1: like many places in California and around the nation for
Speaker 1: that matter, if it's safe and if the government is working,
Speaker 1: people want to be there. I mean, Oakland is a
Speaker 1: beautiful city in theory. It's right on the water. The
Speaker 1: views that you get are of San Francisco and the
Speaker 1: other side of the Bay. That should be some of
Speaker 1: the most primo real estate in the entire state of California.
Speaker 1: But if you put Shang Tauen company in charge of
Speaker 1: the city, you're going to drive it into the ground.
Speaker 12: That's right.
Speaker 1: I like that.
Speaker 10: That is amazing. Retention. You know, we need retention programs.
Speaker 11: The Chamber of Commerce is Downtown's commercial vacancy rape remains high.
Speaker 11: Business owners tell me the lack of office workers and
Speaker 11: visitors means they rely heavily on loyal customers. One owner says,
Speaker 11: downtown it is still operating in a pandemic era economy.
Speaker 2: Pandemic was a long time ago.
Speaker 1: But that is the gift that keeps on giving.
Speaker 11: They're urging the city to invest and host more events
Speaker 11: to draw people back.
Speaker 10: The city of Oakland, I feel, is losing a gym.
Speaker 10: You know, this business is more than wine. It's about community,
Speaker 10: it's about the jobs.
Speaker 2: I mean it was about the wine.
Speaker 1: Yeah. People show up to a wine bar for the wine.
Speaker 1: They don't show up to a wine bar to hear
Speaker 1: what their neighbors think about the insurance commissioner's race.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 11: At a weekend grand opening event, council member Carol Fife
Speaker 11: says the city is making progress, but has a lot
Speaker 11: more work to do, including on public safety.
Speaker 2: By the way, Carol Fife was one of the defund
Speaker 2: the police city council people here so glad to see
Speaker 2: she's still employed.
Speaker 11: She says, while crime has dropped significantly, in fact check.
Speaker 1: This is what they all say. Oh yeah, if you
Speaker 1: understand the statistics, crime is actually in free fall at Oakland.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, turn on the local news.
Speaker 13: She says.
Speaker 11: While crime has dropped significantly, public perception has not caught up.
Speaker 14: I wonder why it is not the role of government
Speaker 14: to subsidize a private business.
Speaker 15: Right.
Speaker 14: We have our own internal challenges that we're working through
Speaker 14: with the City of Oakland. I want all businesses to thrive,
Speaker 14: and at the same time, it's difficult to make sure
Speaker 14: every single business that goes into becoming an entrepreneur is
Speaker 14: the successful entrepreneur.
Speaker 2: Well, the City of Oakland doesn't have to make sure
Speaker 2: the business is successful, but the City of Oakland should
Speaker 2: make sure that it is safe to visit the business.
Speaker 2: Otherwise people will not That's on the city. People won't
Speaker 2: walk around downtown Oakland if it's full of garbage. That's
Speaker 2: on the city.
Speaker 1: No, but from the point of view of the city,
Speaker 1: they don't need to actually make Oakland safe. They need
Speaker 1: the appearance of safety.
Speaker 14: What we're doing is partnering with the chamber. We're partnering
Speaker 14: as the City of Oakland with other organizations like Visit
Speaker 14: Oakland to bring attention to the businesses. Yes, we have
Speaker 14: our challenges, but we also have our opportunities.
Speaker 2: I'm China, I for the life of me, will never
Speaker 2: understand why you go through all of the hassle of
Speaker 2: recalling Shang Tal and we still got.
Speaker 7: Our Oakland A's baby, No you.
Speaker 2: Don't and replace her with Barbara Lee quite frankly, and.
Speaker 1: You know what you're the first person to point this out.
Speaker 1: The more I hear her, the more I hear Erkele
Speaker 1: in her voice.
Speaker 3: The businesses.
Speaker 14: Yes, we have our challenges, we also have our opportunities.
Speaker 14: So I'm trying to get people to understand that we've
Speaker 14: got to do both deal our challenges but also have a.
Speaker 11: Vision and know that the opportunities are fasting.
Speaker 2: She just said nothing.
Speaker 1: She's a former member of the House of Representatives. That's
Speaker 1: what they do.
Speaker 2: There were like thirty words there and none of them
Speaker 2: meant anything for Alicia.
Speaker 11: That opportunity and that dream are nearing an end.
Speaker 10: I'm just really really sad.
Speaker 2: There you go, we lost yet another business in the
Speaker 2: city of Oakland because no one's going downtown and I
Speaker 2: wonder why.
Speaker 1: And Randy, that wasn't the only thing that happened in
Speaker 1: Oakland over the weekend.
Speaker 2: Well, you had First Fridays for the month of May,
Speaker 2: and after First Fridays concluded, some people got a little
Speaker 2: violent and someone decided to drive their car and the
Speaker 2: curb crashing into people. Uh oh, for more, here's k
Speaker 2: TVU Fox two in the Bay.
Speaker 13: This is the ten.
Speaker 5: O'clock news on KTVU Fox Too.
Speaker 16: Now at en a fight breaks out on the streets
Speaker 16: of Oakland and a car ran into a crowd on
Speaker 16: the sidewalk.
Speaker 13: Really sad because we're trying to get.
Speaker 2: Of course, Noel Gaio's in this story.
Speaker 1: He is handwringing in just about every crime story in Oakland.
Speaker 13: Really sad because we're trying to get Oakland back. Do
Speaker 13: we can celebrate it, enjoy it?
Speaker 16: Tonight seven people are hospitalized. The youngest victim is fifteen
Speaker 16: years old. Good evening on this Saturday. I'm Christina Rendon.
Speaker 16: Tonight police are searching for the reckless driver. Oakland Police
Speaker 16: say this happened overnight in your eighteenth Street and Telegraph Avenue.
Speaker 16: The video here showing the aftermath, with the driver crashing
Speaker 16: into a light pole right outside the Oakland Ice Center.
Speaker 16: The woman inside took off running.
Speaker 2: Katy, oh boy, I said, hell no, baby boy, let
Speaker 2: me get up on.
Speaker 15: Out of here.
Speaker 16: KTV is Jesse. Gary is live in Oakland with the
Speaker 16: latest in the story, Jesse.
Speaker 17: Christina, Good evening to you. Oakland Police detectives saying tonight
Speaker 17: they're pursuing several leads developed from community tips and evidence
Speaker 17: collected at the scene. They say an arrest is imminent.
Speaker 17: The larger problem for the city convincing residents and outsiders
Speaker 17: that violence around and near First Friday events is not
Speaker 17: a reflection of First Friday events.
Speaker 2: Every First Friday there's some kind of ruckus that happens afterwards.
Speaker 9: Light clockwork, early seven, whoa early?
Speaker 15: Wait?
Speaker 2: Now those people are those roosters.
Speaker 1: A case could be made early.
Speaker 17: Early Saturday morning chaos as this car Koreem's to a
Speaker 17: stop after the driver clips of fence, then a light
Speaker 17: near the Oakland Ice Center. She gets out and runs,
Speaker 17: leaving damage and seven injured pedestrians in her wake.
Speaker 12: It makes me really sad. It's really unfortunate that people
Speaker 12: not only like you know, a dish.
Speaker 2: Why her insurance rates are gonna balloon up?
Speaker 1: Gee, I wonder why no one wants to go down
Speaker 1: to downtown Oakland for wine.
Speaker 12: Tasting destroy people's property and you know causerukis like that.
Speaker 12: But then to see how people interact with each other too.
Speaker 17: In addition to the crash, several fist fights breaking out
Speaker 17: in the early morning hours following First Fridays.
Speaker 2: What a family friendly, fun event sounds like it now.
Speaker 18: I've been going to First Friday since I was a kid,
Speaker 18: and quite Honestly, it's like always just been fun things happen,
Speaker 18: you know. I guess it's just awareness just to like,
Speaker 18: you know, try to do better, just you know, stop
Speaker 18: the violence a.
Speaker 1: Bit, not stop it, but just stop it a bit,
Speaker 1: just a tad.
Speaker 17: The monthly street festival and cultural event takes place for
Speaker 17: four and a half hours from twenty second to only
Speaker 17: seventh Streets along Telegraph Avenue, but some attendees linger later
Speaker 17: into the night, which could have led to the violence.
Speaker 17: In a statement, the First Friday's Event team says, in part,
Speaker 17: the incident occurred outside of both our permittent event footprint
Speaker 17: and our hours of operation.
Speaker 2: This was just near First Fridays, so don't blame First Fridays.
Speaker 1: I love the fact that they just immediately go into
Speaker 1: cya mode.
Speaker 2: YEP.
Speaker 17: This month's event was a positive and well attended celebration
Speaker 17: of Oakland's one hundred and seventy fourth birthday.
Speaker 13: I was there at the event trying to encourage people
Speaker 13: promoting it. It was a beautiful event.
Speaker 17: Fifth District Councilman Noel Gio says this city has a
Speaker 17: long history.
Speaker 2: Does he wear the hazard jacket when he goes to
Speaker 2: First Fridays because that's usually his move.
Speaker 1: Well he needs a helmet more than that.
Speaker 17: Fifth District Councilman Noel Geio says this city has a
Speaker 17: long history struggling to keep positive events such as First
Speaker 17: Fridays in the spotlight when violence erupts.
Speaker 13: We're trying to get Oakland back. Do we can celebrate
Speaker 13: enjoy it, so we need to continue the First Fridays.
Speaker 17: The next event is schedule June fifth. Some residents say
Speaker 17: they'll pass on attending.
Speaker 12: Probably not after seeing that, but.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I need to be out at First Friday, like
Speaker 1: I need a Chrysler to the abdomen.
Speaker 17: But others say it's up to everyone to make sure
Speaker 17: the bad actors leave and not a successful city event.
Speaker 18: Just got to keep loving your heart. That's the best
Speaker 18: thing to do, is I mean, you got to stop.
Speaker 18: There's hate in the world. There's going to be fighting,
Speaker 18: of course, but as long as you kind of keep
Speaker 18: loving your heart, try to focus on what's important, that's
Speaker 18: all you can do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, why don't you go with that?
Speaker 1: Yeah? What kind of tire tracks do you think are
Speaker 1: going to be on his back?
Speaker 17: Oakland Police say that people who are injured, six adults
Speaker 17: and one fifteen year old are all reported in stable
Speaker 17: condition that we're asking anyone with information and video evidence
Speaker 17: to get in contact with them. We're live in Oakland
Speaker 17: this evening. Jesse Gary, KTVU, Fox Unius Christina will go
Speaker 17: back to you inside the studio.
Speaker 2: There you go, yet another case of May after a
Speaker 2: first Friday's event in Oakland? How difficult could it be
Speaker 2: to find out who the driver was? Wouldn't the car
Speaker 2: be registered to them? Unless, of course, the working assumption
Speaker 2: is the cars just stolen? Well? Is it a Kia Oakland?
Speaker 4: I love you, but you don't love me?
Speaker 1: Good point eight hundred two two two five two two
Speaker 1: two is telephone number one eight hundred two two two
Speaker 1: five two two two. If you'd like to email the show,
Speaker 1: you can do so at Johnny don't like show at
Speaker 1: gmail dot com. That's Johnny, don't like show at gmail
Speaker 1: dot com. Let's go to Dave and Calabasas.
Speaker 15: Dave, Hello, I love the way in why I think
Speaker 15: Javio with Sarah's doing so well in the polls, and
Speaker 15: it's because he looks and sounds the most like the
Speaker 15: governor strictly based in appearance. People don't know what's going on.
Speaker 15: I mean you guys are smart, and you know that
Speaker 15: he gave all the wrong answers. But Matt, he looks
Speaker 15: like a surfer. He looks too young, and he's a lightweight.
Speaker 15: Tom Steyer looks like he's dead. Katie Porter, she needs
Speaker 15: to put on a jacket. She looks like a secretary
Speaker 15: that should be getting me my coffee in those sleeveless dresses.
Speaker 15: Plus she reminds me of Kathy Bates from Misery, So
Speaker 15: she's not gonna win. And when you get down to it,
Speaker 15: aavi of the Sarah. He just looks and has the
Speaker 15: tone of what a governor, and people don't know which
Speaker 15: ways up. So that's why he's doing well. In my opinion,
Speaker 15: what do you guys think?
Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of truth to the point
Speaker 1: that you just made, because when you look at politics
Speaker 1: and you look at people running for office, a lot
Speaker 1: of it is casting. Because when you think about what
Speaker 1: makes the movie business work, there are any number of
Speaker 1: actors out there who can read the lines and play
Speaker 1: the part of any number of characters in movies. A
Speaker 1: lot of trained actors out there who do a good
Speaker 1: job at the craft. The difference between an actor who
Speaker 1: can read the lines and do the part. And one
Speaker 1: who is super successful is who can sell tickets, who
Speaker 1: can motivate audiences to go to the movie theater on
Speaker 1: a Friday night, on Date night and spend a gazillion
Speaker 1: dollars to watch a flick. And there are very few people.
Speaker 1: There are very few charismatic actors who have that ability.
Speaker 1: In the old days, it was easy to point out
Speaker 1: anytime Arnold Schwarzeneger was opening up a movie, you knew
Speaker 1: it would be a money in the bank winner. Even
Speaker 1: the dogs like Last Action Hero Sylvester Stallone had that ability.
Speaker 1: There are certain actors today. I guess you could make
Speaker 1: that argument for there's certain people that'll see anything that
Speaker 1: George Clooney's in, or Julia Roberts or fill in the
Speaker 1: But that's what separates the superstars from the working actors,
Speaker 1: from the people who could just read the lines but
Speaker 1: not sell the tickets. And when you look at Javier
Speaker 1: Bessera in terms of casting, if you were casting a
Speaker 1: movie where you were trying to cast someone to play
Speaker 1: the role of the governor of the state of California,
Speaker 1: he looks like that. He's a Latino guy who's got
Speaker 1: the hair and the glasses, and he wears the suits.
Speaker 1: You know. You notice by the way he typically you
Speaker 1: see him when you see him on television, he's typically
Speaker 1: in a tie. I don't remember was he in a
Speaker 1: tie er in the debate this last week, Randy, I
Speaker 1: don't think you wore a tie. That's a mistake. You
Speaker 1: should wear a tie. But yeah, no, he looks like
Speaker 1: someone if you were casting a television show or a
Speaker 1: movie that you would cast.
Speaker 2: Thank you for the call, sir, and I can also
Speaker 2: confirm on one of the things that Dave said because
Speaker 2: we were there in person. Tom Steyer did look half dead.
Speaker 1: He really did.
Speaker 2: He is way pastier than you see him on the
Speaker 2: TV commercials. He's way slower, he's way skinnier. He does
Speaker 2: not look healthy.
Speaker 1: No, No, The three things being there in person that
Speaker 1: jumped out at me were Tom Steyer looked ancient, Katie
Speaker 1: Porter has lost one hundred pounds, and during the breaks,
Speaker 1: Antonio Viera Gosa had the most energy out of all
Speaker 1: of them. He was bouncing around like he was on
Speaker 1: a Pogo's dig.
Speaker 2: Is his last hurrah