WEBVTT - Sacramento routinely ignores advice from it's own audits 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.360 It is the John Phillip Show. Johnny's back on Monday. 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:05.840 It's Randy Wang here and the phone number to join 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:08.320 us is eight hundred two two two five two two 0:00:08.440 --> 0:00:11.840 two one eight hundred two two two five two two two. 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:15.320 Your emails at Johnny Don't Like show at gmail dot 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:19.200 com and search for the John Phillips Show wherever you 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:25.200 get your podcasts. Julie Watts is an incredible reporter for 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:26.599 CBS Sacramento. 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:27.920 In case you. 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.760 Don't know the name, you'll know her work because Julie 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:37.400 Watts was the reporter responsible for the interview that well 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:42.320 pretty much ended Katie Porter's gubernatorial aspirations. 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:44.680 Well to those voters, Okay, so you I don't want 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:45.959 to keep doing this, I'm gonna call it. 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.040 Thank you. 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:51.040 You're not gonna do the interview with them? 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:51.680 Nope, not like this. 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:53.640 I'm not not with seven follow ups to every single 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:54.400 question you ask. 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.760 Now, that wasn't Julie's intention, but Katie Porter kind of 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:02.600 shut herself in the with how she handled a very 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:07.720 straightforward interview, an interview that Julie did with several other candidates. Well, 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:12.120 Julie Watts is the investigative reporter for CBS Sacramento, and 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:16.679 her pieces get carried on the other CBS stations in California, 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:20.000 So you'll see her pieces on KPIX in the Bay, 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:24.240 on CBSLA in Los Angeles, and of course on Channel 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:28.920 thirteen in Sacramento. And she's done quite a great piece 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:34.120 here showing us how the California legislature and of course 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:38.080 the California governor and this is true for our current 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:44.240 elected class and former elected classes never ever ever listen 0:01:44.800 --> 0:01:48.640 to good advice. See, there's a lot of dumb things 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:52.280 that California does. And you can assume, okay, well we 0:01:52.320 --> 0:01:54.360 didn't know any better because we've got a bunch of 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:58.639 morons in Sacramento. Or you can look at the fact 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:03.400 that we have regular audits of our departments, where reports 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:07.960 are put out, where failures in departments are highlighted, and 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:12.040 then the legislature does nothing about them at that point. 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:17.320 That is willful negligence and that is not being mindful. 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:19.280 That is something we are mindful of. 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:24.440 What am I talking about? Listen to this report from 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:27.399 Julie Watts on CBS Sacramento. 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.359 You're the best, Okay, so the information. 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:33.680 Then my question to you is, are you okay with 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:34.080 the audit. 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.800 Then the California State Auditor is supposed to be the 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:37.840 state's early Oh. 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:39.760 Boy, you hear that music? That means it sweeps weak. 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:42.560 The California State Auditor is supposed to be the state's 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:45.200 early warning system. Is that safe for folks to drink? 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:47.160 It's within the state guidelines. 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:50.919 When government programs fail, the cost worth it when money 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:51.480 is wasted. 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:54.720 California has spent twenty four billion dollars to tackle homelesses. 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:55.600 When fraud goes up. 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:56.800 There's a big one. 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:01.840 We have people who are paid to constantly audit the 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:06.960 state government, and the auditors come out with reports and 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:10.400 actions that we should take to stop making these mistakes, 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:13.680 and the legislature doesn't do anything about it. 0:03:13.800 --> 0:03:17.400 California has spent twenty four billion dollars to tackle homelessness. 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:19.400 When fraud goes unchecked. That's according to a state audit 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:20.080 just out. 0:03:20.000 --> 0:03:23.760 Lawmaker's request, and auditis reports indicate a state auditor investigates, 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:26.840 sendels agencies and lawmakers what needs to change. 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:28.800 The answer I received is this is as good as 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:29.280 we can do. 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.520 But it turns out lawmakers in this building have failed 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.680 to act on most of those recommendations. 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:43.800 Then why are we paying for the auditors. You have 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:47.960 a lot of departments that are incredibly inefficient, a lot 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:51.040 of departments that are completely wasting money, money that's not 0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:54.720 accounted for at all, like the homeless budget. If we're 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:58.280 doing audits and the audit show where government can improve, 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.160 why would we not take them up on that? 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.640 But it turns out lawmakers in this building have failed 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:08.640 to act on most of those recommendations, recommendations that you 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:13.120 paid for. We're talking government waste from public safety concerns 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:16.360 that we're allowed to continue for years after the auditor 0:04:16.520 --> 0:04:21.200 identified solutions. CBS News California analyzed a decade of state 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:24.719 audits and we found your lawmakers failed to act on 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.440 three out of four recommendations. So year after year, the 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:34.279 auditor attracks the same problems, same in action, costing California billions. 0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:38.320 For instance, three out of four reports coming from our 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:41.520 state auditor showing that there are failings within the government 0:04:42.120 --> 0:04:47.040 led to zero action from the legislature. Because they know better, 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.320 they know what they're doing, they don't need to have 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:52.159 any kind of check. And by the way, this is 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:57.479 not unique to Sacramento. Look at what we just discovered 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:01.320 last week with the major arrest of that crooked homeless 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:04.680 nonprofit guy, the guy from Abundant Benefits or whatever it 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:08.520 was called, who was pocketing millions of dollars to live 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.000 a lavish lifestyle while the homeless he was in charge 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:16.520 of taking care of. We're getting ramen noodles. That was 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:21.640 originally uncovered by the city's auditor, Kenneth Mahea, the controller, 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:25.480 and I got to imagine he flagged it to the city. 0:05:25.880 --> 0:05:28.200 Did the city do anything about it? Did the city 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:30.960 change protocol? Did the city cut off the funding. No, 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.400 it had to wait until the DA and then the 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:39.520 Feds got involved. So this is a very California thing. 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:43.240 We have people who are paid to make sure our 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:46.960 government is running efficiently and we're not wasting money or 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:51.240 I don't know, giving it to criminals and we don't care, 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.040 or are elected if leaders don't care. But then we're 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:57.560 the ones that put those elected leaders in office, so 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:59.480 maybe we don't care either. 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:04.800 For instance, remember this continuing to pay unemployment sturms benefits. 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.520 Within three weeks within twenty one days. If it's three weeks, 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:08.880 then why haven't I been paid yet? 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:14.000 It's estimating California lost twenty billion dollars, a pandemic unemployment fraud. 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:20.120 Oh remember that one, I remember it. Look, twenty twenty 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:23.720 was a dark time for everybody. Well, I did get 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.320 married in twenty twenty, so it wasn't all bad. Became 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:30.720 a homeowner. Traffic was really good. You know, those were 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:35.919 some great days, Tiger King. No, of course, it was 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:38.640 a disaster for everybody, and there was so much uncertainty 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:42.279 in the air. And even working as an essential employee 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:45.119 at a radio station, you know, we weren't we weren't 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.520 immune from all the effects of the economy. You know, 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:51.159 obviously people aren't going to be advertising as much radio 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:55.919 revenue went weighed down. I was furloughed for three weeks 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.400 of the year twenty twenty. I think John was two, 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.560 and a whole bunch of people. It was like a 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:05.200 company wide thing in all five hundred radio stations. And 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.000 the thing was, Okay, if you're gonna get furloughed, that 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:11.200 means you can apply for one week's worth of unemployment 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.960 here and one week's of unemployment there. And yeah, that 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:18.000 system was a nightmare to navigate. By the way, the 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:23.440 overly generous unemployment payments incentivize certain companies to furlough people. 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:28.840 Just pointing that out, but the legitimate process of getting 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:32.000 those unemployment checks was a nightmare, and we took calls 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:35.320 so many days from so many people that could not 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:38.600 get a hold of ed D. There was literally a 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:43.040 Reddit thread going on of people hiring people to stand 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:47.320 on hold with EDD. And at the same time, EDD 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:52.120 was writing checks left and right to criminals and fraudsters 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.600 using fake SoC security numbers. Notably, somebody used the social 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:59.480 Security number of Scott Peterson who was in prison. And 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:03.080 according to one anecdotal story from mister John Phillips, a 0:08:03.080 --> 0:08:06.840 lot of these criminals took their money to Vegas, to 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:11.880 expensive state houses steakhouses, paid for their meals with EDD 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:15.679 and were too cheap to tip. We saw people renting 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:19.720 cars in Beverly Hills, luxury vehicles. We saw so much 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:24.720 irresponsible spending. Again, how did no one ever get fired 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:27.240 over this? Not even Julie Sue, who was the head 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.480 of California's labor department now then got promoted to the 0:08:30.480 --> 0:08:33.880 Biden administration, not officially, and now isn't she working for 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:37.720 Mom Donnie. Nobody got fired over the fact that this 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:42.680 state gave out twenty billion dollars to criminals. 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:47.640 Twenty billion dollars a pandemic unemployment, fraud, money California paid 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:51.480 to criminals well out of work. California's struggled to survive all. 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:55.120 Forty times, six hundred and thirty two times, Try again later. 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:57.880 Back then, we asked the auditor, Elaine Howell, if the 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:01.040 EDD had complied with your previous do you think we'd 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:02.120 be in a situation right now? 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:05.760 There would still be some issues at EDD, but certainly 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.120 not as severe as they are now. But what as 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:11.160 California supposed to listen to the advice of the people 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:15.280 that are auditing our departments, Like the failures at EDD and. 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:19.040 Years later brought its indicate fraud continues while the legislature 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:20.959 continues not to take action. 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.120 We've got some real documentary level music on this thing, 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:27.840 because this is how pathetic our elected leaders are now. 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:30.440 There could be a lot of reasons for this term. 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:34.160 Limits might be one of them because the people who 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:37.280 are in the legislature now weren't even in the legislature 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.760 a few years ago. Because it's a constant revolving door 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:43.559 of moving to this office, moving back to local, moving 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.400 back to state it's it hasn't really worked the way 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:51.880 it was intended. But ultimately you also have one party rule. 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:57.479 You have a legislature that feels very invincible in their anonymity, 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:00.520 that nobody really knows who they are. As long as 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:02.320 they have the right letter next to their name on 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:05.240 the ballot, they're going to get in. They're going to 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.920 stay in, they're going to move around. They've got the 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:11.160 endorsements of the unions, they've got the money from the lobbyists. 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:14.400 It doesn't matter how they actually run the state's government. 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:17.040 And when you have auditors that are saying, hey, here's 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:20.240 ways you can prevent billions of dollars of abuse and 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.880 fraud and they're ignoring it, well, it suddenly starts to 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:26.160 make sense. How the budget for this state has gone 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:31.720 up every single year massively, but we're always still in 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:32.360 a deficit. 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:36.559 And years later broudits indicate fraud continues while the legislature 0:10:36.720 --> 0:10:38.439 continues not to take action. 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.080 This is our state capital and this is not humane. 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:45.520 We also found years of homelessness audits. 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:49.480 Oh boy, Gavin doesn't want to hear about that. Remember 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:52.120 how the legislature to give them a tiny piece of 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:56.560 credit unanimously supported a bill that would audit where the 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:59.880 twenty billion dollars of homeless funding went over the last 0:11:00.120 --> 0:11:02.720 five years, and then Gavin vetoed it. 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:06.680 We also found years of homelessness audits repeating the same 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:11.199 core warnings and recommendations, culminating in more than twenty billion 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:15.320 spent on homelessness without a state wide plan or accountability. 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:16.160 Mustion doupos appropriations. 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:20.199 But again and again lawmakers killed the recommended legislation behind 0:11:20.200 --> 0:11:22.520 closed doors without a public vote. 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:25.240 Now, why would we ever want to make sure that 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:29.040 we weren't wasting money on homelessness unless you know the 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:32.640 point is to be funding our friends in, our donors 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.480 and these crooked heads of nonprofits. I mean, if the 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.040 point is that it's all a giant grift and none 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.719 of the money actually reaches skid Row in Los Angeles 0:11:41.800 --> 0:11:44.839 or the tenderloin in San Francisco, all right, I guess 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:48.400 that's it. And we keep electing the same people who 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:53.280 keep throwing this money away and not really helping anybody. Well, 0:11:53.559 --> 0:11:54.480 that one's on us. 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.240 But this is about much more than money. For instance, 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:00.280 the art found water districts failing to tell people that 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:02.280 they're drinking water was unsafe. 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.720 I mean, the same water districts that keep jacking up 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:05.840 the water rates. 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:07.600 An issue we've been covering for years. 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:09.240 For how long have they done that? How long have 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:11.360 they they known that TC has been in the water 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:13.880 but left it off of an annual report that's supposed 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:16.760 to be given to the public. TCE The number one 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:19.880 cancer causing it of TCE is kidney cancer. That's what 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:20.680 my son had. 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:22.720 Liver cancer is the second. 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:23.840 That's what my neighbor died of. 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:25.880 So why did we not know? 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:27.000 The UITs? 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.600 Like Aaron Brockovich all over again. But instead of PG 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:34.160 and E, it's our state agencies that are ignoring dangerous 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:37.120 threats even when they're presented to them. 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:39.800 The auditor push for more disclosure years ago. 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:42.760 It's been horrible, it's so painful. 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:43.640 As wild buyers can. 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:45.800 There are so many problems going on in this state, 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:49.560 and it sure seems like our elected leaders through the Assembly, 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:52.640 the State Senate, and of course Gavin Newsom, instead of 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:56.480 addressing those and shining light on those, let sweep them 0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:57.480 all under the rug. 0:12:57.800 --> 0:13:01.840 As wild buyers continue to destroy unities, We found lawmakers 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:05.920 taking no action on auditor recommended oversight laws one of 0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:09.679 more than three hundred outstanding audit recommendations on more than 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:11.360 one hundred different issues. 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:14.680 Yeah, and wildfire would be a pretty big one, considering 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:19.160 how many massive destructive wildfires have happened since Gavin Newsom 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:20.360 took office. 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:25.720 Relating to law enforcement, courts, healthcare, hate crimes, untested rape kits, 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.839 they even failed to act on policies that put child 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:30.360 abuse victims at risk. 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:35.200 You know, what does this legislature actually do? You know, 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.680 it's we pass a whole bunch of new laws, We 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:41.640 act all important. We don't care about how any of 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.160 it is implemented, and we don't care how any of 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:49.640 our departments are run. It is, and you know, the 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:51.960 sooths there Shang Tao told us all about this. 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:54.240 The bureaucracy is real. 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.480 Nobody is held, to use everyone's favorite word, accountable for 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:01.720 any of this when we're not even paying attention to 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:02.680 state audits. 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:04.280 You know, it's why we do the job. 0:14:04.440 --> 0:14:06.160 We caught up with one of the new shairs of 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:09.760 the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, which instructs the auditor to 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.760 conduct these audits. Why are we paying for these audits 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:14.679 if the legislature isn't acting on them. 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:15.920 I mean, what's a reaction to that. 0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:20.200 I think that being new to the legislature the past 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.760 year and now being the chair of the Joint Legislative 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:25.920 Audit Committee, I am keenly focused on oversight. 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:30.560 That was saying nothing. He said completely nothing. 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:31.200 Something. 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:34.120 Ben thought, of course he's new, maybe he'll be different, 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:35.760 maybe something. 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:39.040 Remember Hairbedian is one of more than thirty new California 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:40.280 lawmakers this session. 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:43.560 When I hear that there are many audits and recommendations 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.000 from those audits that haven't been addressed, I think that's 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:47.800 a wake up call. 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:51.960 The warnings are written, the solutions identified. The question is 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.680 will the new class of lawmakers finally finish what their 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:57.000 predecessors started investigative journalism. 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:59.560 What you're doing is important, it's important. 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:01.520 You don't need to kiss her ass. We know what 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:04.240 she's doing is important. And ultimately, here's what needs to 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:07.520 be done, because the elected leaders will only do what 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:11.480 they're shamed into doing. When we're gonna need more, Julie 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:13.720 Watts is out there. When there is an audit, a 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:16.320 damning audit, it needs to be made public. If there 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.440 are failures in the EDD that led to the twenty 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:22.240 billion dollars maybe thirty billion dollars of fraud. 0:15:22.280 --> 0:15:23.520 We should know what that is. 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.480 What are the failures and the way the state manages 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:30.360 brush and it's led to wildfires? What are the failures 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.560 we should know? We should be open and honest about it. 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.560 Stop telling us that everything is great in this state 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:37.240 when it's not. 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.840 It's important because it keeps everyone accountable and at highlights 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:43.880 issues that might not be on my radar any anyone 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.480 else's radar that I serve will and so keep doing 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:47.080 where you're doing. 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:48.480 Oh, we will. 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:52.280 For CBS News California Investigates, I'm Julie Watts. 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:56.480 Make sure you follow Julie Watts on social media, who, 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.960 by the way, I felt like so cool she follow 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:02.720 me today. She didn't even know I was gonna do 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.680 this story, but uh, I think she's great. We have 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:12.440 some really great investigative reporters on television in California. Julie 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:18.040 Watts is great. Ashley Zavala is incredible on kc ra 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:21.240 A three. She covers Sacramento like nobody else. We have 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:25.880 some really, really, really great people. Now, I'm sure there 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:28.320 are probably some good newspaper people. That's not how I 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.000 get my news. I am a visual and audio learner. 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.160 I'm not much of a reader. That's how I get 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.400 all the news that I bring to you is I 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.920 listen to all of these things on YouTube and those 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:43.840 are two of the best we have. The phone number 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:46.280 to join us is eight hundred two two two five 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:49.600 two two two one eight hundred two two two five 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:53.360 two two two, And boy do I have a great 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:58.560 pair of tickets for you that rhymed seven ninety KABC 0:16:58.880 --> 0:17:02.720 welcomes Luke Brian the Word on the Street Tour at 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:07.560 the Long Beach Amphitheater August fifteenth. Tickets are on sale 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:12.760 next Friday at ticketmaster dot com. But right now, collar 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:17.240 number nine at one eight eight eight seven ninety five 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:19.840 two two two gets a pair of tickets to the show. 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:27.240 Tickets furnished by Live Nation. Good luck dialing, and you 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:32.080 know what's really exciting. A week from Friday is already 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:35.600 gonna be our second big live remote of the year. 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:38.159 How exciting is this? Everyone? 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.760 Come join us for a live broadcast at one of 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:47.520 our favorite places, Gladstone's in Long Beach, Friday, February sixth, 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.840 from noon to three. We're heading to Gladstones in Long 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:54.840 Beach for our next live broadcast, and you're invited. You're 0:17:54.840 --> 0:18:00.639 gonna enjoy great food, good vibes, excellent drink, and a 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:03.720 fun afternoon by the water. John saying, meister is gonna 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:06.120 take care of you. Now. We're gonna have a lot 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:09.200 of special guests at this event, including our friend Susan 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:13.240 Shelley from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. She'll tell you 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.760 more about your taxpayer rights and protecting Prop thirteen. The 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.280 courts have made it easier to raise your taxes. You 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:22.560 remember that story we did yesterday about how San Diego, 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:26.440 through the unions is doing a citizens initiative to raise 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:30.600 the sales tax in November. Well, the reason say citizens 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.720 initiative is because that means you need a simple majority 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.720 instead of two thirds that was established by Prop thirteen. 0:18:37.200 --> 0:18:40.280 This technicality is making it easier for everyone to raise 0:18:40.320 --> 0:18:42.399 your taxes. And it's why you need to go to 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:45.760 the website Saveprop thirteen dot com, print out that petition, 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:48.640 send it in or bring it in person to Gladstone's 0:18:48.640 --> 0:18:52.880 in Long Beach. Susan needs all those signatures by February seventeenth, 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:55.680 So if you've already done it, thank you. Get your 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:57.440 friends to do it, your neighbors to do it. If 0:18:57.480 --> 0:19:00.639 everyone listening to this show got ten ten people to 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:04.159 sign that petition, we would have the signatures that we needed. 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:05.360 We need to. 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:07.760 Get this thing on the ballot. Otherwise all that's going 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:09.679 to be on the Neember ballot is a bunch of 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:13.920 insane tex increases. So we need you to come by, 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:17.280 hang out with us, be part of the broadcast. It's 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:21.320 the John Phillips Show live at Gladstone's in Long Beach Friday, 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:25.119 February sixth, from noon to three. And we do get 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:27.800 a lot of emails from our Bay Area listeners, and 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.040 we love all of you at KSFO. We are dying 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:33.560 to do a remote up there. Two things that we 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:36.879 need to make it happen are a venue and a sponsor. 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:39.879 So if you know anybody that is interested in bringing 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:41.919 us up to the Bay, if you've got a venue, 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:44.199 if you've get a restaurant, a bar, what have you, 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.000 we're dying to go up there. Get in touch with us. 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:49.959 We'll get you in touch with our sales department. Email 0:19:50.040 --> 0:19:52.520 us at Johnny Don't like show at gmail dot com. 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:55.800 These events really are not that expensive to put on, 0:19:55.880 --> 0:19:58.120 but we really want to be up there. We love 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:01.480 the Bay Area, We love this whole state. So emailis Johnny, 0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:05.640 don't like show at gmail dot com. All right, For 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:11.280 this next story, We're heading to a gem of Los Angeles, 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:16.560 MacArthur Park, a place so famous they even wrote a 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:17.360 song about it. 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:27.280 Or fling, someone left. 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:30.800 The cake in the ring. Thanks for the assist, Cecily. 0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:37.160 MacArthur Park is the Los Angeles equivalent to the Tenderloin. 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:42.560 It is the open air drug den. It is a 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.439 park where not a lot of children get to play, 0:20:45.920 --> 0:20:48.800 not a lot of families get to have picnics. But 0:20:48.920 --> 0:20:52.480 it is a park that visit been completely taken over 0:20:53.160 --> 0:20:56.879 by gangs and drug dealers. It is the park that 0:20:57.000 --> 0:20:59.720 is right next to Langers Deli, which has gotten the 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:03.760 of Langer's Norm Langer to constantly threaten that he might 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:07.200 need to close his business because his employees don't feel 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:10.439 safe and it's not really easy to do business in 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:12.960 that part of town when there's all kinds of illegal 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:16.760 street vending going on. MacArthur Park is the place you 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:20.160 go to in Los Angeles if you want a stolen 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:23.840 Social Security Guard card and a whole bunch of other things. 0:21:24.640 --> 0:21:28.879 And MacArthur Park has a lot of crime. Now, you 0:21:29.000 --> 0:21:33.879 may remember La City council Woman Unices. 0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:35.600 Hernandez, quite frankly. 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:40.040 Putting forward a task force to deal with the crisis 0:21:40.080 --> 0:21:44.080 in MacArthur Park. Yes, this was about a week before 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:47.320 the Palisades fire, so nobody remembers it. But she held 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:50.240 this press conference where she announced all of this money, 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:52.959 some of it coming from the city, some of it 0:21:53.000 --> 0:21:55.760 coming from the county, some coming from the state to 0:21:55.840 --> 0:22:00.479 fund all of these nonprofits to clean up MacArthur Are 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:04.679 we gonna get it? And one of those nonprofits was 0:22:05.119 --> 0:22:09.120 Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles, a nonprofit that I will never 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:12.679