WEBVTT - Let's Be Clear About the LA Wildfires

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<v Speaker 1>This is Let's be clear. Who's Shannon Dorny. Hello, let's

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<v Speaker 1>be clear listeners. I'm Rachel Darvish. I'm one of the

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of people affected by the Pacific Palisades fires that

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<v Speaker 1>continue to burn. I'm honored to have been invited to

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<v Speaker 1>host this episode of Shannon Doherty's podcast. I've been a

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<v Speaker 1>lifelong fan of hers. She was such a strong voice

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<v Speaker 1>for women in all communities. She was never afraid to

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<v Speaker 1>speak up. I'm not afraid to speak up either, especially

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<v Speaker 1>when it comes to the shortfalls of the government. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>a lawyer. I'm not a celebrity. I'm a lawyer and

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<v Speaker 1>a mom and a resident of this town that has

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<v Speaker 1>been ravaged by an apocalyptic fire. If you've been following

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<v Speaker 1>the news, you may have seen a viral exchange between

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<v Speaker 1>me and the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>been following the news, you may have seen a viral

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<v Speaker 1>exchange that I had with the governor of California, an

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<v Speaker 1>unplanned viral exchange with the governor of California, and when

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<v Speaker 1>he visited my town of Pacific Palisades. This was not planned.

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<v Speaker 1>I was in the middle of a live interview when

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<v Speaker 1>I saw the governor and decided to ask him how

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<v Speaker 1>he was going to help me. I've lived in Pacific

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<v Speaker 1>Palisades since since I can remember. I was born in

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<v Speaker 1>the USALE Hospital and my parents had come here from

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<v Speaker 1>me Ron fifty years ago. So our first our first

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<v Speaker 1>experiences were at the USALA campuses, and then we immediately

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<v Speaker 1>moved to Pacific Palisades where we had a home in

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<v Speaker 1>the Alphabet streets. That home is gone, so my childhood

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<v Speaker 1>home is gone. I was able to see that firsthand.

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<v Speaker 1>You never know what that is going to feel like

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<v Speaker 1>until it really happens. And I haven't lived in that

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<v Speaker 1>home since I was six years old, but wow, what

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<v Speaker 1>a feeling that was to see the beginning of my

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<v Speaker 1>life in Pacific Palisades. I was erased. Part of the

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<v Speaker 1>reason I wanted to raise my daughter in the Palisades

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<v Speaker 1>was because of the experiences I had at that home

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<v Speaker 1>seven one to nine Island Street. I mean, the memories

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<v Speaker 1>were probably the best, going up and down the street

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<v Speaker 1>Fourth of July with our with our neighbors, something that

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<v Speaker 1>you only find in a small town like Pacific Palisades.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't have that in other towns in Los Angeles. Unfortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>the status of my home at this at this moment,

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<v Speaker 1>so unfortunately, the first home I lived in burned down

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<v Speaker 1>in the alphabet streets. Over the years, we moved a

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<v Speaker 1>few times. I'm not sure the status of a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of the other ones, but the house I'm living in

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<v Speaker 1>at the moment is standing, which is a total miracle

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<v Speaker 1>considering our neighbor and the person across the way was

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<v Speaker 1>also burned down. I've had a couple of chances to

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<v Speaker 1>to now experience the community right now and devastation. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think you have seen it. I don't think you

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<v Speaker 1>will see it because it can be categorized probably as

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<v Speaker 1>the worst fire I think in the history of the country,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's not even going to do it justice because

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<v Speaker 1>of some of the the aspects of it being on

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<v Speaker 1>such a grand scale. We have now experienced a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of natural disasters in California, and I think the unease

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<v Speaker 1>I'm feeling, not just having been in this experience, is

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what's next, considering I don't trust how

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<v Speaker 1>my government is handling my situation. So the fear I

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<v Speaker 1>have is I'm sort of living in a no man's

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<v Speaker 1>land right now. Like everyone else, if we could go

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<v Speaker 1>back to the moment I had to I spotted the gun.

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<v Speaker 1>You can only imagine the feeling of standing in front

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<v Speaker 1>of your daughter's preschool that you had just dropped her

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<v Speaker 1>off at. I had just dropped Chloe off at Methodist Preschool.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm wearing the T shirt for the school. Dropped her

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<v Speaker 1>off at nine am, went home and tried to sort

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<v Speaker 1>of do what I do every morning after I drop

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<v Speaker 1>her off. And this was the first day back to

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<v Speaker 1>school after three weeks of holiday for the kids, so

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<v Speaker 1>they were so excited to be back in school, and

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<v Speaker 1>I was kind of happy to get back to a

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<v Speaker 1>schedule again. And I mean within just a few moments,

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<v Speaker 1>I got a notification of a fire, and as soon

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<v Speaker 1>as I put my pen down, put the laptop down,

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<v Speaker 1>and walked out to the front of the house, devastation

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<v Speaker 1>was at my doorstep. And there are no feelings, no

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<v Speaker 1>words that can describe what it feels like to one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred percent, one hundred percent be certain that your house

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<v Speaker 1>isn't going to be standing. That was what I felt

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<v Speaker 1>when I walked out the front door, and I said,

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<v Speaker 1>let's roll. We can't we can't risk it going down

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<v Speaker 1>that hill after grabbing some artwork that my mom had

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<v Speaker 1>done and some basics for my daughter. We had to

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<v Speaker 1>sit in about four hours of traffic to get down

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<v Speaker 1>the hill down to Sunset Boulevard. In the meantime, all

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<v Speaker 1>you can think about is the fire is right behind you,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's not a single fire truck going up the hill,

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<v Speaker 1>and there's not any space for a fire truck to

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<v Speaker 1>go up the hill. Having lived there my whole life,

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<v Speaker 1>I knew that this was going to be a major

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<v Speaker 1>disaster because there are no other ways really to get in.

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<v Speaker 1>We saw that Palisades Drive was another disaster where people

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<v Speaker 1>were abandoned their cars. Fortunately on the Ambonita our way down,

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<v Speaker 1>that didn't That didn't happen. We had such great people, neighbors,

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<v Speaker 1>local employees who were there for the day, day workers,

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<v Speaker 1>they were directing traffic. I mean, you better believe our

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<v Speaker 1>community came together so beautifully to get us down that

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<v Speaker 1>hill again without a single without a single government official appearing.

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<v Speaker 1>We didn't see a police officer, we did not see

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<v Speaker 1>a fire truck. I all I know is I kept

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<v Speaker 1>hearing from people up and down this line of cars

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<v Speaker 1>there's no water, they're saying there's no water. They're saying

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<v Speaker 1>there's no water. And the last thing I remember was

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<v Speaker 1>we turned We tried to turn on our hoses before

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<v Speaker 1>we left so that we can leave them for the

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<v Speaker 1>fire department when they got there. And I'm not even

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<v Speaker 1>sure there was water in our hoses for them to

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<v Speaker 1>use at that point. That's why when I was in

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<v Speaker 1>front of Methodist Preschool and I spotted the governor, no,

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<v Speaker 1>I had no control over my desire to approach him.

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<v Speaker 1>I had to know. And this is the guy we've

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<v Speaker 1>elected to take care of us sky we elected to

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<v Speaker 1>understand us through the good and the bad. We give

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<v Speaker 1>him a lot of good. Our state is very wealthy.

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<v Speaker 1>Our state is the fifth best economy in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>Our state rules, our city rules. It did, But those

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<v Speaker 1>are questions we need to dress down the line. Every

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<v Speaker 1>time I watched the clip with the governor, I get

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<v Speaker 1>more and more uncomfortable. It's a reminder of who to

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<v Speaker 1>trust and who not to trust. I think I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>necessarily vote for the governor. I didn't not vote for him.

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<v Speaker 1>Whether he is my elected official by my vote doesn't matter.

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<v Speaker 1>He's there. I got to take them for what he

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<v Speaker 1>is and at that moment, and every time I keep

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<v Speaker 1>watching this video, I am reminded that my governor lied

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<v Speaker 1>to me, and he lied to me to my face

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<v Speaker 1>in front of cameras. So you know, down the line,

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<v Speaker 1>if he wants to say he didn't lie, I think

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<v Speaker 1>we have the evidence to the points to the contrary.

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<v Speaker 1>After the viral moment, I did exchange information with the

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<v Speaker 1>Governor's office, and I've read some reports that the governor's

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<v Speaker 1>office has assisted me in some ways, and I can

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<v Speaker 1>guarantee you that I've gotten zero assistance from the governor's office.

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<v Speaker 1>I have requested that the governor include me in any

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<v Speaker 1>communications or interactions with the President. That's never happened. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't believe him. So I was asking for somebody who

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<v Speaker 1>has some credibility to be present when he's having these

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<v Speaker 1>conversations with the White House. I'm a mom. I want

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<v Speaker 1>to know. I've got There's so many of us out

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<v Speaker 1>there that are wondering what the heck we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>do with our kids. We are they going to go

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<v Speaker 1>to school? Are they going to go to school? Every

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<v Speaker 1>single school in our in our town burned down, And

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<v Speaker 1>when the governor is looking at me, telling me he

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<v Speaker 1>has four kids, and that somehow that is that is

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<v Speaker 1>the reason I'm supposed to believe him that he feels

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<v Speaker 1>for me with while he's wearing aviator sunglasses and I

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<v Speaker 1>can't even see his eyes. I wonder if he would

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<v Speaker 1>be different if his house had burned down. I wonder

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<v Speaker 1>if it really takes, you know, personal personal loss to

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<v Speaker 1>be able to commiserate with someone or at least be

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<v Speaker 1>able to show your your concern, because I didn't get

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<v Speaker 1>any of that from him, And now here we are,

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<v Speaker 1>what week a week later, almost, and the clip may

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<v Speaker 1>be viral, but there's nothing. There's nothing that's come out

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<v Speaker 1>of it for me as far as what kind of

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<v Speaker 1>answers I'm able to get. The most recent communicat I

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<v Speaker 1>had with the Governor's office included me requesting that I

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<v Speaker 1>be present when the President elect visits, because I believe

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<v Speaker 1>the governor had extended an invitation to him. And my

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<v Speaker 1>response was the response that I got was that they

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<v Speaker 1>don't even know if he's coming. So I have a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of responses, but all I've gotten really are copy

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<v Speaker 1>and paste you know, would you like to go to

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<v Speaker 1>this shelter? Sort of offers from them every time I

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<v Speaker 1>watch the video clip, it reminds me of, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the difference between being a man and a woman in

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<v Speaker 1>this society. I I don't know if the governor would

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<v Speaker 1>have lied to a man to his face. Would he

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<v Speaker 1>have Is that something he might have done? I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>I felt very vulnerable at that moment. Here I am

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<v Speaker 1>standing in front of my children's preschool and this man

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<v Speaker 1>is looking at a mother and lying to her. Still

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<v Speaker 1>sits with me. I also did request the governor contact

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<v Speaker 1>me personally. That's never happened to date. There are a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of misconceptions about Pacific Palisades, but I'd like to

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<v Speaker 1>share something really dear to me. When I was about

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<v Speaker 1>ten years old, there was something in the Pacific Palisades

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<v Speaker 1>that we'd do every October Halloween ish, and it's called

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<v Speaker 1>Moonlight Madness. And they would shut down the streets that

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<v Speaker 1>were around the village in the Palisades, which is currently

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<v Speaker 1>the Cruso built Village, and all the stores would be

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<v Speaker 1>open and we would be the streets would close, stores

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<v Speaker 1>would open late till ten PM, and we'd walk around

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<v Speaker 1>and there was this beautiful shirt that one of the

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<v Speaker 1>stores sold that I bought as a ten year old

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<v Speaker 1>and it said, if you're rich, you live in Beverly Hills.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're famous, you live in Malibu. But if you're lucky,

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<v Speaker 1>you live in Pacific Palisades. And we had been so

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<v Speaker 1>lucky for so long. We will continue to be lucky.

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<v Speaker 1>There is a misconception that everybody in Pacific Palisades is rich.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't know the struggles that I'm listening to that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm personally going through in order to know what our

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<v Speaker 1>next move is a lot of people in Pacific Palisades

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<v Speaker 1>were dropped by their insurance company just prior to this incident.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a letter that is informing us that we

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<v Speaker 1>will be dropped as of March. So where does that

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<v Speaker 1>put us at the moment? Ensured? But as of March,

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<v Speaker 1>obviously we will join the ranks of the others that

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<v Speaker 1>have to go towards the California Fair Plan for additional coverage.

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<v Speaker 1>What's the goal for me and my neighbors. We need

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<v Speaker 1>to come back and we need to come back strong.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a future in this city. We built it

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<v Speaker 1>and we can build it again. We just need the

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<v Speaker 1>government to do the right thing. I think one of

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<v Speaker 1>the things I've whittled down at this point is is

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<v Speaker 1>that I'm not interested in necessarily name calling as much

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<v Speaker 1>as I want to. But what we know is that

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<v Speaker 1>there are two people that are sort of irrelevant to

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<v Speaker 1>the solution. And when you have a governor who is

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<v Speaker 1>making deals with electric companies that cause fires in order

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<v Speaker 1>to help them out of bankruptcy so that they don't

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<v Speaker 1>pay they're victims. It scares me. It scares me to

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<v Speaker 1>think what we're going to be getting, what we're entitled

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<v Speaker 1>to to be able to recover from this, because this

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<v Speaker 1>is going to break a lot of people. So don't

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<v Speaker 1>get it in your head that we're sitting here able

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<v Speaker 1>to get through this with any sort of ease. That's

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<v Speaker 1>not the case. I'm not a Democrat or a Republican,

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<v Speaker 1>and I hope that in any disaster situation, people can

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<v Speaker 1>consider themselves human beings before they can consider themselves member

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<v Speaker 1>of any party. Democrats are helping Republicans, Republicans are helping Democrats.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the reality of this situations. It's the beauty of it,

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<v Speaker 1>and I hope that this is a lesson for the future.

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<v Speaker 1>Karen Bass promised us that she would not be taking

0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:47.080
<v Speaker 1>international trips that was a promise that she made, an

0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:53.280
<v Speaker 1>election promise, startening to know that she violated that with

0:14:53.360 --> 0:15:00.840
<v Speaker 1>a trip to Africa in the midst of her burning down.

0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:06.240
<v Speaker 1>So it was West Africa versus West Los Angeles. And

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know what part of how quickly she made

0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:11.320
<v Speaker 1>it back was supposed to make me feel better when

0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:17.080
<v Speaker 1>this was a storm brewing that she knew about well

0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:21.720
<v Speaker 1>before she left. We have questions here about LEDWP. We

0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:25.040
<v Speaker 1>have questions here about Karen Bass personally, personally, whether she

0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.400
<v Speaker 1>has liability or not. Obviously we know about immunity that

0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:30.600
<v Speaker 1>she would be that she would be protected from. But

0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:36.880
<v Speaker 1>these decisions that were made were the were the reasons

0:15:37.360 --> 0:15:41.200
<v Speaker 1>why this fire was not controlled in the way that

0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.000
<v Speaker 1>it could have been. When you have fire hydrants that

0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:49.640
<v Speaker 1>are empty, when you have aqueducts that are empty, and

0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:53.760
<v Speaker 1>when these have been empty for long enough where somebody

0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:58.520
<v Speaker 1>should have known better, what can you do other than

0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.840
<v Speaker 1>sit and write it out. I guess and and hope

0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:06.200
<v Speaker 1>that and hope that these poor firefighters can fight fire

0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:14.480
<v Speaker 1>without water. That's what we did. We watched television all night,

0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:21.000
<v Speaker 1>hoping and praying that somehow the miracle of no water

0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:27.200
<v Speaker 1>would would solve this fire. We deserve better. Guys, deserve

0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:30.440
<v Speaker 1>so much better than to know that you're your mayor

0:16:30.720 --> 0:16:36.560
<v Speaker 1>left town knowing that the major aqueduct was empty, knowing

0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:40.320
<v Speaker 1>that the water pressure in these hydrants would be affected,

0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.880
<v Speaker 1>and not and knowing this for a long time, knowing

0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.320
<v Speaker 1>that her budgetary cuts would have affected the manpower that

0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.880
<v Speaker 1>we need to fight these kind of fires. We've called

0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:56.520
<v Speaker 1>these the Polisades Fire and the Eaten Fire, and we've

0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.720
<v Speaker 1>labeled them by the communities that they've been that they've

0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:04.480
<v Speaker 1>start it in. I submit to you that we need

0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:08.679
<v Speaker 1>to give the governor and the mayor the legacies that

0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:12.639
<v Speaker 1>they deserve. Why don't we name them after them? These

0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:17.920
<v Speaker 1>major catastrophic events deserve the legacy of the Newsome name

0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:21.840
<v Speaker 1>and the basqu name, so that Californians and Los Angeleans

0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:25.000
<v Speaker 1>don't make the same mistakes again. We need to turn

0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.320
<v Speaker 1>the state around. And it doesn't mean voting for a

0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:31.640
<v Speaker 1>different party. It doesn't mean voting for a different anything.

0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:34.800
<v Speaker 1>It means voting for a different person. And we need

0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:38.800
<v Speaker 1>better options. I think a lot of people think their

0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:42.399
<v Speaker 1>civics duties and when they graduate from high school or

0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.080
<v Speaker 1>after sixth grade or whenever it is they teach au civis.

0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:50.120
<v Speaker 1>I don't even remember, to be honest, but I think

0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:52.560
<v Speaker 1>we need to realize that you've got to pay attention,

0:17:52.880 --> 0:17:55.240
<v Speaker 1>and if you don't, and if you fall asleep, these

0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:57.520
<v Speaker 1>are the kinds of things that seem to happen to us.

0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:01.679
<v Speaker 1>So me, you, all of us, let's not make the

0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:04.879
<v Speaker 1>same mistakes twice, because we can do better and we

0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:09.320
<v Speaker 1>can hopefully get rid of irrelevant people that are not

0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:13.600
<v Speaker 1>helping us move forward. One of the things I will

0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:17.280
<v Speaker 1>never forget is when I read that Shannon Doherty had

0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:21.359
<v Speaker 1>said when she was diagnosed with stage four cancer. I

0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.400
<v Speaker 1>remember her saying that she would wake up some days

0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.560
<v Speaker 1>and say why me? And then some days she would

0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:35.679
<v Speaker 1>wake up and say why not me? Wow? Can you

0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:41.359
<v Speaker 1>say that? It takes a lot. It takes a lot

0:18:41.440 --> 0:18:43.920
<v Speaker 1>for someone to be able to say something like that,

0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:50.199
<v Speaker 1>And it's an honor to be able to speak to

0:18:50.359 --> 0:18:56.720
<v Speaker 1>you on a platform where somebody would be able to

0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:06.080
<v Speaker 1>self sacrifice like that, Why not me? I became a

0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:10.159
<v Speaker 1>mother a little bit later in life than maybe I

0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:13.479
<v Speaker 1>was supposed to, But when I did, it woke up

0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:16.080
<v Speaker 1>something and meet it. I'd never even k you existed,

0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:21.200
<v Speaker 1>and now my biggest concern is where does my daughter

0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:25.360
<v Speaker 1>go from here? We all know children are the future,

0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:30.600
<v Speaker 1>and if we mess up this generation, I don't think

0:19:30.640 --> 0:19:33.080
<v Speaker 1>we're going to have an earth anymore with their I

0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:35.760
<v Speaker 1>don't know how much planet there's going to be left

0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:43.240
<v Speaker 1>to burn by mismanagement and incompetence. So my concern is

0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:45.359
<v Speaker 1>that my daughter stay in school. I'm concerned that she

0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:48.480
<v Speaker 1>interacts with her friends. I'm concerned that she's not worried

0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:51.240
<v Speaker 1>about why a house or why a house may burn down,

0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:55.160
<v Speaker 1>or why the aqueducts aren't full, or why the fire

0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:59.320
<v Speaker 1>hydrants weren't able to get enough water to help her

0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:02.840
<v Speaker 1>friends home not burned down. I have to tell her

0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:06.560
<v Speaker 1>why we can't play at Brennan's house. I have to

0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:11.439
<v Speaker 1>tell her why we can't go to Amalia's house. I

0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:13.560
<v Speaker 1>have to tell her why we can't go to Charlotte's house.

0:20:14.400 --> 0:20:15.959
<v Speaker 1>And I don't want to have to tell that to

0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:18.399
<v Speaker 1>any three year old, that we can't go to your

0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:21.439
<v Speaker 1>friend's house because it burned down, and we can't go

0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:24.200
<v Speaker 1>to our house because it almost burned down. We can't

0:20:24.240 --> 0:20:27.520
<v Speaker 1>go to our house because it's dangerous and toxic to Gobert.

0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:30.640
<v Speaker 1>We'll make it work. Adults will make it work. We'll

0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:33.800
<v Speaker 1>find a place to sleep, We'll do all that. But

0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:37.200
<v Speaker 1>I got to find a life again for my child

0:20:37.480 --> 0:20:42.719
<v Speaker 1>who is now displaced. And my child can now say

0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.359
<v Speaker 1>that she is a victim of the homeless policies, the

0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:49.800
<v Speaker 1>holistic homeless policies of the Mayor of Los Angeles. I

0:20:49.840 --> 0:20:53.440
<v Speaker 1>want to thank iHeartRadio for inviting me here. I want

0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:56.280
<v Speaker 1>to thank the legacy that Shannon Doherty has left. I

0:20:56.320 --> 0:21:02.000
<v Speaker 1>want everyone to sometimes in their lives, ask that question

0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:06.280
<v Speaker 1>that she did. Sometimes you ask why me, and then

0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:09.679
<v Speaker 1>sometimes you ask why not me? And that will ground you.

0:21:10.800 --> 0:21:12.840
<v Speaker 1>If you want to help those who have lost everything,

0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:15.719
<v Speaker 1>there are many ways to do that. You can go

0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:18.960
<v Speaker 1>to Dreamcenter dot org, the California Fire Foundation, and the

0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:21.880
<v Speaker 1>Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, just to name a few.

0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:33.560
<v Speaker 1>Please stay safe and thank you.