November 17, 2024 • 31 mins
In hour 2, we explore road rage and adjusting to LA's driving culture, discuss public transit, and reflect on how events like the Tyson vs. Paul fight can unite the city. Psychic Denise Ramon joins us to share her predictions for 2025, and how we can tap into our intuition during uncertain times. Later, guests Cassandra Horton, Leslie Riding, and Cole Imperi share their insights on living in Downtown Los Angeles.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
You to know we get groovy. I'm KFI, did you
It's KFI Live, KFI AM six forty Live everywhere else
on the iHeartRadio app. I'm Michael Monks here with you
till nine o'clock tonight. Grateful for your attention. I'm wondering
if you're listening to us in the car, and if
(00:26):
you are, I do have a minor request. If you
see me driving on the road, Dear Los Angeles drivers,
can you just be nicer to me? I don't know
what else to say. Man, I am I mentioned it
earlier in the show. You may have seen it in
my bio if you ever looked at that thing on
the website. I'm from Kentucky, but like urban Kentucky. You know,
(00:48):
I've never even held a piece of coal. I've never
been on a horse. I'm from the city. You know.
Covington is right across the river from Cincinnati. You know
it's not as big as La. You know, it's about
long beach size. Okay, so it's a city, but we're
really nice. If you need to get over on the highway,
I'm gonna let you over. If we stop at the
(01:10):
same time and a stop sign, I'm gonna wave at
you can go right ahead. Man. You do not do
that here in LA. And I'm new to driving here.
I've been here about eighteen months, but I've only been
driving for about four here, and it is horrifying and
I don't like what it's doing to me. When I
am out on the highway, I am finding my blood
(01:32):
start to curdle, and I'm becoming angry because of the
way you drive. You pull up into crosswalks without looking,
you don't pay attention to the red light. You're just
all blowing through it. And then some of this isn't
your faut La drivers. I have sympathy for you, empathy
with you. Some of it is just the poor way
(01:54):
these highways are designed the way the street lights. I
can't God help anybody in this city if you ever
need to turn left, I mean, there is no way
to turn left anywhere in the city of Los Angeles.
One car at a time, rush hour, it doesn't matter.
But all I'm asking is, can we just in the
(02:15):
midst of the tradition of traffic in LA can we
just find a way if we can't be nice to
each other. Can you just be nice to me? I'm
nice to you. I'm gonna let you over. I'm gonna
let you go when we tie at the stop sign.
That's Kentucky.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Just absorb a little bit of that. That's all I'm
asking for you. One of the reasons I live in
downtown Los Angeles is because I don't like to drive.
I didn't like to drive in Kentucky. So I'll take
the metro. I'll take the bus to places, and yeah,
it's a little stinky. Sometimes it's a little stabby, if
I'm being honest. But for the most part, I like
(02:55):
public transit, and I choose that. But living downtown. When
I tell folks I live in downtown Los Angeles, the
shock on people's face, the pity that they feel, like, no,
I have a nice apartment. You know, I'm not, you know,
in rough shape down there, like so many unfortunately are.
(03:17):
But I get it, man, Do I get it now?
After all the time I've lived down there, I get
the response that I get from folks all over LA
about living in downtown. How scary they think it is,
how dirty they think it is.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So we're going to talk about that coming up later
this hour with some of my neighbors who have started
a new organization to rally downtown residents into common causes
to talk about the issues facing the neighborhood. It's something
you don't hear a lot about. It's everybody has an
opinion about Downtown LA, right about what it looks like,
(03:53):
about how you feel when you're down there, what traffic
is like, the reasons you go, the reasons you avoid it,
but you don't hear a lot from those of us
who call it home. And Downtown is, I believe, one
of the most evenly diverse communities in the entire city.
I mean, it's like a quarter of this, a quarter
of that, a quarter of this. It's pretty amazing. And
not to mention that it is pretty much the economic
(04:15):
center of this entire region. People still work there, companies
are still based there, and the food is good, the
culture is great, you know, I mean it is. It's
a good place and it's a bad place. So we're
going to talk about that coming up a little bit
later this hour. We want to hear from you two.
Do you go to La Downtown LA? Do you avoid
(04:38):
Downtown LA? What are your thoughts on it. We've got
the talk back button on the iHeartRadio app. All you
have to do is click on that and leave a
message for us up to thirty seconds, and we will
play some of those over the course of the show.
Also coming up next, we've got We've got a psychic
coming on because we've got the end of this year,
we've got a new year starting twenty twenty five, and
(05:01):
you probably wonder what to expect. We've got a change
in presidence coming, a lot of change, and it's always
nice to have somebody who can help you understand. We've
got Regita over in the newsroom. Regita, do you get
into tarot? Do you get into psychics?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
I don't, but let's do it.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Let's do it. I you know if you live around here,
Goodness knows they are ubiquitous, I mean where everywhere.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Always think I should go there one time for fun.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Absolutely, I'll tell you a tarot card reader in downtown
La I believe changed my life so much in December
of last year that it's why I'm sitting in this
chair at KFI right now. Because of the message that
I got. I took it to heart. I changed the
way I was thinking about stuff, and I'm into it.
I'm a believer, right, And so we're gonna see what
(05:55):
Denise Ramon has to say to us in our next
segment coming up. And again we also want to hear
from you, Brigida. Did you watch the fight on Netflix
last night?
Speaker 5 (06:04):
No?
Speaker 6 (06:04):
But didn't.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Okay, I know everybody's talked about it. You know, we
don't need to talk about it. It was a weird fight.
It was you know, it was boring when they finally
got to it. It was nice to see Mike Tyson again.
It was nostalgic. Obviously there were some technical problems with Netflix,
but what I liked about it, Brigida, And maybe you
can help me remember here we have we've gotten so
(06:28):
far away from these types of events. It used to
be when I was a little younger that there were
television events that everybody sat down for because there was
no DVR, There wasn't you know, there wasn't a lot
of other opportunities to catch it. You had to experience
it together. And now we basically have the Super Bowl,
and we have every four years the big national election
(06:52):
for president, and that's sort of the only thing that
were seated for. And I'm not even a boxing guy,
but this was something that brought everybody together to do enjoy.
Is there something I'm missing? I mean, do you remember
these national events that you could you could enjoy as
a nation.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
I mean, you know, we have the Thanksgiving Parade coming up.
I don't know if that's your cup of tea. It's
not particularly mine, but it is our parents' generation. But
you're right. I think sports and you know, elections, which
are basically just team sports at this point as well,
really get the nation come in together, but also dividing
them at the same time. I guess it's kind of
in our DNA.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, we can't seem to just enjoy anything anymore. So well,
we'll see what the next one Award shows. Yeah, I
mean people don't like those anymore, you know, like if
it doesn't fit your politics, then you don't even like
the awards shows. I don't know, I don't know. I
hope that the next thing that we all get to
sit and watch is a little gentler. We did get
to see Mike Tyson's butt, and I don't know if
(07:52):
we saw that coming, but I guess in a way
I'm grateful for that. That's hilarious.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
You're listening to KFI six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's KFI live here on Saturday night in La. KFI
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app by
Michael Monks. Don't forget you who can weigh in on
anything you've heard us talk about Tonight We're with you
till nine o'clock. All you have to do is open
up that iHeartRadio app and click on the talkback button.
(08:24):
Coming up, we are going to be talking about downtown La,
the good, the bad, the ugly white, it is, the
way it is, and why people like me choose to
live there in spite of its current reputation. But before
we get to that, we're going to talk about intuition
and psychic abilities and what might lie ahead in the
upcoming new year. We're so grateful to be joined by
(08:46):
psychic medium Denise Ramon. Denise, thank you for being with us.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Hi, Hey, how are you?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
We're doing so well. I imagine in a time where
we've just gone through another difficult election, tight battle, and
we have the holidays coming up, which brings certain amounts
of stress that people are probably looking for answers everywhere,
and you offer a type of answer, And of course
(09:15):
there are skeptics who wonder, I'll come on, Denise, you
not serious, and there are others who are devoted to
the type of service that you provide. Help us first
understand why we should listen to what you have to say.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Well, you know, I think being a skeptic first of all,
is good because you know you I just think it's health,
you know, to have some bit of you know, being
not totally gullible and believe everything you hear, you know,
And I don't think everything that I say is going
to resonate with everybody, and that's okay. But you know,
(09:56):
we are coming into a time in this twenty four
and have been coming here to this time where we're
starting to wake up and starting to question things, and
the answers that we are being fed are not enough.
So people are diving into wanting to know more what's
(10:17):
going on, and their intuitiveness is guiding them to people
who are like me or psychic medium or other people
such as that, and so it helps to give answers
to some pretty tough situations that are going on right now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Denise, you say we're starting to wake up. What are
we waking up to?
Speaker 5 (10:42):
We're waking up to the fact that we also hold
answers within our own selves, and that instead of looking
outside of ourselves for people to guide and direct us
on where to go, we are waking up to where
we know how to go within our own selves to
find answers. We know what's going on, just like we
(11:06):
know when we don't feel good when we're sick. We
don't need to go to a doctor to say you
don't feel good, because we can already tell that within
our own self.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I mentioned a little earlier that I enjoy psychics. I
enjoy taro and crystals and that sort of thing. I
don't present my affection for them as some sort of authority.
What I like, Denise, is that somebody like you or
a tarot reader that I might see, you know, in
Santa Monica, they make me think about something and then
(11:41):
I might start thinking about my own attitude or my
own feelings about something, and I can make some adjustments,
and that's what I appreciate. So with that said, can
you help us understand what we might come to expect
as a challenging twenty twenty four comes to a close
and a brand new twenty twenty five opens itself up
(12:03):
on the horizon.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Sure, well, you know this is a turbulent time, you know,
with the election that we just have just had, and
you know there's still a lot of stuff going on
with that. The one thing is to know that and
investigate what it is within you that's not okay. What
(12:26):
is the fear bringing up for you? Because there's a
ton of fear, and it's like, where's the fear coming from?
And one of the things I would say, stop listening
to so much of what's out there and start listening
to yourself, because the calmness comes from within yourself. And
(12:48):
it's okay to educate yourself on some things, but not
take it as the gospel. And to know that, you know,
it's kind of like the hurt change. You know, y'all
don't really get hurricanes, but when a hurricane is coming,
there's a calmness, you know, before the storm, and there's
(13:10):
a calmness after the storm. And that's just exactly what's
going on. We have to bring this stuff up in
order to allow it to heal and get released to
whereever it needs to go. And there's a lot of
stuff coming to the surface that has always been there.
But now we're starting to have this awareness thanks to
(13:31):
social media and other you know, and all the platforms
that we have that are bringing this awareness to us
that we didn't have thirty years ago.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Do you think we are currently as a nation in
some sort of calm before the storm? Because I got
to say, and I'm not a fan of editorializing, but man,
it just feels like it's a constant storm for the
past ten years or so.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
Well, the storm has always been there, but it's been
quite so it's what I have envisioned. It's like the
concrete with you know, totally flat, no bumps in it
or anything. And then something happened and cracked the concrete
and now everything's coming up. All the weeds and everything
(14:17):
are coming up. They've always it's always been there, but
we just couldn't see it. And now that the concrete
is cracked, it's coming up, so it is bringing things out,
so things can clear out, and that's exactly what's happening.
And it's real uncomfortable. It can be frightening, it can
be scary because there's it feels like there's a lot
(14:39):
of uncertainty, but the certainty is that really everything is okay,
it just looks and what people are wanting to tell
us that it isn't okay, but it really is okay.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, it would be nice if everybody would just be
quiet for a little while.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
That would be, that would be that would really help,
It really.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Will Yeah, I mean I would be out of work.
But I mean, you know, you don't have to comment
on everything, right, Like, you know, it's okay to just
be quiet.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
It is, and it's okay to discuss things. But we
are being told one way or another. It's you know,
it's real heavy one way or it's real heavy another way.
And like with this political stuff going on, one side
says one thing and one side says another. They're both heaviness.
(15:32):
So it's the same energy. One is not better than
the other, they're both doing the same thing.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Denise Ramone is a psychic medium and we are grateful
for the time that you gave us tonight. You can
learn more about Denise at Denise Ramone dot com. That's
d E n I s e r A m O
n dot com. Denise, thanks for spending some time. I'll
have to talk to you again.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
You're so welcome. You take care and have you do
the same.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I gather from her accent that she's also from the Southeast.
So complete takeover of the KFI airwaves today by folks
from the American South, So you'll have to deal with
that for a little while. This is KFI AM six
forty Live on Saturday. I'm Michael Monks.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It's KFI Live on a Saturday night here in Los Angeles, California.
I am Michael Monks here on KFI AM six forty.
We're live everywhere on the iHeart Radio app. I am
not just an employee of KFI reporter at City Hall.
I live in downtown Los Angeles, and we're going to
incorporate that into our conversation today. I visited LA for
(16:44):
many years before I took the plunge and moved here,
and was just always fascinated by downtown LA in spite
of itself in a lot of ways. But I love
old buildings, I love walkable communities, I love public transportation.
I like a diversity. I like a variety of food
and a little bit of shopping. They got a Macy's
down there. I've always enjoyed a good Macy's. But yeah,
(17:07):
you know, now that I live there, it's it's a
different experience. It's it's different than popping in for a
week and enjoying it will not being naive recognizing that, Okay,
this place has some issues, but living there is it's
got challenges. So there's some good, there's some bad, there's
everything in between. And I know a lot of you
when I tell you where I live. You've got some
(17:28):
pretty strong feelings about the condition of downtown Los Angeles,
but so do some folks that I've got joining us
right now. There's a new organization that has formed recently
called the Downtown La Residents Association dtla R. And we
are joined on the phone by one of the co founders,
Cassie Horton. Cassie, I'm glad you could join us, And
(17:51):
also with us here in the studio is co founder
Leslie Writings. Leslie, thank you for being with us, for
having me absolutely, And I brought my friend Cole and Pierri,
who joined us for that election grief segment because she's
also a transplant like me and has a lot of
experience in downtown La So Cole, thanks for coming back on.
So we can talk about that perspective also.
Speaker 7 (18:11):
Glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Okay, Leslie, We'll start with you. Why do we live downtown?
I mean, that's that's the question that I get, Like why,
I mean, why why do you live downtown?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Oh Man? So many reasons. I think the reason that downtown.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
Is so attractive to people is that it is utterly
unique in southern California.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
It is we like to say, it's the only city
in the city.
Speaker 8 (18:37):
You know, most folks when they go to a place,
they expect it to be a certain level of walkability,
a certain level of urban amenity, park shopping, malls, transit,
all the stuff you described. And in Los Angeles County,
it's really only one place. It's downtown Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
That's absolutely the truth. And it was the reason that
I was moving here because I wanted to live in
La without a car, and that is the place that
you can kind of do that. You know, if you're
fortunate enough to work close by or on the transit line,
you can do it. I walk to roups every Sunday,
you know, grocery shopping is done on foot. I mean,
it's crazy to be able to do that. I love it.
(19:14):
Cassie Obviously we enjoy living downtown, but we do recognize
that it is challenged in a way other parts of
the metropolitan area are not. What are some of the
challenges that you find we as residents of Downtown LA
have to deal with the most.
Speaker 9 (19:33):
Yeah, I mean many of the challenges, frankly, have been
exacerbated in part by the pandemic post pandemic kind of experience,
and they're not necessarily unique to Los Angeles. They are
issues facing downtowns across the country, you know San Francisco,
if you look at other large, dense urban cities. But
(19:54):
we actually through the Downtown LA Residence Association, I certainly
have my perspective, but when we pull old folks downtown
to kind of get their perspective on what are the
challenges and what do you want to see get better?
And they're probably not surprising, definitely resonate with my experience.
But number one, you know, Los Angeles downtown specifically we
(20:16):
include the neighborhood of skid Row, and that means that
we have much closer and frequent proximity to folks navigating
you know, mental health crises, homelessness itself, and with that,
you know, for a lot of folks who visit comes
a perception of maybe unsafe conditions or conditions that they're
not used to. They're not used to seeing this kind
(20:37):
of challenge. So that's a big one. And then we're
also facing slow economic recovery. You know, we've got all
of these office buildings, a lot of folks didn't return
to work, and that means there's less foot traffic. A
lot of businesses, you know, they closed because of COVID,
and how do we get that back with all of
these office buildings, you know, half empty relative to where
they were before. So those those challenges are real and
(21:00):
you see them on the day to day, especially if
you live in downtown Cassie.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
You hit on a couple of things that I think
are important to talk about because the perspective versus the
reality is real. But the perspective is so important because
if let's say you're visiting the fashion district, you're shopping
in Santy Alley, and you're ambitious, so you walk all
the way to the library, for example, all the way
across downtown. It's a good, healthy walk in a very
(21:24):
walkable place. You are probably not going to be a
victim of a crime. Just statistically, it's not even probably not.
I mean statistically, you're not going to be a victim
of a crime. But man, the vibes are off. The
vibes are off, and that matters, you know, the things
you see, the things you smell. It's so disconcerting. And
(21:46):
even for me, a guy who has always lived in
a city, you know, I consider myself a little bit brave,
it's a little scary and that hurts. That hurts whether
people will come back. I know that when I I
ride the B Line train up here to Burbank from
downtown LA at Pershing Square. First of all, the Pershing
Square station I think is the most disgusting station in
(22:09):
the entire metro station. It's discussing on the outside, it's
discussing on the inside. And the B Line train itself
is the most disgusting train on the system. And you know,
I see people who are from other countries, they're speaking
different languages, and they're probably taking the same train because
they're going to Universal. I think, man, they saw downtown
LA online, they thought I got to get there. That's
(22:30):
the best place to go. Beautiful hotels, transit to cool activities.
And then I worry for them families that have come here,
and I think that's a group of people who will
never come back to LA I mean, Leslie, am I
wrong about that?
Speaker 8 (22:47):
I share your concerns, and it's a real shame because
folks come to Los Angeles from all over the world,
see all of our great sites and amenities, cultural institutions,
all that, and yeah, oftentimes on the ground, especially in
certain parts of town, downtown being one of them, the
realities that they face don't quite live up to the
Hollywood gloss that they might have seen online. But we
(23:11):
can correct that. I'm firm believer that all that is
the outcome of bad policy. Policy can be changed.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
And that's the most important part of it. Because what
shocks me the most, especially as somebody who moved here
and has become a journalist here. I love downtown LA
I recognize that it's troubled. It's the center. It is
the heart of not just an important city, but one
of the most important cities in the entire world. And
(23:37):
that's what it looks like.
Speaker 7 (23:38):
Cole.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I mean, you don't live downtown with me, but I
know you spend time downtown. You're a flower girl. You
love the plants and we have beautiful flowers in the
Flower District. You know, I live right there. Do you
ever have concerns as somebody who lives outside of downtown
but comes downtown to do your thing.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 7 (23:59):
One of the things that I was considering before deciding
what part of the city I was going to live
in had to do with green spaces and access to
public gardens and community gardens and even things like the
like a good tree canopy. That's a big conversation point,
and that was a big concern of mine related to
(24:20):
Downtown LA. Would there be access to gardens and green
spaces because it has such a significant impact on a
community's health and well being and access to food. So
that's I just wanted to point that out because that's
something that's important to a lot of people as well.
And Downtown LA does have parks and green spaces, but
(24:41):
I but a lot of people don't realize what is there.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Actually, that's exactly right. We're going to talk a bit
more about what the DTLA RA, the Downtown LA Residence
Association has in store for maybe mobilizing residents and helping
to change both the perspective and the reality.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
You're listening to KFI on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
It's KFI Live on LA Saturday Night. I'm Michael Monks
here on KFI AM six forty and live everywhere on
the iHeart Radio app. I promised if you send us
some messages, we would get some of them on the
air through the iHeartRadio apps talkback feature. We got a
couple of messages, so I'll ask Matthew and Raoul in
the control room there if we can hear them.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
I'm laughing at you right now, hoymen. Driving you for
four months and your blood boiling, let it go. You
need to be stronger than that, have a thicker skin.
Realize there is nothing you can do to change it.
So just be aware of your surroundings, drive cautiously like
you are, and don't let it bother you.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Man, Thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Don't get road rage.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
They may be having a worse day than you are,
and a rush take it eat.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
That's fair. And I think we got another one too.
You come from another city and now here you are
on LA Radio. Your inspiration. Keep up your good work.
Hey all about that? Can't feed that? Well, We're gonna
move on, and I do appreciate that. I'm sorry. I
didn't get your name, but thanks for listening, thanks for
taking the time, and hopefully we'll be back next Saturday
(26:13):
to talk to you a little bit more about interesting
things like living in downtown Los Angeles. I'm joined by
the two co founders of the Downtown LA Residents Association,
Cassie Horton and Leslie Ridings. Excuse me, also my friend
Colon Pierri, who is a transplant like me from Kentucky
to LA, to talk about the conditions of downtown. Cassie,
(26:34):
I want to bring you back in. You're joining us
on the phone, and my goodness, just in a few
minutes that we have left, there must be a laundry
list for a new organization like yours that you want
to approach to fix the reality, to fix the perception
of downtown. But what would you say is the top?
Speaker 9 (26:54):
Yeah, great question, So really quickly, A couple of the
things we're focused on is making sure folks in the
neighborhood are really connected, just knowing each other, you know,
building those neighborhood relationships, and then once folks are connected
to each other, advocating for the things that we want
as residents in the neighborhoods. So one thing that is
(27:17):
huge that's coming up is there is a boat coming
before the City Council very soon, likely in December, around
the Downtown LA twenty forty master plan. It's kind of
what does the future of Downtown LA look like? And
a lot of what that plan sayes is that the
future is residential. It's going to be a downtown residential community.
(27:37):
We're going to build a lot more housing, and we
want to make sure that that gets passed. It'll unlock
a lot of opportunities for us to you know, develop
new things, invest money in downtown. And so that's a
really really big deal. And the second thing, we're really
focused on Broadway and the historic core. A lot of
these plans residents have been involved in.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Right, you talk about making that like a pedestrian only street.
We're talking about Broadway. Okay, Now I'm not going to
just shoot down your dreams. But current councilmen soon soon
to be ex city Councilman Kevin D. Leon, who represents
Downtown LA in addition to some La Eastern LA neighborhoods.
He had a festival there, okay, and it shut down
most of the blocks of Broadway and it was it
(28:20):
was a nice festival, you know, I can say that.
And however, that was the worst traffic I've ever seen
in my life in La. And like La is known
for traffic if it's known for anything, and I mean
the type of traffic you could not move. There was
no movement. All of the streets downtown were blocked. It
was spilling it in there. State Leslie's raising his hand,
(28:41):
he wants to address this. This was a mess.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You can yeah, you can see the veins pop on
my forehead.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:47):
I mean, I don't want to get too bogged down
to the one particular incense. But it wasn't well executed
because they didn't let cross traffic right, a lot of
east west traffic and traffic and they totally stopped it.
Any pedestrianization of Broadway would be something similar to State
Street in Santa Barbara, if you've ever been where, they'll
allow cross traffic to continue flowing and then just in
the segments of the north south streets put up ballards
(29:11):
or pylons or something to keep cars from entering that
aren't delivering something or whatever.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Well to be determined. I know when you say things
like the twenty forty downtown Plan. It is a little wonky,
it's policy heavy, it's a big document too, but it
is important stuff that geeks like me go and read
at city Hall and try to translate it for our
listeners at some point. So as that comes forward, we'll
examine this. Because I do I'm going to be selfish
as long as I get to be here, and I
(29:36):
want to give a lot more attention to downtown LA.
I think it's important because it is such a critical
part of the entire region. It's not just Hollywood. I
mean LA is powered by downtown LA. There is enough
evidence to prove that. I think I've got enough time
to give each of you the opportunity here to make
a pitch. If there are people who are out there
saying I'm not going, I'm not going, I'm not going,
I want to give you twenty seconds to say, here's
(29:58):
why you should and here's where you should check out.
It's a little secret place that only I know, and
it's worth it. Leslie will start with you.
Speaker 8 (30:05):
Yeah, So I think it might pitch the folks who
might be downtown curious but might be scared off by
some of the some of the bad press.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
I would say look, I live and work in downtown.
I love it.
Speaker 8 (30:15):
There's no place like it in Los Angeles. Every day
I'm surrounded by a bunch of people, tourists and residents
who live there, visit, enjoy spending their time there. And
the one spot I'm gonna recommend for you is I
will recommend the downtown La Superrette, the cheese shop Superrette.
Oh yeah, right, a fourth of the Broadway. And sorry, Cassie,
(30:37):
I know you were probably gonna say, that's all right, Cassie,
You're at ten seconds for you.
Speaker 9 (30:42):
So I would say the Regional connector get off on
all three stops, the New Ones, Little Tokyo Broadway Station
and Grand Arts. They're incredible, and find one thing you
want to do off each of those stops.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
You will have a black Explore. Explore Cole ten seconds.
Speaker 7 (30:58):
I was gonna say, my favorite downtow on Discovery has
been this little restaurant Kippard.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Oh yeah, and uh and.
Speaker 7 (31:04):
Then the Angel's Flight is right there.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Right, yeah, very coolaricular, yeah, nicular not a swear word. Yeah, awesome, yeah, yeah,
lots of stuff to do. Give it a check out, Leslie,
Cassie Cole, thanks for being with us. To talk about
downtown LA. And thanks to all of you out in
every part of LA for listening to KFI live here
on the Saturday night. I Michael Monks have had such
a great time with you.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
KFI AM six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
You to know we get groovy. I'm KFI, did you
It's KFI Live, KFI AM six forty Live everywhere else
on the iHeartRadio app. I'm Michael Monks here with you
till nine o'clock tonight. Grateful for your attention. I'm wondering
if you're listening to us in the car, and if
(00:26):
you are, I do have a minor request. If you
see me driving on the road, Dear Los Angeles drivers,
can you just be nicer to me? I don't know
what else to say. Man, I am I mentioned it
earlier in the show. You may have seen it in
my bio if you ever looked at that thing on
the website. I'm from Kentucky, but like urban Kentucky. You know,
(00:48):
I've never even held a piece of coal. I've never
been on a horse. I'm from the city. You know.
Covington is right across the river from Cincinnati. You know
it's not as big as La. You know, it's about
long beach size. Okay, so it's a city, but we're
really nice. If you need to get over on the highway,
I'm gonna let you over. If we stop at the
(01:10):
same time and a stop sign, I'm gonna wave at
you can go right ahead. Man. You do not do
that here in LA. And I'm new to driving here.
I've been here about eighteen months, but I've only been
driving for about four here, and it is horrifying and
I don't like what it's doing to me. When I
am out on the highway, I am finding my blood
(01:32):
start to curdle, and I'm becoming angry because of the
way you drive. You pull up into crosswalks without looking,
you don't pay attention to the red light. You're just
all blowing through it. And then some of this isn't
your faut La drivers. I have sympathy for you, empathy
with you. Some of it is just the poor way
(01:54):
these highways are designed the way the street lights. I
can't God help anybody in this city if you ever
need to turn left, I mean, there is no way
to turn left anywhere in the city of Los Angeles.
One car at a time, rush hour, it doesn't matter.
But all I'm asking is, can we just in the
(02:15):
midst of the tradition of traffic in LA can we
just find a way if we can't be nice to
each other. Can you just be nice to me? I'm
nice to you. I'm gonna let you over. I'm gonna
let you go when we tie at the stop sign.
That's Kentucky.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Just absorb a little bit of that. That's all I'm
asking for you. One of the reasons I live in
downtown Los Angeles is because I don't like to drive.
I didn't like to drive in Kentucky. So I'll take
the metro. I'll take the bus to places, and yeah,
it's a little stinky. Sometimes it's a little stabby, if
I'm being honest. But for the most part, I like
(02:55):
public transit, and I choose that. But living downtown. When
I tell folks I live in downtown Los Angeles, the
shock on people's face, the pity that they feel, like, no,
I have a nice apartment. You know, I'm not, you know,
in rough shape down there, like so many unfortunately are.
(03:17):
But I get it, man, Do I get it now?
After all the time I've lived down there, I get
the response that I get from folks all over LA
about living in downtown. How scary they think it is,
how dirty they think it is.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
So we're going to talk about that coming up later
this hour with some of my neighbors who have started
a new organization to rally downtown residents into common causes
to talk about the issues facing the neighborhood. It's something
you don't hear a lot about. It's everybody has an
opinion about Downtown LA, right about what it looks like,
(03:53):
about how you feel when you're down there, what traffic
is like, the reasons you go, the reasons you avoid it,
but you don't hear a lot from those of us
who call it home. And Downtown is, I believe, one
of the most evenly diverse communities in the entire city.
I mean, it's like a quarter of this, a quarter
of that, a quarter of this. It's pretty amazing. And
not to mention that it is pretty much the economic
(04:15):
center of this entire region. People still work there, companies
are still based there, and the food is good, the
culture is great, you know, I mean it is. It's
a good place and it's a bad place. So we're
going to talk about that coming up a little bit
later this hour. We want to hear from you two.
Do you go to La Downtown LA? Do you avoid
(04:38):
Downtown LA? What are your thoughts on it. We've got
the talk back button on the iHeartRadio app. All you
have to do is click on that and leave a
message for us up to thirty seconds, and we will
play some of those over the course of the show.
Also coming up next, we've got We've got a psychic
coming on because we've got the end of this year,
we've got a new year starting twenty twenty five, and
(05:01):
you probably wonder what to expect. We've got a change
in presidence coming, a lot of change, and it's always
nice to have somebody who can help you understand. We've
got Regita over in the newsroom. Regita, do you get
into tarot? Do you get into psychics?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
I don't, but let's do it.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Let's do it. I you know if you live around here,
Goodness knows they are ubiquitous, I mean where everywhere.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Always think I should go there one time for fun.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Absolutely, I'll tell you a tarot card reader in downtown
La I believe changed my life so much in December
of last year that it's why I'm sitting in this
chair at KFI right now. Because of the message that
I got. I took it to heart. I changed the
way I was thinking about stuff, and I'm into it.
I'm a believer, right, And so we're gonna see what
(05:55):
Denise Ramon has to say to us in our next
segment coming up. And again we also want to hear
from you, Brigida. Did you watch the fight on Netflix
last night?
Speaker 5 (06:04):
No?
Speaker 6 (06:04):
But didn't.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Okay, I know everybody's talked about it. You know, we
don't need to talk about it. It was a weird fight.
It was you know, it was boring when they finally
got to it. It was nice to see Mike Tyson again.
It was nostalgic. Obviously there were some technical problems with Netflix,
but what I liked about it, Brigida, And maybe you
can help me remember here we have we've gotten so
(06:28):
far away from these types of events. It used to
be when I was a little younger that there were
television events that everybody sat down for because there was
no DVR, There wasn't you know, there wasn't a lot
of other opportunities to catch it. You had to experience
it together. And now we basically have the Super Bowl,
and we have every four years the big national election
(06:52):
for president, and that's sort of the only thing that
were seated for. And I'm not even a boxing guy,
but this was something that brought everybody together to do enjoy.
Is there something I'm missing? I mean, do you remember
these national events that you could you could enjoy as
a nation.
Speaker 4 (07:09):
I mean, you know, we have the Thanksgiving Parade coming up.
I don't know if that's your cup of tea. It's
not particularly mine, but it is our parents' generation. But
you're right. I think sports and you know, elections, which
are basically just team sports at this point as well,
really get the nation come in together, but also dividing
them at the same time. I guess it's kind of
in our DNA.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, we can't seem to just enjoy anything anymore. So well,
we'll see what the next one Award shows. Yeah, I
mean people don't like those anymore, you know, like if
it doesn't fit your politics, then you don't even like
the awards shows. I don't know, I don't know. I
hope that the next thing that we all get to
sit and watch is a little gentler. We did get
to see Mike Tyson's butt, and I don't know if
(07:52):
we saw that coming, but I guess in a way
I'm grateful for that. That's hilarious.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
You're listening to KFI six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's KFI live here on Saturday night in La. KFI
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app by
Michael Monks. Don't forget you who can weigh in on
anything you've heard us talk about Tonight We're with you
till nine o'clock. All you have to do is open
up that iHeartRadio app and click on the talkback button.
(08:24):
Coming up, we are going to be talking about downtown La,
the good, the bad, the ugly white, it is, the
way it is, and why people like me choose to
live there in spite of its current reputation. But before
we get to that, we're going to talk about intuition
and psychic abilities and what might lie ahead in the
upcoming new year. We're so grateful to be joined by
(08:46):
psychic medium Denise Ramon. Denise, thank you for being with us.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Hi, Hey, how are you?
Speaker 2 (08:52):
We're doing so well. I imagine in a time where
we've just gone through another difficult election, tight battle, and
we have the holidays coming up, which brings certain amounts
of stress that people are probably looking for answers everywhere,
and you offer a type of answer, And of course
(09:15):
there are skeptics who wonder, I'll come on, Denise, you
not serious, and there are others who are devoted to
the type of service that you provide. Help us first
understand why we should listen to what you have to say.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
Well, you know, I think being a skeptic first of all,
is good because you know you I just think it's health,
you know, to have some bit of you know, being
not totally gullible and believe everything you hear, you know,
And I don't think everything that I say is going
to resonate with everybody, and that's okay. But you know,
(09:56):
we are coming into a time in this twenty four
and have been coming here to this time where we're
starting to wake up and starting to question things, and
the answers that we are being fed are not enough.
So people are diving into wanting to know more what's
(10:17):
going on, and their intuitiveness is guiding them to people
who are like me or psychic medium or other people
such as that, and so it helps to give answers
to some pretty tough situations that are going on right now.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Denise, you say we're starting to wake up. What are
we waking up to?
Speaker 5 (10:42):
We're waking up to the fact that we also hold
answers within our own selves, and that instead of looking
outside of ourselves for people to guide and direct us
on where to go, we are waking up to where
we know how to go within our own selves to
find answers. We know what's going on, just like we
(11:06):
know when we don't feel good when we're sick. We
don't need to go to a doctor to say you
don't feel good, because we can already tell that within
our own self.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I mentioned a little earlier that I enjoy psychics. I
enjoy taro and crystals and that sort of thing. I
don't present my affection for them as some sort of authority.
What I like, Denise, is that somebody like you or
a tarot reader that I might see, you know, in
Santa Monica, they make me think about something and then
(11:41):
I might start thinking about my own attitude or my
own feelings about something, and I can make some adjustments,
and that's what I appreciate. So with that said, can
you help us understand what we might come to expect
as a challenging twenty twenty four comes to a close
and a brand new twenty twenty five opens itself up
(12:03):
on the horizon.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
Sure, well, you know this is a turbulent time, you know,
with the election that we just have just had, and
you know there's still a lot of stuff going on
with that. The one thing is to know that and
investigate what it is within you that's not okay. What
(12:26):
is the fear bringing up for you? Because there's a
ton of fear, and it's like, where's the fear coming from?
And one of the things I would say, stop listening
to so much of what's out there and start listening
to yourself, because the calmness comes from within yourself. And
(12:48):
it's okay to educate yourself on some things, but not
take it as the gospel. And to know that, you know,
it's kind of like the hurt change. You know, y'all
don't really get hurricanes, but when a hurricane is coming,
there's a calmness, you know, before the storm, and there's
(13:10):
a calmness after the storm. And that's just exactly what's
going on. We have to bring this stuff up in
order to allow it to heal and get released to
whereever it needs to go. And there's a lot of
stuff coming to the surface that has always been there.
But now we're starting to have this awareness thanks to
(13:31):
social media and other you know, and all the platforms
that we have that are bringing this awareness to us
that we didn't have thirty years ago.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Do you think we are currently as a nation in
some sort of calm before the storm? Because I got
to say, and I'm not a fan of editorializing, but man,
it just feels like it's a constant storm for the
past ten years or so.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
Well, the storm has always been there, but it's been
quite so it's what I have envisioned. It's like the
concrete with you know, totally flat, no bumps in it
or anything. And then something happened and cracked the concrete
and now everything's coming up. All the weeds and everything
(14:17):
are coming up. They've always it's always been there, but
we just couldn't see it. And now that the concrete
is cracked, it's coming up, so it is bringing things out,
so things can clear out, and that's exactly what's happening.
And it's real uncomfortable. It can be frightening, it can
be scary because there's it feels like there's a lot
(14:39):
of uncertainty, but the certainty is that really everything is okay,
it just looks and what people are wanting to tell
us that it isn't okay, but it really is okay.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, it would be nice if everybody would just be
quiet for a little while.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
That would be, that would be that would really help,
It really.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Will Yeah, I mean I would be out of work.
But I mean, you know, you don't have to comment
on everything, right, Like, you know, it's okay to just
be quiet.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
It is, and it's okay to discuss things. But we
are being told one way or another. It's you know,
it's real heavy one way or it's real heavy another way.
And like with this political stuff going on, one side
says one thing and one side says another. They're both heaviness.
(15:32):
So it's the same energy. One is not better than
the other, they're both doing the same thing.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Denise Ramone is a psychic medium and we are grateful
for the time that you gave us tonight. You can
learn more about Denise at Denise Ramone dot com. That's
d E n I s e r A m O
n dot com. Denise, thanks for spending some time. I'll
have to talk to you again.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
You're so welcome. You take care and have you do
the same.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I gather from her accent that she's also from the Southeast.
So complete takeover of the KFI airwaves today by folks
from the American South, So you'll have to deal with
that for a little while. This is KFI AM six
forty Live on Saturday. I'm Michael Monks.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It's KFI Live on a Saturday night here in Los Angeles, California.
I am Michael Monks here on KFI AM six forty.
We're live everywhere on the iHeart Radio app. I am
not just an employee of KFI reporter at City Hall.
I live in downtown Los Angeles, and we're going to
incorporate that into our conversation today. I visited LA for
(16:44):
many years before I took the plunge and moved here,
and was just always fascinated by downtown LA in spite
of itself in a lot of ways. But I love
old buildings, I love walkable communities, I love public transportation.
I like a diversity. I like a variety of food
and a little bit of shopping. They got a Macy's
down there. I've always enjoyed a good Macy's. But yeah,
(17:07):
you know, now that I live there, it's it's a
different experience. It's it's different than popping in for a
week and enjoying it will not being naive recognizing that, Okay,
this place has some issues, but living there is it's
got challenges. So there's some good, there's some bad, there's
everything in between. And I know a lot of you
when I tell you where I live. You've got some
(17:28):
pretty strong feelings about the condition of downtown Los Angeles,
but so do some folks that I've got joining us
right now. There's a new organization that has formed recently
called the Downtown La Residents Association dtla R. And we
are joined on the phone by one of the co founders,
Cassie Horton. Cassie, I'm glad you could join us, And
(17:51):
also with us here in the studio is co founder
Leslie Writings. Leslie, thank you for being with us, for
having me absolutely, And I brought my friend Cole and Pierri,
who joined us for that election grief segment because she's
also a transplant like me and has a lot of
experience in downtown La So Cole, thanks for coming back on.
So we can talk about that perspective also.
Speaker 7 (18:11):
Glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Okay, Leslie, We'll start with you. Why do we live downtown?
I mean, that's that's the question that I get, Like why,
I mean, why why do you live downtown?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Oh Man? So many reasons. I think the reason that downtown.
Speaker 8 (18:28):
Is so attractive to people is that it is utterly
unique in southern California.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
It is we like to say, it's the only city
in the city.
Speaker 8 (18:37):
You know, most folks when they go to a place,
they expect it to be a certain level of walkability,
a certain level of urban amenity, park shopping, malls, transit,
all the stuff you described. And in Los Angeles County,
it's really only one place. It's downtown Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
That's absolutely the truth. And it was the reason that
I was moving here because I wanted to live in
La without a car, and that is the place that
you can kind of do that. You know, if you're
fortunate enough to work close by or on the transit line,
you can do it. I walk to roups every Sunday,
you know, grocery shopping is done on foot. I mean,
it's crazy to be able to do that. I love it.
(19:14):
Cassie Obviously we enjoy living downtown, but we do recognize
that it is challenged in a way other parts of
the metropolitan area are not. What are some of the
challenges that you find we as residents of Downtown LA
have to deal with the most.
Speaker 9 (19:33):
Yeah, I mean many of the challenges, frankly, have been
exacerbated in part by the pandemic post pandemic kind of experience,
and they're not necessarily unique to Los Angeles. They are
issues facing downtowns across the country, you know San Francisco,
if you look at other large, dense urban cities. But
(19:54):
we actually through the Downtown LA Residence Association, I certainly
have my perspective, but when we pull old folks downtown
to kind of get their perspective on what are the
challenges and what do you want to see get better?
And they're probably not surprising, definitely resonate with my experience.
But number one, you know, Los Angeles downtown specifically we
(20:16):
include the neighborhood of skid Row, and that means that
we have much closer and frequent proximity to folks navigating
you know, mental health crises, homelessness itself, and with that,
you know, for a lot of folks who visit comes
a perception of maybe unsafe conditions or conditions that they're
not used to. They're not used to seeing this kind
(20:37):
of challenge. So that's a big one. And then we're
also facing slow economic recovery. You know, we've got all
of these office buildings, a lot of folks didn't return
to work, and that means there's less foot traffic. A
lot of businesses, you know, they closed because of COVID,
and how do we get that back with all of
these office buildings, you know, half empty relative to where
they were before. So those those challenges are real and
(21:00):
you see them on the day to day, especially if
you live in downtown Cassie.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
You hit on a couple of things that I think
are important to talk about because the perspective versus the
reality is real. But the perspective is so important because
if let's say you're visiting the fashion district, you're shopping
in Santy Alley, and you're ambitious, so you walk all
the way to the library, for example, all the way
across downtown. It's a good, healthy walk in a very
(21:24):
walkable place. You are probably not going to be a
victim of a crime. Just statistically, it's not even probably not.
I mean statistically, you're not going to be a victim
of a crime. But man, the vibes are off. The
vibes are off, and that matters, you know, the things
you see, the things you smell. It's so disconcerting. And
(21:46):
even for me, a guy who has always lived in
a city, you know, I consider myself a little bit brave,
it's a little scary and that hurts. That hurts whether
people will come back. I know that when I I
ride the B Line train up here to Burbank from
downtown LA at Pershing Square. First of all, the Pershing
Square station I think is the most disgusting station in
(22:09):
the entire metro station. It's discussing on the outside, it's
discussing on the inside. And the B Line train itself
is the most disgusting train on the system. And you know,
I see people who are from other countries, they're speaking
different languages, and they're probably taking the same train because
they're going to Universal. I think, man, they saw downtown
LA online, they thought I got to get there. That's
(22:30):
the best place to go. Beautiful hotels, transit to cool activities.
And then I worry for them families that have come here,
and I think that's a group of people who will
never come back to LA I mean, Leslie, am I
wrong about that?
Speaker 8 (22:47):
I share your concerns, and it's a real shame because
folks come to Los Angeles from all over the world,
see all of our great sites and amenities, cultural institutions,
all that, and yeah, oftentimes on the ground, especially in
certain parts of town, downtown being one of them, the
realities that they face don't quite live up to the
Hollywood gloss that they might have seen online. But we
(23:11):
can correct that. I'm firm believer that all that is
the outcome of bad policy. Policy can be changed.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
And that's the most important part of it. Because what
shocks me the most, especially as somebody who moved here
and has become a journalist here. I love downtown LA
I recognize that it's troubled. It's the center. It is
the heart of not just an important city, but one
of the most important cities in the entire world. And
(23:37):
that's what it looks like.
Speaker 7 (23:38):
Cole.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
I mean, you don't live downtown with me, but I
know you spend time downtown. You're a flower girl. You
love the plants and we have beautiful flowers in the
Flower District. You know, I live right there. Do you
ever have concerns as somebody who lives outside of downtown
but comes downtown to do your thing.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
Yeah, you know.
Speaker 7 (23:59):
One of the things that I was considering before deciding
what part of the city I was going to live
in had to do with green spaces and access to
public gardens and community gardens and even things like the
like a good tree canopy. That's a big conversation point,
and that was a big concern of mine related to
(24:20):
Downtown LA. Would there be access to gardens and green
spaces because it has such a significant impact on a
community's health and well being and access to food. So
that's I just wanted to point that out because that's
something that's important to a lot of people as well.
And Downtown LA does have parks and green spaces, but
(24:41):
I but a lot of people don't realize what is there.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Actually, that's exactly right. We're going to talk a bit
more about what the DTLA RA, the Downtown LA Residence
Association has in store for maybe mobilizing residents and helping
to change both the perspective and the reality.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
You're listening to KFI on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
It's KFI Live on LA Saturday Night. I'm Michael Monks
here on KFI AM six forty and live everywhere on
the iHeart Radio app. I promised if you send us
some messages, we would get some of them on the
air through the iHeartRadio apps talkback feature. We got a
couple of messages, so I'll ask Matthew and Raoul in
the control room there if we can hear them.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
I'm laughing at you right now, hoymen. Driving you for
four months and your blood boiling, let it go. You
need to be stronger than that, have a thicker skin.
Realize there is nothing you can do to change it.
So just be aware of your surroundings, drive cautiously like
you are, and don't let it bother you.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Man, Thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
Don't get road rage.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
They may be having a worse day than you are,
and a rush take it eat.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
That's fair. And I think we got another one too.
You come from another city and now here you are
on LA Radio. Your inspiration. Keep up your good work.
Hey all about that? Can't feed that? Well, We're gonna
move on, and I do appreciate that. I'm sorry. I
didn't get your name, but thanks for listening, thanks for
taking the time, and hopefully we'll be back next Saturday
(26:13):
to talk to you a little bit more about interesting
things like living in downtown Los Angeles. I'm joined by
the two co founders of the Downtown LA Residents Association,
Cassie Horton and Leslie Ridings. Excuse me, also my friend
Colon Pierri, who is a transplant like me from Kentucky
to LA, to talk about the conditions of downtown. Cassie,
(26:34):
I want to bring you back in. You're joining us
on the phone, and my goodness, just in a few
minutes that we have left, there must be a laundry
list for a new organization like yours that you want
to approach to fix the reality, to fix the perception
of downtown. But what would you say is the top?
Speaker 9 (26:54):
Yeah, great question, So really quickly, A couple of the
things we're focused on is making sure folks in the
neighborhood are really connected, just knowing each other, you know,
building those neighborhood relationships, and then once folks are connected
to each other, advocating for the things that we want
as residents in the neighborhoods. So one thing that is
(27:17):
huge that's coming up is there is a boat coming
before the City Council very soon, likely in December, around
the Downtown LA twenty forty master plan. It's kind of
what does the future of Downtown LA look like? And
a lot of what that plan sayes is that the
future is residential. It's going to be a downtown residential community.
(27:37):
We're going to build a lot more housing, and we
want to make sure that that gets passed. It'll unlock
a lot of opportunities for us to you know, develop
new things, invest money in downtown. And so that's a
really really big deal. And the second thing, we're really
focused on Broadway and the historic core. A lot of
these plans residents have been involved in.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Right, you talk about making that like a pedestrian only street.
We're talking about Broadway. Okay, Now I'm not going to
just shoot down your dreams. But current councilmen soon soon
to be ex city Councilman Kevin D. Leon, who represents
Downtown LA in addition to some La Eastern LA neighborhoods.
He had a festival there, okay, and it shut down
most of the blocks of Broadway and it was it
(28:20):
was a nice festival, you know, I can say that.
And however, that was the worst traffic I've ever seen
in my life in La. And like La is known
for traffic if it's known for anything, and I mean
the type of traffic you could not move. There was
no movement. All of the streets downtown were blocked. It
was spilling it in there. State Leslie's raising his hand,
(28:41):
he wants to address this. This was a mess.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You can yeah, you can see the veins pop on
my forehead.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (28:47):
I mean, I don't want to get too bogged down
to the one particular incense. But it wasn't well executed
because they didn't let cross traffic right, a lot of
east west traffic and traffic and they totally stopped it.
Any pedestrianization of Broadway would be something similar to State
Street in Santa Barbara, if you've ever been where, they'll
allow cross traffic to continue flowing and then just in
the segments of the north south streets put up ballards
(29:11):
or pylons or something to keep cars from entering that
aren't delivering something or whatever.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Well to be determined. I know when you say things
like the twenty forty downtown Plan. It is a little wonky,
it's policy heavy, it's a big document too, but it
is important stuff that geeks like me go and read
at city Hall and try to translate it for our
listeners at some point. So as that comes forward, we'll
examine this. Because I do I'm going to be selfish
as long as I get to be here, and I
(29:36):
want to give a lot more attention to downtown LA.
I think it's important because it is such a critical
part of the entire region. It's not just Hollywood. I
mean LA is powered by downtown LA. There is enough
evidence to prove that. I think I've got enough time
to give each of you the opportunity here to make
a pitch. If there are people who are out there
saying I'm not going, I'm not going, I'm not going,
I want to give you twenty seconds to say, here's
(29:58):
why you should and here's where you should check out.
It's a little secret place that only I know, and
it's worth it. Leslie will start with you.
Speaker 8 (30:05):
Yeah, So I think it might pitch the folks who
might be downtown curious but might be scared off by
some of the some of the bad press.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
I would say look, I live and work in downtown.
I love it.
Speaker 8 (30:15):
There's no place like it in Los Angeles. Every day
I'm surrounded by a bunch of people, tourists and residents
who live there, visit, enjoy spending their time there. And
the one spot I'm gonna recommend for you is I
will recommend the downtown La Superrette, the cheese shop Superrette.
Oh yeah, right, a fourth of the Broadway. And sorry, Cassie,
(30:37):
I know you were probably gonna say, that's all right, Cassie,
You're at ten seconds for you.
Speaker 9 (30:42):
So I would say the Regional connector get off on
all three stops, the New Ones, Little Tokyo Broadway Station
and Grand Arts. They're incredible, and find one thing you
want to do off each of those stops.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
You will have a black Explore. Explore Cole ten seconds.
Speaker 7 (30:58):
I was gonna say, my favorite downtow on Discovery has
been this little restaurant Kippard.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Oh yeah, and uh and.
Speaker 7 (31:04):
Then the Angel's Flight is right there.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Right, yeah, very coolaricular, yeah, nicular not a swear word. Yeah, awesome, yeah, yeah,
lots of stuff to do. Give it a check out, Leslie,
Cassie Cole, thanks for being with us. To talk about
downtown LA. And thanks to all of you out in
every part of LA for listening to KFI live here
on the Saturday night. I Michael Monks have had such
a great time with you.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
KFI AM six forty on demand
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