This week on The Signal, California faces a series of fights over workers, families and public accountability. We examine proposed changes to Head Start, a $272.5 million Lyft settlement over driver classification, new state immigration laws and whistleblower allegations involving federal investigations. Then Sarah Rascón discusses her Senate campaign, followed by an update on the East L.A. oil spill and Lineage Logistics fire.
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TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
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MUSIC INTRO
The whole run by a handful of greedy bankers and CEOs who nobody elected. What can't possibly last?
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MUSIC INTRO
I'm going to tell you what I'm saying.
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DINO
Hello, Los Angeles, and welcome to another edition of The Sick. No news, information and analysis. I'm your host, Dino Broadcasting, here out of the wonderful studios of Kpfk in beautiful Glendale, California, all across Southern California. In fact, I was asking my producer in L.A., you know, exactly how far is our reach? And she reminded me that, you know, we're broadcasting on that 90.70 FM signal.
00:00:43:21 - 00:01:11:05
DINO
We're broadcasting on 98.7 FM Santa Barbara. Welcome to our Santa Barbara audience. Of course, San Diego County coming in at 93.7 FM and 99.5 FM. Ridgecrest, China Lake, which I've never been to, I'm very curious about. And one of these days we're gonna open up the lines and ask people from Ridgecrest, China Lake. I think I like saying that, to tell us about it.
00:01:11:07 - 00:01:38:14
DINO
So, yeah. What's the math on that? If I take out my trusty of the calculator and as my ring camera is going off here. I don't know, that's roughly about, one in, one out of every three Californians is who we reach on this broadcast. On this multiple broadcast signal, 13.4 million people. So with that said, on this program, we only have two people listening.
00:01:38:14 - 00:02:06:23
DINO
My mom was one of them, and she doesn't have her hearing aid. Probably. So, so much for that. We got a nice show lined up for you. But before we get into that, I want to thank everybody who donated to this incredible experiment we call the Pacifica Radio Network. The Pacifica Foundation, which, holds the license for Kpfk 90.7, an experiment that 60 years and counting where public radio, community radio listener sponsored radio.
00:02:06:23 - 00:02:33:18
DINO
We've never had those foundation moneys. We've always been, community sponsored. This means that you become a member, you make a donation. And that is why we have the flexibility and the availability to do the type of programing you hear regularly. Our program include it. So thank you for, contributing. I want to encourage you to stay in touch with that, kpfk.org.
00:02:33:18 - 00:02:58:19
DINO
You can go online any time, look at all the programs we have available. And of course, make a donation, become a subscriber. And to those of you who supported this program in particular, again, I say, thank you very much. So today we're going to we're going to begin with, Andrea, all of this of color news for a roundup of important California stories, from headstart to worker rights to immigration, federal investigations.
00:02:58:19 - 00:03:34:07
DINO
Andrea, you've heard on their program many times before, and, you know, she's pretty dope, man. She's on top of it. She's a journalist coming out of Sacramento. And, she's on top of stuff, man. We're also going to be welcoming back a candidate that we've had on the show before. Now, this program was originally slated to be a fireside chat, or rather, this segment between two candidates running for the, highly coveted current senatorial seat in the congressional Senate District 26.
00:03:34:09 - 00:04:02:22
DINO
Two women, Sara Rascon, Sara Hernandez, Miss Hernandez respectfully declined. And as such, we decided to keep the segment and you'll be hearing from only one of the candidates. And then we're going to close out the program by going back to the East Side, back to East Lee, for an update on the aftermath of the lineage logistics with Katie Hernandez of the Maravilla Community Advisory Committee.
00:04:03:02 - 00:04:25:18
DINO
And by the way, she's also going to be sharing, a little bit more on a report that was just released on the oil spill that happened in the East Side. A few some of you may recall, there was an oil spill, ruptured pipeline down the middle of smack in the middle of East L.A. and there was the oil just kind of spewing out everywhere.
00:04:25:20 - 00:04:46:00
DINO
And so there's a report that just just got released, and we'll be hearing a little bit more on that. So without further ado, let's get into it. Let's go back to Sacramento. And joining us now is Andrea Balladeers from Gallo News where she brings she's been covering developments involving education worker rights, immigration and the federal government's actions here in Los Angeles.
00:04:46:00 - 00:04:48:11
DINO
Andrea, welcome back to The Signal.
00:04:48:13 - 00:04:50:05
ANDREA VALADEZ
Hey, you know, I'm happy to be back.
00:04:50:07 - 00:05:11:02
DINO
But we're excited to have you back because you've been with us now for a good minute. And, you know, I've had folks, you know, people always say to me, you know, there's always these weird questions once in a while when somebody wants to know something. And I recently was at an event and somebody said, how come you never post the pictures of people like, the Sacramento reporter?
00:05:11:02 - 00:05:19:02
DINO
I drove all of this. I said, well, look at you. Where it all. What do you care? In fact, you should go read her articles. Don't worry about the pictures. But I do know.
00:05:19:03 - 00:05:22:10
ANDREA VALADEZ
You know, there's people listening right?
00:05:22:12 - 00:05:24:01
DINO
That's the good thing. So.
00:05:24:01 - 00:05:53:03
DINO
Okay, let's take it from the top. The Trump administration recently proposed changes, earlier this, this summer to a head start. Right. Let's start with that latest story published actually just yesterday, involving the Trump administration's proposal to change Head Start. The program serving more than 84,000 kids here in California. What's, particularly interesting about this is that there's opposition coming from both Democrats and Republicans.
00:05:53:03 - 00:06:02:12
DINO
So, Andrea, what exactly is the Trump administration and its latest effort to absolutely destroy this country? What are they proposing?
00:06:02:13 - 00:06:30:19
ANDREA VALADEZ
Well, the crux of this specific issue, really, is that currently there's about 130 pages worth of regulations and, requirements and performance standards for Head Start on what the Trump administration wants to do is basically whittle that down to just ten pages of, of rules for Head Start. And that really would completely change what Head Start is and what it looks like.
00:06:30:20 - 00:06:53:10
ANDREA VALADEZ
And as far as the bipartisan opposition, I mean, like you said, that's 84,000 kids in California that are enrolled in Head Start programs. Those kids are in two counties. They're in red counties. This really is a bipartisan issue. Issue at its core is that programing is going to be essentially gutted. I mean, that's something everyone will care about.
00:06:53:11 - 00:07:23:07
DINO
Now, one of the other proposed changes involves eliminating dual language instruction in favor of English only programing. Now, this one didn't shock me, right? I mean, we see this across the country apparently. Now, some of the latest crazy ideas coming out of the Trump administration, of course, is this idea that, some white folks are vulnerable to racism and, and let's not even get into the idea of executing somebody live on, on a broadcast.
00:07:23:07 - 00:07:31:23
DINO
But this particular issue here, English only program. And what would that mean for California Latino and immigrant families.
00:07:32:00 - 00:08:07:17
ANDREA VALADEZ
You know? Well, of those 84,000 kids, in California, and had they not almost 50% of them speak a language other than English at home, most of those are speaking Spanish at home. So, you know, the idea of switching to English only programing in Head Start is really going to change a lot of things. There are dozens and dozens studies out there showing how dual language education from an early age is extremely, very beneficial to students, more so than only speaking English in school.
00:08:07:19 - 00:08:13:11
ANDREA VALADEZ
So if that does go through, that's really going to change a lot for these kids and the teachers as well.
00:08:13:13 - 00:08:41:06
DINO
Right. And it's important to point out, folks, that this is not just a a Spanish language issue, right? When we look at, for example, the hundreds of languages that are spoken in U.S. households, the vast majority are in fact, English speaking children. Well, there's there's other languages that include Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, even French, Korean, Arabic, German, Russian.
00:08:41:06 - 00:09:00:13
DINO
I mean, so this is not just something that's going to affect the Latino community. It will in some parts of the country. Here in California, where we consider a minority majority. But it's important to point that out. So where does this proposal stand right now? Umbrella is is this going to happen?
00:09:00:15 - 00:09:24:18
ANDREA VALADEZ
It's likely that it will happen. Comments, public comments closed. Just a few days ago. And you know, at this point, it's really up to, HHS Health and Human Services, the agency that oversees headstart. I did reach out to California Attorney General Raul Bond, his office, to try to see if there's a lawsuit possibility there are.
00:09:24:18 - 00:09:31:13
ANDREA VALADEZ
These did not get back to me, but between you and me, I would say it is a strong possibility that there might be a lawsuit. Is that proposal does go into effect.
00:09:31:16 - 00:09:51:04
DINO
And this is a promise of, you know, Attorney General Rob Bonta, who's actually he's done pretty well in suing the Trump administration. We've got to give that guy yes, credit very successful in a lot of the suits he's brought, before. So yeah. Let's see, we'll keep our an eye out on that and bring you back once we hear some updates.
00:09:51:09 - 00:10:26:02
DINO
Let's move on over to left. Right. Something. One of those rideshare apps, perhaps one of the top two, 272.5 million wage theft settlement. After six years of litigation, Lyft has agreed to this whopping $272 million settlement involving allegations that it misclassified drivers, denied them wages and workplace protections. The settlement still requires court approval, but, yeah, what is, what was left accused of doing?
00:10:26:06 - 00:10:31:00
DINO
And how significant is this for, California rideshare drivers?
00:10:31:01 - 00:10:57:19
ANDREA VALADEZ
Yeah. So like you said, the allegation was that between the years of 2016 through 2020, Lyft was misclassifying drivers. So they classified their drivers as independent contractors. And because of that classification, they didn't have to pay them California minimum wage. They didn't have to offer overtime and other very critical workplace protections that we have in law here in California.
00:10:57:21 - 00:11:22:18
ANDREA VALADEZ
And Lyft is they made around $9.5 billion during those years. And drivers make, as you know, not very much. So yeah, the majority of that settlement is going to go towards rideshare drivers. More information will be coming out about when that settlement will be available to drivers, when people can start signing up for it. So that's kind of where we are right now.
00:11:22:20 - 00:11:53:23
DINO
So just to recap for folks that, you know, back in 2020, during pandemic time, California voters passed proposition 22, which legally allowed app based rideshare and delivery companies to classify drivers as independent contractors rather than full employees. That, was eventually, litigated in the California Supreme Court. And so this is all tied to that. If I remember correctly.
00:11:54:01 - 00:12:07:19
DINO
For drivers who may be eligible for compensation, what should, what's the story there? I'm guessing there's going to be some sort of website for people to seek, some sort of help.
00:12:07:21 - 00:12:39:02
ANDREA VALADEZ
Yeah. So once the court approves the settlement, there's going to be a third party administrator that starts reaching out to folks who were driving during those years, 2016 through 2020. And compensation is going to be determined based on hours and total miles. And like I said, we're still in the early stages. So once that settlement is approved and claimants start being made, drivers who were working during that time will will get an email, a call they'll be reached out to with all the information for how to start getting their money back.
00:12:39:04 - 00:12:59:02
DINO
So to all my Lyft drivers, all my Uber drivers, all of you out there, well, Lyft drivers in particular, stay tuned. This is something that, you know, I still get, I don't know, once in a while to get those little settlement cards. You know, you bought something in 1998 or something. Rather, you might be eligible for $0.02.
00:12:59:03 - 00:13:32:14
DINO
So look out for that, folks. So let's move on. Whistleblower allegations involving the FBI and Los Angeles protesters. Andrea, another troubling story involves allegations from a former FBI supervisor who claims that the Trump administration directed federal investigators to target Los Angeles residents protesting immigration enforcement. Senator Alex Badia is now demanding answers. These remain of whistleblower allegations not established.
00:13:32:14 - 00:13:54:16
DINO
Finding, something that, you know, I actually was covering some of those protests early on. I remember, as a photographer being shot by a rubber bullet on two separate occasions during that whole debacle. So what exactly is this whistleblower alleging, and what evidence has emerged suggesting that the white House may have directly influenced the FBI investigations here?
00:13:54:18 - 00:14:28:19
ANDREA VALADEZ
So the the report that Senator Hagel and that he released basically says, this former FBI supervisor, like you said, is alleging that after early protests in 2025, specifically in front of federal buildings, President Trump was angry and he directed, the FBI leadership to open investigations into those protesters. That's one scenario. The second scenario in the report, came about a video that came out of Alhambra.
00:14:28:21 - 00:14:52:17
ANDREA VALADEZ
And in that video, social media video went a little viral. There were underground protesters with megaphones warning people, essentially their neighbors, that there was ice on the ground telling them, you know, you have the right to remain silent, things like that. Again, in this report, allegedly, the president got very angry and he directed the FBI to open investigations into those people.
00:14:52:19 - 00:14:56:09
ANDREA VALADEZ
Despite there being no evidence of any crime being committed.
00:14:56:11 - 00:15:29:17
DINO
Presidential tantrum in, full display. Let's jump over to one of the other stories, for this segment, the final story for this segment that you've been working on or that you have already published. Governor Newsom's final immigration legislation. And, well, you know, Governor Newsom has made his final decisions on immigration legislation, signing several measures intended to strengthen protections while vetoing a few others that immigrant rights advocates, strongly supported.
00:15:29:19 - 00:15:57:03
DINO
You know, he kind of went out with a mixed bag. Again, he's not coming back. Clearly, there's, a well established, consensus out there that he does have greater aspirations. Whether or not this influenced that remains to be seen, but let's take it from the top. Andrea, in this final round of immigration legislation, what did you identify as the most significant victories for an immigrant communities here in California?
00:15:57:05 - 00:16:19:20
ANDREA VALADEZ
Yeah. So, I mean, as you know, immigration enforcement is at the federal level. There's only so much that California can really do, on that level. But what we can do is put really strict regulations around detention centers. There's eight currently in California. So to me, what stood out the most was how many oversight bills, were passed and were signed by the governor.
00:16:19:20 - 00:16:43:20
ANDREA VALADEZ
So some of these are the first in the nation, one of the bills that will put a 25% tax on the revenue that detention centers make. There's a new civil detainees bill of rights really enshrining basic, very, very, very basic rights, for detainees into law. So those those are the big ones, the oversight. But what we can tangibly do.
00:16:43:22 - 00:16:44:15
DINO
Now,
00:16:44:20 - 00:16:45:22
ANDREA VALADEZ
There was some losses.
00:16:46:00 - 00:17:05:05
DINO
And then so let's get into the vetoes right. He vetoed several bills, including legislation intended to strengthen restrictions on cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration. Was this something that he I mean, it might not look good for him if he were planning on running for president, but, what was the story behind that?
00:17:05:07 - 00:17:37:09
ANDREA VALADEZ
Yeah. So I think one of the bigger criticisms here is that he did and Newsom did stop a little bit short of, maybe not reforming the police for maybe putting a little bit of guardrails. He vetoed multiple bills that would have stopped, ice agents from getting jobs as police officers. Police officers? I think you just referenced a bill that would have, again, enshrined into law that state and local law enforcement that is working with federal, law enforcement, whether that be on joint task forces.
00:17:37:11 - 00:18:00:11
ANDREA VALADEZ
One of the bills wanted to really enshrine into law that there would be being there wouldn't be things like racial profiling happening. Right. And the governor basically said that that's unnecessary. And we already have that. But a lot of us know that sometimes those lines can get a bit, a bit murky. So, yeah, he did stop short of kind of pushing back on the police.
00:18:00:13 - 00:18:23:07
DINO
You know, Andrea, I got to tell you, girl, man, every time we have you on, it's like, I feel like we could go on and this kind of little work, brief segments where you describe it in simple terms and, you know, and in a time where folks are used to looking at 30s stories on their social media, half of which are crap and lies, it is a breath of fresh air, literally.
00:18:23:07 - 00:18:41:22
DINO
To have you on. I want to thank you for joining us here again. Hope to have you back soon. And Andrea, where can people log on, what website, what social media handle can they go and read your stories as you continue to cover Sacramento and the state? All across where give us give us the info.
00:18:42:00 - 00:18:55:04
ANDREA VALADEZ
Yeah. Well, I appreciate you. You know, thanks for having me again. Folks, want to check out our work? You can find us at Gallo News.com. Or if you want to look at my story specifically, just Andrea in print on social media, think, you.
00:18:55:04 - 00:19:13:00
DINO
Know, and that's what I do every week. In fact, I got her on my alerts, right? So she pops up every time she does a story. I wanna encourage you guys. Carlo. News.com. Andrea, I thank you for being with us. Stay with the folks. We're going to take a quick break and we're going to welcome back Sara Rascon.
00:19:13:01 - 00:19:37:21
DINO
Sara with an H who is running for California State Senate District 26. This particular segment was supposed to be two, but only one. We'll learn why. And, stay with us. We'll be back in a few minutes.
00:19:37:23 - 00:19:56:15
DINO
Welcome back. You're listening to The Signal news, information and analysis. I'm your host, Dino. And, you know, I want to thank you for joining us on this, giving us a little bit of your time on this wonderful Saturday afternoon, every Saturday at 12 to 1 p.m. on kpfk.org across the globe, we do have listeners who are tuned in.
00:19:56:17 - 00:20:19:11
DINO
Most of them are my former students and interns who I know listen. But other than that, of course, our, multiple broadcast signal areas. And, you know, before I welcome my, my guests back to the studios of of the signal, I always remind folks, Sarah, that it is live radio. I actually. And let me tell you the story, I had our guest, I don't know, about a year ago.
00:20:19:13 - 00:20:42:11
DINO
And, people have become so accustomed to the podcast format, which is great. In fact, we might be launching an additional podcast. And as much as I said, look, this is live radio. She was still in this podcast mode. And at some point in mid interview on the Air Live says to me, hold on, somebody's at my door and walks away.
00:20:42:13 - 00:21:38:12
DINO
So yes, welcome to live broadcast radio. I want to welcome back to The Signal, Sarah Rascón candidate for California State Senate District 26. Anita, welcome. And let me describe what the intention of this was. First of all, I do like and I've had multiple candidates back multiple times. And let me tell you why. Because I'm convinced in my 30 years of being in broadcasting, 20 years, maybe not as much as 30, that, you know, you need more than just the the ten, 20 minute, one time interview where you go with a standard profile questions, you know, the expectation that a constituent, somebody who's looking to vote is going to go around to
00:21:38:12 - 00:22:12:02
DINO
different venues and hear different interviews to really get an understanding. I don't buy that. I don't think it happens. So for me, it's important, as a broadcaster, that we do bring back. Yeah. So that you can hear more of the story. And when we reached out to you and your, and the other candidate, our intention, our invitation in fact, was we'd like to have you both on not as a debate, but as a casual conversation, what we described as a fireside chat.
00:22:12:04 - 00:22:42:03
DINO
Because I really would like to get down to what it is for you as a woman, as a Latina woman, as a woman of Los Angeles. What it it's like to run for office right now? I mean, the world is so just, you know, it's like walking through the rose beds over at the science center. You know, you're going to get picked here or there or it's a difficult time to be in and you're navigating so many different things, and there's so much happening.
00:22:42:05 - 00:23:02:22
DINO
You know, I'm curious, interested, concerned about the state of women in politics and society in college, you know, as a as a father of a young student in college. So we wanted to get down to a little bit more personal. The idea was to invite you all and say, come so that our audience can get to know you.
00:23:02:22 - 00:23:22:17
DINO
A little bit. And look, anybody can go to your website and look at the platform and we'll get into a little bit of that. Well, all that to say that, of the two candidates yourself and miss that I have not decided on this respectfully. Declined. And we are okay with that. We nonetheless decided to skip the segment.
00:23:22:19 - 00:23:32:23
DINO
Have you come on in? So, as such, we're going to spend the the rest of this segment, with you. So with that said, Sara, how are you?
00:23:33:01 - 00:23:34:17
SARAH RASCÓN
I'm well, a little tired.
00:23:34:19 - 00:23:35:14
DINO
Yeah, right.
00:23:35:14 - 00:23:51:04
SARAH RASCÓN
I mean, campaigning is every day and the district is quite large. I've always been one to do community organizing on the ground here from our communities directly, not tell them what's good for them. So it's a lot of ground to cover.
00:23:51:06 - 00:23:53:22
DINO
What's a day like for you? How many hours?
00:23:53:23 - 00:24:08:05
SARAH RASCÓN
Oh, I don't count this. I mean, it's, you know, I, I've always had the toxic trait. There's always something to do and that can be done. And on a campaign, there is no shortage of things to do.
00:24:08:10 - 00:24:36:00
DINO
You know, I'm I'm glad you said that, because the other day, I was, I don't know, I was having one of those life moments where you stop and ask yourself, have I done enough? You know, I, I was, a big activist during the early 90s. In fact, I was in the studios of Pacifica Radio Network when we were covering, the invasion of Iraq, for example.
00:24:36:00 - 00:24:53:07
DINO
I remember that very well. And and doing coverage on that. And all the years that came and Bush and, you know, Daddy Bush first and Sun Bush and all of this and, you know, you had a point in your life. And for me, at least at my age, where I say to myself, okay, it's time to pass that torch, I've been an activist.
00:24:53:08 - 00:24:59:21
DINO
Enough. Is that real? I mean, how does that resonate with you?
00:24:59:23 - 00:25:04:16
SARAH RASCÓN
Well, I think we can always do more, which is what led me to run for office.
00:25:04:22 - 00:25:06:20
DINO
Make the connection.
00:25:06:22 - 00:25:33:22
SARAH RASCÓN
You know, I grew up in the district in Al Sereno, saw government impact our lives as children, being a product of the department and children, family services, having gone through children's Court and saw that our neighborhood looked different than others and but together that because of these circumstances, government is the common thread here. Government affects us all whether you vote or not.
00:25:34:00 - 00:25:51:02
SARAH RASCÓN
And I saw my grandmother struggle to navigate social services and every day government services. And because of it, I became very determined to figure out this invisible system that affects us all from the inside and that's exactly what I've always done.
00:25:51:04 - 00:26:16:11
DINO
And, you know, I've I've heard you describe that about yourself. In fact, when you were last here on our program, you talked about your lived experience, right? And, not only in the district, but with your family. With your parents, somebody who's been there since the very beginning. Right. Sometimes there are those of us who would like to take a little sense of pride in saying, yeah, I'm literally from L.A..
00:26:16:13 - 00:26:38:01
DINO
I didn't come here at a certain age. And, look, I'm not dogging anybody else, in my opinion, is one of, if not the best city in the world. Yeah, I said it, fight me on it, but lived experience for you, has that been oh, how much of that goes towards what makes you qualified?
00:26:38:03 - 00:27:11:20
SARAH RASCÓN
You know, it's certainly informed my values and my moral compass, my foundation and who I'm accountable to. I have lived experience in having helped people navigate government services. I've actually worked in the state legislature myself, having served our communities, having helped resolve state issues, and having implemented state policy. I would also add, you know, it was a great moment of pride for me to be able to do a first time homebuyer program.
00:27:11:22 - 00:27:36:09
SARAH RASCÓN
And I saw the challenges firsthand. You can't make over a certain amount. There's a lot of paperwork. There are so many different parameters, and I want that for everyone. But I also have gone through our bureaucracy as an individual and therefore understand better than others what the challenges and the obstacles and barriers are, even to something like Edie.
00:27:36:11 - 00:28:01:19
DINO
Sure, sure. Now, some of it's something that I've seen across, especially since we've been covering elections here since. Oh, geez. Late last year we started our, politics tacos and beer, where we are inviting candidates such as yourself to come talk to us. One of the things that always comes up of course, is this. For some are serious problems.
00:28:01:19 - 00:28:32:14
DINO
For others. Hey, that's just the way politics are today. And that is these outside expenditures. Now you been getting hit? Yeah. Do we get hit by, outside money? And just for those of you who know this, don't know this, are confused about it, there are, political action committees, other, groups that will spend money to target a candidate.
00:28:32:16 - 00:28:57:20
DINO
Not necessarily, if at all, even communicate with the other candidate. And sometimes what you'll hear somebody say is, well, that's not me. You know, the fact that this interest group or this body or, you know, my buddy took over there, decided to put out a head piece on me because he thinks I'm not good looking enough for radio.
00:28:57:22 - 00:29:12:09
DINO
That's not me. And I've seen that happen to you. I've seen that happen to a lot of candidates. It's a thing that happens here in California, across the country. How do you mitigate that? What's your response to this?
00:29:12:11 - 00:29:41:01
SARAH RASCÓN
You know, I was with, Council Member Al Nessen on this just yesterday, and she has been someone that I admire and is a social justice warrior, also grew up in her neighborhood, her hometown of Highland Park, and decided to run for office to be a community voice. And she shared with me that those same outside interests and big moneyed interests and corporations that are attacking me attacked her.
00:29:41:03 - 00:29:41:19
DINO
Oh, interesting.
00:29:41:19 - 00:30:06:05
SARAH RASCÓN
And it is, you know, one, it's flattering. I'll say, because it tells you who I stand with, I love it, and who I don't stand with. If they're attacking us, they know that we are not going to be on their side in Sacramento. And that's exactly why they're spending money. And quite frankly, I am with our community.
00:30:06:07 - 00:30:31:17
SARAH RASCÓN
And that means tenants, vulnerable communities. That means people that are susceptible to the eviction to homelessness pipeline. So I stand by my morals and my values. And it is imperative that we look at who is funding these. I ese these independent expenditures, these PACs, political action committees, and that we follow the money which time is a luxury.
00:30:31:17 - 00:30:58:12
SARAH RASCÓN
Not everyone has the time to really dig in and see where this money is coming from. But it's a spiderweb. And if you really look at it, you'll see, who these corporations are members of what associations? You know, it's often like the California Chamber of Commerce, for instance, and you'll see where they stand in terms of policy and what kind of bills that they oppose or support.
00:30:58:14 - 00:31:01:09
SARAH RASCÓN
And I'll give the example of the lineage fire.
00:31:01:11 - 00:31:03:01
DINO
Yeah. Tell us, give us the example.
00:31:03:05 - 00:31:40:06
SARAH RASCÓN
AB 716 was a bill that our current state senator, Maria Elena Duda, also proposed. And this bill would increase accountability and fines on corporations when accidents like the lineage fire occur and create additional mechanisms of local accountability, which, you know, as a legislator from Sacramento, you have to work with the local authorities to be able to ensure that communities are safe and that these, you know, accident or not, are attended to quickly.
00:31:40:07 - 00:32:04:12
SARAH RASCÓN
But this bill was actually really challenging to pass in the wake of a chemical fire in our community. That's a frontline community that's already been exposed to so many environmental injustices and there was a big push from corporations and industries and the Cal Chamber to try and kill this bill at the 11th hour.
00:32:04:14 - 00:32:14:21
DINO
Yeah. And in fact, I was I was looking it up as you were describing it. And indeed, there was quite an effort. But it looks like Newsom did sign it.
00:32:14:21 - 00:32:16:20
SARAH RASCÓN
Yes. We were on the right side of history.
00:32:16:23 - 00:32:22:11
DINO
And, indeed, that is the, the outcome.
00:32:22:13 - 00:32:31:08
DINO
Set up for women in politics. How would you describe the state of women in politics right now? You know, there's been significant gains.
00:32:31:12 - 00:32:32:05
SARAH RASCÓN
Yes.
00:32:32:07 - 00:33:02:04
DINO
You know, this is why I wanted, you know, and I thought carefully about how to ask this question. And let me tell you what motivated me. You know, as somebody who's done Latino political analysis for years, a long 20 years ago, there used to be this argument among Latino circles that, you know, we need more representation. And I used to find myself saying to colleagues, friends and allies, yeah, but, you know, you got an example of a place like Texas.
00:33:02:04 - 00:33:17:16
DINO
We got Latino representation there 20, 30 years ago. And that didn't necessarily translate to anything other than we now have conservative, you know, or Latino representatives that are just as bad, if not worse in some areas.
00:33:17:18 - 00:33:27:15
DINO
In today's political climate, we've seen a substantial increase in growth. What or how would you describe the state of women in politics today.
00:33:27:17 - 00:34:28:05
SARAH RASCÓN
To generalize women? I'm I'm just going to say, women, and those who who feel more womanly, or. Yes. Well, I'll just say that I, I believe that we are very well rounded because we multitask so many different efforts that we just have to as being matriarchs, being nurturing, understanding, empathetic. You know, I'm going to go back to, you know, the chromosomes even, I do think it's important to have balance, you know, between all genders and non-gender nonbinary, women in particular bring something very different to the table where I feel as though we can be good collaborators and hear people out and bring this empathetic approach to
00:34:28:05 - 00:34:36:19
SARAH RASCÓN
our leadership. And I do believe that, we are on a positive trajectory because we do have more women representation.
00:34:36:19 - 00:34:59:08
DINO
You know, if you look at the trajectory in the last couple of years, we, you know, from mayor bars to Mafia to, you know, you say, well, hurrah to our nieces. You know, there's been a significant shift to power shift. You know, the county Board of supervisors, all women, you know, and and.
00:34:59:10 - 00:35:01:16
SARAH RASCÓN
People trust women. People trust.
00:35:01:18 - 00:35:10:06
DINO
And I guess part of what I'm getting at is, has there been gains for our communities because of this?
00:35:10:07 - 00:35:11:03
SARAH RASCÓN
Oh, yes.
00:35:11:03 - 00:35:11:18
DINO
Please tell us.
00:35:11:18 - 00:35:55:23
SARAH RASCÓN
Well, yes. Without question, you know, everyone from Sonia Sotomayor on the Supreme Court to locally to, like you said, having a all county board of supervisors represented by women to our current state senator being a woman, and continuing to be all represented by women on the board and also having more parity in the state legislature, more woman representation, I believe it gives us a better understanding of issues that men are not primary on, things like children and family welfare, for instance, child care.
00:35:56:01 - 00:36:13:17
SARAH RASCÓN
I mean, I myself, even as at the age of three, you know, feel a certain responsibility as a woman to check in on everyone. And that's also part of, you know, why I ran is because I want to take care of our communities and every which way possible.
00:36:13:19 - 00:36:29:01
DINO
And Sarah, when you see some of the behavior taking place in Congress, you know, the personal attacks, the hostility, the increasingly confrontational nature of our politics, does that ever give you pause?
00:36:29:02 - 00:36:32:13
SARAH RASCÓN
You know, all politics is local.
00:36:32:15 - 00:36:33:07
DINO
Okay.
00:36:33:09 - 00:36:59:20
SARAH RASCÓN
And when I see problems, when I see us, not at our best as a country, I see opportunity. I see opportunity, and I see hope. And more than anything, the ability to go up. There's no where we can go but up from here. So that's how I look at our issues. I'm a glass half full type of person.
00:36:59:22 - 00:37:24:15
DINO
Well, we are now. What? What did we say? How many days away from the election for 2024? Dyslexia kick in and 24? We are likely not going to have you back on in the next 24 days. Unless, you're the other candidate says, okay, I'll come back on. Sure. What's the final pitch? 24 days in.
00:37:24:17 - 00:37:53:02
SARAH RASCÓN
Final pitch is not only am I from the community, but I have served our community through various capacities and have always been our community voice of reason. I think it's incumbent that we question where attacks come from and why they are coming in. You know, they see us as a threat, but we have the support of communities, of people and of organizations that are values aligned.
00:37:53:08 - 00:38:24:20
SARAH RASCÓN
Everyone from the California nurses Association to the LA County Firefighters Local 1014 Planned Parenthood. These organizations do work and serve our communities. And if they are aligned with our campaign, that speaks volumes, including having actual community leaders who have been in the community and will be here well after term limits. So, and lastly, I'll say our money, more than 85% of our funds come from the district.
00:38:25:01 - 00:38:30:14
SARAH RASCÓN
And that, for me is a huge testament because who funds you? You are going to be accountable to.
00:38:30:16 - 00:38:53:09
DINO
Who funds you. You are going to be accountable to someone. As candidate for California State Senate District 26, she's been on our program before. We've been following this race very closely. A seat being vacated by the outgoing, Senator Maria Elena Duda. So it's going to be a very significant seat that covers, a great swath of Los Angeles.
00:38:53:10 - 00:39:06:19
DINO
Sara, I want to thank you for being with us, for returning, to the program to have this conversation that goes beyond the usual political questions. We appreciate your time, your candor, and we look forward to seeing you on the other side of this.
00:39:07:00 - 00:39:08:04
SARAH RASCÓN
Sounds good. Thank you.
00:39:08:05 - 00:39:12:21
DINO
Where can people learn more about your candidacy? And, how do they get involved if they want to?
00:39:12:22 - 00:39:26:18
SARAH RASCÓN
Don't forget to vote by November 3rd or third. Vote early because we don't want any hiccups with the Post office. And if you'd like to learn more, please visit RasconForSenate.com.
00:39:26:20 - 00:39:40:08
DINO
And actually, this is a good segue for our next and final segment, because I understand that, joining us will be Christy Hernandez of Maravilla Community Advisory Committee, and I believe you guys have a debate set up right here.
00:39:40:08 - 00:39:43:06
SARAH RASCÓN
We have a forum in East Los Angeles, October 20th.
00:39:43:10 - 00:39:50:22
DINO
October 25th, and we'll actually ask, Christy Hernandez to also let us know about that. Sara, thanks for being with us.
00:39:50:23 - 00:39:52:10
SARAH RASCÓN
Thank you for having me, folks.
00:39:52:10 - 00:39:54:02
DINO
Stay with us. We're going to take a quick break.
00:39:54:04 - 00:40:14:07
DINO
Welcome back. You're listening to The Signal news, information and analysis. I'm your host, Dino. So as we close out the hour, folks, we're we're going back home. We're going back home. And when I say home, I mean literally home as, graduate of, Roosevelt High School, go rough riders. Yeah, I said it. Fight me.
00:40:14:09 - 00:40:46:21
DINO
We're going back to East Side. Going back to East L.A.. My next guest is Christy Hernandez. She's been on the program as well from the V.A. Community Advisory Committee, CCaC, who has been following the lineage logistics fire, disaster that, well, you know, we'll lay blame shortly if, if it's time. And, of course, not only that, but also, what happened some months prior when all of a sudden an oil pipe burst in the middle of East L.A.?
00:40:46:23 - 00:41:10:09
DINO
You know, look, there's no shortage of historical disasters in the community, that, that encompasses East Los Angeles and, this year has been specifically, challenging. So I want to welcome back, Christy Hernandez. The Maravilla community advisory Committee. Christy, welcome back to the Signal.
00:41:10:10 - 00:41:12:15
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
Hi. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for having me.
00:41:12:16 - 00:41:28:18
DINO
All right, so let's take it from the top. Christy, it's, let's start with the big picture. Right? It's been some time since the launch logistics fire. What happened since we last spoke? Right. At the time, I think when we last spoke, there. We're still working on the cleanup. A lot of that, of course, has been completed.
00:41:28:23 - 00:41:32:07
DINO
Where are things today?
00:41:32:09 - 00:42:02:08
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
Well, there's a lot going on on the east side, and unincorporated East Los Angeles in Boyle Heights. I think the last time we spoke, it was about the, the oil spill, which happened on May 22nd of this year on one of the busiest intersections in unincorporated East L.A.. And since I've Chavez and Eastern, where 25,000 gallons of crude oil spilled onto that intersection going into our storm drains and eventually ending up in the Los Angeles River.
00:42:02:10 - 00:42:11:16
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
As far as we know, this is the largest oil cleanup in recent history, and it's also the largest cleanup of the Los Angeles River in recent history.
00:42:11:18 - 00:42:26:12
DINO
Well, you and Christine and I, sorry to interrupt you, but if I remember, because I think this is important to point out initially, the city or the county, if not both, said, it's just a couple of hundred gallons or something. That. Right.
00:42:26:18 - 00:42:29:12
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
That's 8000 gallons maybe.
00:42:29:12 - 00:42:33:02
DINO
And then it turned out to be 25,000.
00:42:33:04 - 00:42:33:15
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
Correct.
00:42:33:15 - 00:42:34:16
DINO
Quite a difference. Yeah.
00:42:34:16 - 00:42:54:06
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
At first they said it was like, oh five gallons per second and it was leaking for 30 minutes. So I try to do the math based on that basic information. And I knew it was more. And during one of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors meetings, the director of public Works confirmed that it was over 25,000 gallons.
00:42:54:08 - 00:43:01:00
DINO
Now, there's a recent report that, was just released, about the impact.
00:43:01:02 - 00:43:01:20
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
All right.
00:43:01:21 - 00:43:04:17
DINO
What, what's in the report?
00:43:04:19 - 00:43:39:04
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
So that report is over 900 pages. And Public Works had the Los Angeles Regional Water quality, control board attend our meeting to present, essentially, it is a preliminary draft. Study, report update on what is taking place. So there are certain infrastructure, testing, infrastructure that they put in place in the intersection to capture how much, if at all, the soil has been contaminated.
00:43:39:06 - 00:44:07:17
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
These boards that they put to also find out, about the soil and the soil vapors is what we're understanding. So, you know, we've have to really self it's all this is self plot. Do you know, because I never thought we'd have another Exide 2.0 and 2 in 1 month. But what they're saying that is that this is a long term, you know, mitigation effort to clean up the oil that spilled into the ground.
00:44:07:18 - 00:44:31:16
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
They did remove some of that initial soil. But what we also learned is that there's actually a casein around the actual pipe itself. So when the leak happened, it didn't only come up out of the ground, it also seeped into the casing that was around this pipe. So there were more than one areas where it breached as far as where the oil came out of the pipe.
00:44:31:18 - 00:44:57:08
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
So if you drive through that intersection, you'll see metal plates. Our concern also with this testing is that there are four schools within a four block radius, and students were still allowed to go back to school. It was a long weekend, but it was that Friday and then going into the following week. So, there is supposed to be what they're calling an open house on October 24th.
00:44:57:10 - 00:45:24:15
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
More details to follow to provide information and have the, water, quality control board come out and present their findings. But it is still very concerning. According to them, they did clean the storm drains and the actual L.A. River, but the damage has already been done as far as like this flowing into the storm drains that are under our residential homes and businesses.
00:45:24:17 - 00:45:56:06
DINO
And now just to update everybody, or for those of you who may not be aware, Christy mentioned the Exide disaster. That's something that, I remember, you know, all of us living through it and covering it, actually, Exide disaster refers to this, to decades of toxic lead, arsenic and hazardous waste contamination from a battery replacement plant, operated by Exide Technologies that was operating at the time in Vernon, California, just southeast of L.A..
00:45:56:11 - 00:46:18:06
DINO
Right on the other side of the L.A. River. Contaminated thousands of homes. In fact, to this day, I still get email alerts about status of Exide cleanups. And these are ongoing. It's impacted, hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions. And this is what that reference was. So, Christi, moving on to just, back to the lineage.
00:46:18:11 - 00:46:25:07
DINO
Where are things there, with regard to the community and, what is the community saying now?
00:46:25:09 - 00:46:58:19
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
Absolutely. So just to refresh folks memory, that happened on June 17th, not even a month after this oil spill. It was the warehouse that's 500,000ft², five stories high, burned for eight days, although there were smoldering after the fact. But the largest plume that blew east. So although this storage is on Boyle Heights, you live across the street in your unincorporated East L.A., and I bring that up because that has also course caused a lot of confusion and, frustration with the way resources are being allocated.
00:46:58:21 - 00:47:29:12
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
But as it stands now, the 85 million pounds of food that was spoiled as a result of this fire have been completely removed. However, the rodents, the flies, the mosquitoes, the dirty water from all of that, from the actual water used to put out the fire and the ammonia are still there. Oh, wow. And that's what's concerning, is that they wanted to say it was a waste, that was causing this odor.
00:47:29:12 - 00:47:49:01
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
But what we learned through, third parties and specifically the California Communities Against Toxics, they have come out to do their independent monitoring, monitoring and found that there is still ammonia in the air, do you know? And that is what folks are still dealing with to this day now.
00:47:49:03 - 00:48:09:13
DINO
So I mean that there's no way that can be a good thing, you know, especially of communities, you know, navigating in and out of this, this area. Just let me reintroduce you, Christy. Christy. Analysis with the Maravilla Community Advisory Committee, an organization representing, the interests of East Los Angeles. Boyle Heights, and the surrounding communities.
00:48:09:15 - 00:48:32:10
DINO
And you guys have been at the forefront of this fight, along with many other allies, many of whom have been on this program as we've been covering this issue, on an ongoing basis. And so you mentioned so two things stand out, right. You mentioned some of the challenges early on with communications because you cross one street, you're on L.A. County, you cross back, you're in Boyle Heights, the city.
00:48:32:12 - 00:48:43:08
DINO
How has but let me frame it this way. Has communication, has engagement improved with the community on behalf of the county and the city?
00:48:43:10 - 00:49:14:13
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
You know, as a resident of unincorporated East Los Angeles and with our Boyle Heights neighbors, you know, we live this every day. And I want to say that it has been so frustrating and disheartening, the level of disregard and neglect so many families and residents, especially those that live within blocks of the warehouse, feel like, you know, they don't feel heard, they don't feel seen, and they're the ones that are bearing the brunt of all the aftermath.
00:49:14:19 - 00:49:55:00
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
So many of them will tell you, and we're seeing that they are experiencing bloody noses, difficulty breathing, blurred vision, eye swelling, irritation of like the eyes and nose and throat and just overall like upper respiratory irritation. I've heard people who also are like, you know, breaking up in a rash or coughing up blood and the the very concerning part of this, you know, in addition to that, is that L.A. County Public Health is not properly tracking these incidents of people going into our local hospitals and clinics to properly track how many people have been impacted.
00:49:55:01 - 00:50:15:23
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
But the thing is, and what we have been fighting for through protect L.A. now and through other entities like the East Yards community for Environmental Justice, is what chemicals where we are exposed to so that we know how to protect and treat ourselves and our homes. But also, some of the doctors and medical staff know what to treat for.
00:50:15:23 - 00:50:55:04
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
But if they don't know what to look for, how can they treat us appropriately and accordingly? So that has been such a big point of contention because, you know, where is Barbara Ferrer? We've talked to her second in command, Doctor Martin Boyle, I believe, and I have to look back, but it's her part of public health, and they basically have told us, well, those are general symptoms, but you cannot tell me that those are general symptoms when a number of folks are experiencing the same things and you are minimizing their lived experience to the point where they think it's only them, it's only right they're in isolation.
00:50:55:04 - 00:51:21:00
DINO
And it's a number of folks that happen to also, many of them happen to be neighbors, live in the same community. You know, look, it doesn't take a rocket scientist or any scientists, including a barstool scientist like myself, to figure this this is there's correlation here. You know, Christy, as we as we had, on the way out of of the program, let me ask you, perhaps one of the more important questions.
00:51:21:02 - 00:51:38:23
DINO
And that is, you know, it involves what does the community need? What does the community want to happen next, not only with the facility, but obviously with the need for more support and assistance? What are you hearing? What's the demand?
00:51:39:01 - 00:52:13:22
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
The demand is that this is environmental racism and that we need to stop building industrial buildings in residential areas and under resourced communities where we don't have the voice or the resources to fight back. And that needs to be very clear. And folks do not want lineage to go to be rebuilt. And actually, what we learned recently is that Dr. Tse, the Department of Toxic Substance, chemicals, they actually came out with their criminal investigative team last week.
00:52:14:00 - 00:52:49:16
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
They weren't able to share too much because it's an ongoing investigation, but they were at lineage. I also wanted to share that, speaking of California communities against Toxics, they filed a lawsuit against the EPA, because they want to get, understand and have them released the records about about this fire. And thereafter it was also California Communities Against Toxics, the East Yards, community for Mental Justice and Protect L.A. now, who filed another, similar suit on Tuesday?
00:52:49:16 - 00:53:13:08
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
Yeah. Tuesday of last week against the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Fire Department because they want the records related to the fire department response to the fire, because, as you probably heard, the fire report came back and they said that the fire was undetermined and the community is what is like calling their bluff. And we also learned that that team report was AI generated assistance with AI generation.
00:53:13:09 - 00:53:33:08
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
Well, we want transparency. We want answers. We want accountability. Folks are still meeting every Wednesday at Resurrection Church for the vigil for a, a vigil and then a teaching. But folks want answers. They like, you know, the news is over. You know, folks are, the smoke is gone.
00:53:33:10 - 00:53:47:07
DINO
But but the disaster still there, right? Right, right. So one more time, Christy, where can people join or be a part of. Of what? The, the Maria Community Advisory Committee does?
00:53:47:09 - 00:54:18:22
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
Yeah. So the community advisory impact, you can find us on Instagram at MKC, underscore East L.A., we focus on the unincorporated community. We actually are having you mentioned it earlier in candidate forum with the Senate District 26 candidates on Tuesday, October 20th at 6 p.m.. You can find the information there. And if you want to get more involved with the lineage fire, you can go to, protect L.A. now, dot com to get more information, get more involved.
00:54:19:00 - 00:54:33:22
CHRISTY HERNÁNDEZ
We need everyone's voice. And, you know, the implications of these two environmental disasters, happened here, where the epicenter. But has, lasting impacts far beyond the zip codes in East L.A., in Boyle Heights. And I want to tell everyone.
00:54:34:00 - 00:54:57:13
DINO
Yes. Thank you. Christy, I want to thank Christy Hernandez, the mother of community advisory Committee. Thank you for joining us. And once again, for helping us understand and keeping our listeners informed on what's happening on the East Side in East L.A. we'll certainly continue to follow this story and ongoing efforts of residents to secure the answers to ensure there's accountability and there be a meaningful voice in the decisions affecting the community.
00:54:57:18 - 00:55:18:05
DINO
Folks, I want to thank everybody for joining us. As we close out, I want to, you know, remind you of one important thing. We've covered a lot of ground today from the latest developments affecting California's working families and immigrant communities to the personal conversation about women in politics and finally, the ongoing struggle of accountability in East L.A. different stories, different communities.
00:55:18:11 - 00:55:40:17
DINO
But there's one common thread running through them all the importance of staying informed, asking questions, and making sure that people those most affected, by these public decisions have a voice in those decisions. I want to thank all my guests, Andrea Luna, this of colonias Sarah Rascon and Christy Hernandez of the Mudville Community Advisory Committee. Thank you all for joining us.
00:55:40:22 - 00:55:54:00
DINO
I want to thank my producer, Nella Barbara, who's out and about on a story, and our audio engineer, Sly rivers. You know, it's been great having you with us. Stay with. Stay tuned. The car show is next. We'll see you next week.
