California Insider

Siyamak sits down with Alex Villanueva, former sheriff of Los Angeles County. He'll give us a deeper look into how corruption works in Los Angeles, and what should be done to stop it.

"It's billions of dollars that get poured into the pockets of the nonprofit world in the state of California. And what is the return on the investment? A bigger homeless problem. We're not fixing anything, what we're doing is maintaining very expensive nonprofits that are very profitable," said Mr. Villanueva.

"Then who are these people donating money to? The same elected officials that are awarding the contracts to the nonprofits."

"So those elected people, who do you think their allegiances are? To the taxpayer, to the voter, or to the machine that puts them in office?"

Siyamak sits down with Michael Bornman, a retired captain from the LA County Sheriff's Department who had served for over 30 years. He shares his perspective on the issues the Department is currently facing. We also talked with Cece Woods, who has been reporting on the LA Sheriff's Department for many years. She provides her insight based on conversations she has had with people in the department.

"They're getting pre-scheduled, managed, forced overtime. And on top of that, if they don't have enough people, if you're getting out the door to go home, they'll draft you into another overtime spot. So 16-hour days every day" Mr. Bornman said. "Folks are dropping like flies because they're frustrated, they're angry. They get mixed messages from the top. You don't ever hear about a great cop did something or how they've saved a kid or how they saved the day for somebody. All we're hearing nowadays is anti-cop, anti-law enforcement rhetoric. I'm sure you've seen it in the news."

Siyamak sits down with Christine Epperly, a licensed civil engineer and building designer with over 30 years in business. She discovered a state-run plan called the "15 Minute City" that is changing the landscape of California.

"What's happening in California is we're building these high-density communities in the middle of the towns and suburbs. I looked at them and they're basically all the same. It's brutalism."

Siyamak sits down with Susan Shelley, columnist with Southern California News Group. She discusses California's renewable energy policies and their impact on the cost of living.

"We are in California, bearing this tremendous burden financially to model good climate behavior. And it does not affect the global climate because it's too small. It’s 1 percent of all our global greenhouse gas emissions. The whole state could shut down and it would make no difference."

"It's like apocalypse when you're on these wildfires and everything is burning. Homeowners in sandals, shorts, and a T-shirt on their roof, watering the roof down. A lot of people cannot get fire insurance because it's getting so expensive in California."

Siyamak sits down with Sam DiGiovanna, fire chief for Verdugo Fire Academy. He discusses his predictions for upcoming wildfires.

Siyamak sits down with Rex Ridgeway, president of the PTA at Lincoln High School in San Francisco. He explains how San Francisco's inclusion policies are actually hurting the overall performance of students and why parents are leaving the public school system.

"Kids in San Francisco can't get to calculus. They moved Algebra 1 out from the 8th grade in a city, which Mayor London Breed has recently said is the hub of AI. In the heart of Silicon Valley, you don't let kids shine."

"Carjacking is a serious felony, but selling a child for sex is not. I would ask them as a parent, why would you not support a bill to make human trafficking of minors [a serious felony]? ... This is a place where good public safety bills go to die from both Democrats and Republicans."

Siyamak sits down with California state Sen. Shannon Grove, author of the SB14 Child Trafficking bill initially rejected by the Assembly. She takes us behind the scenes and tells us what’s going on in California legislation.

"We were called agents of racial genocide. That really hits bad, that is so, so not true. So when you start hearing those types of words that are describing what you do every single day, it doesn't sit well."

Siyamak sits down with Marlon Marrache, a retired LAPD officer to discuss the impact that legacy media has on people's perception of policing, and why the LAPD is struggling to find new officers.

"I trusted the doctors, I trusted the teachers. That part was so painful to understand. Parents are bullied. Doctors tell them: "Would you rather have a dead daughter or alive son?" Siyamak sits down with Erin Friday, a lawyer and parent advocate. Today she will discuss California laws on gender transformation, and how she dealt with this personally.

"In the name of green energy, we're sacrificing wildlife species. Because of the power mandates, we're unable to enforce the take of that. I don't think they have thought what that cost is to us as Californians and to the environment as a whole." Siyamak sits down with John Baker, retired Assistant Chief with California Fish and Wildlife Department. Today he'll discuss the double standards he experienced while enforcing California's environmental laws.