You’re listening to Unite and Heal America KABC 790 This is Matt Matern, your host. I’ve got Traci Park, who is going to be joining us on the show today. You know, my background is I’m a concerned citizen, environmentalist lawyer advocate seeking solutions to help our homeless population and, and I had a chance to meet Traci and get to know her a bit.

And I really like the things that she’s saying I’m welcoming Traci to our program. Traci is a candidate for LA City Council and has been an attorney for many years, and now wants to serve the west side as a councilmember Traci, welcome. Tell us our listeners a bit about your background. And what led you to jump into this race for city council?

All right, Matt, thank you so much for having me. As you mentioned, I have been a practicing attorney here in Los Angeles for more than 20 years, I started my career working closely with businesses all over California and beyond. And about 12-15 years ago, I joined my current firm, where we specialize in representing and advising public entities across the state of California.

So I work every day with city leadership, including elected officials, department heads, police and fire our public sector union unions on a wide range of different policy and day to day issues. I do continue to work with and advise businesses as well. And I am also a resident of Venice. And so I have over the last few years, had a front row seat to the growing crises on our streets.

And so it last year, I was approached by a number of residents and businesses here in Venice, and asked if I would consider taking on the incredible challenge of running for the CD 11 seats. And so after giving it some thought and thinking about, you know, my background and my skill set, I decided that the community was asking for my help. And then I really had no other choice but to get involved in to take this on. So here I am.

Well, I applaud the efforts and the willingness to jump in and serve the community. I know that that’s a challenge of, of a magnitude that is beyond normal. And that’s what we need in our communities to have people who are willing to jump in and serve and use their talents for the benefit of the community. So let me ask you, what are your top five goals and objectives that you intend to accomplish when elected to the Los Angeles City Council CD seat?

Yeah, so thank you for that. And just to be clear, we have many, many problems here in the city of Los Angeles. But I have done now over 100 community meetings, and I have held town halls in almost every community and CB 11, we will be doing our Venice community town hall this evening. And I am consistently hearing in those meetings, a lot of consistency about the concerns that are shared across our district. So to boil it down to five main things.

Obviously, homelessness is top of mind for many, many constituents and residents here on the west side of Los Angeles, we also have very significant public safety issues. Crime has been on the rise across our city, and that includes both property crimes as well as violent crimes. So I will be heavily focused on those issues. Economic Recovery is something else that is really important to me. During the pandemic, the city of Los Angeles lost more than 300,000 jobs.

And here on the west side, small, independent family, women and minority owned businesses have been hit incredibly hard. Finally, I would say infrastructure and the environment are absolutely critical. And in a lot of ways those two issues go together.

And I think jobs in the economy wraps in there as well. When we invest in infrastructure, particularly infrastructure that has good impacts on our environment. We are also investing in jobs and economic recovery. So those are the top five priorities for me coming into this new position.

Well, let’s take the first well, let me let me back up a little bit. How do you plan to accomplish these goals and And who, who will you work with as allies to accomplish these goals?

Yeah. So, you know, there, this is a really interesting time in Los Angeles, as we head into this election season, as you are well aware, we are going to be choosing a new mayor, a new City Comptroller, new city attorney, as well as a number of new council members. And I have been in deep conversations with many of those candidates as well as sit I’m so sorry, as sitting council members, for the last 10 months or so really thinking about where do we have commonalities in terms of the issues that our constituents are bringing to us? What are the things that we are going to be able to do to partner together to bring the changes that our communities are asking for?

So I think about that a lot. And yet, of course, a lot of it remains in the air as we’re heading into election season. Regardless of the outcomes of the elections, I am confident that I am going to be able to work with our new and existing council members to create a coalition and a caucus, who are going to be voting in favor of the constituent priorities.

And I am confident that with a new mayor and new leadership, that we as a city together collectively will be able to achieve the things that we’re looking to do. And there’s a lot of just to add on to that there’s a lot of opportunity for partnership with the private sector on a lot of these different issues, whether it’s homelessness and infrastructure. And so I’ve been working with community groups and organizations around those issues as well.

Well, let’s talk about homelessness, and what are the things that you think we can change direction on or that are areas that we could improve upon existing policies to reduce the crisis nature of this this problem?

Yeah. So I want to be very clear when it comes to homelessness, that this is a very complex human problem. And there is no pie chart or five point plan or 30 Day program that is going to cure this issue. What we are seeing on our streets today, in many ways, is the product of decades of bad planning and bad policy on a lot of different issues that, you know, span the spectrum from economic opportunity and education to health care and mental health care, to housing and more. And so this is something that we are going to have to be very deliberate about.

And we are going to have to be patient. And we’re going to have to work together not just here in CD 11, but across the city to get us out of the crisis that we’re in into a more manageable position. Now, there are some things that I think, if done urgently, will help us begin the process of mitigating the crisis and get this back under control. One of my biggest concerns has been that for a decade or more now, we have focused our time and our resources here in Los Angeles, almost exclusively on building long term permanent and supportive housing solutions. Those are essential, there is no question about that. And that must remain our long term goal.

The problem is that many of those projects are way behind schedule, way over budget. And we frankly don’t have another decade to wait to bring those units online while people are dying on the streets every day. So I would propose that we move some of our focus, including some of our Triple H and other funds to shorter term shelter and emergency housing options. Those aren’t ideal. And we got to continue focusing on the long term permanent housing solutions.

But we need to give people a place to go today where they can be safe and get connected to the services and the support systems that they need to begin getting stabilized. So I think that that is one fundamental shift that we need to see happen and I am seeing more and more candidates at all levels begin to have that conversation as well.

Well, I know that one of the organizations that we’ve worked with The, with the nonprofit that that I have is, is called share. And they have they’ve done some great work and I was talking to their directors and, and they had taken 100 plus people and help them get off the streets get housing, and over 80 of them they got jobs for. So not only did they house them, but they also help them get their lives back on track. And to me, that’s a model that we should be using.

And they were reaching out to governmental entities around the county, trying to get funding for to roll it out to 1000 people. And quite frankly, I think we could use it to roll out to 10,000 people, I mean, we’ve got more than enough potential candidates that fall into this group that, that that’s a that’s a program that deserves more funding.

And I think after the break, I’d like you to comment upon that and other programs, specific programs that we can target to increase funding for and maybe you can even tell us if there are any programs that you think need decreasing funding and refocus those funds on on other things.

As well as the zoning issue, which is kind of the elephant in the room, which until we tackle that to allow people to build more units in the city of LA and across California because we’re down 3.4 million units in the state of California. Well, if you have 3.4 million units that are kind of missing from the housing stack, it’s no wonder you got a homeless problem.

So you’re listening to Unite and Heal America and KABC 790 This is Matt Matern and I’m talking to Traci Park, candidate for the CD 11 seat in the at the Los Angeles City Council. We’ll be right back in just one minute.

See Unite and Heal America and KABC 790. Again, my guest today Traci Park and candidate for CD 11 Count City Council in LA. So Traci right before the break, we were talking about this program share and wanting to know if you’re familiar with it, and if you have any thoughts as to increasing funding to that group or any other groups that you feel like are doing a very good job of using our housing dollars to to help people get off the street and get get housed.

Yeah, thank you for that. So Matt, I think that shear is an outstanding model. And I’ve had the privilege and the opportunity to meet with some of their board members and visit some of their homes. And you know, it is a model that one is scalable, to is cost effective. And three has excellent outcomes, in large part because it focuses on recovery and self help, and really does the whole person work that’s necessary to help people get stabilized and back on their feet. And there’s a few things about the program that are particularly notable to me.

For one thing, it’s not uncommon for individuals that have been housed together in share to actually move on together as roommates in their own apartment and you know, sharing a life and keep continuing the efforts in the supportive peer bridging that that’s worked. Another thing that is notable to me about the program are the peer Bridgers themselves.

These are individuals that have lived experience that help the home residents create a set of rules that they abide by and really work with the individuals living in these facilities to help focus them on their journey to recovery and sobriety.

Something else that I really love about the program is that they are actually training their participants, and many of them are ultimately becoming employed as Pierre Bridgers. In the Share program. They also do a lot of work in outreach with individuals who have mental health issues and as I’m sure you know, that is one of the most difficult populations living on the street to serve.

I have long been a fan of Sharon similar models, and I welcome the opportunity to work with share going forward To help them bring more people into those settings, you know, it has always been a head scratcher to me that here in CD 11, we have had a council member who, for years and years, shunned those models.

And the narrative that we would often hear was that it was undignified for people to have to share a bedroom in a home. And that never resonated with me, what I think is undignified is leaving people who are sick and suffering who need help out on the street to deteriorate and quite frankly, in many cases die. So these shared housing models are I think, something that the city needs to do a lot more investment in. And I certainly will be focusing over on that here on the west side. Well,

I had a proposal that I talked to a number of legislators up in, in Sacramento about which was to give a housing stipend to homeowners who would take in homeless individuals. And that would be kind of similar to the share model. But I’ve kind of shifted focus to trying to get more dollars to share because they’ve got a clearly tested model that has worked.

And I think let’s go with what is tried and true. And I think their model has has worked. Are you familiar, Traci with other models and other programs that you think the city of LA should be putting investing money into, to help solve the homeless problem?

Yeah, so they’re, in addition to the, you know, some of the programs and services that are focused on keeping people house rental subsidies and things like that, there is an organization called hotpicks. And they have a program called problem solvers, that is an early intervention program, where they are able to help support individuals who are housing insecure, at risk of becoming homeless, or have only recently become homeless.

And they offer help in a number of different ways. Whether it is by providing groceries, rental assistance, or placement into new housing. And the goal of that program is to intervene and help someone get stabilized before they enter into the Coordinated Entry System before they actually become you know, it find themselves in the pipeline into the homeless system and services program. And I’ve had the opportunity to meet them and speak with them.

And the work that they do is actually really incredible. And the ways that they are able to help people before they become chronically homeless before they lose their home is really remarkable. And that is an organization that has very limited government funding. And that’s the type of prevention side program that I would like to see significant more investment in. Another great example of Homeless Services are is Union Rescue Mission.

Just to give you one example, and I recently had the privilege of attending the grand opening of Angeles house in South Los Angeles, that is Union Rescue Mission and new transitional housing for families. And this is a beautifully and thoughtfully designed building that has on site daycare, educational classes, library playgrounds, community rooms, there’s on site medical, dental, and other amenities. And one of the things that they really, it’s non negotiable for them is no drugs and alcohol.

And that commitment to sobriety and stabilization and recovery, overall, has enabled organizations like Union Rescue Mission to have very successful outcomes with the population that they serve. But because of our legislative commitment to housing first and harm reduction models, many of those programs are not eligible for government funding.

And I think that that is a real shame. It’s also interesting and notable to me that organizations like Union Rescue Mission, are able to bring those housing units online for a Out 50% of what the government is spending when bringing these Triple H projects online.

That is notable and sickening. At the same time. It’s, it is crazy that I’ve heard that somewhere $700,000 A unit for many of these units and one project I heard quoted at over a million dollars a unit, it’s, you know, we’ve got to be able to do a better job at at reducing the costs of these units for sure.

And quite frankly, I do feel like a share type model or Union Rescue type model gets people kind of acclimated to going back into normal day to day life more effectively, then, then some of the long term programs that don’t have any requirements for sobriety, which, as we know, is one of the major drivers for the homelessness problem. So it’s kind of like putting our heads in the sand and saying, Oh, we we wish upon people to be sober. You know, do it in your tent, you know, it’s just not going to happen in a tent.

So that’s right, Matt. And you know, there is a reason that more than 500 people died in Project room keys. Because if you aren’t addressing the underlying addiction issues, then really what we’re doing is enabling and perpetuating that cycle of abuse. And you know, I have spent a lot of time out in encampments talking to unhoused people, because they believe that as a policymaker, it is important for me to understand what has worked for people and what hasn’t worked, why they’ve been in but exited shelter settings.

And, you know, folks who are on the streets that aren’t using drugs and alcohol tell me all the time, they don’t want to be housed with people who are older people who are living on the streets tell me they don’t want to be housed necessarily with youth.

And women who are victims of domestic violence have their own unique set of needs and sources of support. And so I think that we need to be much, much more granular in how we are designing housing and shelter interventions, so that we can get it right to really assist the populations that we need to serve. One.

One other program that has gotten some press recently, and I’d like to get your thoughts on it is, is to convert the old Sears building downtown or adjacent to downtown into a massive homeless shelter. And my recollection is that it was going to cost $20 million a year to lease it for 10 years. And that it would put everybody in this one one place, or not everybody but 1000s of homeless people into this Sears building.

And so I’d like to get your take on that after the break. You’re listening to Unite and Heal America and KABC 790. This is Matt Matern, your host and Traci Park is our guest here running for city council in LA and we’ll be back in just one minute.

You’re listening to KABC 790. This is Matt Matern, your host and we’ve got Traci Park, candidate for city council with us and Traci just before the break I was raised the issue of the old Sears building adjacent to downtown and the potential to use it for housing many homeless people what what are your thoughts on that one?

So I think that this is a concept that we really should be leaning into. I have repeatedly heard not just from constituents in my own district but from candidates who are running for mayor and for other council seats. Call for a FEMA like emergency response where individuals who are living on the streets can be triaged and have resources and services all available to them in one location.

The Sears building, as I recall, I think is over a million square feet and the concept for that would be to have housing, medical services, mental health services, education services, all in one location. So all the various floors of the building it’d be dedicated to the different service providers and outreach workers as well as housing.

And then if I’m not mistaken, the concept also calls for tiny homes to be added on the parking lot portions of the property so that as individuals are graduating from their substance use disorder treatment that as they’re ready to become more independent, and start living on their own, they have an opportunity to do that as we get them reintegrated into our communities.

You know, we have seen, for example, in Houston, Texas, a similar effort where all of the city’s outreach workers and service providers were brought into one location that provides on site on demand services as well as housing. And that has made a tremendous difference in the city’s ability to ensure that people who need the assistance are getting the care that they need, and that they have a place to go where they can live and be safe from the streets. So this is something that I am certainly open to, and I welcome the opportunity to work with the city to make it a reality. O

kay, yeah, I have some concerns about the cost is 20 million a year for this kind of white elephant building seems like it might be a bit much and that the real estate developers is making a good profit on this, this building, but I haven’t studied that aspect, you know, in great depth.

So I would just ask that you public policymakers, you know, really look over those numbers very carefully to make sure we’re getting a good deal, because sometimes it seems like the city gets the short end of the stick in, in doing business with outside vendors.

Yeah. And, Matt, you’re not wrong about that. And just to sort of take on this thread, the spending associated with addressing the homelessness crisis is something that has been of great concern to me. And frankly, one of the reasons that I decided to get into the race, you know, we have pumped billions of dollars over the last two decades into organizations like Lhasa, we spend millions and millions of dollars every year on service providers, we spend about $30 million a year on La sanitation, cleanups of encampments, that housing help no one.

And so we don’t have unlimited resources to address this problem. And if we are going to get ahead of this, and we are going to actually make the changes that help people get stabilized and recover from their circumstances, we have got to be more mindful about the spending. And so I think you are right about and at the end of the day, we have to be able to stretch our dollars as far as we can to help as many people as we can.

I certainly, you know, welcome your efforts to really take a very close look at what we’re spending and how we’re spending it. Because it’s not that I think that we’re not spending enough but not to say we couldn’t spend more.

But I would like to say as a citizen, that we spend whatever tax dollars, that we’re contributing wisely and using it to get the best bang for buck and the best outcomes for the the homeless individuals so that they actually get housed.

I mean, I wanted to pivot to environmental issues. And I’ve had a number of guests on the show. I’ve I admire the work that’s being done at the state level by on environmental issues by legislators like Senator Ben Allen. And his efforts to limit the amount of single use plastics that are sold in California, as well as many other things that he and others are doing up at the state level.

And what efforts can the city of LA take to address the environmental issues that are going on at a local level? And what are kind of your top of objectives there?

Yeah, so there are so many things that we are already doing, and so many more things that we need to do to address climate change and sustainability. Here in city 11, which is our coastal district in Los Angeles, the environment is a huge concern to many of our voters. And so as we are thinking about adopting policies, I am always mindful of the fact that we are blessed with some of our most important environmental resources here on the west side, from our Biona well lense and freshwater marshes to our beautiful coastline and our ocean to our wildland urban interface up in the northern parts of the district in the Santa Monica Mountains.

There are environmental issues and catastrophes waiting to happen all over the city. So I think I’ll start with the northern part of the district and move down. Obviously, you’ve probably heard the news that we are in a drought and we are expected to have another very serious wildfire season here in California. Ensuring that we have a wildfire community protection plan is something that I am going to be very carefully focused on.

We are going to have to study fuel mitigation measures, rainwater recapture systems for ensuring that our hillsides and their infrastructure are to tinderbox, and we don’t end up with another paradise situation on our hands. It’s also really important to me that we are being mindful of our ocean and the pollution that is so detrimentally impacting our coastal resources. You know, for many years, I have been going out about once a week and picking up trash along the coast.

This past Friday on Earth Day, I did that. And we had had a storm on Thursday night, and every time we have a storm, it breaks my heart to see the amount of trash and pollution that is washing up on our shores. So investing in things like the biota, Creek trash interceptor, as well as similar infrastructure projects further upstream, that help eliminate that waste and catch it before it comes into our oceans. I think it’s also really important that we’re looking at our water infrastructure in the city, many of our pipes under the ground are 100 years old. T

hey’re replete with leaks, which leads to water waste. And when those pipes and mains break, we see hundreds and 1000s, if not millions of gallons of our water being wasted. So making those pre preemptive investments in capital improvement projects is something that we’ll be focusing on as well. The west side of Los Angeles, also, I believe, should be a home to businesses that are committed to green energy and technology.

And what I would like to see is the creation of green investment districts here on the west side. So that we are a hub and a home for clean tech entrepreneurs, organizations that are investing in green and clean technologies, and incentivizing and rewarding businesses that are committed to environmental best practices. So just off the top of my head, those are a few of the initiatives that I’m thinking about and will be really excited to work on at City Hall.

Well, I’m in sync with you on a number of those. And one of the last ones that you mentioned was the working with entrepreneurs and the nonprofit that I have. We have just gotten our license to be a micro lender here in the States. And one of our goals is to lend to small businesses that have an environmental and sustainability focus so that they can be creating the businesses of the future, which are environmentally sustainable businesses.

One of the things that you talked about was the water waste that we have in the city of LA and all across the the state, but let’s focus on the city. I had heard from one of the experts I’ve had on the show regarding these issues that we’re way we’re sending billions of gallons out into the ocean of freshwater runoff and how can we recapture those and and your thoughts as to what we can do on that front.

So water capture systems are a capital improvement and infrastructure project that I am really excited to invest in here locally. And you probably also are aware that Hyperion is going to be probably one of the largest gray water treatment plants anywhere here in Southern California. And if done properly, and invested in correctly, that is going to be a system that is significantly going to help Los Angeles make that transition to recycled water programs.

And these are things that we absolutely have to invest in. As we are building for more density and as population grows. We have gotten So be mindful about our water resources here in the city and make these investments now, right I mean, it’s a long term investment, but that’s what’s going to recharge the, you know, the water the whole system, the whole ecosystem with with water and so that our drought will potentially break because of us handling this, this wastewater that we’re putting out into the ocean, which does not need more fresh water in it to survive.

So we’re at our break, you’re listening to Unite and Heal America and KABC 790. My guest again, Traci Park, running for city council and City of Los Angeles. We’ll be right back.

You’re listening to Unite and Heal America on KABC 790. This is Matt Matern. And we’ve got Traci Park. On the show today, I wanted to pivot to something. Traci as far as I’m a fan of Mayor Rex Paris up in Lancaster and, and Rex has done some great work up there over the last I believe been the mayor since about 2008. And he’s reduced the time to issue permits for rooftop solar two hours instead of days or weeks or months. I mean, I bet I think it’s something like he told me on the show that if they don’t come up with a reason, within 30 minutes or something, the inspectors they issue the permit.

So I mean, that’s just kind of cutting out the bureaucracy, stopping the delays and moving things forward, that are environmentally friendly. They’ve worked with the developers up there, KB homes and some of the other big developers to design more energy efficient homes. So they’re using less power. And the power companies aren’t wild about the work Rex is doing. But the consumers are. He’s also converted a lot of their buses, if not all of them to zero emission buses.

They do green energy production there. They have major solar arrays with kind of these devices that intensify the rays of the sun and the heat of them. I don’t understand the science there. But they seem to be very powerful devices to help generate green energy, and also hydrogen production. What what can we learn from the city of Lancaster that we can implement down in LA I know LA has done quite a bit. But it’s got a ways to go right.

There’s always a ways to go in the city of Los Angeles. But I think maybe one of the most important things that you mentioned about Lancaster is eliminating the bureaucracy and rapidly approving these kinds of projects. We unfortunately here in the city of Los Angeles are snarled in red tape and delays whether you know it’s new development or it’s transitioning to new environmentally sustainable policies and practices.

That said, there are a number of great initiatives here in the city that are already underway, the city is in the process of transitioning its entire fleet to electric vehicles. Now you may have seen a post from our new Fire Chief that we are in the process of updating even all of our fire vehicles to to EVs, which is really exciting. So as I think about that, as an example of an excellent environmental initiative, it certainly raises the issue of our need to rapidly and drastically expand our city’s EB charging infrastructure.

If we want to get people out of ice vehicles and get them invested in environmentally friendly vehicles, we’ve got to make it easy and accessible for everyone to get a charge, especially when they’re out on the go. It also makes me think about, you know, some of the environmental and humanitarian concerns with the mineral mining and what goes into the battery production for EVs and other electronic items as well. But in the salt plains in South America, where lithium is mined, you know, that actually requires a lot of water.

And that has humanitarian impacts as well as environmental impacts in other parts of the world where these minerals are mined with chemicals. We often see those chemicals getting into our fresh waterways and killing wildlife, you know, even up to 100 miles downstream. And so it would be very important to me as a council member, that as we are making these purchases for the city fleets that we are contracting with companies that are committed into environmental and humanitarian best practices. And I think it also raises the really important question of our disposal of E waste in the city.

I’m always surprised when I asked constituents if they know that they can take their E waste to a location like Hyperion station, and how few people are aware that we have that resource available. But we’re going to need to increase those types of facilities here in the city. You also mentioned rooftop solar, I am a huge fan of that. And I’d like to see that incorporated in our new building and environmentally sustainable practices as we are building.

You know, you mentioned earlier all the housing production that we need to do. According to the Rena numbers, we need to come up with 450,000 new units here in Los Angeles over the next decade. And I think that those environmentally sustainable building practices are really important, retrofitting our current or current homes and infrastructure is important as well.

And that very well may mean subsidizing rooftop solar in our lower income communities. We can’t make these environmental practices inaccessible to folks that need the help to make those those transitions and at the end of the day, in the long term, those are things that are good for the planet, which means they’re good for all of us, too.

Right? Well, you mentioned a problem with the disposal and the mining related to all the Evie batteries. And as somebody who drives a hydrogen car, which doesn’t have that problem, I’m kind of, you know, make that raise that point is that what can we do to kind of maybe convert or have more hydrogen vehicles?

That, you know, from what I have been told the from experts, the larger vehicles are even better suited for hydrogen such as probably buses and, and things of that nature? And what can we do to, to roll that out here in the city, they’re kind of perfectly suited for that type of situation.

Yeah, and the investment in, you know, in the hydrogen based energy, I think, is really important. There are different types of hydrogen production and different layers and levels of environmental impact, depending on what type of hydrogen production we’re talking about. But the reality is, at the end of the day, we have got to move off of dirty fossil fuels. We see the impacts of that all over the city, the country and frankly, all over the world.

And so, you know, some of these technologies, like in your vehicle are really exciting to start seeing coming online, in the marketplace. And you know, we’re going to have to be creative about this. It’s not going to be all solar, it’s not going to be all mineral based. It’s not going to be all wind or all hydrogen, we’re going to have to create and invest in a portfolio of energy, clean energy production supplies and platforms that can power our city for our next generations in a way that is environmentally sustainable and responsible.

So I look forward to working with organizations and innovators that are bringing these new technologies to our marketplaces.

Well, you mentioned wind energy, and I quite frankly, I don’t think I’ve seen too many or any wind turbines in in the city of LA, are there places where wind turbines could be placed in the city of LA? And are we in the process of expanding that in any way?

Not in the city of Los Angeles. But if you have ever driven up toward the Sierra, I’m sure you have seen the expansive areas where there has been significant investment in the wind turbine infrastructure. Certainly, if you’ve ever gone out towards Palm Springs, you see it there as well. You know, it is one potential source of renewable energy, but there are some environmental collateral impacts associated with that type of energy production as well.

For one thing, it requires vast, vast swathes of open land. There are numerous documented incidents of turbine fires, production or disposal of used turbines is another serious concern. If you just Google wind turbine disposal, you’ll see some very, very striking and shocking images. You know, those don’t just decompose in landfills.

And there are some impacts on wildlife that come with that type of energy production as well. So it’s one resource that we have some existing infrastructure for. It’s not necessarily the most efficient. And when we take into account the collateral environmental impacts it, you know, it’s one of a potential menu of things, maybe not necessarily the preferred type of renewable energy.

Well, I’d have to have you debate my guests from the previous show, who is this John Hopkins, John Hopkins professor who, you know, is a big wind advocate. And he was saying that the cost of wind is actually lower than almost any other form of, of energy.

So, and he was talking about wind energy out in, in the oceans and some onshore wind, it would be challenging, the technology is a little bit different, because I guess our coastline drops off so fast. They can’t tether it to the the ocean floor like they do it on the east coast and in Europe, but I don’t know if if the city is considering any of those options.

Well, if a professor from my alma mater at Johns Hopkins is telling me that it is one of the more efficient resources, I certainly wouldn’t quibble with him, and I would look to him for his expertise on that. And you’re right, you know, they have done some of these offshore projects in Europe and some other places. And again, you know, I think it is one, one of a number of different types of clean energy solutions that we need to be looking at, at the end of the day, we have an enormous grid that needs to be powered.

And if we are going to reduce and eventually cease our reliance on fossil fuels, we are going to have to make those investments and ensure that we are looking at a number of different ways and platforms to get those energy delivery systems in place.

Right. My friend from John Hopkins, John Hopkins was telling me that Denmark gets 100% of its electricity from wind during the winter months, which is pretty phenomenal. So and a number you know, Iowa gets 40% of their electricity from from wind.

So it is it is a source that should be in the mix. So anyway, it’s been a pleasure talking with you, Traci and wish you all the best and your run. The Election Day is coming up and what is it June 6, June 7 is election day will be arriving in the mail right around May 9, so folks can just drop those right back in the mail or they can vote in person on June 7.

Okay, well, great. Well, best of luck to you and the election and hopefully we’ll talk to you soon again on the program when you’re formally a city council member.

I’d love to come back now we’ll see.

Okay, well, you’ve been listening to Unite and Heal America and KABC 790 and tune back in next week.