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Veteran's Affairs Plus discusses the issues that veterans in Las Vegas deal with on a daily basis. Your host, David L. Washington connects listeners with relevant community resources and information that they need to help veterans or themselves.
Unknown Speaker 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. You're listening to special programming sponsored by making moves, life coaching services. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education. You
Unknown Speaker 0:42
what's going on good day
Unknown Speaker 0:50
Las Vegas. This is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. I'm Dave Washington, your host, and as I mentioned last week, I was going to ask our guest, Tim SK former Pio for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. Brother Yousuf Muhammad, I don't know if he's still on the line. And brother Rudolph Muhammad to stay on. We were talking about the need to just educate, continue to educate our public as it relates to disaster preparation, if you will, and management. So Tim, I know you've done a lot of things in your time, and you did say that the CERT program is now now under emergency management with the City of Las Vegas. Is there any particular contact information that you may be able to point people toward? I
Unknown Speaker 1:36
don't have their number, but if you just look up the city of Las Vegas main number, and tell them you want emergency management, they'll connect you, and then they'll make arrangements. And somebody you know from the past, I think Thomas meramontes Is the instructor for it right now. Tom's doing it.
Unknown Speaker 1:57
Tom's a good guy. Always been a good guy. I really appreciate the way he carried himself as an officer. Great. So anyway, you heard that from Tim, those of you who may be interested in learning about how to take care of yourself, because, as he mentioned in the previous show, and I certainly agree, long before firefighters, police would get to the scene of your home or wherever the incident may be, you're going to be there prior to them getting in. You may have to look out for yourself for a few hours prior to arrival of any emergency. It
Unknown Speaker 2:31
could be days, and could be days in some cases, that's Katrina was that I learned from the seminars that we had, that the fire chief told in New Orleans, he told all of his firefighters, if you have a boat at home, go home and get it and bring it to the fire station. But this is going to be really bad. And they did, and you know the story, they did a lot of rescues down there, and New Orleans, you're hearing news stories about and you don't know the other side of the story, where you hear people say, well, they went in because they heard shooting that people were shooting at them and stuff like that. Well, if you're from the south, that's how you communicate in the south, is by firing your gun up in the air. And a lot of these people were trapped in their attics and on roofs. And it wasn't he didn't bring as many in because there was shooting. That's how people they was pitch black, right? And they were shooting their guns to let the rescuers know where they were at. The Chief had brought the crews in against their liking, because it was extremely dangerous. The water was over utility poles, and there was varmints in the water, snakes, crocodiles and that. So he says, when there's daybreak, we'll go we'll go back out. So that was the rest of the story of Katrina. Well, you
Unknown Speaker 3:55
know what that's that's a valid and very interesting point that people use their weapons to let folks know here, I'm over here, and if you don't have a weapon, I mean, because you can't yell, they ain't going to hear you. But if it you know you hear a shot, that's interesting.
Unknown Speaker 4:13
The most important thing of everybody in the United States right now is communications. And we're so addicted to our phones, that we keep up with our family members, we keep up with work and everything. Just imagine if the phone system went away. It was gone. There was no way to commune. How are you going to let other family members know that you're all right? And that's why you hear you say you establish somebody in your family, somebody that might live in another city, and say, if you you know, call in to Aunt Mary and Houston and tell her where you're at and stuff like that. And everybody uses her as a as a catching point. But I think when the phone goes down today, you. People panic that and electricity, that that is something that they rely on every day. And your communications. Do you need to you need to sit down and talk to your family? I think this is the most important thing. And just say, hey, if we're separated, let everybody know where you're going to be for today. If we're separated, this is how we're going to get back together. You're going to walk or go to so and so's house or or something of that nature, because you won't have a way to talk to them. And I think everybody should have a sit down at home and can and talk about what they're going to do if they're all separated, and all of a sudden we lose communications. Great,
Unknown Speaker 5:40
great point. Brother Rudolph, are you still there? Brother Rudolph,
Unknown Speaker 5:44
yes, sir.
Unknown Speaker 5:46
You like to add anything, just from your perspective, in your I know you have great experience in doing a lot of stuff in your own particular state and city. You know?
Unknown Speaker 5:56
What I'll add is just this, that no matter where I've been on a disaster at national, international or local, as Tim said, the first two casualties, one is hygiene, the other is communications.
Unknown Speaker 6:14
The first, the first. The first was, what? Again? Brother. Brother, hygiene, okay. Hygiene,
Unknown Speaker 6:19
okay? Yes, sir. The second is communication. And once those two go you are you're headed for disaster, truly, because now you're dealing with uncleanliness and no way to communicate that you need help. And so, like Tim said, if you haven't already put something in place ahead of time, you know, as a plan, then you're really in dire straits. Brother Yusuf and I, we, usually we talk a lot about the psychology where disasters are concerned, that you have the psychology of the victim, the psychology of the rescuer and the psychology of the manager all going on at the same time. And there are three diametrically opposed psychologies, but sometimes you have more than one of them going on in the same individual because of their multiple roles that they play. So you know, it mitigation or preparedness is the key. You have to put things in place ahead of time, so that when that, if, when disaster strikes, prayerfully, you will have done enough homework that you can ride it out until it's over, and then start to rebuild so that you can live again. That's it.
Unknown Speaker 7:45
Well said, well said, you know, and I think that's probably, excuse me, that's probably part of who we are as as fellow human beings, with respect to, oh, it's not. Nothing's going to happen to me, because a lot of times we have that, that thought in mind, and I'm as guilty as anyone else, and then when something happens, you go, oh, oh, too late. So the word that you guys are sharing last week and this week is so important, and I'm I'm hoping that people will take heed, man, to include. I know my wife, she keeps lots of water, lots of extra stuff around the house, and I've got to get on board with her, to do more to help in preparation, to include our children and our grandchildren. We all need to be a part of it. And as Tim mentioned, communicating, I didn't even think about communicating with anybody outside of your own little the little spear, if you will. And I got a couple people Arkansas, Southern Cal because that we will be reaching out and giving them some because these are people that we trust, of course, that we will share some information about family matters that they would need, that they would need to know if they can, if we needed that assistance, if you will. Because, man, I am so attached to my phone. I am and I remember one time my brother, brother Muhammad, brother Yousuf Muhammad, he said, man, and I've still failed to do it. I need to start wearing my watch again, because I haven't worn a watch in years. I use my telephone, but you need a watch too. So, you know, I'm going back over some things in my own head today, as we're taping this show for for our listening audience, that there's things that Dave Washington need to do as well. So I'm gonna get on my good foot. Thanks to to you guys sharing this information for sure. Timmy, anything else you'd like to add, you know?
Unknown Speaker 9:42
And it doesn't have to be a big disaster, right? One of the things that I taught all my grandkids and everybody at home is to put a cooler in the trunk of the car with water and some snacks and things of that nature, for a couple of reasons. So. We have a we have a plan that if, if everything stops working and we're separated and we can't get a hold of each other, everybody's to jump in the car and drive to Pahrump, and we'll meet in the parking lot at Walmarts, and we'll meet up, and you'll have some goods, but another disaster, and it would be a disaster to use you could be out here on the interstate, and if you got a bad wreck, and it's 115 degrees and the traffic's not moving, and you're out there for hours, all of a sudden water becomes life safe, life saving. I change our water cooler every morning when I get up in the trunk of both of our car and in my truck, because even if you were trying to escape, you'd need that water. But if you're caught on the interstate, or if your car breaks down, you could be just driving some place in your car breaks down, or maybe you run off the roof, or whatever, water is the thing that keeps you alive. That is the most important thing in your disaster kit. You've got to have water, and it's it's one gallon a day. You have to drink one gallon. You can survive without everything else, but you cannot survive without water. So that you make a priority and throw a couple of jugs in the trunk of the car, because it might save your life if you're stuck somewhere.
Unknown Speaker 11:19
And to your point, what was it a couple months ago where there was a one of the big semis turned over on the highway, and people were out there for hours,
Unknown Speaker 11:29
oh, the one in California, it was so long that their cars ran out of gas, and it was the metal of the desert. There was nothing around, and the fire department was actually but the same thing happened in Florida when the people were trying to escape. Their cars were running out of gas on the interstate, and they couldn't get off to get gas right, or they were running out of electricity, and they had to send the tanker trucks out on the the interstate. The governor did. They had a pre plant to fill up cars with gas so they could escape.
Unknown Speaker 12:04
Well, Brother Rudolph, you got anything you'd like to add? Brother Rudolph, oh
Unknown Speaker 12:08
no, no, no. He said it all. I guess that's why he's the PIO, because he speaks for everybody.
Unknown Speaker 12:21
Sam was very good at it. Well, Brother Rudolph, I certainly appreciate you and Brother Yousuf coming on man, because I think, again, you guys have so much to add, and I think, and I hope that our public will listen to what you, Tim and Youssef has shared with them, because I think it's just, it's vitally important. And I know that when we have platforms, we have to me, we have just an obligation to our fellow man to try to encourage people to do what they need to do, learn what they need to learn and take appropriate action. And one of the key things is your hygiene and your communication and to include have someone outside of your state, or outside of your little circle that you can trust with information about your family. You need to be able about, you need to be about doing that. And I think it's something that is absolutely critical. Go ahead, brother Ruto,
Unknown Speaker 13:12
no, no, you're saying. I was just echoing it because you're you're 1,000% correct. It's just about getting started doing something and everything will fall into place the minute you start.
Unknown Speaker 13:27
Absolutely Well, once again, I want to thank you all on behalf of veterans affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more, I trust that our veterans and the other members of our listing audience will appreciate the information that you guys have shared. So I will call you back again sometime later or probably sometime next year, because I think again, we cannot teach enough about what we need to do in terms of preparing ourselves. So thank you, sir, and thank you. We will talk to you again soon. Take care and Godspeed on your show.
Unknown Speaker 14:01
Thank you. You as well. All right, this
Unknown Speaker 14:04
is Veterans Affairs plus on 91.5 jazz and more. Signing off.
Unknown Speaker 14:14
This is Veterans Affairs plus on 91.5 jazz and more. We're on the other side now with our second guess, the wonderful, the great worker of for the people she it's not just a bunch of blank words, like sometimes I saw so many political commercials. I know this is two weeks after the election now, and we will see. We will. I don't know right now what's happening, because we're taping today, but anyway, Senator Neal, she gets the work done. So, Senator, your dad was a veteran, if I remember correctly, you remember what branch, Air Force, Air Force, okay, all right, so he did his time in and he went to Southern University, if I remember correctly, yep. He
Unknown Speaker 14:59
went to. Southern University on the GI and then he went to Southern University Law School for one year, and then its money ran out.
Unknown Speaker 15:10
When the money ran out,
Unknown Speaker 15:12
I mean, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 15:15
I understand. Well, I am so pleased to have had the ability to get you here, because the last time I think you called in,
Unknown Speaker 15:24
no, I got sick. Oh, that's because I'd had, I had had a I'd had surgery, and that was all well,
Unknown Speaker 15:31
I know, I know about the surgery thing. So look, I'd like to give us a listening audience, a little legislative update. What kind of things went on this past session, etc. This past that you think needs to be shared with our I think one, and then I want an update and give us some insight on the Windsor Park matter.
Unknown Speaker 15:54
I think one of the interesting things that happened this session, what I think people should know about, and I don't think they're aware about, is that the legislature really did do something, or attempt to start doing something around homelessness. So the state has never really gotten involved, and they did a, b5, 28, which allowed $100 million to go into homelessness, and it had a matching from the resorts from gaming, so they needed to match the 100 million. And so far, gaming has raised about 75 million. They are all in on trying to remedy what's going on and be a sponsor and player within the game. So we got updated yesterday. A small group with the tourism caucus got updated on where they're at. So there's gonna be a West Charleston campus up there by opportunity village, where it's gonna be this campus with, I think it's about 13 different buildings to call campus for hope, to try to reduce and mitigate and bring down the silos around homelessness. I think that was a major piece of legislation, absolutely,
Unknown Speaker 17:13
because it seems to me, it's growing. Nobody has put up a Dave and they talk about it, what we gonna do and what we gonna do, but now putting some money is going to be and help to move it along with the right leadership, I'd say, yeah.
Unknown Speaker 17:26
And so they what we learned yesterday was that they're doing a business perspective around how to run a foundation, and Clark County is heavily involved in supporting and the bill said that the cities also needed to participate up to 15 million. That is still, I guess under some negotiation, I'm going to be kind
Unknown Speaker 17:52
so each each entity has to pass.
Unknown Speaker 17:57
It's up to 15 million, but they're spread around between the three cities. The
Unknown Speaker 18:02
15 million is spread around in three cities that should be reasonable enough for them to do considering. Because I tell people, I work for the government, I know some of the stuff that goes on, so you can't tell me that you can't find five between three to make up $15 million to assist our homeless population. It's absolutely ridiculous, you know? I for for disclosure purposes. I must mention, before we get into the Windsor Park, I am the Chairman of the Board of Frank Hawkins housing unit, you know. And I took over for Richard blue after he passed away. Oh, recently, Richard was a chairman, and when he passed Frank call on me and asked me if I would be willing, I said, Man, let me, let me see the bylaws first. Yeah, I didn't know. I always want to see bylaws before I jump into something. I see I can do that. I say, what you paying
Unknown Speaker 18:55
zero anyway.
Unknown Speaker 19:00
So I said, you said, what you think? I said, let me look it up. I looked up and I saw the wind they are paying like 150,000 for maybe two or three meetings for their board of directors. Know what Frank said to me, I'll give you lunch. I said, I'll take you. But anyway, I just want to let people know that I do have that involvement with Frank, but, but I'm telling you that is, yeah, I agree that is a very important piece of legislation that needs to be broadly known by our community. Because when you when you're out there riding around, and as I mentioned, I work for Frank for one of his other businesses. I pick up people from the hotels and take them to the dispensary, and I see so many home. Homeless people are everywhere. Okay? No. Neighborhoods say it ain't my problem. That's right. I don't care where you go. There's some, what would you call it? Their own little town, their own little they've set up shop. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 19:53
yeah, yeah. So that's one of the that's one of the good things that I think came from the session, the session of. Um, was very unique, right? I mean, there was some good policy that moved out, you know, I was, well, a couple of my stuff got vetoed. Going after I was going. I went after an SB 395 was going after the corporate investors that were buying up property. I was trying to limit how much they were going to buy aggregate, and it was vetoed, right? I know we're seeing that in the commercials where the congressional race is saying, let's, you know, crack down on landlords. Because I was just like, if, if our own people are competing against a cash buyer investor, you're never gonna get a house.
Unknown Speaker 20:41
And you know. And the sad part is, we've been stooped and duped by the banking industry for for years, and it continues on. You remember when all the people who had no business buying no house for three, $400,000 they had an income for it, but they were just pencil whipping it through, and then, as a result, they lose, guess who got the houses back? Exactly, and they'll do it again by going in and buying everything up. Now, yep, it's like rental row, right? So keep, keep fighting the fight. And you know what? And I always say to people that we have an obligation too. We can't just send our elected officials out and not give them some kind of assistance. So we all need to be raising some cane out there saying, hey, what about the rest of y'all, though, those who will, why you? Why won't you support this? Who's it? Whose hip pocket Are you in? See, I'm a wild, different kind of guy. That's why, you know, that's why I can't get into some of these positions that I've I've tried twice, and I'm done. I'm too old to be running at 73 they won't have to worry about me no more, but I'm gonna be still be stirring the pot. And I still want to know what the heck is going on. And I know you sent a letter out there to the folks the Raiders. No answer. I still want to know what the ethnic breakdown of who worked out there, who got concessions, who got vendor opportunities? We need to know this, because it's a public private private people tell me, man, you ought to let it go. It's a public private partnership.
Unknown Speaker 22:05
I mean, it's probably a better chance of getting that now that Sandra's there and Piper, yes, yes. I don't think that conversation has been brought back up since the helm has changed. I know it was a heavy conversation, right when the stadium was being built, but it hasn't. I don't believe that that's been brought up under the new leadership.
Unknown Speaker 22:25
I did see Sandra at a function a couple years ago, and I asked her about it, and I had not been I have not seen her since, but she said, Oh yeah, we got the numbers. I told her, I know y'all got them, but they basically told me they weren't telling me nothing, and that it's, it's just so important. We just need to know. I remember years ago when the city allowed, they still there right when you go on an underpass, they let that group go in there. Gene Collins and others was raising Kane about, hey, you know, hire people from the community. They never hired one person from the community, but yet they got whatever benefits they were able to garner from the community benefit, yeah, yeah. And I got all this, and then they still thumb themselves at us. I'm like, I don't like that. So if you do that to me, you're gonna keep thumbing them. I don't break your thumb off. Because we're gonna, we're gonna find out what's what the heck's going on while I'm doing all this rally. And I think again, that's something that we need to, we need to keep out there in terms of the bill that they kept, that got vetoed. And with regards to the the banks coming in, buying all this property, and other corporate folks, we got it. We got to help you and others to get that done. Now, if you would, I like to swing into what's going on and what was the occurrence with the whole Windsor Park thing. And I know you battle it for on that. I think you may have started when you were in the same were in the assembly.
Unknown Speaker 23:45
I did start. I started around. I started getting into it late, 2018 and then 2019 and yeah, it's, it's, it's been a journey, right? So Windsor Park for the listeners, Windsor Park has a historical neighborhood that it was built in the 60s, 1965 and because the aquifer they were taking groundwater out, it caused subsidence. And so basically, the streets started to crack, the home started to sink, and they were left in a certain condition. And so there was a remedy around the 90s, 94 to about 97 and then, and then they and then there were some remaining residents that decided not to move because they didn't like how things were going, right? So they had picked up some houses. And, like, there were four houses that were picked up and moved, and then they didn't like it, and then there, because the doors are literally facing each other. And then there were 45 homes that were built, which is now Cibola park, or where they call baby. Windsor, and from the minutes and what I found, and from the residents telling me the story, they didn't like the process, right? They had a year warranty on the house. Paint was peeling. They were talking about the tub. Paint was peeling. They were like, so they were felt like, if they moved, then the same thing would happen to them, that they would get a house that wasn't they felt up to standard, and so I took this on for where I think now we're five years in to bring back a remedy, and that was also in 2023, SB, 450, and I want to thank my legislative colleagues for voting for it and it being signed into law. But it was not without drama. It was not without pain. So got 37 million to relocate the families after we passed the bill. You know, they took some hits, political hits on me, because they were angry, because $12 million of it came from the city, and then the city had to pay back the state, right? And then 25 million was federal money, and then we also got the 2.8 million that had been left over from the initial help from the federal government, under reed that was left over, and the families had been, you know, fighting over that money, trying to find out how much was left. So politically, it's been he man, kind of work I will call a she man, because it was literally as a heavy lift. And then so we got to the point where the families were, you know, been maintaining their faith, maintaining their hope. We've been staying prayed up as a group, and Boyd law has been with us since 2019 helping us the currently there, the assistant dean has given us four law students who are going to help the families as we go through the process of relocation, so they can use them as a resource to talk about their rights and housing and get help, get advice. And then also, we had an incident that occurred where there was a decision to target this bill and try to take $25 million away about three weeks ago, or four weeks ago, which set off, you know, a little Drama Fest, because the residents stood up for themselves. The residents came to the interim finance committee meeting and spoke in public comment and said, Absolutely not. And they they fought back.
Unknown Speaker 27:42
Okay, wonderful. Well, we got two minutes to close up, but I'm going to have you back on the show again in the future, because I think you have a lot of we need to follow this. And I'm telling you, Senator, if we don't help you to push these others who are allowing these people to come in and just buy up stuff and do whatever they want to do. Shame on us. See, you know when I when I talk to Dr Ruby Duncan, when I talk to people like Virginia Bruce, do you know them? People are still doing stuff. They're not out, as I'd say, in the public, as much as one would see from back in the day, but they still fight. So at 73 I have no right to say I'm done. Listen,
Unknown Speaker 28:21
I honor, I honor my elders for the courage and the fight that they have. Because I don't, I don't, I wouldn't be here had it not been for That's right? And so I think, you know, I'm not trying to throw salt on anybody, but it takes a lot of courage to stand against somebody who's basically trying to do everything thing they can to take you out, as
Unknown Speaker 28:42
you know, my wife was in before you, and they expect her to just Shuffle Along with everything they said in March. No, yeah, I think my own way, and that was your problem. I learned early on, she don't play in the sandbox. Well, why should she play anybody's sandbox when the sandbox was not meant for her? Yeah. But anyway, we appreciate you. Okay, this is Veterans Affairs, plus we just had Senator Dena Neil. We'll have her back on the show. She gave a great explanation of what the heck's going on with regards to the dollars that's going to affect those over in Windsor Park. So we appreciate your courage. Continue to fight, and we got you back. Thank you. Thank
Unknown Speaker 29:18
you. Thank you. Oh.
Outro Song 29:50
All the smoke in the air till they hate when they stare, all the pain that we bear, all you wear.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai