california insider show

Siyamak sits down with Melissa Melendez, former California State Senator. Today she'll provide insights on how California’s legislature works, why lobbyists are so impactful in shaping our legislative system, and why it matters to us Californians.

Siyamak sits down with Juan Alanis, an Assemblymember from Modesto County and former law enforcement officer. He will discuss the issue of rising retail theft in California and his insights from serving on the Assembly Committee on retail theft. He also talks about the impacts on businesses, law enforcement and our local communities.

Siyamak sits down with Joe Vinatieri, Mayor of Whittier, California and a tax expert. He'll talk about why people are leaving California and the impact of high taxes on the state.

Siyamak sits down with Tony Hall, a former supervisor from San Francisco. He will talk about why San Francisco has an annual budget of $15 billion—while still struggling to provide basic services—and what has made the city’s budget so expensive.

Siyamak sits down with Vince Ricci, an entrepreneur in LA who fell victim to multiple home invasions and robberies over the past few years. He will discuss his most recent home invasion incident, which went viral on the internet, and how residents in LA are taking safety in their own hands because of rising crime.

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.

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.

Siyamak sits down with Christian Pineda, a former homeless shelter employee in San Diego. His experience could reflect what’s going on across California and homeless shelters. We also had a chance to talk with Scott H Silverman, who’s an addiction recovery expert and has been in the homeless nonprofit industry for many years.

“I’ve been homeless for 20 years. There’s a lot of incentive to not actually get off the streets, which we see a lot in San Francisco. And that goes back to the fact that a lot of nonprofits encourage homelessness…They’re given all this money, but they’re not actually given an audit of how they actually spend the money.”

Siyamak sits down with Jonathan Hatami, deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County. Today he will talk about why the zero-bail policy is making California less safe and how it’s going to impact the state.

Siyamak sits down with Seymour Beek, president of Balboa Island Ferry, one of Southern California’s oldest family-owned businesses. Today he will discuss the new rules in California aimed at reducing emissions and how they will impact small businesses.

Siyamak sits down with Mark Ryavec, president of the Venice Stakeholders Association, who served as a municipal staffer for the LA City Council and as the Chief Deputy Assessor of LA County. Today he will talk about the impact of hundreds of RV campers in his community and why it is so difficult for the city to help the homeless get off the streets.

Siyamak sits down with David Lee, a restaurant owner from San Francisco. He shares his journey from being a successful local business owner to leaving California, and what has happened to San Francisco that impacts its residents and businesses.

Siyamak sits down with Victor Davis Hanson, classicist and military historian with the Hoover Institute, to talk about what makes California so expensive, why millions of people left California, and how California is becoming a medieval society. “We have the largest number of billionaires in the United States, we have the wealthiest zip codes. We also have the highest number of people on public assistance,“ Mr. Hanson said. ”You sort of had a medieval society where the middle class fled. And those are the brightest and the best and the smartest and the most capable and the most angry, most important.”

Siyamak sits down with Diane Dixon, a State Representative with California’s legislature. Today she will talk about the new ballot measures that will make it easier to raise taxes in California, and what challenges the Golden State is facing in terms of possible deficits in the future.

Siyamak sits down with Chris Micheli, a lobbyist from Sacramento, who explains how California’s legislature works and why California doesn’t really need thousands of bills a year.