Veteran's Affairs Plus W/ David L. Washington

Announcer
0:00:00
This is a KUNV Studios original program.

Wesley Knight
0:00:04
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 & More, the University of Nevada Las Vegas, this is Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 J.

Dave Washington
0:00:53
Good day, 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 Szymanski, former PIO for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, Brother Yusuf 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,

Dave Washington
0:01:18
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 under emergency management with the City of Las Vegas. Is there any particular contact information that you may be able to point people toward?

Tim
0:01:35
I 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 Maramontes is the Instructor for it right now Tom's doing it. Tom's a good guy. Always been a good guy really

Dave Washington
0:01:55
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,

Dave Washington
0:02:10
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.

Dave Washington
0:02:30
It might be, it could be days. It could be days.

Tim
0:02:33
In some cases. Okay. That's a, 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.

Tim
0:02:53
But this is gonna be really bad. And they did, and you know the story, they did a lot of rescues down there in New Orleans. You hear news stories about, and you don't know the other side of the story where you hear people say, well, they went in

Tim
0:03:08
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

Tim
0:03:22
and on roofs. And he didn't bring his men in because there was shooting. That's how people, it was pitch black. 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.

Tim
0:03:41
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 back out. So that was the rest of the story of Katrina.

Dave Washington
0:03:55
Well, you know what? That's a valid and very interesting point that people will 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 you hear a shot, that's an arrest.

Tim
0:04:12
I think 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.

Tim
0:04:29
There was no way to communicate. 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 in Houston and tell her where you're at and stuff like that. And everybody uses her as a catching point. But I think when the phone goes down today, people panic. That and electricity, that is something that they rely on every day.

Tim
0:05:09
And your communications, you need to sit down and talk to your family, and 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 the day. 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 something of that nature, because you won't have a way to talk to them.

Tim
0:05:31
And I think everybody should have a sit down at home and talk about what they're going to do if they're all separated and all of a sudden we lose communication.

Dave Washington
0:05:40
Great point. Brother Rudolph, are you still there? Brother Rudolph?

Rudolph
0:05:44
Yes, sir.

Dave Washington
0:05:45
Would you like to add anything just from your perspective? I know you have great experience in doing a lot of stuff in your own particular state and city.

Rudolph
0:05:56
You know, 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.

Dave Washington
0:06:15
The first was what again?

Rudolph
0:06:18
Hygiene.

Dave Washington
0:06:19
Hygiene, okay.

Rudolph
0:06:20
Hygiene.

Rudolph
0:06:21
Okay. Yes, sir. And the second is communications. And once those two go, you are 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, and you have the psychology of the victim, the psychology

Rudolph
0:06:59
of the rescuer, and the psychology of the manager, all going on at the same time, and they 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, mitigation or preparedness is the key. You have to put things in place ahead of time so that you

Rudolph
0:07:43
can live again.

Rudolph
0:07:44
That's it.

Dave Washington
0:07:45
Well said. Well said. You know, and I think that's probably, excuse me, that's probably part of who we are 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 thought in mind, and I'm as guilty as anyone else. And then when something happens, you go, oh, oh, oh, too late.

Dave Washington
0:08:09
So the words that you guys are sharing last week and this week is so important, and 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, 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, your little sphere, if you

Dave Washington
0:08:39
will. And I got a couple people, Arkansas, Southern Cal, 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.

Dave Washington
0:09:04
I am, and I remember one time, brother Muhammad, brother Yusuf 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.

Dave Washington
0:09:21
So, you know, I'm going back over some things in my own head today as we're taping this show 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 you guys sharing this information for sure.

Dave Washington
0:09:40
Tim, you got anything else you'd like to add?

Tim
0:09:42
You know, and it doesn't have to be a big disaster. 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. We have a plan that if everything stops working and we're separated and we can't get ahold of each other, everybody's to jump in the car and drive to Pahrump and we'll meet in

Tim
0:10:13
the parking lot at Walmart and we'll meet up and you'll have some goods. But another disaster, and it would be a disaster to you, is 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 saving. I change our water cooler every morning when I get up in the trunk of both our car and in my truck because even if you were trying to escape, you'd need that water.

Tim
0:10:43
But if you're caught on the interstate or if your car breaks down, you could be just driving someplace and your car breaks down or maybe you run off the road for 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 one gallon a day.

Tim
0:11:04
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

Dave Washington
0:11:16
If you're stuck somewhere and to your point, what was it a couple months ago where there's a one of the big semis? Turned over on the highway and people were out there for hours. Oh the one in, California

Tim
0:11:28
It was so long that their cars ran out of gas and it was the middle 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, or they were running out of electricity. And they had to send the tanker trucks out on the interstate, the governor did, they

Tim
0:11:59
had a pre-plant to fill up cars with gas so they could escape.

Dave Washington
0:12:04
Well, Brother Rudolph, you got anything you'd like to add? Brother Rudolph?

Rudolph
0:12:09
No, no, no, he said it all. He put in his, and I guess that's why he's the PIO, because he speaks for everybody.

Dave Washington
0:12:18
I see. I see, and was very good at it. Well, Brother Rudolph, I certainly appreciate you and Brother Yusuf 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 Yusuf have shared with them because I think it's vitally important.

Dave Washington
0:12:40
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 Rudolph.

Rudolph
0:13:13
No, no, you're saying it. I was just echoing it because you're a thousand percent correct. It's just about get started doing something and everything will fall into place the minute

Dave Washington
0:13:26
you start. 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 listening audience will appreciate the information that you guys have shared.

Dave Washington
0:13:42
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.

Dina Neal
0:13:55
So thank you sir.

Rudolph
0:13:56
Right.

Dave Washington
0:13:57
Thank you. We will talk to you again soon. Take care and Godspeed on your show.

Rudolph
0:14:02
Thank you.

Rudolph
0:14:03
You as well.

Dave Washington
0:14:03
All right. This is Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 Jazz and More signing off.

Rudolph
0:14:08
This is Veterans Affairs Plus on 91.5 Jazz and More.

Dave Washington
0:14:11
We're on the other side now with our second guest, the wonderful, the great worker for the people. 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.

Dave Washington
0:14:34
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 So he did his time in any went to Southern University if I remember correctly

Dina Neal
0:14:57
Yep, he went to Southern University on the GI and then he went to Southern University Law School For one year and and then it's money ran out when the money run out

Dave Washington
0:15:09
I mean, yeah, in the 50s.

Dina Neal
0:15:12
I understand.

Dave Washington
0:15:13
Well, I'm so pleased to have had the ability to get you here because the last time I think you called in. No, I got sick. Oh, that's right.

Dina Neal
0:15:24
I had had surgery and that was all. Well, I know about the surgery thing.

Dave Washington
0:15:30
I'd like to give us, our listening audience, a little legislative update, what kind of things went on in this past session, et cetera. That you think needs to be shared with our listening. And then I want an update and give us some insight on the Windsor Park matter.

Dina Neal
0:15:49
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 AB 528 which allowed a hundred million dollars 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.

Dina Neal
0:16:32
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 going to be a West Charleston campus up there

Dina Neal
0:16:52
by Opportunity Village, where it's going to be this campus with, I think it's about 13 different buildings, called 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, because it seems to me it's growing. Nobody has put up a dime. They talk about it, what we're going to do and what we're going to do, but now putting some

Dave Washington
0:17:21
money is going to be and you have to move it along with the right leadership, I'd say. Yeah, and so

Dina Neal
0:17:28
what we learned yesterday was that they're doing a business perspective around how to run And the bill said that the cities also need to participate up to 15 million. That is still, I guess, under some negotiation. I'm going to be kind. So each entity has to pass. It's up to 15 million, but they're spread around between the three cities.

Dina Neal
0:17:56
The 15 million is spread around in three cities.

Dave Washington
0:18:05
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 dollars to assist our homeless population. It's absolutely ridiculous.

Dave Washington
0:18:24
You know, for disclosure purposes, I must mention before we get into the Windsor Park, I'm the chairman of the board of Frank Hawkins Housing Unit, you know, and I took over for Richard Blue after he passed away. Oh, really? Richard was the chairman, and when he passed, Frank called on me and asked me if I would be willing. I said, man, let me see the bylaws first. Yeah, I didn't know that. I always want to see bylaws before I jump into something. I say I can do that. I say what you paying?

Dina Neal
0:18:53
So I'm Frank.

Dina Neal
0:18:54
Anyway,

Dina Neal
0:18:55
so I said, you see what you think? I said, let me look it up.

Dina Neal
0:18:58
I looked up and I saw the wind.

Dave Washington
0:19:00
They are paying like a hundred fifty thousand for maybe two or three meetings for their board of directors. You know what Frank said to me? I'll give you lunch. I say I'll take it But anyway, I just wanted to let people know that I do have that involvement with Frank But but I'm telling you that it that is yeah, I agree. That is a very

Dave Washington
0:19:15
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 homeless people are everywhere. There are no neighborhoods say, it ain't my problem. I don't care where you go.

Dave Washington
0:19:36
There's some, what would you call it, their own little town, their own little, they've set up shop. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's one of the good things that I think came from the session.

Dina Neal
0:19:50
The session 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, I was going after the corporate investors that were buying up property. 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 going to get out. And you know in a sad part is we've

Dave Washington
0:20:41
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 didn't have the income for it, but they were just pencil whipping it through. And then as a result, they lose.

Dave Washington
0:21:01
Guess who got the houses back?

Dina Neal
0:21:03
Exactly.

Dave Washington
0:21:04
And they're doing it again by going in and buying everything up now.

Dina Neal
0:21:07
Yep.

Dave Washington
0:21:08
So like rental row. Right, so 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.

Dave Washington
0:21:20
So we all need to be raising some cane out there, saying, hey, what about the rest of y'all? Those who will, why won't you support this? Whose hip pocket are you in? See, I'm a wild, different kind of guy. That's why I can't get into some of these positions.

Dave Washington
0:21:36
But 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 going to 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,

Dave Washington
0:21:58
who got vendor opportunity. We need to know this because it's a public-private partnership. People tell me, man, you ought to let it go. It's a public-private partnership.

Dina Neal
0:22:06
I mean, it's probably a better chance of getting that now that Sandra's there and Piper.

Dave Washington
0:22:11
Yes, yes.

Dina Neal
0:22:12
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 I don't believe that that's been brought up under the new leadership.

Dave Washington
0:22:26
I did see Sandra at a function a couple of years ago and I asked her about it. And I have not seen her since, but she said, oh yeah, we got the numbers. I told her, I know you all got them, but they basically told me they weren't telling me nothing. And it's just so important. We just need to know. I remember years ago when the city allowed, they're still there, right, when you go on an underpass,

Dave Washington
0:22:48
they let that group go in there. Gene Collins and others was raising canes about, hey, 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. Yeah, yeah, and I got all this and then they still thumb themselves at us. I don't like that.

Dave Washington
0:23:06
So, if you do that to me, you're going to keep thumbing. I'm doing all this rallying 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 they 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'd like to swing into

Dave Washington
0:23:32
What's going on? And what was the occurrence with the whole Windsor Park thing? I know you battled it. I think you may have started when you were in the assembly.

Dina Neal
0:23:45
I did start. I started getting into it late 2018 and then 2019. And yeah, it's been a journey, right? So Windsor Park, for the listeners, Windsor Park is a historical neighborhood that was built in the 60s, 1965.

Dina Neal
0:24:09
And because the Aquifer, they were taking groundwater out, it caused subsidence. And so basically the streets started to crack, the homes 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

Dina Neal
0:24:38
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 what 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 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.

Dina Neal
0:25:41
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

Dina Neal
0:26:13
government under Reed that was left over. And the families have been, you know, fighting over that money, trying to find out how much was left. So politically, it's been a he-man kind of work. I will call it she-man, because it literally is 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. Currently, 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

Dina Neal
0:27:03
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. comment and said, absolutely not. And they fought back. Okay. Wonderful. Well, we got two minutes to close up, but I

Dave Washington
0:27:42
want to have you back on the show again in the future, because I think you have a lot to talk about. 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 talk to Dr. Ruby Duncan, when I talk to people like Virginia Brewster, do you know them people are still doing stuff?

Dave Washington
0:28:12
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 ain't have no right to say I'm done.

Dina Neal
0:28:21
Listen, I honor my elders for the courage and the fight that they have, because 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

Dina Neal
0:28:38
who's basically trying to do everything they can to take you out.

Dave Washington
0:28:42
As you know, my wife was in before you, and they expect her to just shuffle on with everything they said in March. No, I think my own way. And that was your problem. I learned early on, she don't play in the sandbox.

Dave Washington
0:28:56
Well, why should she play in 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 Dina Neal.

Dave Washington
0:29:06
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 going to affect those over in Windsor Park. So we appreciate your courage Continue to fight and we got you back

Transcribed with Cockatoo