Firefighters work to contain embers on the remains of a house destroyed by the Clayton Fire in Lower Lake, California, August 15th, 2016. A 40-year old man has been arrested on suspicion of setting the fire.; Credit: GABRIELLE LURIE/AFP/Getty Images

A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of setting the Clayton fire in northern California, which officials say has burned more than 4,000 acres and destroyed more than 175 homes and businesses in the past few days.

Damin Pashilk of Clear Lake, Calif., is being held on suspicion of a total of 17 counts of arson in Lake County, Calif., over the past year. Lake County is a largely rural area of wineries and vacation homes about 120 miles north of San Francisco.

Fire investigator Tom Pierce told Airtalk there are two types of arsonists:

• For-profit arsonist: Someone who burns down a house, for example, to file a fraudulent insurance claim; typically a one-time event.
• Serial arsonist: Someone who is usually a loner and an underachiever; commits arson to possess a false sense of authority over the actions of firefighters in this case.

On solving arson cases

Pierce: We use what's called the scientific method. It involves inductive and deductive reasoning, gathering data and going through that data.

I'm investigating a building right now, a mobile home. We start from the outside of the building and walk around it, in a 36o-degree manner, looking for fire patterns. Fire investigators read fire patterns backwards, we go into the building and go to the least damaged area and start working our way towards the most damaged area. That'll get us into the room of origin, and then we want to be within our area of origin and start looking at the micro patterns that are in there, leading us into the point of origin.

We want to know the heat source, what was the material first ignited and the sequence of events that brought those two items together to start the fire. It could have been an electrical outlet, an overheated appliance or something as simple as a candle knocked down.

Or, once the fire scene is dug out, we can perhaps see gasoline pour patterns on the floor. After you've looked at all the evidence, you can determine whether you've got an accidental fire or an incendiary fire. 

On approaching large-scale fires, such as the Clayton fire

Pierce: You start to gather information from first-responders and from witnesses who saw the fire in its beginning stages. We'll then map out an area that is about a half a mile, by half a mile and work our way back to the point of origin.

Is arson a preventable crime?

Pierce: There really isn't a way to prevent an arsonist from doing what they're doing.

How difficult is it to convict an arsonist?

Pierce: Arson is the hardest crime to get a conviction on because most of the time, the evidence is gone. In homicides, you’ve got DNA and fingerprint evidence. 

​Read KPCC’s coverage here.

This story has been updated.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Guest:

Tom Pierce, a fire investigator with Pierce Fire Investigations based in Bakersfield; he has been involved in fire service since 1974, and has worked with the National Fire Academy, the  California State Fire Marshal's Office, and many other law enforcement organizations

A woman pushes her walker past tents housing the homeless in Los Angeles, California on February 9, 2016.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

As Los Angeles has increasingly focused on moving the homeless population off the street into permanent supportive housing where services are often provided on-site, advocates argue that the move may be sapping resources from fixing short-term issues.

A recent Los Angeles Times piece titled "Is the shift to permanent housing making L.A.'s homelessness problem even worse?" asks whether this focus is diverting money away from social services and transitional housing, turning many who could be helped by short-term housing back onto the street.

AirTalk guest host Patt Morrison spoke with homeless advocates about the tradeoffs, and listeners shared their personal experiences with homeless services.

Anita Nelson, CEO of a nonprofit community organization in Skid Row, said her organization is dedicated to having a “variety of housing that meets the need of a varied population.”

Union Rescue Mission's Rev. Andy Bales said he agrees with that approach, but feels part of the problem is that policymakers view homeless services as a zero-sum game. He said the singular focus on permanent housing — which he feels is sometimes politically motivated — has caused visits to his mission to skyrocket.

Interview highlights

What’s the best way to house the homeless?

Anita Nelson: Permanent supportive housing is the priority, and housing the chronically homeless is a high priority. But the population that is homeless is very diverse. I think it requires a multi-layered approach in addressing the variety of needs that are out there to help homeless individuals.

The approach is to have a variety of types of housing. The priority is housing...those individuals who have been homeless for a long period of time. But there’s also a need for housing that’s more short-term to help that individual who just really needs a place to get stabilized for a couple of months until they reconnect with their families or get a job.    

Are policy makers looking at this as zero sum?

Andy Bales: Unfortunately they are. [Housing and Urban Development] has said, "We know everything’s needed, but we’re only going to fund permanent supportive housing.” Our city especially — and county — have not come up with any other funding to meet the needs of people who are on the streets.

We focused on the few, and we’ve left now over 30,000 people to suffer the devastation of homelessness on the streets. We have 500 more people under our roof right now then we did at this time last year. That’s because funding went away and shelters, and transitional housing, and domestic abuse shelters closed.

Spencer, an AirTalk caller in Canoga Park who volunteers distributing supplies to the San Fernando Valley’s homeless population views permanent supportive housing as one of many solutions.

I think permanent supportive housing is crucial. But in a city with such a vast homeless population such as Los Angeles, no one size fits all solution is going to work, but we shouldn’t not provide permanent supportive housing.

We need to have a multi-tiered approach that definitely takes care of those who can get off of their feet, supports those who only need a little bit of assistance, and support the chronically homeless.

These interviews have been edited for clarity. You can hear the full interview at the top of this post. 

Guests:

Anita Nelson, CEO of SRO Housing Corp.

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission

The California Counts Town Hall was moderated by Larry Mantle, host of KPCC’s AirTalk, and Beth Ruyak, host of Capital Public Radio's Insight. It was hosted by California Counts, a collaboration with KPCC in Los Angeles, KQED in San Francisco, Capital Public Radio in Sacramento and KPBS in San Diego.; Credit: Andrew Nixon

California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. Will it be the fifth to legalize recreational pot this November? We traveled to Sacramento to host a live event about the pros and cons of Proposition 64, which would legalize adult use of cannabis.

The town hall was moderated by Larry Mantle, host of KPCC’s AirTalk, and Beth Ruyak, host of Capital Public Radio's Insight. It was hosted by California Counts, a collaboration with KPCC in Los Angeles, KQED in San Francisco, Capital Public Radio in Sacramento and KPBS in San Diego.

We were joined by a panel of six guests from all sides of the argument. They fielded questions from the audience on topics that ranged from environmental to social implications. 

Here are five things you should know.

Tweet from CapRadio 

Denver-based writer Joel Warner said under Prop. 64, growers could apply for an unlimited grow license.

"On one hand, maybe it's good, but what happens to counties that have been long dependent on this?"

This is why the California Growers Association remains neutral on Prop 64, Warner said.

Kimberly Cargile, who is a member of the association said the group is neutral for a number of reasons. This includes concerns from smaller cannabis growers about the corporatization of the industry.

Tweet from CapRadio 

There's a reason why California Highway Patrol officers oppose Prop 64, said Anne Marie Schubert, District Attorney for Sacramento County. She argued that there needs to be a “per se” law on driving while stoned. “Per se” is a legal term that refers to standards on impairment.

But it's more complicated than that, argued Richard Miadich, who helped author the legislation. "There just isn't the technology," he said.

Read more about that technology here.

"What we really need—the most effective way to prevent impaired driving—is more training and more officers," he said.

Prop. 64 would generate an estimated $1 billion annually in California. About $200 million of that would go to local law enforcements for grants, said Miadich.

Taxes generated by Prop. 64 would also go to other programs dedicated to youth education, prevention and treatment and environmental protections, he said.

Tweet from CapRadio 

Attorney General Schubert said those in Sacramento County who are caught with possession of marijuana receive a $60 ticket. That's less money than what you would have to pay for a speeding ticket, she insisted.

But Kimberly Cargile, CEO of medical marijuana dispensary located in Sacramento, said that there are other related marijuana crimes that have a negative impact on society, including "the people who are charged with crimes they didn't commit."

Miadich argued that Prop 64 could save the state $10 million annually because of the decriminalization of cannabis.

Tweet from CapRadio 

Studies have shown that legalizing marijuana has little impact on drug cartels, said Peter Hecht, senior writer for the Sacramento Bee and author of “Weed Land: Inside America’s Marijuana Epicenter and How Pot Went Legit."

"There is going to be a black market for many years to come," he said.

Warner echoed those sentiments.

"There will always be a black market demand," he said.

Farmers need to make $12,000 a pound to survive.

Tweet from CapRadio 

"We're removing the stigma and we're telling our kids it's OK," said Attorney General Schubert.

She argued that there are no studies to show the long-term impact of legalizing marijuana. And more specifically, she worries that we will see pot shops inundate communities of color.

Miadich insisted that tax revenue could have a positive impact on youth because it will fund education.

"Kids who don't have after school programs, get into drugs," he said.

He asked, “Do we want our kids buying pot from drug dealers?” He said it's time to develop a different system that "tries something new."

Listen on AirTalk noon Wednesday to hear the hour-long broadcast of the lively discussion.

Want more on Prop 64? Here's an FAQ on how it could change California. 

Guests

Kimberly Cargile, director and CEO of A Therapeutic Alternative, Inc., a medical marijuana dispensary located in Sacramento

Peter Hecht, senior writer for the Sacramento Bee and author of “Weed Land: Inside America’s Marijuana Epicenter and How Pot Went Legit”

Richard Miadich, managing partner with the Sacramento-based law firm Olson Hagel & Fishburn LLP

Lauren Michaels, legislative affairs manager for the California Police Chiefs Association 

Anne Marie Schubert, district attorney for Sacramento County

Joel Warner, Denver-based writer and former staff writer at the International Business Times, where he covered the marijuana industry

California Counts is a collaboration of KPBS, KPCC, KQED and Capital Public Radio to report on the 2016 election. The coverage focuses on major issues and solicits diverse voices on what's important to the future of California.

Read more in this series and let us know your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #CACounts.

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, gestures while speaking during Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 25, 2016.; Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

While labor unions seem to be political animals of yesteryear's establishment, their top issues align with the most popular themes of this election year: trade deals, manufacturing jobs, wage disparities, and immigration.

Richard Trumka, as head of the AFL-CIO representing 12.5 million workers, is trying to capitalize on progressives' momentum by railing against the Trans-Pacific Partnership while he stumps for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (who supported TPP while she served as Secretary of State).

That said, Trumka has his own internal political battles to fight. Earlier this year the AFL-CIO joined forces with billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer to establish a political action committee called For Our Future. Seven unions within Trumka's confederation condemned the partnership because of Steyer's opposition to the Keystone pipeline and all the jobs for builders, engineers, and welders that would have come with it.

Trumka joins AirTalk to address that controversy, plus his thoughts on the nation's immigration laws, the Donald Trump campaign, and more.

How are labor unions staying relevant while union membership remains low (11 percent of all wage and salary workers in 2015, compared to 20 percent in 1983)? How is the AFL-CIO trying to combat the lure of Donald Trump for some blue-collar workers?

Guest:

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations)

Actress Sandra Bullock speaks onstage during the Women In Film 2015 Crystal + Lucy Awards on June 16, 2015 in Century City, California. ; Credit: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Women In Film

The Ocean’s franchise is back, but it’s no longer a boys’ club.

Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett are confirmed for Ocean’s Eight, a reprisal of the casino caper franchise. Reports say that Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, and rapper Awkwafina are close to joining up as well.

The Warner Bros. picture is set to begin filming in October in New York, with Free State of Jones’ Gary Ross directing. Steven Soderbergh, who directed the 2001 version of Ocean’s Eleven, will get a production credit.

This follows Sony’s all-female retooling of the Ghostbusters franchise, which was met with tepid box office sales and vitriol online. Ocean’s Eight seems to suggest that despite the issues with Ghostbusters, studios are eager to continue the trend of remaking successful male-dominated series with women in the lead credits.

Just like with Ghostbusters, expectations will be high for Bullock, Blanchett, and their co-stars. The Ocean's movies of the 2000s -- themselves based on a Rat Pack film from 1960 -- grossed over $1.1 billion combined.

Not everyone is convinced that these sorts of reboots are an entirely positive trend for women in Hollywood. Instead of reimagining massively successful male-dominated series, some are calling for studios to produce more original female-driven films.

What do you think? Will Ocean’s Eight find the same success as the other movies in the franchise? Will this all-female series retooling trend continue?

Guests:

Leah Meyerhoff, Founder of Film Fatales, a community of female directors focused on increasing women in Hollywood;  Filmmaker whose latest film is “I Believe in Unicorns.”

John Horn, Host of KPCC’s arts and entertainment show “The Frame,” which airs daily at 3:30 p.m.; he tweets from @JGHorn

A firefighter watches the Blue Cut wildfire burning near Cajon Pass, north of San Bernardino, California on August 16, 2016. ; Credit: Ringo Chiu/AFP/Getty Images

The Blue Cut Fire surged Monday to over 30,000 acres, chasing more than 80,000 people from their homes in San Bernardino County, all in just over 24 hours. 

Several other major, though smaller,  fires are burning across the state. The Chimney Fire has burned 7,300 acres north of San Luis Obispo, and the Clayton Fire northwest of Sacramento has scorched nearly 4,000 acres. The massive Sand Fire near Santa Clarita and the sizable Pilot Fire also in San Bernardino County have just recently been contained.

This particularly devastating start to fire season has many wondering whether this is the ‘new normal’ in California.

Char Miller, professor of environmental analysis at Pomona College, has a blunt answer: Yes. 

He said the Californians we build and live can worsen fire risks, and what we might be able to expect in fire seasons to come. Speaking with Airtalk's Patt Morrison, Miller emphasized that the problems that have exacerbated the Blue Cut Fire are in part man-made.

This fire season has been particularly bad, he said, but the Blue Cut Fire could be just the beginning.

“It already has been a [rough] fire season,” Miller said. “But this is only August. If the heat which often accelerates in September and October winds up with wind and low humidities, and, truthfully, human error and arson, this could be a difficult time for us.”

Interview highlights

Are we seeing the ‘new normal’ in California fires?

We are. We haven’t seen [fire-nadoes] yet — that is the explosive impact of the fire producing its own climate — though I suspect that’s partly true and that’s partly why the 1300 people who are battling this blaze are having a hard time gaining control of it.

The new normal — which is intense, hot and fast-moving fires — also comes together with normal. This is a mediterranean fire zone; We live in one, like Sydney and Cape Town and other places around the world. We should expect fire to be natural. What’s less natural, less normal, is the speed with which these fires are moving [and] the intensity of them. The longer fire seasons beginning in January is something that is in fact quite new.

Are we making fires worse by ‘denying nature’?

I think in part we make them worse by denying the naturalness of fire in Southern California or anywhere in this state and other places. But we’ve also made them unnatural in another sense.  Let’s go back to the numbers of evacuations. Who knew that there were 80,000 people roughly in the Cajon Pass area? You can see it when you drive through but the numbers are a little shocking. That tells us that this is really not a rural area. This is in fact an urbanized landscape. That’s why we’re having problems evacuating people and also getting firefighters in there. Despite the concentration of people, there are essentially two ways in and out of there -- [Highway] 138 and I-15. If those get shut down, all of a sudden other things happened that are difficult.

It isn’t just about the trucks and the cars that can’t get through, though that’s important. That’s also the space where [electric] power grids flow through and into Los Angeles. It’s where rail lines are located. It’s where oil and gas mains are flowing into this region with oil and gas that drive our economy. So, this is a really fraught landscape that has to be defended from fire to be sure, but is also adds to the dilemmas of those who are trying to put this fire out.

Maybe we need to have a better appreciation of how fires interact with all of the infrastructure that makes this place operate -- water, oil, gas, energy, as well as trucking. Southern California and its ports are some of the most important sources of goods and services for the rest of the United States.

Look, the Pilot Fire was just controlled not too long ago. Last summer there was a big explosive fire in the Cajon Pass again, which shut down the 15 again. This is what happens. It’s now becoming more and more dangerous because we’ve concentrated so much of our infrastructure and people in this narrow wind tunnel.

Is this fire earlier in the season and bigger than you would expect?

I don’t know that it’s bigger. I would say also that part of what we’re seeing as part of this new normal is the way in which drought and climate change are also interacting with these landscapes. For us in Southern California where we got virtually none of the rains from the Godzilla El Nio that was predicted and the drying out for the next couple of years suggest to me that drought, climate change, and fire are working in tandem and making our fire seasons a lot more complicated and our capacity to work with them and manage them a bit more difficult.

Is this a people problem?

If local planning commissions and zoning offices are going to, as they seem to do, facilitate the construction of homes almost anywhere that one can buy property, they’re not doing their due diligence. Let alone the property owners, many of whom understandably love those ridgelines, adore those canyons, and take on the risk. We’re supporting them collectively through insurance and other mechanisms. It does seem to me that the Blue Cut Fire, like all of the others, really poses a policy question for us that’s similar to what has been resolved in the Mississippi River Valley and places like that. We don’t allow people to build in floodplains. I think we need to have a conversation in Southern California at least about whether we should be allowing folks and facilitating their ability to live within the firezones.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Kennedy gives a speech on September 2, 1964 at the Democratic National Convention in New-York. ; Credit: STAFF/AFP/Getty Images

Robert F. Kennedy is a progressive icon, but as as a new book suggests, he wasn’t always a champion of liberal values.

Former Boston Globe journalist Larry Tye’s political biography, “Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon,” follows the complex political development of the New York Senator and presidential candidate, who was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in what is now Koreatown.

Long before his tragically-shortened 1968 presidential run, Kennedy was a legal counsel for the notorious anti-Communist Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy. While this complicated friendship has been widely scrutinized in other biographies, Tye refrains from repeating the usual narrative. Rather than suggesting he righted any previous wrongs by becoming an advocate for the underprivileged, Tye tries to subtly recreate Kennedy’s contradictory political evolution.

Drawing on previously unpublished written material and interviews with Kennedy’s widow, Tye creates both a glowing personal portrait and a history of a tumultuous time in America.

Larry Tye is in-studio with Larry Mantle, discussing his book and explaining how Bobby Kennedy turned from a Cold War firebrand into an exemplar of American progressive values.

Larry is giving a lecture and signing copies of his book tonight at 7 p.m. PT at the Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Guest:

Larry Tye, author of the book “Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon” (Random House, 2016)

This picture taken on September 11, 2014 shows the on-demand internet streaming media provider, Netflix, on a smartphone.; Credit: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

Sci-fi mystery show “Stranger Things” has become the latest Netflix darling. Since the debut of “House of Cards” in 2013, Netflix has put considerable resources in developing a slate of original scripted series.

Its slate of original programming – from “Orange is the New Black” to “Lady Dynamite” – has won industry accolades as well as praise from both viewers and critics.

Netflix is rolling out with 600 hours of original content this year. The move might be great for cord-cutters and fans, but it has incurred the wrath of at least one person. At a recent Television Critics Association event, FX Networks chief John Landgraf slammed Netflix for exercising too much of a “monopoly” over good scripts and the television production community. He went on to question whether the streaming site can handle the challenges of creating so many shows and still maintain quality.

Is Landgraf’s charge fair? Is Netflix’s all-in push into original programming sustainable as a business model? Can Netflix become the Airbnb, or the Uber of its industry, with Hulu and Amazon and others nipping at its heels.

Guests:

Dominic Patten, Senior editor and chief television critic, Deadline. He tweets from @DeadlineDominic

Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at the Silicon Valley-based market research firm, Creative Strategies, where he focuses on research in consumer technology; he tweets from @BenBajarin

A general view of a makeup kit with Le Metier de Beaute during the alice + olivia by Stacey Bendet Runway Show at NeueHouse Los Angeles on April 13, 2016 in Hollywood, California.; Credit: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Le Metier de Beaute

A new bill has been proposed to give the Food and Drug Administration authority to test cosmetic ingredients, as well as recall products that prove to be unsafe for consumers.

Senators Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and Susan Collins, R-Maine have co-authored the Personal Care Products Safety Act. In addition to adding regulations to a virtually unregulated industry, the bill would require cosmetic brands to pay roughly $20 million in annual fees. This would contribute to the total cost of making sure certain ingredients are safe.

According to a New York Times article, these fees are causing a split between industry heavyweights like Estee Lauder and Johnson & Johnson, and smaller, independent brands like Mary Kay. A counter-bill has been proposed by Texas Congressman Pete Sessions. His bill would require cosmetic companies to report any “adverse events” as a result of product use, without recalls or annual fees.

What do you think of the Personal Care Products Safety Act? Should cosmetics companies be regulated at the cost of potentially hurting independent businesses?

Guests:

Jamie Court, President and Chairman of the Board, Consumer Watchdog

Walter Olson, senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies

In this composite image a comparison has been made between former US Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton (L) and Donald Trump. ; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Amateur shrinks AKA average voters have every right to analyze the minds of presidential candidates - and during this cycle, it can be too tempting to resist.

However, professional psychiatrists who cannot restrain themselves from diagnosing Donald Trump's id and ego are violating the "Goldwater Rule" established by the American Psychiatry Association. As Benedict Carey recounts in "The New York Times," the Republican presidential candidate of 1964, Barry Goldwater, similarly inspired diagnoses from shrinks across the land.

At the time, more than 1,000 psychiatrists surveyed said Goldwater was psychologically unfit for the presidency. The news stoked controversy and later was deemed unethical by the aforementioned association.

How skilled do you think you are in diagnosing public figures? Looking back on Presidents Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, for instance, how did their behavior get analyzed at the time?

Guest:

Benedict Carey, Science Reporter for The New York Times; Author, “How We Learn” (Random House; 2014)

Volunteer inmates wear orange prison uniforms during an overnight stay at the new Cass County Law Enforcement Center. Civilians were to invited stay in the prison in order to work out potential bugs and test procedures.; Credit: Eric Francis/Getty Images

California lawmakers are getting closer to passing a bill that would throw the book at prosecutors who withhold evidence in criminal trials.

Assembly Bill 1909 (Lopez) would make prosecutorial misconduct a felony, instead of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to three years in jail.

The main sponsor of the bill, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, writes: "In 2014, prominent 9th Circuit Justice, Alex Kozinski, stated that prosecutorial misconduct is an epidemic in our criminal justice system. Nationwide, we've seen stories of innocent persons being sent to prison for decades because of a bad-acting prosecutor placing their self-interest and conviction rate ahead of seeking justice."

The primary opponent of the bill is the Orange County Deputy District Attorneys Association. Those prosecutors argue current law allows for sanctions against prosecutors who withhold evidence.

Is the current law being used effectively? How widespread is the problem of prosecutorial misconduct?

Guests:

Ignacio Hernandez, Legislative Director, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; Sponsors of AB-1909

Cyril Yu, Chair of Civic Action Committee, Orange County Deputy District Attorneys Association; Not speaking in his role as an OC Deputy DA.

A jet comes in for landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a formal agreement Wednesday that could mark the end of a multi-year fight to modernize LAX.

The proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and the Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion (ARSAC), a community group against capacity expansion at LAX, would free up funds for projects that have been stalled in litigation for years.

The agreement would allow LAWA to build a People Mover to connect the airport to the forthcoming Crenshaw/LAX Metro light rail line. A new rental car center, two transport facilities, and access roads for the new structures are also included in the plan.

ARSAC will agree to not take legal action to delay these projects, which together would cost five and half billion dollars.

A proposed shift of LAX’s northernmost runway toward the communities of Westchester and Playa del Rey has been scrapped. ARSAC sued in 2013 to block that project. Instead, airport officials would have three years to make several safety upgrades to the runway.

City Council will review the MOU at a meeting next Wednesday.

Guests:

Mike Bonin, Los Angeles City Councilman representing Council District 11, which includes Venice, West Los Angeles, Brentwood, and Pacific Palisades

Denny Schneider, member of the Westchester Neighborhood Association and president of Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion (ARSAC); ARSAC and the City of Los Angeles reached an agreement to halt lawsuits over LAX’s modernization

Campaign chairman Paul Manafort checks the podium before Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an event at Trump SoHo Hotel, June 22, 2016 in New York City. ; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Larry and a political roundtable parse the latest flurry of news stories, from former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort’s total resignation from the campaign, to Donald Trump’s apparent tonal change on the campaign trail.

We’ll also look at the criticism from those on the right that President Obama should return from his vacation to visit the flooding victims in Louisiana and get the latest on the State Department’s new revelation that a $400 million payment to Iran wasn’t “ransom,” but “leverage” for the release of American hostages earlier this year.

Guests:

Molly Ball, staff writer at The Atlantic, where she covers U.S. politics; she tweets from @mollyesque

Noah Bierman, LA Times reporter who’s been following the Manafort story. He tweets from @Noahbierman

Jay Solomon, foreign affairs correspondent who broke the original story for the Wall Street Journal. His new book, "The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East" (Random House, 2016) comes out next week. He tweets from @WSJSolomon

Ryan Lochte of the United States in the Men's 200m Individual Medley heat on Day 5 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 10, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.; Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, 32, issued an apology on Instagram this morning after lying about an armed robbery in Rio to cover his bad behavior and that of his teammates last weekend.

Lochte says he’s sorry for how he behaved and feels bad for taking attention away from other athletes at the games.

“It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country - with a language barrier - and have a stranger point a gun at you…” writes the swimmer. He maintains he and his teammates were held at gunpoint - but while the original reports stated they were pulled over in a Rio cab by fake cops and robbed - it now appears they were approached by armed security guards after vandalising a gas station bathroom and then paid them off.

Lochte and two other swimmers are back in the States now.

A fourth teammate, Jimmy Faegan will likely have to pay more than 10 thousand dollars before leaving Brazil this week. Are these athletes getting off with a slap on the wrist? How does a scandal like this make the U.S. look internationally?

Guest:

Aaron Bauer, Rio de Janeiro Correspondent for Around The Rings’ Olympic coverage; he tweets from @ABauer_ATR

The California state Capitol building is in downtown Sacramento, California.; Credit: David Paul Morris/Getty Images

AB1726, or the Accounting for Health and Education in API Demographics Act (AHEAD), would require higher education and public health institutions to collect data on more groups under the label, “Asian American.”

There are currently only two categories to choose from: Asian American, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. Under the proposal, Bangladeshi, Hmong, Indonesian, Pakistani, Taiwanese and other groups would be added.

Supporters of the bill say breaking these subgroups out highlight their respective needs and challenges, so that resources could be more easily directed at them.

But opponents, including some Chinese Americans, argue that the additional data would be used against more represented Asian American groups in college admission decisions.  

The bill moved out of the California Assembly Committees on Higher Education and Health in April, and heads to the Appropriations Committee.

Guests:

Calvin Chang, Policy Director for Empowering Pacific Islander Community (EPIC) and is one of the co-sponsors of AB 1726

Kai Zhu, an attorney in the Bay Area who opposes AB 1726

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump takes the stage for a campaign event at Fredericksburg Expo Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. ; Credit: MOLLY RILEY/AFP/Getty Images

After Paul Manafort’s resignation as Donald Trump’s campaign manager last week, we’ll continue to gauge the fallout and take a closer look at Steve Bannon, the Breitbart News executive chairman who has taken over as chief of the Trump campaign.

Also, the California Secretary of State’s first voter registration report shows more than 18 million Golden State residents are registered to vote for the November elections. We’ll dive into some of the numbers to get a better sense of the who and where of registration increases and decreases.

Plus, it seems top GOP strategists are starting to test the idea of employing a “break glass in case of emergency” plan and what that might look like in response to Donald Trump’s recent struggles in the polls and within his campaign.

Guests:

David Folkenflik, Media Correspondent, NPR (National Public Radio); he tweets from @davidfolkenflik

John Iadarola, co-creator and host of the daily infotainment talk show ‘ThinkTank,’ part of The Young Turks Network; he tweets @johniadarola

Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and executive director of The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets @Pete4CA

NPR announced last week that it would discontinue its online comment sections.; Credit: Adam Berry/Getty Images

Today’s the last day to put your impressions on NPR’s website before they shut down the commenting system and delete all previous audience input from their page.

For years NPR’s comment sections have suffered from the inflammatory and aggressive language that has become par for the course on public web forums.

The move to disable comments comes now because the service hasn’t been reaching that wide or that diverse an audience and, basically, it’s just not cost-effective anymore. NPR plans to continue conversations about their content on social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook. There’s a possibility NPR.org will eventually implement a new commenting system, but there’s nothing on the horizon for the foreseeable future.

Here at AirTalk we interact with our listeners and use their web comments all the time.

Do you see NPR’s move away from comments as a good thing? Is this part of a greater trend? How might getting rid of online comments affect your relationship with news outlets?

Guest:

Shan Wang, Staff writer at Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab

US business tycoon Donald trump (C) enters the Plaza Hotel past supporters on December 21, 1994.; Credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

The media has been heavily saturated with news and [mostly] sound bites from Donald Trump for the past year, but a new book takes us back several decades before Trump would be known for the entrepreneurial successes he has achieved today.

David Cay Johnston, an award-winning investigative reporter, spent nearly 30 years reporting on the personal and public life of the business mogul turned Republican presidential nominee. From the origins of Trump family’s real estate fortune to his recent career in politics, Johnston relied on decades of interviews, financial records, court documents and public statements to compose fullest picture yet of Trump’s extraordinary ascendency in just 27 days.

What questions do you have for Johnston about his newest book, “The Making of Donald Trump?”

Guest:

David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and best-selling author; his newest book is, “The Making of Donald Trump” (Melville House, 2016); he tweets from @DavidCayJ

(L to R) Gold Medalists Gabrielle Douglas, Simone Biles, Lauren Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Alexandra Raisman of the United States pose for photographs on the podium at the medal ceremony for the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team on Day 4 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Rio Olympic Arena on August 9, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.; Credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

In the pool, on the court and field, America's female Olympians clobbered the competition at the Rio Games.

The statistics piled up throughout the 16 days: the first American boxer to win back-to-back golds is Claressa Shields; of the top ten Americans with the most medals, six are women; Simone Biles is the first American gymnast to win four golds at a single Games; and the Women's Basketball, Rowing, Water Polo, Track Relay, and Gymnastics teams each scored firsts and broke records above and beyond their male counterparts.

It was not just American women making their nation proud. Puerto Rico, Iran, Bahrain, and India can thank their female athletes for a variety of special distinctions.

Overall, after much hand-wringing leading up to Rio's hosting of the Games amidst fears of the Zika virus, plus shoddy, slow construction and pollution, the actual days of competition at these Summer Olympics were as successful and as beleaguered as any modern event.

That being said, the Games are not over. The Paralympics are set to commence next month in Rio, but poor ticket sales and Brazil's recession have triggered budget cuts.

What are your biggest takeaways from watching events in Rio?

Guests:

Mary Hums, Professor of Sports Administration, University of Louisville; Hums has a special interest in women Olympians and the Paralympics; She has worked at a half dozen Games

David Wallechinsky,President of the International Society of Olympic Historians and author of “The Complete Book of the Olympics” (Aurum Press, 2012)

A man folds up baby strollers that were taken from his confiscated car after his arrest by a female police officer posing as a prostitute on Holt Boulevard during a major prostitution sting operation in Pomona.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Two bills are going through the state legislature that would protect minors from being prosecuted for prostitution.

SB 1322 would forbid law enforcement from arresting or charging people under 18 for prostitution, while SB 1129 would eliminate minimum sentences for repeat offenders.

Proponents say minors are victims of sex trafficking and should not be punished for the crime, but opponents, including some district attorneys associations, argue that bills would disincentivize minors from testifying against human traffickers.

Jim Cooper is a former captain at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, who’s worked on a number of sex trafficking cases. He now represents District 9 in the state assembly, which includes Sacramento and  the San Joaquin County communities of Elk Grove, Lodi and Galt.

He opposes SB 1322 because he believes the best way to separate sex trafficking victims from their captors is to arrest them. He says there “absolutely” will be more underage prostitution if the bill passes.

What are your concerns about SB 1322?

Every legislator that stood up last week said [underage prostitutes] are victims. They are truly victims — I believe in that.

While the intent of the bill is good, the bill does more harm to at-risk minors because right now the big issue is getting those girls away from the pimp. Obviously a lot of them have been brainwashed, and they’ve been told a lot of things. We want to separate them, and we also want to prosecute that pimp. 

The way the bill’s written now, there’s no crime. It’s not a crime punishable by anything. So, if law enforcement thinks somebody’s engaged in prostitution, we cannot detain them, because it’s not a chargeable offense. That’s the big issue we’re facing right now. They want us to refer the girls somewhere else. There are routes available for the young girls. What they don’t mention is that currently that charge can be expunged. 

The big thing is getting the girls away from the pimp separating them and getting them the help they need. Pimps are going to hire underage girls because law enforcement cannot contain them.

Frank Mecca leads the County Welfare Directors' Association of California, a nonprofit representing human services directors in the state.

He says there are existing ways to protect victims of sex trafficking without criminalizing them. 

“It is absolutely clear that police can continue to detain a victim of sex trafficking,” Mecca said. “They’re child abuse victims. Police, under the law, have not just the authority, but the responsibility, to detain victims of abuse.”

How can law enforcement protect victims without arresting them?

If law enforcement has the suspicion that the child is being trafficked — the same suspicion that would lead them to arrest the child — they can, as an alternative to arresting the child, detain them under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 305, and they call the child welfare systems. The child welfare system then engages and protects the child and treats the child. That’s the way we deal with every other form of abuse. I think this is a very important point. There’s no other child abuse that children suffer that we arrest them for and incarcerate them for.

He suggested that Los Angeles County, which doesn’t arrest underage sex workers, sets a good example for the rest of California. Mecca said the county has programs to connect victims with those who’ve “left the life” as well as high-quality therapy to break the bonds between victim and abuser.

How does Los Angeles County address underage sex work?

In Los Angeles County, your  county,  they don’t arrest child victims of sex trafficking. There’s an elaborate protocol that all the players in your county put into place, because your county believes there is no such thing as a child prostitute. 

So, law enforcement does not arrest. They actually detain. They detain under the same laws that the Assemblyman Cooper says don’t apply. They absolutely apply. The county brings services to bear. The child welfare system tries to find suitable housing. The mental health system provides high-quality, trauma-informed mental health services. The education system is involved. 

It is not necessary to arrest and incarcerate young children who are the victims of abuse in order to protect as serve them. All of the research says that children heal better when they are treated as victims, not as criminals.

Holly Mitchell is a state senator representing Culver City and parts of Los Angeles. She introduced SB 1322. Mitchell emphasized that victims of sex trafficking are not criminals, and the law should reflect that.

“It would never occur with us to take a victim of domestic violence or a rape victim and charge him or her with a crime and put them in jail for ‘their protection.’ It’s completely illogical.”

The bills are scheduled for a final vote.

Senate Bill 1322

Guests:

Frank Mecca, Executive Director of the County Welfare Directors' Association of California, a nonprofit representing human services director in the state

Jim Cooper, California State Assemblymember (D-Elk Grove), representing District 9 that includes Sacramento and San Joaquin County communities of Elk Grove, Lodi and Galt. He is a former captain at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, where he worked on a number of sex trafficking cases

This story has been updated.