State Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) speaks to an attendee at an Abundant Housing LA event. ; Credit: Josie Huang/KPCC

Despite gaining national attention that included a front-page write-up on the New York Times, a housing bill in the California legislature pushing for more dense residential developments around public transit hubs died on Tuesday when it was unable to make it out of committee.

The Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing shot down SB 827, which AirTalk debated after it was introduced, on the grounds that its approach was too broad and that it treated small cities the same way it treated larger ones like San Francisco. The bill would have removed restrictions on constructing multi-story residential buildings in areas zoned for things like single-family homes within a half-mile of public transit stops.

San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, had hoped providing more units near rail stops would address two of California’s biggest issues – affordable housing and reducing carbon emissions – by encouraging residents to use public transit instead of driving. But the bill ran into opposition from a number of interest groups and elected city officials in places like Los Angeles and San Francisco, who argued it would take neighborhood development control away from local governments.

Senator Wiener says he plans to bring the bill back in a future legislative session. But what might that bill look like? And how will Senator Wiener address the concerns that his colleagues expressed? What can we expect the state to do about addressing the affordable housing crisis in the meantime?

With guest host Libby Denkmann

Guests:

Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), author of SB 827; California State Senator representing Senate District 11, which includes all of the city and county of San Francisco, Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City, and part of South San Francisco; he tweets @Scott_Wiener

Liam Dillon, reporter covering state politics and policy for the Los Angeles Times; his beat includes housing and he has been following SB 827; he tweets @dillonliam

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity house at San Diego State University. What benefits do fraternities and sororities provide to the students who take part in them?; Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

Earlier this week, Cal Poly State University’s president announced that he was suspending all of Greek life, after the recent emergence of a photo of a student in blackface at a Lambda Chi Alpha party.

Nearly two months prior, there was a racial profiling and cultural appropriation incident at Cal Poly’s Sigma Nu. In his open letter, Cal Poly president Jeffrey Armstrong says these occurrences have led to the suspension and that details on how Greek life can resume are forthcoming.

These aren’t the first fraternities to get in trouble for racism. And even after highly publicized incidents and public backlash, it seems that members of frats and sororities continue to get in trouble for their behavior.

If you are in Greek life, what is your take on these events? What is the value in Greek life? If you are a parent who participated in Greek life, are you encouraging your kids to follow in your footsteps? Why or why not?

Call us at 866-893-5722.

With guest host Libby Denkmann

Guest:

John Hechinger, author of “True Gentlemen: The Broken Pledge of America’s Fraternities” (2017, PublicAffairs); he is a senior editor at Bloomberg News

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators examine damage to the engine of the Southwest Airlines plane that made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia on Tuesday.; Credit: /AP

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered inspections Wednesday on engine fan blades following a fatal explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight.

The CFM56-7B engine on the 737 Southwest jet blew apart on Tuesday and resulted in the death of a woman who was partially blown out of the window. The passenger, Jennifer Riordan, died of blunt impact trauma to the head, neck and torso, according to Philadelphia’s medical examiner.

We talk to safety experts to examine why one of the fan blades shot off and what does that mean to future airline safety regulations.

Guests:

John Goglia, aviation safety teacher at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in New York. He is an independent safety consultant and a former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) board member; he tweets @crashdetective

Cem Tasan, professor of metallurgy at the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

California State Capitol Building in Sacramento.; Credit: Jeff's Canon/Flickr Creative Commons

Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) is trying a novel strategy to allow a woman to testify in support of her bill, despite the woman’s nondisclosure agreement with her past employer.

The strategy: asking the Assembly to issue a subpoena.

If Speaker Anthony Rendon grants the subpoena, it could set a new precedent. The process could be used by the Legislature to allow people with forced arbitration agreements to discuss matters they’ve legally agreed to be silent about, which could be a boon to people who’ve faced sexual harassment and discrimination and decide they want to discuss publicly.

Tara Zoumer, the woman in question, wants to testify in support of AB 3080, a bill introduced by Assemblymember Fletcher that aims to stop employers from barring workers from taking discrimination, labor or harassment claims to court.  

We get the latest on this story. Plus, we zoom out and look at the status of NDAs in California as they face greater scrutiny in the context of #MeToo.  

With guest host Libby Denkmann

Guests:

Melody Gutierrez, political reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle who’s been following the story; she tweets @MelodyGutierrez

Orly Lobel, law professor at the University of San Diego School of Law; author of “You Don't Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie's Dark Side” (2017, W. W. Norton & Company); she tweets @OrlyLobel

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The western span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge and San Francisco skyline seen November 2, 2001. ; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey shows that there’s a more dangerous, though lesser known, fault running through densely populated areas of the East Bay.

In the event of a magnitude 7 earthquake, nearly 800 people could be killed, with an injury estimate of 18,000.

What precautions can the region take to avoid a potential disaster? We discuss the new study with its lead author and examine the economic impact of a potential East Bay quake.

Guests:

Ken Hudnut, lead author on The HayWired Earthquake Scenario, a study on the
Hayward fault; geophysicist and science advisor for risk reduction for the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Anne Wein, co-author of The HayWired Earthquake Scenario study; disaster and resilient analyst, and a principal investigator with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in the Western Geographic Science Center in California

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office of the White House, January 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. Also pictured, from left, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, and White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a lawsuit in the federal district court in Manhattan Friday against Russia, WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign alleging that the three entities conspired to disrupt the 2016 presidential campaign.

The suit alleges that Trump campaign associates conspired with the Russian government and hacked the Democratic Party’s computer networks, circulating stolen material found there, according to the Washington Post.

The DNC is seeking millions of dollars in compensation for the alleged damage suffered from the hacks.

Guests:

Kyle Cheney, congressional reporter for Politico

Jack Lerner, law professor and director of the Intellectual Property, Arts, and Technology Clinic at UC Irvine School of Law where his focus includes electronic voting and technology law

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Activist smoke joints during a prostest under the motto "No vamos a pagar, lo vamos a pegar" (something like 'We are not going to pay for it, we are going to get the kick out of it") against the imposing of fines for smoking marijuana by police according to their new code, in Bogota, on August 1, 2017.; Credit: AFP Contributor/AFP/Getty Images

Not coincidentally, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to introduce legislation today to decriminalize marijuana, which is on the list of scheduled substances along with drugs like heroin.

The bill would let each state decide whether to allow the commercial sale of cannabis, ending the legal grey space that many marijuana businesses find themselves in.

Various polls show that there is support for legalizing cannabis throughout the U.S. According to a recent CBS News poll, six in ten Americans think it should be legalized. A Pew Research Center poll put the number at 61 percent in favor of legalization, with 70 percent support among millennials.

What would it take to decriminalize marijuana federally and how would states negotiate their laws with the federal government? And what are the attitudes of Americans towards legalization?

Guests:

Frank Newport, editor-in-chief for the Gallup Poll; he tweets @Frank_Newport

John Schroyer, senior reporter at Marijuana Business Daily

Jay Wexler, expert in constitutional and cannabis law; professor of law at Boston University

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

All the twins, together.; Credit: Nancy Segal

William and Wilber grew up in the rural village of La Paz, Colombia, believing to be fraternal twin brothers for much of their life, along with their family and friends.

But at age 25, William was mistaken by a young woman for another twin, Jorge. That chance mistake lead to the discovery that Jorge was actually William’s biological, identical twin brother living in Bogota, 150 miles away. And Jorge was living with Carlos, Wilber’s biological, identical twin brother.

In the only known account of two sets of identical twins swapped at birth, the world’s leading expert on twin studies Nancy L. Segal tells the unbelievable story of the reunions between William and Jorge, and Wilber and Carlos.

Segal joins host Larry Mantle to talk about her latest book, “Accidental Brothers: The Story of Twins Exchanged at Birth and the Power of Nature and Nurture.”

Guest:

Nancy L. Segal, professor of psychology at California State University, Fullerton, and director of the Twin Studies Center; author of her latest book, “Accidental Brothers: The Story of Twins Exchanged at Birth and the Power of Nature and Nurture” with Yesika S. Montoya (St. Martin’s Press, 2018)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo smiles as he walks to a meeting with Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) on Capitol Hill April 18, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump has nominated Pompeo to become the next Secretary of State.; Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

AirTalk’s weekly politics roundtable wraps up the big headlines you missed this weekend and looks ahead to the week in D.C. and California.

• Mike Pompeo's confirmation troubles

• Washington Post reports Sessions warned WH not to fire Rosenstein

• DNC lawsuit against Russia, Trump campaign, WikiLeaks (this might be more current)

• Comey memos

• Rudy Giuliani joining Trump’s legal team

• Cohen and Trump’s relationship moving forward

• North Korea latest (Kim says they no longer need missile tests, Trump says he hasn’t made too many concessions)

• Supreme Court to hear travel ban case Wednesday

• Emmanuel Macron & Angela Merkel visit D.C. this week

• Barbara Bush’s funeral (and possibly working in a mention of that Fresno State professor who tweeted some incendiary comments about the former First Lady)

Guests:

Lisa Garcia Bedolla, professor in the Graduate School of Education and director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley; she tweets @GarciaBedolla

Jeremy Carl, research fellow at the Hoover Institution; served in an advisory capacity Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign; he tweets @JeremyCarl4

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A digital representation of the human genome August 15, 2001 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Each color represents one the four chemical compenents of DNA. ; Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The ability to study a person’s DNA brings tremendous medical promises, but also poses great ethical challenges.

A federally-funded project that has been studying the impact of gene-sequencing for babies is renewing the debate over these issues, and doing so on an arguably more emotional front.

The project, called Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health, is headed by four medical institutions in the country (including UC San Francisco) and has led to questions like whether DNA-sequencing should be mandatory for all infants in the country, and how the technology could lead to its inevitable commercialization and what they could mean for parents and the medical community.

Guests:

Cynthia Powell, M.D., Principal Investigator for one of the four federally-funded Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health (NSIGHT) projects; she is a pediatrician, clinical geneticist and genetic counselor and professor of pediatrics and genetics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine

Josephine Johnston, co-lead of the ethics group making ethics and policy recommendations for the federally-funded Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health projects; she is the director of research at the Hastings Center, bioethics research institute in New York 

Aaron Kheriaty,M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Medical Ethics Program at the School of Medicine at UC Irvine

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, left, talks with fellow Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low, of Campbell, at the Capitol Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. ; Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) introduced a bill that would limit efforts to pay for gay “conversion therapy” in California.

The California Assembly voted Thursday to add gay “conversion therapy” to its list of deceptive business practices.

The practice is already banned in California for those under age 18.  But Low, who authored AB 2943, wants to expand the ban beyond minors. Lawmakers in support of the bill insist those services have been discredited and called them “fraudulent.”

Meanwhile, some religious groups have said that such a ban would be a violation of their constitutional rights. The bill will now head to the Senate.

You can read the full text of the bill here.

Guests:

Evan Low (D-Campbell), California Assembly member who represents District 28, which is located in Silicon Valley and includes Campbell, Cupertino and areas of West San Jose; he is chairman of the California legislative LGBT Caucus, who authored AB2943; he tweets @Evan_Low

Sam Garret-Pate, spokesperson for Equality California, a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California who co-sponsored AB 2943; he tweets @sgarrettpate

Jonathan Keller, president and CEO of the California Family Council, a Christian-based non-profit educational organization

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Container ship Cosco Development, registered and sailing under the flag of Hong Kong, with capacity for more than 13,000 containers, is seen at the Agua Clara locks in Colon, 90 km from Panama City on May 2, 2017.; Credit: RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images

A US national-security review has raised concerns over Chinese state-run shipping giant COSCO taking control of a large container terminal at the Port of Long Beach in California, one of the biggest gateways for imports into the US.

The terminal is part of COSCO’s proposed $6.3 billion purchase of an Asian shipping rival, which holds a long-term concession to operate the facility in Long Beach, according to reports. The review, by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a secretive federal panel that vets foreign purchases of American companies, comes at a tense time between the US and China, with both leaders threatening to impose new tariffs and regulators.

As the tension intensifies, we take a look at the future of Chinese acquisitions and investments in American companies that seem to be facing increasing scrutiny from the Trump administration.

Guests:

Costas Paris, global shipping and trade finance senior reporter for the Wall Street Journal who has been covering the story; he tweets @CostasParis

Elias Groll, reporter for Foreign Policy magazine who wrote about Washington’s strike back against Chinese investment; he tweets @EliasGroll

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A publicity photo of the late Art Bell.; Credit: Coast to Coast A.M.

Art Bell, the founding host of “Coast to Coast AM”, the early-morning radio show dedicated to all things paranormal, has died at the age of 72.

Bell passed away in his home in Pahrump, Nevada, on (in true Bell fashion) Friday the 13th.

Larry opens up the phone to talk to listeners about the influence of Bell, and ‘Coast to Coast.’

Guest:

Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a trade magazine for talk radio based in Longmeadow, MA

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Visitors walk outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 14. ; Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Over a year after Trump limited travel from five mostly predominantly Muslim countries in a third iteration of the “travel ban,” the Supreme Court is taking up the issue in Trump v. Hawaii.

Oral arguments are set for Wednesday, April 25, in a case that will test the limits of presidential power over immigration. The court will have to decide whether the travel restrictions are rooted in anti-Muslim animus and are discriminatory, whether the case can be considered for judicial review and whether the lower courts injunctions on enforcement of the travel ban where too sweeping. 

We get a preview of the arguments and explore the potential repercussions of the court’s decision.

Guests:

Josh Blackman, an associate professor of Law at the South Texas College of Law who specializes in constitutional law; he is the author of “Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare” (Public Affairs, 2013) and he tweets @JoshMBlackman

Shoba Wadhia, professor of law and director of the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Penn State Law; she submitted an amicus brief for the case on the history of the Immigration and Nationality Act

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A photo of Jamal Jackson, the homeless man who has been charged with murder in a stabbing attack at a beachside steakhouse in Ventura, Calif. on April 18, 2018.; Credit: Ventura County District Attorney's Office via AP

Ventura’s been rocked by the deadly stabbing of a man having dinner with his family at a local restaurant last Wednesday night.

Without provocation or previous interaction, a transient walked up to the 35-year-old man and stabbed him in the neck. Ventura police were called earlier that evening about the transient harassing passersby.

AirTalk examines the department’s response.

Guests:

Neal Andrews, mayor of the city of Ventura

Eugene O’Donnell, professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; former NYPD officer and former prosecutor in Kings County, New York

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Dr. Jason Greenspan (L) and emergency room nurse Junizar Manansala care for a patient in the ER of Mission Community Hospital on January 28, 2009 in Panorama City, California. ; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

If your doctor was on probation for an incident, say, involving medical malpractice, you’d probably want to know about it and maybe even want to change doctors, right?

But what about if your doctor was on probation for billing negligence? Would you feel the same way?

These are questions at the heart of proposed legislation that would require doctors to tell a patient at his or her first visit if they are on probation. SB 1448 would require doctors to give patients a form to sign that shows how long the probation period is and when it ends.

San Mateo Democrat Jerry Hill is the bill’s sponsor, and he says his bill will increase transparency between doctors and patients, as physicians are currently only required by law to notify their insurer and their hospital or clinic about probationary status.

Physicians and physician groups have already come out in opposition of the bill, saying that it would cause patients to go find another doctor before doing any research on the specific reasons for the probation. They add it may also put doctors in a position where they would rather fight allegations than settle in court and take probation, which could create a backlog in the probation system.

We debate the bill.

Guests:

Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog

Kavita Patel, M.D., nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; she’s also a practicing primary care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine; she tweets @kavitapmd

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Victims of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual abuse and their supporters protest during a #MeToo march in Hollywood, California on November 12, 2017.; Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

California Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) proposed a bill that would ban employers from requiring employees to sign mandatory arbitration contracts.

Under AB 3080, companies cannot make new hires waive their right to file lawsuits over sexual harassment, discrimination, wage theft and force workers into closed-door arbitration. Some argue that arbitration becomes an unsuccessful dispute resolution method when it is not chosen freely by both parties. But business groups disagree.

Debate over the bill is scheduled to be heard in the Judiciary Committee Tuesday and could reach the Assembly floor by the end of the month.

Guests:

Steve Smith, spokesman for the California Labor Federation, a chief sponsor of AB 3080, made up of more than 1,200 unions, representing 2.1 million union members in various industries; he tweets @ssmith_clabor

John Kabateck, state director of the California chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), an organization advocating for small business owners; he is the president of Kabateck Strategies, a Sacramento-based public affairs firm serving small and medium-sized businesses across the state

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

People work at computers in the community space of Factory Berlin on July 14, 2016 in Berlin, Germany.; Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Artificial intelligence is already being used in courtrooms, children’s toys and, of course, labs… but it turns out it may be used in your workplace it, too.

Human-resource departments are already using AI in myriad of ways. One tool helps management read between the lines of employee surveys, hoping to interpret what the respondent may have actually meant and provide more accurate feedback to bosses. Another system tracks the frequency of interaction between employees to determine which employees have a closer connection than others in hopes of increasing workflow efficiency. Yet another maps facial expressions during video interviews to track when the job candidate may be lying or nervous.

Though AI can help HR departments improve productivity and quickly sift through employee feedback, using it to make decisions in hiring, firing and compensation can present problems. Because algorithms look for patterns, they can unintentionally fall subject to bias. There’s also a privacy issue – in California, companies do not legally have to notify their employees that they are being tracked using artificial intelligence.

Still, AI is only going to become more prevalent in human resources and the workplace as a whole.

How would you feel if you knew your company was using AI to analyze your employee feedback or track your interaction with your co-workers? And if you work in HR, what are your opinions on using AI? Do the workflow benefits outweigh the possible drawbacks?

Call us at 866-893-5722.

Guests:

Imani Moise, reporter at The Wall Street Journal who has been following the story; she tweets @MoiseNoise

Garry Mathiason, San Francisco-based attorney with the firm Littler Mendelson P.C., where he represents employers; he co-chairs the firm’s Robotics, AI and Automation Industry Group; he tweets @GarryMathiason

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A hybrid police car is seen at the unveiling of two new Ford Fusion hybrid pursuit-rated Police Responder cars at Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on April 10, 2017.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

An activist group announced the launch of a statewide campaign Tuesday asking Latinos not to collaborate with local law enforcement.

The move is in response to the stance some cities are taking against the state’s sanctuary laws, which legalizes statewide non-cooperation policies between California law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. Hermandad Mexicana’s campaign, spearheaded by long-time activist and the group’s political advisor Nativo Lopez, says police should not expect cooperation in the form of court appearances, witnesses’ testimony or even crime reporting.

The “non-violent, non-cooperation” campaign is not supported by other immigrant rights organizations.

Guests:

Nativo Lopez, an immigrant-rights advocate and senior political advisor for Hermandad Mexicana, a Santa Ana-based non-profit organization defending immigrants’ rights in California; he tweets @NativoVLopez

Angelica Salas, executive director of Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A police officer stands guard on the steps of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, June 15, 2017.; Credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump appears likely to win his travel ban case at the Supreme Court.

The case was argued this morning in front of the High Court.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy both signaled support for the travel policy in arguments Wednesday at the high court. The ban's challengers almost certainly need one of those two justices if the court is to strike down the ban on travelers from several mostly Muslim countries.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the most aggressive questioner of Solicitor General Noel Francisco in his defense of the Trump policy, and the three other liberal justices also raised questions about it.

The justices voted in December to allow the policy to take full effect pending their full consideration. This morning was the first time they took it up in open court.

The Trump administration is asking the court to reverse lower court rulings that would strike down the ban.

The Supreme Court is considering whether the president can indefinitely keep people out of the country based on nationality. It is also looking at whether the policy is aimed at excluding Muslims from the United States. A decision is expected by late June.

With files from the Associated Press

Guest:

Greg Stohr, Supreme Court reporter at Bloomberg who was at the oral argument this morning; author of “A Black and White Case: How Affirmative Action Survived Its Greatest Legal Challenge” (Bloomberg Press, 2006); he tweets @GregStohr

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.