The two leading rivals for the LA mayor's race, City Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilman Eric Garcetti, take part in a candidate forum at Leo Baeck Temple in the Sepulveda Pass.; Credit: Grant Slater/KPCC
With the runoff election for Los Angeles Mayor between Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel taking place in less than a week, Larry talks with KPCC’s political team for a check in.
Guests:
Alice Walton, KPCC Politics Reporter
Frank Stolz, KPCC Politics Reporter
A man eats a banana while biking in New York.; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC
To contend with an upswing of two-wheeled commuters in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants bigger fines imposed on reckless drivers and cyclists. The city's current fine for bicyclists who disobey traffic laws, such as running red lights, is $25. He wants it raised to a $200-maximum. As for drivers and passengers who open their doors in the way of a cyclist, the fine could double to $1,000. "Dooring" can cause serious injuries. Emanuel's aides say there were more than 250 dooring accidents last year.
In California, it's illegal for car doors to be opened without caution - whether it affects bikes, cars or pedestrians. However, cycling advocates say enforcing rules around "dooring" is nearly impossible here. As for red lights and stop signs, California cyclists can face similar fines as drivers who break the law.
Should more laws be imposed that are more specific to cycling safety? What's the right punishment for dooring? Are there some traffic laws that should only apply to drivers, but don't make sense for cyclists? Or should everyone be treated the same to ensure clarity and safety?
Guest:
Colin Bogart, Education Director, Los Angeles County Bike Coalition
Michelle Mowery, Bicycle Planning and Programming, City of Los Angeles, Department of Transportation
For Bike WeekThere are group rides all over LA tonight. This weekend, the focus is on cycling locally to run errands. And tonight at Paseo Colorado is Ladies Night with a maintenance clinic and group ride.
To learn more about Bike Week all over LA County, visit metro.net/bikes, or on twitter @bikemetro.
Police Chief Charlie Beck joins Larry to talk about BAC limits, Dorner, plate scanning, and racial profiling. ; Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Today we’re having our monthly check in with the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Charlie Beck, on a host of topics, including the reward decision for fugitive Christopher Dorner, the department’s lawsuit with ACLU over the use of data collected by license plate scanners attached to LAPD cruisers, accusations from USC students that police treated black and white students differently when breaking up parties near campus, and more.
Do you have a question for Chief Beck? Type it in the comments box or call in.
Guest:
Charlie Beck, Chief of Los Angeles Police Department
Leading defense attorneys Mark Geragos and Pat Harris co-author, "Mistrial An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works...and Sometimes Doesn't"; Credit: Mistrial book cover
Defense attorney Mark Geragos has tried approximately 300 cases, including representing celebrities Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Winona Ryder, and Mike Tyson. In his new book with Pat Harris, "Mistrial An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works...and Sometimes Doesn't," the two lawyers make a case that the criminal justice system is failing.
The book provides an inside look at lies, bribes, and injustice in the American court system and how everyone from jurors to judges can be corrupted.
Geragos joins AirTalk to weigh in on the OJ Simpson trial and the Jackson's family lawsuit to AEG.
How easily is our perception of the truth changed? What should be reformed in the criminal justice system? What should you consider as a juror? What about as a defendant?
Guest:
Mark Geragos, criminal defense attorney, legal analyst, and co-author of "Mistrial An Inside Look at How the Criminal Justice System Works...and Sometimes Doesn't"
Would you eat meat made in a lab? ; Credit: Flickr via bittermelon
A lab-made hamburger may make its culinary debut in London sometime this month, giving the world a first taste of what could be the future of meat. The burger, genetically engineered by University Maastricht scientist Dr. Mark Post, is made from thousands of tiny pieces of meat grown in-vitro and held together by salt.
Post uses tendons from fetal calves to grow the meat and, in a lengthy, expensive process, puts them together to form a hamburger patty. Meat created this way could have a significant impact on the environment and on health -- lab-made burgers use much less energy, and if they could be mass produced, in-vitro meat could reduce the global herd. Genetically engineered meat is also cruelty free -- Post's eventual goal is to create burgers without using any meat at all.
But will people eat meat made in a lab? The burgers don't have the exact appearance, flavor, or texture of actual meat yet, and even if they did, consumers would still have to make a decision about whether the products were "real." How might anti-G.M.O. advocates feel about lab-made meat? Is genetically engineered food real food? How might stem cell research evolve in a way that would allow these products to be produced on a large scale and more cost effectively?
Dr. Neil Stephens, research fellow at ESRC Cesagen at Cardiff University School of Social Sciences
U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement on the situation regarding the Internal Revenue Service May 15, 2013 in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Pool/Getty Images
President Obama has his hands full lately with all of the scandals plaguing the White House. Between Benghazi, the IRS and the Associated Press, the administration is facing a public relations nightmare.
President Obama started fighting back on Wednesday by announcing the resignation of the acting Internal Revenue Service director over news that the agency targeted conservative political groups. He also pushed the administration's support of a journalism shield law after it emerged that the justice Department obtained phone records of The Associated Press.
What is the White House’s strategy for dealing with the fallout? How are Republicans responding? Will Attorney General Eric Holder be the next to go?
Rachel Smolkin, deputy managing editor for POLITICO
A girl in a tanning bed.; Credit: Evil Erin/Flickr (cc by-nc-nd)
Sunless tanning products, such as airbrush tans, lotions and towelettes, have grown more popular as Americans learn more about skin cancer. Still, a survey by Baylor University shows the majority of college-age women use such products to complement UV (ultraviolet) tanning -- whether by the pool or in a tanning bed.
The Baylor researcher, Jay Yoo, says product manufacturers need to figure out how to convince fashion-conscious consumers that sunless tanning products are a complete, safe alternative to UV rays. A golden-brown glow has only been en vogue for about a century. Previously, suntans were associated with the working class that had to work outdoors.
Why has the tan look sustained in the fashion world? Should the messages about skin cancer be as big and bold as anti-smoking, lung cancer campaigns of the past? What are the latest numbers on skin cancer rates?
Dr. Lisa Chipps, M.D., Beverly Hills Dermatologist; Director of Dermatological Surgeries at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in Torrance
Amazon Studios creates pilots like "Zombieland"; Credit: Amazon Studios
The web has come a long way since cat videos and reruns of old TV shows. The success of Netflix's "House of Cards" has inspired a lot of other video streaming sites to get into lucrative game of producing original content. Hulu and Yahoo both have a dedicated production arm of their own.
The latest entry is a name that doesn't typically get associated with original sitcoms or dramas. Amazon has recently released 14 new pilot episodes on its website created by its Amazon Studios unit and the e-commerce site wants viewers to choose which previews the company should turn into full-on, season-long shows. The 14 offerings range from well-known Hollywood entities, like the Sony spin-off Zombieland, to lesser-known creations a la the comedy Those Who Can't, which was generated from an online submission entry.
What's the creative process behind these pilots? How did ideas get the green light? How has response been so far?
Guest:
Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios
What will you be watching this fall? We review the network upfronts. ; Credit: Detlef Reichardt/Flickr Creative Commons
Over the past four days, advertisers were treated to flashy presentations from network TV execs on their fall season lineups. It’s the annual ritual known as the upfronts. But the subtext this year, like the last few years, is all about the health of network television.
The industry desperately needs a hit or two to stem the exodus of viewers that have flocked to cable or just plain tuned out. So just how strong of a fall television season it is going to be, Larry talks to a couple of television observers to find out.
Dade Hayes, Executive Editor of Broadcasting & Cable
Alex Wedprin, Senior Editor at TVNewser
Zachary Quinto attends the screening of "Star Trek Into Darkness" at MPAA on May 15, 2013 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images
Larry and KPCC critics Claudia Puig and Peter Rainer review this week’s releases, including Star Trek Into Darkness, The English Teacher, What Maisie Knew and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
Star Trek Into Darkness
The English Teacher
?
What Maisie Knew
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and USA Today
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Zachary Quinto attends the screening of "Star Trek Into Darkness" at MPAA on May 15, 2013 in Washington, DC.; Credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images
Star Trek fans don’t have to wait any longer for the newest installment of the sci-fi series. Star Trek: Into Darkness opened nationwide on Thursday and it’s getting mostly positive reviews from critics and fans. The $190 million budget and cutting edge special effects are a far cry from the original low-tech Star Trek series but fans have not abandoned the original show.
What have been the most memorable story lines in the Star Trek franchise? What are your favorite Star Trek episodes or films? What characters best encapsulate the characters? How do the new films compare to the older series and movies?
Guest:
Larry Nemecek, Star Trek historian and author of author of Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion
An embryologist holds a dish with human embryos at the La Jolla IVF Clinic in La Jolla, California.; Credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
For the first time, researchers have successfully cloned human embryonic stem cells that could be used to treat diseases ranging from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s to diabetes. More importantly perhaps, the breakthrough shows that it may be scientifically possible for humans to clone themselves.
The method used is called somatic cell nuclear transfer—the same process that was employed to create Dolly the sheep. In this case, the Oregon scientists took an egg donated by a woman, emptied out all of its genetic material, then injected a patient’s skin cell into it to produce a wide variety of stem cells. The experiment, funded by Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and a grant from Leducq Foundation of France, was published online in the journal Cell.
Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a cell biologist at OHSU that headed the study, said the focus of the research is on advancing therapeutic cloning, and not on cloning a human. "Our research is directed toward generating stem cells for use in future treatments to combat disease," Mitalipov said. "
While nuclear transfer breakthroughs often lead to a public discussion about the ethics of human cloning, this is not our focus, nor do we believe our findings might be used by others to advance the possibility of human reproductive cloning." But this breakthrough has reinvigorated debate over the ethics of human cloning.
Guests:
Bernard Siegel, Executive Director of the Genetics Policy Institute (GPI)
Dr. Dan Sulmasy, a professor of medicine & ethics at the University of Chicago
"Foreign Policy Begins At Home," by Richard Haass.
At a time when world crises have been dominating the agenda -- Syria's civil war, North Korea's nuclear threats, turbulence after the so-called Arab Spring --, a top foreign policy thinker is calling on Americans to focus on our domestic agenda. Richard Haass, head of the influential Council on Foreign Relations, has written a new book arguing that, for now, "Foreign Policy Begins at Home."
Richard Haass, Author, “Foreign Policy Begins at Home;” President, Council on Foreign Relations; From January 2001 to June 2003, Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell.
This combo shows a Feb. 20, 2013 file photo of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti speaking to media in Los Angeles, left, and undated image provided by the Wendy Greuel Campaign of mayoral candidate Greuel meeting with voters.; Credit: AP
Voter turnout for tomorrow’s runoff mayoral election between City Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilman Eric Garcetti is expected to be in keeping with historical trends, meaning the number would more likely than not be pretty low. Only 21% of eligible voters went to the poll back in the March primary, despite the millions of dollars candidates spent blanketing the airwaves with ads.
One group is working on the ground to change that with the youth vote. Rock the Vote is known for engaging youth voters nationally—and, for the first-time ever, it is going hyperlocal. If this Los Angeles experiment proves successful, Rock the Vote plans to flex its muscles in other municipal elections. Larry talks to Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, on getting the youth vote out tomorrow.
Guest:
Heather Smith, President of Rock the Vote
Would predictive policing reduce crime? Could it lead to racial profiling and infringe on 4th Amendment rights?; Credit: Bruce Chambers/Orange County Register
It's straight out of the mind of sci-fi writer Phillip K. Dick, but “predictive policing” is not just a nifty plot device. Since late 2011, the Los Angeles Police Department has been using the tool in a number of geographic areas.
The software, also called PredPol, is developed by a team of academics and uses police data to predict and map where crime will likely happen. The algorithm’s latest convert is the city of Alhambra, which has become the first place in Southern California to implement its use on a city-wide scale. Research has shown that police officers perform significantly better with the the help of PredPol, but critics worry that its use might lead to racial profiling and violations of the 4th Amendment.
Guests:
Mark Yokoyama, Alhambra Police Chief
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, Professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia; he recently published a paper on prediction policing and possible 4th amendment issues in the Emory Law Journal.
A family van is exposed after the garage was blown apart May 16, 2013 in Cleburne, Texas.; Credit: Ben Torres/Getty Images
A large area of the central US is under a tornado alert Monday after deadly twisters killed two and injured 21 in Oklahoma yesterday. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency after tornadoes tore through 16 counties. Residents across the Midwest are bracing for more storms as residents whose homes were destroyed start the devastating task of combing through the rubble.
What is the cleanup effort happening across Oklahoma? Which areas are facing the biggest threat today? What do residents do when a tornado is about to strike? Is the tornado warning system getting any better?
Guest:
Nick Trougakos, assistant editor for The Oklahoman newspaper
A screenshot of Tumblr on May 20, 2013; Credit: Screenshot
Another year, another blockbuster tech acquisition. Yahoo! has announced that it is buying microblogging site Tumblr. The deal is worth $1.1 billion in cash and gives the aging internet giant an instant infusion of young, dedicated social network users.
But there’s a catch: Tumblr isn’t really making any money, so Yahoo! would need to figure out a way to monetize the site. The proven way, so far, for a social networking site to generate revenue has been selling ads. And that’s exactly what Yahoo! plans to do with Tumblr. But the question lingers on whether the move would turn off long-time Tumblr users. Last year, Facebook bought the photo-sharing site Instagram for $1 billion and has yet to sell ads on the site, worried about alienating users. And Google has been cautious with placing ads on YouTube, the video-sharing site it bought years ago.
Guest:
Amir Efrati, staff reporter at the Wall Street Journal
A man walks past an Abercrombie and Fitch store on February 22, 2013 in San Francisco.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Since his 2006 interview with Salon resurfaced last week and went viral, Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Michael S. Jeffries has faced a slew of backlash and protests towards his blunt comments regarding the company’s marketing strategy.
In the interview, Jeffries says, “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
The CEO has faced controversy and lawsuits in the past for discriminating against employees and employee candidates based on their physical appearance or their age, and for refusing to produce plus-sized clothing. Amid the recent backlash, Jeffries released a statement Thursday claiming that the quotes were mostly taken out of context and gave no indication that the company would change course.
Should they? Where do you draw the line between focusing on a particular demographic and being an exclusionary company? To what extent should a company be responsible for being inclusive? Have Jeffries’ candid remarks actually helped his company? Would you shop at Abercrombie? Would you let your kids shop there?
Guest:
Gabriella Santaniello, Senior Vice President of Retail Market Research at Wedbush Securites
US President Barack Obama returns to the White House in Washington on May 19, 2013 from Atlanta.; Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
The IRS targeting conservative groups, the killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, and the government’s recent seizure of phone records from AP reporters have plagued the White House with scandal in recent weeks. White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer made the rounds on this past Sunday’s talk shows to defend the Obama administration and to drive home the point that the White House has not been behind these scandals, and that they will support any investigations that will help remove the problem.
Reports this weekend revealed that the White House’s chief lawyer learned weeks ago that the IRS audit would reveal misconduct, though the President was allegedly not informed about this, and only learned of the results when they were revealed to the public by an IRS official 10 days ago. Furthermore, its known that both Republicans and Democrats knew about the IRS probe back in April 2012.
Should the Obama administration have been better prepared for this fallout? Do we believe that the administration had no hand in influencing the IRS office that committed the fouls, and if we do, can we believe that they didn’t learn about it until just days ago? Are Republicans pointing out a major flaw in the administration’s policies -- namely that they keep claiming to have been uninformed about all these recent scandals -- or is this just more partisanship gone extreme?
Guests:
Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist; former speechwriter for Governor Pete Wilson
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist; former senior Obama advisor in 2008, who now runs the Los Angeles office for the Dewey Square Group
(L) District 6 School Board Candidate, Monica Ratliff, in her classroom at San Pedro Street Elementary. (R) District 6 School Board Candidate Antonio Sanchez.; Credit: Rebecca Hill/KPCC
Tomorrow, voters will be asked to choose between two candidates in a runoff for a seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District board representing the east San Fernando Valley.
Monica Ratliff’s and Antonio Sanchez’s stances on the issues seem similar on many issues, though Sanchez, a rising star in Los Angeles’ political scene, has quite a bit of big-money backers and a political-action committee headed by Mayor Villaraigosa. Ahead of tomorrow’s run-off, the candidates will discuss everything from disruptive students in classrooms to school-served breakfasts.
Guests:
Monica Ratliff, elementary school teacher and candidate for school board
Antonio Sanchez, candidate for school board
