Should the state ban offshore fracking? ; Credit: Flickr/mikebaird

The Coastal Commission has said it will launch an investigation into reports of hydraulic fracturing - known as fracking - happening off the California coastline. The Associated Press reported that there have been 12 instances of offshore fracking in the past two decades that the Coastal Commission said it didn’t know about.

A complex maze of federal and state agencies means that it's hard to track down where and when fracking is happening. There have been various attempts to ban the method of extracting oil and gas because of environmental concerns. The oil industry says the method is safe and not damaging to the environment.

Should the state or federal government ban or heavily regulate offshore fracking? Are there separate environmental concerns for offshore versus onshore fracking? Should California take more initiative to find out what is happening in federal waters off the coast?

Guests:

Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, State Senator representing the 19th district in the Santa Barbara area

Richard Ranger, senior policy adviser for the American Petroleum Institute

Should the bicyclist have received a heavier sentence? ; Credit: Getty Images

The first bicyclist in the country to be convicted for felony vehicular manslaughter will serve no jail time. Chris Bucherre, 37, negotiated a plea deal with the San Francisco District Attorney's office for 1,000 hours of community service and three years probation for the death of 71-year-old Sutchi Hui last year.

The collision investigation said Bucherre was riding his bicycle downhill at 30 miles an hour. Witnesses say Bucchere blew through a red light before crashing into Hui who had been crossing the street with his wife. Hui died of his injuries four days later.

If this accident were involving a driver and a pedestrian, would the sentence be the same? Should there be more laws for cyclists?

Guests:

Claude Wyle, bicycle and pedestrian accident attorney; he is a partner with Choulos Choulos  & Wyle in San Francisco

Dan Kann, criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles

Popular actor and comedian Jerry Lewis often jokes about being Jewish.; Credit: Getty Images

Comedians would agree that stand-up comedy has its roots in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. The mountains were a popular vacation spot where New Yorkers went to cool off in the summer, but it quickly became a proving grounds for young Jewish comedians looking to hone their skills. The new film “When Comedy Went to School,” uses interviews with prominent comedians and historians to trace back the history of Jewish-American comedy. 

Guests:

Ron Frank, Director, “When Comedy Went to School” - a documentary tracing the roots of Jewish American comedy

Lawrence J. Epstein, Author, “The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America”

Do you have a diverse set of friends? ; Credit: Flickr/tyfn

A recent poll conducted by Reuters found that many Americans do not have friends of another race. The poll found that nearly 40 percent of white Americans and 25 percent of non-whites are surrounded by friends of their own race. In certain regions however, where there is more diversity there is a greater chance for people to develop friendships outside their own race.  California is the most diverse with both friendships and love, but areas of the south has the lowest percentage of people with diverse acquaintances.

Do you have friends of a different race? What role do you think location plays in this? Is it important to have a diverse set of friends?

Is there any way to ensure our privacy when we let someone fix our computers?; Credit: Joe Strupek/Flickr

A student at the University of Alabama is suing Best Buy, claiming that revealing photos on her laptop were unjustifiably removed and put on the Internet after she left her laptop with Best Buy’s Geek Squad technical support team for repairs.

The lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court in Alabama, claims an invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and negligent supervision, training and entrustment. March found about two years after she’d taken the computer in for repairs that that naked photos of her, which identified her by name, were being shared on peer-to-peer networks like The Pirate Bay.

The woman then notified the manager at the Best Buy in Tuscaloosa, and though an agent with Geek Squad claimed to have tracked down the culprit and deleted the files, the agent also allegedly asked her to do him the “favor of not asking who the culprit was”.  So instead she filed a police report.  

We all know that our computers are subject to be tampered with when we give them to IT experts, so we hide the private photos, the password lists and the bank statements, right? Or do we? And can’t a savvy IT worker find stuff anyways?

How often does this kind of stuff happen, and what gets stolen or misused? How can consumers protect themselves? How are IT training and certification boards ensuring that this kind of stuff doesn’t happen? Or are too many IT personnel operating without much supervision? And what are the legal implications of tampering? If you give up your computer under a contract that says the service can wipe your hard disk clean, how can you stop them from stealing stuff before they purge it all?

Guests:
Ben Popken, Senior Staff Writer and Editor at NBCNews.com, formerly at Consumerist.com, where he lead an investigation into Geek Squad that found techs were uploading frivolous pictures from customers’ computers.

Pam Dixon, Executive Director of the World Privacy Forum; she says repair tech tampering is a widespread problem, and she’ll also be able to talk about the specific lawsuit in Alabama and its legal ramifications.

A news photographer films the logo of the new Al Jazeera America nightly news program America Tonight in the network's studio space in Washington, DC. Al Jazeera America, a cable news network set to launch on August 20, will have 12 bureaus in major cities in the US, three broadcast centers, a headquarters in New York City, and around 900 journalists and staff.; Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

The first new news network to hit US airwaves in decades is making its debut on Tuesday. Al Jazeera America will have its first chance to rival CNN, MSNBC and Fox News on its own turf. The network has opened 12 bureaus around the country and is hiring more than 1,000 journalists. Its plan is to cover serious national news while also bringing an international perspective.

Opinions seem to be divided over the news agency's parent company Al Jazeera. There is still bitterness toward Al Jazeera for providing an outlet for Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 4attacks, a move which led some to derisively label the network "Jihad TV."  Last month, 22 crew members of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr in Egypt resigned over what they said was biased coverage.

But as many Americans grow frustrated with the current network news options, is now the time for a newcomer? Does the US news media need a fresh voice like this to shake things up? Will you be watching Al Jazeera America? Do the controversies bother you?

Guest:

Philip Seib, Director of USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy and author of the book “The Al Jazeera Effect” (2008)

Would giving the Coastal Commission the power to impose and collect fines without court approval help it to protect the state's coastlines?; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

That's the question the state legislature will wrestle with this week. The bill, sponsored by San Diego democrat Toni Atkins, would allow the Commission to impose and collect fines without court approval, which is currently required. The Commission argues that the added step hamstrings the agency's efforts to protect the state's coastlines. According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 20 state agencies have the power to levy fines. 

Businesses that oppose the bill feel that the Commission already has enough regulatory power as is, and doing away with court oversight would leave coastal property owners and businesses faced with hefty penalties with little legal recourse.

Guests:

Sara Wan, Former Commissioner of the California Coastal Commission

Margo Parks, director of government relations for the California Cattlemen’s Association and she represents a coalition of businesses that opposes the bill

A new bill could change the enforcement of punishment for cyber bullies.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

A new California bill would allow school administrators to punish students who bully online. School officials would have the power to expel students even if the cyber bullying took place off school grounds. Authored by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, the bill comes after recent suicides from victims of bullying. In Saratoga, two young girls were sexually assaulted, then teased repeatedly online before committing suicide. School officials could not stop the cyber attacks because it was outside school property.

Under the current law, superintendents can only punish students who cyber bully at school or during school activities. According to the Associated Press, the ACLU has criticized the bill as restricting online speech for students.

Do you think school officials should be able to punish cyber bullying no matter where it happens? How will the school investigate claims of cyber bullying? Does this law limit free online speech for students? What can schools do to stop cyber bullying? Is suspension a strong enough punishment?

Guests:
Jeff Freitas, Secretary-Treasurer, California Federation of Teachers

Susan Porter, Ph.D, author of “Bully Nation: Why America’s Approach to Childhood Aggression is Bad for Everyone” (Paragon House); Dean of Students at The Branson School in Ross, California; she has worked in schools for 25 years.

Do you have a diverse set of friends? ; Credit: Flickr/tyfn

A recent poll conducted by Reuters found that many Americans do not have friends of another race. The poll found that nearly 40 percent of white Americans and 25 percent of non-whites are surrounded by friends of their own race. In certain regions however, where there is more diversity there is a greater chance for people to develop friendships outside their own race.  California is the most diverse with both friendships and love, but areas of the south has the lowest percentage of people with diverse acquaintances.

Do you have friends of a different race? What role do you think location plays in this? Is it important to have a diverse set of friends?

Guests:

Mo Tammin, polling editor at Reuters

Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, director of the Greater Good Science Center at University of California, Berkeley. He also writes a blog about the science of prejudice, stigma, and intergroup relations.

On the day of his suicide Martin Manley published a blog that details what led to his decision. Yahoo decided to take the blog down, but many other sites have re-posted Manley's blog content.

Last Thursday Kansas City sports reporter Martin Manley took his own life. That same day, he published a blog that detailed what led to his decision. Manley's sister told Slate that Manley pre-paid Yahoo to host the site for five years. However, Yahoo took down the site on Friday night citing a violation of its terms of service. Manley's sister, Barbie Flick, is trying to get Yahoo to republish the blog; but meanwhile, many other sites have republished Manley's final words.

Should Yahoo have taken down Manley's blog? Is the blog's existence honoring Manley's last wishes or should his last words be less public?

Didi Hirsch's 24-hour toll free suicide prevention crisis line: 877 727 4747

Guests:

Stephen Wu, a partner in the law firm Cooke, Kobrick and Wu; he served as the 2010-2011 Chair of the American Bar Association’s section of science and technology law.

Sandri Kramer, crisis line director of the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center

New research shows that despite popular belief, college students today are having sex less often than they were 20 years ago.; Credit: Parker Knight/Flickr Creative Commons License

Despite recent headlines claiming that sex among college students was on the rise, students are actually having less sex than two decades ago. This, according to new research presented Tuesday at the American Sociological Association. Martin Monto, a sociology professor from the University of Portland, found “no evidence of substantial changes in sexual behavior that would support the proposition that there is a new or pervasive ‘hookup culture’ among contemporary college students.”

But young adults do seem to be having sex with fewer strings attached to partners. The researchers looked at nationally representative data from the General Social Survey of 1,829 high school grads, ages 18-25, who had finished at least one year of college. They compared answers from 1988-1996 with those from 2002-2010 and found no major differences. These latest findings echo other, similar research.

So is the hook-up culture just a myth? What’s really going on behind closed campus doors?

Guests:
Laura Hamilton,  Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of California, Merced

Kathleen A. Bogle, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice, La Salle University; author of Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus (New York University Press)

The new Porsche Panamera GTS is unveiled by race car drivers at the LA Auto Show on November 16, 2011 in Los Angeles.; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Though L.A. might be notorious for being one of the most car-obsessed cities in the country, the LA Auto Show has never quite shined so brightly in the international auto world.

Traditionally in the shadow of Detroit’s auto show, L.A. organizers in 2006 moved the show on the calendar to give it more of a spotlight, though in recent years the dates have conflicted with prestigious shows in Tokyo and Guangzhou, China.

There’s also just generally been a lack of firepower at the L.A. show, with fewer major debuts at the L.A. show and often a focus on consumers rather than spectacle. But that might change in upcoming years, as show organizers attempt to bring more flare to the schedule.

A new opening exhibition will feature classic cars from Oxnard’s Mullin Automotive Museum and local custom car designer George Barris.

The Peterson Automotive Museum will also take part in the action, and more of the main lobbies will be focused on design and concepts. The show’s new manager, Terri Toennies, has experience doing big event planning in Las Vegas and is aiming to bring more “eye candy” to the exhibition, giving it a bit more pop.

The aim is to expand the show from just reaching local consumers to becoming a bigger influence on the international stage.  Will it work?

Guest:

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Edmunds

Images of a passenger getting run over by a fire truck released after the Asiana Airlines crash has led fire officials in San Francisco to question whether or not firefighters should use helmet cameras.; Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Over the weekend, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White banned firefighters in the city from using of helmet cameras. The move came after footage taken by a firefighter’s helmet camera after the Asiana Airlines crash became public. The images showed a fire truck running over a Chinese girl at the scene of the crash in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle published stills from the footage.

Yesterday, officials at the San Francisco Fire Department backtracked on the decree and said they will revisit the issue. Cities like Baltimore and Houston have a firefighter helmet cameras ban in place, as do the Los Angeles City Fire Department and the County of Los Angeles Fire Department. Proponents of the ban say the use of helmet cameras and dissemination of the images violate the privacy rights of victims and firefighters. But some firefighters contend that these cameras don’t just make an useful training tool, they save lives.

"The department seems more concerned with exposure and liability than training and improving efficiency," San Francisco Battalion Chief and president of the employee group, the Black Firefighters Association Kevin Smith, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Helmet cams are the wave of the future - they can be used to improve communication at incidents between firefighters and commanders.”

Guests:

Kevin Smith, battalion chief of San Francisco fire department and president of the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association

Inspector Keith Mora, Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles County Fire Department

Author Elmore Leonard poses during a portrait session prior to a reading and signing of his latest novel "Up In Honey's Room" on May 24, 2007 at Book Soup in Los Angeles, California. Leonard died at age 87 in his home Tuesday [Aug. 20]. ; Credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Crime novelist Elmore Leonard died Tuesday morning at age 87 following complications from a stroke. In addition to his well-known novels, “Get Shorty,” “Freaky Deaky” and “Glitz,” Leonard was highly regarded for redefining and mastering his genre. He wrote more than 40 novels, and many of his writings have been turned into movies and TV series.

After the 1995 movie version of “Get Shorty” starring John Travolta, Leonard won the attention of many directors, including Quentin Tarantino. But Leonard never wanted to have any input into the film versions of his works. 

"His feeling was, 'I write a novel and what happens after it is not my work and has noting to do with me,'" said "Get Shorty" filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld. "In fact, he came to a recruited audience screening we had in Chicago before we released the movie and he came up to me in the end and he really loved the film."

Screenwriter Graham Yost worked on "Justified," which was based on Leonard's novella "Fire In The Hole." He says Leonard stayed out of the film and TV adaptations of his work for good reason. 

"He had some bad experience in the '70s writing screenplays. That's one reason why he stuck with books," said Yosy. "He let us do what we did and, frankly, part of what we decided to do was let Elmore be Elmore."

Last fall Leonard became the first crime writer to receive the National Book Award, an honor shared with literary giants Philip Roth, Norman Mailer and Arthur Miller. 

Guests:

Barry Sonnenfeld, filmmaker and director for "Get Shorty," "The Addams Family," and "Men in Black; also produced "Out of Sight"

Graham Yost, film and television screenwriter, best known for his film "Speed" and his work on the miniseries "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific"; Yost is also the creator and executive producer of the TV series "Justified", which was based on Elmore Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole”

On a hillside south of Banning, California, up to a thousand firefighters battled the blaze on August 8, 2013.; Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Are wildfire fights in California targeting the wrong culprit? This month’s Silver Fire devastated communities in Riverside County - destroying nearly 50 buildings, including homes, and injuring almost a dozen firefighters. The fire also seems to be challenging conventional wisdom about where wildfires start and what causes them to spread.

Cal Fire is focusing on clearing old vegetation, but the Silver Fire burned new growth. Should that alter California’s plans to fight wildfires?

Guest:
Richard Halsey, Director, The California Chaparral Institute - an organization dedicated to the preservation of native shrubland habitats, based in Escondido

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks at a Reform Agenda Town Hall meeting at the New Jersey Manufacturers Company facility in Hammonton, New Jersey. Could Christie turn out to be a serious candidate for the 2016 presidential election?; Credit: Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images

Texas Senator Ted Cruz is renouncing his Canadian citizenship to affirm his allegiance to the United States. The rising star in the Republican party is rumored to have presidential aspirations. He was born a dual citizen in Calgary to an American mother and Cuban father. Does that qualify him as “natural born” American?

Still in the category of more imagined than real, is talk of Vice President Joe Biden making a run. History doesn’t favor VP runs, but perhaps columnist Jonah Goldberg can explain why Biden curries fervor.

And it’s even more unclear whether New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is viable for the Grand Old Party. Recent policy decisions on gay rights issue and medical marijuana may not be popular with the party base. If that isn’t enough 2016 talk, what’s the latest on Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio,  Scott Brown, Cory Booker? Who are we forgetting?

Guests:
Robin Abcarian, Columnist, Los Angeles Times

James Hohmann, Political Reporter, POLITICO

Bob Ingle, Senior Political Columnist for Gannett New Jersey newspapers and co-author of “Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power” (St Martin’s Press, 2012)

Islamic political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) activists gesture with painted fingers in support of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in Karachi on August 20, 2013. ; Credit: ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images

Egypt remains in a state of emergency as violence rips a divided country. Tensions between supporters of the military and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood will likely be further exacerbated after authorities arrested Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie. Meanwhile, the world stage is beginning to fracture in its positions on Egypt.

The White House has been pressured to suspend aid to the Egyptian military in light of its violent tactics against protesters, yet President Obama has not officially made any decision yet. On Monday Saudi Arabia announced that it would compensate the Egyptian military for any funds that are withdrawn by Western States, fueling a new Middle East standoff that pits Saudi Arabia against countries like Turkey and Qatar, who have denounced the actions of the military.  

On top of all this, there are suggestions that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may be released from custody in coming days.  Ironically, his potential release coincides with a growing sense that Egypt is returning to a state similar to the one under Mubarak, with strict authoritarian control.  

What’s next for Egypt?  What about the United States’ role?  And will Mubarak be released, and what will that mean for the growing unrest in the country?

Guests:

Hussein Ibish, Senior Fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, a think tank in Washington

Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at University of San Francisco

How do you handle the check when you first start dating someone?; Credit: Roey Ahram/Flickr

Most men are still paying for dates, but in reality many are wishing women would chip in sometimes.

According to a new study presented at the American Sociology Association, 64 percent of men believed women should pick up the tab from time to time. At the same time, 39 percent of women hoped men would not ask them to contribute at all.

The ritual of men paying for all the outings dates back to when most jobs were not accessible to women. Today, however, men and women are both equally in the workforce. The study looks at how this dynamic shift of gender roles impacts the dating realm.

Do women want equality in dating too? The study shows that younger college-educated men and women were more likely to share the costs of dating.

Who should pay for the first date? Should men always pay? How have the ‘rules’ of dating changed? Does it matter who makes more money?

Guest:

Janet Lever, Professor  of Sociology at Cal State Los Angeles and the co-author of the study titled “Who Pays for Dates.”

Brooklyn Ave. in Boyle Heights

The city of Boyle Heights, a working class Latino neighborhood east of Downtown, was recently profiled in The New York Times. The paper looked at the neighborhood’s twist on gentrification. The people changing Boyle Heights are neither white nor middle-class, but are young, hip Latinos who have moved back into the area, the very place their parents had left years ago, to open up record shops and bookstores—often times the first signs that it is the beginning of the end.

They are called “Chipsters” – short for Chicano hipsters and what they are doing is called “gentefication.” But the shared cultural and ethnic background hasn't made local residents and this spate of newcomers get along any better.

This phenomenon isn’t just happening in Boyle Heights, but also in places like Santa Ana, Silver Lake, Long Beach, Echo Park —cities that have always had a large Latino presence. Is there a difference between gentefication and good old gentrification? Have you returned to a neighborhood you grew up in? If so, why?

Brooklyn Ave. in Boyle Heights; Credit: Paul Narvaez/Flickr

The city of Boyle Heights, a working class Latino neighborhood east of Downtown, was recently profiled in The New York Times. The paper looked at the neighborhood’s twist on gentrification.

The people changing Boyle Heights are neither white nor middle-class, but are young, hip Latinos who have moved back into the area, the very place their parents had left years ago, to open up record shops and bookstores—often times the first signs that it is the beginning of the end.

They are called “Chipsters” — short for Chicano hipsters — and what they are doing has been called “gentefication" — gente means "people" in Spanish. However, the shared cultural and ethnic background hasn't made local residents and this spate of newcomers get along any better.

This phenomenon isn’t just happening in Boyle Heights, but also in places like Santa Ana, Silver Lake, Long Beach, Echo Park — cities that have always had a large Latino presence.

Is there a difference between gentefication and gentrification? Have you returned to a neighborhood you grew up in? If so, why?

Guest:
Sarah Mawhorter, Ph.D student at the USC Price School of Public Policy; her research focus is on the gentrification patterns of Echo Park and Highland Park.