Which Way, L.A.?
Which Way, L.A.?
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Are California Prisons in for a Fix?

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California prisons are so overcrowded that two federal judges are threatening to cap the population in June.  We hear new details on how the governor and legislature are planning to deal with the financial and social crisis.  Also, the Stardust in Vegas is now just a memory.

Main Topic

Are California Prisons in for a Fix? ()

California prisons now house 172,000 inmates--twice as many as they were designed to house.  The healthcare system is so bad it's in federal receivership. Two federal judges have given the state until June to get a handle on overcrowding and improve conditions or face a cap on the prison population.  The Sacramento Bee reports that Governor Schwarzenegger met yesterday with Democratic and Republican legislative leaders, the second such meeting in less than three weeks and one that brought them close to agreement. The Governor wants to build more prisons, but that can't be done soon enough to meet the June deadline.  We speak with a prisoner advocate and the head of the state prison system about possible alternatives.

Guests:
  • Ron Tipton: Senior VP for Programs at the National Parks Conservation Association
  • Don Specter: Director, Prison Law Office
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Reporter's Notebook

Stardust Is Now Just Dust and Memories ()

In 1958, the Stardust opened in Las Vegas, becoming the world's largest resort hotel with 1,032 rooms. But the first mass-market casino is a thing of the past. Today, the Stardust was imploded by the Boyd Gaming Corporation to make way for the Echelon, which will cost $4.4 billion and have 5000 rooms. Mike Weatherford, entertainment reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, is editor of The Stardust of Yesterday: Reflections on a Las Vegas Legend.

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A CD copy of Which Way L.A.? is a available by calling 1.888.600.5279.
Transcripts are not available.

Underwriters

Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.

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