The High Price of Environmental Cleanup and Homeland Security
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The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are about to require that trucks meet EPA standards, cutting 50% of their diesel pollution overnight. But drivers that make 30,000 a year will have to buy new trucks and they'll also be subject to criminal background checks. After October 1, there may not be enough drivers to handle 15 million cargo containers a year—half of all America's imports.
Making News
Schwarzenegger Suggests Raising Taxes ()
State employees will be paid in full for the month of August, and a local judge will hear challenges to Governor Schwarzenegger's order to drop their pay to the minimum wage until the legislature passes a budget. But the hearing won't be until next month after the full checks have already been issued. Meantime, the Governor proposed today what he called a "true compromise" between Democrats and Republicans, including a three-year, one-cent hike in the sales tax.
Guests:
- Evan Halper: Reporter for the Los Angeles Times, @evanhalper
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Main Topic
Cleaner Trucks at the Ports ()
The ports of LA and Long Beach handle half of all America's imports from overseas. Together, they are a principal economic engine for Southern California. But they're also a major polluter and a menace to public health, causing significant illness and premature deaths. On October 1, new rules go into effect that are expected to reduce diesel pollution from trucks by half—overnight.
Guests:
- David Pettit: Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council , @NRDC
- Oswaldo Hernandez: Truck driver who has served the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for 16 years
- James Hankla: President of the Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners
- David Freeman: former Board Member, California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority
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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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