Could a Constitutional Convention Fix California Government?
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Another day with no state budget brings California another day closer to a credit crisis that could damage business and create unemployment. Would re-writing the Constitution make things better or worse? Also, Bill Bratton's LAPD gets out from under the federal consent decree. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, 40 years ago today, Buzz Aldrin became the second man to walk on the Moon. Was that the outer limit of human capacity? Should robots take it from there or should we humans try to reach Mars? We'll talk with Aldrin and others.
Banner image: A demonstrator (L) mocks Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for remarking that he relaxes in his jacuzzi with a cigar after each day of dealing with the state economy as activists rally near the Santa Monica Airport. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
Main Topic
Space Travel: The Past and the Future ()
What does a man do for an encore after walking on the moon? That's the question Buzz Aldrin faced after eight days on Apollo 11, including the first moon landing 40 years ago today. It's one of the subjects addressed in his new book, Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon.
Guests:
- Buzz Aldrin: Apollo 11 astronaut
- Jonathan McDowell: Astronomer, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, @planet4589
- Steven Weinberg: 1979 winner, Nobel Prize in Physics
Making News
Treasurer Warns Continued Budget Delay Threatens Economic Recovery ()
Governor Schwarzenegger met with legislative leaders again today with all sides repeating a familiar refrain: agreement is near on closing the $26 billion budget gap. But, as they shut the doors, that gap wasn't closed yet. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer says that brought California's infrastructure rebuilding program just that much nearer to total collapse.
Guests:
- Bill Lockyer: Treasurer, State of California
Main Topic
Could a Constitutional Convention Fix California Government? ()
Everybody agrees that Sacramento's race toward disaster is not just because the current leadership is incompetent. It's also blamed on a government structure, which has not been systematically reformed since 1879. A bipartisan group financed in part by Yahoo and Google held forums this weekend in Los Angeles and Santa Monica to drum up support for a constitutional convention.
Guests:
- John Grubb: Spokesman, Repair California
- Bruce Cain: Director, University of California Washington Center
Links:
Reporter's Notebook
LAPD Free from Consent Decree ()
Last Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department got out from under eight years of federal oversight. Judge Gary Feess ended a consent decree imposed after the Rampart scandal in 2001, in which officers were accused of tampering with evidence, abusing suspects and lying under oath about their misconduct. Former defense attorney Gerald Chaleff helped negotiate the decree as President of the LA Police Commission. Chief Bill Bratton later appointed Chaleff his deputy to carry out the promised reforms.
Guests:
- Gerald Chaleff: Police Administrator, LAPD Risk Management Bureau
Links:
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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