The Lakers, the LA City Jail and Steve Lopez
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More than 60,000 people turned out for today's parade to celebrate the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Though nine people were arrested, they won't be held in the LAPD's brand new jail. We also ask LA Times columnist Steve Lopez about how he defines his role as a public commentator and about his career in the declining business of news in print. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, BP is the latest corporation under attack by the White House, but polls show the public thinks BP is handling the oil spill about as well as the government is. What's the message about the President's brand of populism?
Banner image: Fans cheer for the Los Angeles Lakers during their victory parade for the the NBA basketball champion team on June 21, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 87-79 in seven games for the franchise's 16th NBA title. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
Making News
Champion Los Angeles Lakers on Parade ()
In downtown LA this morning, an estimated 65,000 emotional but orderly fans turned out to celebrate NBA championship Los Angeles Lakers. There were just nine arrests for fighting and disturbing the peace. Some of the team members talked to Ramona Shelburne, a columnist with ESPN Los Angeles.
Guests:
- Ramona Shelburne: Columnist, ESPN Los Angeles, @ramonashelburne
Main Topic
LA Builds a Jail for No One ()
It's a state-of-the-art facility with electronic fingerprinting and a monitoring system that could provide updates on overcrowding -- if there were any inmates. What it needs is 100 additional jailers, but there's a hiring freeze. So, the $74 million structure stands empty. We hear more from LAPD Commander Scott Kroeber and Rob Saltzman of the LA Police Commission.
Guests:
- Scott Kroeber: Commander, LAPD's Office of Special Operations
- Rob Saltzman: Member, Los Angeles Police Commission
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Reporter's Notebook
The Life and LA Times of Steve Lopez ()
Steve Lopez joined the LA Times in 2001 after stints at Time magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, San Jose Mercury and the Oakland Tribune. His book, The Soloist, about the homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers, was made into a movie with Lopez played by Robert Downey, Jr. In nine years of writing two columns a week, he's expressed a lot of opinions. Lopez explains why he loves what he does, despite the hate mail.
Guests:
- Steve Lopez: Columnist, Los Angeles Times, @LATstevelopez
Main Topic
Barack Obama and the Perils of Populism ()
The New York Times reported last week that President Obama has derided Wall Street "fat cats;" he's called health insurers "greedy;" he said West Virginia's Massey coal company put, "their bottom line before the safety of their workers." In the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill, he's been scathing in his attacks on BP. What are the long-term consequences of short-term politics?
Guests:
- Matt Bai: Political Writer, New York Times Magazine, @mattbai
- David Corn: Washington Bureau Chief, Mother Jones magazine, @DavidCornDC
- Wayne Slater: Senior Political Writer, Dallas Morning News, @WayneSlater
- Tom Donlan: Editorial Page Editor, Barron's National Business and Financial Weekly, @barronsonline
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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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