LA Commuters, Get Ready to Ride Your Bikes
Host:
Produced by:
Subscribe to this Podcast:
Listen to/Watch entire show:
Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa broke his arm on a bike a week and a half ago, and he's more eager than ever to make the city more bicycle-friendly. Santa Monica just might beat LA to the punch. Both cities have plans to close some streets to cars on Sundays with the ultimate goal of encouraging commuting by bike. In cities built for the automobile, what about bicycle safety and interrupting traffic flow for millions of cars? Also, a federal judge says "no" to parts of Arizona's new immigration law. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, the Bush tax cuts are about to expire, paving the way for another election-year showdown. What are the possible options for individual taxpayers, the deficit and the economy?
Making News
Judge Blocks Part of Arizona Immigration Law ()
Arizona lost a round in court today when Federal District Judge Susan Bolton temporarily blocked two controversial provisions of its new immigration law. One requires legal residents to carry immigration papers and the other requires local police to determine the status of people they stop and think might be in the country illegally. Reporter Nicholas Riccardi is in Arizona for the Los Angeles Times.
Guests:
- Nicholas Riccardi: Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Links:
Main Topic
Ciclavia Comes to Los Angeles and Santa Monica ()
Despite breaking his arm in a bicycle accident, LA Mayor Villaraigosa is promoting bike travel on city streets more vigorously than ever. A week and a half ago, he fell off his bike when a taxi cab pulled in front of him on Venice Boulevard. The cab driver didn't get a ticket, but the Mayor's elbow was broken in eight places. With his arm in a sling, he's now appearing on YouTube with a pitch for making LA streets bicycle-friendly. Meantime, in Santa Monica last night, the City Council agreed to look into an idea that took root in Bogotá, Colombia. There, it's called ciclovía, the Spanish word for "bike path." Around here it's called cicLAvía, with the emphasis on LA. We hear more from the Mayor, the City Council and others.
Guests:
- Joe Linton: Board Member, CicLAvia
- Brian Taylor: Director, UCLA's Institute of Transportation Studies
Main Topic
Tax Cuts, the Deficit and the November Election ()
Tax cuts signed into law by George W. Bush were attacked for making the rich richer at the expense of the Middle Class and for helping to turn a federal surplus into a deficit. They are scheduled to expire at the end of this year and Republicans are warning of the biggest tax increase in history. President Obama wants to let the tax cuts expire in the top bracket, but keep them in place for individuals making $200,000 or less and for couples at or below $250,000.
Guests:
- David Herszenhorn: Congressional Reporter, New York Times, @herszenhorn
- William Gale: Co-director, Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center
- Doug Holtz-Eakin: former Director, Congressional Budget Office, @djheakin
- Bruce Bartlett: former staffer, US Treasury Department
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.
Engage & Discuss
Further the conversation with your thoughts and comments. Agree, disagree, present a different perspective -- engage.
For information and guidelines click: Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
Please note, comments are moderated. KCRW reserves the right to edit and or remove posts deemed off-topic, abusive or not in accordance with KCRW's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
