Occidental College
Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy at Occidental College; co-author of Thinking Big: The Story of the Los Angeles Times, Its Publishers, and Their Influence on Southern California and Food Justice: Food, Health, and the Environment; former board member of the Metropolitan Water District
New Battles in California's Water Wars California's definitive problem is the shortage of water — brought to public consciousness by a third year of diminished rainfall and new battles in the ongoing water war. Politicians are demanding a drought declaration. Governor Brown wants $25 billion for two new tunnels to help bring water from North to South, and San Diego has gone to court against the Metropolitan Water District, which delivers water to 20 million people.
In the Heart of Hollywood: Produce or Parking? It's only open on Sundays, but there's enough money left over to help similar markets sell fresh produce in Watts, Atwater Village and other neighborhoods where they can't make it on their own. For 19 years, the Hollywood Farmers' Market has occupied several blocks of Ivar and Selma Streets between Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. Now, its permit to block off the street has expired and a three-year dispute with the neighboring LA Film School is about to come to a head.
All That Rain, Down the Drain After a couple of major rainstorms it may sound counter-intuitive, but it is still short of water and likely to remain so.
Dissecting the Deal for the LA Times Yesterday, Sam Zell put up $300 million in a complicated takeover of the Tribune Company of Chicago, which is worth $8.2 billion and includes the Los Angeles Times . Zell, a Chicago real estate billionaire who beat out local billionaires Ron Burkle and Eli Broad , has said almost nothing in public, but local billionaire David Geffen says he still has a chance. In a message to the LA Times newsroom, Editor Jim O'Shea said that, while any change of ownership carries some risk--and this includes a heavy debt burden--Zell is "a creative thinker and an inventive entrepreneur," who says, "he believes in the future of the news business." We hear more about the deal, possible staff cuts and absentee ownership of Southern California’s major news source in a conversation with O'Shea and others.
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?