Which Way, L.A.?

Questioning Proposition Q

One thing that Mayor Jim Hahn and Police Chief Bernard Parks agree on is that Los Angeles needs 600 million dollars to upgrade facilities for police and firefighters. Although both of them are supporting Proposition Q, opponents insist that a tax increase of 3 dollars a month isn't worth it, especially before there's a vote on Valley secession. Twice in the past few years, the city has failed to get the two-thirds vote required to raise taxes to pay off such bonds. It's trying again on March 5 with Proposition Q. We hear arguments for and against the bond from LA City Councilman Jack Weiss and Richard Close of the secessionist movement Valley VOTE. Newsmaker: The Murder of Journalist Daniel Pearl A grisly videotape has proven that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was brutally murdered by his abductors in Pakistan. President Bush says the incident has strengthened America's resolve to fight terrorism. But how often are journalists killed? How dangerous is their profession? Joel Simon, Deputy Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, has some surprising answers. (Originally broadcast earlier today on To the Point.) Reporter's Notebook: Ordinary Faces and Extraordinary Ads In 20 years of directing, Howard Zieff got a lot of laughs from Private Benjamin and some of his other films. Less well known now are the laughs he got in the 60's as an advertising photographer and director of TV commercials. A new exhibit called "The Genius and Wit of Howard Zieff" at the G. Ray Hawkins Gallery in West Hollywood may change all that. Zieff joins us to talk about his former life.