Which Way, L.A.?

SARS and the Lessons Learned

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome killed 804 people in 32 countries before the World Health Organization declared it "dead in its tracks." While all parties agree that it could have been much worse, containing it devastated the travel business and economy of Hong Kong, and quarantines in western countries raised questions of civil rights. Health officials admit they don't know where the SARS virus came from or what it might do next, and acknowledge that similar epidemics are inevitable. Can they be controlled without panic, human rights' abuses or economic distress? Are public health systems, even in America, already stretched too thin? We speak with a spokesman for the World Health Organization and a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer about what we-ve learned from the SARS epidemic. (This segment is an abbreviated version of one broadcast earlier today on To the Point.) Making News: Union Pacific Train Derailment The National Transportation Safety Board-s preliminary findings on last week-s train derailment in Commerce say a yard crew failed to apply hand brakes to the parked freight and Union Pacific-s neglected to notify adjacent communities about the runaway. The train derailed after racing 28 miles from Montclair toward downtown LA, destroying homes and injuring 12 people. Katheryn Blackwell, communications director for Union Pacific, tells KCRW-s Kyle McKinnon that her company is cooperating fully with the NTSB. Reporter's Notebook: SAG-AFTRA Merger Bitter words, dueling press conferences and loud rallies have become the norm as the June 30 deadline nears for SAG and AFTRA members to vote on whether the two unions should merge into one. Peter Kiefer, who covers labor law for the Hollywood Reporter, tells KCRW-s Kyle McKinnon what a merger would mean for the industry, the 98,000-member Screen Actors Guild and the 70,000 members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.