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May 8 - 12, 2006
Monday, May 8
More Time for More Crimes?
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Based on research showing that 10% of criminals commit up to half of all crime, LAPD officials and prosecutors have agreed on a new program aimed at combating this phenomenon. Lt. Paul Vernon fills Patt in with the so called 10 percenter program, which seeks to reduce crime by keeping the most frequent repeat offenders behind bars as long as possible. Catherine Lhamon, Racial Justice Director and Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, discusses how the program could be abused and lead to illegal profiling of suspects.
E3
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The Electronic Entertainment Expo, known to gaming enthusiasts simply as E3, begins this Wednesday at the Convention Center. The expo features the latest and greatest in the world of gaming - trailers of new games, lectures by gaming gods, as well as previews of the latest consoles. Big talk at the expo will be on the latest Sony console, the Play Station 3. Even though the device will not hit stores until this fall, the PS3 is an example of how the gaming industry's reach is far, as the PS3 might have within in the next format for high definition viewing of DVD's. Patt checks in with Geoff Keighly, Editor-in-Chief at gameslice.com, an on-line site devoted to gaming and with Tracy Fullerton a professor in the Interactive Media Division of the USC School of Cinema-Television for the latest in gaming and beyond.
Summer Blitz
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Just ahead of this weekend's release of Mission Impossible: III, marking the start of the summer blockbuster season, a raid by authorities confiscated an estimated $1.2 million in movie piracy equipment. This raid follows on the tails of a study released by the Motion Picture Association of America estimating that studios lost $6.1 billion in piracy. Kori Bernards from the MPAA joins Patt.
Movie Money with Steven D. Sills
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Is it possible for Hollywood talent to get a fair share within the motion picture industry's notorious profit-participation system? Can anyone make sense of Hollywood's "creative" accounting practices? Movie Money (Silman-James) helps unravel the complex system known as profit-participation, in attempts to make it accessible and understandable for entertainment professionals and those preparing to enter the show-business world. Steven D. Sills, Co-author, CPA, and attorney, joins Patt Morrison to explain what really goes on behind the scenes.
Tuesday, May 9
Blue Cross Under Fire
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Five Southern California hospitals filed suit Monday alleging improper conduct by the state's largest health plan operator. The suit, filed by Long Beach Memorial and four sister hospitals in LA and Orange Counties, accuses Blue Cross of California of approving expensive treatments for its members and later refusing to pay. The latest allegations follow on the heels of 23 lawsuits filed on behalf of individual policyholders, who claim Blue Cross and Blue Shield dumped them for trivial mistakes on their applications, after receiving bills for their medical care. The company has denied any wrongdoing in the individual's suits. Host Patt Morrison is joined by Lisa Girion, staff Writer for the Los Angeles Times, who has been covering this story.
Health Insurance Week on the Hill
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Senate Democrats threatened to filibuster Republican-backed legislation they said would scale back health insurance for millions. The legislation, SB 1955, would enable businesses to join across state lines to buy health insurance. Democrats blocked action on two other GOP-supported bills on Monday. Both sought to limit the amount of money that patients can receive from medical malpractice cases. Patt takes a look at the legislation coming out of the so called 'health insurance week' in D.C. with Jerry Flanigan, health Care Policy Director at the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, and Julie Rovner, health policy correspondent for National Public Radio.
Norman Mailer
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Among America's major living writers, Norman Mailer has gained an acclaimed top spot both in the United States and internationally. His lengthy career has been as successful as his works have been controversial and prolific, and his literary accomplishments have been simultaneously commemorated and reviled. Presented with a National Book Award, a Polk Award and two Pulitzer Prizes among others, Mailer is still collecting awards for his impressive achievements. In this occasion the Los Angeles Public Library is celebrating Mailer's career with the Los Angeles Public Library Literary Award. Mailer joins Patt to talk about his accolades and career.
Wednesday, May 10
AG's Race - Candidate Jerry Brown
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As head of the Department of Justice, the Attorney General is the state's top law enforcement official and lawyer for the government. The agency represents the state in civil and criminal matters and is the lead prosecutor on all appeals of death penalty sentences in California. Edmund G. 'Jerry' Brown, three-time presidential candidate, former Governor of California, and current mayor of Oakland, is one of two candidates running for the Democratic nomination in the June primaries. He faces Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. Mayor Brown joins Patt Morrison in studio to discuss his bid to become the next Attorney General.
What's For Dinner?
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According to author Michael Pollan, America has a "national eating disorder." With the mass of contradictory diet books, ever-changing government standards, new research debunking old ways of thinking (chocolate, red wine - good for you or not?), what exactly are we eating anymore? In his latest book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Pollan looks at where our food is coming from - from source to final meal - to answer why we consume what we do and how the American meal got so complicated.
Thursday, May 11
Domestic Call Surveillance
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Several major Telecom companies helped the National Security Agency spy on tens of millions of Americans, according to a report in Thursday's USA Today. The NSA has been collecting phone records from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth in order to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity. Is this kind of surveillance justified in the name of National Security or is it another case of Big Brother chipping away at our civil liberties? Patt Morrison is joined by Erwin Chermerinsky, Professor of Constitutional Law, Duke University School of Law, John Eastman, Professor of Law, Chapman University School of Law, and Director of Claremont Institute's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, Gary Lorden, CalTech Professor of Mathematics, and we open the phones to hear from listeners.
West Wing: The End of an Era
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They say truth is stranger than fiction. What then, is the result of fiction based on reality? In the case of American politics and culture, the result is the hit NBC television show, West Wing. Fans and aficionados are melancholy as West Wing ends its award-winning run this Sunday. After seven seasons, the show that followed a fictional president and touched on issues such as anti-terror legislation and presidential scandal, is quitting while it's ahead. Host Patt Morrison is joined by Trevor Parry-Giles, author of The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism, to discuss the show's pop culture depictions of the presidency, and to reflect on the impact this show has had.
The Loh Life
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Sandra Tsing Loh tries to restrain herself while stalking Mary Poppins.
Friday, May 12
Governor's May Revise
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With a surprise surplus of at least $5 billion, Governor Schwarzenegger will introduce a revised spending plan today that is likely to please both Democrats and Republicans. He will propose pumping billions more into public education ($2.8 billion immediately, and another $2.9 billion over seven years) and setting the rest aside to pay down debt and build up reserves. Patt Morrison gets the latest from KPCC's Sacramento Reporter, Tamara Keith, who attended the press conference, then she is joined by Assemblyman John Laird; Sacramento Bee Columnist Dan Weintraub; Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; and H.D. Palmer, Deputy Director for External Affairs at the California Department of Finance, for political analysis and number crunching.
High School Exit Exam Ruling
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At 2 p.m. today, Alameda County Superior Judge Robert B. Freedman is expected to rule on whether to suspend the high school exit exam, a decision that could affect 47,000 seniors, about 11 percent of the class of 2006, who have yet to pass both the English and math sections of the exam. Patt Morrison is joined by Arturo Gonzalez, Partner, Morrison and Foerster Law Firm in San Franciso.
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