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June 11 - 15, 2007
Monday, June 11
Senate to Vote on CAFE Standards
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CAFE standards aren't about how much coffee Starbucks puts in your cup - they're the fuel efficiency requirements for American cars. This week the Senate will vote on a measure to raise the requirements by ten miles a gallon in a dozen years - car makers, no surprise, say they just can't. Duking it out in D.C. over the mpgs.
Mayor Villaraigosa and Wife to Separate
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Today the Mayor will speak publicly for the first time about the long-rumored separation to his wife Corina, marking the end of a 20 year marriage. Mayor Villaraigosa will be residing in his Mount Washington home for a transition period upon moving out of the Getty House, where his family will continue to stay.
Sheriff Lee Baca on the Hot Seat
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Paris Hilton's incarceration, reassignment to home detention and return to jail continues to make waves, especially for Sheriff Lee Baca. The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has accused Baca of giving Hilton preferential treatment, met privately with the Sheriff for about 30 minutes today. Also scheduled today was a news conference by a black woman who was recently an inmate at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, where Hilton spent three days last week. She and her attorneys announced the filing of a racial and disability discrimination claim against the county and Baca on grounds that the woman "had serious medical issues" but "received much worse treatment than Paris Hilton..." The filing of a claim is a legal pre-requisite to the filing of a lawsuit.
Vang Pao in Federal Court Today
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Former Laotian guerrilla leader Vang Pao was brought before US Federal Court in Sacramento today for allegedly plotting to oust Laos' communist government. The 77 year-old Southern California resident was part of the CIA backed Royal Army of Laos in the 1960's and 1970's and is now a prominent member of the exiled U.S. Laotian community.
- Sasha Khokha, Reporter for the Central Valley, KQED
Senate No-confidence Vote for Gonzales
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Today the Senate is scheduled to take up a no-confidence vote on U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. While some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns regarding Gonzales' performance amidst the controversy that has surrounded his term, most are expected to vote against the measure.
Tuesday, June 12
Civil War in Gaza
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Any hope for a successful Palestinian unity government now seems lost, as armed factions of Hamas and Fatah fight running gun battles throughout Gaza over the last 48 hours. Hamas fighters have assaulted multiple Fatah posts and kidnapped Fatah officials, while Fatah militants have fired rockets at the residence of the Palestinian Prime Minister, who hails from Hamas. At least 18 people have been killed in this latest round of fighting that could mark the end of any kind of coherent coalition government in Gaza. Why is there such intense enmity between the two Palestinian sides, and what does this mean for future peace negotiations with Israel?
Larry Flynt
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At the height of Bill Clinton's impeachment in 1999, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt turned Congress on its head by digging up the past infidelities and moral indiscretions of Congressional members, specifically those Congressmen leading the charge against President Clinton. Flynt's efforts led to the resignation of Speaker of the House Bob Livingston, who admitted to an extra-marital affair, and to the huge embarrassment of conservative Congressman Bob Barr, who Flynt revealed had encouraged his wife to have an abortion. Flynt is back at it again, offering a $1 million bounty for verifiable information on the sexual exploits of Congress members and political leaders. Is Larry Flynt a crusader against hypocrisy, or merely a mischievous antagonist?
- Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine and other adult publications
Discrimination Lawsuit Offers Rare Hollywood Insight
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Fired because he's black or because he's just not good at what he does? Hollywood faces its first discrimination lawsuit in court today after Universal Studios failed to come to an agreement with former first assistant director Frank Davis. Davis alleges he was fired from the "2 Fast 2 Furious" set in late 2002 because of racial discrimination, but studio execs say it's because he performed poorly. Patt Morrison shows that while the two sides duke it out in court, the public will get a rare glimpse at the hiring and firing practices that go on behind the movie curtain.
Divisadero
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The author of widely acclaimed English Patient returns with a story that once again crosses geographical borders and time periods. Divisadero begins on a rural Northern California farm in the 1970s where a violent event tears four members of a makeshift family apart and later takes the reader on a journey through the life of a writer in pre-World War I, France. Michael Ondaatje joins Patt Morrison to discuss his latest work.
Wednesday, June 13
Iraqi Mosque Bombed Again
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Suspected al-Qaeda bombers toppled the towering minarets of Samarra's revered Shiite shrine on Wednesday, dealing a bold blow to Iraqi hopes for peace and reopening old wounds a year after the mosque's Golden Dome was destroyed. The February 2006 attack of the shrine led to extensive violence and bloodshed, a scenario that Iraqi leaders are desperately hoping to avoid this time around. Patt gets an update from Baghdad and talks with a Middle East expert about why the response to this year's attack may be different.
LA Supervisors Grapple with King-Harbor
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Like cards from a dealer's deck, Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital's staff is being shuffled and replaced, but not necessarily improved. The chief medical advisor and over 40 percent of the licensed vocational nurses have been replaced, but the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors admits that the facility may have to be shut down anyway. Federal findings show that the hospital continues to endanger patients as startling information is released, including the story of a woman who was ignored as she writhed in pain on a lobby floor for 45 minutes and later died. Patt discusses Harbor-King's chances of survival.
- Frank Stoltze, reporter for KPCC
Mr. Wizard Remembered
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Patt remembers the infamous "Mr. Wizard," who died Tuesday of bone cancer at age 89. Don Herbert was a self-taught scientist whose weekly television shows "Watch Mr. Wizard" and "Mr. Wizard's World" turned dry scientific concepts into magic that enthralled kids during the 1950s and 60s and then again on Nickelodeon in the 1990s. In fact, about half of New York's Rockefeller University advanced science degree students from the 1970s and 80s cited Mr. Wizard as the reason they first became interested in science!
They Keep Coming
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In 1994, a controversial California political ad about illegal immigrants had a voice ominously intoning, "they keep coming." Now it's 2007 and the same can be said of California and presidential candidates. Mitt Romney and John McCain and Barack Obama and Bill Richardson have all hit the bright lights and big money of the Golden State recently. Patt gets an update from political writer, Carla Marinucci.
Presidential Hopeful Tom Tancredo
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Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado, was railing against illegal immigration long before the issue exploded into the political mainstream. The conservative Tancredo helped to blaze Republican trails into the growing American Midwest, but he has always been somewhat of a political maverick. A long-time, vocal critic of President Bush, Tancredo is hoping to build upon his intense efforts to secure America's borders and make a serious run at the White House. Is Rep. Tancredo just a one-trick pony on illegal immigration, or is the unpredictable Congressman a legitimate player for the Republican nomination?
Thursday, June 14
Governor to Immigrants - Turn off Telemundo
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In front of a large audience of Latino journalists yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger stated that immigrants who want to learn English need to turn off Spanish-language media. Citing his own experiences as an immigrant he urged the end of beloved telenovelas, Sabado Gigante or "noticias" for those that need to improve their language skills. His appearance at the convention for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists was intended to improve his stature among the large Latino electorate in California, but instead his comments have created a backlash from many leaders in Spanish-language media.
- Rosario Marin, Secretary of the California State and Consumer Services Agency and former US Treasurer
- Pilar Marrero, Political Editor, La Opinion
- Louis DeSipio, Associate Professor of Political Science and Chicano/Latino studies at UC Irvine
- Richard Alba, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at State University of New York at Albany. Alba is the author of Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration (Harvard University Press)
The Pulse of the Health Care Crisis
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The human cost of tens of millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans is devastating. For want of an insurance policy, lives are being lost in the nation with some of the most advanced medical care in the world. Jonathan Cohn traveled across the country recording stories of how average citizens everywhere are losing their health - and their lives - because they can't afford medications or treatment. Mr. Cohn documented these accounts one American at a time in his book Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis (Harper Collins), and today he joins Patt to discuss the pulse of the health care crisis.
Friday, June 15
Health Insurance for Every Californian?
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In a remote broadcast from the California Endowment's Center for Healthy Communities in downtown L.A., Patt Morrison assesses the different proposals to provide health insurance for every Californian. Governor Schwarzenegger has put forward his own plan, and several lawmakers have also weighed in with their own proposals. While legislative leaders support the Governor's proposal on many points, there is still disagreement over who should be taxed to subsidize the working poor, and how much those taxes should be. Patt takes a look at all of the plans and gets reaction from the insurance industry and from consumer advocates.
Health Insurance cont'd ...
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No Flight of Fancy - Bird Populations in Decline
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A study by the National Audubon Society revealed that many bird species commonly found in California have suffered steep population declines - some as much as 96% - part of a nationwide trend that is due in large part to diminished habitat. The causes of the declines differ slightly among bird species, but Audubon scientists say that loss of habitats, attributed to the expansion of urban areas and the conversion of grasslands to agriculture, are the biggest culprits. Will we pay attention to the canary in the coal mine and ramp up conservation efforts?
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