What Is The Electoral Count Act And Why Is Congress Working To Reform It?

A lot of us probably hadn’t heard of the Electoral Count Act before the 2020 presidential election. The law was put in place in the aftermath of the Civil War, and wasn’t thought of much in the 135 years after. But upon his defeat in 2020, Former President Donald Trump urged his followers to “fight like hell” over the election and pressured Vice President Mike Pence to ditch his ceremonial role presiding over the counting of electoral votes – and reject the results. Pence ignored the demands, but Trump continues to insist the vice president “could have overturned the election” – a deeply troubling statement as the former president considers another White House run. Concerns that efforts to use the Electoral Count Act could be used to successfully overturn an election next time have led to renewed efforts in Congress to update the legislation. Today on AirTalk, Larry is joined by NPR congressional reporter Claudia Grisales and Rebecca Green, law professor and co-director of the Election Law Program at William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia to discuss the importance of the reforms and what those updates to the ECA could look like.

With files from the Associated Press

2021 Was The Deadliest Year For LA Crashes In Nearly 20 Years. How Did It Get So Bad?

Last year, 294 people were killed in car crashes in Los Angeles, according to preliminary data provided by the Los Angeles Police Department. That’s a 22% increase in traffic deaths from 2020. By comparison, there were 379 homicides reported last year in the city of L.A. In addition to traffic deaths, 1,479 people were severely injured in crashes — 30% more than in 2020. That averages out to roughly four people injured every day. Los Angeles has a goal – Vision Zero – to eliminate traffic deaths in the city by 2025. But since Vision Zero was launched in 2015, traffic deaths have jumped 58%. What can be done to bring these numbers down and make Los Angeles streets safer for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists?

Today on AirTalk, Larry discusses the increase in traffic deaths and what can be done to bring that number down with reporter Ryan Fonseca who covers transportation and mobility for LAist, and John Yi, executive director of the local pedestrian advocacy group Los Angeles Walks.

With files from LAist. Read Ryan’s piece here

COVID-19 AMA: Super Bowl Masks, Johnson & Johnson Boosters, Nasal Vaccines, And More

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with professor of medicine and associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine Dr. Shruti Gohil.

Topics today include:

• Could the Omicron surge wind down by early March? 
• Why do some people get COVID when others don’t? 
• L.A. County health officials double down on mask mandate ahead of the Super Bowl  
• California’s indoor mask mandate is set to expire February 15 – should it be extended? 
• Johnson & Johnson recipients can get a third COVID-19 shot in San Francisco 
• Why nasal COVID-19 vaccines may make better boosters  
• As with vaccines, equity becomes an issue with COVID-19 medications 

Outreach Workers For Unhoused People Are In High Demand, But Low Supply -- How SoCal Providers Are Navigating The Shortage

Outreach workers that service unhoused communities are in short supply, and have been for some time, but the pandemic has only made things worse for many service providers who are looking to hire more people to help fill out open positions so that they can use billions of dollars in state money over the next two years to help implement and deploy new programs to provide things like interim and permanent housing, physical and mental health treatment, job training and other wraparound services. In a recent piece for CalMatters, housing reporter Manuela Tobias looks at how an industry which offers low pay, sometimes barely more than minimum wage, with an increased chance of exposure to COVID-19 and other workplace-related risks is struggling to attract new talent and to retain the talent it has.

Today on AirTalk, Larry talks with CalMatters’ Reporter Manuela Tobias, People Assisting The Homeless L.A. Programs Senior Director Stephen Fiechter, Union Station Homeless Services’ Lorena Ruiz and Pathways of Hope Executive Director David Gillanders about the impact of this worker shortage on the ability of service providers to reach and help people, and how it could have longer-term effects on the state’s multi-billion dollar efforts to house the unhoused.