After six unsuccessful attempts to amend Proposition 13, Democratic lawmakers may finally succeed in reforming this decades-old property tax bill. Also, an alleged rape victim admitted that she falsely accused Brian Banks and is now facing legal action. Then, we'll look at how Chapman University hopes to boost the reputation of their film school with a new micro-budget movie made by its alumni, how the Republican party stands on dividing issues like its definition of marriage and if drug addiction treatments are archaic and ineffective.
California Democrats move to reform Proposition 13
Pressure is mounting to change the sacred cow of California politics. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that California Democratic lawmakers have introduced measures seeking to reform parts of Proposition 13. With a supermajority in the Legislature, Democrats are hoping to finally be able to tackle a popular tax initiative that has hitherto been regarded as bulletproof.
Voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 13 in 1978. It slapped a cap of 1 percent on property taxes in California and required a two-thirds vote to raise any new taxes. Lawmakers have tried six times since 1991 to make changes to Prop. 13, but to no avail. AB188, a measure sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, will have its first hearing today. "I sense a real populism around Prop. 13, that it's not the sacred cow that it once was, and if something did go on the ballot in the next couple of years it would have a lot of support," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Guests:
Lenny Goldberg, Executive Director of the California Tax Reform Association
Kris Vosburgh, Executive Director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Wrongful accuser of Brian Banks facing $1-million-plus lawsuit
The young woman who falsely accused Long Beach football player Brian Banks of sexual assault is now facing legal action herself. Wanetta Gibson was a Long Beach Poly High student in 2002 when she sued the school for security lapses that contributed to her alleged rape. She has since gone on record to recant the rape claim, the alleged perpetrator Brian Banks has been exonerated, and now the school district, which paid her a $750,000 settlement and altogether spent nearly $2 million in legal fees, wants its money back.
The trouble now is that Gibson is nowhere to be found, and according to records she appears to be broke. What does the school district stand to gain from this lawsuit?
Meanwhile, while the D.A. has so far refused to file criminal charges against her, might this lead to them changing their mind? Might Gibson get away with no recourse at all? Might going after her assets (and potentially filing criminal charges) set a frightening precedent for future rape victims who might fear the consequences if they should be found guilty of making false claims?
Guests:
John Nockleby, Director of the Civil Justice Program at Loyola Law School
David Wohl, local criminal defense attorney
Now presenting: Chapman Filmed Entertainment
An independent film company started by Chapman University's film department is wrapping up production on their first feature, Trigger. The fully-functioning production company, Chapman Filmed Entertainment, was designed to produce four to six micro-budget films each year produced, directed and written by Chapman alumni.
It's not the first time a university has tried to start their own production company. The University of Texas tried it a decade ago and it folded after just four films. But President and CEO Robert Bassett thinks the production-company model will boost Chapman University up to the levels of top film schools like AFI, USC, NYU and UCLA.
Guests:
Robert Bassett, Dean of the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts
Taylor Maxwell, 2012 graduate of Chapman’s film dept and a production assistant on Trigger
Can RNC leaders unify inner-party factions?
Republican voices from across the country gathered in Hollywood this past weekend to discuss the future of the party at the Republican National Committee’s annual Spring Meeting. Chairman of the RNC Reince Priebus and other leaders had recently released an “autopsy” report following the last presidential election, highlighting many of the party’s liabilities, but the meeting seemed to produce a re-affirmation of the party’s controversial and potentially distancing positions, including a unanimous vote to uphold the party’s stance on marriage as exclusively a union of man and woman.
With seemingly some movement in recent weeks on the part of the GOP to compromise on immigration reform and gun-control measures, is RNC leadership going to be able to move the party to the center, or are far-right voices still holding most of the power?
Guests:
Shawn Steel, Republican National Committeeman from California, former chairman of the California Republican Party
Mike Spence, former President of the California Republican Assembly, one of the oldest Republican grassroots organizations in California
‘Clean’ fights ‘America’s greatest tragedy’ – Addiction
After his desperate grappling with his son’s drug abuse, author and journalist David Sheff could not let go of the topic of addiction. His new book, “Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy,” is the product of five years of research and scientifically examines the causes of addictions and how to properly treat it, because the current methods are not working.
Sheff is known for his 2008 bestseller, “Beautiful Boy,” a memoir about his drug-addicted son, Nic. Nic also released a book that year called, “Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines,” which chronicled his side of the story. Sheff said that reading each other’s accounts brought them closer and caused them to understand what the other was going through. “Clean” is David Sheff’s reaction to his first book as his son relapsed in 2008 and is now five years sober.
Sheff’s book aims at proving that addiction is a disease that needs to be treated in a scientific way. He calls addiction “America’s greatest tragedy” because one in 12 people are addicts and 80 percent of them are not helped by programs like AA. Sheff cites stress and mental disorders as causes for addiction and believes in addressing those issues first to treat addiction as a symptom. He joins Larry to talk about the relationship between stress and addiction, a young boy’s story on becoming getting sober and how health insurance is not saving lives, and David Sheff shares own “twelve steps” to deal with addiction.
Have you or someone you know battled addiction? What techniques helped and what didn’t? Are current treatments for addiction archaic and ineffective? Is addiction a symptom of something else?
Guest:
David Sheff, author of “Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy” and “Beautiful Boy”
David Sheff will be discussing his book at the Regency Historic Lido Theatre in Newport Beach on May 9 from 7–9 pm. Click here for more details.