The woman Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher wants to testify in support of her bill is bound to an NDA, so Gonzalez Fletcher is asking the Assembly to issue a subpoena – if they do, what are the larger implications? We also bring you the latest on the Southwest engine explosion; as the Castro era ends, what’s next for Cuba?; and more.
CA lawmaker is trying an unusual strategy for circumventing an NDA: a subpoena
Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) is trying a novel strategy to allow a woman to testify in support of her bill, despite the woman’s nondisclosure agreement with her past employer.
The strategy: asking the Assembly to issue a subpoena.
If Speaker Anthony Rendon grants the subpoena, it could set a new precedent. The process could be used by the Legislature to allow people with forced arbitration agreements to discuss matters they’ve legally agreed to be silent about, which could be a boon to people who’ve faced sexual harassment and discrimination and decide they want to discuss publicly.
Tara Zoumer, the woman in question, wants to testify in support of AB 3080, a bill introduced by Assemblymember Fletcher that aims to stop employers from barring workers from taking discrimination, labor or harassment claims to court.
We get the latest on this story. Plus, we zoom out and look at the status of NDAs in California as they face greater scrutiny in the context of #MeToo.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
Melody Gutierrez, political reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle who’s been following the story; she tweets
Orly Lobel, law professor at the University of San Diego School of Law; author of “You Don't Own Me: How Mattel v. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie's Dark Side” (2017, W. W. Norton & Company); she tweets
FAA calls for blade inspections after Southwest engine explosion
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered inspections Wednesday on engine fan blades following a fatal explosion on a Southwest Airlines flight.
The CFM56-7B engine on the 737 Southwest jet blew apart on Tuesday and resulted in the death of a woman who was partially blown out of the window. The passenger, Jennifer Riordan, died of blunt impact trauma to the head, neck and torso, according to Philadelphia’s medical examiner.
We talk to safety experts to examine why one of the fan blades shot off and what does that mean to future airline safety regulations.
Guests:
John Goglia, aviation safety teacher at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in New York. He is an independent safety consultant and a former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) board member; he tweets
Cem Tasan, professor of metallurgy at the department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
The symbolism of the new Senate rule allowing infants on the Senate floor
The U.S. Senate unanimously agreed Wednesday to allow senators to bring babies under the age of one onto the Senate floor during votes.
The move came after Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) submitted a resolution this week that would allow her to vote on the Senate floor even while she is on an unofficial maternity leave. Senators must be present on the floor in order to cast votes, and cannot vote by proxy like they would on committees.
Earlier this month, the Illinois Democrat made history when she became the first sitting senator to give birth while in office.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
Jennifer Haberkorn, senior health reporter for Politico Pro who has been covering the story; she tweets
Jon Hyman, employment lawyer and author of the Ohio Employer’s Law Blog; he is a partner in the Labor & Employment Group at Cleveland’s Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis; he tweets
As the Castro era ends, what’s next for Cuba?
For the first time in 60 years, Cuba will be ruled by someone outside of the Castro family.
The transition of power takes place today. The Cuban government on Wednesday selected 57-year-old First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez as the sole candidate to succeed President Raul Castro. His approval is all but certain. The move will ensure that the country's single-party system outlasts the aging revolutionaries who created it.
The 86-year-old Castro will remain head of the Communist Party, designated by the constitution as "the superior guiding force of society and the state." As a result, Castro will remain the most powerful person in Cuba for the time being. His departure from the presidency is nonetheless a symbolically charged moment for a country accustomed to 60 years of absolute rule first by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and, for the last decade, his younger brother.
With files from the Associated Press.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guest:
Will Grant, correspondent for the BBC in Havana, Cuba; he tweets
Senator behind California’s most ambitious housing bill debriefs on its defeat in committee
Despite gaining national attention that included a front-page write-up on the New York Times, a housing bill in the California legislature pushing for more dense residential developments around public transit hubs died on Tuesday when it was unable to make it out of committee.
The Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing shot down SB 827, which AirTalk debated after it was introduced, on the grounds that its approach was too broad and that it treated small cities the same way it treated larger ones like San Francisco. The bill would have removed restrictions on constructing multi-story residential buildings in areas zoned for things like single-family homes within a half-mile of public transit stops.
San Francisco Senator Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, had hoped providing more units near rail stops would address two of California’s biggest issues – affordable housing and reducing carbon emissions – by encouraging residents to use public transit instead of driving. But the bill ran into opposition from a number of interest groups and elected city officials in places like Los Angeles and San Francisco, who argued it would take neighborhood development control away from local governments.
Senator Wiener says he plans to bring the bill back in a future legislative session. But what might that bill look like? And how will Senator Wiener address the concerns that his colleagues expressed? What can we expect the state to do about addressing the affordable housing crisis in the meantime?
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), author of SB 827; California State Senator representing Senate District 11, which includes all of the city and county of San Francisco, Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City, and part of South San Francisco; he tweets
Liam Dillon, reporter covering state politics and policy for the Los Angeles Times; his beat includes housing and he has been following SB 827; he tweets
After Cal Poly suspends frats and sororities, AirTalk asks: What’s the value in Greek life?
Earlier this week, Cal Poly State University’s president announced that he was suspending all of Greek life, after the recent emergence of a photo of a student in blackface at a Lambda Chi Alpha party.
Nearly two months prior, there was a racial profiling and cultural appropriation incident at Cal Poly’s Sigma Nu. In his open letter, Cal Poly president Jeffrey Armstrong says these occurrences have led to the suspension and that details on how Greek life can resume are forthcoming.
These aren’t the first fraternities to get in trouble for racism. And even after highly publicized incidents and public backlash, it seems that members of frats and sororities continue to get in trouble for their behavior.
If you are in Greek life, what is your take on these events? What is the value in Greek life? If you are a parent who participated in Greek life, are you encouraging your kids to follow in your footsteps? Why or why not?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guest:
John Hechinger, author of “True Gentlemen: The Broken Pledge of Americas Fraternities” (2017, PublicAffairs); he is a senior editor at Bloomberg News