AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the major headlines you might’ve missed in politics news over the weekend and looks ahead to the week to come. Also on the show, we discuss Mayor Garcetti's plans for the city budget in response to the virus; talk with listeners about how their summer plans have changed; and more.
LA Mayor Garcetti Announces Cuts In City Budget
In his “State of the City” speech this evening, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti addressed a stark new reality due to the havoc coronavirus is wreaking on the city’s budget. He set the stage for what will likely be massive cuts when he presents his 2020-21 budget to the city council tomorrow.
He laid out steps already underway to address projected budget shortfalls in this unprecedented crisis including:
Already borrowing $70 million from city special funds and reserve fund
26 furlough days for all civilian employees, the equivalent of a 10% pay cut
Cuts to many city departments, which "will have to operate at sharply reduced strength"
Read more on LAist.
Specifics on the budget cuts are due at 1pm PT today, but in the meantime we recap what we know and what Garcetti shared yesterday. Plus, if you might be affected by cuts, how would you feel about being furloughed?
With files from LAist.
Guest:
Libby Denkmann, KPCC politics reporter; she tweets
California Surpasses 30,000 Coronavirus Cases Over Weekend As Protesters In Some Cities Take To Streets To Voice Frustration With Shutdowns
Several hundred protesters gathered in the city of San Clemente on Sunday in protest of widespread closures of the economy due to the threat of COVID-19.
The San Clemente Times reports the group, many of whom were not observing social distancing guidelines, gathered at the Pier Bowl and marched along a main thoroughfare holding signs calling for businesses and public places to be reopened. It’s the second straight Sunday the group has gathered and one of several similar protests that have taken place across the nation in the last week or so. Last Friday there was a similar demonstration in Huntington Beach, another beach community frustrated with the widespread shutdowns.
Meanwhile, California’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases crested 30,000 over the weekend and Los Angeles County saw its number of deaths go north of 100 in that same time period.
Guests:
Shawn Raymundo, city editor for The San Clemente Times who was at the protest on Sunday; he tweets @ShawnzyTsunami
Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena
How Has Intimacy In Your Relationship Changed Since The Start Of The COVID-19 Pandemic?
When people around the country began isolating at home, some wondered whether nine months from now there could be a baby boom. Researchers now believe that probably won’t be the case, according to a Wall Street Journal piece looking at the impact to sex amid the pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on physical intimacy in relationships. Although people at home are in close quarters, the ongoing stress and anxiety don’t make it easy to get in the mood. People in monogamous relationships and living together are even wondering whether it’s safe to kiss or touch their partner. The stress may be too much to bear but the lack of touch can come at a cost as well. Physical touch helps our immune systems and makes us happier people. So maybe we need physical intimacy now more than ever.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss how COVID-19 has impacted sex and physical intimacy in relationships, and we want to hear from you. How has the drastic changes to society and normal life impacted your level of intimacy with your partner? Have you noticed a difference? What are you doing to cope with the changes? Tell us your experience by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Elizabeth Bernstein, columnist writing about relationships for the Wall Street Journal; she tweets
Summertime Sadness: The Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19 On SoCal Summer Tourism
Summertime is usually peak tourism season across California, maybe nowhere more so than here in sunny SoCal.
But this year, it’s looking more and more each day like beaches will remain mostly empty, hiking trails will be closed, conventions will be cancelled and many who planned a SoCal vacation are now having to decide whether to call off their plans.
There’s no question that the coronavirus will have a noticeable impact on the tourism economy in Southern California this summer. What does remain to be seen is how much. The Greater Los Angeles area typically plays host to about 50 million visitors each year, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, and those visitors spend over $18 billion in a year. The industry is also responsible for supporting more than half a million jobs in the area, a number that has undoubtedly gone down with more than half of L.A. County residents out of work due to COVID-19.
If you had summer vacation or travel plans laid out in advance of the pandemic, are you reconsidering them? How are you going about rescheduling, cancelling or getting refunds? Join our live conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Ernest Wooden, Jr., president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Catharine Hamm, travel editor at The Los Angeles Times; she tweets
Week In Politics: Tweets, Protests, Endorsements And More
AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the major headlines you might’ve missed in politics news over the weekend and looks ahead to the week to come. Here are the headlines that we’re following this week:
Trump’s see-saw with state’s governors over Coronavirus response continues. He acknowledged that governors make the decision as to whether to reopen their states. Then sent tweets that encouraged violating stay-at-home orders in Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia
According to Pew, most Americans think Trump’s initial response to the virus threat was too slow
How is California doing in its response to the pandemic?
Governor Newsom announced a taskforce to create process for restarting the state
2020
Reportedly Trump floated the idea of launching a two-hour talk radio show
Guests:
Matt Barreto, professor of political science and Chicano/a Studies at UCLA and co-founder of the research and polling firm Latino Decisions; he tweets
Lanhee Chen, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University; he was an adviser for Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign and served as policy director for the Romney-Ryan 2012 presidential campaign; he tweets