Last week's stabbing in Ventura has raised a critical eye towards how local police handled the incident. We examine current policies and debate potential changes. We also preview the Supreme Court's upcoming travel ban case; discuss whether patients should be informed of doctors' probation statuses; and more.
In light of the Ventura stabbing, a look at law enforcement’s approach towards the mentally ill
Ventura’s been rocked by the deadly stabbing of a man having dinner with his family at a local restaurant last Wednesday night.
Without provocation or previous interaction, a transient walked up to the 35-year-old man and stabbed him in the neck. Ventura police were called earlier that evening about the transient harassing passersby.
AirTalk examines the department’s response.
Guests:
Neal Andrews, mayor of the city of Ventura
Eugene O’Donnell, professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; former NYPD officer and former prosecutor in Kings County, New York
Weighing the pros and cons of a bill that would require CA doctors to disclose probation status
If your doctor was on probation for an incident, say, involving medical malpractice, you’d probably want to know about it and maybe even want to change doctors, right?
But what about if your doctor was on probation for billing negligence? Would you feel the same way?
These are questions at the heart of proposed legislation that would require doctors to tell a patient at his or her first visit if they are on probation. SB 1448 would require doctors to give patients a form to sign that shows how long the probation period is and when it ends.
San Mateo Democrat Jerry Hill is the bill’s sponsor, and he says his bill will increase transparency between doctors and patients, as physicians are currently only required by law to notify their insurer and their hospital or clinic about probationary status.
Physicians and physician groups have already come out in opposition of the bill, saying that it would cause patients to go find another doctor before doing any research on the specific reasons for the probation. They add it may also put doctors in a position where they would rather fight allegations than settle in court and take probation, which could create a backlog in the probation system.
We debate the bill.
Guests:
Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog
Kavita Patel, M.D., nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; she’s also a practicing primary care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine; she tweets
The #MeToo effect: New CA bill wants to ban mandatory arbitration and non-disclosure agreements in the workplace
California Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) proposed a bill that would ban employers from requiring employees to sign mandatory arbitration contracts.
Under AB 3080, companies cannot make new hires waive their right to file lawsuits over sexual harassment, discrimination, wage theft and force workers into closed-door arbitration. Some argue that arbitration becomes an unsuccessful dispute resolution method when it is not chosen freely by both parties. But business groups disagree.
Debate over the bill is scheduled to be heard in the Judiciary Committee Tuesday and could reach the Assembly floor by the end of the month.
Guests:
Steve Smith, spokesman for the California Labor Federation, a chief sponsor of AB 3080, made up of more than 1,200 unions, representing 2.1 million union members in various industries; he tweets
John Kabateck, state director of the California chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), an organization advocating for small business owners; he is the president of Kabateck Strategies, a Sacramento-based public affairs firm serving small and medium-sized businesses across the state
What to watch for when the Supreme Court hears arguments on the president’s travel ban
Over a year after Trump limited travel from five mostly predominantly Muslim countries in a third iteration of the “travel ban,” the Supreme Court is taking up the issue in Trump v. Hawaii.
Oral arguments are set for Wednesday, April 25, in a case that will test the limits of presidential power over immigration. The court will have to decide whether the travel restrictions are rooted in anti-Muslim animus and are discriminatory, whether the case can be considered for judicial review and whether the lower courts injunctions on enforcement of the travel ban where too sweeping.
We get a preview of the arguments and explore the potential repercussions of the court’s decision.
Guests:
Josh Blackman, an associate professor of Law at the South Texas College of Law who specializes in constitutional law; he is the author of “Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare” (Public Affairs, 2013) and he tweets
Shoba Wadhia, professor of law and director of the Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Penn State Law; she submitted an amicus brief for the case on the history of the Immigration and Nationality Act
How greater scrutiny of Chinese investments in the US is impacting a terminal acquisition at the Ports of Long Beach
A US national-security review has raised concerns over Chinese state-run shipping giant COSCO taking control of a large container terminal at the Port of Long Beach in California, one of the biggest gateways for imports into the US.
The terminal is part of COSCO’s proposed $6.3 billion purchase of an Asian shipping rival, which holds a long-term concession to operate the facility in Long Beach, according to reports. The review, by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, a secretive federal panel that vets foreign purchases of American companies, comes at a tense time between the US and China, with both leaders threatening to impose new tariffs and regulators.
As the tension intensifies, we take a look at the future of Chinese acquisitions and investments in American companies that seem to be facing increasing scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Guests:
Costas Paris, global shipping and trade finance senior reporter for the Wall Street Journal who has been covering the story; he tweets
Elias Groll, reporter for Foreign Policy magazine who wrote about Washington’s strike back against Chinese investment; he tweets
A tribute to Art Bell, and ‘Coast to Coast AM’
Art Bell, the founding host of “Coast to Coast AM”, the early-morning radio show dedicated to all things paranormal, has died at the age of 72.
Bell passed away in his home in Pahrump, Nevada, on (in true Bell fashion) Friday the 13th.
Larry opens up the phone to talk to listeners about the influence of Bell, and ‘Coast to Coast.’
Guest:
Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a trade magazine for talk radio based in Longmeadow, MA