A California Bill that would mandate health plans to include all contraceptives has been approved in the state Senate. Also, a Russian crime syndicate has apparently stolen over 1 billion internet usernames and passwords from hundreds of thousands of websites. Then, a North Carolina restaurant is offering a 15 percent discount to its customers who pray while dining at the establishment.
California bill mandates inclusion of all contraceptives in health care plans
Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, which allows employers to deny birth control coverage to workers based on religious reasons, a California bill that would essentially undo the actions of the highest court has cleared the state Senate.
Bill SB 1053 would require health plans to include all FDA-approved contraceptive methods and is currently awaiting action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Supporters of the bill, including Planned Parenthood Affiliates, say that the bill ensures that the Hobby Lobby ruling is denied entry in California.
Critics argue that the bill will raise insurance premiums for employers, who will be forced to provide coverage for all brands of contraception as opposed to negotiating coverage for specific brands.
Do you think that the bill is the correct step for California’s workers? Does the need for contraceptives outweigh the overall costs?
Guests:
Holly Mitchell, California State Senator of District 26, which includes Hollywood, South Central, Culver City and more, author of SB 1053, Contraceptive Coverage Equity Act ;Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Women and Inequality
John Eastman, Former Dean and Professor, Chapman University School of Law; Founding Director, Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, which filed an amicus brief in the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court case
With latest Russian hack, should we move beyond passwords for web security?
A Russian crime syndicate has apparently stolen over 1 billion internet usernames and passwords from hundreds of thousands of websites, the New York Times is reporting. Hold Security, a cybersecurity firm in Milwaukee, first made the discovery. According to the firm’s founder Alex Holden, the hackers targeted not only US companies that are household names, but pretty much any website they could break into.
The latest hack, one of the largest in recent memory, came just eight months after the sizable Target credit card breach, and its aftermath is still being felt by both consumers and the Minnesota-based retailer.
Given the size and frequency of these breaches, is it time for us to move beyond the simple username-and-password combination for web security?
Guests:
Orla Cox, Security Operations Manager, Symantec Security Response, Symantec, an information security and information management firm. She is currently at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas
Stan Stahl, President, Citadel Information Group in Los Angeles; President, Los Angeles Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association. He’s been working in the field of information security since the 1980s
West Hollywood may get its own ‘poor doors’ in pool form
A proposed West Hollywood complex would transform a large building — formerly home to ICM — into housing. The complex would expand and renovate the existing building into an apartment complex that would include a pool and a gym, but only for certain residents.
The developers at 8899 Beverly have plans to incorporate affordable housing for very low and moderate incomes. These tenants would live in what is otherwise being marketed as an upscale building, but would not have access to amenities like the pool and gym. West Hollywood residents are outraged, saying that the city’s version of “poor doors” is economic segregation.
Pushback to similar measures in New York that required low income residents to use special back doors were similarly ill-received. Proponents of the project say that more affordable housing is good, in any form, and some have even proposed an optional “user fee” for extra amenities for all residents.
What’s the best way to incorporate affordable housing into a project like this one? Is it fair to bar low-income residents from high-priced amenities in the building where they live?
Guest:
Richard Green, Director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, Professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy
'Transparent Airfares Act' would end full-fare advertising
House lawmakers passed a bill last week to allow airlines to advertise airfare costs, without including taxes and fees.
The airline industry, which lobbied for the bill, says consumers ought know how much government taxes are being added to fares. Consumer advocates say airliners promoting low prices without fees would be akin to false advertising. The fate of this bill in the U.S. Senate is an open question.
Does the current full-fare rule mislead consumers about the cost of travel? If the full ticket price is not revealed until immediately before purchase, does that waste your time?
Guests:
Sean Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Global Government Affairs, Airlines for America (A4A), which represents domestic airlines. Before joining A4A, Kennedy was Special Assistant to President Barack Obama for Legislative Affairs.
Charlie Leocha, Chairman of Travelers United (formerly known as The Consumer Travel Alliance)
Food for thought: Restaurant offers discount for praying customers
A North Carolina restaurant is offering a 15 percent discount to its customers who pray while dining at the establishment.
Jordan Smith’s receipt has gone viral after she posted a photo of the discount she was given at Mary’s Gourmet Diner, the restaurant that has been giving discounts for prayer over the last 3 ½ years.
Critics of the restaurant’s policy question whether or not discounts are given to those who belong to religious entities other than Christianity. Others say that the restaurant’s practice is discriminatory, breaking the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on religion.
Do you feel the restaurant is being discriminatory to other religions? Are the actions of the diner justified through its discount? Should other restaurants provide similar offers?
Guests:
Eugene Volokh, Professor of Law at UCLA, where he specializes in the 1st Amendment
Roxanne Stone, VP of publishing at Barna Group, a Ventura-based market research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture