Local News Legend Hal Fishman Dies at 75; Transit Tax?; The Surge: Successes and Failures Thus Far; Uncommon Tourist Destinations in L.A.
Local News Legend Hal Fishman Dies at 75
Longtime Los Angeles television news anchor Hal Fishman died this morning, less than a week after he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Television station KTLA announced on the air that 75-year-old Fishman died at 3 a.m. at home with his family at his side. Fishman anchored the station's 10 p.m. newscast since 1975. He joined KTLA in 1965 and reported on the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the Watts riots, the Northridge earthquake, and the Rodney King beating. Larry discusses Fishman's life and career with Fishman's former co-anchor, Terry Anzur, author Barry J. Schiff, and longtime NBC4 news anchor Paul Moyer.
Transit Tax?
Denver Colorado is currently building six new transit lines as part of the "FasTracks" program, with the intent to build an entire transit system in one fell swoop. In LA, things are done differently. Los Angeles first built the Red Line, followed by the Gold Line and the Orange Line, and is now working on a line to Culver City. Although construction time schedules sometimes overlap, they build one line at a time. As a result, huge parts of LA, despite decades of building, have no rapid transit at all. Should Los Angeles follow Denver's approach and try to pass a large, dedicated sales tax increase, in order to build an entire, coherent transit system stretching to all corners of the city? Larry discusses the idea with the Mayor of Denver, John Hickenlooper, MTA Board Member David Fleming, City Manager of Ventura Rick Cole, and transportation consultant Ryan Snyder.
The Surge: Successes and Failures Thus Far
The troop increase in Iraq was based on an assumption that improved security would result in the Iraqi leadership making political progress and the country gaining better general stability. There are some signs of reductions in turbulence in the Diyala and Anbar provinces, two of the most violent areas. Is this evidence that the additional 20,000 troops will improve conditions over time, or is it still too soon to tell? Larry talks about the current status of the surge with Babak Dehghanpisheh of Newsweek magazine, Juan R.I. Cole, author of Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan), and Hal Kempfer of ABC7 News.
Uncommon Tourist Destinations in L.A.
Disneyland, Hollywood, and Rodeo Drive are common destinations for tourists. But what about the second and third-time visitors who want to see more of the city? Many of LA's ethnic and artist-enclaves are ripe for exploration. UCLA and local non-profit LA Commons have partnered to form Uncommon LA, a project aimed at promoting cultural tourism in some of LA's hidden and emerging neighborhoods. Larry talks about the project with Karen Mack of LA Commons and Michael S. McDowell of LA INC.