Some say post-fire logging and tree thinning can help prevent future blazes, others disagree. We look at both sides. We also dive into new development plans along LA Metro's Orange Line; analyze the removal of Alex Jones and his projects from social media and other websites; and more.
Report: New Trump proposal to deny citizenship to immigrants who use certain public benefits
Reports are the Trump Administration will soon formally propose denying citizenship to permanent legal residents who’ve used public benefits.
Currently, receiving cash welfare typically disqualifies. The new proposal would extend that to people getting ACA subsidies and other benefits. Is that fair to legal residents seeking citizenship?
Guests:
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at Center for Immigration Studies
Alvaro Huerta, staff attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, an organization that works to advance the rights of low-income immigrants; he tweets
As feds propose logging in Los Padres National Forest for first time in decades, we debate thinning as a wildfire prevention tactic
As wildland fires continue to burn across the state of California, the Trump administration is proposing commercial logging for the first time in decades in the Los Padres National Forest north of Los Angeles as a way to prevent future fires from starting.
The Los Angeles Times reports the U.S. Forest Service wants to get rid of sagebrush as well as cut down Jeffrey and Ponderosa pines across nearly 3,000 acres. In addition, the plan reportedly includes a 12 mile long firebreak along Tecuya Ridge and removal of trees. The proposal does not include any planned environmental impact reviews of the potential effects on wildlife.
Advocates for forest thinning like the timber industry argue better access to these more valuable live trees gets rid of the flammable deadwood that often fuels wildland fires and would also help stem the spread of invasive insects like the bark beetle to more trees, thereby killing them and making them more conducive to burning.
Critics argue the logging industry is using the fire prevention argument as an excuse to cut down marketable timber on public lands and leave only the unmarketable timber.
Today on AirTalk, we talk with forest management experts about the arguments for and against logging to thin out forests as a fire prevention method.
Guests:
John D. Bailey, professor of silviculture and fire management at Oregon State University
Jason Sibold, associate professor of geography and faculty member in the graduate degree program in ecology at Colorado State University
Will building denser housing along transit routes help solve the housing crisis?
Los Angeles city planners are considering a new proposal that seeks to rezone pieces of land for denser development along the Metro Orange Line.
The proposed project, called the Orange Line Transit Neighborhood, would allow construction of taller buildings along the Orange Line bus stops in North Hollywood, Van Nuys and Sepulveda. Under the new proposal, designated areas in Van Nuys and Sepulveda would see residential buildings five and six stories high. The area near the North Hollywood station would allow for buildings up to seven stories high.
The proposal, partially funded through Metro grants, is inspired by SB 375, a measure that requires city planning agencies to develop strategies to cut greenhouse emissions. The plan’s goal is to encourage projects that would develop land around transit routes.
Proponents of the project say that developments in the area will attract new businesses and raise property values. Critics argue that increasing density would require removing rent stabilized units currently occupied by low-wage residents, a move that may end up displacing low-income families.
Meanwhile, there is growing concern over preserving neighborhoods in the area particularly the North Hollywood Arts District. After a review by city planners, the proposal will go to the Los Angeles City Council for approval.
Guests:
Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA), a nonprofit representing businesses in the San Fernando Valley
Jill Stewart, executive director for the Coalition to Preserve L.A., a nonprofit organization advocating for government transparency and thoughtful planning in the city of Los Angeles
Paul Storiale, president of the No Ho Neighborhood Council, an advisory board created by the Los Angeles City Charter to provide improved access to government and make government more responsive to local needs in the North Hollywood community; he tweets
Should pets be allowed in city-subsidized housing projects?
The LA City Council is considering requiring property owners who take measure HHH money to allow recently homeless residents to bring their pets.
Homeless advocates cite rules banning pets as a big impediment to people getting housed. But would banning a pet ban keep some owners from renting to the homeless?
Guests:
Carla Hall, editorial writer for the L.A. Times whose latest op-ed looks at this issue; she tweets
Alan Greenlee, executive director of Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing, an organization that facilitates development of affordable homes across Southern California
Federal judge sets new deadline to find shelter for 1,550 of OC’s homeless
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing the suit filed on behalf of the homeless against the cities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Orange and the county of Orange, will give city officials until Sept. 7 to release their housing plans for a 60 percent majority of the county’s homeless.
Based on a 2017 estimate that found 2,584 unsheltered across the O.C., that means at least 1,550 people without homes must be provided with emergency and transitional housing by the county, and those options will need to come before Judge Carter within the next month.
The lawsuit was filed back in January after a Santa Ana River homeless encampment was closed. Since then, Orange County officials have struggled to secure new beds and shelters for the homeless while facing protests from residents.
We check in with a reporter and legal experts for the latest implications.
Guests:
Jill Replogle, KPCC Orange County reporter; she tweets
Carol Sobel, civil rights attorney, who is representing the Orange County homeless in court
Todd Wulffson, managing partner at Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger in Irvine, an employment and labor law firm with offices throughout California; he has served as legal counsel on behalf of several Southern California cities including Newport Beach, Anaheim, Irvine, Carson, and Palmdale
Legitimate removal or censorship? Tech platforms Apple, YouTube nix Alex Jones
On Monday, Apple removed five of Infowars’ six podcasts from its apps, the first domino in a chain that also included YouTube, Facebook and Spotify, which all kicked conspiracy theorist Alex Jones off their platforms.
Apple cited its user guidelines as the reason that Jones was nixed. Some have applauded the move as one that denies a platform to hate speech and misinformation. But critics have cried censorship and have expressed concern over tech giants acting as arbiters of content — their capacity to do so fairly and the transparency with which they choose who gets a platform and who does not.
Should Alex Jones have been removed from these platforms? Will this create a slippery slope in which tech giants selectively censor content?
Guests:
Larry Gross, professor of communication at USC
Jeffrey McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University in Indiana and former journalist; he is a columnist for The Hill; he tweets