Today on AirTalk, Governor Gavin Newsom joins us to discuss a wide range of topics including the recently signed bill requiring presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns to appear on the CA ballot. We also examine the allegations of sexual misconduct against USC men's health physician Dr. Dennis Kelly; and more.
Governor Newsom On Renter Protections, The President’s Tax Returns, Recycling And More
California Governor Newsom was in Los Angeles yesterday to promote his plan to create a fund for nonprofits to help renters and homeowners with issues such as foreclosures and evictions.
We talked to him about where the money would come from and what it would be used for.
And we also took the opportunity to ask him about the recent shootings, the bill he signed that requires presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns in order to qualify for the state’s primary ballot, the state of recycling in California and much more.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guest:
Gavin Newsom, governor of California; he tweets
Disability Advocates Say ADA Requirements Should Apply Online, Domino’s Wants Supreme Court To Weigh In
If a blind customer can’t place an order through a Domino’s website or app, does that put the pizza chain in violation of the American with Disabilities Act?
The Ninth Circuit says yes. But courts across the country have been split over the issue of online accessibility for the disabled for years, with thousands of similar lawsuits against businesses.
When the ADA was signed into law back in 1990, the internet wasn’t exactly considered a “place of public accommodation.” And although a visually impaired customer can still order a pizza by calling and receiving special assistance over the phone, the Ninth Circuit ruled that Domino’s in particular has to offer internet accommodations because it also has physical stores. Domino’s now wants the Supreme Court to step in.
Backers of the pizza chain, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, say that ADA accessibility guidelines for the internet is a gray area fueling lawsuits and hurting businesses.
Supporters say the internet is a crucial space to protect because it’s intertwined with everyday life, from official government statements, to online shopping and dating and more.
The case is Domino’s v. Robles and the Supreme Court will determine whether or not it will hear the petition when returning from summer recess.
Call us with your questions at 866-893-5722 or comment below.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
Minh Vu, attorney and partner at Seyfarth Shaw; she leads the firm’s ADA Title III Specialty Practice Team and specializes in legal obligations of places of public accommodation
Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, a nonprofit membership and advocacy organization in Washington D.C.
Some 50 Men Accuse Male Doctor At USC Of Inappropriate Medical Exam Behavior
An investigative piece jointly published today by BuzzFeed News and USC's Annenberg Media outlined substantial allegations of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior by former USC men's health physician Dr. Dennis Kelly.
The accusations against Kelly go back as far as 2009 and nearly 50 men, all former USC students and members of the LGBTQ community, claim that Kelly subjected them to lengthy and uncomfortable genital exams, conducted unnecessary rectal probes designed to embarrass them and asked them invasive and inappropriate questions about their sex lives. Kelly himself is openly gay.
Before the BuzzFeed News piece, allegations against Kelly first surfaced in February, when six of his accusers filed a lawsuit against him and USC seeking compensation from the university for negligent hiring and supervision, among other things. Until today, USC had issued only one short public statement regarding the accusations against Kelly, telling the press back in February that the university is “working to understand the facts of this matter…” and that they “care deeply about our entire Trojan family, including our LGBTQ-plus community, and take this matter very seriously.”
Kelly resigned from USC in July 2018, but after the news of the lawsuit was released he was placed on administrative leave at Cal State Northridge, where he had been working part time as a men’s health physician since 2002. Kelly maintains that he has never abused patients and has always treated them appropriately.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
We reached out to the Medical Board of California, California State University, Northridge and Fraser Watson & Croutch, which is the firm representing both Kelly and USC, according to reports.
The CA Medical Board isn’t able to provide anyone to join our segment this morning, but provided the following to our questions:
Dr. Dennis Alan Kelly is currently licensed to practice medicine in California. His license number is G 26581. His license is due to expire, unless renewed, on July 31, 2020.
The Medical Board of California is aware of allegations against this individual contained in press accounts.
Complaints filed against individual physicians are not public, and neither are investigations.
The Medical Board of California has not filed an accusation against this physician.
Guests:
Mark Schoofs, a visiting professor of journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and lead editor of this Buzzfeed story; advisor to the investigations team at KPCC/LAist
Jeffrey Klausner, M.D., professor of medicine and public health at UCLA; former director of the San Francisco City Clinic, the municipal STD clinic in San Francisco (1998-2010)
Rebel With A (Small) Cause: Remembering Our Small Acts Of Rebellion
Loathed by parents but loved by their children, Alvin Schwartz’s ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ series has inspired, and at times downright terrified, young readers for almost 40 years.
The series has had its fair share of controversies and criticisms and was listed by the American Library Association as being the most challenged series of books from the 1990's, and seventh most challenged from the 2000's. The hair-raising artwork by artist Stephen Gammell that graces the pages of the books have also contributed to the series’ controversial nature. But it’s this controversy and this taboo effect that has motivated children and young adults to embrace the book series, to show the adults in their life that they are self-determined and to demonstrate that they have the courage to handle the book’s darkest themes.Through reading the book, at times against the wishes of their parents, generations of readers have risen through this small act of rebellion and sparked a sense of independence that would inspire them for the rest of their lives.
In honor of ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ we’d love to hear stories of your small acts of rebellion and what inspired them. Did you get caught or did you get away with it? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guest:
Christopher Bryan, assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago, where he studies psychological influence, behavioral decision-making and political psychology with a focus on how psychology relates to social and public policy