We discuss the severe housing affordability crisis in California and how activists are campaigning to impose rent control. We also look into the Oscars' potential 'popular film' category; talk about limiting the speed of electric scooters; and more.
#OscarsSoConfusing?! Reactions on the Academy’s cryptic announcement to add ‘popular’ film category
The Oscars announced yesterday that they are looking to add a new category to honor popular films. The Academy also promised a brisk three-hour ceremony and a much earlier air date in 2020.
Change is coming to the #Oscars. href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oscars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oscars
- A new category is being designed around achievement in popular film.
- We've set an earlier airdate for 2020: mark your calendars for February 9.
- We're planning a more globally accessible, three-hour telecast. pic.twitter.com/oKTwjV1Qv9
John Bailey, the newly re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and film Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said in an email to members Wednesday morning that the Board of Governors met Tuesday night to approve the changes.
The move is an attempt to resuscitate declining interest in the Oscars. The Oscars might be the most important award for the movie industry, but viewers of the televised broadcast have dwindled over the years. Ratings for the 90th Academy Awards fell to an all-time low of 26.5 million viewers, down 19 percent from the previous year and the first time the glitzy awards ceremony had fewer than 30 million viewers since 2008.
KPCC’s John Horn joins Larry to talk about reactions to the announcement.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
John Horn, host of KPCC’s daily arts and entertainment show, The Frame
Why rent control initiatives have failed to take hold in Pasadena, Glendale and other local municipalities
Some residents are facing a severe housing affordability crisis in California. In the midst of a housing shortage, activists in some Southern California cities are campaigning to impose rent control.
In Glendale, a tenant union group failed to gather enough signatures to get a rent control referendum on the 2020 ballot. The group gathered less than half the 10,529 signatures needed to qualify for the next election after this November’s voting. In Santa Ana, activists are still trying to gather enough signatures before their Oct. 15 deadline in a similar effort to make it on their 2020 ballot.
The two cities join Long Beach, Pasadena, Inglewood and Pomona, where rent control drives also struggled. Meanwhile, only a handful of cities in Los Angeles County have rent control, among them Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Opponents of rent-stabilized units argue that there are better solutions to solve a housing crisis like providing public funding for affordable housing construction, or mandating cities and developers to build low-income rental housing.
The issue is pressing statewide, where prop 10, a rent control initiative, is on the November ballot that wants to repeal the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Act. So in the midst of a pressing housing crisis, what have been the obstacles for Southern California cities to expand rent control? And is rent control the answer to our housing problem. We debate.
Guests:
Mike Van Gorder, founding member of the Glendale Tenants Union, a group sponsoring the Glendale rent control initiative
Mike Gatto, real estate attorney and founding partner at Actium LLP, a Los Angeles-based law firm; former member of the California State Assembly representing the 43rd district that includes Glendale; he tweets
Fernando Guerra, professor and director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University; he is a member of the Southern California Public Radio Board of Trustees
What new NCAA rules mean for college basketball
On Wednesday, the NCAA announced new college basketball policies meant to overhaul the system in light of the FBI probe into recruiting practices.
The news rules call for transparency, hold university officials responsible for noncompliance, allow players to sign with agents while going through school and let undrafted players to return to their former schools. There are other changes, including a redesign of the recruiting calendar, more stringent punishments and longer suspension times for head coaches.
The larger issue of whether college athletes should be able to make money off their image was not addressed by the new policies.
So what changes will this portend for the NCAA and NBA? What will need to change, structurally, for these policies to be implemented? And what will be the effects of these new rules?
We reached out to the NCAA. They did not get back to us in time for the interview.
Guests:
Sam Vecenie, writer covering the NBA Draft, college basketball and the NBA for The Athletic, an online sports publication; he’s also the host of the basketball podcast Game Theory; he tweets
Rick Burton, professor of sport management and faculty athletic representative to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the NCAA at Syracuse University; he tweets
Will limiting the speed of electric scooters solve the public nuisance problem?
Los Angeles City Council transportation committee refined a new set of regulations Wednesday for electric scooters.
The committee recommended a cap on scooters’ speed that does not exceed 12 mph. It also proposes the creation of a use permit system for companies that operate the devices. The changes were prompted by news that electric scooter companies were considering raising the speed level of their devices; they now run at about 15 mph.
Wednesday’s adjustments would allow for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to approve or revoke permits for companies already operating in the city but would freeze the expansion to new areas until the final regulations are approved by the council.
The Transportation Committee had previously approved regulations back in June that limit the number of devices for each provider. That number differs from one city to the other, where more devices will be allowed to operate in so-called disadvantaged communities.
Meanwhile, electric scooters are causing a public nuisance in areas where they are operating. So will limiting the speed of the devices solve that problem?
Guest:
Meghan McCarty Carino, KPCC reporter covering commuting and mobility who was at yesterday’s LA City Council committee meeting
Solving the world’s water shortage... by hauling a giant iceberg to its thirstiest regions
A company in United Arab Emirates is looking to haul a giant iceberg from the Antarctic to either Australia or Africa in an effort to provide drinking water to one of these two water-starved places.
The journey, which is expected to launch in November, is about 4,000 miles; the endeavor will cost an estimated $60 million. The idea is not entirely new, and similar plans had circulated back in the 1970s.
How would it work — and what could possibly go wrong? Larry talks to our guests about the idea.
Guests:
David Cox, freelance science writer for NBC who has been covering the story; he tweets
Christopher Readinger, head of the antarctic team at the U.S. National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice analysis for the armed forces of the United States, allied nations, and U.S. government agencies
Hooked on Hollywood: Leonard Maltin’s new book digs deep into his personal archives
Have you ever wondered who Hollywood’s good guys and gals really were? Or what it was like to work for Cecil B. DeMille? Or what about how Errol Flynn hid liquor while filming on location in New Mexico mountains?
Iconic film historian and critic Leonard Maltin answers these questions and more in his latest book “Hooked on Hollywood: Discoveries from a Lifetime of Film Fandom.” It’s anthology of interviews and research that spans Maltin’s career in conversations with people like Burgess Meredith, Madge Evans, Ralph Bellamy and more. The collection spans from Maltin’s early days interacting with stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, writing about film as a teenager in “Film Fan Monthly” to more recent material gathered from “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Crazy.”
Maltin joins Larry Mantle on AirTalk to take listeners on a journey through his prolific career as a self-published film critic and historian and to share some of the stories of Hollywood’s biggest stars to the forgotten men and women of moviemaking.
Guest:
Leonard Maltin, film historian and critic and author of “Hooked on Hollywood: Discoveries from a Lifetime of Film Fandom” (GoodKnight Books, July 2018); he has authored many books on cinema, including “Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide” series, appears regularly on Reelz Channel and spent 30 years on the hit television show, Entertainment Tonight