Today on AirTalk we'll talk to LAUSD about their early start to the school year, why the cities of Wilmington and San Pedro are taking out some of their parking meters, a local restaurant is offering diners an incentive to leave their phones at home, why Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi replaced several top military leaders on Sunday and a discussion with author Linda Killian on her book "The Swing Vote." Plus, the latest news.
School bells ring early for LAUSD students
If it seems like summer gets shorter and shorter every year, you’re not imagining things. Today is back-to-school day for students throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District – the first time on a new, two-semester schedule.
The school board first adopted an early start date for high schools in order to align them with college semesters. It then followed that it made sense to bring the younger grades in as well. One advantage? Students now have extra time to prepare for state exams – and a winter break that’s study-free. Nevertheless, it somehow feels fundamentally wrong to send kids back to classrooms during the dog days.
Has the early start disrupted your family’s summer? Did you have to forgo a vacation, or jettison your kids’ plans for camp? Or are you happy to send bored, mopy kids back to air conditioned classrooms, and have the beach to yourself?
Guest:
Tom Waldman, director of media and communications for Los Angeles Unified School District
Ripping out parking meters in San Pedro and Wilmington to attract more shoppers
Over the last few years, parts of Los Angeles has seen parking meter rates increase and old coin meters switched out to high-tech credit-card-accepting meters. But this week, San Pedro and Willmington have started ripping out 645 parking meters. The move hopes to increase traffic to local businesses; the increased sales tax revenue is projected to make up on the money lost on parking fees in the area.
So, how do parking meters and parking accessibility affect local businesses in the city? Can adjusting parking improve sales? What Los Angeles parking issues would you like to see addressed?
Guests:
Joe Buscaino, Councilman for the 15th District in Los Angeles
Tej Sundher, owner, Hollywood Wax Museum and Hollywood Guinness World Records Museum
LA restaurant offers discount for dining without your phone (updated)
Update: Last week, Eva restaurant owner Mark Gold joined AirTalk to discuss his new policy of giving customers who check their phones at the door a 5 percent discount on their bill. Interesting concept, but it didn’t seem that groundbreaking. That is until the Interwebs got a hold of it.
The Associated Press put the story out on its wire and the story went viral. The next day Gold woke up with an inbox full of media requests and calls from his mother who said CNN was looking for him.
"I was shocked ... Quite frankly, I didn't have any expectations. We were running for two months, and then, being slow in the summertime at the restaurant here, I figured I'd send it to the local paper," said Gold on AirTalk. "Never did I think it would go this far."
Since the KPCC interview last week, Eva Restaurant owner says he’s done about 40 interviews with major outlets including Marketplace, CNN and Good Morning America.
German, Irish and Indian radio stations have requested interviews and his Twitter feed has seen tweets from all over world, including Afghanistan.
"I've gotten numerous emails from restaurant owners, shop owners from all over the world saying, 'What a great policy' and 'Thank you so much,' and 'We're going to implement something like this.'" said Gold. "It seems like every five minutes there's somebody calling, and it's still going on. This is a week later and we just got German radio calling us right now, and something from India, it's just crazy."
Gold's new cell-phone policy may have gone viral worldwide, but has it translated to an increase in business? Not so much, says Gold.
"We've seen a little bit of an increase, but not as much as we expected," he said. "I think it's still summertime, school gets back into session in a week or so. I think once school starts, we're going to see a big increase."
Original Story from Aug, 14, 2012:
It’s become part of the restaurant table setting: knife, fork, napkin and cell phone.
Distracted dining is the new norm with customers constantly texting friends, tweeting an Instagram photo of the meal they’re about to chow down or emailing the boss. For many smart-phone users, it’s hard just to focus on the meal and company at hand.
Now, one restaurant in Los Angeles is giving diners a reason to turn off the digital world, by offering customers willing to check their phones at the door a 5-percent discount on their bill. Owner/chef Mark Gold of Eva Restaurant, located on Beverly Boulevard near N. Gardner Street, hopes this gives customers a way to truly sit back and relax, enjoy their meal and actually talk to with friends and family in-person.
"For us, it's really not about people disrupting other guests. Eva is home, and we want to create that environment of home, and we want people to connect again," he explained. "It's about two people sitting together and just connecting, without the distraction of a phone, and we're trying to create an ambience where you come in and really enjoy the experience and the food and the company."
Gold said instating the suggestion reminds him to keep cell phone usage at bay, too. "I'm guilty of it as well. When [my wife and I] go to dinner it seems like the cell phone is part of the table setting now. Every table you look at, it's a wine glass, the silverware and the cell phone," he joked.
The husband and wife team runs Eva, a 40-person space with European flair. Gold said a little less than half take advantage of the deal, and no one has gotten upset about it.
"I think once the server approaches the table and they're presented with the offer, they like the idea of actually talking to each other again," he said.
Weigh In:
Is distracted dining a pet peeve of yours? Would you be willing to check your phone at the door? Should more restaurants crack down on cell phone use?
Guest:
Mark Gold, Owner/chef of Eva Restaurant in West Hollywood
Egyptian President Morsi sacks military chiefs
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi replaced several top military leaders on Sunday, sharply shifting Egypt’s balance of power. At the top of the list was Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, a crucial ally of ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s who has served in the post for more than two decades.
Morsi also vowed to scrap a constitutional declaration put in place by the military before his June 30 inauguration that had essentially stripped the authority of his office. To some observers, Morsi’s actions are seen as the rightful assertion of a civilian-run government. Others see it as an aggressive power grab aimed at giving the Muslim Brotherhood unchecked influence over the military, parliament, and the presidency.
So far there has been no sign of a counter-coup or backlash by the armed forces and there have been some reports that Morsi’s reshuffle was actually made in consultation with the military council.
Do Morsi’s moves reveal a split within the senior leadership of the Egyptian military? Did Morsi just make himself a dictator? What will happen now that Morsi has claimed all the power? What are the implications for the U.S.?
Guest:
Michele Dunne, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Jeffrey Martini, Middle East analyst with the RAND Corporation; Co-author of “Democratization in the Arab World: Prospects and Lessons from Around the Globe
Obama and Romney must appeal to swingers
With Barack Obama and Mitt Romney running nearly neck-and-neck at this juncture (the president has a slight lead in the polls), the 2012 presidential election may very well be decided by the ‘swing vote.’ In states that require voters to declare party affiliation, both Republican and Democratic enrollment has dropped slightly, while independent enrollment has increased.
This would seem to indicate that independents and decline-to-staters could make up close to a third of the electorate in November. They can be found all over the map, muddying the solid reds and blues we’ve gotten used to. With die-hard Dems and Republicans likely to cancel each other out, those voters without a country will be more important than ever.
The first question to ask might be, who are they? Linda Killian traveled the country interviewing independent voters, and has identified four types: “NPR Republicans,” the “Facebook Generation,” “Starbucks Moms and Dads” and “America First Democrats.”
Catchy monikers aside, who are these inscrutable, undeclared voters? What issues are most important to them? How do they differ, and where do they come together? If you're a swing voter, what can the candidates do to lasso your vote?
Guest:
Linda Killian, author of “The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents” (St. Martin’s Press) and senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars