Another LAX Landing System Failure; San Diego Cross Dispute; Bilingual Education Debate Resurfaces; The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh on the Israel/Hezbollah Crisis; David Hyde Pierce
Another LAX Landing System Failure
Authorities are investigating what caused an instrument landing system at Los Angeles International Airport to fail for the second time in a week. Dozens of flights were delayed. According to the FAA the system went down just before 10:00 a.m. and came back on 40 minutes later. The repeated problems have prompted airport officials to question how well the system was being maintained by the FAA.(AP) Guest host Jon Beaupre talks with FAA spokesman Ian Gregor about the situation.
San Diego Cross Dispute
President Bush has signed legislation making San Diego's disputed Mount Soledad Cross a federal property. Supporters hope that will protect the 29-foot cross from a string of court decisions that deemed it unconstitutional because it stands on public property. Under federal law, which is more flexible than California law, religious displays may stand on public property if they have a secular meaning. But a lawyer for the atheist who has waged a 17-year court battle to remove the cross says he filed papers in federal court last week to void the transfer and declare it unconstitutional. Guest host Jon Beaupre talks with Chapman constitutional law professor John Eastman and San Diego civil rights attorney James McElroy.
Bilingual Education Debate Resurfaces
A bill sponsored by California State Senator Martha Escutia would add an hour of special instruction to English learners in California's elementary and middle schools. Opponents of the bill say it's an attempt to restore bilingual education in California. Guest host Jon Beaupre talks to the bill's principal co-author Democratic Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, and Republican Assemblyman Bob Huff who voted against it. He also hears from Sabrina Lockheart, Deputy Press Secretary for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh on the Israel/Hezbollah Crisis
In the upcoming issue of The New Yorker (August 21), Seymour M. Hersh reports that the Bush Administration "was closely involved in the planning of Israel's retaliatory attacks" against Hezbollah, even prior to the July 12th kidnappings of two Israeli servicemen. Guest host Jon Beaupre talks with Hersh about his allegations that intelligence officials said that a successful Israeli bombing campaign against Hezbollah "could ease Israel's security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American preemptive attack to destroy Iran's nuclear installations."
David Hyde Pierce
Perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Niles Crane on the hit television series, Frasier, David Hyde Pierce, is also a consummate stage, film, and voice-over actor. Guest host Jon Beaupre talks with the four time Emmy award winner about his career and his current role as Lt. Frank Cioffo in the new Kander and Ebb musical comedy, Curtains, now on stage at the Ahmanson Theatre.