AirTalk continues with analysis of Saturday's events in Charlottesville, looking into how cities can plan for protests and upcoming protests in California. We also check in with city and county officials on homelessness; explore the LA tech firm at the center of a DOJ investigation; and more.
Looking at First Amendment issues, police preparedness as large protests planned for Bay Area
Northern California is bracing itself for a slew of rallies being planned on upcoming weekends that are shedding light on how much latitude cities have to take precautions against protests to prevent violence while not running afoul of the First Amendment and the tactics police use to find the right balance between keeping the peace and enforcing the law.
This weekend, protesters will gather and march on Google headquarters in nine cities, including on the company’s main campus in Mountain View, CA and in Venice here in Southern California. The supporters released their code of conduct for the so-called ‘March on Google’ following the weekend violence in Charlottesville, which condemns “violence, hatred and bigotry and all groups that espouse it, such as White Nationalists, KKK, Antifa and NeoNazis.” Organizers have distanced themselves from the so-called ‘alt-right,’ saying they are marching in support of the First Amendment and James Damore, the Google engineer whose now-infamous manifesto arguing against diversity in the workplace went viral and led to his firing.
The weekend after that, protesters with a group called ‘Patriot Prayer’ have permit to gather at Crissy Field in San Francisco. After a man plowed his car into a crowd of people during last weekend’s unrest in Charlottesville, some local officials are concerned about keeping the peace, especially if things between group members and counter-protesters get heated. Berkeley is also preparing for a rally on August 27th for a group called ‘No Marxism in America.’
How far can cities go in terms of measures to prevent violence at protests without infringing on free speech rights? What kinds of tactics do police officers employ in preparation for the rallies and during them?
Guests:
Eugene Volokh, professor of law at UCLA
Bill Lansdowne, former chief of the San Diego Police Department, retired in 2014; he’s also been a police chief in San Jose and Richmond
AirTalk check-in: LA City and County on homelessness
Statistics demonstrating the dire state of homelessness in Los Angeles abound: the county homeless population climbed 23% over the last year; one in five local community college students are homeless, and a 5% rent increase will push 2,000 more people into homelessness.
Meanwhile, the city recently committed to hosting the 2028 Olympics, leading many to wonder what will happen to the city’s homeless population over the next decade.
In light of this, Larry sits down with representatives from LA City and County and KPCC’s Rina Palta to discuss city and county perspectives on homelessness, including Measures H and HHH; the Trump administration’s role in funding affordable housing in LA; and the closing of the Antelope Valley homeless shelter.
Guests:
Rina Palta, correspondent for KPCC, covering Southern California's social safety net; she tweets
Brenda Shockley, Deputy Mayor for Economic Opportunity in the City of Los Angeles
Phil Ansell, director of the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative
Looking at the constitutionality of DOJ request for LA-based tech company’s data on anti-Trump protesters
A tech firm based in Los Angeles is fighting back against the U.S. Department of Justice, which has demanded it turn over more than 1.3 million IP addresses for people who visited a website that was used to organize anti-Trump protests during his inauguration.
Dreamhost, a company that hosts websites and sells domain names, made the DOJ request public on Monday, saying that it was vast overreach on the part of the feds. In addition to the IP addresses of people who visited, Dreamhost says the request also asks for emails between organizers and interested parties, any deleted files, and even subscriber information. There are also concerns about a potential violation of First Amendment free speech rights if fear of the government having private information about their identity would stop people from visiting the website.
Prosecutors for the feds have argued in court that the DOJ request is completely within the confines of the constitution. that the website was used to help organize a violent riot, referencing protests on Inauguration Day in January that led to property damage and six cops being injured, and that Dreamhost’s “it’s too broad” reasoning was not sufficient to reject the DOJ request.
Do you think the DOJ is within its rights to request this information or do you see it as an overreach? What, if any, free speech or privacy issues do you see arising?
We reached out to DreamHost, which declined to join us for an interview.
Guests:
Alan Butler, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
Orin Kerr, professor of law at the George Washington University; he’ll be a professor at USC’s Gould School of Law in January
As Trump Administration seeks to revive coal, what is the industry’s future?
It’s no secret that environmentalists and the coal mining industry have long been at odds.
But more fuel has been added to the fire, so to speak, as the Trump Administration’s Interior Department has moved to lift a moratorium on coal leases in public lands. The temporary ban was enacted under the Obama Administration, which quickly drew opposition from major mining companies.
As reported by the New York Times, about 85 percent of coal mined from federal lands in the West is from the Powder River Basin. The basin, which includes lands in Wyoming and Montana, produces a small amount of exported coal. Trump has accused the Obama Administration of trying to stifle exports, a market which has become increasingly competitive in sales to power plants in Asia, particularly China. In the West, Vancouver has the most accessible export terminal, but more capacity is needed to stay competitive in the growing global market. And environmentalists have blocked any new developments for a terminal in the U.S.
While California isn’t regarded as “coal country,” the state, along with New Mexico, sued the Trump Administration earlier this year to reverse the rollback in royalties for coal mining companies. But all coal isn’t created equal. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), or what some call “clean coal,” is touted to capture up to 90 percent of carbon emissions. The technology can also be used as liquid fuel for planes and cement production. Even with the controversy surrounding the coal industry’s lack of jobs, traditional coal doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. So what’s the future of the coal industry? Will Trump be able to revive coal? And what will that mean for the environment?
Correction: This post originally stated that 85 percent of coal comes from the West. The New York Times reported that 85 percent of coal mined from federal lands in the West is from the Powder River Basin. We regret the error.
Guests:
Mark Mills, physicist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute where his focus includes energy and energy technology, and a faculty fellow at Northwestern’s Engineering School; he tweets @MarkPMills
Daniel Schrag, geochemist and professor of geology, environmental science and engineering; he is also the director at Harvard University Center for the Environment and served on President Obama’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (2009 to 2016)
Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkeley; he also leads the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative on behalf of UC Berkeley and UCLA