Construction Stops On Elephant Exhibit; LAUSD: Admiral Brewer On The Way Out?; King Harbor: Mark Ridley Thomas Announces Plan; Iraqi Update: The Picture On The Ground; Backstabbing For Beginners
Construction Stops On Elephant Exhibit
The Los Angeles City Council will decide tomorrow whether to halt construction on a 42-million dollar elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo. Last night the Budget and Finance Committee voted 3-2 to stop work on the Pachyderm Forest. Larry talks with L.A. City Councilman Tony Cardenas, and L.A. City Councilman Greig Smith about the issue.
LAUSD: Admiral Brewer On The Way Out?
The Los Angeles school board is holding a meeting today to try and figure out what to do with Admiral David Brewer, LAUSD Superintendent. Civic leaders are pressing for his departure. At issue is how to buy him out of his $300,000 contract. Larry gets the latest with L.A. Times reporter, Howard Blume.
King Harbor: Mark Ridley Thomas Announces Plan
Larry Mantle talks with KPCC reporter Patricia Nazario about newly elected Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas's plan for Martin Luther King Harbor Hospital.
Iraqi Update: The Picture On The Ground
Violence overall has declined for years, but Iraq remains a very dangerous place. Yesterday bombers killed at least 33 people in Baghdad and Mosul, including four US soldiers. The Iraqi Parliament has approved a security pact with the United States that lets troops remain for three more years. And Obama is developing his timetable for a troop pullout. Will Obama be able to maintain his campaign promises of beginning a troop draw-down? And how secure is Iraq? What will happen when US forces leave? Larry gets the latest from Tina Susman, LA Times reporter in Iraq, Major Seth Milstein, and Marina Ottoway at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Backstabbing For Beginners
In the mid 1990s Michael Soussan was a young employee of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Downtrodden by a world of political networking, he decided to quit his post with Abramoff and took a job with the United Nations, where he hoped to make a positive difference in the world. What Soussan found was infighting and a trail of corruption leading from the Oil-for-Food program intended to help Iraqi citizens. Larry speaks with Soussan about his new book "Backstabbing For Beginners: My Crash Course in International Diplomacy."