A US bankruptcy judge ruled yesterday that Detroit is eligible for bankruptcy. What implications does that have for California? Then, after NYC commuter rail crash, is train safety technology the answer to human error? And is there any need for people to use fancy words anymore? Later, what should California do about DDT from Palos Verdes shelf? And we'll talk about Republicans accused of launching a fake website for the Affordable Care Act and the man who put California's wine country on the map.
Detroit bankruptcy ruling has huge implications for California
A federal judge today ruled that Detroit could proceed with its bankruptcy filing. More significantly, the court also ruled that Detroit could roll back on its pension obligations for retired city workers.
It's the first time a bankruptcy court has handed down such a ruling, essentially nullifying a key component of municipal employee benefits that was once held as inviolable under state laws. Today's ruling has ramifications for bankrupt San Bernardino, which could face a legal showdown with CALPERS--the city's largest creditor--over unpaid pension benefits.
Guests:
Karol Denniston, a partner at the San Francisco law firm, Schiff Hardin LLP who specializes on municipal restructurings and bankruptcies
Marcia Fritz, President of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility, a nonprofit organization that focuses on public employee retirement benefit issues in California
Robert Glazier, Deputy Executive Officer of External Affairs, CalPERS – California Public Employees’ Retirement System
Terry Brennand, a lobbyist for Service Employees International Union
After NYC commuter rail crash, is automated train technology the answer to human error?
The train engineer at the helm of the weekend's NYC commuter rail crash made troubling admissions yesterday. According the lawyer of William Rockefeller, the engineer was in a "daze" and nodded at controls before realizing something was wrong - the train was travelling 80 mph into a 30-mph zone.
It's becoming apparent the deadly crash that killed four people was the result of human error. The crash brings back memories of the terrible rail collision in Chatsworth at the hands of an engineer distracted by text messaging. Since that crash, automated train technology called Positive Train Control has been mandated for installation on commuter services, but without any promised funding.
How successful has its implementation been for Metrolink? What safety technologies exist for regions that rely heavily on rail, such as Europe and Japan?
Guest:
Charles Banks, President, R.L. Banks & Associates rail consultants, with expertise in railroad economics, engineering and service planning; Banks worked with the LA, Orange and Riverside County Transportation Commissions; Banks commentary “Positive Train Control: Good Idea, Terrible Implementation and Blame All The Way Around”
In praise and defense of grandiose, flowery, sesquipedalian words
It’s a well-known fact that most magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, the so-called “Paper of Record,” is written to a 9th or 10th grade level. This preference for simpler words applies to radio writing as well.
But as Mark Bowden wrote in this month’s Atlantic, there’s a certain undeniable joy in reading and using words that aren’t in everyday currency. Wordsmiths don’t amass a wealth of vocabularies for browbeating, they do it because these impressive words give them a more complex understanding of the world.
What is your favorite fancy word? What has our culture of instantaneous communication done to our diction? When we lose our love for words and language, what else do we lose?
Guests:
Geoff Nunberg, a linguist and an adjunct professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information
Stephen Dodson, a blogger who runs the Language Hat blog www.languagehat.com and a copy editor in Massachusetts
What should California do about DDT from Palos Verdes shelf?
The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to figure out what’s happened to tons of chemicals that were dumped into the Palos Verdes Peninsula from decades of industrial waste. Samples taken from the seafloor found that nearly 100 metric tons of the banned pesticide DDT had disappeared without having been cleaned up.
RELATED: Scientists-turned-detectives look to crack the case of the missing DDT
The DDT had come from the Montrose Chemical Company dumping millions of pounds of the pesticide into the Palos Verdes Peninsula until the 1970s. Tons of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, that were also dumped into the peninsula by industrial sites have disappeared as well.
With the apparent disappearance of the chemicals, the EPA has decided to delay the cleanup of the Palos Verdes shelf, opting to conduct further testing of the area. The results from the tests won’t be released until the end of next year.
What’s the best way for California to deal with the situation in the peninsula? Would it be better to leave the area alone or should cleanup attempts be made if the chemicals are still found to be there?
Guests:
Molly Peterson, Environmental Correspondent, KPCC
James Alamillo (AH-lah-mee-yo), Spokesperson, Heal the Bay
Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
California Republicans accused of launching intentionally misleading Obamacare web site
If you’ve heard of the Affordable Care Act, you’ve heard about the many problems with its rollout both nationwide and here in California. Now, there’s concern that Republican members of the California State Assembly are intentionally trying to mislead constituents about the health care law.
They’ve created a website with the URL: http://coveringhealthcareca.com, which looks very similar to California’s official Obamacare web site: https://www.coveredca.com Republicans say the site is meant purely for informational purposes, as a resource for everyone.
But critics charge that the site has inaccurate information and represents an underhanded tactic to undermine the health care law. Last month, California Attorney General Kamala Harris shut down ten fake insurance sites “that misled Californians by imitating Covered California.”
The GOP website was not among those listed as “imitation” websites. Should it have been? Is it intentionally misleading or simply California Republicans sharing their point of view fair and square?
Guests:
Sabrina Lockhart, Communications Director, California State Assembly Republican Caucus
Dr. Paul Song, M.D., Executive Chairman, Courage Campaign; Visiting Fellow in the California Department of Insurance; Practicing Oncologist at Cedars-Sinai
The man who put California’s wine country on the map
Before Jess Jackson became the billionaire who transformed the landscape of California wine production, he was a police officer. And a prosecutor. And a real-estate lawyer. “A Man and His Mountain” delves into the life of Jackson and his quest to make Americans appreciate good wine.
From his first vineyard in Lakeport, California to the creation of Kendall-Jackson, one of the biggest brands of premium wines in the US, author Edward Humes explores the innovative, and initially derided decisions of the man he describes as this country’s greatest wine entrepreneur.
Guest:
Edward Humes, author, “A Man and His Mountain;” Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author. His last book was Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash