AirTalk brings you the latest on the SoCal fires, including how the state is using smartphone emergency alerts to keep locals up to date. We also discuss Senator Al Franken’s resignation this morning after eight women accused him of sexual misconduct; what California can learn from pioneering states Colorado and Washington about legalizing recreational cannabis?; and more.
SoCal fires continue: emergency alert systems, price gouging and latest on Ventura, Skirball
Fires continue burning throughout Southern California.
As winds strengthen, the fire in Ventura County is pushing towards populated areas. In the meantime, the Skirball Fire has burned 475 acres and Bel Air residents are under mandatory evacuation. We check in with the latest on the fires.
Plus, the city attorney of Los Angeles joins us to discuss illegal price gouging in the wake of evacuations. And did you get an emergency alert last night? We talk about how the emergency alert system in California works and how you can keep yourself informed.
Guests:
Robert Garrova, KPCC reporter at the site of the Skirball Fire; he tweets
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC reporter at the site of the Thomas Fire; he tweets
Kelly Huston, a deputy director with California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
Brianna Sacks, reporter at BuzzFeed News
Charlie Eadie, principal with Eadie Consultants, a Santa Cruz-based firm specializing in helping communities rebuild after disasters, including fires
Mike Feuer, City Attorney of Los Angeles
#HomeGrown: What Colorado and Washington can teach California about legalizing recreational cannabis
As California prepares to being sales of legal recreational marijuana for adult use on January 1, 2018, both people in the industry and those who watch it know that the state is heading into uncharted territory.
While considerable policy work has been done to lay the foundation for things like tax structure, zoning laws, and enforcement, there are still more questions than answers, and many of those questions won’t be answered until legal sales of cannabis begin in earnest.
The good news is that Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana for adult use in 2012 and have several years of lessons that California will no doubt be using to guide its own legal marijuana policy and deal with issues that have come up in those two states like potency issues with edibles, consumer health and safety, law enforcement dealing with stoned drivers, advertising for cannabis products, and even something as simple as where people can actually consume their legal cannabis. There’s also the issue of weed tourism -- out-of-state residents who show up to purchase and consume marijuana legally -- and the impacts that can have on the economy and on society in general.
So, what lessons can Colorado and Washington teach us about the challenges California may face in the short and long term? What have been the biggest challenges and how have legislators and policymakers worked to solve them? What kind of tax revenue are those states bringing in?
Guests:
Bob Young, reporter covering marijuana for The Seattle Times; he tweets
Alicia Wallace, national marijuana policy and business reporter with The Cannabist at The Denver Post; she tweets
After 2 additional sexual harassment allegations, Sen. Al Franken steps down
Minnesota Sen. Al Franken says he'll resign in the coming weeks.
He's repeatedly apologized as several women accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior, and as his support from fellow Democrats evaporated.
The Minnesota lawmaker took to the Senate floor to say, "I may be resigning my seat, but I am not giving up my voice." He says he'll addressing issues as an activist.
Franken says he can't go through a Senate Ethics Committee investigation and effectively represent his state at the same time.
With files from Associated Press.
Guest:
Elizabeth Dunbar, reporter at Minnesota Public Radio who's been following the story
The Gold Star father Trump made famous and his take on what it means to be American
At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazala gave a speech about their son, Humayun, who was killed in a suicide attack in Iraq in 2004 and posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.
The speech was about their family's story, Muslim faith and patriotism, and in one memorable moment, Mr. Khan held out his personal copy of the U.S. Constitution and offered it to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to borrow. Appearing on TV, Trump criticized the Khans —including Ghazala, for standing silently next to her husband as he spoke— and compared their family's sacrifice to his "sacrifice" creating jobs and having business success. He was, in turn, widely condemned for criticizing a Gold Star family.
Khizr Khan has written a memoir called An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice. The book tells the story of how the Khans came to America from rural Pakistan, and how Khizr and Ghazala raised their three sons in Maryland.
Khizr Khan will be speaking about his new memoir, “An American Family,” tonight, at 7:30pm at the Library Foundation of Los Angeles in Downtown L.A.
Guest:
Khizr Khan, author of the new book, “An American Family: A memoir of hope and sacrifice”; his middle son, U.S. Army captain Humayun Khan was killed in 2004 while stopping a suicide attack in Iraq, and was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star