Restrictions on LA medical marijuana dispensaries. Has email grown oppressive? LA Opera gets $14 million loan. Exposition Line delays. And they called him Louis, Louie, Satchmo and Pops-the life and music of Louis Armstrong.
New limits on pot shops, but debate goes on
The Los Angeles City Council agreed yesterday to limit the number and location of medical marijuana dispensaries in LA. The estimated 137 dispensaries already registered with the city, will be allowed to continue operating, with a goal of ultimately capping the number at 70. The council also dictated that dispensaries cannot be located within 1000 feet of schools, parks, libraries, and residences. Advocates for access say this provision would zone dispensaries out of existence. Larry discusses the council's plan as it prepares to vote today on the amended ordinance.
Guests:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter who attended yesterday’s LA City Council debate
Michael Larsen, Public Safety Director for Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council
Joe Elford, Chief Counsel, Americans for Safe Access Now
Jose Huizar, LA City Council, 14th District
Avalanches of email
The average corporate worker receives upwards of 130 emails per day and for an increasing number of people, the flood of messages seems endless. The widespread use of email means that work follows us everywhere, making us slaves of the inbox. In his new book “The Tyranny of Email,” literary critic John Freeman tracks the astonishing growth of email from its military beginnings to its present ubiquity and gives some extremely useful suggestions as to how we can deal with the ceaseless demand.
Guest:
John Freeman, author of “The Tyranny of E-Mail: The Four Thousand Year Journey to Your Inbox” (Scribner)
LA Opera gets $14 million loan
The LA County Board of Supervisors has approved a $14 million loan to the Los Angeles Opera. Overrun by costs associated with insufficient financial planning and an ambitious production of Wagner's "Ring Cycle," the Opera will remain at the Music Center under new lease terms. What does the loan portend for Southern California arts organizations? Should the Opera have been left to market forces, or are the Supervisors right to commit public resources to the arts?
Guests:
Stephen Rountree, Chief Operating Officer, L.A. Opera, President and CEO, Music Center
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor (3rd District)
Exposition Line overbudget and delayed
The Exposition Line, a $640 million light rail project to link downtown with Culver City, is now well under construction. The line was supposed to open this summer, but cost overruns on the order of $220 million are making that increasingly unlikely. What's the hold up? And what will it take to get this train in on time?
Guests:
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor (3rd District)
Steve Hymon, former transportation reporter for the Los Angeles Times, currently working on transportation-related writing projects for Metro and local politicians
Pops: a life of Louis Armstrong
Louie, LEW-iss, Satchmo, Pops – call him what you will, Louis Armstrong transformed American music with his jazz trumpet solos and signature, raspy vocals, bringing a New Orleans sound to the world. The beloved jazz legend lived a much darker and more dangerous life than hits like "What a Wonderful World" suggest. We look back at Armstrong under bright lights and dark shadows with Terry Teachout, author of "Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong."
Guest:
Terry Teachout, author, "Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); drama critic and arts columnist for the Wall Street Journal