Today on AirTalk we discuss LA's City Council approving regulations for short-term rentals such as Airbnb, as well as the restrictions on renting only “primary residences.” We also examine where the progressive platform currently stands and what it might look like heading into the presidential primary; and more.
NPR: Tronc's $2.5M payout to former LA Times publisher to keep ‘secret recordings’ from coming to light
NPR is reporting that Tronc - the former owner of the Los Angeles Times - paid its then publisher Davan Maharaj $2.5 million dollars to keep recordings he had secretly taped of company chairman Michael Ferro using a racial slur.
Ferro was chairman of Tronc. And he was taped during a meeting in Chicago in 2016 in which he allegedly called billionaire Eli Broad part of a “Jewish cabal” that ran Los Angeles. The story has caused ripples in the LA media circle, particularly in the LA Times newsroom.
The Los Angeles Times was sold to new owner Patrick Soon-Shiong earlier this year.
Here to talk about his reporting is NPR’s David Folkenflik, who broke the story.
Read David Folkenflik’s full story here.
We reached out to the LA Times, and they provided us with this quote from their reporting on the story:
Maharaj, through a representative, said the settlement was not being properly portrayed.
"We reject any assertion that Davan received any payments to keep information secret. Tronc and Maharaj agreed on a confidential settlement that reflected almost 30 years of exceptional service to the Los Angeles Times," his attorney Eric George said Wednesday night.
Owner and executive chairman of the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, had this to say regarding the comments made about Eli Broad:
"I was so very disappointed to read about the distasteful comments made about Eli Broad. He and [wife] Edythe are civic leaders in Los Angeles and they have contributed much in the sciences and the arts to the city and the nation. I am so glad that we were able to take over The Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune. This is behind us now, and we should move forward."
We also reached out to Eli Broad, who declined our request.
Guest:
David Folkenflik, media correspondent for NPR who broke this story; he tweets
Surprise, surprise. Americans are getting less sleep.
A new study published by researchers at USC, Arizona State and the University of South Carolina discovered a hike in Americans getting six hours or less of sleep a night.
Defined as “short” sleep, the data revealed that between 2013 and 2017 people sleeping six hours or less jumped from 29% to 33%, and was a significant trend among African-American and Hispanic individuals. What’s more worrying is that individuals in these communities seem to be experiencing less sleep at a faster rate than others.
So why are we tossing and turning? The researchers associated less sleep with periods of economic instability, societal stress and increased smartphone use.
Are you getting enough “zzz’s” each night? If not, why do you think that is? Stress? Instagram? Call 866.893.5722.
Guest:
Jennifer Ailshire, assistant professor of Gerontology and Sociology at USC; she is the senior author of the new study published in the journal, Sleep
Progressivism is having a political moment, but some in the movement fear that the brand is becoming diluted
Ahead of the 2020 election, more and more Democrats are identifying as “progressive.”
But what exactly does the label mean? And who gets to claim it? That’s the question liberal leaders are trying to answer by establishing guidelines and policy platforms to ensure the party remains true to its principles.
Just this election year, 44% of Democrats claimed the “progressive” label, up from 29% in 2016 and 26% in 2014, according to research by the Brookings Institution on the congressional races.
Strategists have said the term gained attention back in 2016 when Bernie Sanders became a progressive icon as he called for free college tuition, "Medicare for All" and a $15 federal minimum wage. Now, as an increasing amount of Dems begin to adopt the label, progressive advocacy groups worry the brand might become diluted.
We discuss where the progressive platform currently stands and what it might look like heading into the presidential primary.
Guests:
John Nichols, National Affairs Correspondent for The Nation; he tweets
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies; he is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008 and tweets
Los Angeles approves short-term rental regulations. What will they mean for you?
On Tuesday, LA’s City Council approved regulations for short-term rentals such as Airbnb, restricting people to renting only their “primary residence.”
This comes more than three years after the regulations were proposed and after much heated debate, with neighborhood groups and the hotel industry battling companies like HomeAway and Airbnb, as well as the people who use these platforms to rent out property.
So what exactly are these rules that will take effect in July? If you’re a host on a platform such as Airbnb, what will these restrictions mean for you? If you were a proponent of regulating short-term rentals, what do you think of the new rules?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Emily Alpert Reyes, reporter covering City Hall for the Los Angeles Times; she has been following the development of short-term rental regulations; she tweets
Big brother has a new target: Your license plate
Automatic license plate readers (ALPR’s) have begun popping up in neighborhoods around the U.S. in order to deter property crime, and according to residents -- it’s working.
Homeowners in the Bay Area have begun installing solar-powered smart cameras in certain neighborhoods. The cameras automatically photograph every license plate that cross their paths, and the data can then be used to assist police in helping catch perpetrators of crimes such as break-ins, package thefts and street racing.
Though residents seem to be seeing success with the new technology, concerns have been raised over potential privacy violations. Organizations such as the ACLU argue that use of these cameras in the private sector lack proper regulation and are ripe for abuse of personal data.
We examine how the cameras access and store data, and whether there is cause for concern regarding personal privacy.
Guests:
Josh Thomas, head of marketing at Flock Safety, a company that makes automatic license plate readers for residential neighborhoods
Mohammad Tajsar, attorney at the ACLU of Southern California where he specializes in police practices
In honor of Utah’s ‘reply-all’ fiasco, we invite you to share your worst email-related faux pas
Maria Peterson, a deputy director at Utah’s Department of Corrections, sent an email last week to invite about 80 of her colleagues to the annual holiday party.
Unbeknownst to her, the email was erroneously sent to about 22,000 people.
What happened next has been dubbed “replyall-pocalpyse,” “potluckgate,” and “reply all madness” by the New York Times. You guessed it… many of the recipients of Peterson’s invitation responded by replying to everyone on the email. Peterson’s inbox blew up. The state’s technology department corrected the error 12 minutes after the initial email was sent, so that Peterson was the only person who received a response from anyone who replied-all. Still, the damage was done. The thousands of replies ended up clogging the state’s phone and email systems for several hours.
Inspired by what happened in Utah, AirTalk wants to know your worst, and funniest, email-related fiasco. Call us at 866-893-5722 to share your story