MTA Propose Converting Carpool Lanes Into Toll Roads; Energy Bill May Become Law; California Budget Gap; Francis Ford Coppola; FilmWeek Reviews
MTA Propose Converting Carpool Lanes Into Toll Roads
In an effort to ease traffic congestion, the MTA have proposed a new plan to convert the carpool lanes on three L.A. County freeways into toll roads. The plan would include parts of the 110, 10 and 210 freeways. Larry asks listeners to weigh in on the proposal and its potential impact on the Los Angeles commuter.
Energy Bill May Become Law
The Senate passed a trimmed-back energy bill Thursday that may bring higher-gas mileage cars and SUVs into showrooms in the coming decade and fill their tanks with ethanol. The measure was approved with strong bipartisan support 86-8 after Democrats abandoned efforts to impose billions of dollars in new taxes on the biggest oil companies, unable by one vote to overcome a Republican filibuster against the new taxes. The bill now goes to the House, where a vote is expected next week. The White House issued a statement saying President Bush will sign the legislation if it reaches his desk, as is expected. Bush had promised a veto if the oil industry taxes were not removed. The bill calls for the first major increase by Congress in required automobile fuel efficiency in 32 years, something the auto companies have fought for two decades. Larry discusses the bill with Republican Congressman, John Campbell, and Daniel Lashof, of the NRDC.
California Budget Gap
Members of the California state legislature expressed concern over filling the state's projected $14-billion budget gap next year, stating that it may be necessary to raise a number of taxes. Ongoing attempts at overhauling the state's healthcare system, an expensive venture in itself, will likely be put on hold. Larry talks with John Meyer of KQED Radio's The California Report.
Francis Ford Coppola
Five-time Academy Award winner, Francis Ford Coppola, joins Larry to talk about his career. Coppola's new film, Youth Without Youth, marks his return to creating personally meaningful films, on a modest budget, far from Hollywood.
FilmWeek Reviews
Larry and critics Claudia Puig, of USAToday, Wade Major, of boxoffice.com and L.A. CityBeat, and Charles Solomon, animation critic, historian, and author for amazon.com, discuss many of the week's new releases including the feature films The Kite Runner, I Am Legend, Youth Without Youth, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Look, and the documentaries Protagonist, and Lagerfeld Confidential.