Makeup At Work; LA Times Sues County Supervisors Over Brown Act; Space Tourism; Just A Geek
Makeup At Work
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Harrah’s right to fire Darlene Jespersen, a female bartender at their casino in Reno, because she refused to wear makeup. The court agreed with Harrah that because the makeup requirement was part of a general grooming standard for all its employees, the firing was non-discriminatory. Henry Weinstein, staff writer for the LA Times, joins guest host Patt Morrison to discuss the story.
LA Times Sues County Supervisors Over Brown Act
The County Board of Supervisors held two secret meetings in September over the decision to close King Drew Medical Center. Now the LA Times is suing to obtain documents from those meetings, citing Brown Act requirements that government officials allow public scrutiny of their discussions. Guest host Pat Morrison discusses the issue with Susan Seager, lawyer for the LA Times, and Rich McKee, Professor of Chemistry and President of Californians Aware.
Space Tourism
The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act was signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 23rd, authorizing the production of the first commercial space craft geared for tourism. Patt speaks with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (46-R), who sponsored the bill, about what he hopes it will accomplish. She also talks with Mat Kaplan, space enthusiast and host of "Planetary Radio," the weekly radio program from The Planetary Society, and Janice Starzyk, senior analyst with Futron Corporation, a Bethesda, Maryland-based consulting interest that specializes in space-related industries.
Just A Geek
Wil Wheaton, who played Ensign Crusher on the Paramount hit Star Trek, The Next Generation, talks about his new book Just a Geek (O'Reilly Media). In it, he describes his frustrations with his acting career, his inability to distance himself from the part of Ensign Crusher and the launch of his website, Wil Wheaton.net.