Today on AirTalk, we look at two proposals competing to make sports betting legal in California. Also on the show, we check-in with the LAX taxi strike; revisit the SB 50 housing bill making it through the legislature for a third time; and more.
What’s The Best Approach When It Comes To California Sports Betting?
There are competing plans for what legalized sports betting could look like this year, one from state lawmakers and another from a coalition of 18 Native American tribes.
Assemblymember Adam Gray and state Sen. Bill Dodd filed legislation that would authorize sports betting, but other details remain unclear, according to the Los Angeles Times. The lawmakers plan to hold an informational meeting looking at California sports betting on Wednesday. Native American tribes, including the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, are supporting a ballot initiative for 2020 would allow live sports betting at racetracks and tribal casinos only. It would not allow online betting at commercial casinos.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss the California different proposals and take a look at the national landscape when it comes to legalized sports betting. Do you have thoughts? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
We reached out to the California Nations Indian Gaming Association but did not receive an immediate response to our request for an interview.
Guests:
Kyle Kirkland, president of the California Gaming Association
Adam Candee, managing editor for Legal Sports Report, a trade publication covering the legal sports betting and daily fantasy sports industries; he tweets
Licensed Taxi Drivers Want Back Into The LAX Horseshoe
Over 200 certified taxi drivers picketed in Los Angeles International Airport’s pickup area Monday over the right to pick passengers up curbside in the “horseshoe” versus the recently instituted LAXit parking lot, shared with rideshare services.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the demonstrating drivers of the city’s various licensed taxi providers rely on clients coming and going from the airport for over fifty percent of their earnings (because airport fares are much more stable and lucrative than hotel clients). The Times also reported that taxi ridership plummeted seventy-seven percent between 2013 and 2018. The cheaper, less regulated options of Uber and Lyft, many taxi operators say, are to blame for the decline, and Yellow Cab’s President Martin Manukyan told the Times’ Laura J. Nelson that the private town car service Uber Black is still able to pick up at the LAX terminal curb. LA’s taxi services want the right to pick passengers up in the bus lanes used by the LAXit shuttles.
The airport’s parent company, Los Angeles World Airports, says due to ongoing construction of the “people-mover” project, the idea of sharing the bus lanes is unworkable. We look at how the LAXit plan has affected taxi drivers and their clients at the airport, and discuss whether these licensed drivers might be able to get some kind of carve out not available to rideshare drivers.
Los Angeles World Airports offered the following statement:
For almost one year prior to the opening of LAX-it, Los Angeles World Airports engaged airport stakeholders regarding the changes that would be required to maintain operations during a time of significant construction at LAX, with providing parity among providers and the best possible guest experience as our overarching goals. LAX simply does not have the curb space to accommodate taxis or ride app vehicles within the Central Terminal Area due to the $14 billion modernization program, which includes construction of an Automated People Mover that will ultimately transform how people access the world’s number one origin and destination airport. LAWA hosted more than 20 meetings with taxi and ride app leadership to ensure that their feedback and ideas were incorporated into the design of LAX-it, leading to – among other things – taxis receiving their prime first curb location at LAX-it.
The LAX-it system has been working smoothly and efficiently for more than nine weeks. LAWA executive leadership has held a number of recent meetings with taxi companies and drivers since the opening of LAX-it and has implemented some of their suggestions as part of constant improvement of the operation. We will continue to meet with all stakeholders, including taxi companies and drivers, in an effort to provide the best possible options to arriving passengers during construction of the Automated People Mover train and terminal modernization.
Guests:
Laura J. Nelson, LA Times Transportation Reporter, who’s been covering this story
Kamo Sokhrabiyants, president of Independent Cab Company, a Los Angeles-based taxi service
You Now Have To Pay For Disposable Coffee Cups In Berkeley. Will It Expand To Other Places?
A new Berkeley law requiring restaurants and coffee shops to charge 25 cents per disposable cup is now in effect as of Jan. 1. City officials have reported that the city’s residents throw out about 40 million disposable cups in a year.
The comprehensive new law that won unanimous city council approval in January of last year is an effort to encourage national change, but it doesn’t stop at cups. The rules also force businesses to use compostable to-go containers and reusable foodware for customers dining in. Straws, stirrers, utensils and napkins for to-go orders are only to be given out by request or self-service stations. The ordinance led to the creation of a reusable cup pilot program that launched in September.
According to Berkeleyside, support is widespread with many restaurants and food businesses already using reusables for customers. Advocates for the disabled have said the rule could affect those with limited mobility or sensation issues. In addition, some business owners have voiced concerns about how the rule could affect their profit margins. City officials say even McDonalds, which reportedly asked for an exemption, will have to abide by the new rules. But the city has said waivers will be available to help businesses that can’t afford the change. Some argue the aggressive changes are desperately needed beyond Berkeley’s borders in order to make a significant impact in reducing waste.
Could a similar law soon come to Los Angeles? What will it mean for businesses and customers? What do you think? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Erin McCormick, Berkeley-based reporter for The Guardian who’s been writing about the new law
Is Third Time The Charm For Sen. Scott Weiner’s Transit Housing Bill SB 50?
On Tuesday, California State Senator Scott Wiener is reintroducing legislation to encourage high density housing development around transit and job centers. This is Wiener’s third attempt to pass a version of the bill.
It was originally proposed as SB 827 in January 2018 to allow upzoned building heights within a half mile of fixed rail stops and (and a quarter mile of high frequency bus stops) to ostensibly alleviate the state’s housing affordability crisis. The bill faced opposition from both city leaders and anti-gentrification activists, and was amended with somewhat shorter building heights as well as protections for tenants and existing nearby buildings; but it was still knocked down six to four in the state Senate’s Transportation and Housing Committee in April 2018.
In January 2019, Wiener brought it back as SB 50, with the addition of upzoning around job centers and the allowance for four-plex zoning in houses. After the bill received bipartisan support in two Senate committee hearings, Senator Anthony Portentino (Democrat of La Cañada Flintridge and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee) used a pocket veto to turn SB 50 into a two year bill, postponing it for the next legislative session in January 2020. It now has until January 31st to pass in the Senate before going on to the Assembly.
Today on AirTalk, we look at what the tripping points were of past incarnations of the bill, and what Sen. Wiener has adjusted to try to get it through this time.
This segment is being updated
Guests:
Scott Wiener, California State Senator representing Senate District 11, which includes all of the city and county of San Francisco, Broadmoor, Colma, Daly City and part of South San Francisco; he introduced and co-authored SB 50; he tweets
John Mirisch, Mayor of Beverly Hills
Previewing A New Decade Of Tech As CES 2020 Gets Set To Open in Las Vegas
What will watching TV be like in the 2020s? Amid new gadgets and glitz, the CES tech show in Las Vegas aims to offer some answers, many of which boil down to more streaming and more efforts to glue you to your phone.
The show’s keynote addresses, once dominated by computer and chip makers, will this year feature executives from TV networks NBC and CBS and upstart video services like mobile-focused Quibi and free streamer Tubi. Topic one will be the streaming wars — not to mention mounting costs for consumers who want access to everything — as giants NBC Universal and WarnerMedia prepare to join the clash with Netflix later this year.
CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, started Sunday in Las Vegas with two days of media previews. The show floor opens Tuesday through Friday. More than 170,000 people are expected, with 4,500 companies exhibiting, according to its organizers. The show takes place across a sprawling set of hotels and convention centers equivalent to more than 50 football fields.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll preview some of the biggest trends and gadgets that were unveiled during Sunday night’s media preview and look ahead to what we expect to come out of CES 2020.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Connie Guglielmo, editor-in-chief of CNET who is at CES in Las Vegas; she tweets
Jeremy Kaplan, editor-in-chief of Digital Trends, an independent online publication covering consumer tech products and trends; he tweets
Facebook Bans Deepfake, Except In The Case Of Satire. How’s That Going to Work?
Facebook says it is banning “deepfake” videos, the false but realistic clips created with artificial intelligence and sophisticated tools, as it steps up efforts to fight online manipulation.
The social network said in a blog post late Monday that it's beefing up its policies to remove videos edited or synthesized in ways that aren't apparent to the average person, and which could dupe someone into thinking the video's subject said something he or she didn't actually say. The news was first reported by the Washington Post and later confirmed by Facebook.
Created by artificial intelligence or machine learning, deepfakes combine or replace content to create images that can be almost impossible to tell are not authentic. Facebook’s new rules won't include parody or satire, or clips edited just to change the order of words. The exceptions underscore the balancing act Facebook and other social media services face in their struggle to stop the spread of online misinformation and "fake news" while also respecting free speech and fending off allegations of censorship.
The U.S. tech company has been grappling with how to handle the rise of deepfakes after facing criticism last year for refusing to remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slurring her words, which was viewed more than 3 million times. Experts said the crudely edited clip was more of a “cheap fake” than a deepfake. The problem of altered videos is taking on increasing urgency as experts and lawmakers try to figure out how to prevent deepfakes from being used to interfere with U.S. presidential elections in November. Facebook said any videos that don't meet existing standards for removal can still be reviewed by independent third-party fact-checkers. Those deemed false will be flagged as such to anyone trying to share or view them, which Bickert said was a better approach than just taking them down.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Hadas Gold, reporter covering media, tech and politics for CNN; she tweets
Siwei Lyu, professor of computer science and director of the Computer Vision and Machine Learning Lab at the State University of New York at Albany; he is a member of the advisory group for the “Deepfake Detection Challenge,” a contest sponsored by Facebook and other tech companies offering prize money to researchers who can develop technology to help detect deepfakes and other digitally-manipulated media