AirTalk debates a new proposal from two LA City Councilmembers to sue oil companies for knowing their business practices contributed to the negative effects of climate change. We also parse through a new study suggesting the DUI limit be moved from .08 to .05; what are the repercussions and boundaries and surveilling your kids in with new technology?; and more.
The deadline approaches: how likely is a government shutdown and what would it mean for CA?
Republicans and Democrats continue talks on a short-term funding measure as the Friday government shutdown deadline approaches.
The House is planning to vote on a spending bill later today, and both the future of DACA and funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are significant issues on the negotiating table.
The last time we had a government shutdown was in 2013, lasted for 16 days and its impact reverberated from California’s National Parks tourism industry to its businesses.
What would a government shutdown portend for California? What’s the latest on negotiations? And if we do have a shutdown, which political party would be blamed?
Guests:
Ron Elving, senior editor and correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News
John Woolfolk, general assignment reporter for the Bay Area News Group, based at The Mercury News; he’s been following this
; he tweets
Should LA sue oil companies over climate change and would the suit stand a chance?
As Southern California recovers from the wildfires and mudslides, two L.A. Councilmembers are pushing a
Today, my colleagues & I moved to sue oil companies for their destructive contributions to climate change & the damage they've caused to Los Angeles. Taxpayers should not foot the bill for repairs due to the willful neglect of the fossil fuel industry. Read the release below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WCwwUXczzi
— Mike Bonin-Official (@MikeBoninLA) January 12, 2018
for the city to sue oil companies and get financial reimbursement for “knowing that their business practice was contributing to climate change and doing nothing to stop their destructive ways.”
The current move is preliminary, calling for a meeting with City Attorney Mike Feuer to discuss potential legal claims and also calling on the city to file an amicus brief in a similar claim made by New York city against five prominent oil companies, including Chevron and ExxonMobil.
Similar climate change suits have also been filed by San Francisco and Oakland. Critics of the move say individual oil companies can’t be held responsible for the effects of climate change, and that this claim focuses on the negatives of oil production without looking at the benefits.
Is this a feasible lawsuit? Would it be a wise policy move for Los Angeles to sue petroleum companies? Is there any precedent for this case?
Guests:
Richard Frank. professor of Environmental Practice and director of the California Environmental Law & Policy Center at the University of California, Davis school of law
Damien Schiff, a senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation; he focuses on federal and state environmental and land-use issues
New scientific study supports lowering DUI threshold to 0.05, increasing alcohol taxes
On Wednesday, the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a 489-page report with multiple recommendations to curb “entirely preventable” drunk-driving related deaths in the U.S., including lowering the blood-alcohol concentration from 0.08 to 0.05.
The federally funded report also calls for states to increase its alcohol taxes and limit its availability in bars, restaurants and stores by reducing the days and hours alcohol is sold.
Although the number of drunk-driving related deaths has significantly dropped by half in the last 30 years, nearly 10,000 people still die each year from traffic accidents related to driving under the influence, with almost 40 percent of fatalities being victims other than the drinking driver. According to the report, women weighing over 120 pounds and men up to 160 pounds would reach the 0.05 threshold after two drinks.
The alcohol and restaurant industry are in fierce opposition, saying that a new threshold wouldn’t deter repeat offenders, and that tax increases and advertising bans will have little to no impact on traffic safety.
We take a closer look at the study and debate its recommendations with industry experts.
Guests:
Steven M. Teutsch, M.D., doctor of internal medicine who chaired the committee report; he is also an adjunct professor at UCLA and a senior fellow at both the Public Health Institute and USC’s Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute
LA is on Amazon’s longlist for its HQ2. But Angelenos, is it something you want?
Amazon has narrowed down the 238 location proposals to just 20 places and Los Angeles is one of them.
Besides the City of Angels, other contenders on the longlist include Austin, Newark, Miami, and Nashville.
The prize of hosting Amazon’s second headquarters, dubbed HQ2, comes with 50,000 jobs, plus all the ancillary businesses that would spring up to take advantage of Amazon’s presence.
What do the 20 cities on the list tell us about what qualities Amazon is looking for in a second base? Angelenos, do you want Amazon to set up shop in this city? Call us at 866-893.5722 to let us know.
Guest:
Nathan Bomey, reporter for USA Today who’s been following Amazon’s search for a second headquarters
Are national injunctions creating ‘judge shopping’? Debating their use and legality
In 2015, it was a Texas federal judge who blocked then President Barack Obama’s plans to expand DACA and implement DAPA using a national injunction. Last week, a San Francisco federal judge also issued a nationwide injunction to temporarily block President Donald Trump’s move to end DACA.
The latter has once again sparked arguments concerning the legality of using local cases to halt national orders, and whether or not these injunctions have become a partisan tool to diminish an impartial judiciary.
Until the Obama and Trump administrations, national injunctions had been used sparingly. But in the last 10 years, federal judges have hampered executive actions of the presidency on policies ranging from overtime pay, to transgender rights, to recent travel bans and more.
Because there exists no clear rule for either authorizing or prohibiting the use of such injunctions, legal scholars have become increasingly split. Some argue the injunctions are unconstitutional and create “judge shopping” among lawyers who will seek after politically sympathetic judges for their cases. Others say universal injunctions offer necessary benefits to ensure complete remedies to a plaintiff.
We hear from experts on both sides.
Guests:
Howard M. Wasserman, professor of law at Florida International University; his expertise includes civil procedure, federal courts and civil rights
Amanda Frost, professor of law at American University and director of its SJD program; her expertise includes civil procedure, federal courts and immigration
We have the tech to surveil kids like never before – what are the repercussions and boundaries?
From iPhone trackers to television parental controls that censor the content that kids watch, parents these days have a lot of technological options if they want to surveil their children’s lives – but to what extent should they?
That’s the theme explored in “Arkangel,” a recent episode of the sci fi show “Black Mirror,” in which a mother has her child implanted with a tracker that allows her to monitor her daughter’s location, censor stressful situations and even see from her point-of-view.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/yef_HfQoBd8
Of course, putting a tracker inside a child’s skull comes with complex ethical implications, but even parents today have the ability to monitor their children and intervene in their lives in technological ways that weren’t available before.
When does monitoring your child through technology cross a boundary? How did you decide to what extent to surveil your child or censor the content they see? How does this impact the child-parent trust relationship and how do those boundaries change as toddlers turn into teens?
We talk to a psychologist and take your stories and questions, at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Kaveri Subrahmanyam, chair of the Department of Child and Family Studies and professor of psychology at Cal State L.A. and associate director of the Children's Digital Media Center at UCLA / Cal State L.A.