A sticky problem for Toyota. LA's budget crisis may force layoffs and furloughs for city employees. The final curtain for the Pasadena Playhouse? An initiative to legalize marijuana in CA. And a look at the Harvard Psychedelic Club of the 1960's.
Toyota's sticky pedal problem
A week after Toyota stopped the sale and production of eight of its models, the company has announced that it has a fix for the sticking gas pedal risk that could cause cars to accelerate out of control. Toyota says that it narrowed the defect to a "friction device" within the pedal, and has found a "simple and effective" solution through insertion of a steel reinforcement bar in the pedal assembly. Many dealerships will stay open 24 hours a day to make the repairs, but will this be an effective fix the problem, as well as Toyota's reputation?
Guests:
Ken Bensinger, Los Angeles Times staff reporter
Paul Lunsford, co-owner and general manager of South Coast Toyota in Costa Mesa
LA's budget crisis
The Los Angeles City Council is considering as many as a thousand layoffs – and extending mandatory furlough days for city employees – to address a projected $200 million deficit. City Council President Eric Garcetti says he hopes it won’t come to that, but the situation is extremely serious and drastic measures must be taken. Mayor Villaraigosa says there are concessions other than layoffs that could help, such as pay cuts and letting private contractors take over some city services. What proposals are on the table? And can the cash-strapped city avoid bankruptcy?
Guests:
Eric Garcetti, President; LA City Councilman, District 13
Victor Gordo, from the Coalition of LA City Unions
Pasadena Playhouse's final act?
The historic Pasadena Playhouse will close February 7 after that night's performance of Camelot. The theater has cited financial difficulties, including $500,000 in immediate bills and $1.5 million and bank loans and other debts. Larry Mantle talks with directors of the Pasadena Playhouse about the announcement and its options going forward.
Guests:
Sheldon Epps, artistic director of the Pasadena Playhouse
Stephen Eich, executive director of the Pasadena Playhouse
Pot prop advances in CA
Supporters of an initiative to legalize marijuana in California have gathered enough required signatures that a measure likely will appear on the November ballot. If approved by voters, the initiative would make it legal for people 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow the plant for personal use. It also would allow cities and counties to tax and regulate it, though marijuana would still remain illegal under federal law. If passed, what economic and social effects would the measure have? And would the law stand up to a federal challenge?
Guest:
Judge James “Jim” Gray, Retired Judge, Orange County Superior Court
Rebecca Lonergan, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law, USC Gould Law School; former federal prosecutor
How Harvard scholars launched the psychedelic 60's
In the winter of 1960, three brilliant scholars and one ambitious undergrad- Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert, Huston Smith and Andrew Weil- came together around the Harvard Psilocybin Project, a series of experiments with psychedelic drugs. The group sought spiritual enlightenment but ended up transforming America. In his new book “The Harvard Psychedelic Club,” author Don Lattin tells the story of how these four came together at a time of upheaval and experimentation and how their explorations of expanded consciousness set the stage for the cultural and spiritual revolution of the 1960s.
Guest:
Don Lattin, author of “The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America” (HarperOne)