Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we break down the Supreme Court's most recent rulings; analyze how domestic violence became the number one cause of homelessness for women in LA; and more.
LA City Council to Vote on New Measure to Restrict Homeless Encampments
The Los Angeles City Council votes Thursday on a proposal to ban sleeping or camping in certain parts of the city, including near schools, parks, libraries, and other “sensitive” facilities like daycares. It would also ban tents and encampments from blocking sidewalks if wheelchair users cannot access them. The motion is a departure from the city’s previous approach to the homelessness crisis.
Council members voted 12 to 3 on Tuesday to pull the draft ordinance out of Homelessness and Poverty Committee, where it had been stuck since November, and directed City Attorney Mike Feuer’s office to draft the new rules. Today on AirTalk, we’re speaking with Los Angeles Times reporter Ben Oreskes about the proposed rules, what Thursday’s vote means, and what we know about possible legal ramifications of the proposed changes.
Guest:
Ben Oreskes, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
COVID-19 AMA: LA County’s New COVID-19 Cases Have Doubled, Vaccinated People Who Got Infected Carry Less Virus, CDC Researchers Say And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with UCSF’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.
Topics today include:
Two weeks after reopening, LA County’s new COVID-19 cases have doubled
CDC: Infected vaccinated people carry less COVID-19 virus
Delta variant is now detected in all 50 states
J&J: “At present, there is no evidence to suggest need for a booster dose to be administered”
Novavax claims vaccine’s overall efficacy is 89.7%
Another respiratory virus is spreading in the U.S.
Curevac’s final trial show shot is far less effective than other vaccines
Can we now live with the coronavirus?
Israel scrambles to curb rising COVID-19 infection rates
Is it time to rethink “one-size-fits-all” approach for masking?
Guest:
Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center; he tweets
The Supreme Court’s Final Rulings Of The Spring 2021 Term, Plus A Retrospective On Some Of Its Biggest Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court ends its spring term today with two final decisions expected to come down, one involving a pivotal voting rights case out of Arizona and the other involving so-called “dark money” and campaign finance.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll get a summary of the arguments that each side in the two cases will be making, and we’ll look back on the Spring 2021 term overall, as the nine justices will break until the fall.
Guests:
Vikram Amar, dean and professor of law at the University of Illinois College of Law
David Becker, executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that works with election officials around the country to ensure convenient and secure voting for all voters; he is the former director of the elections program at The Pew Charitable Trusts and a former senior trial attorney in the Voting Section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; he tweets
Domestic Violence Is The Number One Driver Of Homelessness For Women In LA County— Why Is It Rarely Addressed In Policy?
The majority of unhoused women across the nation — 57% according to recent data — say domestic violence is the direct cause of losing their permanent home.
In L.A, almost 40% of women who are homeless say they’ve experienced abuse in the last 12 months.
The choice they’ve been forced to make: Stay in danger with their abusers — or escape, with nowhere to go.
“It’s like jumping from a burning building but there’s no net to catch you,” said Nikki Brown, a survivor and advocate.
There are many, complex reasons why survivors become homeless. Shame is one of them. Yet studies show that one in three women experience some form of intimate partner abuse in their lives. So why don’t we talk about it more?
“It's the greatest secret that's super common and nobody wants to admit it,” said Brown. “There are so many complicated circumstances that make it really hard to leave. And when you can't leave, that element of shame and blame is the thing that makes it so hard to talk about.”
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about reporter Julia Paskin’s series Pushed Out, on domestic violence and homelessness in Los Angeles. Do you have an experience you want to share? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Julia Paskin, KPCC producer and reporter who created the “Pushed Out” series; she tweets
Amy Turk, CEO of Downtown Women’s Center, which advocates and offers services for women experiencing homelessness and formerly homeless women; she tweets
Nikki Brown, staff attorney at Community Legal Aid SoCal, where she has clients that are domestic violence survivors
The History And Present Of American Indian Boarding Schools, Including In SoCal
Earlier this month, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced an effort to search federal boarding schools for burial sites of Native American kids.
The effort is similar to the one in Canada, which found the remains of up to 751 people, likely mostly children, at an unmarked grave in a defunct school in the province of Saskatchewan.
We dive into the history of American Indian Boarding Schools, as well as their evolution and what the schools that still exist, including Sherman Institute High School in California, look like today.
Guests:
Brenda Child, professor of American Studies and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota; she is the author of many books, including “Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940” (University of Nebraska Press, 2000)
Amanda Wixon, curator at the Sherman Indian Museum, which is on the campus of Sherman Indian High School; assistant curator at Autry museum of the American West; PhD candidate in history at UC Riverside where her research is in Native American history, especially federal boarding schools and the carceral aspects of the Sherman Institute