Today on AirTalk, we discuss the recent death of H. Ross Perot and look back on his life. We also discuss newly announced regulations by LA city officials prohibiting short-term rentals of non-primary residences; and more.
H. Ross Perot, Presidential Candidate And Texas Billionaire, Dies At 89
H. Ross Perot, the colorful, self-made Texas billionaire who rose from a childhood of Depression-era poverty and twice ran for president as a third-party candidate, has died. He was 89.
The cause of death was leukemia, a family spokesman said Tuesday.
Perot, whose 19% of the vote in 1992 stands among the best showings by an independent candidate in the past century, died early Tuesday at his home in Dallas surrounded by his devoted family, family spokesman James Fuller said. During the campaign, Perot spent $63.5 million of his own money and bought 30-minute television spots. He used charts and graphs to make his points, summarizing them with a line that became a national catchphrase: “It’s just that simple.
“He had the vision and the tenacity to make it happen,” said Tom Luce, who was a young lawyer when Perot hired him to handle his business and personal legal work “He was a great communicator. He never employed a speechwriter — he wrote all his own speeches. He was a great storyteller.”
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Ed Rollins, veteran Republican political strategist who co-chaired H. Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign; he was also national campaign director for Ronald Reagan’s 1984 presidential campaign
Dan Schnur, professor of political science at UC Berkeley and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication; founder of the USC / Los Angeles Times statewide political poll; he tweets
Oceano Dunes Ban Off-Road Vehicles
Oceano Dunes has been a go-to destination for off-road vehicles for decades - but that may be changing soon.
The Central Coast beach area is now at the center of a community debate, with myriad residents saying that off-roading at the beach has environmental consequences, like endangering wildlife and contributing to worsening local air quality, and makes the beach unsafe for pedestrians.
As the Coastal Commission plans to start imposing restrictions on off-road vehicles at the beach, off-road enthusiasts and local residents continue to debate the same questions that are popping up around the state: Whose interests matter most when it comes to beach access?
*We reached out to the California Coastal Commission for an interview but they were unable to join due to scheduling conflicts.*
Guests:
Violet Sage Walker, member of the Oceano Dunes alliance which is made up of ten local environmental organizations; vice chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, the council for one of the local indigineous tribes near Oceano Dunes
Jim Suty, founder and president of the Friends of Oceano Dunes, a group of off-road enthusiasts and campers
LA City Has New Airbnb Rules. What Are They And How Will They Affect You?
As of yesterday, Airbnb and other short term rental services have to contend with new regulations from the city of Los Angeles.
The new rules prohibit short-term rentals of a location that’s not a primary residence, which is defined as a space in which someone lives for at least half of every year. Rentals must also be no longer than 120 days a year, although that rule doesn’t apply to all cases.
That’s just one of the various regulations that you can read about in reporting by the LA Times, as well as the city’s FAQ.
We discuss the new regulations and how they will be enforced. Plus, if you rent property through AirBnb or another service, what do you think of these new regulations?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
David Ambroz, member and past president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission
Dems Debate Section 1325: Should Undocumented Border Entry Be A Criminal Offense?
In one of the more contentious moments of the first night of the Democratic presidential debate, former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro called for the repeal of Section 1325.
This is the part of the United States Code that makes entering the U.S. without documents a misdemeanor. It’s repeal would mean that entering the U.S. without papers would be a civil offense, rather than a criminal one.
On the following night of debates, one of the moderators asked the candidates to raise their hand if they thought crossing the border without documentation should be a civil offense, rather than a crime. Eight out of ten candidates raised their hand.
Since the debates, Democrats have debated the repeal of Section 1325. In her recent piece for the Washington Post, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem argued against repealing the Section, saying that most of Trump’s policies are no longer being justified by Section 1325 and moreover, that criminalizing undocumented border entry is necessary to drive people towards the legal immigration system.
Other Dems have pushed back, arguing that Section 1325 has been used to justify family separation in the past, that it’s duplicative of the civil immigration system and that its repeal should not be conflated with open borders.
So what exactly would the repeal of Section 1325 achieve? What are the pros and cons? And should this be the Dems’ main immigration policy focus?
Guests:
Juliette Kayyem, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (2009-2011) and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard; her latest piece for the Washington Post is “Decriminalizing the border is not in anyone’s interest”
Michael Kagan, director of the Immigration Clinic and professor of law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Production Of The Iconic And Controversial VW Beetle, Already Once-Resurrected, To Halt This Week
Volkswagen is halting production of the last version of its Beetle model this week at its plant in Puebla, Mexico. It’s the end of the road for a vehicle that has symbolized many things over a history spanning eight decades since 1938.
It has been: a part of Germany’s darkest hours as a never-realized Nazi prestige project. A symbol of Germany’s postwar economic renaissance and rising middle-class prosperity. An example of globalization, sold and recognized all over the world. An emblem of the 1960s counterculture in the United States. Above all, the car remains a landmark in design, as recognizable as the Coca-Cola bottle.
The car’s original design — a rounded silhouette with seating for four or five, nearly vertical windshield and the air-cooled engine in the rear — can be traced back to Austrian engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who was hired to fulfill Adolf Hitler’s project for a “people’s car” that would spread auto ownership the way the Ford Model T had in the U.S. Production at Wolfsburg ended in 1978 as newer front drive models like the Golf took over. But the Beetle wasn’t dead yet. Production went on in Mexico from 1967 until 2003 — longer than the car had been made in Germany. Nicknamed the “vochito,” the car made itself at home as a rugged, Mexican-made “carro del pueblo.” The New Beetle — a completely retro version build on a modified Golf platform — resurrected some of the old Beetle’s cute, unconventional aura in 1998 under CEO Ferdinand Piech, Ferdinand Porsche’s grandson. In 2012, the Beetle’s design was made a bit sleeker.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll look back on the controversial history of the VW Beetle and what the end of its production means for Volkswagen. If you own a VW Beetle or have owned one, what are your memories associated with the car? Where do you think its place is in the annals of iconic European cars?
With files from AP.
Guest:
David Welch, Detroit bureau chief for Bloomberg; he tweets