Today on AirTalk, we discuss the San Gabriel Mission fire and the building's historical significance. Also on the show, we take a look at film production in LA; our weekly political roundtable discusses the latest headlines; and more.
A Look At San Gabriel Mission’s Historical Significance Following Weekend Fire
The blaze that gutted the historic San Gabriel Mission early Saturday morning appears to have started in the church's choir loft before darting up the roof, destroying most of it, according to a city fire official.
The choir loft, a 250-square foot area that housed the pipe organ, is now the focal point for investigators who are considering arson as a possible cause, said Capt. Antonio Negrete of the San Gabriel Fire Department.
"Pretty much everything below (the loft) was smoke and water damage," Negrete said. "All the fire damage was on the second floor and so that's how they came to the conclusion that that is where the fire initiated."
Negrete said there was no sign of forced entry into the mission, other than by fire crews who charged through the front door and who also broke the lock on the exterior door to the second floor.
An electrical issue has not been ruled out but it is unlikely to have anything to do with a recent renovation to the church interior, according to Negrete. He said no work was done on the electrical system and that updates were largely "aesthetic," including the refurbishing of the original pews. (He said the pews sustained water and smoke damage and look salvageable.) He said investigators hope to determine the cause of the fire in the coming week.
Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest and look at the church through a historical lens. Do you have thoughts? Call 866-893-5722.
For more on the fire, go to LAist.com
Guests:
Steven Hackel, professor of history at the University of California, Riverside; chairperson of Mission San Gabriel Conservancy’s Museum Committee
Richard White, professor emeritus of history at Stanford University, his latest book, with his son and photographer Jesse Amble White, is “California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2020)
COVID-19 AMA: How The Ongoing Heat Wave Could Increase COVID-19 Risks
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry speaks with Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, professor of epidemiology and community health sciences at UCLA.
Topics today include:
Surge in cases continues to push local hospitals to limits
LAT: Visits to nursing home residents now allowed, but few are going
NYC reports no deaths from coronavirus on July 11
Vox: Why extreme heat is so alarming for the fight against Covid-19
Vox: Herd immunity might be wishful thinking
LAT: Plasma shot could prevent coronavirus
Change in voice could be sign of COVID
NYT: Sweden has become world’s cautionary tale
New Zealand is coronavirus-free -- what’s working?
Guest:
Robert Kim-Farley, M.D., professor of epidemiology and community health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health; he served as the director of the Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health from 2004-2018 and is a former senior official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the WHO
Checking In On Film Production In LA As Oversight Office Says Q2 Was ‘Near Total Loss’ For Industry
It was expected that the hit to the entertainment industry from the nearly three month shutdown in production due to COVID-19 would be big, but the quarterly report out last week from the official film office for the city and county of Los Angeles illustrates just how much production suffered when the pandemic forced shoots to shutter.
Film LA, the non-profit organization that tracks and permits film shoots, said in announcing its Q2 results that the second quarter was a “near total loss” for on-location in filming in L.A. City and County. The number of shoot days from April to June 2020 was just 194, compared to 8,632 shoot days over that same period in 2019, which FilmLA says amounts to an overall decline of 97.8 percent. Television, commercials and feature film productions, the three largest sectors of production, decreased 98.2 percent, 95.5 percent and 99.7 percent, respectively. And even after getting the greenlight from L.A. County last month to resume production, some have been slow to restart while others like producer Michael Bay are heading back to work. The upcoming Bay-produced film “Songbird” is currently in production in Boyle Heights.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll check in on the state of film and television production across L.A. City and County, and if you work in the entertainment industry, we’d like to hear from you. Are you back to work? What are conditions and protocols like on set? Do you feel comfortable with the precautions in place? If you’re not back to work yet, what would it take to make you feel comfortable returning to a production set? Join our live conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guests:
John Horn, host of the KPCC/LAist Studios podcast “Hollywood, The Sequel”; he tweets
Paul Audley, president of FilmLA, the official film office for the City and County of Los Angeles
LAUSD: The Latest On Schools Reopening. What Are Your Thoughts?
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner is expected to give the latest updates on the district’s plans for reopening schools in the fall. Parents, students and teachers have anxiously been awaiting updates, and many are conflicted about how to feel or what to do.
Some of the country’s top pediatric experts have urged communities to get kids back into school as soon as possible, and the Trump administration has attempted to use that argument as a way to push schools toward reopening. Other public health officials have warned of the risks of spreading COVID-19. In a poll taken on Friday, 83% of UTLA members said LAUSD should not physically reopen schools on Aug. 18. More than 18,000 of the union's 30,000-plus members responded to the informal poll. The poll indicates the rank-and-file members of the union agree with the position of the UTLA Board of Directors and the team that is bargaining with the school district over reopening.
Today on AirTalk, we get the latest updates from LAUSD officials. We also want to hear from listeners. What are your thoughts about students potentially heading back into schools in August or staying home for continued online learning? Tell us your thoughts by calling 866-893-5722.
With files from LAist. Read the full story from Carla Javier here
Guest:
Kyle Stokes, KPCC education reporter; he tweets
Week In Politics: Roger Stone’s Sentence, Facebook On Political Ads, Biden’s Economic Plan And More
AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the major headlines you might’ve missed in politics news over the weekend and looks ahead to the week to come. Here are the headlines that we’re following this week:
Trump commutes Roger Stone’s sentence
Trump talks to Treasury Department about reviewing tax-exempt status as punishment for what he sees as left leaning “indoctrination”
Facebook reportedly says it will consider banning political advertisement
Various states are suing the federal government over its policy on international students not being allowed to stay in the U.S. if they’re studying online
2020:
Biden unveils his economic plan, which includes short term coronavirus relief, as well as a push for American manufacturing and innovation
Biden’s VP search continues
What’s happening with the Dem convention?
COVID-19:
Guests:
Rob Stutzman, Republican political consultant and president of Stutzman Public Affairs; former deputy chief of staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; he tweets
Renée Van Vechten, PhD, University of Redlands political science professor; she tweets