Today on AirTalk, we discuss LA Pride's announcement that the event will move out of West Hollywood after four decades. Also on the show, we learn more about America's coin shortage; discuss SoCal's COVID-19 surge; and more.
COVID-19: Containing Surge In CA, Where Do We Stand With Contact Tracing?
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry speaks with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center.
Today’s topics include:
California sets record with more than 11,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday this week
One reason why record infection rates have yet to translate to more fatalities
Why the next two weeks are critical for California in the fight against CV
The masked vs. the anti-mask in California
Are millennials and Gen X’ers to blame for the
👀
— City of New York (@nycgov) July 15, 2020
Looking at you, millennials and Gen X.
Do better. pic.twitter.com/ix301AWQupacross the country?
Guest:
Peter Chin-Hong, M.D., infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the UCSF Medical Center; he tweets
Glendale Will Continue Distance Learning, Will Offer Some Free Childcare
Like Long Beach and LAUSD, Glendale Unified School District has said it will continue with distance learning in the fall.
But the district will be doing childcare for certain elementary-age students, for example kids in foster care are those who are homeless.
We sit down with the Superintendent of Glendale Unified School District to discuss the school year ahead.
Guest:
Vivian Ekchian, superintendent of Glendale Unified School District; she tweets
Are You Using Telehealth Care Because Of The Pandemic? Tell Us How It’s Going
Got a smartphone, tablet or computer? That’s all you really need to use telemedicine, sometimes called telehealth or virtual visits.
Generally, it just refers to a video visit with a remotely located care provider like a doctor or therapist over a secure connection. Physicians, therapists and public officials have encouraged the use of virtual care as a way to limit the spread of COVID-19. And some believe the pandemic has transformed the industry and that the impression is likely to stick.
Virtual care has long been touted as a way to get help quickly instead of waiting days to see a doctor, yet Americans have been slow to embrace it. There are signs that may be changing because of COVID-19. Telemedicine often involves diagnosing and treating a new health problem but is also used to keep tabs on existing, long-term conditions like diabetes. It’s more than calling to get a prescription refill, although doctors can write some prescriptions, like antibiotics, after a telemedicine visit. Today on AirTalk, we want to hear from listeners. Do you have thoughts on how the telehealth industry is evolving? Are you a physician, therapist or counselor who has implemented telehealth? Are you a patient who is using the method of care for the first time? What do you think? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
LA Pride To Leave West Hollywood For Destination Yet Known
After 40 years in West Hollywood, LA Pride plans to find a new home.
The new location for 2021 isn't known yet, but Phillip Zonkel, publisher of the LGBTQ+ publication Q Voice News, says it could be hard to find another place to hold the festival, which in 1970 became one of the first permitted gay rights parades in the country, aligned to mark the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion in New York City:
"It's a huge festival, you know. It brings thousands of people every year, and the city subsidizes a couple million dollars for the festival with security, so trying to find another location for this festival could be a big challenge."
In a letter to the West Hollywood City Council, LA Pride organizers cited changing demographics of the L.A. area, construction in West Hollywood Park, and the desire to be allies for other social change movements.
Guests:
Hailey Branson-Potts, metro reporter for the Los Angeles Times whose areas of coverage include LGBTQ issues; she’s been following this story; she tweets
Lindsey P. Horvath, mayor of West Hollywood
Are Coins The New Toilet Paper? NPR’s Scott Horsley Explains The Shortage
The coronavirus pandemic has created yet another shortage: coins. Have you noticed challenges getting coins for laundry or even just getting change back?
According to an article from NPR’s Scott Horsley, the Federal Reserve has had to ration coins thanks to the shortage. And it means some grocery stores aren’t able to offer change in coins when customers pay in cash. Today on AirTalk, Horsley joins Larry to explain how we got to this point and when we’ll see a “change,” so to speak. Has the coin shortage impacted you in one way or another? Tell us about it by calling 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Scott Horsley, NPR chief economics correspondent; he tweets
Judge Expected To Toss Out Case Against Social Workers In Gabriel Fernandez Case
A judge is expected to throw out the case against four social workers who were charged in connection to the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez in 2013, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday.
The Palmdale boy died from months of abuse meted out by his mother and her boyfriend because they believed he was gay, prosecutors said.
In 2018, Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli sentenced the boy’s mother, Pearl Sinthia, to life in prison without possibility of parole and issued a death sentence to Isauro Aguirre, calling the abuse “horrendous, inhumane and nothing short of evil.”
Gabriel was repeatedly beaten, starved, tied up, locked in a cabinet, shot with a BB gun and once had his teeth knocked out with a bat, the judge said. The boy also had a fractured skull, broken ribs and burns across his body.
In an unusual move, in 2016 Los Angeles County prosecutors filed criminal charges against four former employees of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, accusing them of being criminally negligent. Prosecutors contended that Kevin Bom, Stefanie Rodriguez, Gregory Merritt and Patricia Clement downplayed and concealed the abuse.
In January this year, a California appeals court threw out criminal charges against the four former social workers.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Laurie L. Levenson, professor of criminal law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and former federal prosecutor
Buy Land Now, You’ll Be Rich One Day: New LAist Studios Podcast “California City” Explores The Dark Side Of The American Dream
One hundred miles north of Los Angeles, in the Mojave Desert, there is a sprawling, half-built town called California City.
For over 60 years, real estate developers have sold a dream here: If you buy land now, you will get rich one day. Thousands of people believed this dream, but much of the land they bought was nearly worthless.
The newest podcast from LAist Studios chronicles the history of California City, the people who were drawn to buy real estate there, and what ultimately happened to them, the land they bought and the city that drew them in. Host Emily Guerin discovered the story not long after she joined the reporting team at KPCC while reporting on the drought at the time, and how cities across Southern California were complying with state water usage mandates. California City, she discovered was not doing a particularly good job of conservation, and In the first episode of the podcast, Emily tells the story of Ben Perez, a former chef at the Google headquarters in Mountain View who was invited to spend a free weekend at a resort in California City called Silver Saddle Ranch and Club in July 2017. By the end of the weekend, Ben would be convinced to spend over $31,000 on a real estate investment he barely understood.
Today on AirTalk, “California City” host Emily Guerin joins Larry to talk more about the story of California City and how one news story turned into a multi-part podcast.
With files from LAist
Guest:
Emily Guerin, senior reporter at KPCC and host of the new KPCC/LAist Studios podcast “California City”; she tweets