If need be, the City Council can now call for limiting outdoor watering to just two days a week, down from the current allocation of three days a week. Also, AT&T’s nearly $49 billion purchase of DirecTV is on its way to approval, which would make it the largest cable or satellite provider. Then, with work seemingly taking up more and more of our day, knowing how to make the most of your down time is paramount.
Drought roundup: LA ponders further limiting outdoor watering, plus waiting for El Niño
After nearly missing its June water reduction target, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has voted to give the City Council leeway to push through tougher water reduction measures ahead of schedule.
If need be, the City Council can now call for limiting outdoor watering to just two days a week, down from the current allocation of three days a week.
Under the so-called Phase III of the city’s emergency water conservation plan that the two-day-a-week limit falls under, residents would also be asked to use pool covers and refrain from washing their cars at home. Those are recommendations only, but would become mandatory once Phase IV kicks in.
For the plan to work, enforcement would be key. How would LADWP enforce the tougher outdoor watering limit? Would Angelenos comply with the tough restrictions?
In the meantime, El Niño, the powerful storm system many hope could bring relief to the parched state, continues to gain strength. What should Southern California expect if El Niño really is coming?
Guests:
Kevin Wattier, general manager of the Long Beach Water Department
Amir AghaKouchak, climatologist and assistant professor, Center for Hydrology & Remote Sensing (CHRS) at the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at UC Irvine
DWP doesn’t support single family graywater usage in Los Angeles
Recently, the DWP proposed a tiered water rate hike that, if approved, will bump the average customer’s combined water and power rates to 3.4% every year, or $4.75 a month every year, for five years.
If customers want to cut down on their water usage even more than they already might have, gray water might be an option.
Gray water is gently used water that comes from your bathroom sink, bathtub, shower, and laundry machines. It’s not water that’s been contaminated with waste, as in, that which comes out of your toilet, dishwasher or kitchen sink. The beauty of gray water is that, once piped into your yard, your fruit trees and plants can receive this water that would otherwise be treated and then, ultimately, returned to the ocean.
Gray water is legal in California, and installation is fairly easy and ranges in its affordability. But the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) has its concerns about gray water.
For example, what if people use bleach in their wash, or other contaminants like dirty cloth diapers. There’s also the issue of people using more water because by doing so, their garden will receive more water. But, the DWP offers rebates on gray water systems for multi-family units, like apartments, and commercial properties. Why?
Is there a way that the DWP could get behind incentivizing single family homes to use gray water? Do you use gray water? Are you seeing cost savings? How’s the garden looking?
Guests:
Laura Allen, Founder of Greywater Action
Marty Adams, Senior Assistant General Manager of the Water System, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Debating AT&T-DirecTV deal's impact on prices and content creation
AT&T’s nearly $49 billion purchase of DirecTV is on its way to approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which would make it the largest cable or satellite provider.
Opponents such as Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood say the merger would reduce the number of competitive providers from four to three companies for nearly a quarter of the country. The Department of Justice, however, doesn’t think the merger threatens competition in the market and has approved the deal.
Approval by the FCC’s four commissioners is still pending, but chairman Tom Wheeler has given the conglomerate the green light. In the U.S., AT&T provides cable service to 6 million households and DirecTV’s service reaches more than 20 million households.
What does this mean for its users? How does this merger compare with Comcast and Time Warner’s deal? Will other companies follow?
With Files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Craig Aaron, President and CEO, Free Press - a nonpartisan organization advocating for universal and affordable internet access and diverse media ownership
Steve Effros, President of Effros Communications, a cable industry consultancy based in Virginia. Former president of Cable Telecommunications Association, an industry trade association.
Game-changer? DOJ drops decade-long prosecution of Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds is no longer being prosecuted in federal court.
The Department of Justice announced yesterday that it would be dropping its criminal case against the former MLB slugger and statistical home run king. Bonds said in a statement that he is relieved to finally be through with the prosecution and is ready to move forward.
Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice for giving a dodgy answer to a federal grand jury back in 2003 when he was asked whether he was ever given anything to inject himself with that required a syringe. That conviction was overturned.
The DOJ’s decision will likely not sit well with Bonds’ critics, who believe he cheated using performance-enhancing drugs, or Hall of Fame voters. The all-time home run record is considered by many to be one of the most hallowed records in all of professional sport, and not all baseball fans are thrilled that the man atop the list may not have gotten there fairly.
What will Barry Bonds legacy in baseball be? Is he a Hall-of-Famer? Should his home run record have an asterisk next to it? Does the DOJ dropping its prosecution of Bonds open the door for other players to be let off the hook? Do you agree with the DOJ’s decision or do you think they should have pursued the prosecution further?
Guest:
Tim Kurkjian, baseball reporter and analyst for ESPN.com and Baseball Tonight
Bill Plaschke, sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times
Acclaimed injury attorney fights MLB over stadium safety in class action suit
The man who's fought General Motors over faulty ignitions is now taking on Major League Baseball to protect fans from ricocheting, splintered bats and fatally fast foul balls.
Bob Hilliard of Corpus Christi firm Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP is representing Gail Payne, an Oakland A's fan who says her Section 211 seats ought to be protected by netting after a neighboring fan was injured by a foul ball. Calls for increased safety measures at ballparks were renewed last month when a woman at Fenway Park was severely injured by a cracked bat that flew into stands hitting her in the face.
Should netting beyond homebase be extended, and how far? Are enough fans injured to warrant changes?
Guests:
Robert (Bob) Hilliard, Partner with Hilliard, Muñoz , Gonzales, L.L.P. representing Gail Payne in a class-action lawsuit against the Commissioner of Major League Baseball
Steve Adelman, Sports and Entertainment lawyer based in Scottsdale, Arizona
Work hard, play hard: How to hack your vacation
With work seemingly taking up more and more of our day, knowing how to make the most of your down time is paramount.
Take your vacation, for example. There are many ways to make it better and more enjoyable. In a piece for the Wall Street Journal, reporter Sumathi Reddy offers tips on precisely that, from spacing out your vacation days, to ensuring you incorporate "me time" on your trips.
Have you gone on a vacation lately? How much planning did you do? What ended up working -- and what not?
Guest:
Sumathi Reddy, reporter at the Wall Street Journal whose story, “The Smartest Way to Take a Vacation” was published earlier this week in the paper