Hate Crimes On The Rise In LA County; New Air Quality Standards For Ships In California Ports; Buying Power In LA Neighborhoods; FilmWeek Reviews
Hate Crimes On The Rise In LA County
Hate crimes in Los Angeles went up 28% in 2007, from the year before, according to a new study from the County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations. The report reveals 763 hate crimes, about two every day. African Americans were the most frequent target, with more than 300 racially motivated attacks on blacks. Larry talks with Robin Toma, Executive Director, County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations, and Jim McDonnell, Assistant Chief, LAPD, about the reasons behind the rise.
New Air Quality Standards For Ships In California Ports
California air regulators approved the most restrictive rules in the country to cut pollution from ships arriving in the state's ports. According to the new regulations, which were adopted yesterday, cargo ships, tankers and cruise ships must use clean burning, low sulfur fuels when in state's waters. Will these new standards make a significant cut in air pollution? And does the state have the jurisdiction to impose rules on international shipping companies? Larry talks with Mary Nichols, Chairwoman, California Air Resources Board and T.L. Garrett, Vice President of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, about what's in store for the environment and the largest ports in the country.
Buying Power In LA Neighborhoods
There's a long held belief that many LA neighborhoods can't support large grocery stores and major retail chains. However a new study found that the annual income in Watts, Boyle Heights and seven other South and East L.A. neighborhoods is about $1.9 billion more than the U.S. census has estimated. Social Compact produced the study, titled "L.A. Drilldown" which found that residents of nine communities spend $113 million on groceries outside their neighborhoods each year and must travel more than half a mile to shop at a large supermarket. Larry talks with LA Times reporter, Sam Quinones, about the consumer spending potential retailers have long neglected in these neighborhoods.
FilmWeek Reviews
Larry and critics Jean Oppenheimer, of Village Voice Media, and Wade Major, of boxoffice.com and CityBeat, review some of the week's new feature films including "The X-Files: I Want to Believe," "Step Brothers," "Brideshead Revisited," "Take," "Boy A," and the documentaries "American Teen" and "A Man Named Pearl." Then Larry talks with Variety reporter, Brian Lowry, about this year's Comic-Con, happening this weekend in San Diego.