Today on Air Talk, the L.A. Times' David Lazarus fills in for Larry Mantle to discuss the latest events in Anaheim, how the Brown act was quietly dissolved and what that means for transparency, the controversial Cadiz water effort, the $14 Billion Sacramento pipeline project, the LA city council's vote to ban pot shops and a conversation with David Browne, author of Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970. Plus, the latest news.
Tensions continue to rise between Anaheim police and residents
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait confirmed today that federal officials have agreed to review two deadly police shootings after a fourth day of violent protests. In addition, Tait will meet with members of the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI on Friday.
Yesterday, the mother of one of the victims filed a civil-rights and wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court. The City Council’s vote will entreat the U.S. Attorney’s office to conduct a probe to determine whether or not the shooting deserves a civil rights investigation.
While this may look like progress in the right direction to some, protesters and police still clashed violently outside of City Hall. Protesters threw objects at riot police, who in turn chased the protesters and fired projectiles into crowds. A reporter from the Orange County Register was hit by a rock.
“Violence will not be tolerated,” said Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait at a press conference this morning. “Our response will be swift and appropriate to violence, arson and vandalism.”
The rising tension could have drastic consequences over the next few weeks and in the future. Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said as many as 1,000 demonstrators surged through downtown Anaheim Tuesday night, smashing windows on 20 businesses and setting trash fires.
"Two-thirds of 1,000 protesters are not from Anaheim,” said Chief Welter. He also said that 20 of the 24 arrested Tuesday night are from Anaheim.
Chief Welter and Mayor Tait said police will continue enforce laws to maintain peace in the city. Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait expressed his shock at the public's outburst on AirTalk Wednesday morning.
"I'm disturbed about what should have been a peaceful protest and a peaceful council meeting. Violence doesn't help anything, and I appreciate our police department's response last night," he said.
Tait added that he believes the number of nonresident demonstrators present Tuesday agitated the situation.
"Obviously we have work to do; we're all in this together. The community is really responding well. People are upset and angry, but upset and angry in a positive way. They want to fix this city, and they want to make it better for everybody; they want to make it a city that it can be, and I'm very encouraged by that," he said. "The people using violence last night – that's not Anaheimers."
According to Mayor Tait, trust within the entire city is critical. He said he knows only as much as the public does from news coverage over the weekend, his reason for calling on the district attorney, U.S. attorney and FBI to investigate with an objective eye.
"Of course, you watch that and you're going to lose trust in your police department, so people are upset," he said. "That's why I call for independent investigation. I did that because I want completely outside, independent review, credible investigation of the facts. And that’s going to require patience, until we get those facts."
Anaheim City Councilmember Lorri Galloway applauded the mayor's swift plea for outside agency investigations, but she said city government needs to increase community participation and begin the healing process.
"It's really about empowering the people, and I want to see this through a summit and I want it happening six months down the road. I think communication is imperative once something like this happens, because it's broken. It's totally broken now, and we've got to face it head on," she said.
She cites how residents saw the shooting unfold as cause for anger, and says what they believe cannot be ignored.
"They said they had eyewitnesses who said that they shot first, they shot him in the back, he was immobilized, and after he was already immobilized, they shot him in the head. That's what they're mad about. They're talking about the way in which they believe it happened. They believe that. Whether it's true or not, they believe it, and we have to look at it as an issue," she continued.
Galloway added that her personal relationship with members of the Anaheim community led her to believe that the public's violent response was long-coming.
"I think there's an imbalance in Anaheim; I'm not surprised by this at all," she commented. "There have been root causes to these problems. These areas are just on the outskirts of the resort area of Disneyland, and it's the happiest place on earth, but just around the corner, it is a completely different world that has been ignored."
Anaheim woman lashes out at looters during deadly shooting protests
KPCC's Corey Moore documented Tuesday night's Anaheim violence.
Storified by 89.3 KPCC · Wed, Jul 25 2012 08:07:56
Anaheim woman tries to prevent looting amid clashes over deadly shootings by KPCCKPCC's Corey Moore follows action around 68-year-old woman Yolanda Delgado as she lashes out at protesters causing mayhem in Anaheim.
Anaheim resident Yolanda Delgado, 68, fights a young woman (bkpk) she says tried to loot a store during unruly protest. http://pic.twitter.com/Y9cSHN0bCorey Moore
Anaheim police break up a fight near City Hall as some protesters throw rocks, set fires and break store windows. http://pic.twitter.com/bmDzZ38vCorey Moore
Anaheim residents Yolanda Delgado, George Rangel scold protesters who broke store windows. Delgado suffered busted lip http://pic.twitter.com/O1vf6FWCCorey Moore
Anaheim protesters - some with skateboards - busted windows of this clothing store near Lincoln Ave & Clementine St. http://pic.twitter.com/XhL5DRmnCorey Moore
A trash bin burns on Lincoln Ave near Clementine St. as Anaheim police in riot gear clear area of unruly protesters. http://pic.twitter.com/R5sE6hEXCorey Moore
Weigh In:
Is there a growing distrust between the community and Anaheim’s police force? What is being done to prevent that from happening? What other steps could Anaheim take to ensure its citizens’ safety while not crossing over the line? Are you an Anaheim resident? Do you feel safe, or are you becoming suspect of your local law enforcement?
Guests:
Ed Joyce, KPCC Reporter
Tom Tait, Mayor of Anaheim; Tait has served as mayor since November 2010; previously he served as a council member and Mayor Pro Tem
Lorri Galloway, Anaheim City Council Member; elected to the Anaheim City Council in November 2004 and has served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2012
Corey Moore, KPCC Reporter
Decision day for controversial Cadiz water project
Tonight, a long, drawn-out water war comes to a head in Mission Viejo.
It's a public meeting to review the latest analysis of the proposed Cadiz Valley water project — an effort to pump groundwater from an aquifer in the eastern Mojave Desert and sell it to local water agencies.
Earlier this month, the final environmental impact report was released, all 1,664 pages of it. The players and their positions remain the same.
Proponents, including Cadiz Inc. that owns the land, say the 35,000-acre Cadiz land can supply drinking water for 400,000 people.
It was first proposed more than a decade ago, but failed to win over opponents which included environmentalists, some local businesses and a long list of desert residents.
What are the costs and benefits of this water project? Who gets to greenlight it ultimately?
Guest:
Seth Shteir, California desert field representative, National Parks and Conservation Association
Scott Slater, President, Cadiz Inc.
Public hearings on the final environmental impact report for the Cadiz groundwater pumping project will be held July 25 at 6:30 p.m. at:
Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo
Copper Mountain College, Bell Center Community Room (via video conference),6162 Rotary Way, Joshua Tree
For information, go to www.smwd.com, or call 949-459-6400
Pot clinics go up in smoke after city council vote
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously (14-0) last night to ban marijuana dispensaries in the city, where the number of pot shops have mushroomed in recent years.
It's expected that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will sign the ordinance within the next week. Once that happens, pot shops will have 30 days to close. As many as 900 stores could be affected, but it's not clear what will happen if business owners decide not to close.
LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles Special Assistant City Attorney Jane Usher, feel that most of the dispensaries will voluntarily comply with the new law.
“Once we receive the ban and once we have the ordinances worked out, there will be significant incentive for them to comply with the law,” said Beck on AirTalk. “I don’t think we’ll have to chase down every medical marijuana dispensary. I think that by and large we’ll have to do a few enforcements and most people will comply.”
KPCC Reporter Frank Stoltze says that many sources he has spoken with feel the opposite might be true and that virtually no one will comply with the law.
The complete ban on storefront dispensaries is something that Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar felt had to be done.
“Even with our ordinance, it was unworkable. And I came to the conclusion, even after I helped spearhead the ordinance in 2007 to strike that balance, I got to thinking that in fact no matter what we do at a municipal level it’s gonna be unworkable because we have a broken state law,” said Huizar.
The state law does not provide for storefront dispensaries, but rather protects individuals with medical need from being prosecuted if they are in possession of the drug, according to City Attorney Jane Usher.
The ban will still let hospices and home health agencies distribute medical marijuana, as well as allow up to three people to grow and share marijuana.
Councilmember Huizar grants that this new law will make it challenging for those who are using the marijuana for legal purposes to find it, but says ultimately the solution lies with the state.
“The passion that people put out here in Los Angeles, we should focus that on the state and fix the broken law ... where you have largely liberal council members saying ‘wait a minute we’re going to ban medical marijuana dispensaries’ something is wrong with this picture,” said Huizar.
Weigh In:
Will this ban be effective in curbing pot distribution in the city or will the issue get caught in a web of lawsuits that could be filed by store owners?
Guests:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter
Jose Huizar, City Councilman, 14th district
Charlie Beck, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
Jane Usher, Los Angeles Special Assistant City Attorney
Joe Elford, Chief Counsel, Americans for Safe Access
The transitional year of 1970 in rock and roll, politics, and culture
Just exactly when did the sixties end, and the seventies begin? The Kent State shootings? The U.S. invasion of Cambodia? The first Earth Day, or the first Gay Pride march? The deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix? All of these events happened in 1970, and that’s the year music writer David Browne chose to pinpoint in his new book.
Browne focuses on four pivotal acts whose albums defined this turbulent time. The Beatles released what was to be their final album, even as Paul McCartney was quietly recording his first solo release and preparing to leave the band. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were testing the waters of their respective solo ventures. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were creating Déjà vu while tensions in and out of the studio were pulling them apart. And rising star James Taylor was about to release the single that made his career. All of these musical flashpoints reflect the cultural and political shifts that marked the beginning and end of an era.
Guest:
David Browne, author of 'Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970' (Da Capo); contributing editor at Rolling Stone and author of three previous books including 'Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth'