Should salaries of public officials be capped? Governor Schwarzenegger proposes online publication of government wages. How tight are the California matchups for Governor and Senator? A new PPIC poll shows them neck-in-neck. And, T-G-I-FilmWeek! Our critics review the week's new movies, including Charlie St. Cloud, Dinner For Schmucks, Get Low, and Hugh Hefner: Playboy Activist And Rebel, among others. Later, when it comes to Polanski, Gibson, Lohan, can you separate the art from the artist?
How much do you pay the mayor and city manager?
How much should public officials be allowed to earn? In the wake of furor over high wages paid to city officials in Bell, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says salaries should be well-publicized in an online database. City managers statewide are meeting to discuss salary caps for their job. When should cities pay up? Only when managers engineer a big financial turnaround? Does it matter how big the city is? Are caps a good idea?
New PPIC poll: gubernatorial and senatorial races still tight
A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California shows Boxer continues to lead Fiorina 39 to 34 percent. And Jerry Brown remains ahead of Meg Whitman. However, analysts warn that with large numbers of undecided voters, the elections are still very competitive…and these polling numbers may actually spell bad news for the two incumbents. Are you an undecided voter, who’s starting to lean one way or the other? What are you hoping to see from Brown, Whitman, Boxer or Fiorina that might solidify your choice?
Guest:
Jane Junn, Professor and polling expert from the Department of Political Science at USC, also directs the USC – LA Times Poll
FilmWeek: Charlie St. Cloud, Dinner for Schmucks, Get Low
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Wade Major of boxoffice.com and Andy Klein of Brand X critique the week’s new film releases including Charlie St. Cloud, Dinner For Schmucks, Get Low, and Hugh Hefner: Playboy Activist And Rebel, among others. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Wade Major, BoxOffice.com Andy Klein, KPCC film critic and film critic for Brand X Live tweeting this week's reviews:
Mel Gibson, Lindsay Lohan, Roman Polanski, Oliver Stone: Can you separate the art from the artist?
Wow! What do you do with these high powered figures in Hollywood? Roman Polanski managed to duck extradition on a rape charge, Oliver Stone’s been accused of anti-Semitism, and Mel Gibson and Lindsay … well, what else can you say about Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan? So here’s a conundrum… when you watch a re-run of Lethal Weapon on late night TV, can you still enjoy it, or do you find thoughts of Gibson’s bad behavior creeping into your mind? When you watch The Parent Trap, is your brain filled with images of Lohan’s mug shot? Will you change the channel? Will you still go see their movies in a theater? In other words, can you separate the performers from the performance?
Guests:
Wade Major, BoxOffice.com
Andy Klein, KPCC film critic and film critic for Brand X