Today on AirTalk we examine this month's jobs report, learn about a bill that could help California food entrepreneurs, talk hockey with L.A. Kings announcer Bob Miller, bring in our critics for another round of FilmWeek reviews, and look at how fairy tales have been adapted to the big screen.
Disappointment in latest job figures
It's not bad, but it's not good. Just 69,000 jobs were created across the United States in May, according to the latest Labor Department numbers released today. The increase was expected to be closer to 150,000. The unemployment rate also rose to 8.2 percent — the first increase in eleven months.
The official breakdown of numbers for California will be released in two weeks, but there are ongoing concerns surrounding the lagging construction and manufacturing industries and problems in the public sector, all of which impact employment in the state. The latest job numbers also add pressure to President Obama's re-election campaign, and could lead to further steps being taken by the Federal Reserve to boost the economy.
What are your concerns around the economy? What are your experiences of finding and keeping work in California? If you are long term unemployed, what are your thoughts on these latest figures? Is it time for the government to do more to stimulate the economy and put people back to work?
Guests:
Matt DeBord, KPCC Reporter; writes the DeBord Report KPCC.org
Chris Thornberg, Principal at Beacon Economics
California bill would give local food producers legitimacy
Mark Stambler is a home breadmaker who spent years perfecting his craft and finally came up with a product he could sell to local shops in his Los Feliz neighborhood. His breadmaking attracted so much attention that the Los Angeles Times published a long piece about him and his special outdoor bread oven.
But soon after the article appeared, Mark was contacted by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and ordered to stop selling his bread to stores. Stambler was not authorized to run a cottage food industry and his bread was deemed unsafe for public consumption because it hadn’t been inspected.
Michael Gatto is the assemblyman for the 43rd district in which Mark resides and has taken up his cause with AB 1616, an assembly bill that would allow for the sale of certain homemade foods to the public.
"Just hearing about his experience made me think if really having this patchwork of laws in 58 different counties' health departments, enforcing their different versions of health food laws in each county, if that was really the best thing our state could do for these micro-entrepreneurs in the food business," said Gatto on AirTalk. "Especially given that there's been a real surge in the local food movement in just about every part of the state."
The California Homemade Food Act was introduced to help micro food businesses throughout the state by creating a pathway for the legal sale of safe homemade food products such as breads, tortillas, dry roasted nuts and legumes, granola, churros, rice cakes, jams, jellies, other fruit preserves, and cookies. The bill passed the California Assembly on Tuesday and is now headed for approval to the Senate.
"These aren't people who are drying sides of beef in their backyard, these aren't people who are selling pork jerky or stuff like that. These are a very finite group of foods, and I think that most people would agree they're rather safe," said Gatto.
California State Assemblyman Curt Hagman opposes the bill, saying it would be too costly for the state, especially since California is already running $16-billion defect. He estimates that it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Dept. of Public Health to develop rules and regulations for home food producers.
He also says the state-mandated regulations would be too costly for many home food producers who simply want to make a little extra money by selling their goods to their local boutiques or bake sales.
"I picture the neighbors doing a bakery sale to raise money for a charity, or doing the canning, or something very small. They're not going to be very savvy," he said. "They can be fined up to $1,000 a day for not complying with these new laws, and there's no grace period. There's no, 'Hey, we caught you, you need to do this before you get [fined].'"
This bill may be good for micro-entrepreneurs but does it undermine safety regulations that protect consumers? Can home food producers be regulated without stifling creative entrepreneurial activity?
Guests:
Michael Gatto, Assemblyman for the 43rd Assembly District, representing the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and parts of Los Angeles, including Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Silver Lake, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, and Van Nuys.
Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills), California State Assemblyman representing the 60th District, which includes Chino Hills, Anaheim, Diamond Bar, Industry, La Habra, La Habra Heights, La Mirage, Orange, San Dimas, Villa Park, Walnut, Whittier and Yorba Linda
Are the Kings hungry enough to bring the Stanley Cup to LA?
Los Angeles better get ready to catch hockey fever.
Last week, The L.A. Kings made Angelenos turn their eyes off the field and onto the ice when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993. They demanded more attention by winning game one on Wednesday night.
Bob Miller has been the play-by-play announced for the L.A Kings for close to 40 years. He was a part of the team when they were in the Finals back in 1993, and he says this time its exciting because the Kings have played such a stellar season.
"It is a great thrill and I think its a thrill for all Kings fans because I think maybe like '93 when it was a thrill to be there for the first time ever… now this year the Kings are 13-2 in the playoffs," he said. "I think Kings fans are excited about the possibility of seeing the Kings win the Stanley Cup."
Though the Kings have looked great so far, the New Jersey Devils are a formidable team, so when game one of the Finals tied 1-1 and went into overtime in Newark, the Kings must have been worried. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur is one of the most experienced, proven guys in the net, but he had no defense when Anže Kopitar whistled down the ice. The top Kings player from Slovenia scored an OT goal that has him branded as "Kopi-Star" for these finals.
"What [coach] Daryl Sutter has done is kept this team strictly focused on the next game and that is it," said Miller. "The Kings have not been celebrating anything in spite of their great record here int he playoffs, they're simply looking ahead to the next game."
This Saturday night, game two will be on Devils’ ice again. That might not be a bad thing for the Kings. They are on a winning streak of road victories. The Kings have won all nine of their postseason away games.
Another win on Saturday night would give them an NHL record for away wins in the play-offs, a record shared by a number of other teams including the Devils.
Not so fast though. The Devils have a ton of postseason experience and again, there’s that Brodeur. But are they hungry enough? What will it take to bring the Cup to L.A. for the first time ever?
Guest:
Bob Miller, television play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles King, NHL team
FilmWeek: Snow White and the Huntsman, Battlefield America, Piranha 3DD and more
Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell, Wade Major and Charles Solomon to discuss this week’s new films, including Snow White and the Huntsman, Battlefield America, Piranha 3DD, A Cat in Paris and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
"Snow White and the Huntsman" trailer:
"Battlefield America" trailer:
"Piranha 3DD" trailer:
"A Cat in Paris" trailer:
Guests:
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and boxoffice.com
Charles Solomon, animation critic and historian for KPCC and author for amazon.com
Films Reviewed:
Snow White and the Huntsman
A re-imagining of the Snow White fairy tale.
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Claflin
Written by: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini
Directed by: Rupert Sanders
PG-13
Universal Pictures
Battlefield America
A businessman must teach kids to dance for community service.
Starring: Marques Houston, Mekia Cox and Lynn Whitfield
Written by: Houston and Christopher Stokes
Directed by: Stokes
PG-13
Brian & Barrett Pictures and Cinedigm Entertainment
Crooked Arrows
A reluctant coach is paired with an underdog Native American lacrosse team.
Starring: Brandon Routh and Gil Birmingham
Written by: Brad Riddell and Todd Baird
Directed by: Steve Rash
PG-13
Freestyle Releasing
Piranha 3DD (In 3-D)
Flesh-eating fish terrorize a summer water park.
Starring: Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer, Danielle Panabaker and David Hasselhoff
Written by: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Joel Soisson
Directed by: John Gulager
R
The Weinstein Co.
A Cat in Paris
A young Parisian girl follows her cat out into the night.
Starring: Marcia Gay Harden, Anjelica Huston, Matthew Modine and Lauren Weintraub
Written by: Alain Gagnol
Directed by: Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
Not rated
GKids
For Greater Glory
A retired general goes back to war in 1920s Mexico.
Starring: Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Peter O'Toole and Oscar Isaac
Written by: Michael Love
Directed by: Dean Wright
R
Arc Entertainment
Oslo, August 31st
A recovering drug addict about to complete rehab goes on a trip for a job interview.
Starring: Anders Danielsen Lie, Malin Crepin and Aksel M. Thanke
Written by: Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Directed by: Trier
Not rated
Strand Releasing
Goodbye Promise
An aspiring actor gives up and moves back home.
Starring: Gregor Collins, Sarah Prikryl and Todd Cattell
Written by: Collins and David Branin
Directed by: Branin
Children of Paradise
A woman in 19th-century Paris is pursued by four men.
Starring: Arletty, Pierre Brasseur and Jean-Louis Barrault
Written by: Jacques Prevert
Directed by: Marcel Carne
Not rated
Janus Films
In French with English subtitles.
Like Water
Mixed martial artist Anderson Silva’s fight prep against Chael Sonnen.
Directed by: Pablo Croce
Not rated
Cinedigm
Pink Ribbons
A look at the pink ribbon campaign supporting breast cancer research and awareness.
Directed by: Lea Pool
Not rated
First Run Features
High School
A school wide drug test threatens the status of the hopeful valedictorian.
Starring: Matt Bush, Sean Marquette, Adrien Brody and Michael Chiklis
Written by: Eric Linthorst, John Stalberg Jr. and Stephen Susco
Directed by: Stalberg
R
Anchor Bay Films
Why are fairytales so prime for being remade on the big screen?
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away called Hollywood, a group of film executives were trying to come up with an idea for a new movie.
Does that story sound familiar? Perhaps. In this past year we’ve now seen two new Snow White movies, “Mirror Mirror” and “Snow White and the Huntsman,” not to mention the fairy tale themed shows on network television, such as “Once Upon a Time” and “Grimm.”
Of course, the Brothers Grimm are the original culprits, as they collected tales of folklore and adapted them into stories of their own. In modern times, however, it is those older Disney movies which are considered canon, such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Cinderella.”
Why are fairy tales so prime for being remade? Are there truly “tales as old as time”? What remakes or adaptations did the story proud? Where has Hollywood missed the mark? How closely connected are the movies to the original stories? What’s your favorite fairy tale, and what would you like to see covered once more, perhaps in IMAX and 3-D?
Guests:
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and boxoffice.com
Charles Solomon, animation critic and historian for KPCC and author for amazon.com