Today on AirTalk, we break down the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we discuss councilmember Mike Bonin's initiative to offer housing for unhoused people along the Venice Beach Boardwalk; learn what wildfire prevention looks like in California; and more.
COVID-19 AMA: Good News On mRNA Vaccines Providing Long Term Protection, Plus Why LA County Case Numbers Are Rising And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg of UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
Today’s topics include:
LA County case numbers seeing slight uptick
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines likely to produce lasting immunity, study finds
The new ‘Delta-plus’ coronavirus variant
Vaccinated people are dying from Delta variant, but in small numbers and certain age groups
South Africa enters strict lockdown to fight outbreak from Delta variant
Preliminary study shows mixing Pfizer, AstraZeneca vaccines provides strong protection
Guest:
Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital; he tweets
As Extreme Heat Consumes The Pacific Northwest, Tell Us Your Most Intense Experiences With Heat And How You Coped
With an unprecedented and dangerous heat wave gripping the Pacific Northwest, officials in Portland, Oregon, shut down light rail and street cars due to high temperatures, districts halted summer school bus service and people braced for possibly the hottest day of the scorcher.
Seattle, Portland and other cities broke all-time heat records over the weekend, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). Forecasters said Monday would be worse, with the mercury possibly hitting 110F (43 C) in Seattle and 115 F (46 C) in the Portland area before it begins to cool Tuesday. In Eugene, Oregon, the U.S. track and field trials were halted Sunday afternoon and fans were asked to evacuate the stadium due to extreme heat. The National Weather Service said it hit 110 F (43 C) in Eugene, breaking the all-time record of 108 F (42 C). Portland, Oregon, reached 112 F (44 C) Sunday, breaking the all-time temperature record of 108 F (42 C), which was set just a day earlier.
The extreme weather was caused by an extended “heat dome” parked over the Pacific Northwest. Kristie Ebi, a professor at the University of Washington who studies global warming and its effects on public health, says the days long heat wave was a taste of the future as climate change reshapes global weather patterns.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll get a temperature read on the ground in Portland and try to answer that age old question -- how hot is it? Plus, we want to hear from you -- what’s the most extreme heat you’ve ever experienced? Call us at 866-893-5722.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Sarah Kaplan, climate reporter for the Washington Post who’s been following the latest with the heat wave from Portland; she tweets
New Report Finds Newsom Overstated Wildfire Achievements And Disinvested In Some Efforts
In a recent CapRadio investigation, reporter Scott Rodd found that Gov. Newsom misrepresented his wildfire prevention accomplishments and, in some instances, even disinvested from wildfire prevention.
The story comes just as a governor recall election was announced last week. “The investigation found Newsom overstated, by an astounding 690%, the number of acres treated with fuel breaks and prescribed burns in the very forestry projects he said needed to be prioritized to protect the state’s most vulnerable communities,” Rodd writes. “Newsom has claimed that 35 ‘priority projects’ carried out as a result of his executive order resulted in fire prevention work on 90,000 acres. But the state’s own data show the actual number is 11,399.” This year’s fire season in California already appears to be a big one, and state prevention measures are crucial to keeping large fires at bay.
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about the story and what wildfire prevention looks like in California. Questions? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Scott Rodd, state government reporter for CapRadio and author of the recent piece, “Newsom Misled the Public About Wildfire Prevention Efforts Ahead Of Worst Fire Season On Record”; he tweets
Wade Crowfoot, California’s natural resources secretary; he tweets
Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program and senior research scholar at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University; he tweets
The Plan To House The Unhoused On The Venice Boardwalk Starts Today. How Will It Work?
LA City Councilmember Mike Bonin committed to housing the people living on the Venice boardwalk by the end of August, without arresting or incarcerating anybody.
Where will the unhoused folks be moved to, how will they be incentivized and what will the process look like?
Guests:
Va Lecia Adams Kellum, president and CEO of St. Joseph Center, which works with working poor families, and homeless men, women and children; they are based in Venice and service L.A. County; she tweets
Mike Bonin, city councilmember representing Los Angeles’ 11th district, which includes Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Ladera, and Venice; he tweets
A New Book Sheds Light On The Year That Changed American Sports
In L. Jon Wertheim’s new book “Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever,” he breaks down a pivotal year that saw a change in the way sports were played across disciplines.
In 1984, Michael Jordan transformed from a college player to an Olympian and one of the largest basketball players in the game. ESPN also emerged as a powerful media presence that summer, just as Los Angeles became host to the first truly commercialized Olympic Games. The Karate Kid premiered, popularizing the form and laying the groundwork for MMA and the UFC. In Wertheim’s book, countless sports history moments abound, and are remarkably contained to just a 90-day period in 1984.
Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about this pivotal year in sports and what it meant for how sports and sports media exist today. Questions? Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Jon Wertheim, author “Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 2021) and several other books; he is a contributing correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes” and former executive editor of Sports Illustrated; he tweets