Today on AirTalk, what bills are the California Legislature set to vote on this week? We'll discuss what traffic violations the CHP can crack down on now that fewer people are talking on their phones while driving. Then, should women over 50 be encouraged to get pregnant and should electronic cigarettes be treated like real ones? Later, Phil Jackson talks about his new memoir, plans to return to coaching, or lack thereof, and more.
Rounding up bill activity in California legislature as both houses prepare to vote this week
The California Assembly Appropriations Committee shelved 144 bills on Friday with an eye on the state's fiscal constraints. The bills not making it to the Assembly floor would have cost the state $2.8 billion, and included measures to require adult film stars to wear condoms and a measure to put a 10% tax on bullet sales.
Some of the bills moving forward include AB 48, a bill that requires ammunition dealers to report sales of more than 3000 rounds to the Department of Justice, AB 47, which would increase penalties for swatting (prank 911 calls), and AB 999, which would require prisons to provide inmates with access to condoms when they are available. Last weeks the Senate Appropriations Committee also shelved a slew of its own bills that would have cost $3.2 billion, including separate tax measures on cigarettes, sodas, and oil extraction.
The Senate will, however, push forward on a number of gun related measures, including SB 47, which would expand current bans on assault weapons to include certain semi-automatic rifles and pistols, and SB 53, which would increase regulation on all ammunition purchases and ban all internet and mail order sales of ammunition.
Guests:
Julie Small, KPCC State Capitol Reporter
Dan Walters, Political Columnist, The Sacramento Bee
Successful crackdown on distracted driving, so what's the next target?
The number of drivers using cell phones on California roads has been dropping, according to new statistics from the California Office of Traffic. In 2012, they estimated 10.8 percent of drivers actively using cell phones at any one time. For 2013, that number went down to 7.4 percent. The news comes after April's big crackdown on distracted driving by CHP and over 250 local law enforcement agencies across the state. More than 57,000 drivers were ticketed for talking or texting.
Since the awareness and enforcement seems to be working, what other dangerous driving habits should be policed vigorously? Is it the use of indicators when changing lanes? Cutting across multiple lanes of traffic? Driving a car desperately in need of repair?
Guest:
Officer Saul Gomez, California Highway Patrol Officer in the Southern Division (Glendale offices)
How old is too old for pregnancy?
Reports about mothers giving birth well into menopause and celebrities who are having babies into their 50s have been making headlines for the past few years. Improved fertility treatments and hormones that can stave off menopause are making it possible for women to become pregnant much later in life but it’s also raising the question about what age is too old to have a baby.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine recently updated their recommendation to physicians, now saying that women ages 50 – 54 shouldn’t be discouraged from pursuing pregnancy using donor eggs.
Should physicians encourage postmenopausal women to have children? What are the health risks to pregnancy after 50? What are the ethical concerns of later motherhood? Why do older mothers receive more scrutiny than older fathers?
Guests:
Sharon Steinberg, mental health clinical nurse and lecturer at the Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
Dr. Richard Paulson, Director of USC Fertility; he is also a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the the school
Should e-cigarettes be treated like the real thing?
On Friday, the California State Senate approved a plan to add e-cigarettes to the state’s smoke-free laws, banning them from the workplace, schools, public buildings, day care centers, and restaurants. Backers of the bill argue that, though they don’t burn and produce smoke like tobacco, e-cigarettes may have a second-hand smoke risk, and they should, therefore, be treated like real cigarettes.
Opponents of the bill argue that there is no proof of a health risk to bystanders, and that e-cigarettes have, in fact, helped countless people to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. You already can’t “light up” an e-cigarette on a trains and submarines (they’re banned by Amtrak and the US Navy), but if the bill becomes a law, they, like tobacco cigarettes, would be banned from most public places.
If they don’t actually cause smoke, is it fair to ban e-cigarettes from public places? Or should government be erring on the side of caution until studies can prove that they’re safe? And what about the idea that nicotine is a recreational drug? Should that disqualify it from our workplaces? What about our cars? Should we be treating this technology as helpful or harmful?
Guests:
Margo Sidener, President and CEO of Breathe California of the Bay Area
Michael Siegel, Professor of Community Health Sciences at the School of Public Health at Boston University
'Zen Master' NBA coach Phil Jackson reveals his secrets to success
This weekend, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich caught up to one of former Lakers coach Phil Jackson's incredible records. Popovich tied Jackson for the most best-of-7 series sweeps in NBA history.
Does Jackson ever feel tempted to return to the sidelines to keep his stats up? He says he has no plans to return, but rumors continue to fly about various cities trying to tempt him, especially because of how close he came to returning to the Lakers at the start of the season.
Jackson served as head coach of the L.A. Lakers from 2000 to 2010, winning five NBA titles for the franchise. He was head coach of the Chicago Bills from 1989 to 1998, winning six NBA titles. Jackson also played professional basketball for the NBA championship-winning New York Knicks.
In his new memoir, "Eleven Rings," the former Lakers coach talks about the love and spirituality that won all those games, swept all those series and scored all those rings.
Interview Highlights:
On how Bill Fitch's coaching style informed his own:
"Bill was a task master, that seemed to be the way college coaches were at the time. Militaristic, a lot of that hierarchy that was in the ranks of the military. Coming home during a Christmas holiday, having a bad game against the Univ. of Iowa, getting off the plane at 10:00 and going to right to practice through midnight. A three-hour practice to emphasize how badly we played and the discipline that would come after it. Bill was a young man at that time, 32, 33, so that was the style that he chose. He was a terrific NBA coach...but this is a style that I felt was not going to mesh with NBA players."
On how he gained the respect of his players:
"I think there's a deep respect for coaches that players have. Its ingrained. Some players have always rebelled, or maybe they started out in high school rebelling, but for the most part you're taught that your coach is your leader. He's going to direct the play and do what you have to get done. If you appeal to that part of them, you can win them over.
"There's a little exercise that was something my assistant coach John Bach got from Vince Lombardi, who coached his freshman Fordham basketball team. He had them all line up on the baseline and make a declaration. I would do that before the season started to let them physically know that they were buying into what we were going to do here. I would started out with God has ordained me and the owner to teach you and coach you about the system of basketball."
On how using rituals help solidify a team:
"Having grown up in a church, there's a certain thing that you fall into. One of the things that you find when you're in a religious service is the ability to relax when a ritual comes into play. It gives a person that's used to a ritual or format a comfort zone to feel like this is a place I belong. When you do that everybody seems to find a bond together. I use rituals and routines that I thought weren't too mundane, but brought some of the espirit d'corps into the group."
Excerpt from Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson