Kamala Harris is still holding on to a razor-thin lead over Steve Cooley in the race for CA Attorney General. Parts of Jessica's Law ruled unconstitutional. Handicapping the polls - who got it right? Filmweek! Due Date, Megamind, 127 Hours among others. Tunesmith Randy Newman and his new musical, Harps and Angels.
California Attorney General election fight update
Los Angeles County's district attorney Steve Cooley trails San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris by fewer than 15,000 votes with all precincts reporting and tens of thousands of provisional and late absentee ballots still to be counted. It could be weeks before a winner is determined. How and when might this be resolved?
Guest:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC political reporter
Judge rules Jessica’s Law unconstitutional
The measure known as Jessica’s Law, passed in 2006, prevents convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park where children gather. This week, in response to a number of petitions by sex offenders, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge concluded the ban is overly restrictive and thus unconstitutional. With so many residential areas off limits, Judge Peter Espinoza says, sex offenders are left with the choice of either jail or homelessness. And by essentially consigning sex offenders to the streets, the law actually undermines public safety. As a result, the Department of Corrections has issued a memo to local parole agents ordering them to suspend enforcement of the ban. Does Jessica’s Law go too far in restricting the freedom of convicted offenders? What does this ruling mean to Southern California families?
Guests:
George Runner, Republican California State Senator from District 17 – Lancaster.
Ernest Galvan, lawyer at Rosen, Bien & Galvan, LLP
Handicapping pre-election polls
Now that the dust from the midterms has (mostly) settled and (nearly) all the votes have been counted, there’s one aspect of election season that bears more attention. Voters and campaigns have traditionally looked to pre-election polls to predict how elections will likely turn out. But polling methods aren’t standardized and frequently differ. Critics of early polling argue that potentially inaccurate predictions, which often get loads of media coverage, might negatively influence voters and possibly election outcomes. Or, just be totally off. Well, the tallies are in, and it’s possible to judge whether the polls got it right – or miserably wrong. So, which ones called it? Which didn’t? And more importantly, why?
Guests:
Jane Junn, Professor and polling expert, Department of Political Science at USC, also directs the USC - LA Times Poll
Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight.com on the New York Times – a polling aggregation website and blog
FilmWeek: Due Date, Megamind, 127 Hours and more
KPCC film critics Henry Sheehan, Andy Klein and Charles Solomon join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including Due Date, Megamind, 127 Hours, For Colored Girls, Fair Game, and Four Lions, among others… TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Henry Sheehan, film critic, KPCC and henrysheehan.com
Andy Klein, film critic, KPCC and Brand X
Charles Solomon, animation historian, author and critic, KPCC and amazon.com
Randy Newman’s Harps and Angels to premiere in Los Angeles
From irreverent hits like “Short People” in the 70s to an illustrious career in Hollywood film composing, Randy Newman’s music has woven its way into the fabric of American life. Most recently, he’s added to his acclaim with jazzy numbers in The Princess and the Frog, touching strains of Toy Story 1, 2 & 3, and the Oscar winning Best Original Song “If I Have You” from Monster’s Inc. Now, Newman is collaborating with four-time Tony winning director Jerry Zaks on a new musical production. Based on Newman’s music and lyrics, “Harps and Angels” will make its world premiere at the Mark Taper Forum this month. Newman joins Larry in studio to talk about this latest project and his prolific musical career. What’s your favorite Newman song?
Guest:
Randy Newman, Oscar-winning singer, songwriter and composer