San Franciscans strongly rebuffed a measure to limit short-term Airbnb-style rentals, could it be a bellwether for LA? Rachel Dolezal admits she's white. Had she been honest about her race while living as black, could she have effectively led an NAACP chapter? And LA Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold defends his 2015 Best 101 list.
San Fran rejection of Airbnb regs could be bellwether for LA
In a 55- to 45-percent vote, San Franciscans voted against a measure that would have limited short-term Airbnb-style rentals.
Proposition F would have capped rental nights at 75 nights per year - instead of the current cap of 90 days for entire unit rentals. It would have required the city to monitor how often hosts sleep at home to ensure neighborhoods don't become hotel districts.
Supporters of Prop F say less than one in ten hosts follow the current Airbnb limits and that large numbers of short-term rentals are adding to the city's housing shortage.
Airbnb spent more than $8-million defeating the measure. It argued Prop F encouraged neighbors to sue each other over perceived violations of rental regulations regardless of whether the City found any merit in their complaint. How would Angelenos vote on Prop F?
Guest:
Guy Marzorati, reports on AirBnB issues for The California Report at KQED
Rachel Dolezal admits 'I was born white'
The name Rachel Dolezal came into the national spotlight after it was revealed that the 37-year-old president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP, who identifies as black, was actually born to white parents.
The bizarre case sparked a national conversation about race, identity, and passing. Dolezal eventually copped to the truth, but maintains that it is nonetheless valid for her to call herself black. Dolezal was subsequently fired from her position at the NAACP.
Five months after that incident, Dolezal re-emerged this week to appear on the talk show, The Real, where she told the hosts and audiences that, “I acknowledge I was biologically born white, to white parents, and I identify as black.”
When pressed over the incongruence of her statement, Dolezal went on to say that she has walked the walk of a black woman, alluding to the fact that she’s lived as a black woman since graduating from Howard University.
Has Dolezal, as she claimed, “walked the walk”? Does passing as a black woman for nearly two decades legitimate her identification as being black?
Call us and share your thoughts! We're opening our phones at 866-893-5722.
Jonathan Gold explains his 2015 101 best restaurants
Foodies, rejoice! The definitive list of the best places to eat in Los Angeles is here once again, thanks to Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. The acclaimed food writer has released his list, “Jonathan Gold’s 101,” of the finest fine dining establishments in the city.
Last year it was Providence, the Michelin-starred seafood restaurant in Hancock Park, taking top honors for the second straight year. Like the ‘99-’01 Lakers, chef Michael Cimarusti’s restaurant earned its three-peat this year, sitting atop Gold’s list once again.
Taco Maria in Costa Mesa was the runner-up while last year’s runner-up, Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant Spago in Beverly Hills, slipped to third. Others in Gold’s top 10 from last year have returned to the top 10, like the Italian restaurants that make up Mozzaplex in Hollywood, the West L.A. sushi joint Shunji, and Culver City’s Asian street food haven Lukshon.
Jonathan joins Larry on AirTalk today to run down his list, share some of his personal favorites, and tell us which spots on his list offer the best meal at an affordable price.
Guest:
Jonathan Gold, restaurant critic at the Los Angeles Times
Debating LA County Fair Association’s tax-exempt status, CEO compensation
Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors says it plans to audit the Los Angeles County Fair Association in response to an L.A. Times piece that says the organization is hemorrhaging money but still paying its top brass a pretty penny.
The Times investigation found that the L.A. County Fair Association, which is classified as a nonprofit and has tax-exempt status, pays its CEO nearly $900,000 a year and compensates other high-level employees well, too. It also found that from 2010-2013, the association lost more than $6.2 million while bonuses that the CEO and other top brass collected neared $3 million.
The Board of Supervisors audit will also examine and look to restructure the terms of the lease that gives the association control of the publicly-owned fairgrounds in Pomona. A spokeswoman for the L.A. County Fair association says they’re audited by the county every year and are open to it as well as the lease renegotiation talks.
Residents of the area surrounding the Fairplex are frustrated that the taxpayer-funded fairgrounds are being used for things like raves and other events they say are disruptive.
Supporters of the audit also say that because it doesn’t pay taxes, the association is taking money from local schools and the city of Pomona.
Should the Los Angeles County Fair Association be considered a nonprofit in the first place? What about the salaries of the CEO and other top brass?
Guests:
Michael O'Hare, a UC Berkeley public-policy professor who has studied the economics and management of fairs
Deanna Marquart, a Sacramento-based public policy analyst who’s studied county fairs
Jim Tucker, President and CEO, International Association of Fairs & Expositions (IAFE)
Lisa Randall on everything you ever wanted to know about dark matter
For years, scientists have said that a giant asteroid was the cause of a mass extinction 66 million years ago, but a theoretical physicist has reached a different conclusion.
Harvard physics professor, Lisa Randall, hypothesizes that dinosaurs – along with 75 percent of other species, were destroyed after a comet was dislodged from its orbit as the solar system passed through a disk of dark matter.
In her most recent book, “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe,” Randall delves into the history and development of Earth to outline the effects and characteristics of dark matter.
Randall explains the evolution of the universe, discusses meteors, asteroids and other objects that have struck Earth, and lastly, combines the first two portions to explain how components intersect and how they are connected to our existence on Earth.
Lisa Randall will be speaking at New Roads School Moss Theatre today at 8:00 p.m. with Walter Kim. Click here for more information.
Guest:
Lisa Randall Ph.D, Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science, Harvard University and author of “Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe” (HarperCollins)
Bad breath, bad sex, bad manners: New study looks at relationship dealbreakers
Most of us know what qualities we want in a potential mate. But what is that one thing — one big turn off — that would make you call the whole thing off?
A recently-published study from a group of researches looks at these so-called “relationship dealbreakers.” It finds that women have more dealbreakers than men; that those who think they are a “keeper” have more dealbreakers; and that someone looking for a long-term relationship has more nonstarters than someone looking for a fling.
Call us at 866-893-5722 and let us know what your relationship nonstarters are or tweet at us with the hashtag #dealbreaker
Guests:
Peter K. Jonason, a senior lecturer in psychology at Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia. He is the lead author of study, “Relationship Dealbreakers: Traits People Avoid in Potential Mates,” recently published in the journal, “Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin”