Obama's Priorities As President; Orange County Journalists Roundtable; California Says "Enough" To Traffic; Governor Calls Special Session To Deal With The Deficit
Obama's Priorities As President
President-elect Barack Obama has a lot of problems to solve once he moves into the White House. The recession, the escalating war in Afghanistan and rising healthcare costs are just a few of them. What should Obama's priorities be once he takes office in January? Larry Mantle checks in with Washington lawmakers for their opinions on the subject. Guests include Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, Republican Congressman John Campbell, Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman, and Democratic Congresswoman Linda Sanchez.
Orange County Journalists Roundtable
David Lazarus talks with Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly staff writer, William Lobdell, Orange County journalist, and Orange County Register senior editorial writer and columnist, Steven Greenhut, about the latest news events and developments in Orange County.
California Says "Enough" To Traffic
Two transportation measures passed on Tuesday that may fundamentally change the way people get around in California. Proposition 1A authorized the state to issue $10 billion in bonds to begin building a European-Japanese style bullet train system between Orange County and San Francisco. Prop R, meanwhile, institutes a half-cent sales tax to raise some $40 billion for a list of projects including the Expo line to Santa Monica, the Wilshire subway, and the Gold Line extensions. Larry talks to transportation officials including Quentin Kopp, Chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority, Roger Snoble, Chief Executive Officer of Metro and the Los Angeles Times' Steve Hymon about how these plans will work and what you can expect to see happening in the next few years.
Governor Calls Special Session To Deal With The Deficit
Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling for a $4.4 billion tax increase to try and close a looming $11.2 billion deficit just six weeks after he signed the budget for the fiscal year. Today he asked for a special session of the legislature to try and deal with the shortfall. Larry gets the latest on California's unhappy budget picture with L.A. Times staff writer Evan Halper and H.D. Palmer, Deputy Director of External Affairs for the California State Department of Finance.