Tensions have been rising in the holy city as two Palestinians attacked a synagogue in Jerusalem killing four people earlier today. Also, nearly half of all working age adults in Los Angeles have at least one roommate.Then, LA Times columnist Megan Daum finds words to discuss the unspeakable across multiple contexts.
What will come of the Jerusalem killings?
Earlier today, two Palestinians attacked a synagogue in Jerusalem killing four people. The two men were killed by police in a shootout. Six people were injured in the attack. Police spokesman said the attackers were from east Jerusalem. Tensions have been rising in the holy city. On Nov. 5, a Israeli border guard and three people were injured when a man drove into a crowd. A similar attack in October killed a 3-month-old baby and left at 6 people injured. There have also been stabbing attacks in the West Bank and Tel Aviv.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will respond with a “heavy hand.” On the other side, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack while Hamas praised the two men. In a statement, Abbas called for Israeli to end “...ongoing incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the provocative acts by Israeli settlers…”
How might this affect Israeli-Palestinian negotiations going forward?
Guests:
Neri Zilber, visiting fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Yousef Munayyer, Executive Director of The Palestine Center
San Francisco proposal requires employers provide 'predictable' work schedules
San Francisco could start requiring stores to give employees their schedules two weeks in advance. Under the law, employers would have to pay employees extra if they change those schedules. Additionally, employers wouldn’t be allowed to pay part-time and full-time employees different wages for the same job. Companies would also have to give part-time workers the same access to time off and promotions as full-time workers. The ordinance would apply to retail stores in the city with more than 20 workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 47 percent of part-time workers ages 26 to 32 receive a week or less of advance notice for their schedule.
The ordinance builds on an earlier proposal that requires retail, hotel, bank and restaurant chains to provide additional hours for part-time staff before hiring more employees. The vote to approve the ordinance will come on November 23.
Do you work part-time? How do you think this would affect your life? Business owners, is this reasonable and feasible? What are the barriers to providing schedules two weeks in advance?
Guests:
Julia Parish, Attorney at Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center based in San Francisco; Parish has been a direct proponent of this proposal.
Gwyneth Borden, Executive Director, Golden Gate Restaurant Association
The legacy and career of Bill Cosby: From affable TV dad to accused rapist - again
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby once again is denying sexual assault accusations against him - triggered by a young comedian's stand up act that went viral online last month. In recent days, Cosby's lawyer issued two statements - the first was a blanket denial of "decade-old, discredited allegations." The second statement clarified that the denial did not refer to a 2004 civil suit settled between Cosby and Andrea Constand who had accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2004.
When comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby a rapist, the story caught fire online in a way earlier allegations could not. Despite the fact that more than a dozen women leveled accusations against Cosby as part of the 2004 suit, many fans were unfamiliar with the stories. Now, one of his accusers has come forward again. Writing in the Washington Post, actress Barbara Bowman asks "Why did it take 30 years for people to believe my story?"
Meanwhile, Cosby's career was enjoying a resurgence - an NBC sitcom in the works and a Netflix stand up special. Will it all be scuttled?
Guest:
Cynthia Littleton, Television Editor, Variety
Be my roomie? Why more adults than ever before in LA are living with roommates
Nearly half of all working age adults in Los Angeles have at least one roommate. That’s according to a new study from online real estate database Zillow. The L.A. area has a larger percentage of working age adults living in what they call “doubled-up housing” than any other major metropolitan area in the U.S. Here in Southern California, 48 percent of working-age adults live in doubled-up housing. That number is up 41 percent from just twelve years ago.
The study defines “doubled-up housing” as “one in which at least two working-age, unmarried or un-partnered adults live together.” So by this definition, a 24-year-old young woman living with her middle-aged parents is a doubled-up household. Zillow attributes the rise in number of roommates to individual incomes not keeping pace with rising home and rental prices.
There are some who still choose to live with roommates for the companionship, but the numbers in the study may suggest that many are living in doubled-up housing because they need to cut the cost of rent, not because they want to live with someone.
Is the culture of working-age adult living situations changing as well? Is it becoming the norm for employed adults to have a roommate instead of living along? If so, why do you think the trend is changing?
For more on this story and the struggle of working-age Angelenos to find affordable housing, visit KPCC's "High Rent, Few Options" page at KPCC.org.
Guests:
Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow
Ellie Balderrama-Hernandez, realtor at The Rental Girl, she covers Los Feliz, Atwater Village, and Silver Lake
UCLA announces cure to 'Bubble Baby syndrome'
For many, hearing the term “bubble boy” conjures up images of John Travolta in “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” or Jake Gyllenhaal in the 2001 box office flop “Bubble Boy.” Whatever your preferred point of reference, the idea of a child spending his life in a literal “bubble” of plastic is a fate all too real for some families in the last five or so decades.
ADA-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency, or SCID, is a disease that leaves a child’s immune system unable to fight off germs or bacteria. Most children diagnosed with the disease die within the first or second year of life. But now, a breakthrough gene therapy offers new hope to families of children with this rare disease, according to today’s announcement by the UCLA Eli & Edith Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research.
Doctor Denise Cabonaro-Sarriciono helped to develop the new treatment. She joins Larry Mantle to talk about it.
Guest:
Dr. Denise Carbonaro-Sarricino, Project Scientist at the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center and member of the team that developed the new treatment.
Meghan Daum on writing 'The Unspeakable' from motherhood to catcalling
"The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion" is a collection of 10 essays that explore the world of author Meghan Daum in a way that is analytical and fun with a socially incorrect twist.
From lead essay "Matricide" to " The Dog Exception," Daum is not afraid of looking at the events in her life or how she feels about them, instead pushing forward in a casual manner that gives the audience pause for laughter and thought. An example of the humor that comes out from the contradictions she puts herself in are demonstrated in her essay "Honorary Dyke," a piece about her experiences in the gay community as someone who tried to fit into the culture despite being as straight as they come.
Meghan Daum has written My Misspent Youth: Essays among other books, as well as extended pieces for magazines such as the Believer. An opinion columnist with the Los Angeles Times since 2005, she recently wrote a column in the paper about an viral video that explored catcalling on the streets of New York, an article which itself garnered some attention. It seems that Daum finds words to discuss the unspeakable across multiple contexts, whether or not they are directly personal in nature.
Do you use writing when you can't speak about a topic? How does comedy connect with serious self-reflections?
You can find Meghan at Skylight Books in Los Feliz tonight at 7:30 where she’ll be in conversation with Bernard Cooper. You can find details on our website.
Guest:
Meghan Daum, columnist for the Los Angeles Times; her latest book is The Unspeakable And Other Subjects of Discussion