The L.A. County District Attorney’s office announced Tuesday it’s pursuing charges against nine petition gatherers who allegedly paid people living on Skid Row to sign fake names. We also hear your stories of kindness; review this weekend’s new movie releases; and more.
LA County DA: election fraudsters pay homeless cigarettes, money for ballot signatures
The L.A. County District Attorney’s office announced Tuesday it’s pursuing charges against nine petition gatherers who allegedly paid people living on Skid Row to sign fake names on petitions for state initiatives and voter registration forms.
Prosecutors say these gatherers asked for hundreds of false or forged signatures, and those who agreed were offered $1 bills or cigarettes for signing.
The offenses occurred during the 2016 and 2018 election cycles, when the amount petition gatherers in California could make per signature was much higher than it had been in the past. Usually, payment starts at about $1 per name – but in 2016, some initiatives paid $5 each. Depending on the amount of initiatives working to get on the ballot in a given year, gatherers can earn to $8 per name, according to The New York Times.
So how can petition gathering firms protect against fraudulent signatures? And if the defendants are found guilty, what does this mean for the initiatives they worked on in 2016 and 2018?
We reached out to the LA County District Attorney’s Office, which said that they are not granting interviews on the case at this time.
Guests:
Fred Kimball, president of Kimball Petition Management, a signature gathering firm based in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Larry N. Gerston, a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University and author of many books, including “Not So Golden After All: The Rise and Fall of California” (CRC Press, 2012)
The cashless bail fight isn’t over, as bail bond industry eyes 2020 ballot initiative
A coalition of bail bond industry groups wants to block California’s overhaul of the bail system.
The political action committee organized by the bail industry submitted enough signatures required for a statewide referendum on the law in 2020. Election officials are expected to verify the 576,745 signatures submitted Tuesday. If verified, it would be up to voters to decide in November of 2020 whether they want to overturn the law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last August.
The new law that is slated to go into effect in October of next year abolishes the state’s money bail system as a condition of release from jail. Under the law, counties will have to establish their own pretrial services agencies and use “risk-assessment tools” to determine a release.
Proponents of the referendum argue that the law takes away people’s constitutional right to bail. While those who support the state’s bail system overhaul say the new law is a historic victory that moves civil rights forward.
Guest:
Alex Emslie, criminal justice reporter at KQED in San Francisco, who has been covering the referendum to block the bail law; he tweets
After a record number of customers cut the cord, a look at what’s ahead for pay-TV
It’s no secret that many consumers are choosing to cut ties with their TV subscriptions – and new data say it’s only becoming more common.
More than 1 million people canceled their cable or satellite TV plans last quarter. It’s the largest drop in overall number of subscriptions the industry has ever seen, and the fastest rate of decline – continuing a trend that’s pushed some companies to consider developing competing cheaper services.
Meanwhile, the customer base of online television providers (like Sling and YouTube TV) continued to grow in the third quarter, but at a slower rate.
Larry sits down with Wall Street Journal telecommunications reporter Drew FitzGerald and telecom analyst Craig Moffett to talk the latest numbers and what they mean for the television industry moving forward.
Guests:
Drew FitzGerald, telecommunications reporter for the Wall Street Journal; he’s been following the story; he tweets
Craig Moffett, telecom analyst and founding partner of New York-based research firm MoffettNathanson LLC; their most recent quarterly cord-cutting report came out earlier this month
Ahead of Thanksgiving, tell us your stories of kindness
It’s been a long month, and today, ahead of Thanksgiving, we want to spread some holiday cheer by hearing your stories of kindness.
We were inspired by this viral Facebook post about an older woman who asked to sit next to a young man at McDonald’s: “Shout out to this guy! This elderly lady (seemed to be a little lonely) came up to him and asked if she could sit with him. Without hesitation, this guy said ‘of course.’” They had a 45 minute long conversation and swapped phone numbers. And people have been responding warmly to this story of an unlikely friendship.
So we want to hear your stories of kindness — moments of kindness that you’ve experienced or witnessed, that have stayed with you and bolstered your faith in humanity.
Call us at 866-893-5722.
FilmWeek: ‘Ralph Breaks The Internet,’ ‘Creed II,’ ‘Roma’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Christy Lemire, Justin Chang and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases.
- "Ralph Breaks the Internet" in wide release
- "Creed II" in wide release
- "The Favourite" at ArcLight Hollywood & The Landmark Theatre
- "Roma" at The Landmark Theatre & streaming on Netflix starting December 14
- The Frame's John Horn sat down with the film's director Alfonso Cuaron to talk about the making of the deeply personal film. You can listen to that interview here
- "Shoplifters" at Laemmle's Royal Theatre & ArcLight Hollywood
- "Robin Hood" in wide release
- "Amazing Grace" at Laemmle's PLayhouse & Laemmle's Monica Film Center
- "Shoah: Four Sisters" at Laemmle's Music Hall & Laemmle's Town Center
- "The World Before Your Feet" at The Nuart Theatre
- "The Cleaners" at Laemmle's Music Hall
- "Of Fathers and Sons" at Laemmle's Music Hall
- "The Christmas Chronicles" streaming on Netflix
- "Becoming Astrid" at Laemmle's Royal Theatre
CRITICS' HITS:
Christy: "The Favourite", "Shoah: Four Sisters", "The Cleaners", & "The Christmas Chronicles"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYb-wkehT1g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saqA5WPbEfw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA1DxRdT2hA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaeDa_Uempk
Justin: "Roma", "Shoplifters", "Amazing Grace" & "Of Fathers and Sons"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BS27ngZtxg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9382rwoMiRc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA6lBW3R__M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaow0_e9loE
MIXED FEELINGS:
Christy: "Creed II"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPNVNqn4T9I
Justin: "Ralph Breaks the Internet"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T73h5bmD8Dc
MISSES:
Justin: "Robin Hood"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJfDBSWYqU8
Charles: "The World Before Your Feet"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xe4MT4YP8s
Guests:
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘What the Flick?’ podcast, available at ChristyLemire.com; she tweets
Justin Chang, film critic for KPCC and the Los Angeles Times; he tweets
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine