Today on AirTalk, we talk about the ballot measures gaining strength ahead of the 2020 elections. Also on the show, we take a look at the controversy surrounding the NBA and China; impeachment latest; and more.
Impeachment Latest: Trump Blocks Witnesses From Testifying
Three Democratic House chairmen say they will issue a subpoena to U.S. European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland after he didn't show up for a deposition in the Democrats' impeachment investigation.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel and House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings say they consider Sondland's Tuesday morning no-show "to be obstruction of the impeachment inquiry" into President Donald Trump.
The committees say the State Department told Sondland's attorneys he could not testify. They say they'll subpoena the ambassador for his testimony and communications on his personal devices that have not been turned over.
The Democrats are investigating Trump's dealings with Ukraine. Sondland was involved as Trump urged the country to investigate political rival Joe Biden's family and the 2016 election.
Trump has denied doing anything wrong.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Ron Elving, senior editor and correspondent on the Washington Desk at NPR; he tweets
Harry Litman, professor of law at UCLA and UCSD, former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general, and creator and host of the
podcast, which features former prosecutors discussing ongoing federal investigations; he tweets
Gene Healy, vice president of the libertarian think-tank Cato Institute; he tweets
A Preview Of 2020 Ballot Measures Making Their Way To Voters
The 2020 election is still over a year away, but now is a critical time for proponents of ballot measures to raise money and collect signatures, according to the L.A. Times.
Four items have met the qualifications so far, including a property tax, a referendum on bail and an initiative on parole. Governor Newsom also just approved a $15 billion bond for school construction and modernization.
Other ballot measures still need to gather strength (well, cash) to make it to voters, including a measure on rent control and medical malpractice. Others still are just rumored—Uber, DoorDash and Lyft have dedicated $90 million to challenge AB 5, but the proposal itself hasn’t materialized. Today on AirTalk we take a look at the measures making their way to your ballot.
Guests:
Marisa Lagos, politics correspondent for KQED public radio in San Francisco
Dan Walters, long-time California politics observer with CALmatters, a nonprofit public interest publication
State Rent Caps Have Landlords Considering Whether Or Not To Raise Rent... Now
Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign Assembly Bill 1482 into law, which will enforce a 5 percent rent cap and expand “just cause” eviction policies for the state. How are landlords reacting?
The bill was introduced as a way to help alleviate growing concerns of housing affordability in California. But how property owners decide to respond to the bill may determine whether or not it will be effective at providing greater protection for tenants in unaffordable housing markets. Landlords may raise their rent prices to the maximum allowed if they don’t have an option to raise prices in the future. Some are suggesting landlords may get rid of low-paying tenants and hiking up rent prices to get around state rent cap laws. Others see the bill as a non-issue that will not deter landlords from operating business as usual. We’ll talk to what landlords across the Southland are doing in anticipation of the new law.
If you’re a landlord, how do you think this bill will affect you? Do you feel the need to adjust your rental prices according to the state rent caps? Will enforcing a state rent cap help alleviate housing unaffordability in California? Call to tell us what you think at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Dan Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, an organization advocating for multifamily owners, managers, developers and suppliers in the city and county of Los Angeles
Debra Carlton, senior vice president of state public affairs for the California Apartment Association, the state’s largest landlord organization. CAA represents both small (owners of single family rents and small apartment complexes) as well as the largest apartment builders and owners in the state.
New Measure HHH Audit: Too Little Done, Too Slowly
In 2016, voters in the City of Los Angeles overwhelmingly passed Prop HHH, a bond measure to raise $1.2 billion towards creating 10,000 units of supportive housing, as well as service centers for the homeless.
A little over two years later, critics say that too few housing units have been built and too much of Prop HHH money already tapped. In April, the LA Times reported that the city had allocated two-thirds of the money towards half the number of units that the Prop was meant to create.
Today, LA City Controller Ron Galperin released his audit of Proposition HHH, which pointed to high costs and stretched out timelines. While funds have been authorized by HHH, so far there hasn’t been a single bond-funded unit opened. Part of the diagnosis includes rising construction costs, which have been on the up and up ever since Prop HHH was passed. In his audit, Galperin recommended that the city focus on reducing costs, focus on building facilities to address “immediate needs,” to “streamline the permitting process” within the City and to assign one City deparmnet with the task of being responsible for HHH.
We talk to City Controller Ron Galperin about his audit’s findings, as well as housing and homeless advocates about their reactions.
Guests:
Ron Galperin, LA City Controller; his office released a new audit on Measure HHH last night
Ben Winter, Chief Housing Officer for the L.A. City Mayor’s Office
Pete White, founder and executive director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network, a community organization that works on anti-poverty issues
Lee Raagas, chief executive officer of the Skid Row Housing Trust, a permanent supportive housing provider that develops real estate and provides services for the homeless population
How A Tweet Over Hong Kong Opened Up A Rift Between The NBA And China
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tried Sunday to defuse the rapidly growing fallout over his deleted tweet that showed support for Hong Kong anti-government protesters, saying he did not intend to offend any of the team's Chinese fans or sponsors.
A short time after Morey posted that statement, the NBA said it was "regrettable" that the deleted tweet offended many in China. And all that followed several companies in China, including some of the NBA's major business partners there, lashing out over Morey's original tweet.
Morey tweeted an image that read "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong." referring to the four-month-old protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. That led to Houston owner Tilman Fertitta turning to Twitter to say that Morey does not speak for the Rockets, and sparking an outcry that included the Chinese Basketball Association - whose president is Yao Ming, the former Rockets star center - saying it was suspending its relationship with the team.
In response to the tweet, China’s state-owned television network CCTV says it will suspend the broadcast of the league’s pre-season games in the country.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Ben Golliver, reporter covering the NBA for the Washington Post, he tweets at
Julie Wernau, reporter covering China’s consumer market for the Wall Street Journal, she tweets at