We're checking in with KPCC reporter Alice Walton for the latest city council news regarding digital billboards, we preview tonight's presidential debate with POLITICO reporter Ginger Gibson, and more on today's AirTalk.
Bright lights, big city: universal ID cards, digital billboards and roving voters in the news
Los Angeles City Council met this morning to discuss two controversial issues. One is a proposal introduced by councilmember Richard Alarcon to a Universal City Services Card – a hybrid of ID card, library card and debit card – for those who don’t have a drivers’ license or bank account. Mayor Villaraigosa is championing the card to help undocumented residents access city services and reduce dependency on cash and payday lenders.
Opponents fear it will make it easier for illegal immigrants to violate immigration laws. They’ll also be voting to review proposed new city laws regarding digital billboards. Local residents have complained about glare and distraction caused by flashing advertising displays, but the city is considering loosening restrictions on the billboards, possibly with the benefit of a revenue-sharing deal with CBS Outdoor and Clearchannel. And there’s more political intrigue in the tiny community of Eagle Rock.
The city’s charter allows for “stakeholders” to vote along with residents in elections for Neighborhood Council. That means, anyone who does business – whether it’s shopping at Trader Joe’s or buying a cup of coffee – can cast a vote. Over the weekend, the city was indundated with voters from as far as Ventura County, who had been solicited by council candidates favorable to allowing medical marijuana shops in the area. According to the city’s tally, more than 300 of the 800 votes cast were by “at-large” voters, some no doubt lured by fliers promising $40 worth of medical marijuana to those who could prove they’d voted.
How will the city’s charter play out in the ongoing battle over pot shops in Eagle Rock? What does this mean to voting residents of the city? Should Los Angeles profit from the proliferation of digital billboards? Do you support the idea of a universal city ID card?
Guests:
Alice Walton, KPCC reporter covering today’s Los Angeles City Council meeting
Raphael Sonenshein, Executive Director, Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles
Frank Stoltze, KPCC reporter covering today’s County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors meeting today
Round Two: Obama vs. Romney
Tonight at Hofstra University on Long Island, N.Y. Mitt Romney will try to keep his momentum going while President Barack Obama will do his best to mount a comeback after a disappointing performance two weeks ago in Denver. There is pressure on Obama to show more fight, but not necessarily to appear combative with his re-election on the line. In this, their second face-off, eyes will also be on moderator Candy Crowley as she has hinted at wanting to play an active role at the event.
The election is 21 days away, how much is stake for the candidates tonight? Who gets the edge with Candy Crowley vowing to be more active than Jim Lehrer was in round one? Are voters expecting President Obama to be more aggressive, or are debates not his strong suit?
Guest:
Ginger Gibson, national political reporter, POLITICO
Debating California's Prop 35, human trafficking law
While both the backers and opponents of Proposition 35 agree on the problem, they are at odds over how to deal with the crime and punishment of human trafficking in California. The ballot initiative would increase prison terms and fines for the sexual exploitation of vulnerable women and men.
"Our current law has gaping holes through which our children are falling into the hands of the traffickers that are there to catch them because our response in ineffective," said Sharmin Bock, Assistant District Attorney of Alameda County and co-author of Prop 35. "But our law doesn't reflect the reality of how these kids are today in fact sold not just on the street but on the internet."
Victims' advocates complain Prop 35 is wrong to have shorter prison sentences for labor traffickers (12 years) than sex traffickers (20 years), because most victims fall under the former. Kathleen Kim, Professor or Law at Loyola Law School and co-author of AB 22, California’s current human trafficking law, is against Prop 35 because she believes it doesn't go far enough to protect funds for victims.
"Proposition 35 is undoubtedly well intentioned, however it takes a predominantly criminal enforcement approach without attendant broadening of victims' rights and access to relief," said Kim on AirTalk. "That's my primary objection, because it takes an predominantly criminal enforcement approach, it creates some unintended consequences on the actual survivors of human trafficking."
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is releasing a report soon on how to deal with trafficking. She convened a statewide working group with more than 100 stakeholders to hear their concerns and recommendations.
Prop Breakdown
Official Title — Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act Initiative.Increase prison terms for human traffickers Require convicted sex traffickers to register as sex offenders. Require all registered sex offenders to disclose their internet accounts. Require criminal fines from convicted human traffickers to pay for services to help victims. Mandate law enforcement training on human trafficking.
Weigh In:
How pervasive is this problem? Why would a ballot initiative be necessary when laws are on the books already and new proposals are coming from the AG's office? Should sex slavery and labor slavery crimes be handled differently?
Guests:
Sharmin Bock, Assistant District Attorney, Alameda County; Co-author of Proposition 35
Kathleen Kim, Professor or Law, Loyola Law School; Co-author of AB 22, California’s current human trafficking law
Mock checkpoints in Berkeley’s ‘Apartheid Week’ protests prompts a federal investigation
The ongoing controversy at UC Berkeley over anti-Israel protests has prompted the U.S. Department of Education to launch an investigation into whether the civil rights of Jewish students at Berkeley are being violated.
The origin of the conflict can be traced to a campus event called Apartheid Week, during which pro-Palestine student groups stage mock checkpoints designed to simulate the real world situation at the Israel-Palestine border.
In June, a pair of former Berkeley students dropped a lawsuit against the university that claimed that anti-Israel protests on campus created a “pervasive hostile environment” for Jewish students but the campus unrest has continued.
Where is the line for the civil rights of students? What is the role in the university for settling disputes between student groups that represent actual international conflicts?
Guests:
Tom Pessah, Graduate student of sociology, UC Berkeley; Member, Students for Justice in Palestine.
Arielle Gabai, Senior-year student, UC Berkeley (studying Public Health as well as Jewish Studies); President, Jewish Students Union
Drinking in relationships: How much is too much?
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50.9 percent of Americans drink regularly, which the agency chalks up as having more than twelve drinks per year. The CDC also says that an average of more than one drink a day for a woman qualifies as “heavy drinking.”
In modern American society, it is common practice for millions of us to return home from work and pop a bottle of wine or crack open a beer. Nearly all our social events have an aspect of imbibing… eggnog at Christmas, champagne at midnight on New Year’s Eve, wine as a housewarming gift and endless pints of beer at birthday parties and sporting events. Americans love to both drown their sorrows and celebrate their joys with a drink or two.
But what happens in social situations when someone doesn’t drink at all, or another person drinks significantly more on a regular basis? Mismatched social norms when it comes to alcohol can lead to relationship strife, and it works both ways. Ever go out with a friend who doesn’t drink at all… or another who has far more than one too many? How does it make you feel? It seems that somewhere between actual ‘moderation’ and “everything in moderation, including moderation” is a blurry line that marks ‘too much’ for a given individual in a social setting or relationship.
Substance abuse is a dangerous and deadly social problem, but alcohol might be as American as apple pie. So where do you draw the line? How do you relate to people who drink significantly more or less than you?
Guest:
Adi Jaffe, post-doctoral fellow and addiction researcher at UCLA, contributor to Psychology Today and founder of allaboutaddiction.com
Historical photos: Huntington Library recognizes 150-year anniversary of the Civil War
The death toll of the American Civil War, estimated at well over half a million, was unprecedented. A major new exhibition drawn from archives at The Huntington Library, in recognition of the 150-year anniversary of the conflict, explores how the nation came to terms with the devastation.
The evocative compilation of historical images, called, “A Strange and Fearful Interest,” is named after a statement made by Oliver Holmes in 1863. He said, “The field of photography is extending itself to embrace subjects of strange and sometimes of fearful interest.”
Highlights of the visual presentation include Alexander Gardner’s views of battlefield dead at Antietam, rare photographs from Andrew J. Russell’s “U.S. Military Railroad Album,” George Bernard’s incomparable album “Photographic Views of Sherman’s Campaign (1866)” and more. “A Strange and Fearful Interest: Death, Mourning, and Memory in the American Civil War” is curated by Jennifer Watts and will be on display from October 13, 2012 until January 14, 2013.
"It's a collection that I think most people will be surprised to see, it really has all the gems of civil war photography in it and print culture as well," said Watts.
The exhibit is not necessarily a chronological history of photography during the war, but it organized thematically in three parts.
"The first is Battlefront, I wanted to show some of the images that people were both carrying with them into war and sending back from the war…This is the first time American dead were shown on a battlefield," said Watts. "The Assasination of President Lincoln, which occurs a week after the Confederate surrender…Then the last theme was commemoration, really revolving around the establishment of Gettysburg as a national monument."
Also on display is the companion exhibition, “A Just Cause: Voices of the American Civil War.” This show of letters, which explores the rationale for the war, is curated by Olga Tsapina and on display through January 7, 2013.
"A Strange and Fearful Interest" Exhibit Info
Guests:
Jennifer A. Watts, curator of photographs and the exhibition “A Strange and Fearful Interest: Death, Mourning, and Memory in the American Civil War”at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino
Olga Tsapina, curator of American historical manuscripts and the exhibition “A Just Cause: Voices of the American Civil War”at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino