Today on AirTalk, we talk about the Dodgers 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in game 7 of the NL championship series. Also on the show, we break down the supreme court and how it may rule on two of Trump's biggest immigration policies; talk to Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins; and more.
Grit, Baby! Dodgers Beat Braves For Another Crack At The World Championship
The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated as Cody Bellinger’s drive soared deep into the Texas night. Bellinger flung his bat off to the side and strutted up the first-base line.
All the way to the World Series.
Bellinger hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the seventh inning, and the Dodgers advanced to the Fall Classic for the third time in four years by topping the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in Game 7 of the NL Championship Series on Sunday.
“This year is our year,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Bellinger connected an inning after Kiké Hernández became the first pinch hitter with a game-tying or go-ahead homer in a winner-take-all-game. His homer tied it at 3 and, like Bellinger’s, came on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
The Dodgers, who matched an LCS record with 16 homers, overcame a 3-1 series deficit by winning three consecutive games when facing elimination for only the second time in their storied history.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times reporter covering baseball and sports business; he tweets
Nick Roman, host of KPCC’s “All Things Considered”; he tweets
SCOTUS Picks Up Big Trump-era Immigration Cases
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear two cases involving Trump administration policies at the U.S.-Mexico border: one about a policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings and a second about the administration’s use of money to fund the border wall.
The justices’ decision to hear the cases continues its practice of reviewing lower court rulings that have found President Donald Trump’s immigration policies illegal over the past four years.
Most notably, the high court reviewed and ultimately upheld Trump’s travel ban on visitors from some largely Muslim countries. In June, the court kept in place legal protections for immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Jessica Gresko, Supreme Court Reporter for the Associated Press; she tweets
Bobcat Fire And The Historical Cabins Deep In Angeles National Forest
Despite the hopes of cabin owners in the Big Santa Anita Canyon, the Bobcat Fire spilled over the canyon’s edge from the Angeles National Forest on the evening of September 13.
According to its permittee association, the cabin community consists of 80 historic homes that date back to the early years of the 20th century, along with Camp Sturtevant, the last remaining mountain camp from the Great Hiking Era of the 1880s to the 1930s. The cabins have been continually occupied since their construction.
Owners waited for weeks for word about the status of their cabins from the Forest Service, with many just receiving word late last week on whether or not their cabin had been destroyed. Community members have volunteered with the Forest Service to clear debris and check on surroundings, although some have yet to see their cabins in person.
Guests:
Aaron Ash, deputy district ranger on the Los Angeles Gateway Ranger District of the Angeles National Forest
Maggie Moran, owner of Adams Pack Station, which ferries freight by pack animal to and from Forest Service work projects, cabins, and Sturtevant Camp, which are miles from the nearest roads
Ben Fitzsimmons, president of the Big Santa Anita Canyon Permittees Association and owner of one of the historic cabins
WSJ Report Finds Big SoCal Hospitals Refusing Covid Patients For Financial Reasons
According to a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal, several hospital systems in Southern California refused or stalled on taking in COVID-19 patient transfers because of those patient’s insurance status.
This means that patients who were sick and hospital systems that were strained were left waiting or were denied their requests for relief, counter to medical ethics and potentially to federal law.
We take a closer look.
We reached out to Huntington Beach Hospital. They were not able to join us for an interview but sent this statement:
There was no delay in the transfer of patients due to inquiries for further insurance information. The patients were stable and requesting transfer to a medical surgical bed not an ICU bed for higher level of care therefore EMTALA does not apply. EMTALA FAQs state that insurance information can be obtained and is not improper so long as it does not delay a MSE and stabilizing care, and in these patients both the MSE and stabilizing care was already provided at El Centro.
Prime Healthcare has gone above and beyond to collaborate and partner with the needs of the counties and states we serve. Our Paradise Valley Hospital was one of the first to accept patients from El Centro. We have cared for over 10,000 COVID patients throughout this pandemic saving thousands of lives and serving our mission and communities. Just to clarify, there was no request of information regarding insurance that caused any delay in transfer of patients from El Centro. We were ready to care for these patients and made calls to the transfer center. The fact that the transfers did not occur was likely related to the fact that the accepting hospital was already near capacity and did not have ICU capacity which may have been needed should the patients’ condition deteriorate and require ICU care, therefore perhaps the decision to transfer to a different facility was based on the best interests of the patient and ability to ensure greater capacitance at the accepting hospital.
We reached out to Cedars-Sinai. They were not able to join us for an interview but sent this statement:
The surge of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Imperial County erupted with little notice, and Cedars-Sinai responded to the urgent need. On May 25, Cedars-Sinai accepted five patients. We were the only hospital in Los Angeles County accepting transfer patients from Imperial County at this time. One day later, on May 26, we received a request to accept three additional transfers from Imperial County. We declined primarily because we were concerned about our own ability to maintain adequate capacity to handle an anticipated COVID-19 surge in Los Angeles County. Additionally, those three patients did not require the higher level of care provided by Cedars-Sinai and other academic medical centers.
It wasn't until May 27 that the state instituted its All Access Transfer Center and began distributing Imperial County COVID-19 patients to hospitals across the state. Once this occurred, we accepted eight additional patients. From May 25 to June 25, we accepted 13 transfer patients from Imperial County. For all of the transfer patients we treated, we accepted whatever their insurance would pay. We did not bill any of these patients for remaining balances.
We have played a key role as a provider treating COVID-19 patients. Since March 1, we've cared for more than 1,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
We reached out to Loma Linda University Health. They were not able to join us for an interview but sent this statement:
Most hospitals have a standard practice that if emergency Medi-Cal doesn’t cover an uninsured patient, the transferring hospital is charged up to 130% Medicare rates, not the patient. This is common practice amongst hospitals and has been the process well before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
On May 28, 2020, we were informed by CHA that Imperial County was on internal disaster, at which time we began taking their patients regardless of their insurance or the hospital’s ability to pay.
Guest:
Melanie Evans, hospital reporter for the Wall Street Journal; she tweets
Green Party Presidential Candidate On His Platform, The 2020 Election & More
Although American voters will be choosing between the Democratic and Republican parties for our next president, Biden and Trump aren’t the only two candidates running.
Howie Hawkins, co-founder of the Green Party and the party’s 2020 candidate, is running to put an ecosocialist program on the agenda, as well as to draw more attention to the climate change crisis and economic justice for low-income Americans. Although Hawkins and other third-party candidates will not win the election, Hawkins hopes that his campaign will help American politics pull away from an entrenched two-party system and bring more progressive issues to mainstream attention.
Today on AirTalk, we’re speaking with Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins about his platform and his hopes for the future of the Green Party. Questions? Call 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Howie Hawkins, co-founder of the Green Party of the United States and the party’s 2020 presidential candidate; he tweets
Angeleno, Southern Californian, Pasadenan: What Do You Call Yourself And Why?
If you’re a California or Los Angeles resident, how do you identify yourself? An Angeleno? Southern Californian? Whittieran or Pasadenan?
Maybe you identify as a transplant Angeleno if you’re not originally from the area? Here’s an unofficial list from the Los Angeles Almanac that lists out different neighborhoods and what residents might call themselves, but we want to hear from listeners directly.
Today on AirTalk, tell us what your demonym is and why. Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.