Today on AirTalk, we talk with Gov. Newsom about the Justice Department's move to sue California. We also discuss the new Woolsey Fire report; the state of THC drug testing; and more.
Response And Recovery: One Year After The Woolsey Fire
The Woolsey Fire is one of the largest and most destructive fires in California history. The fire, which started almost a year ago, destroyed over 1,000 structures, including hundreds of homes, in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. More than 295,000 people were evacuated.
The fire broke out in the afternoon on Nov. 8, 2018 north of Bell Canyon and rapidly moved south through the Santa Monica Mountains. Fueled by erratic Santa Ana winds, the fire jumped the 101 Freeway and tore through hillside communities in Malibu, eventually burning all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Near 10,000 acres of land were burnt by the time the Woolsey Fire was finally contained, thirteen days after it first started.
The Los Angeles County’s Office of Emergency Management has released a report today to review emergency response to the Woolsey Fire and progress on recovery.
Guest:
Kevin McGowan, Director of the Office of Emergency Management, County of Los Angeles Chief Executive Office
Three Years After Cannabis Legalization, A Look At The State Of THC Drug Testing
The legalization of recreational marijuana in California brought with it a number of pressing questions about regulation, sales, taxes and law enforcement.
One of the biggest? How will police be able to determine whether a driver is high or not, and how do you go about creating a state benchmark, like blood alcohol content, to determine how high is too high to drive.
It’s a question we’ve discussed in the past on AirTalk, and one that law enforcement and toxicology experts have been working to answer, especially since the legalization of cannabis. So far, law enforcement statewide has been flying relatively blind in this regard. While there are several companies working on devices that police can use during routine traffic stops, some of whom say they are looking to have theirs on the roads by 2020, the majority of law enforcement agencies still rely largely on specially-trained officers called Drug Recognition Experts to determine whether or not a driver is impaired by cannabis or other drugs.
But unlike with alcohol, where a blood alcohol content of .08 has been set as the standard for the point at which a person is too drunk to drive, such a benchmark does not exist for marijuana. The drug affects each user differently, and while there are studies being done to determine how THC affects drivers generally, the research is still inconclusive. And on the workplace side, we’re learning that CBD, a nonintoxicating compound also found in the cannabis plant, can show up as THC on at least one common test. CBD has risen in popularity in the last several years thanks to the medicinal benefits it offers without the “high” that comes with smoking the plant’s buds.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll check in on the state of marijuana drug testing in the context of the workplace and law enforcement use, and look at the science and technology behind determining whether someone is impaired by cannabis.
Guests:
Amanda Chicago Lewis, freelance journalist covering the cannabis industry; her latest piece for the New York Times is “CBD or THC? Common Drug Test Can’t Tell the Difference”; she tweets
Noah Debrincat, co-founder and CEO of Sanntek Labs, a company based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada outside Toronto that is developing a breathalyzer device for cannabis
Check-In Four Years After The Aliso Canyon Gas Leak
It’s been four years since employees at SoCalGas discovered the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak. More than 100,000 metric tons of methane and other chemicals were leaked into the air over a combined period of 100 days in 2015 and 2016.
The cause of the leak, documented in a report released earlier this year by state regulators, was a rupture in an underground natural gas well, whose metal lining was corroded by groundwater. The report also pointed a finger to SoCalGas, faulting the company for neglecting to monitor or maintain its wells.
Larry talks with KPCC’s Sharon McNary on the worse natural gas leak in US history.
Guest:
Sharon McNary, infrastructure correspondent at KPCC who’s been following the story
The Media Ethics Of Talking About Salacious Allegations Regarding Katie Hill
In the midst of divorce from her husband, Freshman Representative Katie Hill of California’s 25th District is facing several allegations concerning her personal life.
The allegations were first published in the conservative site RedState.org, which claimed that Hill had a romantic affair with her legislative director, before they were discovered by Hill’s husband. Hill has denied the claims.
The conservative publication also claimed that Hill and her husband were involved in a three-way relationship with a female campaign staffer and published explicit photos and screenshots of text exchanges. Hill has not commented on these allegations. She has said that her husband has been trying to undermine her. Meanwhile, U.S. Capitol Police are looking into the origins of a nude photo that had been published online.
These allegations, both denied and unaddressed, present many thorny questions for traditional news media. Should we be covering what is essentially “revenge porn?” Does the public have a right to know about a politician’s private, consensual romantic life? We dive into these questions.
We reached out to Rep. Katie Hill. She sent us this statement:
Intimate photos of me and another individual were published by Republican operatives on the internet without my consent. I have notified Capitol Hill police who are investigating the situation and potential legal violations of those who posted and distributed the photos, and therefore will have no further comment on the digital materials. The fact is I am going through a divorce from an abusive husband who seems determined to try to humiliate me. I am disgusted that my opponents would seek to exploit such a private matter for political gain. This coordinated effort to try to destroy me and people close to me is despicable and will not succeed. I, like many women who have faced attacks like this before, am stronger than those who want me to be afraid.
Allegations that I have been involved in a relationship with Mr. Kelly are absolutely false. I am saddened that the deeply personal matter of my divorce has been brought into public view and the vindictive claims of my ex have now involved the lives and reputations of unrelated parties.
This smear campaign will not get in the way of the work I am doing every day to move our district and our country forward. I am truly grateful for the outpouring of support I have received from colleagues and constituents alike, and I know we will get through this together.
Onward.
Guests:
John Bresnahan, Congressional bureau chief for Politico; he tweets
Jane Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota
Governor Newsom Responds To Trump Suit Against State's Cap And Trade Deal With Canada
The Trump administration on Wednesday sued to try to block California from engaging in international efforts against climate change, charging that the state exceeded its constitutional authority by joining with a Canadian province in a program to cut climate-damaging fossil fuel emissions.
The suit, filed in federal court in California, is the latest Trump administration push to stymie state efforts aimed at contesting the administration's rollbacks of environmental and climate protections. California says it's being punished for its advocacy.
The complaint, which names Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and others, alleges that California usurped federal power to conduct foreign policy and make international accords when it signed an ongoing agreement with Quebec to limit emissions.
California "veered outside its proper constitutional lane," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark said in a statement.
Newsom countered that the administration was "continuing its political vendetta against California, our climate policies and the health of our communities."
President Donald Trump mocks the science of climate change and made pulling out of the Paris international climate accord one of the first acts after taking office.
California and other states have filed dozens of legal challenges to administration rollbacks of environmental regulations and laws. Tensions between the Newsom and the administration escalated when Trump tried to compel California to join in his efforts to relax Obama-era mileage standards for passenger vehicles.
Wednesday's suit concerns California's cap and trade program. Industries in the program commit to purchasing pollution "credits" or to reduce their consumption of climate-changing oil, gas and goal. Former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger started the program, and Quebec's government signed on about a decade later.
Guest:
Gavin Newsom, Governor of California; he tweets