Today on AirTalk, we learn more about the status of the state's fires. Also on the show, we talk with Jody Armour about his new book; discuss Prop 25 and cash bail; and more.
Updates From The Frontlines Of Bobcat, Creek And El Dorado Fires
Helicopters rescued more people from wildfires Tuesday as flames chewed through bone-dry California after a scorching Labor Day weekend that saw a dramatic airlift of more than 200 people and ended with the state's largest utility turning off power to 172,000 customers to try to prevent more fires.
Three early morning helicopter flights pulled another 35 people from the Sierra National Forest, the California National Guard said. California has already set a record with 2 million acres (809,000 hectares) burned this year, and the worst part of the wildfire season is just beginning. The previous record was set just two years ago and included the deadliest wildfire in state history, which swept through the community of Paradise and killed 85 people. More than 14,000 firefighters are battling more than two dozen fires around the state. Two of the three largest blazes in state history are burning in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In Southern California, fires were burning in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. The U.S. Forest Service on Monday decided to close all eight national forests in the region and to shutter campgrounds statewide.One of the Southern California fires closed mountain roads in Angeles National Forest and forced the evacuation of the historic Mount Wilson Observatory. Late Monday night, the Los Angeles County Fire Department told residents of Duarte, Bradbury and Monrovia near the forest to get ready for a possible evacuation. Cal Fire said the so-called El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County started Saturday morning when a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device was used by a couple to reveal their baby's gender.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll get an update on the fires in Southern and Central California.
With files from the Associated Press
Guests:
Jacob Margolis, science reporter for KPCC and LAist who has been covering the Bobcat Fire; he tweets
Eric Boldt, warning coordination meteorologist with National Weather Service office in Oxnard; he tweets
Andrew Mitchell, public information officer for the Angeles National Forest
Lucy Jones, seismologist and founder and chief scientist at the Lucy Jones Center for Science & Society, a natural disaster risk reduction research organization; she is author of the book, “The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do About Them" (Doubleday, 2018); she tweets
DOC AMA: Vaccine Makers Promise Safety, COVID-19’s Long-Term Symptoms Can Improve With Time & More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner, infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.
Today’s topics include:
Vaccine makers promise safety amid shaky public confidence in COVID developments
COVID-19's 'serious, long-term impact' can improve with time, early evidence suggests
Colleges combating coronavirus turn to stinky savior: sewage
As COVID-19 depletes blood supplies, scientists test an alternative
COVID-19 test results for travel: How to time it for an international trip
Guest:
Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena
Prop 25: A Referendum On California’s Landmark Law Eliminating Cash Bail
In 2018, California passed SB 10, a first of its kind law that replaced the state’s cash bail system with one that uses a risk-assessment system to determine whether pretrial release is appropriate for someone who has been arrested for a criminal offense, and if so what level of monitoring that individual requires based on factors like flight risk and the potential to reoffend or harm members of the community.
Superior courts across the state would be responsible for setting up pretrial risk assessment divisions to help make those determinations. But after then-Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, a veto referendum was filed and the initiative gathered enough signatures to land on the 2020 ballot. Now, voters will decide whether to vote “yes” and uphold the law as passed or “no” and retain the state’s cash bail system. Supporters say that the cash bail system picks winners and losers in the justice system by allowing those with money to go free while those without are forced to sit in jail until their trial date, and that pretrial release should instead be determined based on an offender’s potential risk to society. Opponents argue that the pretrial risk assessment process relies too heavily on computer algorithms to determine an offender’s risk, which they say could lead to more biased results than the cash bail system.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll hear from stakeholders on both sides of this issue. If you have questions about Prop 25, join our live conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Tanja Heitman, chief probation officer for Santa Barbara County; Southern Region chair for the Chief Probation Officers of California, which supports Prop 25
Topo Padilla, president of the Golden State Bail Agents Association, which opposes Prop 25, and chair of the council of presidents for the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, which represents bail agents nationwide; he has been a bail bondsman for 37 years and is an owner/partner at Greg Padilla Bail Bonds in Sacramento
Biden Vs. Trump: Judicial Nominations And The Impact On The Courts
Democrats have been weary of using the Supreme Court as a campaign issue. President Donald Trump and Republicans on the other hand didn’t shy away from the topic during the Republican National Convention. According to some political analysts, swing voters sided with Republicans in 2016 when it came to judicial nominations.
The Senate has appointed more than 200 federal judges under Trump’s presidency, The Hill reports. Trump, likely in an attempt to gain conservative support like in 2016, is expected to soon release a new list of potential Supreme Court justices. While Trump has pushed ahead with releasing an agenda for the courts, Biden has not. Political experts point to Biden’s inconsistent past with appointing judges as a problem this election cycle, arguing the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee has a history of playing politics.
Today on AirTalk, Larry talks with political analysts about the role each candidate has played in the courts, how those roles are being leveraged in campaign strategies and what the long-term impacts could be. Do you have thoughts? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Ilya Shapiro, director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, his latest opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal is titled, “Why Biden Won’t Talk About Judges, his forthcoming book is “Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court,” (Gateway Editions, 2020); he tweets
Kimberly West-Faulcon, law professor at Loyola Law School, her focus includes constitutional law; she tweets
Frequent AirTalk Guest Jody Armour On His Timely New Book Exploring Race, Justice, Policing And The Law
If you’re a regular listener to AirTalk, you’re probably very familiar with USC Professor Jody Armour, who frequently joins Larry on the air to discuss general legal issues and ones where race, policing and law intersect.
Last month, Professor Armour released his latest book “N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law,” and its release could not be more timely as the U.S. finds itself in the middle of a national reckoning on race and equality in society.
Today on AirTalk, Jody joins Larry to talk about some of the major themes he explores in his new book, including critical race theory, criminal justice reform, why he chose the title he did and how his book applies to the ongoing national discussion on race and equality in America.
Guest:
Jody Armour, author of “N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law” (Los Angeles Review of Books, August 2020); professor of law at the University of Southern California; he tweets