The LAPD Union and the City are in a deadlock over salary negotiations. Also, FiveThirtyEight has crowned San Francisco with the best burrito in the country, but we look at LA's best. Then, KPCC film critic Peter Rainer checks in with the latest from the 2014 Toronto Independent Film Festival.
LAPD union, city declare impasse in salary negotiations
In a self-declared “highly unusual” move, the union representing the LAPD’s rank-and-file has declared an impasse in salary negotiations with the city. The Los Angeles Police Protective League charges the city with a “lack of good faith bargaining” in trying to hammer out a contract that expired in June.
In July, the union rejected a proposed one-year contract that would have raised officers’ starting pay from $49,000 to $57,000 and restored overtime pay, because the contract didn’t include pay raises. Officers complain that their salaries do not compare with those of law enforcement in neighboring cities and they allege that that has led to an officer drain to other municipalities and agencies. They’re also frustrated with a disciplinary process that they say is unfair. Usually it’s the employer, not the union, that calls and impasse. Police officers are prohibited from going on strike, but in 1994, when the union was at an impasse with the city over salary pay, officers called in sick in a three-day planned union protest they called the "blue flu." We talk about next steps and what the implications might be for the city and Mayor Garcetti.
Guest:
Tyler Izen, President of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing LAPD officers
Drawing lessons from SF and NY in dealing with Airbnb-type short-term rentals
Services like Airbnb and VRBO have proven to be a boon for travelers who want cheap lodgings and folks looking to make easy money from renting out their homes. But as the popularity of these short-term rental services grow, problems have arisen. From landlords angry at tenants for subletting their places, to cities struggling to create a regulatory framework, to residents concerned about what these itinerant renters are doing to the fabric of their neighborhoods, how to regulate and tax these short-term rentals have become a major issue in many cities across the country.
On AirTalk yesterday, we heard from LA City Councilman Paul Krekorian on how the city is trying to deal with short-term rentals and how LA might work to collaborate with Airbnb on tax collection. Today, we hear about what San Francisco and New York are doing to address these issues. Is it enough to tax those who rent their homes on sites like Airbnb and VRBO? How do different neighborhood dynamics change perceptions of short term rentals and potential approaches to regulation?
Guests:
Bradley Silverbush, New York City attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant litigation
Judson True, Legislative Aide for David Chiu, lawmaker and president of the San Francisco City Board of Supervisors. Chiu has proposed a law to regulate services like Airbnb in San Francisco. The full SF Board of Supervisors is expected to take up the legislation in mid-September
Quiz: LA’s best burritos and the bracket that should have been
Nate Silver’s burrito bracket collected 64 great burritos from across the country, and with a dedicated burrito journalist, FiveThirtyEight took on a mission to find the best burrito in America.
Armed with a statistical guide to burrito awesomeness Anna Maria Berry-Jester narrowed the bracket down to four, and finally declared a winner: La Taqueria in San Francisco.
Any Angeleno can tell you that the best of the burrito bracket is in our own backyard -- the L.A. picks from Barry-Jester’s list all had scores high enough to be contenders in the finals, had they not been knocked out early in killer bracket, any many other SoCal greats were excluded from the list completely.
Garrett Snyder, associate editor at LA Magazine, recommends Al & Beas and Mexicanos 30-30. He says that Boyle Heights is LA's burrito epicenter, and that the Wilmington/Long Beach area has a vast collection of all-star breakfast burritos.
"The first place to ever have a burrito on their menu was actually El Cholo, in the 30s," Snyder says. Since then, Southern California burritos have come a long way, with a burrito roster that has grown to include Korean-infused burritos, sushi burritos, and more.
How do SoCal burritos stand out from others across the state? Snyder says that San Francisco's mission-style burritos are more "everything but the kitchen sink" than L.A.'s more "minimalist" offerings. San Diego sets itself apart with true "California" burritos, an "intermingling of American culture, Tex-Mex, and Mexican culture," with more Americanized burritos that sometimes include fries.
We want to know about the greatest burritos here in the L.A. area: the simplest bean and cheeses, masterfully cooked meats, innovative fusion, and succulent seafood.
Should there be rice in burritos? Avocado? Can breakfast burritos compete alongside the best of the rest? Where have you found your most beloved Southern California burritos?
Didn't find what you were looking for in the quiz? Tell us where you get your favorite burrito in the comments below. And check out all of these options that our listeners recommended.
Guest:
Garrett Snyder, associate food editor at Los Angeles Magazine
Filmweek: “Dolphin Tale 2,” “The Drop,” “The Skeleton Twins” and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Wade Major, Lael Loewenstein and Charles Solomon review this week’s releases, including “Dolphin Tale 2,” “The Drop,” “The Skeleton Twins” and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Also, Toronto’s 10-day festival running from Sept. 4-14 kicked off with the premiere of a father-son tale starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall in “The Judge.” TV’s comical liberal Jon Stewart makes his directorial debut with the biopic “Rosewater.” Gael Garcia Bernal plays Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari, who was captured in Iran in 2009 following an uprising. Much like his weekly satire on Comedy Central, his film does not disappoint.
The festival’s second day, dubbed “Bill Murray Day” was celebrated with attendees outfitted in their favorite Murray characters. Steve Carrell plays a killer in “Foxcatcher” and Benedict Cumberbatch returns to the filmfest with “The Imitation Game.” KPCC film critic Peter Rainer has been there all week and checks in with the latest.
Dolphin Tale 2:
The Drop:
The Skeleton Twins:
Guests:
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and host for IGN’s DigiGods.com
Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC and Variety
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC and Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Classic filmmaker’s ‘showmanship’ honored in new book
The mastermind behind 56 feature films, including House on Haunted Hill, Strait-Jacket and The Tingler is now the central figure in Joe Jordan’s new book “Showmanship: The Cinema of William Castle,” which provides production background to some of Castle’s most infamous stunts.
Castle could perhaps be coined as the father of marketing gimmicks, as he presented quirky ideas into his work. In his feature film “The Tingler,” for instance, Castle attached a vibrating device attached to theatre seats during the movie’s creepiest moments. The filmmaker even had skeletons flying inside theatres during his film “House on Haunted Hill” and provided “Illusion-O” glasses for patrons watching his “13 Ghosts” movie.
Jordan’s book arrives just in time for the Academy’s centennial tribute to the prolific filmmaker, which is being every Friday in September at the Bing Theatre at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
What are some of your favorite William Castle films? How does Castle’s legacy live on in contemporary film and marketing plans?
Guest:
Joe Jordan, author of “Showmanship: The Cinema of William Castle”