Today on AirTalk, we look at the fiscal emergency LA City Council declared this month, paving the way for potential buyouts and furloughs for nearly 16,000 workers. Also on the show, FilmWeek host Larry Mantle speaks to members of the documentary “Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story."
LA’s Budget: How The Fiscal Emergency Could Impact City Workers
The L.A. City Council earlier this month declared a fiscal emergency, paving the way to approve buyouts for city employees and a furlough program for nearly 16,000 workers.
The council also voted on an amendment to negotiate a delay for raises called for in the current contract with the police department, but the effort failed. The city needs to bridge a huge budget shortfall that’s only growing as COVID-19 continues to shrink tax revenues. Mayor Eric Garcetti first proposed furloughing workers in his belt-tightening budget in April.
The council, hoping to ward off furloughs, delayed those cuts in favor of a buyout program -- in other words, paying people to leave the city payroll. But the buyouts fell short of the city’s goal, and attracted just 1,277 employees, fewer than half the number needed to forestall furloughs. Garcetti has warned department leaders to prepare for potential layoffs as an attempt to soften the blow of the budget shortfalls. Today on AirTalk, we discuss what the city is up against and what it could mean for city workers. Do you have thoughts? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
With files from LAist. Read more here.
Guests:
Jack Humphreville, member of the Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, a group that gives feedback to city leaders on the budget, and a contributor to CityWatch, an online publication covering issues involving the City of Los Angeles; he tweets
Ron Galperin, Los Angeles city controller; he tweets
COVID-19: Are You ready For A Wider Reopening?
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Shruti Gohil, professor of medicine at UC Irvine.
Today’s topics include:
What have we learned from Labor Day weekend?
Criticized CDC testing recommendations not written by CDC scientists
Study: coronavirus may increase premature births
CA taken off New York’s quarantine list
Mistaking smoke inhalation symptoms for COVID symptoms
Guest:
Shruti Gohil, M.D., professor of medicine and associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine
In New Book On Bunker Hill, An Ever-Changing Historical Neighborhood Is Explored
Los Angeles’ first suburb, Bunker Hill, was once a refuge of Queen Anne-style mansions for the city’s wealthiest residents. Now, over one hundred years later, it hosts many of the city’s most prominent cultural institutions.
Bunker Hills’ evolution is the subject of “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Essence of Sunshine and Noir,” a new book out this year by local historian Nathan Marsak. The book details the neighborhood’s rich architectural history (obscured now by the Modernist museum architecture of MOCA, the Broad and the Walt Disney Concert Hall) as well as the political battles between social engineers, local government and developers that made Bunker Hill into what it is today. Marsak also confronts the neighborhood’s fantastical legacy as a haven for brothels and gambling dens, a byproduct of the brooding postwar noir films shot on its streets. As with so many of Los Angeles’ neighborhoods, Bunker Hill’s construction in the popular imagination is as much Hollywood’s doing as anything else.
Today on AirTalk, Marsak joins us to help parse the facts and fictions of Bunker Hill. Questions? Join the conversation by calling 866-893-5722.
Nathan Marsak will be speaking about his book on Bunker Hill in a virtual event hosted by Vroman’s Bookstore Monday, October 5 at 6pm.
Guest:
Nathan Marsak, Los Angeles historian and preservation advocate; he is the author of the book “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Essence of Sunshine and Noir” (Angel City Press 2020)
FilmWeek: “The Nest,” “The Devil All The Time,” “Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story,” And More
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Wade Major and Angie Han review this weekend’s new movie releases on streaming and on demand platforms.
"The Nest" in wide release - playing at OC theaters
"The Devil All The Time" on Netflix
"Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story" on VOD (iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play & Vudu)
"Antebellum" on VOD (iTunes, AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Vudu)
"Alone" on VOD (iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Vudu)
"Kiss The Ground" on Netflix
"All In: The Fight for Democracy" on Amazon Prime Video
"Jay Sebring . . . Cutting To The Truth" on VOD - September 22 (iTunes & Vudu)
"Agents of Chaos" on HBO - September 23
Our FilmWeek critics have been curating personal lists of their favorite TV shows and movies to binge-watch during self-quarantine. You can see recommendations from each of the critics and where you can watch them here.
Guests:
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Angie Han, film critic for KPCC and deputy entertainment editor at Mashable; she tweets
The Unsung Action Heroes Of Any Film, The Documentary “Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story” Hopes To Change That
Girls can do anything boys can. Punch, kick, speed race a car, jump out of a building. Nobody proves that sentiment more than the stuntwomen you see in movies and on TV, the documentary “Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood” shows us why.
The film explores the talent and work of being a female stunt double, highlighting the history of how female stunt performers came to be. Through the accounts of active stunt performers, who many have seen in films like “Fast and Furious” and the Marvel movies, and the women who are largely considered to be pioneers of the profession, the documentary showcases the challenges female stunt performers have faced in a largely male-dominated field. Today on FilmWeek, we’re joined by director April Wright, and retired stunt veterans Jeannie Epper and Jadie David, to talk more about the importance of the film and how the profession has evolved over time.
Guests:
April Wright, director of the documentary “Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story”
Jeannie Epper, retired stuntwoman whose filmography includes the television series “Wonder Woman,” “Kill Bill: Volume 2,” and “Quarantine”
Jadie David, retired stuntwoman whose filmography includes “Escape from L.A,” “The Blues Brothers,”and “Sudden Impact”; she is co-founder of the Coalition of Black Stuntmen and Women, an organization advocating for more opportunity for black stunt performers