Protests have continued in Charlotte over the police shooting of a black man on Tuesday – the police chief said he plans to show the video of the shooting to the man’s family but not to the public – we bring you the latest developments; a new proposal to make L.A. an autonomous transit city by 2035 – what will it take?; and we look at how race and class are intertwined, and the implications for SoCal.
Charlotte Unrest: Video of police shooting; witnesses counter police account
Charlotte's police chief said Thursday he plans to show video of an officer shooting a black man to the slain man's family, but the video won't be immediately released to the public.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney has said that 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott refused officers' repeated commands to drop a gun, but he said during a news conference that the video does not definitely show Scott pointing a gun at anyone.
Putney said he is working to honor the request from the family of Scott to view the video. It's unclear when or if the video might be released publicly.
Residents say Scott was unarmed, holding only a book, and disabled by a brain injury. But it's unclear what the body cameras worn by three officers who were present during the shooting may have captured. Police officials say the plainclothes officer who shot Scott, Brently Vinson, was not wearing a camera and is black. He has been placed on leave, standard procedure in such cases.
As officials tried to quell the unrest, at least three major businesses were asking their employees to stay home for the day as the city remained on edge. Mayor Jennifer Roberts said earlier Thursday the city was considering a curfew.
The streets were mostly quiet Thursday, but Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Duke Energy all told employees not to venture into North Carolina's largest city after Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency Wednesday night and called in the National Guard.
A peaceful prayer vigil Wednesday night turned into an angry march and then a night of violence after a protester was shot and critically wounded as people charged police in riot gear trying to protect an upscale hotel in Charlotte's typically vibrant downtown. Police did not shoot the man, city officials said.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Litsa Pappas, Reporter with Time Warner Cable News in Charlotte; she tweets
Ajamu Dillahunt, Longtime worker rights and black liberation activist in Raleigh, North Carolina
What it’d take for LA to become driverless-car ready by 2035
On Wednesday, Councilman David Ryu introduced a motion in City Council that would make LA driverless car ready in 20 years.
The proposal would clear the way for agencies and departments like the Los Angeles Department of Transport to devote resources in conceiving how LA could become an autonomous transit city, and how much money it takes to make that a reality.
Many lofty ideals are attached to the vision of an autonomous transit city. Advocates say that it can lead to everything from the end of car ownership to the elimination of bumper-to-bumper gridlock.
How true is that vision? Does the city of LA have the resources to make it happen?
Guests:
Nicholas Greif, Director of Policy & Legislation for Councilmember David Ryu representing Council District 4, which includes Hancock Park, Hollywood, Los Feliz and other neighborhoods; he tweets
Ashley Z. Hand, co-founder of CityFi, a company that focuses on the integration of technology in the urban environment. She recently served as the Transportation Technology Strategist for the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, and developed public policy for shared mobility, automated vehicles and other technologies; she tweets
Nidhi Kalra, Senior information scientist at RAND, who has been studying autonomous vehicle policy for the last 10 years; she tweets
A Nation Engaged: Race and economic opportunity in Southern California
Whether you grew up expecting an inheritance, or had to scrimp for every last penny, chances are that your attitude about money was shaped by how your parents handled their finances.
Recent research indicates that economic disparity between races is rooted in the disparate ways wealth is accumulated over generations – or not. For many whites, wealth is built over generations and passed on, giving succeeding generations a chance to move up. That’s much less the case for people of color, who are less likely to own homes or retirement accounts, and more likely to be “unbanked.”
In a census survey released earlier this month, Los Angeles is ranked 5th among America’s poorest major cities, following Detroit, Phoenix, Miami and Riverside.
Larry speaks to financial planners today about what they’ve learned working face-to-face with a diverse clientele, both in SoCal and nationally.
What did your parents teach you about money? Was it important to have a bank or retirement account? To own a home? Is that achievable for you? What financial advice do you pass on to your children? And how can these disparities be addressed?
Guests:
Delia Fernandez, fee-only certified financial planner and investment advisor with Fernandez Financial Advisory, LLC
Matthew Murawski, a fee-only investment advisor at Encino-based Goodstein Wealth Management
Dorothy Brown, professor of law at Emory University
Series: A Nation Engaged
Much of the anger and anxiety in the 2016 election are fueled by the sense that economic opportunity is slipping away for many Americans. As part of our collaborative project with NPR called "A Nation Engaged," this week we're asking: What can be done to create economic opportunity for more Americans?
Read more in this series and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on Facebook.