Could L.A.’s City Council Expand Beyond 15 Members?
Among the many racist and discriminatory things discussed in the recent leaked tapes, the three City Council members in the meeting talked about using redistricting to carve up the city with their own interests at heart. One of the reasons that was possible is that there are only 15 council members representing a city of 4 million, with each member representing about 260,000 residents. L.A.’s City Council’s size has been locked at 15 members for nearly the last 100 years. It’s unusual for so few members to speak for so many constituents, and not everyone agrees it’s good for democracy. Joining us today on AirTalk is Jan Perry, former LA city councilmember from 2001-2013, she’s a candidate for the 37th congressional district.
Read more from LAist here
Triple Play: Dodgers Fall To The Padres In 4, We Look At What Went Wrong & Survey Remaining Teams
The Padres won three straight games against the Dodgers to clinch the division series 3-1 and will host Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in an all-wild card NLCS beginning Tuesday night. The Dodgers meltdown comes after a historic season in which it won a team-best 111 regular season games.
Today on AirTalk, we breakdown what went wrong for the Dodgers in this year’s playoffs and look at the remaining teams with host of KPCC’s All Things Considered, Nick Roman, and Molly Knight, author of “The Long Game” baseball newsletter.
With files from the Associated Press
Passenger Rail Plan To Connect Inland Southern California Keeps Chugging Along
The Coachella Valley Rail plan intends to bring daily passenger rail service across four counties in southern California, traversing the San Gorgonio pass and connecting LA to Palm Springs in a usual 3 hour round trip. The entity in charge of the Passenger Rail service project, the Riverside County Transportation Commission is hoping to secure mostly federal funding–at least $1 Billion estimated–for a Passenger Rail Service that would link major parts of inner Southern California, and for Angelenos, would offer the only dependable alternative to a trip through Interstate 10 when heading to areas like Palm Springs. Though probably a decade from being in operation, Transportation officials in Riverside County are hopeful renewed commitment on infrastructure funding from the federal government could speed up the process. Here to tell us more about the proposed rail service is Aaron Hake, Deputy Executive Director of the RCTC.
You can submit questions and comments about the proposed Coachella Valley Rail plan here
Albertsons And Kroger To Merge And Create A Supermarket Powerhouse. What Does That Mean For SoCal Shoppers?
Two of the nation’s largest grocers have agreed to merge in a deal they say would help them better compete with Walmart, Amazon and other major companies that have stepped into the grocery business. Kroger on Friday bid $20 billion for Albertsons, or $34.10 per share. Kroger will also assume $4.7 billion of Albertsons’ debt. Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen, who would retain those titles at the combined company, said the combination could save $1 billion annually in lower administrative costs, more efficient manufacturing and distribution, and shared investments in technology. The deal will likely get heavy scrutiny from U.S. antitrust regulators, especially at a time of high food price inflation. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission were already in the process of updating merger guidelines to better detect and prevent anti-competitive deals. Joining to discuss the implications for consumers is Joe Feldman, senior research analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, a trading, banking, and consulting brokerage firm focused on the consumer sector.
With files from the Associated Press
‘Over My Dead Body’ Unearths Hidden Histories Of America’s Cemeteries And What It Says About The Way We Live
The new book “Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries” (Harry N. Abrams, 2022) takes a trip to several different cemeteries throughout its chapters. It reveals relatively unknown stories and facts about each place that try to make sense of why and how we bury and memorialize the dead. And in doing so, it explores what it all says about how we’ve lived and evolved over the course of centuries. Author and journalist Greg Melville, who used to work at a cemetery in his hometown, joins the program to discuss the book.