LA County Eviction Moratorium Faces Another Extension While Its Future Remains Uncertain
L.A. County will extend its eviction protections for tenants affected by the COVID-19 pandemic by one month, following a vote Tuesday by the County’s Board of Supervisors. The County’s eviction safeguards were set to expire after Dec. 31. But supervisors voted to push the deadline back one month, aligning with the city of L.A.’s tentative plans to phase out eviction protections after Jan. 31, 2023.
The County’s extension could stave off a wave of evictions predicted by tenant advocates. But with U.S. Census Bureau survey data from November showing that almost 11% of L.A. tenant households are behind on rent, many could still struggle to pay starting Feb. 1. The board also approved an amendment by Supervisor Hilda Solis asking for city staff to report back in 30 days on the possibility of extending the County’s eviction protections until June 30, 2023 and creating a $5 million relief program for small landlords. Joining AirTalk to discuss the moratorium extension and what the future holds for L.A. tenants is David Wagner, KPCC/LAist housing reporter, Dan Yukelson, Executive Director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and Jonathan Jager, staff attorney at LAFLA, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.
With files from LAist
‘Inside Safe’ Is Mayor Karen Bass’s Plan To House Thousands. What Can We Expect?
The new mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, said Sunday her administration will start moving homeless people from tent encampments into hotels and motels through a new program that will be announced Wednesday morning. Bass says her plan to move homeless people into rooms immediately will not “address everybody, but it is going to address, hopefully, a significant number.” She said people will not be forced to move, but that sanitation crews will stand by to clean up areas after people have left.
Advocates for the homeless have welcomed the use of motel rooms, where people can have their own bathroom far away from the clutter of congregated shelters. But they have criticized what they call “sweeps” of encampments that force people to move and separate them from their belongings in the absence of a firm motel room offer. Questions linger of what the program will cost and how exactly it will be funded. An estimated 40,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles. Here to talk about the soon to be announced “Inside Safe” program and what to expect from Bass’s response to the housing crisis are Amy Turk, the CEO of the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles and Pete White, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network.
With files from the Associated Press
As Documentary ‘18th & Grand’ Ends Debut TV Run, We Remember The Tale Of The Tape For The Olympic Auditorium
When the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles opened in 1925, it was designed to be the crown jewel of fight palaces, a cutting-edge competitor to New York’s Madison Square Garden set to entertain the citizens in the exploding new metropolis where it was built. But within a year of opening, the venue had essentially gone bust, and aside from a stint in the spotlight as a venue in the 1932 Olympics, it had not lived up to its grandiose expectations. But all that changed in the early 1940s, when the L.A. Athletic Club, which owned the Olympic, sent Aileen Eaton to find out why it was failing. Eaton not only turned the venue into one of the most iconic boxing venues in the country, but also made herself the most powerful boxing promoter in the country in the process. For several decades, the Olympic was the epicenter of the boxing world, with nationally-televised matches every week, and also became a popular venue for wrestling and roller derby. Documentary filmmaker Steve DeBro’s 2021 film “18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story'' explores the venue’s history and the people who helped make it, and is about to wrap up its debut TV run on Spectrum SportsNet Saturday, December 24th at 6pm.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with the writer/director of “18th & Grand,” Steve DeBro about what drove him to tell the story of the Olympic Auditorium, the process of putting the documentary together and what he took away from the project.
What Is Title 42, Why Is The Supreme Court Involved In Its Fate And What Does It Mean For Immigration Policy And Asylum Seekers?
The Supreme Court is temporarily blocking an order that would lift pandemic-era restrictions on asylum seekers, known as Title 42, but the brief order leaves open the prospect that the restrictions in place since the coronavirus pandemic began and have been used to turn back hundreds of thousands of prospective asylum seekers could still expire on Wednesday.
The court’s decision comes as officials and aid groups along the border are trying to prepare for whatever changes may or may not come Wednesday. Joining AirTalk to explain how we got here and what the fate of Title 42 might mean for President Joe Biden’s immigration policy plans is Hamed Aleaziz, staff writer covering immigration for the LA Times, Myah Ward, White House reporter for Politico and Pratheepan Gulasekaram, professor of law at Santa Clara University, where he specializes in constitutional law and immigration law.
With files from the Associated Press
No, You Don't Need To Drink 8 Cups Of Water A Day
New research published in Science found that most healthy adults don't need to worry about guzzling eight cups of water a day. That doesn't mean you shouldn't hydrate -- just don't complain when you spend all day excreting the extra water through urine. The age-old "eight cups" advice comes from a misinterpreted 1945 recommendation, which groups an entire person's daily hydration into suggested water intake. Today on AirTalk, we're joined by Herman Pontzer, co-author of the study and professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University. Pontzer is also the author of ‘Burn,’ a book that busts myths about metabolism.
KPCC’s John Horn’s Interview With Director James Cameron About 'Avatar: The Way Of Water'
It’s been 13 years since James Cameron’s Avatar opened in theaters, and went on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time. The filmmaker’s long-delayed sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, opened in theaters this past weekend. Like its predecessor, the new film is set on the planet of Pandora, and stars Avatar alumni Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña. KPCC arts and entertainment reporter John Horn spoke with Cameron last week about how his deep sea explorations inspired the film, what makes the movie-going experience special, and representation in Hollywood. For more from John, check out his podcast, Retake, from LAist Studios.
