LAist’s Nick Roman On Watching Willie Mays In Person
Willie Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, has died. He was 93. Mays' family and the San Francisco Giants jointly announced Tuesday night he had died earlier in the afternoon in the Bay Area. The center fielder, who began his professional career in the Negro Leagues in 1948, had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. He was voted into the Hall in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999 followed only Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s top stars. The Giants retired his uniform number, 24, and set their AT&T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza. Over 23 major league seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants but also including one in the Negro Leagues, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Gloves. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra base hit in the 1954 World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history. LAist’s very own Nick Roman was lucky enough to see Mays play in person, when he traveled to San Francisco to watch Mays in his return to Candlestick Park after he was traded to the New York Mets late in his career. Today on AirTalk, Nick joins Larry to remember the legendary outfielder.
‘Roctogenarians’ In Mo Rocca’s New Book Remind Us It’s Never Too Late To Find Success
If you’re a fan of CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent Mo Rocca’s podcast Mobituaries, then you know Mo’s got a fascination with the twilight years of our lives. And while Mobituaries focuses on his favorite things that are no longer with us, his new book Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs instead looks at the stories behind late-in-life achievers and those who were at their peak when the rest of the world might think they should be calling it a career. From Mel Brooks, who’s still working in film close to his century mark, to Carol Channing who got hitched to her soulmate at age 82, the stories in Mo’s new book are a reminder that it’s never too late to chase a dream, and that success doesn’t always arrive at the same time for everyone. Today on AirTalk, Mo joins us to talk about Roctogenarians.
Mo will be talking about his book with L.A. Times columnist Patt Morrison tonight at 7:30 at The Ebell of Los Angeles in Mid-Wilshire. Tickets are still available but sales close soon! For more information, and to purchase tickets, click here.
Why So Many Of California's Cannabis Products Are Testing Positive For Pesticide Contamination
A recent investigation by the L.A. Times, in collaboration with cannabis newsletter WeedWeek, found concerning levels of pesticides in several cannabis products sold at retail stores for recreational use. Out of the 42 brands tested, 25 had levels above California's safety standards or above the EPA's standards for commercial tobacco. Seven of the pesticides the L.A. Times tested for are not required to be tested in California for cannabis products. But these chemicals, such as pymetrozine, are regulated by the EPA and can lead to cancer and reproductive issues. So, how are so many cannabis products with high amounts of pesticides ending up on shelves? And what can be done to help regulate these chemicals?
Today on AirTalk, we talk to Paige St. John, the LA Times reporter who broke this story, and Virgil Grant, owner of California Cannabis, a licensed cannabis dispensary with locations in South L.A., Hollywood & Boyle Heights, and owner of a 120-acre cannabis farm in Southern Humboldt County.
Statement from the Department of Cannabis Control:
The Department of Cannabis Control works tirelessly to keep consumer safe in an ever-evolving legal cannabis market.
While we appreciate the efforts of the LA Times to spotlight our work to protect consumers and enforce compliance within the legal cannabis market, it is disappointing that their recent reporting fails to recognize all our efforts to ensure consumer safety, including our compliance actions across the supply chain, anticipated testing for pesticides in products, and relevant updates to regulations slated for this fall.
We will continue our aggressive enforcement action while supporting licensees who adhere to some of the strictest regulatory standards in the nation.
‘Hollywood Pride’ Tracks LGBTQ+ Film History Through Its Iconic Figures And Films
Representation in the film has always been challenging, not just in unproblematic representation on screen but also in supporting those in the entertainment industry who were brave enough to come out to the masses. In film critic Alonso Duralde’s new book “Hollywood Pride,” he helps readers by taking a comprehensive look into those who helped shape film’s representation at a time when being anything but straight meant social backlash. Through its earliest icons like Anna May Wong, to modern-day figures like John Waters, the book offers an abundant amount of information for those looking to understand the timeline of LGBTQ+ history. So today on AirTalk, we talk to book author Alonso Duralde about his book and the work it took to put this extensive history all together.
Alonso Duralde will be in conversation at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Saturday, June 29 to discuss the book between 1-2 pm and for a book signing between 2:15-3:15 pm. Tickets are available on the Academy Museum’s website.
TV-Talk: ‘Orphan Black: Echoes,’ ‘Act Your Age,’ And More
The days are longer and the nights are shorter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get cozy for summer’s best new television series. Each week, we try to break through the noise with TV watchers who can point us to the must-sees and steer us clear of the shows that maybe don’t live up to the hype. This week, we discuss with Jen Chaney, television critic for Vulture, and Liz Shannon Miller, senior entertainment editor at Consequence.
Today’s shows include:
- Orphan Black: Echoes (AMC/AMC+/BBC America)
- Act Your Age (Netflix)
- House of the Dragon (HBO/Max)
- Slave Play. Not A Movie. A Play. (Max)
- Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution (PBS)
