Huntington Beach City Council Votes Against Denser Housing, Kicking Off A Fight With The State
The Huntington Beach City Council voted 4-3 to mount a legal challenge against the state over laws intended to boost housing. The city will immediately stop processing new permits for accessory dwelling units, which are secondary housing units (typically smaller apartments or cottages known as ADUs) added to existing homes. The state Attorney General's office and state housing department warned Huntington Beach in letters that the proposal is unlawful, and reminded the city that it had previously lost costly lawsuits over state housing law. Following the vote, the city will cease processing new permits for ADUs, and duplexes under Senate Bill 9.
Joining us today on AirTalk to discuss the housing fight is Casey McKeon, Huntington Beach City Councilmember and LAist’s senior reporter for Orange County, Jill Replogle.
With files from LAist. Read the full story here.
What To Watch For As Trial Of Longtime LA Politician Mark Ridley-Thomas Gets Underway
Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys delivered their opening statements Wednesday in the corruption trial of suspended Los Angeles City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, offering starkly different interpretations of his state of mind during his relationship with the USC School of Social Work in 2017 and 2018. That relationship is at the center of the trial. Prosecutors said when Ridley-Thomas’ son faced allegations of sexual harassment and resigned from the state assembly in 2017, then-L.A. County Supervisor Ridley-Thomas promised the school’s dean a lucrative contract with the county in exchange for the dean providing his son with a full scholarship and paid faculty job. Defense attorney Galia Amram countered that Ridley-Thomas has had a long interest in improving social services to people and that his relationship with the School of Social Work was a natural extension of that. The contract he voted on, she noted, was to extend TeleHealth therapy to foster children under the care of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services.
Today on AirTalk, LAist Correspondent covering civics and democracy Frank Stoltze tells us about the kinds of arguments we can expect from both sides during the trial and what he’s watching for as it gets underway.
With files from Frank Stoltze at LAist.com
American Tourists Killed and Kidnapped On A Trip To Mexico For Cosmetic Surgery
A road trip to Mexico for cosmetic surgery veered violently off course when four Americans were caught in a drug cartel shootout, leaving two dead and two held captive for days in a remote region of the Gulf coast before they were rescued from a wood shack, officials said Tuesday. Their minivan crashed and was fired on shortly after they crossed into the border city of Matamoros on Friday as drug cartel factions tore through the streets, the region’s governor said. A stray bullet also killed a Mexican woman about a block and a half away. The surviving Americans were whisked back to U.S. soil on Tuesday in Brownsville, the southernmost tip of Texas and just across the border from Matamoros. The convoy of ambulances and SUVs was escorted by Mexican military Humvees and National Guard trucks with mounted machine guns. A relative of one of the victims said Monday that the four had traveled together from the Carolinas so one of them could get a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in Matamoros.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll speak with Nathan Jones, Associate Professor of Security Studies in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University and Will Grant, Mexico Correspondent for BBC.
With files from the Associated Press
African Wildlife CEO Kaddu Sebunya On Why Californians Should Care About Biodiversity In The World’s Fastest-Growing Continent
While Africa may be thousands of miles away, some of the most pressing challenges facing the continent aren’t all that different from those we’re experiencing here in Southern California. Africans are also dealing directly with the effects of drastic climate change, co-existing with wildlife as cities expand (think mountain lions here in SoCal), and making decisions about green development and energy that will have effects for generations to come. So, what does all this have to do with us, and why should Californians care about preserving biodiversity and wildlife in Africa?
Today on AirTalk, African Wildlife Foundation CEO Kaddu Sebunya joins guest host Austin Cross about the work his organization is doing to impact climate policy and green development in Africa, what Californians and Africans have in common in the way both are working to coexist with wildlife as cities and suburbs develop, and why it matters outside of Africa’s borders.
More Young People Are Being Diagnosed With Colon And Rectal Cancers. What’s Behind The Rise?
More young people are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. That’s cancer that starts in either the colon or rectum. It’s the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S. The death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman in August 2020 put a spotlight on this type of cancer, particularly early onset colorectal cancer. He was just 43 years old. The percentage of new diagnoses in patients under 55 was about double in 2019 than it was a few decades ago. So why are we seeing this trend and what should young people be paying attention to? Joining guest host Austin Cross to discuss is Dr. Arif Kamal, oncologist and chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society, and Dr. Ankit Sarin, current associate professor of surgery at UCSF and soon to be chief of colorectal surgery at UC Davis. Plus, we hear from someone who was diagnosed with colon cancer and treated in their mid-30s.
Taking Stock Of Wattstax – LA’s Iconic Celebration Of Black Music
August 20th, 1972 saw the Los Angeles Coliseum packed with more than 100,000 people seeing 26 musical acts, including Kim Weston, the Staples Singers, William Bell, and Isaac Hayes, punctuated by speeches from Jesse Jackson and Melvin Van Peebles. The concert, part of the Watts Summer Festival, came seven years after the Watts Uprising shattered that community. Tickets were $1 each, ensuring folks could afford to go to the event, which was named Wattstax after the neighborhood of Watts and Stax records. A documentary of the concert, which featured commentary from Richard Pryor and interviews with people on the street, was released in 1973. For its fiftieth anniversary, the documentary was rereleased, along with a 12-disc box set of recordings from the day. Joining us to discuss this seminal moment in Black music is Nelson George, an author and filmmaker who specializes in documenting and celebrating African-American culture.
TV-Talk: ‘Grand Crew’ Season 2, ‘Marie Antoinette,’ ‘UnPrisoned’ & More
Have you felt completely overwhelmed when deciding what new show to watch these days? Us too. There’s just so much content out there between network tv and numerous streaming platforms. Each week, we’re going to 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, guest host Austin Cross talks to The Hollywood Reporter television critic Angie Han and Lorraine Ali, television critic for the Los Angeles Times.
This week’s reviews include:
- Grand Crew [Season 2] (Airing on NBC, Streaming on Peacock)
- Marie Antoinette (PBS)
- UnPrisoned (Hulu)
- The Mandalorian [Season 3] (Disney+)
- The Last of Us (HBO Max)