Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Names City’s First Female Fire Chief
After nearly 40 years with the Los Angeles Fire Department, Chief Ralph Terrazas is retiring. In his place, Mayor Eric Garcetti Tuesday nominated top deputy Kristen Crowley as the city’s first female fire chief.
Terrazas is credited for rebuilding the department following hiring freezes during the Great Recession, and increasing diversity among the firefighter ranks. But his leadership was also marked by allegations of hazing and harassment from women in the department. A group of women firefighters called for Terrazas’ resignation late last year over what they called his “failure to address a pervasive racist and sexist culture” within the department.
With files from LAist.
COVID-19: 4th Vaccine Dose Shows Limited Results, Ordering At-Home Tests, Contact Tracing, And More
In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, we speak with the director of Infectious Disease and Prevention at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena Dr. Kimberly Shriner.
Today’s topics include:
- In an Israeli study, a 4th vaccine dose shows limited results with Omicron
- L.A. County logs nearly tenfold increase in coronavirus cases in a month
- California throws more money at COVID-19 contact tracing, but is it too late?
- New federal website to order free COVID-19 tests launches
- For coronavirus testing, the nose may not always be best
- This is what long-term immunity to COVID-19 might look like
- With COVID-19, we’ll never have a normal flu season again
- Greece begins monthly fines for unvaccinated people 60 and older
The Latest With Ongoing MLB Labor Talks And An Outlook On The Season
Baseball labor talks to end the lockout resumed last week for the first time in 1 1/2 months with little evident progress during a bargaining session that lasted about an hour, jeopardizing a timely start to spring training, Major League Baseball imposed the lockout on Dec. 2 as soon as the five-year collective bargaining contract expired, a few hours after talks broke off. The discussions Thursday were the first on core economic issues following a 42-day gap, and MLB made proposals it hoped would at least start to generate momentum. After MLB made its proposal, the sides caucused. The players’ association then told MLB it will respond but did not commit to a specific date. Today on AirTalk, we talk with sports writer and author Molly Knight and James Wagner, who covers baseball for the New York Times about the latest.
With files from the Associated Press
How Are CSU and UC Campuses Handling The Pandemic As Omicron Surge Continues?
Since the 2020 fall semester, universities and colleges have had to upend much of their normal operating procedures to meet the demands of students during a pandemic. That included dropping admission requirements such as ACTs and SATs. The goal for universities was to keep a steady influx of students even with the shift to online learning. Many UCs saw an increase in applications from fall 2020 to fall 2021 as a result of their changes in requirements while at the same time, CSUs saw fewer students eager to re-enter school, with enrollment dropping by 1.7%. Meanwhile, the Omicron surge has forced some campuses back to online learning to start the spring semester.
Today on AirTalk, Larry speaks with KPCC and LAist higher education reporter Julia Barajas, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at CSU Northridge Mary Beth Walker, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at UC Riverside Emily Engelschall, and Associate Vice Provost of Student Success, Equity, & Inclusion at Cal Poly Pomona Terri Gomez about how their campuses are handling in-person learning during the Omicron surge and the drop in undergraduate enrollment.
Remembering Los Angeles Talk Radio Legend Michael Jackson
Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with Michael Jackson’s longtime producer and friend Lyle Gregory and share favorite memories of Michael’s career and talk about the influence his show and broadcasting style had on future generations of broadcasters, including Larry Mantle himself.