Diablo Canyon, Paid Family Leave, Funding Abortion And More: What Bills Are Vying For Newsom’s Signature?
California’s legislative session has finally come to a close. Lawmakers rushed to approve hundreds of bills in the final hours. Not everything made it through, of course. Legislation that would have allowed teens to get vaccines without parent permission was pulled, for example. Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of the month to either sign or veto the bills that made it to his desk. Jeremy B. White, co-writer of Politico’s California Playbook where he covers state politics, joins AirTalk to walk us through the latest.
Lawmakers Vote To Keep the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Open For Five More Years
The California Legislature on Wednesday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s blueprint to extend the lifespan of the state’s last operating nuclear power plant by up to five years, after he warned the state could face rolling blackouts if its twin reactors were retired too soon. The vote opens the way for operator Pacific Gas & Electric to begin a two-pronged effort to seek a longer run for the plant beyond a scheduled closing by 2025, but uncertainties remain and it does not guarantee that will happen. Joining Larry to discuss the environmental impact of the vote is Jessica Lovering, co-founder and co-executive director of the energy policy research association Good Energy Collective.
COVID-19 AMA: US Approves Updated COVID Boosters That Target Newer Subvariants
Our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19. Today, we speak with Dr. Shruti Gohil, professor of medicine and associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine.
Topics today include:
- U.S. authorizes updated COVID-19 boosters targeting newest variants
- When can I get my Omicron booster in California? Here’s what we know
- Sen. Scott Wiener pulls bill that would have OK’ed teen vaccines without a parental OK
- Covid vaccine drive for youngest kids off to underwhelming start, data shows
- Experts say COVID-19 won’t hit as hard this fall, but remain wary of the possible rise of a new variant
New Proposal Would End L.A. COVID-19 Protections, Ending The City Eviction Moratorium And Allowing Rent Hikes
At the onset of the pandemic, federal, state, and local governments enacted a slew of orders designed to keep rental tenants from being evicted. While both federal and state protections have long-since ended in 2021, L.A. City’s own COVID-19 protections have remained in place, even surviving a potential Supreme Court challenge. However, under a new proposal released by the City of Los Angeles Housing Department, key protections like a moratorium on evictions due to nonpayment of rent would end in January 2023. Landlords with rent-controlled properties would also be able to raise rents again by January 2024.
Joining Larry to discuss what this new proposal would mean to both tenants and their landlords is Diane Robertson, Co-Founder Of The Coalition Of Small Rental Property Owners and Sasha Harnden, a Public Policy Advocate at the Inner City Law Center. Wondering how this proposal would affect you? Give us a call at (866) 893-5722 or you can email us at atcomments@kpcc.org with your question.
As Southern Californians Manage Through This Current Heatwave—What’s Being Done To Improve Our Future Heat Resiliency?
Southern California is off to a literal hot start for the month of September, with it experiencing a major heat wave. California Independent System Operator’s has issued a flex alert for what may be the hottest weather most of the state has experienced all summer– but what is the state doing to help residents manage through this heat in their homes and outdoors? In April of this year, California governor Gavin Newsom released an updated Heat Action Plan that put in place steps to improve our management of these heatwaves that could very well worsen during our ongoing climate crisis.
Today on AirTalk, we talk about the planning being done on the state and local levels to improve heat-resilient infrastructure with director of the state’s office of planning & research, Samuel Assefa, and Kelly Turner, UCLA professor and co-director of the Luskin Center for Innovation.
‘I’m Just Serena’: The GOAT Stays Alive Knocking Off The No. 2 US Open Seed
Serena Williams can call it “evolving” or “retiring” or whatever she wants. And she can be coy about whether or not this U.S. Open will actually mark the end of her playing days. Those 23 Grand Slam titles earned that right.
If she keeps playing like this, who knows how long this farewell will last? No matter what happens once her trip to Flushing Meadows is over, here is what is important to know after Wednesday night: The 40-year-old Williams is still around, she’s still capable of terrific tennis, she’s still winning — and, like the adoring spectators whose roars filled Arthur Ashe Stadium again — she’s ready for more. Williams eliminated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the U.S. Open’s second round to ensure that she will play at least one more singles match at what she’s hinted will be the last tournament of her illustrious career. Kurt Streeter, Sports of The Times columnist for the New York Times, and Cecil Harris, veteran sports reporter and author of "Different Strokes: Serena, Venus, and the Unfinished Black Tennis Revolution" (University of Nebraska Press, 2020), join Larry to discuss the electrifying atmosphere in the U.S. Open and where the G.O.A.T goes from here.
With files from the Associated Press