KPCC: Stories by Patt Morrison

LAPD Chief Beck on early leak of Giants fan beating suspect's photo: 'The media's relentless in LA'

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:42:43 -0700

Police fliers have been circulating the city since the March 31 Dodger Stadium beating of Bryan Stow. Credit: Molly Peterson/KPCC

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck spoke with KPCC's Patt Morrison about the suspect in the beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium, as well as the continuing investigation.

Beck says that the police didn't want suspect Giovanni Ramirez's photo to be released before the police had a chance to do a lineup with the suspect, but KTLA published a photo of Ramirez before the lineup. The LAPD contacted KTLA and asked them to take it down, which they did.

Beck explained what happened. "The media's relentless in L.A. They were able to get a copy of a photo through a law enforcement source, not the Los Angeles Police Department, and put it online." Beck says that he thinks the media generally does a good job, though, and that it's a mutually beneficial relationship between the media and police.

Ramirez is also named in a crime that occurred in Nevada, but Beck says they're still working out whether Nevada wants Ramirez back to try him for that crime.

Ramirez took two polygraph exams, one private and one through the police department. Those results won't be released, though, as they're inadmissible and would taint the jury pool in the case, according to Beck.

Missouri tornadoes: Global warming may not be the culprit, expert says

Wed, 25 May 2011 17:40:19 -0700

A storm-damaged sign stands in a neighborhood after a massive tornado passed through the town killing more than 120 people on May 25, 2011 in Joplin, Missouri. Credit: Julie Denesha/Getty Images

Global warming may be the culprit for many natural disasters, but it is not necessarily to blame for the vast destruction being faced by residents of Joplin, Mo.

With the death toll now at 125, tornado-ravaged Joplin can attribute much of its devastation to changes in human activity.

Greg Carbin, a warning coordination meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center, says changes in population density played a significant role in the natural disaster.

“Season and population probably play a much larger role in what we've seen in the last few weeks than global climate change." said Carbin in an interview with Patt Morrison on KPCC today. The meteorologist called these “overriding factors,” and added that the increased prevalence of structures like mobile homes is partially to blame for the devastation in the Mideastern city.

Unfortunately, trailers were not the only man-made structures to be crushed during this natural disaster. The federal economy is also taking a hit.

With an estimated $3 billion in damage, Joplin is waiting on the federal government to approve funds for disaster relief. Yesterday, a House panel proposed $1 billion in relief funds. But Congress will not approve it until House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) finds a way for the federal government to offset spending.

Nikhil da Victoria Lobo, senior vice president of the re-insurance company Swiss Re, says this situation is indicative of the dilemma between public and private liability. Lobo notes that with any natural disaster — like the 2007 California wildfires — economic loss is going to be far greater than insurance loss. “The insurance loss from those wildfires was about $1.1 billion,” Lobo recalled in the interview with Morrison. “But the actual economic loss was about $9 billion,” he added.

According to Lobo, the discrepancy in loss reflects three trends that span the political spectrum. First of all, there is a push for more fiscal responsibility. Globally, he says, there is “the sense that governments should … take a more balanced approached to how money is spent.”

Secondly, Lobo states, governments are simply more constrained, and “don’t have the resources to respond as easily as before.”

Finally, Lobo said, there is an increasing vulnerability of natural disasters and global supply chains — meaning that if disaster strikes Russia, for example, people will have to pay more for hot dog buns in North America.

Osama bin Laden’s death revives ‘torture’ debate

Wed, 04 May 2011 17:44:52 -0700

People gather outside Osama Bin Laden's compound, where he was killed during a raid by U.S. special forces, May 3, 2011 in Abottabad, Pakistan. Credit: Getty Images

Osama bin Laden’s death has revived the debate over waterboarding and other interrogation methods the US and allies used on al-Qaida operatives. Some supporters of the Bush administration argue that those so-called “enhanced” interrogation methods helped lead CIA agents to bin Laden’s courier, and eventually to bin Laden.

Retired CIA agent Glenn Carle said that, based on his experience, he doesn’t think those tactics work.

“Instead of making you more easily manipulable … what it does is make you, the victim of these measures, simply a lot more angry, disoriented, but not more willing to share information,” Carle told KPCC’s Patt Morrison on Wednesday.

The New York Times reports that two al-Qaida prisoners who underwent the harshest treatment repeatedly misled interrogators about the courier’s identity. One al-Qaida operative did provide information about the courier, but the details of his interrogation are unclear.

Operation that took out bin Laden 'unprecedented in recent times'

Mon, 02 May 2011 14:02:16 -0700

This undated file photo shows Osama bin Laden in an undisclosed location inside Afghanistan. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Colonel Joe Felter spoke about what went into the operation that took out Osama bin Laden.

"It's a really sophisticated operation," requiring the cooperation of a variety of agencies, intelligence resources and assets, says Felter. Colonel Felter is currently assigned to the U.S. Army War College and is a research fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

"It was the result of just a long, long time of preparation, rehearsing, training for contingencies," says Felter. One example was how they handled a helicopter going down. Everyone got out safely and they blew up the helicopter, using a backup helicopter that was available for just such an event. "They rehearsed that scenario, I'm sure," says Felter.

"Certainly a difficult decision for a commander-in-chief," says Felter, but he says it was the right one. "The difference between success and failure is very slim."

Felter says this operation required "predictive intelligence" – knowledge of where someone will be in the future, in this case bin Laden. "This is the hardest of all information to cultivate."

While there was a $25 million reward for Osama bin Laden, dead or alive, the men who conducted this mission aren't eligible to receive that reward due to their service in the military.

Felter says that it's important to have a team in a mission like this that's just large enough while not being any larger. It's unknown how many men were aboard the two lead helicopters and the largely empty third helicopter, but Felter says about a dozen troops can fit on a Blackhawk helicopter.

The teams likely built mockups of the compound and practices, says Felter, with at least one helicopter going in empty which ended up being used to help bring everyone out.

Felter says there are historical parallels to this mission.

"Certainly I think the experience of Desert One in Iran in the early '80s was one example; the Son Tay raid in Vietnam before then," says Felter. With Son Tay, "there was no one on the target," while with Desert One, part of Operation Eagle Claw, it "ended in tragedy." Desert One was a 1980 mission in Iran that led to the destruction of multiple aircraft, helicopters being left behind and eight American servicemen being killed.

With the operation that killed bin Laden, "This is really unprecedented in recent times," says Felter, "and really an example of our special operations forces operating to an amazing level."

Pakistanis question how much their government knew about bin Laden raid

Mon, 02 May 2011 13:42:41 -0700

This frame grab from the Saudi-owned television network MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Center) shows alleged terror mastermind Osama bin Laden sitting between his Egyptian lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri (L) and Suleiman Abu Ghaith, the spokesman of his al-Qaeda network, in an undated videotape broadcast by the Dubai-based MBC April 17, 2002. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

The United States remains "deeply unpopular" in Pakistan, according to Cyril Almeida, a columnist/editor at Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper.

Local Pakistani television, says Almeida, was questioning whether the Pakistani military knew about the attack on bin Laden's compound ahead of time, and if they knew why they didn't do anything to stop it.

Almeida says that this operation "happening under the nose of our security establishment has caused some to question what is going on in this country."

Tensions were "already at an all-time high," says Almeida, following the Raymond Davis Affair earlier this year – the incident involving a CIA agent who said that he'd shot two men who were trying to rob him and was arrested by local authorities.

Almeida says that what usually happens after operations like this, such as drone strikes and other American activities in Pakistan, is that Pakistani officials start leaking information to the local media. In this case, officials aren't giving information either publicly or privately, which Almeida says raises "awkward questions."

Some commentators and journalists have pointed out that, in the past, American officials have confided information in Pakistani authorities – which then got leaked, allowing targets to potentially get away.

The compound where bin Laden was found was a "stone's throw" one of Pakistan's "premiere military installations."

"For that to have occurred in that area," says Almeida, "to have a 12-foot high wall ringing a large compound and barbed wire, if it did not invite questions from the local police or the army officials, that sounds pretty much like a lot of incompetence."

Patt Morrison: Why is LA still the homeless capital of the nation?

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:25:45 -0800

With over 40,000 homeless living on its streets, Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the country. Nearly four thousand of those homeless men and women live on Skid Row. Credit: Eric Zassenhaus/KPCC

Nearly 4,000 people live on the streets in a 50-square-block area of downtown Los Angeles. Most are black, male, poor, troubled by drugs, drink, and a criminal past – sometimes all three. It has just about the most intractably persistent homeless population in any American city.

Some people can’t get a roof over their heads. Others are shelter resistant. There are those who can’t bear to abide by the rules – curfews, for instance - that come with a bed and a meal.

KPCC’s Patt Morrison took a look at Skid Row, the policing that goes into it and talked to people affected by it during a two-part series.

The series begins by tracing Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s most cherished programs, the Safer Cities Initiative.

Its inception as an idea came from the pages of 1982 Atlantic Monthly magazine article, and moved to the streets of Los Angeles.

James Q. Wilson, a senior fellow at the Clough Center and a Distinguished Scholar in Boston College’s Department of Political Science, and social scientist George Kelling wrote the 1982 article “Broken Windows.” It introduced the broken windows theory of policing, which became the model for Safer Cities.

“The broken windows theory is a way of calling attention by the police to the fact that first the public likes order rather than disorder, and secondly the possibility that by bringing order to communities it’ll reduce the crime rate in those communities,” Wilson said in an interview with Morrison.

The phrase comes from a project by Philip Zimbardo, a Stanford University psychologist. He parked two cars on the streets, one in affluent Palo Alto, the other in a poor section of the Bronx. Both cars had their hoods propped open. Nobody touched the car in Palo Alto. Since nobody touched the car, Zambardo decided to break the window to see what affect that would have. Within hours, all the car’s windows were broken. In the Bronx it was the same effect.

Within minutes the car in the Bronx was stripped, Wilson said.

“If you don’t fix broken windows, bad things happen – more windows get broken,” he said.

The broken windows theory was taken up across the country. Notably in New York by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and then-New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton.

The theory, Wilson said: “The job of the police is to take seriously disorder.”

The small crimes could lead to bigger ones if ignored, Wilson said.

Villaraigosa and Bratton, who became LAPD Police Chief in 2002, launched Safer Cities in 2005, deploying 50 cops over 50 blocks, making the area the most policed neighborhood in the nation.

Violent crime dropped 40 percent in Skid Row.

Old Blu: LAPD's effort to reach out to homeless on Skid Row

“That’s huge,” said Deon Joseph, the LAPD senior lead officer whose beat is Skid Row. “That’s nothing to sneeze at.”

General Dogan, a Skid Row resident and activist with the Los Angeles Community Action Network, said the beefed up police presence was unjustified and that it criminalizes homelessness.

“They proceeded basically to criminalize Skid Row,” he said. “The police came out here with the attitude that everybody black was either on probation or parole or you’re a dope fiend or this and that. They would come out and just throw you against the wall.”

Villaraigosa’s plan was about targeting crime, urban blight and decay.

The LAPD was supposed to figure out how to do that, working with residents of Skid Row and the public and private agencies that operate there.

Five years later, police are going strong, but the social services lag behind.

The city's Streets or Services Program, an alternative housing program is on hold because of a lack of funds.

Police feel like they can fill the gap and be social workers as well.

But it’s a classic difficulty – coordinating with two government agencies and collaborating turns out to be very difficult.

“My personal viewpoint is that politics is gotten too far into justice,” Joseph said.

Wilson thinks the city has had great success in turning theory into practice but has a long way to go.

“Making the streets safer by dealing to a combination of enforcement and providing services to the homeless is important, but it still leaves a lot of unanswered questions,” he said.

He asks: How do you prevent homelessness? What’s the best way to keep people off streets permanently?

KPCC's Derrick Taruc contributed to this story.

View Skid Row, Los Angeles, CA in a larger map

Governor Schwarzenegger sits down for exit interview with Patt Morrison

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 14:17:12 -0800

KPCC's Patt Morrison interviews outgoing governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Credit: via L.A. Times video

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is down to his final days in office. Governor-elect Jerry Brown will be sworn in on Monday. The outgoing governor sat down with Los Angeles Times columnist and KPCC host Patt Morrison.

Schwarzenegger says being governor gave him an opportunity to get an up-close look at parts of the state a normal citizen might not see. “I tell you that California became the classroom for me in the last seven years. I thought that I knew a lot, but there’s just so much more to learn. And still there’s so much more to learn, so I think it has been a real interesting journey.”

Schwarzenegger says he does plan to attend Brown’s inauguration on Monday. He says he wants to show his support for the new administration, and also show California that he believes in continuity.

Full L.A. Times interview with Governor Schwarzenegger:

Watchdogs wary of foreign money funding election campaigns; others oppose disclosure

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:17:12 -0700

Think Progress reported that the US Chamber of Commerce is actively seeking foreign investment in a general account that it also uses to fund partisan political attack ads. Credit: Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images

Calls for disclosure and transparency are being weighed and debated on the heels of a recent report that alleges the U.S. Chamber of Commerce funds its political campaign ads out of its general account, which solicits foreign funding.

An online report published Oct. 5 by the progressive think tank ThinkProgress.org stated “the Chamber is likely skirting longstanding campaign finance law that bans the involvement of foreign corporations in American elections."

If true, the Chamber’s solicitation of foreign funding to pay for electioneering would be illegal. Since the report’s release, the Chamber of Commerce has rebuffed inquiries into its list of foreign donors, which it is not under obligation to release as a nonprofit organization under the tax code.

“The charge is that some of that money must at a minimum be going into the same account that is funding $75 million… which is about quadruple what the Chamber spent two election cycles ago,” said Michael Crowley, a TIME magazine reporter.

Crowley's report detailing public scrutiny of the Chamber appeared today in print and TIME’s website.

The Chamber has denied that any of this foreign funding has been used for electioneering purposes and is properly accounted for.

“The bottom line is we can’t know — we can’t say — exactly what’s going on here,” Crowley said. “At the end of the day, the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have to be transparent about who its donors are.”

As a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a lobbying group that is required to list how much it spends and how much it takes in, but not the identity of its donors.

Due to last January’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of nonprofit Citizens United, the Chamber can, and has, spent money on TV spots that mention a candidate.

Crowley, who has been following the reaction to ThinkProgress’ report, said that the January ruling has “made corporations more comfortable getting involved in politics. The Supreme Court is basically saying, ‘do what you want.’”

Crowley noted that their activities must educate voters about issues and not be used quite explicitly to elect or defeat candidates, but that distinction is “a pretty foggy line.”

“Everyone in Washington knows with a nudge and a wink what’s going on, it’s basically political advocacy, it’s basically attacks on candidates,” Crowley said.

The $300 million raised during this cycle, he notes, is almost overwhelmingly going to benefit Republicans over Democrats.

As Crowley noted in his TIME article, President Obama has taken an interest in ThinkProgress’ allegations and used them to motivate Democratic voters, but the political impact of such a backlash has yet to be seen.

In the meantime, ThinkProgress has continued to release reports, including one on Oct. 13 that claimed the Chamber released $885,000 from over 80 foreign companies.

The thrust of their criticism, said ThinkProgress editor Faiz Shakir, is that the foreign money is fungible and can comingle into the same general account. Shakir compares their political spending, which he noted had exceeded $10.5 million just this week, with traditional political action committees, who must disclose who paid them and limit its spending per candidate.

As a 501(c) nonprofit, the Chamber is not required to do either.

Some have called for transparency from nonprofit companies, including Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill), who called on the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the tax status of Crossroads Grassroots Political Strategies and “other organizations that are directing millions of dollars into political advertising without disclosing their funding sources,” according to an Oct. 12 Politico article.

But revealing those sources of donations would be a betrayal to those organizations’ members, said Allison Hayward, vice president of policy for the Center for Competitive Politics.

“The Chamber has a larger commitment to its members,” Hayward said. “It can’t decide in a fit of whimsy to turn over the list [of donors].”

Forcing the Chamber to turn over a list of donors by law under full disclosure, could release an expansive amount of information unrelated to politics, burying the most relevant information.

“There’s an inappropriately broad standard for disclosure that we would never support,” Hayward said.

Jonathan Collegio is also hesitant to introduce further legislation enforcing disclosure. Collegio is the communications director for American Crossroads, a nonprofit operating under section 527 of the tax code, which allows political involvement if its donors are reported. American Crossroads also has a spinoff group Crossroads GPS, classified as a 501(c)(4) which can intervene in political campaigns as long as it serves political welfare.

“There’s a long legal precedent for nondisclosure,” Collegio said. “The laws are what they are, and I think that the outrage that you’re seeing by groups at this moment toward nondisclosure is really, really selective outrage.”

“In 2008, for example, there was $400 million of independent expenditures to help elect Obama and the Democrats,” Collegio said. “Much of that was nondisclosed, and there was no outrage about that. So the fact that a different party is using the same laws and is raising money to me shows that this is a political issue.”

Whitman, Brown hold last debate before election day tonight

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:20:55 -0700

California gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown Credit: Justin Sullivan and Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Tonight is the last gubernatorial debate between Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman. Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw is the moderator of tonight's debate and spoke with KPCC's Patt Morrison.

Brokaw talked about the contrasting personalities of the two candidates. "For journalists, this is as good as it gets."

Brokaw said he thought the first two debates were pretty good, noting that the candidates got more into the immigration issue than in earlier debates. He said that the issues being debated play beyond California, particularly jobs and the economy.

KPCC's Frank Stoltze pointed out that one key question in tonight's debate is how Brown or Whitman will bring Democrats and Republicans together in Sacramento's fractured legislature.

It's a close race, with poll numbers dead even between Brown and Whitman. Experts say that Whitman needs over 80 percent of Republicans, 20 to 25 percent of Democreats, and the majority of independent voters to win. Whitman is facing the fact that Democrats outnumber Republicans in California, giving her an uphill battle. Polls are also showing 20 percent undecided, with some experts predicting those voters won't show up in November.

When it comes to what he'll ask tonight, Brokaw didn't give away too much.

"I probably have a couple surprises tonight, slightly different takes on these California-related issues," he said.

The debate's format will be fairly freeform, with each candidate getting 90 seconds to answer, with rebuttals when called for as decided by Brokaw. There will be no opening or closing statements.

There's been one debate since the scandal over Whitman's housekeeper first came out. Since the last debate, a voicemail came out with a Brown aide calling Whitman a "whore" over a law enforcement pension deal. The story hasn't garnered nearly as much media attention as the Whitman story. Brown's campaign apologized for the use of salty language by an aide, but Brown himself didn't make the comment.

Democratic consultant Bill Carrick told KPCC's Stoltze, "The problem is that people don't know [Whitman], and she's gotten into a formulaic approach."

Some might say that a problem Whitman is facing is a likability factor; as KPCC's Frank Stoltze noted, "She's not particularly warm and pithy. Jerry Brown, on the other hand, is very comfortable in front of the cameras."

Carrick said that he feels Brown hasn't given enough detail. He said that people want to hear about what Brown is going to do in the future when it comes to initiatives and policies, less about the past.

Stoltze noted that part of that is Whitman trying to portray herself as the sober businesswoman, an efficiency expert that can come in and clean up Sacramento. Meanwhile, Brown is trying to portray her as someone who puts the rich above the poor. Whitman and Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina softened their images a bit at a recent Latino event where they drank tequila shooters, though that may not have been a spontaneous moment.

"I've been doing this for 45 years and I still love it," said Brokaw. For over four decades, Brokaw has been covering politics. The first campaign he ever covered was the gubernatorial race between Jerry Brown's father, Pat Brown, and Ronald Reagan.

Brokaw talked about defining debate moments, noting that he was the one who asked Lloyd Bentsen the question of Republican Dan Quayle in the 1988 vice presidential debate that led to his opponent, Senator Lloyd Bentsen, saying the famous line, "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." Brokaw said those defining moments aren't always as obvious at the time.

Brokaw talked about this debate coming at an important point in history. "There is something kind of cosmic about this election," said Brokaw, and it plays into the question of whether "the magic of California" is still intact.

You can listen to the debate live at KPCC.org and on the radio at 89.3 FM at 6:30 p.m. C-SPAN will be carrying the debate on a delay.

KCET drops PBS, risks viewer loyalty to avoid $6.8M yearly dues

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 16:26:40 -0700

KCET, one of the largest public television stations in the nation, officially announced its decision to cease broadcasting PBS programming.

KCET is following through on a contingency strategy by dropping PBS programming to avoid $6.8 million subscription dues that haven't been adjusted since before the economic crash.

Although the public is wary of losing popular PBS programs, KCET President and CEO Al Jerome is confident local programming will take advantage of the opportunity to serve the Los Angeles community.

While the possibility had been considered during the station’s failed negotiations with PBS, the decision comes as a surprise and betrayal to some loyal KCET viewers who voiced their concerns to guest host David Lazarus on today's Patt Morrison show..

“I think it’s a terrible decision,” said Al, a caller from Los Angeles, who went on to say that disconnecting KCET from the PBS network would essentially “relegate LA to being provincial.”

“I can’t think of anything dumber,” said Dan, a caller from Dana Point, regarding KCET’s decision, specifically noting that he turns to the station for PBS programming. “It sounds like ego more than anything else.”

L.A. Times media critic Jim Rainey also explained the circumstances regarding the financial feud between KCET and PBS: several years ago, KCET had received extraordinary funding (including a $40 million grant from BP) and hosted a successful fundraiser for A Place of Our Own/Los Niños en Su Casa.

PBS bases each station’s dues on its income and raised KCET’s dues 40 percent, according to a KCET press release. PBS froze KCET’s dues at that highwater level – right before the economic crash.

According to Rainey, PBS refused to reduce fees for KCET in order to avoid setting a precedent for other stations. If they reduced one station’s fees, “the whole system could be in danger,” Rainey said.

(In full disclosure, Lazarus said, he and Rainey also work on the KCET-produced SoCal Connected program.)

Lazarus pointed out that PBS would not allow KCET to run programs “a la carte,” as PBS allows other stations to do, which are not entitled to buy all programs but must buy at least a quarter of the programming.

The decision to cease subscription of PBS shows will leave large gaps in KCET’s programming schedule when it stops airing PBS favorites like Nova, Frontline and Sesame Street, but KCET President and Chief Executive Officer Al Jerome is optimistic and excited about the opportunity for locally-produced programming to flourish.

“We’ve put together a schedule that we’re putting the finishing touches on,” Jerome said on-air shortly after news of KCET’s decision reached the media.

Jerome recognized that the switch will be very disruptive to viewers, but was confident that the variety of national and international programming would meet the needs of KCET’s constituency.

Jerome’s strategy for the future of KCET’s local programming is to take advantage of the arts and culture community and film community in the LA area.

“We have so many creative resources,” Jerome said. “It would be great to provide the opportunity to show what’s being done in L.A.”

Although KCET would save the $6.8 million PBS fee, Lazarus asked caller Carol from Rancho Santa Margarita whether she would continue to support KCET in the future with donations should they lose their PBS programming.

“No,” Carol said, “I would stick with the channel with PBS.”

Jerome predicts an initial loss of support from a public that's come to expect PBS programming, but hopes that as the vision for the station becomes clearer to the public, they will support KCET for “really doing the job of covering our community better than anyone.”

Jerome’s optimism seems to suggest that KCET had planned to focus on their own content and suspend PBS programming all along, but the shifting strategy is really the execution of a contingency plan that Rainey reported on in August.

At that time KCET was ten months into “intense negotiation” with PBS to lower KCET’s dues. Despite three years of negotiating, KCET and PBS could not reach agreement, leading to KCET’s announcement today.

Amidst the negotiations, and still considered a possibility by Jerome, is a consortium of the four public broadcasting stations in the L.A. area, consisting of KCET, Orange County-based KOCE-TV, San Bernardino-based KCVR-TV, and the LA Unified School District’s KLCS.

The consortium would share broadcasting of PBS programs and cross-promote to ensure viewers were made aware of the schedule of PBS programs across all four stations.

In the meantime, KOCE-TV, KCVR-TV and KLCS will continue to carry and broadcast PBS programming, presumably inheriting KCET’s PBS viewership.

“We assume that by January 1, we will be the primary PBS station on the market,” said Mel Rogers, KOCE-TV’s president and CEO. Although Rogers said KOCE will do everything they can to have as little disruption in viewers’ transition to KOCE, their schedule won’t be “wildly different right off the bat.”

Rogers said KOCE considers sister stations KLCS and KVCR to be partners in absorbing KCET’s audiences and ensure cross-promotion to ensure viewers “find out what’s on when.” Rogers predicts the majority of the burden to fall on KOCE.

However, Rogers doesn’t expect that burden to include the $6.8 million expense KCET could not absorb for PBS programming, citing KOCE’s smaller size and comparatively smaller overhead than the L.A. station.

“There are occasionally interesting programs, but without PBS my family will rarely see KCET and remove it from favorites,” user Tom Sabbe commented on the story’s KPCC web page.

“I don’t own a TV. KCET doesn’t matter [to me] because I watch it on the computer,” caller Susan said. “I go to the LA Times and Pasadena City Star for local news.”

Of the half-dozen calls during the program, one caller voiced her complete support of Jerome’s local opportunity strategy.

“I think it’s a great decision, and I’m gonna take advantage of it!” said caller Vicky, who said she runs a production company that runs ethical stories, one of which beat the New York Times to the punch on a fraud expose.

KCET’s decision, she said, will “bring ethics back in the media and not just sell time. It’s a great opening of the door [for people] to speak out and tell their story.”

When the watchdog's away, the city will play

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:20:59 -0700

From the now infamously high salaries of Bell’s city council, to the questionable city contracts in Maywood and the residents of Hawaiian Gardens gathering signatures in an effort to recall two city council members, corruption seems to be spreading across the Southland. Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Where were the voters and the press before the scandals broke out? Overflow crowds fill Bell's City Council chambers and the neighboring community room as revelations surface that the city manager was making $800,000 a year.

The scene is repeated in Maywood. In Hawaiian Gardens, residents push for a recall of two councilmen. An indictment in Vernon and federal prison time for a former treasurer in South Gate. Scandals rock Compton and Lynwood.

"The big problem is no one was watching," Bob Stern, the president of the Center for Governmental Studies, told KPCC's Patt Morrison on Tuesday. "I really feel sorry for the citizens of Bell. They were stonewalled by the City Council."

Several law enforcement investigations are underway into the city of Bell's finances.

The city found itself in the national spotlight when the Los Angeles Times reported that some top city officials were making exorbitant salaries. City Manager Robert Rizzo was being paid an annual salary of $787,637; Police Chief Randy Adams, $457,000; and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia, $376,000.

"The community has gotten really engaged," said Cristina Garcia, spokeswoman for the Bell Association to Stop The Abuse (BASTA), a reform group backed by city police officers. "They just want to work on getting their government right."

Rizzo, Adams and Spaccia have resigned in the uproar that rose when The Times printed those salaries. The paper also revealed that Bell's mayor and three of the city's four council members were being paid $97,000 for their part-time jobs.

The mayor and council members agreed to reduce their salaries, but refused to heed their outraged constituents' calls to step down.

"Many of the cases occur because there is an unengaged electorate," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley.

He cited investigations in 28 of the county's 88 cities, and also cited the lack of a local newspaper as a factor. Cooley characterized what happened in Bell as "nothing more than unbridled greed and operating in secrecy."

According to state Controller John Chiang, state law caps the property tax rate for pension obligations at the rate used in fiscal year 1983-84. But residents of Bell saw their property tax obligation increase from 0.187554 percent in 2007 to 0.277554 percent this year, he said.

Reacting to the Bell scandal, California Treasurer Bill Lockyer this month ordered CalPERS, the state's pension program, to report on city and state employee salaries.

L.A. and several other cities in the state have begun posting the salaries of public officials. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for the posting of state employee salaries as well.

Garcia called for salaries to be presented in a way that's easy to understand.

She cited Huntington Beach as a city which provides basic information about base salaries, severance money, overtime and benefits it pays to its employees.

Stern suggested requiring cities to put city council meetings on the Internet, perhaps via podcasts.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that people are losing their watchdogs.

Local print publications are disappearing as print journalism jobs dry up due to changing habits of readers merging to the Web and print ad dollars dry up.

The Los Angeles Times once had seven local editions with staffs that covered neighborhoods, Stern said.

California lawmakers are debating bills related to the salary scandal in the city of Bell that has set off a fierce statewide debate about how much municipal employees should be paid.

Under one bill going before the legislature this week, SB501, all city and county government employees would have to report their compensation each year and have it posted on a public website.

Another bill, AB1955, would restrict the compensation that employees of charter cities can earn.

California's giant public pension fund, CalPERS, is reviewing the salaries of highly paid municipal employees statewide.

It also is conducting a separate review of the highly compensated employees of Bell, where a city manager's annual salary and benefits totaled $1.5 million.

Authorities are looking into questionable city contracts in Maywood. Residents of Hawaiian Gardens are gathering signatures in order to recall two city council members.

Other officials have also been charged in corruption-related cases.

In Vernon, the now-retired city manager, Bruce Malkenhorst Sr., was indicted after having made more than $600,000 a year.

In South Gate, the former treasurer was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of taking $20 million from the city.

In Compton, Former Mayor Omar Bradley and four city officials were arrested in connection with misusing city credit cards.

In Lynwood, five City Council members were indicted in connection with using city money to boost their salaries and for personal expenses.

KPCC Wire Services contributed to this report.

Internet access - a right or a privilege?

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:15:54 -0700

A man looks at an advertisement on his laptop computer in Los Angeles on November 30, 2009. Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

There's a growing debate over whether the Internet is a public tool, or the domain of private enterprise for generating profit. Monday, President Obama signed a memo committing the government to expanding broadband access.

Finland, starting today, has given every citizen the legal right to a 1Mbps broadband connection, with providers required to make those connections available to all citizens. Finland is also working to get every citizen a 100Mbps connection by 2015.

Obama pointed out the advantage that widespread Internet access gives to other nations. The United States government has not committed to an ambitious public Internet plan like Finland.

"Basically, my tax money would be going to support delivering pornography to people," said John in Fullerton, a caller to KPCC's "Patt Morrison," explaining why he didn't want public-funded broadband access. "Whether it's racially biased content, or hate speech, I don't want to support that kind of content over a public network."

Sunne McPeak, president and CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund, countered that it's imperative for United States citizens to have broadband access in order to be globally competitive.

Caller Derek also responded to John, saying, "Paying for broadband is not paying for their pornography. It's more like paying for a public road that someone could then drive on and buy pornography."

"There is a tug and pull" between cable and phone companies on one side and those who want more broad public access, said Norm Mineta, former congressman and secretary of transportation and commerce, now head of a California Emerging Technology Fund advisory board on broadband access.

"Many of our competitors [around the world] are pouring money into this whole issue of broadband accessibility," said Mineta, "because there is a relationship between accessibility and the capability of the students, as well as the productivity of their economies." Mineta stressed the importance of broadband to prevent the United States from falling behind in the global economy. Mineta talked about countries like Japan being ahead of the United States due to their significantly greater access to broadband.

McPeak talked about the different background the United States has compared to a nation like Finland. "You have a different history in our country of the private sector deploying the technology and consumers wanting more and more of it."

Right now, over 90 percent of Californians could access broadband, but only 62 percent use the Internet at home. Some factors or why more don't use the Internet include language barriers and cost. McPeak's organization is pushing for 80 percent using broadband by 2015.

Mineta talked about making computers available to those making under $40,000, the disabled and members of minority groups, including non-English speakers.

McPeak explained that one strategy for reaching these new communities was by making computers available to schools, and letting students take those computers to use at home. They also are offering training to those parents to show them why they should be interested in using the Internet. This also helps those who can't afford computers.

There are also efforts to offer lower cost broadband access, as well as free trials. One motivator for parents to get online – seeing their kids' homework and grades on the computer.

Another route being pursued is talking to public housing utilities about getting broadband into those units. It's relatively cheap to set up a local area network in public housing for the use of its residents.

McPeak pointed out that there are still 40,000 square miles of California that don't have access to broadband, which includes 1.4 million people.

LAUSD chief: Major cuts coming in next few years

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:53:04 -0700

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines returns to the Patt Morrison program for 'Big Man on Campus' Credit: Lauren Osen/KPCC

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ramon Cortines is constantly faced with a slew of tough decisions and duties. Among those duties is balancing a strained budget while still maintaining an adequate workforce.

Like the entire state of California, LAUSD has faced a major budget crisis for years.

Cortines spoke to Patt Morrison today about juggling so many responsibilities at once and even hinted at his own retirement in the near future.

Right now, Cortines says, the district’s goal is to save jobs.

“We're doing everything possible to save jobs, not just cut. UTLA alone gave $150 million to buy back jobs,” said Cortines, who was himself on a furlough day during the interview. “All but two of the bargaining units now have joined in.”

The superintendent also gave the outlook for the 2011-2012 budget, which he said would start off with a $263 million deficit.

When Morrison asked Cortines about jobs that would be cut, he confirmed that nearly 1,000 jobs would be cut in the coming years.

Cortines said some cuts would come from the administration, where he’s already made many cuts.

“And people say, ‘that’s great you can just cut the central office.’ They provide the services for classrooms, for schools. They make sure the payroll gets done. All of the kinds of things that we just take for granted,” Cortines said. “Just a teacher in a classroom cannot do it. We need a lot of support people.”

LAUSD has recently hired a deputy superintendent, which has left many wondering if that should be taken as a signal for the end of Cortines’ time as superintendent.

“I'm not going to be here forever,” Cortines admitted. “I think we need to face the issue of how do you keep stability, how do you develop continuity, how do you keep people in place that you can transition to if the board chooses that person?”

Morrison asked, “Do you have a date circled in red on your calendar?”

Cortines joked, “In my head I do. It’s today!” But he acknowledged that he would at least stay on board to complete the budget for the next year, which is due in August.

“I'm not just going to run away from the problem,” Cortines said. “I think we've made a lot of progress and we've made a lot of progress under an unbelievable amount of economic strain.”

Q&A: Patt Morrison talks to Congressman Luis Gutierrez about immigration reform

Sat, 08 May 2010 05:00:00 -0700

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), speaks in favor of national immigration reform at a rally on April 25, 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

A man named Luis Gutierrez was arrested in front of the White House last week. He and a few dozen other people linked arms and sat down and said they weren’t going anywhere until President Obama signed immigration reform. He was wearing a shirt that said in Spanish, “Arrest me, not my friends.”

Below is a transcript of the Q&A recorded on May 5, 2010:

Patt Morrison: But, this Luis Gutierrez is Congressmen Luis Gutierrez, a democrat from the Fourth District of Illinois, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Financial Services Committee. Thank you for being here.

Luis Gutierrez: Patt, it’s wonderful to be with you.

Morrison: So this protest that you did, you’ve got a lot of power in Washington, why did you take it to the streets?

Gutierrez: Well, I was invited by a number of organizations here in the Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland community and they had organized because they felt it was necessary for the millions of undocumented children, some of whose parents have already been deported, for the fear that community feels because of the separation and the destruction of the family, given our failed immigration policy, that it was time to speak out against the immorality of an immigration system that destroys families and causes such fear of the federal government and of institutions.

So, they invited me and I thought they were right. I think it is time that people understand there are other avenues of action and at the inaction of the Congress of the United States. We should have different tactics and so peaceful nonviolent civil disobedience seemed to be to be an appropriate one so we could bring attention. This is all to bring attention to the plight of the undocumented workers, of the families and particularly of those children.

Morrison: Congressmen Gutierrez, so this wasn’t just about the Arizona immigration bill, which has gotten a lot of people out into the streets.

Gutierrez: The events across this country were organized prior to the Arizona, prior to 1070. Eighty cities were organized. Now, did we collectively decide that we would all be Arizonans that day? Yes. Did we decide that we would focus on Arizona? Yes. Did we show a sign of solidarity with Arizona? Yes. But, when we said we want comprehensive immigration reform that is what we want the president to act on.

Morrison: You were a supporter of President Obama’s. I suppose on many things you are still. Why do you think you and the president have parted company on this? Is it the substance of immigration reform or is it the politics?

Gutierrez: I’m happy you bring it up because I have a 99.9 percent voting record with the president of the United States. I can’t think of an issue that has come here legislatively in which I haven’t voted for him. The energy policy, health care, reform of our financial services systems, I’ve been a supporter of this president and of his policies.

Morrison: I sense a ‘but’ coming here somewhere.

Gutierrez: Yeah, well but we have a huge vacuum when it comes to comprehensive immigration reform. Candidate Barack Obama made it very clear, enthusiastic, unequivocal promise that he would bring about comprehensive immigration reform. Now, do I understand the politicians either walk away from their promises or that new developments make keeping those promises difficult? Yes.

It’s been difficult to get health care and Republicans have stymied the way but we moved forward. It’s been difficult to do energy policy but we’ve moved forward. It’s been difficult today to look at reform of our financial system but you know what, we moved forward because we understand that those issues are important.

All I’m saying is that Mr. President move forward, show the leadership and the skills. You know I still remember Barack Obama in 2004. I remember how he dazzled us. I remember how he encouraged us. I remember that we all jumped out of our seats. I remember how he enthralled the audience. He can do that. I want him to do it around comprehensive immigration reform. I want him to use all of those skills that I know he has and the power I know he has and the influence that I know he has to bring about change on this issue. And you know what? If we lose, we lose together, but we fought together.

Morrison: The words that have been ascribed to you, the sentiments ascribed to you are anger, dissatisfaction, disillusionment.

Gutierrez: Well, you know something — I’m here in the Congress of the United States. I see families being ripped apart. In the last year, I’ve visited 40 cities. I’ve been to Bridgeport, Conn,, Salinas, Calif., I’ve been down to Iowa, the meat packing plants there, I’ve been to sweatshops in Miami.

I’ve visited and run the gambit and I know the trials and tribulations, I know the suffering that exists. I’ve seen the exploitation. I’ve seen women abused and exploited both financially and physically and I think the president knows it too and he should act on it. Yeah, I’m a bit disillusioned that he hasn’t acted more on the issue and I think that someone needs to speak loudly and clearly about that.

Morrison: I’d like to ask you about some of the party considerations here, the political considerations here. Clearly, financial reform and jobs had to come first, that was probably the primary reason that people who voted for President Obama did so is economic reasons. Then we have the question of carbon emissions, which has now been raised to the fore because of the spill in the gulf.

There are several things that had to come first on the agenda. Is it really the right time to put through immigration reform considering that it may imperil many not only other elements of the president’s and the Democrats agenda but even Democratic seats and democratic control of Congress come November.

Gutierrez: You know what, when it comes to immigration, it always gets the short stick. It’s always put at the bottom of the agenda. There are always other considerations: let's get the majority, we might lose the majority. Why are there all these political considerations about political party and the power and the influence of political party?

Shouldn’t it really be about what’s right and what’s wrong and what kind of priorities we should have as a nation. The issue of immigration just didn’t pop up. The fact is that I introduced the bill with Senator Kennedy and Senator McCain. We’ve been fighting for it. There have been two votes on the Senate floor; two times it’s been brought up for debate and vote on the Senate floor.

This is not a new issue and he knew that when he was candidate, Barack Obama. But he saw when he went to L.A. or when he went to Chicago or Miami, when he went anywhere to speak to a Latino audience, he saw what would shake those rafters, he saw what would bring people to their feet, he knew what would motivate people in unprecedented numbers to come out and vote in November, it was the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. And I think he should understand that if he’s going to use that kind of power to get people to vote, he should understand people’s expectations are going to be very, very high.

Morrison: Does that mean that if between now and November there is no comprehensive immigration reform bill that comes to Congress that you would say to Latinos, maybe you should show President Obama how strongly you feel about this by not turning out to vote.

Gutierrez: I don’t know, I don’t know that we’re there yet. I will tell you that I think the growing frustration and dissatisfaction is there. But you know I also see Arizona and I’ll tell you, whatever frustration and anger exists because of the inaction of the Congress of the United States, I think there might be a more compelling reason to come out and vote because of Arizona.

So, everything tends to balance themselves out in the political equation. I haven’t made that judgment but I think that Latinos and immigrant voters should be careful. I’ll tell you what. I didn’t vote for every Democrat in the last election. When I got a ballot, I voted for those Democrats that shared my views, shared my passions and that shared my politics for public policy. You should never vote for a candidate because they are of your party, you should vote for a candidate because they share your values.

Morrison: You said you didn’t vote for some Democrats, does this mean you voted for Republicans?

Gutierrez: No. I just didn’t vote.

Morrison: You know, you’ve stood out among your Democratic colleagues there, you’re talking about how you got your rear end kicked around on "60 Minutes" and in the Washington Post. So how do your colleagues regard you?

Gutierrez: I don’t know. You know, I have a wonderful relationship with them. You know, we introduced the bill; we’re near 100 co-sponsors. I meet with them, I meet with the speaker, I have a great relationship with my colleagues, they understand my passion for this issue, they share it.

I like to think that a lot of them understand that someone has got to take the bullet for it to move the issue forward. Many of them are probably happy that it’s me. They’ll go to the state dinners and have a nice meal at the White House and they’ll go on Air Force One ad they’ll get those treats an they will be able to move their political agendas forward.

I understand, everyone has different roles to play. I want to go home to Chicago. I want to make it absolutely clear that when we do comprehensive immigration reform, I’m going home to Chicago; I’m going home to my wife, my kids. I’d love to go teach at a local university, I’d love to do other things with my life.

Morrison: So this would be your signature?

Gutierrez: I stay here because of this issue. And I tell you and anyone else who will listen, that is what keeps me here grounded on this issue.

Morrison: Congressman, you mentioned the Arizona legislation, that certainly was treacherous ground in California when Republicans rallied around Proposition 187 and it lost Latino support for a generation to Republicans in this state. Is that what you see happening. are your Republican colleagues concerned about that?

Gutierrez: I think that (SB) 1070 can be the other coin of Proposition 187. When I get here to the Congress of the United States in ‘93, I started the first national 'lets become a citizen' campaign. I remember how difficult it was to get people to sign up to become a citizen.

Then came proposition 187 in ’94 and let me tell you, it became a lot easier because people understood and it made people realize the importance of becoming citizens, of voting and of getting active. It brought new value, the attack brought new value. People wanted to equip themselves with tools.

There are millions of permanent residents, millions in key electoral states across this country who today can apply to become American citizens, who can be equipped to be voters during the next presidential campaign and I think that is an avenue that we have yet to truly use and exploit in the sense of the immigrant community and it’s one that I certainly am going to make sure doesn’t stay at that level.

Morrison: Can you tell me everybody agrees that immigration needs reform? But, the question is, and if you could detail how you think it’s going to look, because in 1986 under President Reagan there was considered to be the end all and be all of immigration reform bills, and a lot of people would say, look we’re essentially back where we were then. Maybe a little better, maybe a little worse. What’s different this time?

Gutierrez: What’s different this time is there are millions more. The arguments are shaped so differently, we don’t have a Republican president like Ronald Reagan leading the charge; like you know only Nixon can go to China, maybe only someone like Ronald Reagan can lead the ability of this nation to see immigrants in their true light. So I think things are different.

But at the same time they are the same. You see the plight of an undocumented, it’s larger, it’s bigger but they have many more friends and many more allies. I’ll tell you, the Latino community wasn’t key and instrumental to the reform for the passage of the 1986 immigration reform control. I was a council member in ’86 and it wasn’t on my agenda or on my radar. It is today, and I think that is a fundamental difference. Our community is tight and they see it as a civil rights issue of this moment.

Morrison: Then the question becomes, what happens once again we have a number of millions of people who are here without documents. what happens if this becomes cyclical?

Gutierrez: If we stop illegal immigration as we know it, if we go after employers, if we give people a verification system before they can get a job and if you get a job you’re employer is going to jail. We have to stop the ability of those being able to come to this country and get jobs undocumented.

We can do that, we just haven’t set up the structures to do that, what we’ve done is we’ve criminalized them all and spent a lot of time and a lot of energy in passing laws that discriminate but not laws that actually legislate an end to illegal immigration.

Morrison: So, Congress, because I know the time is brief, so you would want legislation, comprehensive reform that would say we’ll deal with the people who are here now but let’s stop any future illegal immigration?

Gutierrez: Absolutely and I know how to do it. If you don’t have the correct ID you can’t get a job and we have verification system and if you violate it you’ll go to jail just like when you don’t pay your income taxes. We have to enforce the law and we have to put the correct measures in place to enforce that law and end it.

Morrison: Can you explain to people then about the fact that some legal immigrants here don’t see any daylight here between themselves and illegal immigrants? Can you explain that difference to people who don’t understand why that’s the case?

Gutierrez: Let me put it to you this way -- when my daughter goes to high school her classmates are undocumented; when I go to church on Sunday, the people who sit in the pew with me, undocumented. When people show up to factories to go to work and many of their coworkers are undocumented. Then they happen to be their cousins, their aunts, their uncles, their brothers and their sisters. They are an integral part of our community at every level. That’s why there is no distinction.

Morrison: Congressman, happy Cinco de Mayo.

Gutierrez: Y tu, tambien.

Morrison: Congressman Gutierrez is a Democrat from the Fourth District of Illinois; he is a member of the Judiciary Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. He’s also chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force.

LA City Council tentatively approves freezing rent on apartments

Fri, 07 May 2010 13:55:31 -0700

A sign for an apartment to rent is seen in Los Angeles on May 27, 2009. Credit: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images

The rent at hundreds of thousands of apartments in Los Angeles would be frozen through Halloween under an ordinance given tentative approval today by the City Council.

By an 8-6 vote, the council decided to move forward with a draft ordinance proposed by Councilman Richard Alarcon to freeze the rent on many units whose owners normally would be allowed to raise prices up to 3 percent on July 1 under the city's rent stabilization ordinance.

"It's the third rail of politics," Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti told KPCC's Patt Morrison. "I'm personally very sympathetic to the imperfections of our rent stabilization ordinance."

Garcetti said he approved of more flexibility with rent control so that units can be improved, since that can be tough to do with the rent increases currently being allowed.

"There's too much at stake here to have political theater in play," said Ryan Minniear, executive director of the California Apartment Association (CAA) of Los Angeles.

"What we're looking at here is investment income versus income to survive," said Elizabeth Blaney, representative from the Los Angeles Right to Housing Collective, a coalition of tenants’ organizations. "You're looking at landlords who already have a house," said Blaney, while tenants are dealing with being able to have food and shelter.

Responding to a caller who called not allowing rent increases "outrageous" and argued for a free market approach, Blaney responded, "Leaving housing to the private market is part of what got us to this crisis."

Under an amendment offered by Councilwoman Janice Hahn, the ordinance would exempt "mom and pop" landlords with buildings of five or fewer units.

The moratorium is intended to help tenants hurt by the recession, but apartment owners said they are also struggling, and the moratorium would unfairly penalize them.

Two building owners complained at a public hearing on Wednesday that rent control made it impossible for them to get loans to make repairs. Another noted that the moratorium would take effect on the same day as a 4.8 percent rate hike on electricity by the Department of Water and Power.

Defending his proposal, Alarcon said tenants "are going to have to cut out vital needs" because of tough economic times. "This will come out of food, shelter and clothing."

Alarcon had wanted to extend the rent moratorium for a full year, but reached a compromise Wednesday with Councilman Herb Wesson, head of the council's Housing Community and Economic Development Committee. The compromise would institute a freeze on rents through Oct. 31, with a possible extension until year end.

Alarcon said he thought he "had a commitment" from Hahn to vote in favor of the compromise and was "shocked" by her proposal, which would exempt many of the units.

"I know everybody's hurting," said Hahn, who said she had a record of voting "100 percent" for tenants' rights. But "I feel like [the proposed moratorium] is a bit unfair at this point to the landlords," given rising fees and utilities costs.

The owners of rent-controlled buildings – properties with two or more units built before 1978 – would normally be allowed to raise the rent July 1 on an estimated 630,000 units.

Douglas Guthrie, general manager of the Los Angeles Housing Department, said that about 32 percent of those units are in buildings with four or fewer units, but he was unsure of the total that would be exempted, putting it between 40 and 60 percent.

The exemption will "open the door to more illegal rent increases" and create confusion for both tenants and landlords, said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival.

The city's rent stabilization law is tied to the Consumer Price Increase, a broadly accepted measure of inflation, which is below zero for the current year, according to Alarcon.

The debate is likely to continue in two weeks when the ordinance to be drafted by the city attorney will come back to the council.

"Let us then argue, fuss and fight," said Wesson, who said he had missed the birth of his second grandchild, a girl, in order to appear for the vote and was anxious to return to the hospital.

Q&A: Pay czar Feinberg keeps TARP recipients' bonuses in check

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:56:33 -0700

A steet sign stands on Wall Street in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, January 30, 2009. Credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

AIG, GMAC and Chrysler executives see restrictions on their cash compensation.

Even as the recession and aftershocks of the financial industry collapse start to ease, the companies that were forced to take government bailouts continue to feel the ramifications. Ken Feinberg, whose official title is Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation, but who is fondly referred to as the “Pay Czar,” yesterday ordered five companies overseen by the Obama administration to cut cash compensation to top executives by 33 percent.

As a result, total pay in 2010 will fall by about 15 percent for 119 executives at AIG, General Motors Co., GMAC, Chrysler Group LLC and Chrysler Financial Corporation. And while Feinberg only has control over companies that were bailed out, he told KPCC’s Patt Morrison that other Wall Street companies seem to be following suit in reducing executive compensation.

“Well, remember I don't have direct jurisdiction over the rest of Wall Street but I must say, the early signs, at least, are that some of the companies on Wall Street are trying to comply voluntarily with these restrictions or these prescriptions that I have articulated,” said Feinberg. “Now we will have to wait and take a look in the long term. Wall Street memories are short and they forget quickly. But hopefully we will see some institutional change over the long term in how Wall Street determines compensation for it's own officials.”

Patt asked Feinberg about the important distinction in cash versus stock compensation, especially considering the gimmicks previously used by corporate executives to artificially inflate the value of stock options.

Ken Feinberg: It amounts to a program where there are... the cash based salary is generally under $500,000 for 2010, some of them quite under $500,000. The total compensation consists of that salary plus stock, but stock which cannot be redeemed by the official for two, three, four years. So that the total compensation of these individuals will be tied, in large part, to the overall success of the company.

Patt Morrison: Which was not always the case in the past. They were able to in some cases, to inflate these, these stock values and get out while the getting was good.

KF: Well, there were two devices that were common before. One is huge cash salaries. Money in the bank guaranteed so that you could take excessive risk knowing that your cash was protected. The second device was the use of stock, which could be immediately transferred or sold after, you know, a couple of days. We require that the stock be held a third for two years, a third of it for three years and a third of it for four years. So, long term performance will be the test not immediate short term gain.

PM: How does this compare to some of these cash salaries that were being taken home by executives at this level before?

KF: Oh! Our cash salaries have been reduced, under this program, by about 90 percent.

PM: Nine-zero percent.

KF: But the overall compensation has been reduced by about 50 percent. Oh, this year probably by about, that was as of last year, this year probably by about 15 percent. So we continue to make substantial reductions in the top officials but only at these five companies because these are the five companies that received the most taxpayer assistance and have not yet repaired it.

One industry that’s been an ancillary victim of Ken Feinberg’s quest to keep executive compensation under control is divorce attorneys, who complained to the Bloomberg News that restrictions on bonuses were forcing divorce proceedings to grind to a halt — and Feinberg seemed less than concerned.

PM: There was a story on Bloomberg and I had to make sure it was Bloomberg and not The Onion, maybe you've seen it? Divorce attorneys and advisors in New York saying that restrictions on bonuses, not with your five companies but across the board, are making it harder for bankers to get divorces. They are having to take their children out of private schools, may have to sell second homes and it, it, it goes back to what you said about the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street.

KF: Spare me. I never realized that my pay practices would have an adverse impact on divorce rates or fees that lawyers make in handling divorces. I have enough problems dealing with the statute and the challenge of fixing pay for these officials without worrying about some of that spillover effect on the divorce rate.

To hear the full interview with Feinberg, visit the Patt Morrison page.

UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon comments on terrorism in Afghanistan

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:09:04 -0800

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the media on the situation in Haiti following an earthquake at United Nations Headquarters on January 13, 2010 in New York City. Credit: David Goldman/Getty Images

The violence in Afghanistan continues today. NATO officials say four coalition service members have been killed in one day in separate attacks around Afghanistan. Two of those killed were in the Taliban-dominated south.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is in the Southland this week. He told KPCC’s Patt Morrison that it will take a worldwide effort to end extremism and terrorism in Afghanistan.

“The international community should help Afghanistan through this transition so that they can have greater ownership and greater leadership in terms of making political reconciliation with all the ethnic groups, and in terms of improving their relationships with neighboring countries," said Ban.

Secretary Ban says removing extremism is a noble and difficult challenge, but key to helping stabilize Afghanistan.

Ban speaks Tuesday at UCLA for the Burkle Center for International Relations, delivering the Bernard Brodie Distinguished Lecture on the Conditions of Peace.

You can hear the full interview at 1 p.m. today on Patt Morrison.

South LA clinic advocates for patients

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:11:45 -0800

A child's picture showing them at St. John's. Credit: Arwen Nicks/KPCC

While the nation grapples with how best to provide quality health care to uninsured and underserved Americans, a community clinic in South Los Angeles is offering a workable model.

As part of KPCC's focus on health care reform, our own Patt Morrison visited St. John's Well Child and Family Center, a non-profit health care clinic and the primary health care source for more than 100,000 people annually.

St. John's operates on a comprehensive care model, incorporating medical services, dentistry, access to a free on-site pharmacy, mental health services, prenatal care, classes on cooking and nutrition, social advocacy and legal services – all under one roof.

It's this comprehensive model that attracts practitioners such as Dr. Rishi Manchanda, who is St. John's director of social medicine. He shared the following story about a patient the clinic was able to serve in a way that traditional, private practice models of health care could not.

"A couple months ago we had a patient who came in – a 4-year-old child, for a physical," said Manchanda. "His mother had no real concerns about his health. We asked, as all the providers do, you know, 'How are you, mom?' and she started breaking down in tears, talking about the fact that her leukemia – she's a young woman, [with] chronic leukemia, getting cared for at one of our county facilities. She spoke about how she was about to run out of pills for her leukemia, because of some glitch in her insurance status.

"This is a Friday 4 p.m. story – one of those things that providers across the country will tell you, 'Well what do we do?' And you start sweating, as providers, when you hear this kind of story. How do we take care of this patient?

"But here at St. John's, we were able to immediately get her into this network of care, so we had a behavioral health who, right away, started to talk to her and was able to assuage her concerns. We had medical legal partnerships with public interest lawyers, who work with us from neighborhood legal services, who immediately started to work on the case with her.

"Within about an hour and a half, this woman, who was fearful about losing her lifesaving chemotherapy, was guaranteed access to her medicines. We abdicated for her in a way that I think traditional biomedical, private practice models of health care just aren't capable of doing.

"So imagine, for your listeners out there, walking into the doctor's office and knowing that you can access dental health, access mental health, access advocacy when you need it. That's the best standard of care."

For more stories from the front lines of health care, tune in to Patt Morrison, today at 1 p.m.

South LA doctors share health care realities

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:24:09 -0800

St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in South Los Angeles Credit: Arwen Nicks/KPCC

As part of KPCC’s focus on health care reform, Patt Morrison visited St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in South Los Angeles. While at St. John’s, Patt spoke with Chief Dental Officer Dr. Mona Iskandar and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Linda Weekes. Here are their stories of health care realities and their hopes for health care reforms.

Both doctors emphasized St. John’s comprehensive care model, which allows patients to find medical treatment, mental and legal services all under one roof.

Dr. Iskandar’s husband once told her she could make a lot more money working as a dentist in a private office, but she says she has a passion for community dentistry and values the work she does every day at St. John’s.

“I have so many stories I can share with you, but one that comes to mind – a patient who came to see me for a toothache and she had survived a gunshot wound to her face by her boyfriend, lost her right eye, part of her lower right jaw," said Iskandar. "And she didn’t have anywhere to go for her toothache, because the Denti-Cal was cut off in July of 2009 and they refused to treat her.

“So she was looking for a place to get the rest of her treatment done – and she was very, very terrified, scared and shaking. And after the first visit, she came back two or three times. And she’s really happy, and comfortable and relaxed – she actually snoozes in the chair now.”

St. John’s comprehensive model means that, with such a widely experienced staff, a doctor can give a “warm hand-off” of a medical patient to, for example, a behavioral specialist, or to a legal services team in cases of domestic violence or coercion.

Dr. Weekes has also seen this firsthand. Oftentimes, patients come into the clinic for acute medical treatment, which ends up being only the tip of an iceberg in addressing a larger social problem.

“I had a little girl that just dropped in about four weeks ago, and she was on her way to school and a bullet went through her calf. It ended up being no big deal, and the cops said because she could still walk, and there was no blood.”

But it was a big deal, even if not physically. Dr. Weekes had finished her treatment of the patient, but now it was time to hand her off to the clinic’s behavioral specialist, Ms. Hernandez.

“She was a warm hand-off to Ms. Hernandez, because it was a big deal.”

For more stories from the front lines of health care, tune in to Patt Morrison this Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m.

South LA patient falls through health system cracks

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:34:32 -0800

Dr. Ellen Rothman, director of quality assurance for St. John’s Well Child and Family Center's Women's Health program. Credit: KPCC

As part of KPCC’s focus on health care reform, Patt Morrison visited St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in South Los Angeles. While at St. John’s, Patt spoke with Dr. Ellen Rothman, director of quality assurance for the center’s Women’s Health program. Dr. Rothman shared this story about a patient who, despite St. John’s comprehensive care model, did not receive the care she needed.

Before coming to St. John’s, Dr. Rothman worked on a Navajo reservation. She says the irony of moving to a major metropolis is that she feels more isolated and faces greater challenges finding the services and care for her patients in South Los Angeles than she did while on the remote reservation.

“I had a patient who came in for weight loss and she was a pretty heavy lady, so the first time she came in, and she’s like, 'Oh, I’ve had weight loss,'" said Rothman. "I was kind of like, 'all right,' but every time she would come in, it would be one pound down, three pounds down, four pounds down. She’d had a pap smear within a year, that had some mild abnormalities, but wasn’t anything much, and abdominal pain, and that was really her only complaint.

“She was actually African-American, she just didn’t happen to have a dependent child living with her, so she didn’t have access to even emergency Medi-Cal, and for adults, once you already have a Social Security number and you’re already at that door of eligibility, it’s like a Catch-22, because in order to get services, you need to have not only diagnosis but disability, but to prove that diagnosis, you need some insurance."

"So for this patient I had set her up with a CAT scan. Through the county system, I did a referral. I did every blood test I could think of, and I remember she gave me a huge hug the day that I told her she didn’t have HIV. And I told her, I remember telling her, 'I sort of wish you did, because if you did, it’s medication, I can start it, I know how to get that.'"

"The CAT scan, we looked, we followed up on it. It turned out that the first referral I did, they felt like the scanned form — referral form — was illegible, so they just... tossed it out, and I don’t, I don’t know exactly..."

She didn’t get a CAT scan because the paperwork wasn’t good.

"This patient was also a two-way street, so she was also absent from care, so she lost – she left care somewhere after, I think, after, I think, after I did the second CAT scan referral.”

She didn’t come in for her follow-ups.

"I think her partner had been in a big accident — there was something going on in her family," said Rothman. "And so she didn’t come back to [the] clinic until about eight or nine months later, and when I saw her eight or nine months later, she was 70 pounds down, she was very, very thin. And I did another CAT scan referral.

"We sent her to the emergency room for very profound anemia. When she got to the emergency room, they transfused her and didn’t bother to ask why a 40-year-old woman should be so anemic and just discharged her with 'follow up to her primary,' which was me. And, you know, by the time she finally presented with her uterine cancer, it was extremely advanced.”

“And she, she ultimately she died of it and, the thing that made me the saddest is that she’d had all these encounters with health care professionals — myself on a number of occasions, a couple of times she had presented to the emergency room. And, and I felt like, you know — I work pretty hard for my patients and I work pretty hard to try and get them the services that they need. And the thing that made me absolutely the saddest is that she’d had all these interactions with the health care service, and not one of us could pull together the care that she needed.”

For more stories and ideas for health care reform, listen to KPCC's Patt Morrison this Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m.