Should Local Governments Declare Positions On Global Issues?
Calls to address the ongoing conflict of the Israel-Hamas conflict have reached the Pasadena City Council. The city council will decide at Monday’s meeting whether or not they will take any official position on the conflict in the Middle East. If the Pasadena City Council chooses to declare an official position, they will be joining 70 other U.S. cities who have already passed similar symbolic resolutions regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, most of which have called for ceasefires in Gaza. U.S. cities have declared symbolic resolutions in the past on other international and global issues. And as the world becomes more globalized, more calls from citizens for their local governments to take political and social stances on world topics are surely to arise. Today, we are opening up the phones to listeners to share what they think about their local governments taking positions on world conflicts. What should the criteria be for when and how local communities voice their opinions on international issues? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722. Or you can email us a comment at atcomments@laist.com.
Is Northern California Losing Its Political Dominance In The Golden State?
Regional loyalty is usually a main indicator for California elections. That wasn’t the case for this year’s senate primary as Democrat Adam Schiff swept the Bay Area vote despite the region’s own congresswoman Barba Lee running for the senate seat. In a recent piece covering Schiff’s surprising dominance of the Bay Area, Los Angeles Times political columnist Mark Barabak suggests that Northern California’s political influence seems to be waning. Bay Area voters have long been a stronghold for California politics, often rallying behind and elevating candidates from their own region. But as Barabak explains, that political power may be dissipating and that where a candidate is from may no longer mean much to California voters. Today on AirTalk, Mark Barabak joins to discuss his piece and the shifting landscape in California’s politics, along with Fernando Guerra, professor of political science and Chicano/Latino studies at Loyola Marymount.
Scientists Need Your Help Studying Southern California’s Iconic Parrots. Here’s How You Can Pitch In
Parrots have been waking up Southern Californians with their squawking for more than 70 years now. Assumed to have arrived here as part of the pet trade as far back as the 1950s, they're originally from Mexico, where they're endangered. Now, they're thriving in places like Los Angeles, their numbers exploding over the past decade. That success may not seem like a surprise to you if you've been listening to them chatter away outside your apartment, or fly en masse from one city block to another. However, their rise has captured the interest of academics, like those at Occidental College, who took LAist Science Reporter Jacob Margolis on a parrot outing in Pasadena, and made the case that they need the public's help to truly understand the birds. The team at Occidental set out to explore how and why the parrots have been thriving. It's curious because our environment is wildly different from where they come from in Mexico. It's colder here, with more development and less vegetation.
Today on AirTalk, Jacob joins Larry Mantle to talk about what he learned on his outing with the team from Occidental, how that information could reveal clues about how the parrots may evolve over time and how you can help the scientists studying these parrots gather information.
A New Settlement Is About To Upend The Real Estate Market – Is It A Needed Change?
A powerful real estate trade group has agreed to do away with policies that for decades helped set agent commissions, moving to resolve lawsuits that claim the rules have forced people to pay artificially inflated costs to sell their homes. Under the terms of the agreement announced last Friday, the National Association of Realtors also agreed to pay $418 million to help compensate home sellers across the U.S. Home sellers behind multiple lawsuits against the NAR and several major brokerages argued that the trade group’s rules unfairly propped up agent commissions. The rules also incentivized agents representing buyers to avoid showing their clients listings where the seller’s broker was offering a lower commission to the buyer’s agent, they argued. Joining us today to talk about the landmark settlement is national legal affairs reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Laura Kusisto and professor of economics and director of the center for real estate at UC Irvine, Ed Coulson.
With files from the Associated Press.
What Makes The LA Marathon So Special?
LAist host Sharon McNary has run a lot of marathons. After this weekend’s L.A. Marathon, 163 to be exact. She detailed why the L.A. Marathon is particularly special to her: Five Reasons Why LA Marathon Is Like No Other. Take It From Someone Who's Run 160 Of Them. She joins AirTalk to discuss. We also want to hear from you! Are you a marathon runner? Do you have a favorite race? Did you run the L.A. Marathon? What was your experience? Share by calling 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.
Could Severe Food Allergies Now Be Avoided With This Asthma Medication?
A medication used to treat asthma can now be used to help people with food allergies avoid severe reactions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this year.
Xolair, the brand name for the drug omalizumab, became the first medication approved to reduce allergic reactions caused by accidental exposure to food triggers. Patients as young as age 1 with allergies can take the drug by injection every two to four weeks, depending on their weight and their body’s response to allergens. An estimated 17 million people in the U.S. have the type of food allergies that can cause rapid, serious symptoms, including severe, whole-body reactions that are potentially deadly. Joining to discuss what we should know about this is Tina Sindher, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine, pediatrics allergy and immunology at Stanford University.
With files from the Associated Press
