Last week, California’s new attorney general promised an increased focus on hate crimes, saying there is “a state of crisis” because of increases in attacks on Asian Americans since the coronavirus entered the U.S. after originating in China.

Rob Bonta announced a new Racial Justice Bureau within his California Department of Justice and said he will hold a virtual meeting with the mayors of the state’s 13 largest cities later this month to discuss hate crime.

About half of hate crimes go unreported, they are difficult to prosecute because the law requires something to show they are driven by racial or other discrimination, and they affect many races, religions and sexual orientations, he said.

But “make no mistake, right now we’re in a full on state of crisis, a full on state of emergency, when it comes to hate violence against the Asian-Pacific Islander community,” he said.

Last week, two Asian American women were stabbed in an unprovoked attack in San Francisco, and a Los Angeles County jail inmate was charged with hate crimes after he knocked down and repeatedly punched a jail employee who is Asian American.

Bonta, a Democrat, is the first Filipino American to hold the state’s top law enforcement post, and used his first news conference since taking office April 23 to highlight the problem. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed the former Assemblyman to replace Xavier Becerra, who became the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary.

Guest:

Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California; he tweets @RobBonta

Last week, L.A. County entered the yellow tier, which means expanded indoor capacity for most businesses. 

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told LAist that this could make a significant difference to bars, who will now “be able to provide indoor service with a limit on their capacity, at 25%. So, a small number of people will be able to be served indoors at bars, it's really at 25%, no more. But that, for some places, will be a very big difference."

We check in with bars and restaurants around Southern California - and we want to hear from you if you own or work in the drinks or restaurant industry. How was this past year? Has the yellow tier made a difference? What further loosening of restrictions will make a difference for you? Call us at 866-893-5722. 

Guests: 

Frances Michelle Cannon, executive director of the L.A. County Brewers Guild; she is also the associate editor for the craft beer news site and podcast TheFullPint; she tweets @FrannyFullPint

Jennifer Feltham, co-owner of Sonoratown in Downtown Los Angeles; she tweets @sonoratown

Sandra Cordero, executive chef and owner of Gasolina Cafe in Woodland Hills

Kim Prince, Owner Hotville Chicken in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw area

Armando De La Torre, Jr., Co-owner and operator of Guisados, which has multiple locations in the LA County area, Georgia's Burger Stand in Boyle Heights and Playita Mariscos in Silver Lake

AT&T will join its media operations with those run by Discovery to create a new company in a $43 billion deal that run its CNN, HBO, TNT and TBS with channels like the Food Network and HGTV. With the agreement Monday, AT&T is easing back from a yearslong push into a streaming entertainment sector where big players are slugging it out with increasingly large war chests dedicated to premium and original content.

The newly formed and publicly traded company will enter a streaming arena that has been flooded in the past two years with new players including those owned by AT&T and Discovery, which operate HBO Max and Discovery+, respectively. It is a major directional shift for AT&T which squared off with the Justice Department less than three years ago in an antitrust fight when it wanted to acquire Time Warner Inc. for more than $80 billion. That was a fight to expand into entertainment that AT&T won. It’s not immediately clear what the new company would mean for customers, but it will likely allow the bundling of streaming services. For example, Disney offers its viewers Disney+, Hulu and ESPN. A standalone streaming service for CNN is also a possibility. The combined media company will still be outsized by rival streaming services.

With files from the Associated Press

Guest: 

John Horn, KPCC arts and entertainment host; he tweets @JGHorn

California’s employment development department has had ongoing issues throughout the pandemic, from issues of fraud to the growing backlog of calls. In this time, the department has managed to assist many struggling Californians, with 86.4% of claims having been paid to individuals in a week's time after they receive certification.

The department has also looked for measures to assist their lack of manpower, having added a callback feature for individuals who have waited 15 minutes in the EDD’s queue, allowing representatives to reach out to callers who may have had no chance of receiving assistance prior.

Today on AirTalk, we update you on the latest news surrounding California’s EDD and also answer some of your questions. Join the conversation, call us at 866-893-5722.

Guests:

Loree Levy, deputy director for California’s Employment Development Department

Daniela Urban, executive director of the Center for Workers' Rights in Sacramento which advocates for workplace justice

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Kimberly Shriner, infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena.

Today’s topics include: 

CDC Director: mask guidance based on science 

LA County still reporting decline in COVID-19 cases 

Teens can get vaccinated, but some remain wary  

Some aren’t ready to give up masking and maybe never will be

Gov. Newsom says he won’t require vaccine for prison staff

LAUSD to launch vaccination campaign for students

Guest:

Kimberly Shriner, M.D., infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena

Today on AirTalk, we get the latest news on COVID-19. Also on the show, we discuss why industries are having a hard time finding workers; break down the newest movie releases with our KPCC critics; and more.

As more Americans become vaccinated and economic sectors increasingly reopen, the country is facing a startling conundrum— unemployment is high, but many industries cannot find workers.

Restaurants, manufacturing and construction are the sectors most affected, though it's a phenomenon seen across many professions. The shortage is in part due to worker’s fears around contracting or spreading COVID-19, particularly in workplaces that might call for sharing confined spaces with many people. Though vaccines are incredibly effective against the virus, the scale of loss Americans have endured over the course of the pandemic has left many hesitant to return to work if they don’t have to. But part of the gap in hiring is also due to the myriad workforce shakeups that the pandemic prompted— including low-wage workers switching careers, more parents staying at home in the absence of childcare and older Americans opting for early retirement. Without robust hiring, many industries might see slowdowns, which could jeopardize an otherwise strong economic recovery.

Today on AirTalk, we’re learning more about why some industries are having difficulty hiring new workers. Have you decided to switch industries or not go back to work after the pandemic? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

Guest:

Eugene Cornelius, Jr., senior director of the Center for Regional Economics and California Center at The Milken Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic think tank; he has held several public service positions, most recently as senior advisor to the Office of International Trade in the U.S. Small Business Administration

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, Larry Mantle speaks with Dr. Dean Blumberg from UC Davis Children’s Hospital.  

Topics today include:

There might be a shortage of special syringes, leading to vaccine waste

WHO considers EUA of Chinese vaccine 

Pfizer and BioNTech apply for full FDA approval 

Poll: socializing maskless might not incentive unvaccinated people 

Is vaccine approval for 12-15 year olds imminent? 

Guest:

Dean Blumberg, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital; he tweets @DBlumbergPedsID

Although Native Americans are one of the most at-risk groups in contracting COVID-19, they've been the most successful at vaccinating their populations. 

NPR reported that the Navajo Nation had vaccinated more than half of its adult population, which surpasses the U.S. national vaccination rate.

At one point, the Navajo Nation was a hotbed for coronavirus cases as it had the third-highest infection rate in the country in April 2020. Right before the turn of the new year, the Nation suffered from a massive second wave of cases that spread across 75 of its communities. Now, cases rates have dropped with most of the Navajo population being inoculated, so much so that they’re sending their own relief resources to India for that country’s surging cases. 

But leaders in the Navajo territory still take precaution in fully committing to guidelines set by the CDC. According to the Navajo Times, face masks are still required to be worn in public, and there is a daily curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. (MDT).

Today on AirTalk, we discuss the trajectory of the Navajo Nation's vaccination campaign, and how they were able to bounce back from its once high infection rate.  

Guest:

Loretta Christensen, M.D., chief medical officer at the Navajo Area Indian Health Service

Today on AirTalk, we discuss LA County's move into the yellow tier and break down other COVID-19 headlines. Also on the show, we talk with members of the Mayor’s Office Civic Memory Working Group about their key findings; analyze the rise in 'gray divorce'; and more.