AirTalk

When L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva arrived in Venice earlier this month in a cowboy hat promising to clear its famous boardwalk of homeless people, he seemed to surprise just about everybody. After all, Venice is the LAPD’s jurisdiction. Chief Michel Moore was among those caught off guard.

“I did not invite the sheriff into Venice Beach,” Moore told our newsroom. So he called his counterpart the day after his visit. “I asked him, ‘How can we work together? I want to talk to you as chief-to-sheriff.’”

Moore did not condemn Villanueva. After all, the sheriff has the authority to enforce laws anywhere in the county. And in Venice, he is able to do what Moore cannot. As COVID-19 hit last year, the city council imposed a moratorium on the removal of tents housing homeless people during daytime hours. The idea was to limit the spread of the virus. That’s meant the LAPD has had a hands-off approach to encampments across the city. (The clearing of tents at Echo Park Lake was conducted ostensibly to conduct renovations to the area.) Moore thinks the city council should lift the moratorium now that the pandemic is waning, but so far the council has kept it in place.

Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk with KPCC/LAist reporter Frank Stoltze about what he’s been able to find out about what the Sheriff hopes to accomplish.

To read the full story from KPCC/LAist’s Frank Stoltze, click here.

With guest host Sharon McNary

GUEST:

Frank Stoltze, KPCC/LAist criminal justice correspondent; he tweets @StoltzeFrankly

If you hear your doorbell rung today, oftentimes you'd expect to see a package or bags of food at your doorstep. But just a few decades ago, one would expect to see a woman and her bag of perfume samples.

Enter: the Avon lady, and of course the company's earworm jingle. Experiencing much success in the years following World War II, Avon often relied on recruiting salespeople to go door-to-door to sell cosmetic products. 

Author Katina Manko chronicles the history of the salespeople who built and sustained the iconic Avon company in her new book "Ding Dong, Avon Calling! The Women and Men of Avon Products, Incorporated."

Today on AirTalk, we learn the history of Avon cosmetics and how its door-to-door marketing approach stayed in the American consciousness for many years. Were you an Avon lady and want to weigh in on the conversation? Call us at (866) 893-5722.

With guest host Sharon McNary

GUEST:

Katina Manko, author of "Ding Dong, Avon Calling! The Women and Men of Avon Products, Incorporated"

This Saturday is Juneteenth, an annual celebration which marks the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. 

Even though President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation officially outlawed slavery in 1862, this didn’t become a reality nationally until  June 19, 1865. That’s when Union troops took over Texas and freed the remaining slaves who had been denied freedom. 

And earlier this week Congress passed a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, which is now on Biden’s desk and expected to be signed this afternoon. We dive into the history, origins and evolution of Juneteenth.

With guest host Sharon McNary

GUESTS: 

Marne Campbell, historian and Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Loyola Marymount University 

Kaya Dantzler, lead organizer of We Love Leimert, and a producer with Leimert Park Rising, which is co-producing its twelfth Juneteenth celebration this weekend

Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest COVID-19 news. Also on the show, we dive into the history of the Juneteenth holiday; break down the Cal/OSHA vote on workplace masking guidelines; and more.

This week, California’s economy reopened, and with it, the state dropped most mask requirements - but not all. Masks are still required for workers while they’re at work. Thursday, California’s workplace regulatory board - Cal OSHA - meets to vote on a proposal that would change coronavirus protocols in the workplace. Fully vaccinated workers could stop wearing masks and practicing physical distancing requirements. Today on AirTalk, we speak with KPCC health reporter Jackie Fortier about what the proposed rules say - and don’t say - and break down the confusion over masking in the workplace. 

With guest host Sharon McNary

GUEST:

Jackie Fortiér, health reporter at KPCC and LAist; she tweets @JackieFortier

Last week, following a meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a news conference where she sent a message to those who wish to cross the border from Mexico to the United States: “Do not come.”

This comes after president Biden had sent an immigration bill to Congress that had mentioned its willingness to address the “root causes of migration.” With these two comments having competing interests in the eyes of many critics, it did call into question how the Biden administration plans to approach its relationships with Latin American countries, particularly Central American ones such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Today on AirTalk, we break down the relationship Central American countries have had with the United States in the past and why this has affected immigration throughout the region.

With guest host Sharon McNary

GUESTS:

Suyapa Portillo, associate professor of Chicano/a-Latino/a Transnational Studies at Pitzer College;  author of the book "Roots of Resistance: A Story of Gender, Race, and Labor on the North Coast of Honduras” (University of Texas Press, 2021); she tweets @SuyapaPV

James Fredrick, freelance journalist and contributor to NPR based in Mexico City; currently co-writing a book with a Honduran asylum seeker about his family's migration stories; he tweets @jameslfredrick

In our continuing series looking at the latest medical research and news on COVID-19, guest host Sharon McNary speaks with Dr. Shruti Gohil from UC Irvine’s School of Medicine.

Topics today include:

These communities remain at high risk for dangerous COVID-19 variants rapidly increasing in US, expert warns 

Former White House adviser says dangerous coronavirus variant is 'like COVID on steroids' 

People hospitalized with COVID-19 now have one overwhelming thing in common. They're not vaccinated. 

Amid COVID-19 reopening, many Californians keeping masks on 

How are health experts handling California's reopening?

University of California says COVID-19 vaccines mandatory 

CDC to discuss reports of heart inflammation in young people after COVID-19 vaccines

With guest host Sharon McNary

GUEST:

Shruti Gohil, M.D., professor of medicine and associate medical director for epidemiology and infection prevention at UC Irvine’s School of Medicine

Last week, reports emerged that the Justice Department under former President Donald Trump seized data from the accounts of at least two members of the House Intelligence Committee in 2018 as part of an aggressive crackdown on leaks related to the Russia investigation and other national security matters, according to a committee official and two people familiar with the investigation.

Prosecutors from Trump’s Justice Department subpoenaed Apple for the data, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss the secret seizures first reported by The New York Times.

The records of at least twelve people connected to the intelligence panel were eventually shared, including Chairman Adam Schiff, who was then the top Democrat on the committee. California Rep. Eric Swalwell was the second member, according to spokeswoman Natalie Edelstein. The records of aides, former aides and family members were also seized, including one who was a minor, according to the committee official.

Apple informed the committee last month that their records had been shared, but did not give extensive detail. The committee is aware, though, that metadata from the accounts was turned over, the official said. The records do not contain any other content from the devices, like photos, messages or emails, one of the other people said. The third person said that Apple complied with the subpoena, providing the information to the Justice Department, and did not immediately notify the members of Congress or the committee about the disclosure.

Today on AirTalk, we’re joined by Rep. Adam Schiff to hear more about the Trump-era DOJ probe. Questions? Leave them below or call 866-893-5722.

With guest host Sharon McNary

GUEST:

Adam Schiff, Democratic Congressman representing California’s 28 Congressional District, which includes Burbank, parts of Pasadena, and Glendale; he tweets @RepAdamSchiff

Today on AirTalk, we get the latest on the movement to save the Salton Sea. Also on the show, we learn about historic LGBTQ landmarks in Los Angeles; and more.

When many people think about LGBTQ history in the United States, they cast their minds to New York City, where the history and mythologies around Stonewall and activist groups like ACT UP loom large.

But Los Angeles has long been a hotbed for queer resistance and activism as well. A decade before Stonewall, gay and trans people warded off a police raid of a downtown LA donut shop by flinging donuts and coffee cups at the officers trying to detain them, prompting the officers to flee and return with reinforcements. In central LA, Jewel’s Catch One operated for decades as a hub for the city’s Black LGBTQ community. Meanwhile, at the Reverend Troy Perry’s former home in Huntington Park, the reverend founded an LGBTQ church that officiated what Time Magazine dubbed the first public gay wedding in the country in 1968. Los Angeles’ queer history is colorful and diverse, but records are difficult to keep and local archives still struggle to make a record of the people who have long made up the community.

Today on AirTalk, we’re hearing more about some of Los Angeles’ most significant LGBTQ landmarks and histories. Do you have a favorite site of LGBTQ history or community in LA? We want to hear from you! Give us a call at 866-893-5722.

With guest host Sharon McNary

Guests:

Arit John, lifestyle reporter for the Los Angeles Times and co-author of the piece “20 landmarks that underscore L.A.’s pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQ rights”; she tweets @aritbenie

Joseph Hawkins, director of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California (USC), which is the largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world