LA City says unarmed civilian response program for certain emergency calls shows early success

Over the past year the city of Los Angeles has been sending out civilian response teams to certain 911 calls as part of a pilot program, and so far the city says the system is seeing success. A report released earlier this year shows that the first responder teams have offered specialized care to those in emergency situations while also freeing up LAPD to take on more dire 911 calls. These teams, made up of trained social workers and clinicians without firearms, are designed to deescalate certain emergency situations where traditional police officers may not be needed such as when someone is having a mental health or domestic crisis. Today on AirTalk, we get the latest on how L.A.’s unarmed civilian response program is going with LAist reporter Robert Garrova and LA City Councilmember representing District 1 and co-chair of a council committee on unarmed responses Eunisses Hernandez.

New study finds Salton Sea may not be a significant air polluter to the region

Air pollution has long been an issue in the Coachella and Imperial valleys. It was not until recently that the Salton Sea was recognized as the major culprit for the region’s air problems, on account of its dusty and dry shoreline. As a result, millions of dollars were poured into funding the body of water’s revival. But a new report by the Pacific Institute shows that dust from the Salton Sea’s expanding dry shoreline accounts for less than 1% of the total particulate pollution in the region. The report — which draws from a mix of local, state, and federal agencies — recommends directing money and effort towards improving indoor air quality. Joining us on AirTalk to walk us through the report is Michael Cohen, senior fellow at the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit environmental research institute, and author of the new report.

The pushback to Gov. Newsom’s redistricting efforts

California voters initially approved an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission (via constitutional amendment in 2008) to draw fair congressional maps. Now, in response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in Texas—widely criticized as partisan—California Democrats, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, are proposing to temporarily override that independent system and submit a new partisan-drawn map to voters. The goal is to secure up to five additional Democratic congressional seats as a countermeasure. Democrats are divided on this, with some saying it undermines democratic integrity. Joining us today is Jeanne Raya, a former member of the first California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Could philanthropy help save PBS and NPR stations?

The loss of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting funding for public news stations is expected to have a significant effect on local news across the country, with many rural newsrooms relying on such funding to keep together their relatively tight operations. New York Times media reporter Benjamin Mullin outlined the issue and how it galvanized philanthropists to contribute to local public media; in a recent story, he detailed a meeting that had been held between big-money public media supporters, and the shared urgency was to keep many stations’ operations afloat. Joining us to get into the current state of public media funding is Benjamin Mullin, media reporter for The New York Times, and Tim Isgitt, CEO of Public Media Company.

Pasadena Humane’s new CEO on what’s next for the animal shelter

In the midst of the Eaton Fire, Pasadena Humane launched an emergency response operation to care for animals and became a de facto evacuation center for pets in the affected area. The organization has had over a hundred years of caring for animals during both good and bad times. Now, the organization is looking ahead to what’s next as they welcome a leader in a familiar face. Chris Ramon served as the Interim CEO of the organization during the Eaton Fire response, and has now secured the job fully. Today on AirTalk, the new president and CEO of Pasadena Humane Chris Ramon joins Larry to talk about the animal shelter’s future.

TV Talk: ‘Long Story Short,’ ‘Women Wearing Shoulder Pads,” and more…

Have you felt completely overwhelmed when deciding what new show to watch these days? Us too. There’s just so much content out there between network TV and numerous streaming platforms. Each week, we will try to break through the noise with TV watchers who can point us to the must-sees and steer us clear of the shows that maybe don’t live up to the hype. This week, listeners will get the latest scoop on what’s worth watching with Cristina Escobar, tv critic and co-founder of LatinaMedia.Co.

TV shows:

  • Long Story Short (Netflix)
  • Women Wearing Shoulder Pads (Adult Swim)
  • The Rainmaker (USA Network)
  • And Just Like That…(HBO Max)