California Special Legislative Session Called Regarding High Oil Prices | KPCC – NPR News for Southern California

Special California Legislative Session Called Regarding High Oil Prices

At the instigation of Governor Gavin Newsom, California lawmakers launched a special legislative session on Monday to consider punishing big oil companies for their supersized profits during a period of record gasoline prices – the beginning of a likely long process that will test the resolve of the Liberal Legislative Assembly in the face of fierce industry opposition. California lawmakers briefly returned to the state Capitol on Monday to swear in new members and elect leaders for the 2023 legislative session. The special session will run alongside the regular session, which also begins in January. By dealing with oil legislation in a special session, legislators could act more quickly.

Here to discuss the gas pricing legislative session and Newsom’s sanctions plan is Lindsey Holden, reporter covering the California Legislature for The Sacramento Bee. Also with us are Severin Borenstein, professor and faculty director of the Energy Institute at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and lauren sanchez, Senior Climate Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

With the files of Associated Press

Nearly half of Los Angeles AirBnB and VRBO listings may break the law, new report says

Three years ago, the city of Los Angeles began apply a new law aimed at regulating short-term rentals on platforms like Airbnb. But a new study suggests enforcement has been weak and law breaking is becoming more common. The reportwritten by McGill University professor of urban planning David Wachsmuthfinds that nearly half of recent listings on Airbnb and Vrbo appeared to be non-compliant with the city’s home-sharing ordinance. Representatives for Airbnb and Vrbo have denied that their platforms enable widespread non-compliance with Los Angeles’ home-sharing law.

Joining us today on AirTalk is housing reporter at KPCC, David Wagner and assistant professor of urban planning at McGill University and author of the new report, David Wachsmuth.

Read the full LAist story here.

The latest from Iran: Has the country officially disbanded its morality police?

An Iranian lawmaker said on Sunday that the Iranian government is “paying attention to the real demands of the people”, state media reported, a day after a senior official suggested that the country’s morality police, whose conduct helped spark months of protests, was shut down. This follows protests in Iran and around the world after the National Morality Police over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in their custody in mid-September. Today on AirTalk we bring you the latest news from Iran with Myriam Berger, a journalist covering the Middle East and foreign affairs at the Washington Post and Sahar Razavi, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Sacramento State and Director of its Center for Iranian and Middle Eastern Studies.

With files from The Associated Press

Gustavo Dudamel is back at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with two major projects to see this holiday season

As if Gustavo Dudamel wasn’t already busy enough being both Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and musical director of the Paris Opera, the virtuoso conductor is back on stage at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this month leading two major projects with the LA Phil – interpretations of the two “Tchaikovskys”Nutcrackerand jazz legend Duke Ellington’s arrangement of the beloved ballet. He will also lead the avant-garde operatic production of “The Tristan Projectdirected by Peter Sellers, featuring video art by Bill Viola and inspired by Richard Wagner’s famous opera about star-crossed lovers, ‘Tristan und Isolde’.

Today on AirTalk, Gustave Dudamel joins Larry to talk about his two Walt Disney Concert Hall vacation plans, his first full season as director of the Paris Opera, and what he’s up to in 2023.

New book ‘Common Ground’ tells the story of multifamily housing in Los Angeles

When you think of a typical family home in Los Angeles, what comes to mind? Perhaps a Spanish-style ranch house with a red tiled roof and beige stucco on the exterior? Perhaps this is one of the beloved craftsman-style homes that Pasadena is so well known for? Whatever you’re considering, chances are it’s a single-family home on a detached plot of land with a yard. But the reality in Los Angeles is that there are more renters than owners, and most new housing construction is multi-family, not single-family. And it’s this kind of connected housing that author and radio host Frances Anderton explores in a brand new book titled “Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles” which explores the history of multifamily housing in Los Angeles, and how he could play a role in the future as the city works to solve its affordable housing crisis.

Today on AirTalk, author and former host of KCRW’s “DnA: Design and Architecture” Frances Anderton is with us to talk about his new book “Common Ground”.