For the first time, Uber will guarantee drivers an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times.; Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images

To keep demand high during the slower winter months, the ridesharing service, Uber, has cut fares by 20 percent in 48 markets – including Los Angeles and Orange County.

The company says a trip from West Hollywood to downtown will now be around nine dollars, instead of $11.

When Uber lowered prices in the past to muscle out competitors like Lyft and taxi services, passengers loved it but drivers have complained it puts an unfair squeeze on them, complaining their already low take went even lower.

Uber stresses the fact cutting fares actually helps drivers because they get more business. In a blog post, the company points to data from Chicago where fares dropped 23 percent last month compared to December 2013 while drivers' income increased by 12 percent.

But drivers have been skeptical whether volume can make up for the price drop. The company's claim that New York city drivers earn a median of $90,766 a year has been refuted. Slate talked to New York UberX driver Jesus Garay in October:

“They say it doesn’t hurt the pocket of the drivers,” Garay says of the 20 percent fare cuts. “It does. Because it’s impossible with those numbers to be in business.”

The way drivers see it, ride volume can only increase so much in response to lower prices. Garay says that on average, a ride takes him 20 minutes from start to finish: five minutes to reach the pickup location, five to wait for the customer, and 10 to drive to the destination. For a trip of that length, Garay says he’ll make $10 or $11. “So if you’re busy, you’re going to make three rides in an hour,” he explains. 

Newly flush with a $40 billion valuation, Uber is now willing to put its money where its mouth is; For the first time, Uber will guarantee its partners – as it calls them -  an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times. (The guarantee comes with a few conditions: Drivers have to accept 90% of trips, average at least one trip per hour, and be online for 50 minutes of every hour worked)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

(Stock photo); Credit: Meathead Movers/flickr Creative Commons

As of today, KPCC is moving Breakdown coverage to our main business page, where you will find KPCC’s ongoing news and information about Southern California business and the economy.

As a result, the Breakdown blog will no longer be updated. All previous Breakdown posts will remain available here as an archive.

Please let us know if there are issues you feel merit coverage. You can comment below, by email, on our Facebook page or on our Twitter feed (just "@" mention @KPCC).

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The backdrop of the stage with the Oscar Award is seen onstage during the 84th Academy Awards announcement held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Jan. 24, 2012 in Los Angeles.; Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Academy Awards have made history with breakthroughs for minorities in the past — but with this year's nominations, observers are noting how white the Oscars are, with no actors of color nominated in any of this year's acting categories.

It marks the least diverse nominations since 1998. People have been speaking out about this disconnect, with films like "Selma" being shut out of the acting nominations (though it did pick up a Best Picture nomination).

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Host Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" watches a video while taping "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Restoring Honor & Dignity to the White House" at the McNally Smith College of Music Sept. 5, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota.; Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Comedy Central

Host Jon Stewart announced at Tuesday's "The Daily Show" taping that he is leaving the show.

Comedy Central confirmed the news in a statement, saying that Stewart will be leaving later this year:

"For the better part of the last two decades, we have had the incredible honor and privilege of working with Jon Stewart. His comedic brilliance is second to none. Jon has been at the heart of Comedy Central, championing and nurturing the best talent in the industry, in front of and behind the camera. Through his unique voice and vision, ‘The Daily Show’ has become a cultural touchstone for millions of fans and an unparalleled platform for political comedy that will endure for years to come. Jon will remain at the helm of ‘The Daily Show’ until later this year. He is a comic genius, generous with his time and talent, and will always be a part of the Comedy Central family."

The news comes less than two months after Stephen Colbert brought "The Colbert Report" to an end in order to prepare for hosting CBS's "Late Show," replacing David Letterman after he leaves later this year.

"The Daily Show" existed before Jon Stewart, hosted from 1996 until 1998 by Craig Kilborn, but Stewart took the show into a bolder political direction and made it a cultural landmark, becoming the go-to news source for numerous young people. Polls started to show Jon Stewart as being one of the most trusted newsmen in America.

It's just over three weeks after Comedy Central launched "The Nightly Show" with Larry Wilmore and details have yet to be announced about the future of Comedy Central's late night lineup.

The show has created hosts for other networks, with Colbert leaving for CBS after getting his start as a "Daily Show" correspondent and John Oliver, who served as a fill-in host while Stewart shot the film "Rosewater," left for his own weekly rundown of the news "Last Week Tonight" at HBO. The show's starmaking power also includes actors such as Steve Carell, Ed Helms and more, and new "Saturday Night Live" Weekend Update anchor Michael Che.

Stewart didn't announce his plans for what comes next. He directed the 2014 film "Rosewater," based on journalist Maziar Bahari's memoir detailing his imprisonment in Iran following an interview with "The Daily Show's" Jason Jones.

Stewart previously talked about "Rosewater" with KPCC's "The Frame," saying at the time that "The Daily Show" isn't all fun.

"As sad as it sounds, people might say, 'Man, working at 'The Daily Show,' that's gotta be a blast. You just sit around and laugh all day,'" Stewart said. "And you're like, 'No, we have a meeting at 9, and the 9 meeting has to be over by 9:30, and the scripts have to be in by 11, because if they're not, then we miss this deadline.'"

He also told the Hollywood Reporter last summer that he didn't know how much longer he would stay with the show.

"I mean, like anything else, you do it long enough, you will take it for granted, or there will be aspects of it that are grinding. I can't say that following the news cycle as closely as we do and trying to convert that into something either joyful or important to us doesn't have its fraught moments," Stewart said.

The show, one of Comedy Central's top franchises, will likely continue. John Oliver and Stephen Colbert would have seemed like the heirs apparent before they left; of the current staff, Samantha Bee, Jason Jones and Aaasif Mandvi are the longest-running correspondents, with Bee starting all the way back in 2003. Jones filled in for Stewart as anchor last fall, assisted by his wife Samantha Bee, when Stewart was out sick.

The show has also pushed for expanded diversity in its own cast, along with launching "The Nightly Show" with a black host and a minority panel, so that could point to a more diverse host in the future. The show has also recently expanded its international perspective, with Trevor Noah covering international news, Hasan Minhaj as the new Indian correspondent and Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef joining as a Middle East correspondent.

Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to "Rosewater" as a documentary; it is a drama, based on Maziar Bahari's memoir. KPCC regrets the error.

This story has been updated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A still from "POWER/RANGERS," a highly-produced Power Rangers fan film starring James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff.

Update 2/28: The "POWER/RANGERS" film is back on YouTube and Vimeo. Watch the censored YouTube version with a new viewer discretion disclaimer here:

POWER/RANGERS

You can also watch the Vimeo version, featuring more adult content. The video's description emphasizes its lack of connection in any official way to the Power Rangers:

"Deboot of the Power Rangers. My take on the FAN FILM. Not a pilot, not a series, not for profit, strictly for exhibition. This is a bootleg experiment not affiliated or endorsed by Saban Entertainment or Lionsgate nor is it selling any product. I claim no rights to any of the characters (don't send me any money, not kickstarted, this film is free). This is the NSFW version. An alternate safe version is on youtube."

Director Joseph Kahn tells Deadline, "They put these disclaimers on so kids so don’t confuse our super-violent film with their Power Rangers brand. There are no hard feelings. We signed contracts. We can play it anywhere we want on all platforms. I think they realized that people just want to see it."

Previously: A Power Rangers short film went viral this week, starring Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) and James Van Der Beek (Dawson!) in a Tarantino-meets-sci-fi take on a dark future for the formerly Mighty Morphin'.

The company behind the 22-year history of the kids/toy icons issued takedown requests, leading to it being pulled from Vimeo and, on Thursday afternoon, a toned-down version being taken off YouTube. At the time, the video had received over 10 million views. It's still available to watch in this Facebook embed from the producer's Facebook page:

POWER/RANGERS Facebook embed

The film was directed by Joseph Kahn, best known as the music video director behind clips like Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" as well as videos for Britney Spears, U2 and others, and produced by Adi Shankar, who was also behind "The Grey" and "Dredd." Kahn co-wrote the film with Van Der Beek and lesser-known writer Dutch Southern.

This isn't the first quasi-legal fan film produced by Shankar. He's also done the same with Marvel Comics characters the Punisher and Venom. The Punisher film even had one of the actors who played the character on screen, Thomas Jane.

Watch those films (Warning: Adult language and violence):

Punisher short

Venom short

Kahn tells HitFix that Shankar came to him, offering him the chance to reboot an existing property.

One reason for the current legal contentiousness: The Power Rangers are set to hit the big screen next year in a Lionsgate film. Kahn says that, if that film was offered to him, he wouldn't be interested.

"I wouldn't even want to make 'Power Rangers: The Movie' for real," Kahn told HitFix. "Like if I had to make a 'Power Rangers' movie, this is it. It's 14 minutes long, and it's violent, and this is what I have in me. If they offered me the $200 million version, the PG-13 version, I literally wouldn't do it."

There's been a strong response to the video, but the response has been mixed — among the original Power Rangers. The original Green Ranger, actor Jason David Frank, said on Facebook that he was approached to be in the movie but declined. (The film's director denies this claim, saying that Frank must have confused them with another project.) Frank also criticized the adult content.

"I'm just a PG-13 guy," Frank said. "The cuss words, the drugs, all this other stuff, it doesn't fly with me." He says that he thinks the Power Rangers are still connected with kids, and he didn't like the idea of doing a dark and gritty version in that context. (Watch his video below.)

Green Ranger video

But the original Pink Ranger, actress Amy Jo Johnson, gave the film her stamp of approval, which Sackhoff enthusiastically responded to.

Amy Jo Johnson tweet 1

Amy Jo Johnson tweet 2

Katee Sackhoff tweet

Sackhoff told the Nerdcore Movement site that she loves fan films.

"Doing a fan video is kind of the biggest honor you can give a franchise. It’s something that inspired you so much that you want to create," Sackhoff said.

Kahn defended "POWER/RANGERS" on Twitter as being protected due to it being a satire and also cited fair use laws and free speech. He argued that there are lots of other fan films and pointed out that YouTube showed more leniency, leaving it up.

"Every image in POWER/RANGERS is original footage," Kahn wrote in a series of tweets to Vimeo. "Nothing was pre-existing. There is no copyrighted footage in the short."

He also said that it's being given away for free and that Kahn paid for it himself.

Kahn tweet

"It is just as if I drew a pic of Power Rangers on a napkin and I gave it to my friend," Kahn wrote. "Is it illegal to give pic I drew of a character on a napkin to someone for free? No. The world is watching your actions right now."

In a touch of irony, the video had been selected as a Vimeo staff pick before the service took it down. They also responded to complaints about it being taken down, saying that they had to due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and that they would restore the video immediately if the copyright claim was withdrawn, telling fans to complain to Power Rangers copyright holder Saban.

YouTube tweet

Despite the short film's success, hardcore Power Rangers fans are less sure about it, Shamus Kelley tells KPCC. Kelley created his own Rangers fan series, as well as co-hosting a Power Rangers podcast with over 300 episodes so far.

Casual fans are "far more open to the idea of dark/gritty because they see it as the show growing up with them," Kelley says. To hardcore fans, "it was either an abomination or the greatest unintended parody ever."

Kahn tells HitFix that the parody, of both Power Rangers and fan films in general, is definitely intended.

"The dark and gritty reboot thing is such a cliché that the intention was not only to make it dark and gritty but make it even darker and grittier than you could possibly imagine, hence the brains, the blood and the violence and the sex," Kahn said.

Kahn is set to answer questions about the film in a Reddit AMA on Friday at 2 p.m. We'll have to wait and see if there will be anywhere to watch it at the time.

Take a look behind the scenes of "POWER/RANGERS" via posts from the director and stars:

Behind the scenes tweet

Behind the scenes Instagram

Fight training 1

Fight training 2

The film also includes a techno take on the classic Power Rangers theme song, which you can listen to here:

Techno Power Rangers

This story has been updated.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

File: A general view during player introductions before game one of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 9, 2015 in Los Angeles.; Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Do you want to track the Dodgers as the new season gets underway, but either don't have cable or are at work during the game? Maybe you want to keep an eye on the boys in blue but have an office job that gives you checks in black and white, and you want to keep your bleeding red for your favorite team from sending your bank account into the red as well. Or maybe you just aren’t going to have access to a TV at the time. Here are four ways to check the Dodgers out this season.

1. Track what’s happening with MLB.com’s free Gameday service

Want to see what’s going on as if the Dodgers game was a video game? You have to pay if you want to watch video (with alternate angles!) or listen to audio with Major League Baseball's MLB.tv service — but you can watch virtual avatars simulating the game with MLB Gameday for free. Just visit MLB.com/scores, then click on the Gameday button beneath the game you want to follow. Or, you can keep it more old school by tracking scores on the scores page — alongside video highlights.

2. Follow what’s going on on Twitter

Want to keep an eye on things but don’t want to stare at a streaming video feed? You can follow what’s happening with Twitter. The Dodgers themselves tweet highlights and results at @Dodgers, plus you can do a search for “Dodgers” or track what’s happening on various popular hashtags, including #Dodgers, #ThinkBlue and #ITFDB (It’s Time For Dodgers Baseball).

3. Listen to the radio, over the air or online

The official Dodgers radio broadcaster in L.A. is AM 570 L.A. Sports. As noted above, you can also pay to listen to audio from MLB.tv — but the service isn't available for local, "in-market" games, which are blacked out as part of their contracts with local broadcasters. The Dodgers broadcasts are also available in Spanish on 1020 AM KTNQ.

4. Stream ESPN on your computer, phone or tablet

ESPN lets you watch the opening day game and others throughout the season online... well, some of you, at least. Due to various cable company deals and other red tape, you have to already be a cable subscriber — sorry, cord cutters — but most major cable company subscribers can log in and stream the Dodgers online, or using ESPN's mobile apps available on iOS and Android. That also means you can find a friend who has cable, and team up with them to watch online — or just hang out at their place for the foreseeable future.

Many other Dodgers games throughout the season will be on SportsNet L.A., but you have to subscribe to Charter Spectrum, Time Warner, or Bright House in the L.A. area to get this channel. However, five of the games this season will be shown on KTLA, expanding your options for potentially checking the Dodgers out. You can find out more in the SportsNet L.A. FAQ.

How are you tracking the Dodgers? Let us know in the comments or by tweeting us at @KPCC.

This story has been updated; it was originally published in 2013.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

When you look at fast growing private companies in the U.S., you need look no further than a small city next to Los Angeles International Airport.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, tell us about the company that's based in El Segundo.

Mark Lacter: It's called Fuhu, Steve - that might ring a bell with some parents because Fuhu is the maker of the Nabi.  The Nabi is an Android tablet for kids, and it's a very cool device that mimics a lot of the capabilities of regular tablet, including the ability to play games and get onto the Web (with controls that parents are able to set up).  Last year, they sold 1.2 million Nabis, and that helped push the El Segundo company to the very top of Inc. magazine's list of fastest-growing businesses.  That's number one on a list of 5,000 companies, with a three-year growth rate of 42,148 percent.  Or, to put it another way, company revenue was $279,000 in 2009; it was almost $118 million in 2012.  Now, by the standards of an Apple or a Samsung, those are still not huge numbers -

Julian: - and maybe that explains why there's been relatively little media coverage of this company.

Lacter: It might also explain why local tech companies in general get short shrift.  Many of them are quite successful, but they're often on the small side, and they're also privately held as opposed to publicly-traded on a stock exchange.  That's one big difference from Silicon Valley, which has so many huge public corporations: Apple, Intel, HP.  L.A. County has only six Fortune 500 companies, and not a single one devoted solely to technology.  In Silicon Valley, there are 22 in the Fortune 500.

Julian: And yet, the L.A. economy has more than held its own without those large corporations.

Lacter: Matter of fact, the accounting firm PriceWaterhouse studied more than two dozen cities around the world to determine where it was easiest to do business (that's based on factors like access to labor), and what they found - somewhat surprisingly - was that L.A. ranked ahead of both San Francisco and Tokyo.  And, you can see evidence of that with the increase in venture capital money coming into all parts of L.A.  Now, it's important to keep an eye on all these up-and-coming companies because these businesses are helping generate higher-wage jobs.  And, for an area with a still-high unemployment rate - still over 10 percent in some places -- that's a big deal.

Julian: Speaking of companies, does anyone want to buy the L.A. Times?

Lacter: The answer is yes - most recently, the controlling owner of the Dodgers, Mark Walter, said he was interested in both the Times and the Chicago Tribune (though there's no way to know whether there are actual discussions taking place).  You also have several local groups, including one that involves billionaire Eli Broad, that have been interested to one degree or another.  But what was thought would be a fairly straightforward auction process has turned enormously complicated.  It's now to the point where the Tribune board has decided spin off the papers into a separate business, and that process will take until next year to complete and could preclude any sales for quite some time after that.

Julian: So, it's Limbo-land for the Times for who knows how long.

Lacter: Steve, it's not that Tribune really wants to keep the newspapers.  But, selling them off presents huge tax implications.  Also, there are assets that the potential buyers thought would be part of the package - assets that include real estate - that Tribune wants to hold onto.  So, what's left to sell are just the newspapers themselves, and frankly, they're among the least valuable properties.

Julian: Now, last week came word that the billionaire Koch brothers, who were believed to be interested in the Tribune properties, decided not to pursue a deal...

Lacter: ...that's right, they don't consider the Times or the other dailies to be economically viable.  You might recall a bit of an outcry over the prospect of having the Kochs, who are staunch conservatives, becoming the owners of these papers.  So, they're out of the picture.  But for the L.A. Times, it's really the worst of all worlds: no new owner and no vision for recasting the paper, at least in the near term.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Sign ups for the Affordable Care Act start in a week, and the program is leading to changes in the way employers handle health coverage.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, what's the most noticeable adjustment?

Mark Lacter: Steve, once you get beyond the squabbling over efforts to defund the new law, what's happening is quite remarkable: businesses are finding new ways to administer and pay for coverage - and some would say it's long overdue.  One interesting example: the grocery chain Trader Joe's, which is based in Monrovia, employs over 20,000 people, and shells out millions of dollars a year in helping provide its people with health insurance.  Well, Trader Joe's has decided to end coverage for part-timers working fewer than 30 hours a week - under the new law businesses are not obligated to provide benefits to employees who work less than that amount.  However, the company is giving those people $500 to go towards the purchase of premiums at the new public exchanges.  And that, along with the tax credits available, could make the new arrangement cost about the same or even cheaper than the current health care package.

Julian: How did TJ's explain this to its employees?

Lacter: The company cited the example of an employee with one child who makes $18 an hour and works 25 hours a week.  Under the old system, she pays $166 a month for coverage; under the new system, she can get a nearly identical plan for $70 a month.  Now, there are cases in which workers will end up paying more - usually it involves having a family member who makes more money, but who doesn't have access to coverage (good example would be an independent contractor or freelancer).  By the way, other companies - including the drug store chain Walgreen's - are also moving part-timers to the public market, and offering some sort of a subsidy.

Julian: I imagine not all companies are being as conscientious...

Lacter: No.  We've seen a number of corporations cut worker hours and not offer a supplemental payment.  Steve, it's worth remembering that administering health insurance is something that businesses fell into quite by accident 60 years or so ago - premiums cost next to nothing at the time, and it was seen as way of attracting workers without having to jack up wages.  The arrangement became more attractive over the years because of certain tax benefits.  But, it's far from ideal - workers move from job to job more often than they used to, and not all businesses are capable of handling the extra costs, especially small businesses.

Julian: Doesn't L.A. have a higher percentage of uninsured than elsewhere?

Lacter: Considerably higher - the Census Bureau show that 21 percent did not have coverage in 2012, which is higher than the overall national number.  Now, there are a bunch of reasons for this: L.A. has a large percentage of households that simply can't afford health insurance or don't have access to government programs, among them undocumented immigrants.  You also have big numbers of people who are self-employed and don't get covered - we're talking about freelancers or consultants of some sort.

Julian: …Or, they work for small businesses whose owners either can't afford, or don't want to provide coverage…

Lacter: That's right - the new law only requires businesses with more than 50 full-time workers to offer health insurance, and a lot of small businesses don't meet that threshold.  The Census Bureau says that in the L.A. area, one in four people with jobs do not have health insurance - and, by the way, there's been a drop-off both in the percentage of businesses in California that offer coverage.

Julian: Sounds dire.  Who picks up the cost?

Lacter: Well, we all do in one way or another - and that, of course, is the problem.  What the Affordable Care Act offers is a start in getting some of the uninsured onto the rolls.  Clearly, it's an imperfect solution that will require all sorts of adjustments, and even though everyone and their uncle seems to have formed a definitive opinion about the new law, it's going to be years before there's any real sense of how it's going.  And, let's remember, signing up for these programs is not some political act.  It's just a way for people to get health insurance for themselves and their families.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The partial federal government shutdown is one week old, but economists are still saying that its impact in Southern California and elsewhere will be limited.

Susanne Whatley: Business analyst Mark Lacter, why is that?

Mark Lacter: If you look back on the history of these things, Susanne, you see that the disputes are resolved before too much damage gets done.  As for Southern California, I notice that KPCC's Alice Walton was asking around over the weekend about the shutdown, and most folks gave it a shrug.  The regional economy is just too diversified - and not especially tied to federal employment.  You have about 46,000 federal workers employed in L.A. County in one capacity or another - that's out of a workforce of nearly 5 million.  And, now it appears as if the federal employees who have been furloughed are going to receive their back wages whenever the shutdown finally ends.

Whatley: That still might make things dicey when it comes time to pay the monthly mortgage...

Lacter: ...but at least money will be available before most folks run into serious liquidity issues.  That's what the shutdown really comes down to - inconvenience rather than dislocation.  And, you see this with the various government services affected: the E-Verify website is down - that lets business owners know whether the people they're wanting to hire can work legally in the U.S., which obviously is important.  The Small Business Administration has stopped processing loan applications, and the Federal Housing Administration is reporting delays in its loan processing, which could mean a home buyer might not complete his or her paperwork all that quickly.

Whatley: But, what if this were to go on for months?

Lacter: Well, then it would create problems, but nobody really thinks that's going to happen.  The real issue, not just nationally and regionally - but globally - is the refusal by Congress to raise the debt ceiling.  The deadline is a week from Thursday, and - of course - there's been all sorts of debate about what this would mean for the economy.

Whatley: All right, so what would this mean for the economy?

Lacter: Well, no one knows exactly.  But, then again, no one knows exactly what would happen if you fell out of a airplane without a parachute.  I just wouldn't want to test it out.  And, of course, let's keep in mind that these are manufactured crises - not reflective of anything that's going on with the real economy.  It's certainly not reflective of anything that's going on in L.A., which saw a big jump in payroll jobs for 2012 - actually it was the sharpest increase since 2005, and nearly double the national rate (that's despite an unemployment rate that remains very high in certain parts of Los Angeles).

Whatley: What about some of the big locally based companies?

Lacter: Well, if your company is publicly traded, there's a good chance your shares took a dip these past few days.  Going back to September 18, the Dow has lost almost 700 points, which - percentage-wise - is not very much, but it is reflective of how uneasy Wall Street has become.  Public companies based in the L.A. area are taking it on the chin - Disney, Amgen, Mattel, DirecTV - their stock prices are all down going back to the middle of September.

Whatley: Even so, hasn't this been a good year for the stock market?

Lacter: It has - those local companies are up anywhere from 13 percent 30 percent year to date, and the Dow is up 14 percent year to date.  Of course, the stock price of a company doesn't always match the amount of money it makes, and this year, even before worries about the debt ceiling, the numbers haven't been as good as they should be at this stage of a recovery.  And, that's why there's particular concern about next week.  You do have to wonder whether a default could have ripple effects involving trade, consumer spending, the dollar - who knows what?  Now, it's still a pretty good bet that saner heads will prevail, although there are no guarantees - and again, if worse came to worse, do you really want to be jumping out of that plane?  Guess we'll find out.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Police say TSA agent Gerardo Hernandez was shot and killed last Friday at the base of the escalators of LAX Terminal 3, and not at the checkpoint gates.  Paul Ciancia is accused of killing Hernandez and wounding several others.  Ciancia remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, how did the airlines respond to shooting and its aftermath?

Mark Lacter: Generally pretty well, Steve, considering that the airport was effectively closed for several hours on Friday, and most of Terminal 3 was out of commission until Saturday afternoon.  You know, there's always this precarious balance in operating airlines and airports, even in the best of circumstances.  Just so many flights coming in and going out, and so many thousands people using the facility at any given time - and it really doesn't take much to upset the balance.  So, when you have something horrific take place and you see all those travelers stranded outside the terminals, the ripple effects are enormous - not just at LAX but all over the country.

Julian: More than a thousand flights were either canceled or delayed on Friday.

Lacter: And, there was a further complication because the airlines flying out of Terminal 3 are not the legacy carriers like United, American, and Delta that have all kinds of resources, but smaller operations with less flexibility.  It's not like there's an empty aircraft just sitting in a hangar waiting to take passengers wherever they want to go.  Actually, the airlines have gotten better at arranging re-bookings when there's a snowstorm or some other emergency that gives them advance warning.  But obviously, there was no advance warning last Friday, so the carriers needed to improvise in handling passengers whose flights were cancelled.

Julian: What did they do?

Lacter: One step was waiving the fees normally charged to re-book flights (and that's gotten to be a pretty penny).  Another was waiving the difference in the price of the original ticket and the re-booked ticket.  But, the policies varied according to the airline, and we heard about travelers not receiving hotel or food vouchers, or having to buy a brand new ticket on another airline if they wanted to avoid the wait - and that can be expensive.  Which raises another issue: planes tend to be completely full these days because airlines have been cutting back on the number of flights.  And that can be a problem if you're taking a route that doesn't have too many flights in the first place.  So, it gets really complicated.

Julian: Why do you think we haven't we heard more horror stories from passengers?

Lacter: Well, look at the cities that the airlines in Terminal 3 fly to - New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas.  They're all served by several other carriers.  L.A. to New York, in particular, is one of the busiest routes in the world, which means that it's also one of the most competitive.  So, even if your flight was cancelled, there's a good chance you'd be able to find space by Saturday (which is normally a slower day for air travel).  This is a big reason, in general, why people like LAX.

Julian: Why don't other local airports handle more of the load?

Lacter: You might remember a few years ago local officials were promoting something called "regionalization" - the idea was that as LAX maxed out on the number of passengers it was allowed to handle each year, then other airports would make up the difference - places like Ontario, Bob Hope in Burbank, and John Wayne in Orange County.

Julian: Right, and they talked about easing traffic congestion by spreading around the flights.

Lacter: Well, regionalization never happened because, first of all, passenger levels at L.A. International didn't come close to maxing out.  But, more importantly, because the airlines decided that using LAX was more efficient for everything from handling baggage to arranging international connections.  So, through the first nine months of the year, passenger traffic at LAX is up 4.2 percent from a year earlier, while at Ontario traffic was down 9.3 percent.  And, we've seen that John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Long Beach are all struggling.  Of course, the challenge at a busy place like LAX is making it as safe as possible, and that will no doubt become a priority in the weeks ahead.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

US President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney debate on October 16, 2012 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Undecided voters asked questions during a town hall format.; Credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

There continue to be questions about how moderators approach Presidential debates and about whether the extra time President Obama has received in the first two debates indicates moderator bias in his favor. 

I had chalked up the concerns to Republican hyper-partisanship, such as we saw with many Democrats criticizing Jim Lehrer for his moderating — as though Obama would’ve won the first debate if only Lehrer had asserted himself more.   However, even CNN has been doing significant follow-up on its own Candy Crowley’s performance in debate number two. 

Maybe it’s not just hardcore GOP loyalists who are questioning Crowley’s decision-making on when to cut in and when to allow the candidates to take more time. I thought she did pretty well, but there are plenty of critics.

As someone who has moderated hundreds of debates, I thought I’d share my thoughts on what we’ve seen so far in this election. Though I’ve never moderated a Presidential debate, with its incredible level of attention, concern about rules, and demands by campaigns, there are certain fundamentals regardless of the office or issue at stake.

Time Doesn't Matter...Too Much
First, as strange as this may sound, the time taken by each candidate has little to do with who has an advantage.   Yes, it’s always possible for a candidate to use another minute to fire off the defining line of the night. However, the well-practiced zingers or essential policy explainers are not left to the end of a candidate’s statement, as the clock is running out. 

I’m sure Mitt Romney wasn’t thinking after the last debate, “If only I would’ve had that extra 90-seconds, and Obama hadn’t gotten 90 more than he deserved.”  Both men front-loaded their major talking points and were going to get them in. Neither man could legitimately say he didn’t have a chance to make his strongest points. At some point, a time advantage could make a difference in who wins or loses, but an extra 90-seconds in a debate longer than 90-minutes isn’t going to do it.

Serving The Audience
As a moderator, you also have to think about what best serves your audience. I never guarantee candidates equal time, as it’s my job to serve the listeners, not their campaigns. I strive to get close to equal time, but can’t make any guarantee. Some speakers get to the point succinctly and have their points well put together. Others are messier in their arguments and eat up time just building up any head of steam. 

If the moderator holds to a strict time limit, you run the risk of frustrating listeners by cutting off the rambler just as the candidate is getting to the point. There are methods a moderator can use to help guide the speaker toward being more succinct, but there’s no guarantee the person will be able to comply.

Isn’t this inherently unfair to the succinct speaker? No. The purpose of the debate is to allow the ideas to compete.  It’s not a boxing match that’s about landing punches in a given time. The succinct debater has a big advantage, regardless of how much time the candidate has. That’s why Mitt Romney’s victory in the first debate was so lopsided — he won on the conciseness and clarity of his answers, coupled with Obama’s inability to get to his central points.  Obviously, there are those who thought Obama’s arguments were still more compelling than Romney’s, and that Romney lacked essential details.  However, for most viewers of the first debate, it was stylistically no contest.

Equal Time Is Not A Guarantee
When candidates are allowed to talk to each other directly, it’s very difficult to assure equal time. Even CNN’s clock that registers elapsed time for each candidate is subject to squishiness. Unless a debate is extremely formal, with carefully controlled time limits and a ban on candidates following-up with each other, you’re only going to have an approximation of time balance. I thought Crowley did pretty well to land the second debate with the balance she did. I’m not sure I could get it that close for a debate of that length. She had the added challenge of trying to determine when to cut in on President Obama’s lengthier answers. Also, Romney’s speaking rhythm allows more space for interruption. It’s tougher to break in on Obama.

Moderating Is A Balancing Act
Moderators are always trying to balance a need to move on to the next topic with allowing a candidate to answer an opponent’s charge. Sometimes, you open that door for a candidate, only to regret it later when the politician starts into a monologue, instead of confining the response to the previous challenge. Sometimes moderators, having gotten burned, will become less tolerant of such expansive rebuttals, as the debate goes on. Moderators are always juggling competing goals, and it’s a difficult job (at least for me).

Unfortunately, there are those who think debate moderators attempt to influence the outcome of the debate and the performances of the candidates. Maybe I’m naïve, but I can’t imagine any journalist who’s worked hard enough to get to the position of Presidential debate moderator subordinating his or her career in an effort to getting someone elected. Mainstream political journalism is like national sports reporting. You really don’t care who wins the Super Bowl, you want great story lines to explore with your audience. Yes, sports reporters have affinities for the hometown teams of their youth, but that can’t compete with the professional goal of covering great stories. 

Yes, most journalists in mainstream media probably have a stronger cultural and political affinity for Obama, as he’s more like them. However, it doesn’t mean a journalist is going to sacrifice the better story to intentionally provide a benefit to the President.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

His expression said it all.  KPCC Director of On-Air Fundraising Rob Risko walked into my studio about 10:45 a.m. to update me on where we stood with our Fall member drive.  I knew we had a $10,000 challenge that had started first thing in the morning, but didn't have any idea how far behind we had fallen in reaching the required 1,000 member threshold.

 Rob gave it to me straight -- we had to attract well over 500 members during "AirTalk" to meet the challenge.  I knew that was nearly impossible during a full two-hour show, let alone one that would be significantly pre-empted by the President's news conference.  Regardless, I knew we had to do our best and hope our listeners would contribute in a record-setting way.  Boy, did they.

We didn't start our show until 11:25 a.m., following the news conference.  Right off the bat the phones started ringing and the KPCC website starting humming.  The volume of member contributions stayed high with only a few exceptions.  There were times we could barely keep track of how many members were coming in.  It was one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences I've had in all my years hosting "AirTalk."

I've been on a high all afternoon thinking about how commited our listeners are to the mission of KPCC.  You've made me very happy, and very proud of our audience.  Thank you for a wonderful show of support.  I will long remember this day.

By the way, we set a fundraising record for "AirTalk" with today's show.  We're still tallying it all up.  I'll have the totals for you tomorrow morning at 11.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A scene from Tomislav Mrisic's "Cowboys (Kauboji)," which screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival.; Credit: Kino films

It has escaped the average filmgoer's notice, but Eastern Europe has been in the midst of a cinematic renaissance for quite a while now. A few individual titles and filmmakers have bubbled to the surface in U.S. cinemas, including Danis Toanovic's Serbian antiwar satire "No Man's Land," which won an Oscar in 2001, and Cristian Mungiu's Romanian abortion drama "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days," which nabbed the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2007.

Those are both great movies, but they are also the small tip of a very large iceberg. This year, Estonian filmmaker Zaza Urushadze's "Tangerines" — a humanist drama about the Georgian civil war of 1992 — is a leading contender for a foreign film Oscar.

As of now, its main competitor for the trophy would seem to be the Polish film "Ida" by Pawel Pawlikowski, which has taken most of the top critics prizes for foreign film this awards season. And who has heard of Radu Jude, the witty Romanian director of "The Happiest Girl in the World," or Kamen Kalev, Bulgaria's great hope for the cinematic future? Among so many others.

A sort of "Waiting for Guffman" with a Croat twist, the delightful Croatian Oscar entry "Cowboys (Kauboji)" isn't in the same league as the best Eastern Europe has to offer, and in an odd way this is one of its strengths.

Tomislav Mrisic's film utterly lacks pretension, which is not to say that it has no point to make. If there's an Eastern European precedent for "Cowboys'" assured mix of satire, drama and farce, it's probably the "Loves of a Blonde"-era Milos Forman.

Mrisic shares with Forman an acute eye for the foibles of small town bureaucracy and a soft humanism that simultaneously allows "Cowboys" to embrace its rag-tag ensemble of eccentrics and to spoof them mercilessly.

(A screen shot from Croation Oscar entry "Cowboys (Kauboji)")

The plot sees Sasa (Sasa Anlokovic), a failed and hangdog theater director with health problems, returning to his small and economically desolate Croatian town, where he is enlisted by an old friend-turned-local-bureaucrat to bring Big City "culture" to the sticks.

Aware that his lung cancer may have fallen out of remission and that time may be running out for him, Sasa sets about the task of creating what may be his last opus with the clay available to hand: a half dozen unskilled, uneducated and, in most cases, un-hygienic misfits, culled from the dregs of the town. They decide to create a Western stageplay based on their shared love of "Stagecoach," "High Noon" and John Wayne. Something decidedly unlike "Stagecoach" is the result.

There are titters and belly laughs abounding in "Cowboys" — a film that may actually be even funnier to an American audience than it is in Croatia, given Mrisic's deft mangling of the worn-out genre cliches of old school horse opera.

The performances are all solid and specific: This is no undifferentiated cluster of cliche yahoos, but rather a broadly drawn ensemble, in which each character has a specific logic and an unspoken need he or she is trying to fill.

WATCH the "Cowboys" trailer in the original Croatian

Mrisic finds much to mock in his small town provincials, but also much to celebrate. "Cowboys" is a smart film that still sees goodness everywhere it looks, which makes it a refreshing change not just from the American school of rote affirmation comedy but also from the relentless bleakness we associate with so much European fare.

For all the farce on hand, "Cowboys" is in the end a covertly passionate defense of the creative act: Its imperishability and its importance for its own sake, excluding aesthetic considerations. It is also a plea for that hoary old chestnut, the healing power of laughter. While that may read like a cliche, with "Cowboys," Mrisic's point is made.

Off-Ramp contributor R.H. Greene is covering the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival and will be posting regularly from there.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Two tents in Hollywood erected beneath the 101 Freeway during a January rainstorm. (Matt Tinoco/KPCC)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

City bacteria versus country bacteria when it comes to drugs

Patt Morrison's outfit for March 26, 2013. ; Credit: Michelle Lanz/KPCC

For good or ill, I have six-months’ worth of winterish wardrobe in a part of the world with six weeks’ worth of winter. Indoors and AC are great equalizers, yet I am rushing to get in the wools and tweeds before we start sweating – probably in April. [President Richard Nixon loved to have a fire in the fireplace of the Lincoln Sitting Room in the White House, so much so that he cranked up the AC so he could enjoy a cozy fire even in August.]

So I had to give a season’s last hurrah to this Jacquard brocade coat with coppery embroidery and brown velvet piping, worn over your plain ol’ brand X brown jersey dress.

Rose-gold is such a flattering shade, hence the bracelets. [The lampshades at the Belle Epoque Paris restaurant Maxim’s were made of soft pink silk because it made ladies’ complexions look so much better.] 

Brown and orange doesn’t sound like a very tasty combination, but they do work, I think, in the subdued brown tartan shoes with rhinestone buckles the color of sunset. They put me in mind of the more prim Pilgrim buckles on Roger Vivier shoes like the ones Catherine Deneuve made famous in "Belle de Jour," a movie all about a young woman who was rather the opposite of prim behind closed doors.

The crosshairs tartan pattern in the center of the buckles make me think of a submarine periscope, which makes me think of the Lusitania — sunk 98 years ago this May 1 — which served to help nudge the United States into World War I. Now that I think of it, the brown felt and velvet hat is rather World War I-ish, too.

Hi, sailor!

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Patt Morrison's outfit from her June 5, 2013 Patt's Hats entry. ; Credit: Michelle Lanz/KPCC

There are so many things  I like about this dress – the sleeve length, the boat neck, the fact that it’s navy and not black, and the fact that it wasn’t made in Bangladesh – but mostly it’s the gaily asymmetrical floral design that caught my eye.

The pattern is front and back, and I’m a stickler about those things. It looks like I have been loaded down with festive leis, but also loaded with one too many Mai Tais, so the flower garlands are askew as if I were listing a little bit.

There’s more of my current yellow shoe madness with these very Michelle Obama kitten-heel slingbacks in two different tones of yellow, one a more acid shade and the other more canary, or perhaps chrome yellow. That’s not to be confused with “Crome Yellow,” a very sardonic Aldous Huxley novel parodying the artsy intelligentsia set of 1920s England.

I hope you can see this bracelet. It’s a piece of Victorian mourning jewelry. The Victorians went way, way over the top on this stuff; some of it borders on the ghoulish, with lockets containing elaborately braided locks or even portraits or scenes made entirely from the hair of the deceased. I can admire the artistry but the sentiment can seem excessive. This piece, though, has a black and white enamel border around a tiny fly. Why a fly, I wondered. Then I read the inscription inside:

“From JR to AHR [clearly a husband to a wife] in loving memory of our darling little May Queen, died 7th August 1880, age 14 Mos.”

That inscription made the fly make sense. It’s a mayfly, a creature that lives a few days, or even just a few minutes, and here was this little girl, born in May – hence the May Queen reference to the mythical springtime queen of antiquity -- and died barely a year thereafter. So sweet, so sad, so human, all from an inscription on a bracelet. The girl’s parents are long dead, and so too are any siblings she may have had, but it can touch us more than 130 years later.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Patt Morrison's ensemble for Aug 8, 2013.; Credit: Dave Coelho/KPCC

What shall we call this color scheme? How about ‘Manhattan Mermaid’?

The petrel blues, the turquoises, the aquas – and then that uptown/downtown black, in this case a black linen duster over a Peter Max-style splashy-print silk dress. The way the hem pools at the sides a bit reminds me of the cut of Pre-Raphaelite ladies’ tunics; I’d love to dress “period” for a week to see whether I’d like it.

Imagine, a week of hoop skirts … a week of 1950s tailleurs … a week of bustles … a week of hobble skirts … a week of liberated Pre-Raphaelite velvet gowns!

The hat is so unmistakably summer in fabric and color that it doesn’t get out of the hatbox as much as it should, poor thing. And the shoes – I did not get them together, honest, but even though the prints don’t match, it’s the dissonance that makes them work better together than if they had.

The fabric is a very textured canvas and printed like batik. [They are not the soul of comfort – oh what a dreadful pun, but is there any other kind of pun? – but they look smart hooked over the railing of a chair in a chic bistro, which is where I intend to take them!]

And the bracelets, one from a great-aunt who had a fine eye for jewelry – the turquoise is almost Persian, it’s so green, but it’s more likely to be American. The cuff is definitely Southwest, with the rope-pattern trim and the irregularly shaped bezels, although the turquoises themselves are symmetrical.

Because I’m left-handed, my right arm bears the singular honor of being “ornamental,” and bearing the burden of the bling.

Summer on, ladies!

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The USGS-NPS partnership meeting at Effigy Mounds National Monument on October 24-30, 2024, united scientists, tribal representatives, and NPS staff for collaborative sampling and discussions. This event emphasized integrating traditional ecological knowledge with scientific practices while honoring tribal protocols in environmental research and strengthening partnerships.

California Jerry Brown will sign a bill to expand California's film and television tax credit program into law in Hollywood; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A moment Hollywood's been waiting a while for will take place... in Hollywood. 

A ceremony is planned for Thursday morning at the Chinese Theater where Governor Jerry Brown will sign the "California Film and Television Job Retention and Promotion Act" into law.

The bill - also known  as AB 1839 — will more than triple the funding for California's film and television production tax credit program. 

The push to expand and enhance the tax credit program has been going on for more than a year. In August of 2013, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti used the term "state of emergency" to characterize the flight of film and television production to other states and countries. Garcetti is expected to speak at the ceremony. 

Los Angeles-area Assemblymen Mike Gatto and Raul Bocanegra are also expected to be on hand. They introduced AB 1839 in February and moved it strategically through the legislature in Sacramento. While there were few vocal opponents of expanding the tax credit program, the big question was by how much. Many supporters hoped to see the annual pot raised from the current $100 million to at least $400 million, but an exact dollar amount wasn't specified until very late in the legislative process.

In April, the state Legislative Analyst's Office released its hard look at the current tax credit program, pointing out that the state is only getting back 65 cents in tax revenues for every dollar it’s spending on the film and TV subsidy.  The bill to expand the program kept moving.

California's magic number turned out to be $330 million dollars, not as high as chief rival New York State's $420 million per year, but still more than triple California's current offering. Along with the extra cash, AB 1839 also changes the way the tax credit program will be administered.   Rather than using a one-day lottery to determine which productions receive the credit, the state will measure the projects based on their potential to create jobs.   A project that overestimates that potential could be penalized.  

Last year was the second straight year the poverty rate stayed flat after four years of going up in the United States.; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Income in greater Los Angeles is rising – slightly - according to new American Community Survey numbers released Thursday from the Census Bureau, but greater L.A. still ranks as one of the poorest major metropolitan areas in the nation.

The L.A. area (defined as L.A., Long Beach and Anaheim) had a median household income of $58,869 last year, which is $804 more than the year before, but still $1540 under the 2010 level, during the first full year after the recession.

"These numbers paint a bleak picture for California,” said Marybeth Mattingly, a researcher at Stanford University’s Center on Poverty and Inequality.

Mattingly is particularly troubled by the child poverty rate, which was 25.3 percent in 2013, up from 22.6 percent in 2010.

“In the West, Hispanics have the highest poverty with nearly one in three Hispanic kids poor, and it's even a little higher for blacks” she said.

Nationally, last year was the second straight year the poverty rate stayed flat after four years of going up. Among big metro areas, the L.A. area had the highest poverty rate in the nation, tying Phoenix, Miami, and the Inland Empire. But that’s based upon a national poverty line of $23,550 for a family of four; When you take into account how much it really costs to live here, L.A. fares even worse.

“We find that Los Angeles stands out even more, unfortunately," said Sarah Bohn, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California. "Housing costs are really playing a big role in family budgets and being able to make ends meet.”

Bohn says these new numbers suggest we’re going in the right direction, but she wishes we’d move at a faster pace.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell talks during a press conference at the Hilton Hotel on Sept. 19, 2014 in New York City. Goodell spoke about the NFL's failure to address domestic violence, sexual assault and drug abuse in the league.; Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Update 1:04 p.m. Goodell: 'Same mistakes can never be repeated'

Commissioner Roger Goodell says the NFL wants to implement new personal conduct policies by the Super Bowl. At a news conference Friday, Goodell made his first public statements in more than a week about the rash of NFL players involved in domestic violence. He did not announce any specific changes, but said he has not considered resigning.

"Unfortunately, over the past several weeks, we have seen all too much of the NFL doing wrong," he said. "That starts with me."

The league has faced increasing criticism that it has not acted quickly or emphatically enough concerning the domestic abuse cases.

The commissioner reiterated that he botched the handling of the Ray Rice case.

"The same mistakes can never be repeated," he said.

Goodell now oversees all personal conduct cases, deciding guilt and penalties.

He said he believes he has the support of the NFL's owners, his bosses.

"That has been clear to me," he said.

The Indianapolis Colts' Darius Butler was among those who tweeted criticism of the press conference:

Colts tweet 1

Colts tweet 2

The commissioner and some NFL teams have been heavily criticized for lenient or delayed punishment of Rice, Adrian Peterson and other players involved in recent domestic violence cases. Less than three weeks into the season, five such cases have made headlines, the others involving Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald and Jonathan Dwyer.

Vikings star running back Peterson, Carolina defensive end Hardy and Arizona running back Dwyer are on a special commissioner's exemption list and are being paid while they go through the legal process. McDonald, a defensive end for San Francisco, continues to practice and play while being investigated on suspicion of domestic violence.

As these cases have come to light, such groups as the National Organization of Women and league partners and sponsors have come down hard on the NFL to be more responsive in dealing with them. Congress also is watching to see how the NFL reacts.

In response to the criticism, the NFL announced it is partnering with a domestic violence hotline and a sexual violence resource center.

Goodell also said in a memo to the clubs late Thursday that within the next 30 days, all NFL and team personnel will participate in education sessions on domestic violence and sexual assault. The memo said the league will work with the union in providing the "information and tools to understand and recognize domestic violence and sexual assault."

The league will provide financial, operational and promotional support to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

12:07 p.m. Roger Goodell to break silence on domestic abuse and the NFL

Roger Goodell will make his first public statements in more than a week about the rash of NFL players involved in domestic violence when he holds a news conference Friday.

The NFL commissioner will address the league's personal conduct policy. The league has faced increasing criticism it has not acted quickly or emphatically enough concerning the domestic abuse cases.

His last public appearance was at a high school in North Carolina on Sept. 10.

The commissioner and some NFL teams have been heavily criticized for lenient or delayed punishment of Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and other players involved in recent domestic violence cases. Less than three weeks into the season, five such cases have made headlines, the others involving Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald and Jonathan Dwyer.

Vikings star running back Peterson, Carolina defensive end Hardy and Arizona running back Dwyer are on a special commissioner's exemption list and are being paid while they go through the legal process. McDonald, a defensive end for San Francisco, continues to practice and play while being investigated on suspicion of domestic violence.

As these cases have come to light, such groups as the National Organization of Women and league partners and sponsors have come down hard on the NFL to be more responsive in dealing with them. Congress also is watching to see how the NFL reacts.

In response to the criticism, the NFL announced it is partnering with a domestic violence hotline and a sexual violence resource center.

Goodell also said in a memo to the clubs late Thursday that within the next 30 days, all NFL and team personnel will participate in education sessions on domestic violence and sexual assault. The memo said the league will work with the union in providing the "information and tools to understand and recognize domestic violence and sexual assault."

The league will provide financial, operational and promotional support to the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

"These commitments will enable both the hotline and NSVRC to help more people affected by domestic violence and sexual assault," Goodell said in the memo.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides domestic violence victims and survivors access to a national network of resources and shelters. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in 170 languages. Goodell noted that the hotline received 84 percent more calls from Sept. 8-15, and the organization said more than 50 percent of those calls went unanswered because of lack of staff.

"The hotline will add 25 full-time advocates over the next few weeks that will result in an additional 750 calls a day being answered," he said.

NSVRC supports sexual violence coalitions across the United States. The NFL's initial support will be directed toward state coalitions to provide additional resources to sexual assault hotlines.

This story has been updated.

Gurgaon (Haryana) [India], Chubu Electric Japan, a global leader in electrical engineering solutions, announced an increased investment in OMC Power, one of the foremost innovators in distributed renewable energy solutions. This investment underscores Chubu's commitment to advancing sustainable energy development and supporting OMC Power's ambitious growth plans in the renewable energy sector.

Black Box Ltd, Essar's technology arm, has unveiled an ambitious growth strategy focused on India, aiming to position itself as a strategic partner for global technology companies expanding into the region.

Google is piloting "Learn About," an innovative AI learning tool using the LearnLM AI model. Unlike standard chatbots, "Learn About" offers an interactive approach, incorporating quizzes, lists, and contextual information for a deeper understanding. Currently in limited release, the platform emphasizes reliable educational sources, setting it apart from general AI tools.

Designed for automatic ingredient additions and high-speed mixing, the pictured Solids/Liquid Injection Manifold (SLIM) Mixer is piped to a 400-gallon jacketed tank and mounted on a compact skid. 

Hauppauge, NY, January 27, 2014 – The Ross PreMax is a batch-style rotor/stator mixer designed for ultra-high shear conditions and vigorous flow, an ideal combination that supports high-speed production of fine dispersions and emulsions. 

Hauppauge, NY, December 16, 2013 – Ross manufactures Ribbon Blenders used in the process industries for rapid, thorough and dust-free blending of powders, granules, pellets and other bulk solids. 

A baker’s dozen is a familiar expression that has been around for generations and even centuries. Why has the baker’s dozen continued on as a perpetual phrase? For ideas, products, even industries to perpetuate, they must connect to a sense of truth or emotional certainty. There are two values the baker’s dozen phrase aligns with, no matter what the conception. Those two values are integrity and generosity.

If your customers require a system to eliminate all nonconforming products—in other words, a 100%-specification system—will your manufacturing plant survive? 

Popular Labriola Baking Co. recently relocated to a spacious, 175,000-sq.-ft. plant in Alsip, Ill

Working displays educate dealers and consumers.

RPA-sponsored programs at AHR focused on radiant technology.

The ASHRAE folks develop most of the standards used in determining the energy requirements of snow- and ice-melt systems.

I talk to people on a daily basis about radiant heating and radiant cooling systems.

Bradley’s stainless steel enclosed safety shower model is ideal for indoor applications such as data centers, chip manufacturing and other high-tech facilities, laboratories, pharmaceutical and chemical processing facilities, and other clean room applications.

At ServiceOne Air Conditioning & Plumbing, we transitioned from traditional marketing to digital strategies during an economic downturn. Recognizing the need for better visibility and growth, I sought a marketing partner to help elevate our business. This shift transformed us from at-risk to successful, resulting in more leads and higher revenue.

Recruit women to become part of your service company.

Make sure your foremen understand their role in ensuring jobsite safety.

 Many parents avoid any discussion about the facts of life with their children. Are you one of many contractors who have never clearly defined the “facts of wages” with each of your employees? 

I have spent many years as the boss and fully realize how many critical items we are responsible for and how much attention that requires. Unfortunately, as the boss, you forget about your own personal safety. My No. 1 concern is for you, the contractor — for your safety and that of your managers and all your employees.

The title of one Thursday session at ASSE’s Safety 2013: “Why Every Safety Professional/Manager Must Understand the Ideas of Peter F. Drucker,” presented by Jay C. Brakensiek, CSP, MSIH, EMBA, Claremont University Consortium, Claremont, CA. Brakensiek was a former student of Professor Drucker, considered the “Father of Management.”

State of the EHS Nation- Exclusive results from ISHN’s 28^th annual White Paper Reader Survey.

State of the EHS Nation- Exclusive results from ISHN’s 28^th annual White Paper Reader Survey.

State of the EHS Nation- Exclusive results from ISHN’s 28^th annual White Paper Reader Survey.

Commercial drivers in Orange County who are in need of expert legal representation should contact Mr. Ticket.

ParkHub.com offers a free aggregative parking reservation and parking search platform to help connect parking customers with available parking.

CheapTrafficAttorneys.com now offers a special promotion for cases in Metropolitan Court.

Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Airport Hotel (North I-85) provides affordable accommodations to guests attending the Atlanta Camping and RV Show at Atlanta Expo Center South from January 25-27, 2013.