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Life & Times Transcript
03/09/06 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- It's a sad fact that too many animals will spend their last days in an animal shelter. Can the new man in charge change that? Ed Boks>> When we get to the place where we an use the same criteria that a compassionate veterinarian uses or a loving pet owner uses in deciding whether or not their pet should be euthanized, we will have achieved no-kill. Val Zavala>> And then, he lived with mom and dad, he's running for his life, and he's living on oranges and cigarettes. Our critics look at three leading men in trying circumstances. These stories and more next on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> No one likes to see dogs or cats euthanized and yet every year across Los Angeles tens of thousands of animals have to be killed. Now they've tried in the past to institute no-kill policies, but have failed. But now there's a new general manager of Animal Control for the city and he believes he can do what his predecessors couldn't. Can he? Hena Cuevas tells us he's going to have plenty of animal rights activists watching. Hena Cuevas>> Every day, animal shelters around Los Angeles offer perfectly good pets ready to be adopted, but not everyone is able to get a home and the sad reality is that, as new animals come into a shelter, those who've been there the longest eventually have to be put down. Ed Boks>> I don't want anybody to be under any illusion. Animals are dying and it is tragic. How we train our staff is that this is what we are trying to end. Hena Cuevas>> Ed Boks is the new general manager at Animal Services. One of the unofficial job requirements is being unafraid of controversy. In fact, the post is so contentious that there have been five different general managers in the last five years. Why the high turnover? According to animal activist, Charlotte Laws, Los Angeles has a very active animal rights community and it isn't happy with the way the department has been run. Charlotte Laws>> We have people that care, but have a different perspective, so they kind of clash every once in a while. Hena Cuevas>> And they have clashed, especially over the large number of animals killed every year in shelters. Charlotte Laws>> Animal shelters have always been kind of in the back alley or in the industrial area and people don't really know what goes on. I think that people of Los Angeles do care about animals. They just don't understand that all these animals are being killed and that that doesn't need to happen. Hena Cuevas>> Animal Services estimates between twenty to twenty-five thousand dogs and cats are euthanized every year at Los Angeles shelters, but some animals rights groups say that number is low and place it as high as fifty thousand. But all agree that thousands of animals are killed simply because they aren't getting adopted and there is no room to keep them. So how do you reduce that number? That's where Boks comes in. Boks is a former pastor who has run animal departments in Phoenix and New York, cities that also had high euthanasia rates. Ed Boks>> What we're hoping to do here is replicate some of the programs that were so successful in those communities to help us achieve that goal. Hena Cuevas>> His goal is to turn Los Angeles into a no-kill city. Ed Boks>> When we get to the place where we're no longer killing animals just because we don't have the space or the resources to care for them anymore, that's no-kill. Hena Cuevas>> Is that a realistic goal, considering the numbers? Ed Boks>> There was certainly a time when people asked, you know, is putting a man on the moon a realistic goal. I think that, as citizens of Los Angeles and residents of California and as Americans, this is certainly something that we can achieve. Hena Cuevas>> Under the no-kill policy, every effort is made to find a home for the animals. Only those who are too sick or too aggressive are put down. Terri Macellaro is an attorney and animal advocate. She is a big proponent of spay and neuter programs. Her nonprofit group, Animals Anonymous, even donated a mobile spay-neuter van to the city. Terri Macellaro>> When a cat or a dog can have so many babies and then those babies reproduce and have so many animals, simply killing them is not going to stop the problem. The way to stop the problem is to stop the animals from being born in the first place. Hena Cuevas>> Boks is also a big supporter of sterilization and has called for the spaying and neutering of nearly every animal. Ed Boks>> We're launching our Big Fix Program which is a very aggressive spay-neuter program so that we finally turn the faucet off and stop all the producing of these unwanted animals so that we can continue to see the decline in unwanted animals or homeless animals in our community. Hena Cuevas>> The other way to reduce the kill rate is to increase the number of animals adopted. One way to increase adoptions is by making the shelters a lot more accessible to the public. Some of the complaints Animal Services has received is that their shelters are dark and that they smell. But in the year 2000, Los Angeles voters approved Proposition F which allows property taxes to be used to expand and renovate the six existing shelters and also allows for the construction of two brand new state of the art facilities like this one scheduled to open in June. Linda Gordon>> "The indoor portion is heated for when it's cold and the outdoor portion will be misted to cool it off." Hena Cuevas>> Linda Gordon is overseeing the construction and renovation. She says traditionally shelters have been tucked away from the public eye, but not this one. Linda Gordon>> It will reduce the barking, it will eliminate the noise and, plus, we create an environment that has plenty of landscaping and water features and plenty of spots to sit down and relax and enjoy the pets that you're viewing. Hena Cuevas>> The new shelters will significantly increase the number of animals that can be held and the idea is to have only one per kennel. Ed Boks>> When we get to the place where we can use the same criteria that a compassionate veterinarian uses or a loving pet owner uses in deciding whether or not their pet should be euthanized, we will have achieved no-kill. Hena Cuevas>> It's a lofty goal and Laws says Boks faces an uphill battle. Charlotte Laws>> It's a tough job. I mean, you know, he's taken on a big responsibility and a very difficult job, and especially with all the things that have happened in the past in Los Angeles. Hena Cuevas>> She's referring to the appointment of the previous general manager, Gordon Stuckey, by former mayor James Hahn. Charlotte Laws>> And I think the animal community felt left out of the decision. They felt that he wasn't a good choice. Hena Cuevas>> So when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took office, animal advocates demanded Stuckey be replaced. Charlotte Laws>> He'd been at his post for a year and that's a long time. If you look at what he had done, I didn't see really any evidence of him having really done very much. Hena Cuevas>> So last February, Villaraigosa gave the job to Boks, but some city employees who had been harassed at their homes by radical animal rights groups were unhappy with the appointment. They felt the mayor had caved in to pressure from extremists. Laws disagrees. Charlotte Laws>> The pressure on the mayor was not the radical people as reported in the press. It was the mainstream animal communities that said this needs to change. This is not working out. Hena Cuevas>> Boks is aware of the controversy surrounding his appointment and of the different expectations he faces. Ed Boks>> We all have different ideas on how fast we can achieve this goal. Your very question of, you know, is it even achievable is one side of the spectrum and there's the other side of the spectrum that wants it accomplished yesterday. Terri Macellaro>> We've heard great things about Mr. Boks from his prior places of employment. I don't think we knew of him specifically until then, but he seems to be working with the community and that certainly is half the battle. Hena Cuevas>> As for Laws, she says that most people realize change will take time and that they need to give Boks a chance. Charlotte Laws>> I think that, if the numbers look good and he's reaching out to the community and he's bringing the deaths down and he's doing all the right things, I think the people are going to give him some time. I mean, you can't do it overnight. Ed Boks>> This isn't rocket science and these animals deserve better than that and I think that, if we can just agree to work together, I think we can make astonishing progress in just one year. Hena Cuevas>> One year may be all the time he has to show serious improvement in the euthanasia numbers. After all, animal rights groups have proven to be a very active bunch and no other department head has so many watchdogs nipping at his heels. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> Her political career has had its ups and downs and now she says it' going to have an end. We're talking about Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, the first African American woman from California to be elected to the U.S. Congress. Since then, her resume has paralleled history, starting in 1965 with the Watts Riots. As she told Toni Guinyard, that's when her forty-year career in politics started. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> I was one of the young attorneys on the staff of the McCone Commission and really that was what caused me to think about running for office. When we were sitting there going through all of the issues, the first thing we started thinking was, you know, we need new people running for office. We started looking at districts and where there was greater opportunity for minorities to run. As a result of that, putting together all of that information, one of the people became my campaign manager, Sam Williams, and I ran for the Assembly. Toni Guinyard>> Looking back on everything, how far have we come from that point to now? Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> Oh, we've come a long way. We've come a long way in terms of middle-class America, African Americans and minorities. Today we have people who are presidents of corporations. We have members who are partners in law firms. At the top, people have done very well, but at the bottom, we have more young people dropping out of high school than we had at that time. We have many more people, young people, who should have every opportunity. For some reason, they're not getting that education. They are not having an opportunity to move upwards. So in many instances, it's worse particularly compared to where the top is for many inner city youths. Toni Guinyard>> I sense that that frustrates you. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> It has to be frustrating to everyone. Any person who's in education, I don't know what they say or how they approach it. Obviously, from the Board of Supervisors, we get involved in terms of our probation camps with education and Juvenile Hall and all the entire system of education. Los Angeles Unified, that's all separate. But one of the things we've been saying, if a child goes to a probation camp or Juvenile Hall, let's make sure they come out of there with a GED. Even if they're just there for a short period of time, let's make sure they start picking up and catching up on their grade average in terms of their ability to read and math and English. I am very frustrated. I'm frustrated that, you know, we have media that just encourages young people to talk without proper English instead of trying to say to them, "You have to learn how to speak English" because how are you going to get a job? Toni Guinyard>> Now a lot of people will say you are not being culturally sensitive. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> Well, I am culturally sensitive. I'm culturally sensitive to the realities of life. You know, if you want to get among your little friends and talk whatever way you want, also be able to get somewhere and know how to speak and write the English language. My immediate responsibilities, though -- there's a couple of things. I'm chairing the Coliseum Commission, so obviously I want to see an NFL team come to Los Angeles. I am going to be chair in June of California Area Government, so I do want to look at some of those transportation issues such as all those trucks on the freeway. We want to have a big move as far as movement of some of the container ports and goods movement to try to lessen some of the impact on people who have to drive our freeways and our highways. Toni Guinyard>> Do you feel as if you've dropped the ball -- and I hate to use that phrase - but dropped the ball at any point during this term of yours? Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> Well, there have been problems. I'm not going to deny that. There have been terrible problems. There was nothing that upset me more than the whole problem at King-Drew, but now I'm feeling better about it. It seems to be turning around. It seems to be improving and we hope it will get its accreditation back. That was a real challenging issue. Toni Guinyard>> You know, I think people saw a different side of you then too because you got really tough at that point. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> Well, it was time to get tough. It was tough to make sure that some of my colleagues understood. They couldn't just take for granted that that was disposable, and it was not disposable. Our entire region, the south region of Los Angeles, needs that hospital. Other hospitals not just in south Los Angeles, but other hospitals through the entire county were just so concerned. If that hospital closed, it would put a great impact on them because that's the hospital that takes the uninsured, the people who have no safety net, and these are people who are working every day. But on their job, they don't get health insurance and what happens? If they get ill, they come to our county hospitals. Toni Guinyard>> Do you feel that you were unfairly being characterized as a protector of King-Drew simply because it used to primarily serve the African American communities? Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> I really think I was unfairly characterized because I wasn't over-protective. I was in there giving them hell. I don't know any other word to express it. But I was giving them -- every time that there was something wrong, I was trying to get it corrected. But there was so much that had gone on for so long and so many people -- there was a community that was very sensitive to anyone changing things. That community now is understanding that you have to change with the times. You can't keep the same people in year in and year out. You can't use the same methods. You have to adjust. You have to change the way the hospital looks from time to time. Now there's an acceptance of that and I'm feeling much better. Toni Guinyard>> What do you see as the biggest challenge in all of your years of public service to the city of Los Angeles? What do you feel is your biggest challenge? Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> The biggest challenge really is how you have changing communities, how you're having a diverse population, how those populations learn to work together, and also how you manage to maintain the economic base of it. What has happened to so much of south Los Angeles when there was a 1965 riot or a 1992 riot, business and companies pulled out when we really needed them to come in. So we have a real economic challenge in Los Angeles, particularly in the inner city of Los Angeles, to keep a job base. My district, probably five hundred thousand of the African Americans moved out and they moved out because they couldn't find housing here, they couldn't find the schools for their children. They moved out to suburbia. Now that's probably good, but it is a symptom that the economic base and the jobs were not kept within those areas where people needed to work. We've become a service economy which is totally different and the service economy either says you have to be a computer genius or an executive or someone who's involved in service of some kind or you don't get those good manufacturing jobs and those good union jobs. Toni Guinyard>> Personally, what have you learned over the course of these years about the people that you have to deal with every day? Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> Well, I've learned that don't take for granted that there is not race at the bottom of an awful lot of things. Don't ever take for granted as a woman or as an African American that people, when they see you, until they know you, don't think that they don't see an African American woman and all the stereotypes that they have come to play in how they will look at you. Now that's changed a lot, but until you come to grips with that, you are not able to deal with society as a whole. You're not able to go into that boardroom and deal with people who've never met with probably an African American woman as a peer. That's the one thing I've learned. Toni Guinyard>> Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, I want to thank you so much for spending a little time with Life and Times. Yvonne Brathwaite Burke>> Thank you. It's so wonderful to see you. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Larry Mantle>> Welcome to FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle of 89.3 KPCC. Our first film this week is the romantic comedy, "Failure to Launch", starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> I'm joined this week by critics Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor and Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com. Henry, what did you think of "Failure to Launch"? Henry Sheehan>> Oh, I mean, what a name. "Failure to Launch". I mean, talk about a movie that fails to get off the ground. This is essentially the story of a chaste prostitute played by Sarah Jessica Parker whose job it is to date men who are still living at home with their parents and lure them away so that they get their own apartment. How exactly her going out with them gets them out of the home is nonsense, but the whole movie is nonsense. Not funny nonsense. Her victim or subject in this movie is played by Matthew McConaughey. The movie is mostly shot like it was made for television with a lot of close-ups and I have to say that, between Sarah Jessica Parker's shiny, shiny, shiny face and Matthew McConaughey's wrinkled face with lots of makeup on it that you can see, it's a little perverse. I mean, I thought the synonymy was about people in their twenties who won't leave home. I didn't know it was about people in their forties. Larry Mantle>> Peter, what did you think? Peter Rainer>> You know, "Failure to Launch", that title could stand for the review of the movie also (laughter). It's a terrible film. The premise makes very little sense. The setup, you know, as Henry said, doesn't really make any sense for the age bracket that they're dealing with in this movie. McConaughey does his sort of, you know, good-time guy thing and Sarah Jessica Parker looks befuddled as if she's not really sure what kind of movie she's in, and understandably so. Overall, it tries to get heart at the end. You know, it's supposed to be this comedy, but then you find out that it's about a failure to love and the need to combine and love again. The plot is so predictable that, you know, within fifteen minutes, I had it and I'm not particularly sharp at these things. It's just a dreadful movie. Even the shots don't match, you know. Who was this movie for really? Larry Mantle>> Screenwriter Robert Towne has written the adaptation and directed the film, "Ask the Dust", starring Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> Peter, what did you think of "Ask the Dust"? Peter Rainer>> "Ask the Dust" is a long-term project that Robert Towne has wanted to make ever since he made "Chinatown". He had researched it and read the novel by John Fante. It's set in depression Los Angeles, although the actual Los Angeles is recreated in a set somewhat north of Cape Town, South Africa, so go figure. What I like best about it was that it's a kind of evocation of a faded time. What doesn't really work so well is the story of the young Italian writer, Arturo, played by Colin Farrell, who's not doing terribly well and has this kind of love-hate relationship with a waitress played by Salma Hayek. Given the fact that it's Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek, it ought to be a hotter pairing, I think. Larry Mantle>> Do you agree, Henry? Henry Sheehan>> Yes, I do. I have to say that I think this is the first time I've seen Colin Farrell and realized that he is a good-looking guy. I mean, I never quite got it until this movie. You know, it's kind of a waste. This should be a movie about passion and a guy who's passionate about writing and becomes so passionate about this waitress that he meets. But this movie is very cool and muted, and this is a problem in the novel. They never get by the writer's solecism. I mean, he doesn't seem to realize how much everything seems to relate just to him and how he feels about it. You would think a movie, at least, would be able to get past that barrier. It's a movie about trying to get past barriers that never actually gets past its own barrier. Larry Mantle>> The action film, "16 Blocks", is next, directed by Richard Donner. It stars Bruce Willis and Mos Def. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> "16 Blocks", Peter? Peter Rainer>> Well, Richard Donner who directed is an old pro and this has a kind of old pro's professionalism that carries you through even though, in a sense, it's almost kind of absurd. I sort of liked it. Bruce Willis plays a kind of dirty cop whose job it is to transport Mos Def to court and gets waylaid by other dirty cops. Bruce Willis, if he was paid by the word, he got about twenty bucks for this movie (laughter). He says almost nothing to the point where you begin to think, you know, is he playing a mute? I mean, what's going on here? Whereas, Mos Def never stops talking. But he's the best reason to see the movie. He plays this kind of shambling character who skirts racial stereotypes rather dangerously, but then you realize what he's up to. He's playing a guy who's sort of using that attitude to cover a real smartness. It's his way of getting by in the world. It's an absolutely terrific performance. Very daring. Larry Mantle>> And finally this week, what has to be a contender for longest title of the young year, "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things". It's directed by Asia Argento who also stars in the film. Peter Fonda is also in the cast. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things". Do you agree, Henry? Henry Sheehan>> Well, this is one wild movie, I have to tell you. It's directed by Asia Argento, an actress-director who's the daughter of the Italian filmmaker, Dario Argento, who's known for his kind of control of his materials, thrillers and horror films. She makes movies about sexuality and she has no control whatsoever. The movie is about a kid who gets snatched away from a loving foster home when he's like five or six or eight or something by his prostitute mother and she keeps dumping the kid and dressing him up as a girl and he gets raped by one of the men she's picked up and who dumps her over and over again. He ends up with his religious fanatic grandfather played by Peter Fonda who sets him on the sidewalk to preach hellfire and damnation before he gets snatched by his mother again and, you know, her latest abusive boyfriend. I mean, this is just like one piece of degradation after another done in the most florid imaginable style. I mean, if this is what you want to see, this is it. You know what I mean? Larry Mantle>> As always, we thank you for joining us for another FilmWeek on Life and Times. For our critics Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor and Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com, I'm Larry Mantle inviting you to join us next week at this same time for the next FilmWeek on Life and Times. Val Zavala>> You can hear a full hour of FilmWeek Friday mornings at eleven a.m. on KPCC public radio. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you tomorrow. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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