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Life & Times Transcript
11/02/06 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- Does it protect property owners or paralyze government? We look at both sides of Proposition 90. Bob Blue>> The real beneficiaries of Proposition 90 will be those that least afford legal representation and those who don't have any political influence. Chris Carson>> We believe that it is an extremely deceptive proposition. It really isn't about eminent domain reform. Val Zavala>> And then, offensive and juvenile or slyly ironic? Our critics weigh in on the comedy, "Borat". It's all straight ahead 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>> Should property owners have more power to fight eminent domain? Eminent domain is the law that allows the government to buy your land or property for public uses, things like schools and roads. But what if the government wants your property for private use, economic development? Well, that's the issue behind Proposition 90 which would restrict eminent domain. But as Sam Louie tells us, it would also cost taxpayers millions. Sam Louie>> The city of Los Angeles has big plans for this lackluster part of Hollywood. It's turning this area at Hollywood and Vine into a glitzy complex with a trendy W Hotel, restaurants, shops and condos. The Community Redevelopment Agency is investing half a billion dollars to extend the revitalization of Hollywood. To make room for this development, the city started buying out several dozen businesses under the power of eminent domain. One of those businesses was Bernard Luggage in Hollywood. Bob Blue, the owner, remembers getting a call several years ago. Bob Blue>> I got a call from the developer. The developer basically told me also that the city was planning on renewing its powers of eminent domain for private development. Sam Louie>> When you got that call, what your thoughts? Bob Blue>> I didn't know it could happen (laughter). I was quite shocked. I had heard about eminent domain for public use and I didn't know they could do it for private development. Sam Louie>> Originally, eminent domain was used by government to buy private property for public use, such as highways, parks or schools. But over the years, the government has used eminent domain for more than that. It's been used to pave the way for private commercial development, such as the Hollywood and Highland shopping complex that has benefited private developers. Ted Balaker>> They can go to their buddies on the city council and say, hey, we'd really like this property to build fancy new condos. Why don't you use a little threat of eminent domain to get those people to sell to us or seize it yourself? Sam Louie>> Ted Balaker is a proponent of Proposition 90. He says this use of eminent domain is what Proposition 90 is intended to stop. Ted Balaker>> A lot of local government officials said, hey, this is great. You know, we can sort of run roughshod over property owners. Sam Louie>> They tried to run roughshod over Bob Blue, but he fought back and refused to sell his store. Bob Blue>> One of the biggest things we have is our location. They may not remember our name, but they do remember the luggage store at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. We've had customers return after fifteen years. Location is a big deal. Sam Louie>> After several years of wrangling, Bob was able to reach a settlement with the city. He gets to keep the family business his parents started sixty years ago, but in return he must shut down for two years during construction. This whole experience has made him one of the most vocal supporters of Proposition 90. Bob Blue>> I think the core of Proposition 90 is eminent domain and the real beneficiaries of Proposition 90 will be those that can least afford legal representation and those who don't have any political influence. Sam Louie>> Proposition 90 is expected to be a close and contentious battle. Bob Stern is with the Center for Governmental Studies, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group. Bob Stern>> Basically, this proposition says that, if government is going to take property for private use such as building a condominium or a shopping center, the homeowner can say, "No, I'm not going to sell the property." Right now, governments can do that and take the property. Sam Louie>> But Stern adds that there's a second piece to the proposition that could hinder government. Bob Stern>> Now the second part of it is sort of the Trojan Horse in this. The second part of it says that, if the government does something such as changing the zoning that affects your property adversely, you get reimbursed for that. So if your property values go down because of what government does, then you can get reimbursed for it. Sam Louie>> Chris Carson is with the League of Women Voters. They're part of the No on 90 campaign and are worried that government would be crippled if it passes. Chris Carson>> We believe that it is an extremely deceptive proposition. It really isn't about eminent domain reform. It's an attempt to take away the ability of local communities to govern themselves and determine their quality of life and their future. Sam Louie>> For example, if you're a homeowner and the city rezones your neighborhood to build a high school, you could sue the city, claiming the high school lowered the value of your home. If Proposition 90 passed, local jurisdiction would have to pay property owners for substantial economic losses resulting from new laws or regulations. Carson feels that a loose definition for loss could saddle the state with billions of dollars worth of lawsuits. Chris Carson>> Any property owner could sue. They are very vague. If you actually read the language, it is so vague that it is impossible to know. It could mean anything anybody wanted it to mean. There are no limits. There is no discussion of what's in or out. It is just totally vague. Sam Louie>> But property rights advocates say this won't happen. Instead, they say Proposition 90 will force governments to be more careful before making land use decisions. So the lawsuits will be minimal. Ted Balaker with the Reason Foundation is one of the groups supporting Proposition 90. Ted Balaker>> Let's say your local city council says we want to pass this new regulation of down-zoning, for example. Well, they have to decide what the economic consequences will be. If they still think it's a good idea, they may move forward with it. If it does incur a significant financial hardship, then there may very well be a lawsuit because of that. But I think that's a fair price to pay when we're talking about preserving property rights. Sam Louie>> Balaker says the recent erosion of property rights in Hollywood highlights the need for Proposition 90. Ted Balaker>> It's often a reverse Robin Hood scenario where you take from the powerless and give to the powerful because typically the victims of eminent domain abuse are poor, elderly, perhaps immigrants or small business owners. Sam Louie>> Opponents acknowledge that there's a need for eminent domain reform, but feel Proposition 90 just goes too far. Chris Carson>> This is so massive. It's so destructive that it isn't true reform. It's like taking a nuclear missile to kill a gnat. Sam Louie>> Back at the Center for Governmental Studies, Bob Stern tracks similar legislation passed in Oregon in 2004. He says there were hundreds of claims, but it never resulted in payouts. Bob Stern>> What happened in Oregon is the government basically has stopped making decisions affecting land use, but probably it won't cost that much money. Sam Louie>> In the end, voters will have to decide whether they want to give more power to property owners or to allow local governments to function as is. Ted Balaker>> We think that, you know, our home is our castle and, unfortunately, these days that isn't true anymore because local government officials can come in and basically say, "We don't like what's here. We'd like to have something different in its place." Chris Carson>> We characterize it as deceptive because it is being billed as eminent domain reform when really it is bringing in, you know, so many other things that have nothing to do with eminent domain reform and everything to do with paralyzing a community's ability to govern itself. Sam Louie>> No matter what happens on election day, Bob Blue's experience with eminent domain will pay off. He was lucky. He won't have to pack his bags. He was able to negotiate a deal which gives him a small stake in the new development and that could pay off nicely. I'm Sam Louie 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>> Where have all the moderates gone? It seems that politics these days is dominated by people on the far right or the far left. That's certainly true of Sacramento where partisan divisions are sharper than ever. Is there any room at all for moderation? For some thoughts on that, we brought three people together for one of our "Kitchen Conversations". Political columnist, Jill Stewart; the former city editor for the Los Angeles Times, Bill Boyarsky; and our moderator, CommUnity Advocate President, David Lehrer. David Lehrer>> Well, we're in the middle of a heated election campaign throughout the state and locally as well. Is this a unique campaign? Is there something special about electing a moderate Republican as governor of California or is it kind of, you know, the history of California is replete with these kinds of stories? Bill Boyarsky>> California is a moderate state. On the left coast, you've got a bunch of right wing kooks. It's a centrist state, always has been, always will be. The last two Republican governors, Pete Wilson and George Deukmejian, were centrist. Ronald Reagan when he was governor, although he was a conservative candidate when he was nominated, was a centrist governor. Schwarzenegger is very much in that tradition. David Lehrer>> So despite the leftward tilt to the legislature in Sacramento, predominantly the state is moderate. Bill Boyarsky>> Yeah, they have those phony districts, the gerrymandered districts, that assure the election of right wing Republicans and left wing Democrats, but they're not reflective of the state. David Lehrer>> Do you agree, Jill? Jill Stewart>> I'm going to go with a little bit of journalistic cynicism here because I think that the reason that Arnold was probably going to win and the reason there are several close statewide races this year for insurance commissioner and some of the other positions is more about the, I think, incompetence of the Democratic party and the fact that they're used to being in power that they take voters for granted. It's still a Democratic state and, when they vote for people, they tend to vote liberal even though when they vote for measures, they're more moderate like Bill's talking about. So I think you've got a legislature that's been in charge, Democrats since 1958, right around the year of Sputnik. I mean, that's how long ago the Democrats took over the state legislature. There's a lot of arrogance in Sacramento. They're used to voters re-approving them and re-approving them, and I think they just took things for granted this year. They thought they were going to nail Arnold. They thought he was on the ropes. He wasn't. He was coming back and they put in for their choice, Phil Angelides, who I've been saying since the spring cannot beat Arnold because he's just no good on television. He's too far to the left. There are a lot of problems with Angelides. But I don't think it's so much that we're a moderate state as the Democratic party in California is incredibly incompetent because they've been in charge for so long. Bill Boyarsky>> You're right, Jill. The legislature reflects nobody, nobody at all. Jill Stewart>> Nobody. They're the weirdest bunch that you'd ever want to meet, the strangest group of a hundred twenty people I have ever -- I mean, I think the Los Angeles City Council is odd and over the years writing about them as strange people. They're normal, everyday people you'd love to have over for dinner compared to the legislature. Bill Boyarsky>> Well now, now everybody. Jill Stewart>> (Laughter) Okay, don't call me because you can't come to my house. I didn't mean that (laughter). David Lehrer>> Why is it so out of sync? Bill Boyarsky>> Largely, it's due to the politically dominated redistricting. Every ten years, they have to draw new lines for these congressional legislative districts and, because it's the partisan incumbent winner type process, so they assure the election of the incumbents and the majority party happen to be Democratic. It won't change until there is a new system, some sort of outside commission, that somehow opens it up. David Lehrer>> But even the incumbents are termed out. In the Assembly, they're termed out in six years and, in the Senate, they're termed out in eight years. So even if you have that kind of entrenched system, there are new faces all of the time. Why do they keep repeating themselves? Jill Stewart>> One thing that voters don't understand -- I told my neighbors about it and they were shocked -- is that the Democratic party in Texas, the Republican party, or whoever is in charge uses computer programs now to separate out neighborhoods and they literally go block by block and, in some cases, house by house to separate the Democrat-Republican voters and make sure that only Republicans largely vote in this group, so you run a Republican there, usually a hard right. Then only Democrats are in this little weird bizarre-shaped area and you only run a left wing Democrat there. The public doesn't know this is going on. The media has done a terrible job explaining this. People don't know what re-districting means. I can't even say it. So until that goes away -- and voters turned it down. They tried to get rid of it last year with Proposition 77 -- until the state seats go away and we get back our democracy, you're going to have hard right, hard left losers in Sacramento. David Lehrer>> It sounds like this dysfunction is going to continue. Jill Stewart>> I fully believe that it's going to get worse. Bill Boyarsky>> David, dysfunction always continues. I mean, that's what's government is about and its contest is to try to temporarily overcome that. David Lehrer>> Then this will only breed cynicism because, if you have a legislature that's extremely liberal or kind of diametrically have factions that are at each other, but you have a general electorate that is moderate, I mean, it's going to be this class -- other than this year may be an anomaly where everybody is working together to actually get the work of California done. Is it kind of this bubble that's going to burst? Bill Boyarsky>> The governor really has more power than the legislature, although they don't like to admit that. Over the years, the governor has always been a moderate person. That kind of brings the whole thing into balance. Jill Stewart>> It's almost the one thing that gave California to keep electing moderate governors. Now the one that wasn't that moderate who claimed to be moderate got in trouble was Gray Davis. And remember, Pete Wilson claimed to be moderate and then he went more conservative and he got in trouble. So we do have these moderate governors who come in, but I'm going to wait and see what really happens over the next several years because the Democrats are dying to get a governor in there. Who are they going to choose? We've got our own mayor, Villaraigosa, who wants to be governor. I believe Gavin Newsom in San Francisco wants to be governor. It wouldn't surprise me if the Speaker of the Assembly, Fabian Nunez of Los Angeles, wants to be governor. We've got -- Bill Boyarsky>> -- Steve Westly. Jill Stewart>> Steve Westly, the eBay multimillionaire who was the State Controller, wants to be governor. Look, John Garamendi, the perpetual candidate in California, still wants to be governor. We've got seven or eight Democrats who are going to be at each other and some Republicans coming up like Bruce McPherson, the current Secretary of State. So who knows? I mean, it's going to be very interesting and they'll all sell themselves as moderates, every single one of them. Bill Boyarsky>> Well, I think you'll also have to sell yourself as sort of a super star or be well known. You only had one Republican name. Poor old Republicans. They either need a great movie star coming along again or some sort of a better farm system. Jill Stewart>> Well, they have no farm system because look at the legislature. Hardly any are Republicans and they're almost all right wing, so where's the farm system? They don't have one. David Lehrer>> Well, that's for another conversation. We'll look for the farm system and the Republicans may be looking to Hollywood. Thank you both for joining us. It's been a really interesting conversation. Jill Stewart>> Thank 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 comedy, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan". It stars the British comedian, Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for his Ali G character. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> I'm joined this week by critics Jean Oppenheimer of New Times and Andy Klein of City Beat and Valley Beat. What did you think of "Borat", Andy? Andy Klein>> Larry, it's almost a menace to your health (laughter). I mean, I laughed so hard that I seriously thought I was going to hyperventilate and pass out. You know, this film which got a lot of advance words, Sacha Baron Cohen who's best known for doing Ali G, who's taking one of his other characters, this really clueless reporter from Kazakhstan and sent him around America. He's done it in a way where, you know, probably half of the footage is real-life footage taken on the sly where he's kind of entrapping people. Borat is acting so incredibly brazen and trying to get a reaction and, more often than you would like, the reaction is people agreeing with him. But it is hilariously funny. It's also incredibly disgusting. Larry Mantle>> Jean, what did you think of "Borat"? Jean Oppenheimer>> Well, I agree with half of that last comment (laughter). I guess this is what people mean when they talk about a transgressive comedy. I must admit that I laughed a couple of times, but overall I found the humor so juvenile, so disgusting, so excessively gross, so off-the-charts rude that I just really could not embrace it the way everybody else I know already has. The fact that none of the people this man assaults, you know, know they're part of this gag -- Larry Mantle>> -- he's setting them up. Jean Oppenheimer>> Right. It's obviously part of the humor, but also I'm just not comfortable with it. It's humor at the expense of other people. He goes after some people whose ideology and beliefs I completely abhor. I ended up feeling sorry for those people. So I think that this is a film you'll love or hate. I think there is a huge audience for it and maybe I'll try it again. Larry Mantle>> The latest film from Spanish writer-director, Pedro Almodovar, is "Volver" starring Penelope Cruz. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> Jean, what did you think of the latest from Almodovar? Jean Oppenheimer>> Well, he is one of my favorite directors and I must admit, Larry, that the first time I saw this film, I liked it a lot, but I didn't think it quite measured up to his last few films. But I saw the film a second time and I absolutely fell in love with it. I fell in love with Penelope Cruz who should only appear in Spanish and Italian language films because her enormous talent simply does not or has not yet come across in her American films. Larry Mantle>> Does any actress (laughter)? Jean Oppenheimer>> (Laughter) Well, I mean, her emotions can turn on a dime and talk about sexy? Oh, my gosh. I mean, she will remind you of Sophia Loren in this film. She's supposed to in the kind of films, you know, that sort of Earth Mother, working class film she was in. It's a comedy that Almodovar I believe describes is a comedy about life's tragedies, so it's more comic than a few of the things he's done recently. But the acting is wonderful across the board. I think the story is a hit. I love it. Larry Mantle>> Andy, did you agree? Andy Klein>> Almost entirely. In fact, now Jean makes me want to see that one a second time because I have exactly the same reaction when I saw it that she did initially, which is I thought this is really, really, really good and the only way in which it's a disappointment is coming after three films which were absolute masterpieces, "Talk to Her", "Bad Education" and "All About My Mother". It's tremendously entertaining, so totally in control of the medium and he's a guy who can blend genres so perfectly. I'm not sure anybody else can do this as well. He describes it also as a cross between "Mildred Pierce" and "Arsenic and Old Lace", which I think is fair description. Yes, Cruz is terrifically sexy and also just terrifically effective in the role. The surprises are sometimes expressed on the screen and raised it as though he's underplaying the surprises that happen off-screen. Larry Mantle>> The documentary, "Stolen", takes us behind the scenes into an investigation into a famous art theft conducted back in 1990. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> Andy, what were your thoughts on "Stolen"? Andy Klein>> This is a wonderful documentary. It's about art theft and some paintings that were stolen from Gardner Museum at Harvard. Rebecca Dreyfus has reopened what had been a kind of a cold case at this point. She's the filmmaker and she went and hired Harold J. Smith, who's this great art theft detective who's an amazing character on the screen and has, unfortunately, died since the film was made. They're trying to trace who stole this priceless Vermeer painting and it takes them months and months of looking into this. They hook up with a guy in Ireland who is just an even more colorful character than Harold Smith. They don't ever really resolve anything and some of the flashback material about this Gardner is not quite up to the rest of the film, but basically this is a terrific little documentary. Larry Mantle>> Finally this week, the documentary, "Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner". The playwright is profiled by filmmaker, Freida Lee Mock. [Film Clip] Larry Mantle>> Jean, what did you think of this documentary on Tony Kushner? Jean Oppenheimer>> Well, I also thought this was absolutely wonderful. I didn't really know anything about Tony Kushner going in other than the fact that, of course, he's written "Angels in America" which I loved and a number of other very well received works. But I didn't know anything about him except that he was a man or a human being. Larry, what a mensch this guy is. I mean, this film looks at him as an artist and an activist and he really merges the two not only in his work, but in his daily life. The film also explores his relationship with his father who seems very loving, but was very slow to come to terms with his son's homosexuality. I mean, Tony Kushner volunteers his time. He's so generous of spirit. To me, this was really like a portrait of a meaningful life. Larry Mantle>> Thanks for joining us for another FilmWeek on Life and Times. I'm Larry Mantle for our critics, Jean Oppenheimer of New Times and Andy Klein of City Beat and Valley Beat inviting you to join us next week at this same time for the next FilmWeek on Life and Times. Val Zavala>> You can hear the hour version of FilmWeek Friday mornings at eleven at KPCC 89.3. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. 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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