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Life & Times Transcript
3/2/07 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- A tiny creature is invading southern California waters and the threat is enormous. Mike Giusti>> You can't eradicate them. All you can try to do is control and manage their impact. You know, it's a very expensive process. The Great Lakes area has expended upwards of a billion dollars a year. Val Zavala>> And then, disco is dead, but is there still life in this relic from the 1970s? The rebirth of Los Angeles's Triforium. 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>> California Fish and Game authorities are trying to head off a disaster for California's lakes and reservoirs. The culprit is a mollusk, or a small mussel, which, once established, is virtually impossible to get rid of, and it's already created havoc in the waters in the state of Michigan. Now it's turned up here in southern California. What can we do to stop it? Roger Cooper has our story. Roger Cooper>> It's a clear blue, picture-perfect morning at Diamond Valley Lake near Hemet about ninety miles southeast of Los Angeles, and there is unusual activity at this manmade reservoir, the largest fresh body of water in California. Teams of divers plunge below the surface, but this is not a pleasure dive. They're on an urgent mission. They're on a search for any signs of a tiny life form. It has just been confirmed that California is under invasion by a creature with a ferocious reputation, the Quagga mussel. The Quagga mussel is barely an inch long, but it can create enormous problems as authorities halfway across the country discovered. In 1989, Quaggas were accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes after hitching a ride in the water compartments of ships from the Ukraine. Since then, they have taken over. They've done billions in damage, clogging water intake pipes, fouling boat motors and even changing the ecosystem by pushing out other mussels in the Great Lakes region. Mic Stewart>> Once it was introduced in the Great Lakes region, it virtually exploded in terms of growth. Roger Cooper>> Mic Stewart is a microbiologist with the Metropolitan Water Districts of Southern California. Mic Stewart>> The Zebra mussel can grow up to seven hundred thousand mussels per square meter. That's a lot. The Quagga mussel, their close relative, twenty to forty thousand per square meter. That is significant growth. Roger Cooper>> And California's worst nightmare came true in early January. Divers found Quagga mussels for the first time here in the west in Lake Mead and in the California side of Lake Havasu. Mike Giusti>> We all have learned a lot about Zebra mussels and Quagga mussels in the last few days, believe me. Roger Cooper>> And a State Game and Fish biologist, Mike Giusti, is quick to note that those lakes feed the Colorado Aqueduct and that gives the Quagga mussels a direct path to California's water system. Does Fish and Game feel you have a problem on your hands? Mike Giusti>> Yeah. The state feels we have a problem on our hands and not just Fish and Game because we've known the problem was out there. It's just never been on the west coast and now it is, so the potential impacts are extremely significant for the state. Not just in terms of the fisheries, but water delivery and everything else. Roger Cooper>> By now, you've probably got one burning question. How could a Quagga mussel from the Great Lakes turn up thousands of miles away in California? Mic Stewart>> You know, the prevailing theory is that it comes in on recreational boats. People in the Great Lakes region, when the winter months set in and they want to come to a little bit warmer climate, they bring their boat out to enjoy the sunny western part of the country and Quagga mussels either attached or was inside the chamber of the engine or the quarter aft and was introduced into Lake Mead. Roger Cooper>> To get a preview of what California might be in for, it helps to take a trip out on the Great Lakes. We're aboard a research vessel from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Dr. Russell Cuhel of the Great Lakes Water Institute leads a team that has years of experience using underwater robotic cameras. They can document the impact Quagga mussels have had on Lake Michigan. Dr. Russell Cuhel>> "The camera is moving along a plane or a valley between two hills. We can see a hill in the background. Each rock is completely covered with Quagga mussels which have displaced the Zebra mussels that used to live there. Virtually every surface here is covered with Quagga mussels and, in only two years, all the mussels that used to live there, the Zebra mussels, were replaced with Quaggas." Roger Cooper>> By using a suction tube attached to the underwater rover, Dr. Cuhel's team is able to capture some Quagga mussels right off the bottom of Lake Michigan. Dr. Russell Cuhel>> "There goes the vacuum and he'll slurp some mussels up and the sand will go right through the filter." Roger Cooper>> Once they hoist the rover back on deck, you can meet the enemy face to shell. Dr. Russell Cuhel>> So in the space of three years from 2003 to 2006, of which this is early, the Quagga mussel invader has completely replaced the Zebra mussels in near-shore waters. Roger Cooper>> So how can you stop them from muscling in on our waters? State officials have launched an aggressive million dollar multi-agency effort to combat the Quagga invasion. All boaters are being asked to inspect their vessels for mussels before trailering them from one lake to another. And since the mussels depend on water to live, all boaters are being asked to let their boats dry out for at least five days. Mike Giusti>> Undo the drain plug on the very back of the boat. Drain the water out of that. When they get done fishing for the day, they bring their boats out. They need to wipe them down and not just wipe them dry, but also they need to make sure they run their hand over the hull to feel if there are any bumps because these larval stages are so small that you may not see them. Roger Cooper>> Authorities are acting fast because, as their colleagues in the Great Lakes will tell you, once Quaggas are established, it's too late. Mic Stewart>> As we understand it, the eradication is virtually impossible once you have Quaggas or Zebras in your system. Roger Cooper>> Once they establish a foothold, what can you do? Mike Giusti>> It's difficult. You can't eradicate them. All you can try to do is control and manage their impacts. You know, it's a very expensive process. The Great Lakes area has expended upwards of a billion dollars a year just in trying to control Zebra mussels and Quagga mussels. Roger Cooper>> One ray of hope for California is that the Quaggas here are in isolated pockets and have only been around a short time. Mic Stewart>> It's believed that the infestation in Lake Mead is relatively in its first stages, perhaps less than two or three years, so it's just getting started. They're very sensitive to chlorine, so we have an opportunity to add chlorine in our aqueduct perhaps to inactivate or kill these guys before they make it down to our reservoirs. Roger Cooper>> Meanwhile back at Diamond Valley Lake, the Water District divers are surfacing with an answer to the crucial question. Have Quagga mussels made it this far up the aqueduct? >> They were clean. No signs of any Zebra or Quagga mussels. Roger Cooper>> Does this mean that they're not there? >> It doesn't mean they're not there. They weren't in the obvious places that they would normally populate. It's very encouraging, the fact that we didn't find anything. Roger Cooper>> And there's more good news. Other dives at Lake Matthews near Riverside and Lake Skinner in Temecula didn't find any Quaggas either, at least so far. But it will take vigilance and cooperation from boaters to keep the waters clear of these aggressive mollusks and to prevent millions, if not billions, of dollars of damage to southern California's water system. At Diamond Valley Lake near Hemet, I'm Roger Cooper 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>> It takes about ten dollars an hour to live even minimally here in southern California. That's what's considered a living wage. Recently the city of Los Angeles required a certain group of hotels to pay that living wage. Well, that sparked a major controversy and the question is, will it do more harm than good? We brought together Carol Schatz of the Central City Association representing the hotels and James Elmendorf of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy representing workers. Joining them is David Lehrer of CommUnity Advocates. Our Kitchen Table segment is funded by Ralph Tornberg. David Lehrer>> James, Carol, last November the City Council passed a living wage ordinance affecting thirteen hotels near the Los Angeles Airport. Now with some headlines, the ballot measure and whether the City Council is going to rescind or not rescind the ordinance. In a nutshell, what's the ordinance all about? James Elmendorf>> The ordinance is about raising wages for thirty-five hundred workers at thirteen hotels that are airport hotels where these hotels have higher revenue than many other sub-markets in Los Angeles including downtown, but pay twenty percent lower wages. They benefit from the city's huge investment in the Los Angeles Airport. The City Council recognized that it needs to do something to address the incredibly growing gap of poverty in our city. David Lehrer>> Carol? Carol Schatz>> Not so. This is about the fact that the unions have been trying to organize those thirteen hotels and they're using the City Council as a wedge and a hammer to allow them to do so. The City Council has no business -- David Lehrer>> -- because they would be exempt from the fact that they've been unionized. Carol Schatz>> That's right. They'd be exempt from the living wage if they were union hotels. So what business does the City Council have helping labor or helping management? If management came to them and said, "We want to keep the union out and you've got to help us", inappropriate. It is a fight between two commercial interests. The unions will get about two million dollars a year in dues from these covered workers. And it's a precedent, David. That's really important here because we figure it's about three hundred fifty workers that would be covered -- David Lehrer>> -- Three hundred fifty out of all these hotels. Carol Schatz>> Three hundred fifty people because ninety percent of the employees in these hotels with their tips are making above the living wage. But what happens to the macro economy when you do this? The precedent that is set here is extraordinary and it's enormous because the existing ordinance says that you have to either be contracting with the city or be on city-owned property. These are hotels that paid full freight. They bought those parcels or they're leasing them from a property owner and they have nothing else to do. David Lehrer>> So there is no nexus with the city. Carol Schatz>> There is no nexus whatsoever. What's to stop it here? David Lehrer>> Is there a certain reality to what Carol is saying? I mean, this looks like it's targeted on a particular business at a particular time because of whatever and other dynamics. There are only six cities in the entire country that have created living wage ordinances for businesses that don't contract or are on city-owned property, so six out of God knows how many thousands -- Carol Schatz>> -- and how many of them are big cities? James Elmendorf>> When the living wage that already exists in the city was passed ten years ago, Los Angeles was the third city who had done it. As you said earlier, there are now something like a hundred thirty or a hundred forty cities that have done it. There are six cities that have done this. Clearly it's a way of looking at a specific policy solution. Some of them are big cities. For example, Santa Fe and San Francisco both have citywide minimum wages set up that are higher than the state level because -- David Lehrer>> -- San Francisco has it for all businesses in the city of San Francisco? James Elmendorf>> Correct. I think, clearly, what the City Council decided and what we believe in this case is that there's a very specific situation and specific problem which is that these hotels do have a nexus with the city. Billions of dollars have been invested in growing businesses over there and in the airport. These hotels do benefit from that investment. These hotels pay dramatically lower wages than hotels around the city. They pay dramatically lower wages than the businesses that are in the airport, so that's the problem that the City Council recognized. David Lehrer>> But what are the realities that they can pay lower wages? Is there something going on there that's different from hotels around the Van Nuys Airport or hotels around Los Angeles and Burbank? Carol Schatz>> But that's the whole point. That's where labor just sort of loses all sense of economic reality. There are competitive pressures that, you know, hotels in various geographic areas or businesses in geographic areas have to face. The room rates charged at these hotels are the lowest in the county because of the competitive pressures they feel. The point is, what is the appropriate role of city government in setting wages and benefits? The city has two primary powers: the police power which is public safety, police and fire and land use. Health and safety is not really one of them. David Lehrer>> I would imagine there are people who get lousy wages in fifty-five other places in Los Angeles. Why this particular sub-set of all the businesses? That's the kind of -- James Elmendorf>> -- there's a couple of reasons. One is this is the largest market of hotels in southern California. There are more hotels here than anywhere else. The wages are significantly lower in these hotels than in any of the other major markets. The only ones that are comparable are some of the really tiny markets that aren't significant tourist generators, so those are the important issues. Then because Los Angeles does such a significant relationship, having invested so much in the airport. I think, if you think about it logically, the question could be asked, do these hotels have a financial relationship with the city? Well, would the hotels exist if the airport was not there? I think the answer is clearly no. There are thirteen hotels there. There are more hotel rooms than anywhere else in Los Angeles precisely because of what Carol said, that we do have all the airport business that is generated for these hotels. They do have money coming in from airline companies, conferences that are coming in for one day, etc. Carol Schatz>> This is huge, but they've picked on these hotels because they want them to be union hotels, number one. Number two, they are also trying to provide a legal justification for expanding the precedent beyond a direct contract with the city, being on city property, and you basically send the message to other businesses, "Well, gee, if the City Council can do that, there's no contract, they're not on city-owned property, they're just mirrors of city assets." Why do it? And what do the -- James Elmendorf>> -- if I could answer the question? Carol Schatz>> Excuse me -- what do the retailers think? What do the fast food joints think? Are we going to essentially dismiss them and say we don't want them in Los Angeles because they don't pay a living wage? Retail doesn't pay a living wage. James Elmendorf>> The question I think you asked me is what is the impact on business? There have been studies done on living wage and minimum wage laws all across the country and almost all of those studies show that there is not a significant impact on the number of jobs, but there is a significant impact on improving lives for workers. There are also benefits for businesses in terms of decreasing the turnover that happens so that people stay in their jobs longer when they make more. You should understand that, when we're talking about the living wage, we're talking about $9.39 an hour. What that means is that somebody is making about the federal poverty level if they make a living wage. If they are making below that, as workers in these hotels are, it's below the federal poverty level. They have to get food stamps, they have to get other public welfare programs, have to have the county health care system -- David Lehrer>> -- but isn't that what minimum wage is all about? Carol Schatz>> That's right. That's why the state and federal government is a role. James Elmendorf>> And minimum wage means that you are at poverty level. It means that you must get subsidies from the federal government and from the state government. It means that you don't have health care. You need to go to the county. David Lehrer>> But shouldn't you be lobbying to increase the minimum wage? That's the minimum statement on my part. I want to thank you both for participating and coming to our Kitchen Table. Carol Schatz>> My pleasure. James Elmendorf>> Thank you. Val Zavala>> The city and the hotels are hammering out a compromise. The city has agreed to rescind the ordinance and invest in the area. The hotels have agreed to phase in a living wage over a year. 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. Val Zavala>> It's a sculpture in search of respect. Ever since it was built thirty years ago, it's been criticized. It's been called "a psychedelic nickelodeon" or "three wishbones in search of a turkey", but now the Triforium has been refurbished complete with lights and music. Will it also get a new reputation? Vicki Curry has our story. Vicki Curry>> 1975 was the height of disco, mood rings and Pong. Americans went into space with the soviets and Bill Gates started Microsoft. Here in Los Angeles, artist Joseph Young brought together the latest trends in technology in a massive work of art that he called the Triforium. Jan Perry>> I think he was trying to summarize or sort of show or share the pulsating rhythms of Los Angeles in a very edgy, very timely, very progressive for the times that it was erected. Vicki Curry>> It may seem tame now, but the Triforium was the first public artwork to use a computer to combine light and sound. Twenty-two columns of light bulbs each covered by a hollow glass prism flashed while music played from three big speakers. The artist called it "a bold, competent statement that expresses man's faith in the future", but the future wasn't good to the Triforium. Jan Perry>> When it was first up and running, it pulsated in time to the music and, at the base of the sculpture, there was water. There was a water feature and grass. But there were some mechanical issues, so the water was covered over and, for quite a long time, the Triforium was off. Vicki Curry>> City Council member, Jan Perry, represents the district that includes the Los Angeles Mall. The Triforium was meant to be the centerpiece of the mall, but as soon as it was unveiled, critics denounced it for both its one million dollar price tag and its design. Jan Perry>> It evoked strong feelings. People at the time either really hated it or really loved it. Vicki Curry>> That's probably why the Triforium was neglected over the years. There are different stories about what happened. Some say the lights and music were turned off during an energy crisis. Others say that a judge in a nearby courthouse complained about the noise. Whatever the reason, the only part of the Triforium that kept going was the bell that chimed every fifteen minutes. Otherwise, the Triforium was dark and quiet until downtown artist, Qathryn Brehm, approached Perry. Jan Perry>> And she said, "I really would like it if you would try to get this Triforium functioning and back on again because it's a unique cultural piece of Los Angeles art and the Los Angeles perspective." So what we did in the last year and a half is basically take a look at the wiring and the infrastructure of the piece itself, you know, restoring and cleaning the glass, scrubbing up the paint. So far on the restoration effort, we've spent about twenty thousand dollars. Vicki Curry>> In December 2006, thirty-one years after its debut, the Triforium was turned back on. [Film Clip] Jan Perry>> And one of the things I said the day that we turned the lights back on is, "This artistic expression would outlive its critics", and it has. Vicki Curry>> Although it's on all day, it's when the sun goes down that the Triforium really comes to life. Once it gets dark out, you can finally see the full effect of the fifteen hundred glass prisms all lit up. Jan Perry>> The glass has been cleaned, so the colors are really bright and very intense, but we still have more work to do. The night we turned it back on, they pulsated for a few seconds and then it stopped. But they're hoping that we continue to work on it, to coordinate the music with the pulsation of the lights and that we can get that going again because that's something that people really liked a lot. Vicki Curry>> Perry plans to replace the ladybug-looking covers on the speakers. She also wants to bring in a digital music system to replace the current haphazard selections played off CDs. Who picks the music right now? Jan Perry>> Right now, it's just an ad hoc, you know. Mostly the guys downstairs in the restaurant. Vicki Curry>> (Laughter) They just kind of put stuff together? Jan Perry>> Yeah. I think depending on their mood. Vicki Curry>> The Triforium has a new lease on life, but it still seems to be a leftover from another era and a regularly mocked era at that. Perry says that makes the Triforium a perfect piece of art for Los Angeles. Jan Perry>> You know, we have eccentric, we have unusual, we have traditional, we have a global view, and this is just another example of that. I think that it represents a different time and yet it's still timely. It's very relevant. [Film Clip] Val Zavala>> If you're like me, you find those email greeting cards really annoying, and we're not the only ones. Traditional greeting card companies are also feeling the competition and they're fighting back. How? Life and Times commentator, Cris Franco, explains. [Film Clip] Cris Franco>> Yes, this Dancing Party Penguin e-card is e-perfect and, with just one keystroke, I've mailed my birthday e-vites to five hundred three of my closest friends while saving about two hundred dollars in postage. I just love it. But America's greeting card companies don't because I think email is putting a big dent into their business. How can I tell? Look at how desperate they're getting. There are now cards for "Boss's Day", "Secretary's Week", "Grandparents Day" and "Give a Big Hug Day". I hope that doesn't fall during flu season. Plus a whole new crop of cards that have to do with our home away from home, our jobs. Every new employee will love receiving this "Welcome to Our Company" card, hopefully soon followed by a "Great Job" followed by an "Excellent Job" card. And after years of dedication, missed vacations and sixteen-hour days, it's time for a well-deserved "Thanks for Your Hard Work" card. And every workaholic will worship this very Stepford "Appreciate Your Constant Dedication" card with 24, 7, and 365 on blood red, which is what this company wants from its employees, blood. Personally, I'd be afraid to get this card. It might as well read, "Congratulations. You Have No Life". And have we become so estranged from real person-to-person contact that we have to avoid speaking to someone by sending them an "Enjoyed Speaking With You" card? What's next? A "Thanks For Letting Me Ride in the Elevator With You" card? And check this out. "You're in the News" card. It doesn't say why. Maybe you've just been on "Cops" or "America's Most Wanted". Why not just send a "Hey, You're Wanted in Fifty States" card? There are now even cards for those who have no idea what they're feeling. This "Thinking of You" card expresses no specific sentiment, just a picture of apples and flowers. And this "Just Thinking of You" card features a cat and then American flags. What? Is the cat a veteran? Some are baffling like this "Celebrate Your Special Day" card. What does special mean? To a convict, it could mean "Celebrate Your Conjugal Visit Day". To Bill Gates, "Celebrate Your Two Hundredth Billion Dollar Day". To me, it means celebrate "Two for One Doughnut Day". Oh, I wonder how my Dancing Penguin e-vite is doing. Oh, I'm getting lots of RSVPs. This is going to be the greatest twenty-ninth birthday I've ever had and I've had a lot of them. What's your email again? You're invited. Gifts only, please. No cards. Val Zavala>> 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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