Your Call 112508 Hard Questions about Wildfires

Is California asking the hard questions about wildfires? On the next Your Call we'll discuss how the environmental and economic climates are forcing hard choices on the state. How should fire-fighting be balanced with other state priorities in the budget? If we cut the budget for fighting fires, how should the priority list for those resources change? Is the urban core of the state building enough housing to relieve population pressures in high danger areas? It's Your Call with Ben Temchine and you.

Guests: Bill Stewart in Berkeley
Forestry Specialist at the University of California at Berkeley. Before joining the university two years ago, Bill was the Director of the research unit at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, where he studied resource economics issues.

Andy Stahl in Portland, Oregon
Executive Director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, national organization of government employees holding the Forest Service accountable for responsible land stewardship.

Click to Listen: Hard Questions about Wildfires

Your Call 071808 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it's our Friday Media Roundtable, the day we discuss how the media covered the week's top stories. This week, the IndyMac Bank collapsed, we got higher inflation numbers, and the Bush administration proposed even more bailouts. Are the media giving you the context you need to understand what's happening? We'll also will talk about coverage of California's fires with Neil Shea of National Geographic. Where did the media shine this week and where did it fall short? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Amy Gluckman, co-editor of Dollars & Sense

Neil Shea, staff writer for National Geographic

Russell Carollo, Sacramento Bee staff writer

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 102607 Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, Southern California burned. Did the reporters covering the fires connect the emergency with larger ecological and social trends? Also this week battles raged on the border of Turkey and Iraq and within the halls of power in Istanbul. Did you see or hear reporting that covered more than the blow-by-blow and provided the context to help you understand what's at stake? What was your story of the week? It's Your Call, with me, Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Robert Parry in Healdsburg, California
Founder and editor of Consortium News

David Roberts in Seattle, Wash.
Staff writer for Grist and blogmaster of Gristmill

Evrim Bunn in Washington DC
Reporter with Voice of America Turkish Service

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable