Smogtown:
A panel discussion with authors Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelly; Tom Hayden, author and former state legislator; and Martin Schlageter, Coalition for Clean Air. Moderated by Kevin Roderick, Editor, LAObserved.com
How did smog help mold the modern-day culture of Los Angeles? Join this discussion about pollution, progress and the epic struggle against airborne poisons.
Chip Jacobs is a Los Angeles-area author and award-winning journalist. He is the author of Smogtown: the Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles with William J. Kelly, and Wheeling the Deal, the Outrageous Legend of Gordon Zahler, Hollywood's Flashiest Quadriplegic. On the journalism side, Jacobs' reporting has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, the Daily News of Los Angeles, L.A. Weekly, CNN, The Chicago Tribune, the Orlando Sentinel, the Pasadena Star News and Southland Publishing, among other outlets. For his efforts, he's been honored by the Los Angeles Press Club, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and The Los Angeles Times.
William J. Kelly has written for L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles Times, Alternet, and California Journal. He was chief spokesman for more than thirteen years of South Coast Air Quality Management District, the smog control agency for greater Los Angeles. He is the author of Home Safe Home, and senior correspondent for California Energy Circuit.
After forty years of activism, politics and writing, Tom Hayden is still a leading voice for ending the war in Iraq, erasing sweatshops, saving the environment, and reforming politics through greater citizen participation. He has written eyewitness accounts for The Nation, where he serves on the editorial board, about the global justice movements in Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Chiapas, and India. He is currently writing and advocating for US Congressional hearings on exiting Iraq. This year he drafted and lobbied successfully for Los Angeles and San Francisco ordinances to end all taxpayer subsidies for sweatshops. He is the author or editor of thirteen books, including most recently, Reunion (re-issued as Rebel), The Lost Gospel of the Earth, Irish on the Inside, Street Wars, and The Port Huron Statement. He recently has taught at Pitzer College, OccidentalCollege, and Harvard's Institute of Politics.
www.tomhayden.com
Martin Schlageter is the campaign director for the Coalition for Clean Air, where he guides campaign work across the state from the Los Angeles office. He joined CCA in 2002 to help steer California, especially Los Angeles, toward a greater transition to renewable energy. Martin previously worked as a conservation coordinator for the Sierra Club and as executive director of Friends of the Los Angeles River.
Kevin Roderick is a journalist, editor, blogger and author living in Los Angeles. He is the creator and publisher of LA Observed, a widely cited news website that Forbes rated as Best of the Web. He is a Contributing Writer on politics and media at Los Angeles magazine, an award-winning radio commentator, and is often asked by the media to talk about Southern California issues. Currently, he is director of the UCLA Newsroom at the University of California, Los Angeles.
http://www.kevinroderick.com
Unless otherwise indicated, ALOUD programs take place at the Los Angeles Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.
