In Depth: Dealing with evictions, the Red Cross, theaters during a pandemic

LOS ANGELES - Part One: Evictions

Gary Painter of the USC Price School of Public Policy joins us to talk about the growing threat of an eviction crisis as eviction moratoriums expire. But many renters still are unemployed, not fully employed or recovering from illnesses.
Painter says there are a lot of people right now who have accrued back rent and with the extra unemployment funds going away, he sees a deluge of evictions coming up.

He says that a plan has to be devised that benefits the renters, the landlords and the banks that lent that mortgage money. Painter says the government has to intervene to keep the system from collapsing.

The situation in Los Angeles is particularly dire because so many people here are renters, and because rents take such a large amount of people's income.

Part Two: Red Cross in the age of COVID-19

Hal speaks with Barbara Mariscal, the Red Cross disaster program manager about how evacuations and evacuation centers are different due to the pandemic.

With brush fire season already under way, the Red Cross has made a number of changes in the way they respond. They are setting up temporary evacuation locations in case of emergency, handing out masks and taking temperatures, but then those evacuees will most likely be moved to a hotel. It will only be in worst-case scenarios that people would be sent to conventional  evacuation centers, but those will have a lot fewer people, and more evacuation centers will be set up to accommodate them.

Mariscal offers the website for volunteers  redcross.org/la-covid and says they are always in need of more people to sign up.

Part Three: Theaters and movies during the pandemic

Greg and Tish Laemmle, the owners of the Laemmle theater chain, talk to Hal about what life has been like since the pandemic shutdown. He says after running the chain for 30 years they are facing their biggest challenge ever. He says that government help for small businesses has been very minimal.
Tish Laemmle says that she wouldn't feel comfortable going back to a theater right now.

Matt Atchity, the GM of Moviefone says he loves movies, but even he doesn't want to go to the theater at the risk of his own health. As far as movies,  he says the streaming model has so far been pretty successful, but that there has to be something done to keep smaller, independent theaters afloat.

Part Four: Wrap up

We end with a music video by London's Royal Ballet, dancing in the city's empty streets to the Rolling Stones' "Living In A Ghost Town."