Live Events:

May 14
May 15
May 27

Zócalo Radio:
This Sunday's Broadcast >>

Zócalo presents a vibrant series of programs that feature thinkers and doers speaking on some of the most pressing topics of the day. Bringing together an extraordinarily diverse group of Angelenos, Zócalo--"Public Square" in Spanish--seeks to create a non partisan and multiethnic forum where participants can enjoy a rare opportunity for intellectual fellowship.

Zócalo Radio airs weekly on KPCC 89.3FM
Tune in Sundays at 9pm/Grab the Podcast Anytime

Please join us on May 11th for: Tom Daschle on the Health Care Crisis

Zócalo at Mid-City

Wednesday, May 14, 7:30 pm at The Nate Holden Performing Arts Center

A House of Horrors: Why is Home Ownership So Elusive for So Many Angelenos?

Moderated by Rick Wartzman, Director of The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University

In recent months, much of the attention in Southern California real estate circles has been on sinking home values, with the median price off nearly 20% from its peak of last spring and summer. But this sharp drop only serves to mask what in many ways is an even harsher reality: Home prices remain ridiculously out of reach for most L.A. residents. The latest figures from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo show that only about 6% of new and existing homes sold in the L.A.-Long Beach-Glendale area late last year were considered "affordable" to those earning the median family income of $61,700. That makes this region the least affordable housing market in the country—an ignominious status it has held for 13 consecutive quarters. It's no wonder that, in turn, L.A. has one of the nation's lowest homeownership rates. Meantime, the subprime loan crisis and mortgage industry meltdown have brought their own complications, with ever-tighter requirements now being placed on low- and middle-income borrowers. Rick Wartzman, director of the Drucker Institute and an Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation, will explore what, if anything, can be done to turn around the situation by hosting a conversation with three distinguished panelists: Sean Spear, director of major projects for the Los Angeles Housing Department; John Karevoll, a housing market analyst with DataQuick Information Systems; and Ehud Mouchly, vice president of UniDev, a workforce housing developer.

To Reserve a Free Seat seat at The Nate Holden Performing Arts Center Click Here

Zócalo at Central Library

Thursday, May 15, 7:30 pm at Central Library

Matt Welch, “Deconstructing McCain”

John McCain is the most overexposed yet under-examined major figure in American politics. Dazzled by his biography, flattered by his attentions and unfazed by his failures, the national press corps has painted McCain as a preternatural straight talker, a politically unpredictable maverick whose heart is forever in the right place. As a partial result, voters are on the verge of choosing (or rejecting) a man who isn't necessarily who they think he is. Matt Welch, editor in chief of Reason magazine and author of McCain: The Myth of a Maverick, argues instead that the Arizona senator's interventionist politics, at home and abroad, actually flow from the same single source: He wants to restore your faith in the federal government, and in the "greater cause" of American exceptionalism. Anything that jeopardizes that faith or sows public cynicism is a legitimate target of federal attention. Unfortunately, it's the individual citizen--especially those who don't necessarily agree with McCain's militaristic conception of citizenship--who usually ends up suffering the consequences.

To Reserve a Free Seat seat at Central Library Click Here

Zócalo at Autry National Center

Tuesday, May 27, 7:30 pm at Autry National Center

Is Business Abusing the Ballot?

Moderated by Joe Mathews, Irvine Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation

Hotels attempt to use a referendum to block another hotel's plans in Beverly Hills. A mall takes its argument against a competitor's mall to the voters in Glendale. The owner of a local chain of hardware stores uses a ballot initiative to prevent Home Depot from opening a new store on his turf in Thousand Oaks. California businesses are increasingly taking their disputes with cities, labor and especially each other to municipal ballots in the form of initiatives and referenda. As a result, voters, not the market, are forced to pick business winners and losers and decide complex development, planning and zoning questions that are supposed to be handled by city governments. A panel of political and government leaders who have been involved in such ballot fights—including political consultants Rob Stutzman and Harvey Englander, Anaheim city councilwoman Lorri Galloway, and labor strategist and advocate Madeline Janis—discuss the trend and its costs. Why are more of these disputes ending up on the ballot? Do these measures slow growth or add to the cost of doing business in California? Are large businesses able to buy policy with expensive ballot campaigns? What other forces—poor municipal finances, weak financing, the interests of lawyers and political consultants--may be contributing to these fights?

To Reserve a Free Seat seat at Autry National Center Click Here

Events Are Free
Seating is limited, For On-Line Reservations Click Here
or call 213.403.0416

The Actors’ Gang
at The Ivy Substation
9070 Venice Blvd.  Culver City, CA 90232
Parking located in the Ince Parking Structure next to Trader Joe's on Culver and Ince Streets.
Plan your trip using Metro.

ArcLight Sherman Oaks
15301 Ventura Blvd (at Sepulveda in the Sherman Oaks Galleria) Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Directions and parking go to: https://www.arclightcinemas.com/static/Directions.html
Parking free with validation.
Plan your trip using Metro.

Autry National Center
4700 Western Heritage Way
Los Angeles, CA, 90027-1462
Directions and parking go to: http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/visit.php
Free parking.
Plan your trip using Metro.

Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
4800 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Directions: http://www.BGTtix.com
Free parking in the lot at the bottom of the hill and in parking spaces surrounding the perimeter of the Barnsdall Art Park.
Plan your trip using Metro

Beckman Institute Auditorium
California Institute of Technology
332 South Michigan Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
Directions: http://events.caltech.edu/find.html
Plan your trip using Metro.

The California Endowment
Yosemite Hall at the Center for Healthy Communities
1000 N. Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Directions and parking go to: http://www.calendow.org/chc/center_directions.html
Plan your trip using Metro.

Central Library
Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium
Parking is at 524 S. Flower St. Garage.
$8 weekdays after 4 PM
Plan your trip using Metro.

The Center at Cathedral Plaza
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
555 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Directions and parking go to:
http://cathedral.la-archdiocese.org/gettinghere/index.html
Parking $10 weekdays.
Plan your trip using Metro.

Harmony Gold Theatre
7655 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Free parking in the lot behind the theatre. Enter on N. Stanley Avenue.
Plan your trip using Metro.

The Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.443.7000
Directions and parking go to:
http://www.hammer.ucla.edu/information_planning.htm
Plan your trip using Metro.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Directions: http://www.lacma.org/info/HoursDirections.aspx
$5, Spaulding lot (Wilshire and Spaulding).
Note: Parking is free for vehicles entering the Spaulding lot after 7 pm. Plan your trip using Metro.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
250 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Directions and parking go to:
http://www.moca.org/museum/visit_home.php?
Parking $8 w/MOCA validation at the Walt Disney Concert Hall garage, enter from Lower Grand Ave.
Plan your trip using Metro.

The Music Center of Los Angeles County,
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Grand Hall
The Music Center
135 N. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Directions and parking go to:
http://www.musiccenter.org/directions_mc.html
Parking is at 135 North Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A., underneath the Center, on Grand Avenue between 1st & Temple. $8 for Evening Performances.
Plan your trip using Metro.

The Music Center of Los Angeles County,
Walt Disney Concert Hall, BP Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Directions and parking go to:
http://www.musiccenter.org/directions_wdch.html
Parking is located under the concert hall with entrances on Second Street or Hope Street. $8/weekdays after 4 PM for evening events.
Plan your trip using Metro.

The Nate Holden Performing Arts Center
4718 W. Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016-1516
Directions and parking go to: http://nhpac.com/at_the_holden/contact.html
Free parking.
Plan your trip using Metro.

NPR West
9909 Jefferson Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
Free parking is available on-site behind the building.
Plan your trip using Metro.

The Orpheum Theatre
842 S. Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90014
Directions and parking go to: http://www.laorpheum.com/directions.html
Parking at Joe's Auto Parks on 839 S. Spring St. (Lot B) or 817 S. Spring St. (Lot C). Spring St. is east of Broadway.
Zócalo does not validate parking.
Plan your trip using Metro.

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Directions: http://skirball.org/index.php?s=PlanVisit
Free parking on site in North Lot. Enter at Herscher Way.
Plan your trip using Metro.

Southwestern Law School Bullocks Wilshire Building
Louis XVI Room, 2nd Floor
3050 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Directions: http://www.swlaw.edu/directions
Parking $6, enter on Wilshire Place.
Plan your trip using Metro.

Banning's Landing Community Center
100 East Water Street, Wilmington, CA 90744
Directions: http://www.wilmington-chamber.com/banlndct.htm
Free parking in Community Center Lot.
Plan your trip using Metro.

All programs subject to change.Zócalo programs are broadcast weekly on KPCC 89.3 FM Southern California Public Radio.

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