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The running impeachment show now extends beyond Trump's term of office. Russ Betts says four years was not enough on the impeachment front so the Senate takes it up again even though Trump is weeks out of office. It still requires a 2/3 vote to convict on the articles of impeachment the House handed to the Senate. No chance of getting that as 45 Senators have already said they will not vote to convict. Meanwhile, no word from the House or Senate when much needed relief will be coming for small businesses and families struggling financially under the Covid pandemic. And why should Congress be concerned about that...they have IMPEACHMENT!!! To continue to talk about.

Russ Betts talks to Author Bill Effinger who has documented extensively the Trump Administration and now focuses on President Biden. The Road Ahead is a look at the prospects for a return to political civility. Will there be civility? Russ and Bill take a detailed look at the prospects. Also, this hour of the Russ Betts Show, Palm Springs, California has a new city manager and Coachella Fest and Stagecoach announce cancellation of the giant music and cultural festivals for the third time in the past year due to Covid. Russ looks at the financial impact this has on the regional economy.

A trend toward banning short term vacation rentals in the Coachella Valley moved forward with a second city taken action to limit them with an eye on banning them altogether. Palm Desert followed Cathedral City's lead. Cathedral City bans them all by 2023 and Palm Desert just imposed a moratorium on any new ones.

The local real estate market is hot. Russ is joined by Coachella Valley Realtor Scott De le Torre who provides the details. Where are the buyers coming from? Big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles where home owners are selling at higher prices and paying cash at the local asking – with heaps of money left over.

What takes place behind the scenes of a local election? Russ provides the back story. And you would State agencies charged with fixing the Salton Sea would have listened to a recommendation by all nine Coachella Valley cities and the Torres Martnez Tribe...but they didn't. Now comes round two - a second resolution by the cities and the Tribe demanding that sea water import to save the sea be looked at seriously and to make sure it is, the cities and tribe now want a seat at the table.

Lots of cities are in big financial trouble. But not all. Desert Hot Springs has its finances in order. So much so that instead of announcing cuts, it unveiled a $2.5 million renovation plan for Wardman Park Pool. All Desert Aquatics CEO Rene Hickey joins Russ to review the plan and reminisce about the pool Frank Sinatra funded to start with. And what are truckers going through with Covid? Truckers travel everywhere. When they get to a terminal they are approached like lepers. Trucker Gabriel tells what it is like.

Russ continues his conversation about current events from the week of June 15, 2020 and this is his last live program before going to Podcasts only from iHub Radio beginning in July.

Russ talks about current events for the week of June 15, 2020. And, he visits with guest Steven Stewart, Commissioner with the Riverside County Airport Land Use Commission.

Some people just have to have everything spelled out for them. Like the warning label on nighttime sleep cough medicine that says this product may make you sleepy, they need a warning with everything. So it was with an announcement that Governor Newsom was allowing restaurants and other businesses in Riverside County to open. Every Southern California news outlet ran the story. Local elected officials let everyone know. But those 12 pages of Cal OSHA guidelines were not included. It is no easy task to open.

City budgets are strained. One California City, Palm Springs, seems to have a plan to work itself through a huge budget deficit. A week ago everyone was wondering but last week the city's city manager presented a plan that must have sent relief through the hearts of the council members. It will still be tough but at least there is a plan and it is manageable. It is not alone as it works through budgets torn about the economic crash.

The State closed a rest stop along the interstate to prevent the spread of germs and coronavirus...and then it installed two port a-potties out front. Somehow the port-a-potties are supposed to be more germ free than a proper restroom facility. All without hand washing stations. What are they thinking. Some of the government regulations have gotten absurd and so have some of the measures businesses are implementing for social distancing purposes. Russ takes a look at a wide mix of issues in this hour of The Russ Betts Show.

Cities are facing severe financial difficulties amid the Covid economic crisis. For some it will not be pretty while other cities will weather the the financial storm much better. Russ takes a look at Palm Springs, California and the very significant cuts its city council must make. It is not a situation unlike that of neighboring city Desert Hot Springs during the Great Recession. Except this time Desert Hot Springs is one of the cities avoiding the need for severe budget cuts. Palm Springs finances can be fixed. First step is to match expenses to revenue and then build from there. 

How to handle your business finances? As the economy takes a serious Covid downturn, some business owners are finding out it might not have been a good idea to have secured their business with their house. The business failed, now there is a giant payment on the house...honey pack your bags...out we go. It is a stressful time for a lot of people. Lots of small businesses owners have been two months without income.

Getting procedures in place so businesses can open, that is the task of a loca task force. Russ talks to a member of that task force. Executive Director of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership Joe Wallace joins Russ to talk about the work, and the progress, of the Coachella Valley Covid task force. They know businesses are hurting and the way to get them open is to do it safely.

Will a prolonged Covid shutdown find us in another Great Depression. Or are we already there. Russ takes a look with Bill Effinger, author ofAmerica Are You Ready?: Surviving The Great Depression. And what is with all the help that was supposed to be coming. Program after program ran out of funds before many in need could get help. Have you tried getting through to the unemployment office. California extended the call center hours. Now its just more hours of not being able to get through.

The lined up for hours. A line of cars 10 miles long is what has become the modern day bread line. There was only enough food for a third of those seeking it. The rest were turned away empty handed at a food bank in Imperial County Food Bank. Russ gets a look at the situation in the Coachella Valley as he is joined by Dana Johnson, Executive Director of Food Now. A sharp increase in families needing food and many corporate sponsors having financial troubles and unable to give like they used to. Where are we headed as the State Covid lock down finds millions out of work and now out of food.

A drive off Hwy 111 from Indio to Palm Springs shows very different Covid lock down scenario. Indio at one end is a buzz with retail activity. Palm Springs is a near ghost town with its two main boulevards shuttered and its shopping center parking lots empty. It is have a toll on unemployment. Russ has the early numbers show how much unemployment has jumped in each city. Some cities are already making budget cuts. It won't be pretty. Sacramento, California is taking a $90 million budget hit. Russ covers what cities must do to get ahead of the financial hit coming to all of them due to Covid economic shutdowns.

The health pandemic is deadly but so too is the economic pandemic. Missed cancer screenings and poverty have a death toll that while not easy to count are very real. What is the balance between opening and remaining in a Covid lock down. At some point it will be time to restart our economy. Australia just made the decision to do just that, joining Asian countries that have been back at work for weeks. Several countries are also back at work or have announced plans to do so in the next two weeks, ending their Covid lock downs. Russ looks at those countries and asks can the U.S. follow their leads and get back to work.

On everyone's mind, when to restart the economy? Russ looks at Asian countries that are now open for business after closing over Coronavirus. Can Western Countries now flattening their curve follow the same course? Also, individuals and businesses feel the financial hit of the Covid financial crisis. Cities are now taking a look at their budgets and for some, it's a devastating look, particularly cities heavily dependent on tourism and retail for taxes. Others will not be hit so hard. The Russ Betts Show show lets you know.

The public now loves them. Truckers are saviors bringing food, essentials and toilet paper to restock shelves emptied by hording masses. But with state governments who have always looked down on truckers and given them a hard time at every every mile, nothing's changed. Actually, it's worse. While the public says let the deliveries through, States are making those deliveries harder than ever, putting road blocks Trucker's way. Russ has a look. And, changing it up, Russ looks at the marijuana industry in California v Oklahoma. Joining Russ is Jason Elsasser of Classy Grass in Miami, Oklahoma.