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Celebrating America's Independence; Oil Scaring Away Tourists; Champion Easter Arrested; Planting Seeds to Save a City; California Workers to Get Minimum Wage NBA Stars Up for Grabs; Art of the City
Aired July 04, 2010 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You know what? It may be a holiday where you are, but it's certainly not one down in the Gulf. How much longer can business owners hold on before the bottom drops out?
Another story that is consuming America right now, sour wieners for one hotdog-eating champ. He doesn't compete because of a contract dispute but then is arrested rushing the stage. What in the world?
And imagine going from average salary to minimum wage overnight? How do you feed your family and pay the bills? I'll ask some state workers facing that very dilemma this hour.
(MUSIC)
LEMON: Happy Fourth of July, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
You know, this is a day that evokes names like Jefferson, Washington and Franklin -- a day that tugs at the patriotic nostalgia that's grown since the moment 234 years ago when this country declared its independence.
It is also a day of great celebration for time with family and friends, sun-baked cook-outs and deserving of the grandest finales, the rocket's red glare from the fireworks we'll all be watching a little bit later on tonight.
And one of the best places to do that is Washington's National Mall and that's where we find our Sandra Endo, very lucky reporter this evening. Sandra, is the party in full swing right now?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Don, let me tell you, the party's been going on all day long. Thanks for finally joining us. I got to catch you up to speed here what's going on.
We're just steps from the Washington Monument. You can see the red, white and blue waving in the breeze right there. What a beautiful day, it's very hot.
So, a lot of people have claimed their spots early this morning to get in the shade. You can see everyone's out here picnicking, having a good time, joining friends and family members as you were mentioning, just celebrating the whole day waiting for the big show later tonight. And this -- this family here brought their own party, right? All you guys, the Ati (ph) family are here. They even made their own Fourth of July shirts, each one is unique. Everyone has red, white and blue going on here.
So, why'd you guys decide -- let me get over here -- why'd you guys decide to come out here overnight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the place to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fireworks are really great. And this is we thought this is where we need to be.
ENDO: And so, you staked your spot out. This is a really good spot. You have snacks out here. I think --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homemade, by the way.
ENDO: Homemade everything. What are you excited to see tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fireworks with friends and families from all sorts of states. We have Texas representing. We have San Francisco also representing.
ENDO: All right. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mad love to the peeps (INAUDIBLE), we love you.
ENDO: OK. Big party going on here, Don, back to you.
LEMON: I wish I was there. It looks like a whole lot of fun. Enjoy yourself. We'll see you a little bit later on here on CNN.
You know, General David Petraeus formally assumed command today of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: General David Petraeus now assumes command of the United States forces of Afghanistan effective 4th July, 2010.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Petraeus replaces General Stanley McChrystal who was relieved of his duties after a magazine article quoted him and his staff criticizing and mocking administration officials. In his speech, Petraeus said NATO strategy in Afghanistan has not changed and the war has reached a critical moment. He has said he supports the president's plan to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by next July based on conditions on the ground.
Today, where possible, U.S. forces tried to do what Americans all across the country spent the day doing, celebrating our independence. Somehow, it means more in a country struggling for freedom. General Petraeus led a celebration at the American embassy in Kabul. For the U.S. troops, it was a taste of home. U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry also took part in the celebration.
Vice President Joe Biden spent the Fourth of July in Iraq. He met with Iraqi leaders still in political deadlocked merely four months after national elections. The vice president and his wife also had a holiday lunch with U.S. troops. It was his second straight visit to Iraq on the Fourth of July.
To the Gulf Coast now, which is usually packed with tourists on the Fourth of July, is not the case this year, though. The oil disaster is keeping many visitors and their money away from those shores.
Our join John Zarrella is down in Gulf Shores, Alabama, right now.
John, good to see you. At least there's plenty of room to lay out your beach towel. I know that's, you know, probably not what business owners wanted there, but, man, it's just certainly looks pretty empty.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right. You hit the nail right on the head, Don. If you look behind me, you can see this is, literally, the economic exclamation point on the BP disaster. There are, what, hundreds of people on the beach as opposed to tens of thousands of people who would normally be here packing this beach on a normal Fourth of July holiday.
Now, you know also here that the beach has been -- is open but the water has been closed. They've told people they're not allowed to swim. But the lifeguards were telling me they are letting folks go into the water so they can cool off, so they can get their feet wet. Of course, we saw a lot of folks doing more than just cooling off and getting their feet wet, dumping themselves in completely.
Now, that's different down in Pensacola, Florida, where whether people should be allowed to swim or not has become quite the controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): More clean-up crews than we have seen in days scoured this section of Pensacola Beach, perhaps just a coincidence EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson dropped by for a firsthand look at the work.
LISA JACKSON, EPA ADMINISTRATOR: It has no odor. So (INAUDIBLE) are long gone out of there.
ZARRELLA: While it's pretty clear that the beach is a mess, what isn't clear to people here is whether the water is safe for swimming.
(on camera): "Oil Impact Notice" -- these are the signs that have been posted on all 40 miles of Escambia County's coastline. And they say: avoid wading, swimming or entering the water. But they don't say you can't get in.
(voice-over): What would Administrator Jackson do?
JACKSON: Based on the fact that this beach is being oiled -- no, I would not go into the water today.
ZARRELLA: Cindy O'Sullivan and Janie King (ph) couldn't agree more. They have lived in Pensacola for years.
(on camera): Would you get in that water right now?
CINDY O'SULLIVAN, PENSACOLA RESIDENT: There's no way. I don't understand why people are in it. But it looks good. It looks pretty, but not.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Well, that depends upon who you talk with.
DR. JOHN LANZA, ESCAMBIA COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Right now, I would go into the water.
ZARRELLA: Dr. John Lanza heads the county's health department. Lanza believes the water is safe unless you see tar balls or sheen on the water, or you feel oily, and not from suntan lotion.
For now, the county commission is not banning swimming until the EPA gives them concrete guidance.
LANZA: Until we get a standard from the EPA on the levels of the petrochemicals in the water so that we don't suggest people go into the water specifically for that, we can't do anything.
JACKSON: There is nothing that I'm going to be able to tell you in a chemical lab that you can't learn about the safety of the water from a bathing purpose by looking at it and smelling it.
ZARRELLA: It looked pretty good to the Vonsleich (ph) family vacationing from Oklahoma. They played in the surf. They hadn't seen the "avoid the water" sign and no one told them not to go in.
(on camera): If they were warning to you stay out of the water --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should not have gotten in.
ZARRELLA: You wouldn't have gotten in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, you take a look, Don, again at the beach, it's very, very empty here, but last night, our producer, Eric Feagle (ph), was actually in town. He went to some of the restaurants and he said there was a two-hour wait to get in some of those restaurants. So, fortunately, for at least the restaurateurs here, if the people may not be coming down to the water, there still are quite a few of them that are in town and patronizing those establishments. So that's at least a help -- Don.
LEMON: Hey, John, I used to spend a lot of time there. And what I wonder is, though, we used to pay premium prices for, you know, hotel rooms and those sorts of things. Any deals to be had because of -- because of the situation?
ZARRELLA: You know, I was talking to somebody just a little bit ago who@ was telling me that they're still, for condominium rentals, daily rentals are getting $300 and $400 a night, and he and his wife couldn't understand why that price was so high. I don't know the answer to that other than just to speculate that, perhaps, they're keeping the rentals high figuring that, you know, BP will ultimately pay them for their losses in whatever revenues they have off their normal prices.
LEMON: And they're dealing with something they haven't dealt with before, so we shall see if that changes.
ZARRELLA: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, John Zarrella.
John mentioned that, we're going to talk a little more about that this hour -- tar balls washing up on Gulf Coast beaches. That means trouble for businesses and rental properties for people who make a living off those properties. Empty beaches mean empty pockets.
We'll talk with the couple of those property owners -- next.
And don't just sit there. We want you to be part of the conversation tonight. And make sure you send us a message, you can send us a tweet on Twitter or you can contact us on Facebook, or check out my blog at CNN.com/Don. Wouldn't you follow us on Twitter as well? You'll get our updates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So, we have been talking about this just in our last segment here before the break. On this Fourth of July, those dazzling white sandy beaches along the Gulf Coast are usually teeming with holiday visitors. But we all know that's not the case this year because of the BP oil disaster. Unfortunately, thousands are staying away and the folks who make a living off rental properties are really hurting.
So, joining us right now from Gulf Shores, Alabama: Emily Eiland Gonzalez. Emily's on the left, wearing the black dress.
Raise your hand, say hello.
She's a real estate agent.
Also joining us are Jami and Jay Ison. They own a real property, home. And Mrs. Ison is also Alabama state representative. Thank you very much.
So, listen, usually, my family or my friends will rent a home there on the Gulf Coast for a week over, you know, either Memorial Day, Labor Day, or the Fourth of July. And this year, we decide to wait to see what happens. Do you think a lot of people are doing that, Emily?
EMILY EILAND GONZALEZ, KAISER REALTY: Actually, a lot of people are doing that and what Kaiser Realty is doing to combat that is go out and going out each day to take pictures of the Gulf, to show exactly what's happening. We're depending greatly on the convention and visitors bureau to come out with their video and sharing the word.
Sundays, like today, it's absolutely beautiful. You can see the (INAUDIBLE) that you've seen earlier and you can see, right now, we're standing in beautiful white sugar sand beaches. The water's clear. People are swimming. It's a lovely day.
LEMON: Yes.
GONZALEZ: And what we're doing at Kaiser is allowing people the opportunity to keep the reservation and if it's very oily right before they come, then they can cancel, no problem. We're giving them 100 percent of their refund back.
LEMON: My next question is going to go to Jami because, Jami, we spoke to our reporter there just a short time ago and he said that, you know, there were, you know, waits for dinner last night but the beaches don't look like a lot of folks are showing up -- but no discounts to be had.
What's going on? Why no discounts? Is that -- is there no incentive there? Or you can't afford to discount it because of what's going on?
JAMI ISON, RENTAL PROPERTY OWNER: I think that they -- Kaiser is offering some discounts. In fact, I know that for several weeks, if you -- if you've been to the beaches before, they're giving a discount to come back this year. And I know they're offering specials. Usually, our house rents out for a week at a time, but I think they're offering specials where you can come down for a three-night stay instead of a week.
LEMON: Do you guys know the occupancy rate right now? What is the normal occupancy rate and what's going on right now? I'm not sure who can answer that -- that maybe -- it maybe Emily is better.
GONZALEZ: Are you looking --
JAY ISON, RENTAL PROPERTY OWNER: Emily can try that.
GONZALEZ: Occupancy for the holiday weekend right now is down about 40 percent from what it was last year.
LEMON: OK. Listen, what do you guys make -- GONZALEZ: So, we're -- we're --
LEMON: Go ahead.
GONZALEZ: No, I'm saying we realize it's down and we're doing everything that we can to incentivize people coming -- everything from 10 percent, 20 percent, 35 percent discounts, one bedroom condos that are $99 -- starting at $99 a night. We're doing three-night specials where some will come and get as much as pay-for-four and get seven nights.
LEMON: Yes.
GONZALEZ: And we're doing anything that we can to get people to come down and stay in our condos but also, go out to eat, shop in our stores, enjoy the pout-pout, enjoy Waterville and the pools. There's so much to do here in the Gulf Coast.
LEMON: Yes, pout-pout is something that you do down there.
Hey, listen, I've got one more question. I want to get Jay in because -- before we go.
Jay, you heard Ken Feinberg, who's appointed by the president to handle claims and says they're still working on the rules but they're not sure that claims, you know, from tourism or what-have-you, if they're going to be paid, if people are going to be compensated.
What do you make of that?
JAY ISON: I'm not concerned about BP at this juncture. I think that we got to take them for their face value. And they said they're going to make us right, whole and right, and do the right thing. And I believe that's going to happen and we're going to get past this negative situation we've got as soon as they plug that well. We're going to move on to get back the way we used to be, and this is a beautiful part of the world and we just want everybody to come see it.
LEMON: All right, thank you. Hey, we appreciate your time. It looks beautiful down there. And so, we hope that business comes back and most of all, we hope they get that spill stopped and that the oil doesn't show up on the shores more than it is showing up now.
So, Jay, Jami, and, Emily, best of luck to you, OK? Appreciate your time.
GONZALEZ: Thanks.
JAMI ISON: Thank you so much.
JAY ISON: Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you.
You know what? It looks like being benched from an eating competition was too much for Takeru Kobayashi. The record-holding champ is spending his Fourth behind bars -- behind bars. We'll tell you why.
Plus, from the Gulf of Mexico to the beaches -- now to your television. Some people are using the oil disaster to boast their political campaigns and causes a TV commercial -- and causes in TV commercials, I should say. So, who's fighting for your support and how much are they spending?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I want to check some of your top stories right now. The cancer specialist whose expert opinion led to the release of the Lockerbie bomber is changing his tune. The doctor tells London's "Sunday Times," the Libyan killer could live another 10 years.
The release last August caused international outrage. Britain said it was based on humanitarian grounds that the bomber had only three months to live. But, he's still alive and living in Libya.
The 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 killed all 270 people on board.
A large bone found in a family's backyard near Memphis, Tennessee, has been identified as a prehistoric fossil. Can you believe it? The family was digging a swimming pool and found the jaw bone of an ancient mammal.
Paleontologists say it belongs to a close relative of the mastodons, which are the forebears of elephants. The fossil is shaped like a wishbone and is about two feet long on each side and 18 inches wide. It still has a tooth attached to it.
Folks who live along the Gulf are going without a lot this summer. Now add the Fourth of July fireworks to that list. Dauphin Island, Alabama, and Grand Isle, Louisiana, canceled their shows due to lack of money and the oil disaster.
The owner of one Gulf marina said he canceled his show because of concerns that sparks from fireworks set off over the water could ignite the oil. Other coastal towns moved their shows inland because of the same concern.
Well, you can always catch a political fireworks over the oil disaster. Candidates are starting to run ads that attempt to link their rivals or the opposing party to the catastrophe.
So, joining us now is CNN's senior political editor, Mr. Mark Preston. He is down in Washington, D.C. -- a big fireworks display scheduled there, also here in New York, and probably just about every city in the country.
So, Mark, I'm from the Gulf area. I know how much is at stake down there, and now, candidates are starting to play politics over the oil. What's going on here?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SR. POLITICAL EDITOR: Don, we're seeing it on both sides right now, we're seeing Democrats and Republicans and we're seeing these third party interest groups that have spent more than $4 million, probably about $4.4 million, as of today, on political ads. The candidates are trying to use this economic and this environmental disaster to really try to further their campaign -- and these interest groups, specifically ones trying to really push comprehensive energy legislation which is something the Obama administration has really advocated for, are also using the disaster, Don, to really try to play off and try to get some support to get something done.
LEMON: OK, let's switch gears here for a little bit, Mark. There's a lot of chatter on the Sunday talk shows about RNC chairman, Michael Steele, and whether or not he should resign, his comments over Afghanistan. You have a story on CNN.com and -- about a well-known Republican who's coming out in support of him, unlike other high- ranking Republicans.
PRESTON: Yes, Don. I mean, this really is counter to what we've seen over the last 24, 48 hours, but Texas Representative Ron Paul -- as our viewers will remember -- he ran for the Republican nomination back in 2008, kind of came out of nowhere. He has a libertarian streak to him. He opposes the Afghan war and, in fact, Don, he has come out and says he supports Michael Steele for his original comments where Michael Steele basically said that the Afghanistan war was, at least it seemed, was unwinnable.
The only problem, though, Don, is that Michael Steele has since really clarified those comments and he has come out and said that, in fact, he supports the war, the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan. So, it puts him at odds now a little bit with Ron Paul.
LEMON: Yes, it's going to be interesting because, I wonder if people would be saying, if there would be a different feeling about Michael Steele if we were not coming close to an election and Republicans weren't so hopeful about what will happen in November. If they may jettison him if, you know -- because you don't want to change horses in midstream, so to speak.
PRESTON: And you're right. I mean, we are four months before a midterm election. Do Republicans really want this to be played out in a public square? Do they want this internal fight to really cloud their efforts to try to take back the House and the Senate, as well as statehouses across the country? They don't. They're frustrated.
It would be very difficult to remove Michael Steele, Don, but the fact is, they don't want to be talking about it right now.
LEMON: It's a dilemma, though, Mark, because Democrats are going to pounce on it and they're going to use it in November as well.
PRESTON: Yes, Democrats have pounced on it and what they're doing is they're trying to point out as, look, this is another gaffe from Michael Steele -- Don, you and I over the past year and a half have talked about a lot of them where he has come out and said some things where he has had to backtrack, things that probably are at odds with the Republican Party. And, you know, again, this is one of those situations where Republicans don't want us talking about Michael Steele. They want us talking about how they can try to take back the House and the Senate. So, yes, not a good spot for the Republicans, certainly this Fourth of July.
LEMON: Hey, Mark, I know you probably want to go out and hang out with your family for the Fourth of July, but I'm going to be a mean co-worker and ask you to stick around because you and I talked about Ron Paul. He's going to be our guest next hour and I'm sure you want to come back and chat with me after he talks to me, don't you?
PRESTON: Yes, no question. I'll tell you what? What a great guest to have on the Fourth of July and I'm sure he'll have some fireworks himself, Don.
LEMON: Yes. And let's -- maybe Michael Steele will come by or call in. Who knows? We shall see.
Thank you, Mark Preston. See you in an hour.
PRESTON: All right, Don. Take care.
LEMON: A surprising turn of events at the Annual Coney Island Hot Dog Competition. This is drama, people. This is the story everyone is talking about. A former champion, Takeru Kobayashi, gets arrested. Why? We'll have a live report for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Drama at the country's premiere eating contest. Can you cull it premier, I guess?
One eater excelled while another was arrested. You're seeing the winner right now, Joey Chestnut won Nathan's Hotdog Eating Contest today for a fourth time. Congratulations to Joey Chestnut. He downed 54 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.
It's worse than he did last year and maybe that's because his rival, his prime rival, Takeru Kobayashi, was sidelined because of a contract dispute. Kobayashi did show up and ended up behind bars.
And we put our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, on this investigation and she joins us now with more crazy details on this consumption story.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
LEMON: So, he was in a dispute. He wanted to be able to do other things. He said, no way. He shows up in the crowd today and I saw him. I watched. He was being, very like, yes, here I am, in the crowd -- and then all hell broke loose.
CANDIOTTI: Don, as we like to say, my producer, Russ Finn (ph), and I, the fireworks started early on Coney Island today, but not the way might have expected it. But, in the end, this Kobayashi, a former six-time world title holder, hot dog-eating champion in the world, was, in fact, led away in handcuffs. I mean, he did not compete because he didn't relish the thought of how things went.
Well, here he is. LEMON: And that's this video. This is just in. Yes.
CANDIOTTI: He rushed the stage. Exactly. So after the contest was over, he tries to jump the barricades and get on stage, his handlers had told me during the day that his idea was, is he wanted to stage his own one-man competition.
LEMON: Oh, hang on, Susan. Is there any audio on? Can we play the audio on that rushing the stage? Or there's -- can we now use it?
Let's go back if we can during this, Claude, and let us know if we can get that -- there's no audio on it. OK. But there is on this one. So that's him rushing the stage and then him getting arrested. (INAUDIBLE)
CANDIOTTI: That's right. And that's his handler standing next to him there, the young lady that's watching.
LEMON: Why did he do it? Because he said he was better and he thought that he should be up there?
CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, he said that he wanted to be his own man. He didn't want to -- he felt that the contract that they wanted him to sign was far too restrictive. He wanted to be able to participate in other contests without being told that he -- they can't not pick and choose. He wanted to be his own man. So, he said, no, and they called his bluff and he lost.
LEMON: And they said -- you interviewed him and I think -- and you got a response also from Nathan's, those folks. They said, you know, if you were with the NFL, the NFL says you can't play for any other league. This is the same sort of thing. That makes sense to me.
CANDIOTTI: Yes, well. I mean, this is the rules, they figure, hey, we're paying you a lot of money and you have to follow our rules. He's saying, I want to be my own man and if I want to compete -- if I even want to judge, let's say, a dog show, I want to be able to do it but the contract he says would not even have allowed him to do that.
LEMON: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: They controlled everything that he did. And he said, I'm going to -- I will compete for free.
LEMON: Yes. There's a contract is a contract is a contract and there's one famous agent who says I haven't seen a contract that I can't get out of. Perhaps he should have let the lawyers deal with it instead of doing it that way.
Real quickly, tell me the charges and where is he right now?
CANDIOTTI: Yes, three charges, let's see, two of them are misdemeanors. It's resisting arrest.
LEMON: Resisting arrest, trespassing -- CANDIOTTI: And interfering -- interfering with --
(CROSSTALK)
CANDIOTTI: Right. Right. Now the trespassing is a violation like getting a traffic ticket but --
LEMON: Has he posted bail yet?
CANDIOTTI: Apparently, you cannot do it until he appears in court and, you know, it's a holiday and tomorrow's a holiday, too. So I think he's going to be cooling his heels for a day or so.
LEMON: He will not be getting any great food, let's say, probably no hot dogs in his future at least for a couple of days.
Susan Candiotti, we're on top -- investigating this eating controversy.
CANDIOTTI: Only on the Fourth of July.
LEMON: It's a great story for the Fourth of July. Thank you, Suzanne. Always good to spend -- happy Fourth to you. It's good to be here with you.
CANDIOTTI: And again to you.
LEMON: Which we're going to try to find a place to watch the fireworks here. Maybe we can sneak up on the roof.
CANDIOTTI: Yes.
LEMON: Don't tell the bosses. All right. Thanks a lot. We'll see you just a little bit later on.
You know, we want to give you an update on the two contestants who spoke to us last night. Remember they were on.
Sonia Thomas, the black widow, she did pretty well, she came in fourth. She only weighs 100 pounds. She's 100-pound wonder. She ate 36 hot dogs and buns matching her own record. and Pete "Pretty Boy" Davekos -- Davekos, that's he says it is Greek, came in 12th downing 24 hot dogs and buns, so congratulations to both of them.
I'm sure they're sitting on a couch right now and just resting.
Planting seeds to save a city. A teenager in Detroit is planting gardens with help from a team of volunteers to try to help restore impoverished areas one block at a time.
Our Jason Carroll has her story in tonight's segment of "Building Up America."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Motor City. Motown. In its heyday, Detroit thrived, a place of economic opportunity and growth. A place 15-year-old Ivory Price only hears about.
IVORY PRICE, STUDENT: My grandma would show me pictures of what it used to be.
CARROLL: Ivory's Detroit is a city with one of the country's highest unemployment rates. So many businesses shut down, so many homes abandoned.
PRICE: Can you break up the bottom of it?
CARROLL: But Ivory believes there's a way to get Detroit growing again.
PRICE: Just planting one see can definitely help towards that goal.
CARROLL: We found Ivory with a group of volunteers planting a garden in an abandoned lot in one of Detroit's worst neighborhoods.
PRICE: Like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CARROLL: She volunteers for an organization called Build On, it's a nonprofit that created after-school programs where students help rebuild impoverished areas. Here, they reclaim land with a garden. Eventually, they'll donate the food they grow.
PRICE: We've definitely encountered people, even with this project and other times in Build On, saying that's impossible. You can't do that. You should just leave it alone. Why waste your time?
CARROLL (on camera): What do you say to people like that?
PRICE: I tell them, you never know until you try.
CARROLL (voice-over): Trying in this neighborhood is challenging.
(On camera): In addition to being economically devastated, the volunteers that are out here trying to rebuild this neighborhood also have to deal with crime. There's a gang that operates right here on this block and prostitution as well which takes place right here on what used to be a playground.
(Voice-over): While shooting in broad daylight, a woman who did not want to be identified still stopped to make sure we were OK.
(On camera): Group of volunteers they put together a garden over here around the corner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I saw that. That's nice.
CARROLL: As a way to -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's really nice.
CARROLL: You like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great, but the area itself, you know, you just don't feel safe anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before or kids begin any projects, they canvass.
CARROLL (voice-over): BuildOn's founder says the garden is just the beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rest of the neighborhood sees what's going on and sees how the youth are stepping up and leading this change. They take a stake in the garden and the gangs move out, then the prostitution moves out.
It's change. It doesn't happen overnight, but it happens.
CARROLL: Ivory Price believes change is possible. She has seen it in her life. When not singing or volunteering, she's writing about her own economic struggles.
PRICE: The place had rats and bugs. At night, my mother and sister and I would sleep in the same bed to keep warm. I have been there before and the fact that I can come out here and help other people that are going through the same thing or things that are even worse, it makes me feel happy.
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, Detroit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The state of California may soon take some pretty drastic measures as part of a budget impasse. Slashing 200,000 workers' pay to minimum wage. That's just $7.25 an hour. That's a big slash when you're used to an average salary to support your family. We'll hear from some of the workers coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Imagine right now if you found out your pay would be reduced to $7.25 an hour. Would you be able to pay your grocery, your mortgage and your gas bill? Really put food in your family's mouth?
Well, 200,000 state workers in California are expecting that painful paycheck. Whatever they were making is supposed to be reduced to the federal minimum wage. This is all happening because state lawmakers cannot agree on a budget there, so Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reduced most workers' pay until legislators passed a budget.
And just Friday, an Appeals Court judge ruled Schwarzenegger does have the authority to do this. He does have the authority to do it. Loraine Gilliam and Pam Brewer work for California's Department of Motor Vehicles and let me warn you they are both feisty ladies. And we're glad they're here to tell us what they're going through.
So thank you for joining us. Happy Fourth of July to you.
Loraine, how much would your pay be reduced? Is this by more than half?
LORAINE GILLIAM, CALIF. DEPT OF MOTOR VEHICLES: Yes, it is. It's about two-thirds.
LEMON: Yes?
GILLIAM: Of the salary. And --
LEMON: So, what -- go ahead. I'll let you talk.
GILLIAM: No, I just wanted to say after 18 months plus of reduced salary of 15 percent, because we were taking three days a month of furlough, and that's about 15 percent of our salaries, and we did this for 18 months plus, that the governor was then supposed to -- you know, will be reinstated at full salary.
Now he's coming up with this $7.25.
LEMON: Yes.
GILLIAM: And it's a lot of us just barely hanging on from the 15 percent, $7.25, they would not be able to continue.
LEMON: And I think you make a good point here that you're trying to get our viewers to know is that this isn't just come as, oh, you know, we're suddenly making $7.25 an hour. You guys have been dealing, Loraine, with other things as well. You've been dealing with cuts because of what's going with the budget there.
Talk about that for me, Pam. Do you -- did you hear anything about when this is happening, when were you told and then when is this going to kick in?
PAM BREWER, CALIF. DEPT OF MOTOR VEHICLES: Well, effective July the 1st is supposed to be the start of our pay salary being cut. It hasn't been set in stone as of yet, but it looks like it's going to happen. So, again, we just sitting and waiting, and then hoping it doesn't but it's not a guarantee that it will not happen.
LEMON: And you work for the DMV, right? How long have you worked for the DMV and what's going through your mind right now? Is it -- are you OK with it? Is it a panic? Is it anger? Is it just --
BREWER: No, I'm -- I'm angry, it is a panic and I'm a little frustrated, but I'm just waiting to see the outcome.
LEMON: OK. How would you solve this problem, Loraine, if you -- because I know it's a big deal. And I don't know if it's a fair question because you're not a politician, but sometimes wisdom comes from people who are not involved in politics, who are not so inside the circle, as they say.
How would you solve this? Because you are facing a deficit there. There's a budget shortfall, but then people need their jobs. What would you do?
GILLIAM: Well, I can tell you that the way the governor is doing it is not the correct way. California has the union, most of us state employees have the union behind us and they came to the bargaining table with the solution, with us willing to give up things so that we could help the state.
We're -- you know, we have live here so we wanted to make it best for everyone, you know. So -- but he's not willing to do that. You know, he's, like I said, the 15 percent already and now we're already suffering and the state is -- and on top of that, the state is losing money.
They lost money by him not continuing with the furloughs. They lost -- he's losing in court so this is going to be penalties and fines that the state is end up -- going to have to pay us back anyway.
LEMON: Yes.
GILLIAM: Give us our money now.
LEMON: Yes, you --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You're a very learned woman.
GILLIAM: I'm sorry.
LEMON: And I want to ask -- no, don't apologize, there's a little bit of delay but that's OK, we're just talking here.
Listen, Pam, I want to ask you this. John Chang, your state controller, the person in charge of your state payroll, is a Democrat. His name is John Chang. He says that he is going to fight this and plans to not cut your pay. Do you feel like you're a pawn in some political process that's going on, some political game?
BREWER: Yes, I do. And the reason why I feel like that is because -- like she said, the union did agree on a contract and we think it was a fair contract. We were giving up some things in order for us to be able to try to help the state out and he's not willing to work with us, so what do we do?
Our backs up against the wall and once you push us to the wall, we're going to come out fighting and that's what we plan on doing.
LEMON: That's OK.
GILLIAM: That's what we are doing. LEMON: I have a real quick -- real quick question for you and then both of you can answer. This is from Bobby Snow on Twitter who writes with us, she says, "Don, $7.25 an hour isn't much, but if we all had to work one month out of the year at that wage, it might keep us more humble and in touch with others."
What do you say to that? First, Loraine.
GILLIAM: We already did that, you know, and we did it for 18 plus months, not just one month, you know. So now he's saying $7.25 an hour. And the people that's been hanging on from the 15 percent cut is not going to be able to hang up, so you're going to have more people on the unemployment rolls.
I mean it's just a domino effect. And to me it makes no absolutely sense and I can't understand how we have people like that running the state of California.
LEMON: And you're talking about the furlough. And then finally, Pam, I will let you answer and then we have to run.
BREWER: OK. I say we've done our part, you know, as far as being furloughed three days out of a month. We've had to cut back on some of our spending, our utility bills and car notes and mortgages and everything is behind.
So I think we've done more than what our share was and for the person to say $7.25 at least we do have a job. We are -- we're grateful for our jobs but we put in the hard work, so again, we should be getting our regular pay. We suffered for 18 months and we do our money.
LEMON: Yes. And listen.
BREWER: Point blank.
GILLIAM: And enough is enough.
LEMON: Yes. I know you ladies are fed up and I know that you want to be with your families today and you took the time out to come here on the Fourth of July because you wanted the whole country, if not the world, to know what you're going through.
And guess what, you're not the only one. I just read something -- Illinois is facing the same sort of issues. The controller there Dan Hein says he doesn't know what's going to happen there because the state could go under, but not that state really go under but they're so much in the red. So this is something that's happening. It's a domino effect.
So a bunch of us --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Thank you. Best of luck to you.
BREWER: Yes, and we know that.
GILLIAM: Thank you.
BREWER: Thank you. All right. Take care.
GILLIAM: Thank you. Thank you.
BREWER: Bye-bye.
LEMON: All right. Great ladies there. Good luck to them.
Let's check your top stories right now. A new front in the war on drugs. Authorities in Ecuador have seized a submarine built to transport tons of cocaine. The narco sub is nearly 100 feet long and 9 feet high. Narco sub. It has an electric powered diesel engine, a periscope, an air conditioning.
Ecuadorian authorities were able to seize the sub before its maiden voyage. They got some help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The White House hasn't backed away from its goal of starting to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan next July. Critics called it a mistake.
On CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.S. calls a deadline unrealistic, unhelpful and says it will make the enemy a lot more bold. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina agreed saying, quote, if you send a signal you're going to leave at a certain date, they'll wait you out.
Second of State Hillary Clinton visited two more countries today on her five-day tour of central Europe. She was in Azerbaijan and -- Azerbaijan, I should say, and Armenia promoting human rights and media freedom, and will wrap up her trip tomorrow in Georgia.
Clinton has spent time talking to young people, civic and business leaders, even bloggers and not just heads of state. She encouraged them to speak out for social change.
A new scene for art lovers and it's happening in a Florida town but the fun doesn't start until the sun goes down.
Plus, it's game on for mayors, governors, even big name entertainers trying to get LeBron James to come to their see city. One city right here I'm sitting in. New York City. We look at who's on the running for the NBA star and who might have the edge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, one of the biggest sports and business stories this week, really this year, is LeBron James' free agent sweepstakes. Mayors, governors, big name entertainers have all gotten involved in trying to woo the NBA star this their cities.
And our sports business analyst, Mr. Rick Horrow has been following the big money recruitment. Oh my god. You always have something. That's about the only size basketball that you can do well with.
Rick, where does it stand right now? Who is still in the running for the Cleveland Cavaliers star?
RICK HORROW, SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Hey. Happy Fourth of July to you, too, pal.
LEMON: You too.
HORROW: So here's the deal. He's gone through the entire world of suitors, including the Cleveland Cavaliers. There is a premium the NBA allows for the Cavaliers to keep him. It's an extra year and an extra point and a half in kicker interest, meaning about $30 million.
Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, LA Clippers made compelling cases. He says he wants to get this done fairly quickly. And they better. Because he's a walking, living, breathing, free-throw shooting stimulus plan and the entire country waits on his outcome.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Oh my gosh. I don't know so much has been riding on one person since the president, you know, LeBron James. He's a stimulus package now. OK.
HORROW: Yes, I'm not sure the president can deliver as much an impact as he can.
LEMON: Let's not go there. Listen. Who do you think is the best chance of landing LeBron James?
HORROW: Well, listen, it's a combination of -- everybody has pluses and minuses. He does have the hometown going for him, Akron, Cleveland. Chicago Bulls seem to have a great series of meetings. They met with him longer than everybody else does.
For him it's not just the endorsements or the dollars but the greatest chance of leaving a legacy as the best basketball player on the best team ever.
My bet right now is Chicago, although I live in Miami. And by the way, LeBron, if you want to come, I'll give you this basketball.
LEMON: Wait a -- hang on, hang on, hang on. Why do you say Chicago? That's my former city. Why do you say that?
HORROW: Yes, I know it is. I know it is. They've got Derrick Rose, they've got Joakim Noah. They also have Cap Room, by the way for basketball (INAUDIBLE) to sign another superstar.
President Obama says come to Chicago as well, although I'm not sure, you know, he can make this decision for them. But they have the least missing pieces, although I would tell you the two teams in New York and one team in Miami are saying, hey, not so fast.
LEMON: Yes. But he would stand to make more money because of the way it's set up, the salary. He would make more money if he stayed where he is. But, I mean, most people would say, why wouldn't he want to be in New York?
It's the media capital of the world. It gets more attention than Chicago and -- I mean Cleveland gets it now because he's there. But doesn't he stand to be even a bigger mega star in he comes to New York City?
HORROW: Bigger mega star, longer way to go. Knicks have a lot more. They need to fill that piece of the puzzle. New Jersey Nets owned by Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian. May open the doors to the Russian vault for him.
Listen, there's more leverage now with this one man than there's ever been in the history of the NBA. And I can think of five or six compelling teams that say, he is ours, we're going to get him. I guess we've got to wait a couple of days.
LEMON: Again, again, you say it's going to be Chicago, you believe, right?
HORROW: No, I say I would think it might be Chicago.
LEMON: Might be.
HORROW: I'm not -- I can tell you that it's a rumor. I can tell it's a fact and we can have more ratings. So maybe we ought to say it's Chicago.
LEMON: OK. I have this right here in my hand. And the answer is -- the answer is --
HORROW: Wow.
LEMON: We have to guess.
HORROW: If only it weren't so certain you wouldn't be sitting at the news desk at 6:50. You'd be doing something else.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Who knows? Maybe I am. I'm Kreskin. I can do more things than one. I can --
HORROW: Well, I thought I was Kreskin. I'm sorry. I thought --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Hey, happy Fourth. We have to run. And it's good to see you. Thank you very much.
Hey, listen, do we want to go to Washington now? I'll see you -- OK. So, in one town, graffiti artists have seen the light. Their high-tech artwork is now on display and it doesn't have to be scrubbed off.
Our Gary Tuchman has the story in today's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If this is with a typical art show looks like, then you might consider this art 2.0.
MIKE RAGSDALE, FOUNDER, DIGITAL GRAFFITI: Digital Graffiti is the world's first projection art festival.
TUCHMAN: And it's an even that transforms the quiet beach town of Alice Beach, Florida into a new kind of art movement.
CHRISTINA PIERSON, ARTIST: It's amazing what it does to the projection as they go and they bend around the corners and climb up the walls and get into the crevices.
RAGSDALE: The projections really come to live because we do have all of this amazing white space. The architecture here is inspired by the architecture of Bermuda. The white homes there. Let's turn our town into the world's first blank canvass.
TUCHMAN: Once the sun goes down, the town size canvas creates a whole new experience.
RAGSDALE: Digital Graffiti fuses together three things that have never been fused together before. Art, architecture and technology.
TUCHMAN: It's a combination that is shining light not only on new artists but hopefully painting a new picture for art lovers.
PIERSON: I would love to see people connect with digital art and video art this way. It's great to come out here and be able to actually experience how different it is. The artwork that is not on paper, that's not static. Something that's moving and engaging in this way. I really think it's exciting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Listen, we're on standing by. There you go, live picture now from Washington, standing by to hear from President Obama. He's going to address the crowd of people who are waiting there at the White House to watch the fireworks.
I want to tell you, he's going to come out to address the crowd before the big fireworks display. They've got some entertainers there, certain entertainer, The Killers, the U.S. Marine Band, we've got the menu for you.
We're going to go there live and take you there. And also, we want to tell you that in attendance, military troops and also families of the fallen, and military families there as well.
We're going to go there live to the celebration in Washington right here on CNN after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
