We've Been Recognized; StoryCorps Comes to LA; Nathaniel Ayers Update; Control the Cars!; Guitar Hero; A Modest Proposal; Happy Chinese New Year; What's in an Ox?; Remembering Nils Asther; Animal Show or Performance Art?; New Gang Plan for Gangland; Coachella Complaining; Line Drives and Lipstick; Barbershop Quartets descend on Pasadena
We've Been Recognized
This week, the Board of Supervisors formally recognized Off-Ramp's documentary "The Ashes of Oakridge."
KPCC's Frank Stoltze, Queena Kim and Jackson Musker received scrolls commending their work.
StoryCorps Comes to LA
StoryCorps is an oral history project. Its mission: to record the voices of ordinary people. You might know the stories from Morning Edition Fridays? They're the ones that makes you cry.
The StoryCorps mobile booth is at the East Los Angeles Public Library in February. Queena Kim attended the opening ceremony.
Nathaniel Ayers Update
Nathaniel Ayers, the once-homeless musical prodigy, has been living in an apartment for two years. Now his family has started a foundation to reach other homeless mentally ill people like him.
Control the Cars!
L.A. City Controller Laura Chick says something's driving her crazy: it's the city's careless attitude about its motor pool. She says too many employees get take-home cars.
Guitar Hero
A conversation with jazz musician Al DiMeola, who's been hailed as one of world's best guitarists. John Rabe asks him about his gig at LA's Roxy Theater in February.
A Modest Proposal
Laura Chick reacts to John's novel plan to make taxpayers happy with a weekly lottery.
Happy Chinese New Year
John goes to Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and comes back with his ears ringing from the firecrackers.
The Teo Chew firecrackers
What's in an Ox?
Queena Kim asks local Taiwanese radio host Cat Chow about the Year of the Ox. Chow says the Ox portends a year of hard work.
Remembering Nils Asther
Hollywood Historian Alex Ben Block profiles the Swedish leading man whose career bridged silent movies and talkies, and who endured blacklisting in the 1940s.
Animal Show or Performance Art?
Cute With Chris is a weekly YouTube show that's basically a pet show with a twist. Steven Leigh Morris considers the Web show creator Chris Leavins a 21st Century performance artist.
New Gang Plan for Gangland
KPCC Reporter Frank Stoltze talks about LAPD Chief Bill Bratton and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's new plan to tamp down on gang activity.
Coachella Complaining
Paul McCartney's one of the headliners at the 2009 Coachella Music Festival, but is that what the kids want? KPCC Inland Empire Reporter Steven Cuevas says that grumbling has begun--three months before the festival.
Line Drives and Lipstick
The Fullerton Museum Center is putting on "Line Drives and Lipstick," a new exhibit about woman's baseball. KPCC Orange County reporter Susan Valot has the story.
Barbershop Quartets descend on Pasadena
Barbershop Harmony Society's Convention holds a competition in Pasadena this weekend. Will things still be harmonious when there's a trophy at stake?