Over 200 representatives of urban water suppliers and members of the general public have sent letters to the State Water Resources Control Board over the past week. Also, a New Jersey auction house has cancelled an auction of art and artifacts made by detainees at Japanese American and Japanese internment camp detainees during World War II. Then, as you lie still under the scanner, your head on the cool surface of the table, the researchers show you a picture of the newest piece of technology - you think it's cool, and your brain lights up hot.
Water suppliers balk at proposed cutbacks
Over 200 representatives of urban water suppliers and members of the general public have sent letters to the State Water Resources Control Board over the past week, criticizing the board’s plan to implement mandatory statewide water-use cuts ordered by Governor Jerry Brown this month.
Many of the suppliers claim they're being penalized for their earlier conservation success. They want higher usage districts to cut more, before those that already made cuts cut further. We'll hear from those suppliers and ask how the water board might respond. local water districts throughout California are pushing back against proposed cuts from the state water board.
Tomorrow, the Board is scheduled to release its draft regulations. However, many water districts say the amount they're expected to cut isn't realistic. They also question the fairness of pegging the cuts to usage last fall. They say that doesn't take into account all the cuts made by responsible water districts long before they were mandated.
We reached out to the State Water Resources Control Board. Their Director of Public Affairs sent the following statement:
Following release of the framework last week, which was our proposed approach to meeting the Governor’s 25 percent water conservation mandate, we received more than 200 comments on the proposal. We are going through those right now, with a goal of releasing a draft emergency regulations package by the end of Friday April 17.
In the meantime we don’t plan to comment on specific concerns raised by individual water districts or communities, based on the original proposed framework. We ask that water districts and water users wait until we release the proposed package later this week. It is likely that there will be changes, due to the thoughtful feedback we have received from communities, water districts and water users.
Guests:
Chad Blais, Deputy Director of Public Works, Compton
David K. Luker, Desert Water Agency General Manager (Coachella, Palm Springs)
Joone Lopez, General Manager, Moulton Niguel Water District in Orange County
Bill LaHaye, Water Conservation Manager, Department of Water and Power, City of Big Bear Lake
Auction house pulls sale of Japanese American internment camp artifacts
A New Jersey auction house has cancelled an auction of art and artifacts made by detainees at Japanese American and Japanese internment camp detainees during World War II.
Rago Arts and Auction Center in New Jersey said it’ll cancelled the planned auction originally slated for Friday. Japanese American activists, including actor George Takei, have called for the auction to be delayed or cancelled, equating the sale of the cultural and historical artifacts as exploitation. They want to see the collection donated to a museum or other cultural institutions.
The auction house says it’ll be working with the owner of the artifacts going forward, and says there are no plans for the collection now. Rago has not disclosed the identity of the consignor, but the collection once belonged to former Oregon state legislator Allen H. Eaton, who passed away in 1962.
The following is a statement from Rago Arts and Auction Center:
We have always wanted to see this property where it could do the most good for history. We’ve been working behind the scenes from day one to come to an agreement with our consignor. We returned to the consignor last night after a conversation with George Takei and persuaded him to withdraw.
There are no plans for the collection now. We will be involved in this planning going forward, working with the owner. We have spoken to George Takei. We are at the very start of this process.
There is an essential discussion to be had about the sale of historical items that are a legacy of man's inhumanity to man. It extends beyond what is legal. It is something auction houses, galleries and dealers are faced with regularly. We hope this controversy will be the beginning of a discourse on this issue.
Guests:
Yoshinori Toso Himel, Japanese American living in Sacramento. He is one of the leaders of the protests against the auction of internment camp art in New Jersey
Patty Gerstenblith, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. She specializes in cultural heritage law
Google’s HR guru talks people management
The world’s best-known search engine is also one of the world’s most desired place to work. Two million applicants put in their resumes to work at Google each year, only .4 percent get hired.
In the book, “Work Rules,” Google’s HR guru Laszlo Bock details the company’s efforts to attract, nurture, compensate, and retain the cream of the crop in the competitive world of tech and business.
Guest:
Laszlo Bock, author of “Work Rules: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead” (Twelve, 2015). He also leads Google’s people function, which includes all areas related to the attraction, development, and retention of employees
Cannabis’ classification called into question in federal court
Marijuana will remain classified under the law as one of the nation’s most dangerous drugs after a federal judge denied a motion on Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of its classification as a Schedule I narcotic.
Judge Kimberly Mueller of the Federal District Court in Sacramento said that while marijuana’s Schedule I status may be ruled unconstitutional at some point, now is neither the time nor the place for her do it.
The Drug Enforcement Administration defines Schedule I narcotics as “drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. In addition to marijuana, other Schedule I drugs include heroin, ecstasy, and LSD. Schedule II drugs, which are defined as having slightly less potential for abuse than that of Schedule I drugs, include cocaine, methamphetamine, and oxycodone.
Should marijuana be classified among the nation’s most dangerous drugs? What does this ruling mean for the pro and anti-legalization movements?
Guests:
Kevin Sabet, founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and director of the University of Florida Drug Policy Institute
Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). He was also the principal investigator for defense counsel in this case
21st Century musical subgenres inspire Coachella and beyond
While Coachella 2015 includes standard bearers of rock such as AC/DC, for fresher, innovative sounds the tents offer artists influenced by, rather than just derivative of, the bigger genres.
Freak folk, chillwave, grime, and trap step are part of a large batch of new musical subgenres invented during the new millennium.
In the last decade, electronic dance music (EDM) and hip hop have spurred the new trends akin to the way rock and the blues helped inspire punk, grunge, R&B, and hip-hop in the late 20th century. A leading taxonomist of musical genres, Glenn McDonald, pegs the number of subgenres at 1, 358. Take a listen.
Which subgenres are hugely popular in your world of late? Why have those been better at catching on? What influence does the Net/social media have? Are dance trends still influential on music? How does one create a new subgenre?
Check out some examples of the emerging music subgenres we discussed on the show:
Trap Music (or Trap Step) - "Original Don (Remix)" by Flosstradamus
Freak Folk - "Two Weeks" by Grizzly Bear
Chillwave - "New Theory" by Washed Out
Footwork, a.k.a. Chicago Juke - "Bangs and Works" by DJ Trouble
Future Garage - "Sleep Sound" by Jamie xx
Djent - Periphery by Alpha
Guest:
Robert Fink, Professor of Musicology, UCLA
Hot, Cold, or Cool: How self-image and the brain shape our world
As you lie still under the scanner, your head on the cool surface of the table, the researchers show you a picture of the newest piece of technology - you think it's cool, and your brain lights up hot.
That's just part of the new research from CalTech's Steven Quartz, who studied the connections between the brain, self-image, and their nexus with the world. Our identities and choices are shaped by how our perceptions of the world, and these have profound effects on our happiness. For example, in a New York Times op-ed, Quartz and his co-author Anette Asp discuss how conspicuous consumption and the advent of cool products and technology have raised our happiness, even in a world that has become increasingly economically unequal.
How do you view "cool," and what's "cool" to you?
Guest:
Steven R. Quartz, Caltech Professor of Philosophy and leader of the Brain, Mind and Society PhD Program at Caltech. Co-author of the new book "COOL: How the Brain's Quest for Cool Drives Our Economy and Shapes Our World"