Dry, Santa Ana winds have sparked two large fires in Ventura County and the Sylmar area. Both blazes have grown substantially and evacuation orders have been issued. We give you the latest on those areas. We also dive into SCOTUS' oral arguments on the high profile-Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case; and more.
The latest on Ventura and Sylmar fires
Ferocious Santa Ana winds raking Southern California whipped explosive wildfires Tuesday, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of homes.
The biggest blaze broke out Monday in Ventura County and grew wildly to more than 48 square miles (124 sq. kilometers) in the hours that followed, sheriff's Sgt. Eric Buschow said.
Another fire erupted on the north edge of Los Angeles, threatening the Sylmar and Lakeview Terrace neighborhoods, where residents scrambled to get out.
For the latest on the Ventura fire, click here. For the latest on the Sylmar fire, click here.
With files from the Associated Press
Current view from Ventura Harbor.
, Ventura Fire and all responding are doing amazing job fighting this fire.
— Chris Mattia (@csmattia)
Current view from Ventura Harbor. @VCFD_PIO , Ventura Fire and all responding are doing amazing job fighting this fire. #ThomasFire pic.twitter.com/D3CJCeW7eD
— Chris Mattia (@csmattia) December 5, 2017
is currently impacting Highway 150. Please leave impact areas early as firefighting equipment need access to continue structure protection operations.
— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO)
#ThomasFire is currently impacting Highway 150. Please leave impact areas early as firefighting equipment need access to continue structure protection operations. #VCFD @VCFD pic.twitter.com/WrpIq7mAaf
— VCFD PIO (@VCFD_PIO) December 5, 2017
The intensity of the
, plus the wind, made it pretty much unstoppable, fire officials said. “The prospects for containment are not good”
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes)
The intensity of the #ThomasFire, plus the wind, made it pretty much unstoppable, fire officials said. “The prospects for containment are not good” https://t.co/h2znfxQHTN pic.twitter.com/hST0kLd8VD
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) December 5, 2017
near the mall
— Justice (@XorOwl)
#ThomasFire near the mall pic.twitter.com/Ig9zerDdTN
— Justice (@XorOwl) December 5, 2017
Fire looked crazy last night. Hopefully everyones safe out there
— Yung Honja (@Ntrl__)
Guests:
Emily Guerin, KPCC reporter who is in Ventura
Josie Huang, KPCC correspondent who is in Lake View Terrace
What came out of oral arguments in the highly-anticipated ‘gay wedding cake’ Supreme Court case
In one of the most watched Supreme Court cases of the year, the nine justices heard lengthy oral arguments this morning in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, a case that looks at issues involving questions about free speech, religious freedom, and civil rights.
At the center of the case is a Denver-based cake shop whose owner refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple on the grounds that it would violate his religious beliefs. The same-sex couple argues the owner violated Colorado law against discrimination by refusing to make the cake.
After the oral arguments concluded on Tuesday, it appeared that the High Court was largely divided on the issue, with Justice Anthony Kennedy expected to be the deciding vote. Kennedy didn’t do much in terms of tilting his hand during the arguments, suggesting at one point that if the court ruled for the cake maker, it would open the door to business putting up signs saying they don’t cater to same-sex couples and that would be “an affront to the gay community. He also said that the state of Colorado had not been tolerant of the cake maker’s religious beliefs.
What more did we learn from oral arguments? How are the justices likely to rule?
Guests:
Jonathan Keller, president and CEO of the California Family Council, a Christian-based non-profit educational organization, which filed an amicus brief on behalf of the petitioner Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd.
Jenny Pizer, senior counsel and law and policy director at Lambda Legal, a law firm that specializes in defending LGBT rights; they filed an amicus brief along with a number of other organizations in support of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission
What’s the future of the recreational cannabis business landscape in CA?
California is just weeks away from legalizing recreational marijuana sales and we want to know what the cannabis business landscape will look like going forward.
What makes the situation in California tricky is that medical marijuana has already been legal here since 1996, so many pot businesses (known in the industry as “legacy” businesses) have already been operating here, both legally and illegally, for about two decades. Now recreational cannabis is being decriminalized and a new legal and regulatory framework is coming into place. For some smaller businesses, navigating the regulations and applying for the necessary licensing will be a costly endeavor. How will these legacy businesses fare as new regulations come into place and as new players come into the market.
Speaking of which, legalization means that there will be new, big players, including management and investment firms, entering the fore with a corporate approach. It also means a different, more mainstream kind of pot business in California. Think pot shops with large windows and easy-to-browse strains.
There will also be medicinal dispensaries transitioning to the recreational market. And some, like LA’s “pot czar” Cat Packer, want to make sure that communities of color, which have been disproportionately affected by the criminalization of pot, will be able to establish businesses and reap the benefits of legalization.
How will these competing players negotiate and navigate the regulations and policies in place? How do those policies affect which kinds of businesses are successful? What will the cannabis business landscape look like post-legalization – one year from now? Ten years from now?
Guests:
Steve DeAngelo, founder of Harborside Farms and executive director of Harborside, one of the largest marijuana dispensaries in the U.S.; he’s the CEO is FLRish Inc., a vertically integrated cannabis company; he is also the president of the ArcView Group, a cannabis investment company
Adrian Sedlin, CEO of Canndescent, cultivator of high-end cannabis
Casey O’Neill, founder of HappyDay Farms in Mendocino and vice chair of development of the California Growers Association, a trade group that promotes independent farms and businesses
Adam Bierman, co-founder and CEO of MedMen, a cannabis management and investment firm based in Los Angeles
Melahat Rafiei, she runs the Santa Ana Cannabis Association, a trade group of all the permitted cannabis businesses in Santa Ana