Should LA County approve court-ordered mental health treatment? Also, rising numbers of people are going to urgent care centers because they’re often nearby, open long hours, for seven days a week, and the prices for services are more affordable than at emergency rooms. Then, where to find the best deals during Restaurant Week in LA.
Should LA County approve court-ordered mental health treatment?
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors is set to vote tomorrow on mental health care reform that would allow court-ordered treatment for mental health issues. The vote follows implementation of similar legislation, often known as Laura’s Law, in Orange County and in San Francisco.
Laura’s Law allows for court-ordered mental health treatment (not medication) for individuals who may not be able to make their own informed decisions about care. The law has been praised by some family members of people with mental illnesses -- they say that court mandates could have helped their loved ones receive much needed treatment.
Critics call court-ordered treatment coercive and argue that free, voluntary treatment is the best option. Should Los Angeles County implement this kind of mental health treatment?
Guests
Dave Pilon, Ph.D., President and CEO of Mental Health America of Los Angeles
Dr. Roderick Shaner, MD, Medical Director for the LA County Department of Mental Health
Urgent care centers: Rising in popularity over private doctors and emergency rooms
You just accidentally smashed your finger with a hammer, the pain is searing, the swelling won’t go down and it’s 8 o’clock at night. Your private doctor left for home, and going to the emergency room seems inappropriate. What now? An urgent care center could be the answer. In fact, rising numbers of people are going to such centers because they’re often nearby, open long hours, for seven days a week, and the prices for services are more affordable than at emergency rooms. Also, many urgent care centers don’t accept medicaid, and can turn away the uninsured, unless they pay upfront -- unlike emergency hospital rooms that are obligated, by law, to service the person in need.
This can make for less time in the waiting room. Investors are getting in on what they see as potential big profit; since 2008, $2.3 billion has been put into urgent care centers all over the country. But, some people are concerned that with the proliferation of these centers, care might be compromised. They fear the focus of the centers will be on profit instead of patients.
What has your experience been at urgent care? Great, mediocre, bad? Would you go back again? How were the prices?
Guests:
Ateev Mehrotra, adjunct policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, associate professor in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School
Tom Charland, chief executive of Merchant Medicine, which tracks the growth of retail medical care services
7 best places you said to staycation in SoCal
Griffith Park, Watts Towers, the Bradbury Building and The Getty. All across Los Angeles and beyond, there are tourist attractions and hidden gems.
For many Angelenos in the throes of vacation season, there’s no reason to leave home. Staycationing in Los Angeles can be as simple as holing up at home with a stack of good books or a Netflix to-do list or as elaborate as any out-of-town vacation.
From the beach to mountain treks, secret stair hikes, stellar restaurants and museums are all great staycation draws.
Where are your favorite places to explore when you have free time in Los Angeles? How do you spend your time off? Is an in-town vacation as satisfying as a big trip? Let us know in comments, or click here to become a KPCC source.
We asked our listeners to share their favorite staycations, and here's what they had to say:
1. Joshua Tree
(Photo: Alison Massey)
We always rent a cabin from Diane at Rattler Ranch and hike in the park, go out to pioneer town for great music and decent BBQ. Korakia in Palm Springs and Airbnb rentals in Topanga & Malibu.
— Alison Massey
2. Palm Springs
(Photo: Andrew Borrego)
Relax, have fun!
— Andrew Borrego
3. Long Beach
(Photo: dj venus/Flickr)
Hotel Maya in Long Beach is a unique and relatively inexpensive overnight getaway spot. It's right on the water, a short walk from the Queen Mary and the Reef Restaurant, and across the harbor from the Aquarium of the Pacific. Enjoy waterfront dining with a great view at the hotel's onsite restaurant Fuego or the nearby Reef Restaurant. To really relax, leave your car parked at the hotel and take Long Beach Transit’s free Passport bus that serves downtown Long Beach, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Queen Mary. Or enjoy a refreshing ride across the harbor to the Aquarium on the Aqualink water taxi. Since Long Beach lacks an actual beach, the hotel provides a private man-made beach with cabanas for the use of of hotel patrons.
—KPCC PIN source
4. Downtown L.A.
(Photo: St. Vibiana's Cathedral taken by Zachary Rynew)
Staying in Downtown LA is similar to going overseas. You can walk around and feel like you've seen a lot going just a few blocks.
— Zachary Rynew
(Photo: Grand Park taken by lcorona286/Flickr)
Being well-served by mass transit also makes Downtown easy to get to without driving on clotted freeways.
—Ted Marcus
Pro tip: Read THIS for the ultimate DTLA staycation, thanks to Across Los Angeles.
5. Ventura
(Photo: Kevin Tanaka)
Ventura. We like to stay at the Country Inn and Suites. We can walk to the pier from there. The kids can go swimming or fishing off the pier. There is a play area at the beach. We've rode bikes on the path along the beach. Plenty of places to eat in the downtown area, and antique/thrift stores too. You can go to the historic Mission. We even did a spontaneous sleep over there; we hadn't packed anything. It's a close by getaway destination that's much cooler compared to the baking SFV.
— Kevin Tanaka
6. Malibu Canyons
(Photo: Jenny Vazquez-Akim)
Hands down, the best staycation we've ever done was a Airstream rental on a hilltop in the Malibu Canyons overlooking the ocean. Incredibly peaceful and a perfect recharge that is amazingly just 40 minutes away!
—Jenny Vazquez-Akim
7. Pacific Surfliner
(Photo: Loco Steve/Flickr)
Explore Pacific Surfliner! All the stress of driving is gone and enjoy glass of wine en route! Even commutes after can be easily accommodated by Yellow Cab, which now is a text away and very customer service oriented!
—Kate Collins
TIPS
- Look at towns that aren't that far but are totally different from where you live. We once rented a cabin in Topanga for just one night. We only live 45 minutes away, but it was like another world. — Alison Massey
- Stay somewhere with a kitchen and stock up at Trader Joes on your way. — Alison Massey
- Book early to get the best deals. Shop around. — Andrew Borrego
- Always look at TripAdvisor for guest reviews. I also recommend comparing prices on websites that use multiple discount search engines. (Kayak, Travelocity, Cheaptickets, Orbitz, Priceline, etc.) — KPCC PIN source
- Forget that you live in L.A. and act like a tourist. — KPCC PIN source
- Bring comfortable walking shoes. — Zachary Rynew
- Must be kept simple to keep the stress down. — Kevin Tanaka
- Less is more. The beauty of a staycation is that there are no airport trips, no figuring out what to do with the pets, no travel drama at all! We use our staycations to simplify things and take a break of hustle and bustle L.A. — Jenny Vazquez-Akim
- Turn off devices if you can because it's too easy to feel like a work day : ) — Kate Collins
- Research and plan your staycation exactly as you'd plan a trip to a foreign country. Get guidebooks and read websites to make a list of things you want to do. You're likely to find all sorts of things you've never heard of! — Ted Marcus
Where do you staycation? Let us know!
This is what our Twitter friends said:
Find suggestions from our Facebook friends here:
Learning ability largely forged in DNA, study says
While the best teachers, motivated parents and flourishing schools can bolster a child's education, genetics are responsible for half of learning ability, according to a new study. Researchers at King's College London studied 1,500 pairs of identical and fraternal twins. In comparing results, the twins' scores were twice as similar among identical twins as among fraternal twins. The data further fuels the genetics side of the nature-versus-nurture debate. What can educational policy take away from study results such as these?
Guests:
Neal P. McCluskey, Ph.D., Associate Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute - The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank – dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace.
RiShawn Biddle, editor of Dropout Nation - an online outlet dedicated to covering education - and co-author of ‘A Byte at the Apple: Rethinking Education Data for the Post-NCLB Era’.
Where to find the best deals during Restaurant Week in LA
DineLA kicks off this week with great prix-fixe specials at restaurants across Los Angeles. Some of the city’s tastiest (and priciest) spots have put special menus in place from July 14-27.
Restaurant week can be a great time to try new genres of food or get a sample of especially expensive offerings, but which restaurants offer the best bang for your buck?
Where are the menus that are true to the restaurant, and where do they deviate from the norm? Will you be making any reservations at DineLA?
Eater LA editor Matthew Kang's picks:
"They have a $15 deal where you can get a sandwich or a salad, you get a side, a cookie and a drink. So for $15, basically just under $20 with tax and tip, I think that's a great deal. It's kind of a tiny restaurant hidden away, so that's a nice find."
"This place just looks really nice and fancy, and it might be a little daunting, but for $20 you can get a two-course lunch and throw in another $5 for beer or wine, so for basically around $30 you're getting a great meal. Not quite fine dining, but almost that level."
"This is a new Michael Mina steakhouse. They have a $25 lunch, and that's definitely not on the cheap end for a lunch, but you're going to a really swanky steakhouse at the Americana and I think that's a solid lunch on the east side."
"The place is a top-notch restaurant, you're going to pay $100 or more during a normal meal, but they have a $45 dinner where they give you three appetizers for the table, so everyone gets to choose at least 3 dishes, and then you can choose five or six entrees, normal portions, and then you get two desserts. So, yes, its $45 a person, but you're getting a huge feast and the service is excellent, the decor is amazing, and Craft is really one of those restaurants, unless you work in Century City, you're not going to go there and splurge, but for $45, I think it's totally worth it."
"Super fancy, swanky place. A place to dress to impress, but they have a $45 menu. You can basically choose, I think they have 16 courses. They're smaller plates, but you choose 3 out of 16 and you get some appetizers and you get some desserts and if you go with 3 or 4 people you can pretty much order the entire menu. If you like lots of little things it's perfect and it's a beautifully designed restaurant."
Tipple and Brine in Sherman Oaks
"A new seafood restaurant with really good cocktails. They have a $35 dinner deal, they're doing things like fried octopus, fresh fish, you get a chocolate cremeux for dessert. I think they would be a good pick for the Valley, Sherman Oaks and Studio City, the dining scenes are really getting better. I don't know if they're really at the level of great L.A. restaurants quite yet but they're getting there."