An audit by the LAUSD’s Office of Inspector General this week found that the second largest school district in the country wasted about $10 million of food in a recent school year. Also, The CA Board of Equalization (BOE), the state’s tax commission, is throwing its weight behind a plan aiming to get underground medical marijuana dispensaries to pay taxes. Then, it's T-G-I-Filmweek!
LAUSD food waste audit raises more questions than answers
An audit by the LAUSD’s Office of Inspector General this week found that the second largest school district in the country wasted about $10 million of food in a recent school year.
LAUSD runs more than twice as many kitchens as In-N-Out and the audit shows that school administrators brokered a deal in which they would receive gifts from the nation’s largest food distributors while growing corporate contracts by hundreds of millions of dollars. The inspector general has requested time for a further investigation. We’ll talk about what that might entail.
Should LAUSD offer three meals per day?
CA 14-999 REVIEW OF FSD CATEGORICAL PARTNERING FOOD PROGRAM
Guests:
Annie Gilbertson, KPCC investigative reporter
How surfer ‘gang mentality’ is keeping people off some SoCal beaches
The public face of surf culture has long been assumed to be hang loose, chill out, and ride the waves. But the reality is that on some beaches in Southern California, if you’re not one of them, you’re not welcome.
Recently, journalists from The Guardian visited Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes Estates, a beautiful beach spot that looks like the perfect place to surf. But a group of local surfers who call themselves the ‘Bay Boys’ have been known for chasing off visitors, tourists, or anyone they deem to be an ‘outsider.’ The journalists even took hidden camera video as they were told by several surfers to leave the beach, go home, or find somewhere else to surf.
When the reporters asked police about these territorial surfers, an officer tells them that while police are aware of the group, those not wanting to deal with them should avoid the area.
How does this gang mentality hurt beaches in SoCal? What would it take to bring a gang injunction against a group of surfers like the ‘Bay Boys?’
Guests:
Jeff Kepley, Palos Verdes Estates Police Chief
Sam George, former editor of Surfer Magazine and longtime surfer. He’s also the Emmy Award-winning director of ‘Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aiaku,’ part of ESPN’s ‘30 For 30’ documentary series.
CA Board of Equalization wants illegal pot sellers to pony up on lost taxes
The CA Board of Equalization (BOE), the state’s tax commission, is throwing its weight behind a plan aiming to get underground medical marijuana dispensaries to pay taxes.
Of the estimated 935 cannabis businesses operating in the City of Los Angeles, about 258 of them don’t have a BOE seller’s permit. Under the plan, BOE would work with these underground dispensaries to comply with state regulations and pay their taxes without receiving punishment.
How does the plan work? Why aren’t dispensaries paying their fair share of taxes? Would the plan work?
Guests:
Jerome Horton, Chairman, California Board of Equalization, the state tax commission
David Welch, LA-based attorney working in the medical marijuana industry
Filmweek: ‘Ant-Man,’ ‘Trainwreck,’ ‘Irrational Man’ and more
Amy Nicholson of LA Weekly hosts Filmweek with our film critics Andy Klein and Peter Rainer to review this week’s new releases including the late Marvel thrill “Ant-Man,” the Amy Schumer starrer “Trainwreck,” Woody Allen’s “Irrational Man” and more.
TGI-Filmweek!
Guests:
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Andy Klein, film critic for KPCC and LA Times Community Paper Chain
‘Ant-Man’ director Peyton Reed on the character, film and ants
With the release this week of Marvel’s next superhero flick, “Ant-Man,” welcome to a brief look at how the movie is different from the rest of the pack in both character and development.
Although Ant-Man has never been as celebrated as his contemporaries Captain America, Iron Man, and the Hulk, he appeared in 1962 as the creation of legendary comic book writers Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. He even premiered in the “Avengers” comics as one of its original members. And while shrinking and controlling ants may not be as impressive as flight or super-strength, Ant-Man has always been invaluable for reconnaissance and versatility.
Similar to the character portrayed within, the movie adaptation of the comic has been versatile, especially when it comes to length and cost. “Ant-Man” is just under two hours and set Walt Disney Studios back $150 million, which lies in stark contrast to other films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which clocked in at well over two hours and blew past $300 million. While skeptics have been unsure about whether “Ant-Man” can stand up to the giant bar set by its predecessors, the film already collected over $6 million in Thursday-night receipts.
John Horn stepped in to speak with “Ant-Man” director Peyton Reed, checking to see if by the end of the filming process he had become an expert on ants.
Guest:
Peyton Reed, Director, “Ant-Man;” Reed’s previous director credits include “Bring It On” and “Yes Man”
New feature film based on notorious 1971 Stanford experiment
It started as a simple test of role-play and compliance, an attempt to understand how placing a randomized sample could affect behavior. What happened next changed experiments forever.
The new film “The Stanford Prison Experiment” is based on a real experiment in 1971 that occurred in the basement of the Stanford Psychology Department. Head researcher Dr. Philip Zimbardo wanted to analyze how the relationships between people would change if some were given the role of “prisoner” and others of “guard.” The environment was a prison, and although all the subjects and researchers were aware that the experiment did not reflect reality, they were asked to treat it as such.
Zimbardo expected that the people might adapt to their roles, but the experiment worked much better (or worse) than even he could have foreseen. The “guards” started to ridicule, segregate, and torture the “prisoners,” leading to extreme breakdowns and emotional collapse. In his own role of lead researcher and superintendent, Zimbardo allowed the abuse to continue, which affected them all even after the experiment was cancelled after only six days.
Ethical standards for experiments in psychology and other disciplines have permanently changed as a direct result of this experiment - now proposed studies must be approved by Institutional Review Boards. But the experiment was filmed, and the new film is revealing to the public what had happened underneath the Stanford Psychology Department during those six days in 1971.
How would you have treated prisoners if you were a guard? Would you have rebelled if you were a prisoner? Do you believe that roles and institutional structures have the power to change the way people behave?
Guests:
Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Director of "The Stanford Prison Experiment" - a thriller based on a true story