In a multi-part series called “Make Fullerton Care,” KPCC’s Orange County reporter gives us an inside look at one battle in the crusade to get California's more than 90,000 unsheltered residents off the streets. We also check in on Hurricane Michael; examine a new study that uses brain activity to evaluate skills; and more.
Read the story and listen to the radio features on LAist: 'Not In My Backyard' What The Shouting Down Of One Homeless Housing Complex Means For Us All
The latest on the ground as Hurricane Michael bears down on Florida Panhandle, Big Bend
History will be made when Hurricane Michael makes landfall along the Florida Panhandle and northeastern Gulf Coast today.
In recorded history, there has never been a Category 4 hurricane that has made landfall in the area of the state. Today, Hurricane Michael is threatening a wide swath of Florida’s Gulf Coast with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, and a life-threatening storm surge predicted to be as high as 14 feet in some places. The Panhandle area from Pensacola near the Alabama border to Panama City and Tallahassee inland from there are expected to be hit hardest, with rain bands extending north and east into Alabama and Georgia and south east down the Gulf Coast side of the peninsula as far as the Tampa Bay area. Today on AirTalk, Larry Mantle checks in.
Guests:
Lewis Turner, reporter and meteorologist for First Coast News WTLV/WJXX in Jacksonville, Florida (local ABC & NBC affiliate) who is in Tallahassee covering Hurricane Michael; he tweets
Annie Blanks, reporter for the Northwest Florida Daily News, a newspaper owned by Gatehouse Media, a newspaper organization with 13 daily newspapers in the state; she is in Destin on Florida’s Gulf Coast covering Hurricane Michael; she tweets
LeBron drinks wine with his teen sons. What about you?
LeBron James made headlines Tuesday when he shed light on his parental techniques.
James told USA Today’s Josh Peter after the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice at the team’s training facility that he lets his 14- and 11-year-old sons have some wine. "Whatever dad's and mom's having,'' the basketball superstar said. James’ statement seems to be in alignment with the law. Teens below the age of 21 can have alcohol in private locations in California, except in vehicles. Those under the legal age may drink if a parent or guardian is present. Many argue that there are benefits to this approach, where parents can teach kids moderation in drinking.
What do you think? Call us at 866-893-5722 and weigh in.
New study uses brain activity to evaluate skills, we discuss the ethical implications
A new study published last Wednesday in the journal Science Advances shows how skilled surgical practitioners exhibit different brain activities from unskilled practitioners.
Researchers used brain scan technology to examine what’s happening inside surgeons’ brains while they performed surgical simulations. In determining these findings, scientists used technology known as fNIRS, short for functional near-infrared spectroscopy. With fNIRS, a person wears a cap embedded with tiny lasers that beam near-infrared light into the skull. The light reflects back out and can be captured by a detector. Researchers can find out from the quality of the detected light if blood flowing to the brain is oxygenated or not. More oxygenated blood means an increase in brain activity.
The study was able to identify novice surgeons from experienced ones by analyzing those brain activities. Results show that part of the brain involved in planning complex behaviors was more active in the novice physicians. While skilled surgeons had more activity in the motor cortex, which is essential for the execution of movement.
Some critics say such technology raises some ethical concerns. Skeptics question the accuracy of such results. Will those scans capture all aspects of the brain, or just a fraction? Should scans be limited to certain parts of the brain? How can information gathered via those scans be used without infringing on a person’s privacy? We discuss.
Guests:
Arun Nemani, lead author of the brain scan study; senior data scientist for a Chicago-based startup called Food Genius
Elizabeth Hillman, professor of biomedical engineering and principal investigator at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute; member of a neuroethics advisory group for the National Institutes of Health’s BRAIN initiative (short for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies)
Checking in on development, implementation of ShakeAlert, California’s early earthquake warning system
After years of delays due to lack of funding California’s much-anticipated early earthquake warning system “ShakeAlert” was unveiled on Monday.
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), one of the first to make use of the ShakeAlert prototype, hosted the launch of the system on Monday by performing a demonstration of the system, complete with a train ride to show how, in the event of a quake, ShakeAlert would be able to slow trains to a stop, halt moving elevators, close gas valves and even stop amusement park rides. A network of sensors pick up seismic waves from the ground and then focus in on the slower-moving ones that can cause structural damage that injure and kill, sending out warnings from seconds before a quake to a minute in advance.
Agencies in Washington and Oregon are also implementing the system into their own quake infrastructure, and California emergency management officials say it will continue to expand and be implemented across the state in months to come.
Guests:
Robert-Michael de Groot, staff scientists and coordinator for communication, education and outreach for the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning Program at the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Science Center in Pasadena
Ryan Arba, branch chief of the Earthquake, Tsunami & Volcano Programs at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES); he tweets
‘Nimby or Not’: new KPCC series looks at OC battle to get people off the streets
The homeless crisis is affecting communities across Southern California.
KPCC has been airing a series of stories that is addressing the problem in Orange County. The series focuses on efforts by Pathways of Hope, a homeless services provider, that wants to build an 60-unit apartment complex for the homeless population in the city of Fullerton. Pathways of Hope believes that the solution to the crisis lies in permanent supportive housing. Fullerton has been home to a seasonal homeless shelter operating for several years and some see it as a good option to house the project.
But the proposed solution comes with challenges. The project must get an approval by residents in the area. Advocates are trying to convince residents to support the project, but it is not an easy task. The neighborhood is resisting.
What would you do if a homeless housing project was proposed for your neighborhood?
Tensions over homelessness are high in SoCal. Everyone wants a solution. But often, nearby residents are first in line to oppose new projects.
This is what I’m exploring in Orange County.
— Jill Replogle (@jillrep)
What would you do if a homeless housing project was proposed for your neighborhood?
— Jill Replogle (@jillrep) August 16, 2018
Tensions over homelessness are high in SoCal. Everyone wants a solution. But often, nearby residents are first in line to oppose new projects.
This is what I’m exploring in Orange County. pic.twitter.com/RvM6sVmdTw
In a multi-part series called “Nimby or Not,” KPCC’s Orange County reporter Jill Replogle gives us an inside look at one battle in the crusade to get California's more than 90,000 unsheltered residents off the streets.
Guests:
Jill Replogle, KPCC’s Orange County reporter; she tweets
Becks Heyhoe, housing manager for United to End Homelessness and Orange County United Way, a homeless services provider in Orange County
Stephanie Bromley, a Fullerton resident, who lives in the Little Chapman-Adlena Park neighborhood, where advocates want to build permanent housing for the homeless