Audit Of CA Homelessness Spending Finds Inconsistencies In Tracking

California spent $24 billion to tackle homelessness over 5 years but didn’t consistently track the outcomes or effectiveness of its programs, according to a state audit released Tuesday. The report attempts to assess how effectively the state and local cities have been spending billions of dollars to address the ongoing homelessness crisis in California. An estimated 171,000 people are homeless in California, which amounts to roughly 30% of all of the homeless people in the U.S. Despite the roughly $24 billion spent on homeless and housing programs during the 2018-2023 fiscal years, the problem didn't improve in many cities.

Today on the program, we get into what the audit found with Marisa Kendall, homelessness reporter for CalMatters. We’ll also talk to Doug Chaffee, Orange County Supervisor and Vice Chair of the OC Board of Supervisors, to discuss the complexities of evaluating cost-effective measures on county levels.

With files from the Associated Press

Homeowners In California Struggle To Renew Home Insurance Policies

Many homeowners in LA’s West Side are losing their insurance coverage, according to a recent report from the LA Times. This comes after State Farm announced last month that it would be dropping tens of thousands of insurance policies across the state. The Illinois-based company, California’s largest insurer, cited soaring costs, the increasing risk of catastrophes like wildfires and outdated regulations as reasons it won’t renew the policies on 30,000 houses and 42,000 apartments. Are you being affected by California’s home insurance troubles? We want to hear from you. Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.

With files from the Associated Press.

Author Norman Ohler On New Book 'Tripped'

While pop culture often traces the beginning of the psychedelic age in the U.S. to the 1960s when figures like Timothy Leary and Al Hubbard began advocating for its use and youth countercultures in places like San Francisco started taking it and other psychedelics, its story actually begins not in the U.S., but rather in Berlin, Germany immediately following the end of World War II. In his new book “Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age” author and journalist Norman Ohler shares his extensive research into how Nazi experiments with psychedelics like LSD secretly influenced the CIA’s own research into the drug, and eventually its unethical testing through its illegal MKUltra program, and the effects that had on America’s eventual War on Drugs. It’s also a deeply personal story for Ohler -- his mother suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and his father’s frustration at his inability to procure LSD for his wife as a treatment is what launched his investigation into the history of psychedelic use in the U.S., and he says his new book aims to clear up misinformation about these drugs by pulling back the curtain on their history.

Today on AirTalk, Norman Ohler joins Larry to talk about his new book.

Absenteeism Remains A Big Problem For K-12 Schools

Chronic absenteeism has become the new norm in K-12 schools across the country, according to a recent analysis of data and reported by the New York Times. It estimates 26% of students in public schools nationally were chronically absent last year. Schools are trying to find solutions. Today on AirTalk, we discuss the different factors that continue to drive this trend, how families' relationship with school attendance has changed, and what schools are doing to address the problem. Joining to discuss is Laura Hill, K-12 policy director at the Public Policy Institute of California, and Debra Duardo, L.A. County superintendent of schools. We really want to hear from listeners! Are you a teacher? School administrator? Parent? What have you noticed about how school attendance and absenteeism is changing? Call 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.

New Petersen Museum Exhibit Explores Autos And Art

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Miracle Mile launched a new exhibit at the end of March called Eyes On The Road: Art of the Automotive Landscape. Art and the automotive world collide in this exhibit to pay homage to the often overlooked designers of our highway systems and cars and shedding light on the vehicle's role in how the world around us has been developed. Joining to discuss the exhibit is Jim Farber, guest curator of the Eyes On The Road exhibit, and Terry Karges, executive director of the Petersen Automotive Museum.