SoCal tsunami risks – how prepared are we?

"Whether an advisory is in effect or not, stay out of the water and harbors as currents will be strong," according to the National Weather Service update as of 6:50 a.m. that was posted on X. Up and down the coast, beaches, piers and coastal areas were being closed as a precaution. "Please avoid coastal areas and stay clear of the water until further notice," according to the city of Huntington Beach. Alerts went into effect for a wide region of the Pacific on Tuesday evening after a massive magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck eastern Russia, one of the largest recorded quakes in the last century. Today on AirTalk, we’re looking at the latest on Tsunamis is Allen Husker, manager of the Southern California Seismic Network and research professor of geophysics at Caltech and Chip McCreery, director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

With files from LAist

Why some LA communities are taking street safety into their own hand

Sawtelle resident Jonathan Hale along with friends, neighbors, and the consultation of the Crosswalk Collective, painted yellow crosswalks around Stoner Park ahead of summer camp programs over two Saturdays in late May. Last week, three days after local newspaper West Side Current reported on the community’s actions, the L.A. Department of Transportation got rid of the crosswalks. Some in the community have questioned LADOT’s decision to remove what many saw as a public good. Joining AirTalk today to discuss DIY crosswalks and to take a look at the intricacies of street safety in Los Angeles is organizer of the DIY Stoner Park crosswalk Jonathan Hale, volunteer with the Crosswalk Collective Bianca Cockrell, and head of product for the transportation analytics company INRIX and former program director for the Vision Zero and Great Streets initiatives at the City of Los Angeles Nat Gale. We also want to hear from you! Should the city embrace community-led street initiatives? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.

With files from LAist

AI is helping develop software — is that okay?

While many industries are slowly embracing artificial intelligence tools, the tech sector is doing so at a rapid pace. The biggest names in Silicon Valley are not only spearheading AI research, but also adoption, with big pushes underway to get more employees to use AI more often. Now Facebook parent company Meta is reportedly planning on allowing some job seekers to use AI in their job applications, with the rationale that they want future employees to use AI on the job anyways. But what are the implications if more and more of the underlying code that makes up our digital lives is created by AI? Joining us to answer this question and more is Jason Koebler, cofounder of 404 Media, a worker-owned technology news site and Jessica Ji, senior research analyst with the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University.

How successful has LA’s Social Equity Program been for legal cannabis business owners?

There’s no question people in L.A. County consume a lot of pot — nearly a million pounds of cannabis each year, according to official reports. While the demand is clearly there, legal cannabis businesses in the city of Los Angeles say they are struggling just to stay open. Cannabis business owners told LAist they struggle to pay high taxes and fees while they watch illegal operations go unchecked. They say when they’ve tried to talk to city officials, they’ve been stonewalled and shut out. Some licensed cannabis business owners have had to close. Others say they are months — if not weeks — from having to shut their doors, leading to lawsuits and a rowdy, confetti-filled confrontation at a public meeting.

Many of these business owners are part of L.A.’s Social Equity Program, which was supposed to provide a boost to Black and Brown communities disproportionately targeted by the previous criminalization of pot. Instead of a leg up, the business owners told LAist the program has led to a cycle of stress, debts, and broken promises. Today on AirTalk, we check in on LA’s cannabis industry and the Social Equity Program. Joining us is Jordan Rynning, watchdog correspondent at LAist, Madison Shockley, owner of The Cadre dispensary in South Central LA, and Kika Keith, owner of Gorilla RX Wellness Co. in South LA. We also want to hear from you! If you own and operate a cannabis business here in L.A., what has your experience been like? What are the challenges you’re facing? Have your customers complained about the increase in taxes? Give us a call at 866-893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.

With files from LAist. You can read more from Jordan’s piece here.

Newsom plans to let LA suspend duplex projects in fire burn zones

Months after the Palisades and Eaton Fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures, most of which were houses, homeowners are slowly starting to rebuild. As plans start to materialize, elected officials are calling for stricter limits on how many new homes can be added to neighborhoods that burned.

Citing concerns about future fire safety, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass asked California officials on Tuesday to block a recent state law from letting duplexes and other additional housing units replace burned-down single-family homes in the Pacific Palisades. A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom said he plans to issue an executive order Wednesday allowing local governments to limit the law’s application in high severity burn areas, which would include the Palisades, parts of Malibu and Altadena. Senate Bill 9 allows duplexes to be built on single-family home lots across California. The law — which took effect in 2022 — also allows lots to be split, resulting in up to four housing units on a site that previously held one. Joining to discuss is David Wagner, LAist housing reporter. Do you live in the area? What are your thoughts or concerns about the rebuilding process? Call 866-893-5722 or email atcomments@laist.com.

With files from LAist.

Imperfect Paradise: Illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley

A lot of us assume that garbage is disposed of responsibly, like at a regional landfill. But what if huge piles of it, filled with all kinds of waste, from diapers to concrete, to even construction debris, all got mixed up and thrown away together…but not in a landfill?

That’s exactly what’s happening at three places in Antelope Valley. Hundreds of thousands of tons of waste are accumulating and forming massive – often multiple feet high – piles across the desert. And in some cases, not far from people’s homes. Things have gotten so bad with the level of illegal dumping there that back in February, Cal Recycle, the state agency in charge of waste, issued an emergency regulation stating the problem was degrading the environment, causing fires and posing a risk to human health and safety. Today on AirTalk, we listen to the latest episode of the LAist Studios podcast Imperfect Paradise, with LAist science reporter Jacob Margolis, about the illegal dumping crisis that’s happening in the California desert.