From Los Angeles To Las Vegas: An LAist/KNPR Simulcast
The metro Las Vegas area continues to be a popular destination for folks looking to leave Southern California. According to an analysis from the online real estate brokerage Redfin at the end of 2023, Vegas is the number two spot that folks using their services are looking to move -- and the majority of people looking to do so are coming from L.A. In 2020, according to Nevada DMV data reported by the Las Vegas Review Journal, 43 percent of out-of-state drivers licenses surrendered when obtaining a Nevada license were from California. So, why are so many people leaving the Golden State for the Silver State? Reasons vary depending on who you ask, but for many, it comes back to the cost of living -- home prices in California are rising and taxes are high compared to other states, while Nevada does not levy an income tax and it simply costs less to buy a house. The median price of a home in Nevada as of November 2023, according to Redfin, was $435,000. In California, Redfin says the median price was $793,700.
This morning on AirTalk, we’re partnering with fellow NPR member station KNPR in Las Vegas for a joint broadcast looking at the population pipeline between Southern California and Southern Nevada, and we want to hear from you! If you’ve recently moved between the two regions, what prompted you to relocate? What do you like and/or dislike about your new home? Join our live conversation by calling us at 866-893-5722 or by emailing us at atcomments@laist.com.
LA Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida Is Stepping Down
Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down from his role after being at the helm for two and a half years.
“Ours is a fierce, resilient, superbly talented newsroom, and I am proud to have belonged to it,” Merida wrote in an email to staff.
His last day at the Times will be Friday. Merida joined the Times in 2021 and said in his email that during his tenure the newsroom “made tremendous progress” toward its transformation into a “modern innovative news media company for a new generation of consumers.” Today on AirTalk, we’re talking about what this means for local media and where journalism could be headed. Joining to discuss is David Folkenflik, NPR media correspondent, and Christina Bellantoni, professor of professional practice and director of USC Annenberg’s Media Center.
We reached out to Kevin Merida and did not hear back before the broadcast.
With files from LAist. Read the full story here
As San Quentin State Prison Debates Transforming Into A Rehabilitation Center, Retraining Correctional Officers Could Be At The Core Of That Process
In May 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the formation of the San Quentin Transformation Advisory Council. The multidisciplinary group, which includes the Mayor of Sacramento, formerly incarcerated folks, film producers and more, was tasked with re-imagining San Quentin State Prison. This is part of a larger effort to transform the facility into a rehabilitation center. Earlier this week, the advisory council published a 156-page report called “Reimagining San Quentin.” The report includes a recommendation to retrain correctional officers and create a new job description for the “Community Correctional Officer.” The idea is to create a friendlier, more compassionate relationship between the incarcerated and those who oversee them in order to create more ease for everyone. What would this training look like? And can it actually work on a prison yard? Joining us today on AirTalk is Darrell Steinberg, mayor of Sacramento and lead advisor of the San Quentin Transformation Advisory Council and James King, co-director of programs at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.
