A look at grey hats, the tech-savvy folks who break into systems for a fee, it's the Black mamba's last day, this week on styled side: Coachella fashion.
Police Commission agrees with Chief Beck that police killing in Venice was unjustified
Almost a year ago, an unarmed homeless man named Brendon Glenn was fatally shot by a police officer in Venice Beach, California.
The officer, Clifford Proctor, said he thought the man was reaching for his partner's gun. Footage of the incident seems to tell a different story.
That video became a key piece of evidence in a Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck's report which found the officer's actions wereunjustified.
Now the Police Commission, which oversees department policy, has backed up that conclusion.
Joe Domanick, Associate Director of the Center on Media, Crime & Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, says the fact that the commission agreed with Beck's conclusion in this case is not surprising.
"The Police Commission right now is a very progressive police commission and a police commission very focused on doing oversight," Domanick says. "It's right in line with what they want in terms of officer involved shootings."
What the commission wants, Domanick says, is an emphasis on de-escalation, or avoiding the use of deadly force. Its new policy on de-escalation is set to go into effect over the next month.
The next question in the case of the fatal shooting of Brendon Glenn is whether L.A. District Attorney Jackie Lacey will decide to file criminal charges against Proctor.
Chief Beck has made that recommendation to Lacey, but it's been 15 years since an LAPD officer faced criminal charges because of an on-duty shooting.
"[Lacey]'s pretty much in line with officers in these types of things," Domanick says, "but I think there will be a lot of pressure on her now with both the Police Commission and the Chief of Police asking for an indictment."
To hear the full interview with Joe Domanick, click the blue player above.
Correction: A previous version of this story identified Brendon Glenn using an incorrect first name. KPCC regrets the error.
Kobe Bryant's final game: Take Two listeners look back at a career Laker
Kobe Bryant wraps up his 20-year career with the Lakers at the Staples Center Wednesday night.
Bryant entered the NBA fresh out of high school at 17 and along the way won five titles, a pair of Olympic gold medals and a slew of individual honors.
He also will be remembered for his controversies — from a feud with Shaquille O'Neal to his arrest in connection with a sexual assault investigation.
Love him or hate him, Bryant has relished his role as both a hero and a villain.
The NBA star will be hitting career milestones in other ways Wednesday as the Lakers face the Utah Jazz.
As the Associated Press reports, even if he doesn't score a single point, he will finish with a nearly 25.0 career scoring average, and one free throw shot will put him at 10,000 for his career. Only four other players can claim that stat.
Tonight in Staples Center Kobe Bryant wraps up his twenty year Lakers career.
Kobe entered the NBA fresh out of high school at 17 and along the way won five titles, a pair of Olympic gold medals to go with a slew of individual honors.
He also will be remembered for his controversies such as his feud with Shaquille O'Neal and his arrest in connection with a sexual assault investigation.
Love him or hate him Bryant has relished his role as both a hero and villain. Today we look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of Kobe's two decades as a Los Angeles Laker.
First we hear from you - our dear Take Two listeners.
Via Facebook and Twitter, you weighed in with your memories...
Many of our younger listeners were born after the hey-day of Michael Jordan, so for them, Kobe Bryant was their first huge hoops star.
"Kobe Bryant to me is the greatest basketball player I've ever seen play," said Patrick Rodriguez. "The biggest games, the biggest spotlight. He didn't shy away from it. He had that killer instinct that you don't really see in the NBA anymore, or in sports really."
On the other hand we had Young-Sun Kim on Facebook who was less sentimental. He said of Kobe, "Go away already. Time to build a team we can be proud of. No more ego driven, dead weight."
A lot of fans are hoping that Kobe Bryant leaving the Lakers will be the first step to them being good again.
But Kobe Bryant has a LOT of negativity associated with him as a basketball player. That includes his entire career, not just the last few years. But Kevin Brousard from Colorado Springs, Colorado says he won't let that deter him from remembering Bryant as a quality player.
"I will always remember Kobe Bryant for his competitive drive and his willingness to do anything to win," Brousard said. "He's been called a diva, he's been controversial, been called a bad teammate, a ballhog. But everything he did he did to win."
Andy and Brian Kamenetzky join Take Two to also look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of Kobe Bryant's two decades as a Los Angeles Laker.
To hear the full conversation click the blue player above.
The 'Utley Rule' has already decided baseball games
A few months ago, Major League Baseball officials introduced a new rule to prevent violent collisions at second base.
The rule change came after Dodgers player Chase Utley broke the leg of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada, with a late takeout slide in last year's play-offs.
Under the new so-called "Utley rule" players must now perform "bona fide" slides or be called out.
Even though the 2016 season is only a week old, the rule has already decided a couple of games including one the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Houston Astros.
Teams that have lost games because of the Utley rule say it has been unjustly applied in their situations.
For more on this we have Dodgers middle infielder Nick Theodoro.
To hear the full conversation click the blue player above.
SoCal's housing crisis: 'Either rents go up or we build more units'
The cost of living in Southern California is going to soar and no neighborhood is safe from rising rents and home prices.
"You have two options: either rents go up or we build more units," says economist Chris Thornberg, co-author of a new report from USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate.
He argues that policies and movements against dense developments will only exacerbate California's housing crisis.
"Because you didn't build those 2,500 high-end units," he says, "now those 2,500 families who can afford to live in [places like San Francisco] are going to gentrify one of your cherished working class neighborhoods."
"Part of our challenge," say co-author Raphael Bostic from USC, "is to create a narrative about who we are as California that acknowledges that it's the burden of prosperity, it's the burden of success that we all need to bear if we're going share in prosperity."
In a panel hosted by A Martinez on the release of the report, Bostic and Thornberg offered their own advice and predictions to the audience of real estate and housing professionals.
The next gentrifying neighborhood: Inglewood
"Inglewood is about to go leaping forward," says Thornberg. "It's the only place on the Westside that hasn't started to gentrify."
"There's very few places to still build, and that's one of them," he adds. The report shows that rents in the area are starting to climb as well.
Bostic says that if people are concerned about developments bringing congestion and traffic, it will happen anyways.
"There is a cost," he says. "That building's going to go up somewhere else, and those people are still going to want to come to your community."
The only difference is that people will be driving in to the area instead of walking or biking.
Southern California IS affordable
People are able to afford living here, says Thornberg, otherwise vacancy rates would be high, not low as the report shows.
"As much as rents have come up, affordability has improved," he argues. "There are fewer people rent distressed today than there were four years ago." He cites sharp job and economic growth in the state as proof: more jobs means higher wages that people can use to pay their rent or mortgage.
But Thornberg adds that he's worried about a specific group of people: the middle class.
"I don't look at lowest income households because they have affordability problems no matter where they live," he says.
Middle income Californians, however, are able to afford moving elsewhere where their income goes further. When they go, they take an important sector of the economy with them.
Where can millennials live? Look to boomers
"However you're housed at 70," says Bostic, "you're not moving somewhere else."
He says that millennials looking to buy their first home should keep an eye on what boomers do in retirement.
"What are the boomers going to do when they're 70 years old for housing?" adds Thornberg. "Are they going to be downtown, are they going to stay in their original house?"
"If boomers want to move, they actually need someone to move into their home," says Bostic.
Why some American community colleges want international partnerships
Schools, like New York University and MIT, have expanded their global reach by setting up campuses or serving as consultants for other schools around the world. Now it seems that community colleges are getting into the act, too.
Since the recession, loss of state funding for higher education has significantly impacted community colleges who are now looking to international opportunities to help boost revenue.
Some critics, however, worry that expanding overseas directly contradicts the mission of these campuses - to serve local communities.
For more on this possible trend, host Alex Cohen talked to Karin Fischer. Fischer she covers international issues in higher education for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
An OC community college district looks abroad to boost revenue
Rancho Santiago Community college is one of the oldest community colleges in California with a student body of about 80 thousand. Anticipating a budget shortfall in the near future, the district decided to diversify its revenue stream by establishing international partnerships.
The district is planning to help "refurbish" two technical schools in Saudi Arabia according to Chancellor of the Rancho Santiago District in Orange County, Dr. Raúl Rodríguez. Many critics, however, are concerned that this deal would re-route the district's focus from it's core mission of training a local workforce.
Dr. Rodríguez spoke to host Alex Cohen about the pushback he's received and how he's handled the challenges from the school board and faculty.
Oakland Museum explores all sides of marijuana
California pot advocates are hoping an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana will make it on to the state ballot come November
And if you're looking for background on weed, the Oakland Museum of California will soon be able to help.
They'll be opening a new exhibit entitled Altered State: Marijuana in California.
Sarah Seiter is the Associate Curator of Natural Sciences with the Oakland Museum of California.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above
The children's book about talking tattoos with kids
There was a time when having a tattoo was a rare thing, but those days are long gone.
According to a Harris poll released earlier this year, three in ten Americans have at least one tattoo.
The protagonist of the new children's book called Tell me a Tattoo Story, has all sorts of tattoos and a young son who's curious about them.
It's a delightful book about ink and love.
Alex Cohen spoke to the book's author, Alison McGhee, via Skype about her own ink, the inspiration for the book and attitudes towards tattoos today.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
The Styled Side: Coachella and festival fashions
Coachella is more than a music festival: in many ways it's the West Coast's best answer to New York Fashion Week.
Festival wear is a huge aspect of the event, and top brands and retailers are doubling down on their commitment to the desert fest.
Michelle Dalton Tyree from Fashion Trends Daily has picked out the top things to watch for.
What's shining in the desert sun?
Flower crowns and fringe are being left in the dust in favor of braids, big platform sneaks and fanny packs.
So the 90s are definitely back. (Sorry!)
"Also, we'll see lots of denim in the form of short shorts, 70’s-style A-line skrts with buttons down the front and overalls are big, too," says Tyree.
Which retailers have their eye on festival fashion?
Retailers hit their selling peak with festival wear in April, and H&M is leading the way with a partnership with Coachella.
This is the second year in which the company will present its collection H&M Loves Coachella
H&M will also have a pop-up shop on site as well an installation for "festival squads" – that's a group of friends.
Squads can enter a room with interactive lighting and environmental elements to take a video primed for posting on social media.
Festival parties are growing in size...and exclusivity
For second year in a row, the Council of Fashion Designers of America is putting big muscle behind a luncheon in collaboration with PopSugar.
"Scoring an invite-only ticket is as big a deal – if not more – as getting a ticket to the sold-out festival,"says Tyree.
The Zoe Report hosts a festival retreat, too, with a DIY denim bar by GUESS, a braid bar, D.J. and more.
Meanwhile super hot L.A. designer Jeremy Scott helms an exclusive, celeb-packed soiree, too.