How Los Angeles and Orange County are approaching homelessness, new study projects considerable rising sea level, latest in aeronautics from NASA Armstrong.
How Los Angeles and Orange County are approaching homelessness, new study projects considerable rising sea level, latest in aeronautics from NASA Armstrong.
How Los Angeles and Orange County are approaching homelessness, new study projects considerable rising sea level, latest in aeronautics from NASA Armstrong.
An update to the fight against homelessness in LA and Orange counties
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10:33
An update to the fight against homelessness in LA and Orange counties
Los Angeles and Orange counties are getting serious about tackling homelessness after years of watching the problem get worse.
L.A. city voters passed a $1.2 million bond about six months ago to pay for homeless housing. Then, on March 7, L.A. County voters agreed to hike the sales tax to pay for homeless services.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway in Orange County to address homelessness, too.
KPCC's Rina Palta and Jill Replogle joined Take Two for an update on where things stand.
Measure HHH, L.A.'s $1.2 million bond to fund homeless housing
There's a list of potential projects that the city might fund with the bond money.
"That list is going to the City Council next month, so they'll vote on it in May," Palta said.
Once a project is approved, then the builder can break ground.
Measure H, L.A.'s sales tax hike to pay for homeless services
There's a 50-member panel that's been tasked with coming to consensus on how to spend the money generated from the tax increase, which goes into effect in July.
"Some of the big items that they've rallied around are shelter space," Palta said. "They've also rallied around building and funding more permanent housing for people."
The panel is also exploring whether to subsidize people's rent to help them get on their feet.
"There's a kind of more wacky idea, too, to fund prevention services to prevent people from getting evicted or losing their housing in the first place," Palta said.
She added that there is not much research on prevention strategies and their effectiveness, so it's uncertain whether the panel will sign off on unproven ideas.
What should L.A. watch out for?
That panel which handles the sales tax money meets today.
Its deadline is to give a plan of recommended actions to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors by June.
How does the homelessness problem compare in Orange County?
"There is definitely a homeless crisis in Orange County and it's become really visible in the last couple of years," Replogle said.
People from many different sides are concerned about it and are trying to prioritize the needs they may choose to address.
What's one area of concern in Orange County?
On one side of the Santa Ana riverbed is flood control land, and several hundred people have been camping on that land recently.
Several months ago, however, the county wanted to use that land to store boulders and sand for the purposes of flood control.
So there was a legal fight about whether those people could be moved and what would happen to their belongings.
"There were a couple lawsuits about what to do with people in that area," Replogle said.
It would take millions of dollars to address homelessness in OC, too
UC-Irvine researchers have estimated that homelessness costs $300 million each year to Orange County and independent service organizations.
"A huge portion of that is for health care," Replogle said.
Meanwhile, an independent study by the ACLU estimated it would take $55 million to create permanent housing for the homeless, but that figured didn't include the cost of services.
Orange County is not as far along as Los Angeles in developing a game plan.
"There is an idea floating around of setting up a sanctioned encampment that some advocates are coalescing around," but that's in the early stages right now, Replogle said.
L.A. could lead the nation in developing a blueprint for fighting homelessness
"Everyone in the state and the nation is watching L.A. County right now to see what's going to happen with the homeless population," Palta said. "If you can solve the problem here, then you can solve it anywhere."
Netflix bucks industry trends, will invest in California productions
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Netflix bucks industry trends, will invest in California productions
The business of making film and television is a vital part of California's economy.
But over the past couple of decades, Hollywood's claim to being the film and TV production capital has been challenged by so-called runaway production.
Studios routinely film in places like New York, Georgia and even Canada to earn lucrative tax breaks that the Golden State hasn't been able to match.
So there was some general rejoicing when Netflix announced that not only does it believe in California productions, but it is planning to invest billions to support them.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above.
New report projects sea levels to rise faster than we thought
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New report projects sea levels to rise faster than we thought
A new report released yesterday projects that sea levels may rise a lot faster than previously thought.
The study was commissioned at the behest of the governor's office, the California Natural Resources Agency, and the California Ocean Protection Council.
And it says that by the end of this century, sea swelling could cause serious problems for coastal areas.
With this these projections in mind, recommendations include not only taking steps to prevent such a dramatic rise in sea level, but considering how far inland new development needs to be in order to be safe down the line.
Gary Griggs teaches Earth Sciences and is the Director of Institute Marine Sciences at UC Santa Cruz. He worked on the report and joined Take Two's A Martinez.
To listen to the interview with Greg Griggs, click on the blue Media Player above.
6 ways to stay safe on LA region's hiking trails
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6 ways to stay safe on LA region's hiking trails
There was sad news Wednesday for the Los Angeles hiking community. The body of Seuk "Sam" Doo Kim, famous for climbing Mount Baldy nearly 800 times, was found on the mountain. He was reported missing on Friday.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was in charge of the search. Its spokesperson said that to lose such an experienced hiker was rare. Usually, rescue operations are sent out to find people who were ill-equipped for their outing.
Improvising a hiking route by going off-trail is a common reason hikers run into trouble on a mountain. Even the most experienced hikers can get turned around. Ultimately, sudden changes in weather and medical emergencies or injuries can happen to anyone.
So, what should you do to avoid trouble on a mountain trail? And if you find yourself in an urgent situation, what can be done to maximize your chances of rescue?
Mike Leum is an expert in trail safety. He's the search and rescue group leader for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He joined Take Two's A Martinez to discuss his tips for staying safe on mountain trails.
1. Make a plan for your hike and tell someone about it
Always, number one: have a plan. Have a plan as far as having enough time in the day. A lot of people might start too late in the day and they end up in the darkness. They're not ready for it and don't have a flashlight. So, it's always good to be conservative in your plan and in your estimation of your own ability.
Tell someone a plan and stick to the plan. It's not going to do any good if you change your mind halfway up the mountain after you've already told someone you're going to go hike some other place.
Check out the LA County Parks and Recreation Department's trail information page to help choose your route.
2. Have up-to-date information about where you're going
If you Google "LA Sheriff Hiking Plan," the very first thing that comes up is a two-page document that we designed specifically to help us find someone should they get lost. This is a two-page document that you could give to a loved one or family member.
A lot of guidebooks are out of date. The most current information usually is found on social media. There's also websites you can go on to verify the trail status. But social media has caused a resurgence of interest in our local waterfalls and hiking areas. Before you go, it's always good to read reviews, and you'll get an idea of how difficult the trail is that way.
The problems come when they post video of them jumping off a waterfall and, let's say, that video is three months old. Well now, that waterfall may be a trickle so that pool they jumped into could have been 10 feet deep. It's now 4 feet deep. So, people get hurt.
You can also check for special alerts on your trail here.
3. Bring a buddy
Ninety-five percent of people we go out looking for are men out by themselves. So that's a big problem, going out hiking by yourself. Because if someone's with you, they can assist you if you get hurt, or go for help.
Local areas like in the Hollywood Hills or the Santa Monica Mountains, you could go running on trails that are very well established and well trafficked, so you wouldn't be out in the middle of nowhere necessarily. But I don't suggest that.
4. Pack adequate supplies
There is a thing called the 10 Essentials. That's designed for keeping yourself warm, being able to signal a helicopter.... Basically, plan for the worst and just assume you may have to be out there overnight, which means taking some type of a jacket. Take enough food. There are millions of energy bars out there that could sustain you overnight.
Because of the increased coverage areas that we have, we're able to send our subjects a text message from a search-and-rescue app. All they have to do is click on it, and we will get their exact location and GPS coordinates. And we find about 20 percent of our missing persons based on our cellphone technology.
But the bottom line is, if you're hiking along and you come across some snow, and you don't have an ice axe and you don't have crampons, turn around. Some people think that if they have it inside their pack and they think that's enough. But if you're not using it, it's not going to help you.
LA County Sheriff's Department winter rescue
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Courtesy of the LA County Sheriffs Department
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Just make sure to keep your phone off until you really need it because it will lose its battery quickly when looking for a signal. And don't forget to bring enough water!
5. Don't wander off trail
One of the most difficult searches we get is a call for a missing hunter, because hunters do not follow trails, hunters follow game. Anyone going off-trail has just reduced their chances of us finding them. We are trained in tracking, so we will track people from their car into the forest. But once you go off trail, it becomes much more difficult.
6. If you get lost or hurt, stay put
I always tell people all the time, if you're going to get lost, do it in Los Angeles County. Because in Los Angeles County, you're going to have rescue teams racing to find you. You're going to have the sheriff's Air Rescue 5 coming to look for you. You're going to have the Forest Service and you're probably going to have the fire department. You're going to have multiple agencies coming to look for you, so the best thing you can do is stay put. Don't try and find your way back thinking you might come across the trail, because that's likely not going to happen and you'll end up further and further into the forest. Staying put is the most important thing.
Creating some type of shelter to keep you warm, because hypothermia is the number one thing that is going to immediately impact you. Once you've done those things, make yourself visible from the air. Whether that's bright clothing, or taking some tree limbs and forming letters in the trail. Anything that is not naturally occurring will pop out to an air crew that's looking for you.
If you sprain an ankle, don't try and walk out with it. Stay put. And if you've done the things like having a plan and telling someone the plan, someone should be making a phone call once you're delayed in coming home.
Courtesy of the LA County Sheriffs Department rescue at altitude
The X-57 or "Maxwell" is NASA Armstrong's latest development in aeronautic technology. It's exclusively propelled by electric power and may prove to be the most efficient model to date. The plane's quiet design may also be a breakthrough in flight.
Matt Redifer is Chief Engineer for the X-57 plane. He joined Take Two's A Martinez for a preview of the X-57. He also gave us a peek at another plane in the NASA pipeline that could revolutionize long distance flights by reaching sonic speed without creating a sonic boom.
The X-57 at a glance
This particular configuration looks a little goofy. We're retrofitting an existing twin engine aircraft. We're making the wing long and skinny so it looks like a big fuselage with a long and skinny wing. ... It actually has 14 electric motors. Two on the wingtips and then 12 distributed across the leading edge so it does look a little interesting.
This artist's concept of NASA's X-57 Maxwell aircraft shows the plane's specially designed wing and 14 electric motors. NASA Aeronautics researchers will use X-57 to demonstrate that electric propulsion can make planes quieter, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
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NASA Graphic / NASA Langley/Advanced Concepts Lab, AMA, Inc.
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The benefits of going electric
In our case, we're targeting kind of the general aviation aircraft industry. It's actually applying electric motors to increase the overall efficiency of the aircraft. So what we're doing is basically demonstrating how electric propulsion can increase the effici ency of the aircraft.
One of the neat technologies we can experiment with is all the technologies across the leading edge, we can alter the RPMS and the frequency of each of the engines and actually counter act the noise effect. So, it'll be substantially quieter than a conventional aircraft.
We're targeting general aviation aircrafts, trying to increase mobility by making use of the small community aircrafts for shorter commute times.
The future of commuter travel
Right now at Scaled Composites over at Mojave, we're integrating electrical systems into the aircraft. We expect delivery of the aircraft over to NASA this summer and start the initial flight testing later this year.
We know that companies out there like Uber are already looking to the next generation of mobility with aircraft and we think electric aircrafts are going to fit that niche very nicely. So, we would expect commercialization of this technology in the 5 - 10 year timeframe.
We've been in conversation with commuter airlines that typically fly shorter flights. And we could see the electric aircraft technology being adapted to that. It should result in the overall cost of the flight because of the increased efficiency because of the overall increased efficiency of the aircraft.
Looking ahead to a revolution in long distance flight
It would be the next X plane in the series. And that would be a supersonic transport aircraft. It's a very uniquely shaped aircraft basically to reduce the tune the sonic boom to reduce the effect of it on the ground.
Basically, you're shaping the waveform so when the sound is perceived on the ground, it's actually no perceived as a large, loud boom. We get sonic booms all the time out here at the Edwards Air Force Base and it's very traumatic. It's almost like an explosion so reducing that to the point where it would almost not be noticeable. And that would enable to overflight of the U.S. continental area.
And that could potentially result in a New York to LA timeframe of about two and a half hours.
*Quotes edited for clarity*
To hear the full interview with Matt Redifer, click on the blue Media Player above.
LA County Sheriff's Department winter rescue(Courtesy of the LA County Sheriffs Department)
Courtesy of the LA County Sheriffs Department rescue at altitude(Courtesy of the LA County Sheriffs Department)
