Today on Take Two: The U.S. Supreme Court takes a look at the future of television. KPCC's Ben Bergman joins host A Martinez with a closer look at Aereo TV, controversial technology that some say could change the world of TV as we know it; next, we'll check in with Irma Munoz, president of Mujeres de La Tierra, to talk about pollution in Southern California; the Justice Department announced Monday that it will be expanding its clemency criteria. What does this announcement mean for the state of California and its overcrowded prisons?; Next, we'll talk about the 90th anniversary of Signal Hill. What makes this slice of L.A. special? This and more coming up on the show.
Impact of the population on the planet is more than a numbers game
An Earth Day ad released by the Californians for Population Stability focuses on population growth through immigration as a leading cause for the overcrowding, water shortage and traffic in the state.
But how accurate is this? Are large amounts of people in urban areas significantly affecting the planet in bad way? And how can we know the impact of one group of the population?
Dr. Ellen Percy Kraly is a professor at Colgate University who looks at population and the environment and joined us to talk about the many ways that people influence the earth.
Tuesday Reviewsday: Iggy Azalea, Neon Trees and Ray LaMontagne
It's time for another Tuesday Reviewsday. This week,
from The Hollywood Reporter joins A Martinez to chat about three new albums.
This is who Shirley's got this week:
Artist: Iggy Azalea
Album: The New Classic
Songs: "Fancy," "Bounce"
Description: Iggy Azalea is an Australian born rapper who's embraced American hip-hop culture to the nth degree. This is her proper full-length debut and the timing couldn't be better as "Fancy," the album's lead single, has momentum to propel up the charts. Credit has to also go to co-writer Charli XCX, who we've mentioned on this show before, for coming up with the ear worm that is this song's hook.
Now, I could be cynical and say Nicki Minaj hadn't make a record in the last year, so Iggy Azelea did. In fact, you could credit Nicki for opening the door to the once-shunned female rapper, but "The New Classic" also has the feel of an artist that's still developing and has yet to release her "Superbass." Still, the beginnings of Iggy Azelea, like her mix tapes before, have a good bounce to them, as you can hear on this song of that very name "Bounce."
Artist: Neon Trees
Album: Pop Psychology
Songs: "Sleeping With a Friend," "Love in the 21st Century"
Description: Neon Trees is a pop band from Provo, Utah that exploded onto the charts in 2010 and then sort of lost their way. They had a huge hit with a song called "Animal," which was a real throwback to the best of 80s pop - synthesizers galore, long, elaborate choruses. Then the band seemed to face a bit of an identity crisis, went a different direction with their second album, "Picture Show," experimenting more with songs that regularly clocked in at over five minutes.
I'm happy to say that the pop nuggets are back as the band returned to work with producer Tim Pagnotta, who helmed their first album and was himself a member of a band respected for come undeniable melodies, Sugarcult.
Their first single, "Sleeping With a Friend," shows that singer Tyler Glenn is in top vocal form on this album. If you listen to the lyrics, he's in top emotional form as well, recently coming out in Rolling Stone and revealing some of the inner struggles that he'd been battling with in recent years. You can hear his take on dating in the text age in "Love in the 21st Century."
"Pop Psychology" is in fact a bit schizophrenic because they have these quiet to loud moments that feel almost manic and it makes you wonder whether Neon Trees are playing 80s dress-up rather than making a coherent band statement. And while the singing sounds amazing - Tyler can really deliver a lyric - the production relegates the band to the back a bit, which is a shame.
People should check out their album cover for their latest album, which features the four band members in colorful, fluorescent fashions leaning on a giant brain. It's very No Doubt meets Culture Club and that alone is reason enough to venture to iTunes.
Artist: Ray Lamontagne
Album: Supernova
Songs: "Airwaves," "Supernova"
Description: This is Ray Lamontagne's first album in four years. The Maine singer-songwriter, who first came onto the scene a decade ago with the song and album, "Trouble," is back with a new record titled, "Supernova." Back then, and for most of his career, he's been compared to Van Morrison and Tim Buckley, his bluesy, acoustic-based songs defined him as a modern-day Troubadour. But on this album, his fifth, he recruited Black Keys member Dan Auerbach as producer and the result is a much poppier sound. Take, for instance, the first single and title track "Supernova." Lamontagne and Auerbach flip the script on a song like, "Airwaves," which harkens back to the tone of "Trouble," which is to say organic, soulful with a hint of church organ and bongos so that you really can't classify it beyond the unexpected.
How the oil boom played a pivotal role in the 90-year history of Signal Hill
Tuesday marks the 90th anniversary of Signal Hill, the 2.2 square-mile city tucked into L.A. County near Long Beach.
The city has a long and storied history, which began with Spanish settlers and boomed during the "black gold" era of oil derricks.
For more, we're joined by Lori Woods, lead organizer of the anniversary events at Signal Hill and city council member.
Interview Highlights:
For those who may not know, where is Signal Hill?
Signal Hill is right in the middle of Long Beach, right off the 405 Freeway and Cherry, so we've got a great view from our hill here. A 360-degree view from everything; all the way up to L.A., down to Huntington Beach and of course to the harbor and over to Palos Verdes.
Where does the name Signal Hill come from?
Prior to a lot of settlement in the area, it was an area that the locals would signal from the top of the hill to the surrounding neighbors as far as Catalina.
When did the oil derricks show up at Signal Hill?
They were always exploring for oil in the early 1900s and there was several failed attempts but it wasn't until 1921 that an oil company came in and struck oil. It was known as Discovery, and that well is still operating—still pumping oil today. At any given time, the hill and the surrounding Long Beach oil fills were just covered with derricks. At one point, you probably couldn't walk more than 20 to 30 yards without running into another huge oil derrick. It was in the hundreds.
How dependent was Signal Hill on oil back then?
Well, that's why a city was founded. It was an unincorporated part of L.A. County in the Long Beach area, but it was not within Long Beach city limits. So when the oil started becoming very proliferated, Long Beach wanted to charge per oil barrel tax and the land owners at the time were not interested in being overtaken by Long Beach so they decided to incorporate themselves to prevent from paying the oil barrel tax to Long Beach.
So the city of Long Beach actually wanted to take over Signal Hill? How close did that come to happening?
Yes, you can basically say that. I don't know all the details..but it was talked seriously enough and the community leaders at the time took a vote and the majority ruled that they would incorporate and become their own entity and they have been ever since.
What about now when it comes to oil dependency in Signal Hill? How much of the city's revenue comes from oil?
Probably about seven percent. The city itself does not own any wells, but we have the mineral..and so about seven percent of our annual municipal finances come from our oil barrel tax that we impose on the local operators.
There's a celebration this evening to commemorate the day. What's on the agenda?
It's going to be pretty casual. There will be a basic introduction of any dignitaries that are there...our mayor Ed Wilson. And then we've got four or five of our residents who are in their nineties, they'll be sharing stories with us. We've got a lot of historic items on display that people can be able to read about, pick up, touch, feel. We're hoping to stimulate a lot of conversations, allowing people to discover the history of the city.
San Diego food pantry provides healthy food for diabetics
Diabetes can be tough to deal with if you're on a limited income. Managing the disease requires keeping your blood sugar level under control, which means eating healthy food.
And that kind of food isn't always easily available or affordable in poor neighborhoods. But there's a unique food pantry in San Diego which caters to those who have to carefully monitor their diet. The California Report's Kenny Goldberg has more.
New criteria for clemency opens up application process for thousands of federal inmates
Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that the Department of Justice will consider additional applications for clemency, which would primarily affect those convicted of nonviolent drug crimes.
Dr. Barry Krisberg is a Senior Fellow at the UC Berkeley Law School and joins Take Two to discuss how this announcement will potentially affect thousands of inmates.
NOTE: In the segment, Dr. Krisberg is referred to as the Director of Research and Policy and Lecturer in Residence at the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the UC Berkeley Law School.
Mexican border town hit hard as migration patterns shift
In recent decades, a flood of migrants passing through the Northern Mexican town of Altar has fueled the local economy, but migration patterns to the U.S. have shifted.
As a result, the government says two thirds of the restaurants and half the convenience stores in this desert town south of Arizona have closed. From the Fronteras Desk, Jude Joffe-Block reports.
On a recent afternoon, the rain poured down in the Northern Mexican town of Altar. Local priest Padre Prisciliano Peraza drove down a bumpy dirt road that leads out of town.
Peraza has been the priest here in Altar, Sonora, for a decade. In that period this small town boomed as a staging area for migrants preparing to cross the border. But now it appears on the verge of a bust.
This dirt road leads to the border town of Sasabe, some 60 miles away. This very route is also what drove Altar’s growth.
Local businesses sprouted up to feed, house and sell supplies to migrants on their way up to the Arizona desert.
Peraza said among those entrepreneurial endeavours are van businesses that drive migrants on this very road.
“They use old vans, and have taken out the seats so they can fit more people,” Peraza said in Spanish.
Much of this business is controlled by organized crime, which has a strong grip on this town.
But the number of migrants making the harrowing trek across Arizona's border has been falling. It reflects the fact that migration from Mexico has been on a downward trend for the last several years, and that smuggling routes have been changing.
For the first time in 16 years, the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson sector – which covers Southern Arizona – lost its designation as the busiest place to catch migrants last year.
It was surpassed by Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, where agents made almost 155,000 apprehensions last year, a 58 percent uptick from the year before. Tucson Sector made 120,939 apprehensions last year, down from 491,771 ten years ago.
“Before, many more people used to come through here,” said local pharmacist Maria Jaime Peña. She has been selling migrants items like caffeine pills and electrolyte packets for years.
Altar’s local government estimates that four years ago, several thousand migrants came through a day. Now? A couple hundred.
“There’s a lot of Central Americans,” Jaime Peña said of the migrants she’s seen lately. “And I’ve seen women some come through with their babies.”
Those are the same recent trends the Border Patrol has reported, too.
The local government here said about two thirds of Altar’s restaurants and half the convenience stores have closed in the past four years.
Jaime Peña’s store still shows some evidence of the force behind the migrant economy. Like the gallon-size black water jugs she sells for about a dollar.
She says when migrants used the regular clear water jugs they reflected in the moonlight, and made it easier for Border Patrol to spot them. And voila – a business opportunity was born.
A local water bottling company came out with a black water jug and that is what most migrants use, Jaime Peña said.
But now that bottling company says it’s had to diversify its clientele.
On the outskirts of Altar, local families gathered to celebrate a quinceañera, a girl's 15th birthday. A band played in spite of the rain. Many here are worried about the town’s future.
“It’s as if we’re waiting adrift for something miraculous to happen,” said Juan José Corona Moreno, a doctor at the party. “And really if we as citizens don’t do something, this isn’t going to change.”
Corona Moreno thinks the town should return to its roots in ranching and agriculture.
The local government is trying to recruit a maquiladora to provide manufacturing jobs.
That could be the only chance for new employment here, unless another wave of migration picks up.
More immigration cases heading to court
Court-ordered deportations have actually dropped by 43 percent over the past five years. Coincidentally, new data from the Federal Government suggests the drop might, in part, be the result of more immigrants lawyering up.
For more on this, we're joined by Elahe Izadi who's been following the story for National Journal.
Napster founder Sean Parker keeps eye on politics
Napster founder Sean Parker left his mark on the tech industry. But he might have his eyes on politics. The former president of Facebook hired a political director and has been paying visits to big name politicians like New York City mayor Bill de Blasio.
For more, host Alex Cohen is joined by POLITICO's technology reporter Alex Byers.
A closer look at the technology behind Aereo
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case that could decide the future of network television. It involved a startup company called from Long Island City, New York called Aereo, that uses terrestrial technology to offer network television free of cable fees to subscribers in 11 cities.
A decision isn't expected until summer, but here to talk about what's at stake for the future of the TV industry is KPCC business reporter Ben Bergman.
Minorities exposed to more contaminated air than whites
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found that minorities are 40 percent more likely to breathe in air contaminated with nitrogen dioxide. They're calling it the "pollution gap."
Los Angeles ranked among the top ten metropolitan areas with the widest disparity. For more on how it affects the local community, we're joined by Irma Munoz. She is the president of Mujeres de la Tierra, an environmental nonprofit based in Los Angeles.
A Chrome extension that will 'literally' change your life
We've talked about the evolving nature of language on this show before. Like the sound of English during Shakespeare's time or the shifting usage of the word "because." And now, we look at the word that has literally set grammar lovers pants on fire. Okay, so maybe not literally.
A new computer program will help get rid of all of the "literallys" in your life. For more on this, we're joined by Alyssa Bereznak, columnist for Yahoo! Tech.
Maintaining the levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Those who farm, fish or boat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta rely on levees. They form rims around the dozens of islands in the Delta, holding back the water from the farmland.
Reporter Lisa Morehouse set out to explore those levees and filed this story for the California Report.
Apple's new desert data centers
Apple's had its fair share of environmental problems. Related to both its manufacturing practices and its data centers, they're trying to change that though. They've built a series of data centers out in the middle of the desert with renewable energy. They're hoping to help themselves and the environment with these new centers, but they're coming up against problems.
Stephen Levy reported on the topic for Wired and he joins host Alex Cohen to discuss.
Workers discover part of LA's historic water system
Now, a look at a piece of Los Angeles history recently unearthed. In 1781, early residents built the Zanja Madre or Mother Ditch, which brought water from the Los Angeles River to the young pueblo.
Just last month, construction workers digging at a site in Chinatown found a piece of brick pipe that was part of that early water system. And soon enough you'll be able to see it, too.
Nathan Masters writes about L.A. history for Los Angeles Magazine, Gizmodo and KCET and he joins us to discuss.
Study shows ethanol is worse for the environment
A new study on biofuel made from corn residue has shown it to be worse for the environment than gasoline in the short-term. It's not the first time research has cast doubt on the carbon efficiency of these types of fuels.
What's different is this one was funded by the federal government and it flies in the face of current White House policies. Here to tell us more is Dina Cappiello, an environmental reporter for the Associated Press.
Douglas Coupland's latest endeavor: 'Worst. Person. Ever.'
Canadian writer Douglas Coupland made a name for himself back in 1991 with the international bestseller "Generation X. "The novel told the story of the slacker generation, disenfranchised young adults clad in plaid, listening to angry grunge music. Since then, Coupland has written a dozen more novels, seven non-fiction books and several screenplays.
His latest endeavor is called "Worst. Person. Ever." It tells the story of a horrible, foul-mouthed British cameraman named Raymond Gunt, who is in need of money so he takes a gig working for an American reality show set on a remote island. Allergic encounters with macadamia nuts, nuclear explosions and hilarity ensue. Douglas Coupland joins us to explain.