An assessment one year after a police shooting in Missouri rocked the nation, more debate over "illegal immigrant," Tacopedia.
Looking back on Ferguson and the shooting of Michael Brown, one year later
Before August of last year - very few people had ever heard of the small town of Ferguson, Missouri, but that all changed after 18 year old Michael Brown was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer.
The exact accounts of the shooting will probably never be fully discovered, but one thing is certain, it gave rise to a national conversation about race and policing.
We'll talk about it with the Reverend Starsky D. Wilson, president & CEO of Deaconess Foundation, a faith-based grant making organization. He is also the co-chair of the Ferguson Commission, a group of community leaders that was set up after the shooting death of Michael Brown.
We asked him how he would have described the small city of Ferguson before it became a topic of national and international news
I would describe Ferguson as a changing suburb, relatively quiet community but seeing a second wave of migration out of the city of St. Louis, first working class whites that moved, and then African Americans who followed them. But while the demographics were predominantly African American a lot of the leadership had not changed …
But after the incident on August 9th, 2014, the faces did start to change. And earlier this year, the Department of Justice found that the police and the municipal courts in Ferguson were targeting African Americans with tickets and fines … and often, those tickets for relatively minor offenses would turn into arrest warrants.
So we worked with legislators to pass a bill called Senate Bill 5. Senate Bill 5 does a number of things, it puts a cap … on the amount of revenue that any municipality in the state of Missouri can take from minor traffic violations, so that will systematically shift how this targeting happens …
On his hope that in the future, especially as a father, that relationships between the community and police will improve:
I am hopeful and quite frankly it must, there's no where that I can move to in the United States that this would't be a challenge … let's be clear … but I find hope in the fact that people are engaging this on a national level, in the Black Lives Matter movement, and the activation of Millennial activists across the country a network and an energy to sustain the conversation …
To hear the full interview, click the link above.
SoCal reacts to the first GOP debate
Nearly 24 million pairs of eyes were fixed on Cleveland last night. No, Lebron had nothing to do with it.
Ten GOP candidates took to the stage to compete for conservative hearts and minds. Some watched to hear about the issues. But many watched just to see Donald Trump troll the competition. He didn’t disappoint.
Take Two producer Austin Cross went to a viewing party at Taix in Echo Park. Not surprisingly, nearly everyone wanted to talk Trump:
Lisa Garcia Bedolla, a political science and latino studies professor at UC Berkeley, tells Take Two that, despite positive polling, viewers who were expecting to see a more presidential Trump were probably disappointed:
“I feel like he came across as a bit petulant [and] snarky. [His] back and forth with Megyn Kelly about the comments that he’s made about women, did not do him any favors with the electorate, given women actually register and vote at higher rates than men,” she explains. “And as a woman, I think his response to the words he’s used to describe women was insufficient and inappropriate.”
Trump went on to show further contempt for correctness later that evening on Twitter:
"@timjcam: @megynkelly @FrankLuntz @realDonaldTrump Fox viewers give low marks to bimbo @MegynKelly will consider other programs!"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015
Love it or hate it, Garcia Bedolla says Trump’s frequent flippancy had an unexpected effect on the night: it put pressure on the other candidates to make themselves stand out. “I think Cruz had to make himself seem a little bit more belligerent even than he is naturally,” she says. “I think he went even farther in his rhetoric because he felt a need to one-up Trump.” Trump didn’t just display a disregard for women, however, he also doubled-down on his tough immigration policy. Fellow candidates approached the subject more delicately.
When pressed on the subject, Jeb Bush touted his new immigration plan, noting that it did not offer amnesty. Meanwhile, Marco Rubio made a bid to connect with latino voters by sharing how his parents immigrated from Cuba. Garcia Bedolla says this might not have been as effective as Rubio had hoped:
“Two thirds of latinos in the United States are Mexican, and as a Cuban myself, who’s married to a Mexican, I can tell you there are a lot of differences between us and the immigration story is very different. The fact of the matter is Marco Rubio does not represent in his policy positions what most latinos believe in. So while I think people might feel a little more appreciative and positive toward him because of his story, [what] he’s advocating is actually not what latino voters want in terms of public policy, and that, in the end, is what people vote for.”
In her assessment of the GOP field, Garcia Bedolla says none of the candidates introduced many new ideas. Though Reagan’s economic principles are still respected in conservative circles, she says voters wanted to hear about more than trickle-down economics. She says, overall, the GOP ten were frustratingly vague--especially 'The Donald:'
“Trump was the least specific of all. I think at some point, you can only ride your personality for so far and then you’re going to have to say something meaningful.”
Press the play button above to hear more about how the debate was received in California.
The debate over the term 'illegal immigrant'
How do you describe a person who's living in the country illegally? "Undocumented immigrant"? "Illegal alien"? "Illegal immigrant"?
Different news organizations have different standards that have changed over time.
It's not a new debate, but a recent New Yorker article by Jeffrey Toobin that used the term "illegal immigrant" renewed the conversation.
Aly Colón, John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Media Ethics at Washington and Lee University, joins Take Two for a conversation about how journalists choose their words, and why it matters.
To hear the full interview, click the link above.
Flowers can be 'parasitic hotspots' for bees
Flowers can be bright and beautiful and brighten up a room with their fragrance, but they can also be deadly! To bees, at least.
That's according to a recent study from the University of California, Riverside. Peter Graystock, one of the study's author, joined us for more.
Find the best tacos in LA with this taco encyclopedia
From Tacos Al Pastor to Kosher Tacos to Breakfast Tacos, Los Angeles has got every type of taco you can imagine.
No one knows tacos better than Take Two regular Bill Esparza. He has spent years putting together and editing "A Complete Taco Encyclopedia" for Los Angeles Magazine.
He joins A Martinez in the studio to talk about the list and some of his favorite tacos in LA.
To hear the entire conversation, click on the audio embedded above.
Japanese American survivor of Hiroshima retells his story
August 6th marked 70 years since the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. We've all seen the devastating images.
But for Jack Dairiki, those images are a grim reminder of his personal past. He was just a few miles outside of Hiroshima when this happened. He joined us to retell what happened that day.
Press the play button above to hear Jack's story.
Slain Mexican activist and photojournalist spark talks of safety
Some journalists get into the profession to root out corruption and crime. But in Mexico, that can invite danger and even death.
Recently, 32-year-old Nadia Vera, an activist, and photojournalist Ruben Espinosa, tried to escape the threats that dogged their home state of Veracruz. Both fled to Mexico City only to be found bound and shot to death along with others.
Vera is just one of many who've died trying to document her own country. Rafael Castillo, a news producer for Vice News based in Mexico City, has been following this story and he joined us to talk more about this.
Music and film come together this weekend for NEXT FEST
Indie films, music and comedy. You'll find them all at the Sundance NEXT FEST this weekend at the ACE hotel in Downtown LA.
Get ready to watch the premier of Noah Baumbach's 'Mistress America,' and music from the likes of Robert Townsend and Sharon Van Etten.
For more we're joined by festival director John Cooper and programming director Trevor Groth. You can find tickets for individual films here, along with scheduled times.
Kevin Bacon on his role as a corrupt sheriff in 'Cop Car'
'Cop Car' is about two young boys who go for a walk in the Colorado countryside and stumble upon a sheriff's patrol car that has been abandoned.
They horse around in it, pretend to drive it in a high speed chase and then they find the keys. And so, they take it for a spin. They soon find out the officer whose car they took is no ordinary cop.
The cop in question is Sheriff Kretzer played by actor Kevin Bacon. He doesn't say much but he still dominates the screen. He joined us recently to talk more about starring in a film with so little dialogue.
Press the play button above to hear Take Two's Alex Cohen talk to Kevin Bacon.
Sumo wrestlers converge in Long Beach for US Sumo Open
Sumo wrestling is becoming increasingly popular, and for Saturday's US Sumo Open tournament, with 4000 fans expected to turn up at Cal State Long Beach.
Wrestlers from as far away as Russia, Egypt and Uzbekistan will be competing in over 100 matches in just one day.
Take Two's A Martinez talked to the director, Andrew Freund, about the sport and what highlights we should look forward to from the competition.
You can get more information about the event here.
Weekend on the cheap: Avocado everything!
We hope you like avocados, SoCal. Because we're eating avocado-flavored everything this weekend at the third annual Avocado Fest. Also on the docket: Free music, '80s flicks and stinky tofu.
To learn more, we hear from KPCC's social media producer,
, who joins us every Friday with a rundown of fun and almost-free things to do over the weekend.
For more details on these events and for even more ideas, click here.