After almost five years as head of DCFS, Philip Browning is stepping down, Apple and VW enter the autonomous car, Wells Fargo tries to kill individual lawsuits.
3 ways a Trump, Pruitt EPA could affect California
One of President-elect Donald Trump's most recent cabinet picks has several environmental groups on alert.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has been chosen to head the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA.
Pruitt is closely linked with the fossil fuel industry and has publicly denied the severity of climate change. Critics worry that in his new role, Pruitt will roll back environmental protection policies advanced under President Obama's tenure.
So what impact could a Pruitt EPA have in the Golden State?
Cara Horowitz, co-executive director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA, says California leads the nation with respect to climate regulations and that will put the state in a unique position over the next four years.
The big three
1. It could become more expensive for California to meet environmental limits already in place in the state.
"If tax credits for solar, and wind energy generation disappears, it becomes more expensive to meet those California goals," Horowitz says. "If there is less research and development money for technological advancements, again, it's harder."
2. California will have to find new energy partners.
"There are less and fewer incentives for other states to join us. It will become more important for California to reach out and fund those partners itself," Horowitz says. "The state's job on climate becomes harder even though California's progressive policies will remain in place."
3. California will have a significant leadership role in the country.
"In the same sense that Oklahoma and Texas and other states fought the EPA during the Obama Administration, I think California may take on some of that role during the Trump administration," Horowitz says. "[California] will take on the role of demonstrating what climate policies work while we're growing our economy in California. And I think becomes even more important state-to-state and sub-national-to-sub-national."
Press the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
(Answers have been edited for clarity.)
U.S. Surgeon General's new review warns youth about dangers of e-cigarettes
A new review out today from the U.S. Surgeon General reveals some startling findings about teenagers and e-cigarettes.
The use of e-cigarettes among high school students has increased by 900% in just a matter of a few years. The review, the most comprehensive to date, also includes information on the connection between vaping and mood disorders, problems focusing and a link to nicotine addiction.
For more on the health concerns this trend raises is Jennifer Unger, professor of Preventative Medicine at USC. She contributed to research in the report.
Trump tweets about you. How do you respond?
When the leader of the free world speaks, it commands attention.
But when that leader calls you out on Twitter, what do you do?
Donald Trump hasn't taken office, yet, but a few days ago his tweets have targeted Boeing and the leader of the United Steelworkers union.
Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016
Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2016
This may be the future of a Trump presidency, where he uses social media to zero in on specific corporations and people.
"I think it may catch our companies off-guard when he uses that medium, but that's the new reality," says crisis communications expert Alan Caldwell of Cerrell Associates. "It appears that it is his medium of communication, so companies have to prepare for that new world."
Past presidents haven't shied away from calling out organizations in the past, but those times were usually in controlled environments like a press conference. Companies may have even had a chance to meet with the president behind closed doors to argue their case.
At the very least, they might foresee that the president may speak out against them.
But Trump's embrace of Twitter adds in an element of surprise.
"You're not going to have any warning of which way the administration may come at you," says Caldwell. "Companies need to put together a crisis plan that they can implement quickly if they become the target of President-elect Trump's ire on social media"
Caldwell shares some professional advice on what regular people and corporations can both do to respond if they're targeted.
Stay calm
"People tend to go into panic mode," he says. It's the president, after all.
But he reminds people to resist the urge to reflexively respond or to clap back.
"If you get into a situation where you are arguing with the leader of the free world, that may end up hurting you more than helping you," says Caldwell.
Don't ignore the problem. And use a respectful tone
Put your most classy food forward.
"We've got make sure that we protect revenue, shareholders, your reputation," he says. "Let's find a way to respond that's still respectful of the office but continues to protect the brand and reputation of our organization."
Facts are your friend
In the face of fake news or people playing fast and loose with reality, it's best to always rely on facts and cite your sources.
It makes your position much stronger.
"You can't get into a situation where you're going back-and-forth," says Caldwell. "When you state the facts, always add where the fact is coming from to dispel some of those rumors."
Put a personal face to your response
Caldwell gives Boeing an A for its response to Trump's tweet.
"They were authentic, they made a nod to the taxpayers to show that they cared about the American people, and eventually they came back and had a statement from the CEO," he says.
That last part is very important: sway the American public with a person, not a faceless corporation.
"Normally, you'd have a communicator like myself make a statement, but if the President-elect makes a statement about you, show leadership," says Caldwell. "Companies have to put their CEOs or someone in the suite out there to be the spokesperson for the company."
How Wells Fargo uses arbitration to kill lawsuits over sham accounts
2016 has not been a stellar year for Wells Fargo.
The banking company has come under fire for secretly creating as many as two million unauthorized bank and credit card accounts.
Wells Fargo has begged customers to stay with them, promising to make things right for all those who had to pay fees for accounts they never consented to.
But actions speak louder than words, and in courtrooms across the country, Wells Fargo has been trying to kill lawsuits brought against it by forcing them into private arbitration.
New York Times reporter Michael Corkery joined Take Two to explain how the private arbitration process works against consumers.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue media player above.
5 things Californians should know about tsunamis
Early Thursday morning, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake shook parts of Northern California, although the quake itself occurred 100 miles off the coast of Eureka. While tremors were felt on land, no damage or injuries have been reported, and there appears to be no danger of a tsunami.
This quake has some wondering, what would it take for a tsunami to hit the California Coast?
Take Two's A Martinez spoke with Elizabeth Cochran. She's a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
1. Risk for tsunami really depends on the quake's location
If we had a subduction zone event— that's where you would have the sea floor being pushed upwards and as a result the water would also be pushed upwards and then flow away from that spot— that's when you get a tsunami generated.
Going up further north in California and into Oregon and Washington, there's a pretty high hazard for tsunamis if there's a large earthquake.
2. Long distance quakes have been felt in California
This area is a fairly active area for earthquakes, even as large as the one we saw today. The nice things about this earthquake— if there is something nice about earthquakes— is that it occurred about 150 kilometers offshore. And so, there was only moderate shaking that was felt onshore.
We could have a tsunami affect the entire west coast of the U.S. from a large magnitude earthquake that occurs as far away as Alaska or even in Japan. So you can have these tsunamis that travel across the entire ocean basin and affect regions fairly far away. We have seen that in the past with some larger events.
3. The risk is different in Northern and Southern California
The very northern most part of California where this event occurred is at the highest risk for a local tsunami. And that's because they have the offshore faults that are capable of generating tsunamis. Down in Southern California, we have a few offshore faults but they pose lower hazards to generation of tsunamis.
4. The time from quake to tsunami wave could be minutes or hours
It depends how far away you are from where that earthquake occurs and where that tsunami is generated. Tsunamis travel approximately at the speed of a jumbo jet so it can actually take hours for a tsunami to transverse across the Pacific Ocean.
For those types of events where you're looking at tsunamis generated far away, there are a number of ocean buoys that detect the tsunami and can be used to issue a warning. It's more difficult for local tsunamis because the time is, of course, quite a bit shorter. They can occur within minutes of the earthquake. That's why the recommendation is, if you're near the coast and you feel strong shaking, that you should move inland.
5. If you do feel a quake, best head to high ground
A few years ago, there was a tsunami warning for parts of the California coast and so alerts went out. The recommendation was for people to be aware that the tsunami was approaching. And I think in this case, I think the expected tsunami was going to be relatively small but they encouraged people to stay away from the beaches and at lower lying areas, to move inland.
For more information on the dangers faced in your area and evacuation procedures, visit the Governor's Office of Emergency Services website, MyHazards.
City council unanimously passes new restrictions on 'McMansions'
For years now, huge homes have been cropping up in neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles. Plenty of Angelenos are frustrated by this trend known as mansionization.
L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz represents Council District 5 which includes Bel Air, Century City and Encino. He thinks it's high time something's done about this and yesterday he and his colleagues did just that.
Alex Cohen spoke with Councilman Koretz about the new restrictions they'll place on residential development.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
CA lawmakers return to work, vote count ends, and Sen. Boxer exits
On this week's State of Affairs, California lawmakers get back to work, more candidates jump into the race for the 34th Congressional District, and the end of an era on Capitol Hill.
Joining Take Two to discuss the news in California government and politics:
- Mary Plummer, KPCC's Senior Politics Reporter
- Carla Marinucci, Politico's California Playbook Reporter
SFO gets piggy with it: Meet the airport's newest therapy animal
You heard it here first. Pigs DO fly.
Well, not exactly, but there is one little piggie making travel a little more pleasurable for passengers at San Francisco international airport. Her name is LiLou and she's a part of SFO's WAG brigade.
A Martinez spoke to Jennifer Henley about LiLou and the SFO program. She's the Animal Assisted Therapy manager with the San Franciso Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"The WAG brigade is a partnership, between the San Francisco SPCA and San Francisco international airport," Henley told Martinez, "Where we take dogs and now one pig into the airport to provide stress relief for passengers."
The WAG brigade was formed in 2013 when SFO reached out to the San Francisco SPCA and tapped their animal assisted therapy program.
"Travel is stressful, as I think all of us can appreciate," said Henley, "And the goal is to provide some enjoyment for passengers. Sometimes passengers are nervous about travel, so to kind of comfort them, alleviate that stress and just to provide a more enjoyable travel experience for the people coming through SFO."
And just in time for all that stressful holiday travel, LiLou the pig has made her debut on the WAG brigade. But as is evident from her many costumes and painted hooves, she's no ordinary pig.
"She has a toy piano that she can play, she does twirls, she waves to passengers," said Henley of LiLou's many tricks, "She can jump up, she bows and she knows when you say 'photo' to look at the camera."
For more on the WAG brigade and its newest recruit, click the blue play button above.
Can't get enough LiLou? You can see more of her costumes and adventures on her Instagram.
This post has been updated.