California's Assembly considers specific proposals for single-payer healthcare, SpaceX gets ready to blast a Tesla Roadster into space, LA tops the 2017 Global Traffic Scorecard for most gridlock.
3 paths to universal health care in California
How effective are needle exchange programs?
Santa Ana has shut down the only needle exchange program serving Orange County. The city denied the program permits to continue operating because of complaints about an increase in discarded needles around the city's Civic Center. The non-profit that runs the program says it's now trying to get back up and running.
Ricky Bluthenthal is a professor of preventative medicine at the University of Southern California who has researched needle exchanges. He said he understands these programs are controversial, but, generally speaking, they have been shown to reduce needle or syringe litter.
"If you have a syringe litter problem, you need more needle exchanges not less, because they give people an incentive to safely dispose of their syringes," Bluthenthal said.
What needle exchange programs offer
Needle or syringe exchanges allow people to get clean needles in return for used ones, which can reduce the spread of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C by reducing needle sharing, Bluthenthal said.
The programs typically offer a range of services, according to Bluthenthal. In addition to exchanging syringes, people can get referrals to drug treatment, housing programs and other social services. Bluthenthal said that his studies have shown one of the benefits of needle exchanges is connecting people to preventive care and other services.
Are they effective?
Studies have shown needle exchanges can lead to declines in needle sharing and fewer incidents of HIV Bluthenthal said. "The scientific literature is unambiguous," he said.
Bluthenthal pointed to San Fransisco as an example of a city with a particularly successful syringe exchange because there were programs across the city open at all hours throughout the week. Research comparing San Fransisco to Miami, a similar-sized city without a needle exchange, showed San Fransisco had far less needle litter and syringe sharing, which can spread disease.
Why needle exchanges are necessary
There has been an increase in people using injected drugs both nationally and in California, Bluthenthal said. The increase is a downstream consequence of the opioid crisis, making needle exchanges all the more necessary.
Google's Waymo v. Uber: Why the legal showdown matters
This week, Silicon Valley is focused on a legal battle between two of the biggest names in driverless technology: Waymo, formerly known as Google’s self-driving car project, and the ride-hailing company, Uber.
Waymo alleges that Uber acquired thousands of files and blueprints to precious trade secrets through hiring one of Waymo’s former star engineers. Uber denies the allegations. The engineer at the center of the case has since been fired from Uber for not cooperating with their legal defense.
The two tech giants began their courtroom showdown Monday with a whirlwind of heated opening statements and damning documents. Take Two’s A Martinez spoke with Alex Davies, transportation editor for WIRED magazine, who has been following the case closely.
Why this case matters
“This industry is quickly becoming a really big deal, and it’s chasing after a market that...could be worth $7 trillion globally...because this is finally the chance for companies [to] get more access to you and your data and your advertising dollars...and so it’s no surprise that it didn’t take very long to see legal battles over who owns the rights to the trade secrets that can actually get you into that car.”
On Waymo’s legal strategy
“There’s a weird tricky and hard to find line between what is general knowledge that an engineer could figure out and absorb over time, and what are actual technical documents...and that’s one of the things that the jury will have to decide over the next couple of weeks is, not just did Levandowski take those documents, which is actually not super disputed...but the big question is, did he bring them to Uber? Did Uber use them? And were they in fact trade secrets? And then on top of that, did Uber actually benefit noticeably from those trade secrets?”
How this might impact California consumers
“This case no matter what happens isn’t going to destroy the self-driving car industry. What it could shape is who controls those cars, and I think that’s going to matter [more than] what kind of car brand you drive today, but who’s controlling the car in which you’re driving and who’s controlling all of the data that comes out of that car.”
These Oscar-nominated costumes are the reel winners
There may not be a single aspect of movie-making that's as important to the craft — or as accessible — as costume design, especially during Oscar season.
"We give little signals through our choices about what's going on in people's minds," said Mark Bridges, Oscar-nominated costume designer for "Phantom Thread."
Every year, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising brings in costume designs nominated for the Academy Awards. KPCC's John Rabe was there on opening night.
A common thread in all nominees
The five films up for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 2018 are: "Beauty and the Beast," "The Shape of Water," "Darkest Hour," "Victoria and Abdul" and "Phantom Thread."
Fashion Institute designer and instructor Nick Verreos pointed out that unlike other years, this year's nominee costumes played an integral part in the film itself. "For these five nominees," the costumes "are almost like a supporting actor."
Victoria and Abdul
"It begins with a closeup of Abdul's sandals, running through India. So the director is giving you not such a subliminal hint of, 'pay attention kids!' Then the next scene is Queen Victoria getting dressed and a closeup of her gowns."
"So now, the director of a second time is really telling the viewer that these costumes will be very important," Verreos said.
Darkest Hour
The film "Darkest Hour" takes place during World War II in Britain. Verreos says Jacqueline Durran, also nominated for "Beauty and the Beast," did some "amazing" research for this film about Winston Churchill.
"She actually went to Henry, Poole & Company, which is a Savile Row tailor, the same one that Winston Churchill used. She brought over one of the tailors to L.A. to fit Gary Oldman in the fat suit and to get that authenticity."
On top of that, Durran also commissioned the same French jewelry company that made Churchill's chain watch.
Rabe also spoke with Verreos about the importance of costumes in the other nominated films -- "Phantom Thread," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Shape of Water." To see some of the costumes highlighted in those films, click through the slideshow above.
Character through costumes
Mark Bridges is up for the Best Costume Oscar for "Phantom Thread," starring Daniel Day-Lewis and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Day-Lewis's character, Reynolds Woodcock, is a neurotic traditionalist at a time when things are rapidly changing.
Bridges told KPCC's John Rabe how he reflected this in his costume design.
"What we worked out with Paul and Daniel is the kind of fabrics like lace and velvets and satins which were really kind of old-fashioned fabrics. He learned his craft at the turn of the century, and I actually think that he was just about going out of vogue at the end of the '50s when things were changing into what we think of as the '60s."
The exhibit is on display through April 7 at FIDM's Downtown LA campus, at 919 S. Grand Avenue.
Los Angeles has the worst traffic in the world — again
When you joke to your friends that L.A. has the worst traffic in the world, it's actually true. For the sixth straight year, Los Angeles took the top spot on the Global Traffic Scorecard. That means we are number one for congestion -- out of more than a thousand different cities.
LA drivers spent 102 hours in gridlock last year during peak time periods, according to the transportation analytics firm INRIX.
"LA has a booming economy, so as the economy grows, more people have jobs, more people are on the road. Also, obviously, just the sheer number of people in the L.A. metro area adds to congestion and the sprawling metropolitan area also adds to the congestion," said Mark Burfeind, communications director for INRIX.
He said one L.A. road is especially bad.
"Surprisingly even though L.A. is the top-ranked most congested city in the world, L.A. only has one worst congested road in the U.S. and that's on the 10 eastbound between Figueroa and the 110, with commuters wasting an average of 74 hours a year," he said.
All that time playing bumper cars can be costly, too.
The average Angeleno driver pays $2,828 each year in wasted fuel, time and other indirect costs. The more commercial vehicles idle in traffic, the more they cost, and those costs are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
L.A. may have the worst traffic in the world, but it's in good company. New York drivers ranked second, spending 91 hours slogging it out on the road. San Francisco ranked fifth; drivers there spent 79 hours staring at bumpers.
As a whole, the United States has the dubious distinction of being the most congested developed country in the world. Ten U.S. cities were among the top 25 worldwide for worst traffic congestion.
A new Hamilton remix features Aloe Blacc
Every week our music experts tell us what's new in the world of music. This week, Take Two contributor Oliver Wang reviews some new tracks from Chris Dave and the Drumhedz, SiR and the newest Hamilton remix featuring L.A. native, Aloe Blacc.
Chris Dave and the Drumhedz
Song: Black Hole (featuring Anderson paak)
This first selection is from jazz composer/leader Chris Dave. Drumhedz is a loose collective of other artists, many from L.A., contributing to this new album, not unlike Robert Glasper’s Black Radio series from a couple years back. It's very eclectic and pushes sonic boundaries.
Dave, a drummer since the age of three, has played with musicians like D’Angelo and John Legend; he also worked on Adele's "21" album.
Here he is in action:
SiR
Album: November
Song: Dreaming of Me
SiR is the stage name for Inglewood native singer/songwriter Darryl Farris. He's signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, the same label as Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Schoolboy Q. He's also prominently featured on the Drumhedz album.
Various artists - including Aloe Blacc
Song: I Wrote My Way Out Remix
Part of the “Hamildrop” series of “Hamilton” soundtrack remixes. Last year Lin Manuel Miranda announced a follow-up to his highly successful Hamilton Mixtape, but instead of one mix tape, he said it would be something called Hamildrops … which bring new Hamilton content every month through December 2018.
This month’s Hamildrop features Royce 5’9”, Joyner Lucas, Black Thought and L.A.’s Aloe Blacc, best known for his singles "I Need a Dollar" and "The Man."