Today on the show we'll start with a look at the state of immigration reform, as advocacy groups plan to play hardball with GOP lawmakers. Then, Gov. Jerry Brown has two more years to reduce the California prison population. Our Tuesday Reviewsday critics introduce us to new tunes by Neneh Cherry, Romeo Santos and more.
Immigration reform groups to start playing hardball with GOP lawmakers
Starting today, a number of immigration reform advocacy groups say it's time to start playing hardball with Republican lawmakers.
They plan to target Congressmen in an aggressive new campaign at public appearances and hearings. The shift comes as House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell last week conceded that it's unlikely an overhaul of the nation's immigration system could happen this year.
Those in the Obamacare 'affordability gap' risk futures in medical debt
One in four families in America currently faces medical debt. The Affordable Care Act aims to curb issues with health care access, and in turn lessen debt. But in an Obamacare America, some populations continue to be barred from access and could still be facing mounting bills.
From the Fronteras Desk, Tristan Ahtone reports.
Maria Cabrera owed $57,000 dollars after she suffered a heart attack and ended up in an Albuquerque hospital.
“Once I was out of the hospital, I got completely in debt,” Cabrera said. “The debt was so large that I don’t even know what’s going on.”
A large amount of that debt was cut down through financial assistance, but she says the debt collectors are still calling, and she’s unclear of just how much she owes.
“It’s more difficult to live with this situation than it would be if I would have died and it all would have ended,” Cabrera said. “I wouldn’t have to deal with this: living in debt that’s so high and living with such a difficult situation.”
One in four families in America currently faces medical debt. The Affordable Care Act aims to curb issues with health care access, and in turn lessen debt. But in an Obamacare America, some populations continue to be barred from access and could still be facing mounting bills.
Cabrera’s story isn’t uncommon, but the twist here is her immigration status. She’s in the country legally, with documents, but has been waiting for her green card for almost 13 years. Because of her status, she’s ineligible for Medicaid and cannot work. That means she can’t pay her bills.
“I don’t want to downplay the importance of the Affordable Care Act and expanded Medicaid — it’s going to provide care to a lot of people — but still, in Bernalillo County, we’re going to have this incredible gap,” said Kate O’Donnell, a Promotora, or community health worker, in Albuqurque and Cabrera’s medical debt case manager. “We’re going to have a lot of ill, very low-income people who are going to be in this situation, trapped in a situation that they didn’t choose and cannot get out of.”
An estimated 60,000 residents in New Mexico continue to lack access to affordable health care because they can’t afford a cheap plan on the exchange, or because of their immigration status.
“I don’t anticipate the number of clients that I serve going down,” O’Donnell said. “I anticipate it going up. I don’t anticipate being out of a job soon, anytime, ever.”
“The population that a lot of people are focusing on is the population that is undocumented immigrants,” said Rachel Garfield, a senior researcher for the Kaiser Family Foundation. “These individuals are not eligible for any assistance under the law and in some states, that accounts for a notable share of the uninsured population.”
It’s estimated that some 85,000 undocumented immigrants live in New Mexico — across the Southwest more than 4.5 million — which means, even as the Affordable Care Act rolls out, a sudden illness for many will mean medical debt. And more debt means that patients postpone care because of the mounting costs.
“Clients who have medical debt are less willing to go to the doctor again for a different treatment, and also to continue the treatments that they have been prescribed,” O’Donnell said.
Like O’Donnell's client, Maria Cabrera.
“There are appointments I don’t go to anymore,” Cabrera said. “They just pile up more debt and I don’t want to go anymore. There are times when I just play deaf when I get calls reminding me that I have an appointment. I don’t want to go anymore. It just adds more debt.”
Cabrera says she wakes up every morning and searches for some form of work so she can pay her bills. But the collections agencies keep calling, and she keeps waiting for her green card so she can finally gain access to health care.
With two-year extension, California ponders prison population reduction
A federal three-judge panel ruled yesterday that Governor Jerry Brown now has two more years to reduce the state's prison population. Michael Montgomery, a reporter with the Center for Investigative Reporting, joins the show to talk about how California will meet this new deadline and how prisoners are reacting to the news.
Environmentalists wary of Obama's drought-viewing trip to Fresno
President Obama is coming to California to visit Fresno at the end of the week, where he'll get a first hand view of how the drought is affecting this state.
As The San Francisco Chronicle's Carolyn Lochhead reports, some environmentalists are fretting about the trip. Lochhead joins the show with more.
Drought: Ranchers already making tough decisions
A warm, wet weather system could bring as much as a half-foot of rain to some parts of California this weekend. Even so, the state's top water official says we'd need to get significant precipitation every other day through May just to get back to normal.
Despite the wet weather forecast, we're hearing things like "unprecedented" and "uncharted territory" to describe California's drought.
Among the first and hardest-hit are ranchers and farmers who are now faced with some tough choices -- and the decisions they'll soon be making will have a ripple effect from the farm to the table.
The California Report's Vinnee Tong explains.
What the LA Metropolitan Water District learned from previous droughts
More than a dozen communities throughout California may not have enough water to last another two months. Then there's Southern California.
The Metropolitan Water District actually has a surplus of the wet stuff. Now the big question is what to do with it? For more on that we're joined now by the district's general manager Jeffrey Kightlinger.
Richmond school uses mindfulness to teach coping skills
Plenty of school kids deal with a world of emotional problems, but some kids have a whole host of issues greater than the usual. Drug abuse in the home, incarcerated parents or even homelessness.
Across the state, some schools are experimenting with mindfulness training -- or meditation -- as a way to help students. Reporter Katrina Schwartz visited the Bay Area city of Richmond to find out how the new approach is working.
Tuesday Reviewsday: Neneh Cherry, Romeo Santos, Hurray for the Riff Raff and Ana Tijoux
It's Tuesday, which means that it's time for Tuesday Reviewsday, our weekly new music segment. This week we're joined by music critic Steve Hochman and Justino Aguila from Billboard Latin.
Steve's Picks
Artist: Neneh Cherry
Album: Blank Project
Release Date: Feb. 25 (available for pre-order now)
Song: "Blank Project" "Out of the Black"
Twenty-five years ago, Neneh Cherry was one of the most intriguing, dynamic and promising figures in music — her 1989 debut album "Raw Like Sushi" album and single "Buffalo Stance" presaging the full integration of hip-hop into pop culture we now take for granted. After a couple more albums she pretty much went away, with only sporadic appearances in group or guest contexts.
Two years ago the Swedish-born artist came back with a largely improvisational collaboration with the Thing, a Swedish group inspired by her stepfather, jazz iconoclast Don Cherry. That bracing album has now proved a table-setter for her real return, Blank Project, her first solo album in 16 years.
As the title implies, it's something of a blank slate, or at least feels as fresh and brash as the arrival a quarter century ago. The title song is about the tug of war for place and identity in a relationship, but the notions are just as applicable to an artist finding her place. She's approaching 50 now, so while the tone is mature and considered, but still retaining a brash restlessness and refusal to settle that was her youthful hallmark.
The album finds her collaborating with English duo RocketNumberNine and produced by English electronic figure, FourTet, the overall approach being a spare, rhythm-centric backing for her vocals, sung and spoken, playful and somber.
While her renown faded over the years as she stayed in the shadows, her influence can still be felt in many quarters of bold artists making daring combinations of dance, rap and pop as vehicles for strong, aware lyrics. One of them guests here, Swedish star Robyn duetting with Cherry on the spirited "Out of the Black." Let's hope she doesn't let the slate go blank again.
Artist: Hurray for the Riff Raff
Album: Small Town Heroes
Release Date: Feb. 11
Songs: "St. Roch Blues" "I Know It's Wrong (But That's Alright)"
Alynda Lee Segarra, who for all purposes is Hurray for the Riff Raff, is getting labeled a protest singer. But that tells you something when someone is thought unusual and forceful simply because she sings about the world she sees. Which is not to say that there is no protest aspect to the song "St. Roch Blues," an account of a teenager's murder spree in her New Orleans neighborhood and the centerpiece of the new Riff Raff album "Small Town Heroes."
She rhymes "People are dying" and "I feel like crying" as if it was the most romantically melancholy thing to say, which just deepens the impact of the couplet chorus, a truly emotional response, not a slogan or call to action per se. It's a perfect interweaving of documentary and art, each side making the other stronger.
The album's title and songs along the lines of "Crash on the Highway" — not to mention the common-people celebration of the band name — might bring Bruce Springsteen to mind, if the folky Americana sounds don't. There's also a clear nod to the Band, whose Levon Helm is memorialized in "Levon's Dream." But this is neither old-timey, nor old-timers music. It's shares as much spirit with young Lorde as with just-departed Pete Seeger.
And though she's based in New Orleans, this is not "New Orleans" music per se. Rather it draws on a full, varied life: She was raised in the Bronx and after running away at 17 lived a vagabond life around the country before settling in the Crescent City, eventually joining the vibrant world of street musicians and then the more formalized pursuit of a musical life. With a revolving cast of support, she has made several albums now as Hurray for the Riff Raff, building a colorful, confident artistry. This one has the feel, and the buzz, of a breakthrough, aided by her now being on the ATO label, founded by Dave Matthews with a roster that includes My Morning Jacket
Not everything is topical. The frisky country-esque "I Know It's Wrong (But That's Alright)," among others, is about feeling. But then what's more topical than that? Nothing to protest here.
Justino's Picks
Artist: Romeo Santos
Album: Formula, Vol. 2
Release date: Feb. 25
Songs: "Odio (feat. Drake)", "Propuesta Indecente "
Romeo Santos, the "King of Bachata" music, returns with Formula, Vol. 2, his follow up to Formula, Vol. 1. The album's single "Odio" (Hate), already had a No. 1 debut on several Billboard charts; the song features Drake.
Santos, who a 17-time finalist in 14 categories including Artist of the Year for the Billboard Latin Music Awards, is back with an arsenal of music in the style of bachata, the Afro-Latino genre with its roots based in the Dominican Republic. While these sounds have been heard for many years, it's Santos' smooth vocals stands on their own. Then when you add collaborations with artists such as Nicki Minaj and Drake what you get a very modern spin that's made Santos a powerhouse of an entertainer resonating with millions of fans in a major way.
Santos' track "Propuesta Indecente" (Indecent Proposal) illustrates Santos' sound which works well in the bachata-style which he developed as part of the bachata boy band Aventura before going solo in 2011. Santos co-founded Aventura with his cousin Henry Santos and brothers Lenny Santos and Max Santos.
In "Odio" ("Hate") you hear the vocals of Drake's vocals and raps against the backdrop of the traditional bachata sounds: lead guitar, rhythm guitar, electric bass guitar, bongos and güira. Bachata music is really receiving a new audience and these collaborations also speak to the rise in the genre with Santos at the epicenter.
Artist: Ana Tijoux
Album: "Vengo"
Release date: March 18
Songs: "Vengo," "Los Peces Gordos No Pueden Volvar"
Ana Tijoux returns with "Vengo," another album that shows the French-Chilean's powerful raps in music that goes deep in theme, while having strong rhythmic appeal that's pointed, mesmerizing and stealth. Tijoux tackles ancestry, roots and mother earth in lyrics that really pop and give insights into the poetic mind of one of the most fascinating writers of her generation who is starting to reach a bigger audience thanks to her growing spotlight. Tijoux became more visible when the popular "Breaking Bad" series featured her music.
In the track "Los Peces Gordos No Pueden Volar" (The Fat Fish Can't Fly), Tijoux raps in a composition that has a jazzy/pop vibe in lyrics that speak to the injustices of life, In this rap you hear a concerned mother cautioning.
This album is the follow-up to Tijoux's critically acclaimed La Bala, which received Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations. The rapper, who was born to a French mother and a Chilean father in political exile during Pinochet's dictatorship, gives a refreshing, glowing worldview perspective that's reflected in her music.
Dog discrimination uncovered at the Westminster dog show
As the 138th Annual Westminster Dog Show continues Tuesday, we take a look at the discrimination towards dachshunds, who have never won the competition's top prize of Best in Show.
Paul M. Barrett investigated this for Bloomberg Businessweek and joined us to share his findings.
Olympic luger Kate Hansen of La Cañada on the Sochi experience
Women competed in the single luge event at the Winter Olympics in Sochi Tuesday. Among those representing the USA was southern Californian Kate Hansen of La Cañada.
RELATED: 5 California Olympians you should follow on Instagram and Twitter
Hansen's father owns Los Gringos Tacos in La Cañada, and he's been posting updates on his daughter's progress to his restaurant's website. One thing we know about Hansen is her favorite way to warm up before a race: dancing to Beyoncé.
She was the national luge champion last year, and in 2008, she was the youngest junior world champion in the singles team relay at just 15.
Hansen finished the Olympic single luge competition in 10th place, but her teammate, Erin Hamlin, won bronze, making her the first American to win an Olympic medal in the sport. But failing to medal hasn't fazed Hansen at all. She took some time out of her busy schedule to tell us about her experience competing in Sochi and what she was doing when she heard her teammate had won a medal.
Interview Highlights
On her experience at Sochi so far:
"It's been pretty unbelievable to say the least. It's been my dream to come to the Olympics my entire life, so it's pretty surreal to be on the same level as these athletes that I'm meeting."
On whether she's worried about getting hurt doing luge:
"Honestly, I haven't. I actually broke my foot at the beginning of the season, before trials, and I got back on the slide two days later. At this point in my career it's just something that I do every day and even though I broke my foot I still showed up and ended up winning a race that weekend. So it's a pretty unbelievable thing. Part of the tragedy that happened in Vancouver, it's really unfortunate and really sad that it happened, but as far as the athletes go, no, we're not worried."
On whether she was nervous to compete:
"Honestly I wasn't that nervous. It's been such a long season for me and we race every weekend, so really it's just another race for me. It was against the same athletes that I've been competing against all year. So it really just felt like another weekend on the job. Honestly, sitting at the start I just had a huge smile on my face, I was so stoked to be representing my country at the Olympics, so I was all smiles."
On the moment when she hit the wall during a run:
"It could have ended up a lot worse, so I'm just grateful that I stayed in it. How could I not be enjoying this experience? This has been such a dream come true, so even if I had a bad run...how could I not enjoy what was going on around? I was just stoked to take every run."
On her teammate, Erin Hamlin, being the first U.S. woman to medal in luge:
"It was a big deal for us. When they have the flower ceremony after the run, I wasn't there, I was crying. She's one of my best friends and she deserves it all. She's one of the hardest working athletes I know and she is just amazing at what she does, so I could not be more happy for her."
Folk art icon and Salvation Mountain creator Leonard Knight dies
For those traveling in the remote Imperial Valley in Southern California, the adobe mound of colorful paintings that rose from the desert floor was a striking image.
Known as Salvation Mountain, its long-time creator, Leonard Knight, died Monday at a convalescent hospital in eastern San Diego County, where he had lived for two years. He was 82 and had suffered from diabetes.
Arriving in California in the early 1980s, the Vermont native began work on his life's project atop a terraced hill in the Imperial Valley near the Salton Sea. Salvation Mountain is now about three stories tall and 100 feet long, emblazoned with "god is love" and topped with a cross.
The land is owned by the state, and Knight's devoted followers are hoping to preserve the art installation as a historic site. We’re joined now by Zack Godshall, a filmmaker who spent time with Knight for a 2009 documentary called "God’s Architects."
In 'Hidden Girl,' writer Shyima Hall recounts her life in slavery
This is how Shyima Hall begins her memoir, "Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave":
"Everyone has a defining moment in his or her life. For some it is the day they get married or have a child. For others it comes when they reach a sought-after goal. My life, however, drastically changed course the day my parent's sold me into slavery. I was 8 years old."
It's a harrowing tale of how a young girl wound up becoming a child slave for years, both in her home country of Egypt and after her captors smuggled her into the U.S.
Hall joins the show to talk about her experiences and what it was like to write it all down for others to read.
Students from Japan wow LA churches with gospel music
Every year in several black churches throughout Los Angeles, an unexpected performance happens.
One that knocks parishioners off their feet.
"It ranges from shock all the way to tears," said filmmaker Rosylyn Rhee, about their reaction to the Tokyo Mass Choir. The gospel choir is composed of over 100 Japanese students, few of whom speak English at all or are familiar with the cultural traditions of gospel at all.
sneak preview of SUPERNATURAL from Rosylyn Rhee on Vimeo.
Since 1996, choir director Richard Hartley has helped to train these students in the very basics of the style — a remarkable feat considering the outward expression of gospel contrasts drastically with the culture of Japan.
"They're very concerned about their social status, what they wear, what people think, being correct," says Hartley. However, he said, "I think the music really liberates people. Once they got the okay that they wouldn't be frowned upon if they participated, then it was an avalanche. They were screaming, dancing, clapping."
The students come from all over Japan through the Jikei International network of schools.
"Jikei's often considered like a 'dump school,' where parents will dump their kids who haven't gotten into a higher university," said Rhee. But in performing with the choir, she says there's an important transformation for many of these students.
"The audience is so giving and loving and open with their own expression of emotion which is really so meaningful for them. As cheesy as it sounds, I think they just feel more connected to love and themselves," she said.
The choir, itself, is composed of the school's first year students who will go through several months of "boot camp" with their director in Japan and with Hartley as well. Then they travel to Los Angeles to perform before black churches to showcase their talents and what they've learned.
"They're so moved that their tradition is being authentically honored," says Rhee.
Her documentary about the choir, "Supernatural," is currently in production and is expected to be released in 2015. Meanwhile, the choir will be heading back to L.A. in October.