Los Angeles prepares for the largest storm in 12 years, LA bridges deemed "structurally deficient," Scottish Festival at the Queen Mary.
Tips for surviving the ‘atmospheric river’ storm hitting LA
As much as half a foot is expected to come down over the the next twenty-four hours and it could be the wettest day we've had around here in over a decade.
To help you through this "atmospheric river," Take Two put together some tips to keep in mind.
Navigating the roads
It's the kind of day where if you don't absolutely have to drive, you're probably smart to stay off the roads.
But if you do have to get somewhere, we've got three key things you need to know when driving in a storm courtesy of Jeffrey Spring, of the Auto Club of Southern California.
1. Check out your vehicle
Tires: make sure they're in good condition and make sure they're at the recommended inflation rate. Driving with moderate tread or bald tires can be a major factor in skidding.
Windshield wiper blades: streaks or stripping on the windshield are signs of a worn wiper blade. It's not going to do much to remove the water and that's really important because you need to have really clear visibility.
Brakes: Especially after you drive through a couple of puddles, you want to make sure to check your brakes periodically to see that they're still working. Sometimes water can make the brakes a little slippery. You want to check by tapping them gently a few times when it's safe to do so.
Headlights and Windshield Defroster: headlights increase your visibility in the rain. Using a defroster will help keep the windows clear so you can see out of the front windows and the side windows.
2. Avoid hydroplaning
Don't brake suddenly. That will send you into a skid and possibly a spin. What you want to do is slow down without brakes if you can or gently tap your brakes until you can feel that you've regained traction with the road. You just want to make sure you don't respond or react too quickly or too harshly because that'll really throw you into a skid.
3. Change tactics in heavy downpour
You want to leave more distance between you and the vehicle in front of you. You really want to slow down. One key reason for that is it give you more time to scan the road in front of you you're looking for pooled water on the road or even potholes. And if you're following the car in front of you too closely, then you're not going to have time to see and avoid the pothole in front of you.
For Duarte residents
This morning, a mandatory evacuation order went into effect for 180 homes in the city of Duarte. We checked in for an update with Karen Herrera. She's Duarte's Deputy City Manager and Public Information Officer.
"It's subject to mud slides and rock slides particularly the area of Mel Canyon and its adjoining streets," said Herrera. "Today between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM, they were anticipating an inch of rain per hour. And maybe up to a total of 10 inches for the event. So as a result of that and LA County Department of Public Works issuing a phase two mud flow alert, we decided it was definitely in the best interest and the safest for our residents– especially for those in the Fish Fire impact area to be out of harm's way.
If you don't evacuate, you're taking a risk
If they decide not to leave –and they also have that option too even though we can encourage them as much as we can– they do have to sign a form letting them know that they're definitely placing themselves in harm's way and if there was an emergency we would do everything we could to rescue them, but we can't guarantee it.
If you need somewhere to go
The city in concert with the Red Cross has an evacuation site. It's been operating since 7 AM this morning at our community center at 1600 Huntington Drive. they can bring their pets. We've got LA County Animal Control on site. We've got meals. We've got TV's. We've got everything we can to keep them comfortable. Adn if need be, we can accommodate up to 40 persons to spend the night tonight.
Tips from a rainy weather veteran
L.A. transplants from rain heavy parts of the country are looking at us with some pity. So, Seattle native, KPCC's Libby Denkmann shared some wisdom for taking on life in the rain.
https://www.facebook.com/taketwoshow/videos/1368771596500140
Quotes edited for clarity
To hear the full rain day rundown of tip, click on the blue Media Player arrow above
State of Affairs: Conservatives criticize Gov. Brown, CA Dems demand Flynn-Russia transcripts
Today on State of Affairs:
- Congressman Adam Schiff and Minority Leader Nanci Pelosi are among those demanding more information about ex-security advisor Michael Flynn and his dealings with Russia.
- Some conservatives are blaming Governor Jerry Brown for this week's crisis at the Oroville dam.
- At a press conference Thursday, President Trump says a replacement for his travel ban could come as early as next week.
Guests:
Carla Marinucci, senior writer for Politico's California Playbook.
Thad Kousser, professor of political science at UC San Diego.
Press the blue play button above to hear Take Two's new Friday edition of State of Affairs.
First dams, now bridges? Some shaky spans in Southern California
The eroding spillways at the Oroville dam drew attention to other possible problems with our water infrastructure. Now, a new report says there are more than a few bridges in Southern California that need some serious attention.
The American Road & Transportation Builders Association released a report, based on government data, ranking America's worst bridges. And there's actually some good news.
Nationwide, fewer bridges are structurally deficient this year over last year. And more good news, California has steadily been improving its ranking relative to other states. Less than six percent of California bridges are structurally deficient, according to the federal bridge inventory.
The bad news is that the top 14 most-traveled underperforming bridges are in California, and some of them are in the LA area.
The worst of them is in Gardena, just north of the 405 interchange. It runs over the Dominguez Channel, and it has been deemed "structurally deficient." An inspection revealed that while the underpinnings of the bridge are in good shape, the deck is not.
All told, the industry group estimates it will take about $13 billion to repair the 4000 suspect bridges in California. The Governor's budget sets aside more than that - about $17 billion - for bridge and culvert repair over the next ten years.
Should immigrants be required to assimilate?
Many would agree that the immigration system in America is far from ideal.
But when it comes to deciding who should be allowed into the country and who shouldn't, things can get pretty complicated.
So what are some ways to break the stalemate over immigration policy? And what should be required of those entering the country?
Take Two put that question to:
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, chair of the department of economics at San Diego State University, specializing in immigration policy
Ben Boychuk, managing editor for the conservative website American Greatness and a regular columnist for the Sacramento Bee
Ben: I'll jump right into it. What's your biggest concern about our approach to immigration in the country?
My biggest concern isn't people streaming across the borders. I don't think that's exactly the problem that we have right now. My greatest concern is assimilation — what happens to folks once they do get here.
That's one aspect of the immigration debate that isn't discussed a great deal, and it's beyond immigration policy; it's also a public education problem. I think it's something that we need to take much more seriously than we do right now.
What specifically is not happening that you're worried about?
We have a really poor civic education in this country. I think people just don't understand the country that they're living in. We tend to focus more on the sins of the country, rather than the virtues.
We're not educating our citizens about what the country is, and we're certainly not doing a very good job of educating immigrants in what country is. That leads to an assimilation problem. You have people who feel as if they're on the outside and that they have no reason to be part of the greater whole. I think that's a problem.
Catalina: One of the key steps to assimilation for an immigrant is becoming a citizen. It seems like you hear the phrase "path to citizenship" a lot in these kinds of conversations. But what would that look like in practice?
There is not such a path to legalization for undocumented migrants.
We have had smaller attempts, but the largest one was under The Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. One of the things discussed was a path to permanent residency for the 11 million undocumented migrants. And there are significant gains to allowing for that.
Catalina: Looking at other countries: Canada and Australia accept immigrants based on needs of the workforce, how does it work and could it work here?
One of the components discussed in the Immigration Reform was increasing the quota for H1B visas. That could be more along the lines of those systems.
They're point systems, so they typically choose immigrants according to their needs. They might have a tendency or a preference for individuals who are more skilled or highly educated or to satisfy needs in particular industries. They provide the test, and they look at your characteristics, and based on your characteristics they allow you entry or not.
Press the blue play button above to hear the conversation in its entirety.
Reclaiming 'Gook': new film tackles racial tensions during '92 riots
There's a movie set here in Los Angeles that's getting a lot of attention about the first day of the 1992 L.A. Riots.
It's told through the perspective of a Korean American shoe store owner and his unlikely friendship with a young African American girl.
And the movie has a name thats...well, it's offensive.
The film is called "Gook," which is, of course, a racial epithet used against Asian Americans. The slur first came into use during the Korean war. But in spite of the word's racist connotation- the writer, director and star of the film, Justin Chon had a reason for choosing it as the name of his movie:
"When G.I.'s and military people come over. Koreans people would say 'Migug saram. Migug.' 'Migug' means America and what that word actually means is beautiful country and how that word was taken and turned against us into a derogatory term I just...I wanted to take that word back and also explain where it comes from. So you know, it takes the power away from the word once there's understanding behind it."
The film had humble beginnings, Chon started by raising funds on Kickstarter last year and once it was completed it was featured the Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT audience award.
And the roots of the story Justin Chon tells in his film were based on his personal experiences:
"Our family was looted during the riots. We had a business on the border of East Compton and Paramount. So you know, I've always wanted to make a film about this and my perspective on the whole situation and I had read a few a scripts over the years about the riots...the biggest thing is, having been through it as a Korean American, if I didn't tell my perspective of this event that truly affected a lot of Koreans around that time, I'd feel really guilty."
His personal connection to the riots didn't hinder his ability to reflect and tell a story most Angelenos are familiar with.
"Myself, I was 11-years-old so I saw this event happen as a child and I didn't have this perspective of hate. So, I saw it through very innocent eyes. So me, kind of revisiting this and what happened to my family at the time, it's a little bit different because I didn't have that hatred towards the community. And also, a lot of things have changed since '92, back then a lot Korean immigrants were immigrating and entering these neighborhoods and setting up businesses and they were making money but they weren't really assimilating to their surroundings and the community and they weren't giving back. That understanding wasn't there, that education wasn't there. But now they're integrating to those communities.
This year is the 25th anniversary of the L.A. riots and it's just a different time. There's other things happening in the country and it's a good time to talk about this."
Chon's story is indeed timely, because as the old saying goes, 'The more things change, the more things stay the same.' Looking back on 1992 there was racial tension, there was issues with police and now we're in 2017 and some of those same issues are still around.
"Things have shifted a bit. This particular time there's police brutality, that's still completely prevalent in the U.S. and also racial tension, I think at that time the community imploded and African-Americans were very angry at the Koreans but right now I think the racial tensions are a little bit different."
Chon highlights the tensions happening in 1992 and in the present by capturing this unlikely friendship between his character Eli and the character Kamilla, played by actress Simone Baker. It's certainly an unlikely friendship. An adult Asian American man a young African American girl.
"During the writing phase, one of my goals was to represent, two very underrepresented demographics in media which is Asian American males and African American females. So that was one motivating factor but also, its just things that interest me are unlikely pairings and also what our definition of family is. There's a family that you're born into and there's also the family that you choose and it doesn't in my opinion, always have to make sense. It's just...you share a common experience and these two do, they have an event happened in both of their lives that they share and it just breaks barriers. It breaks common perception of what traditional friendship is.