Today on the show, we start with the Dodgers' new SportsNet LA channel. Then, high demand for new WWE network causes tech problems for fans. Plus, the Pentagon proposes a cut to Army funding for 2015, can desalination help relieve drought in California? Native plant gardens can bring more than city rebates to your property, plus much more.
Dodgers' debut new SportsNet LA channel
Can't get enough Dodgers? Well starting tonight, you're in luck.
There's a new channel launching featuring nothing but Clayton Kershaw, Yaisel Puig, and Vin Scully 24/7. But if you're not a Time Warner subscriber you may be out of luck come opening day.
That's because the new channel, Sportsnet LA, is playing hardball with pay TV providers including DirecTV, Cox, and AT&T. Our next guests will be no doubt be spending lots of time at the negotiating table over the next few weeks.
They are Stan Kasten, President of the Dodgers, which owns the channel, and David Rone, the President of Time Warner Cable Sports, which operates it.
'Extremely high demand' for WWE network causes tech issues
Earlier this year World Wrestling Entertainment announced plans for their very own online network, a new online streaming channel where, for about $10 a month fans can watch all sorts of content.
The company said they expect to sign up a million subscribers be years end and add more than $50 million to their annual revenue. Yesterday was their debut, and to use the jargon, it was kind of a body slam.
Demand was so high that it caused massive problems. The company's technology partner, none other than Major League Baseball Advanced Media, said that the extremely high demand "exceeded anything we have seen in 14 years of doing e-commerce."
We don't know the exact number of people who've signed up, but there is one person that's been extremely excited about the new prospect. Our very own engineer Alex "Gonzo" Gonzalez who's been waiting a really long time for this.
Pentagon proposes cuts to Army to promote innovation
The Pentagon is seeking to drawdown the size of its army to the smallest since World War II.
The plan is part of a proposed budget that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says is a response to a changing world, where the U.S. needs a leaner, more agile military force and to promote more innovation, like drone technology.
This could mean big changes for California. For more, we're joined by Gregory S. McNeal, he's a security and military expert and professor at Pepperdine University's School of Law.
President Obama unveils new way to fight wildfires
Next week, President Obama will unveil his budget for the coming year. But yesterday we got a preview of one change that could have a big effect in Western states, a shift in the way the federal government pays to fight wildfires.
Until now there was no emergency fund to fight the worst wildfires. The money had to be borrowed and moved around from other budgets. But the new plan acknowledges wildfires as a costly natural disaster. One that may become even more common with climate change.
For more on this we turn to Robert Bonnie, undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which handles wildfires.
Can desalination help bring drought relief to California?
As parched California enters its fourth year of drought, the state is looking for more sources of water. Among those options is desalination, the process of removing salt from seawater.
The problem though is that some see desalination as an energy-intensive and expensive process that can actually hurt, not help, the environment. To talk more about desalination in a time of drought we're joined by by Heather Cooley, water program co-director for the Pacific Institute.
Native plant gardens can bring habitat, city rebates to replaced lawns
Wondering how to rip out your lawn yet? Theodore Payne Foundation may be able to help.
The group is a nursery and non-profit up in the foothills of Sun Valley — about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles — dedicated to promoting California's native plants. As you might imagine, business has been booming lately.
RELATED: Rip out your lawn, then rip open an envelope of cash in LA
Municipalities throughout the state have been offering rebates to residents who choose to rip out their lawns for native plants. There's a reason why there are such attractive incentives for lawn replacement.
"Natives evolved with native animals, and part of gardening is not just making a pretty folly on your property, but it's creating habitat," said Lili Singer, director of special projects and adult education at the Theodore Payne Foundation. "All gardens bring in animals, but when you bring in natives, you get so many more butterflies and so many more birds."
RELATED: FAQ: what you need to know about wrangling lawn rebates in Southern California
Four years into the rebate program, the Department of Water and Power upped how much you'll be paid to replace your lawn, from $1.50 per square foot to $2.
But switching over to native plants isn't as easy as ripping up your lawn and planting a few succulents. There's a lot of research and planning that goes into the transition.
"What you need to know is the conditions in your garden and pick plants that match those conditions so you're not changing the soil," said Singer. "It's important to know that not all California native plants are drought-tolerant."
Some of California's native plants thrive next to streams and rivers, other thrive in the desert, meaning no matter what your soil conditions might be, there will always be a native plant that can fit.
"We do have plants for every corner of the garden, including the little place where you wind up the hose where it's always wet," said Singer. "Then we have the plants that are used to going for eight months without any measurable water on the surface."
The City of Santa Monica has been documenting plant species at two of its gardens on Santa Monica City property. What they've found is that native plants use one-seventh of the water of a traditional garden, and need only a fifth of the maintenance.
Singer recommends choosing a variety of sage, including Cleveland sage and its hybrids, which are sweet, fragrant and have beautiful blooms. She also recommends Manzanitas, California lilacs and buckwheats, which bloom white or pink flowers and attract lots of butterflies.
You may think that the summer months mean your native plant garden will dry and wither, but that's not the case.
"It's very easy to make a garden with 12 months of color with California natives," said Singer. "You can have something flowering every month."
One thing to keep in mind if you're planning to make the native plant switch is that even drought-resistant plants need at least a year of regular watering for their roots to take.
"We have this mindset that these plants are really drought tolerant, but for the first year or two, all of these plants need to be watered regularly," said Singer. "That's why we sell little ones, the smaller they are the more readily they transplant and root."
Though your water bill may be a bit higher the first year or so, there are some longterm benefits.
"Once these guys are established, if it's a drought tolerant plant, it can go for a couple months without water," said Singer.
Tech giants debut latest gadgets at the Mobile World Congress
It's like Christmas time for nerds at The Mobile Tech Congress. It's the largest mobile technology show in the world and it's going on right now in Barcelona, Spain. For more on the gadgets and gizmos we can expect to soon be lusting after, we're joined by Lindsey Turrentine, editor in chief of CNET..
Tuesday Reviewsday: Beck, Silversun Pickups and Lo Fang
It's Tuesday, which means that it's time for Tuesday Reviewsday, our weekly new music segment. This week we're joined by Hollywood Reporter music editor, Shirley Halperin.
Artist: Beck
Album: Morning Phase
Release Date: February 25
Songs: "Waking Light"
We're actually entering the third decade of Beck, if you can believe it. It's been 20 years since "Loser" came out, and here we have "Morning Phase", which is actually his 12th studio album and his first since 2008. It actually harkens way back to 2002 in the beloved album "Sea Change".
There's different parts of Beck that we see come out of Beck, and this is more like his sad sack, emotional side rather than the party time dance, "Vulture" side of beck. This is what he is really good at: pretty, wistful music. It's a quintessential sound to Los Angeles like it can almost work as a film score in that it's got these harmonies, these oohs and aahs, that could've easily found their way to a Beach Boys record, the swish of the surf.
Artist: Lo Fang
Album: Blue Film
Release Date: Feb. 25
Songs: "Look Away" "#88"
Lo-Fang is another L.A.-based artist named Matthew Hemerlein. This is a debut album on the historically adventurous label 4AD, and it's part melancholy-electro, it's part film score, it's got a little bit of a kitchen sink thrown in. It's garishly decked out, but it never gets in the way of the melodies. Just when you think it's Pop, it takes this lovely left turn.
It's a tricky blend of electronic and orchestral instrumentation. The songs are a little on the long side, I will say. They're five minutes plus most of them. It's almost like you get two for one with this album. It's no wonder that they're as long as they are because he is a very skilled multi-instrumental. He's classically trained in violin, base, guitar and many more instruments and you can really hear his handy work on the song like "#88."
Artist: Silversun Pickups
Album: The Singles Collection
Release Date: Feb. 25
Songs: "Panic Switch" "Cannibal"
The notion of a single's collection for a band called Silversun Pickups may seem almost premature. It doesn't feel like they have been around all that long, but it's actually coming up on 10 years since their first EP came out. They actually formed in 2002, so it's been a minute and they have certainly had their share of hits. Two big ones in 2007 and 2008 like this song "Panic Switch."
At the risk of angering some of our local listeners, at the time that Silversun Pickups came out and had these big songs, being a band from Silver Lake and breaking into the world stage in such a swift and massive way was a real testament to the local scene. I personally could never get over one thing, which is just the blatant Smashing Pumpkin-ness. Right down to the band's initials SP and the fact that they have a female bass player and that their singer Brian sound just like a Billy [Corgan].
But with their new song, "Cannibal," which is the only new track on this collection, and they premiered it on Jimmy Kimmel Live last week, the band seems to be veering more into a sound that they can call their own and that bodes well for the future.
'Young Money' reveals the unglamorous reality of Wall Street
Think working on Wall Street is fun and lucrative? Movies like "The Wolf of Wall Street" make it seem that way.
But dig deeper, and you'll find it's less about unending wealth and more about 100-hour plus workweeks, all-nighters spent perfecting excel spreadsheets, and little hope of maintaining any outside relationships or life.
Kevin Roose is a writer for New York magazine, and his new book "Young Money" gives us a glimpse into the lower rungs of Wall Street through the plights of eight young bankers.
Excerpt of "Young Money" by Kevin Roose by scprweb
Is it the beginning of the end for Bitcoin?
Shares of the virtual currency Bitcoin are plummeting after its main trading platform abruptly went offline this month.
One blogger likened it to the failure of Bear Stearns -- the canary in the coal mine before the 2008 Financial Crisis. To help try to begin to explain this we called Cameron Ken, a Certified Public Accountant and a contributor at Forbes.
Immigration reform group pushes to incorporate women's issues into agenda
Immigration reform advocates have unveiled a new strategy to pressure House Republicans, folding immigration into the larger conversation about the war on women. For more on these efforts, we're joined by Pramila Jayapal the advocacy group We Belong Together.
Bay Area residents resist crude-by-rail as accidents rise
The city of Pittsburg, 20 miles east of Oakland, is considering a new oil terminal that would supply crude to Bay Area refineries. It would bring in oil via ship, pipeline and railroad.
But there have been a number of recent accidents around the United States involving rail shipments of crude oil — and some locals are concerned about the safety of the project.
For the California Report, Molly Samuel has the story.
Navajo president would support tax on junk food
Taxes on food and soda and other products are something we talk about a lot on this show, so this little item caught our eye. Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly recently vetoed legislation that would increase taxes on junk food sold on the reservation.
Tristan Ahtone reports for the Fronteras Desk that Shelly says he will support a new version...with a few tweaks.
'Gravity' hovers on top of Variety's World's Best Picture poll
The films have been watched, the votes have been cast, and the results are in. The best film of 2013 is, "Gravity," but this isn't the Oscars.
Instead, Variety Magazine announces today the winner of its poll for World's Best Picture. Rather than turning to the expertise of only the Academy, Variety opened up its vote globally to critics, freelance writers, movie historians, film fest organizers, and more.
Variety's executive editor Steve Gaydos says the move is a way to acknowledge how important these people and events outside of Hollywood can be.
"You have to remember that a lot of these films start at film festivals," say Gaydos, "and 'Gravity' was no exception."
He adds that the poll also was a benefit for films that, for whatever reason, wouldn't normally make it into the Oscar's best picture nomination list.
"[Voters] took a foreign language film, 'The Great Beauty,' and moved that into the top 10," says Gaydos, "So it wasn't in what I call 'the foreign language ghetto.'"
You can find the results of the World's Best Picture poll on the stands in Variety Magazine or on Variety.com.
And tell us in the comments what you think was the best film of 2013.
Taco Bell adds the waffle taco to its breakfast menu (Poll)
Do you love waffles? Love tacos? How about the two of them together?
Taco Bell recently announced their new breakfast menu launching nationwide on March 27. It includes a morning version of their Crunchwrap, a flatbread with sausage, Cinnabon Delights, which are icing-filled cinnamon donuts, and the star of the show, a waffle taco.
It's exactly as you might imagine it. An Eggo-like toaster waffle folded in half and filled with eggs, cheese, and your choice of bacon, sausage or steak. Naturally, you have the option of dousing it in maple syrup.
Taco Bell is just one of a handful of fast food restaurants putting in big money to spur interest in their breakfast menus. And for good reason: There's big money to be made.
"It's a $31 billion industry in sales for breakfast alone for the fast food industry," said Nancy Luna, Fast Food Maven for the OC Register. "They want a piece of that pie. They see other fast food chains — McDonalds, Subway, Jack in the Box — in that game, and they think that they can be a strong leader."
The waffle taco debuted in Southern California for a test several months ago and has since disappeared. The company has been compiling customer feedback and making slight adjustments to the item before next month's launch.
"If you look at the original waffle it was super puffy, it didn't seem to have a crunch to it," said Luna. "I think new revamped waffle taco that comes out next month nationally will have a thinner, probably crispier waffle that wraps around all that yummy breakfast stuff."