Today on the show, we'll look at suggestions and proposals on how to improve spending when it comes to water in the state. The Legislative Analyst's Office has a new report evaluating Gov. Brown's drought and water conservation proposal. Then, we'll talk Oscar predictions with David Rothchild, a researcher who publishes predictions on the site, PredictWise.
7 water bond proposals in the works in California
The Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act—also known as Prop 18—is worth an estimated 11.2 billion dollars.
Currently, seven water bond proposals are in the works right now. That's a lot of money and a lot of cooks in the kitchen especially during this current drought crisis. Read more about the proposals here.
New report evaluates Gov. Brown's water conservation and drought relief proposal
All sorts of politicians have plans for coping with the drought. A week ago, Governor Brown introduced his 687 million dollar proposal.
Yesterday it was quickly approved by legislative committees and both houses of the legislature are expected to vote on it later today. If approved—and if the governor signs the bills—they could take effect immediately.
But just how well has Governor Brown been dealing with the drought?
Anton Favorini-Csorba, water analyst with the Legislative Analyst's Office joins us now with more.
UC Berkeley students sue school for handling of sexual assault cases
Yesterday, 31 current and former UC Berkeley students filed two federal complaints against the university for mishandling sexual assault cases. It's a problem they say has gone on for decades.
The students allege that for years, the university has discouraged victims from reporting assaults, failed to inform them of their rights, and favored the rights of perpetrators over the rights of victims. Here with us to talk about the case is Los Angeles Times reporter Jason Felch.
Guantanamo Voices: Tracking former prisoners in Afghanistan
The controversy over Guantanamo prison has lasted now for more than a decade, and its legacy endures far beyond U.S. borders, especially in Afghanistan. Some 220 Afghans have been held at Gitmo, making them the largest population of prisoners.
Most have been released without charge, meaning the U.S. did not find a compelling reason to keep them in detention, but their time at Guantanamo shaped them in profound ways.
We're joined by Dawood Azami, a senior broadcast journalist at the BBC World Service, who tracked down and spoke with former Gitmo prisoners in Afghanistan.
Listen to the full BBC documentary here: Guantanamo Voices.
Should state government provide further reimbursement for school busing?
It's been a busy time lately in Sacramento. Among the many bills the California legislature is considering are two which would give public school districts more money to cover the escalating costs of putting buses on the road.
A new report indicates the state needs to rethink the way it funds school transportation. The California Report's Ana Tintocalis has the story.
Pete Carroll on USC football, Super Bowl: No apologies, 'win forever'
Super Bowl-winning coach Pete Carroll returned to USC on Wednesday night — not to the football field, but to the Marshall Business School.
When Carroll, who won two championships at USC before becoming head coach of the Seattle Seahawks in 2010, bounded onto stage, he got a rousing welcome — a standing ovation from the 1,000-person-plus crowd.
Carroll has long been passionate about applying what he calls his "Win Forever" philosophy not just to football, but to the world of business, too. He visits USC's entrepreneurship program every year.
But Carroll is not loved by everyone at USC. Right after he moved to Seattle, the NCAA hit the university with sanctions centering around star running back Reggie Bush receiving improper gifts.
Students like freshman Sam Greos say Carroll shouldn't be let off the hook: "I may still be bitter from the Super Bowl — I'm from Denver. But in my non-biased opinion, he's kind of a traitor. I feel like he abandoned USC when we needed him most going into the sanctions."
Carroll sat down for an interview with KPCC to talk about the sanctions and about his experience applying his winning strategy to the NFL.
Winning an Oscar in bankruptcy: Rhythm and Hues and the visual effects biz one year later
During last's year Oscar awards, special effects house Rhythm and Hues won for best visual effects for their work on"Life of Pi," even though the company had declared bankruptcy a few weeks before.
When the recipients of award took the stage, they talked of just losing their jobs. So one year later, where are these guys, and is it possible for creatives -- in a case like this -- to ban together to look for work?
The scientific approach to predicting Oscar winners
With the Oscars coming up on Sunday, this town is abuzz with activity.
There's the makeup artists, the spray tanners, the red carpet rollers, lighting technicians and paparazzi and of course: The Oscar predictors. Everyone from film critics to shopfront psychics and new age gurus are scurrying to look into their crystal balls to foresee the future of Oscar gold.
RELATED: KPCC's Oscars 2014 predictor: Who should win?
But if you want a more scientific approach, you'll want to look beyond the tea leaves to big data. That's the statistical approach used by people like Nate Silver to successfully predict elections. That's exactly what our next guest has done.
David Rothschild is a researcher for Microsoft and he publishes his predictions at his site, PredictWise.
State of Affairs: Ron Calderon, fracking ban, prostitution crackdown and more
It's Thursday and that means it's time for State of Affairs, our look at politics and government throughout California. To help us with that we're joined in studio by KPCC political reporter Alice Walton and political editor Oscar Garza.
This week state Senator Rod Wright took a leave of absence from the Senate. This follows his conviction on eight counts of perjury and voter fraud for living outside of his district. What is the political future for Wright?
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has given another colleague, Ron Calderon, a week to take a leave of absence or resign from office. This is comes of the heels of Calderon's federal indictment on bribery and corruption charges. Why is Steinberg calling for Calderon's resignation when he's still at the start of his criminal case?
The Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating the mayor of Santa Ana for a real estate deal. It's a conflict of interest case involving a city contract. What are the details of this case?
The Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote tomorrow to ban fracking in the city. Council members will also be asking state agencies to look at oil drilling techniques in Los Angeles.
A councilwoman from San Fernando Valley is working with the City Attorney's Office to crack down on street prostitution. Sun Valley and Van Nuys will get additional police patrols and Councilwoman Nury Martinez says she'll bring social services programs to the area. Why is the councilwoman making this her first priority in office?
Let's look at a Congressional race for a moment in the Inland Empire. Democrats are split there between Colton attorney Eloise Gomez Reyes and Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted this week to look at creating a civilian oversight board for the Sheriff's Department. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas wants something akin to the LAPD's Police Commission. How much power could this board have over an elected official?
Have imports of shark fins been affected by California's recent ban?
Last week, California wildlife officials announced a seizure of more than 2,000 pounds of shark fins in a San Francisco warehouse.
It's their first big bust since the state's ban on shark fins went into effect 8 months ago. The find was also noteworthy because of just how much territory the thinly staffed wildlife department has to cover.
Have imports of shark fins been affected by the state's 8-month old ban? Are these bans effective or is the business just being shoved further underground? Have similar bans in other states worked out?
Zusha Elinson, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, joins the show with more.
Why have Americans fallen out of love with orange juice?
What's your beverage of choice for breakfast? Coffee, tea or a jumbo energy drink? Well, it used to be that most people included orange juice in that list, but sales of orange juice have been dropping off to their lowest level in 15 years.
So what gives? Why is orange juice getting squeezed out? Roberto Ferdman recently wrote all about the decline of OJ for the digital magazine, Quartz.
Rep. Jackie Speier on combating sexual assault in the military
The Army has disqualified nearly 600 soldiers from holding certain positions for infractions ranging from sexual assault to child abuse to drunk driving. It's part of an effort to combat sexual assault in the military.
How did the Army determine which soldiers were removed from these jobs? Some have been reassigned to other posts. Why is that? Couldn't there still be problems with unwanted sexual contact? What's your response to the Army's most recent move?
Congresswoman Jackie Speier represents the California's 14th District and joins Take Two from Washington, D.C.
Mashup masters Negativland take over the Cinefamily
(Warning: The songs embedded below may contain offensive language)
The mash up has become a hallmark of modern music. Mix one piece of recorded music with another — like peanut butter and chocolate — and voila! A great new product emerges.
But sometimes it gets in trouble for violating copyright laws. There is no one inventor of the mash up per se, but it's safe to say, the California band Negativland played a pivotal role in the evolution of this art form.
They made national headlines in the 1990s when they sampled audio of Casey Kasem, host of American Top 40, which was America was never meant to hear:
U2's label went on to sue the band, but that didn't deter Negativland. To this day, they continue to stir the pot. Tonight Negativland appears at LA's Cinefamily theater. For a preview of the show, we're joined by one of Negativland's founders Mark Hosler.