Malibu says goodbye to plastic, sparked by the MeToo movement lessons to teach kids about gender stereotypes, CA books for your reading list.
Aftermath of Supreme Court decision to not take on DACA
On Monday, the path for DACA recipients took another turn. The Supreme Court declined the Trump Administration's appeal to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was set to phase out this coming week.
As the confusion continues, there remains no clear path forward on how to create a legal framework for those currently protected under the Obama-era program.
Take Two checked in with DACA recipient Safir Wazed. He was brought here as a child from Bangladesh and is currently a graduate student at the University of Southern California.
"I'm still confused and very frustrated," Wazed says. "We are exactly where we were when Jeff Sessions announced that DACA would end."
Now on the job market, Wazed feels the pressure to unveil his uncertain status to his potential employers.
"When we get to that conversation, that means the interview is going well," Wazed says. "But I do have to pivot it a bit."
The latest developments are changing the political debate surrounding the program.
"I suspect lawmakers are feeling less pressure now," says Louis DeSipio, professor of political science and chicano studies at UC-Irvine. "Congress tried to come up with a resolution a few weeks ago and failed. Now with the court temporarily protecting DACA, Congress might move on to other issues."
However, as long as there's no fix for DACA, it will continue to be political.
"It keeps the issues in the debate for all these moderate house seats they have to defend in the fall," DeSipio says. "The Democrats will have a clear issue to mobilize around. It will help Democrats in the fall."
As for Wazed, the DACA recipient, he's hopeful about where things are headed.
"We will not stop fighting until we get what we want, which is a path to citizenship," Wazed says.
How parents can help change the culture of sexual harassment
A SoCal reading list for when the weather gets chilly
Chilly winter weather makes a lot of people want to curl up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee and a good book. So with the recent cold snap, we thought we'd get some suggestions. Los Angeles Times Books Editor Carolyn Kellogg walked us through some new titles with a California connection.
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border, by Francisco Cantú
Fransisco Cantú is of Mexican American heritage and is a former border patrol officer. The book tells his stories of patrolling the border.
Border security was politically charged at the time he worked as an agent, and it has only become more fraught in the years since. Cantu's book is not in favor of tighter border security, Kellogg said. It's a much more personal story.
"The prose style is almost dreamlike. When he recounts a conversation, there aren't even quotation marks about what other people have said. It's all filtered through his subjective experience," she said.
Cantú joined the border patrol to follow in the footsteps of his mother, who was a park ranger, Kellogg said. He wanted to be outside and serve his country, but he quickly saw the ways the job was problematic.
Down the River Unto the Sea, by Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley a bestselling author, who is well known for his hard-boiled mystery novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, set in 1940s Los Angles.
He's been back in L.A. recently to work on John Singleton's television show, Snowfall, about the 1980s crack-cocaine epidemic in South Central LA. Kellogg said she spoke to Mosley and he said hewas much happier working on books than T.V.
"For him, I think falling into creating the narrative fiction of a novel is more exciting," Kellogg said.
Mosley's newest book is about a wrongfully accused New York Police Department detective, who comes out of prison, bent on revenge. The detective's tale is then interwoven with the story of a radical journalist accused of killing two police officers, who were abusing the power of their badges.
Green Sun, by Kent Anderson
Kent Anderson's new novel is the story of a police department in Oakland in the 1990s.
"It's got various threads with these cops who are struggling to make their way in this predominantly African American community and when these threads eventually come together, it's pretty exciting," Kellogg said.
Napa at Last Light: America's Eden in an Age of Calamity, by James Conaway
James Conaway has been writing nonfiction stories about Napa for decades. In this book, he tells the story of how the region has been transformed from an idyllic place full of mom and pop businesses to a place controlled by big companies. Kellogg said Conaway covers just how much the fabric of the town has changed.
"All these big city interests are putting pressure on these small family businesses, and he seems to imply that there's a murder," Kellogg said.
Why one California lawmaker wants to mandate ethnic studies in high schools
The historical contributions of minorities are often left out of textbooks. But California Assemblyman Jose Medina (D-Riverside) hopes to change that.
He has proposed a bill that would make ethnic studies mandatory for high school students. In order to graduate, the students would need to take a class focused on minorities' perspectives.
Take Two spoke with Assemblyman Medina about incorporating ethnic studies into California's curriculum.
"I was a teacher in a Riverside high school, and I had the opportunity to teach Chicano studies," Medina said. "I saw firsthand how my students felt empowered by the material they were learning."
The bill, if passed, wouldn't be implemented until 2020. The window gives the Department of Education time to fine tune curriculum for classes throughout the state.
"By making it a requirement, people will be able to learn the rich history of Latin Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans," Medina said. "It will fill in the gap that's been missing for so many years."
New music from Sofia Reyes, Espinoza Paz and Gustavo Galindo
Joining us this week for Tuesday Reviewsday is Justino Aguila. He's a Spanish language music journalist and contributing writer for Billboard.
Sofia Reyes
Single: 1, 2, 3 (feat. Jason Derulo & De La Ghetto)
One year after releasing "Louder!" -- her chart-topping debut album -- Latin Grammy nominee Sofia Reyes is back with the new single “1, 2, 3” featuring R&B/pop singer/songwriter Jason Derulo and Latin urban artist De La Ghetto.
Reyes was born in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, and her start in music began when she was only 10, when she started singing and playing piano. In her teens, she began uploading videos of herself covering songs, which eventually managed to capture the interest of many, including Latin American singer Prince Royce, who went on to sign Reyes with his then newly created music label D'León Records.
On this single, fans of Derulo might be surprised to hear him sing in Spanish, but just like Beyoncé on Mi Gente and Justin Bieber on Despacito, singing in Spanish is being seen as a way to reach an even wider audience.
Espinoza Paz
Album: Las Compuse para Ti
Espinoza Paz is back with a full studio album after a brief retirement. The album includes some whimsical, faster-paced music, such as “Será Punto Com” and “Chula.” The majority of the album consists of mariachi ballads written by Paz and melodic tracks, such as “Amor Es Otra Cosa,” which includes piano work and violins. This seems to be Paz’s most experimental album to date and shows his versatility as a singer and songwriter.
Gustavo Galindo
Single: “ Un Paso al Día”
Born in Mexico City to an Irish/Scottish/French mother and Mexican father, the 30-year-old Latin pop rock artist spent his childhood between Mexico, Lake Tahoe and Sacramento.
Growing up, he listened to a diverse soundtrack that included everything from Cat Stevens, Miami Sound Machine, and '90s grunge to José José, Juan Gabriel and Maná. Today, he’s back to his roots in Mexico City, where he’s prepping for a follow-up album, after living in eight different parts of L.A.
In 2011, Gustavo Galindo’s album "Entre la Ciudad y el Mar" featured a collection of pop ballads that showed his singing and writing ability to be strong and worthy of a double take. Although he’s recorded plenty since then and has been featured on many projects, he’s taken some time in recent years to also focus on other things in life. But music remains a major part of his life and “Un Paso al Día” shows that spark from the early years. Looking forward to seeing more music from Gustavo because he has talent as both a singer/songwriter and has a great stage presence.