Katie Porter and the fight to reopen the government
It's day 17 of the federal shutdown, with no immediate end in sight. President Trump will address the shutdown and what he calls a “crisis” at the border in a prime-time speech Monday evening. The House passed a bill earlier this week that would reopen the government. Still, the President has insisted that, without funding for the border wall, the shutdown could last "years." Take Two talks to one of the people who helped pass that legislation.
Guest:
- Katie Porter, one of the newest members of Congress, representing District 45 in Orange County
Legal Pot Push
It’s been just over a year since California legalized the sale and use of recreational marijuana. But the rollout of the new regs has been a bit of a mixed bag. Californians are buying pot, but legal sales actually dropped about a half a billion dollars in 2018. Meanwhile, tax revenue for pot sales came in about 150 million dollars UNDER projections. As the state works to overcome last year’s hiccups, the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control plans to launch a public awareness campaign aimed at getting consumers to buy legal pot and sellers to go legit.
Guest:
- Alex Traverso, Assistant Chief of Communications, Bureau of Cannabis Control
Strike Negotiations Update
A teachers’ strike is looming in Los Angeles. We check in on the latest with the negotiations between the L.A. Unified School District and United Teachers Los Angeles with KPCC education reporter Kyle Stokes. Plus, as a strike looms, KPCC's Emily Dugdale asked LAUSD parents for their take. She talks to A Martinez.
LA Housing Forecast
2018 was tough for would-be home buyers in L.A. Housing affordability hit a 10-year low. Meanwhile, if you tried to sell your home last year, it might have stayed on the market... a little longer. In November, SoCal home sales were 18 percent below the historic average. So what could change in the housing market this year?
Guest:
- Elijah Chiland, wrote about it for Curbed L.A.
https://twitter.com/taketwo/status/1082766512954527748
Dorms, but for classy adults
It’s the age of the sharing economy. Companies like Uber and Airbnb have changed the way we get around and travel…but can it change the way we live? LA developers are starting to “co-living” spaces. Think a dorm type situation but for young, out of college working adults. Can it catch on?
Guest:
- Roger Vincent, commercial real estate writer for Los Angeles Times
https://twitter.com/taketwo/status/1082373925252739073
Monarchs in CA
The number of monarch butterflies in California declined by 86 percent in one year, according to Xerces, a nonprofit that protects invertebrates and their habitats. So how do they go about counting butterflies every year and what's behind the decline?
Guest:
- Emma Pelton, conservation biologist