Today, we'll talk to a Colorado pot shop owner to hear how business is booming, one week after the drug was legalized in the state. Also, we'll hear from two chefs about how to incorporate cannabis into meals. Then, Governor Jerry Brown releases his latest budget. We'll learn about what's in it and what it means for California. Then, we'll learn about the public image of Nicaragua's first lady, plus much more.
What the Sergio Garcia case means for other undocumented law grads
Last week, California's Supreme Court ruled that a law school graduate and undocumented immigrant named Sergio Garcia can practice law.
RELATED: Calif. Supreme Court grants law license to undocumented law school grad
Garcia's case has been watched closely by other aspiring attorneys, like him, across the country. Many of these immigrants have been waiting years for the chance to practice law. One of them is Cesar Vargas, graduate of the City University of New York school of law, and an undocumented immigrant.
He joins the show to talk about what Garcia's case means for people like him.
Pot prices in Colorado surge as demand skyrockets
UPDATE: January 9, 2014
Marijuana use has been legal in the state of Colorado for just over a week. Last Thursday, the day after legalization took effect, we rang up Adam Raleigh of the Telluride Bud Company to see how things were going.
At that point he had a two-hour line around the block, and suffice it to say that was emblematic of what was happening all over the state. In fact there's been so much demand, some $5 million in sales in the first five days according to the National Cannabis Industry Association. There have even been reports of rationing at some pot shops.
Raleigh joins the show again for an update on how his shop is doing, one week after pot was made legal in the state.
PREVIOUSLY: January 2, 2014
Cold, snowy weather and long lines did not deter people eager to take advantage of Colorado's new marijuana laws on the very first day they went into effect. Twenty four pot shops opened yesterday, one of them, Telluride Bud Company, belongs to our next guest, Adam Raleigh.
Raleigh joins the show to talk about how business is going so far.
Tips on how to cook and bake with cannabis
Most marijuana dispensaries carry plenty of edible marijuana products, from sodas and truffles to ice cream and honey. But what if you want to whip up your own treats with pot?
How best to cook with marijuana to create something delicious but not too potent? Julie Dooley, one of the owners of Julie and Kate Baked Goods in Denver, join the show with some tips on how to incorporate cannabis into delicious pastries.
But what if you want to plan an entire, multi-course meal around marijuana? This isn't some bizarre Iron Chef challenge, it was a real live event held last spring, sponsored by the restaurant Starry Kitchen.
The meal included everything from a pot consommé with wild boar, partridge, ginseng and leeks to a marijuana infused rum cocktail. Chef Laurent Quenioux of the pop-up restaurant Bistro LQ was the mastermind in the kitchen. He dropped by earlier to tell me about this epic meal.
Underground Pop-Up Weed Dinner Recipe
Green Congee, Monkfish
1 pound net filet of Atlantic Monkfish
2 tablespoons of infused cannabis coconut butter
1 bunch basil
1 bunch epazote
1 bunch of fresh canna bis leaves
1 bunch of spinach
8 tablespoons of infused cannabis oil
Salt, pepper to taste
3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 pound of ready-to-use cooked congee
2 tablespoons of butter
In a saucepan, blanche all leaves (epazote, basil, spinach, cannabis) for two minutes, then drain and cool. In a blender, add the blanched leaves, salt and pepper, garlic, 3 tablespoons of water and the cannabis oil, and blend until the mixture is a smooth consistency.
Warm up slowly the congee and stir frequently
Cut the monkfish in four nice pieces, season with salt and pepper, and sautee for 3 minutes on each side in a saucepan with the coconut butter. Mix the pesto into the congee and add the butter.
Spoon the cannabis congee into a shallow bowl and top with the sautéed monkfish. Decorate with a fresh cannabis leaf.
State of Affairs: What's in Gov. Jerry Brown's budget?
It's Thursday, which means it's time for State of Affairs, our look at politics and government throughout California. This week we have a special State of Affairs, because Governor Brown has released his annual state budget a day early.
RELATED: Governor's budget projects state surplus to hit $6 billion
For a sense on how this budget breaks down in regards to the environment, education and law enforcement, we're joined by KPCC Environmental Correspondent Molly Peterson, Education Editor Evelyn Larrubia and Crime Reporter Rina Palta.
Then, HD Palmer, the Deputy Director for External Affairs at the California Department of Finance, joins the show to crunch the numbers.
The influential and public role of Nicaragua's first lady, Rosario Murillo
Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo have been a couple for more than three decades. They married in 2005 and have been in power on and off, though mostly on since the 1980s.
But it's Murillo -- not Ortega -- that the people of Nicaragua see as being truly in charge. For more we have Tim Johnson, a reporter from McClatchy, who joins us from his home in Mexico City.
Why women face constant harassment, threats on the Internet
Writer Amanda Hess has received her fair share of harassing messages over the Internet, from lewd tweets to brutally threatening emails. Unfortunately she's not alone.
In the current issue of Pacific Standard magazine, Hess writes about the dangers of stalking and harassment for women in the social media age and the challenges of bringing real world justice to this virtual world.
Online Dating: Can you get a date even with the worst profile?
If you've ever tried online dating, you might think you have all the bad luck. But don't worry, it's not you. At least that's what LA writer Alli Reed found from an admittedly completely unscientific study she conducted on OK Cupid.
She set out to the create what she calls the worst online dating profile ever, where she called herself Aaron Carter Fan. Alli Reed joins the show to talk about her experience.
App Chat: 8 apps that make traveling with kids easier
Taking a trip around the world by yourself can be daunting. Throw kids into the mix and it can turn a relaxing vacation into anything but. Ciaran Blumenfeld, creator of Momfluential.net, joins the show to tell us the apps she uses to make traveling with kids easier.
Suggested Apps:
TripCase
The one place to keep track of all your travel info.
GateGuru
Super useful in airports, particularly when you have a gate transfer and want to know if the food in your current terminal is better than the food in the terminal you are headed to (or vice versa).
Sit or Squat
Knowing where the nearest potty is at all time is a mission critical skill for parents. This is the app that supports that skill. Search, add and review bathroom locations wherever you go.
iTranslate Voice
Closes the communication gap and amuses your kids. My kids love to speak phrases into this app and hear their words translated into various languages. It can be a lifesaver if you are stranded somewhere without a translator, or without other entertainment for your children.
Kidzvuz
Keep your kids busy and help other families with this app that makes your 7-to-13-year-old kid the star of their own show. This app allows them to quickly create and upload their video reviews hotels, tours, museums, theme park & tourist attractions and more. Apps are reviewed before being made public and kids' identities are protected.
Viator
Viator has the skinny on every location. Learn what there is to see at your destination and then browse through vetted and reviewed day trips and tour packages. Teen shopping tour of Paris? Who knew? It's a a great app both for research and for booking a day trip.
Autographer
This app comes with a nifty little tiny camera that you wear. The camera takes photos automatically, sensing movement and light changes. What I love about this app and camera is that it can free you up to live in and experience the moment, which is so important when you are traveling with family. The pressure to document/take photos when you travel, can be overwhelming. The camera produces some amazing candid shots and the app allows you to create video from the images. It's also interesting to clip the camera onto small children or a car dash for a unique perspective on your travels. I personally love this one, and have worn to theme parks, events etc.
Story
This is a Disney produced app that literally creates a "story book" from your images. The images are combined with text and set to music, creating a compelling animated slide show. It's easy to use and a great way to share your travel stories with friends and family back home via social media or email.
Once common, testing preschoolers has changed shape in California
Although a lot of people don't like standardized tests in public schools, they're not going away any time soon. But how we test could get a makeover - as we've seen with publicly funded preschools.
As part of our continuing look at school testing, KPCC's Deepa Fernandes takes us to a Head Start classroom, where the way we assess the youngest has changed dramatically in the past decade.
SoCal mountain lion cubs show signs of inbreeding
Scientists and ecologists celebrated the births of three mountain lion kittens in the Santa Monica mountains last month, but new information about those cubs may prove troubling.
DNA testing shows inbreeding in these new cubs, and that could pose yet another challenge for the big cats who already face many issues surviving in close proximity to freeways, people and one another.
RELATED: The delicate task of tracking the elusive California mountain lion
Over the years, researchers have found seven mountain lions that were the products of inbreeding, Seth Riley, a wildlife ecologist with the National Park Service, told the Associated Press.
Riley says the kittens were healthy but there's concern that without new blood, eventually inbreeding could cause physical defects, such as heart problems and sterility. The lions live in a patchwork of local, state and federal parkland that stretches westward from Los Angeles into Ventura County.
"The way mountain lion populations work is that all young males typically disperse and even half of the young females disperse," Riley told Take Two. "It's almost impossible in this situation."
The area is surrounded by densely populated areas and is bounded by such major highways as U.S. 101, which is heavily developed along most of its length. Young male mountain lions that typically would seek their own territories have been unable to leave and have been killed by an older male, Riley said.
Only one puma, P-12, has been able to cross the 101 freeway in the 11 years researchers have been tracking the animals, Riley told Take Two. But despite bringing new DNA material into the area, he sired the inbred cubs with his own daughter.
"The major issue is the fact that the 101 is just a development corridor, so there's almost no place where there's natural habitat next to the freeway," Riley said on Take Two. "They seem to be trying to disperse, they bump right up against development on the 101 or they bump up against the 405...many times they end up getting killed by an adult male, who they can't escape from, or they get hit on the 405 or somewhere else."
A mountain lion was killed by a car on the 101 in October 2013.
The recreation area, state parks, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the California Department of Transportation and others have long sought about $10 million in funding to create a wildlife corridor in the Agoura Hills area — essentially, a tunnel that would allow the mountain lions and other animals to cross under U.S. 101.
With contributions from the Associated Press