Heavy rains and evacuations, Ed Royce not seeking re-election, Farewell Paradise Pier

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Heavy rains have led to many evacuations in areas that were already hit by the recent wildfires, Ed Royce vacating seat, saying goodbye to a Disney gem.

Heavy rains and evacuations, Ed Royce not seeking re-election, Farewell Paradise Pier

Heavy rains have led to many evacuations in areas that were already hit by the recent wildfires, Ed Royce vacating seat, saying goodbye to a Disney gem.

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Heavy rains have led to many evacuations in areas that were already hit by the recent wildfires, Ed Royce vacating seat, saying goodbye to a Disney gem.

Women, children evacuated from Sylmar shelter as rain soaks foothills

First, there was fire; now there's rain and mudslides. 

Flowing debris from the Thomas fire burn area has forced closures on the 101 freeway from Santa Barbara to Ventura. Three homes have been lost, and there are five confirmed deaths related to mudslides in the Montecito area, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

Evacuation orders have been issued for SoCal residents living near several burn zones, including Kagel Canyon, where the Creek fire burned last month. 

Someone with first-hand experience with mudslides is Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of the Union Rescue Mission. 

On Monday afternoon, Rev. Bales evacuated more than 200 women and children from his other ministry, the Hope Gardens Family Center, located in the Sylmar foothills.

The Creek Fire forced them to flee in December. On Monday, he tweeted, "Here we go again."

He tells Take Two that he was at lunch when he learned of the evacuation order:

Where were women and children taken? 

(Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.)

What Salvadoran immigrants can do after the end of their temporary immigration protection

The Trump administration announced that it's ending protections for Salvadorans who came to the U.S. after quakes struck their country in 2001. About 30,000 immigrants in Los Angeles benefit from this program, called Temporary Protected Status or TPS. They now have until September 2019 to get their affairs in order.

Yanci Montes, an immigration attorney in L.A., has been assisting those who've built up lives and families in the U.S. and wish to stay.

"Half of these TPS recipients qualify for some sort of alternative relief to remain here in the United States legally," she says.

Some of those people include:

• Those who entered the country on a visa or tourist visa.
• People who are either married a U.S. citizen or have lawful permanent residency in the U.S.; they may apply for a green card.
• Victims of a crime in the U.S.
• Those with children actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Montes she notes that anyone who faces deportation can still get due process through what's known as the removal proceedings process.

"This process can take up to three to five years where you can fight your case before an immigration judge," she says. "People have rights.

She recommends, however, that all TPS recipients consult with an attorney to determine their eligibility to stay.

You scream, I scream, we all say bye to California Screamin'

No Place Like LA: Michelle is a prodigal Angeleno

No Place Like L.A. is our new series that asks L.A. transplants and immigrants: "When was the moment you felt that Los Angeles was truly home?"

This is the story of Michelle Kim who's originally from L.A.

I've lived in Los Angeles all my life and I really hated Los Angeles. I really felt it was boring. I lived in this bubble.

I really wanted to make New York my home.

In my mind, there was this place called New York where people loved art, great music. They were writers. I wanted to be part of that!

I initially was, of course, very excited and I loved it.

But suddenly you missed the Angeles Crest Highway where you can see the mountains. I missed the beaches. I missed Trader Joe's!

I mean, those are things you sort of hate. Then when you move away, you start missing those things.

Nowadays when people are like, where are you from, I actually identify myself as a Los Angeles person. Even if I live somewhere else, I say, no no, I'm an Angeleno.

TELL US YOUR OWN STORY, TOO. IF YOU'RE A TRANSPLANT OR IMMIGRANT, WHAT WAS THE MOMENT WHERE YOU THOUGHT TO YOURSELF, "L.A. FEELS LIKE HOME, NOW?"

There are pesticides in your pot. Here's how to avoid them

For a week now, California has been experiencing daily life with legal recreational marijuana. But the industry struggles with obtaining pesticide-free products.

An NBC investigation last year found that 93 percent of the samples from 15 different Southern California marijuana dispensaries tested positive for pesticides.

Donald Land, a chemistry professor at the University of California-Davis who oversaw the testing at Steep Hill Labs, spoke with A Martinez about the implications for recreational marijuana.

Pesticides in pot

Pesticide regulation in marijuana has been a hurdle in the past, and that's due to its illegal designation at the federal level, Land explained. That will change this year. 

"So this is the first regulation that will be in place for marijuana for anything," Land said. In terms of what types of regulation will be implemented, he added: "There's a list of targets that all labs have to look for, but there are no limits expressed in the regulations yet so that's something that's going to develop."

In other words, as these regulations begin to phase in and become refined, in the meantime there's still the status quo of most of the stuff that's out there hasn't been tested for pesticides.

What pesticides have been found

Myclobutanil, which is used to control mold and fungus, is the most frequently found in pot, Land said. It's often found on fruits and vegetables.

Land added that EPA studies have deemed myclobutanil to not be very toxic if you eat it. But it's less clear what happens if you heat it up and inhale it into your lungs.

The amounts of cyanide gas are small, and it's unknown how toxic it is at that level.

What consumers can do to protect themselves

But if they refuse to show you results, it may be because they're not testing.

"Unfortunately, at this point and time, less than about one percent of the cannabis being sold in the legal market," said Land, "is actually tested for safety."

CES 2018: Ford embraces Living Streets, Toyota debuts driverless delivery

The Consumer Electronics Show kicked off in Las Vegas Monday, and most of the major car companies are there showing off the technologies that will enable the emissions-free, driverless future everyone is always talking about.

"Imagining the dream city is easy. Rebuilding the existing ones will take real imagination and commitment, and it's something I'm committed to," said Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Hackett, during his keynote speech at CES Tuesday.

Hackett said he wasn't attending CES to sell cars. Rather, Ford is embracing an idea he calls living streets -- where transportation is focused around people rather than personal vehicles.

With something called the Transportation Mobility Cloud, Ford is working with cities and urban planners to help move people more efficiently by connecting the components of all levels of city transportation systems. Issuing a system design challenge to CES attendees, Ford hopes to help create a system where cities can reroute people to avoid construction or speed up emergency response. 

Toyota also debuted a mobility system at this year's CES. The Japanese auto maker announced it has partnered with Uber, Amazon, Pizza Hut, Mazda and other companies for something called the Driverless Delivery Vehicle Alliance. And it showed off a new driverless delivery vehicle -- the e-Palette.

The e-Palette delivery vehicles come in three sizes ranging from 13 to 23 feet, depending on the task, and are designed to deliver packages, pizza and people.

New music from Kendrick Lamar, Dumbfoundead and Chloe X Halle

Every week we get a new list of music you should know about. In our next installment, Oliver Wang from Soul-sides.com offers his take on three new singles. Here are his picks.

Recently it was announced that Kendrick Lamar will be helming the soundtrack for one of the most anticipated movies of the year,  Marvel’s Black Panther.

The first single, All the Stars,  is a collaboration between Lamar and his TDE label mate SZA.  

LA native Jonathan Park, is better know as Dumbfoundead, a resident of Koreatown, and also socially conscious rapper. His new EP is called Rocket Man.

He's also a major center of the “Bad Rap” documentary, directed by filmmaker Salima Koroma, and featuring commentary by Take Two contributor Oliver Wang.  The documentary follows the lives of Asian-American hip-hop artists like Dumbfounddead and their struggle to garner credibility in the American hip-hop industry.  

From youtube videos to a budding music and T.V. stars, this L.A. duo of sisters (20 and 18 respectively) have a knack for cross-harmonization. “The Kids Are Alright” is their new single, just came out, and could be the prelude to their debut LP on Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment label.