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Podcasts Take Two
Heatwaves, Power Shutdowns and Masterworks Lost in a Fire
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Jun 11, 2019
Listen • 49:53
Heatwaves, Power Shutdowns and Masterworks Lost in a Fire

UCLA Doctor Faces Charge of Sexual Battery, Power Shutdowns Possible in SoCal, How Thousands of Rare Masterwork Recordings Were Lost to Fire.
A view of the power lines as evening settles December 11, 2000 in Pico Rivera.
Power to homes could be temporarily cut in times of high wind and intense heat. Photo taken December 11, 2000 in Pico Rivera.
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David McNew/Getty Images
)

UCLA DOCTOR

A former obstetrician-gynecologist — Dr. James Heaps — has been charged with sexual battery of former patients. Dr. Heaps turned himself into authorities on Monday and pleaded not guilty before being released without bail.

Guest:

  • Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC Education Correspondent

VACANCY TAXES

Landlords in Los Angeles who keep their units vacant might soon face penalties. Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin will propose a fine on property owners who choose to keep units empty instead of renting them to Angelenos who are struggling to find a home.

Guest:

  • Mike Bonin, L.A. City Councilman

HOMELESS PARKING

Los Angeles created the Safe Parking L.A. program two years ago to provide homeless people a safe place to park overnight. But one week after the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority's released its sobering headcount.

Guest:

  • Sonja Sharp, has been reporting on the hurdles facing the Safe Parking program for The Los Angeles Times

POWER SHUTOFFS

Warm weather and strong winds prompted PG&E in Northern California to shut off power to thousands of its customers this weekend to prevent a wildfire. It's the first time since the company and two other utilities agreed to do so in a program started last month. 

Guest:

  • Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University

CENSUS AND JAPANESE INTERNMENT

Just months after the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbor, west-coast states used data from the 1940 census to locate Japanese American communities. It was the first step in a process that would eventually end with the internment of thousands. The US Census bureau denied their role in the Japanese internment for over 40 years. As tension builds about the intention behind a possible “census question” on the 2020 Census, Austin Cross looks back at this dark chapter, and the policy changes made by the Bureau to prevent data from being misused again. 

MEDICATION BARRIERS FOR LATINOS

Latino adults have higher diabetes rates than non-Latinos and are more likely to have a harder time managing glycemic control. A recent study from USC Keck School of Medicine has found that one of the root causes of this are barriers to medication adherence. After interviewing Latino patients, strategies were developed to help overcome these obstacles.

Guest:

  • Andrea Banuelos Mota, medical student at USC and the lead author of this study

MUSIC BURNS

Eleven years ago this month, L.A. firefighters were called to a warehouse in the backlot of Universal Studios. Just hours before, maintenance workers had used blowtorches to repair the roof of a building on set. Forty minutes after they left, the roof caught fire. It spread rapidly. And soon the flames reached a 22,000 thousand square foot warehouse known as Building 6197. It was engulfed. Many there called it the "video vault" but it was much more than that. It was the west coast storehouse of original musical recordings made under several record labels - then owned by Universal Music Group. Often called "masters" by those in the industry, the tapes were one of a kind. 

Guest:

  • Jody Rosen, New York Times Magazine contributor