Senate immigration plan includes increase in border security efforts; World on Wheels roller skating rink gets its final spin; Sentences for white-collar criminals up for review; House rejects $500 billion farm bill; 'Angel Town': The City of LA's long lost official song; Translating mob lingo heard at the Whitey Bulger trial, and much more.
Senate immigration plan includes increase in border security efforts
The U.S. Senate is poised to pass an amendment to the immigration reform package that would dramatically increase security efforts along the US-Mexico border. The price tag: $30 billion over 10 years.
The question is, will all this money and resources actually plug the leaks in the border?
For answers to this and other questions about the border, we turn to Christopher Wilson from the Mexico Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC.
Translating mob lingo heard at the Whitey Bulger trial
It was just one year ago that famed mobster Whitey Bulger was captured in his Santa Monica apartment after evading authorities for 16 years. Bulger's trial got underway last week and linguist Ben Zimmer has been keeping an ear to the salty talk of former mob men.
List of terms used in Bulger trial:
Snitch: Someone who gives law enforcement information about the organization or individuals.
Rat: The worst thing a mobster could be. A rat is a criminal who gets busted by the police who then testifies against other people for a plea deal.
Rent: Money paid to someone like Whitey Bulger if you're a bookie looking to do business in the mob's territory. It is also known as a tribute.
Shylock: Another word for loan shark, people who make illegal street loans.
Vig: Short for vigorish, it's the fee that the bookie would charge or the interest that a loan shark would charge.
Boiler: A stolen car
Greaser: A machine gun
Interview Highlights:
On how he became interested in the language of the Whitey Bulger trial:
"I was just looking at the tweets that were coming from the Boston Globe reporters coming from the trial, and they were talking about the testimony of these bookies who are in their 70 and 80s talking about things that happened way back when 30 or 40 years ago. It felt like such a time capsule, and it was an authentic use of these terms that we might be familiar with from movies, movies like 'The Departed.' It was a fascinating glimpse into this lingo that the mob has had in Boston."
On who was testifying during the trial:
Some of them were bookies who had to pay rent to Bulger. Paying rent means tribute, basically, so whatever money they were getting, Bulger had to get his cut. They were testifying about that. There's a whole kind of hierarchy that they were describing where the money flows upwards from the smaller bookies to the bigger bookies, and then eventually Bulger collecting his rent. So there were a lot of bookie terms coming from them, terms like Vig, which is short for vigorish, which is the fee that the bookie would charge or the interest that a loan shark would charge.
On some examples of lingo used in the trial:
"A loan shark could also be called a Shylock, which of course comes from 'The Merchant of Venice,' so they're talking about the Shylock business is slangly talking about loan sharking. So there was a lot of bookie slang. I think everybody needs a nickname of some sort if you're in the mob, for instance the booky Jimmy Katz, his nickname was Jimmy The Sniff. The reporters who were there at the courthouse learned why that was, he was constantly sniffing when he was on the witness stand.
On the tradition of mob nicknames:
"That tradition of colorful nicknames actually goes back a long way. I found this wonderful description of the crime of Boston in 1901 and the colorful figures that were involved, sometimes very small time criminals like pickpockets and so forth. One of them was called Boston Commons Slimy, then there was also Bughouse Mary and Frisky Martin, the Boston Switcher, so that whole tradition of coming up with colorful names goes way way back."
Friday Flashback: The border security debate and NSA turmoil
It's time for the Friday Flashback, where we look back and discuss the week's biggest topics with the journalists that cover them. This week, we're joined by Nancy Cook of the National Journal and James Rainey of the L.A. Times.
On the docket this week
Poll after poll shows a pretty wide majority of Americans favor reform of immigration laws. Immigration reform is under debate in the Senate, and the subject of a lot of wrangling in the House. It seems like there's continued optimism that the Senate plan will pass with a pretty big -bi-partisan majority.
A Congressional Budget Office report released earlier this week showed that there would be a big economic plus — a trillion dollars in deficit reduction — if immigrants in this country are allowed to become citizens. But in the House, an elephant in the room for Republicans is leading to plenty of chaos over the bill. It's the idea that a path to citizenship will give Democrats what might be a generations long advantage.
The other ongoing story of the summer has been the NSA. One of the great unknowns in government is the intelligence budget, and it looks like not even Congress knows how much the U.S. is spending on intelligence operations.
Edward Snowden, the leaker of the NSA documents currently in hiding, is also still in the news. Many are questioning the journalists who broke the story of Snowden, and about how these people are rejecting the ethic of objectivity that is among the core values of the journalism profession.
Finally, in the realm of government scandals, Michael Hastings, whose coverage of former U.S. general Stanley McChrystal lead to the military leader's resignation, was killed in a fiery car crash in Los Angeles earlier this week. We'll take a look into his career as an activist-based jouralist.
Take a bite of Tacolandia, LA's first annual taco food fest
This Sunday, more than 30 of Southern California's best taco vendors will set up shop in the parking lot of the Hollywood Palladium for the the First Annual Tacolandia. Hosted by LA Weekly, the food festival has been years in the making.
To preview the event, we sent A Martinez out with event curator, Los Angeles Magazine writer and self-proclaimed "tacorazzo," Bill Esparza, to get a small taste of what's to come on Sunday.
Deadly juniper berry-killing fungus threatens gin production
Cocktail connoisseurs take note. If you are a gin and tonic lover, better stock up on the gin while you can. Juniper berries — one of gin's most crucial ingredients — are falling prey to a fungal disease in the United Kingdom.
For more on this, we're joined by Martin Ballantine, public relations director for No. 3 London Dry Gin, which is also the official gin supplier to the Royal Family.
'Angel Town': The City of LA's long lost official song
Songs In The Key of L.A. is the title of a new anthology featuring ditties from the Southern California Sheet Music Collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.
This summer, the book's author, Josh Kun, has been dropping by to tell us about these songs, which chronicle life in the Golden State.
Today he's here to talk about the mid-century song, "Angeltown," written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans in 1959 inspired by Los Angeles Times columnist Gene Sherman to be the soundtrack of the city of L.A. It was adopted as the official song of the city of L.A in 1966.
Lyrics to "Angeltown":
Valley green, mountain white,
Ocean blue and beaches bright;
Heavenly just to be
In Angeltown.
Sunny days, starry nights
Miles and miles of sparkling lights;
Shiny new, all for you
In Angeltown.
Once you wander through its byways
Then you never can depart.
In a thousand sweet and sly ways
It will win your heart!
Settle down, build your fence,
Here the future’s present tense;
Room for all and we call it
Angeltown.
Find your love, bring her here
Honeymoon it ‘round the year;
Heaven waits at the gates of
Angeltown.
Court orders California prison population to be reduced by 9,600 inmates
California will have to immediately release 9,600 inmates to comply with a court order issued four years ago. Prison overcrowding has left inmates without adequate dental and mental health care.
Now, it's one thing for the federal judges to order Governor Jerry Brown to let them loose, but it's quite another to actually make it happen. Joining us with more is KPCC's state capital reporter Julie Small.
Sentences for white-collar criminals up for review
Jeffrey Skilling, the former head of Enron, is anticipating a ruling that could dramatically cut his time in prison. Skilling was convicted in 2006 for his role in the the corporate scandal, and was sentenced to serve more than 20 years in a Colorado federal prison
While many people think his sentence was actually too light given the amount of money that people all over the country lost, Skilling's sentence, and the way by which other so-called "white collar" criminals are punished, is something that legal scholars have been debating for years.
Many think it may soon change.
For more we're joined by Kelly Strader, Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School.
House rejects $500 billion farm bill
Things are not looking good for the farm bill. Yesterday, the House rejected the five-year, half-trillion dollar measure. It was not a pretty scene.
For more on what happened and what's next, we're joined once again by Michael Doyle of McClatchy Newspapers.
Watts clinic provides dentures and another chance at a smile
South LA residents often lack access to dentists, so their oral health suffers, and the situation worsens for those who need special care, like dentures. KPCC's José Martinez takes us to a clinic in Watts that's helping restore the teeth — and confidence — of many in South LA.
In Tijuana, a breakfast hall for the stranded
Since 2009, the Obama administration has deported more than 1.5 million people, but even after being kicked out of the U.S., many have hopes of returning. Fronteras Desk reporter Adrian Florido visited a breakfast hall in Tijuana where many deportees try to figure out how to get back.
San Clemente Dam removal project begins
Up north in the Carmel Valley an $84-million project to remove the San Clemente Dam is set to begin today. Built in 1921, the Dam that was designed to quench the thirst of the Monterey Penisula has grown old -- and potentially dangerous.
Inspectors have determined the Dam won't survive a major earthquake and could come crumbling down. For more on this we turn to Paul Rogers, environmental reporter for the San Jose Mercury News.
How safe are California's bridges?
When a bridge fell in Washington last month it rekindled questions about the state of our nation's infrastructure.
That span over the Skagit river had been rated both "functionally obsolete" and "fracture critical" prior to collapse. Right now in California there are more than 600 bridges labeled either functionally obsolete, fracture critical or "structurally deficient," but experts say the labels are misleading.
Sanden Totten reports.
RELATED: Click here for an interactive map of Southern California bridges and their various ratings.
Etiquette Lesson: The dos and don'ts of wedding season
It's a nice time for a summer wedding, but should you bring a gift if it's a destination wedding? What should you do if you're throwing a wedding and a guest brings three extra people unannounced?
We'll answer these questions and more with Slate's Emily Yoffe.
World on Wheels roller skating rink gets its final spin
It's almost time to say goodbye to an Los Angeles institution. L.A.'s roller rink, World on Wheels, is closing its doors June 23. Its parent company, AMF Bowling Center, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last November.
It will soon be no more, but will leave behind a legacy built through over 30 years of providing an outlet for anyone to lace up and get skating.
World on Wheels opened its doors in Mid-City near Crenshaw and Venice Boulevard in 1981. It was famous for its weekly skating schedule that included "After School Skate," "Oldies But Goodies Night," and "Smooth Groove." It hosted Goth nights, Saturday night disco and Sunday gospel brunches.
World on Wheels also became known for its live DJs, like Kevin Brooks, who became known on the rink as DJ Kellogg.
"This is like a major major major disappointment for all the youth inside Los Angeles County right now because now the kids don't have no where to go," said Brooks.
He's lived in the neighborhood since 1971 and started DJing at World on Wheels in 1992 as a way to have fun with his kids when he wasn't working as a truck driver. He says the good memories are too many to count. He even met his wife here.
"We just looked at each other and I guess we just caught our eye and we just started talking," said Brooks. "Two kids out of it, 15 and three." Essentially, a family built with World on Wheels as the foundation.
Outside, his 15-year-old daughter, Keshia Nay Brooks, is packing up her skates from After School Skate.
"I've been going here since I was a little kid — all my life," she said. "My mom had my baby shower here and my family's here. I'm going to be really sad. I'm going to cry because I don't want it to close down because over the summer. Where we going to go?"
Dasia McDeel had her 8th and 15th birthday parties here. "I'm sad, because this is my home and all my sisters and my family are here, so I don't know how to react," said McDeel.
And it's not just teenagers who'll miss the rink.
"Skating has been part of the black community for years," said Willie Foster. "I mean, here I am in my 60s still skating, I've been skating since the 8th grade and they're closing down, so where are we supposed to go?"
Inside the rink, skaters are arriving for the late-night Smooth Groove. Diane Markum has been coming to World on Wheels at least once a week since it opened in the mid-80s.
"This was kind of the rink that everyone knew about. All you had to do was say 'the world' and folks would light up," she said.
She says what she'll miss most about the rink is the camaraderie.
"You know it's amazing, how with roller skating you come in contact or meet people that you might not ordinarily meet," she said. "The roller skating rink is like the hub that brings people from all different walks of life and from all over the city and parts beyond."
As many take their last skate, there is a feeling of sadness over the rink's closing, mixed with thankfulness for what the business has given to the members of its community.