We visit Cerritos, the second stop on our tour of all 88 cities in L.A. County. Plus, with cities like Malibu and corporations like McDonald's beginning to phase out plastic straws, we look at what's prompting that decision and we sample alternatives made from plastic, bamboo, metal and glass. Plus, we find out where all that money from the California Lottery is really going.
Executive Order on the border
President Trump signed an executive order yesterday to reverse a policy of separating families who have been caught crossing the border. That, after his adminstration faced public outrage when photos came out of kids locked in cage-like shelters and recordings of children crying after they'd been taken from their parents. But though that policy of separation has ended, there are still a lot of questions about what happens now to these kids and their parents.
Guest:
- Leslie Berestein Rojas, KPCC's immigration reporter
Los Angeles reaches out to immigrant families in custody
President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday reversing his administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the US-Mexico border. The move came just a day after L.A. County supervisors asked the Office of Immigrant Affairs to assess conditions at federal facilities here. They'll work alongside the departments of public and mental health to offer services to those in custody.
Guest:
- Rigo Reyes, executive director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs
Where does California lottery money go?
It's so popular, about half of the state's population played it last year. Those of you who play lottery probably don't need me to tell you that the lottery has introduced all sorts of new games in recent years — including PowerBall, and a scratch ticket that costs $30. Those new games and big jackpots have sent sales skyrocketing, but an investigation by KPCC shows that not much of that new money is making its way to schools.
Guest:
- Aaron Mendelson, KPCC Data journalist who did the deep dive into the lottery
Welcome to Cerritos where the restaurants are diverse the library is world class
In our series 88 Cities, we visit every single one of L.A. County's cities to find out what makes them unique. We took a trip to Cerritos to learn about its world-class library, a plane that crashed onto homes in 1986, and how immigration led to a vast diversity of restaurants.
Straws Suck
Americans throw away 500 million disposable plastic straws each day. And because so few waste management companies are able to recycle them, a lot of those straws end up in the ocean, where the ripple effects are felt throughout the food chain. The Surfrider Foundation in Santa Monica is one of several groups working to reduce disposable plastic straw waste. Straws Suck is the name of their campaign.
Guest:
- Trent Hodges, Plastic pollution manager for the Surfrider Foundation.
How Malibu's ban on single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cutlery is going so far
The beachside city of Malibu got a lot of attention earlier this year when it voted to ban single-use plastic utensils and straws. That ban took effect June 1. But months before it kicked in, city officials were meeting with local businesses, showing them biodegradable alternatives made from paper, bamboo and wood. Three weeks into the ban, we check in and see how it's going.
Guest:
- Skylar Peak, Malibu City Councilmember
We sample paper, bamboo, metal and glass straws to see which works best
With cities like Malibu and major corporations like McDonald's leading the charge to get rid of single-use plastic straws, the Take Two staff samples a handle of alternatives made from paper, bamboo, metal and glass on a variety of drinks, including Boba, a milkshake and soda.
California Dream Rent Control
As rising rents gobble up more of Californians' paychecks, calls for expanding rent control are growing louder. There's currently a law in the state called Costa Hawkins which stops cities from applying rent control to apartments built after 1995. As part of the California Dream project Capital Public Radio's Chris Nichols tells you what you need to know about rent control, and its possible unintended consequences.
California's Net Neutrality bill gets gutted
It's been just over a week since the FCC's net neutrality rules were repealed. It may have been the end of the internet as we know it, but California was feeling fine—at the time—thanks to SB 822. "It's the only state-level bill in the country that comprehensively restores all of the net neutrality protections that were in place at the federal level," Barbara Van Shewick told us last week. She's a professor at Stanford Law School and a net neutrality expert. BUT things have changed.
Guest:
- Barbara Van Schewick, Professor of Law at Stanford and net neutrality expert