Supreme Court reviews President Trump's travel ban, three Metro Gold Line stops are charging for parking, California farmers try their hand at growing coffee.
Supreme Court will review Trump's travel ban
The Supreme Court announced today it will review the legality of President Trump's travel ban.
The executive order would have limited travel from six mostly-Muslim countries for 90 days, and suspended America's refugee program for 120 days.
But earlier this year, two federal appeals courts prevent it from taking effect for different reasons.
UCLA law professor Adam Winkler joined Take Two to explain what the justices will be reviewing.
Listen the full interview using the audio player above.
California could get hit hard by the Senate GOP health care bill
The next few days could determine a lot about the future or healthcare in California.
Much of it hinges on Senate Republicans and a health bill released late last week.
The Congressional Budget Office is expected to release their findings as early as today; early analysis says the bill could leave millions uninsured.
No Democrat is expected to vote on the bill, so Republicans are scrambling to get the support they need to vote before 4th of July recess.
Holdouts are concerned that the bill would slash Medicaid payments to states. Over the next decade, those cuts would be even more aggressive than the failed House health bill.
So how could this bill — if passed — impact health care in California? Take Two put that question to Gerald Kominski, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
Press the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
A new study, looking at Seattle, finds some downsides to raising the minimum wage
Raising the minimum wage hurts workers. That's an argument that's come up again and again in many California cities that have acted to push up the lowest end of the pay scale.
On July 1, here in Los Angeles, the minimum will rise to $12 an hour and will increase each year until it reaches $15 an hour in 2020.
Now, a new study looking at Seattle's $15 minimum wage indicates that a higher hourly wage doesn't lead to higher incomes.
Hilary Wething of the University of Washington was the principal data analyst for the study. She spoke with Take Two's A Martinez for more.
On the findings of the study
For low-wage workers, we find that on average their wages did increase by about 3 percent and we can think of that sort of in terms of $54 a month. But at the same time, for those same workers, we've seen that their hours have decreased by about 9 percent. What this means is that these workers have seen a net reduction in their earnings by about $125 a month.
On what made this study different from others like it
That's a great question and this is actually what we view as our primary contribution to the minimum wage research. Previous studies have used proxies for low-wage labor markets. By that I mean they've looked at one particular group of workers such as restaurant workers or teenagers. And they've estimated the impact of the minimum wage on just that narrow sect of the work force. One of the opportunities that we had was use rich administrative data. That's allowed us to look at every single low-wage worker in Seattle of all industries regardless of age and experience. And estimate the entire aggregate effect of minimum wage on these low wage workers.
On what's next for this research team
"We're not done studying the minimum wage. This is one paper that's going to come out, out of a slew of four or five at the fewest.
"There's also going to be papers that are going to be looking at just the worker trajectories over time. So what that means is if you are a worker and I've been employed in Seattle over the last several years, one thing that we as researchers want to know is how have you fared? That worker might have seen wage increases and very few hours reductions. They might actually be doing better off. We would want to know that type of answer."
Answers have been edited for clarity
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above
Metro begins charging riders to park at three stations
Starting today, some Metro riders who've been enjoying free parking will have to start coughing up some cash.
Commuters who drive to the Monrovia, Irwindale, or Azusa Pacific/Citrus College stations before taking the train will now need to pay a daily three dollar fee. Metro officials hope that the fee will help reduce demand at these popular locations, where parking lots frequently reach capacity as early as 6 a.m.
Although the fee is relatively small, some worry that it could deter people from taking public transportation.
"[Decreasing ridership] is a concern among some people, and some riders. This is not much of a concern for Metro, because they have implemented this paid parking at a number of other stations on other lines," said Meghan McCarty Carino, Commuting and Mobility Reporter for KPCC.
According to McCarty Carino, Metro has not seen decreased ridership at its other stations with parking fees.
"[Metro] has found that at the stations that they’ve implemented this fee, the convenience of knowing that there may be a parking spot open overrides the financial burden of a three dollar parking fee for a lot of riders," she said.
Meghan McCarty Carino, Commuting and Mobility Reporter for KPCC, talked to Take Two about the pros and cons of paying for parking at Metro stations.
To listen to the full segment, click the blue play button above.
California's state travel ban list continues to grow
And then there were eight.
That is eight U.S. states where California has banned publicly funded travel.
Here's the list of no-gos for state employees and others traveling on the taxpayer's dime: Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.
It's all because of legislation that was passed last year, allowing California to prohibit the state funded and state sponsored travel to states with discriminatory laws.
For more on the impact of a California state ban, A Martinez spoke with POLITICO senior reporter, David Siders.
To listen to the full segment, click the blue play button above.
From avocados to coffee beans: One California farmer makes the shift
Ambitious growers from San Diego to Santa Barbara are putting in coffee plants — and some think beans might be the next big thing for the region.
Jay Ruskey, owner of Good Land Organics, is credited as one of the first California farmers to try his hand at coffee.
Why hasn't coffee been a key crop in California?
"Well, in California, we can grow a lot of different crops. Hundreds in fact. The difference is that today people are willing to pay more for a cup of coffee and so the farmers are making a lot more money on it.
Traditional coffee in the ‘70s and ‘80s were just $1 or $2 dollars a pound for commodity trade coffee but now people are paying $40 or $50 dollars a pound and that makes it a higher profit crop and potential crop for California."
The coffee switch wasn't overnight ... it took 15 years to get it just right. Why?
"I definitely killed a lot of plants tryings to do it. It's only in the last five years I've really focused in on it. Realizing that there is a trend to higher quality coffee and higher prices and we've really nailed down on systems. But, introducing new crops in any type of region is a long process.
It rarely happens just overnight. Things like the avocados were introduced in California in 1890 but really didn't take off until the '40s or '50s. So, it takes a while for new crops to get a foothold in a region."
The secret? Growing coffee in the shade of his avocado trees
"I found that the avocado groves do several things for me and coffee. First, I say wherever avocados can grow, coffee can grow and that's because they come from similar ecologies. They both like frost-free environments, they both have similar water chemistry, they have like soil chemistry. On top of that, we find that the avocados help provide some wind protection, some organic matter into the ground and it's a good companion crop and indicator crop for coffee."
To listen to the full segment, click the blue play button above.