Today on the show, we'll start with the LA Fire Commission's audit of recruitment in the LAFD. Then, a Colorado prison director recounts his experience in solitary confinement. Plus, tech companies put big bucks into office space design hoping to foster creativity, artist Daniel Joseph Martinez's 'Ship Of Fools' show comes to LA, San Francisco votes to ban sale of plastic water bottles, plus much more.
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• 6:15
The Los Angeles Fire Department has been under scrutiny for the lack of diversity in its ranks. Now, the city's Fire Commission has asked an independent assessor to look into how the department recruits and hires new firefighters.
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• 7:32
Last week, at a Senate subcommittee hearing, Senator Dick Durbin called the practice, "a human rights issue we can't ignore." Among those who testified at that hearing is our next guest, the head of Colorado's Department of Corrections Rick Raemisch.
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• 6:44
These days plenty of tech companies are investing good chunks of their fortunes into getting just the right look and feel to their offices. It's a trend the New York Times' deputy tech editor Quentin Hardy has been writing about and he joins us now.
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• 8:33
Artist Daniel Joseph Martinez's career has spanned decades. His work has been called unpredictable, bold, challenging. He's taken his art all over the world, from the museums and galleries of New York to sites in Cairo, Berlin, Moscow and Mexico City.
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• 10:09
The Lakers keep taking their fans to strange new places. Turns out you can't go home again, without people questioning your motives, and how kissing a gator is all part of good clean fun. All that means it's time for sports with Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered sports for ESPN and the LA Times.
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• 5:06
This weekend's storm didn't dump enough rain to put a dent in California's drought. Meanwhile, the state's tight water supplies have focused attention on environmental restoration projects, especially the effort to bring salmon back to California's second longest river, the San Joaquin.
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• 5:14
San Francisco city leaders have voted to ban the sale of plastic bottled water on public property, making it one of the strictest bans in the country.
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• 4:48
Climbing to the top of Mount Everest isn't for the faint of heart. It can often takes weeks to reach the summit, and starting this year, you won't just bring back a sense of accomplish. You'll also be forced to tote more than 17 pounds of trash down with you, too.
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• 4:43
Campers beware! If you're planning on driving up to the Prairie Creek Redwoods, you might find yourself staring at a closed road. Park officials have started closing down the Newton Drury Parkway to try to keep out wood poachers
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• 5:13
The ban is expected to be signed into law by Mayor Eric Garcetti and when it goes into effect would treat e-cigarettes just like regular cigarettes.
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• 5:12
L.A. hosted the Olympics in 1984, and the event was considered a huge success. Officials here are hoping for a repeat four decades later.
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• 5:08
Thousands of people in New Mexico have developmental disabilities, but it's been hard for them to get access to the full spectrum of services available through the government. Many have been waiting for as long as 10 years.
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• 10:16
Today, romantic comedies are like yesterday's wedding cake left out in the rain. A soggy sad reminder of a love story gone bad.