Sanders and Hillary may be promising too much when it comes to immigration, the challenges of being undocumented and black, the latest in the FBI Apple filing.
State of Affairs: Bullet trains and an update on California's congressional race
On this week's State of Affairs, President Obama eyes two California judges to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scali, how GOP frontrunner Donald Trump could influence California's congressional race, and a big win for the bullet train.
Joining Take Two to discuss:
- Scott Shafer, Senior Editor of KQED's California Government and Politics Desk
- Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, USC Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Communication
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders spar over immigration in democratic debate
In the latest debate, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton faced off in Miami at an event sponsored by the Washington Post and Univision.
The candidates focused heavily on issues important to Latinos, like immigration and a path to citizenship. The debate was conducted in English and Spanish.
For more on how each candidate approached the issue, we're joined by Pilar Marrero, senior political writer with Impremedia newspapers, which includes La Opinion in LA and others across the country
Black and undocumented: 'I didn't know anybody else like me'
As the debate on immigration heats up, some are hoping to inject a new perspective into the conversation: that of those who are both black and undocumented.
"For such a long time we've couched immigration as a Latino issue that we've erased all these communities that are at that intersection," said Jonathan Jayes-Green, whose family came from Panama when he was 13. "We're not talking about this huge community of black, undocumented people that really experience the broken immigration system in a different manner."
Latinos do make up the majority of the undocumented population, but according to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute, nearly 600,000 people are also from Caribbean and African countries. And the overall black immigrant community is growing rapidly. Also, most estimates do not make a distinction of who is a Latino of African descent, commonly known as Afro-Latinos, of which Jayes-Green is one. Many of those who are undocumented and black say their experience adds an important dimension to the discussion – especially at a time when the country is grappling with a renewed discussion about race.
"We're rising up to tell our stories to be able to change that narrative, to be able to diversify the movement, to be able to change how we understand undocumented migration," said Jayes-Green.
Los Angeles resident Rhea Lambey spent nearly three decades in the U.S. without legal status. She arrived from Belize to Southern California as a child, at age 10. But it wasn't until high school, in the mid-1990s, when she sought to follow her classmates to college, that she found out her immigration status blocked her from continuing her education.
"That's when it hit me," said Lambey, now 39. "For me that was so shocking and devastating."
She continued to live with the secret of her status, which was often lonely in the black community.
"I didn't know anybody else like me," said Lambey. "Belizean people, Garifuna people, we're already so hush-hush and secretive that on a cultural level, just that added component of sharing your undocumented story, no. I've always known that it was a secret to keep."
But that secret weighed on her for years, until finally, in her late 30s, she decided to tell others about her status. She started with people close to her, including friends and her faith community. She was surprised by the support she received – yet also was met with disbelief at times.
"The shock of this black girl being illegal, undocumented, they couldn't believe it!" said Lambey.
Today, she and others are making their stories more public. In January, Lambey attended a gathering in Miami that brought together undocumented and black people from across the country. Jayes-Green, the student from Panama, was one of the lead organizers. It was called the Undocumented and Black Convening and organizers say it was a first for many of the participants, including Lambey, who called it eye-opening and emotional.
"There are millions of me out there, that are Hispanic and that are black," she said. "And we're out here and fully contributing to society in a healthy, positive way."
Lambey became a legal resident in 2014 and currently attends L.A. Trade Tech College. She said she hopes to transfer to a Cal State University in the future to pursue a degree in counseling.
Correction: This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Rhea Lambey's last name. KPCC regrets the error.
The Wheel Thing: A rodeo for commuter train wranglers
There weren't any bucking broncos, and no one was wearing chaps. The only cows to be found were ground up, and served on a bun at the In N' Out truck. And the competition? Well, it was low-key and oddly urban.
Welcome to the LA Metro Rail Roadeo. It's a face-off between Metro's top train operators, who compete in events that test their knowledge, skill and ability to stop a 76 ton train as smoothly as possible.
The contestants are also judged on how crisply they've put their uniforms together, and how courteous that can be with cranky passengers. The winner gets $1000, and the chance to compete in the International Roadeo, to be held this summer in Las Vegas. And they get some serious bragging rights, too.
"Train operators take their jobs very seriously," says John Johnson, service operations superintendent at Metro's new Monrovia rail yard, the site of this year's Roadeo. He says operators transport thousands of people each day, and the competition is a chance to show off their mastery of the big machines. "Being able to give a save, smooth ride for passengers is a big priority for the operators," Johnson says.
And don't call them drivers.
"Anyone can be a driver," says 30 year veteran Michael J. Moore. "Being an operator, that's special."
Sure, no had to dust off their hat after taking a bad bounce from a buckin' steer, but the rail roadeo is also a chance for Metro employees and their families to enjoy a day together. And a way to help passengers appreciate the operator the next time their train pulls into a station to a feathery, smooth stop.
Las Vegas casinos get push back over trying to go solar
The largest rooftop solar array in the United States is currently under construction at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
That might be surprising in itself, but it's only the latest in a series of moves by big casinos to go green. But not everyone's happy about it, especially NV Energy, the major electric utility which serves the entire state.
What's happening in Las Vegas isn't unique, it's actually an illustration of the difficulty faced in communities across the nations that are trying to balance new methods of sustainability with older infrastructure.
Daniel Hernandez wrote about this for The Guardian and he joins Alex Cohen for a discussion.
Should NCAA players get paid for playing?
This weekend is Selection Sunday, the day when the NCAA announces the 68 college basketball teams that will play in March Madness and there's a lot at stake for most of the parties involved.
Last year, fans wagered around $9 billion on the tournament while the NCAA took in almost $11 billion in broadcast rights. But the people doing the heavy lifting, the players, they get none of that. That's because they're getting something sports officials say is much more valuable, a free college education.
Lately though, the NCAA-invented term of the "student-athlete" is being challenged both in court and in the court of public opinion.
wrote about this in his new book, "Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion vs the NCAA," and he joined A Martinez to talk about it.
Today is the FBI's chance to respond in its fight with Apple
The battle between the FBI and Apple continues on, but both fighting over breaking into an iPhone used by the mass shooters in San Bernardino last December.
While the issue comes to a full head in court on March 22nd, today is the deadline for the FBI to submit its own filings to court.
That filing will detail its argument of why Apple should be required to help authorities, and respond to Apple's recent refusal.
Kim Zetter, senior staff reporter for Wired magazine, joins Take Two with the latest.
What AlphaGo's victory means for the future of artificial intelligence
The score now: computer, two, human Go master, zero.
An artificial intelligence system built by Google DeepMind has been going head-to-head with one of the world's greatest players of the Chinese board game Go.
With origins that extend back 2,500 years, Go is thought to be the most complex board game ever devised.
Experts thought it wouldn't be possible for a computer to beat a skilled human at the game for another decade.
The second defeat is a part of the five-game match series in which AlphaGo and Sedol face off in Seoul, South Korea.
The first match clocked in at an impressive three hours and 33 minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFr3K2DORc8
While the second match lasted four hours and 22 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-GsfyVCBu0
CNET's senior editor, Ashley Esqueda, joined the show to talk about why this is such a big deal and the future of artificial intelligence.
AlphaGo and Lee Sedol will be facing off again on Friday, March 11 at 7:30 pm PT. You can watch it live here.
Audio coming soon.
'City of Gold': One critic's guide to the hidden gems of LA
In 2007, Jonathan Gold became the first food critic to win the Pulitzer prize.
But long before that, loyal readers of his reviews knew what a talent he is.
Gold travels far and wide to find the best, hidden restaurant gems of Los Angeles.
And he does more than write about food. His pieces get at the heart of why living in LA is such a fabulous, wild ride.
When she first moved to the city, Laura Gabbert was a unsure about how much she would enjoy living in LA. But, she says, Gold's writing helped her learn to appreciate the city.
When Gabbert met Gold in person, she eventually convinced him to participate in a documentary about him entitled "City of Gold."
The film opens in theaters this weekend.
Gabbert on how Jonathan Gold's writing helped her learn to love LA
"I had moved to Los Angeles in the mid-90s to go to grad school and had a lot of reservations about moving here, even though i had never lived here. I struggled with it for the first couple of years. And then I started reading Jonathan. And slowly it sort of changed the way I saw Los Angeles. I began to understand that in order to appreciate Los Angeles, you had to explore what it had to offer."
Gold on what he thinks is most important in food writing
There are definitely moments when your eating with me that I will be in a trance state. I'll be trying to think about things and think about how the way that things get put together... But one of my problems with a lot of food writing is that so much of the music of it gets buried in the details of the ingredients or the preparation of someone trying to puzzle out how a certain dish gets put together. It's like going to the philharmonic and going to hear Mahlor and worrying about his use of the suspended second. Maybe it's part of it, but it doesn't really tell you anything. You're better off just listening to the music.
Gold on whether he enjoys the positive effect a good review from him can have on a restaurant.
It's always nice when people who are doing really good work become prosperous and become able to do the things they do even better than they did before. But in a certain way it's also like reading the movie grosses to see how the movie you liked last week is doing.
Audio coming soon