On Friday Take Two will discuss the looming deadline to sign up for healthcare. We'll also talk about the grim sleeper, one of LA's most notorious killers, who is back in the headlines again. Also, controversy is brewing over who gets the naming rights to a Yosemite peak. We'll discuss the latest Muppets movie with writer Nick Stoller. And since it's Friday it's time for Friday Flashback.
Affordable Care Act: Deadline looms amidst call center delays
There's a little more than a week left until the deadline to sign up for health insurance.
That deadline will likely lead to a rush of phone calls into the health insurance exchange known as Covered California.
Not good, considering the phone system there is already overtaxed.
It's something LA Times reporter Chad Terhune has been following. He joined Take Two for more on the deadline.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
About half of the callers into Covered California over the last six weeks couldn’t get through and ditched their calls. What’s going on?
Simply put, there’s a lot of people with questions about Obamacare and not enough people to help them out right now.
How long are people waiting on average and how many people are dropping the call?
Half of the callers since February are giving up their phone call. They can’t wait, they can’t get through. Their goal was just three percent of people would give up their phone call. That’s about 400,000 people trying to call in and half of them just say, ‘I can’t put up with this, I cant get through.’
And now we’re just a little over a week away. How do you see that affecting the situation?
It’s going to get worse. A lot of people have been putting off signing up. March 31 is the final deadline to getting health insurance for 2014 or you pay a penalty. If you look at the numbers, about a third of callers are getting a busy signal, that’s down from about half of callers. The exchange has said the wait time has gone down, it was 45 minutes now it’s down to 30 minutes. But still that’s a long time to wait.
Are there plans to staff up at these call centers in the home stretch?
The exchange is aware of this problem. As you remember in December they had a similar service meltdown as people were trying to get coverage Jan. 1. They went and asked the federal government for more money; they get $150 million in additional grant money. They have hired more call center representatives but there’s just not time to staff up and add a lot of people at this point.
Yesterday Covered California released some more data about enrollment. What did we find out there?
It’s been well-publicized. They’ve done very well in overall enrollment. Over 1 million people have enrolled in private health plans through Covered California, well beyond their initial estimates so that’s good news. But for certain groups like Latinos, they’ve gotten a lot of criticism because those numbers have been much lower. Another area of concern was African Americans; they’re only three percent of overall enrollment so that’s way below where they hope to be.
We’ve seen President Obama pull out all the stops with cat GIFs and Zach Galifianakis. Is there anything similar in California?
A huge ad blitz. They’ve tried to feature some real people who signed up and explain in their own words why it’s important to get health insurance. More Spanish language advertising. But back to the point: Will they be able to get through on the phones? Will the website hold up? Will they be able to find someone in their local neighborhood to help them sign up?
What happens if you miss the deadline come March 31?
You could wind up paying a penalty, which is 1 percent of your income. And the next enrollment wouldn’t be until November.
Why is baseball season opening in Australia?
At 1 a.m. Saturday, the Major League Baseball season officially gets underway.
The Dodgers will play the Arizona Diamondbacks more than 7000 miles away at a cricket stadium in Sydney. So, why is the season opening in Australia?
RELATED: Dodgers season opener: In Australia, MLB sees a test-case for international expansion
Friday Flashback: Russia sanctions, military sexual assault, vehicle recalls and more
It's the end of another week and time for the Friday Flashback, Take Two's look at the week in news.
Take Two was joined in-studio by Los Angeles Times columnist James Rainey and in Washington D.C., Nancy Cook of National Journal.
The past week in news included Obama announcing sanctions against Russia; the failure of a bill that would have removed military commanders from decisions over the prosecution of sexual assault cases; the fallout from Toyota and GM recalls; Michelle Obama's trip to China and more.
Richard Blanco: Inauguration poet reflects on his journey
Poet Richard Blanco took a bit of a winding road to America.
As he describes it he was made in Cuba, assembled in Spain and imported to the United States.
Growing up in an insulated Cuban ex-pat community in Miami, in a neighborhood with the very Anglo Saxon name of Westchester, Blanco's eyes absorbed two distinct versions of the American dream.
One was through TV shows like "The Brady Bunch," the other one he was living everyday through the immigrant experience.
That upbringing was source material for his poems that reflected on these dual identities.
And eventually, those writings led him to the White House in 2013 when he was asked to speak at President Obama's second inauguration, joining poets such as Robert Frost and Maya Angelou to receive that honor.
Richard Blanco spoke with Take Two about his new book, "For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey."
Grim Sleeper: Notorious LA serial killer awaits trial
One of LA's most notorious serial killer cases is back in the headlines again.
The case of the Grim Sleeper caused a media frenzy a few years back when police finally captured the man they believe to have murdered at least 10 people in Los Angeles.
RELATED: Police ID at least 1 woman still alive in Grim Sleeper serial killer photo
Lonnie Franklin Jr., a former mechanic for the city of Los Angeles, was arrested for the murders in 2010.
An undercover cop snagged his leftover pizza scraps and utensils at a pizza joint in Buena Park.
RELATED: Judge allows DNA evidence in 'Grim Sleeper' case
The DNA from the saliva they found matched the DNA found on victims.
Definitely sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie - and in fact, Lifetime just aired a movie based on the case.
Now the saga continues as the victims' families wait for Franklin to be put on trial.
RELATED: 'Grim Sleeper' serial killer case ballistic evidence to be reviewed by defense
Reporter Christine Pelisek broke the story that a serial killer was on the loose for the LA Weekly - before the LAPD notified the public.
She joined Take Two with an update on the long-awaited trial.
Battle looms over naming rights to Yosemite peak
Just off Tioga Pass in Yosemite there's a 12,000 foot mountain with an identity crisis.
That's because, 2,700 miles away in Washington D.C. there's a political battle going on over whether to change the name of Mammoth Peak in Yosemite National Park to Mount Jessie Benton Fremont.
Yosemite residents thought that Fremont - a former political activist and Yosemite preservationist - deserved to be recognize for her environmental contributions. So, Congressman Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) authored a bill to change the name, which was recently approved by a House committee.
"Why they selected this particular peak is a little unclear to me," said Michael Doyle, who wrote about the story for McClatchy Newspapers. "Mammoth Peak is a bit of a generic name and perhaps they’d figured there’d be less resistance to changing a name to something after an individual."
But they did run into resistance from the National Park Service. Officials there said they preferred not to name natural sites after individuals, and also noted that Fremont had no connection to the peak itself.
Another obstacle - the Democrat. "So far neither Senator Boxer nor Feinstein have taken a public position on this. If I were to guess I’d say it’s a bit of a long shot because it’s easier to not do things in Congress than to do things."
Let's say that it does make it... that the name is changed. What sort of impact would that have?
"Google maps would have to take account of that and some remapping..." said Doyle. "[And] climbers and hikers who are accustomed to going out to Mammoth Peak will have to accustom themselves to the new peak."
Whether they'll be climbing Mount Jessie Benton Fremont anytime soon is still up in the air.
Researchers plan to retrace wolf's 1200-mile path
Take Two has talked a fair bit about the wolf known as OR-7.
Born in Oregon, the wolf roamed many miles - his movements tracked by a GPS equipped collar.
RELATED: Lone Gray Wolf from Oregon finds new home in the Golden State
Several times he's crossed into California, making OR-7 the first wild wolf to set paw in the state since the last one was killed in 1924.
Now a group of researchers plan to retrace Or-7's 1200-mile path on foot.
Wolf expert David Moskowitz, who will be going on this grand adventure, joined Take Two for more.
The Muppets, part 2: Why the beloved 2011 film got a sequel
The Muppets are back, picking up right where they left off in their 2011 film, "The Muppets."
Like, exactly at the moment the first movie ends.
"Hey, what's the camera still doing here?" says the character Walter.
"Oh no, disaster!" says curmudgeon Statler. "That can only mean one thing."
"Doggonnit, you're right," fellow heckler Waldorf adds. "It looks like they've ordered ... a sequel!"
And that's how the new film "Muppets Most Wanted" begins: fully in sequel-land.
Alex Cohen talked with the writer of both films about the Muppets' new found popularity, and why the franchise is a beloved classic.
“I’d call the Muppets — especially for people of my generation — the gateway drug to comedy," says writer Nick Stoller. "So you kind of try some of that and you’re like, 'That’s what I want to do for a living. I don’t know what that is, but that’s what I want to do.' And it really led me into wanting to be a comedy writer.”
Hear more about the new film, how they cast some surprising guest cameos, and which Muppet everyone dreams about being but will never be.