Today on the show we'll take an in-depth look at Prop 8, from the history of the movement to it's current status in the Supreme Court. Then, Sequestration hits home for low-income Angelenos, we ask whether Sunset's Tower Records should become a landmark, and much more.
The history and future of California's Proposition 8
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether lesbians and gays have the right to marry here in California. In just a few moments, we'll retrace the history of Proposition 8, from the moment it became a ballot measure in 2008.
First we go to reporter Scott Shafer of member station KQED who is in Washington D.C. at the Supreme Court.
Supporters and opponents of California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage have descended on the steps of the Supreme Court. We'll talk to someone posted outside the high court to get a sense of what people are talking about.
Federal sequestration cuts could hit home for LA's low-income renters
The federal sequester is beginning to cut into housing subsidies for low-income renters in Los Angeles, reducing funding for public housing and Section 8 programs to its lowest level in their history.
Monthly rents have already been hiked by $100 for some families and housing vouchers have been denied to 300 families. That's especially worrisome for the city with the largest homeless population in the country.
We talk with Doug Guthrie, who heads the L.A. County Housing Authority.
California to seek return of sole control over mental health care at prisons (Photos)
Tomorrow California will ask a federal judge to end his oversight of the mental health care system in state prisons.
The judge appointed a special master more than a decade ago. Since then, California has spent billions of dollars to improve psychiatric care for inmates.
But as KPCC's Julie Small reports, the state will have to explain to the judge why the suicide rate has risen in recent years.
Tuesday Reviewsday: LA's Milk Carton Kids release 'The Ash & Clay'
Today, a Los Angeles based duo known as the Milk Carton Kids, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, release their third album, The Ash & Clay.
Here's a song off that album called Hope of a Lifetime:
The Milk Carton Kids have are performing live at Amoeba Records Tuesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. and Wednesday, March 27 night at Largo at the Coronet.
The man tasked with revamping California's health care system
The president of the California Hospital Association recently described trying to revamp the state's health care system to implement president Obama's Affordable Care Act as, "Flying an airplane while rebuilding the engine at the same time."
Peter Lee is the man tasked with flying that plane. He's the executive director of the health care exchange known as Covered California.
Third 'Van Allen Radiation Belt' appears around Earth, then vanishes
The Van Allen Belts are a pair of rings, circling the earth, made up of charged particles. Named for astronomer James Van Allen, these cosmic doughnuts were discovered early in the space age - back in the late 1950's, when Van Allen and his team identified two distinct zones of radiation.
This video illustrates changes in the Van Allen belts shape and intensity:
The belts have been the focus of ongoing study ever since, and recently scientists were stunned to find a third belt. Then, within a month of its detection, it disappeared. We’ll speak with science writer Veronique Greenwood.
Long Beach middle schools to begin an hour later
Last night, the Long Beach school board voted to push the start times at the district's five middle schools back an hour starting in the fall. The district is considering a similar plan at area high schools.
School officials say the move will save the district some money but not everyone is happy about the idea.
For more, we're joined now by reporter Stephen Ceasar of the LA Times.
Study: Global warming may shrink fish size
They say it's better to be a big fish in a small pond, but a new study shows that being a 'big fish' may be harder in the future.
Scientists believe that, because of warming ocean temperatures, fish may have trouble growing large and the world may end up with more small fish in the water. According to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, hundreds of species of fish could see their body mass percentages dwindle by 14-24 percent between the years 2000 and 2050. Fish in tropical climates could see an average body mass decrease of 20 percent.
"One of the rare but universal principles in biology that seems to affect almost all living things is that the warmer the temperatures that bodies develop at, the smaller they end up," said marine biologist Pat Krug on Take Two. " So what scientists have found is that everything from bacteria to plants to fish to seaweeds show this trend where when temperatures are warmer, they grow smaller."
The authors of the study looked at 600 different species of fish and found that larger-bodied fish were most strongly affected by this phenomenon. Overfishing and pollution could exacerbate the problem further.
"A medium-0sized fish would lose about 5 percent of its body mass for every degree centigrade that the water was warmer. So the difference of a few degrees would make a huge difference in terms of the body mass at which these fish would stop growing," said Krug. "The bigger you are typically the more eggs you can produce and often the larger and healthier the offspring you can produce are, so there is definitely some negative synergy going on in terms of how body size can constrain the health of a population, a species and an ecosystem."
The affect these body mass changes will have on the seafood industry is difficult to predict, but Krug says it's safe to assume it would have a negative impact.
"There's certainly going to be economic as well as ecological impacts of this, but it's something that up until now hasn't even been factored into these models," said Krug.
Should Sunset's Tower Records building become an official landmark? (Poll)
West Hollywood's Historic Preservation Commission is considering a proposal to designate the old Tower Records building on the Sunset Strip into an historical landmark. Dominic Priore, author of "Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Last Stand in Hollywood,” is spearheading the effort to not only get landmark status for the location, but also possibly turn it into a museum.
"I was one of many people who was driven to Sunset Strip even before I could drive. It was like a pilgrimage, and it didn't matter where you lived in the greater LA area, you might have even passed by the Tower that was near your house to get to the one up on the Strip." said Priore on Take Two. "Tower was an important place … It has about 30 years of being a sort of the pipeline, the funnel for bringing new artists or new pieces of work out to the public."
The record store opened in 1971 and quickly established itself as a key intersection for music lovers and music industry folks. Musicians and bands would make appearances to promote new albums, perform live concerts at the building and people would come from far and wide to search through racks of records. Before Tower moved in, the building housed a 'Madman' Muntz Stereo store, the first place car stereos were sold and marketed.
The store closed in 2006, two years after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and today houses a clothing store called Live on Sunset. Centrum Partners proposed a mixed-use project on the property, including a David Barton gym, but the proposal was turned down twice by the West Hollywood City Council because issues of parking and traffic were judged to be too cumbersome for the area.
One obstacle facing Priore's effort is that historical landmarks are usually given to buildings with architectural significance. However, Priore says the location's cultural significance should be taken into account.
"The Tower Records building is just a stock building of the era, it's not architecturally important," said Priore. "The City of West Hollywood is very emphasized on saving architectural sites, but a cultural resource designations says this is not about the buildings. It is really about the human emotion that came to that place from all over the world."
Among Priore's goals is to get the city to turn the building into a museum of Sunset Strip's rich history.
"Sunset Strip really needs a museum. A Sunset Strip museum where it would show the history of this place and why Sunset Strip is a famous name,"said Priore. "We have some great museums in town, but local history is not really shown as well as it should."