Today, we'll start with an update on the meeting between Rep. Paul Ryan and Black Caucus. Then, teens tackle tough topics at a Tuscon poetry slam. Plus, touring the San Gabriel Mission, how an Afghan 'torturer in chief' ended up in an L.A. suburb, farmers forcast less rice and higher prices because of drought, plus much more.
Rep. Paul Ryan meets with Black Caucus over insensitive comment
In Washington, Republican Congressman Paul Ryan has been facing a fire storm. Back in March, the Wisconsin lawmaker appeared on a radio program to discuss his plans to tackle poverty, when he said this:
"We have got this tailspin of culture in our inner cities in particular of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work so there's a cultural problem that has to be dealt with."
Critics took Ryan to task, calling this remark thinly veiled racism. But instead of writing him off entirely, the Congressional Black Caucus invited Ryan to meet with them face to face yesterday.
One member of Congress who was there, Democrat Karen Bass, joins the show to talk about what happened at the meeting. Bass represents California's 37th district, which includes parts of South LA, Culver City and West LA.
Teens tackle tough topics at Tucson poetry slam
There's a trend catching on with teens in Tucson. And this one is making their English teachers happy. Spoken word poetry has a growing following in high schools there. From the Fronteras Desk, Jude Joffe-Block reports.
Eleven teenagers recently competed in Tucson’s youth poetry slam championship. The contenders included a broad-shouldered 18-year-old named Jose Manuel Martinez.
“This is not your everyday poetry,” Jose said. “It is a lot more fun. It is active. It is crowd involving. You get up there and you get hyped.”
Jose has been participating in monthly workshops and slams put on by the Tucson nonprofit organization Spoken Futures.
The organization’s events are open to kids ages nine to 19. Some 90 young poets, coming from 15 schools, participated in Spoken Futures slams during the last year, according to organizers.
Today is the culmination. The championship slam.
“I used to be in so many sports, and then now I don’t do sports,” Jose said. “But I get the same adrenaline up here on the mic.”
About 150 people filled an auditorium on the University of Arizona’s campus to watch the competition. Five judges in the front row scored each poem on a 10-point scale.
There were verses about heartache, identity, parents and puberty.
Lydia Havens, a 16-year-old from Florence, Arizona, took the microphone:
I thought I was breaking when I rose from my middle school gym’s floor and blood slipped down my leg like a secret everyone came to know at once. I was 11. I had never felt more betrayed by my own body, I was 11.
A few local young people have channeled spoken word poetry into activism.
They’ve slammed poems to protest cuts to school bus routes, and at public meeting on community college tuition rates for immigrant students.
Many of the young poets, like Eva Sierra, are bilingual, and so are their poems.
“In recent years, I had my mind fixated on the idea that I was too cool to embrace my Mexican culture,” said Eva as she began her poem. “Which looking back is pretty stupid considering just a few years ago I couldn’t speak proper English.”
The crowd snapped appreciatively for the high school junior.
Eva wore red ballet flats and bangs swept to the side. She’s from the border town of Douglas, some 120 miles away. Her poem continued:
In third grade, we covered a unit on Latino poets and I could just not relate. However, I could relate to German expressionism, I could relate to Russian literature, I could relate to Japanese haiku. But how could that be when I never rubbed dirt off my bloody knees in Germany, I was never given a bath with a garden hose in Russia, and I never rode a burro in Japan? I notice now I get a little angry when people tell me, are you Filipino? Do you speak Spanish? Me llamo Eva. Not Eva.
Afterward, Eva said writing poems has allowed her to explore topics she says she wouldn’t talk about openly otherwise, like cultural identity and sexuality.
“It is a very different type of outlet that many people still haven’t looked into that lets you talk about those very, very personal issues in a non-personal setting,” Eva said.
The slam also featured noted Mexican-born poet and activist Yosmiar Reyes, who came to the event from California.
Jose wound up winning first place. One of the poems he performed is titled "The Ten Commandments of Being Mexican." Here are commandments five and six:
Look into your mother’s eyes and swear to her that you will make it in this world. And you will make something of yourself. And every burrito she rolled, every taco she served. Every restaurant she worked in. Every insult spit in her face by bosses who abused the fact that she had no papers. Every trailer park. Every sleepless night counting numbers that will never make ends meet. Making sure we had a damn tortilla in our stomachs, will not go to waste. Because that one tortilla, my stomach has become a fire. And I will redeem myself, mom. I will redeem myself that everything you did for us will not go to waste. Number 6, don’t forget where you came from. Whether you are a Chavez, Cruz, Reyes, Martinez, Garcia, or any other name, don’t forget where you came from.
As for his new championship title? Jose said afterward that winning isn’t what motivates him.
“I write for that one person in the room that comes after me afterwards who says, 'hey, that poem meant something to me,'” Jose said.
For Jose, performing poetry is about connecting. And maybe even helping someone else with his words.
Lydia took second place in the competition. Valerie Villalobos, a 17-year-old whose writing is peppered with references to the Sonoran desert landscape, won third.
Neighborhoods: Touring the San Gabriel Valley's historic mission
Every so often Take Two airs an installment in our series, Neighborhoods, a project we have in partnership with the Reporter Corps at USC's Annenberg School of Journalism and Communication.
The program trains 18-to-24 year-olds to report on their own communities. This class worked with young people in the San Gabriel Valley and was hosted by Alhambra Source.
23-year-old Elisa Perez takes us on a tour of her city, San Gabriel, which is home to the fourth of 21 missions Spaniards built in an attempt to spread Christianity amongst Native Americans. For Perez the mission is more than a place of worship, it is an opportunity to step into history.
I grew up in San Gabriel, Calif., which is probably best known as the home of the San Gabriel Mission. Walking into the mission is like stepping into a different time. The church was built in 1771 and has been well preserved. The artwork, the statues, and the marble detailing are done in a style I’ve never seen anywhere else.
Three generations of my family have lived near the San Gabriel Mission. My grandpa left his job as an elementary school principal in a small town in Mexico in the 1950s in search of a better life. Although he was an educator, he found work as a gardener and he continued to do that for the rest of his life. He and my grandmother made San Gabriel their home and we’ve been here ever since.
I think that what deters most people from visiting places of worship is the idea that the space is only open to those who practice a certain faith. But I think that is what makes the San Gabriel Mission different: It’s more than just a place of worship; it’s a historical landmark.
I spoke with parishioner and liturgy director Terri Valadez about how the mission community has changed over the years. “I’ve lived here all my life and there have been many changes here,” Valadez told me. “People from different countries are living here now in the San Gabriel Valley. A big change, but I welcome them. I love all the different cultures that are here.”
During a recent Sunday Mass, Arcelia Catalan cooked on the patio grill outside of the church, anticipating the hungry parishioners that would soon exit the service. “Right now I’m making breakfast sandwiches for the breakfast sale. We’re selling menudo [a tripe soup made with a red chili pepper base], we have birria [a meat stew], and later on we’re going to be making egg rolls,” said Catalan.
When I asked her how she would describe the mission community, Catalan did not hold back. “Oh my God, I love it,” she told me. “You know we’re a big family. We have a lot of Vietnamese parishioners, Hispanic parishioners, and Anglos, so we try to [be] multicultural and offer a little bit of everything.”
San Gabriel has changed so much over the years. It’s true the population has become much more diverse. And most of the buildings I see weren’t even around when I was growing up.
Since there’s always something new in the area, I think it’s cool that the San Gabriel Mission is very much the same. So if you ever decide to venture to San Gabriel, you should stop by the mission and see the history for yourself. You don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy the calmness of the church’s walls or ring the big bell.
A New Kind Of Spy: How one man helped China obtain US tech secrets
Greg Chung was a nice guy. He had a family, a nice house, he was generous to those around him, and he was a hard worker.
He worked diligently to become a U.S. citizen after coming over from Taiwan. He thrived at Boeing as a structural engineer, specializing on big projects like the space shuttle.
But Greg Chung also worked as a spy for the Chinese government. Yudhijit Bhattacharjee writes about Chung's story in the latest issue of the New Yorker and joins Tess Vigeland to chat on Take Two.
How an Afghan ‘torturer in chief’ ended up in an LA suburb
Haji Gulalai was once one of the most feared men in Afghanistan. As the intelligence chief in Kandahar and later as the head of the intelligence service's detention and interrogation branch, he earned a reputation for brutality.
But despite a substantial record of human rights abuses, the Afghan spy was able to make his way to America. He's now living a quiet life here in Los Angeles. The Washington Post's Greg Miller tracked down Haji Gulalai, and he joins the show to talk about what he learned.
May Day: Immigration activists march to the White House to stop deportations
For the fourth day in a row, immigration activists are marching to the White House in an effort to pressure President Obama into stopping deportations. It might be their only option.
RELATED: May Day: Thousands to march in downtown LA for immigration issues
In Congress, there were indications House Republicans would tackle immigration reform, but this week that door was slammed shut by House Speaker John Boehner.
RELATED: May Day rally prompts street closures in downtown LA
KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde has been following this story and joins us now.
Inside the exclusive Milken Global Conference
You might call it the Coachella of capitalism. Titans of industry from around the world have gathered the past couple days in Beverly Hills at The Milken Global Conference.
KPCC news titan and business reporter, Ben Bergman, managed to sneak in too. He joins the show to talk about what he hear and saw at the exclusive event.
What were some of the highlights for you of the panels you attended?
Naming panels is important so one of first I went to was called: "Why Tomorrow Won't Look Like Today: Things that Will Blow Your Mind." It featured Eric Anderson, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources, a company that wants to mine asteroids.
They have funding from people like Elon Musk and Ross Perot, and Anderson says this isn't some distant fantasy. It's something that's very close to reality.
He also said if he could mine an asteroid the size of the room we were sitting in for platinum, it would be worth $500 billion. That caught the ear of many people in the room, who are money managers.
That's a lot of high-falutin chit chat. Anything a little more down to earth?
I went to a panel called, "The Evolution of Music and the Music Consumer." We usually think of gloom and doom for the industry, but this panel was very bullish, seeing music as more important than ever. It's worth nothing that everyone on the panel were executives, not artists.
But the executives said that all the money is in live events and EDM, or electronic dance music. Everyone loves EDM, not least of which the DJs, who can make multiple six figures for one night of spinning records, or in some case just pretending like they're spinning.
Who was the most interesting person you met?
T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman who now flies around the world promoting natural gas and energy independence. But being a fitness nut the thing I was most interested in hearing from Pickens was his fitness routine, because he's more energetic than a lot of 20-year-olds I've met. Keep in mind that he's turning 86 in a few years. Here's what he does with his trainer:
"I do 10 degrees and speed 4 — which is 4 mph — and I do a mile at that. 10 degree elevation and all. We did 300 yards of lunges, it was three sets of 100 yards. Then we did crunches with a 20 pound weight on my chest, and we do 50 of those, so it was a good workout."
One other thing Pickens is famous for: He's never had a cup of coffee in his life.
Commission recommends ways to fix CA State Park system
Giant redwoods, sparkling beaches and desert vistas are just a few reasons to love California's state park system. But that system is in need of an major overhaul.
A couple of years ago, in the midst of the state's severe budget issues, many parks were closed and allegations of mismanagement and sluggish fundraising just made things worse. But a blue-ribbon commission has just issued some recommendations to fix the problems.
Jon Christensen, environmental historian at UCLA and the editor of Boom Magazine, joins the show with more.
State Of Affairs: Waxman's seat, Garcetti, worker's comp and more
It's Thursday and that means it's time for State of Affairs, our weekly roundup of politics and government news in the golden state. To give us a rundown of the latest, we're joined by KPCC's political reporter Alice Walton and politics editor Oscar Garza.
We start with the race for Congress for Henry Waxman's vacated seat. An endorsement out today from the LA Times for radio host Matt Miller.
KPCC's online polls are not scientific surveys of local or national opinion. Rather, they are designed as a way for our audience members to engage with each other and share their views. Let us know what you think on our Facebook page, facebook.com/kpcc, or in the comments below.
Seventeen candidates running for Waxman's seat participated in a forum over the weekend at the University Synagogue. It was an unwieldy affair by most accounts.
Continuing with endorsements, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti waded into the red hot race for mayor in Long Beach this week. Garcetti also announced endorsements of seven other mayors in L.A. County. Clearly, he intends to use his office to elect people he likes. This is a new power for Garcetti, and he appears comfortable wielding it.
The Public Policy Institute of California has released new poll results about how then state's new "top-two" primary system has affected voter turnout. What did we learn?
We've talked a lot this week about the firestorm surrounding Clippers owner Donald Sterling. After the NBA commissioner announced Sterling's punishment Tuesday, Mayor Eric Garcetti held a news conference with some very famous basketball players. What was the mayor's role in this story?
The city's Budget and Finance Committee started hearings this week on Mayor Eric Garcetti's 8.1 billion budget for Los Angeles. What can we expect from these hearings over the next two weeks?
Supervisorial candidate Bobby Shriver picked up an endorsement this week from a famous family member, cousin Bobby Kennedy Jr. Does the Kennedy name mean much to L.A. County voters?
L.A. County supervisors were in Washington, DC this week. Among the topics they were talking about was sex trafficking. Why is this such an important issue to the county?
Republican gubernatorial candidates may debate next month in Anaheim. What can we expect from a Tim Donnelly and Neel Kashkari match up?
The Sacramento Bee reported this week that California has some of the lowest workers compensation benefits in the country. Will this lead to a political fight over benefits?
California kingsnake wreaks havoc in the Canary Islands
The Asian carp threatens the Great Lakes, brown tree snakes are a problem in Guam, Burmese pythons in Florida are all examples of a foreign species invading an area where no natural predators exist.
The latest species to make headlines is one native to California: the albino kingsnake.
Somehow it slithered into Spain's Canary Islands and is now decimating native lizards and geckos. Brian Hinds, president of the California chapter of the North American Field Herping Association, will be traveling to the archipelago as a pied piper of sorts.
US Education Dept. unveils list of schools under Title IX probe
Today, the Education Department released a list of 55 colleges and universities being investigated under Title IX for issues related to the handling of sexual abuse cases.
California has three schools on the list: USC, UC Berkeley and Occidental College. For more on what this means for the schools involved, we're joined by Caitlin Emma, who's been covering this for POLITICO.
Farmers forecasting less rice, higher prices because of drought
California supplies nearly all of the nation's sushi rice, and economists say the drought is likely to affect rice more than any other food grown here. For Capital Public Radio, Amy Quinton reports that the speculation of loss already is driving up prices.
With D'Antoni out, what's next for the LA Lakers?
We've had a surfeit of NBA news all week, and it continues. This time, from the "other" L.A. team, which surely is not used to being called "the other team."
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni has resigned. He joined the team in 2012, after coach Mike Brown was fired just five games into that season. This year, the Lakers finished 27-55 under D'Antoni, the worst record in franchise history.
For more on this, we're joined by Bill Oram, who covers the Los Angeles Lakers for the Orange County Register.