Jim Brulte, Chairman of California Republican party, on the future of the state's GOP, strike imminent for LAUSD employees, a director's love for Highland Park.
CA GOP head Brulte unfazed by endorsement fail
California Republicans face steep competition in this year's elections. Many held out hope that an endorsement in the governor's race would help unify the party behind one candidate, but that didn't happen. Despite that, Jim Brulte, Chairman of the California Republican Party, isn't worried.
"The California Democrat[ic] party didn't endorse anybody for U.S. Senate, didn't endorse anybody for Governor, and that, frankly, wasn't the big news coming out of that convention," Brulte said. "So I don't know why it should come out of this convention."
A firm nod for either John Cox or Assemblyman Travis Allen would have likely helped the party make it past the primary with a top-ticket candidate. Such an outcome could boost voter turnout in November.
Brulte is confident, however, that, even without the endorsement, a conservative candidate will still make it to the general election.
"I think it probably would have been a little easier for one of the candidates if the party had endorsed," Brulte said. "Irrespective of that, I believe this will be an election between Gavin Newsom and one of our Republicans for governor."
The Republican chairman denies the value of party endorsements. He says efforts on the part of the state party and campaigns will help keep Republicans competitive going forward.
When asked about the party's long-term future in the state and principles it will stand for, however, Brulte says: that's up to the campaigns.
"The role of the party is to do the scut work: the unglamorous things that are hard work that go into a campaign, and candidates get to choose what issues they talk about. We don't tell them how to do their job; they don't tell us how to do ours."
30,000 LAUSD employees plan one-day strike for May 15
Caltrans workers report lack of training and equipment for handling syringes, human waste
The union that represents Caltrans workers have filed a grievance with the department.
The International Union of Operating Engineers (I.U.O.E.) says their members are assigned potentially dangerous work that lies outside their job description. Namely, the clean up of former homeless encampments on Caltrans property.
Caltrans union files grievance over homeless camp cleanups
— San Diego Union-Tribune (@sdut)
Caltrans union files grievance over homeless camp cleanups https://t.co/nXYgQ69KsC pic.twitter.com/ljqdQBSt65
— The San Diego Union-Tribune (@sdut) May 3, 2018
The hazards of cleaning up
"The ground is littered with debris, needles, gallons of human waste– there's used feminine products lying the ground," said Steve Crouch, director of Public Employees for I.U.O.E. "It's as if you took a portable toilet and turned it upside-down, and then said, 'OK guys, now you've got to go in there and clean this up.'"
Croucher said the dangers don't end there. "Sometimes, when the Caltrans workers go to clean out the camps, they get attacked by dogs."
Caltrans employees have taken on more clean-up duties as municipalities have ramped up efforts to remove homeless encampments. Cities and counties remove the homeless from an area, forcing many to relocate.
Mile Marker: Cost To Clean Up Homeless Camps Climbs. Nearly $30 Million Spent Since 2012 as State Property Under Growing Pressure https://t.co/wPH10TFxeZ pic.twitter.com/jUCNVCx6xF
— Caltrans HQ (@CaltransHQ) April 19, 2018
Freeway underpasses and bridges become new settlements until Caltrans becomes aware and removes them. The homeless again find another spot on city or county land, and the cycle begins again.
Preparing to safely handle hazardous waste
The grievance filed against Caltrans alleges that workers are put "in harm's way" when asked to perform such duties, especially without proper preparation and gear.
"They have to segregate waste," said Croucher. "Human waste, they have to put it over to the side of the cleanup zone and label it as hazardous materials. The needles have to be picked up and put in special containers, which they take back to the maintenance yards. Then they go around the grounds and pick up all the litter and debris."
Coucher said Caltrans workers do not receive any training for the additional responsibility handling hazardous materials and are not given adequate equipment. The union representing Caltrans workers also says the workers should receive vaccinations for communicable diseases and a pay differential to compensate for the additional risk.
Take Two reached out to Caltrans and they commented via email that "safety is a top priority for Caltrans and we will carefully review the grievance."
Croucher and I.U.O.E. officials are hoping to meet with Caltrans by the end of the month to "discuss our concerns, ideas they have, and coming up with a solution."
American Apparel is reopening its first store in LA
L.A.-based American Apparel was once hipper than hip, with its eye-catching billboards showing off shimmery gold body suits and less flashy basics like t-shirts and hoodies. The company was also known for making its clothes in the U.S. in its downtown L.A. factory.
But in recent years, the brand's popularity tumbled. In 2015, the company filed for bankruptcy, its founder Dov Charney was pushed out, and by January of last year, all of its stores were shuttered.
Well, the brand is staging a comeback. It announced plans to reopen a single brick-and-mortar store here in Los Angeles at a former American Apparel location on Melrose Avenue.
The return to brick-and-mortar is the next step as Gildan, the Canadian clothing company that bought American Apparel, tries to reinvigorate the brand.
Gildan already re-launched American Apparel's e-commerce site in the U.S. last year and has expanded the website to other countries since. The website also has a unique option for customers: they can buy certain items as 'Globally Made' or 'Made in the U.S.A.' for an increase in price.
"[The price difference] depends on whether it's a t-shirt or a sweatshirt. I've seen it range from $4 to maybe $10 or $12. So we're not talking about a huge difference, but that's not working out so well apparently. I asked them how that was going, and they said customers are going for the cheaper price," said Sandrine Rastello, a reporter following the story for Bloomberg.
Gildan makes its clothes globally, but it wanted to offer the made-in-the-U.S.A. option to customers who valued that aspect of American Apparel, Rastello said.
As for the brick-and-mortar stores, the L.A. location opening later this year is the only planned store for now, but Gildan could open more if this shop does well.
“It’s gonna be a bit of a test store. Who knows what could happen -- more stores, franchises, everything is open," Rastello said.
Can the Cannes Film Festival adapt to the #MeToo era?
It's that time of year again when entertainment journalists flock to the French Riviera to soak up the heat and humidity and attend one of the most prestigious international film festivals: Cannes.
This year will be the first Cannes since Harvey Weinstein's downfall. The event was one of his notorious hunting grounds. The festival is still grappling with its own #MeToo problems and has set up some features in an effort to adapt to the new era.
"This year Cannes has launched a sexual harassment hotline that people can call," explained Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan, who is at the festival. "The jury has a female chief, Cate Blanchett, and it's a majority female jury. Ava Duvernay, Kristen Stewart are also on the jury, as an attempt to get more women involved among the taste makers of the festival."
But the festival isn't without its critics, who are quick to point out the festival also invited back Lars von Trier, a director whose actresses have accused him of abuse, and it programmed only three women directors in competition.
The consensus seems to be that these are steps in the right direction but not enough.
PLUS:
- "Avengers: Infinity War" has become the fastest movie to earn $1 billion at the box office.
- Orson Welles' final film, "The Other Side of the Wind," is missing from the Cannes lineup after it was abruptly pulled from the festival in a dispute with the festival organizers.
- Since then, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said the company made 'mistakes' in its Cannes dealings.
- Last week the film Academy voted to boot out Roman Polanski and Bill Cosby. Polanski's lawyer says he wants to challenge the decision.
On The Lot, Take Two's weekly segment about the business of entertainment and Hollywood, airs every Monday.
How a Parisian transplant used Highland Park as the inspiration for her latest film
People come from all over the world to make it in Hollywood. And Parisian filmmaker Lou Dubigeon is no exception.
She made her home in Highland Park late last year, and is a student at New York Film Academy’s Los Angeles campus.
Her latest film, "The Blank Page," will be part of the Cannes Film Festival's Short Film Corner this month.
KPCC's Audrey Ngo interviewed Dubigeon to find out how L.A. influences her work.
How she discovered L.A.
I grew up in Paris and came here for the first time on a project. A director I worked for made a feature film in Europe and he came here for post production. This is how I discovered Los Angeles.
It was really great for me. There was always something going on. All the people you met were always part of some new projects and were really excited about it. And I think that's what really made me [fall in] love with the the city.
Paris vs. L.A. filmmaking culture
In Paris, everyone kind of looks at you with some distance--looking at who is doing well or not. It's kind of a weird environment. When here, I feel there's a way more supportive environment. If you have a project, people are going to be like, "Yes, do it!" It doesn't matter if you don't have a budget, just live it!
"The Blank Page"
This film is very self-inspired. I hadn't had time to write for a long time, and Thanksgiving was my one day off.
Inspiration doesn't come with orders. So, I woke up at 6 a.m., sat at my desk, and stayed there for 12 hours. Nothing was coming through. When I was talking to other people about it, they were all like, "Oh, I know what you went through." Because every single person who is an artist has gone through having to fight "the blank page."
I thought this is a very beautiful subject. And I wanted to tackle it in a quirky, funny, lighthearted way.
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on Vimeo.
Highland Park film inspiration
The way I was picturing it was very colorful. And I thought, well, I live [in Highland Park], and I see these colors every day and I can't think of a better place to shoot. Paris is very beautiful, but there's a lot of regulations. And here [in L.A.], it's amazing. You find so many colors.
One of my favorite colors in movies is blue. And it's incredible, the number of blue houses here. I thought I needed to scout [locations], but it actually ended up being really easy because there's so many locations here in Highland Park that have these bright beautiful colors.
This mural of Jesus is actually on my street. And I can't help but look at every single day, because it's just so present.
I was thinking of my character. And in the story, there's this moment where she's really desperate...and [I wanted to] have her walk past Jesus and just stop and look at him like, "I'm lost."
On women filmmakers in Hollywood
Things are definitely changing. I think the main problem is that, for so long, there were way less [women filmmakers] and there are a lot of women who still lack that confidence and don't think people will believe in them....This is the main thing that we need to fight.
What she wants her audience to know
For artists, "The Blank Page" is our problem as a community. So, don't freak out. Just keep doing it.
*This interview was edited for clarity.
With FYF's plug pulled, what does it take for a music festival to make it?
Listen up, music fans. FYF Fest won’t be happening this year. The L.A.-based music festival would have been headlined Janet Jackson, Florence and the Machine and Future.
The culprit for FYF’s cancellation could be poor ticket sales in April. Refunds will be given to patrons who already bought tickets, according to a statement from Goldenvoice, the company behind FYF Fest.
And with so many multi-day music festivals taking place near L.A. and across the country, it’s getting tougher for festival companies to compete.
Dave Brooks is a senior correspondent for Billboard who has some thoughts on why FYF Fest just couldn’t make it happen this year.
When did problems start for this year's FYF Fest?
Late last year, the founder of the festival, Sean Carlson, got in serious trouble once allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct came out. In 2011, he had sold half the festival to Goldenvoice. After those allegations emerged last year, he sold the entire thing to Goldenvoice. So Goldenvoice put the lineup out in April and fans did not respond with their wallets. Ticket sales never took off.
But it still had more than two months to go to increase ticket sales, and it was praised for its largely female artist lineup. Why did they make this decision now?
I'm sure they were up against some deadlines. In the festival world, you have to pay certain deposits and pay up-front for vendors. It was likely a deadline issue.
So this summer we have Coachella, Stagecoach, Electric Daisy--and those are just music festivals within driving distance of L.A. Is the festival scene just too saturated for FYF?
There's a lot of festivals and a lot of competition for the consumer dollar. Fans only have so much money to spend on these festivals that can cost up to $300 to $400.
What does it take to compete in today's festival landscape?
You just have to really have an event and lineup that appeals to fans. You have to have an event that people feel like they can't miss. And that can be tricky when there are so many festivals out there.