The unit within the San Francisco DA’s office investigating officer-involved shootings, musical 'super groups', a look at LA's first automated parking garage.
Sanders draws crowd to rally in Lincoln Heights
Senator Bernie Sanders is in Anaheim, San Bernardino and Riverside today, with more rallies planned this week in Southern California.
Hilary Clinton also two events today: one in Los Angeles and one in Commerce. And Donald Trump is expected to hit the region this week as well.
Yesterday, Sanders spoke to a large crowd on a baseball diamond in Lincoln Heights.
"It was pretty sunny, everybody was outdoors in the middle of the day," said Megan Razzetti, a student at East LA College and editor for the Campus News, who attended the rally. "Everybody was decked out, everybody had signs [and] for the most part it was pure supporters."
However, Razzetti noted, there were still die-hard Clinton supporters in the neighborhood – many of whom attended a rally from the former Secretary of State at East Los Angeles College earlier this month.
The role of spiritual advisors in presidential politics
On the campaign trail, presidential candidates often turn to a slew of strategists who help them sort out where to go and when, what to say, and how to handle debates.
But sometimes politicians need guidance of a different variety: spiritual guidance.
When Barack Obama was on the campaign trail, he received daily e-mail devotionals from Joshua DuBois, the president's so-called "Pastor-in-Chief."
And it turns out that Hillary Clinton also receives spiritual reflections on a daily basis. Hers come from a man named Burns Strider.
He doesn't hold an official position in her camp, but he served as Clinton's Director of Faith Outreach when she ran in 2008.
, an associate professor of History and Journalism at Rutgers University, joined Take Two to discuss the role of spiritual advisors on the campaign trail.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue player above.
Correction: In the audio version of this interview, our guest incorrectly stated that Billy Graham is deceased. KPCC regrets the error.
San Francisco PD and officer involved shootings
In the wake of a series of shootings by San Francisco police officers, one city official has proposed a new way to investigate the incidents: a special independent unit.
We'll talk about it with Vivian Ho, she's a reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle and covers crime and the police
Kids are out of school. To summer camp or not?
June is soon upon us and you know what that means... Summer is almost here!
It's of course a time to get out and have fun, and if you're a parent, it's also time to figure out what the heck to do with your kids while school is out of session.
In L.A., there are lots of summer camp options out there, but some are pretty pricey and others are filling up fast.
Sarah Auerswald and Yvonne Condes with MomsLA stopped by to offer some tips:
What kids of summer camps are out there? Are they all listed in one place?
There are lots of options: tech camps, coding camps, Minecraft camp, surfing camps, sailing camps, culinary camps, and preschool camps. They've gotten really really specialized. UCLA offers different types of day camps, the zoo and the California Science Center also have camps.
MomsLA has an extensive roundup of camps here. And the site Red Tricycle has one here.
When should I sign up? Is it already too late?
Some camps start to fill up as early as February, but in general, most parents are just now starting to sign up. You can still get a spot, but you really need to sign up quickly. Looking ahead to next year, getting started looking in March or April is a good idea.
How much do these camps cost?
They can run anywhere from $150/week for a day camp at the city park to around $900 to $1,000 for some of the tech camps.
Are there any free or almost free options?
L.A. KIDS, through the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks offers a free sports camp. For teenagers, the YMCA is offering a free program for July and August.
How do I pick the right camp for my kid? And manage their expectations?
Think about what your kid likes to do and also about what new things you might want to expose them to. If your child is older, you can get them more involved in the process, but still set some limits on what their options are depending on your budget and what works with your schedule.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue player above.
New Latin American music from Madame Récamier and Arthur Hanlon
If you love music, but don't have the time to keep up with what's new, you should listen to Tuesday Reviewsday. Every week our critics join our hosts in the studio to talk about what you should be listening to in one short segment. This week, music journalist
Artist: Arthur Hanlon
Album: "Viajero"
Songs: "Somos Novios," "Manhã de Carnaval"
Pianist Arthur Hanlon returns with "Viajero," a new album featuring Latin music from around the world in re-arrangements of some very well known classics.
Hanlon's signature touch takes command as he gives new life to classic compositions such as "Somos Novios," the romantic ballad, which was written by Mexico’s beloved singer/songwriter Armando Manzanero.
As part of an album – that literally took Hanlon around the world to discover the countries tied to his musical inspirations – the pianist takes us on journey to places such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Manzanero’s classic "Somos Novios" was written in the late 1960s and has been performed from by everyone from Elvis Presley to Andrea Bocelli. Here, Hanlon’s version keeps to the spirit of the original and also takes it to a another place with an instrumental arrangement that’s masterful and vibrant in this reimagined version.
Hanlon, who has also recorded with everyone from Marc Anthony to Juanes, also gives new life to the classic Manhã Carnaval (Carnaval Morning), which emerged in the late ’50s and went on to become one of the first Bossa Nova compositions heard outside of Brazil.
Hanlon's travels for this project will soon be part of a documentary; segments can be seen on his VEVO channel.
Artist: Madame Récamier
Songs: "Mi Corazón," "Te Regalo"
Madame Récamier returns with two new songs via her label Cosmica Records and she brings it with her signature alternative pop style of music that’s become more sophisticated through the years.
Récamier, who is currently working on a new album slated for release in the fall of 2017, this time introduces us to the romantic pop ballads "Mi Corazón" and "Te Regalo."
The new songs are endearing, cheerful and tender pop ballads that have a ‘60s throwback vibe. "Mi Corazón" is playful and the kind of song that makes perfect summer music.
"Te Regalo" is also a romantic pop ballad about love and missing someone; here Récamier's strong vocals are very much at equal levels to her counterparts in Latin music such as Julieta Venegas and Natalia Lafourcade, two of Mexico’s biggest names in the Latin alternative pop scene.
Récamier has a poetic style that shines within her compositions, making her music universally appealing.
Musicians find new paths to notes in super groups
Last week, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine announced that they were finally reuniting...
But not as Rage Against the Machine.
Instead, they'll be joining up with hip hop artists B-Real and Chuck D to form a NEW group, called Prophets of Rage.
That got us thinking -- how many bands out there are super groups? -- meaning that they're made up of notable musicians from other bands.
Here's a big one... Journey!
That's right, the iconic 80's rock quintet is actually a super group, made up of former members of Santana and Frumious Bandersnatch.
Los Angeles Times music critic Randall Roberts joins Take Two's A Martinez to tell us about more about these groups, why they're formed and whether fans should ever be skeptical of them.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above
Metro's bike sharing program is coming to downtown LA
It's been a big week for Metro with the Expo Line extension opening, and the agency is about to make another big announcement tomorrow:
LA's first bike sharing program is opening soon.
Santa Monica, Long Beach and San Diego are the few frontrunner Southern California cities that have already implemented a bike sharing program.
The exact date of LA's bike share program launch will be announced tomorrow. You can click here for more information.
For a preview of the program, Laura Cornejo joined the show. Cornejo is overseeing the bike share at Metro.
Interview Highlights
Why start the program in downtown LA?
"Well, we looked at all the characteristics that would make bike share successful: population, employment, destination centers, bicycle infrastructure and downtown just seemed primed for bike share and so we thought, downtown would be the perfect location to start this program."
Where will people be able to ride to? All the way to dodger stadium? What's the range?
"We'll have stations about every couple of blocks. We'll have them at Union Station, Chinatown, Grand Park, down at the Arts district, Little Tokyo. So, just about anywhere you want to go within downtown, you'll be able to find a bike."
Because this is a Metro program, wondering if it means riders can use the same TAP card for buses and light rail. That would be really convenient, Laura if we could do all that with one card.
"And, we will. The great thing about Metro leading this effort is that we're really treating this as part of our transportation system. So from the very beginning, you will be able to use your TAP card. You'll have to go online to register as a pass holder and you can either get a new TAP card with a great bike share design or you can use your existing TAP card and you will be able to use that same card to go from train to bike and back to the train.
How to use Metro Pass with Bike Share
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
The valet system without the valet: West Hollywood's new automated parking garage
Angelenos love their cars, but parking them can be a pain. There is just not enough space in some neighborhoods.
The city of West Hollywood, however, may have a solution. "As you know West Hollywood is a very very popular city, so parking has always been a challenge," says Mayor Lauren Meister. "We were looking for ways to get the most bang for our buck and what we did was replace surface parking lot spaces with 200 spaces."
She is talking about the city's brand new automated parking garage, which is attached to City Hall, on Santa Monica Boulevard.
The innovative new garage removes the nuisance of driving around looking for parking--just pull your car into one of the small garages and the automated system does the rest.
Take Two's A Martinez went to test it out for himself. His guide was Yair Goldberg, CEO of Unitronics, the company behind the robotics and technology in the garage.
Interview Highlights
A play-by-play of using the garage:
"As you're pulling in there are green arrows that indicate the availabilities of the bays, so right now we're seeing two bays that are available for entry and two that are available for retrieval...and you just pull in, in front of the bay. At this point the system detects that the car is in front of the bay, the door opens up and...if you watch the screen this shows you your car relative to the rectangle...and that's it. We're done."
What happens to the car once the door closes?
"At that point, a combination of horizontal and vertical shuttles and lifts load the vehicle off the tires, the same way a tow truck does, and move it horizontally and vertically to the parking position, very similar to a warehouse. We touch the car only once, we load it in the bay and the same mechanism is holding the car up until it's being parked on the slab."
How is this parking structure a greener solution?
"In many ways, first and foremost is the fact that nobody's driving around looking for a parking space. In this case, a study has been made that this structure is the equivalent in eliminating 92 cars over an entire year, driving around and emitting into the environment. Or the equivalent of planting 67,000 trees."
The city of West Hollywood is having a grand opening celebration Tuesday, May 24th from 5-8 p.m. There'll be snacks, music and more. The garage officially opens for parking June 1st.
To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.
Tribune company gets $70.5m from L.A.'s richest person
The L.A. Times' parent company Tribune Publishing just got a $70.5 million injection of cash.
It comes from a former doctor who's known as the richest man in LA – Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Soon-Shiong's investment means that the Tribune can avoid a takeover by the media company Gannett.
Take Two finds out what this ultimately means to readers of the L.A. Times with Ken Doctor, media analyst for Newsonomics.
Fans won't let it go: The #GiveElsaAGirlfriend twitter campaign
There's a campaign being waged on Twitter:
Elsa, of course, being the queen with icy powers from the super hit Disney film 'Frozen'.
At the end of the movie - her younger sister Anna is happily paired with a guy named Kristoff.
Elsa, on the other hand, is on her own and fans are calling on Disney to give her a female companion in the sequel.
It should be noted, this is kind of petition is not the first of its kind. First, there was the call for Star Wars'
to be more than friends. Now,
is trending.
However, #GiveElsaAGirflfriend is sparking all sorts of debate and discussion. For more, Trish Bendix, editor-in-chief of After Ellen -- a website dedicated to the representation of lesbian and bi women in popular culture, joined the show for more.
For the full interview, click the blue play button above.
Author Fred Setterberg explores the life and work of master woodworker Sam Maloof
Sam Maloof was an artist like none other.
His medium was wood. He designed stunning pieces of furniture— chairs, tables, baby cribs— thousands of them in his time. He was the first craftsman to receive the MacArthur Foundation's so-called "genius grant."
This year marks the centennial of his birth, and there are a number of events and exhibitions to celebrate his life and work.
You can also learn more about his life through a new book, titled "Sam Maloof: 36 Views of a Master Woodworker," written by Fred Setterberg.
Setterberg joined Take Two's Alex Cohen for a conversation about Sam Maloof, his work, and the impression he left on those who knew him.
To listen to the full interview, click the blue player above.