Today on the show, we start with a discussion about what we gain by reading a mass killer's manifesto. Then, the AP investigates Calif.'s flawed water system and how the state can't track usage. Plus, where the Port of LA stores illegally imported and counterfeit items, is college worth It? Research says yes, advice columnist Amy Alkon offers tips on modern manners, and much more.
What's to gain from reading a mass killer's manifesto?
There's more to understand about Isla Vista shooter Elliot Rodger, but what we do know is that he was a tortured individual.
In a 7-minute YouTube video and a manifesto that's more than 130 pages long, he talks of being ostracized from society, passed over by women, and having anger at the world.
Other mass killers have used manifestos as a way to explain and almost justify their actions, like the Unabomber or the subject of last year's police manhunt here in L.A., Christopher Dorner.
James Alan Fox, professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University, explained in a recent USA Today column, "The real downside to the media-driven dissection of Rodger's commentaries is in the message it sends to other obscure individuals who may seek the kind of attention they have been denied for so long."
Fox joins Take Two to talk more about the strategy that the public should take to manifestos like this one.
IV shooting highlights vulnerable mental health of teens and young adults
The long manifesto left behind by Elliot Rodger seems to be evidence of some very disturbed thinking.
Rodger has not been confirmed with any specific mental illness diagnosis. But the 22-year old had been in therapy and Rodger said he was prescribed an anti-psychotic medication, which he was not taking.
What happened in Santa Barbara has put the spotlight on mental health issues in this age group, which research has shown is particularly vulnerable to the onset of mental disorders.
Dr. Carrie Bearden, a professor in UCLA's departments of Psychology and Psychiatry cautioned that there is no correlation between mental illness and acts of violence like Rodger perpetrated, but young people in his age range are at a higher risk for manifestation of mental illness like depression and schizophrenia.
Changes in the brain, hormones and social pressures as the result of moving away from home and navigating independence can exacerbate underlying predisposition to mental disorders. Additionally, use of drugs and alcohol can also be a trigger in at-risk individuals.
Amid drought, California can't track water usage
After three consecutive years of drought in California, the water supply is running so low that the state and federal government have severely cut water deliveries to cities and farmers.
But because of water laws dating back to the 1800s, there are nearly 4,000 farms, companies and other entities known as "senior rights holders" that are allowed to use as much water as they want, with little to no oversight.
RELATED: Calif.'s flawed water system can't track usage; LADWP, SoCal Edison among biggest users
A new Associated Press investigation has found that these high-level water rights holders hold more than half of the claims on the state's rivers and streams. And even though they collectively are the biggest water consumers in the state, they're exempt from government-mandated cuts in water use.
For more on that investigation, we're joined by AP reporter
.
Can brown pelicans predict an upcoming El Niño?
Water rights are only one element of the story on California's ongoing drought.
We've talked a lot on this show about how different populations are being affected, including animal populations like tortoises, birds and bugs. But the odd behavior of one group of birds, California's brown pelicans, could signify the arrival of some rain.
Is college worth It? Research says yes
Student debt has topped $1 trillion. Many new grads are finding it really difficult to find work, which makes a lot of folks wonder if college is worth it?
The answer is absolutely yes, according to David Leonhardt of the New York Times. He's been crunching the latest numbers and he joins the show to explain why.
How is Santa Monica addressing earthquake retrofitting issues?
It's no secret that California is an earthquake hot zone, but it seems lately that fact is getting a lot more attention.
You've got Mayor Garcetti appointing seismologist Lucy Jones to be the city's first earthquake czar. Then, Caltech and USGS have been ramping up efforts to build a quake early warning system.
Earlier this year, the City of Santa Monica announced plans to create a list of seismically vulnerable buildings and mandate they get retrofitted.
RELATED: Santa Monica to vote on next step of earthquake retrofitting plan
There is an important vote for that effort Tuesday night, and KPCC's Science Reporter Sanden Totten is here to fill us in about it.
Tell us about Santa Monica's plan to improve the safety of its buildings:
"Santa Monica is the first city in the state with such an ambitious plan, it'll cover hundreds of buildings of different types. Ironically, the city passed laws 20 years ago requiring retrofitting of concrete, steel and wood apartment buildings that are vulnerable to collapse during shaking, but for some reason stopped implementing it some years later. Now they are tying again.
The first step: identify the buildings at risk. That means searching the city for all the kinds of structures that have been shown to be vulnerable to heavy shaking. Once the city has a list of these vulnerable buildings, it'll create standards for how to fix or retrofit them.
Owners will be given these standards and a certain amount of time to complete the work in or tear down their property and build something new."
So where are they at in this process? What happens tonight?
"Tonight, the Santa Monica City Council will vote on whether or not to hire a private engineering firm to help identify buildings.
The City's Building Officer told me they got proposals from a number of firms and one stood out. A California based company called Degenkolb Engineers.
I spoke with the city's building officer and he said he really liked the company's on the ground approach to identifying buildings, meaning they plan to, literally, walk up and down the streets looking at each building to determine what kind they are and whether or not they should be considered a potential quake risk.
If the city council approves the contract — and they likely will — Degenkolb will get up to about $90,000 and two months to compile a list of the seismically risky buildings in Santa Monica."
Say the city finds all the buildings it thinks could be seismically unsafe, then what?
"By the late summer preliminary list should be ready. Then they'll contact the owners on there and let them explain if they've done any retrofitting work since construction. If they have and it meets certain levels of safety, those owners will get off the list.
The city is also working with the Structural Engineers Association of California to create standards for retrofitting buildings. After this list is finalized, owners on the list will be given those guidelines that will explain in detail how they should fix their structure up. The owners will be given a window of time to make those changes."
It seems like it could be a challenge for building owners who might have to make serious changes, right?
"Right. The city hasn't said if there will be any assistance for owners having trouble paying for the upgrades. Some have expressed concern. Also, there a real issues around liability that arises in a case like this.
Right now, state standards are pretty vague about when a building owner is responsible if a structure fails during a big quake. The question that comes up is did the owner what the risk was and did they do something about it?
Once there is a list like the one Santa Monica is creating, it will be hard for owners on there to argue they didn't know the risk their building faced if it collapses or otherwise injures someone. There is recent precedent suggesting courts will side with the victims even if owners were planning on retrofitting.
There was a case in Paso Robles dating back to a 2003 quake where a building killed two people. Paso Robles also had a mandatory retrofitting program in place and the building in question was in need of updating, but the owners still had several years legally in which to make those changes. Still, the jury awarded the family of the victims nearly $2 million.
So even if they have time, many building owners in Santa Monica might want to make changes to their structure as soon as possible."
As we mentioned, Los Angeles is also working on improving the seismic safety of its buildings. How far along are those efforts?
"I was told L.A. is considering a similar retrofitting program and that the city is in talks with Santa Monica to see what it can learn from its neighbor. Of course L.A. is much, much bigger. Not every approach Santa Monica uses will scale up to work for L.A.
Also, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has talked about wanting a building rating system. Basically, buildings will get a grade for their ability to withstand a major quake. It could be an A,B,C kind of thing or maybe a 5-star system. The details of that plan are still in the works, but it would be the first in the nation if it gets implemented."
Modern Manners: Amy Alkon offers tips on how to be a polite Angeleno
With Memorial Day in the rear view, now you can feel free to wear all the white you want. Because if you try wearing white before Memorial Day you'll be ridiculed in the streets, right?
That's what we've been told all these years, but that's all wrong, says Venice-based advice columnist Amy Alkon. She thinks subscribing to these old-fashioned etiquette rules is too outdated for our modern, L.A. lifestyles.
She writes a syndicated advice column called Advice Goddess, and she's the author of an upcoming etiquette book called "Good Manners for Nice People who Sometimes Say F*ck."
With our busy, stressed out lives spent stuck in traffic for hours, is it time we Angelenos got a new set of rules to live by? To offer some tips on modern-day manners, we're joined by advice columnist Amy Alkon.
Tuesday Reviewsday: Le Butcherettes, Jandro, Sharon Van Etten and more
It's Tuesday, which means that it's time for Tuesday Reviewsday, our weekly new music segment. This week we're joined by music critic Steve Hochman and Associate Editor of Latin at Billboard magazine, Justino Aguila.
Steve's Picks
Artist: Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté
Album: Toumani & Sidiki
Release Date: May 20
Songs: “Hamadoun Toure,” “Dr. Cheikh Modibo Diarra”
Second-generation musicians are a dime a dozen — Jakob Dylan, Sean and Julian Lennon, Bob Marley’s kids. Sidiki Diabaté has got them all beat, by a long way.
How about 71st generation? At least that’s the claim, the family legacy going back hundreds of years in the history of the Mandé people of what is now Mali in Western Africa.
One generation would be enough legacy in this case, though, as Sidiki’s father is Toumani Diabaté, the living master of the kora, the harp-like instrument that is at the center of the griot troubadour tradition, a figure every bit as big in this culture as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Bob Marley and even Johan Sebastian Bach in theirs. But if the latter’s kids sometimes seemed to struggle with their heritage, that’s not the situation here at all, as father and son team up for a gorgeous album of unadorned duets.
Toumani Diabaté gained renown via his musical partnership with the late guitarist Ali Farka Touré, and an album he made with American bluesman Taj Mahal has been named as a favorite by no less than President Barack Obama. Sidiki, 23, is his oldest son, who started learning kora when he was 10 — chronicled in a children’s book and accompanying CD of his early playing.
Both have gone afield from the pure traditions, Toumani with his ambitious Symmetric Orchestra, performances with the London Symphony and as a key player on the AfroCubism teaming of Cuban greats and Malian musicians and Sidiki in his partnership with Malian rapper Iba One. But this album strips it down to the pure essence and beauty in the intricate filigreed playing, sounds and techniques passed along from father to son through all these years, as Toumani received it from his own father, also named Sidiki.
It’s a tradition that transcends the centuries and the politics and wars, including the recent civil wars that have devastated the country, but also keeps record of that history. Many of the griots’ pieces are tributes to patrons, ancestors, friends, community leaders or historical figures.
The opening track on this album is “Hamadoun Touré,” in homage to a Malian leader who as Secretary General of the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union has been key in modernizing Africa’s communications systems. Another track is named for “Dr. Cheikh Modibo Diarra,” a former NASA astrophysicist, businessman and son-in-law of a former president, served as acting prime minister of Mali in 2012 in resistance to a military coup until being deposed in December of that year.
The real tribute here, though, is to the heritage the Diabatés represent, and to the musicians themselves, father and son.
Artist: Sharon Van Etten
Album: Are We There
Release Date: May 27
Songs: “Afraid of Nothing,” “Your Love is Killing Me,”
The song titles alone tell a story: “Afraid of Nothing,” “Taking Chances,” “Your Love is Killing Me,” “I Love You But I’m Lost,” “Nothing Will Change.” Some mixed messages maybe? Or at least the mixed messages we can give ourselves in relationships.
With her fourth album — each increasingly ambitious, accomplished and affecting than the last — Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten digs into this with a poetic, and personal pean to, uh, pain, of the emotional sort. It’s not like this is unfamiliar territory in all of art and literature, let alone pop music, for which it forms the very core and fabric.
Classic, romantic pop is in fact the core and fabric of this album, the songs carrying the dreamy and dream-like aura of pre-Beatles sweethearts of the radio in the lush, shadowy sounds and the doe-eyed romance and shattering disappointment. Her voice even has that dark mystique of the chanteuses from earlier eras, which she showcased covering Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do” for a "Boardwalk Empire" episode.
But of course, modern women are supposed to know better, right? Or so she seems to be saying in both the sophistication and confident, independent optimism of the opening “Afraid of Nothing,” flush with the spark of a developing relationship but grounded in valuable experience.
Well, about that… “Your Love is Killing Me” is the album’s, well, killer. Her eyes were open at the start. Now she’s begging her lover to “break my legs so I won’t walk to you, cut my tongue so I can’t talk to you, burn my skin so I can’t feel you, stab my eyes so I can’t see,” stretching out that last vowel into an anguished and yet resolute cry. The music builds strata mirroring her layers of simultaneous despair and resignation. It’s harrowing and yet compelling. Even…. beautiful.
And it’s just the third song, with eight to go. It’s a rocky ride on every level. Are there lessons to be learned? Does she learn any? Well, maybe not. The title of the closing song, “Even When the Sun Comes Up,” sounds promising, a new dawning. But the phrase coming after the title line is “I’m in trouble.” As they say, it’s complicated. But heck, if it wasn’t who would make art of it — particularly art as enticing and provocative as this.
Justino's Picks
Artist: Le Butcherettes
Album: Cry is for the Flies
Release Date: May 15
Songs: “Demon Stuck In Your Eye” and “Your Weakness Gives Me Life”
The garage-punk trio Le Butcherettes are led by 24-year-old vocalist/guitarist/pianist Teri Gender Bender (a recent transplant to L.A. from Guadalajara, Mexico). Le Butcherettes bring a brazen intensity. The band's songs and wildly cathartic live shows have often drawn comparisons to Karen-O and Patti Smith and other female-fronted rock groups.
There's a theatricality to Le Butcherettes. The band was founded about 7 years ago. In 2009, Le Butcherettes were asked by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to perform on tour in Mexico.
LINK
It is about garage-punk for the trio behind Le Butcherettes. Lead singer Teri Gender Bender is front and center with the group's sophomore return with "Cry is for the Flies."
Known for her must-see onstage performances, which at times seem to draw from a performance art presentation, 24-year-old singer/songwriter (aka Teri Suarez) is a captivating artist with a versatile vocal range that goes beyond garage-punk in songs.
Recently moving to Los Angeles form Guadalajara, Suarez is not only the lead singer for Le Butcherettes, but also Bosnian Rainbows, the American rock band formed in Texas with former members of The Mars Volta. Le Butcherettes was formed in 2007 by Suarez who describes herself as a feminist who counts Sylvia Plath and Malcolm X as some of her influences. Musically, she has been compared to Patti Smith and Karen-O.
Despite the comparisons, Suarez is gaining a wider audience for the songs deliver an emotional punch as well as sense of mystery, and darkness at times. Two songs that make these points are “Demon Stuck In Your Eye” and “Your Weakness Gives Me Life.” Each song’s narrative, like the melodies, build with each verse.
The new Bosnian Rainbows album is being produced by Rafael Arcuate, the Argentinian producer known for his work with Calle 13 and Illya Kuryaki; the new project will be in Spanish. Additionally, Le Butcherettes is also planning a Spanish-language album.
Artist: Jandro
Album: Jandro
Release Date: April 29
Songs: “Donde Ir” and “Suéltame” (featuring Carla Morrison)
From the border city, Tijuana, Alejandro Jimenez began playing the piano at age 8 and just a little while later learned the guitar, among other instruments. After years working on his craft as a multi-instrumentalist, he started a band called Los Rhodes with his school friends and was the main composer for the band. Los Rhodes evolved into what is now known as a solo artist … as Jandro (a shortened version of his full name.
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Jandro is on the rise with his self-titled debut album which feels fresh and familiar as the melodies and lyrics seem echo the sentimentality of a retro rock and pop vibe with endearing and poetic songs.
Singer/songwriter Alejandro Jimenez, who now simply goes by Jandro, has been playing the piano since he was 8. Then he learned the guitar before gradating to other instruments. Eventually he founded the band Los Rhodes with his high school friends, writing most of the music.
Jandro’s breakthrough has come in recent years after joining Mexican singer Carla Morrison on tour with stops such as Los Angeles and New York with Morrison performed last year as part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference. For Jandro, it was a chance to expand as a musician with support on the keyboard, but also contributing to Morrison’s Latin Grammy winning album “Déjenme Lllorar.”
Now Jandro is making a name for himself in the Latin alternative movement with music that has universal appeal in songs such “Donde Ir,” a melodic pop composition that pays homage to love.
Jandro’s “Suéltame” (fearing Carla Morrison), is a pop ballad that shows the appeal of his music, the style and the charming collaboration establishes a promising debut for the crooner.
The Counterfeit Detective: Where the Port of LA stores illegally imported goods
Out of the all the imported goods that come into the U.S., 43 percent of it goes through the Port of Los Angeles.
Everyday, shipments of electronics, cars, produce, clothing, and more arrive here from overseas bound for stores and homes across the country. But every now and then, not all is what it appears to be, and that beautiful Chanel handbag or those Beats by Dr Dre headphones?
A cheap copycat.
That’s when you need David Dodge, chief officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He's one of the department's "counterfeit detectives" who oversees the process to scan for fake goods, illegally imported items, invasive plants and insects from abroad, and more.
RELATED: A visual index of counterfeit goods on KPCC's AudioVision blog.
Interview Highlights:
What are the most popular items to counterfeit?
"We'll find a lot of counterfeit clothing, jeans, shirts, that kind of thing. Handbags are really big right now and actually they've been consistently very popular to counterfeit. Electronics now, more of these Beats by Dr. Dre-type headphones."
What are the more clever ways you've been people try to get things by you guys?
"It could be a lot of things, sometimes they will put legitimate cargo at the tail of a container, expecting us to open the container, see legitimate product, but then two or three rows back, the rest of the container is filled with counterfeits."
Have you ever looked at a container and thought, 'What were they thinking?'"
"One example of that is, we had a 40-foot container of counterfeit cigarettes, camouflaged by about two or three rows of toy cars. So we open up the tail and it looks like toy cars. We pull the box down, open up the box of toy cars, and the toy cars themselves had counterfeit trademarks on them. They hid a container full of fake counterfeit products behind fake counterfeit products. We got a chuckle out of that one."
What signs do you look for when searching for fakes?
"If you're at a store, it might be hard to spot a counterfeit Louis Vuitton, but we know that Louis Vuitton is not make in China, so if its in a container full of handbags coming from China, chances are it's not going to be legit. A lot of times you can't tell just by looking at it, you have to do some research. OUr officers will take the sample back to our office and do research, either on the Internet, or our databases where we have specific information on the trademarks that we enforce.
Do you work with manufacturers to make sure you catch these people?
"Yes, the trademark owners actually recorded that information with us, so we have that information in our systems. We know who is authorized to bring it in, we know the different styles that are protected, we will know the points of contact if we have questions. Also, how to contact the trademark owner if we need help identifying whether or not this is legitimate or counterfeit."
What do you do with these counterfeit items?
"They will most likely be seized and held at our seized property facility until the case is fully adjudicated. After that it will most likely be destroyed. The importer and the shipper will both be subject to further exams in the future because they have a history now. If it raises to a certain level, we will refer it to our criminal investigators for a criminal action as well."
What would happen if you actually had to look at everything that comes through?
"I think the economy would collapse, almost overnight. A lot of the industry has just in time delivery of their goods, they don't warehouse these things for weeks and weeks. It's days at the most to getting on the store shelves. If containers didn't make it in, and it was interrupted to that degree, I think the economy would collapse."
LAUSD gets rid of 'jails' for teachers under investigation for misconduct
The L.A. Unified School District is getting rid of so-called teacher jails. Until now, most district teachers under investigation for breaking misconduct rules, had to show up at district offices, known as teacher jails, during their suspensions.
Now, the L.A. Unified Superintendent, John Deasy says teachers will be able to stay home during the the investigation.
Howard Blume, an education reporter for the LA Times, joins Take Two to discuss the change.
Learning how to manage money from an in-school bank
The first student-run bank branches in Los Angeles have just opened in the Lincoln Heights and Crenshaw neighborhoods. These aren't pretend banks with Monopoly money up for trade -- they're actual, operating branches of the financial giant Union Bank.
A big bank brand in a school may give some pause, but for teens it's a window into the world of finance. For the California Report, reporter Alex Schmidt has more.
High school senior Jerry Liu politely helps a peer with her bank deposit.
"May I please have you swipe this?" he asks as she punches in her pin.
"How much would you like to deposit?"
"25."
Wearing a red Union Bank polo shirt, Liu looks like he could be in any bank branch, with a waiting area and even a decorative plant on the table. But right outside this island of adulthood is a hallway of Lincoln High School.
This is one of three student-run Union Bank branches in California. The first opened in Fresno a few years ago – and it’s the first one in Los Angeles, with another branch in the Crenshaw neighborhood that opened shortly after. All three branches them are in lower income, immigrant heavy neighborhoods. Only students, faculty and parents can bank there, but the accounts are very real, and so are the bank cards. Liu is one of the 12 student bankers at Lincoln.
"It taught me a lot of new things," he says. "I was really worried about finances before I go off to college, and it opened my eyes to a lot of that new world."
Union Bank trained Liu to work as a teller, and will give him a stipend and scholarship totaling $1,500. To L.A. Unified School District Board Member Monica Garcia, it seemed like an obvious win-win.
"I thought the innovation of the student-run bank would be something that fits into our mission of college ready, career prepared graduates," she says.
Many schools across the country are experimenting with student banking, though Union Bank is one of the biggest to enter the field. It's a growing trend, but one that has operated without much oversight. The person who has likely studied the phenomenon more than anyone else is J. Michael Collins, a professor of consumer finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
"Whenever you have a school system that doesn't have a bank branch, and we suddenly introduce a bank or credit union branch, you have some parents who say, 'Well, why would we allow that particular bank branch. Aren't we granting them a monopoly on these relatively naive, unsophisticated children?"
Union Bank did not have to compete with other banks to enter LAUSD -- board member Garcia called it a "pilot project," and said that if other banks wanted to enter schools, that LAUSD would release a RFP. Union Bank spent $200,000 on building each branch, and it pays to staff them with managers. Skeptics may wonder about the motivations for a bank to make such an investment. But Collins believes it’s mainly a PR and marketing move, albeit one the school district thinks benefits students. Union Bank claims it’s not entering schools for profit.
"We don't expect to make money," says Jan Woolsey, head of Community Reinvestment at Union Bank. "Certainly, I think it'll be good for our brand that we're making this kind of investment in young people and communities that need us. But really and truly, our motivation is: ow do we help strengthen communities and make them healthier."
Love banks or hate them, operating outside the financial system is difficult, and even opens up vulnerable groups to predatory lending. A high school bank branch could bring unbanked families into the system. The student bankers love their jobs– they build up their resumes, learn new skills, make money, and a few have even gotten actual jobs with Union Bank. Those who bank there like it too. A Lincoln High Junior waited in line recently to make a deposit. LAUSD policy dictated that her name not be used.
"This is my first savings account. It's better than a piggy bank because you have to actually think about it to take money out if you want to, and it's easier to save," she says.
It's relative early days in the history of easy credit and insecure pensions, and American society has not collectively figured out how to cultivate financially savvy consumers in this climate.
"We are in a bit of a grand experiment with financial literacy in schools. And as I reflect on all the different approaches that are out there, this very simple concept of placing a bank branch in a school setting seems to have a lot of bang for the buck," Collins says.
As more and more schools try student banking, the Treasury Department is considering a special designation for these branches. Union Bank has plans to expand to more campuses, which could be great for the balances in college savings accounts.
Bobblehead giveaways keep Dodger Stadium seats full
Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu took a perfect game into the eighth inning last night, just a day after Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter. L.A. beat the Reds 4-3. The team has won only four games more than it's lost, but is leading the majors in attendance.
KPCC's Ben Bergman discovered, the biggest draw has nothing to do with who's playing on the field.