On Wednesday, Take Two discusses the implications of Prop 47, which would reduce penalties for some drug- and property-related convictions, if many Latino voters didn't vote Tuesday and the latest in helpful apps with App Chat.
Southern California politics: Election results and implications
We start with the latest political developments in our very own backyard.
Southern California Public Radio political reporters Alice Walton and Kitty Felde will be Take Two's guides for what happened in Tuesday's election and what it means for Southern California.
Let's talk turnout - was it as dismal as the prognosticators said it would be?
Now to who won - and who didn't. State Senator Ted Lieu joins the Congressional ranks, having beat out Republican Elan Carr for Henry Waxman's seat. Not surprising I suppose since that leans pretty heavily Democratic. How close was this race in the end? So now that he is in, what can his constituents expect from him?
What about the LA County Board of Supervisors race? You have Bobby Shriver, nephew of John F. Kennedy, pitted against former state senator Shiela Kuehl - who was the big winner?
- It's not often that a new face joins this board of five people - when was the last time a seat was open? What's he/she going to bring to the table here?
This is no surprise but Jim McDonnell is the new Sheriff of LA County. Take Two will talk to him later in the show but what will be his biggest challenge out of the gate?
On to the propositions. Prop 45, 46 and 48 got voted down - what happened there?
Let's look state-wide - another obvious win: Jerry Brown is still Governor of California having easily beat out Republican Neel Kashkari. Would you call it a landslide?
- One poll yesterday said 4 out of 10 voters apparently didn't even know Brown was seeking re-election. What's up with that?
- From the results, can we say that Californians feel pretty good about the job Brown is doing - or is it that not enough people voted?
A race that was close was the one for state school superintendent - Tom Torlakson has kept the job. Now what was wild about this race is the amount of money spent - $30 million - and the race was between two Democrats. Why so heated?
Torlakson won pretty narrowly. What does this say about how voters are feeling about educational reform in this state?
Prop 47: What are the implications of lighter sentences for certain crimes?
Proposition 47 will reduce the penalties of some crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor. The California ballot measure passed Tuesday night with a wide margin.
Supporters argue Prop 47 will go far toward fixing a broken judicial system. Critics are concerned about what this will mean for public safety and how well prosecutors and judges can determine who qualifies under the measure.
"Yes, the 'superstrike' guys, the people who they can say this guy is going to commit a murder if we let him out, they're not getting out," said Sean Hoffman, the director of legislation with the California District Attorneys Association, a group that came out against the measure. "But there are a number of very violent individuals that we believe will get out as a result of this."
For more, Take Two is joined by Keramet Reiter, professor at UC Irvine's Department of Criminology, Law and Society and also with UCI's School of Law.
Republicans seize control of Senate, increase House majority
Farewell Democrats, hello GOP!
Republicans have seized control of the Senate for the first time in eight years and increased their majority in the House of Representatives.
Not great news for President Obama as he heads into his final two years in office.
For more on how the political landscape looks Wednesday on the national front, Take Two is joined on the line by Michael Oreskes, Senior Managing Editor for the Associated Press.
Where was the Latino vote on Election Day?
Many analysts predicted that the growing Latino vote will be decisive in many elections around the country.
But if most Latinos are solidly Democratic, then why did Republicans walk away with stunning victories Tuesday night?
David Ayon, senior adviser at the political research center Latino Decisions, says that the wave of pro-Republican support in the country may have overwhelmed any influence Latinos could have had this time around.
Sports Roundup: NFL to decide on Adrian Peterson, Lakers lose again, Ray Rice and Hope Solo
The NFL has a big decision on its plate--what to do about Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson--and the Lakers lose their fifth game in a row this season.
Ray Rice appeals his suspension while Hope Solo continues to play soccer, despite being charged with assault of her sister and nephew.
It's time for sports with
.
App Chat: Three apps that want to help you solve some of life's problems
It's a bold claim to make that an app on a smartphone could save your life, your mind or your money, but the three apps that I came across and tested out for this week's edition of app chat, all purport to do one of those things. Let's call them "Super Saver" apps, in the spirit of needing things in our lives that help us out a bit.
So, let's run down the list:
1) Acorns - To help you get into saving and investing money.
Acorns is a micro-investing app that lets you build an investment portfolio of different combinations of stocks and bonds, without any commissions or account minimums. It seems like the hope is that they can pull in people who aren't adept investors, but who would use technology to manage their cash. Millenials come to mind. They save money at a higher rate than Baby Boomers did at their age, but they aren't on top of investing in stocks. This app makes investing easy, accessible, and it has one killer feature,which is that the app will take the change off each purchase and put it in your account and invest it for you.
So, if you spend 3.50 on an ice cream, it’ll take fifty cents and put it in your Acorns account and that goes into the money that they invest for you. So, the idea is that you’re saving without trying too hard.
However, even though you're saving money, this money is still being invested in places like the stock market, so if the market tanks, you could lose some cash. And depending on what your tolerance for risk is, you can choose more aggressive or less aggressive portfolios. Honestly, all of the fees associated with this app are similar to other brokerage services, so your probably not saving much money there, but a lot of people seem to be getting behind the convenience. Also, of course, you assume some risk by sharing and accessing your money online.
2) Worry Watch - To help you keep track of your worries, and to keep them in perspective.
When you're stressed out, or anxious, you open up the app and put in information, including, what you're anxious about, when the worrying started, the context of the worry, and eventually, the outcome of the worry
The idea is that by logging your every day worries you can keep track of the different things that you're stressed about and figure out the patterns, and when you look back on the outcome of your different worries - you'll regularly see - and I speak from personal experience - that the outcomes were either pretty neutral, or not nearly as bad as you thought that they were going to be at the time.
The downside to this app and every health app that you have to constantly enter information is that there's little incentive to do so over and over... and really it just takes up a lot of time. But if you were diligent about it, it seems like it could be an effective anxiety journal.
3) Bike Shield - To help you avoid getting hit by cars while on a bike or a motorcycle.
http://vimeo.com/104647120#at=0
I've been hit by cars quite a few times, all when I was just riding along in a straight line in a bike lane or a back country road. The drivers all claimed that they hadn't seen me, so when I heard about this app I got excited.
If you're on a bike or a motorcycle, and you have the app installed, and a driver nearby has the app installed, it'll alert the driver to your approach. The company claims that it's about 5-10 seconds before they can even see you.
The problem's clear... that everyone everywhere would have to download this for it to be effective.
Prop 1 water bond passes: Now what?
California voters passed Proposition 1 with 66 percent approval.
The measure allows the state to take out a loan of $7.5 billion to shore up California's water supplies and get it ready for the next drought.
So how long until water officials do something with the money?
KPCC's Molly Peterson joins Take Two to talk about what happens next.
Marijuana legalized in more states: Is California next?
Residents of Oregon, Alaska and Washington D.C. voted to legalize marijuana Tuesday night.
Oregon's new pot law mimics the ones already in place in Colorado and Washington state.
It legalizes personal possession, production and sale of marijuana for people 21 years and older.
Washington D.C.'s law, however, is a bit different.
To tell more about it and how Tuesday night's vote might change the marijuana debate, Politico reporter Byron Tau joins Take Two.
While California hasn't legalized recreational marijuana yet, how does legalization in places like D.C., Oregon and Alaska possibly affect what's going on in our home state?
Tamar Todd of the Drug Policy Alliance joins the show for more.
Todd was one of the drafters of the Oregon measure that just passed and she has her eyes on California in 2016.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
Guest: Byron Tau
What is the current policy on possession of pot in Washington D.C.?
As of this summer, possession of a small amount of marijuana has been decriminalized. It's no more than a $25 fine if you're caught with it on your person or in your house. You can still be arrested for consuming and smoking it publicly, but generally speaking, marijuana is largely decriminalized here in DC.
This new initiative is called "grow and give." Explain how it works.
The law that passed last night, and overwhelmingly—about 70 percent of city residents voted for it—allows adults 21 and older to grow marijuana in their own home for their own use, but not for sale. It allows up to six marijuana plants, three of them mature at any given time, and allows adults to possess and carry up to two ounces of marijuana. Consumption in public is still illegal.
The one thing that's missing here, compared with other states that have legalized recreational pot, is the commercial aspect. Why do you think proponents of pot legalization in Washington D.C. went with this particular strategy?
There's a quirk in the city's laws that prevents voters from approving anything that would cost the city money. A retail system for distribution of marijuana would require an entirely new agency, entirely new tax laws, the city to essentially start policing and regulating the sale of pot, so backers of this initiative decided to allow simply the growing of pot in your own home for your own use.
Guest: Tamar Todd
Let's talk about the context. A decade ago I think most people would have said California would have been one of the first, if not the first, state in the nation to legalize recreational pot and now we've been beaten out by several states. Why do you think that is?
I think what last night demonstrated is the huge, unprecedented momentum for marijuana law reform that is rapidly accelerating since Colorado and Washington took the leap to adopt a new approach to marijuana in 2012. When we proceeded in Oregon and Alaska and D.C. in this midterm election it was viewed as taking a risk—there was going to be lower turnout. But what we saw last night was these real decisive victories that are showing that marijuana law reform is non-partisan, across ideological spectrums and can win in these elections when people thought traditionally that it didn't.
California has always been a leader on this issue. It was the first state to adopt a medical marijuana law. It was also the first to put one of these initiatives on the ballot with Prop 19 in 2010.
What I think we'll see in California in 2016 is it will embrace the best elements of the jurisdictions that have passed marijuana legalization and regulation and will marry those lessons to the specific needs and concerns of California. And round two in California will win based on the momentum we've seen generated last night, in 2016.
Would you ever consider a grow and give approach like D.C.?
D.C.'s law differs only in that it does not include the regulatory piece. The laws that passed in Washington and Colorado and last night in Oregon and Alaska include the grow and give component, except for the Washington state law that doesn’t include the home grow provision. But they go a step further, which I think is a desirable policy piece of allowing the state to regulate and control the actual cultivation and distribution of marijuana in a controlled setting. And that really gets to some of the harms of marijuana prohibition and our approach thus far helps push out the illicit market, control the product, regulate it and generate the millions of dollars in revenue in Washington and Colorado that’s now directed towards funding for education and other pressing needs.
Did campaign ads make a difference?
Tuesday was Election Day – and by most accounts it was probably the most expensive mid term election in history.
Yet despite the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on ads in key races across the U.S., there's some evidence that all that noise may not really matter.
Take Two talks about it with Emily Schultheis of National Journal.
New LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell talks about restoring public trust
There's a new sheriff in town.
He's Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell, who won 75 percent of the vote Tuesday night. McDonnell fills the seat left behind by Lee Baca, who retired in January after 15 years in the role. He's also the first person to be hired from outside the department in almost a century.
Jim McDonnell joins Take Two to talk about what his top priorities will be as he steps into the role and what it's like to be an LA County Sheriff's Department outsider.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
You called this a defining moment for the department last night. What did you mean by that?
It absolutely is. We're at a crossroads with the L.A. County Sheriffs Department. The bulk of the rank and file members of the organization are solid hardworking people trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately, the badge was tarnished by a relative few within the organization. We saw what happened with the jails. I sat on the jails commission and dug into that for a year. Now we've got the Department of Justice looking at that. I think we're at a position where we have the ability to put a team together to restore public trust in a great organization and pride and morale in the organization so we can get the job done as well as it can be done.
You have been described as a roll up your sleeves kind of guy. How would you describe your guiding philosophy as you take on this position?
To get in there and really set the tone right from the top. We want a hardworking department, one that is viewed as being one of integrity, one that has a foundation based on respect from those within the organization and everybody we deal with in the jails and in the communities.
You are the first Sheriff to be elected from outside the department in almost a century. What advantage do you think that gives you, as an outsider?
I think it allows me to have a different perspective than someone who's grown up in the organization; a fresh set of eyes, if you will. The benefit is, now being the sheriff, you have the ability to lead that organization. But having spent 29 years with LAPD and five years with Long Beach PD and last year I was the president of the LA County Police Chiefs Association and had the support of the 45 other police chiefs in the county. Being able to move forward with a team already in place, everyone sharing a common vision and wanting the Sheriff's Department to be successful, I think that’s a tremendous asset.
Are there any disadvantages to being an outsider and how will you overcome those?
I think the disadvantages are you don't have the institutional knowledge or know a lot of personnel in the organization. But by putting the right people who do have the institutional knowledge, the experience for many years, in the organization it'll create a balance, and I think a good one.
Your predecessor Sheriff Lee Baca left under a cloud of controversy. There were charges of corruption and violence in the jails, allegations by the DOJ that mentally ill were being housed in inhumane conditions. Some policies have been put in place to deal with this, but what do you think still needs to be done?
I think it’s a work in progress. The DOJ is looking closely at it. A lot has been done since the jail commission's report with 63 recommendations for change. Many of those have been implemented and others are in process. Moving forward, infrastructure is one issue. Mens Central Jail needs to be replaced. But also the philosophy within the jail environment. We also talked about a two-track system where deputies aren't sent from the academy directly into the jails for the next seven years, and then on the streets until they are promoted back in or get in trouble and go back into the jail. It was for too many years treated as a dumping ground for the organization, and it's one of the most high-liability areas of the department, and to treat it that way, if we were a business, we'd be in trouble.
What would you most like to see a new Mens Central Jail facility have?
I'd like to see a secure facility that is state of the art. It also provides for treatment of inmates who are mentally ill, but before we even deal with that issue be able to have some screening on the front end where we don't use incarceration as the first option for those who are mentally ill and have offended based on that illness. But have community-based mental health clinics and courts that would screen an individual and provide the appropriate treatment rather than just incarceration as the only option.
Berkeley passes the first soda tax in the nation
Tuesday night, America's first-ever tax on soda in the nation passed, right here in California.
In the liberal bastion of Berkeley, three-quarters of the votes cast were in favor of Measure D. The measure places a 1 cent per ounce tax on soft drinks.
Meanwhile, in nearby San Francisco, a similar soda tax (Prop. E) failed.
San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, an author of Prop. E, and Berkeley City Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, who brought Measure D before the Berkeley City Council, join Take Two for their reaction to the election results.
Childhood obesity: Danish doctor may have solution
Child obesity is on the rise in this country and many others and it's been a continuing struggle to address the problem.
A Danish pediatrician thinks he might have the answer.
In a trial of his plan, he's treated 1,900 children, and helped 70 percent of them reach and maintain a normal weight.
But there are 20 things the children have to do to make it work. Now the Danes are urging other nations to learn from their experience. The BBC's Malcolm Brabant reports.