This week the U.S. government began flying Mexican deportees to Mexico City.; Are banks who were found to be using fraudulent lending practices cleaning up their acts?; David Kipen, book critic and owner of Libros Schmibros, joins the show to talk about Banned Books Week.;Kevin Ferguson reports on the use of graffiti as commercial art in Los Angeles.; A slew of political video games out this election season are trying to snag the youth vote.; We'll be unveiling a new debate bingo game so listeners can play along at home.; A record number of openly gay candidates are running for seats in the next Congress and almost all of them say their sexuality is a non-issue on the campaign trail.; A new book seeks to explain to Afghan soldiers common Western behavior, actions that sometimes are perceived as an insult.; How is it possible that some athletes, some who make millions within a few years, lose all their wealth within five years of retirement?; The Cinefamily challenges Angelenos to a Video Nasties Watch-a-thon contest.
US flies Mexican deportees to Mexico City to relieve border towns
This week,. the U.S. government began flying Mexican deportees to Mexico City, in an effort to relieve border cities that have been overwhelmed by the numbers of deported immigrants.
The flights are not voluntary, unlike a previous effort that involved immigrants arrested during Arizona's deadly summer heat.
However, the program is only scheduled to last for two months and will involve roughly 20 flights, far fewer than what was expected by many.
Are banks changing their fraudulent lending practices?
Six months ago, the banking industry reached a $25 billion settlement with the government. The five biggest banks agreed to the payout after investigators uncovered an industry-wide practice of using fraudulent paperwork to process foreclosures.
So-called "robo signing" resulted in estimated thousands of people losing their homes.
The multi-state settlement requires lenders to change the way they handle their customers, specifically, banks need to communicate more directly with people who are trying to stay in their homes.
Now that the settlement is in full effect, are the banks holding up their end of the deal?
We talk to Katherine Porter, the UC Irvine law professor appointed to oversee California's share of the settlement.
Banned Books Week celebrates 30 years of literary freedom
Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates freedom in literature and seeks to draw attention to books that have been, or still are banned. The annual event celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
We speak to David Kipen, book critic and owner of Libros Schmibros, a lending library/used book store in Boyle Heights.
Sign language: LA graffiti artist creates hand-painted signs for local commerce
In neighborhoods like Echo Park, Inglewood and Eagle Rock you can't miss them: hand-painted signs are everywhere They advertise carnicerias, discount stores, going out of business sales. But who paints them, how do they get there and are they even legal?
KPCC's Kevin Ferguson spent time with one of Highland Park's most prolific sign artists.
Along Figueroa Street, between Avenues 55 and 56, there's a Bank of America, a parking lot, and a giant brick wall. Until a few months ago it was like a lot of brick walls in LA: covered from top to bottom with coats of paint, and a couple for rent signs.
Then it changed.
I noticed it when I was walking to work: A spray painted scene with two enormous faces, both wearing sunglasses with the ocean in the background. On the right a woman — she could be a model —brushing her hair back with an improbably thin arm, staring at the sky. Next to her, a man stares into the foreground, presumably looking at the traffic on Figueroa.
To the left, a hand painted sign advertising Triumph Optical, which takes up the office on the second floor. It's a small place of business: Triumph sells prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, accessories, mostly wholesale.
Michael Kosman, the owner, said he ran the business mostly under the radar for some time, but that soon changed.
"We've discovered that people appreciate our retail abilities as well," he said. So, Kosman decided to start advertising.
He found a business card for Alza Signs, a Northeast L.A. sign company. Kosman called Edward Mompeller, Alza's owner and artist, "And to my surprise he said he would do it that night and it would only take him a few hours," said Kosman. "I didn't comparison shop, I just trusted him that he would a do a job, the worst that could happen is I could paint it over "
When Kosman came in the next morning, he loved the final product. His employees agreed, and it hasn't been bad for his bottom line. "So far a few customers have come in and have purchased eyewear from us because of the mural," said Kosman.
Mompeller — the man behind Alza Signs — is a longtime resident of Highland Park. If you travel around Highland Park, Eagle Rock, or Glassell Park you'll find his work almost everywhere.
Mompeller has a long history with painting walls, one that goes back to the early '80s. Only he wasn't paid to do it, he said he was a crucial part of L.A.'s early graffiti art scene. He went commercial later on.
"In '85 I had no idea that I was actually doing artwork for businesses. But I was," said Mompeller.
On Avenue 50 and Figueroa, Mompeller’s waving red chili pepper adorns the wall of Chico's restaurant. Down the street, Mompeller painted Mario, the Nintendo character, jumping over the entrance a nearby market.
Mompeller has also tried to nurture young graffiti artists. Over the years he worked with property owners in northeast LA to create “free zones” — areas where artists can create murals without permission. Also, and he didn't mention this in our interview, Mompeller is an amazing dancer.
Search Youtube for "Playboy Eddie" — that's his alias — and you'll find dozens of videos of him popping and locking. In this clip, Mompeller, wearing all white, goes against the legendary Popin' Pete:
On The Job
I met up with Mompeller for a job late on Monday night back outside of Michael Kosman's business, Triumph Optical
This time, Kosman has asked him to cover the entire wall. It's a big job, so Mompeller brought help. Julian, who goes by the name Naive, is a 20-year-old street artist and student. It's his first job.
Tonight's project has a bunch of different elements: on top of the sunbathing models already on the wall, they're adding a portrait of the model, reasons why sunglasses can be good for your eyes, an optometrist, and more. They brought ladders, paint, and plenty of spray cans.
More than just a quick and affordable service for businesses owners, companies like Mompeller's offer security. Alza Signs also promises that in the event a mural ends up defaced with someone else's graffiti, they'll fix it right away.
Mompeller is able to make that guarantee in part because he almost never has to act on it. Most taggers wouldn’t think of defacing the work of someone who's been on the scene that long.
This whole graffiti-art-as-advertising thing falls into a squishy legal area — signs like this technically aren't permitted, but L.A. police don't make it a priority to enforce the ban.
At the site of the mural a couple of hours go by, they're running a little behind, and they have an outline for the model and a solid background, but they've got tons of work to do. And I'm kind of a distraction.
"Not to be pushing on this interview, but to tell you the truth. When I was doing these other faces, I didn't get started until like four in the morning, I didn't get out until like six. So I can't have that happen tonight, cause I have another job to do," Mompeller told me.
"So you can't have me talking to you?" I ask.
Laughing, Mompeller replies: "Not the whole night, no."
So around 1 a.m., I head home. Mompeller and his assistant ended up working on the mural until dawn. The final product looks great, at least in my opinion: the portrait of the model stretches maybe 12 feet.
The writing? Clear and legible. The optometrist character on the left has "KPCC" written on his shirt. Like a lot of work by Alza signs: the mural looks professional, but not slick. And definitely not sterile.
Snagging the youth vote via video games
As the election gets closer, both campaigns are trying to pull in the youth vote.
A slew of political video games out this election season just might motivate them enough to put down the controller or iPad and head down to the polls.
We speak to Ian Bogost of Persuasive Games
Make politics fun with the Take Two Debate Bingo game
Wednesday night presidential contenders Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will engage in a series of televised debates.
There will be plenty of talk about familiar topics such as government spending, the economy, Medicare and energy. One way to spice up the experience is to make a game out of it.
Try Take Two's new debate bingo game and play along at home.
Click here to access our bingo card generator so you can play along at home!
Rep. Barney Frank and the record number of openly gay candidates running for Congress
A record number of openly gay candidates are running for seats in the next Congress, and almost all of them say their sexuality is a non-issue on the campaign trail — both for them, and their opponents.
If they win, Congress could see its first openly gay Asian-American (from Riverside), its first openly bisexual member, and its first gay senator this January.
Is there greater significance to this trend? And how has the climate changed in the nearly three decades openly gay Congressman Barney Frank has been in office?
Guests
Chris Johnson, a political reporter for the Washington Blade
Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA)
Pamphlet aims to help Western and Afghanistan soldiers get along
The Afghan Defense Ministry has released a guide book called "Cultural Understanding: A Guide to Understanding Coalition Cultures."
The book seeks to explain to Afghan soldiers common Western behavior, actions that sometimes are perceived as an insult.
We'll talk with the Washington Post's Kevin Sieff.
ESPN doc examines why pro athletes go broke in retirement
According to a recent article by Sports Illustrated, a majority of NBA and NFL players are financially broke within five years of retirement.
How is it possible that athletes, some who make millions within a few years, loose all their money?
That's the topic of a new ESPN documentary, 'Broke.' A Martinez talks to Billy Corden, the director of the film.
The Cinefamily wants you for its gory midnight-movie challenge
The Cinefamily movie theater on North Fairfax is hosting a terrifying run of midnight screenings throughout October.
The theater is challenging its patrons to see 30 gory, violent and terrifying films in 30 days, the winner will get to guest program an upcoming Cinefamily movie screening.
Bret Berg, Cinefamily’s co-programmer, will join the show to talk with Alex Cohen about the theater’s horror movie lineup.
Highlights include the 1981 film “The Evil Dead,” “Cannibal Holocaust” and Wes Craven’s “The Last House on the Left.”