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Podcasts Take Two
LA Will Void 2 Million Citations, Car Tire Microplastics, Ghosts of Eden Park
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Oct 3, 2019
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LA Will Void 2 Million Citations, Car Tire Microplastics, Ghosts of Eden Park

Why LA is voiding 2 million warrants and court citations, How car tires are contributing to microplastics in the ocean, Reintroducing LA's formerly most famous woman, Mabel Walker Willebrandt.
Tents and belongings of the homeless line a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018, as a United Nations report on poverty and inequality says 185 million Americans are living in extreme poverty. - And in Los Angeles, which has one of the nation's largest homeless populations, the mayor said last week people may start getting arrested again for sleeping on the sidewalk now that the city feels it has enough new housing to meet settlement requirements. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
Tents and belongings of the homeless line a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018, as a United Nations report on poverty and inequality says 185 million Americans are living in extreme poverty. - And in Los Angeles, which has one of the nation's largest homeless populations, the mayor said last week people may start getting arrested again for sleeping on the sidewalk now that the city feels it has enough new housing to meet settlement requirements. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
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We find out why the City of Los Angeles will void 2 million warrants and court citations. Plus, we look at how car tires are contributing to microplastics in the ocean. And, we find out more about L.A.'s formerly most famous female, Mabel Walker Willebrandt, for Throwback Thursday.

L.A. Will Void 2 Million Citations

The city of Los Angeles announced Wednesday that it will void almost 2 million warrants and minor citations.

Guest:

  • Mike Feuer, Los Angeles City Attorney

Homeless Citations Effectiveness

For more on this move to clear citations and warrants and how they affect our homeless population, we speak with a a civil rights attorney who has won several lawsuits against the city of L.A. over homelessness issues. 

Guest:

  • Carol Sobel, civil rights attorney

Homeless Street Medicine

The number of people living on the streets in California is often labeled as a public health crisis. But for those experiencing it, homelessness is a personal health crisis, multiplied more than 100,000 times over statewide. Our California Dream collaboration is looking at solutions to some of the problems facing the state. KPCC housing reporter Matt Tinoco explains how outreach workers are addressing some of those health needs.

Flavored Tobacco Ban

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban the sale of flavored tobacco. It goes into effect in 30 days. The move comes two weeks after Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer recommended that the city also ban its sale. The concern is over young people picking up the habit of vaping because of flavors like mango and mint. But also, in recent months hundreds of people around the country have become sick with a mysterious lung illness that's related to vaping. More than 800 people have been hospitalized because of it, and 12 people have died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Guest:

  • Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the  of the L.A. County Health Department

Car Tire Microplastics

Researchers found that tire particles are one of the largest contributors to microplastics in California coastal waters. The new study, the most comprehensive yet on California microplastics, linked rainfall to particle runoff in the San Francisco bay.

Guest:

  • Dr. Rebecca Sutton, senior scientist with  the San Francisco Estuary Institute

Throwback Thursday: Ghosts of Eden Park

Mabel Walker Willebrandt was a pioneering prosecutor with strong roots in Los Angeles. She handled tax matters for the movie studio MGM, represented the Screen Actors Guild and at one point was once the most famous woman in America.

Guest:

  • Karen Abbott, author of “The Ghosts of Eden Park"

History of Rocky Road Ice Cream

Rocky Road is one of America's most popular ice cream flavors - and it comes from California. But even though nearly a century has passed since Rocky Road was invented, there's still a dispute over just who thought up the recipe. KQED's Sasha Kohkha has the story: