How California's End of Life bill works, when students with helicopter parents head to college, a check-in with a Valley Fire evacuee.
California End of Life proponent Christy O'Donnell: 'It's been a long journey'
A woman who has been one of California's most vocal proponents of End of Life legislation is speaking out after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill on Monday.
"I was so proud to be a Californian and for Gov. Brown to make this very difficult decision, but accurate decision to represent over 75 percent of Californians who want this," said Christy O'Donnell. "It was very bittersweet because it's been a long journey for both my daughter Bailey and I."
O'Donnell was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in June 2014 and was told she had only months to live. She thought she wouldn't live to see the bill signed.
"I'm very, very happy still for other Californians, but given the administrative and procedural process still that the law has to go through before it’s finalized, it still is very unlikely that I am going to live to be able to use the law because it won’t take action, likely, until January," she said.
O’Donnell recently underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor that formed as the cancer spread. As a result, she’s lived longer than her doctor initially predicted. She says she’s “very lucky” that the treatment was successful, but it only bought her a little more time. “The cancer has now spread throughout my body into my liver, my ribs, my spine and just continues to spread,” she said. “And I’ve now exhausted any chemotherapy options.”
O’Donnell says she made many of her end-of-life plans after the cancer was discovered, but the hardest part has been planning how she will support her 21-year-old daughter Bailey after she’s gone.
“It’s been very important for me to try to be present with her in the future, even though I won’t be alive,” she says. “I spent quite a bit of time preparing cards for her for the future, gifts for her wedding, for her baby shower and those types of things.”
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
Correction: A previous version of this story's headline misspelled Christy O'Donnell's name.
Politicon: When Trevor Noah and Ann Coulter will be in the same room
Trevor Noah. Ann Coulter. Newt Gingrich. Clay Aiken.
No, it's not the world's weirdest dinner party. Those are just a few of the folks who will be appearing this week at an event called Politicon.
Simon Sidi, a political analyst, and Jon Macks, former "Tonight Show" writer and author of "Monologue: What Makes America Laugh Before Bed," organized the event. They spoke to Take Two’s Alex Cohen about the unconventional political convention.
“Politics is entertainment now,” Macks said. “If you come to an event like Politicon and you see the mix of people and the panels that have been set up, I think it’s interesting for both political junkies and I think it’s interesting just for people really want to see something that’s never been done before.”
Politicon is the brainchild of Simon Sidi, who spent much of his life touring with professional musicians. He says he wanted to bring a little of that experience to another subject he was passionate about: politics. Macks instantly saw the value of Sidi’s idea.
“To be honest, I was blown away by it,” Macks said. “Politics is show business for ugly people … In the end, the truth is they really are both performers.”
To make his vision a reality, Sidi called on a mix of political commentators, analysts, comedians and musicians. He gave Alex a taste of some of the names headlining the event.
“We’ve got everybody from Trevor Noah to Jordan Klepper, also from the Daily Show, we’ve got the UCB doing a bunch of shows with Matt Besser, we’ve got an amazing art show as well.”
Sidi says he wants Politicon to be fun for everyone -- even people who don’t care for politics.
“Politicon is about politics and pop culture. It’s not just about talking heads,” he said. “We wanted it to be more like a Comic Con, we wanted it to be fun, we wanted it to be something where people can enjoy themselves.”
Press the blue play button above to hear more.
So you've got a diesel VW car. Here's what happens next.
Alright VW owners out there – let's clear the air of some confusion you might feel.
Those of you with diesel cars that can defeat emissions tests might be wondering what to do next. Do you still drive your car? Do you sue VW? Will you be a part of a class action lawsuit filed against the company? There are more than 100 right now.
Professor Georgene Vairo at Loyola Law School joins the show to explain the basics of how this could play out for consumers, and how long it could take.
What do I have to do to join a class action suit?
"You actually don't have to do anything," says Vairo. "The class actions that have been filed already cover everyone in the country who owns a TDI."
The numerous cases will eventually consolidate into one unified case, and that process will take weeks as lawyers jockey to be the lead and the courts decide where the case will be heard.
How will they get the information to contact me?
The lawyers will try to get notices out based on databases provided to them by Volkswagen or dealers.
"Everybody gets so many class action notices and they find themselves in the garbage. Here, look out to see if it's from Volkswagen because if it is, it may require you to do something."
How long could a resolution take?
It depends.
Vairo says lawyers may wait until the government concludes its own investigation because authorities will be able to get information and documents much faster.
That information can then be helpful in bolstering the case of the people filing the class action suit.
For how long it case could take, look to the litigation against Toyota for its faulty accelerators. That dealt with the depreciated value of a car, and it took years.
"The difference is that VW acknowledged there was a problem, unlike Toyota," says Vairo. "I would think that VW would want to get this behind them as soon as possible."
Am I eligible if I bought an affected car used?
The lawyers will try to make sure everyone who bought a VW is encompassed, including owners of used vehicles.
"It's possible they'll come up with subclasses [of owners affected], but the damages are basically the same whether you bought it new or used."
If I buy a VW diesel vehicle now, am I still eligible to be part of a class action suit?
You would, but VW will most likely fix the problem in the vehicle before you drive it off the lot.
What if I want to bring my own suit against VW instead of joining a class action?
"It probably wouldn't make any sense," says Vairo. "Your damages aren't going to come anywhere close to paying your legal bills."
You do have a right to object to a settlement, however, but you need to look for notices to know what's going on. It possible you can lobby for a fairness hearing, too, where you object to try and get more.
"For example, California drivers could argue that they get more than Nevada drivers because California's consumer protection laws are greater."
You may also consider filing a small claims case against VW if you want to obtain more than what could be in the settlement.
In college and adulthood, some 'helicopter parents' still hover
Last week on Take Two we took on the topic of "helicopter parents"— the ones who hover over their kids— with Jessica Lahey, author of the book "The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed."
Her book cautions parents to resist the urge to swoop in and rescue their kids. The idea being that letting a kid fail can teach valuable lessons and help kids realize that things in life won't always go their way.
But there is of course such a thing as being too hands off. And experts say it can become a real problem when it comes to parenting college-aged kids.
Marjorie Savage is a researcher with the University of Minnesota's department of family social science and author of "You're On Your Own (But I'm Here If You Need Me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years." She says that while there definitely are parents who are too involved in their kids' lives, some parents are so concerned about being labeled a "helicopter parent" that they're reluctant to step in even when the situation really warrants it.
"There are so many negative terms for parenting a college student right now, ranging from 'helicopters' to 'stealth bombers' to 'submarines,'" Savage says, "and people feel really concerned about 'I don't want to be labeled like that,' 'I don't want to become that kind of a parent,' and making the decisions about what is appropriate and what's not becomes kind of hard for them."
And the questions parents have about whether or not to get involved don't really go away, even as kids go from college age, to full-fledged adults. Nancy L. Wolf, a writer and mom of two adult kids, explored the topic recently in a Washington Post column titled, "Do you let an adult child fail, too?"
Once your child enters adulthood, you really can't just step in and tell them what to do, Wolf says. But at the same time, failing as an adult, "is a little different than not getting into the right college. It can have harder consequences and longer consequences. So while I still think you can't really tell them what to do, I think you can tell them how what you're hearing from them makes you feel as a parent."
While that can be a fine line to walk, Wolf says, taking the approach of talking about your feelings as a parent will at the very least lead to a dialogue. And hopefully to good choices on the part of the child, no matter what their age.
To hear the full interview with Marjorie Savage and Nancy Wolf, click the link above.
New music from Janet Jackson, Rudimental, Kyle and Jono McCleery
If you love new music, but you don't have the time to keep up with what's hip and new, we've got the perfect segment for you: Tuesday Reviewsday. Every week our music experts bring in their top picks, which we promise, will keep you and your musical tastes relevant. This week music supervisor Morgan Rhodes joins host A Martinez in the studio to talk about her selections.
Morgan Rhodes
Artist: Janet Jackson
Album: "Unbreakable"
Songs: "Unbreakable," "Broken Hearts Heal"
Artist: Rudimental
Album: "We The Generation"
Songs: "Breath(e) ft. Lianne La Havas," "New Day Coming ft. Bobby Womack"
Artist: Jono McCleery
Album "Pagodes"
Song: "Bet She Does"
Artist: Kyle
Album: "Smyle"
Song: "All 4 Yu ft. Yuna"
To hear the entire conversation and why you should listen to all of the artists listed above click on the full audio embedded at the top of this post.
How REAP works, and how it helps LA's renters
The Los Angeles City Council is set to look at housing on Tuesday. In particular, they'll give attention to the Rent Escrow Account Program, known as REAP. It's a city program that forces landlords to make repairs to dilapidated buildings.
Linda Kite, executive director of the Healthy Homes Collaborative, joins the show to explain how REAP works, and how effective the program is.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.
Where a key part of California's fire prevention fund comes from and how it's spent
In the past few months, multiple wildfires have stretched California's resources thin, putting a strain on crews and equipment.
So why does the state have tens of millions of dollars in a fire prevention fund that remains unspent?
Sacramento Bee reporter Jim Miller writes the Capitol Alert blog and looked into what's called the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund.
In response to KPCC's questions about the fund, Daniel Berlant, spokesperson for Cal Fire said in a statement:
"The Fire Prevention Fee Fund is a relatively new fund, so while in the first year we were able to spend $51 million on fire prevention, that has gone up to nearly $93 million this past fiscal year. In just the past couple years we have been able to use over $200 million on critical fire prevention projects like brush clearance, fuel breaks, defensible space inspections, and evacuation routes."
For Middletown resident, a long road to recovery from devastating Valley Fire
The Valley Fire burned more than 70,000 acres and ripped through multiple towns in Lake County, California, in September.
It passed right through Middletown, where resident Kelli Chase fled ahead of quickly advancing flames.
"Half of the homes in Middletown are gone," said Chase, who had 30 minutes to evacuate from her home along with her husband and pets. "It's so tragic to look at people that you know and realize they have lost everything."
The fire is now contained, but local residents like Chase are only beginning to try and put their lives back together.
"Things are sort of, gradually getting back to normal," she said, noting that most of the businesses in town are re-opening, even as clean-up continues.
Check out the latest at KPCC's Fire Tracker
DraftKings 'insider info' accusation puts daily fantasy sports under fire
If you still have a TV, you may have noticed a lot of commercials promoting daily fantasy sports over the last few months.
Companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings tout millionaire-making contests through their start-up sites. But now these companies are under fire, thanks to allegations that employees were placing bets and winning using information that's not available to the public.
The Wall Street Journal's Sarah Needleman joined the show to sort through what's going on.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.