A look at the judicial candidates and how the system works, Some of the biggest names in tech are shrinking their workforces, the best Halloween movies to binge on.
5 key things to know about the judicial races on your ballot
The Los Angeles Superior Court serves 9.5 million people with courtrooms spread throughout the 4,000-square-mile county. Its judges oversee both civil and criminal trials that deal with state law – everything from murder to theft to contract disputes. This year, voters are being asked to choose from eight candidates to fill four spots on that court.
It's a big deal, but it's tough to feel fully prepared to cast a ballot for these judges. Next week, we'll be hearing from all eight candidates running for a seat on the bench — as well as a current judge — about what the job requires.
But to start things off, we're joined by Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School, to find out why we have the judicial election system we do and what the important points are for those seeking to cast an informed vote.
1) What judicial positions am I voting for?
The November 8 ballot includes elections for four offices on the L.A. Superior Court. In June's primary, the top two vote-getters were selected to move on to the general election, meaning voters will see eight candidates — two vying for each seat.
Jessica Levinson on what the Superior Court judges do:
"Superior Court judges make a lot of really important decisions…. for instance, on all civil matters and criminal matters that deal with state law. On civil matters, they deal with contract disputes and they deal with torts. On criminal matters, these are judges that make decisions on all criminal laws, from petty theft to gang homicides. So we are putting a lot of power and trust into these state trial court judges."
2) How long are their terms?
Superior Court judges serve 6-year terms. If a seat becomes vacant before the end of its term, the governor may make a temporary appointment to fill the seat for the duration of the term.
Jessica Levinson on Superior Court judge re-election:
"The reason we don’t see these judges again on the ballot is that once you are on the bench, you only appear on the ballot again for Superior Court if there’s a contested election – if someone runs against you. In the vast majority of cases, sitting Superior Court judges are not challenged, so if there’s no opposition, these names don’t appear on the ballot again. So, they are up for election again but they aren’t actually oftentimes subject to a vote, and they keep their job because there’s no one who runs against them."
3) How are judges selected in California?
In California, like in a lot of other states, we have what is called a "hybrid system." We have elections for judges in the Superior (or trial court) level. In contrast, on the appellate level, a commission reviews candidates and makes a recommendation to the governor. The governor then decides who to appoint to the seat. After their first term, appointed appellate court judges are up for a "retention election."
Jessica Levinson on why trial judges are elected by voters:
“We think we should have a role in deciding who’s making these very important decisions about our lives...What we think is that elections provide us with some accountability, that it ensures that judges are doing their job, that it ensures that they have the right judicial temperament, that it ensures that if they’re following the law and if they are not doing that, we have a way of removing them. We have a way of saying, 'We don’t want you to keep your job anymore.' … We think that they have very important positions and we think they should be accountable to the people they serve.”
4) Where does that three-word-description on my ballot come from?
On the ballot, each judicial candidate's name is followed by a three-word job description. In judicial races, which typically draw far less attention than other, more high-profile races, that description can take on added importance.
Jessica Levinson on the role of the three-word job description:
"The job descriptions are based on what that person actually does. There’s actually a lot of litigation sometimes about the job description because we know that’s probably the most important piece of information that voters get when they’re weighing in on judges. So, you can’t have a job description that’s false or misleading. If you are a gang homicide prosecutor, you can’t say that you’re a defense attorney. We do give people a certain amount of leeway when they’re describing themselves. I think those three words are probably the most important when people are determining who they’re going to vote for, because they think, 'This person is a "child welfare advocate," or this person is a "sex crimes prosecutor" – that sounds like someone who should be a judge. They’re protecting the people I care about.' Or [it could be] a 'gang homicide prosecutor' and I don’t like gangs or I don’t like homicide, so that’s a very popular description."
5) Where can I get more information about the candidates and judicial races in general?
This series is a part of our
, in which we make it easier for you to vote. For a digital version of your personalized ballot, visit kpcc.org/votergameplan.
You can also check out the following resources for more information:
- Los Angeles County Bar Association's evaluations
- California Judges Association's Judicial elections handbook
- Official California voter guide online
Could GOP Congressman Darrell Issa lose his seat after 16 years?
This election year we've been hearing a lot about the Trump effect—the impact of the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, on races down the ballot.
Hoping to capitalize on Trump's struggles in the presidential race, Democrats have set their sights on vulnerable House Republicans to target for defeat.
In California, that focus has narrowed in on Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Vista). He's the eight-term incumbent from the 49th District, encompassing parts of San Diego and Orange Counties, and Camp Pendleton.
It's a district that, in years past, was a pretty unassailable Republican stronghold. So much so, Issa has not had to run an election campaign since he was first elected to the House in 2000. But this time around, things have changed.
This year, the race between Issa and his Democratic challenger Doug Applegate has become a close one. Applegate is a retired Marine colonel-turned-lawyer. This is his first foray into politics.
Michael Smolens, government editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune, says everyone was taken by surprise when Applegate finished only about five percentage points behind Issa in the June primary.
"The Democratic Party didn't necessarily recruit Doug Applegate," Smolens says. "I don't think they knew much about him. But they certainly embraced him after the primary."
One big factor contributing to Darrell Issa's vulnerability this time around is his support of Donald Trump.
Smolens says Issa's enthusiastic and early endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate has made him the "poster boy for Trump shaming."
But that still doesn't tell the whole story.
The fact that the 49th District has become less solidly Republican is also a contributing factor to Issa's struggles. Another is the criticism that Issa became too focused on national issues and wasted time and money on investigations of the Obama administration while he was chair of the House Oversight Committee.
As for what this all might mean come Election Day, this month the non-partisan Cook Political Report moved the 49th Congressional District to a "toss up." It's the first time that's happened since Issa was elected in 2000.
Click the blue audio player above to hear the full interview.
The Binge: Things to stream that will make you scream
Every month Take Two contributor Mark Jordan Legan stops by with a curated list of the best things to stream on the web.
Good thing, because with all the content that's available, it's easy to get lost.
Here's Mark's list.
The Witch (Amazon Prime)
The 2015 period piece horror film is from first time writer/director Robert Eggers. And it really makes the viewer feel as if they’ve been transported back in time to 1600’s Puritan New England.
A family is banished by their community for disagreeing about interpretations of the New Testament. So the stern domineering father takes his wife, their newborn son and three other children to live on edge of a deep forest. When the oldest daughter is supposed to be watching the newborn, the baby disappears and the family begins to suspect a witch who lives in the woods took their baby.
This film has a slow, unsettling build to it, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is one of those supernatural horror films that terrorizes with what it almost shows you or what you think you see there in the lurking in the shadows.
Stonehearst Asylum - (Netflix)
This criminally underrated film from 2014 is loosely based on an Edgar Allan Poe short story. It's a well done, well acted film with a huge and impressive cast featuring Ben Kingsley, Kate Beckinsale, and Michael Caine.
Set in 1899, the movie does an excellent job of presenting how horrific and ignorant Victorian medicine and psychiatry was at the turn of the century and there are plenty of twists and turns.
Creep (Netflix)
This 2014 release certainly lives up to its title – it is CREEPY. A cash-strapped filmmaker answers an ad in Craigslist. A man with a terminal illness wants someone to film him, to create a video diary he claims would be for his unborn son. But as they spend the day together in the remote mountains, the filmmaker begins to wonder about this guy.
This is one of those low-budget found footage DIY flicks but it totally works. It has a 96 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Housebound (Netflix)
A young woman named Kylie keeps getting in trouble with the law – petty crime after petty crime, so the court places her under house arrest – at first the gimmick of the film seems to be - what is worse – jail or being trapped in the house for eight months with your dysfunctional family. But then it turns out the Mom’s house may be haunted.
The film has a feel of the early Sam Raimi /Peter Jackson horror films – not that there’s gore, but this nice blend of comedy and scares.
is a writer, living in Los Angeles. Click on the link to check out past installments of The Binge.
Click the blue audio player above to hear the full interview.
Big names in tech stumble: what it means for the industry
All is not green in Silicon Valley.
Some of the biggest names in tech have hit some stumbling blocks in recent days.
Twitter announced it's laying off 9 percent of its workforce and cutting away its video app Vine.
Google has halted the expansion of its fiber optic service Fiber in many cities around the country including Los Angeles.
And Apple had its first decline in annual sales since 2001.
Take Two looks at the health of the tech industry, and if Silicon Beach has a sunnier outlook, with Kurt Wagner, senior editor at the tech site ReCode.
Click the blue audio player above to hear the full interview.
General Motors launches Maven car sharing service in Los Angeles
Most cars sit idle 95 percent of the time, which begs the question: do we really need to own them? Even a major auto maker like General Motors thinks it may not be necessary.
This week, the Detroit auto maker expanded its Maven car-sharing service to Los Angeles, offering 60 cars for by-the-hour rentals at 24 locations, mostly Downtown, including Little Tokyo, Staples Center and USC.
"GM’s position is the auto industry is going to change more in the next five years than it has in the last 50, so GM can do a couple things," said Dan Grossman, chief operating officer of GM's Maven City car-sharing program.
"They can spend money on incentives and marketing and advertising to convince people that really don’t want to buy a car and aren’t ready to buy a car to buy a car. Or we can get ahead of it and try to create a car share brand like Maven."
Maven is an app-based service that lets drivers reserve and rent cars by the hour or the day. Drivers download the app to their phones and sign up with a driver's license and credit card. Once a car has been reserved, the driver's phone serves as the car's key.
"LA is a great market for car sharing," Grossman said. "The last two mayors have done a really good job beefing up transit, the bus lines. There’s more attention to it, so I think the city’s become more walkable, more bikeable, and that fits in perfectly with car sharing."
While Maven City is offering various Chevys, including the new Bolt EV, it’s also offering almost every model of Cadillac. Pricing ranges from $8 to $24 per hour. Rentals can last up to 24 hours and include fuel, insurance and 180 miles.
Similar in operation to Zipcar, a car-sharing service that has been available on the USC and UCLA campuses since 2006 and throughout the city of LA since 2011, Maven holds the potential to ease traffic congestion by reducing the number of personal cars on the road.
"We have a goal as part of the sustainable city plan to reduce the number of single occupant trips to about half of the trips on the road," said Seleta Reynolds, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
"Right now that number is closer to 80 percent," Reynolds added. "There are some studies that show car sharing programs help people reduce car ownership by somewhere in the ratio of 5 to 1 and as the city grows, and the city is going to continue to grow, we can’t have every single person bring their own vehicle."
Filmmaker Roger Corman talks about his lovely LSD trip
With Halloween right around the corner, we decided to ring up Roger Corman, the king of low-budget cult films and spooky classics like "Tales of Terror" and "The Fall of the House of Usher."
Corman's influence on Hollywood is undeniable, with some of his disciples, including James Cameron, going on to create some of the all-time great films.
Another student of Corman, Joe Dante, is developing a screenplay about Corman's experience making the movie "The Trip." Dante's screenplay is called "The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes," and it details Corman's experience tripping on acid in Big Sur, which helped him better understand how to make the film.
Alex Cohen spoke with Corman about the film industry, why he hasn't retired yet (he's 90) and, of course, his journey on LSD.
"There is a moment...this clipper ship was sailing through the sky coming towards me and the sails were billowing and they seemed to be incrusted with diamonds," said Corman. "And then the billowing of the sails moved from diamonds to the curves of a woman's body. And it was really a tremendously erotic experience."
Click the blue audio player above to hear the full interview.
Cal Poly students develop plan for super fast solar-powered car
A team of students from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Prototype Vehicles Laboratory, known as PROVE Lab, have designed what they hope to be the fastest solar powered car to date.
In order to achieve a speed more competitive with other alternative fuel vehicles, the multi-disciplinary team—ranging from engineers to business students—created what they call the most aerodynamic vehicle ever designed. The prototype is so lightweight that it can be carried by a two people.
They hope to achieve a speed of about 70 miles per hour powered only by solar energy—no back-up power source.
The PROVE Lab team is scheduled to put their project to the test in next June when they intend to break the international land speed record for solar vehicles in the Mojave Desert, where there's plenty of sun.
The test program will be in conjunction with a middle school education program funded by a grant from the American Honda Foundation.
Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with David Alexander who the project manager and a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Aerospace Engineering and Chief Engineer at PROVE Lab. He described the car and the project like this:
What we have is basically, a hyper aerodynamic shell. It's much more like a wing than a car but it does have four wheels. It's designed to be about 20 feet long and 8 feet wide which I know is massive. We're using this more as a proof of concept than a get-your-briefcase-and-go-to-work kind of car. We want to show the world that with just solar power, you can go the highway speed limit. ...that you can go to work and not have to buy any gas for your car - that's where we'd like to go in the future. But mainly this is a look [at] what we can do with just the power of the sun.
Click the blue audio player above to hear the full interview.
Master of fright, demon of light Danny Elfman brings 'The Nightmare Before Christmas’ to the Bowl
Here in Southern California, there's no shortage of Halloween treats, especially at the Hollywood Bowl.
That's where, for the next three nights, there will be a live screening of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas." This animated dark fantasy film from 1993 centers on Jack Skellington who lives in a place called Halloween Town.
Jack, the pumpkin king, is adored by town residents, including his love interest Sally, for his abilities to frighten folks each fall.
Yep, Jack's grown tired of spooks and scares. Then one day comes across a portal to a place known as Christmas Town and he's smitten.
Jack hatches a plan to kidnap Santa Claus and take his place, but it doesn't work out quite according to plan.
The soundtrack for the film was written by musician Danny Elfman, who will also be singing the part of Jack Skellington at this weekend's Hollywood Bowl shows.
Elfman has been hard at work preparing for this weekend, but he took some time to chat with Alex Cohen about the film and upcoming shows.
He began by explaining how he and Tim Burton created the film:
"Tim would come over to my house with drawings and we spent a number of months not sure how to start because neither of us really had a blueprint for how you begin this kind of project."
They started with the songs. Elfman tells how Burton would explain his story ideas and then show the drawings he'd put together:
"'I'd go, 'oh, oh okay great,' and I'd go off and I'd spend about three days writing a song, and he'd come back and go 'oh, yeah, okay great,' and I'd write the next song. We kind of did this every couple of days for a month until we had 10 songs."
Their lack of experience in penning movie musicals actually proved to be a bit of a boon, Elfman believes, because it liberated them from some of the standard musical cliches and conventions you see in animated films.
"I wanted the songs to have a feeling like they could come from just about any age. It's hard to tell, is this from the 30's? Could this be from the 60's? Could this be from the 80's? Could this be from Gilbert and Sullivan or Kurt Weill from 1917?"
The result was a fabulous soundtrack and music much unlike what Elfman had spent most of his career making. Back in the 1970's, Elfman fronted a new wave group called Oingo Boingo.
Elfman told me the more he worked on "The Nightmare before Christmas," the more he wanted to leave Oingo Boingo and the closer he felt to protagonist Jack Skellington.
"I really felt a kinship with Jack being the kind of king of his own little land and really wanting out of it."
Get out he did. The band broke up a few years after "The Nightmare Before Christmas" came out and he went on to have a successful career composing music for films, including more than a dozen with Tim Burton.
The pair was so strong that they were often approached to do concerts of their movie music, but Elfman says he had no interest.
But then the Royal Albert Hall in London called, and Elfman said yes. The concert organizer wondered if the musician wanted to be part of the show.
"He asked me 'would you consider singing a song or two?' And I said 'yeah, sure, why not?' and I said it rather flippantly. And then six months later when it was closer to actually doing the concert I remember asking, 'did I say I would do a song?' and he said 'yeah,' and I said 'let's cancel that.'"
This would be the place to mention that, believe it or not, Danny Elfman suffers from pretty terrible stage fright.
"I hadn't sung in 18 years. I'd never sung any of these songs live so I kind of tried a few of them...and oh...these are really hard to sing."
But tickets to the Royal Albert Hall had been sold. The show had to go on. He recalls sitting backstage, petrified.
"I was sitting there, trying to get myself ready to walk out and kind of thinking, maybe I should just turn around, go out the exit and find a bar. And Helena Bonham Carter was sitting behind me, she was on the floor, she was going to sing Sally for "Sally's Song" and she's looking at me going 'Danny, what's up?' And I'm like 'uhh, I don't know if I can do this,' and I remember she looked at me and she goes, 'come on. Come on. F**k it, right?' and I said, 'yeah, absolutely, f**k it.' That's the story of my life!"
Elfman says the night turned out magically.
"I remembered there's a feeling you get on stage when it's good, where you feel like you can fail and it'll be okay. They're not going to kill you, they don't hang people...it's like if you goof up, it's okay, you'll start again, you'll be fine. And that feeling kind of came back and everything was good."
And so, Elfman decided to take it one step further, to perform as Jack for all of the songs in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" screened in front of an audience with a live orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl.
Last year on Halloween weekend, he was joined on stage by other vocal performers in the film, including actress Catherine O'Hara, Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee Herman, and Ken Page, who plays a character named Oogie Boogie.
In addition to the film and the musical performances and the movie, there's trick-or-treating and a costume contest. It's quite the Halloween Carnival—two of the shows have already sold out.
But this will be the last time Danny Elfman performs "The Nightmare Before Christmas" at the Hollywood Bowl.
So, why not make it an annual tradition?
"...because, the word annual rubs me wrong. I did a Halloween show with Oingo Boingo for like, 15 years and it was like every Halloween we're doing a Halloween show and I got to a point where I hated the fact that it was expected of me, it was anticipated. I mean people would be telling me in July, 'hey man, I'll be seeing you at your Halloween show, and I'm going 'this is wrong,.' I don't like being this scheduled and predictable and doing what I'm supposed to be doing and knowing that far in advance what I'm going to be doing."
That news was heartbreaking, but understandable.
After all, Danny Elfman felt that connection to Jack Skellington when he first wrote the music. and he still does. Like the pumpkin king, Elfman is always relishing in the new and unexpected. Something celebrated when Skellington first finds himself in Christmas town.
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" with Danny Elfman will be performed Friday night, Saturday and Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl.
Click the blue audio player above to hear the interview.
The haunted history of the California missions
There are more than 20 Spanish missions scattered throughout California, some dating back as far as 1769.
With almost 250 years of history, some of it tragic and gruesome, it's not a surprise that ghostly tales surround the aging structures.
Now, Take Two reserves judgment on whether we should believe in these stories, but what better time to explore them, than on Halloween?
A Martinez was joined earlier by historian and self-proclaimed ghost hunter, Richard Senate. Senate spoke about the violent history of the missions, some of the most spine-tingling stories and sightings, and his own personal experience with ghosts.
Click the blue audio player above to hear the full interview.