Who is being held responsible for Obamacare website issues?; Covered California's enrollment counselor certification is behind schedule; William Mulholland's rise from ditch-digger to controversial LA power player; LA's water department casts its shadow over the Owens Valley; Is there really an impending global wine shortage?, plus much more.
Who is being held responsible for Obamacare website issues?
Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified about the problems with the federal government's healthcare website.
Sebelius vows that the website will be up and running by the end of November. For more on who's being held responsible for the troubles with healthcare.gov and how that could impact the future of their careers, we're joined now by democratic political strategist Chris Lehane.
Patriot Act backer says NSA spying went too far
In 2001, shortly after September 11th, Congress came together for a near-unanimous vote to pass the U.S. Patriot Act. That law gave authorities broad surveillance powers to fight terrorism.
But as more details emerge about what that surveillance actually involves, well, some lawmakers are having a change of heart.
Like Representative James Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin. He's considered one of the architects of the Patriot Act but recently said he was, quote "appalled" that the law had been used to spy on ordinary Americans. Sensenbrenner introduced a new law yesterday to rein those powers in.
For a look at how lawmakers are changing their views on the limits of surveillance, we're joined by Todd Zwillich, Washington correspondent for PRI's "The Takeaway."
Covered California's enrollment counselor certification is behind schedule
It's been nearly a month since the opening of Covered California, the state-run health insurance marketplace.
Under the federal Affordable Care Act, Californians can buy insurance from one of the companies listed on Covered California's website.
State officials say a lot of people won't sign up unless they get some help. Covered California has several ways to provide it, but KPCC's Jed Kim says one of those efforts is off to a very slow start.
William Mulholland's rise from ditch-digger to controversial LA power player
This story is part of KPCC's weeklong series exploring the history of the L.A. Aqueduct and looking at the future of L.A.'s water resources. View the whole series
William Mulholland was the chief engineer of the L.A. water department, a self-taught man who rose from ditch-digger to be one of the most powerful men in Los Angeles.
To many he was a visionary who paved the way for an important metropolis. To others he is a ruthless villain who took part in an underhanded scheme to steal water and enrich the power elite.
Mulholland biographer Margaret Leslie Davis joins the show with more.
Interview Highlights:
On how Mulholland rose from the gutter to become such a powerful man?
"He was a ditch digger. He was self-taught, he was self-educated, he read ferociously and his special interest was in geology and engineering. By the age of 30, he rose from ditch digger, to superintendent of what was then called the Los Angeles Power Company. In his 30s he, as superintendent of the Los Angeles Water Company, would be in charge of the most immense water project ever undertaken possibly since Roman times...Today we have something like 14 million people, and it really is all thanks to this man who rose from the lowest ranks to the highest in the water department.
On how Mulholland set his sights on the Owens River:
"This story is filled with conflict, tragedy and many points of views. It is a rather complicated, complex story. But in short, William Mulholland reasoned, as he watched the population of Los Angeles grow, that it needed an abundant source of water. The only source that he could find that could provide for the foreseeable future was water snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada mountains...At the same time, it robbed many farmers and landowners in the Owens Valley of their indigenous water supply. Of course, conflict erupted and the famous water wars erupted and there were acts of terrorism later on against what became the Los Angeles Aqueduct."
On whether Mulholland understood what he was doing to the Owens Valley:
"In researching this book for five years, and believe me I was looking for it, I never found one piece of evidence of self-dealing on the part of William Mulholland. Now, there was evidence that other wealthy land owners, other self-interested parties may have manipulated the political system, the bond issues of 1906 to secure not only the funding for the aqueduct, but also the ability for the city to purchase the land along the way.
"I must say, I do think William Mulholland was a purist in this sense that he saw the aqueduct as the greatest good for the greatest number of people. He was more interested in the benefit of the city, the benefit of the average man, the benefit of growth and economic commerce. Along the way, certain wealthy landowners became immensely rich from the water that did pour from the San Fernando Valley to irrigate what really were very arid lands, but without this water from the aqueduct Los Angeles certainly would not be the city it is today."
On how Mulholland viewed his aqueduct project:
"There is no doubt he had sort of a tunnel vision on this project and perhaps on the benefit of Los Angeles over what he saw as a few hundred farmers in the Owens Valley at the time. There is no doubt that people were treated poorly, people were not possibly paid the fair market value for some of this land. There were some questionable dealings. Did Mulholland himself ever personally profit? No, he was a man of relatively modest means. He had some sizable acreage of his own in the valley that was passed down to the descendants in his family, but I never found any evidence of personal self-gain."
On why he never got into politics:
"I think he hated the political life even though he was, in a sense, very much part of it. He loved the doing. He loved being with the workers. He loved being of the earth. And one of his great quotes, which again is true, he said, "I would rather give birth to a porcupine backwards than run for Mayor of Los Angeles." But he was a celebrity. He was constantly asked for his autograph and heralded wherever he went and no doubt he enjoyed it."
On how the St. Francis Dam failure ended his career:
"One of his dams in a string of reservoirs collapsed and created massive devastation, massive loss of life. It was, without question, the largest, single natural disaster in history of the West. The flooding swept bodies, animals, homes, in some places, all the way nearly to the ocean. For William Mulholland, who was notified that morning of the dam's failure, it was the worst moment of his life, but he did take full responsibility for the dam's failure.
"In fact, there was a coroner's inquest in which he was charged with manslaughter for the failure of the dam. He was eventually acquitted of any criminal wrongdoing. The saddest most poignant moment for me when I researched this book was in his grief, in his pain, in his self-loathing, following the collapse of the St. Francis Dam, he did pull all his teeth out of his mouth. That showed to me what sorrow and grief had done to him. He was never the same."
On whether history has been too kind of William Mulholland:
"Following his death, his papers were sealed in the Department of Water and Power and really no scholars, no authors had kind of dug in there and looked at it. He was really a forgotten character in LA's history. Then, interest was revived in his again and now, because of the 100-year anniversary, we are like 'Wow, here is a city of 14 million people sitting where we have an indigenous water supply where maybe a quarter million people could survive on.' The truth is the aqueduct did serve an incredible purpose to create what I believe is the greatest city in the west, Los Angeles."
LA's water department casts its shadow over the Owens Valley
While folks here greeted the LA Aqueduct as an engineering marvel in 1913, ranchers and farmers in the Owens Valley called it a water grab.
One-hundred years later, that view endures, but it's been tempered somewhat. Over the decades, the LA Department of Water and Power has provided jobs to thousands of valley residents.
KPCC's Molly Peterson takes a look at how locals are reconciling that sometimes uncomfortable bond.
Sports Roundup: Lakers, Clippers and the World Series
The basketball battle of Los Angeles goes to an LA team, what's the heaviest tweet you could get and what's the most you'd shell out to have a front row seat to history? To help us answer these questions we're joined by
, who have covered sports for ESPN and the L.A. Times.
Last night the NBA season tipped off in Staples Center. Now the Lakers and Clippers could not have had more different off-seasons.
Despite being a big underdog the Lakers beat the Clips 116-103 and Andy now this has everyone wondering, are the Lakers not as bad as most think they're going to be? Are the Clippers not as good as everyone thought they're going to be?
We all have been covering basketball in this town for a long time and what I'm about to ask comes up every so often. Last night, the Lakers were without Kobe Bryant who is still recovering from his Achilles injury. In the past when he he has missed games and the Lakers win, some start to wonder if the Lakers are better off without Kobe.
He's 35 and will make $30 million in this the last season on his contract. Are the Lakers better off sans the Black Mamba?
The Chicago Bulls also opened the season last night losing to Lebron James and the Miami Heat. But it marked the long awaited return of former NBA MVP point guard Derrick Rose. He missed all of last season with a knee injury, and his comeback has been something Bulls fans have been looking forward to one really important one.
One interesting story from ESPN the Magazine has revealed something about the way bad NBA teams do business.
Tonight in Boston, the Red Sox have a chance to close out the Cardinals and win the World Series in Fenway Park in front of their fans for the first time in nearly 100 years. Tickets for tonight are selling for an average of $1,860. In fact, Monday someone bought a pair of first row seats for $24,000. What's the most you've ever shelled out for a ticket to a event?
Did surfer Carlos Burle just set a new big-wave record?
This week off the coast of Portugal, big wave surfer Carlos Burle seems to have broken the record for riding the biggest wave, more than 100 feet.
It only seems like he won the record because, like many surfing feats, the actual size of the wave is under some controversy. Host Alex Cohen speaks to surfing judge Chris Dixon, the author of the book, “Ghost Wave: The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth.”
Is there really an impending global wine shortage?
Is there a coming winepocalypse?
A new report from Morgan Stanley has stoked fears of an impending global wine shortage. According to their research, wine production in many European countries is declining, while global wine consumption is increasing.
But before you rush out to clean out the shelves of your local BevMo, we want to get a sober opinion on the matter. Lewis Perdue of the journal Wine Industry Insight joins the show with more.
Wine production makes wells run dry in Paso Robles
It’s picking time for wine vineyards in the central California community of Paso Robles, and the farmers are bringing in a rich harvest. As vineyards proliferate around this farm town halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, residential wells are starting to go dry.
Some are calling the plight of Paso Robles a good example of what’s wrong with California’s unregulated groundwater supply. For the California Report, Chris Richard has the story.
Boston bartender Paul Barry gears up for World Series patrons
Tonight the Red Sox have a chance to win the World Series at home in Fenway Park, right in front of their loyal fans for the first time in nearly 100 years. Now if you've ever thrown one back in the Boston area, you might know the name Paul Barry.
He man the bar at the Grafton Street Pub and Grill in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as regulars like to say, he's not just a bartender, he is the bartender.
Barry joins the show to give us a sense of what the mood is like in Boston.
App Chat: Become a better driver using these digital tools
Joining me this week is Take Two producer Jacob Margolis. This week we're talking about car apps that make you a better driver.
It's actually a little device that plugs into your car's on-board diagnostics port, and it has an accompanying app on iPhones and androids. It costs $100 and it basically turns your dumb car into a smart car. There are three parts to it: It'll call emergency services if you're in an accident, it can detect if you crash with the devices onboard accelerometer, and it'll also tell you what's wrong with your engine if your check engine light comes on.
It also tells you what type of driver you are. The app tracks the length of each trip you take, the type of MPG you're getting and whether you accelerate too hard, braking to hard or how often you're going over 70 mph. It'll break all of this down into a daily and weekly report, and it rates you on a scale of one to 100.
It's neat the first couple of times it beeps at you when you accelerate or brake too hard, but it gets really irritating, especially when all you're doing is following the flow of traffic through Hollywood.
I tried to keep up with the drivers in front of me after lights changed and it would beep that I'm accelerating to hard. I tried to brake appropriately in L.A. traffic, and it would beep that I was braking too hard. Eventually I was able to avoid the beep, but it became a Pavlovian response. making me become a more mindful driver.
The app is good for you if you have an older car and you'd like to know how your driving is, or if you have a new car and you're obsessive and want to quantify your whole life. It might also be good for parents who want to monitor how their teenagers are driving.
TireCheck
This free app is supposed to be able to tell you if you need to inflate your tires using your phone's camera. You input your car type and tire type and you hold the camera in front of the tires it tells you if they need to be inflated or not.
I tested it out a few times. Before I inflated my tires it told me that they were dangerously low, and that I was wasting money because of underinflated tires. I inflated them according to a hand held gauge and they were still too low according to the app.
So it's not the most accurate app. I'd recommend you buy a digital tire gauge on amazon for $10 and keep it in your glove compartment.
Looking back 75 years ago to 'War of the Worlds'
Today is the 75th anniversary of Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" broadcast. Although information has emerged recently putting into doubt the reality of the so called "mass-hysteria" it caused, it still remains a landmark event in broadcasting history.
To commemorate this occasion, R.H. Greene, producer of the documentary "War of the Welles" joins us to discuss the immediate impact and long-term legacy of Welles' work.
Why do people get famous quotes wrong so often?
The Cleveland Browns recently unveiled a new five million dollar training facility: New layout, new equipment, new décor.
Thats includes huge signs on the walls featuring inspirational quotes from famous people like Abraham Lincoln and Mother Teresa. The problem? Almost all the quotes are incorrect or misattributed.
The Browns aren't the first to do this. People constantly cite quotes that aren't quite right. For more on misquoting, we're joined by Fred Shapiro, editor of "The Yale Book of Quotations." He has spent years researching thousands of famous quotes throughout history, politics and pop culture.
'Hear My Train A Comin'' doc examines Jimi Hendrix's shy off-stage persona
There have been a number of documentaries about Jimi Hendrix's career, but a new PBS film looks back at his early life, and reveals a Hendrix that could be as shy offstage as he was flamboyant in front of a crowd.