There might be changes to The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project with a bill in the works. Plus, possible solutions for sea-level rise. And, Santa Monica experiments with living dunes.
Electric Car Subsidies
Let's say you want to make the switch from a gas-powered vehicle to something more environmentally friendly, like a plug-in electric. Well, in California there's a rebate for that. It's part of something called the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, and it's available to drivers who either lease or buy a low - or no-emissions vehicle. With all the wrangling between California and the Trump administration this week about who has the authority to regulate vehicles, multiple efforts are underway to ensure that California can continue to set its own standards for tailpipe emissions. One of them is AB 40 -- a new bill from California Assemblymember Phil Ting, who proposes the rebate would only be available for cars made by automakers that voluntarily agree to disavow any federal rollback of Obama-era emissions standards.
Guest:
- Calfornia Assemblymember Phil Ting
San Fernando Valley Homelessness Projects
In the San Fernando Valley, LA city lawmakers approved spending $62 million dollars on housing for homeless people. That includes a controversial project in Chatsworth where the new city councilman for that area —John Lee — tried to slow down its creation. But it highlights the struggle in trying to get homeless services off the ground in the San Fernando Valley.
Guest:
- Kris Freed, Chief Programs Officer for LA Family Housing
PCH Obituary
It's inevitable that our seas will rise over the next 80 years and, if high enough, the ocean could take out the Pacific Coast Highway on stretches between Santa Monica and Malibu. KPCC science reporter Jacob Margolis imagines that possibility coming to pass in 2100 and delivers this future obit for the PCH.
Sea-level Rise Solutions
Yes, the seas will rise, but do not despair completely — there is action that can be taken now to mitigate the effects on our coast.
Guest:
- Jacob Margolis, KPCC's science reporter
Living Dunes
We visit the beaches of Santa Monica to get a tour of its living dunes project. The dunes are just one way researchers are trying to combat the vanishing beaches along the California coast.
Guest:
- Melodie Grubbs, director of watershed programs with The Bay Foundation
Ladyist: Rape Kits
For most people, the phrase "rape kits" is the only one they've heard in a news story about police failing to test them. But what exactly is a rape kit? How do police and health care professionals gather the DNA needed for one? LADYist will take a look at what happens to a woman after a sexual assault is reported and her body becomes a crime scene.
Guest:
- Michelle Faust Raghavan, KPCC's healthcare reporter
Throwback Thursday: LA Plague
LA Plague of 1924 — According to the CDC, the last “urban epidemic plague” in America, happened here in Los Angeles, back in 1924. Residents affected developed severe pneumonia, with bloody coughs and sores.
Guest:
- Julia Bricklin, Local author and historian