Golden state political round-up, fighting for Chicano mural art, the first day of fall

Golden state political round-up, fighting for Chicano mural art, the first day of fall

Political round-up: from Bernie Sanders' return to the Dream Act, two muralists who fought and won for their Chicano wall mural, the staples of fall in L.A.

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Political round-up: from Bernie Sanders' return to the Dream Act, two muralists who fought and won for their Chicano wall mural, the staples of fall in L.A.

State of Affairs: Protests for Pelosi, Sanders speaks, GOP health bill

Today on State of Affairs:

• It's not easy being Nancy Pelosi. A news conference in her hometown of San Francisco turned tense as pro-immigration protesters took the floor.
• As lawmakers debate the latest Republican health bill, there's some new data on how it could affect California. Spolier alert: It doesn't look good. 
• Bernie Sanders barnstorms the Golden State, pushing his single-payer health care bill. 

Is CA fertile ground for Sen. Sanders?

The Sacramento Bee recently made the case that Sanders could be "cultivating" California for 2020. 

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a professor of public policy at USC, explains the Bee's reasoning: 

Guests:

• Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, professor of public policy at USC
• Carla Marinucci, senior editor for Politico's California Playbook

Press the blue play button to hear more about what Bernie Sanders will discuss later Friday

Full employment: Good for workers, bad for economic growth

Can good news actually be bad news?

The state is pretty near full employment, which is a fancy term economists use for when almost everyone who's willing and able to work has a job.

But the possible bad news – full employment might actually be slowing down our economy.

Chris Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics, talks about the results from its recent report.

Hear why the economy can grow if there are workers out looking for jobs. Click the blue audio player above.

The lost Chicano mural that redefined the meaning of 'art' in California

In the spring of 1980, four young Chicano artists met up at the corner of 4th and Soto in Boyle Heights. They called themselves the "East Los Streetscapers."

Wayne Healy, George Yepes, David Botello and his brother Paul were painters, commissioned by Shell Oil.

The men gazed at their future canvas: a 200-foot long cinderblock wall, right at the edge of a gas station.

Their finished work would be an urban tapestry, rich with imagery reflective of the community.

Picture of "Filling Up on Ancient Energies"

(

Used with permission from David Botello

)

On one side, one could see traditional Mayan figures mixed with a multi-ethnic set of modern characters, laughing, reading, and cruising. Down the wall, an industrialized prehistoric jungle where dinosaurs turn into crude.

Picture of "Filling Up on Ancient Energies"

(

Used with permission from David Botello

)

Picture of "Filling Up on Ancient Energies"

(

Used with permission from David Botello

)

They'd call it: "Filling Up on Ancient Energies." 

The Shell station is now a tire store. The mural and the story it told is gone – most of the wall was torn down in 1988. 

Picture of "Filling Up on Ancient Energies" after demolition

(

Used with permission from David Botello

)

Just over 10 feet of the painted wall remains, much of it obstructed by a rack of tires. However, if you know where to look, you can still catch a glimpse of what was. The once bold proclamation of heritage might best be described today as a whisper. 

"Filling Up on Ancient Energies" as it appears today.

(

Austin Cross/KPCC

)

"It's like a little child just living in obscurity," said Botello. 

Botello and Healy revisited the wall in August with Take Two host A Martinez. It was the first time they'd seen it in nearly 30 years.

Up until recently, their work was obstructed by a stack of tires. The store's proprietors moved them prior to the interview. 

"I'll be damned, look at that. We painted that 100 years ago. Or is it 150? I forget," Healy said. 

"Filling Up on Ancient Energies" is not the only mural of its kind to be taken down or covered up with little-to-no notice. But the court battle that followed its destruction would help reshape the state's definition of "art."

The same year the Streetscapers began their work on the wall, the state of California passed the California Art Preservation Act. It required artists to be notified at least 90 days before the destruction of their work — a consideration that would not have been difficult in the case of the "Energies" mural. Contact information for the artists was painted clearly on the wall. 

Picture of "Filling Up on Ancient Energies" after demolition

(

Used with permission from David Botello

)

But the Streetscapers received no warning that their mural would come down. Botello says all he got was a phone call from a teacher at a nearby school after destruction was already underway. 

"Mister Botello! Mister Botello! You have to come down now!" Botello recalls the teacher saying frantically. "I had my son. I was doing my artwork at home. Packed him up, got my camera. [When I got there] it was all on the ground in big chunks." 

There is a way to preserve murals, Botello mused to KPCC's A Martinez, standing on the site where his art fell: Paint, he said, can be transferred onto a sheet, similar to a large carbon copy. But the artists were given no opportunity to retain their work.

It's a reality that makes the loss of the mural all the more tragic. 

The Streetscapers sued Shell Oil over the mural but lost their initial case. Art like theirs wasn't covered under the state's Preservation Act. The group persevered and appealed and, in 1991, the ruling was overturned. Murals were included under the Act, and the Streetscapers were awarded damages.

"If this mural had a reason to go, that it was not in vain, it was the precedent of the California Art Preservation Act," Healy says. "We were the first test case."

"They redefined the meaning of the mural," Botello chipped in. "They said it was artwork that artists could preserve."

"Filling Up on Ancient Energies" as it appeared from 1980-1988

(

Used with permission from David Botello

)

Press the blue play button above to hear the Streetscapers in their own words. Wear headphones to hear the conversation in stereo. 

This post has been updated.

Challenges mount as rollout of new California voting overhaul nears

How LA is thinking it will update your voting experience

Officials are looking to new technology and tactics to bring people out to the polls and increase voter turnout.

"People expect there to be convenience and options, and we know that there are new populations of voters that the current system just isn't serving well," says Dean Logan, head of elections for LA County as its registrar-recorder.

One possibility is replacing local polling stations only open on election day with large, centralized voting centers that are open for days at a time.

"We know from the concept of having voting available on a date other than just a random Tuesday between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. that people will show up," says Logan. "They want that convenience."

It would be a major change, though, so his staff will heavily consider where those centers could be located.

Officials might encourage the use of mail-in ballots, too, because people who vote that way are more consistent.

But from his research, certain populations are more apt to use it than others.

"Asian Americans are very likely to use vote by mail, and Latinos are more likely to go to polling places," he says. "Older populations are very comfortable and used to using vote by mail. But we also talked to younger voters who just don't rely on the postal service for anything in their regular life."

Listen to more and find out the security measures Logan is considering, too, to prevent vote hacking. Use the blue audio player above.

7 things to do this weekend in SoCal

Where to find the best food in LA, from a former food critic

The L.A. food scene lost a powerful voice this week with the departure of L.A. Weekly food critic Besha Rodell, who announced her departure from the job and the city. 

She'd been with the newspaper since 2012, and was one of only two full-time food critics in LA. 

Rodell's next destination: back home to Australia.

And she told Take Two that every person, before they leave LA, needs to try one dish.

"The shrimp taco at Marisco Jalisco," she says. "Every time I go there and eat it, it, like, bothers me so much that I don't do it every day. It's so perfect and crispy and creamy and light."

Rodell covered the Boyle Heights food truck during her time at LA Weekly.

"It is just the most perfect piece of food, I think," said Rodell.

To follow in Rodell's culinary footsteps, keep a close eye on the truck's twitter account. 

"You know it's fall in LA when ________."

It's that time of the year again.

Time to dust off your big, cozy sweater, grab your pumpkin spice latte and dive into a big pile of colorful leaves.

Today is the autumnal equinox. The earth is lined up at a perfect right angle to the sun. That means night and day are almost exactly the same lengths — wherever you are around the globe.

It also marks the beginning of fall, when our days get shorter and our nights longer.

A Martinez shared his favorite part about the autumn season:

We asked listeners about fall in L.A. and got a bunch of tweets in response. Here are some of our favorites:

Have more to say? Tell us your favorite fall L.A. staple in the comments below.

To hear the dramatic readings of the tweets, click the blue play button above.