The LA Podcast

Episodes

October 28, 2019 Episode 89

Little fires everywhere in LA County this week, but much bigger ones in the Bay Area — what lessons can we learn from those fires and the report on what went wrong during the Woolsey Fire? Herb Wesson’s son got breaks on his rent because Wesson was helping the developer — why will probably nothing come of this? Plus new shade umbrellas on bus benches, Katie Hill’s evolving crisis, more corruption from the assessor’s office and a new DA candidate from San Francisco.

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October 21, 2019 Episode 88

A deadly week on Los Angeles’s streets — what roads should we be making car free? As AB 1482 moves toward implementation, how is the City Council protecting renters from revenge evictions? Vox publishes an article about how LA is looking to safe parking as a homelessness solution — are we really? Plus the controversy over AB 5, the victory of the LA Times Union’s bargaining team, and a controversial ballot measure.

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October 14, 2019 Episode 87

The Saddleridge Fire forces tens of thousands to evacuate. Gavin Newsom gets his veto pen out and uses it on a complete streets bill. The LAPD changes its ways thanks to an LA Times investigation. And we talk to Times reporters BENJAMIN ORESKES and DOUG SMITH about their eye-opening new analysis of LAHSA’s Homeless Count data.

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October 7, 2019 Episode 86

A bunch of presidential candidates blew through town. Uber and Lyft get thrown off the LAX horseshoe. A freeway in the middle of nowhere finally got scrapped. The state made big moves toward a public bank. The 2nd District County Supervisor race pulls in big money. Kathryn Barger takes a firefighting helicopter to work. Scott and Hayes discuss these things!

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September 30, 2019 Episode 85

County supervisors freeze funding for the sheriff’s department! Metro board members use Measure M money to pay the South Bay’s Internet bill! The City Council brings up 41.18 again! And the Expo Line moves toward signal preemption!

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September 23, 2019 Episode 84

Ed Buck is finally arrested — what took so long? AB5 is passed — what happens next? Trump came and left — how did our local officials respond? A South LA development gets slammed — what is the council president doing about it? Plus a few pieces of good news from last week.

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September 16, 2019 Episode 83

We’re joined by Ciclavia Chief Strategist TAFARAI BAYNE, Streetsblog writer SAHRA SULAIMAN and trauma-informed care educator CHAVONNE TAYLOR for a conversation about Nipsey Hussle: his work, his legacy, the aftermath of his death, and what he meant to them. But first: the President is threatening to bulldoze people who are homeless into federal camps, and almost no LA elected officials seem alarmed.

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September 9, 2019 Episode 82

A full-episode interview with Los Angeles City Councilmember MIKE BONIN. We talk with the Councilmember about a nonprofit’s campaign to fight the city over a density program, his recent break with the rest of the council over homelessness criminalization policies, and why a record-cheap solar deal is being held up.

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September 2, 2019 Episode 81

Scott and Alissa talk to LA Times reporter MAYA LAU about Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s busy couple months. Before that: John Lee gets right to work on the city council, the city wants to pull encampments off the hills, the Controller gives LAHSA a failing grade, and Paul Koretz opens up to Curbed about scooters.

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August 26, 2019 Episode 80

A Lancaster deputy shooting is revealed to have been fake, the amount of new housing Southern California has to build is revealed to be huge, a French restaurant in Echo Park is revealed to be sold to a luxury developer, the new version of LA’s sidewalk-sleeping laws are revealed to be cruel and unconstitutional, and a new elite scooter enforcement squad is revealed by Paul Koretz.

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