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Take Two with A Martinez
Take Two

The highest fire risk structures in the LA area, the effect of a government shutdown, homeless count

Published December 18, 2018 at 10:15 AM PST
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JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
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A homeless man sleeps beside his makeshift temporary shelter on a street in downtown Los Angeles, California.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
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Signage is seen at the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) February 6, 2009 in Pasadena, California.
David McNew/Getty Images
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The US Capitol is seen in Washington, DC, December 17, 2018, as the Deadline for lawmakers to agree on a new spending deal to avert shutdown on Dec 22 approaches. - An angry Donald Trump told Democratic leaders at the White House on December 11 that he will shut down the US government because they refuse to approve billions of dollars in funding for his controversial Mexico border wall. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
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Government officials and local residents flank LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas as he announces the county's take over of Sativa Water District.
Caleigh Wells/KPCC

Fire Risk Structures

(Starts at 0:35)

The risks we face in California when it comes to wildfires has come into sharp focus in the last year and new analysis from the Los Angeles Times this morning only adds to it. More than 1.1 million structures, or roughly 1 in 10 buildings in California, are within what fire officials have identified as the HIGHEST-risk fire zones in the state and the majority are in the LA-area.

Guest:

  • Ben Welsh is the data editor for the L.A. Times 

Shutdown Effect 

(Starts at 7:13)

The White House this morning signaled that it does NOT want to risk a government shutdown and that the President is backing off his demand for 5 BILLION dollars to build a wall at the border with Mexico. That's from press secretary Sarah Sanders. She said on Fox News this morning that the money could come from quote, "a number of different funding sources," and that the Administration did NOT want to close the government down. Congress has been at loggerheads over the wall funding and was facing a deadline of Friday at Midnight to come up with some sort of compromise. With all the "will they, won't they" going on though, we decided to see how a partial shutdown WOULD affect the state, if it comes to that.

Guest:

  • Chris Hoene, California Budget and Policy Center
The US Capitol is seen in Washington, DC, December 17, 2018, as the Deadline for lawmakers to agree on a new spending deal to avert shutdown on Dec 22 approaches. - An angry Donald Trump told Democratic leaders at the White House on December 11 that he will shut down the US government because they refuse to approve billions of dollars in funding for his controversial Mexico border wall. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
The US Capitol is seen in Washington, DC, December 17, 2018, as the Deadline for lawmakers to agree on a new spending deal to avert shutdown on Dec 22 approaches. - An angry Donald Trump told Democratic leaders at the White House on December 11 that he will shut down the US government because they refuse to approve billions of dollars in funding for his controversial Mexico border wall. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Sativa Update

(Starts at 13:56)

Tuesday the LA County Board of Supervisors will vote on a loan for infrastructure improvements at the Sativa Water District, which has been plagued with cloudy, discolored water this year. A Martinez talks to Mark Pestrella with the L.A. County Department of Public Works— now the administrator of the utility— about the improvements that need to be made.

Guest:

  • Mark Pestrella, L.A. County Department of Public Works
Government officials and local residents flank LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas as he announces the county's take over of Sativa Water District.
Caleigh Wells/KPCC
Government officials and local residents flank LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas as he announces the county's take over of Sativa Water District.

Homeless Count

(Starts at 19:17)

California’s homeless population dipped by 1.2 percent in 2018, according to federal data, a tentative sign that the billions the state has spent on the problem may be paying off.

Guest:

  • Peter Lynn, executive director of the LA Homeless Services Authority
A homeless man sleeps beside his makeshift temporary shelter on a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018, as a United Nations report on poverty and inequality says 185 million Americans are living in extreme poverty.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
A homeless man sleeps beside his makeshift temporary shelter on a street in downtown Los Angeles, California on June 25, 2018, as a United Nations report on poverty and inequality says 185 million Americans are living in extreme poverty.

DMV Update

(Starts at 25:02)

It's been only 8 months since the DMV's Motor Voter program went into effect. It was originally meant to make things simpler, by automatically registering those who visited the DMV. But it's been mired in problems since its launch. And now, a Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill that would kill the program and go back to the way things USED to be: an "opt-in" voluntary process.

Guest:

  • Bryan Anderson, Sacramento Bee reporter 
PASADENA, CA - FEBRUARY 06: Signage is seen at the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) February 6, 2009 in Pasadena, California. The DMV is closed as part of the first state employee furloughs in California history in response to California's budget crisis. About 90 percent of the state's 238,000 employees have been ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to take two days off without pay each month, the equivalent of about a 10 percent wage reduction, through June 2010. The governor says that the mandatory furloughs at agencies such as the DMV, Veterans Affairs, Department of Consumer Affairs, California Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Child Support Services will save the state about $1.4 billion. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
David McNew/Getty Images
PASADENA, CA - FEBRUARY 06: Signage is seen at the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) February 6, 2009 in Pasadena, California. The DMV is closed as part of the first state employee furloughs in California history in response to California's budget crisis. About 90 percent of the state's 238,000 employees have been ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to take two days off without pay each month, the equivalent of about a 10 percent wage reduction, through June 2010. The governor says that the mandatory furloughs at agencies such as the DMV, Veterans Affairs, Department of Consumer Affairs, California Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Child Support Services will save the state about $1.4 billion. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Active Shooter Training

(Starts at 31:55)

USC conducted an active shooter training for law enforcement Monday. The training was intended to simulate a campus shooter including actors in makeup. Take Two discusses the pros and cons of realistic active shooter trainings for college campuses and current industry standards for crisis prevention.

Guest:

  • Jeff Alison, Government Relations Specialists with International Association of College Law Enforcement Agencies, and former FBI liaison with college law enforcement.

https://twitter.com/USCDPSChief/status/1074900349188595712

Tuesday Reviewsday

(Starts at 39:20)

Last week we gave you some suggestions for some great holiday songs in Spanish. Let's add to that shall we? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMYAJDjBsw8

Guest:

  • Justino Aguila, L.A. Times & Billboard contributor
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