California State Senate
California state senator for the 30th District (Culver City, Ladera Heights and Crenshaw)
PROFILE
Holly Mitchell
Guest
FROM Holly Mitchell
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
California state senators determined to reform juvenile justice Two California state senators introduced new legislation that would end incarceration for kids under 12 and ban life sentences without parole for those under 18.
Which Way, L.A.?
El Niño Storms Are Finally Arriving, Is Los Angeles Ready? This afternoon, as El Niño storms are finally arriving, LA County’s civil grand jury issued a report on preparations to protect some 29,000 homeless people. Based on surveys of 16 of the largest cities, including Los Angeles, it determined that “just a fraction” will be housed. It called preparations "unconscionable and grossly inadequate." By airtime, we were not able to contact any county officials.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Grand Juries and Police Shootings The police have a dangerous job. And when they kill a suspect, we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s rare that officers are prosecuted for killing or harming a suspect. Just yesterday, Los Angeles’ district attorney refused to indict three officers involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man who lead them on a high speed chase. And of course there’s Ferguson and Staten Island: no indictments in those cases either. In those two, it was a grand jury’s decision not to indict. Now, California state senator Holly Mitchell has proposed a new law that would ban grand juries from hearing cases against officers accused of using excessive force. We hear from Mitchell and others with different takes on the issue.
Which Way, L.A.?
California Out of the Red, How Will New-Found Riches Be Spent? Last year, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst projected that new growth in California's economy might lead to a state surplus — if the Assembly, the Senate and Governor Brown were restrained about this year's budget. They were, and the forecast for next year is even more promising. How should it be spent? We hear different opinions.
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The Treatment
Hua Hsu: A Floating Chinaman Author Hua Hsu stops by to discuss his book A Floating Chinaman, recounting the life of 1930's actor/writer H.T. Tsiang and his struggles entering the American literary world.
The Business
In 'Speechless,' Scott Silveri combines comedy, family & disability Scott Silveri has written and produced sitcoms for more than 20 years. In all that time, he never encountered a TV family that looked anything like the one he grew up in -- with a mom, a dad...and a brother with cerebral palsy. He changed that with his show Speechless on ABC. Silveri tells us about looking to his own past for stories, and why he was determined to make a family comedy and not just a "disability show."
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.