After nearly a term in office, do you think you know Barack Obama? Well, think again.

In his new biography, David Maraniss goes into exhaustive detail about Obama’s life. But he doesn’t stop there. He also delves deep into the President’s familial roots, paying close attention to the life of his great-grandmother and members of his Kenyan family. By employing this multigenerational approach, the author highlights the way Obama’s identity has been forged by his past.

Drawing upon four years of research, numerous documents and over 300 interviews, including with the President himself, Maraniss provides a realistic and authentic account of the key events and people in Obama’s life who made him who he is today. In the process, Maraniss dispels myths and illuminates aspects of Obama’s history that have never been known before.

What moments in Obama’s life helped lead him to become the nation’s president? Who are and were the major players in his life? What did Maraniss find particularly scintillating or informative during his research?

Guest:

David Maraniss, author of Barack Obama: The Story (Simon & Schuster); journalist and author, currently serving as an associate-editor for The Washington Post. He received a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 1993 for his coverage of then-candidate Bill Clinton during the 1992 United States presidential election.

Senator Mark Leno introduces bill to allow individuals to have more than two legal parents Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The family - consisting of two parents, whether same or different sex - could be a thing of the past in California. State senator Mark Leno has proposed legislation that would make it legal for a child to have multiple parents.

SB1476 is designed to make it easier for adults involved in three-parent relationships to play a role in a child's life. If an agreement could not be reached on issues such as custody and visitation rights, a judge could divide responsibilities. Opponents say this could have a negative impact on the family structure, in addition to creating a legal minefield over who has rights over a child, or who could claim the child for tax purposes.

If you’re in a three parent relationship, how would this change in legal status help you? How could this confuse matters – as in who has custody and visitation rights? Does this need to be legally defined? Or are you concerned this could confuse a child as to how many ‘parents’ they have?

GUESTS

Ed Howard, senior counsel for the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law.

Assemblyman Donald Wagner, 70th Assembly District (Irvine)

Musicians perform at the Levitt Pavillion. Credit: sudro_2/Flickr (cc by-nc-nd)

Nothing says summer like a picnic on the grass, grooving to live music. Here in Southern California, you can hear music almost every night of the week at a variety of locations. Two of the best are in Pasadena and MacArthur Park.

Over the next two months, Levitt Pavilion will host 100 free, family friendly concerts at Memorial Park in Old Pasadena and MacArthur Park in Los Angeles featuring an eclectic array of musical acts from around the world – as well as a few local favorites. Artistic Director Eddie Cota is here to give us a taste of the summer sounds to come.

A sampling of the groups coming to Levitt Pavilion this summer:

GUEST

Eddie Cota, artistic director for Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts

Homeowner Bill of Rights heads to Governor’s desk for approval Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

In a coup for California homeowners, state legislators have passed the California Homeowner Bill of Rights. Essentially, the law prohibits banks from foreclosing on any homeowner who has applied for a modification to their mortgage. This stipulation comes from a national settlement in February that guaranteed a series of consumer protections by the country’s five biggest banks.

California’s own Attorney General Kamala Harris was instrumental in reaching said settlement. This law, as well as the $18 billion of relief for Californians who lost their homes, are seen as a major blessing for residents in the state. However, banks and realtors are skeptical. They claim it will lead to higher prices for California homes, and that it will only stave off the inevitable foreclosure of certain individuals who cannot afford their mortgages. The bill is headed to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk, and Brown has indicated he will sign it.

Would a law such as this cause lenders to be more discerning in handing out mortgages in the future? How badly needed is this form of relief in California? When will it go into effect and how can consumers take advantage of it? Meanwhile, the Los Angeles City Council is voting today on an ordinance to increase parking fines as part of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s budget plan. How big are these increases and when would they go into play?

GUESTS

Mike Feuer, Assemblyman representing California’s 42nd Assembly District, which includes West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, Bel Air, Brentwood, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Los Feliz, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Toluca Lake, Universal City, Studio City and Sherman Oaks

Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA and Arden Realty Chair and Professor of Finance, UCLA Anderson School of Management

Alice Walton, Politics Reporter AKA The City Maven, KPCC

What does patriotism mean to you? Credit: MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images

Independence Day, the 4th of July, is traditionally a day to celebrate the birth of our nation. For some, it’s just about firing up the BBQ and getting together with friends and families. For others, it’s the quintessential day for getting one’s red-white and blue on.

But given today’s contentious political climate and sour economy, how patriotic are Americans feelings? How satisfied are they with the state of our government? What is patriotism to you?

GUEST

James W. Loewen, sociologist and author of “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong” (Touchstone)

Why has the U.S. Olympic swimming team featured so few African American athletes? Credit: Getty Images

Ready your flags and set your stopwatches. The London Games kick off in a matter of weeks.

Big news yesterday came from the elite of the elite. Swimmer Michael Phelps decided he will not attempt a repeat of his Beijing record. Instead of competing for eight possible medals, Phelps is dropping the 200 meter freestyle. "It's so much smarter for me to do that," Phelps told the Associated Press. "We're not trying to recreate what happened in Beijing. It just makes sense." Would the pressure have been too much? Is Phelps winning the mental game already by dampening fans' expectations?

Other news out of the swimming qualifying trials that just wrapped up sees three black Americans going for gold in London. They follow in the wake of very few black Olympians in the pool. The United States swim team has never had more than a single team member of African-American descent and never had a single one before 2000, according to The New York Times.

Why is that? Is the sport inaccessible to African Americans? And what's the connection to drowning statistics for black children? The Centers for Disease Control reports that the fatal drowning rate of African American children is almost three times that of white children in the same age range. Why?

Guests:

Mr. Pat Forde, National Columnist, Yahoo! Sports; Forde will be covering the swim events at the Summer Games; he was in Omaha, Nebraska for the qualifying trials.

Jim Bauman, Sport Psychologist consultant with USA Swimming – working with Olympians and other champions; Sports Psychologist for University of Virginia's athletics program; Bauman joins us from Omaha, Nebraska – where Olympic Team Trials just wrapped.

Bruce Wigo, Swimming Historian and President of the International Swimming Hall of Fame

Genai Kerr, represented the USA in Water Polo at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens

For every significant milestone in American History, there was –right behind it, carrying the masses—an automobile that became the icon for that time. Whether it was the Ford Thunderbird that helped usher in the California dream of endless summers and perfect waves or the VW Beetle that symbolized a youth revolt of status quo and drove the counter culture; cars were our mileposts to where we were and where we were going.

In Engines Of Change: A History Of The American Dream In Fifteen Cars, Pulitzer Prize winning author Paul Ingrassia looks at American History through the windshields of those iconic automobiles and reflects on what our vehicular history has to say about the times we experienced. From the Model-T to the BMW and the pick-up to the Prius; Ingrassia travels the country to find out what it is about us, our cars and our country that are so closely connected.

Also profiled are the men (and women) behind the cars who not only built them but who pioneered them as part of society’s zeitgeist, a group so eclectic that names like Henry Ford and Jerry Garcia can share the backseat on a road trip across the US.

So, what kind of car comes to mind when you think American History? What cars today do you think will symbolize our society in the future? Do you still own a piece of American history?

GUEST

Paul Ingrassia, Author of Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars (Simon & Schuster); deputy editor-in-chief of Reuters; former Detroit bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal and later the president of Dow Jones Newswires; Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 (with Joseph B. White) for reporting on management crises at General Motors

President and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase Co. Jamie Dimon testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hearing Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

After the big bank bailout of 2008, nothing that drastic was ever supposed to happen again. But just last month, J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon bet the farm and lost it in a bungled trade – at last count, the total was projected at $9 billion, and the fallout for Chase is yet to be determined.

In the event of emergency, experts urge us all to have a disaster plan — what about banks? In a worst-case scenario, what’s their plan?

Today, nine of the U.S.’ biggest financial institutions – including Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs — are delivering their own personal bailout plans to federal regulators. These so-called “living wills” are a requirement of the Dodd-Frank act, and are designed to avoid another federal bailout, which cost taxpayers $700 billion. In the event of catastrophe — i.e, major failure or bankruptcy — banks are expected to do their own financial untangling, and like the Boy Scouts, they’d better be prepared.

What exactly is covered by these “living wills”? Do they go far enough? How likely is it that they’ll be put to use? And if they are — what would that look like?

Guest:

Heidi Moore, New York Bureau Chief for Marketplace

Guest: Matt DeBord, KPCC Reporter; writes the DeBord Report KPCC.org

If you have a teenager, you probably remember the fervor for the movie version of The Hunger Games. Kids camped out for days at movie theaters across the country so that they could be first in line to see it. But what you may not know is that the same amount of enthusiasm is shared beyond those aged twelve to fifteen.

Yes, YA (young adult) fiction has quickly become a wildly popular genre not just for kids, but for adults as well. Someone who is well acquainted with this phenomenon is Lissa Price, author of “Starters.” Her book is about a dystopian future in which teenagers rent their bodies to elderly people who want to feel young again. The protagonist is a sixteen-year-old orphan who is on the run to survive with her little brother. While renting her body out to make money to afford the treatment, she accidentally wakes up in her Ender’s mansion and gets to live her life. However, this switch proves to be more than just fun and games, and could have ramifications on the entire human race.

How did Price get the idea for this story? What is the appeal of these types of stories to teenagers and adults? Are you a fan of YA fiction? Why are you drawn to it?

GUEST

Lissa Price, author of Starters (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

To address the housing bust, some cities in California are considering invoking eminent domain to restructure mortgages. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

San Bernardino County may invoke eminent domain to deal with how the housing bust is affecting its cities. While eminent domain is typically used by the government to acquire property and reuse it for the public interest, local officials are planning to acquire property with underwater mortgages, restructure them according to the market value of the property, and resell the mortgage to private investors.

The use of private investors is key, as the avoidance of public funds allows the plan to go forward without approval from the city council or board of supervisors. This idea is drawing criticism from those in the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, who stress that this practice will only make banks more unwilling to lend. Mortgage Resolution Partners, the firm which came up with this idea, says that’s already the case.

Which side is right? Is invoking eminent domain acceptable for such a purpose? Is this a better route than declaring bankruptcy, which other cities have done? What could this plan mean for you?

Guests:

Graham Williams, Chief Executive Officer, Mortgage Resolution Partners LLC

David Wert, Spokesperson & Public Information Officer, San Bernardino County

Chris Thornberg, Principal at Beacon Economics

Jim Burling, director of litigation at Pacific Legal Foundation

Carlos Bustamante being loaded into a vehicle by the Orange County District Attorney's Office (OCDA) Bureau of Investigation for transportation to jail. Credit: Orange County DA's office

Larry and our talented trio of Orange County journalists riff on the latest news from the O.C.: Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante faces sexual assault charges; Long Beach Transit pulls its buses from ‘racist’ Seal Beach residents; the ACLU files a lawsuit against Anaheim on behalf of disenfranchised Latinos; a noted pension reform advocate is hired to head up the OC’s public employees retirement fund; and a granddaughter of the Trinity Broadcast Network founders files a lawsuit against TBN over rape allegations.

Guests:

Gustavo Arellano, Managing Editor of the OC Weekly and author of “Ask A Mexican”

Teri Sforza, Staff Writer for the Orange County Register

Norberto Santana, editor-in-chief of the Voice of OC, a non-profit investigative news agency that covers Orange County government and politics

Which one of these sunscreens would be considered safe and correctly labeled by the Food and Drug Administration? Credit: Benjamin Morris

Everyone, including the Food & Drug Administration, agrees that sunscreen shopping is confusing and misleading. But that won't change in time for this summer's sunburns.

While the FDA has established new regulations, the sunscreen industry has been given until December to change labels and remove false claims. In the meantime, consumers have to educate themselves. Some major things to consider: a product that helps prevent sunburn may not reduce the risk of cancer or early skin aging. New labels will have to make that clear. Also, they can't claim to be "waterproof" or "sweatproof."

One consumer group that tries to explain the known efficacy of lotions and sprays is the Environmental Working Group. They go further to say there's no consensus that sunscreens prevent skin cancer. And they point out some sunscreen ingredients may be carcinogenic to boot. Even the FDA admits it has taken decades to get good science on sunscreen.

So who do you trust? How closely do you read labels? What should you shop for? Why aren't there more effective sunscreens on store shelves? Why hasn't the FDA approved some sunscreen products that are available in Europe already?

Guests:

Nneka Leiba, Senior Analyst, Environmental Working Group; Leiba has worked on the EWG Sunscreen database for several years

Janellen Smith, Professor of Dermatology, UC Irvine

More Info: FDA Sheds Light on Sunscreens

Steve Nash #13 of the Phoenix Suns laughs with Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at the Staples Center on December, 10 2008 in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Harry How/Getty Images

The Lakers get a two-time MVP and a dynamic point guard to punch up their offense. The Phoenix Suns get four draft picks. And 38-year-old Steve Nash gets to stay near his family, who live in Phoenix.

Nash himself was instrumental in the deal, convincing the reluctant Suns to agree to a sign-and-trade deal with L.A. Nash signed with the Lakers for $27 million for three years.

But who’ll get the best end of this deal? Lakers fans, no doubt, who can look forward to an energized and potentially title-winning team.

Guest:

A Martinez, host of ESPN LA’s In the Zone and Laker Lines

Parents spend years extolling the virtues of doing well in school. The reason? So the next generation can secure a place in a good college and ideally go on to live a better life. But the value of a college education has been questioned in recent years, with high student debt and no guarantee of a quality career at the end of four years of study.

In a new book, Better than College: How to Build a Successful Life Without a Four-Year Degree, author Blake Boles discusses the benefits of not attending college, but building an education through life experience and self discovery.

As a parent, would you encourage your child to seek success outside of the classroom? Would you be concerned that your child would waste their time? If you’re a graduate struggling with student debt, do you question the value of your education, if you’ve been unable to find a job? Or for you, is college about more than just finding work, but also about the social and life skills you learn?

Guest:

Blake Boles, author of "Better Than College: How To Build A Successful Life Without a Four-Year Degree" (Tells Peak Press)

What do your refrigerator magnets say about you?

What does the number of magnets on your refrigerator say about the clutter in your home? What’s the most common, the most costly, yet the least utilized home renovation? How many American garages actually house a car?

What we buy, where we store it and how much we use it inform the way we live, and our houses tell the story all too well. In a four-year study, UCLA researchers invaded the homes of 32 middle-class, dual-income Los Angeles families, videotaping their interactions, photographing their rooms and yards, and tracking their comings and goings.

What did they find? Stacks of clutter, from bathrooms to kitchens to hallways. Freezers, closets and garages stockpiled with Gatorade, frozen pizzas, Ziplock bags. Desks drowning in papers; kids’ rooms knee-deep in toys, precarious piles of laundry, magazines and CDs around every corner. What emerges is a fascinating snapshot of America’s material culture – a culture of acquiring, but not experiencing; of filling up space instead of using it; of hours spent shifting the messes we’ve created from corner to corner, instead of enjoying our leisure time.

If you revel in the well-ordered worlds imagined in Martha Stewart Living and Dwell, this book is sure to give you a scare – yet it’s hard to look away. What’s your clutter quotient? Do you bring more stuff into your house than you take out? To what extent does managing your possessions interfere with actually living your life?

Guest:

Jeanne Arnold, lead author of “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century: 32 Families Open Their Doors”; professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles

Anthony Graesch, co-author of “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century: 32 Families Open Their Doors”; assistant professor of anthropology at Connecticut College

Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970 Credit: By David Browne

Just exactly when did the sixties end, and the seventies begin? The Kent State shootings? The U.S. invasion of Cambodia? The first Earth Day, or the first Gay Pride march? The deaths of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix? All of these events happened in 1970, and that’s the year music writer David Browne chose to pinpoint in his new book.

Browne focuses on four pivotal acts whose albums defined this turbulent time. The Beatles released what was to be their final album, even as Paul McCartney was quietly recording his first solo release and preparing to leave the band. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were testing the waters of their respective solo ventures. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were creating Déjà vu while tensions in and out of the studio were pulling them apart. And rising star James Taylor was about to release the single that made his career. All of these musical flashpoints reflect the cultural and political shifts that marked the beginning and end of an era.

Guest:

David Browne, author of 'Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970' (Da Capo); contributing editor at Rolling Stone and author of three previous books including 'Goodbye 20th Century: A Biography of Sonic Youth'

Dispensaries like this one are going up in smoke due to the LA city council ban Credit: Corey Moore/KPCC

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously (14-0) last night to ban marijuana dispensaries in the city, where the number of pot shops have mushroomed in recent years.

It's expected that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will sign the ordinance within the next week. Once that happens, pot shops will have 30 days to close. As many as 900 stores could be affected, but it's not clear what will happen if business owners decide not to close.

LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles Special Assistant City Attorney Jane Usher, feel that most of the dispensaries will voluntarily comply with the new law.

“Once we receive the ban and once we have the ordinances worked out, there will be significant incentive for them to comply with the law,” said Beck on AirTalk. “I don’t think we’ll have to chase down every medical marijuana dispensary. I think that by and large we’ll have to do a few enforcements and most people will comply.”

KPCC Reporter Frank Stoltze says that many sources he has spoken with feel the opposite might be true and that virtually no one will comply with the law.

The complete ban on storefront dispensaries is something that Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar felt had to be done.

“Even with our ordinance, it was unworkable. And I came to the conclusion, even after I helped spearhead the ordinance in 2007 to strike that balance, I got to thinking that in fact no matter what we do at a municipal level it’s gonna be unworkable because we have a broken state law,” said Huizar.

The state law does not provide for storefront dispensaries, but rather protects individuals with medical need from being prosecuted if they are in possession of the drug, according to City Attorney Jane Usher.

The ban will still let hospices and home health agencies distribute medical marijuana, as well as allow up to three people to grow and share marijuana.

Councilmember Huizar grants that this new law will make it challenging for those who are using the marijuana for legal purposes to find it, but says ultimately the solution lies with the state.

“The passion that people put out here in Los Angeles, we should focus that on the state and fix the broken law ... where you have largely liberal council members saying ‘wait a minute we’re going to ban medical marijuana dispensaries’ something is wrong with this picture,” said Huizar.

Weigh In:
Will this ban be effective in curbing pot distribution in the city or will the issue get caught in a web of lawsuits that could be filed by store owners?

Guests:

Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter

Jose Huizar, City Councilman, 14th district

Charlie Beck, Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department

Jane Usher, Los Angeles Special Assistant City Attorney

Joe Elford, Chief Counsel, Americans for Safe Access

A protester kicks a passing police car during a demonstration to show outrage for the shooting death of Manuel Angel Diaz, 25, at Anaheim City Hall on July 24, 2012 in Anaheim, California. Credit: Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait confirmed today that federal officials have agreed to review two deadly police shootings after a fourth day of violent protests. In addition, Tait will meet with members of the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI on Friday.

Yesterday, the mother of one of the victims filed a civil-rights and wrongful-death lawsuit in federal court. The City Council’s vote will entreat the U.S. Attorney’s office to conduct a probe to determine whether or not the shooting deserves a civil rights investigation.

While this may look like progress in the right direction to some, protesters and police still clashed violently outside of City Hall. Protesters threw objects at riot police, who in turn chased the protesters and fired projectiles into crowds. A reporter from the Orange County Register was hit by a rock.

“Violence will not be tolerated,” said Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait at a press conference this morning. “Our response will be swift and appropriate to violence, arson and vandalism.”

The rising tension could have drastic consequences over the next few weeks and in the future. Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said as many as 1,000 demonstrators surged through downtown Anaheim Tuesday night, smashing windows on 20 businesses and setting trash fires.

"Two-thirds of 1,000 protesters are not from Anaheim,” said Chief Welter. He also said that 20 of the 24 arrested Tuesday night are from Anaheim.

Chief Welter and Mayor Tait said police will continue enforce laws to maintain peace in the city. Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait expressed his shock at the public's outburst on AirTalk Wednesday morning.

"I'm disturbed about what should have been a peaceful protest and a peaceful council meeting. Violence doesn't help anything, and I appreciate our police department's response last night," he said.

Tait added that he believes the number of nonresident demonstrators present Tuesday agitated the situation.

"Obviously we have work to do; we're all in this together. The community is really responding well. People are upset and angry, but upset and angry in a positive way. They want to fix this city, and they want to make it better for everybody; they want to make it a city that it can be, and I'm very encouraged by that," he said. "The people using violence last night – that's not Anaheimers."

According to Mayor Tait, trust within the entire city is critical. He said he knows only as much as the public does from news coverage over the weekend, his reason for calling on the district attorney, U.S. attorney and FBI to investigate with an objective eye.

"Of course, you watch that and you're going to lose trust in your police department, so people are upset," he said. "That's why I call for independent investigation. I did that because I want completely outside, independent review, credible investigation of the facts. And that’s going to require patience, until we get those facts."

Anaheim City Councilmember Lorri Galloway applauded the mayor's swift plea for outside agency investigations, but she said city government needs to increase community participation and begin the healing process.

"It's really about empowering the people, and I want to see this through a summit and I want it happening six months down the road. I think communication is imperative once something like this happens, because it's broken. It's totally broken now, and we've got to face it head on," she said.

She cites how residents saw the shooting unfold as cause for anger, and says what they believe cannot be ignored.

"They said they had eyewitnesses who said that they shot first, they shot him in the back, he was immobilized, and after he was already immobilized, they shot him in the head. That's what they're mad about. They're talking about the way in which they believe it happened. They believe that. Whether it's true or not, they believe it, and we have to look at it as an issue," she continued.

Galloway added that her personal relationship with members of the Anaheim community led her to believe that the public's violent response was long-coming.

"I think there's an imbalance in Anaheim; I'm not surprised by this at all," she commented. "There have been root causes to these problems. These areas are just on the outskirts of the resort area of Disneyland, and it's the happiest place on earth, but just around the corner, it is a completely different world that has been ignored."

[View the story "Anaheim woman lashes out at looters during deadly shooting protests" on Storify]Anaheim woman lashes out at looters during deadly shooting protestsKPCC's Corey Moore documented Tuesday night's Anaheim violence.

Storified by 89.3 KPCC · Wed, Jul 25 2012 08:07:56

Weigh In:
Is there a growing distrust between the community and Anaheim’s police force? What is being done to prevent that from happening? What other steps could Anaheim take to ensure its citizens’ safety while not crossing over the line? Are you an Anaheim resident? Do you feel safe, or are you becoming suspect of your local law enforcement?

Guests:

Ed Joyce, KPCC Reporter

Tom Tait, Mayor of Anaheim; Tait has served as mayor since November 2010; previously he served as a council member and Mayor Pro Tem

Lorri Galloway, Anaheim City Council Member; elected to the Anaheim City Council in November 2004 and has served as Mayor Pro Tem in 2012

Corey Moore, KPCC Reporter

The Cadiz Valley water project would pump groundwater from an aquifer in the Mojave Desert. Credit: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

Tonight, a long, drawn-out water war comes to a head in Mission Viejo.

It's a public meeting to review the latest analysis of the proposed Cadiz Valley water project — an effort to pump groundwater from an aquifer in the eastern Mojave Desert and sell it to local water agencies.

Earlier this month, the final environmental impact report was released, all 1,664 pages of it. The players and their positions remain the same.

Proponents, including Cadiz Inc. that owns the land, say the 35,000-acre Cadiz land can supply drinking water for 400,000 people.

It was first proposed more than a decade ago, but failed to win over opponents which included environmentalists, some local businesses and a long list of desert residents.

What are the costs and benefits of this water project? Who gets to greenlight it ultimately?

Guest:

Seth Shteir, California desert field representative, National Parks and Conservation Association

Scott Slater, President, Cadiz Inc.

Public hearings on the final environmental impact report for the Cadiz groundwater pumping project will be held July 25 at 6:30 p.m. at:

Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo
Copper Mountain College, Bell Center Community Room (via video conference),6162 Rotary Way, Joshua Tree
For information, go to www.smwd.com, or call 949-459-6400

Current water pump pipes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an area that has been heavily impacted by our water needs. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Governor Jerry Brown and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will announce a proposed plan today to build two massive tunnels that would carry water south from the Sacramento River.

The project would cost $14 billion and construction would start in 2017. It is scheduled to take nine years to complete.

Project proponents say the “peripheral tunnel” would provide the state with a more reliable supply of water and help restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Opponents say the state should focus on improving existing infrastructure and water conservation.

The project could impact already threatened and endangered species and ecosystems. Environmentalists could file lawsuits once a final environmental impact statement is released. Farmers say they need the water and can’t conserve any more than they already are.

Will this water delivery system be enough to support our growing population needs? Or does the state need to come up with different ways of dealing with an already strapped water situation?

Guests:

Steve Arakawa, Manager of Bay-Delta Initiatives, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Jim Metropulos, Senior Advocate, Sierra Club California and a water specialist