Cattle walk on dried grass in Raymond, California. As California enters its fourth year of severe drought, farmers in the Central Valley are struggling to keep their crops watered.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California’s bullet train bond funds could be used instead to fund water conservation efforts if one initiative is on November’s voter ballot.

George Runner, Board of Equalization board member, and Sen. Bob Huff (R-San Dimas), co-authored an initiative that would repurpose $8 billion into building new water storage projects and aiding cities in dealing with storm water runoff. Runner argues that “California needs water, not bullet trains.” Some $2 million have been spent to get enough signatures to ensure the initiative will be on November’s ballot.

Supporters of the initiative include the state’s agriculture industry, while opposers include environmentalist groups.

Do you think reallocating the bullet train funds with help alleviate the drought?

Guests:

Aubrey Bettencourt, the Executive Director of the California Water Alliance 

Doug Obegi, a senior attorney with NRDC's water program

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during in a televised town hall meeting with Hillary Clinton in Las Vegas on February 18, 2016.
; Credit: JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Once upon a time, Nevada was Hillary Clinton's state to lose.

But after Bernie Sanders' landslide victory in New Hampshire, the expectation has completely changed. The Nevada race Saturday is now predicted to be much closer between Clinton and Sanders. The state is heavily Latino, a demographic base that many had thought Clinton has a lock on.

Are Latino Democrats switching their allegiance from Clinton to Sanders? If so, is there a generational divide in the split?  

Guests: 

Adrian Carrasquillo, Editor of Latino coverage and a political reporter at BuzzFeed. One of his latest pieces looks at the generational divide among Latino democrats and how that split impacts the Sanders / Clinton race. He tweets from @Carrasquillo

Louis Desipio, professor of Political Science and Chicano/Latino Studies at UC Irvine

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a CNN South Carolina Republican Presidential Town Hall on February 18, 2016.; Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Tomorrow's Nevada Democratic caucus is the first test of Latino voters for this Presidential year.

In Nevada, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are neck-and-neck in polls. But Nevada polling is typically unreliable. We'll explain why.

For Republicans, tomorrow's big deal is the South Carolina primary. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are trailing Donald Trump in the polls.

How does the lack of a culinary union endorsement affect the race in Nevada? In South Carolina, given the small number of Catholic voters, might Trump be helped by his spat yesterday with the Pope? Or could Cruz be expected to benefit due to the evangelical electorate?

Guests:

Mark Barabak, National Political Writer for the LA Times; He joins us from Nevada

Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008.

Firefighters douse flames at the remains of the DaVinci apartment complex after a fire destroyed the 1 million square foot site, in Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2014.; Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

The city of Los Angeles is suing the developer of the downtown apartment complex that burned in December 2014 while still under construction, alleging the company was negligent for not taking action to mitigate the massive fire.

L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer on Thursday announced his office had filed a lawsuit against GH Palmer Associates, owner of the Da Vinci Apartments along the 101 Freeway, claiming $20 million in damages to city property.

Guest:

Mike Feuer, Los Angeles City Attorney

"100 Million Years of Food" by Stephen Le; Credit: Harper Collins

The Paleo diet, the South Beach diet, the gluten-free diet, the anti-inflammatory diet… Most Americans are obsessed with finding a way to eat well and stay healthy.

In the new book, biological anthropologist Stephen Le argues that the best diet is the one our ancestors ate. Le travelled to Vietnam, China, Kenya, India, and other countries to understand how cuisines in those places have evolved over thousands of years.

His conclusion: too many societies have strayed far from their ancestral diets, and we should start incorporating what our great-great-great-great-great-grandparents ate in our diet.

Guest:

Stephen Le, author of “100 Million Years of Food: What Our Ancestors Ate And Why It Matters Today” (Picador, 2016). He is currently a visiting professor of biology at the University of Ottawa, Canada

Solar panels cover the roof of a Sam's Club store in Glendora, California. ; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

A landmark clean-energy law went into effect in California this month, bolstering the state’s reputation as a leader in environmental policy.

The new law mandates that at least 50 percent of the power used in California comes from renewable sources like solar, wind and geothermal by 2030. Already, the Golden State is outpacing all other states in the nation in the production of renewable energy.

Can California’s ambitious clean-energy goals scale globally and nationally? That’s the central question a panel of experts will debate at a UCLA event tomorrow night.

We’ll have a preview of that conversation with dueling clean-energy experts on AirTalk.

Tomorrow, the UCLA Institute for the Environment and Sustainability will launch a new lecture series focusing on energy issues and emissions reduction. Click on the graphic below for more information.

Guests:

Ralph Cavanagh, co-director of the NRDC’s energy team based in San Francisco

Michael Shellenberger, Founder and President of Environmental Progress 

Democratic Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton (L) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (R) on stage with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) (2nd L) prior to the Battle Born/Battleground First in the West Caucus Dinner at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

It was a wild Saturday in South Carolina and Nevada, as Trump, Rubio, and Cruz solidified their three-way race on the GOP side, and Clinton's firewall in Nevada held.

Now the Republicans focus on Nevada, where the GOP caucuses will be held tomorrow.

Larry and our political analysts look at what’s next as the candidates head into Super Tuesday next week.

Guests:

Michael Finnegan, LA Times Politics Reporter joining us from outside a Ted Cruz campaign event in Las Vegas

Ange-Marie Hancock, associate professor of political science and gender studies at USC

Zach Courser, research director of the Dreier Roundtable and visiting assistant professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College

Medicine students face a skeleton as they attend a lecture in an auditorium.; Credit: JENS SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images

A new PLOS ONE-published study involving 1,700 undergraduate biology students suggests that males consistently ranked their male classmates as more knowledgeable about course content, even ranking them above better-performing female students.

The young men over-ranked their male peers by three-quarters of a GPA point compared to female students. The researchers say one reason could be greater vocal participation by male students. In the study, female students consistently ranked their male and female students with accuracy and equity.

One worry to take away from this study that focused on science students is that a chronic underestimation of female students could be a motivating factor for the large numbers of women who leave STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) majors in college.

What do you think are the main drivers for these findings? What are some solutions?

PLOS ONE

Guests:

Sarah Eddy, Research analyst for the College of Natural Sciences, UT Austin; a first co-author of the study

Dan Grunspan, Doctoral candidate in the Anthropology department, University of Washington; a first co-author of the study

Apple CEO Tim Cook; Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Apple and the Department of Justice are locked in a bitter legal battle that's headed to Capitol Hill.

Apple has resisted every demand that the federal government has issued them that would require them to allow access to iPhones of Syed Farook, a suspect in the San Bernardino shooting.

Activists and techies have been quick to side with Apple, saying that what the government is demanding is indicative of a slippery slope. Apple CEO Tim Cook went as far as to say that this would mean that the government would be violating the very civil liberties that it is supposed to protect.

Others say that Apple has a legal obligation to do everything possible in this investigation. The FBI says that this is as ordinary as any other lead in a case that they would have to follow up on and that the company is standing in the way of that.

What side of the issue do you stand on? Do you think that the legal precedent dictates Apple must comply? Or is the law so antiquated that it necessitates revision in this time of new technology?

​Guest:

Shahid Buttar, Director of Grassroots advocacy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation

Susan Hennessey, fellow in national security in governance at the Brookings Institution and a former attorney in the Office of General Counsel of the National Security Agency; she also is managing editor of the LawFare Blog, which focuses on national security issues

Passengers board Metrolink subway trains during rush hour in Los Angeles, California. ; Credit: David McNew/Getty Images

Los Angeles County Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington delivered his first annual State of the Agency last month -- just days after a Board Report indicated a decline in ridership.

The report revealed that the agency has experienced a decline in ridership since 2014 and attributed the decline to low gas prices and ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft.

New technological add-ons, including cell service and Wi-Fi,  are being added to the Union Station and the 7th/Metro underground tunnels next month, but will it be enough to attract new riders? How likely is the Paid Parking Pilot Program proposal to pass and how will the profits benefit LA Metro?

State of the Agency

Guest:

Phillip A. Washington, CEO, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

People cast their votes inside Woodson High School in the U.S. presidential race in Fairfax, Virginia.; Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

California’s problem with voter apathy is well known.

To give younger voters a voice in issues impacting them, state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) last week introduced a California constitutional amendment that would let 16- and 17-year-olds vote in their local school board and community college district governing board elections.

Gonzalez says that 16-year-olds have the same maturity and decision-making ability as 18-year-olds.

What do you think? Should 16- and 17-year-olds be allowed to vote in limited cases? Would that encourage political engagement in this age group in the future?

Senate Bill 113

Guests:

Lorena Gonzalez, Assemblywoman (D-San Diego) representing the 80th Assembly District, which includes Chula Vista, National City and the San Diego neighborhoods of City Heights and Barrio Logan. She is behind Assembly Constitutional Amendment 7,which would allow 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in their local school board and community college district governing board elections; Lorena tweets from @LorenaAD80

Arthur Lupia, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan. He is Chair of the American Political Science Association Task Force on Improving Public Engagement, and the author of the book, “Uninformed: Why People Seem to Know So Little about Politics and What We Can Do about it” (Oxford University Press, 2015)

Members of FCC are expected to vote next month on re-allocating funds for the Lifeline phone subsidy program to also include internet services for low-income homes. ; Credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Acknowledging the growing digital divide in education, next month members of FCC are expected to vote on re-allocating some of its two billion dollars per year funds for the Lifeline phone subsidy program to also include internet services for low-income homes.

About five million families in the US are estimated to lack access to internet in their homes. FCC Commissioner, Jessica Rosenworcel, cites research that about seven in 10 teachers assign students homework that requires access to the web.

The Lifeline program was created in 1985 and as of 2015, it is estimated that about 12 million households participate in the program. Proponents of the funding redistribution say the change is essential to address disparities in access to technology. Opponents, including the two Republican FCC commissioners and some lawmakers, argue that the Lifeline program has been wasteful, inefficient, and abused by participants.

What’s the history of the program? How does it work? How much of the funds would be re-distributed to provide broadband internet? Where is the need most: urban or rural communities? What do we know about the increase in school’s assigning homework that requires internet access? What’s the likelihood that the proposed changes will be approved by the commission? Is the digital divide a result of unaffordable internet access or is it lack of access to computers and devices?

Guest:

James P. Steyer, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Common Sense Media, a non-partisan organization dedicated to improving media and technology choices for kids and families

A general view of atmosphere during the Amazon Prime Summer Soiree hosted by Erin Foster and Sara Foster at Sunset Towers.; Credit: Rachel Murray

This week, Amazon increased the threshold needed for non-members to qualify for free shipping as it seeks to add more people to its $99 annual Prime loyalty program.

Non-members must now spend a minimum of $49, up from $35, to get free shipping. Members don't have a minimum. More Prime members would mean more packages for more customers, more delivery trucks and more cardboard.

On the other hand, it will also mean fewer trips to the mall. Are more online shoppers good or bad for the environment? While excessive consumption is problematic, existing studies (which cannot be conducted at the rate of marketplace changes) are split on the environmental impact of e-commerce versus brick-and-mortar shopping.

What are the consequences of more urban freight and likely more packaging?

Guest:

Deepak Rajagopal, Assistant Professor, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA

Dan Sperling, founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis, and the transportation expert on the California Air Resources Board

The driver rating screen in an Uber app; Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Before Jason Dalton allegedly carried out a shooting spree that left six dead on Saturday evening in Kalamazoo, Michigan, local police may have gotten at least two separate calls from people complaining about Uber driver who was all over the road.

It’s unclear at this point how law enforcement prioritized those calls or why they chose not to respond, but the end result was a seemingly random mass shooting carried out by a man who didn’t seem to have much of a reason for doing it.

The shooting also raises questions about Uber’s responsibility to provide both drivers and passengers with a safe ride. Uber is a nationwide company, but is based in San Francisco and does not have the regional support structure other major companies might have. While there are Uber Partner Support Centers in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, it’s not clear whether those centers provide support for passengers as well as drivers.

While the customer who jumped out of Dalton’s car says he did file a complaint with Uber, the company said in a conference call yesterday that it doesn’t deactivate drivers due to complaints of erratic driving because it would be unfair not to hear the driver’s side of the story. If a passenger alleges violence, Uber will suspend the driver within minutes.

But even if Uber had deactivated Dalton, it’s unlikely that would have stopped him from continuing his rampage. So, should Uber install a panic button for U.S. passengers? Uber says the U.S.’s panic button is 911, and that they can’t and don’t want to try and replace that.

Do you think Uber should be responsible for providing more local support to ensure passenger safety or is that the job of law enforcement? What would that model look like, if it’s even possible? If it’s not, what could Uber do to be more proactive about addressing complaints involving erratic driving?

Guests:

Carolyn Said, business reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle covering the sharing economy

Siona Listokin, associate professor at George Mason University School of Public Policy

Bill Rouse, General Manager of Los Angeles Yellow Cab and President of the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association

(L-R) Director and producer Sandy Smolan, Linda Avey, co-founder and CEO Are Curious, Inc., executive producer Rick Smolan and Sue Karlin, science, technology and arts journalist, speak onstage during 'The Human Face of Big Data' panel.; Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Paper trails are a thing of the past.

Today, everything we do leaves a digital trace; whether you’re updating your Facebook status, using your credit card at a parking meter or wearing a heart monitor. 

Some data, like your browser history, is collected and sold to advertisers, while other data is collected to predict natural disasters. But in a world that relies on technology for virtually everything, why are other people determining what is done with the data we’ve produced?  

The documentary “The Human Face of Big Data” sheds light on how our information is being used and the anticipated dangers of collecting such an overwhelming amount of data. Filmmakers Sandy and Rick Smolan join us today to discuss their documentary.

“THE HUMAN FACE OF BIG DATA" will premiere nationally on PBS on Wednesday, February 24 10pm PT and will be available online beginning February 25, at CuriosityStream.com. Use promo code "Humandata" for a free 60-day subscription.

Guests:

Sandy Smolan, director and producer of the PBS documentary, "The Human Face of Big Data"

Rick Smolan, co-author of the book “The Human Face of Big Data” and executive producer of the documentary; he is also a former TIME, LIFE and National Geographic photographer; Rick tweets from @RickSmolan

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to guest gathered during a campaign event at the International Air Response facility. ; Credit: Ralph Freso/Getty Images

After handily securing wins in the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries, it was all about the Donald once again Tuesday night.

Just over 45 percent of registered Nevada Republicans caucused for the New York real estate mogul. Marco Rubio finished a distant second, just shy of 24 percent of the vote, and Ted Cruz came in third with 21 percent.

Trump’s win in The Silver State make the climb back to the top that much harder for the rest of the field. Super Tuesday is looming large and could still swing the delegate balance, but it won’t be an easy path back to the top for any of the remaining candidates.

What are the implications of Trump’s win in Nevada? What changes about the lay of the land for the GOP candidates? Do you think there’s any chance Super Tuesday will swing the balance of delegates to another candidate?

Guests:

Robert de Posada, president of ONE Marketing & Research Inc., a public relations and communications firm in D.C., founder of  the nonprofit The Latino Coalition, and had served on the National Commission to Save and Strengthen Social Security under George W. Bush; he tweets @rdeposada

Lisa Camooso Miller, Republican strategist and partner at Blueprint Communications, public affairs firm based in D.C.

A teacher teaches to a visually impaired students as she reads Braille.; Credit: Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images

In 2011, The California Concerned Parents Association and the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association, two parent-run non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of disabled children in the classroom filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education (CDE) alleging that the department was failing to provide students with disabilities free and appropriate public education.

To prove their claim, the two plaintiffs requested the records of every public school student in California. Earlier this month, a California federal judge granted a “Special Master,” a court-appointed expert in cyber security and data breach prevention, access to the names, social security numbers, addresses, mental and physical assessments of every student who went to public school in California since Jan.1, 2008 to analyze that data on behalf of the two plaintiffs, roughly 10 million students.

This special master will ensure the security of information upon transfer.

Parents have until April 1st to mail a form objecting to having their child’s records released to Judge Mueller’s office. It is unclear what actions the judge will take with the opt-out forms.

The Calif. Concerned Parents Assn and the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association argue that the information they seek is not going to involve individual information, only aggregate data. The Calif. Concerned Parents Assn stated that they had suggested multiple scenarios in which the CDE could provide student statistics without disclosing individual students data including an an offer to receive the information with fake names, but were refused by CDE attorneys.

Critics, including many parents, are concerned that the release would jeopardize the privacy of their children.

Guests:

Stephen Rosenbaum, Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs, the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Association and a lecturer in law at UC Berkeley

Vanessa Hatch, president of the Newport-Mesa district's Harbor Council PTA

Homeless people from Skid Row are seen on the streets around a construction project where 102 prefabricated housing units placed on top of the second floor of Star Apartments are being built.; Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Faced with a budget shortfall, LA politicians are seeking about two billion dollars in funding to help provide aid to the city’s growing homeless population.

Mayor Garcetti and the LA City Council are pondering whether to put the decision to voters.

Is a tax or bond the right way to generate the funds? And what do listeners think about paying the costs for homeless services?

Guests:

Joel Fox, President of the Small Business Action Committee

Carol Sobel, a civil rights attorney who has represented L.A.'s homeless in federal courts

People for and against unions hold up signs in front of the US Supreme Court building January 11, 2016 in Washington, DC. ; Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Teachers unions will go to appeals court Thursday to regain job protections that were lost in the landmark 2014 case, Vergara v. California.

In the original case, nine public schools students argued that teacher tenure was a threat to their constitutional right to a public education. If teachers unions lose the appeal, changes could include laying off teachers based on job performance instead of seniority and putting a less complicated process in place to fire them.

The California Teachers Association, the California Federation of Teachers and other state officials who filed the appeal argue that the previous ruling may discourage talented teachers from entering the workforce. Larry Mantle discusses the case today and what we expect to see in court Thursday.

Guest:           

Steve Barr, founder of Green Dot Public Schools, a charter school organization. He also heads the nonprofit school reform organization, Future Is Now Schools

Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers

Democratic presidential candidates former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders during their MSNBC Democratic Candidates Debate at the University of New Hampshire.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

As presidential hopefuls Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton continue to vie for Democratic donors, voters, delegates, and endorsements, a battle over their party's core dogma is also playing out.

From regulations on Wall Street to foreign policy and social welfare, their policies diverge but each has its roots in different eras of the Democratic Party. How do New Deal Democrats compare to "Clintonian" Democrats? As Thomas Frank opines in “The Guardian:”

“The figure that brought triumphant closure to that last internecine war [among Democrats] was President Bill Clinton, who installed a new kind of Democratic administration in Washington. Rather than paying homage to the politics of Franklin Roosevelt, Clinton passed trade deals that defied and even injured the labor movement, once his party’s leading constituency; he signed off on a measure that basically ended the federal welfare program; and he performed singular favors for the financial industry, the New Deal’s great nemesis.”

However, in op-ed  in “The Hill,” Sanders is branded as a “neo-progressive” and “socialist” rather than a Democrat, by Joshua Block - the CEO of The Israel Project and a former Clinton administration official. He argues:

“During the Obama presidency, this rising band of isolationist neo-progs have seen their ideas nourished and been drawn to the Administration’s rationalizations for shirking America’s role as leader of the West. These deliberate choices, which Sanders applauds and would accelerate, have increased human suffering, war and famine, deepened instability, and undermined trust in global systems that we need to constrain behavior by bad actors and maintain a system of enforceable mores.”

In your opinion, how do the respective Clinton and Sanders campaigns represent the Democrats’ historical ideologies?

Guests:

Peter Dreier, Professor of Political Science, Occidental College; Activist

Michael Tomasky, Editor, "Democracy" - a quarterly journal focused on the progressive movement; Contributor, “The Daily Beast”