Dozens of mailers. ; Credit: Flickr user: Jake Rome / Creative Commons

What are slate mailers? And how do they know so much about you? 

In these final days before the election, registered voters in Southern California are being inundated with slate mailers - those publications created by a campaign or for-profit consulting service that are mailed to voters telling them which candidates or ballot measures to vote for. 

For many, the snail mail feels like a throwback to the days of yore, but even in this digital age, slate mailers still have significant sway on election outcomes and modern technology has made them increasingly sophisticated. Larry Mantle talks with an expert on slate mailers and KPCC's Aaron Mendelson, who's been tracking the mail that voters here in Southern California are getting this year. 

Have you received a slate mailer? KPCC is still collecting them this election season, in a project we're calling #WhoMailedIt - send us what you're seeing at whomailedit@scpr.org or tweet us a picture under #WhoMailedIt.

Guests:

Aaron Mendelson, KPCC’s Associate Digital Producer for data and interactive projects

Paul Mitchell, Vice President of Political Data Inc, a bipartisan data provider based in California. It provides political data for a variety of causes and outfits, including slate mailers

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Nuns have lunch at the Atena park of Madrid on September 15, 2016. ; Credit: GERARD JULIEN/AFP/Getty Images

As progressive as Pope Francis’ views are on issues like same-sex marriage and climate change, the pontiff’s recent comments about women in the priesthood show he’s still going to stick with tradition on some matters.

During a news conference on Pope Francis’ plane this past Tuesday, a reporter asked him whether there might be female priests in the next few decades, especially given that the head of the Lutheran Church in Sweden who welcomed him is a woman. “St. Pope John Paul II had the last clear word on this, and it stands,” Pope Francis said, referring to a 1994 letter then-Pope John Paul II wrote which shut down the notion of women being ordained as priests.

This is not the first time Pope Francis has weighed in on the idea. Earlier this year he created a commission to study whether women could serve as deacons, like they did during early Christianity. Since deacons must be ordained, this was an indicator to some that Pope Francis might consider allowing women into the priesthood. But Pope Francis also subscribes to the Catholic Church’s traditional view that priests must be men because Jesus chose men as his disciples. Therefore, according to the Church, because priest’s role is to act as the person of Christ, a priest must be a man.

What roles do women play in the Catholic Church today? What roles have the played in the past and how have their roles evolved over time? What can we make of Pope Francis’ seemingly un-modern stance, especially after having much more modern views on other issues central to the Catholic Church?

Guests:

Kathleen Buckley Domingo, Associate Director at Office of Life, Justice, and Peace; Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Gail DeGeorge, Editor of the Global Sisters Report which is part of the National Catholic Reporter

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

An employee holds one of several strains of medical marijuana sold at a dispensary in downtown Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, Feb. 29, 2016. ; Credit: Maya Sugarman/KPCC

California voters are expected to vote Yes on recreational marijuana legalization this election. And if that happens, a new wave of marketing will erupt to sell the product.

But some are calling for advertising restrictions on the recreational pot, much like surgeon general’s warnings on cigarettes and alcohol. Opponents of such warnings argue that it’s just another way to regulate the industry.

What do you think of the way recreational pot should be marketed? Should it be put in the same category as cigarettes and alcohol?

Guest:

Laurel Rosenhall, reporter for CALMatters, a nonprofit publication focused on issues that affect Californians; she tweets @laurelrosenhall

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Vandalized garage door of Nicodim Gallery in Boyle Heights, with the words "expletive" white art spray painted on. ; Credit: NBC L.A.

The Los Angeles Police Department launched an investigation into three instances of vandalism targeting art galleries in Boyle Heights — including graffiti that read “f--- white art” on one gallery — as  potential hate crimes, as longstanding concerns  over gentrification in the neighborhood heat up.

Tension between longtime Boyle Heights residents and newcomers has been brewing as artists, homebuyers and renters —many priced out of places like downtown, Echo Park and Silver Lake — look for more affordable housing options in the mostly Latino neighborhood.

In the last several years, a number of art galleries have opened up in Boyle Heights, raising concern from some residents and anti-gentrification activists who are calling on the galleries to leave and fear that the neighborhood is being “art-washed.” The term refers to artists who in seeking cheaper digs inadvertently pave the way for the gentrification of a neighborhood.

You can read the Statement on the LAPD investigation from Defend Boyle Heights, an anti-gentrification group, here.

AirTalk’s Larry Mantle talked to Eva Chimento, owner of Chimento Contemporary gallery in Boyle Heights, Elizabeth Blaney, Co-Executive Director of Union De Vecinos and Alessandro Negrete, Civic Engagement and Events Chair with the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council, as well as listeners to get their perspectives on recent events and their implications for Boyle Heights.

You can hear the full interview by clicking the full playhead above. Below are several edited outtakes from the discussion.

Interview highlights

On the impact of art galleries on communities

Blaney: There have been studies after studies... that have shown that galleries coming into communities do cause gentrification and do cause displacement, because of what they bring. Not the art, but because of who they attract and the businesses that tend to serve the needs of future incoming residents and not the needs in this community [...] The galleries say that they're bringing art ... and that's their investment in the community. But that is not what the community is asking for... if the community is saying that we need basic services like child care and laundromats and places for youth and places for seniors, that's their role,  is to live that up... what they're bringing is displacement, not investment.  

Chimento: I own a business. I'm in the back of a tiny little building, I'm a single mother making it all myself because I adore and love the artists who grew up in this community. There are other businesses in this building ... Why is it that the art galleries are told to leave an area that is an industrially zoned area? There was never to be housing slated in this neighborhood... The children who come to visit me after school during the week because their parents are working and they want a place to hang out, they live in this neighborhood. So I'm providing something for them that they're seeking.

On whether the ‘f--- white art’ graffiti constitutes a hate crime 

Josefina in Silver Lake:  There were housing covenants that prevented minorities from living [in Los Angeles]. That's why Mexican Americans, Jewish people, Italian people had to live in Boyle Heights. It has a rich history so we're really afraid that people are going to come who are thinking of Boyle Heights as a blank canvas and will paint all over it... This is vandalism, not a hate crime. I would hate for people to run with the narrative that it's a hate crime, because then we're saying the galleries are the victims.

Hector in Boyle Heights: What we're seeing with all of the disruption and protest and these unsavory demonstrations that folks are using to get the attention of policymakers and people like yourself. These are the tools of working class communities and people who feel like they're backs are against the wall and things like gentrification, we need to call it what it really is — economic violence.

On the changing demographics in Boyle Heights and where to go from here

John in Boyle Heights: Progress is good... if it helps rid the neighborhood of gangs, of graffiti and everything else that comes with it...[I've lived in Boyle Heights for] 63 years ... I don't know if your on air guests have lived there that long, but they haven't had to put up with a car break-in, they haven't had to put up with getting jumped on the corner... they haven't had to put up with the intimidation and the gangs.

Ulysses in Boyle Heights: We need to find a balanced approach to preserve the culture and the people that are part of the community of Boyle heights while also creating opportunities to strengthen and enrich it... rather than looking at art as a problem we need to find ways to empower our youth, find ways to get education to our youth and our communities... and create opportunities for people to become vibrant stakeholders in the community.

Guests: 

Eva Chimento, owner of Chimento Contemporary, a gallery in Boyle Heights

Alessandro Negrete, Civic Engagement and Events Chair with the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council. Negrete has lived in Boyle Heights since 1991

Elizabeth Blaney, Co-Executive Director of Union De Vecinos, a neighborhood and economic justice organization in Boyle Heights

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

KPCC's Voter Game Plan campaign for election coverage that comes with an attitude and perspective: We don’t just want to put out stories, we want to prepare you to vote.; Credit: Maya Sugarman and Katie Briggs/ KPCC

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, that means you’ve survived the 2016 election (or most of it, anyway) and haven’t succumbed to your election stress.

With polls opening at 7 a.m. PT across California on Tuesday morning, for those who didn’t vote by mail or brave the long weekend lines in places like L.A. County there is but one final step to complete: vote. Now let’s say, hypothetically of course, that you’re still not quite as plugged-in as you should be on the state ballot measures or you’re wondering what to expect when you go to your polling place tomorrow. And let’s say, also hypothetically, that you haven’t checked out KPCC’s handy Voter Game Plan yet either.

Fortunately for you, AirTalk is here to make sure you head to the polls tomorrow armed with the knowledge you need to be an informed voter. Larry will be joined by AirTalk elections experts as well as state and county elections officials to answer any last minute questions you want to ask before Election Day! Post your question in the comments below or call us at 866-893-5722!

Guests:

Jessica Levinson, Vice President of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission and a professor of law at Loyola Law School

Lynn Vavreck, professor of political science at UCLA

Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State

Dean Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk

Neal Kelley, Orange County Registrar of Voters

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit:

Proposition 64, which will legalize recreational marijuana, has a high chance of passing in California.

According to a recent Capital Public Radio report, the measure would make it legal for adults 21 or older in the state possess, purchase or carry a limited amount of marijuana, but only for personal use.

Proponents of the measure argue that adult use of recreational pot will bring down crime, forcing regulation of legitimate businesses to sell the drug, and keep marijuana from being marketed to children.

Opponents of Prop 64 say the measure would promote the use of marijuana. They also argue the law would create problems enforcing laws against impaired driving, as there are currently no standards for smoking pot and driving a car.

OC Register Reporter Brooke Staggs, who’s been covering the proposition, joins Larry today to answer your questions about Prop. 64, and explain the ins and outs of this potential new law.

Guest:

Brooke Staggs, reporter for the OC Register; she has been covering cannabis for Southern California News Group; she tweets @JournoBrooke

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump and Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton keep in character during SNL's cold open sketch that parodied Monday's presidential debate.; Credit: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images

Political sendups have been a staple of American pop culture, and there’s been plenty of material for comedians to sink their teeth into in this crazy election season.

On the eve of Election Day, AirTalk zooms in on a specific facet of this tradition to look at politician impressions, from Dana Carvey’s George Bush, to Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin, to Anthony Atamanuik’s Donald Trump.

Call 866-893-5722 and let us know your favorite political impersonators.

Guest:

Kliph Nesteroff, author of “The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy” (Grove Press, 2015). He is a former standup comedian and tweets @ClassicShowbiz

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Parishioners look on as Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during church services at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ on November 6, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Across the country, spiritual leaders - pastors, rabbis, imams, dharma teachers, and the like - have been engaging with their congregants about the impending Election Day and its tumultuous lead-up.

In battleground-state Pennsylvania, a national political action group focused on the Muslim-American vote urged mosques across the state to mark their Friday prayer services with a sermon about the civic duty to vote. Some American Buddhist teachers have counseled that stress and anxiety tied to the election’s uncertainty can be transcended by focusing on one’s power to be a force for good in the world - no matter what transpires on Tuesday.

And in Rhode Island, a well-known Catholic priest delivered a lengthy homily at his church criticizing Hillary Clinton for her pro-choice views - possibly violating the law. (Tax law governing 501(c)(3) church organizations  prohibit from them participating in political campaign activity, including endorsement or opposition of any candidate or party.)

How has your temple, mosque, or church handled the election? What was said at this weekend’s services?

Guest: 

Brie Loskota, Executive Director, Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Local residents learn about the history of African-American voting in the US, review issues that will be on the ballot and register to vote during the 5th annual Power Fest Music and Art Festival in Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016.; Credit: Susanica Tam for KPCC

While it is a near certainty that California's Electoral College votes all will go to Hillary Clinton, the state's popular vote is not without power.

Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in Congress will have to gauge the popularity of the next president - and her or his mandate to govern - based partially on the popular vote. Considering the gridlock and rancor in Washington in recent years, is there an argument to be made that left-leaning voters should unify their support for the Democratic candidate and right-leaning voters should all support the Republican -- third-party candidates be damned?

In California, with Hillary Clinton's commanding lead in the polls, some voters are casting “protest votes” for either Jill Stein or Gary Johnson. Will that net the result they want? How much weight should federal lawmakers give to the popular vote?

Guest: 

Julian Zelizer, Professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and a fellow at the New America Foundation. His latest book is, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society.” (Penguin Press, 2015)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Up to 100 million people are expected to watch Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump square off.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

On this Election Day in America, it isn't just the presidential candidates who are deemed unlikeable by polarized Americans; if Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump dropped of the planet right now, there still would be vast swaths of Americans who vehemently dislike other vast swaths of Americans.

It's akin to the intense divisions during the 1960s - amidst the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. And while there is no polling data from the Civil War, as Professor David Karol characterizes that period: “Willingness to take up arms against fellow citizens does suggest a great deal of polarization!” Karol, of the University of Maryland, believes the best comparison to today is not the Civil War but “The Gilded Age” from the 1870s through the 1890s - with its even balance between the parties in close elections, and strong party loyalties.

Some drivers of polarization remain the same, including regional differences, but others are new, such as political parties channeling the hate from the electorate; the rise of social media; and a backlash against multiculturalism.

AirTalk will devote the coming days to dissecting the different social, political and cultural factors that contribute to our divisions. Today, we start with the history of American polarity.

Guests: 

David Karol, Associate Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland

Jonathan Rieder, professor of sociology at Barnard College, Columbia University, where his research focuses, among other things, on unity and division in the US. He is the author of the book, "Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation" (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013)

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

People walk into vote in the presidential election at the Provo Recreation Center on November 8, 2016 in Provo, Utah. ; Credit: George Frey/Getty Images

Election Day is finally here. Here in California, we've got a full ballot, including 17 state propositions and many local ones. Lines are long at many polling places.

That's not a surprise for a high turnout Presidential election, even with so many voters mailing in their ballots. Just for comparison, LA County's turnout in 2012 was around 70%. Four years earlier, when Barack Obama was poised to make history, county turnout was 82%. We have no idea yet what it will be like this time. Our lines are open for you to talk about your voting experience.

Call us at 866-893-5722 or tweet @airtalk. How long did it take you to vote? Did you feel prepared for the long ballot? If you voted by mail for first time, did you miss the communal experience of in-person voting?

Guests: 

Sharon McNary, KPCC reporter to check in with from the polls

Kurtis Lee, political reporter for The Los Angeles Times; he tweets @kurtisalee

Carrie Kaufman, Host/Producer for KNPR’s State of Nevada

Dan Nowicki, national political reporter for Arizona Republic, Phoenix’s daily newspaper; he tweets @dannowicki

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The US Capitol is shown October 11, 2016 in Washington DC. House and Senate Republicans are in a close race with Democrats to keep control of both houses of Congress. ; Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

November 8 will not only determine who sits in the Oval Office next year, but which party will take - or keep - control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

With Republicans fighting to protect their Senate majority, Democrats are hoping for a “wave” election to come through down-ballot, even potentially yielding the House of Representatives.

The most vulnerable Senate seats include Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida and New Hampshire, and while Democrats only have to worry about defending 10 seats, Republicans are in a bind to hold 24. As for congressional races, Democrats must flip 30 seats in the House to end the GOP’s historical majority, with the top five including Minnesota, Montana, Illinois, New York and California.

AirTalk speaks with political reporters who are keeping a close watch on the contested Senate and House races.

Guests:

Burgess Everett, POLITICO Congressional reporter

Alex Roarty, senior politics reporter at CQ Roll Call

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hugs supporters after conceding the presidential election at the New Yorker Hotel on November 9, 2016 in New York City.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The latest data shows Hillary Clinton won 54 percent of women voters, but only 41 percent of men - a 13-point gender gap, which is as large as it's been in decades. 

(CBS News' exit polls show Trump beat Clinton among white, non-college-educated women.) Results from the majority of female voters appear to show both a a hope for the country's first female president and her policy priorities and a repudiation of Trump's numerous derogatory comments about women. Nevertheless, her historic candidacy failed to rouse the enthusiasm or emotion that drove President Barack Obama's coalition to the polls.

One Democratic voter Terry Lee, 68, told the Associated Press, "[I]t just makes sick to my stomach that my fellow Americans have that much hate and misogyny." While most political analysts say the election results are about more than gender, there is fear among some Americans that sexism against Clinton and strides in women’s equality was a significant factor. As Peter Beinart wrote in "The Atlantic" last month, "Hillary Clinton’s candidacy is sparking the kind of sexist backlash that decades of research would predict."

On AirTalk, we'll analyze the female factor in this race and American culture and politics.

Guest:

Debbie Walsh, Director of the Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The Margerie Glacier, one of many glaciers that make up Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. President Obama will visit Alaska Monday to highlight the affects of climate change.; Credit: Kathy Matheson/AP

The election of a US president who has called global warming a "hoax" alarmed environmentalists and climate scientists around the world, but heartened Republicans who think climate policies will do little more than harm the US economy.

Many people at United Nations climate talks in Morocco today said it's now up to the rest of the world to lead efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. Others held out hope that Trump would change his stance and honor U.S. commitments under the Paris Agreement.

How might Republicans align in changing the Obama Administration's energy and climate policies? How would this contrast with California's direction?

With files from the Associated Press.

Guest:

Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President, the Western States Petroleum Association, a nonprofit trade group that represents oil producers in California and five other western states.

Ann Notthoff, California Advocacy Director, Natural Resources Defense Council

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Donald Trump gives two thumbs up to the crowd during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.; Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

California primary voter Yanira Michelle slips her ballot into the ballot box at a polling station June 7, 2016 in San Diego, California. / AFP / Bill Wechter ; Credit: California Counts

California voters joined five other states last night in approving marijuana reforms in what was the biggest legislative win for pot in recent history.

The Golden State approved prop 64 with 56 percent of voters saying ‘yes’ to legal weed. Advocates of the death penalty are also celebrating today as prop 62, which would have abolished the death penalty in California, failed. Meanwhile voters passed prop 66, the measure to speed up the death penalty appeals process. Plastic bags will stay banned after Prop 67, the veto referendum, failed, and voters also said no to the other bag initiative, Prop 65, which would have given proceeds collected from selling grocery bags to fund environmental projects like drought mitigation, recycling, and parks improvement. California voters also shot down Prop 60, which would have required condoms be used during the production of adult films, but approved a $2 per pack tax increase on cigarettes.

Today on AirTalk, we’ll go over the results of California’s ballot propositions and talk about the implications for the future.

Guest:

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter (R) and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (L) speak to members of the media.; Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Returns from the election show that Angelenos have approved two pricey measures that seek to address a couple of pressing issues facing the city: homelessness and public transportation.

Measure HHH, the homeless bond, would tax property owners to help fund the construction of a number of housing units for homeless people over the next 10 years.

"We actually started the conveyor belt a long time ago. HHH just speeds it up," said Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Measure M, meanwhile, would increase sales tax in the city to pay for an ambitious expansion of public transportation including street improvements.

Both measures seem to have achieved the two-thirds of the votes needed to pass. Final ballots are still being counted.

"People really answered that call," Garcetti said of Measure M's support. "It’s also a blueprint for how we start moving this country forward."

Garcetti spoke with Larry about what’s next for both projects, as well as respond to last night’s protests.

Garcetti warned protesters against blocking freeways, which he said would distract from their message by becoming the story, but he also expressed support for their right to express themselves.

"I’m very proud of this city, not only what we stood up for and what we speak out for, but modeling what love is about and standing against division and hatred — and that was 99 percent of what we saw on our streets," he said.

Click the blue play button above to listen to the full interview.

Guest:

Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Posters about Obamacare are posted on a window during a healthcare enrollment fair at the Bay Area Rescue Mission.; Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California has a lot to lose if President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress fulfill their campaign pledge to repeal Obamacare.

The Golden State fully embraced the Affordable Care Act by expanding Medicaid coverage for the poor and creating its own health insurance exchange for about 1.4 million enrollees. Supporters held California up as proof the health law could work as intended.

But now President Barack Obama’s signature law is in serious jeopardy and California officials are left wondering what Republicans in Washington may put in its place.

Read full story  

Peter Lee, the executive director for Covered California, told AirTalk that it was important for those fearful of Obamacare's potential to be repealed to focus on the present, as it is too early to predict what exactly will take place in the years to come.

"We’re focused on the here and now. We’re in open enrollment, people are renewing their coverage and they should be looking at renewing. For 2017, that coverage is there, it’s intact, the financial assistance is there and intact, the rates aren’t changing for 2017," he said. "Before we jump into the morass of what repeal and replace look like, Californians should know that in the here and now, sign up for coverage. Make sure you don’t go without insurance."

Lee also told AirTalk that it was important for the state to keep making its presence felt politically.

"California has been in Washington, and we need to keep being in Washington. We’ve been speaking since Day 1 with both sides of the aisle," he said. "We've said as a state for two years, let's put the politics behind us and provide subsidies for those who really need it, create a competitive marketplace, have a benefit design where in California, the deductible isn't in between you and your primary care doctor. Those are important lessons." 

Guests: 

Peter Lee, executive director for Covered California

Kavita K. Patel, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution; she’s also a practicing primary care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine and was previously a Director of Policy for The White House under President Obama

Yevgeniy Feyman, adjunct fellow and deputy director of the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Medical Progress

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Police and protesters face off on a freeway in downtown Los Angeles, California after midnight early on November 10, 2016 as protesters angry over Donald J. Trump's election as the next US president marched in downtown Los Angeles through the evening and shut down portions of the Hollywood (101) Freeway.
Thousands of protesters rallied across the United States expressing shock and anger over Donald Trump's election, vowing to oppose divisive views they say helped the Republican billionaire win the presidency. / AFP / Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images); Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

In Downtown Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Oakland, Dallas, New York - from New England to heartland cities like Kansas City -, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets and highways to protest the election of Donald Trump.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti responded to the LA protests by saying  that they're understandable, maybe even healthy for people unhappy with the election results, but must be peaceful. Portions of the 101 freeway were blocked by protesters for several hours, while others took to the steps of City Hall with placards saying “Not My President” and “Wall Street is the Enemy. Not Muslims and Immigrants.” Trump surrogate, former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said on Fox News Channel's "Fox and Friends" that most of the protesters are college-age students and seem to be "1 percent of 1 percent of 1 percent.” He dismissed them as “college-student” “cry babies.”  

In Oakland, the hectic anti-Trump rally swelled to 7,000 yesterday afternoon. Police arrested 30 people and issued 11 citations for assault on an officer, vandalism, unlawful assembly, failure to disperse, and possession of a firearm. More protests are being planned in the coming days.

What impact are the different degrees of protests having? Should the LAPD have allowed the freeway to be shut so long? Let's talk about it after the news. If you were out there protesting last night, we want to hear your thoughts on the night's goal and whether you thought the protests were successful. If you were stopped on the freeway, we also welcome your perspective.

With files from the Associated Press.

Guests:

Chief Charlie Beck, LAPD

Abraham Marquez, a Los Angeles-based member of Answer Coalition, the group behind the protests in L.A. and other cities across the country

Bennett Kaspar, protester who was out last night; he’s originally from Texas and has been living in Los Angeles since 2014

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where prisoners are executed. The death penalty was at the Supreme Court again Wednesday.; Credit: Pat Sullivan/AP

California moved further to the left on Tuesday night, as the country moved to the right.

The state legalized recreational marijuana and continued to push criminal justice reform, voting yes on Prop 57, making it easier for people to win parole and rejecting warnings from police leaders that crime would likely go up as a result. But they stopped short of abolishing the death penalty.  

Larry talks with listeners about how they voted on Props 62 and 66 and why.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.