Category: 1-HeadlineNews

California has one of the lowest transmission rates in the country. More than 70% of adults have rolled up their sleeves for at least one dose of a vaccine. But many people still refuse to get the jab. Public health officials worry they will be at particular risk of infection from other unvaccinated people once the state reopens. Today, guest host Erika D. Smith takes us to the front lines, where canvassers are making a final push to get holdouts vaccinated in South L.A. before the state reopens. We’ll also hear from L.A. Times columnist Sandy Banks about her struggles to persuade her own sister to get the shot.

More reading:

Shorter lines and TikTok ads: California’s push to beat vaccine hesitancy 

Column: My dad was a COVID-19 skeptic. But he got vaccinated, and so can your ‘pandejos’ 

COVID-19 vaccines: What you need to know about hesitancy and access

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is political royalty in the City of Angels. His father was a former district attorney. The mayor won his last election with over 80 percent of the vote. There were even rumors he would run for president in 2020. Now, amid speculation that the Biden administration will tap Garcetti as the U.S. Ambassador to India, people from Kolkata to Calexico are saying ... huh? Him? Today, we speak to L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez — who says Garcetti's ambition might actually make him good for the position — and to former Los Angeles City Council candidate Dinesh Lakhanpal, who's welcoming of the idea, if a bit skeptical.

More reading:

Garcetti likely to be named ambassador to India, source says 

Column: If Garcetti leaves early for India ambassador post, how will he be remembered? 

Letters to the Editor: Eric Garcetti as ambassador to India? Talk about failing up

When it comes to serving California's Black, LGBTQ (and Black LGBTQ) communities, Charles Stewart's resume is impeccable. The native of South L.A. worked for Rep. Diane Watson and former state Sen. Holly Mitchell, who's now an L.A. County supervisor. He has previously served as secretary of the city of L.A.'s LGBT Police Task Force, and he was editor at large for BLK, a national magazine for the black LGBTQ community, the first of its kind. Stewart is now retired, but we recently caught up with him to talk about his life, the state of Pride Month today, and much more.

More reading:

Queering the Black Press: Remembering BLK Magazine 

An issue of BLK Magazine at the National Museum of African American History & Culture

BLK Publications papers at the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries

It's been quite the year for the Los Angeles Public Library — and the COVID-19 pandemic is only part of the story. Inauguration Day saw a reading by Amanda Gorman, who got her start with poetry readings via the L.A. Public Library's youth program. And teen punk group the Linda Lindas got worldwide fame after a concert at the library system's Cypress Park branch. Today, we talk to L.A. librarian Kevin Awakuni about how the city's public library has turned into an incubator for making libraries hip worldwide. We also get L.A. Times columnist Patt Morrison to explain how a city long dismissed as an intellectual wasteland learned to treasure its libraries in the wake of a devastating fire.

More reading:

‘Whoa, this is crazy’: L.A. teen punks the Linda Lindas on going viral (just before finals)

How a 22-year-old L.A. native became Biden’s inauguration poet 

Who started the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Library? Susan Orlean investigates in her new book

California Rep. Katie Porter (D -Irvine) has been a political rock star ever since the progressive won the 45th Congressional District seat in South Orange County — long a bastion of conservative politics — in 2018. We talk to her about her Iowa roots, the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol invasion, her attempts at bipartisanship and the color of her favorite marker that she uses for her already-legendary whiteboard lectures during congressional hearings.

More reading:

Democrats loved Katie Porter when she bashed Trump. Now she is making them squirm

Video: Katie Porter’s “Whiteboard of Justice”

Video: Rep. Katie Porter on impeachment and the consequences of Jan. 6

The Laotian community in California is not large enough to support newspapers or television news programs in Lao, leaving monolingual immigrants especially isolated. So these immigrants have created elaborate phone trees with designated leaders that can spread important information to thousands of people within an hour. In sprawling California suburbs, the phone trees are an attempt to re-create village networks from back home. And it's a crucial service — one that's especially important because there are not enough Lao speakers for government agencies to translate fliers, as is often done in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean. For instance, some Laotians did not know a COVID-19 vaccine existed until they received a call from the phone tree. On today's episode, our host is L.A. Times entertainment reporter Tracy Brown, and our guest is Times Metro reporter Anh Do.

More reading:

Elaborate phone tree links Laotian immigrants to COVID info, one another 

Column: Laotian Americans’ stories are obscured by history. That’s why we need ethnic studies 

San Diego’s Laotian community pushes for a place in California history books

On January 5, 2021, one day before the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, there was another breach of a government building — in Northern California. Dozens of people, angered by COVID-19 lockdowns, let themselves into a Shasta County government building. There, the board of supervisors was holding a meeting. Although most of the supervisors were attending remotely, angry residents — including members of a local militia — still let them have it. It was a preview of things to come: a campaign to take Shasta County's local revolt national via videos, social media, violent rhetoric — and more. Our guests are L.A. Times Northern California reporters Anita Chabria and Hailey Branson-Potts, satirist Nathan Blaze, and Cottonwood Militia member Carlos Zapata.

More reading:

Threats, videos and a recall: A California militia fuels civic revolt in a red county 

A day before Capitol attack, pro-Trump crowd stormed meeting, threatened officials in rural California

In California’s rural, conservative north, there are big dreams for cleaving the state

At just 23 years old, Naomi Osaka is already one of the best tennis players in the world. She was scheduled to play the French Open this month, which is one of the sport's biggest tournaments. But Osaka caused a stir when she announced before matches even began that she wouldn’t be at any news conferences. She cited the “huge waves of anxiety” she feels talking at them. French Open officials weren’t sympathetic and fined her $15,000. Then on Monday, Osaka stunned everyone. She announced she was withdrawing from the competition altogether. On today's show, we speak with L.A. Times sports columnist Helene Elliott about the importance of Osaka’s move. It's highlighted an issue long bubbling in the sports world: In a place where stress is a big part of the game, what's the best way to handle an athlete’s mental health?

More reading:

Why Naomi Osaka’s news conference boycott is a major tennis talking point 

Naomi Osaka withdraws from the French Open 

Naomi Osaka needs empathy and help, not condemnation, for showing strength

In 2019, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimated it hosted nearly 43 million tourists. Officials were expecting a record year for 2020, and the Nevada metropolis did set one … in the negative direction. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic barely 19 million visitors came to town — the lowest total in decades. Today, restaurants and casinos will return to full capacity. If the move is successful, you'll see a flip on the city's tagline. What happened to Vegas won't stay in Vegas. Our guests are Los Angeles Times national correspondent Kurtis Lee and Culinary Union Local 226 secretary-treasurer Geoconda Argüelo-Kline. Plus, a rant about loquats!

More reading:

Las Vegas is betting on the gamblers and tourists returning. Will lost jobs come back? 

Democratic candidates court Culinary Union, the kingmaker of Nevada

COVID pushed Cirque du Soleil into bankruptcy protection. Now for a Vegas comeback

On today's episode, we turn the mic over to the hosts of our Asian Enough podcast, L.A. Times entertainment reporters Jen Yamato and Tracy Brown. They share excerpts from a recent episode featuring actor Sandra Oh, in which Oh talks about her career, the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and whether she'd ever reprise her role of Dr. Cristina Yang on "Grey's Anatomy."

More reading:

Follow the "Asian Enough" podcast on Apple Podcasts

Sandra Oh won’t return to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ before it ends: ‘I have moved on’

Why Sandra Oh considers ‘Killing Eve’ a ‘transitional’ role