State of Affairs, Mayor Eric Garcetti Green New Deal Update, Food Fridays

Mayor Eric Garcetti participating in CicLAvia.
Eric Garcetti via Flickr Creative Commons

Take Two | September 20, 2019

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48:23

We look at the different ways the Trump Administration has intervened with California affairs this week, from tailpipe emissions to the homeless crisis. Plus, we speak with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti about how his Green New Deal is working out so far. And, Smosh Town reopens as a food truck.

State of Affairs

President Trump will move to block California’s emissions rules. Meanwhile, during a trip to California, the President says San Francisco will receive an environmental violation for homelessness. Meanwhile, California’s presidential hopeful, Kamala Harris, is betting big on Iowa.

Guests:

Jack Pitney, Claremont McKenna College
Scott Shafer, political reporter for KQED

Covering Climate Now: Weather

All week long, KPCC has been taking part in Covering Climate Now, an international collaboration of more than 200 news outlets. We've also been gathering questions from listeners about the climate. This one's from Annette Siegel. She asked, "How will climate change affect the L.A. area going forward and what plans are in place (if any) to deal with it?" To help answer Annette's question, we reached out to Noah Diffenbaugh. He's a climate scientist at Stanford University.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti on his Green New Deal

With hundreds of media outlets around the world, KPCC has been taking part in Covering Climate Now, a weeklong special highlighting this critical issue of our time. And on Take Two, we've been talking with various folks at city hall about how Los Angeles is going to reduce its carbon footprint through more efficient buildings, fewer gas-powered cars and a lot less trash. It's all part of Mayor Eric Garcetti's Green New Deal announced in April -- a local response to the federal climate plan proposed by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez out of New York. Among the goals: get all of the city's power supply from renewable energy sources by 2045 and boost the number of of zero-emission vehicles on the streets to 100 percent by 2050. It's ambitious, for sure. But is it achievable? Well, a few questions have been raised about that.

Guest:

Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Mayor

Gas Stoves in the San Gabriel Valley

State officials want to phase out natural gas, in favor of renewable electricity. The gas industry is fighting for its future, and has found some passionate allies: cooks who love their gas stoves. KPCC's Josie Huang reports from the San Gabriel Valley, famed for its Asian cuisine.

Covering Climate Now: Weather

How the Los Angeles climate is expected to change in the coming decades.

Guest:

Noah Diffenbaugh, Stanford University climate scientist

Food Fridays: Smosh Town

Earlier this year, we brought you the story of a pop-up burger stand called Smosh Town. It was a family business, operated out of Gabriel's Automotive in Pasadena -- a repair shop just a few blocks off the 210 freeway. And shortly after our piece aired, it was shut down. But now it's back in food truck form, so we thought we'd revisit our story with LAist food writer Elina Shatkin, who didn't hesitate to sample the patties at the smog check station when we first visited.