State Handing Out Millions in Vaccine Incentives

Forty-three percent of Californians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while more than 50 percent of LA County residents 16 and older are inoculated. There’s still a lot of people to go though - and the state is now nudging them with millions of dollars in incentives. To discuss this and answer all of your coronavirus-related questions we have Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor of medicine and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children's Hospital.

Guest:

• Dr. Dean Blumberg, Professor of Medicine and Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children's Hospital

California Supreme Court Hearing Changes to Death Penalty Arguments

The California Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments tomorrow, challenging the states current application of the death penalty. The decision could raise the bar for when capital punishment is used in sentencing and potentially reverse hundreds of pending death sentences in California. 

Guest:

• Rory Little, Professor of Law at UC Hastings in San Francisco and co-author of a pro defense filing. 

It's Never Easy: Stories of Domestic Violence

How did Susan Kolkowicz go from a career in corporate I.T. with a nice west side duplex and stock investments, to sleeping under the freeway at the age of 53? Susan’s surprising spiral into homelessness highlights the stories of so many survivors of intimate partner violence who lose their livelihood and their homes through emotional, physical, and financial abuse. We take you through Susan’s story from victim to advocate. 

Push to Build More Housing on Vacant Commercial Lots

Big box stores aren’t what they used to be, at least not so much in-person. The rise in online sales accelerated in the pandemic. and you can see the evidence in vacant storefronts strewn throughout Southern California. So in a state in a perceptual housing and homelessness crisis, there’s been a push to build more homes on land zoned only for commercial use. For more on the movement to legalize housing on commercial lots, Talk Two talks with AP reporter Adam Beam.

Guest:

• Adam Beam, Reporter for AP

New Efforts to Save California's Monarch Butterflies

The population Western monarch butterflies in California is plummeting. The population in the state dropped to just under 2,000 - on a normal year that population is over 29,000. This dramatic decline has prompted an urgent response from the state with a $1 million project to rebuild habitats for the Western monarchs.This plan includes planting nearly 30,000 milkwood plants - the only vegetation that monarch adults lay their eggs on and that their caterpillars eat — to give the butterflies new spots to breed and fuel up for migration.

Guest:

• Angela Laws, Biologist at Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation