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Podcasts Take Two
High Cost of Homeless Encampments, New Police Misconduct Registry, Amazon Buys MGM for Multibillion Dollar Price Tag
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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
May 26, 2021
Listen • 49:29
High Cost of Homeless Encampments, New Police Misconduct Registry, Amazon Buys MGM for Multibillion Dollar Price Tag

High Cost of Homeless Encampments, New Police Misconduct Registry, Amazon Buys MGM for Multibillion Dollar Price Tag
FILE - This Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 file photo shows tents from a homeless encampment line a street in downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles city and county officials have approved sweeping plans to deal with homelessness at a cost of billions over a decade. The City Council's strategic plan calls for providing more housing and funding programs designed to keep people off the streets in the first place. The city has around 25,000 homeless, more than half the total in LA County. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel,File)
(AP Photo/Richard Vogel,File)
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Richard Vogel/AP
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High Taxpayer Price for Homeless Encampments

A recent report commissioned by the federal government found that cities across the country are paying millions of dollars responding to homeless encampments - be it cleaning them up, shutting them down or providing support. For more on the report, we speak to Nichole Fiore, senior associate for Abt Associates… the consultancy that conducted the study, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Guest:

  • Nichole Fiore, Senior Associate at Abt Associates

LA's Plans for Drought Management

Divisions among leadership at the Metropolitan Water District are highlighting competing philosophies when it comes to drought management. And President Biden announced plans for a wind energy development off the coast of California on Tuesday. 

Guest:

  • Sammy Roth, LA Times Energy Reporter

New Police Misconduct Registry

The LEWIS registry stands for Law Enforcement Work Inquiry System and is named after the late U.S. Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. It’s launching later this year and will allow people to find out if an officer has been fired or resigned due to misconduct. Here to tell us more is Errol Southers … he’s the director of the Safe Communities Institute at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy … and founded the registry.

Guest:

  • Errol Southers, Director of Safe Communities Institute at USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

On The Lot: Amazon Buys MGM for $9 Billion

Amazon has acquired MGM for the price tag of nearly $9 billion dollars… though the entirety of the James Bond franchise is not included. Plus, what can studios expect at the box office this summer? For this and more, we go On The Lot with Rebecca Keegan, Senior Editor for Film for The Hollywood Reporter.

Guest:

  • Rebecca Keegan, Senior Editor for Film at The Hollywood Reporter

Echo Park Lake Reopen to the Public

For anyone who follows news about LA’s homelessness crisis, today is a day that might have been circled on a calendar. Two months ago the 29 acre space at Echo Park Lake was closed off to the public for repairs. But in the process, dozens of people living in tents on the property were forced to move. The saga has pitted the rights of LA’s unhoused against the rights of local homeowners and has been held up as an example of how City Hall has handled - or some say, MIShandled - the homeless situation. 

Guest:

  • Libby Denkman, Senior Politics Reporter at KPCC