MarinoWARE has released its new website. The new website includes updated design and content, enhanced tools, an organized resource library and new industry pro pages.

Floyd & Associates has launched its new e-commerce website: www.sampleboards.biz.

Tile Redinow offers Redi Trench, an incredibly exciting marriage of design and function for the commercial construction sector, in particular for the hospitality industry.

One of my few superpowers is that I’m really good at overcomplicating my life. When then future Mrs. D4L and I got engaged last year, we started planning a fall wedding. We started off with small ceremony with just immediate family and close...

From their founding, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) educated as many as 90 percent of Black college students in the United States. Although many are aware of the significance of HBCUs for expanding Black Americans’ educational opportunities, much less attention has been paid to the vital role that they have played in enhancing American democracy. Drawing on six years of mixed-method research that informs The Power of Black Excellence: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy, this book talk considers the history of HBCUs and the unique role they have played in shaping American political development since 1837. Moreover, it considers the lessons that HBCUs offer the broader higher educational landscape as we consider the essential role that colleges and universities can play in helping to promote democracy.Deondra Rose is the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, with secondary appointments in the Department of Political Science and the Department of History. Her research focuses on U.S. higher education policy, political behavior, American political development, and the politics of inequality, particularly in relation to gender, race, and socioeconomic status. In addition to her newest book, The Power of Black Excellence: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy, Rose is also the author of Citizens by Degree: Higher Education Policy and the Changing Gender Dynamics of American Citizenship, which examines the development of landmark U.S. higher education policies and their impact on the progress that women have made since the mid-twentieth century. A summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia, Rose received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University, with a specialization in American politics and public policy.

Nuclear energy hasn't been a growing industry in decades. But now, it seems to be making a comeback. This week, the Biden administration announced a goal to triple nuclear energy capacity in the US by 2050. And over the past few months, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all made deals to use nuclear energy to power their artificial intelligence appetites. Today on the show, could nuclear energy work differently this time?

Related episodes:
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How China became solar royalty (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Originally broadcast October 24, 2014 In the aftermath of his arrest protesting the killing of Michael Brown, a young black man shot to death by a white police officer, Cornel West sits down for a conversation with Callie Crossley about his new book Black Prophetic Fire, an examination of the lives of historic African American icons and how their courage to speak truth to power still resonates with contemporary activism from the events in Ferguson, MO to taking a stand against the policies of the Obama Administration. Panelists: - Callie Crossley, Host, Under The Radar with Callie Crossley, WGBH Radio - Kim McLarin, Assistant Professor of Writing, Emerson College - Peniel Joseph, Professor of History, Tufts University - Phillip Martin, Senior Reporter, WGBH News
Photo credit: Meredith Nierman, WGBH.

December 19, 2014
As we head into the festivities of the holiday season, we talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of soul food. We’re joined by Frederick Douglass Opie, author of Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America. Later in the show, as the #BlackLivesMatter protests continue, we pause to consider what’s next for the movement and what happens after the die-ins, the shut-downs, and the walk-outs. Panelists: - Callie Crossley, host, Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, WGBH News - Peniel Joseph, Professor of History, Tufts University - Kim McLarin, Assistant Professor of Writing, Literature, and Publishing, Emerson College - Frederick Douglass Opie, Professor of History and Foodways, Babson College

February 6, 2015 This week on Basic Black’s roundtable: • With the rise of television shows like Black-ish and Empire and the newly-released movie Black and White, we ask if Hollywood is on the way to realistic portrayals of families of color.
• A measles outbreak earlier this week at Disneyland in California re-ignited the debate over vaccinations - with oftentimes limited access to healthcare are children of color at particular risk?
Panelists: - Latoyia Edwards, Anchor, NECN - Phillip Martin, Senior Reporter, WGBH News - Kim McLarin, assistant professor of writing, literature and publishing, Emerson College - Donna Patterson, Assistant Professor fo Africana Studies, Wellesley College

March 27, 2015 As Women’s History Month comes to a close we ask, what should be on the agenda for women’s issues as the presidential political campaign ramps up? Later in the show, we look at why the tide has turned on the Boston’s bid for the 2024 Olympics. And later, is there anything to be learned from Starbucks’ much criticized “Race Together” campaign? Panelists: - Callie Crossley, Host, Under The Radar with Callie Crossley, 89.7 WGBH
- Kim McLarin, Associate Professor of Writing, Literature and Publishing, Emerson College
- Shirley Leung, business columnist for The Boston Globe
- Yi-Chin Chen, Interim Executive Director, Hyde Square Task Force
- Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO, IBA – Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción

April 3, 2015 It comes down to one dollar versus a few cents. A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reveals that for every one dollar in a Boston white household, black and brown households have only pennies. While this stark reality may not be new to some, the report details the widening wealth gap, and predicts dire consequences for future generations. Later in the show, intense response still pouring in to a controversial column in Deadline Hollywood questioning whether there's too much diversity on network television. We also get an introduction to Shaun Blugh, Boston's first-ever Chief Diversity Officer.


Panelists:
- Callie Crossley, host, Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, 89.7 WGBH
- Phillip Martin, senior reporter, WGBH News
- Kim McLarin, Associate Professor of Writing, Literature, and Publishing, Emerson College
- Trinh Nguyen, Director, Office of Jobs and Community Services
- L. Duane Jackson, Managing Member, Alinea Capital Partners

Selection for bigger tomatoes has made the fruits less sweet, but now it has been shown that gene editing can make them sweeter without decreasing yields

Rates of near-sightedness are rising all over the world. But solutions to the epidemic are coming into focus and could be simpler than you think

Food production is responsible for more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions. To get everyone the food they need in a warming world, governments worldwide must invest in securing our food systems

In his new book, Power Metal, journalist Vince Beiser provides a balanced briefing on the race for the resources that will shape our technological future

Evidence that animals mourn the death of loved ones is growing, but we should be wary of letting our biases cloud this topic, says philosopher Susana Monsó

Christian groups in South Korea are calling on the World Evangelical Alliance to put on hold plans for its next General Assembly in Seoul next year.

Pastor Greg Laurie recently delivered a message claiming President-elect Donald Trump received a "mandate" from the American people and that a Harris administration would have likely led to increased government hostility against Christians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Western allies asking them for help after Russia's most recent attack on Kyiv. "It is crucial that our forces have the necessary means to defend the country from Russian terror. I am grateful to each of our partners who help us. Timely delivery of interceptor missiles for our air defense, fulfilling agreements on defense systems, and electronic warfare production and supply are, without exaggeration, lifesaving efforts," Zelensky wrote on X. In the morning, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the Ukrainian capital. A threat of a missile attack was declared in the city. It was later reported that explosions took place in Kyiv's suburbs.

Twelve soldiers escaped from a military unit in the Novosibirsk region of Russia on November 13. The servicemen pogromed the military unit when escaping. One of the escapees was filming others smashing windows and breaking furniture. "Look, there's a riot going on here. A riot, yehoo! [I'm sick of] it all," the man can be heard saying filming his reflection in a mirror. Another soldier in the background shouts: "Come on, break all the windows!"

Visix, Inc. has released version 1.87 of their AxisTV Signage Suite digital signage software. This latest update includes a new Microsoft Power BI widget, major speed enhancements, simplified content scheduling and other updates for a better user experience.

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 31

Brunswick Exploration Inc. (BRW:TSX.V) announced an extensive expansion of its lithium exploration holdings in Greenland. Read more about the strategic land acquisitions set to drive future lithium exploration and development across the region.

AI-enabled global payment network Klarna has announced that it...

4 awesome discoveries you probably didn't hear about this week -- Episode 32

For the first time, Uber will guarantee drivers an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times.; Credit: David Ramos/Getty Images

To keep demand high during the slower winter months, the ridesharing service, Uber, has cut fares by 20 percent in 48 markets – including Los Angeles and Orange County.

The company says a trip from West Hollywood to downtown will now be around nine dollars, instead of $11.

When Uber lowered prices in the past to muscle out competitors like Lyft and taxi services, passengers loved it but drivers have complained it puts an unfair squeeze on them, complaining their already low take went even lower.

Uber stresses the fact cutting fares actually helps drivers because they get more business. In a blog post, the company points to data from Chicago where fares dropped 23 percent last month compared to December 2013 while drivers' income increased by 12 percent.

But drivers have been skeptical whether volume can make up for the price drop. The company's claim that New York city drivers earn a median of $90,766 a year has been refuted. Slate talked to New York UberX driver Jesus Garay in October:

“They say it doesn’t hurt the pocket of the drivers,” Garay says of the 20 percent fare cuts. “It does. Because it’s impossible with those numbers to be in business.”

The way drivers see it, ride volume can only increase so much in response to lower prices. Garay says that on average, a ride takes him 20 minutes from start to finish: five minutes to reach the pickup location, five to wait for the customer, and 10 to drive to the destination. For a trip of that length, Garay says he’ll make $10 or $11. “So if you’re busy, you’re going to make three rides in an hour,” he explains. 

Newly flush with a $40 billion valuation, Uber is now willing to put its money where its mouth is; For the first time, Uber will guarantee its partners – as it calls them -  an hourly wage of $20 an hour in Los Angeles, or $26 during peak times. (The guarantee comes with a few conditions: Drivers have to accept 90% of trips, average at least one trip per hour, and be online for 50 minutes of every hour worked)

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

A screenshot from Maroon 5's "Sugar" music video.; Credit: Maroon 5

Maroon 5 has a new music video built around a simple, viral-bait premise: Adam Levine and the rest of the band trying to crash as many weddings around Los Angeles as they can in one day (Dec. 6 of last year). It's a lot of fun, directed by "Wedding Crashers" movie director David Dobkin, but it appears that some of those "crashed weddings" may have been staged.

Watch the video (warning: contains adult language):

Maroon 5: Sugar

Fans have noticed that several of the couples seen in the video appear to be actors. Actors Stephen and Barbara Woo posted on Facebook that they played the parents of one of the brides in the video and said that not only were the weddings staged, they didn't even take place on one day, claiming that all the weddings were shot in the same location over the course of three days.

Facebook post by actors

The groom from the wedding featured the most in the video has been named by observers as Nico Evers-Swindell, according to Cosmopolitan. Evers-Swindell was already married to actress Megan Ferguson since 2011 — and she's not the "bride" in the video.

Fans have fingered one of the models as "America's Next Top Model" runner-up Raina Hein, according to Cosmopolitan. Also, the man believed to be her long-term boyfriend isn't the groom in the Maroon 5 weddings.

Don't lose heart, though — at least one of the weddings in the video appears to be real, with wedding photographer Duke Khodaverdian telling E! that yes, it was the real deal.

"It was an incredible surprise and everyone at the wedding is going to cherish those memories," Khodaverdian told E! in December.

Instagram 1

Instagram 2

A representative for the band told "Entertainment Tonight" that only the grooms knew about the band in each case — but it looks like that means in the case of the real crashed weddings. The representative did concede that some shots "had to be shot separately from the real weddings due to time and space constraints that were given," and the article does note that the video was shot over three days.

Levine expressed his excitement about crashing the weddings in an interview with People magazine.

"I had no idea I would be affected by the overwhelming reactions we received from the couples and guests," Levine said. He told "Entertainment Tonight" that it was stressful to arrange, but that the surprise felt good. "[We were] happy that they liked our band, too – [that] would have been a total disaster."

They also solicited Twitter to find people lip-syncing "Sugar" to possibly put in their music video, but it doesn't look like those submissions got used.

Maroon 5 Sugar tweet

If you want to see Levine involved in a different dubious outfit, you can see him back hosting "The Voice" on Feb. 23. Open call auditions for the show begin Jan. 24 in New York, with Los Angeles auditions on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

Did you spot any more actors you recognize in this video? Do you have any more evidence of any of these weddings being either real or faked? Let me know on Twitter at @MikeRoe.

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

An image from a teaser for Marvel Comics' 2015 "Civil War," part of crossover "Secret Wars." Could Spidey appear in the new Captain America: Civil War film now that Marvel and Sony have worked out a deal?; Credit: Marvel

Spider-Man is coming home to join the rest of the Marvel movie family (um, except for the Fantastic Four and the X-Men) in upcoming films under a new deal struck between Sony, the home for Spider-Man movies, and Disney's Marvel Studios, home of Iron Man and the Avengers

It's been a bumpy road for Spidey for almost a decade, but now he's set to be part of the largely critically and financially successful Marvel Cinematic Universe films. He's already made history, and he could make more history soon. 

Here's a brief history of cinematic Spider-Man, looking ahead to his new adventures with Marvel's large and growing stable of movie superheroes.

Coming out of the superhero dark ages

Spider-Man was one of the catalysts for the current superhero movie boom. Superhero films were seen as potentially dead following the bomb of "Batman & Robin" with George Clooney, a critical failure and a mixed bag commercially.

Marvel dipped its toes in superhero movies with 1998's "Blade," which was a big hit, followed by 2000's "X-Men," but they both tried to distance themselves from their comic book source material (and the Joel Schumacher Batman movies) by putting their heroes in black leather and grounding them as much as possible in real-life aesthetics.

Sony's first "Spider-Man" movie came out in 2002 and showed that there was still room for an optimistic comic book take. The Sam Raimi-directed film also had a huge cultural impact as one of the first big summer movies following 9/11 — an early teaser that showed Spidey trapping bad guys between the two towers had to be pulled following the disaster.

Spider-Man 9/11 trailer

The movie ended up pulling in almost $822 million at the box office, including almost $404 million domestically, helmed by genre director Raimi, who had previously been best known for the horror-comedy "Evil Dead" films.

Spider-Man trailer

Tobey Maguire surprised as the star, pulling off the nerdy, earnest Peter Parker while also being believable enough as an action star in the Spider-Man suit. Maguire starred alongside Kirsten Dunst as love interest Mary Jane and Willem Dafoe as the villainous Green Goblin, and the film included the not-yet-a-superstar James Franco as Harry Osborn and now-Oscar-nominated J.K. Simmons as Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson.

A sequel, 2004's "Spider-Man 2," continued the success of the first, with only a slight dip in overall box office while proving that the first film's success wasn't just a flash in the pan, that there was room for a relatively bright superhero in a dark time.

Spider-Man 2 trailer

Maguire almost ducked out of filming during negotiations, complaining of back pains following injuries while filming "Seabiscuit," and Jake Gyllenhaal almost stepped into the role — but Maguire recovered and held onto his spot. The escapist entertainment of superhero movies was starting to take hold in a growing way, but the superhero train was about to come off the rails for a few years.

The twilight of Tobey Maguire

As "Spider-Man 2" was hitting theaters, 2004 also brought "The Punisher," "Blade: Trinity" and "Catwoman," none of which showed superheroes as particularly promising movie saviors.

Marvel turned out more superhero movies that weren't loved by critics, including "Elektra," "Fantastic Four" and "X-Men: The Last Stand," though the latter two still did well at the box office (all were released by 20th Century Fox). DC Comics made the critical and commercial hit "Batman Begins" in 2005, but stumbled in 2006 with the underperforming "Superman Returns."

In 2007, "Spider-Man 3" dropped, and while it did great at the box office — it was the series' most popular film worldwide, though it dipped domestically — it was slammed by fans and critics. They took that Spider-Man optimism and tried making him emo, while overstuffing the bad guys — going from one villain in the previous films and upping it to three — and turning the campy dialogue up to 11.

Spider-Man 3 trailer

Trying to be 'Amazing' in a new superhero era

While Spidey stumbled, the next year Marvel released its first film from its own studio, the groundbreaking "Iron Man." It showed that you could make a franchise from a hero who was big in the comics but didn't have the same mainstream recognition.

It revitalized Robert Downey Jr.'s career and put Marvel Studios on the map, with a post-credits sequence laying the seeds for completely tying the films together in a way that hadn't been done on this scale ever before.

While Marvel started to crank up their self-produced film, Spider-Man lay dormant. Eventually, it was decided to reboot the character with Andrew Garfield taking over the role in 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man." It scored the lowest domestic take of the series, while still excelling overseas.

Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer 1

Sony quickly followed up with a sequel, while announcing their own plans to ape Marvel and try to create their own cinematic universe.

Amazing Spider-Man 2 villains trailer

The second "Amazing Spider-Man" movie set up other potential villains, and holding off the payoff of what exactly happened to Peter Parker's parents as Marvel tried to stretch Spider-Man into a female-led film, one focused on the villains, a movie led by Spidey character Venom and more.

Amazing Spider-Man first 10 minutes

The sequel showed diminishing returns, though, and plans for further sequels and spinoffs began to seem up in the air.

Hacked

In the midst of the Sony hack, documents revealed that Sony and Marvel had been negotiating over Marvel using Spider-Man in its own films — despite Sony having the rights to the character in perpetuity as long as they kept producing films, a deal worked out before Marvel had the resources and the belief in their own filmmaking capabilities. Still, the documents also showed that the talks had fallen apart, and hopes for Spider-Man appearing with Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the rest of his Marvel friends appeared dim.

Then, Monday, Marvel shocked everyone by announcing that Spider-Man was coming home and would be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after all. There had been reports that they'd wanted Spider-Man for the third Captain America film, and with that film set for 2016, that may still happen. They also pushed back four of their "Phase Three" movies to make room in 2017 for a new "Spider-Man" movie, with reports indicating that the movie will feature a new actor taking over and Andrew Garfield getting pushed aside.

Spider-Man comes home

Andrew Garfield will likely go down in comics movie history as the right guy at the wrong time. He was a likable lead with a strong supporting cast, but Marvel looks ready to turn the page. Those on the Marvel side have previously indicated they'd avoid doing another origin story, so we'll probably skip seeing Uncle Ben killed to inspire Peter Parker once again.

"The new relationship follows a decade of speculation among fans about whether Spider-Man – who has always been an integral and important part of the larger Marvel Universe in the comic books – could become part of the Marvel Universe on the big screen," Marvel said in the announcement of the new deal.

Fans online have been largely ecstatic over the announcement of Marvel getting control of the character. Reports indicate that Sony still gets final say over Spider-Man, but that they're letting Marvel take the creative lead. Marvel also announced the possibility that other Marvel characters could appear in future Spider-Man films.

While Sony's Amy Pascal stepped down as the motion picture head of Sony following the hacking scandal and its associated public embarrassments, she's staying on as a producer — including co-producing the next Spider-Man film with Marvel creative film leader Kevin Feige.

Some fans have also asked for an even bigger step away from the traditional Spider-Man by introducing Miles Morales, the popular half-black/half-hispanic Spider-Man from an alternate universe in the comics, but the official Marvel press release does mention Peter Parker, and Marvel executives have previously taken a strong stance against moving away from Parker as the secret identity.

Still, as Badass Digest's Devin Faraci notes, the executive who'd taken the strongest stance against Miles Morales — Avi Arad — isn't mentioned in the press release about the new film, so maybe Marvel will surprise fans once again. Also, relations have apparently been icier between Marvel and Fox, with fans speculating that Marvel is trying to ice out the X-Men and the Fantastic Four from their comics — but if the companies could work out a deal to use those heroes in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, it could prove to be an even bigger surprise.

The new Spider-Man film is set for July 28, 2017, and he may appear in another Marvel film sooner.

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

A still from "POWER/RANGERS," a highly-produced Power Rangers fan film starring James Van Der Beek and Katee Sackhoff.

Update 2/28: The "POWER/RANGERS" film is back on YouTube and Vimeo. Watch the censored YouTube version with a new viewer discretion disclaimer here:

POWER/RANGERS

You can also watch the Vimeo version, featuring more adult content. The video's description emphasizes its lack of connection in any official way to the Power Rangers:

"Deboot of the Power Rangers. My take on the FAN FILM. Not a pilot, not a series, not for profit, strictly for exhibition. This is a bootleg experiment not affiliated or endorsed by Saban Entertainment or Lionsgate nor is it selling any product. I claim no rights to any of the characters (don't send me any money, not kickstarted, this film is free). This is the NSFW version. An alternate safe version is on youtube."

Director Joseph Kahn tells Deadline, "They put these disclaimers on so kids so don’t confuse our super-violent film with their Power Rangers brand. There are no hard feelings. We signed contracts. We can play it anywhere we want on all platforms. I think they realized that people just want to see it."

Previously: A Power Rangers short film went viral this week, starring Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) and James Van Der Beek (Dawson!) in a Tarantino-meets-sci-fi take on a dark future for the formerly Mighty Morphin'.

The company behind the 22-year history of the kids/toy icons issued takedown requests, leading to it being pulled from Vimeo and, on Thursday afternoon, a toned-down version being taken off YouTube. At the time, the video had received over 10 million views. It's still available to watch in this Facebook embed from the producer's Facebook page:

POWER/RANGERS Facebook embed

The film was directed by Joseph Kahn, best known as the music video director behind clips like Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" as well as videos for Britney Spears, U2 and others, and produced by Adi Shankar, who was also behind "The Grey" and "Dredd." Kahn co-wrote the film with Van Der Beek and lesser-known writer Dutch Southern.

This isn't the first quasi-legal fan film produced by Shankar. He's also done the same with Marvel Comics characters the Punisher and Venom. The Punisher film even had one of the actors who played the character on screen, Thomas Jane.

Watch those films (Warning: Adult language and violence):

Punisher short

Venom short

Kahn tells HitFix that Shankar came to him, offering him the chance to reboot an existing property.

One reason for the current legal contentiousness: The Power Rangers are set to hit the big screen next year in a Lionsgate film. Kahn says that, if that film was offered to him, he wouldn't be interested.

"I wouldn't even want to make 'Power Rangers: The Movie' for real," Kahn told HitFix. "Like if I had to make a 'Power Rangers' movie, this is it. It's 14 minutes long, and it's violent, and this is what I have in me. If they offered me the $200 million version, the PG-13 version, I literally wouldn't do it."

There's been a strong response to the video, but the response has been mixed — among the original Power Rangers. The original Green Ranger, actor Jason David Frank, said on Facebook that he was approached to be in the movie but declined. (The film's director denies this claim, saying that Frank must have confused them with another project.) Frank also criticized the adult content.

"I'm just a PG-13 guy," Frank said. "The cuss words, the drugs, all this other stuff, it doesn't fly with me." He says that he thinks the Power Rangers are still connected with kids, and he didn't like the idea of doing a dark and gritty version in that context. (Watch his video below.)

Green Ranger video

But the original Pink Ranger, actress Amy Jo Johnson, gave the film her stamp of approval, which Sackhoff enthusiastically responded to.

Amy Jo Johnson tweet 1

Amy Jo Johnson tweet 2

Katee Sackhoff tweet

Sackhoff told the Nerdcore Movement site that she loves fan films.

"Doing a fan video is kind of the biggest honor you can give a franchise. It’s something that inspired you so much that you want to create," Sackhoff said.

Kahn defended "POWER/RANGERS" on Twitter as being protected due to it being a satire and also cited fair use laws and free speech. He argued that there are lots of other fan films and pointed out that YouTube showed more leniency, leaving it up.

"Every image in POWER/RANGERS is original footage," Kahn wrote in a series of tweets to Vimeo. "Nothing was pre-existing. There is no copyrighted footage in the short."

He also said that it's being given away for free and that Kahn paid for it himself.

Kahn tweet

"It is just as if I drew a pic of Power Rangers on a napkin and I gave it to my friend," Kahn wrote. "Is it illegal to give pic I drew of a character on a napkin to someone for free? No. The world is watching your actions right now."

In a touch of irony, the video had been selected as a Vimeo staff pick before the service took it down. They also responded to complaints about it being taken down, saying that they had to due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and that they would restore the video immediately if the copyright claim was withdrawn, telling fans to complain to Power Rangers copyright holder Saban.

YouTube tweet

Despite the short film's success, hardcore Power Rangers fans are less sure about it, Shamus Kelley tells KPCC. Kelley created his own Rangers fan series, as well as co-hosting a Power Rangers podcast with over 300 episodes so far.

Casual fans are "far more open to the idea of dark/gritty because they see it as the show growing up with them," Kelley says. To hardcore fans, "it was either an abomination or the greatest unintended parody ever."

Kahn tells HitFix that the parody, of both Power Rangers and fan films in general, is definitely intended.

"The dark and gritty reboot thing is such a cliché that the intention was not only to make it dark and gritty but make it even darker and grittier than you could possibly imagine, hence the brains, the blood and the violence and the sex," Kahn said.

Kahn is set to answer questions about the film in a Reddit AMA on Friday at 2 p.m. We'll have to wait and see if there will be anywhere to watch it at the time.

Take a look behind the scenes of "POWER/RANGERS" via posts from the director and stars:

Behind the scenes tweet

Behind the scenes Instagram

Fight training 1

Fight training 2

The film also includes a techno take on the classic Power Rangers theme song, which you can listen to here:

Techno Power Rangers

This story has been updated.

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

Jerry "The King" Lawler with Jim Ross.; Credit: WWE

Jim Ross is the most famous pro wrestling play-by play commentator of all time. He's a native Californian, but grew up in Oklahoma and took his trademark drawl into doing commentary. He's worked in wrestling for more than 40 years, calling matches on shows seen by millions of people around the world.

This weekend, he's in the Bay Area for Wrestlemania weekend (the first Wrestlemania in Northern California, and the first in California in 10 years). Ross no longer commentates for WWE, but he's still a storyteller, online and in person. He hosts regular live storytelling shows with stories from his decades-long career and a bit of comedy, along with a live guest, and he also has a huge online presence including a podcast that went to number one in sports its first week out.

Ross has been watching wrestling since he was a kid.

"My dad wasn't a big fan of it. He missed the point. The point is not whether it's real or if it's staged. The point is, are you entertained by it, or not? And I was," Ross said.

He's been at ringside for numerous historic matches, helping the wrestlers to tell their stories ever since he got his first job in wrestling out of college at 22.

"The greater the star, the easier it is to tell their story," Ross said. "Those participants make music. They make different kinds of music, and the announcers, the broadcasters, have to be able to provide the adequate lyric to the competitors' music."

Ross's voice is so powerful that it's become a meme online to pair his voice with another dramatic footage, from sports and beyond — you can even find it paired with dramatic moments from shows like "Breaking Bad" and "Game of Thrones." Ross says that the first time he saw someone do that was with a hit by Michigan running back Jadaveon Clowney, a video which went viral and sparked others to do likewise.

The JR Treatment

"I get sent these memes all the time. 'Hey JR, check this one out.' Or people will say, somebody will make a great dunk at an NBA game, and somebody will say 'I can't wait to see this get the JR treatment.' And now there are major sports websites that will send out a tweet, 'Here's a great play from Sunday's 49er-Charger game that's got the JR treatment.' So now it's got a name. 'The JR Treatment.'"

Those viral videos have even helped him land new commentating roles since leaving WWE. He did a call of a fight between NASCAR drivers for the Daytona 500 for a special pre-show video, and it's led to him having opportunities in traditional sports.

"It's been done in boxing, and MMA. Believe it or not, I've gotten feelers that we're entertaining now from a variety of combat sports entities that actually heard what my call would sound like doing their product," Ross said. "It had my tone, had my inflection, had my level of enthusiasm."

Ross also played a huge role behind the scenes, working as WWE's executive vice president of talent and signing future stars like the Rock, Mick Foley and more. He says that Mick Foley's match against the Undertaker in 1998's Hell in a Cell match was his most memorable to call.

"I have people walk up to me and start quoting my commentary when Undertaker threw Foley off the Hell in a Cell, this massive cage with a roof on it, that was about 17 feet high from the roof to the floor," Ross said. "It looked like no human being, quite honestly, could survive that fall. You don't practice falls like that in wrestling school."

Ross has managed to stay relevant with the help of a popular podcast and 1.3 million followers on Twitter, where he regularly dispenses his thoughts on wrestling and beyond. He started doing that podcast after being lobbied to do it by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and continues to try new things.

"I was very reluctant to engage in social media, and primarily because we sometimes get set in our ways, especially the older we get," Ross said. "But change, for any of us, in any walk of life, whether it's your diet, it's your relationships, the way you approach your job, or any changes that you need to affect, whether it's on doctor's orders, your significant other's suggestions — change is not always a negative thing. So I got on Twitter, and then Twitter connected me to so many people."

While some may feel that pro wrestling, given its predetermined results, doesn't need real athletes, Ross disagrees and says there are plenty of reasons to want real athletes.

"They're competitive. They don't want to be on the second team. They want to be in the game. And they've been in that mindset since some of them were in little league, or Pop Warner football, or elementary school wrestling, or whatever it may be."

He says they also understand how to be coached and how to play well with others, as well as handling the bumps and bruises that come with the territory and the difficult travel schedule.

"I don't know that anybody in any entity, unless you're the most well-traveled comedian or entertainer, has that. Because the thing about pro wrestling is it doesn't have an off-season, so you don't get a chance to really go recharge your batteries. You've got to maintain that competitive edge to survive."

Ross says there's one match he wishes he had another shot at calling: Ric Flair's retirement match against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl. While Ross has traditionally been a play-by-play commentator, that night he was assigned to be a color commentator, which gave him some different challenges.

"I thought I had great stories to tell because of my relationship with Ric — I've known him for 25 years — and I didn't think that I contributed as much to that match from an emotional standpoint as I could. I was obligated to get in soundbites and get in, get out," Ross said. "That's the biggest match at the biggest stage, and I love both those guys, and I really wanted to be extra special that night, and I just don't know in my heart that we got there."

He says California has its own wrestling legacy to be proud of. The California Wrestlemania match that Ross says he'll always remember: Bret Hart versus Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 12 in Anaheim, where two now wrestling legends wrestled for more than an hour.

He also thinks the economics of Wrestlemania make a lot of sense for whichever city hosts it, thanks to the travelers it draws in from around the world. Cities now bid to try to bring in Wrestlemania, Ross says. With Los Angeles gearing up to build a new stadium, Ross has a Wrestlemania prediction for that stadium.

"I will bet you money — I will bet you some of my barbecue sauce — if L.A. builds a stadium, that Wrestlemania will be one of the first non-football events in that stadium. And they will sell it out. They'll fill every seat. And it'll be great for the city, and the businesses of Los Angeles.

Ross says that what made him a great broadcaster is the same thing that can make someone a success in wrestling or anywhere else — most importantly, don't talk down to your audience.

"You have to be a fan of the genre, or a fan of the game, and you have to be willing to prepare and be ready for your broadcast," Ross said. "You have to be willing to tell the story that the average fan — not the hardcore fan, but the average, casual fan can understand and relate to. ... You know, we're storytellers, and some people are just natural-born storytellers."

Ross plans to continue telling stories for the foreseeable future, on stage, online, calling matches in the legit sports world and wherever else his life takes him. He's even gotten into acting — you can see him in the new film "What Now."

"I think retirement is overblown. How many days can you go fishing? How many rounds of golf can you play?" Ross said. "I had the idea when I left WWE after 21 years, I'm going to reinvent myself. I'm not going to become a trivia answer. ... I don't think you're going to read anywhere, anytime soon, that Jim Ross has finally retired — until you read my eulogy."

Listen to the audio for the full hour-long interview with Jim Ross, talking his career past, present and future — along with the origins of his signature barbecue sauce.

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

Brock Lesnar after losing his championship in the main event of Wrestlemania 31.; Credit: WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment held their annual Wrestlemania show last weekend in Northern California, the culmination of another year's worth of spectacle. According to the company, it was their highest grossing event of all-time, drawing $12.6 million, with an official attendance placing it fifth on their list of all-time crowds for the event. The show was headlined by former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar going up against up-and-coming star (and a relative of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) Roman Reigns.

WWE Network

It comes at a time when the company has embarked on a new way of making money: their over-the-top online programming provider, the WWE Network, where fans can pay $9.99 a month to see programming including what formerly used to cost $45 for most shows and $60 for Wrestlemania. They're one year in now on gambling that enough fans will want the Network that it will ultimately make them more money in the long-term, despite losing that pay-per-view revenue. Wall Street doesn't appear to be buying it — after announcing the day after Wrestlemania that they'd hit 1.3 million subscribers, WWE's stock took a significant loss.

"The point is not whether it's real or if it's staged. The point is, are you entertained by it, or not?" former WWE announcer Jim Ross told KPCC in an interview. WWE is looking for more fans to be entertained enough to plunk down $9.99 for all the pro wrestling content they want.

NXT

They're also in a transitional period with their audiences. They've launched a new show that's only on the Network called "NXT," turning their minor league into a program targeting hardcore pro wrestling fans with a different style of show than the more family-targeted "Raw" and "Smackdown." It's also where they groom potential future stars, many of whom seem to break the mold of some of the traditional stars on WWE's main roster.

They're signing up talent that's been getting buzz on the independent circuits, trying to create their own underground movement that hopefully spells money, and taking the NXT brand on tour for the first time. On the Raw after Wrestlemania, several NXT stars made their debut on the main roster. That follows a sell-out crowd (albeit at a smaller 5,000 seat venue) on the Friday night before Wrestlemania for a non-televised NXT show.

Give Divas a chance

WWE also faces cultural forces pushing them in new directions, including a difference in how society deals with gender. When WWE executive Stephanie McMahon, daughter of the famed Vince McMahon, tweeted in support of Patricia Arquette's speech calling for greater equality for women at the Academy Awards, one of their own wrestlers, AJ Lee, responded by publicly calling Stephanie McMahon out on Twitter for not promoting the women in her own company equally and paying them less than the male stars.

AJ tweet 1

AJ tweet 2

Of course, the women in the company aren't given the same prominence as the men in part because it's felt that they won't make the company as much money. Still, it forced WWE's hand and Stephanie McMahon and the company as a whole publicly embraced the idea of giving the women (who WWE brands as "divas") a chance with the Give Divas A Chance movement (and accompanying trending hashtag).

What's next

The women have been promoted nearly equal to the men in that underground NXT league, but only time will tell if it continues to trickle upward. Wrestlemania didn't seem to show huge promise of that happening, with the one women's match of the show only getting a few minutes in the ring. However, the show also included a high-profile storyline with UFC female fighter and champion Ronda Rousey alongside the Rock, going up against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, so there appears to be the room for women in prominent positions when they have the right storyline.

Whether WWE is able to wade through these forces of change to make more money — and perhaps regain some of the cultural currency that they've lost since becoming a monopoly and purchasing their top competition in 2001 — remains to be seen. They've stayed relatively steady despite a challenge from UFC, which many see as being what pro wrestling would be like if WWE didn't present fictional  They'll have to hope that giving new stars, including "divas," a chance will take them to another level.

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

The state's online registration for Covered California has been up for a couple of weeks, and reaction has been mixed.

Steve Julian: Business analyst, Mark Lacter, what's your take on how well Californians are getting into the Affordable Care Act?

Mark Lacter: It's hard to get a good read, Steve, because it's hard to measure the success of what is really a new marketplace.  If you're basing it on the number of unique visitors coming to the Covered California website, well, then the program clearly has attracted lots of interest - they had almost a million visitors during the first week of eligibility.  But, maybe a better measure would be the number of people whose applications actually have been received by the insurance companies that are going to handle the claims.  If that's your measuring stick, then the numbers have been far smaller so far.  Now, it's worth pointing out that California - and particularly L.A. County - have a higher percentage of households without insurance than other parts of the nation, and so you'd expect there to be lots of interest.

Julian: So the question, then, is how many folks turn into actual policyholders paying actual premiums each month.

Lacter: The truth is nobody knows, which is why state officials want to sign up as many people as possible in the early going when the program is getting so much attention.  This is especially true for younger and healthier people who are needed to help offset the cost of caring for older and sicker people.

Julian: And, that's also why any computer glitch can be such a headache...

Lacter: That's right.  Covered California did run into problems in the early going, but everybody agrees that things are going much better than the federal website, which is the default site used by folks in states that don't have their own program to oversee the health care laws.  That federal site has been an utter disaster.  So, by comparison, California is ahead of the game.

Julian: It's a work in progress, even here.

Lacter: Very much so.  The California website still doesn't have a way for enrollees to find out which doctors and hospitals are included in each health plan.  And, that's a big deal because  insurance companies are limiting the options available as a way of keeping premiums low.  So, it's possible that the doctor you had been using for your individual insurance plan will not be on the list of doctors that can be used for one of the cheaper plans.  Of course, for someone who doesn't have any health coverage, none of that is likely to matter.

Julian: And then, there's the continued threat of a U.S. default...

Lacter: You know, Steve, this is like watching the beginning of a bad traffic accident in slow motion - and we're all pretty helpless to do anything about it.  And, so are the financial markets, which are moving back and forth not based on what's going on with the economy or with any industry, but on the latest press conference out of Washington.  One thing we do know is that if the nation does go into quote-unquote default - and we're not even sure what that might mean - but if Wall Street and somehow declares this a major crisis, it's going to be bad.

Julian: Who gets hit?

Lacter: It'll impact anyone who has a retirement account, any business wanting to borrow money, and potentially it's going to impact the budgeting of the state.  You know, one of the things we were reminded of during the Great Recession was how reliant California has been on higher-income individuals who make a lot of their money through the stock market and other investments.  So, when those folks do well - as they have been over the last year - the state coffers will do well.  And when they don't, as was the case in 2008 and 2009, the state takes a huge hit because there's not enough tax dollars coming in.  Gov. Brown and others have tried to lessen the reliance on those top tiers - so far without success.

Julian: And the state's budget situation is so much better than it was a year or two ago.

Lacter: That's the real pity.  And, even if the House and Senate reach a temporary agreement on the debt ceiling, it's just a matter of weeks or months before another deadline crops up - and more uncertainty for the financial markets.  I guess Chick Hearn would have called this nervous time.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

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

Police say TSA agent Gerardo Hernandez was shot and killed last Friday at the base of the escalators of LAX Terminal 3, and not at the checkpoint gates.  Paul Ciancia is accused of killing Hernandez and wounding several others.  Ciancia remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, how did the airlines respond to shooting and its aftermath?

Mark Lacter: Generally pretty well, Steve, considering that the airport was effectively closed for several hours on Friday, and most of Terminal 3 was out of commission until Saturday afternoon.  You know, there's always this precarious balance in operating airlines and airports, even in the best of circumstances.  Just so many flights coming in and going out, and so many thousands people using the facility at any given time - and it really doesn't take much to upset the balance.  So, when you have something horrific take place and you see all those travelers stranded outside the terminals, the ripple effects are enormous - not just at LAX but all over the country.

Julian: More than a thousand flights were either canceled or delayed on Friday.

Lacter: And, there was a further complication because the airlines flying out of Terminal 3 are not the legacy carriers like United, American, and Delta that have all kinds of resources, but smaller operations with less flexibility.  It's not like there's an empty aircraft just sitting in a hangar waiting to take passengers wherever they want to go.  Actually, the airlines have gotten better at arranging re-bookings when there's a snowstorm or some other emergency that gives them advance warning.  But obviously, there was no advance warning last Friday, so the carriers needed to improvise in handling passengers whose flights were cancelled.

Julian: What did they do?

Lacter: One step was waiving the fees normally charged to re-book flights (and that's gotten to be a pretty penny).  Another was waiving the difference in the price of the original ticket and the re-booked ticket.  But, the policies varied according to the airline, and we heard about travelers not receiving hotel or food vouchers, or having to buy a brand new ticket on another airline if they wanted to avoid the wait - and that can be expensive.  Which raises another issue: planes tend to be completely full these days because airlines have been cutting back on the number of flights.  And that can be a problem if you're taking a route that doesn't have too many flights in the first place.  So, it gets really complicated.

Julian: Why do you think we haven't we heard more horror stories from passengers?

Lacter: Well, look at the cities that the airlines in Terminal 3 fly to - New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas.  They're all served by several other carriers.  L.A. to New York, in particular, is one of the busiest routes in the world, which means that it's also one of the most competitive.  So, even if your flight was cancelled, there's a good chance you'd be able to find space by Saturday (which is normally a slower day for air travel).  This is a big reason, in general, why people like LAX.

Julian: Why don't other local airports handle more of the load?

Lacter: You might remember a few years ago local officials were promoting something called "regionalization" - the idea was that as LAX maxed out on the number of passengers it was allowed to handle each year, then other airports would make up the difference - places like Ontario, Bob Hope in Burbank, and John Wayne in Orange County.

Julian: Right, and they talked about easing traffic congestion by spreading around the flights.

Lacter: Well, regionalization never happened because, first of all, passenger levels at L.A. International didn't come close to maxing out.  But, more importantly, because the airlines decided that using LAX was more efficient for everything from handling baggage to arranging international connections.  So, through the first nine months of the year, passenger traffic at LAX is up 4.2 percent from a year earlier, while at Ontario traffic was down 9.3 percent.  And, we've seen that John Wayne, Bob Hope, and Long Beach are all struggling.  Of course, the challenge at a busy place like LAX is making it as safe as possible, and that will no doubt become a priority in the weeks ahead.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

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

Yes, we've finally reached the culminating day that we've been pointing to for the past 18 months -- Election Day!  However, it's quite different from those of the past.  An estimated 40% of voters have already cast ballots, so it makes the actual day a bit less climactic.  We might also lack a clear winner by Wednesday morning. 

It's possible that the swing state votes are so close that it's impossible to accurately determine the electoral vote.  Then we'll have to exercise extreme patience through the official counts and inevitable legal challenges.  It could be a mess.

It could also, of course, be over by the time polls close in California.  We only have a few hours to wait until we'll know.

I'll be anchoring KPCC's election night coverage, starting at 8 p.m.  NPR's coverage starts us off at 5 p.m., and we'll intersperse national and California returns into our comprehensive KPCC coverage until late Tuesday night.  I hope you'll join me, Patt Morrison, and the full KPCC news team.

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

When "Offramp" host John Rabe's father, Bill, created the list at Lake Superior State University in Michigan he likely didn't know it would thrive nearly 40 years later.  As language evolves there should never be a shortage of words and phrases we want to "kick to the curb."

This morning on "AirTalk," I asked listeners to pick the ones they "hate on."  We got some good ones, including my overused "unpack," as in "let's unpack that idea."  Falling into word patterns can happen so subtly that we don't even know it until someone points it out.

My nomination for the list -- "it is what it is."   What are yours?

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

; Credit: John Rabe

Dear Off-Ramp fans,

What is a blog, after all? Words and images.

And what is a radio story on the web? Words, images, and sound.

Can't they live together in harmony? We say YES.

And with that in mind, we're killing the Off-Ramp blog page.  

But don't fear; we're not cutting back on content: everything that would have found a home here - Marc Haefele's art reviews, recommendations for fun events, etc. -- will now be on the regular web page of the Off-Ramp radio show. 

All the old blog entries will continue to stay on this page as an archive, like Catherine Deneuve's fading vampire lovers in The Hunger.

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

The Asian Garden Mall in Westminster, where voters will make a choice about whether to recall city leaders.; Credit: Dorian Merina/KPCC

Voters in Westminster will decide this spring whether to recall its mayor and two city councilmembers. The Orange County Registrar of Voters has signed off on petitions for a recall election.  

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

A moment in Larry Mantle’s recent conversation with Steve Inskeep has stuck with me.

The NPR Morning Edition co-host was in our Pasadena studios to talk about his latest book, Imperfect Union. Asked how he approaches his day job, Inskeep told a story about the time he dispassionately called a heartbreaking loss for his high school football team. That “straight call” earned praise from a veteran broadcaster he admired. It’s a lesson, he said, that stayed with him.

“I may have a personal opinion; it doesn’t matter,” Inskeep told Mantle. “My job as a journalist is to get the facts right, that are in front of me, and you can do that even if you have a personal opinion.”

Mantle, who has hosted KPCC’s AirTalk for decades, responded: 

“You can’t do this work if you’re wired like an activist. I sort of see my wiring as more how a teacher would be, wired where you’re amassing information. You’re leading people through a story, and the joy is in people coming to their own conclusions.”

“If you’re an activist at all, you’re an activist for the truth,” Inskeep replied. 

Activists for truth. Finding joy in people reaching their own conclusions.

What a compelling description of what our newsroom strives to deliver every day to Southern Californians.

These were my thoughts even before my colleague at NPR came under attack for doing her job.

If you haven't been following the story, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo angrily objected to being questioned about Ukraine during an interview with All Things Considered co-host Mary Louise Kelly. Pompeo didn't care for Kelly's questions on air and the conversation grew even more contentious behind closed doors.

The next day he accused Kelly of lying about the topic of the interview and then reporting a conversation he claimed was off the record. [Including his odd demand she locate Ukraine on unmarked world map.]  Kelly has denied both claims and media outlets have reported on emails between her and Pompeo's staff that back up her assertion she told them the interview would go beyond questions about Iran.

Then, this week, the State Department denied credentials to NPR's Michele Kelemen, who'd been scheduled to cover Pompeo's trip to Europe.

NPR President and CEO John Lansing and Nancy Barnes, who heads news, are rightfully demanding answers.

Why does it matter? Because as Lansing notes having access to people in power is fundamental to "the role of journalism in America.

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I want to take a few minutes to tell you more about how our newsroom works and why you’ll be hearing more from us about our mission and ambition.

Listeners may have noticed a new phrase on our air: “Democracy needs to be heard.” It’s a statement you’ll also start seeing on billboards and bus benches around Los Angeles.

It’s part of the first marketing campaign for our station in many years. The goal is to make more people aware of what we do and why we do it. We also want to grow our audience and our supporters, so we can do even more original journalism.

Southern California Public Radio — home to 89.3 KPCC, LAist Studios, and LAist.com — turns 20 this year. SCPR was born out of a belief that the region would embrace and support a news-focused NPR station serving Southern California with original programming and reporting.

In the two decades since, our members stepped up and helped us build what is now one of the biggest newsrooms in the region. We’ve gone from cramped quarters in the library of Pasadena City College, to a new headquarters in 2010, to today, when we have to scramble for desks for our growing operation.

If you’ve ever heard me on-air during a pledge drive, you’ve heard me talk about how remarkable it is that your support has fueled our ambition and growth. We’re the most listened to NPR station in Southern California. The public media model depends on people donating their hard-earned money because they believe in what we are doing. You don’t have to pay a dime to listen to us on your radio, or stream us on your smart speaker or our app. You’ll never hit a paywall when you visit our website.

Our relationship with you isn’t transactional — that’s one of the ways nonprofit member-supported newsrooms are different. Instead, we make a case that what we do matters, that it’s valuable to you — so valuable that you voluntarily support us (even though you can still listen and read if you don’t). 

That’s a powerful relationship.

It’s why we take community engagement so seriously. That means listening closely to your concerns, answering your questions, meeting you in person, thinking about how our coverage can be both for and about Southern Californians.

In September, we were awarded the first-ever Gather Award for engaged journalism from the Online News Association. In December, we won our second-in-a-row Champion of Curiosity Award for our breaking news coverage of the wildfires.

Our approach to engaged journalism has been transformational for coverage, and we’ve emerged as a clear leader in the industry — sharing what we’ve learned with other newsrooms.

***

We talk a lot about our public-service mission in this newsroom. It permeates how we approach stories. It’s why our reporters, producers, hosts and editors choose to work here. 

And we’ve made this promise to you:

“You deserve great local news — and we need your help to find those stories. We listen to what you’re curious about, what keeps you up at night, and who you want held accountable. We’re inviting you to be part of the conversation.”

We do this work because of you. We do it for you and with you. 

We’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about how we’re finding and telling stories, and how we can do an even better job of delivering reporting that you won’t find anywhere else. We want our reporters to spend their energy on original stories (and not get stuck echoing information that everyone else is reporting). 

To that end, each reporter has their own individual mission statement to reflect their goals in covering communities and crucial issues. 

The free press is a cornerstone of democracy. That’s why in 1786 Thomas Jefferson wrote:

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." 

More than 200 years later, Nelson Mandela said: “A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy.”

Activists for truth. That means scrutinizing the information we receive from our sources or uncover through our reporting. It means giving you the context you need to consider what is fact and what is spin.

It’s truly an exciting time to work in our newsroom.

We have ambitious plans for coverage of the upcoming California primary and presidential election.

We have so much great work in progress — including three in-depth investigations scheduled to publish in the coming weeks.

Those stories took months to report, involving thousands of public documents, hundreds of miles of travel, and data analysis that no one else has done.

And it was only possible because of your support.  

Thank you.

Megan Garvey, Executive Editor

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

Patt Morrison's ensemble for Aug 8, 2013.; Credit: Dave Coelho/KPCC

What shall we call this color scheme? How about ‘Manhattan Mermaid’?

The petrel blues, the turquoises, the aquas – and then that uptown/downtown black, in this case a black linen duster over a Peter Max-style splashy-print silk dress. The way the hem pools at the sides a bit reminds me of the cut of Pre-Raphaelite ladies’ tunics; I’d love to dress “period” for a week to see whether I’d like it.

Imagine, a week of hoop skirts … a week of 1950s tailleurs … a week of bustles … a week of hobble skirts … a week of liberated Pre-Raphaelite velvet gowns!

The hat is so unmistakably summer in fabric and color that it doesn’t get out of the hatbox as much as it should, poor thing. And the shoes – I did not get them together, honest, but even though the prints don’t match, it’s the dissonance that makes them work better together than if they had.

The fabric is a very textured canvas and printed like batik. [They are not the soul of comfort – oh what a dreadful pun, but is there any other kind of pun? – but they look smart hooked over the railing of a chair in a chic bistro, which is where I intend to take them!]

And the bracelets, one from a great-aunt who had a fine eye for jewelry – the turquoise is almost Persian, it’s so green, but it’s more likely to be American. The cuff is definitely Southwest, with the rope-pattern trim and the irregularly shaped bezels, although the turquoises themselves are symmetrical.

Because I’m left-handed, my right arm bears the singular honor of being “ornamental,” and bearing the burden of the bling.

Summer on, ladies!

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

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Yasiel Puig #66 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks onto the field to start the game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on September 29, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images); Credit: Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

There are 162 games in the regular season of a major league baseball team, and I have watched exactly … hm … none. Spring, summer, autumn, as the Dodgers died and rose from the dead, I wasn’t looking.

But now, like almost everyone else in L.A., I will be cheering them in the playoffs, cheering them to their first World Series game since Michael Dukakis ran for president.

I am that deplorable creature: The fair-weather fan.

I like sports just fine, but my sport is football.

They say baseball is a relaxing game. Boy, is it!  You can eat, doze, eat again, and it’s still the fourth inning. I’ve tried to love baseball, I really have. But the diamond can’t beat the gridiron when it comes to football’s built-in thrill advantage: At any possible second, the football can change hands, the defense becomes the offense … and score!

Just about the best time I ever had at Dodger Stadium was watching the pope round the bases in his Popemobile, when he visited L.A. That was the year before the Dodgers won the World Series for the last time. I hear baseball players are superstitious; maybe it’s time to invite the new pope for a return engagement.

Kitty Felde – now there’s a fan. She’s even written plays about baseball! But she’s way back in the nation’s capital, stuck with the Washington Nationals to root for.

A paradox

It’s a paradox, really. I’ve interviewed the former Dodgers owner, Peter O’Malley, who is a truly wonderful man. I’ve interviewed Carl Erskine, the Dodgers pitcher who goes back to the Brooklyn days, and a sweeter guy you could never meet. I know Roz Wyman, the First Fan, the city councilwoman who worked the magic to bring the Dodgers here from Brooklyn.  I interviewed the McCourts, back when they were still a plural. The L.A. Times once sent me to write about Fernando Valenzuela’s hometown in Mexico, back when El Zurdo started burning up the mound at Chavez Ravine. And I sat with that gift of a man, Vin Scully, at Dodger Stadium, as the team warmed up on the jewel-box beautiful field.

None of that made a true baseball believer of me. Instead, I pine like Juliet for a pro football team. O Dodgers, Dodgers, wherefore art thou the Dodgers, and not the Green Bay Packers?

But I would be thrilled if the Dodgers took the whole baseball enchilada – thrilled, because I am an Angeleno, and the Dodgers are that rare civic institution that ties us all together, even if you don’t know a base hit from base ten.

And that makes me as entitled as the next local to put on my Dodger Blue and holler my heart out, and cheer them all the way to the World Series.

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

Brunswick Exploration Inc. (BRW:TSX.V) announced an extensive expansion of its lithium exploration holdings in Greenland. Read more about the strategic land acquisitions set to drive future lithium exploration and development across the region.

Gurgaon (Haryana) [India], Chubu Electric Japan, a global leader in electrical engineering solutions, announced an increased investment in OMC Power, one of the foremost innovators in distributed renewable energy solutions. This investment underscores Chubu's commitment to advancing sustainable energy development and supporting OMC Power's ambitious growth plans in the renewable energy sector.

Google is piloting "Learn About," an innovative AI learning tool using the LearnLM AI model. Unlike standard chatbots, "Learn About" offers an interactive approach, incorporating quizzes, lists, and contextual information for a deeper understanding. Currently in limited release, the platform emphasizes reliable educational sources, setting it apart from general AI tools.

Yamato will display its high speed, fragile product handling combination weigher at Pack Expo Chicago 2012, Booth N-4726. 

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI – November 6, 2013 – International Dehydrated Foods, Inc. (IDF™),

a global leader in IDF® poultry ingredients, is continuing to bring chicken to the forefront of the

industry through innovative health and wellness applications that the company will feature at

SupplySide West.

Accurately weigh 0.5 to 50 gram portions at up to 120 per minute using the new Ishida Micro multihead weigher from Heat and Control, Inc.