What The Hal?

Hal is joined by LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to discuss the Sheriff’s department new program that brings the vaccine to county residents who are mentally or physically disabled. 

 Hal is joined by UCLA Emergency Medicine doctor Matthew Waxman, JPL’S Allen Chen and Kate Vacanti with the L.A. County office of diversion and re-entry joins Hal to talk about their new program called SECTOR.

Many lives have been stolen by drugs with fentanyl disguised as other meds causing accidental overdoses. Shocked parents are caught unaware, and are left to grieve over a child's fatal mistake.

For more information on this story: https://www.foxla.com/in-depth/in-depth-cracking-down-on-fentanyl-overdoses

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Our society has been dealing with COVID-19 for quite a while now. There's this notion that it continues to surprise us and do things we're not expecting.

Joining us on this episode is Dr. Ronald Tang, Medical Director and Oncologist at Dignity Northridge Hospital. He talked about how he's seeing an uptick with patients who have advanced cancers that could've been diagnosed earlier if people hadn't been so scared to visit the doctor.

We also talked to FOX 11 Assistant News Director Peter Wilgoren, a patient who has bladder cancer.  Pete talked about how he's been treating it amid the pandemic.

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Tarzana is a little beautiful neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. It’s named after a famous star—Tarzan! The Tarzana Community Cultural Center on Ventura Blvd. is a museum that honors Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs. We caught up with Helen Baker who founded the center almost 20 years ago.

In this podcast we also talked to residents about their concerns with homelessness and chatted with Councilmen Bob Blumenfield who addressed some of the issues residents are facing and what the city plans to do about it. He also spoke about the historic orange groves.


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The city of Downey is nestled in-between Los Angeles and Orange counties and is often times considered part of the gateway cities. What makes Downey so interesting is it’s the birthplace of the aerospace industry—home to the Columbia Memorial Space Center. Another fun fact—it’s also home to the oldest McDonalds restaurant. 

In this podcast we speak with Carol Rowland with “Keep Downey Beautiful” who talked about the city’s history and culture. 

We then met with the President of the Columbia Memorial Space Center Ben Dickow who talked about the aerospace background of the city.

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The city of Carson was incorporated in 1968 and was created on land that had gone from farms, to oil derricks to waste disposal facilities, all utilizing the city’s wide open spaces.   If you drive past Carson on the 405 Freeway you might notice the iconic Goodyear blimp. The airship plays a pivotal role in the city’s history.  In this podcast with speak with Priscilla DeCapua with Goodyear who gave Hal a tour of the blimp. We also talk with one of the founders of the city of Carson and its former mayor Gilbert Smith.  Smith is the last surviving member of the group that founded the city back in 1968 when citizens proposed incorporation to help prevent their turf from being used as the region’s garbage dump. 

We also head to a local New Orleans restaurant to speak with some locals on what they think about the city.

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The team of What the Hal? podcast is hitting the road and we’re taking you with us. In our new series ‘52 in 52’ we’re visiting 52 different Southern California cities to bring you local stories that matter. Each week we’ll highlight a city and explain what makes them so unique. 

This week we head to Yorba Linda to meet one of the youngest mayors and visit the iconic and historical Nixon Library. 

Located in Orange County, Yorba Linda became a city in 1969. One of its most famous residents was President Richard Nixon. His birthplace… a 9-acre citrus ranch on Yorba Linda Blvd. is a national landmark and located near the Richard Nixon Library and Museum.  

Our guests include former mayor Tara Campbell and Joe Lopez with the Richard Nixon Foundation.

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Matt Atchity, the general manager of Moviefone, talks to us about some newly released movies, how movie critics work, and his top picks for the Oscars.

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Diane Warren has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as well as won a Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe so much more. She's been nominated 11 times for an Oscar and yet still trying to get that first one!  Warren sat down with us to talk about her career, how she started writing and getting into music, who she’s worked with and how she’s hoping to grab her first Oscar Award for her hit song "I'm Standing with You" in the film Breakthrough.

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