Mitski Performs at Surprise LA Venue

0:00from KQED. Good morning. This is the California Report. I'm Medi-Bolanyos in San Francisco. California's two largest pension funds are tied to billions of dollars in federal immigration and security contracts. That's according to a new analysis from the non-profit Stand.Earth. The report found that CalPERS and CalSTERS have invested more than $2.7 billion into companies working with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. We're talking about big names like the tech firm, Palantir, and weapons manufacturers like General Dynamics. The funds cover retirement for everyone from state employees to public school teachers. A federal judge in California says border patrol violated a federal court order barring them from making illegal stops and arrests. Sergio, almost with our California newsroom partner CalMatters, explains. The ruling was handed out two weeks ago, but it wasn't unsealed until this Thursday morning.

1:01Judge Jennifer Thurston of California's Eastern District issued a preliminary injunction last year after former Border Patrol chief Gregor Bavino took 65 agents into Kern County to conduct roving patrols. In that case, Thurston said, quote, you can't just go up to people with brown skin and say show me your papers. Despite this injunction, Bavino went on to conduct another raid in Sacramento, which is also in the Eastern District where Thurston's injunction was in effect. This ruling is about that Sacramento raid and formally cites the Department of Homeland Security for violating the earlier injunction. This is the first time this has happened in court since President Trump launches mass deportation campaign. That was CalMatters reporter Sergio Olmos. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission just gave California's only operating nuclear power plan approval to run for an extra 20 years. KCBX's Kendra Hanna reports. Diablo Canyon located on the central coast produces almost 10% of California's electricity. It's in Congressman Salud Carbohel's District. He says that trying to meet California's carbon-free energy goals without the plant operating

2:05could lead to blackouts. We could be in a challenging predicament not having the energy reliance that we need here in the state of California. The state has fought for years over how long the plant should operate. Anti-nuclear activists have argued that multiple nearby fault lines makes it too risky to run. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said the plant is safe from possible earthquakes. The state of California will have the final word on how long the plant runs. For the California report, I'm Kendra Hanna reporting from San Luis Obispo. This week, indie musician Mitzky is playing a series of sold-out shows at an unexpected LA venue, Hollywood High School's auditorium. She's literally coming to our freaking school. I think it's like kind of surreal. I'm definitely going to cry. LAist reporter Mariana Dale talked to students about the residency and learned about the schools more than 100-year-old history. Hollywood High Senior Angel Cueto says she first heard Mitzky in middle school. A very, like, angsty teen part of my life.

3:06One of her favorite songs is 2016's Your Best American Girl. There's so many times where I've just bought my eyes out in the shower to her music and she's always like the crying artist that I go to when I just want a good cry. For sophomore London James, it's the poetry of her music. Mitzky speaks to me like I understand her like she's me and I'm her. However, neither James nor Cueto was optimistic they'd be able to score tickets to her show. Mitzky is built a dedicated following since she self-released her first album in 2012. I didn't even bother texting the ticket prices because I knew it would be like a normal leg. Hollywood High is one of just two US stops for Mitzky's tour to support her new album. Nothing's about to happen to me. She told the show World Cafe why she chose venues like a school auditorium.

4:07I wanted it to feel special. I wanted it to feel like an experience. I wanted to recreate even the feeling that I had going to shows, going to DIY shows, punk shows. Mitzky isn't the first artist to play the auditorium. Former Smith's frontman Morrissey played the school back in 2013. But Hollywood High School's connection to the arts goes back decades. The campus's de facto historian and my tour guide is Samuel Dove Latian. I am the principal at the world famous Hollywood High School. Wait, world famous. Because we graduate so many artists and people in entertainment. Alumni names line the school's hallways in red stars. The iconic Carol Burnett. We have Mickey Rooney on this side. Of course we cannot miss the famous Judy Garland of the Wizard of Oz. The actress Brandy came here as well. The arts are also a core part of the school's present. Noena Acorley is in the new media academy where students learn video and film production.

5:08She says as a black girl, she doesn't always see herself in media. I want to make stories and films that people can relate to and make them feel seen. The same auditorium where Mitzky will host her residency is also home to the school's performing arts program, which includes theater, dance and music. They do not make auditoriums like this anymore. Principal Dove Latian says there are more than a thousand wooden seats between the first floor and the mezzanine, a thick red stage curtain and a pipe organ embedded in the walls. We rival some of the playhouses on Hollywood Boulevard. Student Angel Cueto has a different take on the space. It's in my head a jinky auditorium that I spent like four years in, like sometimes it hurts my butt sitting in there for too long. But Cueto is looking forward to seeing the space transformed for Mitzky's show. I'm definitely going to cry. I'm a cryer. We want a pair of donated tickets in a contest for good attendance, along with 45 other students, including London James. I think I'm set.

6:08I'm excited. 25 million times. And I don't think it's enough. Since Cueto is a senior, this will be one of the last events she experiences at the school. It's like not just us watching artists that we like so much, but us also maybe like getting a pick into our future. James, who's part of the theater program, also encourages people to check out performances created by students. If you can go see Mitzky, you can come see into the world. John over this auditorium is Hollywood highs spring musical starts in mid-April. That's LAest Mariana Dale reporting. And that is the California report for Friday, April 3rd, where production of KQED news. Our engineers are Danny Bringer, Christopher Beale, Brendan Willard, Brian Douglas, and Jim Bennett. Our producers are Catherine Monahan and Keith Miziguchi. Our senior editor is Angela Corral. Our managing editor is Ted Goldberg, and our editor in chief is Ethan Tobin-Lindsay. I'm Madibo Lanyolz.

7:08Thank you for listening and have a great weekend. Support for the California report comes from the Wesley Foundation, investing in California's underserved children and youth. Paint care, making paint recycling easy at more than 800 sites in California. Paint care dot org and Eric and Wendy Schmidt, whose philanthropy works to create a healthy, resilient, secure world for all on the web at the Schmidt dot org.