PODCAST: How to make it rain (cash) in California

President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the agriculturally-rich city of Fresno, Calif., in order to help find answers to the statewide drought that has intensified the battle over who should get access to much-needed water in one of the country’s largest states. Farmers need water for their crops; fish need it because, well, they’re fish; and the public needs it for various important things, too (like drinking and washing). While droughts have ooccured many times in California’s history, a solution to prevent droughts has yet to be found and implemented. But there are still ways the government can provide relief, both in the short and long term. 

Plus, the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced this week has a lot of people wondering about customers’ cable bills. But what about the two companies’ thousands of employees? In typical corporate speak, Comcast says the deal will create about $1.5 billion in “operating efficiencies.” Translation: layoffs are coming.