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April 10 - 14, 2006
Monday, April 10
Marches for Immigrants Rights
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Beyond the dozens of Latino organizations urging their members to attend tonight's immigrant rights march in downtown L.A, a wide variety of Asian-American groups, labor, civil rights, and religious groups are also expected to take part. Amongst the thousands will be Eunsook Lee, the Executive Director for the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium. She talks with Patt about the local Korean community's perspective on the recently proposed changes to federal immigration laws.
Special Elections
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Two important elections in the Southland will affect the state and national picture tomorrow. Voters in San Diego will head to the polls to select a replacement for disgraced former U. S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to charges of corruption. In Orange County three contenders are vying for the chance to serve in the state Senate to fill the vacancy left after John Campbell was sent to Congress. Patt is briefed on the two races by Chris Reed from the San Diego Union Tribune and Martin Wisckol from the OC Register.
The Future of Los Angeles
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Are more mixed-use neighborhoods with housing, businesses, schools and public facilities part of LA's future? Dare we dream of less traffic and more village-like communities, conveniently connected by mass transit? Or will the changes be less dramatic? More palm trees perhaps? However Los Angeles evolves, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has big dreams, and he's brought in two new people to help implement them. In January, Gail Goldberg was named as the new head of the city's Planning Department. Two months later the Mayor announced his recruitment of Gloria Jeff as the new General Manager of the Transportation Department. Host Patt Morrison talks with Goldberg and Jeff, who will be working closely together, about their plans for a new and improved Los Angeles.
Cannon On The Loose
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Caltech students were greeted with cheers from MIT students early this morning after they flew to the Massachusetts campus to pick up their beloved Fleming House cannon. Last week MIT hackers conned their way past Caltech security to steal the 1.7 ton cannon, completing the second successful heist of the icon since Harvey Mudd students stole it in 1986. Todd Gingrich, President of the Associated Students of Caltech joins Patt to talk about the long pranking history between the schools, and the latest whereabouts of the cannon.
Tuesday, April 11
Security Officers Get Their Own Union
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At noon today, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the formation of a security officer-only local Los Angeles union. KPCC reporter Frank Stoltze was there.
Recidivism Rates Drop
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Less than 40% of the inmates released from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation found their way back behind bars one year after their release. While this rate, nearly 4 in 10 may sound high; it is the lowest rate in 25 years. JP Tremblay, Assistant Secretary for Communications for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Barry Krisberg President of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency join Patt to discuss what these numbers may mean for California.
The Great Transformation - Karen Armstrong
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Violence based on ethnic and religious differences is a recurring theme nowadays. From Muslim rioting over Danish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad to sectarian violence and the possibility of all out civil war in Iraq, topics of the sort make the news daily. In The Great Transformation (Knopf), religious historian Karen Armstrong examines the origins of religious traditions and how they have responded to violence and intolerance throughout history. Armstrong joins Patt Morrison in studio to talk about her new book and share her insight on these issues.
Armstrong will be speaking and signing books at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, Pasadena, Wednesday, April 12, 7pm. For more info: www.uuneighborhood.org
Wednesday, April 12
Crowd Statistics
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Can a million man march only have 400,000 people? How many people are really involved in crowds of "tens of thousands" that have been reported in recent immigration marches? Accurately estimating the size of crowds is not only a daunting task, but has important implications for crowd safety, law enforcement, and event organizers. Professor Mike Alvarez of Caltech talks to Patt about how estimates are made, and how these numbers can be powerful tools for activists and officials.
Graphic Images in the Media
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The upcoming release of a new Universal film about the passenger revolt on one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 has ignited a national debate about depictions of violence in the media. Patrons in Hollywood and New York complained the movie is too much too soon, and at least one theatre pulled the trailer. We'll discuss the controversy surrounding United 93, as well as public reaction to graphic images in the news. We'll ask why are we drawn to fictional violence, but when faced with real-life suffering, we often recoil. When is real too real? And why? Host Patt Morrison talks with Ted Braun, Senior Lecturer, Division of Writing for Screen & Television USC School of Cinema-Television; Stuart Fischoff, Ph.D, Emeritus Professor of Media Psychology, Cal State University Los Angeles; and Maryanne Golon, Picture Editor, TIME magazine.
Thursday, April 13
Villaraigosa Floats Takeover Details
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Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has taken a major step in his plan to assume control of the troubled Los Angeles Unified School District. According to a draft district takeover proposal released yesterday, the mayor and his advisors are considering several sweeping changes, including extending the academic year, slashing 3,000 bureaucracy staff positions, and keeping students in class until 5pm. Host Patt Morrison talks about the emerging details with Joel Rubin, reporter covering the story for the LA Times; and gets reaction from Superintendent Roy Romer and A.J. Duffy, president, United Teachers Los Angeles.
UFW Contract for Guest Workers
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The United Farm Workers of America and Global Horizons of Los Angeles, one of the nation's largest recruiters of foreign workers, have reached an unprecedented labor agreement to improve wages, benefits and working conditions for guest workers brought to the United States for farm work. Host Patt Morrison talks with Tanis Ybarra, Secretary Treasurer, United Farm Workers Union; Mordechai Orian, President and Chief Strategic Officer; and Phil Martin, Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California Davis, about the significance of this pact and what it might mean to the ongoing immigration debate.
Randy Harvey, new LA Times sports editor
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Randy Harvey returns to the LA Times as their new sports editor, coming from a two-year stint for the Baltimore Sun in that position. He joins Patt in studio to talk about his plans for this very popular section of the paper.
THE LOH LIFE
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Sandra Tsing Loh gets excited about jury duty.
Friday, April 14
Now the housing market is doing what?
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The median home price has hit a new high of over half a million dollars. This, while new home construction has slowed. Generally these trends run counter to one another. So is the bubble bursting, leveling off, or rising? Jack Kyser, Chief Economist, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, and Robert Kleinhenz, Deputy Chief Economist, California Association of Realtors join to Patt to shed some light on the housing market.
For more information visit: Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation or California Association of Realtors
Fear and loathing at tax time
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More people would rather endure a root canal, get a job performance review, or weigh themselves after the holiday than complete their taxes, according to a recent poll on About.com. Patt Morrison is joined by William Perez, a former IRS tax specialist with a special interest in helping people get out of tax trouble, to talk about the intensity of Americans dread of tax season and offer some practical help for the ultimate tax procrastinators. Joseph Bankman, co-developer of California's ReadyReturn pilot project and professor at Stanford Law School, joins the discussion to talk about the state's program, which has the potential to reduce the burden of filing taxes for up to 3 million Californians.
British Invasion - Bill Bailey Live
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Comedian and musician Bill Bailey, known as the bearded wizard, brings his off-the-wall humor to Los Angeles in his West Coast debut. He shares laughs and stories in studio with Patt.
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