Parental groups are outraged that the FCC may loosen their indecency rules. Also, the L. A. Board of Supervisors may reduce filming fees in the $56-million Grand Park. Will this make affect local residents or make the park a government-subsidized film set? Then, we look at ability grouping and tracking students is gaining popularity again, possibly new cell phone radiation emission standards, the Jackson family lawsuit against AEG and the new Angels that started off with a 13 inning win. Later, a former state representative makes the case for having two presidents.
FCC looks to fine tune its indecency rules
Federal Communications Commission is looking into possibly relaxing its indecency rules. The commission asked the public for comment this week on a proposal that would shift the agency’s focus to target only “egregious” indecency cases.
The move comes in the wake of a Supreme Court decision in 2012, which found the FCC rules on “fleeting expletives” too vague. A fleeting expletive is an unscripted verbal profanity or brief nudity that’s broadcast on a TV or radio show. The FCC started to stepped up its efforts on cracking down on this kind of indecency violations after receiving numerous complaints for several incidents, including Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction in the half-time show of the Super Bowl in 2004.
Should the FCC loosen its indecency rules? Are indecency rules even relevant today, given more and more people go online to get their entertainment? Are indecency rules unfair to network broadcasters?
Guests:
Dan Isett, Director of Public Policy at The Parents Television Council
Julian Sanchez, research fellow at the Cato Institute
Should film crews be charged tens of thousands to use Grand Park?
Today the L.A. County Board of Supervisors is weighing the needs of film crews versus the needs of downtown residents using the Grand Park. The $56-million park project was just unveiled a few months ago. Initially, rates to rent the park for filming were set at $20,000 a block and $80,000 for the entire expanse. As reported by the Los Angeles Downtown News, talks between the county and Hollywood have led to agreement for a significantly lower rate -- $5,000 a block and $15,000 for the full park.
What's less clear is how this would affect local residents as well as transit users who use park pathways. Striking a balance between in-demand movie jobs and Angelenos' enjoyment of the city has been a long-standing issue.
Where do you stand on it? Are crews respectful of your neighborhood? Is there worry that this huge park project is nothing more than a government-subsidized film set? Or are restrictions on filming pushing productions to other states? Would some of those runaway productions leave anyway due to lucrative tax incentives offered by other states?
Guests:
Ed Duffy, Business Agent, Teamsters Local 399; Duffy is at the Board of Supervisors meeting today
Lucas Rivera, Director of Grand Park
Ability grouping and tracking make a return to U.S. schools
The concepts of ability grouping and tracking are familiar even to those who haven’t experienced them firsthand. Ability grouping is the practice of splitting a versatile classroom of children into groups based on skill level – advanced and lower-level reading groups or fast and slow math groups are common in elementary school classrooms, though they may go by different age.
Tracking, which builds whole classes based on ability, is more common in middle and high school, where honors courses and AP and IB programs are popular. Even though ability grouping and tracking are part of modern U.S. education, they have been less popular in recent decades than they were at the outset. Ability grouping and tracking fell out of favor in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s after being stigmatized as racist and classist. But these programs have had a resurgence of late, as new studies reveal that students who are grouped by ability test better than their peers – regardless of whether they are placed into upper or lower level performance groups.
What are the benefits of ability grouping and tracking? What are the potential drawbacks? How do programs that rely on ability grouping work in LAUSD?
Guests:
Tom Loveless, former sixth-grade teacher and Harvard policy professor; Currently Senior Fellow, Governance Studies at Brookings Institution - focusing on student achievement, education policy, and reform in K-12 schools.
Brandon Martinez, Assistant professor of Clinical Education, USC Rossier School of Education, expert in K-12 education with an emphasis on student engagement
Cell phone radiation emission standards under review by FCC
In the last 15 years, as the number of Americans who own cell phones has increased radically, the way we use them has changed as well. From keeping track of appointments to keeping up with friends, playing Angry Birds to playing cat videos, today’s mobile device is more than a way to bypass pay phones -- it’s an essential component of our identity, almost part of our DNA.
But is it safe to spend so much time cozying up to your smartphone? Health scientists, environmental activists and industry groups have long locked horns over whether cell phones emit enough radiation to cause cancer. The FCC announced last week that it will be reviewing its safety standards with respect to cell phone radiation emissions, which haven’t been updated since 1996.
The FCC’s inquiry was launched in response to a 2012 report by the Government Accountability Office, which urged it to update its standards based on the recommendations of federal and international health organizations. In 2011 the World Health Organization listed mobile phones as a possible carcinogen and contributor to brain cancer. And their increasing use by teens and children as young as 5 or 6 has led to further concerns about the long-term effects.
Do you worry about the effects of constant cell phone use, or do you think the fears are overblown? Do today’s cell phones pose a greater risk than in the past? How much radiation is too much? Are there precautions we can take to minimize the danger?
Guests:
Devra Davis, Ph.D., Founder and President of Environmental Health Trust and Author of Disconnect: The Truth About Cell Phone Radiation, What the Industry Has Done to Hide it, and How To Protect Your Family (Penguin, 2010)
Bernard Leikind, Ph.D., independent physicist and contributor to Skeptic Magazine
Jackson family sues AEG for wrongful death pop icon
Jury selection begins today in the lawsuit of the Jackson family against AEG Live. If AEG Live is found liable for Michael Jackson's death, AEG Live will pay the family billions of dollars, an estimate of what Michael Jackson could have made in the remainder of his lifetime if he had not died in 2009.
The Jackson family says AEG Live, Michael Jackson's last concert promoter, is accountable for hiring Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor who used a surgical anesthetic to treat Jackson's insomnia for the "This Is It" tour. Murray is currently serving time for Jackson's involuntary manslaughter.
AEG Live will argue that the company had no role in choosing Dr. Murray, saying that the doctor worked for Jackson, not AEG Live. The company may also bring up Jackson's eccentric personality and previous accusations involving drug addictions and child molestation. Jackson's mother and children, Prince and Paris, will testify in court about his final days.
Should AEG Live be held responsible for Jackson's medical care? Does Jackson, the patient, bear any burden for medical choices? Was AEG Live eager to profit from Jackson's tour and put pressure on Dr. Murray?
Guest:
Stanley Goldman, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Genocide at LLS
Angels start 2013 with a bang, but baseball seasons are long hauls
The Los Angeles Angels started their season on the road in Cincinnati on Monday, where they went 13 innings to earn a 3-1 win after some deft managing by Mike Scioscia, who reconfigured his players in the 11th inning in hopes of breaking a 1-1 tie. Angels fans will hope Scioscia can keep recreating that magic. The team has spent big this year, racking up a $170 million wage bill this season, though, if baseball fans know anything it’s that big spending alone does not a World Series trophy buy.
While the Angels have lingered in the shadow of their “crosstown rivals,” the Dodgers, who have spent lavishly on team and stadium, the Angels could certainly be a force to be reckoned with, especially if Scioscia can continue to manage creatively. Will the Angels have the legs and brains to go the distance?
Guest:
Mike Giovanna, Los Angeles Times sports reporter who follows the Angels
Why two presidents could end bipartisan gridlock
The American public has long endured bipartisan gridlock and filibustering over things like Obamacare, the fiscal cliff and the sequester. Former Indiana state representative David Orentlicher has had enough and suggests a radical change – How about two presidents instead of one?
In his new book, “Two Presidents are Better than One: The Case for a Bipartisan Executive Branch,” Orentlicher argues that government today is not how the Founding Fathers imagined it. The gridlock between the presidency and Congress is too inefficient. By amending the Constitution, executive power could be split. According to Orentlicher, this would end political gridlock, check the executive power of the President and also allow the presidents to divide responsibilities. In every decision, both presidents would have to agree.
Is our current system ineffective? Is Orentlicher’s proposal even possible? Would two presidents end partisan gridlock? What if the two presidents can’t agree?
Guest:
David Orentlicher, author of “Two Presidents are Better than One: The Case for a Bipartisan Executive Branch” (NYU Press); professor of constitutional law at Indiana University and a former state representative in Indiana.