President Obama's deficit reduction plan. Journalist Roxana Saberi describes her imprisonment in Iran in Between Two Worlds. The Supreme Court considers a California law that bans the sale of violent video games to minors. LA plans for a new park atop the 101 Freeway. And a deal reached for teachers in the San Juan Capistrano school district.
Down on debt: White House panel looks at deficit reduction
Today President Obama convenes a bipartisan commission to address the growing federal deficit. Leading the 18-member panel are Alan K. Simpson, a former Republican Senator from Wyoming, and Erskine Bowles, a Democrat and former White House chief of staff. The president has said that everything will be on the negotiating table when considering changes to federal spending and taxes. What are the possible ways to balance the budget?
Guests:
Brian Riedl, Senior Policy Analyst in Federal Budgetary Affairs, the Heritage Foundation
Tim Fernholz, writing fellow, The American Prospect
Roxana Saberi: her life and captivity in Iran
Roxana Saberi is an Iranian-American journalist who was working in Iran when on January 31, 2009, she was arrested and secretly detained in Iran's notorious Evin Prison. Accused of espionage, Saberi was held in solitary confinement for several days, ruthlessly interrogated, and cut off from the outside world. She was tried and sentenced to eight years in prison but was released on appeal on May 11, following international pressure by family, friends, colleagues, and various governments throughout the world. Roxana Saberi joins Larry Mantle to tell her compelling story.
Roxana Saberi will speak and sign her book on Wednesday, April 28 at 7:30 pm at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills.
Guest:
Roxana Saberi, author of Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran (Harper). In 2003 she moved to Iran to work as correspondent for the U.S.–based Feature Story News. She has filed reports for organizations such as NPR, BBC, ABC Radio, and Fox News
Violent video game ban for kids gets Supreme Court hearing
Mortal Combat. Grand Theft Auto. Video games are just harmless fun, right? Perhaps—but some are so realistic and brutal that many parents don’t want their kids playing them. That’s why the Supreme Court is considering a California restriction on the sale of violent video games to minors. The ban, which was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005, never took effect because of an industry lawsuit. However, if the Supremes uphold the law, it will be illegal to sell violent video games to anyone under 18. Would that really stop minors from getting games they want? And is it really right to deprive minors of games that, however offensive, haven’t been proven to cause direct damage?
Guests:
Leland Yee, California State Senator, D-San Francisco
Sean Bersell, Vice President, Public Affairs, Entertainment Merchants Association
Cut-cap park? A proposal to build “Central Park” atop the 101 in Downtown
Ninety percent of New Yorker’s live within a quarter-mile of a park. That’s true for only 30 percent of Angelenos. That’s why the City of LA is pushing to create urban parks wherever it can find space. But where is there space? CalTrans and design firm Aecom think they’ve found some—atop the depressed portion of the 101 freeway between Grand and Alameda. The concept has been discussed for other sections of the 101, but this one has an additional benefit—it would connect Union Station with City Hall and act like a Central Park for downtown LA. But at some $800 million, and with so many essential transportation projects in the works, can we afford to spend money putting a lid on the 101?
Guest:
Vaughan Davies, principal of urban design at Aecom, a design and planning firm based in Los Angeles. He is the principal designer of the 101-cap project.
Strike ends in Capistrano Unified schools
Larry gets the latest on the deal reached late last night between the Capistrano Unified School District and the Capistrano Education Association, ending the 3-Day strike that took teachers out of the classroom. What are the terms of the deal? Will temporary pay reductions for teachers become permanent?
Guest:
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC Reporter