Santa Anita Fire Update; Stimulus Checks Are in the Mail: Will They Save the Economy?; Eli Broad and Roy Romer; Voter ID Law Upheld by Supreme Court; Genetic Privacy Bill Passed by the Senate; Wallace Stegner and the American West
Santa Anita Fire Update
Fires raged for much of the weekend and continue to send thick plumes of smoke above the hills of Sierra Madre. Larry checks in with KPCC's reporter on the scene, fire fighters and other emergency officials.
Stimulus Checks Are in the Mail: Will They Save the Economy?
Tax rebates will begin showing up in some people's bank accounts today. But analysts say many Americans are likely going to spend their rebates on basic necessities, including gas and food, and to pay down debt. Larry talks with economist Jack Kyser about the affect the stimulus checks are likely to have on Southern California's economy.
Eli Broad and Roy Romer
Roy Romer, former superintendent of Los Angeles Unified schools, will join Eli Broad and other leading philanthropists, business leaders and economists to discuss the crisis in American education, its impact on the country's future, and current reform efforts to ensure all students will graduate with the skills needed to compete in a global economy. Larry Mantle talks with Broad and Romer about the need to reform and improve K-12 schools.
Voter ID Law Upheld by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights. Larry talks with election law expert Rick Hasen about the 6-3 ruling which Democrats and civil rights groups said would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots. Backers of say photo IDS are needed to deter voter fraud.
Genetic Privacy Bill Passed by the Senate
Genetic tests available to people with family histories of breast cancer, Alzheimer's or other fearful diseases are the same ones that might also cost them their jobs or health insurance. A bill called the The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act would ban discrimination based on genetic information, and it was passed by the Senate Thursday in a 95-0 vote. Larry Mantle talks about the pros and cons of the bill with Jeremy Gruber of the National Workrights Institute, bioethicist Mark Rothstein from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and Kelly Vogel of the America's Health Insurance Plans.
Wallace Stegner and the American West
Larry speaks with author Philip L. Fradkin about his critically-acclaimed book "Wallace Stegner and the American West." The book chronicles the life and accomplishments of American historian, conservationist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Wallace Stegner. Known as the "Dean of Western Writers," he was arguably the premier chronicler of the 20th century Western American experience.