CA's measles outbreak has prompted a call to end the state's personal belief exemption for measles vaccinations. Also, should every CA car owner be charged an additional fee to pay for road repairs? Is that better than raising the gasoline tax? Then, as studies suggest sitting all day is dangerous, more desk workers are choosing to stand. How are companies and technology handling the push for employees to stand up?
State lawmakers introduce legislation to repeal California’s personal vaccine exemption
Three state lawmakers Wednesday proposed ditching the law that allows parents to not vaccinate their children based on "personal belief."
State Senators Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) and Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) say they will introduce legislation that will repeal the Personal Belief Exemption. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) has signed on as a co-author.
Back in Washington D.C., U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) also urged California’s Health and Human Services Secretary to reconsider the state policy allowing exemptions.
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Would you support repealing a law allowing personal exemptions from measles vaccination?
Guests:
Sen. Richard Pan (D - Sacramento), State Senator representing California’s 6th district. Along with Sen. Ben Allen, he’s introducing legislation to repeal California’s vaccine exemption law. He's also a pediatrician.
Brad Dacus, President of Pacific Justice Institute, a non-profit organization that defends religious liberties and parental rights with offices throughout California
Oscars ‘Best Film’ category weighs playing the political/gay/race card
This year’s Oscar nominated best films include several stories of highly politicized issues from civil rights to the Iraq War. But does an Oscar nod, or even a win, mean much for a social cause?
Is a vote for The Imitation Game a vote for gay rights? Is a vote for Selma a vote for the #BlackLivesMatter campaign that circulated after Ferguson and Eric Garner? Is a vote for American Sniper a vote for American troops? We talk to film critic Henry Sheehan and writer Gregg Kilday about the nominees for the 87th Academy Awards and the political movements associated with them.
Guests:
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and CriticsAGoGo.com
Gregg Kilday, film editor for The Hollywood Reporter and author of “‘The Imitation Game:’ Finally Plays the Gay Card”
Online communities respond to Twitter CEO’s ‘ashamed’ comments
The microblogging site is copping to having a problem with trolls. It's rolling out new measures to rein in harassment and abuse.
But can the Internet's most entrenched villains be tamed? What have other sites done to contain the problem? How have you dealt with being trolled?
Guest:
Karen North, Director of the Annenberg Program on Online Communities, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Katie Notopoulos, senior editor for Buzzfeed News based in New York. She recently wrote a piece titled “A User’s Guide To Dealing With Trolls On The Internet”
Assessing political fallout from the FCC’s net neutrality proposal
The news that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is advocating the reclassification of the Internet is sure to create political fallout in Washington.
Wheeler had said he was looking for alternative approaches to a Title II reclassification. President Obama came out in support of one in November of last year, and it appears Wheeler has jumped on board.
As Republicans in Congress fight to take the power to enforce strong Internet protections away from the F.C.C., a plan that doesn’t have support among Democrats, what will the political fallout be?
Guest:
Brooks Boliek, technology reporter at POLITICO
Pros and cons of sitting, standing, walking, perching at work
If you're chained to a work desk, you don't have to be chained to a chair: options abound for standing, perching, walking, even pedaling at the office.
The stand-up revolution kicked off in the last few years when "sitting can kill you" articles went viral from cubicle to cubicle.
The most recent analysis, published last month in the Annals of Internal Medicine, pooled data from 41 international studies. The Toronto researchers found that regardless of regular exercise, the amount of time a person sits during the day is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and death.
The data is a boon for smarter ergonomics products include stability balls, perching desks, treadmill desks and more.
Injury prevention expert Jennifer Mempin will explain the pros and cons of each option.
Have you changed your desk habits? What effects did you notice?
Guest:
Jennifer Mempin, Injury Prevention Program Manager at UCLA’s Health System