PCC budget problems lead to school officials to lay-off teachers, cut classes. Should valet parking attendants be responsible for drunk drivers? Religious rhetoric heats up in 2012 election, will it help or hurt candidates? Kelly Thomas investigator gives first report at Fullerton City Council meeting. Actor Demián Bichir on “A Better Life.”
PCC budget problems lead to teacher layoffs, class cuts
California community colleges will face more class cuts, staff layoffs, and possible removal of summer school in wake of a startling $149-million budget loss. The state has over 100 community colleges – all of whom reported low revenues for the current fiscal year as more financially strapped students’ fees are waivered and financial aid increased. Low property tax revenues also fell short.
The news struck students hard just as spring session began, and sparked protests at Pasadena City College. College President Mark Rocha tried to address protesting students. The college faces a budget reduction of nearly $3 million. An already infuriated student body protested class reductions and have long complained about the administration’s poor service.
On February 14, PCC declared it would cut 96 class sections and wouldn’t rehire some retirees who were scheduled to continue classes. In reality, around half of those class sections were cut, but that didn’t appease students. Students say the cuts will delay graduating on time, but President Rocha tried to reassure them, saying they will receive priority enrollment.
Students have listed demands including restoration of all classes and prioritizing funding classrooms over construction, among others.
WEIGH IN:
What are the realities of the budget shortfall on students? How will colleges deal with the reduction? Does the state have plans to remediate the situation? If so, what are they? If not, what do they anticipate?
Guests:
Mark Rocha, President of Pasadena City College
Jack Scott, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges
Hanna Israel, Vice President of Sustainability, Associated Students of Pasadena City College
Roger Marheine, English Professor and President of the PCC Faculty Association
Should valet parking attendants be responsible for drunk drivers?
A tragic case in Boston has prompted a controversial proposal to stop drunk drivers. A man who was "black-out drunk" picked up his keys from a valet and shortly thereafter collided with a 23-year-old on a scooter, killing him.
As NPR reports, Boston City Councilor Rob Consalvo says valet workers should withhold keys from drivers who appear intoxicated. He argues it's not a far stretch for valets to have the same standards as bartenders when dealing with drunk patrons. In many states, restaurateurs and servers can be held liable for serving liquor to visibly drunk customers -- it's called "dram shop" liability. However, in California, business owners are immune from civil liability, with the exception of serving minors. Still, bartenders, doormen and servers are trained to recognize when anyone should be cut off.
WEIGH IN:
Should valets be held to the same standard? Would they be able to recognize if you're inebriated?
Guest:
Robert Glassman, Attorney with Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP law firm based in Santa Monica
Religious rhetoric heats up in 2012 election, will it help or hurt candidates?
Former Pennsylvania senator, Rick Santorum is seeing a fairly dramatic surge in recent polling. He went from a back-of-the-pack nobody to a statistical tie with frontrunner Mitt Romney. And Santorum has one particular segment of the population to thank for his meteoric rise: religious people.
The Pew Center on Religion and Public Life follows religion in election years closely. In their latest report Santorum favorable numbers among white Evangelicals has nearly doubled in a month. Among white Protestants and Catholics his numbers have almost tripled.
Meanwhile, although the Pew report shows that Barack Obama leads either Romney or Santorum in a head to head match up, he trails both candidates with voters who attend religious services every week. Obama’s support among religious voters has become a political football of late with his compromise on birth control coverage a week ago.
Rick Santorum was just one voice among many calling the move anti-religion, and now he’s stepping up his attack on Barack Obama’s religious bona fides. This weekend he said Obama has a “phony theology” that’s not found in the bible. When asked to clarify the statement Santorum originally doubled down saying the Obama administration is oppressing religious freedoms. Later on Face the Nation Santorum told Bob Schaeffer that he doesn’t question the president’s faith saying “I accept the fact that the President is a Christian.” But that didn’t stop Santorum from calling the president “weak” on religious freedom issues.
Santorum has his own religious story in the news cycle. A four-year-old video of Santorum giving a speech at a religious college is making the rounds. In it he says that Satan is targeting America and that we’re in the middle of a “spiritual war.”
WEIGH IN:
Is this normal campaign rhetoric? Or is the religious back and forth unique to this election cycle? How big of an impact will religion and religious voters make on the 2012 election? Who benefits from making religion such a big part of presidential politics?
Guests:
Clyde Wilcox, Professor of Government, Georgetown University; Co-Author, “The Values Campaign?: The Christian Right and the 2004 Elections” (Georgetown University Press)
Kurt Fredrickson, Associate Dean for Doctor of Ministry and Continuing Education, and Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary
Kelly Thomas investigator finds no intent to deceive by Fullerton police
An independent investigator says there is no evidence that the Fullerton police department tried to deceive the public in the days following the 2011 beating death of homeless man Kelly Thomas. Michael Gennaco, chief attorney for the Los Angeles Office of Independent Review, gave his first report yesterday to the Fullerton City Council and a crowd of people carrying signs that read “Justice for Kelly.” The preliminary report says police need to update their policies governing the release of certain types of information, including booking photos.
Kelly Thomas is the homeless man who was badly beaten by Fullerton cops last summer and died five days later. The beating was caught on video and the officers involved recorded audio of the altercation. Two of the officers are up on criminal charges, the Fullerton Chief of Police has since retired, and some of the Fullerton City Council could face recalls. Gennaco’s initial findings didn’t delve into the details of the confrontation itself. He is expected give a second report in March.
Guest:
Michael Gennaco, Chief Attorney, Los Angeles County's Office of Independent Review
Actor Demián Bichir on “A Better Life”
While he’s a relative newcomer to American audiences, Oscar nominee Demián Bichir has been long recognized for his talent in his native country of Mexico. Initially, he had left Mexico to try acting in New York, but had to return when he was working more as a busboy than an actor. Bichir’s choice worked out for the best, as the role which tempted him home won him that year’s Ariel, the Mexican version of the Academy Award.
He then went on to act in 1991’s “Sexo, pudor y lágrimas,” which broke box office records and was the highest grossing Mexican film until 2002. This momentum eventually carried him back to acting in the United States, with such roles as Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s two-part “Che” series.
Recently, Bichir acted in “A Better Life” as Carlos, an immigrant gardener in East L.A. trying to protect his son from gangs and give him a life better than his own. His highly emotional performance has been rewarded not just by critics, but by a nomination with an Academy Award for Best Actor.
What are the differences between acting in Mexico and the United States? How did Bichir draw on his own experiences to play the role of Carlos? What did you think of his performance in this film?
Guest:
Demián Bichir, Actor nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for his performance in “A Better Life”