The LAUSD released a statement today discouraging students from participating in an organized walkout in response to the Parkland school shooting. We take a look at their reasoning and its implications. Alex Padilla also joins the show to discuss recent news that California votes were compromised by Russia before 2016; and more.
Secretary of State Padilla responds to news that CA voting system was compromised before 2016 election
U.S. intelligence says it has evidence of seven states whose voting process was compromised by Russia before the 2016 election.
The states affected were not informed of the breach, but according to a new report by NBC News, California is on the list.
The Department of Homeland Security said the report was misleading. NBC then pushed back, doubling down on their story’s accuracy.
It’s unclear how exactly California was compromised and whether it was a security hack into a state website or the voter registration databases. The senior intelligence officials who spoke to NBC said no votes were changed. So is the NBC report correct, and if so, when did California learn of the hack and what are they doing to secure the systems for the future?
In different voting news, the U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing a challenge today to a Minnesota ban on wearing clothing with political messaging to a polling place.
Larry talks to Secretary of State Alex Padilla to get his thoughts on electioneering at the polls via clothing, as well as the latest on whether California was compromised by Russia-backed covert operatives and what this means for future elections.
Guest:
Alex Padilla, Secretary of State of California
LAUSD’s stance on March 14 student walkout against gun violence
A nationwide school walkout has been set for March 14 in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fl.
The Los Angeles United School District has responded with its policy for the planned walkout.
The district is asking parents to discourage their children from leaving the campus. Instead, it wants schools to honor the victims of the shooting by staging on-campus activities for students to participate in at 10:00 a.m. on March 14 for 17 minutes.
What do you think of LAUSD’s policy? If you are a LAUSD parent, how would you talk to your kids about the walkout? Are you in favor of your kids joining the walk out?
Guest:
Kyle Stokes, reporter covering K-12 education for KPCC
Elizabeth Mori, Oakland-based education attorney specializing in public education at Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, LLP an education law firm that works with school districts across California on different issues
Should all CA high school students be required to take an ethnic studies class?
California law mandates that high school students take courses such as U.S. History, economics and American government in order to graduate, but Assemblymember Jose Medina (D-Riverside) wants to add one more requirement to the list: ethnic studies.
In his newly introduced Assembly Bill 2772, Medina proposes that any school that doesn’t already offer “standards-based ethnic studies curriculum” offer such a survey course by the 2021 school year, based on the model curriculum currently being developed by the Instructional Quality Commission and the State Board of Education. If the bill passes, taking this course would be a graduation requirement for students starting in the year 2023.
Proponents of mandatory ethnic studies courses say it’s important for the diverse students of California to see themselves reflected in their curriculum and that current history classes are biased towards a white, European and male perspective. That more in-depth study of race relations in the U.S. will be beneficial to building understanding and empathy.
Critics say these classes may end up being trite and unhelpful to students in an environment in which they’re already overloaded by graduation requirements.
If you’ve taken an ethnic studies course, whether in high school or college, did you find it beneficial? Do you think this should be a requirement for all high school students? What kind of material would you want such a class to cover?
Take Two talked with Assemblymember Jose Medina about this bill yesterday. To listen to the interview, click here.
Guests:
José Lara, social studies teacher at Santee Education Complex High School in South Central L.A. and founder of the Ethnic Studies Now Coalition
David Lehrer, president of Community Advocates, Inc., a nonprofit organization that advocates innovative approaches to human relations and race relations in Los Angeles city and county
How Los Angeles County is planning to look at regulating short-term rentals in unincorporated areas
We’ve heard a lot about the City of Los Angeles working through the complicated subject of regulating short-term rentals through companies like Airbnb and HomeAway, but much less about how short-term rentals impact unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
On Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors passed a motion that will allow them to start examining the impact that short-term rentals have on affordable housing and homelessness in unincorporated parts of the county. Specifically, the motion is aimed at finding out whether regulating these kinds of rentals could help reduce homelessness and prevent would-be home buyers with lower-incomes from being priced out of certain areas.
How will the county go about assessing the impact of short-term rentals? What do short-term rental hosts in unincorporated areas think about how regulation could impact their business?
Guests:
Molly Rysman, housing and homelessness deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl
Connie Llanos, Airbnb’s deputy policy manager for the Los Angeles region
Kasich sees the possibility of a multiparty system in the US. Really?
Ohio Governor John Kasich (R), speculated Sunday about an end to the two-party system in the U.S.
Kasich, a former Republican presidential candidate said on ABC This Week that he’s “starting to really wonder if we are going to see a multiparty system at some point in the future in this country because I don't think either party is answering people's deepest concerns and needs.”
Kasich’s political motives aside, it’s no secret that there’s been a splintering within the Democratic and Republican parties. The Trump and Bernie supporters challenged the status quo in 2016, and part of that result was Trump’s presidency.
But is a truly competitive multi-party system really viable? Not only would there have to be serious money behind a third-party candidate, but the support would have to be sustained over time, and include mobilization from all 50 states.
So what has been the historical impact of third-party candidates in presidential races? Larry speaks to two professors on opposite sides of the aisle today, for a look back at third party leaders and if we can really expect an eventual shift to a multi-party system in the U.S.
Guests:
Derek Muller, associate professor of law at Pepperdine, where his focus includes election law, and the role of states in elections; he tweets
Robert Shrum, political science professor and chair in practical politics at USC; he’s an expert in presidential elections, and political advertising and policy
From CA to the rest of the nation: The push for single payer health care
The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, released a plan this week that comes very close to a single-payer health care, a system funded and administered by the government that eliminates private insurers.
The CAP plan, called “Medicare Extra for All,” would provide government-run health insurance for everyone, though people would still have the option of obtaining coverage from an employer. Many lawmakers, including Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), are backing the plan.
But not everyone is a fan. The Heritage Foundation’s Robert Moffit said the CAP plan would mean “more power for politicians and bureaucrats to prescribe, define, limit or control what ordinary Americans could access from the health-care system.”
So is “Medicare for All” the solution for a universal health care? We weigh the pros and cons.
Guests:
Michelle Faust, KPCC’s health care reporter who’s been covering the single payer debate in California
Topher Spiro, vice president of health policy and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based progressive think tank
Robert E. Moffit, senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Health Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative public policy think tank
Sally Pipes, president and CEO and Thomas W. Smith fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute