Coretta Scott King; Clean Money Bill Passes California Assembly; Mayor's Plan to Take Over School Board; State of the Union Preview; Academy Award Nominations Announced
Coretta Scott King
The widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. has died at age 78. Several members of the African-American community join Larry to reflect on her legacy of social change: Congresswoman Diane Watson, Vice President of Community Advocates Joe Hicks and author and political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson.
Clean Money Bill Passes California Assembly
As corruption scandals engulf Washington, D.C., the California State Assembly has just passed AB 583, the California Clean Money and Fair Elections Act. The measure is designed to reform the state's campaign finance system in hopes that it will preempt similar scandals in Sacramento and provide the nation with a model for reform. Joining Larry to discuss the pros and cons of the bill are Trent Lange, Vice President of the Clean Money Campaign, and Assemblyman Rick Keene (R-3rd District), who voted against it.
Mayor's Plan to Take Over School Board
Mayoral control - can it work in Los Angeles as it has in Chicago, New York and Boston? At a conference of mayors in Washington last week, Antonio Villaraigosa argued that it can -- but now he has to convince L.A.’s voters. Larry is joined by Raphael Sonenshein, Professor of Political Science at CSU Fullerton, to discuss the mayor’s proposal and the challenge of getting it on the ballot.
State of the Union Preview
KPCC will air the President's State of the Union address tonight at 6:00 p.m. For a preview of what it might contain, Larry checks in with L.A. Times reporter Ron Brownstein, California Republican Party Chair Duf Sundheim and California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres.
Academy Award Nominations Announced
The Oscar nominations were announced early this morning. Larry talks with our FilmWeek critics Henry Sheehan, Lael Loewenstein and Scott Foundas about who they think should take home a statuette as well as who was overlooked. The 78th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, March 5th at 5pm PST, on ABC.