BP cuts through leaking pipe with shears. What's the right age to start kindergarten? State Superintendent of Public Instruction race. Rep. Jane Harman (CA-36) faces a tough primary fight. Will California ban plastic bags? And, just in time for lunch, adventures in cheese.
Oil spill: No end on the Deepwater Horizon?
BP has cut the pipe gushing oil into the Gulf using large hydraulic shears. Next, the company plans to cap the well by fitting a small containment dome over the pipe. Is this latest development a step forward? With relief wells months away and the chance that the cap will fail, has the company just unleashed even more crude at a faster rate?
Guest:
Dave Pursell, Managing Director, head of the macro-research department at Tudor, Pickering and Holt, which is an Energy Investment Banking Company in Houston, Texas
How old should kindergarteners be?
A bill passed yesterday by the California State Senate would require students to be 5 years-old before starting school. Under current law, children who turn 5 by December 2 are allowed to enroll. The bill proposes a September 1 cutoff date, pushing approximately 100,000 California students into the following year’s kindergarten class. Depending on how you look at it, that would save the state $700 million—or further slash public school budgets. Would the change improve education for the California’s youngest students? Or, should the state let parents decide?
Guest:
Gary Ravani, President of Early Childhood K-12 Council for California Federation of Teachers
Primary race for California schools chief
The state superintendent of public instruction is an elected nonpartisan position that oversees California's most expensive fiscal responsibility- public education. The superintendent has the power to set curriculum standards, intervene in failing schools, and interpret education law. Larry Mantle talks with Larry Aceves, one of the candidates in the June 8 race.
Guest:
Larry Aceves, educator and candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Jane Harman- candidate for Congress
Jane Harman is up for re-election in the 36th congressional district, but she faces stiff competition from opponent Marcy Winograd. During her time in Congress, she has focused on security issues and is a self-proclaimed expert on terrorism, homeland security, and foreign affairs. Lately, she has emphasized environmental policy and co-sponsored the West Coast Ocean Protection Act of 2010, to end new oil and natural gas leases on the West Coast. Is Harman still in good standing with her constituents? How serious of a challenger is Marcy Winograd?
Guest:
Rep. Jane Harman, Democrat representing California’s 36th district (South Bay) since 1993
California moves to ban plastic grocery bags
The California Assembly voted yesterday to ban single-use plastic grocery bags in stores. The bill, which now moves to the state Senate for approval, would require shoppers to carry reusable totes or pay five cents or more for a paper bag made of partially recycled content. If passed, California would be the first state in the nation to have such a ban. Each year, Californians use 19 billion plastic bags, or approximately 552 bags per person. Is getting rid of plastic a good idea? How would the new rules affect your shopping habits?
Adventures in cheese
Cheese has been called “milk’s leap toward the immortal” and in his new book Immortal Milk, Eric Lemay examines the cheeses, the processes, and the people who make cheese a great culinary adventure. LeMay journeys to Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, a cheese festival in Wisconsin, braves surly cheese mongers in Paris, and dodges friendly goats in Vermont, all in the quest to learn everything worth knowing about cheese.
Guest:
Eric Lemay, author of Immortal Milk: Adventures in Cheese (Free Press)