For the first time ever, California drivers who get traffic tickets won’t have to pay their fine before fighting the ticket in court. Also, would you vote for someone running for the presidency or other high office who’s a bachelor or a bachelorette? Then, a UCLA graduate details the challenges of working as a paramedic in his latest memoir.
Measuring the impact of new rule preventing 'pay to play' in fighting traffic fines
For the first time ever, California drivers who get traffic tickets won’t have to pay their fine before fighting the ticket in court.
Thanks to a unanimous vote this morning from the Judicial Council, which decides on policies for the state court system, courts will now have to change their notices to the public to say that those who wish to fight a traffic ticket won’t be required to pay the fine up front in order to do so. Under the previous rule, drivers were required to pay the fine before they were able to fight the ticket in court.
Supporters of the new rule say this is a step in the right direction, and will be a relief for thousands of drivers who have had their licenses suspended or racked up huge fines because they couldn’t afford to pay. A basic traffic ticket in California now costs around $500, and spikes rapidly if not paid on time. Opponents say the new rule will further weigh down the already overburdened court systems and make it more difficult for drivers to actually get to their day in court.
Guests:
Mike Herald, legislative advocate at the Western Center on Law & Poverty. He was also a co-author on a report issued earlier this year titled “Not Just a Ferguson Problem: How Traffic Courts Drive Inequality in California.”
Jessica Levinson, professor of law at Loyola Law School
Lindsey Graham prez bid raises doubts about the electability of a serial bachelor
Lindsey Graham has served in both chambers of Congress, but one detail of his private life is threatening to overshadow other aspects of his campaign: the fact that he’s never been married.
Only two bachelors—James Buchanan and Grover Cleveland—have ever been elected U.S. president.
Graham's considered a long shot, to be fair. But does it matter that he is a lifelong bachelor? Does this part of his private life have any bearing on his ability to become a sound world leader? Would you vote for someone running for the presidency or other high office who’s a bachelor or a bachelorette?
Guest:
Julian Zelizer, Professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of many books on American political history, including his latest, “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society.” (Penguin Press, 2015)
Parents mull kids' sexual curiosity in wake of Duggar scandal
In an exclusive interview this weekend, Jill and Jessa Duggar-famous as kids in the TLC family show "19 Kids and Counting"-said they didn't know their older brother Josh fondled them in their sleep until he confessed to the Duggar parents.
Immediately after the incidents, the Duggar sisters said their parents restricted hide-and-seek games and added locks to bedroom doors and took Josh for counselling.
Jessa Duggar said that her brother was "a young boy in puberty" who was "a little too curious about girls."
Far from reality TV, real parents find kids from around age 5 and up "playing doctor" and have to determine whether children are sexually curious or seeking gratification. How do they determine that? How should parents react when they learn children have been touching private parts?
Guest:
Betsy Brown Braun, child development and behavior specialist; best-selling author of "Just Tell Me What to Say: Sensible Tips and Scripts for Perplexed Parents" (HarperCollins);
Creative criminal sentencing in the modern era: How to shame convicts into compliance
A Cleveland judge ordered a “slumlord” who violated housing regulations to live in his own dilapidated rental for six months; another justice in Ontario forbid a domestic abuser from having a girlfriend for three years; and last week, a Michigan judge banned a distracted driver who killed a bicyclist from owning a mobile phone for two years.
As sentencing for criminal actions has changed over the centuries from stoning and stocks to phone bans and public shaming, what are some of the more creative punishments you have heard of for convicted felons? What latitude do (and should) judges have for punishing offenders and deterring them from breaking the law? Are creative sentences more effective than time in jail or prison? And if you were a judge, what sentences would you give for what crimes?
Guests:
Jody David Armour, Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law
New memoir from UCLA grad looks at life as a paramedic
Kevin Grange was 36 and working as a real estate agent. He wanted a change and decided to apply to UCLA's Daniel Freeman Paramedic Program--one of the best paramedic training programs in the world.
The UCLA program requires nine months of classroom instruction with ER rotations and a field internship with the Los Angeles Fire Department, where stress, trauma and drama are all in a day’s work.
It would turn out to be the hardest thing Grange has ever done--an experience he’s detailed in the new memoir “Lights and Sirens.”
Guests:
Kevin Grange, author of the memoir, “Lights and Sirens” (Berkley Trade Paperback, 2015) and freelance writer whose writing has appeared in Backpacker Magazine, The Orange County Register and other publications.
Brian Wheeler, Senior Lecturer and Clinical Specialist at the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care, and an instructor at the UCLA’s Daniel Freeman Paramedic Program [Who’s cited frequently in the book]
A bag of almonds, a bottle of wine: What’s the quintessential gift from California?
The Golden State Warriors are NBA Champions after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 in game six of the series to win it 4-2. The Larry O'Brien Trophy returns to California for the first time since 2009 and to the Bay Area for the first time since 1975,
There’s was also something at stake for California Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio, who placed a friendly wager on the series. Senator Boxer bet Peet's "Warriors Grounds" coffee and a case of Linden Street Brewery's "New Oakland Glow" pilsner, while Senator Brown wagered craft beer from Ohio’s Hoppin' Frog Brewery. Since Golden State won, Senator Brown will have to deliver the goods to Senator Boxer's office wearing a Warriors jersey.
What would you give someone from out of state as a gift that best exemplifies California? Maybe a bottle of California wine? How about some See's Candies? Vote on and rank our list below of the best California-themed gifts. See something we missed? Be sure to add it!