Mayor Villaraigosa's Compromise On The LAUSD Takeover; Orange County Journalists Roundtable; Senate Debate On Iraq Troop Re-Deployment; Private Contracting Under The Bush Administration; Getty Update
Mayor Villaraigosa's Compromise On The LAUSD Takeover
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reached a compromise Wednesday with lawmakers and teachers unions that would give him some authority over LA's schools without handing him the outright control he had sought. The deal, which follows two days of negotiations, gives the superintendent of the nation's second-largest school district more power over personnel, business operations, budgeting and other areas. The city's elected school board will retain final spending authority, and, through that, ultimate control over its education priorities. The district suffers from dismal test scores and a staggering 50-percent dropout rate among minorities in some schools. Larry Mantle speaks about the compromise and its impact on the LAUSD with Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez' Deputy Chief of Staff Steve Maviglio, UTLA President A.J. Duffy, LAUSD school boardmember David Tokofsky and CTA President Barbara Kerr.
Orange County Journalists Roundtable
Larry Mantle talks with Los Angeles Times staff writer Jean Pasco, Orange County Register op--d column editor Steven Greenhut, and OC Weekly senior editorial writer and columnist, Gustavo Arellano about the latest news events and developments in Orange County.
Senate Debate On Iraq Troop Re-Deployment
The GOP-controlled Senate rejected Democratic calls to start begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by years' end. In an 86-13 vote, the Senate voted against a proposal from some Democrats that would require the administration to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007, with redeployments beginning this year. No Republicans voted in favor of the plan. Minutes later, the Senate rejected, by 60-39, another, more popular Democratic proposal, a nonbinding resolution that would call for the administration to begin withdrawing troops, but with no timetable for the war's end. Larry discusses the political ramifications of the Senate votes with Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, LA Times congressional correspondent Maura Reynolds and Bob Cusack, managing editor of "The Hill" newspaper.
Private Contracting Under The Bush Administration
Los Angeles Congressman Henry Waxman has released a report criticizing the Bush Administration for wasting taxpayer dollars on contracts with private companies. The report says that federal spending on procurement, in Iraq, New Orleans and elsewhere, has increased by $175 billion dollars under President Bush. He says that this privatization has not resulted in greater efficiency as intended, but that mismanagement and fraud have resulted in millions of taxpayer dollars going to waste. Larry talks with Congressman Henry Waxman and Carl DeMaio of the Performance Institute.
Getty Update
Italian authorities are disputing the J. Paul Getty Trust's contention that a tentative agreement had been reached for the return to Italy of "very significant" antiquities in exchange for loans of comparable items. The Getty has been negotiating with the Italian Ministry of Culture over demands to return art objects alleged to have been illegally obtained. The Getty has issued what it said was a joint statement with the culture ministry on a tentative agreement. Italian officials, however, said no agreement has been reached on the disputed artifacts. Larry talks with LA Times Bureau Chief, Tracy Wilkinson about the ongoing dispute.