Proposition 187 would have withheld public services such as healthcare and education from those in the country illegally. We discuss how Latino lawmakers are trying to purge some of the language in the law. Also, should minors convicted for sex crimes be given stiffer sentences? Then, how is extra time calculated in matches in the World Cup?
Proposition 187, 20 years later
Twenty years ago, the citizens of California qualified Proposition 187 for the ballot, a law that would have withheld public services such as health care and education from those in the country illegally.
Most of the measure was struck down as unconstitutional in federal court. But Latino legislators say 187’s potential impact and the cultural alienation they personally experienced still stings. To right the perceived wrong, the Latino Caucus wishes to purge some of the language in the law.
Exactly what language does the caucus want to remove from the books? Are there good reasons to dredge up the past? Do the issues stirred up by 187 still resonate today?
Guests:
Pete Wilson, Former Governor of California, 1991-1999
Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas), representing Assembly District 30th—which encompasses all of San Benito and parts of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Monterey counties. He is also Vice Chair of the California Legislative Latino Caucus
UC Sexual Assault Task Force leaves out rights of the accused
The UC system has announced the creation of a sexual assault task force to oversee efforts to prevent sexual violence at UC campuses. It includes two members of the UC Board of Regents, campus police officials, UC and campus administrators, representatives from victim advocacy groups,
Title IX officers, student conduct officers and an undergraduate and graduate student, but no rights of the accused advocates.
We’ll talk about how the task force was composed, what its purpose will be and how it can effectively do its job without a voice representing the rights of accused students.
Guest:
Dianne Klein, Assistant Media Relations Director, University of California Office of the President
Mark Hathaway, private defense attorney in Los Angeles who has represented students and others accused of sexual misconduct
Should minors convicted for sex crimes be given harsher sentences?
California's Assembly Public Safety Committee is slated to vote on a proposed bill tomorrow that would give mandatory sentences to minors convicted of sexually assaulting unconscious or disabled victims.
SB 838, or Audrie’s Law, is named after Audrie Pott, a Bay Area teenager who committed suicide nearly two years ago after she passed out and was sexually assaulted by three 16-year-old boys. The perpetrators took and shared photos of the assault via social media. The three boys received light sentences for the attack, because they were all minors at the time.
In addition to a two-year mandatory sentence, the proposed law would require the convicted minor to serve an additional one year if photos or texts of the assault had been taken or shared. More than 140,000 people have signed a Change.org petition supporting the bill, which passed the state Senate unanimously.
Opponents of the bill, including groups such as the Sacramento-based California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the California County Public Defender, say the bill is too harsh and one-size-fits-all.
The committee hearing for the bill was set for last week but was postponed to tomorrow by committee chair Tom Ammiano, who called for the bill to be amended to increase its chances of passage.
Guests:
Jim Beall (D-San Jose), California State Senator representing Senate District 15, which includes the cities of Cupertino, Los Gatos, and the San Jose communities of Evergreen, East San Jose. He is the author of SB 838, also called Audrie’s Law
Jeff Adachi, Public Defender of the City and County of San Francisco. Adachi is the states only elected public defender
World Cup roundup: Epic upsets, extra time beef, and calculating the odds of Team USA advancing
Team USA and Portugal tied in their World Cup face off yesterday. USA was leading 2-1, but a late goal from Portugal’s Silvestre Varela in the 95th minute equalized the game, vastly complicating the US team’s chances of advancing to the next round of the competition.
Despite the draw, the game showcased another superb—and surprising—performance from the US team, which defeated Ghana for the first time in the World Cup last week. But that’s not the only upset the game has served up so far. Defending champion Spain, the theretofore unrivaled dominant football power, was knocked out early. Costa Rica bested seventh-ranked Uruguay, which beat England in what the British papers called a “devastating” loss.
Guest:
Mike Woitalla, Executive Editor,Soccer America Magazine. He has covered soccer in 18 countries and is the co-author of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna's book, "More Than Goals” (Human Kinetics, 2004)
KPCC launches #pricecheck project on health care cost transparency
Have you ever gone to the doctor or hospital for a routine test or procedure, and later received a shockingly high bill?
Today, KPCC lauches Price Check, a collaboration with KQED and Clearhealthcosts.com, a health costs transparency company that has been gathering cost data on a variety of medical tests, procedures and services from around the country.
See more about Price Check in Rebecca Plevin's blog post, and join the conversation about health cost transparency on the Price Check page.
Guests:
Jeanne Pinder, founder and CEO of Clear Health Costs
Rebecca Plevin, KPCC Health Reporter
Explore fossils and the Ice Age at the La Brea Tar Pits
The Observation Pit at the La Brea Tar Pits will reopen this weekend after being closed to the public for decades. The pit will allow museum visitors a closer look at excavations just 15 feet below the observation area. The La Brea Tar Pits are home to some of the nation’s richest fossil collections — the introduction of the Page Museum’s excavator tour offers a more comprehensive glimpse of the Ice Age in Los Angeles.
Chief Curator John Harris says that the openings at the Page Museum will allow the public to “see what the excavators see,” close up looks at fossils from saber tooth tigers, mastodoons, and other animals preserved in the tar. What will paleontologists and visitors learn from the new observation areas at the La Brea Tar Pits?
Guest:
Aisling Farrell, Collections Manager at Rancho La Brea tar pits
Correction: An earlier version of this segment page incorrectly identified the museum paleontologists.