Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced today that it will be winding down its elephant acts by 2018. Also, parents of three victims killed during a rampage by Elliot Rodger near UC Santa Barbara last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit.Then, author Kevin Carey delves deep into the American college system to expose the declining standards of the brick and mortar colleges, and looks ahead to emerging technologies that are disrupting the nation’s college system.
Ringling Brothers and critics discuss decision to phase out elephants
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced today that it's winding down its elephant acts by 2018.
Animal rights activists have long criticized how the animals have been treated. Some cities, like Los Angeles, have passed bans on bull hooks and other devices to guide and control elephants. Circus elephants have a long history, but heavy criticism of the animals' treatment appears to have brought the acts to an end. Sea World is also dealing with public scorn for its use of trained orcas. Are animal acts going the way of the wolf boy and bearded lady?
Guests:
Stephen Payne, Vice President of Corporate Communications, Feld Entertainment
Catherine Doyle, director of science, research, and advocacy for the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).
Skid Row’s oldest homeless organization assesses impact of police shooting
Less than a week after a homeless man was shot by the police on Skid Row, a similar confrontation took place Monday in Downtown.
The Los Angeles Times reports that a man on tased twice and apprehended by police on Skid Row after he grabbed an officer's holster. The episode recalls a police shooting case that happened last weekend--albeit with a vastly different outcome--when police shot and killed a man who had allegedly went for an officer's weapon.
How is Downtown's homeless population being affected by the rising tension? Organizations serving the homeless population on Skid Row depends heavily on volunteers, has last weekend's shooting impacted the number of people wanting to volunteer?
Click here for KPCC’s coverage
Guest:
Andy Bales, CEO, Union Rescue Mission, the oldest Mission in Los Angeles serving homeless men, women and children. It’s located in Downtown Los Angeles.
Psychiatrist & lawyer weigh the fate of lawsuit over Isla Vista massacre
Parents of three victims killed during a rampage by Elliot Rodger near UC Santa Barbara last year have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department, Santa Barbara County and the housing management companies where Rodgers fatally stabbed his roommates.
The parents say the sheriff's deputies failed to find Rodger's weapons stockpile by neglecting to execute a thorough check on Rodger after his parents had warned of his strange and sadistic behavior. As for the property companies, the suit claims that over a three-year period, Rodgers was "assigned numerous different sets of roommates and transferred several times to other apartment units" by property management, who failed to alert residents to complaints from previous roommates. Rodger killed six people and injured 14 people before killing himself.
In the aftermath of the massacre, California lawmakers passed a law allowing family members and law enforcement officials to ask a court to seize guns from family members who they believe pose a threat. Are there any other policy changes - either in the medical or legal spheres - that could be changed to prevent a massacre such as this? How strong is the families' case against Santa Barbara officials? What about the property management?
Guests:
Jody Armour, Professor of Law, University of Southern California; Armour specializes in civil liability law
Dr. Amy Barnhorst, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, UC Davis Department of Psychiatry and associate medical director at a county crisis clinic
Rocky Chavez talks about his run for Boxer’s seat
Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chávez, representative of California’s 76th Assembly District, formally announced his candidacy to represent California in the United States Senate.
Chávez is running to replace outgoing Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who is retiring after over thirty years in the legislative body. While Chávez is seen as the underdog in the increasingly Democratic-held state, he is currently the most significant challenger to California State Attorney General Kamala Harris, who has already announced her run for the seat.
Can Assemblyman Chávez defeat the demographics to take the Senate seat in 2016? How will his candidacy affect the electoral field for Republicans and Democrats?
Guest:
Rocky Chavez, California state assemblyman representing the 76th District, which includes most of coastal northern San Diego County, including Oceanside and Carlsbad
Contemplating the end of college as we know it
The United States boasts some of the highest college tuition rates in the world, leaving the average college student with nearly $30,000 in debt when he/she graduates.
The higher education system in America has changed very little over the past century, but education expert Kevin Carey says that’s all about to change. In his book “The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere,” author Carey delves deep into the American college system to expose the declining standards of the brick and mortar colleges, and looks ahead to emerging technologies that are disrupting the nation’s college system.
He predicts the end of college applications, expensive textbooks, and “mercy Cs,” challenging the way the country currently thinks about higher education. Instead, he sees a future in which college classes, books and lectures are free, and an education system where students can adapt their lessons to their own learning strengths.
Guest:
, author of “The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere.” (Riverhead Books, 2015) He also directs the Education Policy Program at the New America Foundation
Debating morality clauses and teacher classification at Bay Area Catholic schools
Teachers and parents at four Catholic high schools in the Bay Area are at odds with the Archdiocese of San Francisco after Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone proposed “morality clauses” be added to the school handbooks and changes be made to the way teachers are classified under their labor contract, which is currently being negotiated.
Under the “morality clauses,” teachers wouldn’t be able to publicly challenge the church’s teachings that things like same-sex marriage, stem cell research, masturabation, and pornography are “gravely evil.” He is also seeking to reclassify teachers at the affected high schools as “ministerial” employees, which could exempt them from protection from federal anti-discrimination laws in the event that they were terminated or let go.
More than 350 teachers and staff members at the four high schools have signed a petition opposing the Archbishop’s proposals. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has also passed a formal resolution asking him to respect the rights of the teachers, students, and staff of the high schools.
Does the Archdiocese have the legal precedent to do this under state law? What about under the constitution? How are parents, teachers, and students reacting?
Guests:
Father Mark Doherty, chaplain at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School in San Francisco, one of the high schools that would be affected by the Archbishop’s proposals.
Michael Vezzali, chair of the English Department at Archbishop Riordan High School, one of the San Francisco high schools that would be affected by the Archbishop’s proposals.
Rick Garnett, Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Notre Dame, specializing in freedom of speech, association, and religion.