Results from Tuesday's primaries are in, LAUSD approves a budget plan, Santa Monica College tuition spike, knowing when it's time to take the keys from aging drivers, and violence, drugs, love and redemption in the L.A. gang life.
Results are in! Santorum wins primaries in the deep south, Romney takes Hawaii
Rick Santorum took home big wins Alabama and Mississippi yesterday, with Newt Gingrich coming in second and Romney taking third in both contests. It was a huge boost to Santorum’s campaign, although not much of a hit math-wise for Romney.
Santorum’s momentum was strong going into the races and even stronger coming out of them. He’s proving that the establishment candidate, that many assumed had a straight shot at the nomination, may not have the support of the party faithful behind him.
Romney, in spite of his professed love for cheesy grits, doesn’t appear to be a candidate the south in willing the swallow, but whether or not they like him is beside the point. The fact is he’s got twice the delegates as Santorum, and picked up even more last night. He’s also running a tight ship with all the organization and money that Santorum lacks. Going into big races in Missouri and Illinois Romney has the edge but Santorum’s grass roots appeal is hard to deny.
The biggest loser last night was former house speaker Newt Gingrich. He needed to make a big showing in the south to keep his campaign viable but that didn’t happen. Calls for him to drop out are growing louder but it’s unlikely he’ll listen. He’s promised supporters that they’ll see him in Tampa.
Will Santorum be able to turn this thing into a two-man race? Can Romney recapture (or capture in the first place) the base? And what’s next for Gingrich? Will donors keep giving him money even as it becomes less and less likely that he’ll take the nomination?
Guest
Mark Barabak, Political Writer, Los Angeles Times, joining us from Illinois, which is the next big contest
LAUSD approves budget plan, as hundreds protest cuts
Demonstrators filled the streets surrounding L.A. Unified’s downtown headquarters yesterday, as board members voted 6-1 to approve a preliminary plan to bridge a $390 million deficit. The budget deal depends on multiple scenarios.
It aims to maintain the bulk of adult and early education programs, but this will only happen if furlough and salary agreements can be reached with labor unions and voters approve a $298 parcel tax this November, pushed by Superintendent John Deasy. The Superintendent predicts the tax measure would generate $255 million a year over five years for the cash-strapped district.
Meanwhile, thousands of teachers still stand to lose their jobs, as preliminary pink notices were already sent to more than 11,000 workers – a historic high, according to UTLA President Warren Fletcher. In addition to the budget-related items, the board also voted unanimously to approve resolutions to protect children from sexual predators in the classroom and improve transparency.
The budget news coming out of yesterday’s meeting was better than expected, but the budget fix is temporary at best. Will it be enough to salvage adult and early education programs? Are voters likely to pass Deasy’s parcel tax? What happens if they don’t?
GUESTS
Dr. John Deasy, Superintendent of LAUSD
Warren Fletcher, President, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)
Tamar Galatzan, LAUSD Board Member, District 3
Santa Monica College spikes prices of in-demand courses
Santa Monica College has introduced a new controversial way to help its struggling finances. In what could be a first in the nation, it will offer two-tier course pricing – after regular, $36-per unit classes fill up, in-demand classes will open up at a cost of about $200 per unit.
Student body president Harrison Wills says, "It's creating a two-tiered system of wealthier students who can afford classes and struggling working-class and low-income students competing for the scraps of what's left," according to the Los Angeles Times. Because many Santa Monica College students use the school as a stepping stone to transfer to four-year universities, they need certain classes before they can move on. As is the case for post-secondary institutions across the country, the college has dealt with substantial funding cuts.
This year's funding was down by $11 million, with more cuts anticipated next year. College President Chui L. Tsang defended the decision. "We've had people from the community asking us if we can open up more courses. The alternative is that students can wait and try their luck next semester or go outside to a more expensive private or for-profit college," he told the L.A. Times.
GUESTS
Dr. Chui Tsang, President, Santa Monica College.
Cameron Espinoza, Director of Student Outreach, Associated Students of Santa Monica College
WEIGH IN
Is this move within the rules for a public community college? Will it bring undue hardship to students? Is there any other way to juice funds for the school?
Time to take the keys from an aging driver?
Car crashes make the local news daily, but when the crash involves an elderly driver, that distinction is bound to be in the headline. In the last week alone, a senior citizen drove into a river in New Jersey; another caused a fatal collision with a car full of college girls; and an 83-year old Arizona woman crashed into a post office.
While we can't be certain age was a contributing factor in these collisions, the statistics don't look good. One expert organization, TRIP, found that "17 percent of traffic fatalities occurred in a crash that involved at least one driver age 65 and over. But only 8 percent of vehicle miles travelled annually are driven by drivers that are 65 and older." Robert Moretti of TRIP, a national transportation research group, told NPR last month, "You could say from that that older drivers are twice as involved in fatal crashes as you would expect, based on their amount of travel." Nevertheless age doesn't always necessitate an end to driving as AAA sees it.
The American Automobile Association has developed programs to test aging drivers and help them maintain their skills on the road. The site Seniordrivers.AAA.com offers driving health check-ups, resources for driving therapists and even advice on how family members can talk to each other about this potentially touchy subject.
GUEST
Anita Lorz Villagrana, Manager, Auto Club of Southern California's Community Relations and Traffic Safety Programs; Manager, Auto Club’s CarFit program for senior drivers, which provides a personal inspection of seniors in their vehicles by trained professionals to make adjustments that will maximize their safety.
WEIGH IN
Are you an aging driver worried about being forced off the road by the DMV? Or are you worried about an aging family member? How do you know if bad driving is the result of age as opposed to a normal mistake?
Violence, drugs, love and redemption in the LA gang life
Gang expert and UCLA Social Welfare Professor Jorja Leap has transformed hours of orals histories and interviews with gang members, interventionists, police officers, parents and victims into an ethnography of gang culture in Los Angeles.
The result is "Jumped In," her new book that traces three generations of gang members and offers one of the first genealogies if LA’s most powerful gangs families.
"The stories that I tell in the book are not brief stories, these are people that i've spent four or five or ten years with," said Leap during her interview with Larry Mantle on AirTalk.
In her book, Leap examines the major black and Latino gangs breaking down their Los Angeles territories street by street, revealing their stories, their traumas and the cyclical reality of being born into a life of violence, drugs and guns.
"African-American gangs ... are very fragmented and shift very rapidly," explained Leap. "Thats in contrast to the brown, or Mexican, gangs throughout the Los Angeles area. These are gangs that are more familial, loyal, multigenerational -- some of them have very long histories dating back into the 1940s. Then you have Central American gangs like MS-13 that also have to be differentiated. MS-13 is a clique that broke off from the 18th street gang."
Leap captures the desperate problems facing many of these gang members ranging from domestic violence to mental illness, drug addiction to PTSD. She especially reveals the lives of female gang members and how homegirls get initiated into gang through gang rape or other forced sexual rites. But the story is not without hope.
Throughout the book Leap tells of her encounters with Father Greg Boyle and his work to intervene in the lives of gang members through Homeboy Industries and his “Jobs, Not Jails” program. Reverend Mike Cummings, a former “original gangster” turned gang interventionist also figures into the narrative.
“Big Mike” is the founder of Project Fatherhood, a street peace ministry that focuses on the role of fatherhood for neighborhood kids whose dads are absent because of gang violence and crime.
GUESTS
Jorja Leap, Author of "Jumped In: What Gangs Taught Me about Violence, Drugs, Love and Redemption" (Beacon Press)
Wilfredo Lopez, Former gang member, now works in domestic violence prevention for gang members, restorative justice and he teaches a creative writing class