A-G Resolution Audit; Belly Fat And Dementia; Take Me Out To The Ballgame... But Where Do I Park?; $35 For A Movie Ticket; FilmWeek Reviews
A-G Resolution Audit
Three years ago the Los Angeles Unified School district launched the "A-G Resolution," a program to implement tougher graduation requirements. But an internal audit obtained by the LA Daily News indicates that the program itself couldn't graduate; the report says the program is a mess. The article is creating ripples throughout the LAUSD. Guest-host Ted Chen tries to find out what's gone wrong with this LA Unified program. Ted's guests include Monica Garcia, President of the LAUSD school board, Ford Roosevelt, President and CEO of Project GRAD Los Angeles, and Julie Mendoza, Southern California Director of ARCHES, the Alliance for Regional Collaboration to Heighten Educational Success.
Belly Fat And Dementia
A new study suggests having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia decades later. And it's not just about weight. Previous research found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, but the new data finds a separate risk from storing a lot of fat in the abdomen. Even people who weren't overweight were susceptible. The study involved 6,583 men and women aged 40 to 45 whose bellies were measured between 1964 and 1973. The researchers checked medical records to see who had developed dementia decades later. Participants with normal body weight and but high belly measurements were 89 percent more likely to have dementia. Ted talks with Rachel Whitmer, the lead author of the study and Research Scientist and Epimediologist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, and Margaret Gatz, Professor of psychology at USC's Alzheimers Disease Research Center.
Take Me Out To The Ballgame... But Where Do I Park?
Tomorrow the Dodgers will hold their much-advertised 50th anniversary special game at the Coliseum. Trouble is, with record turnout expected, traffic is expected to be a nightmare and parking may be inadequate. But officials have set up some remote parking and bus locations in response. Guest-host Ted Chen helps KPCC's listeners avoid the expected crunch around Expo Park. Joining Ted is Lawn Rosenberg, Vice President of Stadium Operations for the Dodgers.
$35 For A Movie Ticket
Yes, it's true and coming to a theater near you. An Australian theater company and its investors plan to build new luxury theaters in the U.S. that charge $35 bucks a head. What will you get for your thirty-five dollars? Reclining seats, waiter service, and valet parking. Is it worth it? Well, it seems folks in other countries think so because they've been showing up to luxury venues there. But will these luxury theatres entice American audiences into the theatres, especially in this era of shrinking box office revenues and our declining economy. Ted talks with Rob Goldberg of Village Roadshow Cinemas about the luxury theatres his company is planning to bring to the States.
FilmWeek Reviews
Ted Chen and critics Jean Oppenheimer of Village Voice Media, and Wade Major, of boxoffice.com and CityBeat review some of the week's new feature films including "21," "Stop-Loss," "Flawless," "Priceless," and "Run, Fat Boy, Run" as well as the documentaries "Praying with Lior" and "Wetlands Preserved."