Today on AirTalk with guest host Kyle Stokes, we discuss what reopening schools in Southern California might look like. Also on the show, we look at today's reopening moves; our Filmweek critics discuss what they've been watching in isolation; and more.
When and How Will SoCal Students Get Back to School?
With schools still closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, and remote learning continuing for the rest of the school year, the question of when the fall semester might begin (and what it will look like) is looming large for administrators, teachers, parents and students.
L.A. Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner says no decisions have been made about whether the fall semester — still officially scheduled to start on August 18 — will involve students returning to classrooms or continuing to work remotely.
What has been decided, as of this week, is that online summer school will be offered to every LAUSD student for the first time ever. It's an alternative to the idea that Governor Gavin Newsom floated last Tuesday, when he said that California schools might start the 2020-21 school year, in person, as early as July, with some physical distancing and safety measures in place.
While the idea of an early start to the school year took many school districts by surprise, Newsom said it was a concern about a "learning loss" that's happened with the switch to online teaching, with some students lacking access to devices and the internet, that led him to propose the idea.
What could reopening look like when it does eventually begin to happen? Ideas include staggered school schedules and alternatives to school activities that are essentially group gatherings — like assemblies, recess, and PE. But before any in-person learning resumes, even in a modified form, Beutner and Newsom say several requirements must be met.
Guests:
Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools; she tweets
Karin Michels, epidemiologist; chair and professor of the Department of Epidemiology at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health
Paul von Hippel, associate professor of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin; he tweets @PaulvonHippel
Businesses, Parks And Beaches Open Slowly As Phase Two Of Reopening Begins Today
The City and County of Los Angeles began the process today of reopening some parts of the economy that had been shuttered due to COVID-19.
Starting today, businesses including book stores, toy stores, sporting goods stores, florists and other “low-risk” retailers will be allowed to reopen for curbside service only. All other shopping will still need to be done over the phone or online. Businesses will also have to have strategies in place for stemming the spread of COVID-19 on site, which will need to include employee training, sanitation protocols and even screening measures. Offices, dine-in restaurants and shopping malls remain closed, as do beauty salons, barbershops, live event venues and other places where people might be in close proximity. Meanwhile, in Orange County, the final stretches of coastline were approved to reopen on Thursday, though they are under the same “active use” rules that the other beaches in OC have implemented in order to prevent people from congregating on beaches and in parking lots.
Today on AirTalk, we’ll talk about the specifics of what is and is not reopening today in L.A. City and County, get an update from the Los Angeles Flower Market in downtown, and find out about the latest on Orange County Beaches.
Guests:
Emily Guerin, reporter for KPCC covering small businesses; she tweets
Lisa Brenner, associate editor at LAist; she tweets
Laylan Connelly, beaches reporter for The Orange County Register; she tweets
Candice Kim, whose parents owns a flower shop in Downtown LA that reopened today.
FilmWeek: ‘Becoming,’ ‘Rewind,’ ‘Spaceship Earth’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Peter Rainer and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s new movie releases.
"Becoming" on Netflix
"Rewind" on VOD (iTunes) & on PBS May 11th (check your local listings)
"Spaceship Earth" on virtual cinemas (Laemmle's & The Frida), streaming on Hulu, and VOD
"Arkansas" on VOD (Spectrum On Demand, DirecTV on Demand, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Amazon Prime)
"Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind" on HBO & Amazon Prime
"Driveways" on VOD (Amazon Prime and Google Play)
"Walkaway Joe" on VOD (iTunes, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Vudu)
"Intrigo: Dear Agnes" on VOD (iTunes, Google Play, FandangoNOW & Vudu)
"Valley Girl" on VOD (iTunes, Google Play & Amazon Prime)
"On a Magical Night" on virtual cinemas, including Laemmle's & The Frida
"The Delicacy" on SOMM TV
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA); she tweets
Christy Lemire, film critic for KPCC, RogerEbert.com and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ podcast; she tweets
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Director Of New Documentary ‘Spaceship Earth’ Explores Quarantining In The Name Of Science
Two months is a long time to be quarantined in one place. Just ask, well, pretty much anyone in the era of COVID-19. But imagine if you were quarantined for two years instead of two months, all in the name of science, and it was by choice!
In 1991, eight researchers did exactly that in Oracle, Arizona as part of a first-of-its-kind mission called BIOSPHERE 2. No, there was no failed BIOSPHERE 1 mission -- BIOSPHERE 1 is planet Earth. The mission’s goal was to create a living ecosystem inside a massive glass and steel facility to show that human life could be sustained in outer space. The idea was that whenever humanity finally did gain the ability to travel deeper into space and colonize another planet, a biosphere would need to be built first so that life could be sustained. But what started as a science experiment quickly evolved into a cultural phenomenon, and while some watched with bated breath to see whether the researchers could really create a living ecosystem in a controlled environment, others saw the project and those who were involved as a cult of sorts. Director Matt Wolf explores BIOSPHERE 2 the researchers (“biospherians”) who carried the mission out, what ultimately happened and the good and bad ways in which it became a cultural phenomenon.
Today on FilmWeek, “The Frame” host John Horn talks with Wolf about the making of the film and what can be learned from the biospherians about our current situation staying at home because of COVID-19.
With contributions from John Horn
Guest:
Matt Wolf, director of the documentary “Spaceship Earth"